A Cup of Kristina: May 2017

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Easy Homemade Face Scrub (Just 2 Ingredients!!)

I should be studying for my finals right now but...
blogging sounds way better!!

So today, while I was about to get into the shower, I realized I ran out of my usual store-bought face scrub. I depend on my face scrub for literally everything. It is the element that replenishes my life-beaten face every day. What to do?

Then an idea occurred to me. I took a course some years ago where I learned how to make all sorts of herbal homemade cosmetic products, and one of the things we did was make a hand scrub out of salt, olive oil, and an essential oil. What if I could make a homemade face scrub to replace my usual scrub?

I looked up recipes online, and found that the first to pop up was from the website Homemade for Elle. There, I found this super-simple recipe for an exfoliating scrub:

1 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp sugar

*I increased the ratio to get more product*

That's it! I decided to try it out and...

It worked out great! It was much smoother than my regular face scrub and it did not leave my face dry at all. It smells so good, felt so cool, and worked as a great makeup-remover! Not to mention it also tasted delicious;)

Did you guys like this DIY recipe? I'm thinking of adding a category to my blog about me making and experimenting different homemade body products.

Sunday, May 28, 2017

Book Review: Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

Inspired by the true story of Eyam, a village in Derbyshire, England, Year of Wonders tells the tale of the plague of 1665 as recalled through the protagonist, an eighteen year-old housemaid, Anna Frith. When a box of cloths carrying the bubonic plague arrives to the small village from London, villagers begin to die from the disease rapidly. The young and visionary rector of the village, Mr. Mompellion, puts into effect a plan of quarantine for the village – this means no one can enter or leave the village. Anna encounters several hardships alongside the deaths of the ones she loves: unconventional love, ill common beliefs, and unjust imposed societal standards. As the death toll rises in the village, people lose their sanity. Anna watches as witch-hunting, satanic rituals, and even flagellantism takes over the community. As catastrophe falls upon the village, Anna emerges as an unlikely and brave heroine who takes it upon herself to become the support for the villagers.

Geraldine Brooks creates an intense ambience throughout the book. The story encompasses several matured-audience topics, such as death, sex, and inhumane customs (although historically accurate). The exploration of these topics as well as revisiting a riveting moment in history through the use of extensive details creates a dark, yet realistic tone. It all the more establishes the story told by Anna as that of a real story. Brooks provides the reader with a range of Anna’s emotional feelings, though never presenting them as over-the-top: this fit my taste perfectly because I do not enjoy narrations that are overdramatized. One theme that can be found in Year of Wonders that I particularly liked was that of breaking the social standards of the time (what historical fiction novel doesn’t have this?). Anna comes from a poor family with a bad reputation: her father is a drunkard and her step mother thinks nothing of her. She lived a childhood filled with abuse, and married at the age of fifteen as a means to leave her household. Despite her situation, which was not uncommon for many young girls during the time period, she manages to receive an education at the rectory, learning how to read and gaining knowledge over several matters. Anna goes through a drastic change in character: from not having an identity to finding her role in life, Anna transforms into a strong woman. In fact, near the end of the novel, when Mr. Mompellion confesses to her about his loss in faith to God and his insensitive acts, she states, “I understood that where Michael Mompellion had been broken by our sheared ordeal, in equal measure I had been tempered and made strong” (Brooks, 274). This makes the reader applaud for Anna throughout the whole of the book.

I absolutely loved this book. It contains a story filled with love, struggles, and learning, all connected to a historical event that impacted many during the 17^th era. Brooks combines history with relatable conflicts into an unforgettable read. I would recommend this book to history lovers, hopeless romantics, and anyone who doesn’t mind a little drama or matured thematic concepts.

This book may not be for all people, especially considering its slow beginning, but it is action-packed in its own, 17th century English way (it has an unpredictable and exciting ending!!).

I give it 4.5/5 stars.

Throwback to 2 Summers Ago!

Summer is almost here.

Now, every time I think of summer, I think of one particular summer. It was the summer of my lifetime. The summer where I felt the most free. The summer I made so many beautiful memories that I will never forget.

That was two years ago, and though that may seem like a long time, to my mundane teenage-life it isn't. I was fourteen years old, and I was beyond blessed to have been given the opportunity by my dad to travel across Europe -- with only my sixteen-year-old cousin this time.

Since I created this blog recently, I felt the need to not miss out on posting about such an adventure.

So, here is a basic timeline of the most interesting summer of my life:

My dad told me I would finally get the chance to see my cousin Carmen, who lived in France. Someone must have listened to my prayers, I thought, because I had wanted to see Carmen and the rest of my family for a long time, but had never thought my dreams would be fulfilled. I also got an iPhone, despite my dad's discouraging words of "Yeah, you're going to get the iPhone 20 when it comes out" every time I asked for an iPhone (which I did a lot that year).
With my dad, we flew to the airport of Munich, Germany, then to Lyon, France. There, we met up with Carmen's family. Just as we were getting to know more about each other (I hadn't seen Carmen since I was 6), we were on our way to a week-long sailing camp in the Mediterranean. Although I was not fluent in French at all, I managed to meet some new people and make friends.
After we got back to Lyon from the sailing camp, Carmen and I set off to Stuttgart, Germany, to visit our cousin from our dads' side, Nico. Germany was so much fun! When Nico and his boyfriend went off to work, Carmen and I had the city to ourselves. So we did what any tourist would do: we explored.
After the week-end trip to Germany, I met up with my dad (who had been working in Italy) back in France, where we traveled to Marseille to visit family from my mom's side. Then, we went to Switzerland to visit my cousins Ana and Noe.

When I arrived back home, it was time for me to go to marching band summer camp.