Spring 2015 Elizabeth & Clarke Review

The Box: Elizabeth and Clarke

The Cost: $30-$60 a season, depending on the number of shirts you choose

The Goods: 1-3 high quality tops that you choose from their seasonal collection.

 The Stephens:  I adore this.  It's incredibly soft and easy to wear.  It's my second favorite E&C top ever, beaten only by the Williams.

The Shannon:  I was kind of "meh" on this one until I tried it tucked into a skirt.  It made a WORLD of difference.  It's no Stephens, but I'll definitely get some wear out if it. ;)

I've found that their more structured pieces are kind of hit or miss for my body and taste, but the other pieces are always a dream.  Basically, E&C - give me aaaall the modal! 

March Sock of the Month Club Review

The Box: Sock of the Month Club

The Price: $12/month

The Goods: A pair of socks.  Obvs.

 Las Cruces: In general, yellow is my least favorite but I still really like these.  Something about this style feels a little masculine, but I totally will wear the crap out of them.

March Popsugar Must Have Review

The Box: Popsugar Must Have

The Cost: $39.95/month

The Goods: Hand-picked food, fashion, beauty, home, and/or fitness items.

The Wet Brush Squirt - Yellow: ($4.99)  I have a full sized Wet Brush and love the crap out of it.  I'm pretty excited to have a purse-sized one now too!

 Bliss Micro Magic: ($48)  I don't do much when it comes to skin care - I usually just wash and moisturize my face every night and put on SPF before I go out in the day.  I probably ought to put more effort into taking care of my face.  Side note: what's the difference between a microdermabrasion product and a scrub?

Halfpops - Butter & Pure Ocean Sea Salt: ($1.69)  I honestly can't decide how I feel about these.  Popcorn is one of my favorite foods so I feel like I should like them, but I kind of feel like they're too crunchy and not quite flavorful enough.

Knock Knock What To Pack Pad: ($7)  Ughhh this makes me want to go on a vacation SO badly.  I usually just make a checklist in Google Keep, but this is way cuter.

Samudra Zip Pouch: ($40)  I really dig this.  It's made of plastic (like a pool float) so it'll be perfect for hauling sunscreen and such around all summer.  Also, I'm a total weirdo and love the smell of pool float material.

The Archivist Reed Diffuser - Lemon + Cucumber: ($20)  This is easily the item I'm most excited about.  I'm a big fan of anything that makes my house smell good.

Benefit The Porefessional: ($4.13)  I pretty much hate my pores, so they need any help they can get.  I really like the packaging of this product...though, I do think she should be wearing pants with her coat.

Benefit Roller Lash: ($8)  I've been curious about this mascara since reading Amanda's review on it.  I'm doubtful that it will beat out my beloved Urban Decay, but I'm willing to give it a shot.

Total Value: $133.87

I definitely wouldn't have paid $130 for the things that I got, but I'm more than happy with the haul for $40!  The only problem is that now I reeeeeally want to go somewhere warm and beachy.

Disclosure: This post contains referral links.

March Ipsy My Glam Bag Review - Flower Power

The Box: Ipsy

The Price: $10/month

The Goods: 4-5 full and deluxe-sample sized beauty products chosen based on your beauty profile.

March's theme was Flower Power.

Boo-Boo Cover-Up - Medium: ($7.65)  This is way too dark for me.  I don't think I've *ever* had enough of a tan to need a Medium shade concealer. 

Dr. Brandt Pores No More Anti-Aging Mattifying Lotion: ($8.82)  I'm a big fan of Dr. Brandt and with summer coming up, I'm definitely going to be needing the mattifying.

NYX Butter Lipstick - Hunk: ($5.99)  I've been on a big lipstick kick lately so I was stoked when I saw this in my bag.  I'm not sure that the shade works with my purple hair, but I'll probably wear it anyway.

Pur~lisse Pur~Delicate: ($6.43)  Last year was the year of Pur~lisse in subscription boxes, but I haven't tried this particular product yet.  Hopefully that doesn't mean I'll get it in three more boxes. ;)

Vintage by Jessica Liebeskind Illuminating Face Highlighter - Crystal Pink: Oh, I like this.  It's too sparkly for daily use but it's really pretty for special occasions.

Total Value: Over $28.89

This month's bag wasn't quite as impressive as February's but it isn't the worst bag I've ever received.  I'm a big enough fan that Dr. Brandt that it didn't really matter what else they included.

Disclosure: This post contains referral links.

Wil Wheaton Quarterly Co #WIL01 Review

The Box:  Wil Wheaton Quarterly Co

The Price: $100 + $8 Shipping (Quarterly)

The Goods:  Items curated by Wil Wheaton.  The May shipment will have an 80's theme!

Radio Free Burrito Poster:  I really like the design of this!  If I ever get around to hanging my vintage Woodstock posters, this will fit right in.  Wil plans to include 3 more RFB posters in upcoming boxes, so I look forward to seeing those as well.

littleBits Base Kit: ($99)  Okay, this is designed with kids in mind but J and I are basically 27/28 going on 9 so I have no doubt that we'll find something silly to build with this.

1970's C-3PO Figure: Considering the fact that he's nearly 40 years old, this figure is in great shape.  He's already on a shelf making friends with Joffrey and Groot.

1970's Trading Cards: I love these.  I'm not 100% sure what I'll do with them, but they're really cool.

It's hard to put a value on a box that consisted of mostly vintage items.  I think the curation was great, but I'm seriously debating whether or not I want to continue my subscription.  This box was advertised as "Shipping in February."  I wasn't even charged for it until the very last day of February - so obviously it was several days later before it actually shipped.  Generally this wouldn't bother me, but Quarterly has recently stopped accepting returns AND has started charging shipping.  Also, Quarterly never sent out any sort of update as to why the shipments were being delayed or when we could expect them.  For a $100 box - not including shipping - to not have reliable shipping times is pretty unacceptable to me.  That said...I adore Wil and the 80's are amazing so...I'm torn.

SXSW (Or: Excuses Why I've Been MIA)

Man.  I was doing SO well with maintaining a blogging schedule until it all fell apart a couple weeks ago.  I got a new job that actually requires me to leave the house, so I'm using that as my main excuse on being lazy.
Anywho.

Over the weekend, J and I partook in a few SXSW activities.  A couple of years ago I volunteered and got a badge, but we don't really have the time for that currently so last year and this year we've just wandered around and done all of the free things.

At SXSW Gaming, we basically touched, ogled, and played all the things.  This eye-tracking thing actually changes the direction you look in the game, which was equally confusing and awesome.

I also found out that I don't really look that different as a Klingon - if you ignore the odd boob job, of course.

 The longest line we stood in was for SXSWesteros.  It wasn't as epic as last year's, but at least J finally got to take his place on the Iron Throne.

One of my favorite stops during SXSW is always Yappy Hour.  A local shelter sets up with adorable puppys that are up for adoption, so you can play with cute fuzzballs while drinking free drinks.  We somehow wound up in the line to see Tuna.

J arm-wrestled a very attractive dude dressed up as Goku.  (Also, I learned who Goku was.)  It was pretty hilarious - the guy let everyone win, but not without effort.  J's feet were basically off the ground, and you can see how much effort J's putting in vs how relaxed Goku is.

Oh, and, uh...I MET FELICIA Freakin' DAY.  Y'all.  I adore her.  Being the graceful creature that I am, I almost tripped over a cord and landed on top of her.  She was super kind and gorgeous and I want to be her best friend.  (Side note:  Does anyone else feel like a jerk asking people to take photos with you?  I guess they're probably used to it, but it makes me feel so uncomfortable and like such a bother.)

We also walked a billion steps a day and got a ton of free swag and did all the normal things.  We never get to do everything that we want to do but...Felicia Day.  'Nuff said.

#DearMe

Last week, tons of awesome women put out #DearMe videos in celebration of International Women's Day (which was yesterday.)  I love the whole concept.

I tried to flesh out my own over the weekend, but this is how far I managed to get:

As I sat, staring at my mostly blank page, I realized that I still struggle with a good amount of the problems I had as a teenager - they just present themselves in a slightly different manner now.  I am still self-conscious, shy, awkward, and fearful.  I have no more direction in my professional life now than I did when I was 16.  Who am I to give anyone advice on things I have yet to overcome?  So, my #DearMe is to myself now almost as much as it would have been to myself at 16.

This sums up my attitude as a teenager.

Dear Me,

You deserve happiness.

Be strong.

Be brave.

Blood doesn't dictate who is family.

Never confuse companionship with love.

Be nicer to yourself.

It will all be okay.

Love,

Katrina

PS - Fuck the bitches and the assholes.  They don't deserve you.

Semi-Charmed Winter Book Challenge Final Check-In!

I actually finished the Semi-Charmed Winter Book Challenge!  At the beginning of February I was having serious doubts, so I'm pretty impressed with myself for pulling it off.  

Newly Completed:

10 points: Read a book with a food in the title.

Still Life With Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlen.  Eh.  The main character is a photographer and I found myself more interested in her photos than her story.  It wasn't a terrible book - it was just a fairly uneventful one.  I honestly couldn't bring myself to give a damn about any of the characters (except maybe the dog!)  (252 pages, 2.5 stars)

15 points: Read a book that was originally written in a language that is not your native language.

Story of O by Pauline Réage.  This was the Vaginal Fantasy pick for February.  Man...I can't decide how I feel about this book.  It's a BDSM story that makes Fifty Shades look like Sesame Street.  I found the story fascinating and disturbing at the same time.  Oh, and a little depressing.  (204 pages, 3.5 stars)

30 points: Read two books with a different meal in each title.

The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill.  I listened to the audiobook version of this and the narrator did a wonderful job.  I went in expecting a run-of-the-mill mystery and was pleasantly surprised by some of the elements and twists.  I'm not entirely sure I'll continue into the series, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.  (272 pages, 4 stars)

Whiskey for Breakfast by Liliana Hart.  I actually blew through the first book of this Addison Holmes series in one day while I was sick.  The whole series is the literary equivalent of cotton candy: a little silly and not extremely filling, but enjoyable, fun and easy to consume.  If you enjoy mysteries and romance with a bit of humor, I definitely recommend the series. (246 pages, 4 stars)

Previously Completed:

5 points: Freebie! Read any book that fits the general rules. (Daughter of Smoke and Bone)
10 points: Read a book written by an author who has published at least 10 books.  (Karma Girl)
10 points: Read a book of short stories.  (Wolfsbane and Mistletoe.)
15 points: Read the first book in a series that is new to you. (Mind Games)
15 points: Read a book written by a local author.  (Ill Wind)
20 points: Read a book with a direction in the title. (Witches of East End)

20 points: Read a "bookish book" in which books play an important role. (Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore) 

25 points: Read a book with a song lyric in the title. (Parasite)

25 points: Read a book from a genre you don't usually read. (I Am Malala)

Final Score: 200 points