Uncategorized – ❤ jenninspiration | Dream, Create, Share, Inspire

This Week: books I’ve read and our Lunar New Year dinner

February 6, 2022February 23, 2022by jenninspirationLeave a Comment

I hope everyone had an amazing Lunar New Year! We didn’t do much but went out to eat in Downtown Honolulu. We were supposed to go eat at a dim sum restaurant but it was so busy. We ended up dining at Olay’s Thai Lao Cuisine a few blocks away. Their dining area is usually outside. It’s gorgeous and spacious. It wasn’t busy however the service was quite slow. We ordered a LOT from the menu and asked for medium spicy on most of our dishes. I really recommend going here if you’re craving for Thai Lao food; they also have an option to make it either style.

papaya salad, beef jerky, laotian sausage, pork rinds — Laotian Salad Platter (Tum Tahd)

pickled pork, stuffed chicken wings — Pickled Pork (Som Soon), Stuffed Chicken Wings

food spread, lunar new year dinner, laotian dinner, salad, fried riced, udon soup, papaya salad, sticky rice — Our food spread includes Chicken Udon Soup (Khao Piek Sen)

Since I’ve been spending less time on Instagram, I started to read more and be in the moment with my family. I finished a few books that’s trending in the book community. I read It Ends with Us and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.

They are both romantic, contemporary fiction however I believe it should include a trigger warning label because it talks about domestic and mental abuse. I give it about a five star rating, but here is my honest review on the following books:

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.5/5)
- Before you pick up this book, it has a lot of trigger warnings that made me want to close the book up but I made it past through. I love how Lily prevailed through the pain, heartbreak, and suffering. But from a parent’s perspective, suffering is optional. She made a choice to break the abusive cycle and prevented her daughter from going through what Lily and Ryle experienced together as a couple. I felt like it was a groundbreaker for Lily to start a new chapter in her life, than constantly repeating the many abusive patterns that her own mom lived through. I love every “naked truth” that both Lily and Ryle had for each other. I hope it’s possible that there is a story about Lily and Atlas together.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.9/5)
- This book was a bit predictable at the end with the main character, Evelyn. Throughout the story, you get to know more about Evelyn and all of the trials and tribulations she went throughout her career. It made her into who she is today. However, journalists and media painted her a whole different picture. I just absolutely love how the author had a great sense of direction and emotionally guided you through the story. I definitely recommend picking this up if you’re ready to go through an emotional rollercoaster with unexpected twists and turns!

Anyways, I can’t wait to share about my upcoming trip soon! Stay tuned!

xoxo,
Jenn

Blog, Style, Uncategorized

This Week: back from reselling hiatus and made about $1K in sales!

January 30, 2022February 21, 2022by jenninspirationLeave a Comment

I took a break from reselling online to pursue content creating for social media platforms. I think I got so burnt out towards the holiday season that I didn’t feel like it was the same anymore. A lot of creators I followed seen the dramatic changes in the algorithm on Instagram (read more this on Later.com); and how each platforms were pushing out paid advertisements or sponsors more than regular content.

I mention before that I’m slowing down from posting on Instagram and consuming it casually in my previous posts. All the stress and anxiety of creating and posting took a toll on me. I constantly worried day and night about what to post next, which brand to work with, and hoping brands would accept my offer, and paying for my rate. I also was struggling to keep up with the latest internet trends and making content because my regular full time job absorbed all of my time and energy.

There is no one really to blame in the social media industry because I took it upon myself to create content and posting on multiple social media platforms. I wanted to be part of the industry and excel in it. But deep down inside, I forgot who I truly was and why I wanted to post online. When I moved away from the states and pandemic happened along the way, I hardly had any deep connection with people I met and majority of my time was spent working. When I turned to the internet world, I felt like I could express myself! However when I accepted brand partnerships and agreeing to create content, I wasn’t aware of the constant burn out, pressure to do more, and anxiety of not being enough to “work with a brand”.

girl standing, looking to side, Hulk tee shirt, wide leg pants, Vans shoes

girl standing, looking to side and holding cup of coffee. Spiderman tee shirt, distressed jeans and Jordan shoes

I finally took my heart and mind off of social media during the holidays. It was not something I wanted to do but it was for my own good. I went back to one of my favorite passion: reselling online. I buckled down and purged through my closet, I mentioned this couple weeks ago, and also started thrifting instead of creating and posting content. It felt so good that I was making money on my terms and conditions.

My sales were starting off slow on Poshmark because I was getting back into the groove. It started to pick up when I relisted all of my old inventory and lowered the price down. When I listed the clothes I purged from my closet, it quickly sold over in the span of two weeks. Once they were listed on Poshmark, I started to cross list on different platforms and I quickly sold my old clothes and inventory. I made about four digit figure from reselling online. It helped with paying off my credit card debt. I truly missed having payment notifications than constantly being on social media that took a huge toll on my mental health.

My advice: keep doing what you love and don’t compare yourself to others online. You are not them, and they are not you!

If you want to sell your clothes and buy secondhand on Poshmark, sign up with my code ONETWENTYONE and save on your first order here!

xoxo,
Jenn

Blog, Style, Uncategorized

This Week: outfits I wore, water line flush, & husband’s birthday

January 23, 2022February 3, 2022by jenninspirationLeave a Comment

It was such an exhausting week. After the three day weekend, my routine was completely thrown off. I had to let go of my entire routine when the Interagency Water System Team came into our neighborhood to flush our water line.

A couple months ago, we were told our water line was tainted with fuel. It was terrifying to hear at first because we weren’t sure what was actually going on with our water.

street style, streetwear, white cardigan, black distressed jeans, air jordan 1s, street fashion

street style, casual style, marvel tee shirt, joggers, air jordan 1s, streetwear, casual outfit

However, my family and pets didn’t experience any symptoms. We were told it was okay to use the water. So far, so good.. let’s hope nothing else happens along the way.

Besides that, we celebrated my husband’s birthday. We had reservations at 53 By The Sea. It was a beautiful dining experience. We didn’t see much of the view at night time but the ambiance inside made up for it.

HAMACHI CEVICHE
Sliced hamachi with soy, lime & sesame sauce, red onions, jalapenos, crispy shallots, cilantro

HONEY MACADAMIA NUT SHRIMP
Crispy fried tiger shrimp with macadamia nut honey glaze

LOBSTER BISQUE
Lobster meat , milk foam, crostini

PAN SEARED AHI STEAK
3oz Ahi steak, stir fried vegetables, watercress relish, “truffle-yaki” sauce

PAN ROASTED FILET
4oz Filet mignon, asparagus, Maui onions, eryngi mushrooms, mashed potatoes, veal jus

SOUFFLE CHEESECAKE
Lilikoi coulis, crème fraiche, blood orange guimauve

We ordered the six course tasting without the wine pairing. The course started out good however it ended with a slight disappointment. The pan toasted filet wasn’t medium rare like how we wanted it to be. The souffle cheesecake sounded delicious but it was too tangy for our taste buds.

I would definitely recommend going to 53 By The Sea if you want more of an intimate dinner with your loved ones. We had reserved in the dining room and the tables were spaced out enough that it felt cozy and relaxing to enjoy our dinner.

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend 🙂

xoxo,
Jenn

Blog, Style, Uncategorized

This Week: my outfits, debt paid off, and what I’m currently up to!

January 16, 2022February 3, 2022by jenninspirationLeave a Comment

I still can’t believe we’re in 2022 and it’s the second week of January. I decided to purge our home from the clutter and things we hardly use. I never realized how much stuff we have until I started to go through it.

I’ve been going through my closet and dresser. I can’t believe I hardly wear anything I own because I don’t go out as much. I purged a lot of clothes and miscellaneous things. I had about four tall trash bags to donate to my local thrift shop.

My dresser had a bunch of random things on top that ended up in messy clutter. Once I started to purge, I felt content with the negative space on my dresser. This taught me to be mindful of buying random stuffs that were cute and not useful.

Anyways, I can finally say I’m debt free from my student loans!!! I wrote about Tips to Pay Off Student Loan Debt last year. I will write an updated version of how I was able to pay it off soon. It is such a relieving feeling. I get to focus on other loan debts this year and work towards being debt free before I turn 30.

I’m slowing down on working with brands, accepting sponsorships, and creating branded content. My priorities has shifted the past few months. I want to casually take pictures of my outfits and share it on Instagram at this moment. If you’d like me to talk about how I’ve received sponsorships and work with brands, let me know in the comments.

I hope you all have an amazing weekend 🙂

xoxo,
Jenn

tweety bird shirt, distressed jeans, air jordan 1s

Style, Uncategorized

Happy New Year! Happy January!

January 9, 2022February 3, 2022by jenninspirationLeave a Comment

I hope everyone had a great New Year and got to celebrate it with family and friends. We stayed home most of the day to catch up on sleep and tidy up the house. We went out to eat to Boiling Crab in SALT at Kaka’ako. We normally order the crawfish combo with half pound of shrimp, clams, mussels; and it comes with corn, potatoes, sausage and rice. It was so delicious, and they always have great service.

After the New Year weekend, I had to recoup myself to work at my 9-5 and get back into my routine. The weather in Hawaii hasn’t been great especially with all of the rain and wind. I hope it gets better in a few weeks so I can enjoy the warm sun again.

winter fashion, big plaid scarf, denim jeans, black boots, winter style

girl looking to the side smiling, orange cardigan, green cami, leopard bag, baggy jeans, leather converse shoes, street style, street fashion

I didn’t have much new year resolutions in mind for 2022, because I’ve been so preoccupied with unlearning old habits and incorporating new routines that I’m living in the moment and letting things flow.

Here are a few things I started to work:

Reading 1-2 chapter(s) each day to finish a book
Going on a small walk with my dogs to get fresh air
Logging on Instagram 3x per week to post content and consume for about an hour
Waking up early to get ready and workout my body

I learned that being more specific on what I wanted will become a natural habit. Some things are starting to stick but some are a work in progress. I will update in a few weeks how things are going.

Hope you have an amazing weekend 🙂

xoxo,
Jenn

Style, Uncategorized

Weekly Finds + Reads

December 4, 2021December 5, 2021by jenninspirationLeave a Comment

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This entire week I’ve been unsubscribing to TONS of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. The constant notifications gave me a slight headache because I had mass emails throughout the day. I did look through a few e-mails but I didn’t find anything intriguing that made me want it immediately.

Through out the week, I did find some clothes, makeup and other accessories that I wish I can wear for the cold season. The weather in Hawaii has been getting colder here, and I’m loving every single minute of it!

I used to own the Kate Spade necklace years ago until I lost it. It was my personal favorite necklace to wear everyday. I love wearing cardigans throughout the year. This brown cardigan is something I would buy because I love the style and cut of it.

I’m currently using cocokind’s tumeric spot treatment for the past month. I absolutely love how it treats my dark spots and unclogs my pores! I use it every other night for about half an hour then wash it off and go into my skincare routine.

To end this week on a good note, I finished reading Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. I’d give it 9/10. It was a great page turner but I wished the end lasted a few more chapters! Anyways, here are a few other articles I’ve read throughout the week.

Hope you have an amazing rest of your weekend!

xoxo,
Jenn

Summer Lookbook ’21

September 22, 2021September 23, 2021by jenninspirationLeave a Comment

Girl wearing yellow ribbed midi dress and holding chained cream shoulder bag

Girl standing, holding glasses up, wearing sleeveless cream top and cream white wide leg jeans

Style, Uncategorized

3 tips to shopping on thredUP

September 15, 2021September 16, 2021by jenninspiration2 Comments

Happy Wednesday! It’s been awhile that I last posted on my blog. I post frequently on Instagram. I want to start shifting gears towards blogging and creating more than just an Instagram post.

Anyways, we are halfway through the month of September and can’t believe the year has gone by so quickly! As the fall season is approaching, I wanted to give you my insight on shopping at thredUP.

thredUP is one of the largest online platforms to shop and clean out your closet. They process and recirculate clothes, giving them a second chance to live through someone’s wardrobe, and offsetting the environment with thrifty prices.

I’ve always had trouble finding dresses and bags at the actual thrift store. Every time I thought I found a nice dress or a cute bag, there was always minor flaws that made me put the item back. With thredUP, it was quite easy to browse through their inventory and quickly identify flaws of each item!

Here are some tips that you can use while you shop on thredUP:

Add the items you truly love into your cart
This gives you the window of opportunity to hold onto the item, much longer, before anyone else can purchase it. It’s similar to someone holding on your items behind the counter. They allow you to hold onto the items for about 8 hours until it goes back up for sale.

This also gives you more time to continue browsing through their inventory. If you are unsure about getting the item, this helps with decision-making rather than buying it on an impulse.

I had over 15 items in my cart at once because I wasn’t sure if I wanted all of them. I was able to narrow down to some of these items. Take a look at the bundle I’ve put together. I was truly happy with my small bundle!

USE FILTERS, CATEROGIES, AND OTHER FUNCTIONS TO MAKE SHOPPING EASIER!
The filters helped navigate through their website very easily. By using the search bar, I typed in my favorite brands or keywords and placed my price ranger under $50. thredUP’s search engine quickly narrowed down their inventory and gave me a better gist of what I needed to buy.

Although the price range under $50 seem higher, it still gives me the advantage of picking out from related items that pops up!

Here’s an example of how I found the Free People floral blouse (as shown above), type in “Free People crop blouse” and select the price range from $0-$50.

I found good thrifts on their platform in less than hour. If it wasn’t for search filters, I would be lost LOL!

Blogger wearing floral crop blouse and white denim shorts from thredUP — I’m wearing a floral crop off shoulder blouse and white denim shorts from Free People via thredUP.

BUY OFF SEASON!
The reason behind buying off season is because people are more likely to get rid of their clothes before the new season! You’ll also have a better chance of viewing the selection first and getting dibs on the best thrift finds.

People are donating their clothes before the new season i.e. right before summer ends, or after the fall season ends, etc! I was already searching for kimono styles. I came across this Forever 21 floral kimono and it was marked as new with tags. I snagged this up towards the end of August. I’m so happy to add it to my capsule wardrobe.

Blogger standing in front of tree with brown floral kimono, brown top, and brown ribbed wide leg pants from thredUP — Both the kimono and wide leg pants are from Forever 21. The floral print kimono was listed as new with tags on thredUP and the brown ribbed wide leg pants was from a local garage sale.

Have you shopped at thredUP? If you did, let me know what was your experience like and what thrift finds you purchased!

If you haven’t shopped yet, I have a small discount coupon you can use at your first purchase. The link is available here to check out.

Thank you for reading and hope you find this helpful when you shop at thredUP!

xoxo,

Jenn

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PM Skincare Routine

May 7, 2021May 7, 2021by jenninspiration1 Comment

I wanted to share with you today about my PM skincare routine. I honestly enjoy my PM routine more because I have a good amount of time to spend compared to my mornings. My mornings are usually rushed and packed with multiple things to do before heading out the door.

I switched many products in and out of my PM skincare routine because I have combination skin; both oily and dry. My T-zone is mostly oily and the rest of my face is dry. My skin is also prone to acne and I easily breakout. It really depends on the weather and my hormones.

Since I live in Hawaii, my skin does struggle with the humidity and the sun here. I hope this will help with anyone who is struggling with combination skin. Let’s get into it further down below! 🙂

Cleansing: I start by using I Dew Care Melting Makeup Remover Balm. This is a balm to oil cleanser that helps with taking off my makeup, removing dirt off, and also dislodging hard to remove products off my skin. After rinsing off, I would double cleanse by using Cocokind Oil to Milk Cleanser. I love how Cocokind cleanser is very gentle on my skin, and does not strip off any moisture. It seals in the moisture which makes my skin so soft!
Tone: After my skin is clean and clear, I tone it with Good Molecules Niacinamide Brightening Toner. I like to place the toner on my hands and pat it all over my face. This toner tremulously helps with my uneven skin tone and brightening it up.
Eye Cream: I live for Cocokind Revitalizing Eye Cream! After discovering their eye cream, I was so impressed that it helped with brightening up my dark circles. My dark circles don’t appear as bad as it used to be. It also has a slanted application tip. It makes it easier to gently place on my skin and helps control of not overusing the product.
Serum: I use different serums however I’ve been loving the COSRX Propolis Light Ampoule. It feels a little bit sticky to me on certain areas of my face however it helps with stressed skin and reducing redness. It helps hydrating dry parts of my skin as well.
Moisturize: I also use different types of moisturizers. Lately I’ve been reaching for Cocokind Texture Smoothing Cream. It has truly improved my skin texture and skin tone. When I first read about their perception consumer study that after 4 weeks of using this cream, there are true and amazing results. I had to try it myself! I definitely agree that it is more compatible with breakouts and my skin also has a satin finish. I highly recommend this to anyone who has both oily and dry skin like me!