Theme Me Up Scotty!

Tonight is a night of planning and preparation.

I am thinking about theming each day of the week to help me come up with more focused and entertaining blog posts.  There will definitely be at least day dedicated to book reviews and bookish topics (probably two), one to subscription box and beauty product reviews, one to recipes and delicious treats that I'm trying out, one to memories of family and general nostalgia and one to pop culture.  Gratitude will still play a part in all of my posts here too, they'll just be themed.

Can you help me structure my daily posts?  Have a great idea for a weekday topic?  I'm all ears!

Here are a few of the topics and weekday themes I'm thinking about.

Monday - Face the Week (beauty post)
Tuesday - Turning Pages (book review)
Wednesday - Wow of the week (what I'm excited about)
Thursday - Throwback Thursday ("Remember when..." reminiscing)
Friday - Freestyle? (still thinking about what my Friday post might involve)
Saturday - Storytelling (possibly fiction possibly true stories - I'll never tell!)
Sunday - Something's Cookin' (recipes and dinner ideas)

I really need help for Friday's theme and all around suggestions about what you'd like to hear more of.  Please let me know on Facebook, Twitter, or right here in the comments!  Thanks for your help, your support, your brainy ideas and your eyeballs reading this!  Much love folks!

Best and Worst Beauty Subscription Products 2014

I have subscribed to a ton of beauty boxes, bags and subscriptions in the past fewt years.  I thought it would be fun to list the best and worst finds that those subs brought me in 2014.  There were lots of products I was thrilled to add to my collection as well as a few real klunkers that I found unusable and wish I'd never even tried.

Eye Shadow
Best - Bareminerals 5 in 1 eye cream (Ipsy) a smooth perfect base with a hint of color.
Worst - Jane Iredale Eye Gloss (Blush) smeary, slidy and unwearable.

Palette
Best - Nyx Be Free Palette (Blush)/ Coastal Scents Revealed Palette (Boxycarm) 2 palettes I would never expect from a subscription that had lots of neutrals and plenty of shades.
Worst - Jessie J eye shadow palette (Ipsy) zero pigment and incredibly short lived color.

Eyeliner
Best - Elizabeth Mott You're so fine liquid liner (Ipsy) a wearable shimmer at any age.
Worst - Cailyn liquid liner (Wantable) this burned the bejeezus out of my eyelids.

Mascara
Best - Benefit They're Real (Ipsy, Glossybox) a great brush and a hype worthy formula.
Worst - Be A Bombshell (Ipsy) smelled like plastic death.

Blush
Best - City Color Cosmetics Matte Blush (Ipsy) great color payoff and fab price.
Worst - tarte blushing bride cream blush (Boxycharm) sticky and unblendable/ Julep Glow blush in peach (Julep) should be called "look at my pores!  They sparkle!".  The claim of a pore minimizing product is the biggest and most ridiculous lie of anything I used this year.

Bronzer
Best - Pixi subtly sun touched bronzer (Ipsy) pretty and subtle.  No sparkle!!
Worst - Cargo Beachblush in cable beach (Blush) there was no happy medium here.  It was zero or Bozo.

Primer
Best - Hourglass Veil primer (Glossybox) this even helped hide my acne scars in an amazing way.  I wish I could afford a full size.
Worst - Sarah McNamera Miracle Skin transformer (Blush) I couldn't get past the scent.

Lip Gloss
Best - Buxom lip gloss in Dolly (Ipsy) minty and pretty rose color
Worst - OCC Lip Tar Metallic Bronze (Glossybox) this made me itch and was incredibly drying.

Lipstick
Best - bareminerals marvelous moxie lipstick (Ipsy)/ silky long wearing color Hikari lipstick in Wine (Ipsy) works great as a stain under balm.
Worst - tarte complexion brightening lipstick (glossybox), turned a crazy pink on me and felt odd on. Be A Bombshell The One Stick (Ipsy, Boxycharm, Glossybox) I can't like this product - it has a weird texture and is huge.

Lip Balm
Best - Glominerals lip treatment (blush) heavenly.
Worst - absolute New York you're the balm in grape (Ipsy) drying

Moisturizer
Best - purlisse pur-moist (Glossybox, Ipsy) love this, hate the sunscreen version.
Worst - Olay Regenerist (Wal-Mart beauty) made my skin feel tight and like I needed to wash it.

Cleanser
Best - Philosphy Miracle Worker (New Beauty Test Tube) makes a difference in the radiance of my skin but feels weird if I accidentally get any on my lips/ derma new cleansing cream (Blush) really light and moisturizing.
Worst - Garnier Balancing Daily Scrub (Wal-Mart beauty) had a packet of this and it stung badly on the driest areas of my face.

Makeup Remover
Best - Lancome bi facil eye makeup remover (glossybox) smells like roses.  Works like a dream.
Worst - Burt's Bees makeup remover wipes (Ipsy) these had an odd scent I found of putting.

Shampoo
Best - Jonathan Infinite Volume (Blush) great naturally derived produxt/Nick Chavez Beverly Hills plump and thick (Blush) really adds volume
Worst - Pantene Anti Aging (Wal-Mart beauty) made my hair incredibly greasy

Dry Shampoo
Best - Oscar Blandi pronto invisible (Blush) clear, lemony and fab
Worst - Batiste fresh scent (Blush) white and oddly scented

Conditioner
Best - Nick Chavez Beverly Hills Advanced Volume (New Beauty Test Tube) this stuff is so light and yet so moisturizing
Worst - Pantene Anti Aging (Wal-Mart beauty) grease city.

Styling Product
Best - It's a 10 Miracle Leave In (New Beauty Test Tube) a perfect leave in conditioner.
Worst - Sexy Hair Powder Play Volume (Ipsy) gritty, sticky and not fun

Shower Gel
Best - Botanicals  Your nose is rose - a bloomin' shower gel (Glossybox) if you love roses you'll adore this.
Worst - Lulah body wash (Pop Sugar) I tried to love this but it left my skin feeling right.

Tools
Best - Mirabella domed eye shadow brush (Ipsy) best ever brush in a sub
Worst - Julep angled blush brush (Julep) so dense yet so poorly tapered it picks up color only in one spot and is useless.

Fragrance
Best - Clean Shower Fresh roller ball (Blush) so great for work - clean and powdery.
Worst - Juicy Coture Viva la Juicy (Wal-Mart beauty) this is everything I dislike in a perfume.  I think it must be black currents and patchouli.

There are probably lots of categories I'm missing, but there were lots of cool things that showed up in the mail this'd year.  Here's hoping 2015 will be more hits and fewer misses!

Sleeping The Day Away

I'm kind of surprised I can keep my eyes open long enough to type today.  I have a headache that is making it difficult to concentrate on anything.  Scrolling through posts online makes me feel ill and I can't read for longer than five minutes without getting scrambled.  I know I really need the rest, but I hate feeling so loopy even before the medicine kicks in

I was hoping to take the tree down and pack away the ornaments today or tomorrow but the tree can sparkle away for a few more days I guess.  I hope next year I'll be a little more interested in the holidays in general.

Here's hoping you made it to work today and whatever bug that I've caught steers clear of you and yours.  Andy missed his work day too and we're a fine pair of sickos.   Hopefully I'll be back soon with some interesting content.  I have three books to review, a bunch of recipes to try and other posts planned that I hope you'll enjoy.

More Holiday Clearance Beauty Buys!

I didn't pick up all of the Flower Beauty gift sets I had originally found on the 75% off holiday and after swatching the eye shadow palette I picked up on New Year's Eve I regretted my decision.  We always go grocery shopping on Sunday morning so I figured if they were still there, it was meant to be.  Luckily they had a few left and even had a set I hadn't seen yet that must've been hiding back in the beauty section.  I hope that these are available near you because the $4.96 price point for the palette and mascara sets and the $2.46 for the eye shadow sticks is pretty amazing.  The mascara is also on clearance in the regular Flower Beauty section for $3.50 (regular $6.98) along with concealers and cream blushes from the line if you are already a fab of these Wal-Mart exclusive cosmetics from Drew Barrymore.

 I initially passed on these because I seldom use lip colors in palettes, but the eye shadows alone make it a great deal.  The mascaras are both the shade "Intense Black" and I'll be trying one out tomorrow.

 All of the colors are soft and lovely.  The lip color is scented and has a mild vanilla fragrance.  I may end up giving them a go too, although I find lip products that are packaged this way a bit messy.

The purple box features the same 4 shadows that are in quad Twilight Moon.

The rose gold box features the same 4 shades in the palette Secret Garden.

 These eye pencils have a great creamy finish and the beige pencil has a subtle shimmer.  The dark pencil is a lovely smokey purple shade, and all three are blendable but I'm not sure how fast they would crease.  I can't wait to try them.  They are about 3/4 the size of the regular eye crayons.

These are swatches from the first palette I found that came with an eye shadow brush and a different mascara.  The 4 shades on the right are the same as the Smoke and Mirrors palette, but I can't find the name of the shades for the palette on the left.  The whole Smoke and Mirrors palette are beautiful matte shades that are great for every day.  I love the sparkle in they shade second from the left in the bottom row and the green at the top left.  They are swatched from left to right, top row, then bottom row.

I'm so glad they still had these available.  It will satisfy my beauty addiction for a few months I hope!  I'm going to try and make it until after Valentine's Day without buying any products that don't arrive via Ipsy or Blush beauty mystery box.  Hopefully even longer, but little goals are the way to go!  Hope you all had a lovely weekend.  I have been under the weather and had hoped to do a book review today but I want to not be so spacey because I really enjoyed this book.  I've already read two this year!  I am determined to read at least 50 books and hopefully more - like I said little goals!

Books That Become Films

Tonight I watched the recent remake of Stephen King's Carrie.  It was terrible.  The original had the bonus of an incredibly creepy Sissy Spacek and one of the most fun jump scares I can remember in a horror movie.  In the new version I couldn't suspend my disbelief that anyone would be blind to Chloe Grace Moritz's beauty and charm.  It didn't make much sense to me and I spent a good portion of the movie being irritated at the fact no one bothered to teach the actors how to sew.  Carrie's lovely prom gown was magical in the fact that it had three inch seam allowances and no lock stitching.  Neither film can live up to the book, but I often find that to be the case.

I've been thinking of the films that I've seen that live up to the experience of reading the book.  I can think of three film adaptations that I think did a fine job of capturing and condensing the book into an entertaining and enjoyable feature that didn't leave me wishing for parts that were left out or scratching my head over changes made to the story.

The Green Mile is a wonderful Stephen King story, originally told as a set of chapter books released in several installments.  When I was in college I had the joy of having the book read to me, a chapter at a time by my friend Kapoo.  If you ever get the chance to have someone read a whole novel to you, jump at it.  It is probably one of the most enjoyable experience you can have as a grown up.  We take the simple pleasure of having a story read to us for granted when we reach the age where we can read on our own and audio books aren't the same as a live person reading to you.  I was pretty sure when the movie hit theatres there was no way I would enjoy it as much as having it read to me.  However it has become one of my favorite films of all time because they did such a wonderful job of telling the story.  Everything is on point.  The casting, the clothes, the special effects and the treatment of the fantastic story all come together to make the best translation of a book to the scream I can think of.  If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and get a copy as soon as you can.  It is three delightful hours that you won't regret.  It also includes the BEST curse word in the history of time.

My second choice is Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.  The book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and later books in the serires like Charlie and The Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl inspired this fantastic translation with Gene Wilder as a Willy Wonka, the candy maker and dreamer of dreams who sends his golden tickets out into the world hoping to find a worthy successor to his candy kingdom.  Although there are many differences in the book and the film, the changes are very much in keeping with the world Dahl created and are tremendous fun.  The film is a product of its time and may suffer slightly for modern viewers.  There is an overwhelming amount of corduroy, polyester and loud orange and avacado prints and a few songs that are dead in the water (Cheer Up Charlie is always fast forwarded through unless I'm trying to sleep) but I still love the film as a whole and Gene Wilder in particular.  If you ever choose to watch the miserable remake with Johnny Depp I'm sorry to say you'll never have those two hours back.

Finally I offer up The Help - a recent addition to books that made a lovely transition to the screen.  The casting of this film was incredible, and I am so happy to see such an interesting novel make it to the screen in the hands of such wonderful actors.  I would've loved to see Skeeter developed a bit more because she comes to life in Kathryn Stockett's novel in a way that isn't quite matched on screen but characters like Minny, the maid who can't keep her opinions to herself jump from the page in the most incredible way.


I'd love to hear about books you've read that made the transition from page to screen in an amazing way.  I know there are many, and I like to be reminded of one's I forgot as much as I like to discover new gems.  What books must I read before I see the films in your opinion?  Are there any movies that you think outshine the story on the page?  I must say that there are some television shows like The Walking Dead that make the transition from page to screen (television screen in this case) that blow me away by adding wonderful characters that I wish had been in the books.  Screen writers have awesome ideas sometimes - I truly feel the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Haris could have been much better had True Blood's baby vamp Jessica in them.  I also can't imagine a world without Daryl Dixon!

Tell me: what are the best and the worst book to film translations you can think of?

Holiday Clearance Beauty Steals And A New German Market!

We have a wonderful Amish market by us that is filled with every kind of delicious food you could hope for and handmade furniture and crafts.  I didn't make it over during the Christmas season which is probably a blessing because I would've gone broke buying fudge, Christmas candies and baked goods.  When I visited today they had opened a small German market and deli inside.  The ladies who were running it said they would have their full inventory in a few weeks and they had a few brands of German hair and skincare items that I can't wait to try.  Today though I bought several exciting foodstuffs that I found.  A few were remembered favorites from childhood and there were also a few new things to try.

I'm eager to make the instant spaetzle because although I've made them from scratch they are labor intensive and these will be a treat and a time saver.  The cream of asparagus soup is for Andy.  I know he will love it.  The honey cake is good but not as moist and delicious as I remembered as a child.  It will make a wonderful French toast tomorrow morning though!  The fritzfritzen sauce is for fries and from the descriptions of the ladies who worked there it sounds delicious.  They say it is a light creamy dressing that's tangy and similar to mayo but with a sweetness and a hint of spice.  I can't wait to try it.  Although it didn't make the picture I found some hot Hungarian paprika which will be great in chili and on burgers.  The biggest bit of excitement was the ice cube candies.  They are a hazelnut melt away that I was in love with.  There were two but one magically disappeared before I left the market.  If they weren't so pricey I would've bought the whole case I think.  The gummi bears were a little gift from the store keeper because she was thrilled I had a basic knowledge of German cooking and I promised to visit her soon.

On New Year's eve I went to Wal-Mart because Andy needed some medicine and also because I'm a little crazy.  They had tons of Christmas items on sale and they had some cosmetic clearance merchandise that was awesome.  I picked up a few Flower Beauty items that I'd been longing for at full price for ages.  I also found a Hard Candy baked eyeshadow set that was just over $2 for 12 shadows.  Unfortunately they have very little color payoff dry but wet they seem like pretty useable shades.  I will be playing with them this weekend.

 These Flower velvet lip pencils go on creamy and matte and are terribly pretty.  They are about 3/4 of the full size pencils but they will last me a long while and are a great size.  They are similar to the tarte matte lipsurgence products but they don't have the overwhelming peppermint.  They don't have any detectable flavor and I really like them.

 One of the Hard Candy shadows is full of chunky glitter but the rest are just shimmery.  They are much more subtle than they appear.  For $2 How can I complain?

 I am on the fence about the Flower fragrances I picked up.  They smell nice in the bottle but have an odd dry down undertone of something I can't place.  They don't work well with my body chemistry.  I wish I would've received a sample in my Wal-Mart beauty box so I would've known that!

My favorite set and the best deal was this 8 shadow palette that came with a lengthening mascara and an eye brush.  The eye brush is really dense and heavy and the shades in the palette are really lovely and I've been dying to try them but I think the $9.98 price point for a single quad is high for a drugstore brand.  I got all of these pieces for less than $5 so I am very excited to try it.  If I fall in love I may pick up the quad that has the matte grey and dusty lavender shades even if it's full price.

I am off to watch Gold Rush and then read more of a book I started today that I can barely put down called The Unfortunate Importance of Beauty by Amanda Filipacchi.  I received it by expressing interest in reviewing an ARC on the Shelf Awareness site and it has totally grabbed me with an interesting plot.  I'm sure I'll have it finished in no time because I have to know what happens!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

A New Year Begins

I don't tend to make resolutions for the simple reason that when my resolve softens I get unnecessarily upset.  I think that many times we put tons of pressure on ourselves when the new year starts and stack up some unrealistic expectations.  I have unrealistic expectations every day because I'm a perfectionist.  I hope I can let some of that go and move forward this year, but when I frame it as an "I'm going to..." statement it has less of a chance to become an "I did".

With that said, I do have some hopefulness about the new year.  There are many things I'd like to see myself accomplish and many things to work on.

I hope that I can continue to update my blog with daily posts.  I also hope that when I inevitably miss a day I won't beat myself up about it.  It is good for me to post every day, but if I miss one here or there, it isn't the end of the world.

I hope that I can find the time to read more.  I have dozens of books that I am excited about and I find reading one of the most relaxing activities you could hope for.  I just finished a book today that I'll review this week that has renewed my interest in finding great new authors to shine a light on.  I hope that I can be more proactive and review the books I enjoy on Amazon and Goodreads before their publication date when possible.  There are so many amazing authors out there that are undiscovered by many folks.  If I can introduce at least one new author to people each month I'll be happy.

I would really love to write something this year.  It doesn't have to be published, and it may never get further than my composition book, but I am really interested in writing.  It's something I've always enjoyed and look forward to getting back to.  I love telling stories, and my mind is always racing with ideas, so putting those to pen seems like a logical step.

Most of all I hope I can be more even keeled.  I may need help with this step more than any other.  I am an extremely emotional person and I take most things too seriously.  I allow myself to get wrapped up in things that I can't change and then get upset and flustered over my inability to make a difference.  I get my feelings hurt and I let tiny things affect me so much that I can't pay attention to the things that matter and the ones I can do something about.  I hope that I can take more things in stride and learn to be more aware of the things that are important to me.  I hope to have more control of my emotions so that my lows aren't quite so low and my highs aren't so high that normal feels like a disappointment.

I hope that your goals and resolutions help you make 2015 your best year yet.  I hope that this year is a fine one for you and for me too.  Be well, be happy and be grateful for the joys each day brings you.  Much love to all of you.