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Showing posts from April, 2021

Book Review: Irish Soda Bread Murder by Carlene O'Connor, Peggy Ehrhart, and Liz Ireland

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Irish Soda Bread Murder   by Carlene O'Connor, Peggy Ehrhart, and Liz Ireland is a collection of three short stories that include Irish Soda Bread Murder  by Carlene O'Connor , An Irish Recipe for Murder by Peggy Ehrhart, and Mrs. Claus and the Sinister Soda Bread Man by Liz Ireland. The expected publication date of this book is December 24, 2024, and my overall review of this book is four out of five stars. I'd like to thank NetGalley for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) that I received for free in exchange for my honest review. Irish Soda Bread Murder  by Carlene O'Connor opens with Tara Meehan helping her Uncle Johnny and Aunt Rose with a local bake sale and psychic convention with the proceeds going to charity. When Rose's biggest rival shows up and ends up dying from her soda bread, Tara knows she must step in to help clear her aunt and uncle from the suspect list. I enjoyed this story a lot better than the last one I read in the series. The only complaint ...

Product Review: Morgan Taylor Professional Nail Lacquer, Go For The Glow

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Morgan Taylor Professional Nail Lacquer is a great product that I discovered at Sally Beauty Supply when the sales clerk mentioned that it was buy one get one free. I purchased two bottles of the nail polish to try out. Recently, I ordered two bottles of Morgan Taylor Professional Nail Lacquer online on Amazon.com. One of those colors is Go for the Glow . It arrived last Friday, and I decided to try it out that night. As I started to paint my nails, I noticed the nail polish was a lot thinner than the ones I purchased from Sally Beauty Supply. I also noticed that it was a bit streaky, so it did take four coats for it to look like it should. However, each coat seemed to dry quickly, which was a plus in my book. It actually took my base coat and top coat longer to dry than the actual nail polish. With that being said, I did a lot more cleaning over the weekend . . . dusting, dishes, sweeping, mopping, etc., and I found that the nail polish started wearing off a lot quicker. By the end of...

Product Review: Morgan Taylor Professional Nail Lacquer, Anime-zing Color

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Last week, I decided to repaint my finger nails with Morgan Taylor Professional Nail Lacquer in the color "Anime-zing Color" and OPI Nail Lacquer, "Tinsel, Tinsel 'Lil Star". I also used a different base coat and top coat than I did the first time I did my nails. When I bought the Morgan Taylor Professional Nail Lacquer "Anime-zing Color" at Sally Beauty Supply, it looked as though it was a periwinkle blue in the store. I decided to give it a try because it was buy one, get one free. I was super excited about the color. However, when I started painting my nails, it came out much darker, and in certain lights, it almost looks navy blue. I am a bit disappointed about that, but I still like the color. The nice thing about about the polish is that it's a bit thicker than the OPI Nail Lacquer, so I didn't have to apply more than two coats. With that being said, I had to be more careful in applying the polish to my nails because it was very easy to g...

Product Review: OPI Infinite Shine 2, Do You Sea What I Sea

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Last weekend, I decided to paint my finger nails for the first time in a long time. Normally, I have them done professionally, but I thought it was something I could do myself instead shelling out money every couple of weeks for someone else to do.  The main color I decided to use was Do You Sea What I Sea by OPI. It is part of their Infinite Shine line, which is shinier than their regular line, and it's a little pricier. I purchased it at Sally Beauty Supply, and it cost $12.99, plus tax. When I painted my nails, I first began with one coat of OPI Formaldehyde Free Start to Finish Base Coat, Top Coat, & Strengthener . I let it dry for a few minutes before applying one coat of the OPI Infinite Shine 2, Do You Sea What I Sea . I did use Morgan Taylor Professional Nail Lacquer, I'm From the Fuschia on my middle fingers. After letting my nails dry again, I applied a second coat of nail polish and let them dry yet again before applying OPI Formaldehyde Free Start to Finish Ba...

Product Review: OPI Formaldehyde Free Start to Finish Base Coat, Top Coat, & Strengthener

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This past weekend, I decided my nails were in major need of some TLC . . . tender, loving, care. I went to my local Sally Beauty Supply store and purchased several items including OPI Formaldehyde Free Start to Finish Base Coat, Top Coat, & Strengthener along with some nail polish and a nail file. I couldn't wait to get started on my nails and immediately got to work. First, I filed my nails so they were even and washed my hands off to make sure they were clean of dirt. Then, I applied the OPI Formaldehyde Free Start to Finish Base Coast, Top Coat, and Strengthener and let it dry before applying two coats of nail polish. When the nail polish dried, I applied the OPI Formaldehyde Free Start to Finish Base Coast, Top Coat, and Strengthener again. My nails look a lot prettier, and they definitely feel a lot stronger. Using this OPI product before and after my nail polish has definitely helped in keeping the nail polish from chipping. It also dried a lot quicker than I expected. It...

Book Review: The Doll in the Garden, A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn

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The Doll in the Garden, A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn is a ghost story about ten year old Kristi and her mother moving into the upstairs apartment of Miss Cooper's house. Miss Cooper is an elderly woman who dislikes children and warns Kristi to stay out of the garden or there would be consequences. When a white cat that casts no shadow appears in the garden and a little girl crying could be heard coming from there, Kristi decides to investigate. I discovered Mary Downing Hahn's books at my middle school library and decided to check one of them out when I couldn't find any books I wanted to read. The Doll in the Garden was one of the first books I read by Mary Downing Hahn and contributed to my love of reading books in the horror, suspense, and thriller genres. In my quest to reread my way through my childhood, I decided it was time to find out if this story was as good as I remembered. Although I remembered the basic storyline of the book, I didn't recall all the...

Book Review: Trail of the Spellmans (The Spellmans, #5) by Lisa Lutz

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Trail of the Spellmans (The Spellmans, #5) by Lisa Lutz is the fifth installment in the book series about Isabel "Izzy" Spellman and her family of private investigators. For the first time that she remembers, Izzy isn't the "odd man" in the family. Older brother David and younger sister Rae are in an impasse and not speaking to one another. Albert, the dad, is hiding something and has gone to great measures to hide it. And, Izzy's mom, Olivia, has herself booked solid with several new hobbies. Then, Demetrius Merriweather keeps going on first dates without any second dates. On top of this, several of the family cases have become intertwined with each other. Grab yourself a ginger ale and settle yourself down for the ride of a lifetime. I don't know how Lisa Lutz keeps doing it, but each book in this series is better than the last. I love the fact that there are several mysteries going on throughout the book . . . my favorites being the one with the bana...