Thursday, October 8, 2009

Books 57 - 61 & Read For The Record Day

I thought Read For The Record Day would be a good time to catch up on my books. This event is a worldwide campaign to share the joy of reading with children, and this year's book was The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

When I was young, and my parents lived in my grandparent's basement after they moved back to this state, my grandfather used to read to me every morning before he went to work. I can't say I even have any really clear memories of it, but I've never lost my love of reading, so I know firsthand that this kind of effort really can make a lifelong difference =)

#57
Kitty Takes A Holiday
Kitty Norville Book 3
Carrie Vaughn

Hmm, of course these books get harder & harder to talk about without spoilers the farther it goes ... I'll just say that she didn't take the vacation I was expecting & half hoping for (with one of the characters from the last book), and the vacation she did take was not a very restful one. Which I guess is good, since that would probably have made a pretty boring book LOL.

#58
Kitty And the Silver Bullet
Kitty Norville Book 4
Carrie Vaughn

In this book, Kitty tries to fly under the radar when she heads back to the home she's been basically exiled from in response to her mother's sudden illness, but she's not too good at going unnoticed. She has to choose between running, leaving her family, or making a stand and getting involved in the local supernatural politics.

#59
Mean Streets
Anthology

I didn't make it all the way through this one, but I'm giving myself credit because I honestly did try ... but I only really got this for 1 out of the four novellas (the one by Jim Butcher), and I ended up reading 2, but the others I just couldn't get through, before I had to return this ... and I don't think I'll ever bother to get it again to finish them either.

#60
The Storm Witch
Dhulyn & Parno Book 3
Violette Malan

I love this author, and I really wish she had more books =( Dhulyn & Parno are Mercenary Brothers (although Dhulyn IS a girl, she's still a Brother), and before they can wrap up the loose ends & issues left over from the last book, they're roped into a quest pretty much clear across the world. But they're badass of course, so nothing they can't handle =)


#61
Kitty And the Dead Man's Hand
Kitty Norville Book 5
Carrie Vaughn

I think this title must be a reference to something I don't know, because most of the other titles have been self-explanatory or at least obvious by the end of the book. She goes to Vegas in this one, maybe it's a reference to something there? I've never been ... hmmm, if anyone happens to know, drop a comment.

That's what I've finished up until now ... I kind of wonder if I'll even hit 100 books by the end of the year. For those of you who think that's a ridiculous goal, it's not that so much as knowing last year I ended up reading 130. So I feel behind, even though I'm reading pretty much everything I want to. Just not as much time to explore new authors I guess. Thanks for reading.

~Colette

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

NOTD: Green For Depression Awareness Month

You guys know I try to keep things around here pretty happy & upbeat, but those of you who’ve wandered over to Throughout Me know that’s not always how I feel. Scrangie recently put up a very informative post, letting all of her readers know that October is Depression Awareness month, and for those of you who haven’t read the post already I encourage you to click the link above & take a moment to do so.

Depression isn't just about being “sad” … it can be about feeling hopeless, out of control of your life & your emotions. And it’s got a stigma as not being a “real problem” to the point where a lot of times people don’t even want to talk about it. You probably know a lot of people in your day-to-day life that are dealing with this problem, even if you don’t know who they are.

Now, it wouldn't be an awareness month without a signature color! Time for a green mani =) Barielle Date Night, Konad done with Millennium & plate m36:


Millennium is a little brighter of a silver than Devotion for stamping. Here's a quick comparison shot, Millennium left & Devotion right:


Thanks for reading

~Colette

Water Marble Tutorials (& More Pics)

So, I wanted to post up a few of the tutorials that helped me most with this whole water marbling thing. Since I'm talking about it, I might as well share a few more pics, it's certainly worthy =) And the sun made an appearance today, so I have some outside shots:


The first two are both from Tartofraises. The first is basic marbling technique, and the second shows the taping technique that makes this feasible on natural nails. I did exactly one finger without tape & it made such a ridiculous mess I'll never try that again.

Water Marble Manicure
French Manicure Water Marble

The 3rd is from YouTube, and just is a really pretty example:

Water Marble Tutorial

As I said before, this was fun & easier than I expected. Just experiment with different polish & you're bound to come up with something cool. Thanks for reading =)

~Colette

Ulta Haul

Usually, Ulta is a little spendy for me, even if it is the only normal store I can reliably find OPI at. But since I'm part of their little reward program, I get their monthly flyer, and October's has a $5.00 off (any purchase over $10.00) coupon, plus OPI is buy 2 get 1 free. So I thought I should take advantage, and this is what I got:


(Yes, that's Frisky's tail ... um, in the way much?) Top: Suzi Skis In The Pyrenees Suede, Russian Navy Suede, OPI Ink Suede. Bottom: Lincoln Park After Dark Suede, You Don't Know Jacques Suede, and DS Extravagance. Very pleased with this haul, I can't wait to try the suedes although I admit I'll be wearing them with topcoat =)

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

2x Toes

Sooo.... I somehow managed to get really behind with stuff I wanted to post, and I'm going to try & remedy the situation here. To think I used to worry I wouldn't have enough to post about LOL.

First up are 2 pedicures ... 1st one barely counts, because I took it off immediately, it was ugly plus it wouldn't dry right, it got all gummy & gross even with topcoat, and I decided to change it. Fingerpaints Spark My Interest was sill watery & transparent after 4 coats, so I tried to "fix" it with NYX Girls CN228:


The replacement pedi is Icing Purple Pjs & is obviously like 50 times better. I realized I had no pics when I started writing this post, so I quickly took a few ... so please excuse both the tipwear & the sock lint:


Sigh, too bad it's no longer sandal season to show off this nice dark purple. Thanks for reading.

~Colette
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...