I’ve been buying more and more books lately. They’re less expensive than makeup and clothing and give me just as much joy. I’ve bought 7 books total in less than 2 months. That’s more books than I’ve bought in a long time. Really for a while the only books I was buying were ones recommended by Katie of ChapterStackss, and those were on my nook, mostly I was just reading library books on my nook, and getting the Free Friday books.

I bought Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, which has been called the most misinterpreted book ever written. According to the Author, it’s about Technology causing the death of literature as we know it. I adore Ray Bradbury, and could easily call him my all time favorite author. Since my copy of this book had long since fallen to pieces, I decided that I should repurchase it. Even though before his death Bradbury gave permission for his books to be sold in Ebook format, it just feels wrong to buy his work in anything other than physical media. I probably will buy them as ebooks, but only after I already own the actual book.

I also picked up The Fault In Our Stars by John Green, this book has been making the rounds as being completely awesome for a while and I don’t know why I hadn’t bought it before. Since it’s being made into a movie soon, I decided that I should probably read it, since I like to read the book before the movie.   I actually don’t know much more about this book than what I’ve heard from Youtubers who’ve read the book, but I can say that with this book being as hyped up as it is, I will be reviewing in as soon as I finish it.

It might be a while before you see reviews on these books since I have library books and other books I’ve bought to read first. But I will forewarn you that anything written by Ray Bradbury will always receive a glowing review from me, and you should probably read the books and be the judge for yourself.

I don’t know about you, but what I’m reading usually changes with the seasons. Spring and Summer I like to read light, everyone is falling in love, type books. But come fall and winter, I love mysteries, and dark, creepy or scary books. I’m  not sure if it’s just me getting ready for my favorite holiday, but come the colder seasons I am all about the creepy stuff.

Not all out horror, don’t get me wrong, but you won’t catch me watching the final destination movies (save the second one that Ryan made me go see, and then didn’t show up for you ass!), but when it comes to books I like to read things that I could never ever watch on T.V.

Which brings me to this book haul.

Why yes that is Howl on the edge of the picture. Photobombing is an art and he has got it down, just go look at my last haul. From Left to Right they are, Dream With Little Angels by Michael Hiebert, Cemetery Girl by David Bell and Sharp Objects By Gillian Flynn. I’m probably most excited for Sharp Objects, because it was recommended by ChapterStackss or Katie on Youtube. She is probably my favorite youtuber. I followed her from her beauty channel to her booktube channel and every book that she’s recommended that I’ve read, I’ve adored. She’s actually who inspired me to start doing book reviews on my blog, so go check her out!

As you can see I bought these books from Target, and I haven’t read any of them yet. I’m really excited to get reading them, but I actually have another book to read first. It’s called Getting Rooted in New Zealand by Jamie Baywood and after I’ve read it I get to do a mini interview with the Author that I’m very excited about. I kinda consider it my last light and girlie book of the summer. What books are you looking foreward to reading this fall?

I’m running out of my Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish, and I don’t know if my skin has changed or if their formula has changed, but it didn’t work for my skin this time around. So I picked up the Kiehl’s Rare Earth Cleanser. I bought this cleanser because it seems that my skin has been absolutely out of control oily lately. I’ve only used it for 2 days now but it seems to be helping.

Then because I actually am completely out of my Liz Earle Toner I also picked up the Rare Earth Toner, which I kinda really love because it separates and has powder or something in the bottom, and then you shake it up to use it.

I also ran out of my Fresh mask and wanted to pick up the Kiehls Rare Earth Pore Cleansing Mask but they were out of stock so I ended up with a bunch of samples. Only one of those is Kiehls, the others are Kate Sommerville, Clarins and Dr. Dennis Gross.

Then after I checked out I noticed that they had some new Emi-Jay hairties so I grabbed a couple packs for myself, and I grabbed the same ones to give to Sarahbelle. These seriously are my all time favorite hairties, and even though I keep loosing them, and they’re kinda expensive I will always repurchase these. I can pretty much guarantee that I will include a pack of these in my future 100 followers giveaway (hey, I can dream right?)

I know I said I was going to stick with Liz Earle, but I really do think they reformulated or something because my face actually seemed to get a bit worse. I had some left from the last time I bought it, and my skin started to clear up. When I started the new bottle I didn’t change anything or add in any new skincare that I hadn’t been using before and my face started getting worse. I’m actually really heartbroken about it, because I had such good results the first time around and I honestly thought it was going to be my holy grail. But I guess it’s back to the drawing board. Everytime I say ” OMG I love this forever” it either gets reformulated or my skin begins to hate it.

We all know that I’m a sucker for anything that says buy me and do good. Seriously from September to December when stores finally run out, all my household goods and food are covered in those little pink Susan G. Komen symbols. I just can’t help it, if I’m going to buy something anyway, I may as well help someone while I’m at it. However, Sevenly always gets me, and I wish I could buy tees from them more often. A few weeks ago they had a cause that really hit home with me, so I rearranged somethings so I could pick it up.

First can we just take a second to look at how cute that packaging is? It’s flat out adorable.I almost didn’t want to open it, but I knew it had my shirt inside, so I did.

This particular shirt supported ending Gendercide in China. Which is a cause very near and dear to me. I hope to one day bring one of those little girls home with me, and teach her that she is worth so much more than so many Chinese people believe. It just breaks my heart when I hear about little girls being, orphaned, killed or aborted, just because they weren’t a boy. I really hope they don’t close off adoption between America and China before I am able to do this.

The shirt says ” Live Simply So Others May Simply Live.” It’s a reminder I need on a daily basis. I am a consumerist at heart, and believe strongly in retail therapy. I haven’t had a problem yet that I couldn’t solve after a few hours shopping. Except well the problem of being broke. But I need to learn to take a step back and breathe. If I’m ever going to adopt, I need to save, so this shirt is the perfect reminder.

The shirt came with a sticker that says “People Matter” that I’m pretty sure my son ran off with, and a card that tells you exactly where your money went and a bit about the organization you supported. I know you can’t read it here, but I thought I’d show it anyway, so you know what to expect if you order from Sevenly.Com. I kinda really love the stickers and have one from last year stuck to my laptop that says “World Change Is How I Roll.”

If you’re looking for a new graphic tee, I highly recommend you check out Sevenly.

I haven’t bought an actual book for myself for ages, until earlier this week. I just couldn’t help it, I’d recently my favorite booktuber ChapterStackss do a book haul and it made me want to buy a real book. So when I was at the grocery store I picked up one.

Laura Lamont’s Life In Pictures. The title and the cover appealed to me so I picked it up. Terrible reasons to buy a book, probably. Will I enjoy it? I dunno you’ll find out in an upcoming book review.

When I was picking out the book above, I picked up a book, handed it to my husband and said I really want this book, but I feel weird about buying a book with a movie cover. So he bought it for me instead.

Ta da, it’s the Bling Ring. I was said I missed this in theaters, and now have to wait until it comes out on DVD in September. I don’t mind the cover of this so much. because I have an Emma Watson can do no wrong mentality. Seriously I adore her. Plus it was a present and you just can’t hate on a present. Unless it sucks, or they gave you the same thing last year.

The grocery is probably the best time to buy me a present. I am so distracted and freaked out that you could be walking around naked and I wouldn’t even notice. It’s even worse if I have my son with me, because I got lost in a mall once when I was little and I’m terrified he’ll run off somewhere without me noticing. I was aware that my husband was carrying around something, but I had no clue he bought this until we got home.

I’m so excited to be reading a real book again. I love my nook and ipad and I adore reading on both of them, but sometimes you just need something tangible.

I ran out of shampoo a little while ago, so I went to Ulta and made my bank account angry with me.

I picked up Ojon’s Dry Recovery Shampoo and Conditioner and the Argan Oil Spray Treatment.

I know this post is really short but I don’t have a lot to say about these products, except that they were really expensive and I really hope they work. The Ojon products were $22 for 8.5 ounces each and the Argan Oil Spray Treatment was $12. I’ve never paid that much for shampoo and conditioner before and decided that if it would help my dry hair it would be worth it just this once. I usually prefer to spend more money on my hair products since those are actually staying in my hair for little while. I haven’t made my decision yet because I’ve only washed my hair with them twice since I bought them.

If this doesn’t work then I’ll try the Wen Cleansing Conditioner next.

That black tee that I said I’d get if I got a gift card, full price $20 on sale for $15. Then there were these yellow polka dotted skimmers that I fell completely in love with, full price $70 marked down to $20 and only left in my size. Finally, the blue leather flats I featured in my I’d rather be in Paris or Parisian Chic post, full price $40 on sale for $20 once again only in my size. If you grab your calculator you’ll see that full price it would come to $130, before tax. But I wanted to see what they’d come to with the sale prices, so I put them all in the cart and they came to $56 including tax, but wait there was a coupon code at the top of the site for 35% off, which made my total $36 and free shipping. I mean really? How could I not. That’s one third of the price.

I, of course am a very happy camper, and will definitely be checking the Gap sales more often.

*Edited to add: I just discovered this is my 200th post! And it’s about shopping…I seriously have a problem.

I ordered the July Essentials kit and got the Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser, Instant Skin Boost Tonic, Skin Repair Light Moisturizer which is for oily/combination skin, and 2 pure muslin cloths.

It also came with this Energizing Hip and Thigh Gel as your complimentary gift for ordering the Essentials kit. It claims to leave the skin feeling softer, firmer and more toned, and despite it’s name
is meant to be used on your arms, legs and stomach. I’m a bit curious, and as it was free I’m willing to give it a go, and probably a review.

Bonus with every order they sneak in a trial size, I got the Cleanse and Polish that came with a mini  Muslin Cloth

How cute is their packaging by the way? I love when companies take the extra time to make their wrapping pretty. The could have just thrown it in some bubble wrap or packing peanuts. but no they actually took the time to tissue paper it all up and make it look more like a present rather than just something I ordered. It was so pretty I almost didn’t want to unwrap it.

You may notice I didn’t order a mask or any treatments. Well I have a plan, you see I tend to get bored of my routine, I usually like to try new things when I run out. But I’ve learned that I can’t be doing that anymore, and that I need to keep the core of my skincare routine the same, so to speak. But I’ve also noticed that switching masks doesn’t irritate my skin, so long as it’s gentle and is for my skin type. Same goes for Serums and things like that.  And there’s my plan so to speak, to keep from getting bored of my routine, I’m going to be trying new masks and treatments, while keeping the core of my routine the same. I’m actually really excited about this.

That’s not to say I wouldn’t try any new skincare items if I was given them. Liz Earle isn’t perfect, I did still get the odd cyst here and there while I was using it. Which is why I ended up switching in the first place, I had gone to try the Murad mask and saw they had the mask in a beginners kit for the same price as the mask on it’s own. Well you saw how that worked out, and how the mask fared when compared to the Caudalìe Purifying Mask. So if you think there might be something better out there for me, then let me know either in the comments below, or send me an email which can be found on my PR page or check out my contact me page.

From Sephora I bought the Fresh Umbrian Clay Mask, 2 L’Occitane Hand Creams in Hibiscus Flower and Mango Flower and since I spent more than $45 I got the Benefit Loves VIB’s kit which has Bad Gal Lash, Sugarbomb Lipgloss and Sunbeam.

From Target I got a white pair of mid-rise Mossimo Supply Shorts, a Tank  and Chambray Shirt from the new Feed USA+Target collaboration.

I know I talk a lot about wanting to visit France or move to Britain, but I do care about the country I live in now. Not only that, but I have a soft spot for “buy this and donate money to this” type things. I mean why wouldn’t you, if you were going to buy it anyway? Companies like Sevenly, which do a weekly set of items and $7 of your purchase goes to the charity they’re supporting that week, get me everytime. If I plan to buy a graphic tee I will almost always buy it from Sevenly.com  Which is why I’m completely obsessed with all of the Feed USA things at Target. I want it all and I can’t even ride a bike.

If you’re confused on what Feed USA is, it’s a charity that provides meals to American school children and family’s in need. It’s a charity that I support wholeheartedly, and I have purchased something from one of their collabs before, I just dunno what I’ve done with it. Sometimes the only meals a child gets a day are the ones they get from school, Feed USA makes sure they get that. Feed also partner’s with other countries and their goal is to end hunger world wide.

This year I decided I should be at least a bit more prepared so I of course went to H&M’s Summer Sale.
I picked up a blue midwaisted skater skirt, well that’s how it seems to sit on me. The material is very nice, a bit heavy, but since it’s a skirt that’s fine. I think I’ll be able to wear this well into the fall. I also picked up a pair of light tan twill shorts, that fit me really well. Which is great because the other twill shorts I tried on in the same size just different color didn’t fit me at all. Then I bought two of the same style of short, just different color/pattern. I got them in Black and in sort of a reptile print. I absolutely love these shorts and I wish I’d bought them in all 5 of the styles that they had. I’ve figured out with H&M if you love a style of something buy multiples right them because they’ll be gone quick. Surprisingly nothing I bought was on sale. Even more surprising was that all the bottoms I bought were $12.95. I also picked up a really cute hat for $9.95.

Then from not H&M (read as Sephora, apparently I need to branch out where I shop at) I picked up a Nails Inc Polish in Notting Hill Gate, which is a neon pink, and the Kate Somerville Clearing Mask.

I’m really excited for the skirt, I have skirts that I bought to wear in the fall and winter, but I didn’t wear them as much as I should have, and I only got one of them photographed for the blog. This skirt will definitely be appearing on the blog, and soon. Maybe this Sunday? Maybe next? I don’t know because I haven’t worn it outside of the dressing room yet, but it is lovely.

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