WA N D E R H O U R

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links and I may receive a commission. As always, opinions are of my own. 

My Top 5 Books to Read in Quarantine

Globally, it seems like most of us are all on lockdown for the time being. Today marks what should have been the last day of the Stay-at-Home orders for Hawaii but our Governor has extended it till May 31st. Meaning, I may or may not have more time to do the things I didn’t have time to do before.

Reading is one of my favorite things to do and I haven’t had the time to read as much as I wanted to this year due to wedding planning. Now, I have a lot more time on my hands as some of you might have as well and I wanted to share my top 5 books to read during quarantine if you’re looking to pick up a new book:

The Alchemist

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is such a magical book. In fact, I’m going to tell you why it’s so magical. A friend of mine, Sylvia (check out her website!) wrote on her Instagram stories how she loved the book and I took a mental note that I needed to buy it so I can read it for the upcoming new year (it was the end of December). I remember it being a Sunday and I told myself, “I forgot to check the mail yesterday!”.

So I went to check the mailbox in our lobby and found a little package. I wasn’t expecting a package so I opened it and found a note from my best friend and guess what was inside the package? The Alchemist! And you’re going to have the read the book to find exactly why that is magical.

I read the Alchemist every January 1st to start off the New Year right. Not that this year is going 100% BUT it puts my mindset into a better space. A mindset knowing that life may not exactly go as planned (like this year) but there might be a silver lining to it.

Pachinko

I read Pachinko by Min Jin Lee exactly two years ago and it was probably one of the fastest I’ve ever read a book. At almost 500 pages, I managed to read the entirety of this book in 3 days. It was one of those books I could not stop reading. It would be 9 PM and then next thing you know, it’s 4 AM! At the time, I was especially drawn to it since the book was set in Osaka and I had just spent a few days in Osaka the same month I started this book. It felt like I could place myself in the book while reading it. And if you need more convincing, President Obama put Pachinko on his 2019 Book recommendation list!

Shoe Dog

Another book that I read in 2018 (2018 was definitely the year of amazing books!), Shoe Dog is a book you must read especially if you’re a Nike fan! It was written by Phil Knight, the founder of Nike and it’s a memoir about starting the company. The grit and tenacity Phil Knight had during the early years of starting the company make my struggles seem minuscule and push me to do better. Such a great book!

The Tipping Point

Any book from Malcolm Gladwell is (insert clapping emoji) and The Tipping Point is no exception. Such a great book that you can apply to yourself especially in business (still in search of my tipping point). He explores what makes something “viral” or “trending” and analyzes it through examples. This was another one of those books that I just couldn’t put down.

Broke Millennial

I decided to join Charles and head off to a different side of the island while he was at a meeting once. I picked up Broke Millennial by Erin Lowry last year and thoroughly enjoyed it! If you’ve been reading a lot of personal finance and self-help books, this book pretty much reiterates what most books preach but I’m fond of reading books over and over just to cement the ideas and suggestions onto my mind. This book is much more recent and I would recommend this particular book for people my age (in my 30s).

Summarizing my top 5 books makes me want to read all 5 again and I might do so since I finished one of my projects just awhile ago. I’m probably going to start with The Alchemist so I can try to understand this unusual season we are all going through. Anyway, I’m linking my Good Reads profile in case you’re wondering what other books I’ve read, currently reading, or books on my “To Read” list:

My Good Reads Profile

Shop My Top 5 Books Here:

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links and I may receive a commission when you use them. As always, opinions are of my own. 

The Wedding List

Charles and I finally got married after 17 years! Even though we’re living through some uncertainty right now, I figured I still share about the wedding. I decided to keep most things under wraps throughout the wedding planning process so that it would be a surprise at the wedding and sure enough, it came out beautiful!

The Wedding Dress

For my wedding dress, I chose this Monique Lhuillier Ballgown with an Asymmetrical Bow. A stunning dress indeed! It has a plunging neckline and a low back with an asymmetrical bow. I had a detachable train but I kept it on the entire night because the time just went by so fast! Bustling my dress was just not an option.

I’ve always wanted a bow on my dress and this was perfect! And I love how the wedding dress draped in the back because of the detachable train. Ugh can’t wait to wear it again (I plan to wear it when quarantine is over before I dry clean it!).

I’ll get to the whole wedding dress process in another post.

Monique Lhuillier Bow Back Satin Wedding Dress

The Dance Party Dress

Although I wore my Monique Lhuillier dress throughout the ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner and through the program, I switch into this ASOS dress that complimented my wedding dress (and at a fraction of the cost) during the dance party.

My mom was a bit wary about me buying a second dress and thought my Monique Lhuillier was enough but I warned her that with all the dancing going on, I’m probably going to be clumsy and spill drinks on myself (or someone else spilling drinks on me). I’d rather mess up this dress than my wedding dress and sure enough, my wedding dress was safe from spills as I did ended up spilling drinks on myself from running around lol.

ASOS Edition Bow Back Bandeau Wedding Dress

The Wedding Band

For my wedding band, I wanted something dainty with a little sparkle and chose this Petite Diamond Band from Vrai. I ordered it in yellow gold and the pavé is only on half the ring (Charles was adamant that people weren’t going to see the diamonds on the other half haha). I bought it last year and they are now retiring this design so they only have a few sizes left.

Coupled with my oval diamond solitaire engagement ring, this Petite Diamond Band adds just enough sparkle without overdoing it. I definitely recommend it if you’re looking for a dainty wedding band with sparkles!

Vrai Petite Diamond Band

The Shoes

I wore two pairs of shoes for the wedding. For the ceremony, I wore the Isabelle Sandals from Reformation. They were comfortable at first and then became unbearable after standing on them for a while during photos after the ceremony.

Luckily, I bought these pumps from Revolve. The brand is called Alumnae and it helped me get through the whole reception! I ended up being barefoot as the night ended.

Reformation Isabelle Sandals || Alumnae V Line Pump

The Earrings

I wanted my earrings to not overwhelm my dress and found these perfect pearl earrings from Jennifer Behr. They’re simple and elegant and truly complimented my wedding dress.

Jennifer Behr Gabriella Earrings

The Veil

For the veil, I wanted something simple but super dramatic. This imperial length Cassandra veil from Noon on the Moon was the perfect veil to add drama to my otherwise, simple and elegant dress. Unfortunately, our wedding day was super windy and it was hard to tame for the most part but oh my did it make for gorgeous photos (and our wedding video was just stunning when my veil flew!)

The blusher was floor length and the veil was about 12.5 feet!

Noon on the Moon Cassandra Veil

The Robe

I didn’t get the chance to take photos with this one (I just wore a dress that I wore in the morning for breakfast with my bridesmaids and mother). Since I didn’t get a chance to take photos with it, I plan to take photos of it in a Parisian apartment for our honeymoon one day when this pandemic has passed.

Homebodii Camela Robe

The Cake Knife and Server Set

As with everything with the wedding, I wanted something modern, simple, and elevated for our cake knife and server set and found these at BHLDN. I plan to keep it for future cakes and maybe pass it on to our future kids!

Two Tone Cake Server Set

And that rounds up my wedding details post! Overall, I absolutely loved everything about our wedding: from the venue, our vendors, the details, our guests; feeling absolutely lucky to have had the opportunity to get married given the circumstances. Our honeymoon to Europe, Japan, and Tahiti has been postponed for the time being but it definitely prolongs the after-wedding bliss!

Wishing you all safe and a healthy week!

Lisa Says Gah Linen Dress, H&M Headband, Target Bow, and Zara Heels

Holiday Outfit

The holiday season calls for festive outfits but it doesn’t always mean breaking the bank! With Christmas coming up as well as our wedding, we’re pinching pennies on unnecessary buys. I’m pretty resourceful when it comes to creating something with what I have.

You can totally recreate this outfit, easy peasy! Just get a red dress (one that you already have or head to a thrift store to buy one!). I’ve had this Lisa Says Gah Topanga Midi Dress that I wear occasionally and bought it last year! Here’s an outfit post I did earlier this year with the dress (http://www.wanderhour.com/2019/02/red-dress.html). I wore it with my nude Zara heels that I’ve had since 2013. Buy an extra large bow at Target for $5. They have several sizes and I got the biggest one and in gold (a big, red bow was a runner up). I’ve been pretty big on the headband trend right now and bought a plain, velvet headband last month. With the headband, slide it through the inside of the white tab with the sticky part. You can adjust it however you’d like. Throw on some heels and red lips and you have a festive outfit!

Best part of this outfit is that you can reuse the bow on a gift or save it for next year. The headband is an all year round accessory and you can wear the same red dress throughout the year! The only “new” part of my outfit is the bow which was $5!

Hope you all enjoyed this easy, peasy holiday outfit inspiration!