Influenster Palmolive Box

I got another Influnster box! Apparently the Influenster team can’t decide if I’m a college student or a housewife, but I’m not going to complain because I quite like both boxes I’ve received so far.

The pre screening survey was about dish soap and my dishwashing habits, so I was expecting to get some dish soap, but I wasn’t expecting to get a whole box of JUST dish soap. The card in the box says “Choose your favorite scent to keep for yourself, then select one to share with a girlfriend.” WELL. I don’t have any friends who would want dish soap, girl or otherwise, so I guess I’m keeping them all.

 

Magnolia Plantation & Gardens

I had a friend in from out of town this week which meant I got to play my favorite game: South Carolina Tour Guide. (Spoiler: I’m really effing bad at it!) My friend Jenn (yep.) and I went to Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, which was founded in 1676. 1676.  As I said to Jenn as we were driving in, this place was a place before this country was a place. That’s absolutely mindboggling to me. Like, I get that that’s totally an North American view of the world, because other countries have things that date back so much further, but I really don’t think there’s much here that has survived since the 1600s.

According to the website, “Magnolia Plantation has survived the centuries and witnessed the history of our nation unfold before it from the American Revolution through the Civil War and beyond.” They also note that besides being the oldest tourist site in the Lowcountry, it’s also the oldest public garden in America, which is pretty damn cool.

You can buy food there, and also take a train tour or a boat tour (for $8 each, on top of the $15 admission) but I suggest what Jenn and I did: we brought lunch with us, and ate in the beautiful picnic area, and then just followed the numbered signs around the gardens. We got to see everything at our own speed, and we tend to get a little silly, so we didn’t have to worry about upsetting or offending anyone this way.

Also, petting zoo.

I took a TON of pictures (obv.), so read on to see some of that. Did I mention there was a peacock?

Technicolor Moments Giveaway!

Hey guys, I'm having a giveaway for my etsy shop! The only thing you need to do is LIKE the shop on facebook, but there are other things you can do to get more entries, such a following me on twitter, subscribing to my youtube channel and sharing the business in your own blog/facebook/etc. Enter here! a Rafflecopter giveaway

2012 End of the Year Book Survey

Happy New Year everyone! So, despite the fact that I'm not in any way a book blogger, I do read a TON. I was sent this survey by my friend Jenn (who would be linked here, if she had something to link to...) and she suggested I do it. It looked like fun, so I did!

BEST IN BOOKS 2012

1. Best Book You Read In 2012? (You can break it down by genre if you want)
Everyday by David Levithan. I read a LOT of amazing books this year, but this was one of the few that was truly unique.

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
Uglies: Shay’s Story by Scott Westerfeld. I adore Westerfeld, I love the Uglies trilogy so much, and I had such high hopes for this addition to the story, but it just didn’t live up to my expectations. Not that it wasn’t GOOD, just that it didn’t live up to the rest of the story.

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2012?
I didn’t expect to like Team Human by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan, because I’m not a fan of the vampire thing. I only read it because I liked the authors, and surprisingly ended up loving it.

4. Book you recommended to people most in 2012?
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. “Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.”

5. Best series you discovered in 2012?
I read Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne this year, and CAN NOT WAIT for the second one to come out in 2013.

6. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2012?
Does Chris Colfer count?

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?
Probably The Casual Vacency by JK Rowling is the most “out of comfort zone” book I read, and liked it quite a bit. I usually don’t read books that are so dry/not plot driven, but I enjoyed it way more than I expected to.

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2012?
The Book Thief by Markus Zuszak.

9. Book You Read In 2012 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year:
Actually, The Book Thief, by Markus Zuszak. Also, I’ll probably reread Delirium/Pandemonium (Lauren Oliver) and Anna/Lola (Stephanie Perkins) before the third books in each series come out.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2012?

11. Most memorable character in 2012?
Hazel Grace Lancaster.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2012?
I honestly can’t choose between The Fault in Our Stars, Everyday and The Book Thief.

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2012?
[See: previous answer.]

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2012 to finally read?
I actually JUST read both Fahrenheit 451 and 1984 this year, and liked them both a lot.

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2012?
“This is what love does: It makes you want to rewrite the world. It makes you want to choose the characters, build the scenery, guide the plot. The person you love sits across from you, and you want to do everything in your power to make it possible, endlessly possible. And when it’s just the two of you, alone in a room, you can pretend that this is how it is, this is how it will be.”
― David Levithan, Every Day

“I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, then all at once.”
― John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

“The thing with your heart's desire is that your heart doesn't even know what it desires until it turns up.”
 
― Daniel Handler, Why We Broke Up

“Love, the deadliest of all deadly things.
It kills you.
Alex.
When you have it.
Alex.
And when you don't.
Alex.”
― Lauren Oliver, Pandemonium

16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2012?
Shortest book was The Sequel by John Green
Longest book, I’m not positive but I’m pretty sure was The Casual Vacancy.

17. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc. etc.) Be careful of spoilers!
I wanted to talk about Pandemonium constantly after finishing it.

18. Favorite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2012 (be it romantic, friendship, etc).
HAZEL GRACE & AGUSTUS WATERS OH MY GOD.

19. Favorite Book You Read in 2012 From An Author You Read Previously
A lot of my favorite authors released books this year, so quite a few, but in an attempt to not keep renaming books, let’s say Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler (aka, Lemony Snicket).

20. Best Book You Read That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else:
I read 52 Reasons to Hate My Father after seeing Angel read it, and I really liked it.

BOOK BLOGGING/READING LIFE IN 2012

(Note: I’m not a book blogger, nor do I follow many book blogs, so some of these answers are a little different than intended.)

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2012?
I quite like elizziebooks on youtube.

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2012?
I think the ONLY review I wrote this year was for Everyday.

3. Best discussion you had on your blog?
n/a

4. Most thought-provoking review or discussion you read on somebody else’s blog?
n/a

5. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?
YALL Fest was wonderful and an amazing experience. I had the opportunity to meet & hang out with Stephanie & Jarrod Perkins, and also met David Levithan, which was a dream come true.

6. Best moment of book blogging in 2012?
Again, n/a.

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?
Not book related, but for sure my Tarte Makeup review.

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?
9. Best bookish discovery (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?
A Very Little Bookstore in Summerville, the bookstore I wish I owned.

10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?
I set a goal of 100 books, and exceeded it, reading 112 unique titles.

LOOKING AHEAD…

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2012 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2013?
Before I Die by Jenny Downham.

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2013?
Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins, and the sequel to Monument 14.

3. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging In 2013?
I intend to read 120 books this year, and I may actually make an attempt to review some of them :)

So yeah, that's the 2012 Book Survey! If you do this survey, go ahead and link me to it in the comments so I can check it out :)

December 2012 Favorites

Hey guys! I hope everyone had a great holiday- whichever you celebrate- or just an enjoyable couple days off if you had them. Now that the holiday craziness has died down a bit, it’s time for my December favorites!

It’s a pretty decent mix of crafty and beauty with some extras this month, I’ve been all over the place in terms of what’s been occupying my time lately. Here’s a preview, and read on for more details.

Exploring Charleston!

My friend Chloe and I decided that we wanted to do some Charleston exploring this week, and since we both vlog we had planned to take a bunch of footage and put up a video or two. However, since I’m still learning my new camera, I also took a whole ton of pictures too, which I wanted to share.

We visited Blue Bicycle Books, Marion Square Park, Goorin Brothers Hat Shop & Robot Candy Company- which really are a few of my favorite places in Charleston. Here's my video in which we visit all of these places:

To see my faux-artsy attempt at photography, keep reading!

DIY Christmas Ball Ornaments

One of my absolute favorite youtubers, Karen Kavett posted a video the other day as part of her 12 Days of Christmas Series where she showed off some awesome homemade ornaments she made with Christmas Balls from Target. I watched the video and was SO inspired by it, that I had to go out and buy some ornaments to decorate.

Luckily for me, Michaels is already marking down all of their holiday things, so I was able to pick up two 6 ornament sets for $2.50 each- 12 balls for 5 bucks, can’t beat that. I sat down with the ornaments and a whole array of craft stuffs: paint, ribbon, sequins, zippers, tape, pretty much everything, and here’s what I came up with!

Holiday Door Décor and Christmas Cookie FAIL

Hey guys! So, as you have probably guessed by now, I love decorating my front door. Since I had wreaths for my last two doors, I’m sure you’re expecting another one since it’s actually wreath season and all of that, but I just wasn’t feeling it this month. I went super simple with some brown butcher paper and went with a “brown paper packages tied up with strings approach.

The same afternoon, I decided I really wanted to make Christmas cookies. As I may have mentioned, I am new to this whole Christmas thing, so I’ve never actually done that? I made a journey to Target to get a rolling pin and some cookie cutters and… you guys, it was a disaster.

Keep on reading to see both the cute door décor and my awful cookie fail.

Two New Tutorial Videos

Hey guys! I have two new tutorial videos up for you at my channel, but you can also watch them linked here. Both of them are super easy and totally beginner crafts, but have the added bonus of looking impressive when you're finished with them.

[Video] Craft Supply Storage & Collection

Hey guys- just sharing a video with you guys of my craft supply collection and how I very inefficiently store it all :)

Thanks for watching, and feel free to subscribe!