Confessions of a Book Addict

**Nothing to Disclose**

Hi, my name is Kelly, and I am a book addict. Like, more than one bookcase filled with books, and tons of e-books. I recently had to start a spreadsheet because I've been accidentally buying repeats of books.

This is just the beginning of my list. I've managed to input my Kindle books, and I'm already at over 200 books. That's normal, right?

I love when I'm the first person to get a new library book. Look at that brand new book. I *almost* feel bad reading it, since it won't be returned in such perfect condition. Almost, but not bad enough to not read it.

Ah, finding a great deal on a book you love. Why can't books be that cheap anymore? Although, if I could pick up books for cheap all the time, the entire house would have to have built-in bookcases.

Even finding a used book you love can be awesome. This was a library copy that was taken out of circulation, and cost me I think a quarter. It might be well loved, but it is still a great book.

Ah, having a book signed by the author. I don't think anything can beat that feeling. Ok, I do know one thing...

When you get to meet one of your favorite authors. This was from when I was lucky enough to meet Janet Evanovich. I've also met Joanne Fluke, Charlaine Harris, Jodi Thomas, and Christopher Straub.

Does anyone else have a problem with their TBR shelf growing faster than they can read? I swear for every book I read, 2-3 books are added to my TBR shelf.

Does anyone else have any fun book addict confessions to make?

~Kelly

40 Great Nail Art Ideas - Aqua or Turquoise

**Nothing to Disclose**

For this week of 40 Great Nail Art Ideas, the prompt was aqua or turquoise, and I had zigzags. This ended up being an interesting mishmash of different techniques, but I think (hope) I made it work.

I started out by painting some of my aqua - KBShimmer Shore Thing - onto 3 of my nails. Then I used a French tip brush to do French tips (hmm, that sounded a bit redundant). After that, I put chevron vinyls - I think they are Nail Vinyls brand - on my ring finger and thumb. I added my aqua on top and quickly removed the vinyls, then added top coat and did some clean up because I am awesome at making a mess.

The result is French tips with an accent of negative space zigzags, with an accidental Easter egg look.

An InLinkz Link-up

~Kelly

40 Great Nail Art Ideas - Pale Blue Base

**Nothing to Disclose**

I'm back! This week's prompt was to do a mani over a pale blue base, and my design was watercolor. Which I have never done before. So this was definitely an experiment for me.

I started with a base of Zoya Blu, then put random blobs of Philly Loves Lacquer That Elsa Doll is Mine!,  Zoya Rayne, Rocky, and Yummy. I worked one nail at a time, putting down one color and swishing it around my nail with a bunch of acetone. Overall, it was a simple mani for me, but I did find that if you aren't careful with the acetone you will end up eating through the base color.

~Kelly

An InLinkz Link-up

HPB Presents Monochromatic Nails

Nothing to disclose

Hi everyone! Every month, the Hobby Polish Bloggers group chooses a different theme. This month, it is monochromatic nails, which I absolutely love to do. I decided that instead of making a new manicure, I would show some old ones that never made it onto the blog.

The first mani I have for you is my first attempt at an abstract look. I used the purple China Glaze set and a small paint brush for this. This was also my first attempt at an artistic photo.

This was my next attempt at this style. I used a bunch of random polishes, including the China Glaze green set. I also decided that my sweater dress matched better than a scarf.

And now, pink! This was the pink China Glaze set (noticing a theme yet?), and by this time I had improved my artistic pose with a scarf. I also think I had lost my thin brush because the brushstrokes look a lot thicker. Or maybe I was just in a hurry?

My final picture is my black and white version. I think I ended up using 5 shades for this one. The lack of scarf is only because I haven't unpacked my scarf box yet. In case you are wondering, yes, I have a scarf that matches this perfectly, and yes, I have a bit of a scarf obsession.

An InLinkz Link-up

Reading Challenges

2016 Craving for Cozies Challenge

Challenge Dates: Jan. 1 - Dec. 31, 2016

Challenge Rules: http://www.escapewithdollycas.com/challenges-2/craving-cozies-challenge-2016/

Level: Satisfied - 21-40 cozies

Date Finished:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/24616783-kelly?shelf=craving-for-cozies-2016

Books Read:
1: A Cast-off Coven - Juliet Blackwell (finished 1/5)
2: A Brew to a Kill - Cleo Coyle (finished 1/11)
3: Death by Coffee - Alex Erickson (finished 1/13)
4: Tagged For Death -Sherry Harris (finished 1/21)
5: Cat Bearing Gifts - Shirley Rousseau Murphy (finished 1/30)
6: Chorus Lines, Caviar, and Corpses - Mary McHugh (finished 2/4)
7: Here Today, Gone Tamale - Rebecca Adler (finished 2/8)
8: A Room With a Pew - Peg Cochran (finished 2/23)*
9: Hail to the Chef - Julie Hyzy (finished 2/25)
10: Button Holed - Kylie Logan (finished 2/27)
11: Murder, Plain and Simple - Isabella Alan (finished 3/2)
12: Wedding Cake Murder - Joanne Fluke (finished 3/6)
13: Pane and Suffering - Cheryl Hollon (finished 3/9)
14: The Vicious Vet - M.C. Beaton (finished 3/15)
15: To Helvetica and Back - Paige Shelton (finished 3/19)
16: Novena For Murder - Sister Carol Anne O'Marie (finished 3/30)
17: Flipped For Murder - Maddie Day (finished 4/2)
18: By Cook or by Crook - Maya Corrigan (finished 4/5)
19: Veiled Threats - Deborah Donnelly (finished 4/7)
20: Presumed Puzzled - Parnell Hall (finished 4/13)
21: Death of a Bacon Heiress - Lee Hollis (finished 4/14)*
22: Murder on the House - Juliet Blackwell (finished 4/20)
23: Mug Shot - Caroline Fardig (finished 4/22)*






What an Animal IX Reading Challenge 2016

Challenge Dates: Jan. 1 - Dec. 31, 2016

Challenge Rules: http://socratesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2015/11/what-animal-reading-challenge-ix-2016.html

Level: 2 - 7-12 animal themed books

Date finished:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/24616783-kelly?shelf=what-an-animal-2016

Books Read:
1: Kneading to Die - Liz Mugavero (finished 1/9)
2: Lending a Paw - Laurie Cass (finished 1/18)
3: The Cat, the Quilt and the Corpse - Leann Sweeney (finished 1/23)
4: Cat Telling Tales - Shirley Rousseau Murphy (finished 1/28)
5: When Bunnies Go Bad - Clea Simon (finished 3/6)*
6: Bite the Biscuit - Linda O. Johnston (finished 4/9)






2016 Alphabet Soup Challenge

Challenge Dates: Jan. 1 - Dec. 31, 2016

Challenge Rules: http://www.escapewithdollycas.com/2015/11/27/2016-alphabet-soup-reading-challenge-sign-up-post/

Date Finished:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/24616783-kelly?shelf=alphabet-soup-2016

Books Read:
A: And Then There Were Nuns - Kylie Logan (finished 3/26)*
B:
C: A Court of Thorns and Roses - Sarah J Maas (finished 1/7)
D: The Dirt on Ninth Grave - Darynda Jones (finished 1/31)
E: Equal Rites - Terry Pratchett (finished 3/25)
F:
G: Get Fluffy - Sparkle Abbey (finished 1/9)
H: Hexes and Hemlines - Juliet Blackwell (finished 3/13)
I: It Takes a Witch - Heather Blake (finished 3/10)
J:
K: Killer Reunion - G.A. McKevett (finished 3/28)*
L: Love, Lattes and Angel - Sandra Cox (finished 4/16)*
M: Murder Casts Its Spell - Margaret C Morse (finished 2/12)
N:
O:
P: The Perfectionists - Sara Shepard (finished 2/5)
Q: The Quiche of Death - M.C. Beaton (finished 3/14)
R: Red Queen - Victoria Aveyard (finished 2/28)
S: See How They Run - Ally Carter (finished 2/4)
T: To Brew or Not to Brew - Joyce Tremel (finished 2/15)
U:
V:
W: When - Victoria Laurie (finished 2/16)
X: X Marks the Scot - Victoria Roberts (finished 2/18)
Y: Yellow Brick War - Danielle Paige (finished 4/18)
Z:


Books marked with a * were provided by NetGalley for review

40 Great Nail Art Ideas: Teal

Nothing To Disclose

Hmmm, apparently I don't know how to start a post very well. I've typed 5 different things, and none of them seemed to work for me. I'm part of the 40 Great Nail Art Ideas challenge, and I'm doing the color + pattern prompts. This week is teal, and my pattern is swirls.

I started out with 2 coats of KBShimmer PT Young Thing topped with KBShimmer Clearly on Top. After that was fully dry, I stuck on some of the KBShimmer swirl vinyls (my first vinyl mani!). I then put a nice thick coat of KBShimmer Up and Cunning on one nail at a time so that I could peel up the swirls before the polish dried.

I think this turned out nicely for a first attempt, and I definitely learned a few things. The first thing is that it is hard to place vinyls nicely one handed. It took 3-4 attempts per nail to get decent placement. The second is that curved nails mess with the vinyls laying flat. I had a little bit of polish get under some of the vinyls because they weren't fully pressed down. The last thing I learned is that this makes a mess. I was trying to do the teal nice and thick so I would only need one coat, which meant I didn't have as much control of the color as I'm used to.

~Kelly
(I'm also horrible at how to end a blog post)

An InLinkz Link-up

31 Day Challenge Progress - Week 1

Nothing to Disclose

4 days done, 27 to go. My nail art skills are a bit rusty, so I'm starting this challenge out with simple designs.

For Day 1 - Red, I used Glitter Gal Redback, and did a simple accent nail of Dorothy's Revenge over Redback.

Day 2 - Orange is Zoya Arizona with stripes of Tanzy.

Day 3 - Yellow. Um, yeah, I don't own much yellow, and I've never found one that I like on me. This is Zoya Pippa with accents of Sinful Colors Pumpkin Spice.

And finally, Day 4 - Green. I used Sinful Colors Black on Black and topped it with Green Ocean. I probably should've done a different background for this one, black on black doesn't show up very well.

If you would like to follow my progress, I am posting my manis on my instagram.

~Kelly