December 2016: In Review

Wow, can you believe it's already the end of December?  Not only that, it's only one day from the end of 2016! Where did the time go?  It feels like it hasn't been anywhere close to time for 2016 to be done with.

Books
I really tried to get a lot of reading done this month, not that you can tell by my progress!

This is a little young for me, but in the effort of getting my actual bookshelf a little less cluttered, I picked this one out and read it. It's really cute, and I think middle school kids would benefit from it, as it has a very "coming of age" theme.  I gave it 3.5 stars.

I'm still reading this, unfortunately. I'm not sure what it is about this book, but I'm struggling to get on a roll with it. I have probably 100 pages left, so I've done a decent job at reading. I was hoping to finish it before the end of the year but I didn't quite reach that.  Next month you'll see my final review!

I've just started this book, and you guys will be seeing a full review post on it before it comes out (hopefully), but let me say, the first little bit I've read so far has been beautiful and heartbreaking.  I'm thinking this will be a favorite of mine.

Movies

I watched one movie the whole month, which is better than what I usually do, considering I just don't watch movies ever.  It was called "Sacrifice", and is about a woman and her husband who move back to his home in Scotland to have a fresh start.  She finds a body in her backyard and is suddenly overwhelmed by the need to understand what happened, leading her on a mad hunt to discover the island's dark secret.  It's a pretty good movie honestly, I'd rate it 3.5 stars.  It's on Netflix if I've peaked your interest.

TV Shows
Hallelujah, I finished season 2 of Gossip Girl!  I'm not going to be a person who spoils it because the thought of that makes me very upset, but I will say I loved the season finale!  It had my emotions going on the wildest roller coaster I've been on in a while.

Hauls
Unfortunately, I've been doing a lot of spending this month!  I've been trying to limit what I buy because I really don't need anything, but I did let myself enjoy a little bit of splurging.  Oh well, I can't be perfect every month!

First, I'd like to start off with a small Sephora haul that I did right at the beginning of the month.  I don't need any more lip products, but you know me. I can't stop myself!  I bought a few things, and then got the big sample bag that came with a $25 purchase.

First, here are the Ciate Liquid Lip Velvets that I got. They're in a super cute little ornament package, and are three stunning colors!

Here they are all swatched!  I personally love the red and mauve, but I'll have to see what the pink looks like on my lips before I give it a glowing review unfortunately!

To get myself over the $25 requirement, I also bought these facial cleansing sponges that were on sale. I see them all the time, so they were worth buying for the experience of trying them out.

Finally, this is the sample bag I chose! There was a choice between four different ones, and this one called to me the most.  I think it's because of the lipsticks, honestly.

Here they are swatched!

Next, I have a TJMaxx Haul from when I got back home!  I saw these three notebooks and fell in love! I'll probably be using them this semester for revised notes.  I also bought at little weekly notepad that I will without a doubt use for the rest of my life! I love it. Finally I grabbed some sunglasses that are a little too big for my face, but they were an impulse buy. I might give them to someone else. We'll see!

At Target I bought a pack of mechanical pencils, some stickers, a pack of planner accessories, and three lipsticks that were on clearance!

Here are the swatches!  Bottom to top is the Rimmel, Revlon, then the Nyx. I thought they were all darker than they look swatched, so I'm not sure how I feel about these yet.  I'll try them on my lips and let you know.

Here, I have a pair of leggings I got from a local grocery store on super discount. They're small/medium, so a little snug, but I can make it work!

I've hauled a few more items, but I don't have the time to photograph it, nor the courage! I've purchased entirely too much and I'm a little ashamed.  Next month I'll be better!

Activities
December proved to be a much less busy month for me, holidays aside!  I made it through my finals, which was the first full week in December, and did very well! I got A's in all of my classes but one, where I got a B. I retook two classes I didn't do so well in before and as a result bumped my GPA up to a 3.81! How crazy is that?!

The holiday's have been a pretty exciting time for me. I'm not going to share everything I got because I personally prefer not to do that (I like keeping some things private), but I am blessed with the people in my life.

Pleasantries aside, I also let go of a negative relationship this month.  Things were not ended on positive terms, which is unfortunate, but I think in the long run I will be much happier than I was.

Notables
My notables category is just full of some random stuff that doesn't fit into any other category but still is something I wanted to share!
 

I really got to enjoying one of the apps on my phone, called Mahjong Journey. It's a game where you match tiles up, and I think it's a great way to de-stress for a few minutes.

Posts Recap
November 2016: In Review
Sample Round Up: November 2016
Borghese Fango Purificante Mud Mask Review
How to Prepare for Next Semester
Tarte Friends & Family Sale
Sephora Play! December 2016

Listening to:
This month I've been rocking out to a lot of soundtracks again.  The King Arthur soundtrack has been on repeat once again, and in the past few days I've been singing along to the Wicked soundtrack.  I just love listening to them! 

That's everything I have for you guys this month.  I got back to school in a week, so I'm getting myself pumped up for that!  Back to business as usual soon. I'll have a lot of exciting updates for you next month!

Hugs and Kisses,
The Cornfed Princess