Spookathon Wrap-Up

Hello lovelies,
I hope you are having a Magnificent Monday!

Today's post will be a short one as I am currently flaring.
Last Monday I shared with you my picks for the read-a-thon "Spookathon". With this event having come to an end for me I wanted to share with you what I actually read and a mini-spoiler free review on each one!

Scare Tactics by David Whitehead
This was the first book I read, as well as the shortest/easiest to read. It was full of short stories and I really enjoyed it. I'm going to pass it on to a friend as I don't think I'd re-read it.

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
I wanted to re-read this series and continue it on as I do believe I only read the first 6 or so books. It was a fun quick read and I'm desperate to continue on as soon as possible! If you like supernatural books and want quick and easy reads I'd recommend this series.

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
I went into this not knowing much about it and it was a surprising read. I'm not too big of a fan of sci-fi reads but I did really like it. I personally am not super happy with how it ended, but for what it was I think it ended well. I'd recommend it for people who like sci-fy or want to read something a little different.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins 
I devoured this book in 4 hours! It was certainly one I couldn't put down, and one that I was constantly trying to work out the ending! I found it interesting following a character that had an addiction. I found myself often being frustrated with her and what she did as a result! I really liked this book and would like to read more like this!

Talon by Julie Kagawa
Unfortunately I only got 30% of this finished for the Spookathon so it doesn't really count. I am enjoying this so far and can see myself continuing on this series in the future!

Did you participate in Spookathon? If you did let me know what you read!
If you have any book recommendations for me please let me know down below in the comments!
Gentle hugs,
Bridget

Top 5: Lipsticks

Hey lovelies,

I hope you're having a fantastic Friday!

Today I wanted to share my five favourite lipsticks! I picked my top five based on several things including colour, pigmentation and formula.

 

Top to bottom:

Lipland Cosmetics "Creme Corsett" 

Milani "Matte Blissful" 

Colourpop "Westie"

Maybelline Color Drama "Minimalist" 

Shanghai Suzy "Miss Leah Baby Cocoa"

As you can see from these swatches I have chosen five nude colours. This wasn't intentional, I only realised this when I swatched them. I personally love a good pink nude so I guess this just proves what I already knew! Let's dive in to my Top 5 and discuss why I love them. 

Lapland "Creme Corsett" Ssssamantha collaboration 

 

I hadn't purchased anything from Lipland Cosmetics before but I was a supporter of the beauty guru/all round awesome woman Samantha Randaval. I knew her love of the perfect nude, and after seeing swatches of the lipstick I had to have it. I wasn't let down at all by this collaboration! Not only is this the perfect colour, the formula is perfection. The formula is incredibly creamy and feels wonderful on the lips. The swatches above are ONE swipe of the lipstick! It is by far the creamiest most pigmented lipstick I have ever owned and has good staying power. I plan to purchase some more Lipland lipsticks if this is the kind of quality I can expect! 

Colourpop Lippie Stix "Westie" 

The hard thing about including a Colourpop colour is that they often get rid of colours, luckily this colour is one of their most popular and its still available! Obviously the price of Colourpop products attracts people to their brand, however I am also impressed with their Lippie Stix formula. I find the formula very creamy and nourishing.  They glide on and smell lovely. They have such a wide range of colours and at $5 USA a lippie stix, I'd recommend you give them a go! 

Milani Color Statement Matte "Blissful"

We don't have Milani in Australia so this was something I picked up on eBay. This is hands down the best colour/shade I own! I love the pink/mauve tone of it and feel that it compliments my pale and cool skin tone. The formula is creamy and nourishing despite being a matte. It and has good staying power. I own a few other shades in this range and they are all also wonderful, however Matte Blissful is the best colour for me by far! I plan on buying some back ups! 

 Maybelline Color Drama "Minimalist" 

I don't own too many Maybelline lipsticks, but I do own quite a few of these Color Drama crayons. They are SO incredibly smooth to apply to the mouth which I wasn't expecting at all. They feel very nourishing on the lips, and the colour range is great. This colour is a very subtle colour, I do also love the orange/red shade "Fab Orange". The staying power isn't there, but as they are a dream to apply I'm personally fine with that. 

Shanghai Suzy "Miss Leah Baby Cocoa" Whipped Matte Lipstick

Shanghai Suzy is a cruelty free, vegan, Australian lipstick brand that I've come to love over the last few years. Shanghai Suzy produce seasonal colors which means they don't have a permanent line. I love this back at the same time it can become very expensive because I personally fall in love with the colours and want the entire seasonal collection! Miss Leah Baby Cocoa has been one of their most popular colours and has been brought back on two occasions because of this. Shanghai Suzy have many different formulations including the Whipped Matte, Nourish, Shimmering and Semi-Matte). The products themselves are fruit scented and the best smelling lipstick I've ever purchased! 

I may do a blog post on the collection I currently own as I have quite a few. 

What are some of your favourite lipsticks? I'd love to know in the comments below!
Gentle hugs,
Bridget 

My Spookathon Picks!

Hello my loves,

I hope you are having a Marvelous Monday!

Today I'm starting the Spook-a-thon, a challenge reading marathon running from October 17th to the 23rd. 

I haven't done any reading marathons this year so I wanted to give this new one a go, and I really like the challenges that have been set out. I've managed to use books that I have wanted to read (re-read in the case of the Sookie Steakhouse series). The only challenge I had was picking a 2016 release.

So my five books along with the challenges are:

A book with a paranormal character: Dead Until Dark

I read a lot of this series a few years ago, but I really wanted to re-read it and catch up. I've watched the tv series (True Blood) but know it deviates a lot from the book series so I want to read the books again and separate it in my mind. I think this is the book I'm most excited to read this one. 

A book with a spooky word in the title: Scare Tactics

I grabbed this book from a library book sale. It's just been sitting on my shelves for a year or so.  I figure I can read this then pass it on to someone else. 

A thriller: Girl on the Train

This has been on my TBR for awhile, and with the movie now showing I really wanted to get this read so I could go watch it! 

A 2016 release: Dark Matter

This was the hardest one for me to do as I didn't have a 2016 release to read so I looked at what others wanted to read and picked this one! 

A book with a red cover: Talon 

Another book that was on my TBR that I just kept passing on. It's such a stunning cover and I knew as soon as I saw this challenge I would have to pick Talon! 

Next Monday I'll do a wrap up of what I've managed to read and a quick review on them. I'd love if you want to read along with me! Come tell me on Twitter- @bridgetparker and we can support each other!

Gentle hugs,

Bridget

Haters Back Off of the Fibromyalgia jokes.

This post may contain spoilers for Haters Back Off. 

Maybe I'm too sensitive, maybe I was looking to far into it, but  after watching the new Netflix series "Haters Back Off" last night I was really irritated. Don't get me wrong- I love Miranda and quite often watch Colleen's videos. I was incredibly excited to spend my Friday night watching her new series and exploring the world of Miranda Sings. But I couldn't shake the irritation I felt from Episode One throughout the entire series of misconstruing invisible illnesses- especially Fibromyalgia. 

One joke I can handle,  I can play it off to ignorance, but the "fake illness" theme runs throughout the entire series as the mother uses this illness (she called it her "undiagnosed Fibromyalgia") for sympathy as well as pity. Bethany uses a wrist brace as a visible way of showing people she is "sick". She used Fibro as an excuse at her job, asking customers to lift their heavy objects and scan/check out for themselves because her Fibromyalgia meant she couldn't do it/she couldn't be bothered doing it herself.  

There is also a relationship between Bethany and a man, who clearly has some sort of sick desire for a disabled partner. When Bethany begins to act as if she is well he loses interest in her. There is a scene in which he is seen sitting on the lap of a women in a wheelchair- his new love interest. 

During the final episodes Miranda's mum is "actually" diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD). Now that she actually has a diagnosed illness the wrist brace comes off, she stops looking for pity and her behavior changes. You see Bethany taking medication when her alarm goes off, you see her trying to tell Emily (her other daughter) that she is sick (and Emily not believing her due to her past hypochondriac ways), and you see a blurry tv screen when her medication is due. Fibro patients deal with all of this too. They struggle telling people what is wrong with them- especially because of the stigma surrounding it and they take medication throughout the day (I have alarms for mine to remind me).

During the last episode Bethany tells Miranda what is wrong. She talks about how scared she is and how she feels she's drowning with the weight of what is happening to her. There was no mention of this when she was pretending to have Fibro, it was like a fun novelty for her to tell people she was "sick". When I was first diagnosed with Fibro I too felt like I was drowning. I had no idea what was wrong with me, why all of a sudden I was dealing with such severe pain throughout my body and why I was so exhausted from simple activities. It was incredibly scary having my body protest to the way I was living and within 2 years of my diagnosis I was unable to do the things I used to love, including working and studying. 

I get that Miranda's mother isn't sick when she claims she has Fibro, that she is pretending to be sick for pity. I understand she doesn't really have Fibro and it's just part of her being a hypochondriac. However the stigma that invisible illnesses aren't real is such a huge issue people such as myself face. This show has inadvertently solidified what a lot of ignorant people feel to be true, that we are just faking it. I also wonder- are there people out there pretending to have Fibromyalgia like Bethany, thinking this illness isn't real but wanting attention from having it? Is that why Haters Back Off used Fibro? 

It also brings up the point that people don't realize how debilitating life with Fibromyalgia can be. It's not just a sore arm that a wrist brace can make feel better. It's severe pain throughout the entire body, pain that doesn't go away, that exhausts your body, your mind and your spirit. It's extreme fatigue that a cup of coffee or a good night's sleep doesn't cure. It's fatigue so deep in your bones the thought of a simple task like washing up feels like climbing a mountain. It's severe brain fog that makes writing this blog post a challenge, one that before being sick I could've done within minutes, now taking hours. 

Whilst I don't believe the show meant to intentionally made fun of Fibromyalgia, it has shown the ignorance of society and how far we have to go to have people change what they believe about invisible illnesses. The show has once again reminded me that to some people, Fibromyalgia isn't recognized as a real illness. The tweets commenting on how funny the Fibro jokes in the show were confirmed that. 

I have worked SO hard, so freaking hard to make invisible illnesses visible. I've worked SO hard to show society that just because you cannot see how sick we are, doesn't mean that we are faking it or looking for pity. I have lost of many friends who didn't believe me and didn't support me. 

I wasn't the only person who was disappointed in the jokes. I've had a few people on Twitter contact me via the tweets I wrote about it sharing how it made them feel. They too were irritated with the way Fibromyalgia was portrayed and how it confirmed the stigma. 

Have you watched Haters Back Off? How did the Fibromyalgia jokes make you feel? I'd love to start a dialogue in the comments below.

Gentle hugs,

Bridget. 

Colouring Book Review- Spellbinding Images

Hey lovelies,

I hope you're having a magnificent Monday!

Today I am reviewing Spellbinding Images in anticipation for Halloween! 

Title:  Spellbinding Images: A Fantasy Coloring Book of Witches: Extended Edition (Volume 1)

By: Nikki Burnette

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Number of Pages:  108

This Extended Edition of Spellbinding Images was released on August 18th. In this edition, Nikki has included Minis and Grid Drawings which I personally think is fantastic! The original 20 pictures that were in the original Volume One are included in this book as well so please be mindful if you have the original.

The pages are one sided which is great if you'd like to use markers or paint. The paper is a medium thickness allowing a variety of medias to be used. 

The paper is a bright white. 

I love having some mini pieces to colour on the days you don't want to colour a large piece/don't have the energy or time but still want to colour something. 

I love the inclusion of the grid drawings! I am not the world's best drawer so I am excited to give these a try. Nikki has included some tips and tricks for grid drawing as well which is both thoughtful and helpful! 

Sample page I coloured using alcohol markers One Touch 

This book is perfect for anyone who loves fantasy colouring, as well as for the Halloween season! I really like the style of the pieces in this book and will definitely be adding more of Nikki Burnett book's to my Colouring Book Wish List! 

http://www.bookdepository.com/Spellbinding-Images-Nikki-Burnette/9781535559171/?a_aid=BridgetParker

Gentle hugs,

Bridget 

MakeUp Geek/Beauty Bay Haul

Hello lovelies,

I hope you're having a fantastic Friday!

Today I want to share with you some new make up goodies that I grabbed from Make Up Geek via the Make Up Geek website and Beauty Bay.  I am a massive fan of MUG and Marlena, the owner of the company so when I saw that Make Up Geek recently released some new foiled shadows, signature shadows and their first highlighter palette I had to snag some of them! I initially did an order on the MUG Website. I then decided I wanted to try a blue foiled eyeshadow and I needed another Z-palette. Instead of paying for double shipping I decided to purchase those two items from the Beauty Bay website as they have free shipping for orders over $26! 

I ordered the following from the Make Up Geek website:

Kathleen Lights Highlighter palette

Foiled Eyeshadow- Curtain Call

Foiled Eyeshadow- Epic

Foiled Eyeshadow- Sorcery 

I ordered the following from the Beauty Bay website:

Extra Large Z Palette

Foiled Eyeshadow- Centre Stage 

Shipping wise it was a little slow however that has nothing to do with the companies, this time of the year shipping gets slow so try and be aware of that if you order Oct-Jan and allow extra time. 

Let's take a look at the products and I'll give you a quick first impressions on them! 

Make Up Geek Foiled Eyeshadows 

Top to bottom colour names: 

Curtain Call

Epic

Center Stage

Sorcery

These foiled shadows are really something every makeup lover needs to purchase! It's a formula like no other on the market. The pigmentation is incredible, with barely any fall out at all. They have such wide variety of colours to suit all eye colours, skin types. I love these all over the lid to add a little sparkle, they really make your eyes pop! These foiled eyeshadows also work for all different eye looks. I really like to pop a light foiled shadow on the days I don't want to make much of an effort. Funnily enough I always get compliments the days I do that! 

Make Up Geek x Kathleen Lights Highlighter Palette

This highlighter palette is in collaboration with Youtube Beauty Guru Kathleen Lights. It is the first release of the MUG Highlighter formula which is based on their foiled eyeshadow formula. 

 

The back of the slide off case. 

The above photos are of the front and the back of the highlighter palette. 

As you can see the pan sizes are HUGE. As both Marlena and Kathleen mentioned, the highlighters do look dark in the pan. For that reason I didn't jump to buy it at first because I am so terribly pale. However I did want to try the formula as I had a feeling it would be fantastic. So after watching a lot of reviews I decided to take the plunge and get it. I knew I could pull off at least the pink shade. 

 From the swatches you can see that the bottom shade is too dark for me to use as a highlighter. I knew it would be and plan to use it as an eyeshadow as I have a huge love of bronze shades.

The shade names from top to bottom: 

Nightlight

Starlight

Sunlight

My first impression of these highlighters is that I am rather impressed! I popped Starlight on my cheekbones and found that it was subtle at first (which I loved) and could be built up to that mega WOW impact highlighter that some people love. I've gotta say- right now this is going to the top of my highlighter ride or die! I cannot wait for MUG to release their individual highlighters later this month! 

Z- Palette Extra Large 

I needed a new Z-Palette and decided to grab an extra large one. I haven't decided what to do in regards to my every day palette and my foiled shadows. I'll do another blog post when I decide how I want to lay them out!

So there is my haul! I love getting new make up, especially such good quality make up from a wonderful brand! 

Gentle hugs,

Bridget 

What the Heck do I say?

Hello lovelies,

I hope you're having a wicked day. 

Society is a funny thing. Meeting new people fascinates me but it does cause me a little hesitation these days as a result of being sick.

When we meet new people we love to engage in conversations- mostly small talk/getting to know you stuff. Some of that small talk stuff doesn't work well with me anymore. I dread having to do that dance when it involves people learning anything about me- I prefer to remain a mystery and ask as many questions as humanly possible about the other person. Most people love to talk about themselves, or even just vent about their life and I am a willing listener. But ask me to talk and I have no idea what to say. 

You see, being sick isn't fun to talk about. Asking me about my job, where I live, if I'm in a relationship , if I have kids or what I'm up to on the weekend leaves awkward silence as the other person tries to work out what to say. There's no witty way to say- "well I don't have a job, I don't have any kids, I'm single and 29". 

For some reason that sentence sends some sort of panic through people. I can see it in their eye, because I've given them nothing to follow up with. If you tell someone you're married they ask "Do you have kids". If you tell someone what you do for a living, the follow up with asking what your job entails. For me, they ask, "What is wrong with you" and that's just such a barrel of fun to talk about..... 

Whilst I know some spoonies probably work (I admire you if you can, and send sympathy if you are forced too), have kids, have wonderful partners, a lot of us don't. Some of us have to live with family due to the stress of medical bills. Some aren't in relationships because people they've been with can't handle the demand a spoonie partner needs (yeap- people actually walk away because of that). Some don't have kids because they physically can't due to their medical conditions. Whilst someone people are genuinely confused and put off when you say "I don't have a job, I don't have any kids, I'm single and 29". 

So what the heck do I say?

How do I break the ice once I've spilled the beans on the current status of my life and the state of limbo that chronic illness can put us in?
Admittedly,  I don't go into meeting a stranger with "I don't have a job, I don't have any kids, I'm single and 29". It's more of a gradual thing when they go through the motions, ask the questions and put the pieces together.

But is there a way for me to change the way society views me, or does society's views need to change? Do I need to discuss "what's wrong with me" so that I can share part of my life with someone or am I entitled to keep that to myself even if I have nothing else to share with them? I guess I've realised writing this piece that people just want to know each other's business! We feed off other people's stories and lives.
For now I guess I'll continue awkwardly meeting people, deflecting their questions and getting to know a heck of a lot about them whilst silently praying they don't ask about me. 

So I want to know, what the heck do you say to people when this happens to you?

Gentle hugs,

Bridget 

Cooking with a Chronic Illness: Pesto Pasta

Hello Lovelies,

I hope you're having an excellent day!

Before I go further let me acknowledge that I am not a professional cook/chef. Let me also acknowledge that the photos aren't too great for this post. Being chronically ill, by dinner time my body is sore and exhausted so I didn't put in a heck of a lot of effort re:the photos and lighting. But the leads me to why I'm starting this series- Cooking with a Chronic Illness.

Since becoming sick I've found cooking to be one of the hardest tasks. As I said, by the time dinner rolls around I'm not interested in standing up near a stove making a delightful meal. I was always stumped at what to prepare to feed my body that wouldn't leave me in too much pain and discomfort for the rest of the evening. So I created a Facebook group of the same name. I felt like others had to be struggling like I was, maybe we could come up with some ideas of our own to battle the challenging of cooking whilst having a chronic illness. It's been good to share ideas on easy meals and have others understand the struggle.

The recipe below is one I came up with randomly after seeing lots of pesto pastas on Pinterest.

Pesto Pasta

Ingredients 

Pasta

Pesto

Cubed Fetta

Chopped up BBQ Chicken 

Note: You can add in or change this to whatever you like. I use BBQ chicken as I find it easier, but sometimes I use cooked chicken breasts. Sometimes I add bacon also. It really depends on what I have in the fridge. 

Method

Cook pasta

Drain pasta 

Place pasta back into pan and onto heat

Add chicken, pesto and feta to taste (I usually add about a tablespoon of pesto.)

Stir until mixed through (I usually mix through for 5 minutes)

Serve! 

I'm not one for measuring things so I apologise if that is something you'd prefer. I find that this is such a fool-proof recipe that it would be hard to mess it up! 

It might not look amazing but it tastes wonderful. It has turned into one of my favourite comfort meals! 

Let me know if you try it in the comments below or tag me on Instagram (@beautifullybrokenbridget) 

If you'd like to join the Cooking with a Chronic Illness Facebook group the link is below!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/CookingwithaChronicIllness/

Bullying and how to Unify against it.

Hello all, 

I hope you're having a sensational day. 

A few nights ago I couldn't sleep. Usually I fall right to sleep thanks to my sleeping pills, but on the odd occasion it takes a little longer. When this happens I tend to overthink and having lots of memories race through my head. It's usually of the things that happened the year I got sick (the things that lead my body to just give up) but this time it was of how badly I was bullied in school. I have no idea why my mind rested on it, but it did and the memories flowed back. 

You see, I was the token fat girl, that was all I was seen to be. I was so deeply self conscious of that fact and tried every thing I could to be one of the skinny girls. I tried all the diets, but nothing worked as I have medical issues that cause the weight gain. 

I remember the daily taunts, the looks, the laughs. I remember trying to fight against it- which made it worse. I remember not knowing what the point of being so cruel was. I knew that after high school things would be different, people would be different, but the current hell I was facing was hard. I developed anxiety as a result. Every afternoon getting home from school I was back in my safe space. But when night time creeped around, and the morning alarm came on, I was riddled with anxiety of what the day would bring. 

I remember one of my "friends" making a joke in the middle of class that I liked a certain boy. I, in fact didn't. But it was found as a source of entertainment, even to the boy and his friends. I was later told by the "popular girls" that approached me about it that he planned to ask me out, then when I said yes he and his friends would laugh in my face. I was actually thrown a bone on that one and the girls stopped it. But thats typically how my days at school went down. Deep anxiety, lots of laughing at me and me desperate to get home to my safe space.
That night whilst I was thinking about all of this I realised how lucky I am. Lucky that I had a safe space at home. Social media wasn't what it is today and the taunting only happened mostly at school. These days..... the children and teens of today. Where is there safe space? There isn't a way to get away from the constant harassment of these sad bullies (who I learnt later in life were projecting their sad lives onto mine).
Two days later, today, I had a full circle moment when I was asked to join the #UnifySelfieChallenge. A movement during the National Bullying Month to spread the message that you are not alone, that there are people out there that support and love you. I remember never really telling anyone how bad the bullying was. I kept it to myself as people would tell me to ignore the bullies. I was silenced a lot. I want children and teens today to realise their voice matters. That the don't have to suffer in silence, that they shouldn't settle on being tormented day in, day out.

Take a look at their video explaining the challenge, and have a look at their Facebook page. I'd love if you would also get behind this movement. Post your #unifyselfiechallenge on social media!  Their goal is to have the hashtag reach 50 states and 50 countries in the next 50 days.
 Take part- for your brothers, sisters, friends, children and for you.

You are not alone. 
Speak up and tell someone what is happening to you. 
Support will always be there.

https://www.facebook.com/UnifyAgainstBullying

Gentle hugs,
Bridget