What I Bought - March 2015

Well, I totally lucked out this month when I won a $2500 gift card to Kate Spade from Lucky magazine!  I entered back in September, I think it was.  Ever since they started those contests years ago, I've entered every single giveaway, every single month. I've won a few things here and there over that time, but this is by far the biggest and the best!  So the moral is enter contests, you can win!  This came at a great time because I was in desperate need of new sandals and was just starting to look around for options (my shoe situation in general is pretty bad).  Plus, I always like a new bag for the new season (I had my eye on this one pre-gift card win).  Anyway, here's what I got:

1.  Cobble Hill Luxe Ella - $568 (gorgeous bag in person)

2.  Cobble Hill Small Devin - $178

3.  Cobble Hill Lacey - $198

4.  Attitude sandals - $198 

5.  Brittany sandals - $198 (so comfortable)

Total = $1,320 (all covered with gift card)

Total Out of Pocket = $0

I also picked up this totally awesome tray and these salt and pepper shakers.

Go forth and shop responsibly!

I'm linking up with Budgeting Bloggers over at Franish!

Book Review - "Gunn's Golden Rules: Life's Little Lessons for Making It Work" by Tim Gunn (#13 - 2015)

Gunn's Golden Rules: Life's Little Lessons for Making It Work by Tim Gunn

Who doesn't love Tim Gunn and his no nonsense style of telling it like it is?  This was a great, quick read outlining his "rules" for making it work in your life, career, relationships, etc.  It's a well written book, he tells lots of stories about his experiences in the fashion industry and doesn't back down from calling out even the biggest names for bad/bizarre behavior.  I appreciated his honesty, his openness and his overall tone.  It's a great book to pick up for a fun read and to remind yourself that kindness and hard work goes a long way! 

Book Review - "Make Up: Your Life Guide to Beauty, Style, and Success Online and Off" by Michelle Phan (#12 - 2015)

Make Up:  Your Life Guide to Beauty, Style, and Success Online and Off by Michelle Phan

Yet another spur-of-the-moment grab at the second hand bookstore.  I've never heard of Michelle Phan (so old, so out of the loop).  I breezed through it, not because of lack of good information, but mostly because I am not the target age for this book and the information in it.  It would be an awesome book for High School/college girls (graduation gift alert).  The advice she gives is solid, her story is inspiring, but I was hoping for a little more beauty coverage (considering she's a beauty Internet sensation/guru).  Besides beauty, hair and nails, she touches on style, getting a job, and other career advice.  I would have loved this book when I was in my teens/early 20s!  

Book Review - "Swapping Lives" by Jane Green (#11 - 2015)

Swapping Lives by Jane Green

Very typical Jane Green book (nothing heavy with lots of British-isms).  This story centers on the lives of Amber and Vicky, two women in their mid-30's living an ocean away from each other, each wondering if life can be more fulfilling.  Vicky lives in London and is an editor at the very posh, Poise magazine.  She's very successful, single and lives in a flat with her cat Eartha.  She always thinks how wonderful it must be to be married with children, how if she only had a husband and children, then life would be perfect.  Amber is a housewife in Connecticut, married to a successful man who works on Wall Street, they have two young children and live in one of the most lavish homes in their town.  But Amber is getting tired of keeping up with the Jones's and feels she's forgotten who she really "is" (or at least who she used to be before being married with children).

Vicky voices her dreams of a perfect husband and children life wishes and Poise's Editor-In-Chief decides that it would make a great story for the magazine.  So they run a contest where women who live Vicky's ideal life can write in why they want to swap lives with Vicky.  After sorting through the candidates, they decide on Amber.  So they switch lives and discover that the grass isn't always greener and nothing is perfect.  Duh.  Anyway, it was a fun read, good for any upcoming beach trips.  Just don't think about it too hard!

Book Review - "True Love" by Jennifer Lopez (#10 - 2015)

True Love by Jennifer Lopez

I'll preface this review by saying that I'm a Jennifer Lopez fan, just love her.  So I was interested in this book to begin with (by the way, the book itself is gorgeous).  That being said, I was pleasantly surprised at how "real" she got in this book about her issues with self-esteem and being able to just love herself, the journey to her realization that she is "enough".  This book was super easy to read, I was done in under 4 hours flat.  Lots of glamorous J.Lo pictures, lots of soul searching, stories and candid takes on her relationships.  I like how she walks the reader through her revelations and the work that went into it.  Now is this stuff groundbreaking?  No.  Is it useful? Sure.  I think you can learn something from anyone's journey (it's why I love reading autobiographies and biographies).  That being said, I'm not sure a non-J.Lo fan would like it, because it's a whole lot of J.Lo.  If you are a J.Lo fan then I would certainly pick this one up!

Book Review - "Captain America, Vol 1: Winter Soldier Ultimate Collection" by Ed Brubaker and others (#9 - 2015)

Captain America, Vol 1: Winter Soldier Ultimate Collection by Ed Brubaker and others

I guess I'm becoming a bit of a comic book person.  After loving Planet Hulk, and loving the Winter Soldier movie, I decided to pick this compilation up.  I'm glad I did.  First of all it's not like the movie, sure there's Cap, Bucky/Winter Soldier, Falcon, and Nick Fury, however the rest of cast is different than the movie (for example Red Skull is still alive at the beginning).  The basic premise of Cap finding out about this top secret Russian assassin is there, his feelings about it are still there, it's just presented in a different way.  The Winter Soldier is such an upsetting character, he's a victim, a person who has been turned into a weapon.  It's easy to follow, has lots of action and is a snap to read.  If you are intrigued by the Cap/Winter Soldier storyline then for sure pick this up.  Of course this means I'm going to have to get the other volumes, etc.  I'm interested in what happens next!

Book Review - "I Do, Now What?" by Giuliana and Bill Rancic (#8 - 2015)

I Do, Now What?: Secrets, Stories, and Advice from a Madly-In-Love Couple by Giuliana and Bill Rancic

Another one picked up on a whim at the library, I liked their reality show, so I thought this might be a quick, fun read.  It was quick, but so blah.  I ended up skimming the last 3/4 of it.  I guess maybe couples that are just married (or engaged) might get more out of it that I did (I've been married for over a decade).  The advice seemed a bit basic/common sense for me at this point.  Two things jumped out at me though, Giuliana told a story about a past, famous boyfriend that did her wrong, well it was obviously about Jerry O'Connell (and Rebecca Romijn), that was interesting.  And the second thing was that Giuliana seems to have some food issues (freaking out about gaining weight during her fertility treatments and even before when the Dr. instructed her to gain weight and she bristled at that), it just struck me as so odd, especially seeing how this was written over 4 years ago and how she seems to have gotten even skinnier since then.  But what do I know?  Overall I would give it a solid 3 out of 5 stars.

PS Giuliana has a new book coming out next month, and you know I'm going to have to read that one!

Book Review - "Crazy Busy Beautiful" by Carmindy (#7 - 2015)

Crazy Busy Beautiful: Beauty Secrets for Getting Gorgeous Fast by Carmindy

Picked this one up on a whim at the second hand bookstore.  I like Carmindy so I was hoping for some great tips.  I was disappointed, really basic stuff here, nothing that you can't get reading magazines and/or blogs, or just from experience.  And it's not a typical makeup book, it's just bullet points with tips and each chapter is a different part of the face.  No pictures, just illustrations.  I would skip this one.

What I Bought - February 2015

1. Soma sleepshirt - $26.65 (on special)

2. Soma sleepshirt - $26.65 (on special)

3. RapidLash - $27.49

4. Teva Flatform sandals - $50

5. Soma sleepshirt (pattern not available online) - $26.66 (on special)

6. Thrifted shorts (not pictured) - $12.99

Total  = $170.44

- $60 Soma gift card won over on Jackie's blog (thanks!)

Total spent out of pocket - $110.44

These Soma sleepshirts are so great!  I never, ever thought I would wear Teva sandals, but I just fell in love with these. They are backordered until the middle of March so we'll see if I still think they are awesome once they are on my feet!

Go forth and shop responsibly!

I'm linking up with Budgeting Bloggers over at Franish!