Where did I go?

If you've followed my blog, you know I post Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays... and that last Thursday's post, as well as this Wednesday and Thursday's posts did not go up.


I've been a little unmotivated lately. I'm going to be honest about it, and say I hope that it comes back around. But for now, I'm taking a little break from the three day a week posting, and my about me will reflect that.
I've been busy at work, busy in my personal life, and just tired in general.

I want to give every post my all, and I feel like I can't right now. Hopefully it will come back, soon, though!


Thanks for being patient with me. Hopefully I'll be able to get some new blogs going soon!

BATR Book Club: True Believer by Nicholas Sparks

Description from Goodreads: Jeremy Marsh is the ultimate New Yorker: handsome, almost always dressed in black, and part of the media elite. An expert on debunking the supernatural with a regular column in "Scientific American," he's just made his first appearance on national TV. When he receives a letter from the tiny town of Boone Creek, North Carolina, about ghostly lights that appear in a legend-shrouded cemetery, he can't resist driving down to investigate. Here, in this tightly knit community, Lexie Darnell runs the town's library, just as her mother did before the accident that left Lexie an orphan. Disappointed by past relationships, including one that lured her away from home, she is sure of one thing: her future is in Boone Creek, close to her grandmother and all the other people she loves. Jeremy expects to spend a quick week in "the sticks" before speeding back to the city. But from the moment he sets eyes on Lexie, he is intrigued and attracted to this beautiful woman who speaks with a soft drawl and confounding honesty. And Lexie, while hesitating to trust this outsider, finds herself thinking of Jeremy more than she cares to admit. Now, if they are to be together, Jeremy Marsh must make a difficult choice: return to the life he knows, or do something he's never done before--take a giant leap of faith. A story about taking chances and following your heart, True Believer will make you, too, believe in the miracle of love.



It has been a long time since I read a Nicholas Sparks book. Mostly because I figured they are all the same- they fall in love, and someone dies. Or is dying. But when I saw this in a bag of books my aunt was getting ready to donate to the library, something drew me to it. So I grabbed my phone, and read some reviews. And then talked to my Aunt. She said "nobody dies in this one." So I decided to give it a shot.

It's a cute story. There's a little mystery with the lights in the cemetary, and I thought for a minute that the man that had a crush of Lexie would cause major problems, but nothing really happened. As a matter of fact, nothing really happened. They fell in love, and then, a miracle.

I will say the "miracle" aspect of this story did tick me off just a bit. You discover something about Jeremy in the book that is not something that you hear a lot about in books. And it made me sad but did excite me a little- it still gives the couple an obstacle. But, by the end of the story, it's not anymore. And it just made me go "Okay, that's nice, but really?"


I gave this book 3 stars on Goodreads. It was cute enough, and I might give more Sparks' books a try, but I won't be re-reading or thinking about this book after now.
However, there is a sequel, and I want to check it out because the reviews aren't as good. Is that weird? Probably. But since there is an additional part of Jeremy and Lexie's story, I want to know it.



You can get this book for your Kindle here, or a physical copy here.


Disclosure: I borrowed this book from my great aunt. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This post contains amazon affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

Lush D'Fluff Shaving Soap Review

 

How To Use: Wet your skin and apply a generous amount of shaving soap. For best results, let it sink into your skin for 3-5 minutes before you begin to shave. Shave the desired area, rinsing your razor frequently under hot water to eliminate excess soap and stubble. Finish off with a moisturizer for smooth, soothed skin.

How It Works: When you’ve had enough of the rough stuff, there’s D’Fluff! This fluffy, sweet shaving soap will have you dreaming of Strawberry Fluff sandwiches while you shave. It’s packed full of effective ingredients: fresh strawberries, egg whites and golden syrup, all whisked together with rosehip oil, coconut oil and maple sugar to create a light, marshmallowy texture that will leave your skin silky smooth. Plus, Fair Trade cocoa butter leaves skin moisturized and helps keep post-shave redness to a minimum.

Initial Impressions: I think I used too much of this the first time I used this- it got my razor kind of gunked up, and it seemed like I needed so much. But it did give me a super close shave, and left my skin feeling so unbelievably soft. Everywhere I shaved, it was the same.

Final Impressions: I LOVE this product! Once I finally got down how much I really needed to use, and how long to kind of wait for it to sink in (about 30 seconds to a minute), I wanted to shave every single day, but I didn't need to. I found myself able to go longer between shaves, but my skin was still smooth. It never made my skin feel irritated, at all. Overall, this is a huge win of a product, and I highly recommend it!

You can purchase this product here, or purchase it from your local Lush store.

FTC: This product was purchased by me with my own money. No affiliate links have been used.

BATR Book Club: Top Secret Twenty-One (Stephanie Plum #21) by Janet Evanovich

I rated this book 3 stars on Goodreads, and I'm being generous.

I just am getting really tired of the same old, same old. And it doesn't seem like it's going to change any time soon.
If you're familiar with one Plum novel, you're familiar with them all. And I'm still reading them, because I want to see it end eventually and her end up with someone (or even no one!), but it's getting boring. Someone blows up her car. She sleeps with Morelli and thinks about sleeping with Ranger. She has trouble with even the most basic bonds catch, and most often, that person is naked.

It's just the same book.

The sad thing is that I will keep reading these novels, as long as she keeps writing them. Because I keep hoping for something different. And there is a good way to do a series novel, but this isn't really it.



Have any questions or want to talk about the book? Discuss below!

You can get this book for your Kindle here, or a physical copy here. Or you can pick it up from your local library, like I did!


Disclosure: I borrowed this book from my local library. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This post contains amazon affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

Ulta Haul #1

I decided to place an order at Ulta.com- the Naked2Basics had just come out, I needed a new thing of Too Faced Shadow Insurance to have as a back up (plus, it was 1/2 off that day, thanks to Ulta's 21 Days of Beauty!), and there were a couple of other things I wanted to get with my $3.50 off of $10.00 for the month.



I am almost out of my Biore Charcoal Cleanser, and that is now a must-have item for me, so I had to pick it up. I also wanted to try the Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Body Wash because I've heard it's great for dry skin, and my skin has felt super parched. I also picked up a black eyeliner from Ulta. It's not waterproof, and the one I'm used to is, so I'm reserving judgement on it until after I open it, but I'm not opening it until after my other one is used up.

And I almost always opt to get the variety sampler, and this is what I got. I just put it with my other samples I get like this, to try out "one day".


I am intrigued by the Deodorant Wipe, though.


FTC: All products have been purchased by me with my own money.

Agave Smoothing Haircare Trio Review

How To Use: Warm a dime-sized dab of oil between your palms and distribute it throughout damp hair evenly, from roots to ends. Air dry for a natural look, or blow dry for a sleeker style. And don't stop there- this also doubles as a hydrating body oil!

How It Works: The amino sugars in agave soothe damaged hair and infuse it with moisture. This fragrant healing oil treatment is also packed with plenty of other natural conditioning ingredients to keep hair soft and sleek: vanilla, coconut, and baobab seed oil, to name a few. And it’s free of the stuff that’s not so good for your locks: parabens, sulfates, and phthalates.

Initial Impressions: I'm not super impressed with this shampoo and conditioner. I absolutely loved the hair oil by itself when I first received it in my March 2014 Birchbox, but combined with the system, I'm not really as into it. The shampoo really doesn't feel like it's getting my hair clean, and the conditioner doesn't feel like it's conditioning- my hair feels so dry after using this. I'm going to keep trying it, but so far, I'm just glad I only wasted my Birchbox Points and not actual money.

Final Impressions: My final impressions are the same as my first impressions- I didn't like the trio of products at all. I started using the shampoo and conditioner with different things after, or nothing at all, and it was the same thing. This did absolutely nothing for my hair, didn't make it feel softer or shinier, and I never felt like my hair was "sleek". Maybe this would be better for someone with a different texture of hair than mine, but for my fine, thin hair, this is worthless.
I will say, though, that I am still in love with the hair oil. I used it with a different shampoo/conditioner combo, and it does all the things it used to do for my hair that made me love it. So, clearly, the only loser here is the shampoo and conditioner.

You can purchase this product here.

FTC: This product was purchased with Birchbox points received by providing reviews for products received in my Birchbox subsciption box, which is purchased by me with my own money.

There have been no affiliate links used in this post.

Whish Shave Crave Shaving Cream - Acai Grapefruit Review

How To Use: Apply to legs, armpits, or bikini line before you shave.

How It Works: A moisturizing base of omega-rich squalene, organic shea butter, jojoba oil, and coconut oil protects against the redness and irritation associated with shaving, while organic green tea extracts infuse skin with antioxidants.

Initial Impressions: I felt like I had to use so much of this to shave one leg. I wasn't a fan of the texture (it's pretty much just a lotion), and I didn't feel like it moisturized any different than any other shave lotion.

Final Impressions: This is definitely not worth the price. ($20.00 for 150ml? No Thanks!) In reading the reviews on the Birchbox website, it seems like I'm alone, but I didn't feel like this was anything special. I have sensitive skin and get a little redness with shaving, but there was no difference between this and my skintimate shaving cream. It also clogged my razor up quite a bit, so I didn't feel like I got a really smooth shave (and I was rinsing after every single pass with the razor). So, basically, I didn't like this, and will never purchase it.

But I guess if you want to, after reading your own reviews on the Birchbox website, you can purchase this product here.

FTC: This product was purchased by me with my own money. No affiliate links have been used in this post.

What's In My Makeup Bag? (As of October 7th, 2014)

Face products! (same as last month!)


Single eye products (Here Kitty, Kitty and Queen Phyllis by bareminerals and Bad to the Bronze eye tattoo)


See something new in my palettes?! My Ulta haul will be up on Friday, and a review of it will be up on the 16th.


I really love this cheek product, and wanted to break out my coastal scents palette and this Too Faced palette again- it's been too long.


Going lighter on the mascara this month.


And, finally, eyeliners, primers, etc.

Judging A Book By Its Cover: My Brilliant Friend (L'amica geniale #1) by Elena Ferrante

Description from Goodreads: A modern masterpiece from one of Italy’s most acclaimed authors, My Brilliant Friend is a rich, intense, and generous-hearted story about two friends, Elena and Lila. Ferrante’s inimitable style lends itself perfectly to a meticulous portrait of these two women that is also the story of a nation and a touching meditation on the nature of friendship. The story begins in the 1950s, in a poor but vibrant neighborhood on the outskirts of Naples. Growing up on these tough streets the two girls learn to rely on each other ahead of anyone or anything else. As they grow, as their paths repeatedly diverge and converge, Elena and Lila remain best friends whose respective destinies are reflected and refracted in the other. They are likewise the embodiments of a nation undergoing momentous change. Through the lives of these two women, Ferrante tells the story of a neighborhood, a city, and a country as it is transformed in ways that, in turn, also transform the relationship between her protagonists, the unforgettable Elena and Lila. Ferrante is the author of three previous works of critically acclaimed fiction: The Days of Abandonment, Troubling Love, and The Lost Daughter. With this novel, the first in a trilogy, she proves herself to be one of Italy’s great storytellers. She has given her readers a masterfully plotted page-turner, abundant and generous in its narrative details and characterizations, that is also a stylish work of literary fiction destined to delight her many fans and win new readers to her fiction.


I read about this book in Entertainment Weekly, and it just sounded fascinating. I really love books about friendship, and I really like that it sounds like it will tie into a bigger story.
As of this post, it gets almost a four star rating on Goodreads, which is pretty good, and most of the reviews talk about how beautiful and rich the story is.  I really can't wait to just get into it.

My Life - September 2014

September 1st - September 7thOn the 1st, I went to a local arcade with my husband and some friends. It's a nickel arcade, so all of the games are either two nickels, one nickel, or in some cases, free. You also have to pay a fee to get in, but it's less than 2 dollars. It was a fun way to kill a few hours in the afternoon, and I completely beat the old Simpsons arcade game, so that was kind of cool. When I was younger, I played that game every Tuesday night when my parents were bowling. It definitely brought back memories!
The rest of the week, I basically worked, did some cleaning around my house (which ever ends, but I think I have gotten into a good rhythm with it), and worked on blog posts. I keep trying to get a good jump on them and keep up with products as I'm using/finishing them. Some of those samples get used quick!
The 4th was the first Seahawk game of the year against the Packers, and they won! Woohoo!
On the 5th, it was my roommates birthday, so my husband and I went to dinner with his parents and my friend Jeanette.
Over the weekend, we went to see Coheed and Cambria in Oakland. I wasn't a huge fan of their music initially, but over the past few years, I've gotten pretty into them.




This was the last song of the night. They did Welcome Home, and he broke out the DoubleNeck, which is so freaking sweet. It was a great show, and if you're a fan and have never seen them live, I highly recommend it.


September 8th - September 14th
Both my husband and I had the 8th off to recover from the concert, but we still had to get up early to return our rental car, so we had breakfast burritos at this Greek place by his work. They were definitely worth staying up for! But when I got home, I took an almost 2 hour nap. (We got home from the concert at around 2am.)
Again, it was a week full of mostly work, housework, and working on the blog, but my husband, my roommate, and I did start rewatching Arrow to get ready for the new season.
My little brother also moved in with us this weekend, and will probably stay through the beginning of the year.
A show I forgot to mention my husband and I have started watching is Wizard Wars. Does anyone else watch? I find magic fascinating!
Sunday was Seahawks at the Charges, and they lost. And I made brownies. It was my first time using our Kitchen Aid mixer. I just made from-a-box, but they were still delicious!


September 15th - September 21st
This week was employee appreciation week at my job, and it made it really fun. My boss had a ton of fun activities for us, and a ton of treats- it was a fatty work week!
I had dinner with my friend Jeanette at this local pub called Mad Duck on Friday night. Also, Friday was my grandma's birthday (the one that recently passed away), and I had not been out to see her headstone yet so after some things I had to take care of, I went out there and saw her headstone and talked to her for awhile. I didn't think I'd want to do that, but I really needed it.
On Saturday my husband and I had his dad and stepmom over for a BBQ, and his dad made Fried Okra, which is one of my favorite foods in the whole world. Actually, just Okra in general is one of my favorite foods, I even eat it raw.  This is also when I made the banana pudding that I blogged about.
Sunday night I made a breakfast casserole from a recipe I found on pinterest that I really, really like. I'm not linking it now because I intend on one day doing an Adventures in Cooking post about it, but if you want it feel free to go to my Pinterest board under recipes I've tried.

September 22nd - September 28th 
This felt like such a short week, and work just flew by.
Nashville started again this week, which was exciting for me because I love that show! I love all the drama- my brother was home when I was talking about it (he moved in with us for a couple of months), and I was explaining who everyone was and what their relationships were to each other and just said "wow, this show is nuts."
I went to my Great Aunt's on Friday night to watch Fresno State football and eat pizza, and then was supposed to meet up with friends after but I was feeling absolutely awful so I went home.
Saturday I was feeling a little better and haven't seen my cousin Michelle (who is one of my best friends, also) since we went on our train adventure last month, so she picked me up and we went to a park and then McDonald's with her little ones.
On Sunday, my husband, my roommate Kyle, and I went to our friend's son's first birthday party. We hadn't met him yet (they have an extremely busy life), but he's adorable and it was fun. We didn't stay for a long time, but it was still nice. First birthday's are such a weird concept to me- you want to celebrate it, obviously, but at the same time, kids are not going to remember it. I think when the time comes, Joe and I will just have a small party with cake and ice cream.

September 29th - September 30th
This was a pretty boring couple of days, to be honest. I pretty much just went to work and came home. Though, on Tuesday, I went with my husband and my roommate to Habit Burger and Target. But other than that, same old same old!

Ipsy vs Birchbox, July - September (are they both worth it?)

I wanted to do a quick post about what I have thought about my ipsy bag the last three months, compare it to my Birchboxes from the last three months, and then ask myself- is it worth the money to keep them both?

Birchbox and ipsy July 2014
 

This was the first month I had ipsy, and at the time, I really like it, but looking back, I haven't really used any of the products, and none of them are now must haves for me. However, the Birchbox has two products I really loved (the nail polish the posiebalm), and I will be repurchasing posiebalm once I run out of the sample. So I guess this month, Birchbox won for me!


Birchbox and ipsy August 2014
 

This month, ipsy definitely won me over more. I LOVE the Perversion mascara, I've used that eyeshadow so much, and the Mongongo lip balm is now something I can not see myself ever not having. For the birchbox, I wasn't excited for it at the time, and looking back, it's probably one of my least favorites. I did really like the perfume, and have it on my favorites to possibly purchase one day. This month, ipsy won!


Birchbox and ipsy September 2014
 

Since I'm not that far removed from when I received the boxes, I can only say that both boxes were fine. I've used most of the products in both of the boxes, and don't really feel like any are must haves. (Though, I haven't tried the Liz Earle Cleanser yet.) Nothing so far strikes me as something I'll be repurchasing, but I liked the curation of both boxes. So this was a tie month.


So the score is Birchbox - 1, ipsy - 1, and both - 1. Which, to me, means it's absolutely worth it to hang on to both. Neither of them is the absolute winner, but both have been curated according to my profile and have some good products that I still use.
I'm going to make this a quarterly series, so I'm going to check back in at the beginning of January for October, November, and December.


If any of you are interested in signing up for Birchbox, please click there and use my affiliate link! I receive points which I will exchange for products that I can review on this blog.
If any of you are interested in signing up for ipsy, please click there and use my affiliate link! I receive points which I will exchange for products that I can review on this blog.


FTC: I pay for both subscription boxes with my own money. All thoughts and opinions are my own.