L.J. Smith is known for the Vampire Diaries, but she has some other amazing books as well. Dark Visions is one of them. It’s a trilogy which focus on Kaitlyn Fairchild, who has psychic abilities and is believed to be a witch. She’s offered a place at the Zete’s institute along with the other 4 top psychic teenagers in the country. While there she and the other students uncover a plan to use their abilities as a weapon and spend the next two books trying to escape and defeat the head of the Zete’s Institute, Mr. Zetes.

I really loved these books when I read them, they’re YA books and I went through a phase a few years ago where I was obsessed with Supernatural YA books. This is one of the few books I kept from that phase, and one of the even fewer that I’ve made the time to reread.

My Final Verdict: I definitely recommend this for my younger readers. The trilogy is probably just a bit longer than the longest Harry Potter book, but doesn’t drag at any point.It’s a quick and fluid read.

This week’s outfit is a Cable Knit Sweater from Macy’s, Black H&M pants and Red booties from Old Navy.

How is wearing a Glow in the dark Boo Tee from Martha Stewart’s Petsmart line.

On My Face: Nars Sheer Glow in Siberia, Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Vanilla, Nars Blush in Deep Throat, Lancome Shadows, Benefit’s Watts Up, Benefit’s They’re Real and Pomme Cider lipgloss from BBW.

My bracelets are two Da Vinci charm bracelets, available at Hallmark Stores and my Alex & Ani October Birthstone Bracelet.

These booties are very recent from Old Navy, they actually still have them. My best friend got these for me as a belated birthday present and I kinda really adore them. Despite the heel they’re really comfortable and I love the way they look.

Genevieve has finally achieved her dream, she’s left London and all it’s stresses behind, bought her boat and is renovating it. All she had to do was watch a package for Dylan. But she hasn’t heard from Dylan in over 5 months when her best friend turns up dead and now Genevieve’s past comes back to haunt her. She never thought she’d have to tell any of her dock mates that she was once a dancer, or that the events that caused her night job and her day job to collide would catch up with her.

I was pretty surprised by this book. I wasn’t sure that I was going to like it when I grabbed it out of my library’s new section. However this book was absolutely riveting. Seriously, this is one of the best thrillers I’ve read and it’s been added to my to buy list. I loved how they interspersed her past and present and how every thing flowed together fluidly.

Final Verdict: If you like thrillers or suspense novels then I completely recommend this.

This weeks outfit really had nothing to do with this book, but it’s been kind of my uniform as the weather starts to cool down.

Outfit: Loft Sweater, H&M Leggings, Knit Scarf, and Pink and Pepper riding boots.

On My Face: Nars Sheer Glow Foundation in Siberia, Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Vanilla, Benefit’s Benetint, Benefit’s Watts Up, Benefit’s They’re Real, various Lancome Shadows, Makeup Forever HD Setting Powder.

My bracelet is the October Birthstone Bracelet from Alex & Ani which I absolutely adore.

And if you’re wondering about my scarf it’s an infinity scarf that I knit myself. There’s is also a matching hat to go with it because I’m awesome like that, that you will probably be seeing very soon. I’m so excited for it to be getting colder and the season to bundle up.

I was pretty in love with how this outfit turned out and felt that the colors were perfect for fall.

I’m also incredibly excited about all the leaves and will be raking them up this weekend for leaf pile jumping.

I wore a sweater from Hollister, a tank from The Limited, Victoria’s Secret Most Loved Yoga Pants, and my Pink and Pepper riding boots. Not Pictured Alex & Ani October Birthstone Bracelet. I did say I’d do an outfit where I made these pants acceptable for public. This is one of them. The only issue was my sweater kept riding up and that was irritating because even though it was long enough, it didn’t look long enough.

On My Face: Nars Sheer Glow in Siberia, Nars blush in Deep Throat, Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Vanilla, Benefit Watts up, Benefit They’re Real Mascara, Various Lancome Shadows. Hair pulled back in a very messy bun using an Emi-Jay hair tie.

Howl was a bit apprehensive about a carnival in the fall. He’s in good company though.

Howl wore his Worthy Dog Harness. I think he was just happy to be out and about.

A big reason why I like going to this festival is because it reminds of one of my favorite Ray Bradbury books Something Wicked This Way Comes. I know book reviews usually go up on Wednesdays, I really do recommend either this book or the movie for fall. It’s about a carnival that comes to Green Town in mid-October called Cooger & Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show. Mr. Dark being the true owner of the carnival is also the Carnival’s illustrated man bearing a tattoo for each person bound to the Carnival. The Novel focuses on 14 year old boys (12 in the movie) Will Halloway and Jim Nightshade and Will’s Father Charles. The boys are excited for the Carnival that comes so late in the year but Charles Halloway is apprehensive about what it could mean.

I adore this book, and have for years. As I mentioned before it’s a bit hard for me to be unbiased when it comes to Ray Bradbury’s writing because I’ve loved his books since I was a child, and The Halloween Tree is one of the very first books I remember reading. It’s also the first movie I remember watching. I do recommend it though. Ray Bradbury is a famous Author for a very good reason and if you’ve never read his work before then this is a good place to start.

I don’t know if you’ll remember but I said I wanted to recreate this outfit that Emma Stone wore this year. I knew we were going to have a really laid back day, so I wanted my outfit to be nice but super laid back as well.

I wore this Gap Fitted Boyfriend Shirt in White with Gap Legging Jeans (mine have zips at the ankle) and Toms.

I also wore my Madewell Drifter sunglasses and for my hair I pulled it up in a low messy bun and swept my blunt bangs to the side. I actually really liked them this way and haven’t stopped wearing them that way since. My earrings are my Kate Spade Small Square Studs in Silver

On my face I wore: Nars Sheer Glow Foundation in Siberia, Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Vanilla, Nars Blush in Deep Throat, Lancome Eyeshadow in Metallic Taupe, Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil in Bourbon, Benefit Watts Up Highlighter, Benefit They’re Real Mascara, YSL Volupte Sheer Candy in #9 Cool Guava and Makeup Forever HD setting powder.

I was completely in love with this outfit. It was absolutely perfect for the day, and I managed (with the help of an apron) to keep my white shirt white during meal times which is an amazing feat for me because I’m insanely klutzy.

Howl thinks he’s a Vampire now and wants to know why he doesn’t sparkle! I keep telling him only Faeries sparkle.

I’ll be doing a post on what my husband and son got me for my birthday very very soon so be on the look out for that.

I bought this book because I’m insanely impatient and I missed Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring in theaters and now I have to wait for September 17th for it to come out on DVD.

I don’t know what I was expecting with this book, but I didn’t get it. It was written by Nancy Jo Sales who authored the article The Suspects Wore Louboutin’s, which is what inspired Sofia Coppola to make her movie. This is an expanded version of that article. The full story so to speak. I didn’t love this book, but I didn’t hate it either. She mostly discusses the things that Nick Prugo told her about the robberies and what happened and what was said, she also talks to a police officer who was close to the case, and she talks about how these kids were fame obsessed and how it affected their decisions. I remember when this case happened it was only a few years ago and the kids were about my age at the time.  The actors they robbed weren’t much older than me at the time either. I remember seeing footage of Orlando Bloom after the robbery and just feeling heartbroken for him and how violated he must have felt. If you’ve ever had anything stolen from you, from your house then you know that feeling.

She mentions in one part that we’re all famous now thanks to the internet. Which got me thinking, do I want to be famous? Honestly the answer is maybe. I always wanted to be an actress growing up, but I never pursued it entirely because of the fame factor. I never could decide if I could deal with the Paparazzi following me, so I never even tried.

For the outfit I wore, I decided a bit of a reminder was needed before I recommend this book.

The Shirt says “Live Simply So Others May Simply Live”

I wore a Blazer from Nordstrom, H&M pants and a Tee From Sevenly. My Bag is from Urban Expressions and is 100% vegan.

My Chelsea Boots are from Asos

My Necklace is from Jewelmint and is the Rose Gold Lovers Locket, my ring is from the now defunct ColourMe.com and my nail Polish is Lancome’s Flirty Red.

My hair is just in a messy bun and my Makeup is: Lancome Teint Visionnaire in 100N, Nars Concealer in Vanilla, Makeup Forever Setting Powder, Nars Deep Throat Blush, Lancome Metallic Taupe Eyeshadow, Nyx Skinny Marker Eye Liner, YSL Babydoll Mascara, Vapour Elixer Lipgloss in Enigma.

Final Verdict? I recommend this book if you’re either obsessed with the case, or if you just can’t wait for the movie to hit DVD. I learned way more about this case than I normally would have wanted too, but I’m completely okay with that. I wouldn’t say it’s a must read, but it was an interesting one

Here are two more pictures of Howl being cute while I’m holding him for the above shot:

I’ve linked up to I Feel Pretty’s Weekly Link Up

I had a couple requests for a Tutorial on how I did my hair in this post, so here it is!

First you’ll need: A Hair Tie (I’m using one from Emi-Jay), 2 bobby pins, and not pictured Hair Spray. Personally I use Aveda’s Air Control:

Starting with your hair down:

Seperate out a section at the front which will have your bangs if you have any:

Then brush up into a ponytail:

And tie it off with your hair tie:

then start twisting up your bangs:

You’ll be placing the bobby pins in two places right before you get to the end of your bangs:

And then again at the end of the length of hair you’ve twisted:

And this is how it should look:

This really is super simple, after it’s all done just spray with a light hold hairspray and smooth any flyaways you may have. You might have to do the twist a few times to get it just how you want it, but it’s so quick and easy that after awhile you’ll have it perfect on the first (or second) try.

My top is from H&M and if you’re wondering what’s on my face, I’m wearing: Nars Sheer Glow in Siberia, Nars Concealer in Vanilla, Benetint, Lancome Taupe Eyeshadow, Makeup Forever Setting Powder (just where I used the concealer) and Nyx Soft Matte Lip Cream in Amsterdam

If you try out this hairstyle tweet me a picture, I’d love to see it!

This outfit was really fun for me. I was trying to walk the line between summer and fall. It was a bit chilly yesterday, because of recent storms, so I wanted to be comfortable but still bright and colorful.

I wore a stripey Top from Loft, Jeans that I don’t know where I got and I don’t know where my shoes are from either, but I they totally don’t get worn enough.

See aren’t they adorable? They’re wedges with gold embroidery and sequines on them. Plus they lace up. Normally you’re meant to cross the lace in the front to back but I turned it around and wrapped them to shorten it so I wouldn’t be walking on the bow.

I also really love this pen necklace and have been wearing it to death lately. My favorite thing about it is that it actually works.

This was a Gift from Miss Cannady, and frankly she always gives the best gifts, because seriously sometimes it’s like we’re the same person with some extra added in to make us different.

Okay so this is a better picture of my hair than my makeup, but seriously my makeup was just the usual: Lancome Tient Vissionaire, Nars concealer, Nars Blush, Benefit Badgal Lash, Benefit Sunbeam and Rosebud Salve on my lips. My bangs were being weird yesterday so I twisted them back in that style I was obsessed with when I was growing them out. I kinda still love it.

And OMG I knit Howl a sweater, how cute is he in it? He didn’t wear it long, because it’s still a bit to warm for it, but still I made that. It’s a bit short on him but that’s cool I have extra yarn I can lengthen it some. I’ve already started him another one in red. It seriously knit up so quick.

So cute.

Okay so those photos are not from today. They’re from yesterday. However they’re going up late because I had something I really wanted to do today, that I actually thought was next week. Thank goodness for Twitter.  Today was Sarahbelle93′s Rush Into Lily Event at the Kenwood Towne Center. So when I saw her tweet about it, I kinda just rushed out of the house, since I had the wrong day.

Here we are at her meetup:

She was so sweet, and super easy to talk to. I’m so glad I met her. Then after, I as I was shopping around I noticed Nordstrom had Emi-Jay hairties in some super cute patterns and since I was buying them for myself I picked her up some too, and then super awkwardly went back to the meetup to give them to her. I did some other shopping, so there will be a haul up from that very soon.

I can’t recall where I first heard about this book, but I bought it over a year ago and was extremely excited to get it.

I’m pretty sure it was recommended by a T.V. show or Actress I was obsessed with at the time, or something like that. My whole entire life, I have adored Barbie, but I hear constantly everything that it is meant to be negative about her. With the Subtitle of this book being “A Doll’s History and Her Impact On Us” I felt that it was absolutely a must read for me. I decided that for this weeks outfit, I’d do my best impression of Barbie, and got all dressed up to take photos. I don’t normally just dress up to take photos, usually I wear whatever I’m wearing in the post all day, but getting all done up just for the sake of being photographed was fun. Details will be at the end of the post.

This gives not just the history of Barbra “Barbie” Millicent Roberts, but also the history of her creator Ruth Handler. It talks of her early life growing up, who she fell in love with and how a girl who never cared about dolls created the most iconic doll ever.

The reason she created Barbie, named after her daughter, is simple. Girls want to play with a doll that looks like a grown up. You could easily stop here at this statement and say “Okay, now I don’t need to read this book.” But you’d be wrong. You’d miss out on seeing the different Barbie’s through the years and how she has affected many girls lives in both positive an negative ways.

This got me thinking, how did Barbie affect me? I remember the last Barbie I ever bought, was a Teacher Barbie, my parents found her at Goodwill, she was new in packaging,she came with 2 students, desks and a chalk board,and she was cheap only $5. I was 9 years old and I loved that Barbie to death. I had several other Barbie’s. My first one was bought at an old fashioned General store that had wood floors. I went in with my Grandmother and because I was quiet I got to pick out a toy. I chose Barbie. She was simple, and the cheap version, a kind of knock off of the original, but not really a knockoff since she was produced by Mattel. I adored her. She had such great hair and pretty makeup. I was given dresses and shoes and my fashion obsession began. I loved to dress Barbie up and go on adventures. My Barbies were all actresses because they were always pretending to be someone else. They were Nancy Drew and Paula Abdul and Kelly from Saved By The Bell. Once when I lost my Ken I dressed another Barbie up in his clothes to carry on acting out the scenes.

But Barbie didn’t just spark my fashion obsession as a child, she also bonded me with my one of my Aunts. I remember my Aunt Heather had the coolest Barbies when I was little. She had a couple of the Barbies from the Barbies and the Rockers Series. Every time I came over I’m sure I begged to play with her Barbies, but after I put one in chicken soup (she was sick!) I was never allowed to unsupervised. We put on concerts, had weddings, ran businesses, and did everything we could possibly dream of. I always felt so cool playing with Heather, because she was 7 years older than me. By the time she out grew playing Barbies with her niece, I had mostly outgrown Barbies. But I’ve never outgrown her completely.

Right from Barbie’s beginnings mother’s were worried about how the doll would effect their daughter’s self esteem. Barbie even has a syndrome named after her. I have never had any issues with Barbie, she was always just another toy to me. She represented what I wanted when I grew up, a busy girl with a bursting closet and tons of shoes. It never got more complex than that for me.

No matter your thoughts on Barbie, I can’t recommend this book to you enough.

On Me: H&M Dress, Kate Spade Earrings, Kate Spade Belt, Return to Tiffany Bracelet, Jessica Simpson Heels, H&M Sunnies, DIY Necklace from Forever 21 Headband, Nails Notting Hill Gate

On My Face: Smashbox Primer, Lancome Teint Visionnaire Foundation, YSL Babydoll Mascara, Nars Deep Throat, Lacome Various Eyeshadows, Urban Decay Bourbon 24/7 Eyeliner, Benefit Girl Meets Pearl Highlighter, Too Faced Lip Primer, YSL #4 Succulent Pomegranate Volupte Sheer Candy Balm
My Hair: Pulled in to a High Pony Tail with my Volume on top and hair wrapped to hid the band
On My Nails: Nails Inc. Notting Hill Gate

I have a favorite quote “When it comes to desire, when it comes to attraction, things are never black and white. Things are very much Shades Of Gray.” It was said by Brian Molko, the lead singer of Placebo. I try and focus on this quote as much as I can. What does that quote have to do with this weeks outfit? When I was getting dressed and decided my Feed Chambray would look good with my H&M Skater skirt, this quote popped into my head and I decided to go with shades of Blue instead of shades of gray.

I’m wearing a Feed for Target Chambray, H&M Skater Skirt

Accessories: White and Silver H&M bangle Light Blue Emi-Jay hairtie, Blue Gap Ballet Flats, Blue Twistband Headband and Silver H&M Leaves Necklace.

I adored wearing this outfit. It was easy and comfortable and still really dressy. It’s the perfect outfit and with different shoes and tights it’ll be perfect for fall.

A quick note about the Twistband Headband and a bit of and Ode to Emi-Jay: I bought these ages ago with Birchbox points, and I hate them. They’re really thin and they hurt my head and I just don’t love them. I do plan on picking up some Emi-Jay headbands the next time I’m near the local shop that sells them. Everytime I’ve tried any of the Emi-Jay knockoffs, I’ve regretted it. I really adore the Emi-Jay hairties and personally I’m going to stay with the brand.

Howl was dressed in blue as well!

I’ve decided that I’m going to try to make weekly book reviews a thing here. I’ve read a lot of books  in my life, and many of them were really good. Since I’ll continue to read for as long as I can, there will always be  books to talk about. I also plan to try to pair an outfit with each book. Either what I was wearing when I read it, or what it inspired me to wear after I read it. This outfit is a little of both.

I’m wearing Gilly Hicks Sweatpants, Enough Is Enough Tee from Sevenly, White Converse, Kate Spade Glasses.

On My Face: Kate Spade Glasses, Lancome Teint Visionnaire in 100n, Nars Concealer in Vanilla, YSL Babydoll Mascara and Benefit Girl Meets Pearl. I’m actually only wearing makeup because I’m testing this Foundation and Mascara to see if I want to buy the full sizes. You’ll find out in a future haul if I do or not.
My Hair: Pulled into a Messy Bun with an Emi-Jay Hair Tie, I love these hair ties.

And a very beat up and loved copy of PS. I Love You.

If you’re wondering why I chose this for the example of what I wore when I read this book, when it’s such a long book, well that’s because I’ve read this book so many times and I read fast even when I don’t know the material that I finished rereading it in 4 hours. I actually took these pictures before I started reading, which is why my makeup isn’t destroyed.

If you’re wondering why I was inspired to wear this well that brings us to the review, and that box of Puffs also pictured. The start of this book is sad. It’s heartbreaking. It’s about the first year or so of a widow’s life after her husband dies and how she recovers from the loss. She’s relatively close to my age, and I’m married so her loss really effects me. This is one of the few books and movies that make me cry. Like actual tears and everything (lets see how that mascara really holds up! BTW it’s not waterproof.) So I tend to wear something cozy and relaxed whenever I decide it’s time to reread this book.

It’s sort of really hard to review this book with out giving too much away, but I’ll try.  The book focuses on Holly, who is left a widow just a bit before turning 30, when it’s discovered her husband Gerry has a brain tumor. She’s an absolute mess until she receives the List from Gerry. Something they had only joked about before and here he’d actually gone and done it. One envelope a month with a task to help her get through the rest of the year. As the year goes on you see Holly begin to heal. To learn that there is a life for her without Gerry.

I think the subject of this book could have made it all too heartbreaking, and while that still would have made for a good book, I think the way that the author, Cecelia Ahern, tackles it with humor makes it easier to swallow. The whole book is both funny and sad at the same time. There were parts that made me both laugh and cry and I couldn’t tell you if it was because I was so sad for Holly or if it was because it was all just so funny.

I honestly love this book. I’ve read it so many times now, it’s more like a comfortable old friend, rather than just a story. Even though I know what’s coming as I turn the pages, I still laugh in all the same places and cry at all the saddest bits. I usually pick this up to read when I’m feeling a bit low, and by the next morning I’m already feeling much better.

Bonus: The movie version has what is by far my all time favorite movie quote: Ciara “Are you drunk?” Holly “No.” “Ciara “Well do ya wanna be?”