Mermaid nails - Essence 'Blue Addicted'

Hi! Last weekend I did a bit of shopping and picked up this fantastic colour of nail polish, I couldn't get over how cute & tiny the bottle was!! This is a new range of products that Priceline sell called "Essence" so of course I had to check out their nail polishes. There were so many gorgeous colours but I couldn't pass this one up.

It's called 'Blue Addicted'. In the bottle the colour looks like it will be black with green & blue glitter mixed through but when I started applying it, I realised it's blue rather than black. There's not only the green and blue big chunks of glitter but there's a fine blue sparkle running through it too.

To get the look on my nails I applied 3 layers of colour, to get it even darker I could've tried for 4 layers but decided that I liked it like this.
It's a fairly quick drying nail polish so I could apply each layer within a few seconds. I also like that there's a good amount of glitter that comes out each time you apply.

After I was done, I thought "These look just like mermaid nails" because it reminds me of a mermaid's tail all sparkly & scaly swishing underwater.

 Have you tried this brand of nail polish before?

They just keep getting better and better!

Purity in Death (In Death series #15)

By J. D. Robb

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Purity in Death finds our heroine on an assignment that leaves her even more tormented by the past. When a deadly computer virus is unleashed on society's undesirables (namely, child abusers), it's up to Eve -- along with her astonishingly handsome husband, Roarke; her feisty aide, Peabody; e-geek McNab; and her mentor, Captain Feeny -- to discover the origins of the virus and shut down the clandestine vigilante group that created it before the next target is marked for execution.

Eve's task is complicated further as she grapples with her demons (as a child-abuse victim, it was a matter of survival that led Eve to kill her father) and squares off with Roarke, who does not regard the group's intentions as inherently bad. Once again, she must muddle through those gray areas of right and wrong as she seeks to "stand for the dead," and answer the question of whether the group is justified in its actions, or whether they simply represent a new breed of terrorist.


Review: Oh my gosh, this was pretty amazing.  I can’t believe J. D. Robb still has fresh material, after 15 books she’s still got! Eve is back to stand up for crime. Although this time is she standing up for the wrong guys? A terrorist type group is killing off people who are truly evil but does that give them the right to choose who gets to live or die? This is the dilemma that Eve is faced with when some people agree with the group. I love this series so much and this one reminds me so much of one of the other books in the series that I enjoyed, it was called Rapture in Death. That book also focuses on technology being responsible for the deaths. These books are set in the future but that is never the main part of the story, it’s just something that is there in the background. So I love when technology is involved in the crime because it’s always really interesting and Robb does a good job of making it seem real – like some time in the near future this could really happen. What I also really like about these books are the characters. Every single one of them feel so real to me and I love learning more and more about them. To wrap it up I can’t get enough of these books and I hope they are still this good by the time i get to the 30^th.

On the cover: Ok ok so there's no way I would pick up this book by it's cover. It's truly hideous and boring but if you take a look at this cover at least it's a little more appealing. Neither of the covers tell me anything about what's going to be inside, so please do not judge this book by it's cover.

What I'm listening on Audio to next: Now by Morris Gleitzman

Have you read this series before? What do you like about it?

Melbourne Craft & Quilt Fair 2012

My best friend Amy & I took a train to Melbourne and went along to the Craft & Quilt Fair which was held at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre. Amy has a great blog post on what she bought on the day so go and check it out!

I haven't been attending any markets because the bad weather has kept me inside and also because of this I haven't had any inspiration to do any crafting. So, this was the perfect thing to spark my interest and get me going again. Amy & I had a great time wandering around and seeing all the amazing things people have created.

Below are my purchases of the day. I've been interested in Cross Stitch and was happy to have found a very simple design that I can practice with. My knitting skills consist of scarves and I thought getting this "Ribbons" wool would be a step up from that as it's a trickier scarf pattern to knit.
I fell in love with the trims below and can't wait to work with them to make brooches and hair accessories. I'll post again once I have finished any of these projects.

Did you attend the Fair this year or any other years? What did you think?

Why hello there pretty book

City of Lost Souls (Mortal Instruments #5)

By Cassandra Clare

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Jace is now a servant of evil, bound for all eternity to Sebastian. Only a small band of Shadowhunters believe he can be saved. To do this they must defy the Clave. And they must act without Clary. For Calry is playing a dangerous game utterly alone. The price of losing is not just her own life, but Jace's soul. Clary is willing to do anything for Jace, but can she still trust him? Or is he truly lost? What price is too high to pay, even for love?






Review: What can I say about City of Lost Souls. I really wish it hadn’t taken me soooo long to read this because it was really awesome! At the time I was reading this I had lots of nights out and weekends away so I couldn’t snuggle down and enjoy this in a long stint. It didn’t help when each chapter of the book were on average 30 pages! So once I finished one chapter I would get distracted and not pick up the book for another few days. I really enjoy the Mortal Instruments series and this one didn’t let me down. It picks up right where we left off in book Four and takes you on a swoony ride. My My there was so much swoon in this book, we don’t have only one couple to swoon along with but four! There was so much going on (which was a good thing) with so many storylines to follow. They all intertwine with each other so well and keep the fast pace of the story exciting. I think the more and more I read this series the more and more I like Clary as a female character. I haven’t always had such a strong connection to her from the other books but something happened for me in this. I think all the moments she had with Sebastian, and what she was standing up for really pushed her into “Awesome character” for me. I also like Simon a lot more in this one compared to four, I kind of hated when he was turned into a Vampire and now he’s gotten to terms with what he is, not a monster and I like that. Oh and I love all the references to her Infernal Devices series, If you are planning on reading book 4 & 5 of The Mortal Instruments seres without first reading her Infernal Devices series – don’t! There’s some things that you will get better if you read the Infernal Devices first. I can’t go past saying “damn that’s a cliffhanger of an ending”! Cassandra Clare has done a fantastic job with this book, I can not wait to see what adventure I’m taken on next.

On the cover: Awesome is an understatement for this cover. It's truly beautiful! Unfortunetly you cant see how pretty it looks with the above picture. The parts on their bodies that look like they are shiny, they really are shiny! If I hadn't read the first few books, I would still pick this up because its looks really interesting. Also, Clary actually does wear a red dress similar to that in the story so it does show what to expect inside. Oh how I wish this guy on the cover was playing Jace in the movie instead of the actor who is. This is guy is dreamy....

What I'm reading next: Witch & Wizard {Graphic Novel} by James Patterson

What do you think of the cover? Would you read this book based on it's cover?

Colorful Butterfly & Flowers Nails

These nails were inspired by someone I follow on Instagram. I saw her design and loved it so much that I wanted to try to re-create it. I did these nails at night and didn't get round to taking some nice tutorial photos, sorry! 

Basically I used Revlon Peach Smoothie #345 as the base color. I applied one coat so it gives the effect of not having any nail polish on... my nails are nude! :-P Then using my 2 way nail polishes I did all the detail with the flowers & butterflies. On a side note I did these nails over a week ago and they still look really good! 

Oh and the Revlon nail polish is part of their scented range so not only did my nails look really cool, they also smelt really nice.

Below is a close up of the design. 

Is there a design which you have re-created or want to?

What's happened to a great series?

The Full Cupboard of Life (No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency #5) 

By Alexander McCall Smith

Rating: 2 out of 5

Mma Ramotswe and Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni are still engaged, but with no immediate plans to get married. Mma Ramotswe wonders when a wedding date will be named, but she is anxious to avoid putting pressure on her fiancé. For indeed he has other things on his mind -- particularly a frightening request (involving a parachute jump) made by Mma Potokwani, the persuasive matron of the orphan farm.

Mma Ramotswe herself has weighty matters on her mind. She has been approached by a wealthy lady to check up on several suitors. Are these men interested in her or just her money? This may be difficult to find out, but it’s just the kind of case Mma Ramotswe likes and she is, as we know, a very intuitive lady.

Meanwhile, Mma Makutsi -- plucky assistant detective and deputy manager of the Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors garage -- is moving. Her entrepreneurial venture, the Kalahari Typing School for Men, is thriving and with this new income she has rented two rooms in a house. Her spare time is occupied with planning the move, the décor and her new life in a house with running water all to herself.

In the background of all this is Botswana, a country of empty spaces and echoing skies, a country so beautiful and entrancing that it breaks your heart. Mma Ramotswe has prepared the bush tea and is waiting for us to join her.

Review: I was really disappointed with this installment because I felt like it wasn’t about the mystery as much as being about boring daily Botswana stuff. Now I know these books are a light detective story and I usually like learning all about life in Botswana but this time it wasn’t doing anything for me and I got bored. I loved the other four because they had a really interesting mystery intertwined with the daily story of Mma Ramotswe but this one took quite a few chapters before we came across our mystery. In the end, I hate to say this, I didn’t finish the audiobook. Instead I looked online to find out what happened in the end and I kinda wished I had finished the book because something really important happened. Oh well! I think i’ll wait a while before I read the next one.

On the cover: It's not a very exciting cover and I don't see how it speaks specifically about the story because there wasn't really much to the story. I suppose the book is called "Full Cupboard of Life" and this a full cupboard?? 

Listening on Audio to next: Purity in Death by J. D. Robb

Have you read this series? What did you think?

Books I'm pining for 31/7/12

"Books I'm pining for" is a new feature for new and old books that I want to read. So I thought I would share with everyone these books and to find out what books you are pining for.

Fathomless by Jackson Pearce
Celia Reynolds is the youngest in a set of triplets and the one with the least valuable power. Anne can see the future, and Jane can see the present, but all Celia can see is the past. And the past seems so insignificant -- until Celia meets Lo.

Lo doesn't know who she is. Or who she was. Once a human, she is now almost entirely a creature of the sea -- a nymph, an ocean girl, a mermaid -- all terms too pretty for the soulless monster she knows she's becoming. Lo clings to shreds of her former self, fighting to remember her past, even as she's tempted to embrace her dark immortality.

When a handsome boy named Jude falls off a pier and into the ocean, Celia and Lo work together to rescue him from the waves. The two form a friendship, but soon they find themselves competing for Jude's affection. Lo wants more than that, though. According to the ocean girls, there's only one way for Lo to earn back her humanity. She must persuade a mortal to love her . . . and steal his soul. 

Tempestuous (Wondrous Strange #3)
by Lesley Livingston
"I don't love Sonny Flannery." 


That's the lie Kelley Winslow told to protect the boy she loves from a power he doesn't know he possesses. Devastated, Sonny retreats to a haven for Lost Fae that's hidden deep underneath New York City.

But Kelley's not about to let things end in heartbreak. To get Sonny back, she's got to find out who's after his magick—and how to use her own. She's got to uncover who's recruiting Janus Guards to murderously hunt innocent Faerie. She's got to help rebuild the shattered theater company she called family. And she's got to do it all without getting dangerously distracted by the Fennrys Wolf, whose legendary heart of stone seems to melt whenever he's around Kelley.

The intrigue and romance that began with Wondrous Strange and Darklight come to a stormy head in Tempestuous, the breathtaking conclusion to Lesley Livingston's ravishing urban Faerie trilogy.

 Insurgent (Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth
One choice can transform you--or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves--and herself--while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable--and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

"New York Times" bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian "Divergent" series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.

 Something like normal by Trish Doller
When Travis returns home from a stint in Afghanistan, his parents are splitting up, his brother’s stolen his girlfriend and his car, and he’s haunted by nightmares of his best friend’s death. It’s not until Travis runs into Harper, a girl he’s had a rocky relationship with since middle school, that life actually starts looking up. And as he and Harper see more of each other, he begins to pick his way through the minefield of family problems and post-traumatic stress to the possibility of a life that might resemble normal again. Travis’s dry sense of humor, and incredible sense of honor, make him an irresistible and eminently lovable hero.

Until I die (Revenants #2) by Amy Plum
Kate and Vincent have overcome the odds and at last they are together in Paris, the city of lights and love.

As their romance deepens there’s one question they can’t ignore: How are they supposed to be together if Vincent can’t resist sacrificing himself to save others? Although Vincent promises that he’ll do whatever it takes to lead a normal life with Kate, will that mean letting innocent people die? When a new and surprising enemy reveals itself, Kate realizes that even more may be at stake—and that Vincent’s immortality is in jeopardy.

In Die for Me, Amy Plum created a captivating paranormal mythology with immortal revenants and a lush Paris setting. Until I Die is poised to thrill readers with more heart-pounding suspense, spellbinding romance, and a cliff-hanger ending that will leave them desperate for the third and final novel in the series.

 Daughter of Smoke & Bone
by Laini Taylor
Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
The monster showed up after midnight. As they do.

But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting. He's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming...

This monster is something different, though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.

It wants the truth.

 The Traitor in the tunnel (The Agency #3) by Y. S. Lee

Get steeped in suspense, romance, and high Victorian intrigue as Mary goes undercover at Buckingham Palace - and learns a startling secret at the Tower of London.

Queen Victoria has a little problem: there's a petty thief at work in Buckingham Palace. Charged with discretion, the Agency puts quickwitted Mary Quinn on the case, where she must pose as a domestic while fending off the attentions of a feckless Prince of Wales. But when the prince witnesses the murder of one of his friends in an opium den, the potential for scandal looms large. And Mary faces an even more unsettling possibility: the accused killer, a Chinese sailor imprisoned in the Tower of London, shares a name with her long-lost father. Meanwhile, engineer James Easton, Mary's onetime paramour, is at work shoring up the sewers beneath the palace, where an unexpected tunnel seems to be very much in use. Can Mary and James trust each other (and put their simmering feelings aside) long enough to solve the mystery and protect the Royal Family? Hoist on your waders for Mary's most personal case yet, where the stakes couldn't be higher - and she has everything to lose.

What books are you pining for? 

 *Picture & blurbs taken from goodreads