My Lifestyle Lately

If I could sum up the first part of then summer in three words, I'd use: busy, fun, exhausting. In no particular order.

Weddings, bachelorette parties, showers, BBQs, dinners, birthday parties.... in rapidfire sucession.

My lifestyle hasn't left much time for shopping, but on the flip-side, I'm saving money for my retail adventures in San Francisco. October will be grand!

Here are a few small things I've tried lately.



Maybelline Dream Fresh BB. SPF 30

I held out on buying a BB because I don't like wearing a base. I still don't use this BB daily, but it's slowly being introduced to my usual routine. I wear it over my SPF moisturizer. The BB itself contains SPF, but I'd be worried I wasn't applying enough for adequate coverage if I used the BB alone.

It spreads well and blends well and it does seem to blur uneven skin tones. I'm not yet decided if I'll repurchase this or try another brand.



Seche Vite Top Coat

I bought this top coat from Sally Beauty a few months ago and it works well to dry nails a bit faster than your average topper. I'm  not able to be functional any sooner than when I use other stuff though. It just speeds up that REALLY wet time when you can't even flip a magazine page for fear of smearing. I'd repurchase though because I love nothing better than magazine reading while waiting for my nails to dry.

Every single thing I've made from this book so far has been excellent. Okay, it's only been six things, but 6/6 is a great track record. The recipes are easy to follow, and there are interesting and funny facts throughout that give me something to read while I'm waiting for my onions to soften.

Look what I made

This genius DIY bracelet idea is courtesy of the Lauren Conrad website. Check out this link to watch her video.

The ribbon was $0.50 at Wal-Mart (I only used a tiny bit), and the washers were about $2.50 for a box of 40. I've already made these in a few more colors. They literally take 15 minutes to complete.

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

Novel-Tea: Part 11

All Fall Down is a captivating story about a young girl, Sunny, who flees a cult - transitioning from the only life she's known into the scary world of the blemished (average people).

I really enjoyed this book.

Notice how I always enjoy books? That's because I only mention the ones I like on my blog. Being a writer, I imagine how sad it would be to stumble upon a bad review, so if I have nothing nice to say, I say nothing!

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It kept me guessing how things would turn out for Sunny and her kids. The end wasn't what I expected, and I liked the unpredictability of it.

I'm pretty excited about my DAVIDsTEA review. Bamboozled is so sweet smelling that when I put my nose near the bag, I can almost taste it. It's another one of those teas that's great hot or cold. I've been putting my tea in the steeper with cold water and letting it steep in the fridge overnight. I can't deal with hot tea in the summer.

Big pineapple chunk at 12 o;clock

My tea party dress is from one of my favorite stylish stars - Lauren Conrad. This is from her Paper Crown line. The cut of this dress looks like it would be very flattering.

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I've been lazy lately with sending in queries for my book. At last count, I've submitted 21 query e-mails and received ten "no thanks" responses. I know I should send in more queries, but the idea of shelving it and writing a new book is tempting. I can't really focus on starting something new until I've done everything I can with Losing My Anchor, but when is the point where I stop trying? I'm also toying with the idea of approaching local publishers.

Have you read anything great lately?

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

Novel-Tea: Part 10

I left my Kobo in the box for 3 weeks before I started it up. I wanted one.... but I think a part of me was resistant to actually use it. I thought I'd miss holding a real book and turning the pages.

Now that I've read a few books on it, I can't believe I was so stubborn.

I love my Kobo.

Pretty pink cover! A Kobo Touch in black is inside.

It takes me less time to read on the Kobo. I've set the size of the type to medium, meaning there are fewer words on the page. For someone who gets distracted as easily as I do, this means less time trying to find the last line I read before my mind drifted elsewhere.

I was late to read The Secret Daughter. I was enthralled with the story from start to finish and it's one of the books that will stick with me for a long time. It didn't end how I expected it to, but it was still satisfying.

Read this if you haven't yet!

My tea of the moment is Organic Blueberry Jam by DAVIDsTEA. This stuff is soooo scented that it makes my whole kitchen smell like blueberries every time I open the bag. I hope they keep this one around!

I decided to find a dress that fit the blueberry theme, so I found this one worn by the lovely Lauren Conrad. Such a flattering shape and the color is stunning!

XOXO
Glitterary Girl