alexandra black

Author: Alexandra

  • the last tbr of this summer

    the last tbr of this summer

    Summer is almost gone, and I am not here to mourn that. I’m a winter/ autumn girlie, with a touch of early spring, when I can enjoy the sweet scent of air and greenery without the oppressive heat. This year I had especially prolific summer reading plans, but big TBRs really only exist as lulz for my future self – I rarely manage to stick to a rigid reading list. Below, though, are the books that made it out of my ten foot ancient scroll of questionable summer joys to a reality of “I ought to read these before the leaves fully turn.”

    Dandelion Wine, by Ray Bradbury

    Last year I tried to finish this book in the autumn months, and I just couldn’t. This is indeed summer joys distilled, and I want to read the story during the season. Gentle summer nights just EMANATE from this book’s pages. Plus, I really want to get to Something Wicked this Way Comes and Farewell Summer come October, and I’d rather read this one first.

    I made a whole-ass list of summer romances I wanted to read during the scalding months of May, June, July, and August, but hardly got around to any of them, because I’m always distracted by the next thing. The full list would have to wait until next year, Lord willing, but I do want to cross out at least some reads off of it this summer, even if the season is heavily on the wane.

    Problematic Summer Romance, by Ali Hazelwood

    I chose Hazelwood from the list mentioned above, because I’ll be reading this one fresh in the footsteps of Not In Love, the first one in the series. You can’t really get any more summery than this title. And it’s set in Sicily. Plus I don’t want to wait a year to read the follow-up to Not In Love, even if the follow-up involves a different couple, and the tropes mentioned aren’t really my thing.

    Just for the Summer, by Abby Jimenez

    Another romance book on this list. I haven’t read anything Abby Jimenez yet – why not choose a summer book for my inaugural one? Plus I hear this one is good, so hopefully it will be a proper introduction to the author.

    The Amalfi Curse, by Sarah Penner

    Water witches, dual timeline, set in Italy — this book just screams ‘summer’ to me. I started reading The Amalfi Curse in late June or early July, but have yet to finish it. If not now, then when?

    Day Boy, by Trent Jamieson

    While Day Boy is not explicitly posed as a summer book, its setting is post-apocalyptic Australia overtaken by vampires. Something about this book says ‘scorching heat’ – apart from some mentions of surroundings and climate. Plus *minor spoiler* the vamps in this one are obsessed with the sun.

    bonus:
    Book Lovers, by Emily Henry

    And bonus book #1, Emily Henry’s Book Lovers, about two New York editors vacationing in a small town. I won’t be mad at myself if I don’t finish this one before autumn is fully here, because oddly enough this book doesn’t scream SUMMER at me, but I would like to finish this one sooner rather than later – simply because I really enjoyed what I’ve read so far, so we’re putting it on the ‘goodbye summer’ list.

    bonus #2:
    The Running Grave, by Robert Galbraith

    The last published installment in Cormoran Strike series, I really want to pick it up and finish soon, because The Hallmarked Man is coming out on the 2nd of September (omg that’s literally days from now), and I don’t want to wait too long to read it, because then I’d have to wait even longer to read the next. So the simple solution is to read it ASAP.

    Any books you’re in a rush to finish before the season is over? Do tell, do tell.

  • Manicure 1.25 – AVON, Tips, Sally Hansen

    Manicure 1.25 – AVON, Tips, Sally Hansen

    I quite randomly decided to start taking pictures of my nails again, so please forgive the low-light questionable quality photos – but then again, I guess it’s kinda real.

    • 2 layers AVON Gel Finish Lavender Sky
    • 1 (and a half) layer Tips Spring 2020 Confetti
    • 1 layer Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat

    AVON Gel Finish Lavender Sky

    I love this line of AVON. Nearly all of my polishes are 2+ years old, and this one is no exception. I’m not sure how the line looks right now, and I won’t go looking, because nail polish is my huge spending trigger, and I’ve been trying to use as much of the things I own as possible.

    This shade, Lavender Sky, is no exception to the overarching rule of this line – it paints really well. It’s a thinner and runnier formula, so keep that in mind if it’s not your preference. The brush shape is not flat, but it’s not annoyingly thin either and fans out nicely.

    In the photo of the bottle it pulls kind of grey, but on the nails it’s lavender.

    Tips Spring 2020 Confetti

    Tips is an indie Russian brand that I’ve been obsessed with. Unfortunately the only way for me to get this polish was to placate my brother and then have him bring it over when he visits. Currently he can’t visit, so I left him alone, and I don’t know what the new Tips collections look like.

    Confetti is a glitter, as you can see. It’s got some holo specs, it’s got some multicoloured ones, some are multichrome I believe. The shapes are also different. The base is a really pale sheer lavender – which is what inspired me to use Lavender Sky by AVON underneath. I used it without the base of colour before, just two coats of this glitter, and I loved it as is, but this time around I wanted something more substantial.

    Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat

    And then the top coat I’m still deciding if I like enough to repurchase. It does do exactly what it says it would on the tin – it dries almost instantly. But I kinda feel like it gives the overall nail a brittle sort of look. I don’t know how else to explain it. It’s like it thins out the volume of the application. I think I’m going to try applying either a thicker layer next time, or maybe even two coats.

    Also, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri top coat bottle is red, but the top coat itself is completely transparent.

  • frugality and minimalism as a coping mechanism.

    I had a revelation the other day that whenever I am stressed about things – mainly financial things – I read books on how to save money and live simply by a bucket. I read old ones and seek out inexpensive or free new ones. I once found a blog and read it so much, the owner actually blocked me. I guess they thought my IP was a bot, because I kept opening post after post, reading them all.

    The odd thing about this mechanism is that none of these books can teach me anything new. Sometimes I stumble upon a tip that I haven’t heard before. But it hasn’t happened in a while. I’m at a point where I’m considering writing a book like that of my own. Even though I still have debt, I still have bills that I’m behind on, and I don’t have full control over my own money – as in, literally, sometimes things are out of my control, and money is spent not by me, not on things I believe it should be spent on.

    That doesn’t negate the fact that I know a lot about saving money and spending it wisely, though.

    About a year ago I would have ruefully accepted the label ‘spendthrift’, but recently I had another realisation – I am not it. I am not one. I am not a spendthrift. I know that no one in my life would agree with that, but then again no one is living my life but me. I have made irresponsible financial decisions, but that was hypomania. “Core” me, stable me is different. Entirely. She cuts off every bill and considers every expense. Sometimes to the point of exhaustion, I might add. She’d fixate on things so much, she’d just buy nothing in the end. But I always have to fight and contest the term “spender”. It is such an easy – and infinite – way to minimise my financial turmoil and invalidate my knowledge. If I mention a loan payment, I would immediately get a reply that I’m thoughtless with money.

    Bitch, I am literally insane.

    But loan payments don’t grind my gears as much as, say, an electricity bill commentary does. Because one can’t fault me for irresponsible electricity usage. I turn off the lights, I unplug the pluggable, I use as little artificial light as possible to the point of moving around in the darkness. I’m sensitive to light, so it’s fine. I always play with fridge temps (within safety levels of course), and I am not averse to washing my laundry on cold. I even turn off the second monitor periodically and only use one. I guess the only “luxury” I allow myself is the AC, but when the temps outside are 40C, one could argue that it’s a necessity.

    Anyway, so maybe I will write that book. For now, though, I have this blog, and a renewed, though shy, desire to upkeep it and share what I write.