Books I Read in May and Books I Plan to Read in June 2021

 Hi! I don't always write on my blog, but I got a comment on one of my videos today of someone wanting to know about my blog, and I realized I hadn't written in it since March. I was going to make a video today, but I felt much more like writing in my blog. I feel more comfortable writing than talking on my videos. I am really a shy person, so I sort of fumble to think of words when I am speaking. I do better if I just write out what I would like to say. 

So these are the books I read this month! 

1. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

I give this a 5 star rating. It is very easy to read even though it was originally published in 1865. It read like a fairy tale to me. I love the Disney movie and there are some scenes I remember that were like the book, but there is also a lot in the two books that were not in the movie. I think if you like the movie, you will love these two books. It is very whimsical and actually pretty hilarious if you enjoy silly humor and puns. I thought it funny how each character Alice meets is on the verge of losing their temper it seems. She tries to be polite and not upset anyone, yet they get irritated at her just the same. I also enjoy the illustrations of John Tenniel. He was the original illustrator for both books, so if you get the books I encourage you to find them with the original illustrations.

2. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

I give this book 5/5 stars as well. It was written in 1907. I think this is my all time favorite book. I read it last year, and loved it. I bought all the books in the series. I plan on reading all of them this year. Actually, because I've seen videos of other books written by L.M. Montgomery where people recommended her other books it makes me feel like I probably would love all of them. I follow Darling Desi on Youtube, and I am one of her patrons on her Patreon page. She plans out "buddy reads" where we vote on what book we want to read for the month and then she makes a live video where we can talk about it. So for the month of May we voted for Anne of Green Gables to be the "buddy read". So I'm so excited for the video to come out. I think it will be out in July for the two books we read for May and June. 

This book is so sweet and special. I love the way the author describes things. From the story, to the characters, to the natural setting of Prince Edward Island. It is a beautiful story! I grew up watching the tv series with Megan Follows starring as Anne. I watched it over and over again. It's about an orphan girl that goes to live with Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert. They are expecting to adopt an 11 year old boy to help Matthew with his farming, but there is a mistake and Anne shows up! She is an imaginative, talkative, wonderful personality. I just love her! I wish she was real and that she was my friend. So the book shows her grow up to be 16 years old. And she has adventures and it follows her life. It is a sweet story. 

3. The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks

I also give this book 5/5 stars. I really love Nicholas Sparks books. When I got this book I was wandering around Barnes and Noble looking for some books I had on my list, but I couldn't find them and I decided to go to somewhere familiar so I found where the Nicholas Sparks books were kept. I feel like if you have read his books than you would like this book. It is very dramatic actually. I was expecting it to be a love story that might end up sad or there may be some sad bits in it. So I was prepared to cry. I didn't mind if I did cry actually. There is also a bit of a supernatural element to the book. You don't know if the main character is seeing a ghost or if he is hallucinating. I know that happens sometimes in Nicholas Sparks books where there is an other worldly element to his stories. And I like that. There are also a couple of really evil characters in here that you just can't help but hate. Sparks is really good at creating characters. I just think his books are excellent. They are not difficult to read at all. They are sweet love stories. Sometimes bitter sweet. Because of the evil characters I felt worried for the safety of the other characters in the book, which created an element of suspense and made you want to keep turning the pages. There is also sad life moments in the story that keep it dramatic and you feel sad for the main characters. I think this was made into a movie actually. I am going to need to watch the movie now. 

These are the books I plan to read in June:

1. Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery

This is the third book in the Anne of Green Gables series. In this book she is going off to college. I don't think I've ever read this one. I started reading it last year, but I didn't get into it so I put it down. I'm going to try to read it again because I have a renewed interest in books this season. In this book it says on the back that Anne's friends are all getting married. I wonder if she will have romance in this book.

2. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

I've read this book before, but I decided I wanted to reread it. It is one of the books that might be a "Buddy Read" for the month of June on Darling Desi's Patreon Page. I decided whether it will win or not, I want to reread this book. I really enjoyed it the first time I read it, and I also enjoyed the movies. It is the book that comes before the Lord of the Ring books. It is a classic fantasy book. It was written in 1932. There is magic, elves, hobbits, dwarves, wizards, and dragons in this book! It definitely appeals to the imagination. I think J.R.R. Tolkien was the one who started the whole different type of character like an elf, a man, a dwarf, a wizard, a hobbit, etc. from different races and they all come together and go on a quest. I think a lot of fantasy writers have copied him and video game writers. 

3. Pages and Co. The Bookwanderers by Anna James

This is a series of Middle Grade books where the characters wander out of the books they are in and meet the main character, Tilly! In this book she meets Anne of Green Gables and Alice of Wonderland! I heard about this book this month and I thought this is the perfect book for me to read since I just finished reading those two books! And then when I was looking at Darling Desi's Patreon page, I realized it was actually picked as a buddy read this year, and I missed it. I think I just saw they were reading a book for young readers and I wasn't interested to know more about it. Then I have been watching Alexandra Roselyn's youtube videos. She is a booktuber and reviews books on her channel. She talked about this book and it sounded perfect for me. I heard this whole series is really good, so I might have a new series I will want to read. It sounds fun and imaginative. 

I hope you enjoyed reading my blog! Feel free to leave a comment. I rarely get comments on my blog. My youtube channel is Dream Cat, and my instagram is Seaside653.

Beauty Empties and Candles I've Used Up

 These are mini reviews of beauty products plus candles I've used up. I also will say if I would repurchase them.

1. Bath and Body Works Linen & Lavender Candle. The notes are crisp linen, lavender sea salt, and fresh air breeze. If you like lavender, I think you would like this smell. It smells like a nice soap to me. It isn't a bad smell, but it isn't one of my favorites. My dad likes it.

2. Bath and Body Works Aloha Kiwi Passionfruit Candle. The notes are tropical passionfruit, radiant kiwi, and juicy pineapple. I like this one! It is a nice fresh scent. I recommend it!

3. Bath and Body Works Fall Farmhouse Candle. The notes are spiced pumpkin, forest pine branch, and fresh fall air. This is my favorite of these three candles. It smells like pumpkin to me. I like the spicy and tree scented candles that come out in the fall and wintertime. 

4. Bath and Body Works Bahamas Passionfruit & Banana Flower Shower Gel. It is a nice smelling shower gel, and it is good for your skin. It has aloe, shea butter, and vitamin E. The notes are passionfruit, pineapple leaves, and banana flower. It smells tropical to me. It is a good shower gel. I would wait to buy it when there is a sale going on. I like the smell, but I think I got tired of it. It isn't a bad smell though. 

5. Roux Shampoo for Dry, Damaged Hair. This has a lot of good ingredients in it. It says 8 precious oils: argan, olive, avocado, coconut, sunflower, castor, sweet almond, and jojoba oils plus vitamins. I got this in the How To Be A Redhead subscription box. It was a nice shampoo, but I don't think I will buy it. I normally get shampoo from the drugstore. I don't have anything bad to say about this shampoo. I think it is good. I am using the conditioner too. 

6. Dove Dry Spray Deodorant in Coconut. This is my favorite deodorant. I get it every time. It smells good and it doesn't leave any white residue on your clothes.

7. Radha Beauty Retinol Moisturizer. This has 2.5% active Retinol, Hyaluronic Acid, Vitamin E and Green Tea. I got this from the How To Be A Redhead Box too. I liked it, but I don't think I will repurchase it. I use Cerave Moisturizing Cream normally. It is a good lotion. It doesn't smell bad or have anything in it that irritated my skin. 

8. Elf Mineral Infused Face Primer. I like this primer. You can get it at the drugstore. I would repurchase it. I don't remember what minerals are in this primer. It doesn't say on the jar or on the website. Right now I'm using Benefit Porefessional which is another really good face primer. It makes your foundation go on well and last longer. 

9. Lancome Monsieur Big Mascara: This was a little sample I got somewhere. I don't remember where I got it. It was really nice! I loved it, but I don't think I would buy it because it is too expensive. I normally use L'Oreal Lash Paradise Mascara. I really like that one.

10. Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Perversion. This is a really great black eye liner. I recommend it. It is more expensive than the eye liners you can get at the drugstore. It works well and it is easy to smudge it out. This time I got the Covergirl Black Eye Liner because I really like the Covergirl Liner in Espresso. 

So those are the products I've used up! I hope you guys are doing well. My video is still not working when I try to record. I like making blog posts though. 

February Favorites 2021

 

These were my favorite books and movies for the month of February. Usually I include beauty favorites, but I didn't use anything new. I just "shopped my stash", which is when you use the makeup you already have. 

1. Emma by Jane Austen: This is the third Jane Austen book I have read. I liked it better than Northanger Abbey, but I didn't think it was as good as Pride and Prejudice. Emma was written in 1815. It is about a young woman who is beautiful and rich living in a small town in England. She has been spoiled all her life, and most everyone loves her. She is not a perfect character, but I like her in spite of her flaws. Jane Austen is brilliant at writing characters. You feel like you have gone back to this time period and really have met these people when you read this book. I have been reading Jane Austen books because Darling Desi has a book club on Youtube called "Affectionately Austen Book Club." She and a group of other booktubers discuss the book. For Aug-Sep 2020 they read Pride and Prejudice. For Oct-Nov they read Northanger Abbey. For Dec-Jan they read Emma. The next book they are reading and discussing is Persuasion. As I was reading I read a summary and analysis which I found here: https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/emma/. I also watched a made for tv movie of Emma that you can watch on Youtube. It has Kate Beckinsale in it.

This is the Darling Desi video discussion: 

2. My second favorite of the month is The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien. It is the the first book in a trilogy called The Lord of the Rings. This is another great classic book! I have read it before. These are some of my favorite books. It has a great story and characters. I like the values the books have, like the value of friendship, loyalty, love, honor, etc. And the fight against good vs. evil. I studied this book just like I did with Emma by going to the Spark Notes website. I also watched the movie as I read. I think the movie is a good adaptation of the book. It isn't exactly like the book, the movie is more fast paced. 

I hope you are all doing well. I am looking forward to Spring.

January 2021 Favorites!

 Hi! I'm back to write on my blog! My camera on my computer is not working, so I can't make a Youtube video. Maybe I can make a short one to say I am back on my blog making posts.

These are my favorite beauty products and books of January. 

1. The top item is Too Faced Better Than Sex Black Liquid Liner. I wanted to try a new liner. I do like this one, but I think a cheaper alternative is the Physicians Formula Black Liquid Liner. 

2. The middle bag and brushes are a set of eye brushes by Morphe x Jaclyn Hill. I absolutely love these brushes! I use them every day. There is a big fluffy brush for blending, two crease brushes, a brush for under the eyebrow, one for the inner corner, an eyelid brush, and a liner brush. 

3. The bottom bottle is Bath and Body Works Body Spray in Vanilla Bean Noel. It smells like sugar cookies to me and a nice vanilla spray. I like it better than the Victoria Secret Vanilla Spray, but some might argue with me. I had been wanting a nice sweet vanilla spray to wear.

4. I am currently reading "Chasing Vines" by Beth Moore. There is a lot of talk in the Bible about grape vines! It is all very symbolic. God loves to garden, and he likes to use it as a metaphor. Beth Moore is a great Bible teacher, and I have done a couple of studies by her. I have not read a book by her though. She is a very beautiful writer. I am not finished with the book, but as I'm reading the book I'm watching the DVD that goes with it. She is a very great, passionate teacher. She gets so excited, and you can tell she loves God and His Word. I look forward to watching the DVD as I go through this book.

5. These are the Bibles I am reading from. The one on the left is A Woman After God's Own Heart Bible. The bible on the right is the She Reads Truth Bible. I am going through the "Read the Bible In a Year Plan" that is in the She Reads Truth Bible, and then reading the notes in both Bibles. Both Bibles are geared for women, and this is the first time I've had bibles specifically for a woman. The Bible plan I'm reading is I read a chapter in each of the following: Genesis, Ezra, Matthew, and Acts every day. 

6. I am doing this study with my Dad called "Revelation: All Things New." It is from the First 5 app. They have done studies on each of the books of the bible. And every day there is a little devotional you read, and if you want to dig deeper you can buy the book. On the weekends there is an audio teaching. My dad and I did the Advent study, and we did 40 days through the Bible. They have really great studies. I like this study on Revelation because it is not difficult. It explains some things, but it doesn't say it has all the answers because there is scholarly debate on the meaning of things in Revelation. I also like how it applies the book to your life.

7. Write the Word Cultivate Confidence. This is a journal with lines to write scripture. Each journal has a theme, and the theme for this one is Confidence. So the scripture goes along with that. You write the date, what you are grateful for, the scripture (they tell you which part), and then you write what is on your heart that day. You can write a prayer or just journal. I do both. And then you write the word of the day. You can choose what you want that to be. I did this last year and the journal was all about worship. I wanted to do it again. There are many different journals. I am thinking when I'm done with this one I might make my own journal instead of buying one because I am in a Facebook group that does scripture challenges.

This is a new song I've been loving: New Day by Danny Gokey

I hope 2021 is a great year for you! I feel hopeful that it will be better than 2020. 

October Favorites 2018

1. Keeping Up with the Kardashians: For some reason I feel a bit embarrassed for watching this show. I don't know why. I like reality tv and I like the drama I think. So why wouldn't I like this show? I haven't watched it until now. It's on Sunday nights at 9 pm on E! I find it interesting to watch what they do, and their relationships with each other. It's a bit like the real housewife shows I like to watch because they are wealthy and they get into fights sometimes. I'm not sure if that's why I like it when there are conflicts. I guess it does make it more interesting when there is drama.

2. The Real Housewives of Orange County: This show is on Monday nights at 9 pm on Bravo. This show is still on and I'm still watching it. I think it is funny. I like seeing what they do and watching them get along with each other or how they don't get along with each other. I think it's because I am interested in psychology and I like watching people, and that's why I like watching reality tv.

3. Jersey Shore Family Vacation: This show is on Thursday nights at 8 pm on MTV. I remember watching this show in my 20's. Well, it is back with the same people all except for one who has issues with one of the housemates. I think this show is really entertaining. It's another reality tv show. I think everyone in the show is interesting and I like to hear their thoughts on different things that happen within the show. I'm glad it is back on. I watch Jenny and Nicole's Youtube channels sometimes. I think they are funny and their children are so cute.

4. 13 Reasons Why Season 2: This is on Netflix. I watched the first season when it came out all at once, each episode back to back. I shouldn't have done that because it upset me and I had trouble sleeping. So this season I'm watching it just one episode a day. It is a drama show about a group of high schoolers. In the first season a girl commits suicide and she makes tapes about the people who she claims are the reason she is killing herself. In the second season the girl's parents are suing the school and the different students go on trial. In this season you learn more about the characters and the girl who commits suicide. She is in it still as a ghost that visits the main character, Clay. I haven't finished the season yet. I'm afraid something bad is going to happen at the end.

5. The Great British Bake Off: I watch this on Netflix. This is a show where there are a bunch of different bakers and they have to bake different things. There are 2 judges that decide who has done the best and who has done the worst. They say who gets to go home. I like watching them bake different things. I get excited to see if they will get it done in the time limit and if they have baked things right. It is a funny show too. The hosts are funny.

These are my beauty favorites:

I swatched three of my favorites on my hand.

1. The first I swatched is a brown liner by Urban Decay called Whiskey. It is 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil.

This is an eye pencil I got for my birthday. I like the Urban Decay eye pencils. I also got the one in black called Perversion, but this month Whiskey is my favorite because I used it the most.

2. The second thing I swatched on my hand is Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait. These unfortunately aren't sold anymore. I really loved these lip butters and bought a bunch of them when they were being sold, and I still have them in my collection. They just feel good on the lips. They don't last a long time though. This is a pretty peachy pink color. I went to the beach this month for a week, and I wore this every day.

3. The third thing swatched on my hand is this beautiful blush. This is Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso. I've liked this blush for several years now. It's a pretty peach blush that looks good on my fair skin, red hair coloring. I think it looks good on different people's coloring because people used to talk about it a lot on Youtube. That's how I heard about it. I still wear it, and it is still available to buy. It's just a pretty peach, natural glowy looking blush.

4. This is Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara in Waterproof. I always get the waterproof mascara because I heard it holds curl the best and just in case my eyes water it won't mess up my makeup. I have been wearing for over a year the L'Oreal Lash Paradise Mascara. That one was good too, but I heard this one was good and I wanted to try something different. I like how this one separates my lashes. I recommend either of these mascaras.

5. My final favorite has been in a favorites before which is the Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray. I got a free deluxe sample of this and an Urban Decay lip gloss when I purchased two eye liners. I used this setting spray at the beach. It is like hair spray for your face and makeup. I like to use this, but I don't think I would buy the full size because I don't want to spend the money. I feel like it wouldn't last a long time. But I am glad to get it for free, and I've been using it all month.

I hope you like my favorites this month! I haven't really been wearing makeup a whole lot. Sometimes I'm just not in the right mood. That is why I don't have very many favorites this month. I use a lot of what I already have mentioned in a favorites for the year. I don't want to repeat the same things. 

I hope you had a good October. The month went by really fast for me. Please feel free to leave me a comment!

September Favorites 2018

This month I continued to watch The Real Housewives of Orange County and The Jersey Shore. In addition I watched four episodes of Stranger Things on Netflix and one episode of 13 Reasons Why. I plan on watching more of those, but I don't binge watch shows. I guess my attention isn't that great. For the first season of 13 Reason's Why I binge watched it, and it gave me anxiety and I couldn't sleep, so I am going to be careful not to do that this time watching the second season. I have been watching Keeping Up with the Kardashians and that show is ok to me.

Here are my beauty favorites of the month...

1. Urban Decay Ammo Palette: This is an older palette by Urban Decay that they don't sell anymore. I wore the color Smog which is a bronzy color on the upper left corner. I wore Chopper which is a peachy color on the upper right corner, and Sin on the bottom right corner.

2. Rimmel Natural Bronzer in 021 Sun Light: This is a light bronzer good for if you have light skin.

3. Kat Von D Monarch Palette: My favorite color in the palette is the matte orange one on the far left called Wrath. I also like the dark brown color on the second to the right at the end by the black. It's called Shadow Box.

4. Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette: I love this palette. I wore Salted Caramel in the crease. Thats the middle shadow on the far left. And I wore the golden shade Creme Brulee which is the second color on the bottom row.

5. Too Faced Hangover Face Primer: My birthday is September 2nd, and I got some makeup goodies for myself. This is one of the things I got. It smells like coconut. I like it. I think it's a good primer. Normally I would get a primer from the drugstore, but this was just a treat for my birthday.

6. Maybelline Baby Skin Face Primer: This is supposed to be like Benefit's Porefessional. I think it works ok at getting rid of the appearance of pores. I was using this before I got the Too Faced one. I think they are both good primers.

7. Aczone: I used to go to a dermatologist and they gave me a bunch of free samples of Aczone. I put this on my pimples and it works well.

8. Maybelline Master Precise Black Liquid Liner: I found this in my collection this month. I hadn't used it for awhile. I'm not sure if this is still sold in stores. I feel like I have more control with this then with the NYX Liquid liner. It is like a pen.

So those are my favorites for this month. I hope this is helpful and you enjoy reading my blog! I hope you have a good day.

August Favorites 2018

1. This is one of my favorites for TV shows. I've mentioned this show before on my favorites list. This has a group of interesting women where they follow their lives and their relationship with one another. I am hooked!

2. This is another show on Bravo that I like to watch. Its a reality show. This has a different group of women. I've been watching the show for a long time, so I've gotten to know the people that have been on there for awhile. There are some new ones on the show.

3. This is the Jersey Shore Family Vacation. I used to watch The Jersey Shore when it was first on. Now they are older. Some of them are married and have children. They are reunited and are vacationing in Las Vegas. The show is on MTV. Its a reality show. There are funny parts and serious. You get to know each person, and see their relationship with one another. 

4. Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Chamomile and Lavender: I like to spray my face with this before I put on my makeup. I spray this on and then put on lotion. It feels refreshing to spray this on your face if you are hot too.

5. Maybelline Lemonade Craze Palette: This is a new palette at the drugstore. I didn't need it, but I thought it would be fun to play around with. It has some pretty colors for the summertime. It smells like lemons.

6. L'Oreal Paradise Enchanted Palette: This is another palette that I didn't need, but I thought it was pretty. I liked the different shadows. This is another new palette from the drugstore. It smells like peaches.

7. Flower Beauty Concealer in Lighten Up: This has a brush applicator. I think it's a good concealer. I got it because Zabrena on Youtube said good things about it and I was shopping around for a new concealer.

8. Wet 'n Wild Photo Focus Face Primer in Dewy: I also got the matte one and that one was good too. It is very inexpensive at the drugstore. This one makes your face very glowy.

9. Milani Make It Dewy Setting Spray: This smells really good. It sets your face and makes it look pretty and glowy.

10. It's A 10 Miracle Leave-In Plus Keratin. This is for the hair after you come out of the shower. I spray it into my hands and rub into hair because if I spray it too much product comes out and my fine hair doesn't need a lot of it. It helps my hair not to be so frizzy. It is a heat protectant too. It detangles.

11. Revlon Kiss Cushion Lip Tint in 250 High End Coral: I love this! This is a pretty bright, summer color. I like how this feels on the lips. I want to get it in more colors, but I haven't been seeing it at the store. Maybe I can find it online.

I hope you like my favorites! I'm sorry I haven't been doing them every month like I used to do. I guess I lost interest in it, but I do like to have a record of my favorites. It's like a diary entry I can look back on. Its funny to see what my favorites were several years ago.

I hope you had a wonderful summer. I had a pretty good summer. I don't really like it to come to an end because I like the nice weather.