Valentine's Day Celebrations, Beauty Swap, and Card Exchange

Hi Folks,

Update

I've been busy this past week and fighting off a cold.  This winter is just a tough one for my body apparently.  But there are lots of good things to appreciate as well.  I've been filming a bunch of videos, mostly unboxings of fun beauty and lifestyle boxes.  I also have that darn winter capsule wardrobe post nearly ready to post.  I know I keep saying it's coming, but I keep running into snags while putting it together.  It'll be here soon, promise!  (Maybe today!?)

MuteMath

Friday I headed out with my brother in law Michael to see MuteMath at The Cat's Cradle.  The last time I saw them live was back in 2006...the last time they were at the venue with Switchfoot actually.  While I don't think they allowed SLR cameras at the show I did take some reasonable phone shots and a little video I thought I'd share.  The show was just amazing, MuteMath is one of my favorite live bands hands down!

Hopefully you can get a feel for their energy!  I think I was dancing almost the whole time!

Valentine's Day Celebrations

Next up is the real reason for this post - I wanted to share a pair of videos I made for Valentine's Day!   I did a card exchange with some fellow bloggers and YouTubers from the Geeks & Beauties Community.  And I also participated in a beauty swap challenge where Zainey Laney and I bought each other the makeup for a Valentine's Day date look for under $10!  These were both loads of fun and if you hop over to the videos on YouTube you can see links to other folks from the group joined in as well.  Part 1 has the cards and me opening the items for the beauty look.  Part 2 is putting on the makeup and chatting about life!

The cold I've had also made me have to take off the makeup almost immediately after putting it on....my eyes were just so itchy.  It made me sad.  And things stayed that way for our actual Valentine's Day date as well.  So I went with some extra bright lipstick and a couple doses of medication to help me make it to our double date with Bryan's parents.  We decided to see The Force Awakens again, and went out to lunch once we realized we'd have to catch a slightly later show than planned because the show we wanted was sold out.  It gave us a chance to go eat at Chili's together, and do a bit of shopping before the movie as well.  We oogled some board games at Game Theory, a great local gaming shop.  There may need to be some board game review posts here in the future!  We also discovered once we arrived at the theater that it was newly renovated and had super nice reclining seats.  We had a wonderful time watching Star Wars a second time and came up with more fan theories (you can hear some of my initial ones in this post) and discussed what we'd observed since we listened to the Hello Internet podcast on The Force Awakens this past week as well.  Here's a parting shot of us!

Thanks for reading, I'll see you all again soon.

Unboxing Ipsy's January Bag

Hello everyone,

Another day, another video here.  Soon I'll have all the January ones up, and then I'll...get to do the February ones.  haha  However we'll have some non-beauty content for tomorrow's post!  I swear I'm not trying to overload you all.

January's Ipsy Bag

Ipsy is one of the best bargain subscriptions out there at only $10 a month.  You can find out more and sign up here - https://www.ipsy.com/new?refer=1pict.

Thanks for reading, and if you haven't already, please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you're enjoying my videos.

January's Enchanted Beauty Box!

Hi friends,

It's been a while, but I have a lot of new things to share with you this week.  First up we've got this unboxing video:

January Enchanted Beauty Box - Frozen!

If you'd like to find out more or subscribe just go to http://www.enchantedbeautybox.com/.  Use code GEEK for 25% off!

You can see what December's Star Wars box was like here as well.

Thanks for reading!  I'll have another new post very soon.

Find Your Perfect Valentine's Day - Quiz!

Hi folks,

This post is going to be fun and you know it, because it's a quiz.  I made it because I'm part of a great group called the Geeks & Beauties Community.  Some of us are going a collaboration this month where we all write a post with a Valentine's Day theme, and link to each others posts.  So if you'd like to check them out please scroll to the bottom of this post!  I'll be adding each post as they go up this week.

So I've been wanting to make a quiz for a while and this was the perfect excuse.  Are you wondering what to do for Valentine's Day?  Maybe you just don't want to think about it.  That's ok, take this quick quiz and maybe it'll decide for you.

Geeky Valentine's Day Date Planner

The day is coming, and no I'm not talking about the zombie apocalypse - Valentine's Day. No mater whether you're single or with a significant other you need a plan. Maybe it will even involve prepping some weapons to train for surviving in a dystopian future. Let's take a look deep into your soul and find your perfect fate in 7 easy questions.

1. What's your immediate thought when someone mentions that Valentine's Day is coming up?

Ugh, what an excuse for spending money!
I guess I should do something so I'm not alone.
I just want someone nice to spend the day with this year.
I can't wait to plan something fun.
Flowers, chocolate, and fancy dinners, this will be the best year ever!


2. Pick your poison...

The dark antihero story.
I like all kinds of stories!
A lighthearted comedy.
Anything with David Tennant, or {insert other geek crush here}.
A romantic story.


3. What's you favorite kind of Con

Conning someone into paying for a free dinner...that person on Tinder has no idea.
I'm happy going to the one my significant other wants to go to.
I'm up for an Anime or Comic convention every once in a while.
Can I please go to all the ones near me?
I'm not really into cons, too many people for me!


4. What's you favorite holiday

Valentine's Day
Christmas
New Years Eve
Halloween
Thanksgiving


5. You have Saturday free so you:

Take a trip to the farmer's market and cook up something tasty with a friend.
Have to finish reading this fantastic book or binge watching another season of that awesome show.
Get some shopping done and head out on the town all evening.
Want to try that great new ethnic restaurant your co-workers told you about.
Have a game night at your place with friends; grab your dice/controllers!


6. How much planning do you want to put into this?

A bit I suppose.
Meh, I'll think of something...
Why bother, it's just another day!
I'm down for planning as long as it's worth it.
I'll take care of everything!


7. When all things are said and done you'd really like spend the day:

Having a romantic day with that special someone.
Keeping myself occupied to take my mind off the depressing stuff.
Having fun geeking out with a person I love.
Doing whatever I want!
Going on a unique adventure.

A score of 7-15 = This just isn't your kind of day, put on some headphones, dive into something you love, hit ignore and do your own thing.

A score of 15-29 = Maybe you're single, maybe you're just not into big shows of affection, either way you should get together with a good friend or two and do something fun without any pressure.

A score of 30-50 = You like to keep things light and don't want something fussy. Whatever you do keep it simple so you can enjoy it without worrying about plans too much. Dinner and a movie is a classic that works well for you.

A score of 51-69 = Whether you're geeky or not you want to do something special and you're willing to put some effort in to make it memorable. Head out to a late night cult classic after hitting a foodie hotspot, or surprise your favorite person with tickets to that con or event they've been eying during your dinner date!

A score of 70-84 = Do you even need to read this? You know you want the most romantic day ever! Maybe that means it'll be a little sappy, but that's ok, the person you're spending the day with loves you. Just don't get too obsessed with planning that you can't enjoy each moment of the fun you have planned.


After hitting the button above if you follow the "Give Me More" link you can enter my giveaway for an Enchanted Beauty Box, or just go here to enter and hear more about this new Disney themed beauty box!

Thanks for reading, and be sure to tell me if you liked this quiz in the comments below.

Other Valentine's Day Posts From My Friends

From ZombiieeNinjjaBeauty we have this post on what shouldn't be on your gift list this year.

A great makeup look and giveaway with Realby Lamona.

From Bethany Summer we have a Valentine's Day date look the goes from head to toe!

Zainey Laney has another installment in her amazing Makeup & A Movie Series.

And finally Southeast by Midwest is here to share a great makeup tutorial.

My First Bestowed Box!

Hello folks,

For Christmas I received a subscription to the Bestowed Box, a subscription box full of healthy goodies to make meals and try as snacks.  Below is my review of the December box!

December Bestowed Box

What do you all think?  I just got my January box a couple days ago, so I'll be reviewing that one soon too!  If you'd like more information on the Bestowed Box click here◊ (with my affiliate link) and if you want to try it out get 10% off your subscription with code LOVEHEALTHY.

And if you haven't had a chance yet please take a peek at my unboxing of the Enchanted Beauty Box, a brand new Disney themed (starting with Star Wars) beauty box.  And enter to win a box of your own in my giveaway!

I'll see you all again soon, and no, I've not forgotten about publishing my winter capsule wardrobe.  It's on the way, I've just been taking care of myself more lately, so writing at a more healthy pace instead of last minute speed runs is working better.

My First Enchanted Beauty Box Review

Hello friends,

I'm really excited to share this unboxing and review of the first ever Enchanted Beauty Box!  It's their December box and since this box is Disney themed they created a Star Wars box to celebrate the release of The Force Awakens.  I am so thrilled to see such a fun theme!  Check out the video below to see what I got and then enter to win the giveaway below so you can have the chance to win one of January's Frozen themed boxes.

The December Enchanted Beauty Box - Star Wars

You can nab a subscription for yourself at http://www.EnchantedBeautyBox.com and get 25% off by using coupon code GEEK.

I've kept this post brief because I know unboxings aren't for everyone.  I've actually decided putting videos of my subscription boxes on YouTube is a better way to let you all see what I'm trying out too.  So from now on I'll make short posts like this that you can feel free to skim over if they're not your thing.  Thanks for stopping by, and good luck on the giveaway!

The Enchanted Beauty Box Giveaway

Enchanted Beauty Box giveaway

2015 - My Year in Books

Hi friends,

Today I was thinking I'd write a couple book reviews for you all, but I realized it's been a while since I looked at my reading challenge for 2015.  Last January I challenged myself to read a book every week, 52 in all.  Along the way I also started working on an overlapping list of 52 specific kinds of books as shown further down in this post.  And the results are in:

2015 Reading Challenge!

Books Read:

(Click any link in the list to see my review!)

1. Fables Volume 19 Snow White
2. Fables Volume 20 Camelot
3. Fables Volume 21 Happily Ever After
4. Fables Volume 22 Farewell
5. The Ancient Magus Bride Volume 3
6. Wren's War
7. Wren's Quest
8. Ms Marvel Volume 3
9. Hexomancy
10. Wayward Volume 1
11. Ghosted Volume 1
12. Figment Volume 1
13. A Brides Story Volume 6
14. Dead New World
15. The Torment of Rachel Ames
16. Alice in No-Man's-Land
17. Top 12 Places to Visit in Texas
18. Battling Boy: The Rise of Aurora West
19. The Master of Formalities
20. The Death and Life of Mal Evans
21. Spell or High Water
22. Off to Be The Wizard
23. Princess Ugg Volume 1
24. A Walk in The Woods
25. Velvet Volume 1
26. The Ancient Magus Bride Volume 2
27. Lumberjanes Volume 1
28. Bride of the Water God Volume 2
29. Bride of the Water God Volume 1
30. The Ancient Magus Bride Volume 1
31. Avengers & X-Men - Axis
32. Secret Wars
33. The Two Princesses of Bamarre
34. Wild Magic
35. Wolf Speaker
36. Emperor Mage
37. Wren to the Rescue
38. Captain Marvel Volume 3
39. Captain Marvel Volume 2
40. Captain Marvel Volume 1
41. Ms Marvel Volume 2
42. Batgirl Volume 1
43. Fuse
44. Burn
45. Gifts of the Blood
46. The Swap
47. Cipher
48. Waistcoats and Weaponry
49. Manifest Destiny Volume 1
50. Amulet Volume 2
51. Amulet Volume 1
52. Thor Goddess of Thunder Volume 1
53. The Sculptor
54. Rat Queens Volume 2
55. Rat Queens Volume 1
56. Celebromancy
57. Geekomancy
58. The Long Mars
59. The Long War
60. The Reluctant Midwife
61. Pride and Prejudice
62. Price and Prejudice and Zombies
63. The Weekend Homesteader
64. Call the Nurse
65. Paradise Lot
66. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
67. Injustice Gods Among Us Volume 2
68. Injustice Gods Among Us Volume 1
69. Wildflowers and Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachians Mountains and Piedmont
70. Midnight in Austenland
71. The Permaculture Handbook
72. Unlocked
73. Lock In
74. Ms Marvel Volume 1
75. Landscaping with Fruit
76. The Johnstown Flood

I think this is the full list, I may be a missing a couple more recent books, but this accounts for everything I can remember from a good go of looking at my records.  76 is better than I thought I'd do, so I'm quite happy with how my challenge went.  And I'm only a tiny bit surprised that 35 of the titles are comics, manga, or graphic novels!  Thanks to Fight or Flight Comics for that.  They opened almost a year ago and Bryan and I have found our perfect local comic book store in them!

As for the more complex challenge here's the worksheet all filled out:

I didn't want to double count anything, though I did read some books that would count under more than one of the headings in the checklist.  And I may have even missed something that might count, but I spent a good half hour trying to figure out what I read that could be added, and that's plenty!  I feel pretty good about all I ended up reading and can't wait to see what I read this year.  I'm not following any particular challenge, but I'm excited to read things I've been meaning to for a long time or have been recommended multiple times.  So I've started off the year with Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and have many more to come.  I'll try to get in a good book post at least once a month too keep you all posted about it too!

Favorite Reads

I kind of hate picking favorites, but I have to say that some of the books I enjoyed most from this past year would be Lock In by John Scalzi, a sci fi novel, The Ancient Magus Bride fantasy manga series by Kore Yamazaki, The Ms Marvel series featuring Kamala Khan by Willow G Wilson and a team of very talented artists, and Call the Nurse a memoir of a nurse working on a remote Scottish island in the 1970's by Mary J. MacLeod.  (Links above are affiliate links.)  I recommend all of them very strongly and I'm looking forward to all the great new picks this year will bring as well.

That's all for today.  Sorry I didn't get this post out sooner, but sometimes stomach viruses happen.  Yep....

But I'm ready to tackle a video unboxing for a great new subscription box, so be on the lookout for my review of the new Enchanted Beauty Box, the beauty box for Disney fans!  Have a great week!

New Years Resolutions or All The Lists

Hi friends!

It's a brand new year and I'm excited to hit the ground running now that the last Christmas celebrations are completed (The first weekend of January we had an extended family shindig).  In past years I haven't done much in the way of making resolutions, I've never believed in diets or going cold turkey to change your life.  But this year I'm going to try at a couple that I know will make my life better in healthy incremental ways that I wait to keep up for the rest of my life.

New Years Resolutions

1. Make smaller attainable goals for my life each month, to improve my motivation levels.
2. Not be discouraged by my failures, but learn from them.  Mostly the not be discouraged part though, 'cause seriously...I fail at my goals so often because life and mental health issues just happen.
3. Celebrate the good stuff no matter how small, to cultivate gratitude and boost my positive thinking.
4. Exercise daily, which is a habit I will build gradually.  But eventually I want to have at least 5 minutes and ideally 30 minutes spent doing something that's not sitting on my butt.
5. Do some of the things I've had my list forever, and by this I mean fun things like that book I've meant to read, tackling Steam games I've had for over a year without trying, and new foods or travel experiences.

To get things started off I'm going to go over some of my January goals here, because writing about them makes me feel more motivated to take them on.

January Goals

1. Write or post videos here 3 times a week.
2. Get in exercise 2-3 times a week consistently this month.  Learn to love it along the way.
3. Play 2 new Steam games, read 5 new books, listen to new music every week.
4. Do one of those new things every day, because they're fun!
5. Try cleaning my house for 15 minutes each day.

January Blog Related Goals

I almost didn't share this with you guys, but I feel like it's a really important part of what I'm doing that needs to be seen.  Bloggers work hard too, especially when we're making it our job.  And that's my main goal these days, which is hard sometimes, but all my successes get me excited.  I really want to share that with you all!

1. Meet my new monthly goal of over 5,000 visitors here.  Last month I was down a bit at 2134, but in November I had 3630.  I can do this!
2. Post to social media daily and increase followers to the specified numbers - Facebook page 125, Twitter 350, Tsu, empowr, and Instagram 500), and post to YouTube weekly to work my way to 50 subscribers.
3. Blog about the cool new things I'm trying out.  Seriously, this is the fun part that I get to share with you guys!  Also I want stick with my planned post schedule at least 60% this month.
4. Contact some companies that I love or want to try out and review them here in partnership posts.
5. Give my blog a beautiful facelift with the help of some great branding advisors.

Here's a peek at some of the font tests, a bit of which I'm already starting to implement!

This Week's "Menu"

1. Start the cleaning and exercise routines mentioned above.
2. Start the post routines on social media.
3. Plan time for fun new things daily and make it happen.
4. Write a book review post Wednesday.  (Let's see how I did on my 2015 reading challenge!)
5. Finish creating my Winter 2016 Capsule Wardrobe. (So excited about this one!)
6. Prep for and then talk to my branding advisors.

As you can see things are looking good, and I'm hoping for a fantastic year of growth in many areas of my life.  And to top things off, this past week Bryan and I had our third anniversary.  We have yet to really sit down and celebrate it, but we're going to try to do something special soon.  This week we're opting for a normal date night, which I don't mind since we're just getting back into the swing of things after all the busyness of the holidays.

I hope all you readers had a great holiday season, let me know what your resolutions are in comments.  Or better yet tell me how you've been able to keep up with the resolutions you've made in the past!  Tips are always welcome when you're just starting out in any new endeavor.

Happy New Year,