Category: Personal / Information / Etc.

Current Beauty Faves Part 1: YouTubers, Recently Returned, and Updated Skincare

Posted April 26, 2018 / Current Favorites, Health & Beauty, Personal / Information / Etc. / 7 Comments

Welcome to the first of two posts about my updated makeup and skincare routines, thoughts, etc.! Today’s post will feature my favorite beauty YouTubers of the moment, recent skincare or makeup items I returned or stopped using, and my updated skincare routine. Tomorrow’s post will include my current makeup routine and other items I hope to try soon. Be sure to check back for that! So I posted recently about the new skincare routine I was trying out, but it wasn’t hitting the mark for me after about two months of religious use. I go through phases (about 1-2 times per year) where I get REALLY into beauty, makeup, skincare, etc. – I watch YouTube constantly, research products, buy and try new things, and inevitably end up returning way too much lol. I’m very much in one of these periods right now. I recently bought a bunch of new things and have been trying them out over the last month. I included some of them in my Lauren Lately post with mini reviews but I’ve since returned, exchanged, and bought more things. Reminder about my skin type: I have oily skin (my nose and cheeks are the first to get oily, followed by a little on my forehead and chin sometimes). My pores are quite large and makeup doesn’t “settle” into my face nicely. When I’m doing my makeup, my sponge or brush will often pick the makeup back off my skin and essentially remove it, leaving nothing in its place but […]

Ranking Episodes of Black Mirror

Posted April 20, 2018 / Media, Personal / Information / Etc. / 0 Comments

Chris and I started watching Black Mirror a few months ago and MAN does this show fuck me up. We were kind of addicted at the beginning and tried to binge a few episodes in one sitting… but honestly this show is just too heavy for that. I don’t know how people do it when the new season comes out! I get too depressed too quickly. There are four seasons, as of right now, and we spread them out over the course of a couple of months. I’ve seen a lot of people rank them from best to worst, so I’m going to share my favorites and least favorites here in order – the best ones are at the top, of course. You can see some other interesting opinions here and here. USS Callister (S4/E1) I loved this Star Trek-esque episode! The concept was really cool and the cast was fantastic. I was basically on the edge of my seat the entire time, especially toward the end. I hope they turn this into its own show, like the rumors are saying. I could totally see it. Nosedive (S3/E1) This one really got Chris and me thinking! I can’t imagine a world where everyone rates each other based on every single interaction they have. Clearly, it could make you go crazy. The concept here was phenomenal and the lead actress did a great job. I was rooting for her. San Junipero (S3/E4) SO GOOOOD. This one would be up a little […]

Incorporating Your Life into Your Book Blog

Posted April 19, 2018 / Personal / Information / Etc. / 3 Comments

Adding a more personal flair to book blogging has been the latest trend that most of us seem to be aiming for. I know I’ve made some changes over the past couple of years to do this! I write a lot more life-oriented posts on Bookmark Lit and many of them don’t even involve books at all. Because we’ve all noticed a decline in people reading or reacting to book reviews, we’re expanding a little bit by making mini review wrap-ups to get the point across, or doing whatever we can to boost other posts that people may enjoy more. I know I’m making a lot of generalizations here, but I’ve noticed these trends or comments on SO many blogs lately. Today I wanted to talk about how to incorporate your personal life more into your blog, either as a way of mixing up content OR slowly seguing into a blog that features more personal than bookish. I’d say my blog is probably 60-70% bookish and 40-30% personal at this point, depending on the week. I sloooowly moved into adding more personal posts over the past few years to get here. Here are some tips for how to do it and what to talk about: Develop a Weekly or Monthly “Schedule” Pick a certain day of the week to post your personal stuff. Alternatively, think about how many times per month in general you hope to discuss something other than books. Make a tentative schedule for each month based on […]

A Year(ish) in the Life of a Newbie Wrestling Fan

Posted April 9, 2018 / Media, Personal / Information / Etc. / 1 Comment

If you told me a few years ago that I would spend roughly 6-7 or more hours per week watching wrestling (sometimes closer to 10-12 if there’s a pay-per-view), I would have laughed at you. Seriously. I was never super interested in WWE or wrestling in general, and was one of those buttholes who completely wrote it off as “fake.” I remember watching on and off with my cousins throughout my childhood (late 90s/early 00s) and had a few classic wrestlers I loved at the time. My interest waned over time and I didn’t really get it. When we learned that some friends of ours liked wrestling, Chris decided to pick up watching RAW on Monday and Smackdown on Tuesday, just VERY occasionally. He played the WWE 2k15 games with the guys and enjoyed it. I barely glanced at the TV (usually just to scoff like a jerk sometimes) and would read a book while he watched and built Lego. I sloooowly started to turn my attention toward the TV a little bit more. I saw Morgan’s post (which is truly one of my favorite posts ever and I’ve read it a million times; check out her new blog here!) and became more intrigued by it all. I’m going to quote her post here because she makes the best points about this: “Wrestling is fake.” I’ll be the first person to tell you, wrestling fans know that WWE is scripted. And we don’t care. That’s different from fake by the […]

In My Bag

Posted April 4, 2018 / Lifestyle, Personal / Information / Etc. / 7 Comments

A looong time ago, I did a guest post on Rachel’s blog about what’s in my purse. I still use that purse from time to time but lately they’ve gotten much smaller. I used to carry around a huge bag to and from work because I wanted to make sure I could fit a book in there. However, since moving to the city, I’ve found that I need something a lot smaller. I was using a really cute pink-ish bag from Charming Charlie for a while and decided to treat myself to something new during the Kate Spade surprise sale. Kate Spade Prospect Place Rima | I couldn’t resist this one when I saw it, even though I did narrow down my choice from 6 purses in my shopping bag. Whoops. I was looking at some larger totes for when I’m back in the office (still need one, but might check out an outlet sometime this summer), a backpack purse, and a few wallets or wristlets. I decided on this one because it looked small enough to be a nice cross-body and large enough to fit my Kindle/iPad depending on what I’m reading. #priorities Jessica Simpson Wallet | I bought this a while ago because my other Coach wallet was getting beat up AND was too big for the smaller purses I started to adopt. This one is tiny and doesn’t include a section for checks, which is fine because I basically just use those for rent now anyways! It has cute […]

Add It To My List – March 2018

Posted March 26, 2018 / Add It To My List, Personal / Information / Etc. / 4 Comments

This linkup is hosted by Lauren and Bre, where you’re able to share what you’re currently recommending to people in real life. You’ll likely see movies, shows, podcasts, books, household items/purchases, technology – the list goes on! The linkup happens on the last Tuesday of the month, but I’ll be posting on the last Monday or Wednesday due to Top Ten Tuesday. Add to your shopping list Trader Joe’s Favorites: Pita Bite Crackers, Olive Tapenade, and Everything But The Bagel Sesame Seasoning It’s no secret that I’ve been addicted to TJ’s lately. It’s not quite walking distance to my apartment, compared to the Hannaford right across 2 parking lots, but it’s worth the two second drive to get there. I try to go in between Hannaford trips. One of my new favorite snack combos are their Pita Bite Crackers and the Olive Tapenade (I got the one in the jar instead of the fresh one because it was cheaper by a few bucks). These crackers are truly some of the best I’ve EVER had and my new olive tapenade obsession continues with this stuff for only $2. The seasoning apparently took the internet by storm a while ago and I’m late, but seriously… This stuff is the best. It’s basically like if you took whatever random seasonings are on top of an everything bagel and put them in a container. The first time I tried it was on avocado toast and it was unbelievable – so much flavor! I’ve […]

Current Podcast Rotation

Posted March 22, 2018 / Media, Personal / Information / Etc. / 0 Comments

I’ve posted two podcast recommendation posts in the last year that focus on some of my favorite topics. I usually listen to only true crime, with maybe some comedy or wrestling mixed in. You can read those here and here! I wanted to take a minute to show which podcasts I’m currently rotating through on a weekly basis. I spend a lot of time finding old podcasts and catching up on back episodes before becoming up-to-date, but there are plenty of others that I listen to weekly/monthly as new episodes come out. I’ll call this my “current podcast rotation” if you’re curious to know what I’m playing every week. This is accurate as of February/March. True Crime The most common podcast that I listen to is the general category of “true crime.” There are a lot of one-off podcast that have one story in one season that I’ve listened to, but there are some that still come out with new content as of right now. The ones below are either individual story episodes (one case per episode) or season-long stories (one case per season). I kind of like the individual story ones more because it’s quick and easy; the season-long cases usually get too dragged out for me after a while. Criminal This is one of my longtime favorites and I love how consistently the episodes come out! The host even made a spin-off podcast (coming up later in this list) that I’ve been listening to. This show features little […]

Weight Loss and Health – Calorie Counting Apps

Posted March 21, 2018 / Food & Drink, Goals & Planning, Personal / Information / Etc. / 4 Comments

I started calorie counting back in 2016, I believe, when I saw Lindsey was using Lose It. I loved a lot of elements of this app (more than My Fitness Pal, which my other friends used) and had success for a few months. I lost some weight, and then the holiday season came. Oddly enough, even though I paused the calorie counting, I kept that weight off. I started counting calories again with Lose It when I moved to Maine, for about 200 days (it tells you the streak). Last month, the Bella Twins (some of my fave wrestlers/personalities) posted about a 90 Day Challenge they were doing with LifeSum. It’s another calorie counting app, but they have a bit more in terms of analyzing overall health and lifestyle changes. There are more features (especially when you buy Premium, which I had done with Lose It as well). I’m here today to talk about my weight loss/health journey through these two apps, as well as pros/cons for each one! DISCLAIMER: I will be reviewing both of the apps fully but know that I did upgrade to premium subscriptions for both of them, so some of the information may be for the free versions but some may be for premium only. I also am not a health professional by any means, so don’t take my word for anything in terms of calorie counting being the healthiest or best option for everyone. I know what works for me, so that’s what I do! […]

How I “Meal Prep” – AKA Slay the Leftovers Game

Posted March 16, 2018 / Food & Drink, Personal / Information / Etc. / 4 Comments

I’ve been thinking about this post for a while and seeing Steph’s recently gave me a push to post it. I live with my boyfriend, which means I have to sometimes modify recipes for two people, or make a huge batch of something that we’ll be sick of in a few days. There’s no easy way to cook for two people without extra math or work. I’ve gotten the hang of it recently though. The trick for me is to prepare meats and other ingredients in a more simple way, so the cooking is out of the way early and all in one shot. Here’s how I slay the leftover game so we don’t get sick of eating the same thing for days, and a few recipes I use for multiple day meals. Cooking for Two Modify recipes to fit your ~family size~ aka couple. I do this when it’s really easy to do the math. If there’s a recipe that makes eight chicken breasts with sauce and some kind of side, I will cut the recipe in half so we each can eat two pieces of chicken. (More on that later.) If there’s a recipe for a HUGE batch of soup or stew, I will either cut the recipe in half so we don’t get sick of the leftovers, or freeze it when applicable. Eat “complicated leftovers” meals for lunch the day (duh). I call them “complicated leftovers” when you make a full meal, instead of just basic meat prep that […]

Holy Grail Products

Posted March 14, 2018 / Health & Beauty, Personal / Information / Etc. / 6 Comments

I love reading holy grail posts for beauty, so I wanted to do my own with a little twist. I do have some non-beauty items here, like random technology or kitchen-related purchases. I go through phases where I feel the need to revamp everything and try a bunch of new items (especially as far as beauty goes), but these things have stayed pretty consistent over the years. I’m good at sticking with the stuff that really works. Here are some items I’ve used over the past handful of years that have been repurchased countless times. Products Used for 5+ Years John Freida Frizz-Ease Daily Nourishment Leave-in Conditioning Spray | My hair is naturally very straight and thin, so I don’t have to blow dry or straighten. It dries perfectly straight within an hour of showering. I know, I know, don’t hate me. The one problem I do have though is FRIZZ. If I don’t use this spray, my hair will turn into a frizzy mess ASAP after it dries. I spray this on the bottom 3/4 of my head and comb through. It detangles, makes it smooth, and keeps it smooth all day. Wet Brush | This is my second go-to hair product. I’ve had a Wet Brush for years because it really works so perfectly on wet hair. It detangles nicely without pulling. I can’t imagine using anything else for brushing my hair. I have a couple of these around! iPhones and Apple Products | I’ve been buying iPhones and other Apple products […]