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I’m doing things a little differently this month. Instead of sharing an entire post about my budget, I thought I’d try out something new by combining a few of my “month’s end” posts into one. Let me know what you think of this new format, it’s been something I’ve been thinking about doing for a while.
What I’ve Bought
Old Navy: I picked up a couple of basics (Classic Chambray Shirts in Light and Medium, White Dolman Sleeve Tee) plus this Floral Romper, which I’m loving!
Nordstrom: I used a Nordstrom note towards the Blank NYC Moto Jacket, making it a crazy steal during the #NSale!
Ulta: So I got a 20% off everything Ulta coupon… so this happened: Anastasia Beverly Hills Shadow Couture World Traveler Palette, Urban Decay Naked3 Palette, Too Faced Beauty Expert Darlings Kit, & Too Faced Melted in Fig. Oops!
Macy*s: I’ve wanted to try a pair of combat boots, and these Rampage Jeliana Lace Up Combat Boots were the right price at less than $40. (Plus I had a Macy*s gift card from 2 Christmases ago!)
DailyLook: I received the Sinatra Fringe Bucket Bag in my final DailyLook Elite Box, and I’m so glad I kept it. I also grabbed the Classic Vegan Leather Saddlebag with a $15 coupon code making it cheap even if I did have to pay shipping!
Golden Tote: See what I got in this month’s Tote.
To offset some of my purchases, I sent another bag to ThredUp, received my cash back “paycheck” from eBates, sold some clothes in the Golden Tote Trading Group, and returned a couple of last month’s purchases to Nordstrom (the poncho and the vest from last month that I just wasn’t in love with, and a pair of jeans that I got at the end of spring that I didn’t ever wear.)
What I’ve Read
I missed sharing my reading updates last month, so my apologies that this one is on the long side. I tried to categorize them so you can easily pick out my top picks.
My Favorites (4 or 5 stars)
The Royal We by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan (From Go Fug Yourself): Fan of all things royal? You’d love this. It’s essentially Kate Middleton Fan Fiction, as the storylines appear to be eerily similar without being precise.
What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding by Kristin Newman: Pretty amusing, this would be great for fans of Chelsea Handler.
Nowhere but Home by Aliza Palmer: Loved this! Not my usual pick in terms of geographic location or overall storyline but I enjoyed this and would recommend it.
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech: A throwback to my childhood from the Modern Mrs. Darcy 2015 challenge, and I loved rereading it.
Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron: And I thought I was a crazy dog,lady! Myron puts me to shame, but this was a sweet book. Who doesn’t love a good book about a pet?!
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr: I may have been expecting this to blow my mind based on all the praise, but this book is beautifully written, and the story is one I want to read again.
Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio by Peg Kehret: Another childhood re-read, and one of my Mom’s favorites for the Modern Mrs. Darcy 2015 challenge. Recommend this if you haven’t read it before!
#GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso: If you love a good rags to riches story, you’ll enjoy this. It’s also got a nice girl-power vibe.
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins: Yay, I finally finished The Hunger Games! I enjoyed these books, but Harry Potter will forever be my favorite teen/YA series.
The Goods-but-not-greats (3-stars)
Euphoria by Lily King: I probably shouldn’t pick books around anthropological themes, as this was my absolute least favorite subject in college. If you’re into that sort of thing, you’d probably love this.
I Was Here by Gayle Forman: I had a hard time deciding on the rating for this. I enjoyed it. However, I think the story could have been more emotional. It didn’t feel very deep.
When to Rob a Bank by Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner: As much as I love the Freakonomics books, this one seemed the most repetitive. (e.g. Have we heard this story already? …I thought we had.) It seemed the weakest since almost all content came from a blog or podcast. (Luckily we don’t read or subscribe to either.)
Breakable by Aimee Salter: While I liked the overall message (anti-bullying, empowerment, and mental wellness), I felt like this book dragged on longer than necessary and was very repetitive.
Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman: I’m finding that I may just not be a big fan of Gaiman’s writing style…
Model Misfit by Holly Smale: I’m in between a three and a four on this. I liked that Smale put a spin on a stereotype – taking an aspiring model teen and making her somewhat awkward and geeky.
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins: Disappointing. I felt like I saw it coming from the beginning…
Princess in Love and Princess in the Spotlight by Meg Cabot: Pretty self-explanatory, easy, quick and enjoyable reads. (And yes, I know I’m too old for these. Whatever.)
Paris was the Place by Susan Conley: Good, but not great. I don’t think I would have enjoyed this as much if we hadn’t just visited the city.
Insurgent by Veronica Roth: I think I may be alone in my not-enthusiastically-in-love with the Divergent series.
The Ship of Brides by Jojo Moyes: Enjoyable, but not my favorite from Moyes.
The I-Don’t-Recommends (1 or 2 stars)
Nothing this month! Yay.
2015 Reading Updates:
Total Books Read for the Modern Mrs. Darcy 2015 Reading Challenge: 6 / 12
Total Books Read for the Semi-Charmed Summer Challenge: 11 / 12 (didn’t finish… dang it!)
Total Books Read for the Literary Ladies Book Challenge: 6 / 10
Total Books this month (and last): 20
Total Books read this year: 88 / 150
What I’ve Used Up
Apparently I was a little Negative Nancy about some of the stuff I’ve used up. I did have some amazing products I finished out, and some new things I tried that were not so pleasing.
What I Didn’t Like
Fashion
Old Navy: I had a lot of misses at Old Navy. I usually shop there at the change of the season to get some good basics, but this peter pan collar shirt was probably the biggest bummer. It looked like it was made for a child (and fit that way too.) Not cute.
Beauty
Covergirl: The hyped up LashBlast Super Sizer Mascara and Intensify Me Liner were both duds for me. I used both 2x and gave up. The mascara is too wet and ended up all over my lids, while the applicator tip of the eyeliner is “innovative” but harder to use than the standard felt tip of most pen liners. Plus, it took multiple coats, and it still wasn’t opaque.
Books
Nothing this month!
What were your favorites, or least favorites, for the month? Pick up any good books lately? I’d love to hear about it!
My favorite purchase this month is the Lorna Jane 3/4 Amy Tight in Heather Grey! I live in workout gear so it will for sure be a staple!
Sounds super comfy, I’ve been wanting to try workout gear from Lorna Jane! I’ll have to check out the Amy Tight!
yay, so glad to hear you liked the royal we! i loved it.
you are not alone with the divergent series, but i highly recommend you stop there and don’t read the 3rd book.. hashtag just saying.
HA, thanks for the advice, Kristen! I think I will pass on it then! ;)
Wow, you read so much in August! I read The Royal We too and really enjoyed it, I liked that it looked at the downsides of being in the royal family too.
I loved that part about it too! It was an interesting perspective since it really didn’t glamourize it as much as I expected!
I always love Old Navy, sad to hear you had a few misses :(
I love shopping there too, just have issues with their sizing sometimes. I love the pieces I did keep from them though!
Loved Walk Two Moons! I’m sooo mad at myself because I was just over half-way through All The Light We Cannot See and finally getting into it, but I read it too slowly so it went back to the library and now I’m stuck on a hold list for it again :( And what awesome Ulta purchases– those coupons are the best!
Oh no! I hate when that happens. I have that happen with audiobooks through our library system a lot and it drives me crazy! Hope you get it again soon, Carly!
I am definitely going to be checking out these books! They sound awesome!
So glad, Christine! :)
I like the format of this post, but I’d maybe do your books separately because this was a lot of information to take in at once! But I loved it all! I’m so surprised you didn’t like Girl on a Train or I Was Here; I loved them both! I Was Here really stuck with me weeks after I finished reading it; I don’t know what it was, but it just stayed with me. Also, I bought the Anastasia palette and the Too Faced kit and the Born this Way Foundation! They are all rocking my world!
Ha, yeah, and it was a lot more information to prepare than I expected. Oh well, I tried… but I think I’m only going to highlight a favorite book and keep the rest for a separate post. I did like both of them, I just wasn’t super in love with either. I expected more from Girl on a Train (I blame the overhyped comparison to Gone Girl, I just didn’t feel like it was as good) and I did like I Was Here but it just didn’t stick with me! Funny how books really are such different experiences for everyone!
I’ve been meaning to read All the Light We Cannot See but I haven’t gotten around to it yet. Girlboss is up next for me though, so I’m excited!
I really enjoyed it, hope you do too, Shannon!
So much good info! I loved your video, good to know what to try and what to skip!
Thanks so much, Julia! :)
I’m totally with you when it comes to the Divergent series. I’ve enjoyed the movies, but have only read the first book so far. Mayyyybe I’ll read the rest one day. Maybe.
Oh, and I didn’t like that mascara either! I was disappointed :(
Seriously, me too! It was so hyped up that I expected it to be amazing… :(
That’s exactly how I feel about them too, Britt! I read the first and second and really don’t have much interest in the next one…
I like the format of this post! However, I like when you do your book posts separately, haha. Just added some to my Goodreads!
Thanks for the feedback, Rachael! I think it was too much for this style of post anyways, so I may be bringing back the dedicated book post this month!
i’m so glad you said that about the girl on the train! i seem to be the only one who felt that way…until now. just read one called the hand that feeds you, which was really good. i told 2 people about it, and they both read it and loved it, too. it’s written by 2 friends who were inspired by a 3rd friends ordeal with her boyfriend who turned out to be not who he said he was.
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The Hand That Feeds You sounds great – I’ll add that to my list! Honestly I just feel like Girl on the Train was overhyped. It wasn’t bad, but it was compared to books I like more (Gone Girl, especially!)