The Chalk Man

A book of suspense and thrills, The Chalk Man is the story about a group of friends who are mysteriously given a bucket of chalk and use it to send secret messages to each other. They draw stick figure chalk men to indicate where to meet and they urgency of that meeting. Eventually the chalk symbols get mixed up in murders of local residents of their town. A great read for those who like a good twist in their endings!




I would like to thank blogging for books for supplying me with this great read!

Haunting the Deep

A fantastic read for people who enjoy ghost stories/mysteries. This is book #2 of the How to Hang a Witch series. It's a story about a girl, Samantha, who has to figure out who is using magic to try and trap her and a bunch of ghosts on the Titanic. Her and her friends band together to fight and try and figure out how to break the spell!

A Short History of the Girl Next Door

    A wonderful yet heartbreaking novel, A Short History of the Girl Next Door is about the relationship of two neighbors who grow up across the street from each other. One is in love with the other, but feelings are not shared both ways in the same way. 

    It's interesting to read a book from a male perspective because the way he felt and expressed his feelings felt very real and close to what I imagine goes on in a teenagers head in real life. Reck did a truly amazing job with this book. He captured longing and heartbreak in a way I have yet to read in other books. I felt connected to the characters as if I was right there with them living what they were going through. 

    This book captures the meaning of "to love and to cherish" someone. Definitely a tear jerker so get those tissues ready!

I would like to thank blogging for books for supplying me with this awesome read. 

The Creeps

An eerie collection of comics about our deepest and darkest fears that will surely give you the creeps, but in an almost humorous way. The fears in this book are from actual people as well. Some are really weird, some funny, others actually relatable. To anyone who enjoys humor in a dark way, this book is one you'll probably enjoy.

September Favorites

Becca Aqua Luminous Perfecting Foundation-Porcelain

No7 Extreme Length Mascara

Commodity-Wool & Moss

Bite Beauty Matte Cream Lip Crayon-Pastille

Bite Beauty Lip Pencil -016

Tarte Maneater Eyeshadow Palette

Pat McGrath Labs Mattetrance lipstick-Full Panic 005

Nars Blush-Goulee

Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipstick-Pepper

Life-Changing Magic

I really very much enjoyed this book! The way it was written was very creative to make learning about tidying up fun to learn about. If you're one of those people who doesn't know where to start when it comes to cleaning and simplifying your life, this book is super helpful to help with where to start. Even if it's a daunting task, starting from step one and moving your way through and onto the next steps will get you to where you want to be. 

Now I know that this author has this book, not in manga form, so if you'd like no pictures better I would probably recommend that. I really liked this version because I enjoy manga and just comics in general. It holds my attention longer. Kondo also did a very good job at putting her voice into the book. She definitely has a sense of humor, and makes each task fun! 

I would like to thank blogging for books for supplying me with this read :)

Rewordable: The Uniquely Fragmented Word Game

   This game is a mix of Scrabble and UNO. It's a great game for 2 to 8 players and can be played in about 30 to 45 minutes. It's definitely tougher than it seems to create words out of your cards, but once you get the hang of it, it's not too bad.
   Points are acquired with each card that creates a word and you can also earn points from the tokens that are used throughout the game. Whoever has the most points at the end wins the game.
   This game is great for people who are fans of word games. If you love creating words and find scrabble or boggle entertaining then this game would be good for you!

Thank you to Blogging for Books for allowing me to try out this awesome game.

The Chamberlin Key

I have to say I was not the biggest fan of this book after I read it. As someone who grew up with religious parents, I was intrigued by Smith and his discoveries. What grabbed me was the fact that the message he found in the Bible was directed, seemingly, at him. 

Now he does have credible evidence to back him up, but I'm still a skeptic. I don't believe a book like that could ever have a message to directly one person, especially when other people will go and claim the same thing 

For those who like the intrigue of the Bible and the secrets it holds, this could be a great book for you. 

I received this book from bloggingforbooks.com.

Food With Friends

What a wonderful cookbook! "Food with Friends" is filled with awesome, unique recipes for all to enjoy. I really like the fact that the author focuses on the flavor of the food, attention to detail is key. The pictures throughout are beautiful as well as colorful, she really took the time to set them up to be extremely appealing to the eye. 

I enjoyed that in the beginning of the book she laid out the best ways she gets ready for gatherings and how to set up and take down, secret ingredients to make a dish taste that much better, styling the plate, and a few more. With her unique set of dishes, she really knows how to wow a crowd.

I would like to thank Blogging for Books for supplying me with this great addition to my cookbooks.

October Favorites

    It's the time for beauty favorites again! To start off, the Becca by Jacqlyn Hill palette is absolutely gorgeous. The packaging itself was enough for me to buy it because it was so pretty. The picture of it here definitely does not do it justice.  Inside, the palette comes with three blushes and two highlighters.  The highlighters are in champagne pop and prosecco pop. Prosecco pop is a golden highlight while champagne pop is a pinky flesh tone. Amaretto and Pamplemousse are two of the three blushes and are mineral based, so they have a bit less sparkle than the third blush Rose Spritz which is definitely more luminous. All five products apply and blend perfectly. No complaints here! 

    For the eyes, my go to palettes are the urban decay Naked 3 and Naked Smokey. Both make it super easy to do effortless, time-saving looks for my early mornings when I don't feel like actually trying with my eyeshadow. 

    Two mascaras I have been trying out this month have been L'Oreal's Voluminous Carbon black and the Voluminous Butterfly Sculpt (can you tell I like volume for my lashes?).  The Butterfly sculpt does a better job at "gripping" the lashes and really working in the mascara to make them look full and voluminous. The Carbon Black creates volume but with a more natural look. 

    The L'Oreal Infallible Pro-Glow foundation is my new favorite. I have dry skin/patches most of the year so having a foundation that hydrates is a must. This foundation definitely gives the face a nice glow without looking greasy. 

    Lately, I've been trying out cream matte lip products. The one I've found that I really like is the BareMinerals Gen Nude matte liquid lip color in Juju. It's a pretty mauve that looks natural on the lips and wears very comfortably. I will most likely be purchasing this lippy in other colors.  Bite beauty has beautiful lipsticks as well. I received a sample size in my Sephora Play box and I love it! It's in a really pretty bright pink called Kimchi. The formula is moisturizing and sits really beautifully on the lips. 

    Lastly, my new scents I am absolutely so glad I splurged on is the Jo Malone line. These perfumes are some of the best I have ever smelt and I definitely recommend giving them a sniff if you ever come across them. The two I own are Peony & Blush Suede as well as Wood Sage & Sea Salt. Peony is a gorgeous floral and Wood Sage is very woodsy and an extremely unique scent. 

    Those are my favorites for the month. Hope you enjoyed!

Paris Street Style

What a wonderful book! This is one of the best adult coloring books that I've seen. I included a couple pages that I have already colored in so you get an idea of the types of images that are in the book. Enjoy!

   

Thank you to blogging for books for supplying me with this copy. 

bloggingforbooks.com

Bees: A Gardens Best Friend

BUY HERE

    So in October my boyfriend and I bought a house! The front and back of the house contains very minimal landscaping and no flowers to speak of, just bushes, shrubs and trees. I chose this book to read because I want to add color to the yard and keep it native to the region as well. This in turn, will bring in the bees, butterflies, and all those other lovely insects that keep gardens going and looking great. 

   The book was not just about flowers like I was thinking it would be. Oh no, it was chalk full of educating material on bees themselves and the many kinds that exist. Each bee had its own picture so that the average joe (like myself) that knows virtually nothing about them, can at least, learn what each one looks like, as well as, the different kind of plants they're drawn to. 

   This picture was in the book and I thought that it was crazy! To think that so many items need pollination from bees to keep going opens your eyes and makes you think that maybe it would be a really good idea to not go the minimalistic approach. 

   The back of the book contains lists of native plants for all the regions in the U.S. It also has other information such as recommended books, online information, lists of bee-friendly public gardens and more. I would definitely recommend reading this if you're thinking about making your yard bee friendly or just wanting to plant more plants. 

Thanks as always to blogging with books for this great read! 

   

Paper Projects

My goodness it has been way too long sine I've done my last book review! Buying a house can do that to you. Anyways, hopefully I will be more on top of getting more reviews out as well as beauty stuff for those of you who are more interested in that. 

I first want to say that I have not done any of the projects in this book, but I know I will in the future. For example, the picture I have below of the balloon flowers is something I'll probably do for my first outdoor party because they're super cute and easy! There's also a three tier cupcake holder which looks very useful at some point either for a holiday or birthday. There are a lot of kid-oriented projects in the book so I would recommend it for parents or even babysitters to keep the kids busy for an hour or two. 

As the title suggests, everything is made out of some sort of paper source whether it be a cereal box or toilet paper tube or coffee filters which are awesome for recycling products that are used every day.

I received this book from the website bloggingforbooks.com. Great website if you love books!

August-December Favs

Oh man guys, it's been a very long time since my last post. But here we are at the end of the year with my favorites for the past few months!

First off is the Maybelline  Better skin foundation. This stuff is amazing! Once it sets it makes my skin look great even with my acne. It also doesn't really stick to dry skin, which I definitely get during the winter. To go along with the foundation, I'm also really loving the concealer in the same line to cover blemishes. 

To set the under eye area, I'm loving the City Color HD powder. It very fine milled and after it has a few minuted to set the under eyes they look very smooth. 

For mascara, I've been using the Covergirl clump crusher. I have to say I like the orange tube (lash blast volume) one better than this one but it gets the job done. I use it in conjunction with the L'Oreal Voluminous mascara which is really good at making my lashes look thicker. 

My favorite blush for the winter is the Laura Gellar Blush-N-Brighten in Tropic Hues. The color is a pretty berry tone on the cheeks, giving them a fresh look. As for highlighters, Wet nWild and Revolution have terrific options. The Revolution highlight that I have is in the color Peach Lights and has a light pink glow. Wet n Wild has more of a gold/orange glow. Both colors look really pretty when the light hits them, and it's great because they're both drugstore options!

I have a few favorite lippies! I swear anything lip related is my makeup obsession. Maybe I'll do a post on my top 10 favorite lip products. 

The Sephora Oil Infusion lip gloss in 06 Bubby Grenadine feels so amazing on the lips and gives a lovely wash of color. Don't be afraid of the bright color because it's nowhere near as bright on the lips. 

Korres carries their lip colors in many colors, but I chose wild rose because it's a great color for winter and the product itself is great at moisturizing my lips.

I saved the best for last of these three! Colorpop is amazing guys. If you haven't tried it, you need to. Their lip colors are super pigmented. The one I have pictured here is Tiger in the sheer formula which you can build up to be more opaque. 

The eyeshadows are amazing as well. Again they're very pigmented and blend very easily. The only downside is if you're into de-potting and putting them all into one palette, it isn't possible with these. The formula is a special one so if they're exposed to air for a long period of time they dry out. 

This year one of my favorite Youtubers (Tati Westbrook) partnered with Birchbox and came out with her own line of lipsticks and eyeshadow crayons. The eyeshadows have really good color and blend very easily. I would definitely recommend them. The lipstick is pretty but doesn't have great wear, especially if you're eating and drinking. 

Happy New Year!! 

I Take You

Should you? That basically sums up the entire book. Lily WIider the main character, can't decide whether to go through with her marriage or not. She's engaged but cheats consistently throughout the book, which in today's day and age probably sums up some people's lives. But for myself, I cannot relate so I was not a fan of this book. There were a few redeeming characters, but they didn't make up enough of the book to keep it together. I definitely would not recommend this book. I'm not sure how it even got past publishing. 

I would like to thank as always Blogging for Books for supplying me with this book to read and review. 

June/July Favsies

    It's summer favorites time! My first favorite of the month is the Kat von D tattoo liner in Trooper. This liner is amazing if you want smudge-proof, all day stay power. It's a super hyped up product, and you know what? It definitely lives up to that hype.

    For my under eyes the Tarte CC Under Eye Corrector  in the shade light/medium. I love this cream for canceling out the blue/purple underneath my eyes from lack of sleep and super early mornings at work. 

    I haven't been wearing as much foundation so I use liquid/cream/gel blushes. I've really been liking the Josie Maran Coconut Watercolor Cheek Jelly in Pink Escape. The cheek jellies are very blend-able and give a really nice wash of color to the cheeks. If you want just a bit of color use a little, if you want a darker cheek then you use more product and do multiple layers. Same goes for the Stila Convertible colors. I have the shades Petunia and Hibiscus. 

    Another cheek product that has been awesome for the summer is the Temptu liquid highlighter in Pink Pearl. I just dab a little bit on my fingers and swipe it across my cheekbones and it gives a lovely highlight. 

    My lip gloss/lipstick obsession continues with two more items for this month, the first one being the Victorias Secret Beauty Rush  gloss in Royal. I picked this lippie up on a whim when I was doing some bra shopping and it landed up being only $2.50! Can't beat that awesomeness. The gloss looks like a bright purple in the tube, but it looks so lovely on the lips! I'd say it does keep its purple tinge, but it also looks pink at the same time.  Overall when I run out of this one I'd buy it again and maybe try other colors as well. I have yet to try a gloss that has amazing staying power and this one is no exception. After about a half hour, I have to reapply, so if you don't like non long lasting glosses this isn't for you. 

The Ulta Matte Lip Cream is so freaking amazing. Beautiful color in Striking stays matte and it actually stays on the lips for a decent amount of time. If you do land up eating it will come off on the inner part of your lips which I'm not a fan of. I also recommend putting on chapstick a bit before you put it on so your lips stay moisturized long after the matte cream goes on. 

   For my scent this month I've been all about the sample I received in my Ipsy bag called Classico by Jor'el Parker. It's a beautiful scent for summer and fall. The scent is a mix of musk and floral while being romantic and sexy. 

Sci-Fi Awesomeness

Buy Here

Let me start off by saying that this book was CRAZY! It's a story about a group of people who are working on a secret project called the Albuquerque Door (mentioned as the Door with a capital d throughout the book).  Basically, what this "door" does, is transport a person to a different dimension in time in simple terms. The book explains it in a much more complicated way, but still so the reader can comprehend it. The main character Mike goes into this project thinking all he's going to have to do is make sure the door works the proper way and creates no issues and then go home after a couple months, but that is so NOT what happens. Instead, many issues arise when people go through it and then come back. Eventually things become so bad that it becomes a matter of life and death to even keep the door open.
If you don't really understand the concept of the Door at first I recommend referring to the cover. The picture gives you a pretty good visual to grasp the concept of it.

If you're a person who's into mystery/thriller sci-fi's then I would definitely say read this book. A major page turner.  I for one am going to be looking into this author's other books he's written.

I would like to thank blogging for books for supplying me with this book. Any questions or comments, guys, you know where to leave them :) Happy reading!

The Grace Keepers

Buy Here

A circus, a bear, a girl. An ocean, birds, a girl. Both come together in this tale, each searching for understanding of the world that they live in. North lives as a dampling (sea dweller) while Callanish lives as a landlocker (land dweller). North is a circus performer trying to get out of a marriage she does not want and tries to hold on to a secret that could cost her her job. Callanish performs funerals for the damplings and holds a secret of her own that would make her an outcast if found out. 

This book is very fantasy/fairytale driven and it's a very interesting way of capturing the dynamic of two different ways of living for the girls. The book was a bit hard to get into because there isn't a whole lot of action that happens at the beginning. I did fall in love with the main characters. North and her bear and a lovable duo with the way they care for each other. Callanish is very mysterious and like North she cares for her birds. It was interesting to read about how they felt about each other's way of living and even the different food they ate. Damplings and the land lockers were very repulsed by each other and their ways of life. 

I have never really read a book quite like this one. It's supposed to be somewhat based on a Scottish fairytale, which I may have to look into to understand this story a bit better. If you're a person who like a book with fantasy and fairytale intertwined this one may be for you. 

I would like to thank blogging for books for supplying me with this one! Happy reading!

April/May Beauty Favs

It's that time again! Monthly favorites! A few items that I use are the same every month so I'm just going to stick the newer ones in this blog.  Alright let's get into it...

I signed up for a makeup subscription service called Ipsy probably about 2 years ago and I love it. It sends you 4 to 5 makeup items whether it be blush, lipstick, brushes, bronzer, lotion, etc. You also receive these products in a (usually) cute makeup bag. The May bag came with a full size eyebrow pencil from Chella which I love! I got it in the color tantalizing taupe and it's perfect for creating darker dramatic eyebrows. The consistency is a little bit waxy to hold your brows in shape. Definitely going to repurchase when I run out!

Next eye item is one that's been repurchased already but for some reason I don't think I've put it in a monthly favs. Its the Physicians Formula eye booster eyeliner. I had it in black but that dried out so I bough it in dark brown. The color is really good, but you definitely need an eye primer on your lids to keep the color from transferring which happens if you tend to get oily eyelids.

The L'oreal Telescopic Carbon Black mascara is one of my top mascaras. It lengthens lashes like crazy! I use a columnizing mascara along with this one because I like my lashed to be long and thick looking.

Two lip favorites! Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in 01 and Almay Smart Shade Butter #20 Pink-Light. The Almay lip butter is super nourishing and gives a really nice natural light wash of color. It smells really good too, like vanilla/cake. Clarins lip perfector does a great job at making the lips look full and healthy and shiny (but not in a bad way).

For the face now...the Ofra blush in Paradise Pink is a really pretty darker pink with a tiny bit of sparkle to it. You only need a little bit otherwise you'll end up making your cheeks look like a clowns.

For bronzer the Too Faced Chocolate Soleil in Medium/Deep has been really great. It smells like chocolate which is amazing and it's matte which is a must for a good bronzer. Lorac's Tantilizer also has another really good bronzer in it. The highlighter that comes in the duo is another favorite of mine. It gives the cheeks a pinky-gold glow to them.

How to Get Dressed (and other tips and tricks)

Buy Here

    This book is chalk full of amazing information on clothes and how to wear them, fix them, alter them, and many other things. I learned many tips and tricks for my own clothes and I even may have gone out and bought some of the products that the author mentioned... :P.  Because Alison is a fashion designer she shares a lot of cool stuff that a normal person wouldn't know the first thing about when it comes to clothes. For example, I know literally zero about getting clothes altered. She explains what types are really worth the money and what aren't.  Now, after reading that whole section I don't think I'll be going and getting my clothes fixed, but at least I know what to do if I want to!

    The most entertaining sections of the book was about undergarments (aka bras and underwear). Alison teaches you how to measure for your own bra size, embrace panty lines, and to throw your shape wear in the trash and use bike shorts and "grannie" underwear instead. She explains every type of bra that there is out there. Who knew there were 23 types of bras?! 

    How to get Dressed is a great book for women. Alison gives real advice for real women that is style related. She even gives you a guide in the back of the book on how to get rid of all kinds of stains. That's pretty awesome! If you're in a bookstore and you spot this book and you don't want to buy it, at least flip through it. There is definitely great advice throughout the book for women and men. 

I would like to thank blogging for books for supplying me with this great book. Any questions or comments, please leave them below! Happy reading!