I've been waiting for the right time to try my new Olive & June polishes and last week was it. Back in November, I placed a pretty big order for their Black Friday sale and it took almost a month to get to me... and another month for me to use it. 

Well, better late than never because these shades are to die for so stay tuned for more Olive & June manicures coming soon... but for this week we're talking about the shade 'Cable Knit'. I am a sucker for a good polish name; this one made me feel so warm and cozy inside and I just had to have it. I mean, the color is also beautiful. 

 Happy Friday! This week was really long and I can't believe after 100 days, January is finally coming to an end. January and February always feel like the longest months of the year and with good reason... almost nothing to look forward to. 

This weekend I will be looking forward to a snowstorm that is supposed to hit New York and most of the northeast. I'm hoping it's not too bad but bad enough that I have to stay inside for all of Saturday. I was very social last weekend and it was a weird week in my life so I'm looking forward to being lowkey and cozy. 

I had some health stuff this week that gave me a lot of anxiety and I'm just not 100%. It put a lot of stress on me and I'm glad it's behind me. Nothing too serious was going on, I just needed a sonogram and it was all good... so now that it's over, I'm feeling mentally better.

I think Mercury Retrograde is doing a real number on everyone and I can't wait for it to be behind us.

For now, let's get into the wrap-up!

I can't believe we're at the end of January... or I could because it feels like the month was 100 days long. It was not what I expected when the new year started... it was filled with a lot of weirdness pretty suddenly. I got Covid and was out of it for about a week, then we had a death in the family, and work knocked me on my ass. It was not what I expected from January 2022 but it came and went, and I hope that I can survive all the other months the way I survived this one.

January was also the start of a low buy for me. I really am trying to control my impulsive spending and I came to the conclusion that a complete no buy isn't going to work for me. I need parameters and rules to follow that allow me to shop a little bit without going insane. I think I found a system that works for me which is another post for another day.

Because of that, I don't have a ton of new products that I loved. Two items on the list are not really tangible products and the other two are new to me but one I bought months ago on pre-order and the other was received in PR. Either way, I couldn't live life without these products this month! 

I attempted to listen to an Alice Feeney novel on Audible a few years ago but it felt too confusing and I wasn't into it. That didn't deter me from the author and I really looked forward to diving into another book by her.

That's why I had to scoop up "His & Hers" when I saw the e-book on sale months ago. Searching for e-book deals is one of my favorite hobbies and I always come across at least one gem like this one.

"His & Hers" was an intense read that left me speechless, I couldn't believe what was happening while it was happening and I enjoyed every moment of it. It definitely solidified, for me, that Feeney is an incredible storyteller and that I was right in giving her another chance. It also helped that people raved about this novel. 

 I was really excited for this post until I actually tried the nail polish I'm reviewing and was severely disappointed.

A few weeks ago, I woke up on a Sunday morning ecstatic that Chanel had launched at Ulta Beauty. It wasn't like I couldn't get the products at Sephora or Nordstrom, but I just like having options. That's when I decided to allow myself (because I'm on a low buy) to buy two products, one of them being the vampy Chanel nail polish shade called Rouge Noir.

I thought it was the perfect winter shade: dark, burgundy, and classic. I had tried one Chanel nail polish shade back in the day and I couldn't remember what I thought (I probably should've read my review before buying a new one). Well, the memories have come flooding back.

 Happy Friday everyone! I hope you had a nice week -- mine started out really calm and easy but then it turned sour very quickly. I'm happy to see the weekend arrive once again - I just need rest and a break from work. I have lots of fun plans this weekend with family and friends so I can't wait. I feel like I haven't been out in a social setting since before Christmas so it's much needed.

Now that I'm over Covid and the holidays are over, I will start to be more social and I'm looking forward to it. I also feel like I have a lot of clothes that need wearing so can't wait! 

I also realize that I didn't mention this last week but I've updated my layout... again! There were just a lot of bugs with my old one and I wanted something a little more simple so here we are! I actually really am loving it and I love the look! I hope you all love it too :)

That's it for now, let's get into the wrap-up!

 I've had "The Appeal" sitting in my Netgalley queue for quite some time. I knew I'd get around to reading it but it wasn't until I saw one of my favorite crime book bloggers mention it on social media (if you're not following Crime By the Book, you need to, she is amazing!) did I pick it up.

I finished the book within two days and stayed up insanely late reading it. I couldn't put it down... I needed to immerse myself in this world and figure out what the crime was and who was responsible for it. 

"The Appeal" by Janice Hallett will be released on January 25th and I think every crime lover needs to read this book. You will not regret it. 

 It's been a minute since I've done a Beauty in Review post and I have so many great products lined up to review. It took me a while to get on board with this particular product but better late than never! And it's interesting because even though I was late on the trend, this product still became my favorite beauty item of the year. 

I'm talking about the Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Blush.

When it was announced that Selena Gomez was launching her own beauty brand, I don't think anyone expected it to be as good as it is. It's up there with Fenty as a standalone celebrity beauty brand -- like it's not some throwaway product, it's well respected in the beauty industry and I love that for Selena.

I've only tried one other Rare Beauty product aside from the Soft Pinch Blush and that is the Stay Vulernable Melting Cream Blush. The reviews are mixed on that and maybe I'll do an additional review post on those but for now, we're focusing on Soft Pinch.

This past holiday season, I picked up a trio of blushes from Sephora. The set is still available on Rare Beauty's website but it came with three mini sizes of the Soft Pinch blushes: Bliss, Hope, and Peace. At the time, Bliss was the only shade available in full size but Rare has now added Hope to the lineup as well.

Since getting this set, these are the only blushes I have used. It's been about two months and while I don't apply makeup every day, when I do, I reach for Soft Pinch.

It's Saturday night as I'm writing this for Monday and I'm struggling. I had a really hard day and I'm not sure why. I cried a lot, didn't leave my bed, and abandoned all my responsibilities. I don't know if it's because of my period (TMI) or because I went back to work and life too fast after covid but either way, I feel really horrible.

I have Monday off so I'm happy that I'll have an extra day to do whatever I wanted to do today but I really hope I just snap out of it so I can feel better tomorrow. I haven't felt this depressed in a really long time so I'm upset at myself for letting it get to this point but after I cried all day, for no reason, I'm pretty confident it's just my hormones. 

Anyways, now that I've given you entirely too much information, I figured we'd do a little 'Little Loves' post. I haven't done one since May 2021 which seems too long and I need to rework my editorial calendar a bit. 

Let's get into it! 

 Happy Friday! I am Covid free and got through the week, just barely. I was still feeling the remanents of Covid, even though I tested negative, and then just feeling really off-put by the fact that I lost an entire week. It wasn't how I envisioned 2022 starting so I'm trying to get back on my feet. 

I'm feeling ok now and really happy for the weekend, and a three-day weekend at that. I need to make a few stops, like Trader Joe's and Target, for no other reason than treating myself, and then, I want to blog, film, and do some other things... and of course, relax. 

I'm trying to focus on writing this post but I'm distracted by cramps, General Hospital, and an amazing book which will be coming at in next week's "Book Review Wednesday." 

For now, let's just get into the post.

I have been meaning to write this book review for months and I'm finally getting around to it, just in time for Rachel Lynn Solomon's new novel, "Weather Girl" to be released. I have the book in my possession and can't wait to dive into it. If it's anything like "The Ex Talk" then I know I'm going to fall in love with it.

They say to not judge a book by its cover but when I started seeing "The Ex Talk" cover all over my social media, I knew that I had to read it. I didn't care what it was about... the cover was just too endearing and awesome. That is also what made me buy a physical copy of the book versus an e-book; when the cover is cute, I need the physical book.

I flew through "The Ex Talk" within a few days because it was that good. The writing was excellent, the storytelling perfect and I just loved every second of it. Rachel Lynn Solomon writes the way I want to write - it was delicious.

 Nordstrom is my favorite retailer. They have been my favorite for years and with good reason; it's almost like going to Target... there is nothing Nordstrom doesn't have. You can get almost anything and everything you need at Nordstrom whether it's a candle, a beauty product, a pair of shoes, or designer sunglasses. 

They have high-end items, mid-range items, and more affordable options... plus, they are always having sales and do incredible price matching. 

One thing I always love about buying from Nordstrom is the basics. I think they are a great place to stock up on the items you wear daily like long sleeve t-shirts, sweaters, leggings, athleisure, and more. I love looking to the Nordstrom house brands like Zella, BP, and Caslon for these staples. The brands are good quality and hold up for a number of years -- I've had pieces for at least 4 years and they look great. 

This was the first full year of being part of LikeToKnowIt and I enjoyed it thoroughly. It's such an easy way to share items that I'm loving, and you all seem to like it as well. 

This was also the year that I revamped my newsletter and finally figured out what I wanted to do with it -- every Monday, I share the best sellers of the previous week, and soon, I think I'll do another newsletter on Wednesdays or Thursdays with all the little items I'm obsessed with that week. My obsessions change daily so it's a good way to list them all out.

All of that being said, I wanted to share a full look at the best sellers on my blog and social media from 2021. Some of these are no longer available but I will definitely include some alternatives! 

 Well, look at that, a fresh start... the first week of 2022 is in the books and it was a rough one. I tested positive for Covid on Tuesday and I've been in bed ever since.

I knew I was going to get it at some point and when I started feeling achy and sick on Monday, I knew it had to be Covid. I took an at-home test on Monday and it was negative so I figured maybe it was the flu... but then Tuesday I woke up with the worst sore throat of my life and took another test; it came up positive immediately. 

I've been in bed all week, my throat is truly on fire and as someone who has gotten strep throat every year until I was 23, I have never felt so bad. I'm feeling better on Thursday and Friday but it was very up and down; one minute I'd feel fine and then the next it was too much.

I've been out of work all week (with a few email check-ins) but I really hope I feel better over the weekend so I can get back to work and some sort of routine.

Because I was sick all week, I've felt so unlike myself. I didn't want to read, didn't want to watch tv, I could only scroll on my phone. It was not how I wanted to spend my first week of the new year... I had all these plans to be on routine and get to a good place and now I'm sick in bed and it's just annoying.

I might do a blog post about my covid experience because I think it's interesting (and important) to understand that it affects everyone differently but for now, let's get into the post.

 As I've mentioned in the past, Lauren Layne is one of my favorite authors. I love her Central Park Pact series but her latest novel, "To Sir With Love" was less than thrilling. It wasn't my favorite... which is why I was really excited for her newest novel, "Made in Manhattan."

This book comes out on January 18th and I was able to read it early thanks to NetGalley. It's based on My Fair Lady but in reverse; a woman trying to make a man more presentable to society since he comes from the 'wrong side of the tracks.' 

I read this book within days because I couldn't wait to know what happened. It was a little predictable but it still kept me on my toes because, at one point, I wasn't sure what was going to happen.

Let's get into it! 

 I do not ski. I haven't been skiing since I was 11 years old and it didn't go over well. I'm not good on my feet unless I'm ballet dancing *yes, I was a ballet dancer for like 15 years and was really good* but skiing was never my thing.

However, I love the vibes of skiing. I love a ski lodge, a cool outfit, a warm fire... I love the idea of being in the mountains, surrounded by calmness and snow. I don't want to ski but I want to live like someone who goes skiing often, in Aspen, preferably.

It's a weird obsession of mine over the past few years, this Après ski lifestyle that I chase but it came to full effect this year when Stoney Clover Lane released their Après ski collection. I bought way too much but I love how everything turned out. 

I've been doing these posts for the past few years and it's a really nice, public reminder of everything that happened during the previous 365 and what hope I have for the year ahead.

Truthfully, 2021 wasn't so bad for me; lots of things happened and I feel like I grew into myself a little more than in previous years.