So, most likely you wash your face at least once a day as a part of your good skin care routine. But, are you washing your makeup brushes as a part of that routine as well? Let's think about it, makeup brushes get kind of gross. Not only are we caking them in makeup everyday, we're swirling them around on our face and they're picking up all of those oils and dirt! Then depending on where you store them they could be picking up more dirt and dust just sitting there. If you're not cleaning them, every time you put makeup you're just putting all that dirt back onto your face!  Dirty makeup brushes can lead to acne, allergy breakouts, and they can carry germs like no other. Ever wonder why your face is breaking out despite the fact you wash it everyday, dirty brushes could be the culprit!
So what is the best way to keep those things clean?

Luckily, cleaning your brushes is super simple and can be done in about 5 minutes!



You will need a cup, some warm water, and most importantly a clarifying shampoo.

 3. Take the bristles and massage them in your fingers until the shampoo starts to make suds. For your bigger stippling and blush brushes you may need to add a small dab of the shampoo right to the brush to get the middle thoroughly clean.

4. Run the brush (bristles down) under warm water until the water runs clean and all the soap is out. It is important that you face the brush down as to not put too much wear on the glue that holds the bristles in place.

5. (Switch to your cellphone camera because your camera battery died) Place your brushes bristles down on a mat or towel. It is important to prop them up on using a cup so no water settles where the glue is.

My life has been a little crazy lately, hence the continued hiatus from blogging. But, it seems I am at least starting to get my energy back after being sick (although my issues continue to be off and on) I at least seem to be back in a routine. Which will hopefully continue to include blogging.

Anyways, enough with the typical "sorry I haven't blogged in while" statements. What I came here to tell you is, it happened, I finished a book on my book club list! The project that was supposed to end a week ago has finally started!




As you know from a previous post, I started with The Septembers of Shiraz. It turns out for once in my life my extreme procrastination skills paid of.  They just so happen to be releasing the film adaptation of this book on September 15th at the Toronto Film Festival. So win for me being actually relevant!
I for one loved this book, historical fiction is my, hands down, favorite genre to read. My grandma and I just had the conversation over this last weekend that I got my love of historical fiction from her. I wouldn't doubt it, I have fond memories sitting at her house after school during 7th and 8th grade devouring any historical fiction book she had on her shelf.  So, it is expected I would be fond of this book, but beyond my predisposition to love anything historical fiction, this book was great.

So let's talk details.
As you know from my debut book club post. The Septembers of Shiraz was written by Dalia Sofer and centers around a wealthy Jewish family living in Iran during the Iranian Revolution. The plot follows the four members of the Amin family during the revolution.  The book immediately starts out with the patriarch of the family Isaac getting taken to prison, the story unfolds as we see how this effects not only Isaac but, the rest of the family. With a captivating subject, it is hard to not get lost in this book. It definitely led to me researching more on the Iranian revolution and learning more about what happened. I highly suggest checking out this link that is pictures of Iran before the revolution.
http://cbw.ge/world/iran-before-the-revolution/

We get to see how the new Iranian laws really effect this family, not only with the Isaac being taken to prison but, the social implications that effect the mother and daughter.

I don't want to go too much into the book, to avoid any spoilers for the book or for the upcoming movie. I do highly suggest you read it for yourself.
Personally, my favorite part was just how the story was told. from the anger and desperation father sitting in prison just because of his heritage, to the innocence of a 9 year old girl trying to make sense of an absent father and oppressive government to the mother/wife who is trying to hold everything together and the son, far off in America at school trying to make it as family funds dry up. You will go on an amazing journey with this family throughout this book!
The only thing I didn't love about this book was the ending, I felt as though it was a little underwhelming. Not to say it was bad, it just felt safe. I think she really could have pushed the story just a bit further with the ending.

I know some of you read this so I want to know what you thought and what your favorite parts were?


Thanks for reading! Love you all! :)

Alright so if you've kept up with this blog at all over the last year you'll already know that I love Borderlands 2 (thanks Jillian). So I was dang excited to pick up The Pre-Sequel a few weeks ago as a part of Steam Summer Sale. Life has been so crazy with moving and work that I haven't even started playing but, I finally got to playing it the other day!
I was really wanting to record my first play through but, do to some technical difficulties that's not happening. So you're going to just have to read my ramblings instead of listen!

Long story short if you love Borderlands 2, you're going to at least really like Borderlands Pre-Sequel, so far I feel like they are pretty much the same game which makes me love and hate it. Now it is a new story, we get new characters with new abilities and such but, for me it feels like a DLC not a brand new game.
Part of me is disappointed because I don't feel like it's very innovative. Gearbox was basically like "Oh you all really like that thing" here's more of it relabeled as a new game, like I said before, it feels like a DLC.
On the other hand this is what I love about it, they didn't go overboard trying to be innovative, they gave us more of exactly what we wanted, repacked with a new story and great new with more of the fantastic writing and humor we loved from Borderlands 2.
Also in the games defense, I have been told you need to get further into the game to really appreciate the differences. So, maybe I will have an update to this post next week once I have played it some more!

So let's get into the story a bit, this time, you're playing alongside, of instead if against, Handsome Jack and Hyperion. Honestly, being only a bit into the game, you almost like him in this story, I am sure that will eventually change. I chose to play with Nisha (a.k.a the Sheriff of Lynchwood in Borderlands 2).

I like her as a Character, her action skill is called Showdown, when activated she automatically locks onto enemies and gains increased gun damage, fire rate, reload speed, accuracy, and bullet speed. You can view her (and anyone else's) full skill tree here,  http://borderlandsthegame.com/skilltrees/nisha.html
Her melee is a whip, making her able to use it from farther away but, it doesn't do as much damage as others. Also it was a bit annoying to get used to.



In this game you're not playing on Pandora (as in Borderlands 2) you are playing on Pandora's moon, Elpis. Here is where the game breaks off from Borderlands 2. This moon doesn't have Oxygen or much gravity so the movement is different (I love the new double jump feature) and you now have to use "Oz Kits" in order to breathe. These do not last forever, you must be diligent in refilling them when out exploring, there are a variety of ways to do this! Enemies now drop "O2 cannisters" and there are cracks along the surface of the moon that let out o2. The "Oz Kit" is also what enables the awesome new double jump feature, which allows you to cross wide caverns or gain access to high buildings unlike anything in Borderlands 2. These "Oz Kits" are upgradable just like your shields and weapons, you can purchase longer lasting ones at Vending Machines.
The low gravity really does change up the combat quite a bit. Enemies also have a double jump function allowing them to lunge at you from far away, making it a whole new level of intense and exciting. You now get to battle enemies while flying through the air!

All in all this is another great installment in the Borderlands saga, it's everything we loved from Borderlands 2 with a few new added perks! I am throughly enjoying my play through and don't think I'll have much to add to these first thoughts once I am done with the game!

If any of you own this or Borderlands 2 I do play online frequently, add me (DaisyJane) on Steam!

Thanks for reading as always :)

Hello!

I really have been in a funk of not reading lately, maybe it's because I'm so crazy busy, but I really just think I haven't been making it a priority. This led to me deciding that for the month of August I am going to read one book a week! A little crazy, yes, but it's not like any of these are going to be really long, we're talking 200-400 pages!

My second thought was I want you all to join me! Even if you just pick one book to read and finish by the time the post comes out! I really would love to have some conversations about these books and make this more of a virtual book club! So here's the deal. I will be writing a review/random thoughts post each Saturday on the books below until 9/5. Your job is to either read each one along with me or pick 1 to read by the date I will post each review so we can talk about it! :)
I tried to pick a variety of books so you can choose what sounds like the most interesting to you! I did end up with 2 crime mysteries because, I'm a sucker for them and they're typically pretty fast reads.
Yeah, this might be a little high school assignment like but, I really think with all the Netflix binge watching that happens, we could all probably squeeze some more book time into our life!


1. Midwinter Blood by Mons Kallentoft- Review/Discussion Post 8/8


"WHEN THE ICE MELTS, WHAT REMAINS? 
Meet Malin Fors. Be careful, though, she’s addictive. Thirty-four years old, blond, single, divorced with a teenaged daughter, Fors is the most driven superintendent who has ever worked at the police force in her small, isolated town. And the most talented. In her job, she is constantly moving through the borderland between life and death. Her path in life is violent and hazardous.
It is the coldest February in recent memory. In the early hours of a particularly frigid night, the body of an obese man is found hanging from lone oak tree in the middle of a withered, windswept plain. Malin Fors is called to the scene.Together with her colleagues of the Violent Crime Squad at Linköping Police Department, they must find out who the man in the tree is, and how he got there. Their manhunt in the frigid wake of a ruthless killer brings Malin Fors to the brink, and into some of the darkest corners of the human heart. The first in a series of four books, Midwinter Blood will keep readers coming back for more, again and again."

What I am looking forward to!These are not necessarily in any order, just reading from my wishlist.

Borderlands/Borderlands The Prequel

Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor

Mortal Kombat X

LEGO Hobbit, Marvel Super Heros, and Star Wars III

Resident Evil HD Remastered

Some of my first great video game memories were sitting in my friends room playing this game, scaring the crap out of ourselves as zombies tried to eat us! With this being said, I did not even know this was going to be a thing! I really have not kept up with the series beyond what was available for PS1 and PS2. I can not wait to go back and play through it! I am contemplating picking this up this weekend as Capcom games are all on sale this weekend on Steam but, I will probably stick in out and wait in the hopes it will be a bit cheaper!

Assassin's CreedAs you know, I finally got into Assassin's earlier this year, I am looking to pick up at least 3, if not Brotherhood and Blag Flag as well.

Okay in interest of not writing a 10 page blog post, I think will just list off the next few...Project Cars, Dying Light, Kerbal Space Program(seriously looks freaking awesome), another copy of Don't Starve so Andy and I can play together, Witcher 2, Elder Scrolls Online Edition, Invisible, Inc. Dark Souls 2, Far Cry 4(fingers crossed this really goes on sale), and of course GTA:V.


Tips:

-Add game titles you are on the lookout for to your Wishlist! This way you will get notifications about price changes and when they go on sale!
-Unless it is the last day of the sale, only buy your game if it is a daily deal, flash sale, or community choice! This will ensure you get the games you want at the lowest price! (I know this has been repeated over and over but, for real it's the best advice!)
-Be sure to check competing sites, Amazon, Origin, etc. They have stepped up their game in trying to compete with Steam's dominance over the PC gaming world, during the last Winter Sale we got Battlefield 3 on Origin for $1. Steam is no longer always the cheapest!
-Browse around, don't just look at the front page. Almost every title will be on sale and each game page will tell you if it is a daily deal, flash sale, etc. I have gotten some great games just by searching around.
-VOTE ON COMMUNITY CHOICE GAMES(it's in all caps because anger, rage, and rant) I hate sooo much when people complain about the community choice selection but don't vote. It makes the sale better for everyone if games we actually vote on community choice.
-Hang out on reddit. Typically r/steam, r/gamedeals, etc will all have pricing breakdowns, cost per hours of game play, and more updated each day. These are super helpful resources if you're just getting into Steam sales, it will definitely help narrow your purchases and the comments can help you discover new games!

Let me know in the comments or on Twitter if there are any games you're looking forward to that I need to add to my wishlist (I know what I have is actually kind of a small list)!
Also what are your Indie Game recs (I only have like 1 on the list).....I am looking at you Caitlin!


Well thanks for reading! Love you all!

Alright, grab some coffee and take a seat because this will probably be a long one. When I am working my phone is normally playing 1 of 2 things, Netflix or Podcasts. I love podcasts, there are days I listen to them all day long. So I wanted to share with you a list of my absolute favorites. I was thinking of narrowing these down to a top 5 but, I am not sure it's possible, I just like too many things.These are not necessarily in order from favorite to least favorite, just a list of my collective favorites.

So here it goes:

The Liturgists Podcast:


Nerdist:
Okay so we're taking a real sharp turn the other direction here. So basically I think this is one of the most fantastic podcasts out there. It's also different from any other one I listen to, while most of the podcasts I listen to are mostly story based or education, here it is "interview" style while they all sit and nerd out about things. The hosts are hysterical, they choose amazing guests, and have great conversations with them. The main host is Chris Hardwick, who had sort of evolved into King of the Nerds (I think                                                       he said once he hates this title but, it's just kinda true). I would                                                           not suggest this podcast for everyone, as it does have some                                                             inappropriate language but, it is probably one of my absolute                                                           favorites and will most definitely make you laugh. This is my and                                                       Andy's go to road-trip podcast.

Stuff you Should Know:

This might be my all time favorite podcast, it was definitely the first one I started listening to. I basically like all the things from the How Stuff Works team but this is my favorite.  The hosts Chuck and Josh, cover a wide variety of topics from How Ebola works to How Toothbrushes Work. They dive into the history of each topic they cover, add in some humor, and create 30-40 minutes of awesome. This is another one that is one of my and Andy's go to podcasts. 






This American Life

I'm really not even sure how to talk about This American Life, the podcast its self is probably one you've already heard of and  Ira Glass is practically a legend in the radio world. However, it is one of my favorites so I am going to sit here and gush about it anyways. I think the way they tell stories on this show is incredible. 

Intelligence Squared 
Not everyone will enjoy listening to 1-2 hour debates on a variety of hot button issues but, this is one of my favorite things to listen to. I really value knowledge and having an understanding on where each side is coming from and using facts from both sides of the argument to draw an educated conclusion on a subject. This totally gives me the ability to do that, they take well educated authorities on each side of a subject and have well crafted debates. I have learned a lot from listening to this and have even had it change my opinion in a few cases. I would sincerely encourage every one to listen to this one. 


Planet Money
I got hooked on this podcast back in 2013 when they did a project following how a t-shirt was made from cotton to completely produced. They went into this incredible break down of the whole process, I found it super interesting and have been listening since. You can see the specific story I'm talking about here. This podcast basically delves into all things Economy, from how a t-shirt is made to the college debt problems. If you want to stay updated on what's going on in the economy in a fun way, I would suggest this podcast. 



Radio Lab


Again, this podcast was suggested by Josh (thanks again). This is probably one of the most interesting to listen to. I'm having a really hard time describing this one to you.  So I'm going to steal this from Wikipedia "Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show focuses on topics of a scientific and philosophical nature. The show attempts to approach broad, difficult topics such as "time" and "morality" in an accessible and light-hearted manner and with a distinctive                                                           audio production style." You really need to just go listen to it.




Okay  if you've held on this long, the runners-up include, Stuff Mom Never Told You, Criminal, Serial, Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me, Comedy Bang-Bang, Science Friday, Memory Palace, Car Talk, 99% Invisible, and TED Radio Hour. There's so many more I listen to but this is already wayyy to long and now that I have listed all these I now want to do this list over. So I'll end here.

If you have any podcast suggestions for me be sure to leave a comment here, on Facebook, or @ reply me on Twitter(@Maybe_Heather)!

Love you all!

Okay, yes I get that this show is like 9 years old (okay I just Googled it...it's 11 years old, oh wow). However, I have been re-watching it lately, in fact I am currently watching an episode as I type this and I just needed to talk about how much I love this show. I obviously need to start off by mentioning just how amazing Kristen Bell is, I am pretty sure she is my spirit animal, here is a video of her crying at sloths...for proof.

This wasn't always a thing, it used to take a lot to make me cry, now it's like if I even think of something slightly happy or sad I ball my eyes out. You can ask any attendee at Hannah's wedding for proof...technically I think the Matron of Honor is supposed to hold it together for the bride, that totally didn't happen. Dang you guys I'm crying all over again. Shoot.


Anyways, now that I have, like always, gone on a completely pointless ramble. Let's get back to the topic of this blog. Veronica Mars is up there in my favorite shows list, it's just so well done, the stories are great, the characters are great and it's just all around enjoyable to watch. Now as with all amazing shows it was indeed canceled way to early. However, there are 3 great seasons available on Amazon Prime Instant Video and now a movie. A movie that was funded by a record breaking Kickstarter campaign that could revolutionize fan funded movies...now if only we could do more of this for things like firefly...one could dream.
I also loved the movie, a lot. It was a bit different than what I was originally expecting but, it was still amazing...and again Kristen Bell is in it so how can you really go wrong?

I almost totally forgot! After the movie Rob Thomas started writing Veronica Mars books! 1. Veronica Mars:The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line 2. Veronica Mars: Mr. Kiss and Tell I am about half way through the first one and I am thoroughly enjoying it so far! It really continued the story line well and we get to see the return of some old characters we did not see in the movie!



Alright well I'm off to marathon some more Veronica Mars and by the looks of this photo start training to be a PI myself!

Peace out Marshmallows!

Unless you're a millionaire with all the free time in the world, there is always that one popular game series that seems to slip by you! For me that was Assassin's Creed, in all the (probably thousands) of hours I have dedicated to gaming in my life, I just never played it. If I remember correctly it came out in 2007 which was the same year I got a Wii and was discovering/re-discovering my sincere love of all things Zelda and I didn't play anything else for awhile! So, once I missed the first one, I just continued to let the rest of the series slip by.

That was until 2 years ago when Andy and I built our gaming PC and I bought him 1 and 2 for Christmas! Now, unfortunately (or fortunately depending on who you are in this story) Andy and I made a deal that I could not play either game until he finished them. This is because I always play games first and end up ruining them for Andy because he is intimidated by my amazing game skillz (yes it's spelled with a z in this case). It may also be because he gets tired of watching me play the game and gets bored of them before he can play....I'm going to go with the mad skillz option.
Anyways, all that ramble to say I was further deprived from this series.
Now, I need to mention here that Andy is the freaking slowest video game player ever. Or maybe he just doesn't want to live in a computer cave for 72 hours while he marathons through playing a game...like some other people we may know, who may or may not be the one authoring this blog.....this is a judgement free zone.
So finally, a few days ago I got the official go ahead to start the series! I am only a couple hours in so far but, I love it! I am really excited to play the game and get through to at least Assassin's Creed Black Flag (I don't mention Unity because I have heard not awesome things and Rogue just came out and so far also not stellar reviews. I could probably dedicate a whole post to ranting about Ubisoft lately)!

Let me know what popular video game series you missed and if you are ever going to get around to playing it!

Love you all!

The Steam Holiday sale is my favorite time of year! The past two years Andy and I have built/upgraded our PC for Christmas and then spent the remaining Christmas budget for eachother on games.
Although Steam has dominated the PC market for years, there is a rising trend that they are no longer the cheapest place to buy PC games. Despite this Andy and I have always made out well in every sale.
The Holiday Sale started December 18th and runs through January 02. Even though there are a few days left, I think we have gotten everything on our list this year.  I am not going to go through the specifics of how Steam sales work, there are definitely methods to getting each game you want at the cheapest price. If you want to start getting into Steam sales I highly suggest r/shouldibuythisgame or r/steam on Reddit. People go through and list what is on sale each day, suggest games, and help all the people who are just starting know when to buy a game during a sale.

I have included what we picked up from the Steam Expedition Sale as well, this was back in November.

I guess I will start off with the game I have been playing most since November, which is Don’t Starve!

They also just came out with Don’t Starve Together, a co-op version of the game. It has been on sale this year but, I did not purchase it because once it is out of Early Access, it will be free to anyone who owns Don’t Starve and I am typically not that into Early Access.

Next thing we picked up during the Expedition Sale was the Valve Complete Pack, this includes all the Valve titles which is 25 games, this is all the Counter-Strike collection, the Half-Life series, Portal 1 and 2, Team Fortress Classic and 2, Ricochet, Deathmatch Classic, Day of Defeat and Day of Defeat: Source and, Left for Dead 1 and 2.. Normally it is $99.99 we purchased it for 24.99. If you are just starting to build your PC game collection I highly recommend this pack. I have been reliving 1998 lately, with playing through Half-Life, maybe I’ll complete the series and Valve will finally announce Half-Life 3...One can dream right! Andy has been thoroughly enjoying playing Counter-Strike.
Last and actually least from the Expedition Sale was Terreria, I was so excited to pick it up, it was $1.50 and with all the amazing things I heard I had to get it!
However, it fell flat for me. I am a huge lover of Minecraft and Andy and I could not wrap our heads around Terreria, they are so similar but, in my opinion Minecraft is so much better! Part of me knows I just need to play it a bit more to get used to it, but with so many other games I am loving right now, that probably won’t happen for a while.

Okay This has gotten to be much longer then I had originally expected, bare with me, we’re almost there.
Next up on the list for the Holiday Sale was a 2nd copy of Borderlands 2 which we picked up for $9.99, this is so we can put it on both computers and play together. I actually haven’t played it at all yet! But, I know Andy is loving it and my sister-in-law who is normally not too much of a gamer has been playing it with her husband. So, I’m excited to start!

Okay only 2 more guys!

Today was one of my last purchases from the Holiday Sale was Brothers- A tale of 2 Sons.


I was so excited and Andy has been playing a lot of it the past few days. This just brings me back to the point I made earlier, that although Steam sales are amazing, other PC gaming clients are starting to really bring up the competition for sales, which is going to be amazing for the PC gamers out there!

This "Friday Fave" is a little early because I needed to share this place with you all as soon as I could.

Last weekend Andy and I, along with my Dad and Amy went to the new Browns Brewery location in Hoosick Falls, NY. It was wonderful!  The building used to be a paper mill and valve factory, now turned taproom and brewery. Located right on the Walloomsac River, it is an absolutely lovely location.




The owners of Brown's Brewery, Gary and Kelly Brown, are dedicated not only to their own business, but to stimulating local businesses throughout Rensselear county. Porktoberfest, the event we attended, is just another confirmation of their dedication to the area. This event was not only about their amazing beer and food. Porktoberfest was charity event raising money for CiviCure, a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to revitalize Hoosick Falls. CiviCure is currently focusing on the Wood Block and restoring it to it's former glory. There is a lot of under appreciated history in Hoosick Falls and the surrounding areas it is wonderful to see not only 2 business owners, but an entire community stepping up to breath life back into the town. I think this is only the beginning of what is in store for Hoosick Falls.

If you are looking for a place to go, their official opening date was 10/15/2014, so head to Brown's Brewery. You will not only get opportunity to support 2 business owners dedicated to helping the local economy but,  to enjoy really delicious craft brews and a great atmosphere.