2021 Book Haul and Reading Challenge

2020 was a shit show. We all know it. I took a hiatus, but black lives matter and we need to fight for what is right, always. I don't honestly have a reasonable transition back into blogging, but please refer to my last post for how to help minorities gain and keep equal rights, as it always should have been. I'd like to start out 2021 with my own reading goals, which in the light of everything sounds incredibly selfish. Human rights are the forefront!

These are my book hauls recently. In an effort to help someone other than Bezos, I'm linking to Thriftbooks instead, and while they're still a large company, it is hard to find an independent book seller to link to that keeps a large stock. However, I encourage everyone to support their local independent bookstores.

You've Got to Have Balls to Make it in this League: My Life as an Umpire by Pam Postema and Gene Wojciechowski // Of course I bought Pam's book, as she's a baseball umpire.

Lost Ballparks: A Celebration of Baseball's Legendary Fields by Lawrence S. Ritter // I love reading about baseball history and snagged this at 2nd & Charles for a song.

Why is the Foul Pole Fair? by Vince Staten // Also as an umpire, I like anything to do with the game of baseball itself.

1941: The Greatest Year in Sports by Mike Vaccaro // This has a few stories in it that I thought sounded really interesting.

Death Row All Stars : A Story of Baseball, Corruption, and Murder by Howard Kazanjian and Chris Enss // True crime and baseball?? Immediately grabbed this when I saw it.

Center Field on Fire: An Umpire's Life with Pine Tar Bats, Spitballs, and Corked Personalities by Dave Phillips // Another umpire book. I can't stop.

Pitching Around Fidel: A Journey into the Heart of Cuban Sports by S. L. Price // This looked like a really interesting read.

As They See 'Em: A Fan's Travels in the Land of Umpires by Bruce Weber // Do I even need to explain? Haha.

The Yankee Years by Joe Torre and Tom Verducci // I'm a huge Yankees fan and was excited to see this!

Baseball Between the Numbers: Why Everything You Know About Baseball is Wrong by The Baseball Prospectus Team of Experts // Again, I love everything to do with the game of baseball.

Dreamcatcher by Stephen King // I liked this movie and finally got around to ordering the book. It's rare for me to find some of King's work I haven't read, but I'm excited to start this one.

A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer // I've come across this child abuse case several time in my Wikipedia rabbit holes and ordered the book.

White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo // Educating yourself is an important step in making the world equal for all.

Most Wanted: A History of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List by Mark Sabljak and Martin H. Greenberg // True crime junkie over here.

Melissa Explains It All by Melissa Joan Hart // Last summer during my brief unemployment stint, I rewatched the 90s Sabrina the Teenage Witch and ordered this one.

The last several years I have failed to meet my reading goal on Goodreads. I've read a lot of books, but fell short of my goals. This year, I fully intend to meet my goal of 50 books! If we're not friends on GR, add me!

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lucky bandit is a for profit blog. I use affiliate links and paid advertisements. I may earn compensation for a click or purchase through a link. Paid (whether via product or monetary) reviews will be noted in the actual post. Though compensation may influence the type of posts, all opinions and reviews will be legitimate and honest.

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Absolutely Massive List of Anti-racist Resources for Black Lives Matter Allies

empties #21

Another post about my trash! It's been a while, so I've used up a lot. I recycled all I can through Terracycle. I've labeled what I can find that isn't cruelty free, but always do your own research!

Murad Essentials-C Cleanser* // This was a good cleanser! Light and refreshing. I'd buy it again.

Pacifica Cactus Water Micellar Cleanser // I love Pacifica products and this one didn't disappoint. If I hadn't had some makeup removers given to me by my mom, I'd definitely buy this one again.

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion* // This is the best eyeshadow primer I've tried thus far. I'll keep buying this.

NYX XXL Lush Lashes Mascara // I liked this mascara. It didn't flake and I could build it nicely. I'd repurchase!

Nourish California Mango Extreme Body Creme // cruelty free status unknown // When I bought this I could find the brand and verify, but I can't any longer. It was a very hydrating lotion!

Shea Moisture Coconut Water Vegan Lip Balm // You'll see two different tubes of this in this post. BOTH tubes stopped distributing lip balm! After a couple uses it just clogged up and no more would come out, so I bought the second tube shown. Same thing. I liked what I could actually use, but I'll skip this from now on due to the packaging.

Skinfood Pineapple Peeling Gel // not cruelty free // I bought this on a whim and it worked really well, though not only is it discontinued, it's also not cf. Luckily, I found the elf Gentle Peeling Exfoliant and it works just as well and it's cheaper.

Vaseline Lip Therapy in Cocoa Butter // not cruelty free // My lips have been chronically chapped for a few months and I tried almost every lip balm I could get my hands on. Unfortunately, this was the one that actually helped. Even though it's not cf, I'm going to keep buying it because my lips are so bad.

Tresemme Volumizing Dry Shampoo // not cruelty free // I got this in a Christmas basket. It wasn't a bad dry shampoo! I'd buy it again if Tresemme went cf.

Desert Essence Lip Rescue Ultra Rescue Shea Butter* // This lip balm helped for a while and I'd definitely suggest this for mildly chapped lips. I had an extreme case, but it helped me in the beginning! I'd buy it again.

Pacifica Cactus Revive Face Wash // Slightly drying, but I still liked it. I'd try it again on sale, but I'd opt for a different Pacifica face wash next time.

Pacifica Hawaiian Ruby Guava Body Butter // This came in a set that my mom gave me. This is my favorite body butter scent and I'd 100% get it again!

Mary Kay Satin Body Wash // not cruelty free // This lathered really well and smelled nice, but I don't buy from MLMs.

Nip+Fab Smooth Viper Venom Micro Blur Fix // I'm so, so, so sad this was discontinued. I've had this tube for a couple years now and I used it almost daily as a primer. It was AMAZING as a primer. Controlled oil, makeup didn't budge. I've sadly run out and I can't find it anywhere.

elf Acne Fighting Gel // I tried valiantly to use this up, but it just didn't work well enough for me to keep using it.

Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Toothpaste* // I liked this! I grabbed it for a trip. It was minty and my teeth felt clean. I'd repurchase.

Covergirl Clean Matte BB Cream* in Light/Medium // Covergirl finally went cruelty free. This is my second tube of this. This is very close to my color and it's worked very well for me. I'd definitely rebuy!

Clean & Clear Lemon Zesty Scrub // not cruelty free // I got this for Christmas and I love getting scrubs! It's not cf but it did it's job!

Biore Charcoal Micellar Water // not cruelty free // This came in a subscription box. It was okay. It was less micellar water and more just makeup remover, but it worked. I wouldn't buy it.

elf Under Eye Concealer & Highlighter Duo // Good grief, I've had this for what feels like ten years. It didn't blend well and I never used the highlighter because it was like spreading glitter on my face. I wouldn't repurchase.

LA Girl Pro Face Powder* in Classic Ivory GPP60Z // This powder was great, blended well, covered well, until it fell down the sink side four inches and decided to shatter. I'd buy this again! I just wish it came without the pouf, which was added waste for me.

 None of these samples are cruelty free, so I wouldn't repurchase any or really go into detail.

Some more samples! I don't think I'd repurchase any of these, either. I do want to note that the Clinique sample could possibly be the worst packaged sample of all time.

I've already cleaned these wands to be sent for Wands for Wildlife in October!

Doucce Mascara // cruelty free status unknown // I got this in an Ipsy box and I literally spent the entire time I used this thinking I had Marc Jacobs mascara for some reason?? I have no idea why. It was a decent mascara and I'd buy it again if I could verify if it was cruelty free.

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara* // This is my favorite mascara, hands down. Would definitely repurchase.

Makeup Wipe Haul //  LA Fresh* (the wipes on the right) ARE cruelty free!

So there's another few months! I've decided that 2020 is the year I pare down my products, so I only buy after I've used something up. We'll see how it goes.


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lucky bandit is a for profit blog. I use affiliate links and paid advertisements. I may earn compensation for a click or purchase through a link. Paid (whether via product or monetary) reviews will be noted in the actual post. Though compensation may influence the type of posts, all opinions and reviews will be legitimate and honest.

*All affiliate links will be marked with an asterick.*


Follow

frugal bandit blog | my poshmark closet | shop leggings | shop my mercari
lucky bandit is a for profit blog. I use affiliate links and paid advertisements. I may earn compensation for a click or purchase through a link. Paid (whether via product or monetary) reviews will be noted in the actual post. Though compensation may influence the type of posts, all opinions and reviews will be legitimate and honest.

*All affiliate links will be marked with an asterick.*

three flowers bath co // lip balm haul

While out visiting my mom for Christmas, we went out to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. I had never been and honestly it was waaaay too crowded for my taste. I'd give it a shot in the offseason, though. We stopped by Three Flowers Bath Co. and I snagged some lip balm! I have approximately 25,000 lip balms, but I picked these up because the first ingredient is shea butter. I have perpetually chapped lips it seems like, but shea butter helps tremendously. I snagged the Cupcake Frosting, Banana, and Vanilla Mint flavors.

I'm excited to start using these!


Follow

frugal bandit blog | my poshmark closet | shop leggings | shop my mercari
lucky bandit is a for profit blog. I use affiliate links and paid advertisements. I may earn compensation for a click or purchase through a link. Paid (whether via product or monetary) reviews will be noted in the actual post. Though compensation may influence the type of posts, all opinions and reviews will be legitimate and honest.

*All affiliate links will be marked with an asterick.*