currently: reading

I've been really slowly making my way through a couple books here lately. I finished A Head Full of Ghosts* by Paul Tremblay earlier in the year, which was a great read if you're into horror and thrillers. I'm currently working on a couple books, The Stand* by Stephen King and Haunted* by Chuck Palahnuik, which are both at slow spots, but I'm still chugging along.

Did you know that the cover for Haunted glows in the dark? I didn't until I woke up at 3am one morning to a glowing face in bed next to me. It was terrifying and I didn't realize what is was until my sleepy brain had cleared. Just a heads up.

My TBR stash is growing and I need to get it under control. I have an entire two bins of books to read and send to new homes. There are quite a few little informative ebooks I've gotten into that need to be finished, and I really need to clean up my 'currently reading' list on Goodreads. I'm very behind on my 2017 reading challenge.

Speaking of Goodreads, are we friends on there yet? :)



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link love

Candle from Toadily Candles in Cantaloupe

I recently stumbled upon Flatter Me Belts and I really want to try one.

Do you like bats? I love them! Bat World in Texas has LIVE Bat Cams! Check out these furry flying mammals!

This is a pretty good article on finding clothing at thrift shops.

Vegan chickpea tuna melt? Yes, please.

Here's an interesting article about when unprocessed becomes a moot point in food. It delves into "unprocessed healthwashing", which is something everyone should learn about.

This muscle shirt is how I'm justifying not exercising.

Bob's Burgers is one of my favorite shows ever and they're releasing a soundtrack! PULLING DOWN THE PANTS OF THE NIGHT!

The bees need our help - here's an easy way to make a bee waterer!

Totally drooling over this ziti.

Here are 14 signs you have an unhealthy attachment to your dog. I don't think it's unhealthy.

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empties #12

I haven't used up a ton of stuff lately, so I waited a bit to make another empties post. I've been slowly working on older products, so a lot of these won't be purchased again.



V05 Tea Therapy Conditioner in Healthful Green Tea // I got maybe four uses out of this whole bottle because the formula for this conditioner was so watery. Would not recommend.

Chapstick in Aloha Coconut // This is the second lip balm I've ever finished in my life. It felt like it just sat on my lips, though, and it's not cruelty free.

Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation Sample // EL isn't cruelty free and this shade didn't work on my face, but I got it from a friend so I used it up. Would not repurchase.

B&BW Body Cream in Sweet Pea // It wasn't half bad and it was creamy, but B&BW isn't cruelty free.

Dial NutriSkin Lotion // Meh. It was alright, but not cruelty free.

Eucerin Intensive Repair Hand Creme // This was a bit greasy and not cruelty free. Pass.

Pantene Volume Shampoo // This stripped my hair of oils and didn't provide any volume. I won't be getting a full size.

Neutrogena Conditioner // This was a hotel bottle and a decent conditioner, but Neutrogena isn't cruelty free.

Knock off Beauty Blender // I snagged a cheap little blender at Marshall's and I really wanted to get on this trend, but I prefer brushes. I haven't reached for this in months and I'm tired of it taking up space, so I'm tossing it. For what it was it was a decent blender, it's just not for me!

Montagne Jeunesse Fruit Smooth Mask in Raspberry & Mango* // cruelty free & vegan // I love these masks! I picked up a couple on clearance at And That! and I've been going through them slowly. Highly recommend and I'll be picking up more!

Juice Organics Pompeptide Facial Moisturizer // cruelty free & vegan // My all time favorite moisturizer and guess what? It's been discontinued. I'm so sad. I have one more bottle of this and then I'll have to find a new one.

Toadiliy Mini Basil, Sage & Mint Bath Bomb // cruelty free & vegan // I picked this up in a haul from Toadily Candles, and I liked it! I'd get more.

Not Pictured:
Pure Silk Shave Cream // It's shave cream. I'm still working through my coupon stockpile, but I wouldn't repurchase.

Noxzema Triple Blade Disposable Razors // No, no, no. Terrible, horrible razors. I bought them on a whim when I wasn't going home and these things were terrible.

Colgate Totale Advanced Pro Shield Mouthwash in Spearmint Surge // Finally, the last of my non-cruelty free mouthwash has been used up. I'm just glad to see it go.



I've really been trying to clear out my candle stock. The candle on the left is a Febreze candle leftover from Thanksgiving, and the one on the right is a candle I picked up specifically to reuse the jar for makeup brushes. I don't think I'd buy either again, but I got some neat glasses out of it.

That's it for another month!

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super easy pico de gallo recipe

I'll start this post by saying that I don't even like pico de gallo because I can't stand onions, so the raving review I got for this recipe was from a friend. I threw this together without a recipe, but I'll tell you how I made it! An alteration to traditional pico was the addition of garlic - we're garlic fiends around here, so it goes in everything.

Super Easy Pico de Gallo
Yields approximately two cups

12-15 cherry tomatoes, diced
small onion, diced
half a jalapeno, seeds removed and diced
2 cloves of garlic, finely diced
juice of one small lime
half a handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Mix it all together and let it sit for at least an hour so the flavors can marinate. You're done!

I'd never made this before and this is one of those recipes that can be tweaked and ingredients can be added or taken away to your taste. It was easy to make and prep time was only about ten minutes. Try it sometime!


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things that have made me happy lately

As I've mentioned before, I'm generally a pessimist. However, I've been trying to have a better outlook on life and it's been working for me! Here's a neat little list of things that have made me happy lately.

• Meeting up with friends. A little bit ago in January I met up with Jess and we did some thrifting and had an amazing dinner at Not Your Average Joe's. That's the delicious veggie spaghetti squash bolognese I had above!
• Vegan breakfast. My coworker and I stopped at Kickshaw's for breakfast a bit ago and I had potato hash, sour cream, cheddar Daiya, egg, and portobello bacon. All vegan and all delicious!
• Preparing listings for eBay. Most folks loathe the whole photo/listing process, but for some reason I find it therapeutic. Who knows why. I love laying out pieces for photos so they can find new homes!
• New beginnings. I won't go into detail, but things have really been looking up for me around here. Smitten kitten.

Hope all is well! ♥

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