Annual Mackinac Island Family Trip

Hey guys,

My family and I took our now annual trip to Mackinac Island a couple weeks ago. It was a beautiful for most of the day until the clouds blew in and the temperatures dropped. When we went last October it wasn't quite so chilly.

Although there were more people on the island this year, we didn't have to worry about fighting crowds or finding quiet paths to walk on. I really do prefer visiting Mackinac in the fall. Despite the weather you can't beat the color and the views.

After a nice walk to visit some of our favorite spots, we all headed back into town for a warm meal and some shopping. Another perk to visiting late in the fall: the sales. Mackinac Island has a surprising number of cute stores with a full stock of items you're likely to find on Etsy; pillows, greeting cards, fancy prints, and so much more. This year I picked up some supplies to make a Christmas bunting for the holiday season. I also ventured into the bookstore and managed to only buy one book. 40% off books will be the death of my bank account. Lastly, I couldn't leave without fudge since you know, I couldn't just buy it downtown Traverse City.

Just before we left the rain started to pour and the boat ride back to Mackinaw City was one of the longest of my life. At one point the boat tipped so far a few children and adults started screaming. Let's just say I've never been happier to be back on land.

-S

Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon Wrap Up

Hi Everyone!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I spend the majority of my Saturday reading as I was participating in the Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon (if you hadn't already gathered that from the title of this post). This was my first time participating in this particular readathon and I quite liked the short time frame. All of the other readathons that I have done have been week long affairs. I found Dewey's slightly less stressful since there's only so much you can read in a day's time. It was a fun way to spice up a random Saturday and get some reading done.

For those of you who don't know Dewey's starts at the same time all over the globe. Since I'm in the Eastern time zone that meant being up and ready by 8am. Coffee and breakfast were required before jumping into my first book, Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. I actually started Station Eleven the night before and was on page 40 the next morning.

Station Eleven was the perfect way to start the readathon because the story pulled me in quickly. I was captivated by all that was happening in the book and excited that it lived up to the hype. Station Eleven was this month's pick for the Books and Brewskis book club, so I wanted to use the readathon to catch up before next week. By noon time I was around page 160 (half way through) and felt the sudden urge to set the book down. I wasn't tired of the book just afraid of how quickly I had been reading. When I love a story I tend to drag the book out as much as possible.

Next I picked up Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery. I had been reading Anne for the last week (or so) and was on page 180 when I started reading on Saturday afternoon. I still haven't actually decided whether I've read Anne before or not. I vaguely remember my mother possibly reading me some of it when I was younger but when I asked her she wasn't 100% positive either. I have quite possibly seen the mini series so many times I'm just remembering all the details from that instead.

Anyway I read Anne until the MSU vs. U of M football game started (GO GREEN!) My intentions were to read during commercial breaks throughout the game but that didn't work out as well as I had hoped. After the football game came the Red Wings game and my sports break ended up being 7 or so hours of non reading time. Oh well, it was a good day either way. I finished Anne of Green Gables Saturday night around 1:30am. Before taking a 3 hour nap I went back for another 20 pages of Station Eleven.

Finally, I woke up at 6:30am Sunday morning to finish out the last hour and a half of the readathon. Since it was early morning and it did take me a while to wake up I only managed to read 30 more pages in Station Eleven. In total I read 335 pages in the 24 hour period. Not bad, but certainly not my best. Next time I won't let sports games get in the way of my reading. Overall it was a very enjoyable Saturday of reading and I can't wait to participate in my next Dewey's Readathon.

-S

Banned Book Week 2015

Hey guys,

Last week was Banned Book Week and I made a video to celebrate. 

The official week may have passed but it's never the wrong time to read a banned or frequently challenged book.

For more information on banned and challenged books in the U.S., visit the American Library Association website or the official Banned Book Week website. Protect your freedom to read!

-S

The Empties

Hello Hello!

To usher in the autumn season, I thought I'd try something new and talk about a few of the beauty products I've used up recently. I know, I know, that's not very fall related now is it? I'll leave the pumpkin and plaid related posts for later.

Let's start with the products I will (or probably already have) purchase again.

First up we have two of my favorite life savers, Paul Mitchell's Tea Tree Special Shampoo and Conditioner. I know I've mentioned my dry scalp in the past, and these products have been a huge help in preventing any flaking or itching. The tea tree in these products really helps clean my scalp without drying it out further.

CeraVe's Moisturizing Lotion for Normal to Dry Skin has been my go-to facial lotion for years now. I've checked out other moisturizers but always go back to using this one.

Aveeno's Active Naturals Daily Moisturizer is a new favorite that I picked up last spring. After trying to find lotions that were more natural and better for my skin while staying on the less expensive side, I finally found Aveeno's natural product line.

One product I haven't used since growing out my hair is L'Oreal's Elnett Satin Extra Strong Hold Hairspray. Since I'm usually too lazy to really do anything with my hair I only really use hairspray on special occasions anymore. I have been meaning to pick up a new can of this though because I do love how well it holds. Plus I can actually stand the smell of this product, which is not always the case for other hairsprays.

The products I will not be repurchasing are all ones I wanted to weed out of my daily routine. As I mentioned above, I have been trying to be more conscious of the type of products I put on or in my body. That mostly involves looking for products enriched with natural compounds rather than chemical ones.

Bath and Body Work's Cashmere Glow Body Cream and Secret Wonderland Shower Gel. I have always been a Bath and Body Works customer, but lately my mind and my body has been unhappy with some of their products. Both their shower gels and their body lotions irritate my skin rather than sooth/moisturize, and I find their scents over the top. I still have some B&BW candles and hand soap that I don't know if I'll be able to give up, but we'll see.

Lastly, Luscious Kisses Hydrating Body Lotion from Victoria's Secret. As far as I can tell they no longer carry this sent. Either way I won't be repurchasing it for pretty much the same reasons as the Bath and Body Works products (they are under the same company).

So there you have it. Now I can finally get rid of all of these empty containers I've had laying around. Time for a serious fall cleaning session.

-S

Planner Stickers

Hello Hello!

As I mentioned in my July Favorites post, I have been loving planner stickers. I've always been drawn to creative outlets like scrapbooking, doodling and other artsy type activities, so it was no real surprise that I quickly became obsessed with planner stickers. They're so pretty. And so useful.

Okay maybe they aren't the greatest idea financially, but they bring me joy and that's what I'm focusing on. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to use my planner and design my spreads. It'd be nice if I could afford all the stickers I wanted and make my planner exactly how I like, but that's never going to happen.

Since I love watching videos and looking at pictures of other people's planner spreads I figured it'd be fun to share the type of stickers I tend to buy. Here's a few of my favorite Etsy sticker shops. You can follow the link to each of the shops to find your own planner stickers.

Scribble Prints Co.

Vintage Gypsy Road

Willowfields

Karolinas Krafts

PopFizzPaper

Sweet Kawaii Design

CricketPaperCo

You can find a sticker for any type of activity or planner. There's so many variations of stickers available online. Once you jump down the rabbit hole though, there's no going back. Eventually I'd love to start trying to print or design some of my own stickers to save a little money, but for now I'll leave it up to the shop owners.

Have a good day!

-S

Catchin' Up On GetaKloo

Hey Guys,

I haven't posted any videos recently on this blog so I thought it was time to catch up.

Let's begin with my very first book review. I read "Now I See You" by Nicole C. Kear a couple months ago for the Books and Brewskis book club that I'm a part of. I don't know if book reviews are really going to be my thing but I tried.

Next up is a casual Friday Reads video that I had a bunch of fun filming. I'm hoping to make more of these videos in the future.

Last, but not least, my September TBR video.

Hope you enjoy! Feel free to subscribe to my Youtube channel, GetaKloo, if you want to see more videos in the future.

-S