Five For Friday

Hello and welcome to my Five for Friday! I am linking up with Cup of Tea , Bright on a Budget, and  Della Devoted!

1. I stopped by Target recently, after not having really left the house in weeks (we have had lots of snow, ice, and rain lately, so I haven't ventured out much!). They had a ton of cute Valentine's day and spring stuff. And while most of the stuff was cute, there wasn't really anything I liked enough to buy. So I ended up just getting a couple of things I could use for scrapbooking. But then again, basically all of my Dollar Spot purchases end up being for scrapbooking!

2. I hadn't really planned on buying anything from American Eagle, but they had a 25% off their new collection plus free shipping, so I figured I'd take a look and I ended up finding a couple of things! I really like their t-shirts (they are so soft!) and I'm always on the lookout for tops with pretty patterns, so I bought this tee, I thought the blueberry was a fun color, and I also bought this tee. The floral pattern was too pretty to pass up! 

Have you bought any clothes lately?

3. If you have a KitchenAid, you need to buy one of these bowl scrapers! I've wanted one for a while and finally got one for my birthday. I have the big 6qt. mixer from Costco, and while I really like it, I had trouble with it not mixing well unless I was making a large batch of something. But this beater is so nice! It scrapes the sides of the bowl and incorporates everything like it's supposed to! I definitely recommend it if you have a KitchenAid!

4. So, I'm giving our ice cream maker an ultimatum. We've had it for almost 10 years, and never been able to get decent ice cream out of it. Usually the ice cream turns out kind of runny, but I made some a couple of weeks ago and it did't freeze at all. It's super frustrating to look forward to homemade ice cream all day, and then not have it turn out. And if you just put it in the freezer, since it's just sitting there and not churning, it develops ice crystals all throughout it. So there was ice shards all throughout the ice cream. 

So tonight I'm giving it one last go. I've searched for tips and I've tried just about everything that's been recommended, and if it doesn't turn out I guess I'm going to have to just get rid of it! I don't make ice cream very often, but it is a fun treat every once in a while. 

Have you ever made ice cream?

5. In case you missed it, I've posted a review of the December Ipsy glam bag, and a post about my 2016 in review! And this week I posted a book review as well as a review of the December Target beauty box!

Hope you have a great weekend!

December Target Beauty Box

Nivea Soft Creme: I thought this lotion did a pretty good job. It's moisturizing and absorbed into my skin well. It didn't leave my skin feeling greasy, which was nice. I just didn't really care for the scent of it. It wasn't a strong scent (it smelled sort of like baby wipes), just not something I really cared for.

Almay Non-Oily Makeup Remover Pads: I thought these wipes did a really good job at removing makeup. They removed all my eye makeup without a problem and with no smudging. My only criticism on these is they smell like nail polish remover (not real pleasant) and the wipes themselves are too small. I had go use one for each eye and almost could have used one more. And I don't wear a lot of makeup. But maybe the sample size is a lot smaller than the full size? Anyways, they did do a good job.

Modella Black & White Purse Kit: This makeup bag seemed well made. It's not too big and not too small. And the fabric seems like it would be fairly easy to clean if something leaked while traveling.

Derma e Firming DMAE Moisturizer: I haven't tried this yet. 

Covergirl Outlast Lipstick in Ever Red-dy: I wasn't sure what to think about this at first, since I haven't had very good luck with lip stains. But I ended up really liking this! It comes with the lip stain, which you apply and then let dry for 60 seconds. Then you use the moisturizing top coat (basically just a lip balm) as needed throughout the day.

I like the idea of this since I can just apply it in the morning and not have to worry about it smudging throughout the day. All I have to do is just apply the top coat when needed and that's it!

This lip stain didn't have that gross dried out feel like most lip stains, and the top coat is nice and glossy feeling. 

I really liked this shade of red, and once it was applied it didn't budge! With some work I was able to get it off with a makeup remover wipe, and even then it didn't streak or smudge. So overall, I really liked this! 

TRESemmé Pre-Wash Conditioner & Shampoo: I had never used a product where you put the conditioner on first, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this. Both the shampoo and conditioner smell really nice and left my hair feeling soft. Would I go out and buy this? Probably not, but it was nice to use for a sample.

Vichy Pureté Thermale One-Step Cleanser: Honestly, this stuff is a joke and didn't work for me at all. It did not clean my face and just left a really greasy film all over. And on top of that, all it did was just smear the makeup I was wearing all over my face. So it does not work as a makeup remover either. I had to go get my regular cleanser just to clean all this stuff off. So needless to say, I was not a fan.

Goody Ouchless Headwrap and elastic: I've always bought Goody hair elastics, so I'm pretty familiar with them. I prefer the thinner hair bands over the thicker ones (I don't have thin hair, but I don't have really thick hair either.) but they have good hold.

Overall this was a pretty good box. My favorite item was definitely the Covergirl lip stick/stain. It also comes in 35 different colors! I'll have to see if I can find another shade I like!

Have you tried any of these products? What did you think of them?

Conspiracy of Silence by Ronie Kendig Book Review

Conspiracy of Silence by Ronie Kendig

From back cover:
Four years after a tragic mission decimated his team, Cole "Tox" Russell has been disavowed by the United States. And that's fine-he just wants to be left alone. But when a dormant, centuries-old disease is unleashed, Tox is lured back into action.

Tox and his former Special Forces team regroup to work with FBI deception expert, Kasey Cortes, and fiery archaeologist, Tzivia Khalon, to search the globe for answers-and a cure. As the mission leads from one continent to another, it becomes clear they're not just fighting a plague but battling an ancient secret society whose true goals remain hidden.

With time running out and the threat of a global pandemic rising, Tox and his team realize their sole chance might be to reach back through centuries of silence to find the only answer that can save them all.

I had a really hard time getting into this book. I've read almost all of Ronie Kendig's books, and this was by far the most difficult for me to get through. It also didn't help that the print seemed small and there was just over 400 pages. So there was a lot of story to get through.

There were so many characters, alternating point-of-views, and so much going on, it was difficult to keep track of it all. Stolen artifacts, plagues, assassins, globe-trotting, terrorist organizations. It was a lot to take in. I found myself either skimming sections, or having to go back and reread sections because I was like, wait, what? Did I read that right?

This book just felt like it was on fast-forward instead of being fast-paced. You kind of got a sense of what was happening, but as soon as you started to figure out what was going on, you were on to the next thing.

As far as what I did like, I really liked Chiji and Kasey. I wish Kasey would have had more of a role in the book. More specifically, I wish her job as a deception expert would have been utilized more. I've always been interested in reading body language and stuff, so it would have been nice to see more of what she could do. And Chiji was just a really interesting and unique character. I really liked the relationship between him and Tox.

I guess for me, this book just felt so different than all the other books I've read by Ronie Kendig. It just wasn't what I was used to. Sadly, this missed the mark for me.

I received this book from Bethany House Publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

2016 in Review

January
Well, I took an unplanned blogging break in January. Not because I didn't want to blog, but because I really had absolutely nothing to blog about! We didn't do anything interesting or blog-worthy, and I was pretty busy at work and didn't have too much time for anything else!

February
February didn't have a whole lot of posts either. I shared a Currently post, I talked about travel souvenirs, and an Influenster Target Dry Spray Voxbox review.

March
In March I shared my reviews on a couple of beauty boxes. The March Target Beauty box and the March Ipsy Glambag.

I also shared some scrapbooking pages as well as an Instagram roundup.

April
In April I shared my first Love With Food box review.

We went hiking at Camelsback park.

And I shared pictures from our trip to Washington! We visited the Roozengaarde Tulip Farm, Pike Place Market, Kerry Park, Gas Works Park, the Ballard Locks, and the Museum of Flight!

May
There were a lot of review posts in May! As well as an Ikea haul and some lilac pictures!

Review-wise, I posted some reviews of the April Love With Food box, the April Ipsy Glam Bag, the April Target Beauty Box, and Wonderland - A Coloring Book by Amily Shen.

June
In June I shared some subscription box reviews including the May Ipsy glam bag, June Target beauty box, the first-ever Target mens' box, and the June Love With Food box.

I also shared some pictures of the late spring flowers, my first confessions post, and a father's day weekend recap!

July
In July I shared a couple review posts, which included the July Love With Food box and the June Ipsy glam bag.

I also shared a recipe for strawberry spinach salad. Which is SO GOOD and you should try it!

And last but not least, some pictures from our visit to a lavender farm.

August
In August I shared the July Ipsy glam bag, some pictures from the Tacoma Museum of Glass, and a Target haul!

September
In September I shared reviews of the August Ipsy glam bag, August Love With Food box, and August Target beauty box.

I also shared the rest of the pictures I took while we were in Washington; which included pictures from Ruby Beach and La Push!

October
In October, I shared my review of the September Ipsy glam bag, Target beauty box, and Love With Food box.

I also shared some pictures from the Portland Farmers' market and some of the pretty fall colors!

November
In November I shared a review of my October Ipsy glam bag as well as a review of the October Sephora Play bag.

December

In December I didn't do too much blogging, but I did share a review of the November Ipsy glam bag and November Sephora Play bag. In non-review related posts, I shared a Christmas decoration home tour!

So that was my 2016 in review! 
You can also check out my 2015 in review!