What's on My Bookshelf

It has been a while sorry everyone. It's exam season right now so making a full blog post crossed my mind but never actually fictionalized the way I wanted it to. However here is post to detail what's going on with me. By the way I hope everyone's Thanksgiving holiday went well :)

What I am currently reading (in between school books of course)

I have been on a feminine/feminist/luxury kick lately. Anything that alludes to these subjects with words like prestigious, courtesans, femininity, love, lifestyle, and all. So little by little over the past few months I have been collecting (checking out) books from my campus library. Now like a good student I have to have them all read and returned by December 30, 2014. The books on my bookshelf now are going to nurture and nourish me over the winter break.

The first time I heard of Anaïs Nin's diary was on tumblr. Anaïs Nin is regarded as a eroticist and short story writer and gained popularity in the 1960s. From what I am told her best books are her journals. So here I go diving into the depths of the mind of Anaïs Nin. I came across Pablo Neruda by the way of Joan Clayton from the show Girlfriends. I immediately loved him right then and there. Sonnet XI (I crave Your Mouth, Your Voice, Your Hair) is full of wonderful lust and passion, but its so earnest and conceptual. I wonder, at what point in love, must one be to eagerly desire to consume the entirety of another person, (metaphorically of course). I believe arising early in the morning to read a book of Pablo Neruda's poetry is just divine. Nothing starts off a good morning like a good book of poetry and  warm cup of tea.
Diane Von Furstenberg's quotes resonate really very deeply with me. "I didn't always know what I wanted to do, but I knew the kind of woman I wanted to become." "The most important relationship in your life is the relationship you have with yourself. Because no matter what happens, you will always be with yourself." So I had to read her autobiography and find out how Diane became Diane Von Furstenberg. I was told by a friend when observing a guy to pay attention to the liquor he buys and the watches he wears. I don't care for liquor since I hardly ever drink but watches are something special. Why are watches soooo damn expensive. Its all in the timepiece I tell you. Over the summer I went with a friend to the Omega store and stayed for about an hour. It was wonderful just being surrounded by luxurious watches and having the store clerk explain the history of the Omega brand.
Courtesans are the ultimate modern feminist women. They were able to have lives outside of the confinements to the house. They traveled, worked alongside men, sexed men without grief, and were integral to the arts of their culture. I want to learn the ways of a courtesan in regards to seduction, art of good conversation (hence good poetry books), the art of charm, and overall just mastering the arts of capturing and holding a man's interest and desire. However I don't have rose-colored spectacles on, so I'm well aware of what a courtesan was and how they were treated by others in society. A courtesan by definition was(is) an upper class prostitute. At that point int time and history I admire courtesans for what they achieved as women who were straddled with society's constraints. From what I find throughout most of history in majority of documented cultures women who went against the grain were women who made history. Hence why I also have Laurel Thatcher's book in my book shelf.

Of course learning the ways of famous courtesans is apart of learning experience, but what about love? Calling in the One seems to be a promising book to help me open up my heart and let love in. I know sounds very cliche and cheesy right. I actually have faith in this book, because it appears to honestly help women come at peace with herself and be of self-acceptance. With self-acceptance is not much easier to accept good love. It's true "we accept the love we believe we deserve." I know it's an exhaustive list of books, but hey these topics were on my mind. So here's to Winter reading ^_^ Are there any books on your bookshelf that you are itching to read?

Daily Habit of Journaling

"An unexamined life is not worth living" - Socrates

Recording your life on paper eternalizes your essence. You are saying to the world and to yourself that you matter. Though your body now decayed, your thoughts live on forever. With that being said journaling also directly forces you to examine your life. By journaling you are having an inner dialogue with yourself that you can reflect on every time you open your journal. 

I will be journaling early in the morning before the sun rises. This will help me to clear my conscious and evaluate my life more effectively. I can not possibly think of a better way to start the day than to have a warm cup of tea, soothing music or just silence, and a pen to eternalize my thoughts to paper. Since I have a few books to spare I will use 3 noteboks. One book for a free hand thoughts, one book for weekly reflections and improvements, and another journal for quotes/affirmations/gratitude thoughts that resonate with me.

Positive effects of journaling:

• becoming more self aware
• helping to understand your own point of view 
• help recover from emotional turmoil
• record daily happenings
• your creativity 
• writing becomes more effortless 
• improve mental clarity and self-esteem

Different Types of Journals:

• personal growth (self-love )
• dream records
• gratitude book
• free hand 
• travel journal

Admiring Other Women

"I admire other women's beauty. It makes me want to be the best version of myself."

I read this comment sometime a while ago and it has always stuck with me. Perhaps it is because I so much believe in the truth of it, at least for myself. I have always been amazed and mesmerized by other women's beauty whether it's in her style of dress, her graceful movements, beautification of her hair, etc. all of it reveling in femininity and sensuality. I most wholeheartedly believe in always complimenting other women :) One may never know how far a positive comment may brighten someway's day. In fact its the moments when I feel a bit down and out of place that a compliment by another women lifts my spirits immensely.

Admiring another women's beauty is akin to admiring another flower that has come to full bloom So here is a small collection of women I admire for their beauty, style, and presence. Every time I see such photos I feel even more inspired to adorn my hair in gold trinkets, wear my staple kitten heels, paint my nails a seductive red or a feminine coral pink, mist the air around me in a cloud of sweet perfume, and start the day just right :)

For my readers, are their any pictures of women you admire that makes you want to be the best version of yourself? If so please post away in the 
comments section :)  

Modern Pinup model Angelique Noire

Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai

Actress Kerry Washington

Gossip Girl Stars Blair & Serena

Actress Madeleine Mantock

Singer Janelle Monae

Silent Film Actress Clara Bow

Brazilian Model Isabel Correa

Singer Corinne Bailey Rae

Black Woman wearing a Turban

Actress Lupita N'yongo

That Girl Challenge

That Girl Challenge:                                           

"You are the finest,loveliest, tenderest,and most beautifulperson I have ever known -and even thatis an understatement."- F. Scott Fitzergerald

I truly believe in feeling wonderful everyday if you want to be productive everyday. The old saying goes if you look good you feel good. So with that said I joined a thread around January on a forum I frequent called That Girl Challenge. The premise of the challenge revolves around being THAT Girl. Well who is that girl one must ask? For me personally, that girl is ... one who looks well put together everyday. She has a long lovey and soft mane of hair, with subtle to moderately applied but effective makeup that compliments her features, and perfectly painted nails everyday. She is that girl who knows when to wear the right clothes at the right time for the right occasion. She inherently believes in the phrase "Dressing well is just good manners". That girl is also very well poised, elegant, and generally just graceful all around.

Now please don't get me wrong I believe That Girl isn't only radiantly beautiful on the outside but beautiful and highly knowledgeable on the inside. That Girl is well versed on current, past, and future events and world history. From my standpoint That Girl respects and I curious of other cultures and their histories and politics. She delights in acquiring new knowledge whether it relates to her studies or not. That girl is just all around polished on all levels: beauty, brains, and all. On my blog I will update weekly on my That Girl Challenge. Stay tuned ^_^
                                                                                                                                                                 

That Girl is... Pretty, feminine, and angelic like.

That Girl is...Lovely, beautiful, and always alluring

That Girl is...has a great skincare regimen
 with attention to natural and modern techniques

 

That Girl is... has luscious, soft, bouncy, and springy natural curls and kinks

   

That Girl is...has a marvelous sense of fashion

That Girl is...is Healthy & Fit Shape

                       

                                    That Girl is... has glowing, youthful, even toned brown skin

"How a Woman Walks" - Zora Howard

"Walk Like a Woman, did with the suns of a nation complacent in the crook of your neck." - Zora Howard.

Zora Howard is a Black American writer, spoken word poet, and activist with roots in Harlem, New York. Ms. Howard I believe has given phenomenal contributions to modern American poetry and writing. Ms. Howard is also the youngest NYC Youth Poet Laureate.

At some point in my last years of high school I discovered Zora Howard's spoken word performances on YouTube, stumbling upon her video "Walking" as an introduction to her. Mind you when I found her spoken word videos in high school she was only a few years older than me, but her words and voice commanded an age that was far beyond who I saw on the video. Ms.Howard's poetry is heart tugging, engaging, and is heavily sprinkled with biting metaphors that linger in my head for hours on end. I IMPLORE YOU to to set aside time to watch her videos without any distractions. I find my favorite spoken word video by Ms.Howard to be Walking. I can replay that particular video over and over without any hesitation. Every time I hear Zora Howard perform her spoken word piece Walking I want to reach out to every black woman and man and just simply bring them closer towards me and simply hug them. Ms. Howard speaks on everything I have always felt and spoke on but says it with such power and her voice commands great attention.

The main reason I want to show people this particular video are for these lines in particular that really spoke to me.

• Every night since I was nine my daddy told me I really was an angel 
• He mad me promise to always walk like a woman did,
• Carry your divinity in your chin, and try not to trip, walk hard little angel 
• If you lifted your eyes from her breasts maybe you would see your sister in her face and hear her heart trying to break free
• Teach them how to soldiers but never fathers
• We teach them how to be gangstas but when are they going to find time how to dream

Little Black girls you all are angels, every single one of you. Every little girl deserves to be told she is an angel, especially by her father or any other prominent male figure in her life. She deserves the showering kisses of love and attention from her father. As women I truly believe we carry our divinity in our chin as 

Ms.Howard says. Black women and Black men we deserve better, so much better. However this post I want to really speak to Black women when I say this: Promise to always walk like a woman did ... and carry your divinity in your chin.