Monday, March 30, 2015

April Journal Prompts + printable

Edit: Updated and completed prompts are available in a printable version through etsy and an ebook version through amazon as of December 2018.

Again thanks to everyone who has been sharing the previous months' journal posts. I'm so glad to hear from those of you who are using these prompts in your own journals.

This month, I am happy to share 30 new journal prompts for you to use. Pick a time out of your day to sit down with a hot beverage and spend some time writing. A printable version of these prompts is available at the bottom of the post. 

If you have never journaled before, or if you want some pointers on starting your journal, check out our post on starting a journal.

30 Journal Prompts for April

1. Your biggest dream
2. What place do you consider your home?
3. What are you most grateful for?
4. The most important qualities in a friend
5. One thing you need to stop doing
6. One thing you need to start doing
7. How are you feeling today?
8. Three things you and your best friend have in common
9. Your life story in five sentences
10. A place you have never visited
11. How important is fame?
12. What is a "perfect" day?
13. How do you make decisions?
14. Describe kindness
15. 10 things you should always have
16. The word that you overuse
17. A pun
18. How would you like to be described?
19. Your favorite song to sing
20. Would you like to know about the future?
21. How do you show people you care?
22. Your last important decision
23. Something that is always easy for you
24. A motto to live by
25. Happiness is...
26. Organized or messy?
27. A recent compliment
28. Where you want to be?
29. A happy moment
30. Your preferred method of communication

Download your printable PDF version of the prompts here.



Make sure that you get next month's prompts by following along with Life of Lovely on bloglovin, pinterest, or twitter.

We'd love to hear from you if you decide to use these prompts. Let us know how it goes in the comments.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

2015 Reading Challenge: February Update



My goal of reading 100 books in 2015 seems to be going well. I read 9 books in February. According to my challenge tracker on goodreads, I am near where I need to be in order to read all 100 by the end of the year.

I've recently gotten a subscription to Scribd which lets me read as many books from its catalog as I want each month. So far, I've been happy with the service. Plus, since I'm currently living abroad, I don't have as much access as normal to books in English. I do try to read in French as much as possible, but it is more difficult for me.

Here's what I read this month.

Harry Potter et l'Ordre du Phenix - J.K. Rowling
Still reading Harry Potter in French. I finished the 5th book early in the month, but I haven't been able to move on to the 6th one yet because who ever borrowed it hasn't returned it yet even though it was due two weeks ago.

The Prince - Niccolo Machiavelli
My book club decided that we should read this. I have to admit that it isn't my type of reading. While I do find political science interesting, I'd have to know more about it to understand why this book is important and how the thoughts in it have shaped different leaders. 

Hyperbole and a Half - Allie Brosh
This book was written by Allie Brosh. You might have seen her blog with the same name. Chances are that you've seen some of the memes based on what she's created there. I enjoyed her mix of writing and web comic on her site, and for that reason, I wanted to read her book when it came out. Her sense of humor is quite particular. While I did like reading parts of the book, she deals with some heavy topics like her struggles with depression. Lots of people find her writing on this subject to be very relatable, so I'd definitely recommend this book for some people. However, for me, it was interesting, but difficult to read at points.

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin - Benjamin Franklin
As the title of the book implies, this is an autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. I remember reading an excerpt of it in high school and wanting to read more. It was a slow read for me, but I learned some things about an important figure in American history.

Wishful Drinking - Carrie Fisher
This memoir is by Carrie Fisher who is best know for playing Princess Leia in Star Wars. Since she was the daughter of two incredibly well known celebrities, her childhood and life was extremely different from most people's.

The Dress Doctor - Edith Head
Edith Head is a costume designer who won 8 Academy Awards for her costume designs. The list of stars and films that she designed for it too long to list, but you'd recognize names like Audrey Hepburn and Ginger Rogers on it. This book was adapted from her autobiography and includes her advice about how to dress for different occasions as well as tales about stars from the golden age of Hollywood. While the specific instructions about what to wear might not work as well today, I found this book to be an entertaining, easy read.

Fortune's Fool - Mercedes Lackey
I've talked before about how much I enjoy the Five Hundred Kingdoms series. It's a type of fairy tale re-telling, and I like the way the the author handles mixing the different tales together while still keeping the reader unsure of exactly how the story will end.

The Sleeping Beauty - Mercedes Lackey
Another book in the Five Hundred Kingdoms series. I'd definitely recommend these if you enjoy reading fantasy or fairy tales.

Lettre du Mon Moulin - Alfred Daudet
The teachers at one of the elementary schools where I work recommended this book when I told them I wanted to read more in French. It's a collection of short stories that describes life and culture in the south of France during the 1800s. I found it easy to read because I could stop between stories and because the subject changes frequently from day to day happenings to folk-tales to observations. If you're looking for a mid-range level French book to read that the French public will be familiar while, this is a good choice.

So, those are the books that I read in February. I don't have quite as many French books as I'd like on the list. I'll have to make more of an effort to read more in French during March. Now that I have Scribd it's much easier for me to read in English while I'm here. Actually, in order to stay on track with my challenge, I probably need to read as much as possible during March and April because I think things will become much busier once I return home, and I won't have as much time available for reading.

All of these books are available on Amazon. It's an affiliate link, so a portion of the price of anything that you buy after clicking on the link will go to support this blog and allow me to buy more books to read!


What did you read in February? Do you have any suggestions for my reading list?

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

My First Julep Box


I might have a small obsession with cosmetic products and purple. So when I saw an ad on Facebook saying that Julep would send me a box of three purple nail polishes and one black eyeliner for my birthday for free I had to check it out. I looked at the website, and it looked legit. It said I would only have to pay $2.99 for shipping and that if I didn't want a second box to come in March then all I had to do was call Julep and tell them by the 20th and they would cancel the order. I thought I'll just take advantage of this one free box, and then I'll cancel.

Then, my beautiful wild orchid purple box of nail polish and makeup came in the mailbox, and now I think I'm hooked...

Hazel

First, I tried out the Hazel nail polish which is one of Julep's Boho Glam nail colors. I wasn't really expecting a lot because hey it was free. But it really did go on very smoothly and easily with a rich color. I only needed two coats for an opaque finish, and it worked well with my Sally Hansen Insta-Dri topcoat. The end product was an opaque deep purple with a sort of metallic-y fine shimmer that Julep describes as a wild violet and bronze duochrome. I think it works beautifully on cool skin tones. This one has become my new favorite nail polish! It adds some personality to my usual grey and pink ensembles, and I've gotten complimented on it every day it's been on my nails.

Margit

The second color I tried was Margit, one of the It Girl nail colors. I loved the ease of application of this nail polish too. It went on opaquely and evenly with two coats. Margit is a pale lavender polish that Julep describes as mushroom with rose shimmer. It's definitely a very in color right now. Sadly, it brought out a little too much red in my skin tone, but I think it would be gorgeous on warm, darker skin tones. I think I'll probably still wear it though because the color is too pretty to waste!

Bernadette


And last but not least is Bernadette, named for Bernadette Peters. The black onyx nail polish was made specially for us gals with February birthdays! First off, I love Bernadette Peters so I had high expectations for this nail polish. It had the same smooth application as the other nail polishes and only needed two coats for opaque color. The end result is very unique and cool. It's a purple-y black with small flecks of silver shimmer. It basically looks like the night-sky.

Blackest Black


I also got a black eye-liner in the maven box, but I really am not a fan of how eyeliner makes me look, so I'll save that review for when Elizabeth can try it out.

Overall, I was super impressed with my first Maven box! And after reading a little bit about the company values, and seeing my options for this month I think I'll keep buying them periodically and keep y'all updated.  Also, you'll notice that we now have a badge for Julep that says "I'm classic with a twist." If you think you want to try Julep for free then give it a click or click here, and Julep will give you a code for a free box. If you decide to subscribe after you've gotten your free box, then I'll get credit I can put towards a box for referring you. You can do the same on your blogs to earn free boxes! Hope you enjoy and let us know what you think about your boxes!

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