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.