Happy Friday, friends!
1. Spring Porch Refresh
We’ve been sprucing up and enjoying our outdoor spaces lately and I am obsessed with our new door mat! It’s so bright and happy (and on sale for $15!). 
2. Book Review: The Butterfly Garden
Title: The Butterfly Garden
Author: Dot Hutchison
Genre: Psychological Fiction
Back Cover Summary: Near an isolated mansion lies a beautiful garden.
In this garden grow luscious flowers, shady trees…and a collection of precious “butterflies”—young women who have been kidnapped and intricately tattooed to resemble their namesakes. Overseeing it all is the Gardener, a brutal, twisted man obsessed with capturing and preserving his lovely specimens.
When the garden is discovered, a survivor is brought in for questioning. FBI agents Victor Hanoverian and Brandon Eddison are tasked with piecing together one of the most stomach-churning cases of their careers. But the girl, known only as Maya, proves to be a puzzle herself.
As her story twists and turns, slowly shedding light on life in the Butterfly Garden, Maya reveals old grudges, new saviors, and horrific tales of a man who’d go to any length to hold beauty captive. But the more she shares, the more the agents have to wonder what she’s still hiding…
Amazon Rating: 4.5 stars. 15k+ reviews — an Amazon Charts best seller.
My Review: WOAH. No wonder it’s an Amazon Charts best seller and a recommendation I received from several of my readers — I could not put this book down and read it in 3 days during our beach vacation. Warning, it’s incredibly dark and disturbing, the bizarre plot is quite the stretch and the extra “twist” at the end was a little unnecessary, but it’s unlike any thriller I’ve ever read which kept me captivated. I read a review that said this plot is something you might expect to see on Criminal Minds or Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and that could not be more spot on. This book is definitely not for everyone — read it with caution. 
3. At Home Microdermabrasion
I recently had the opportunity to partner with Neiman Marcus on the launch of their Michael Todd Beauty line! I got to pick out a skincare tool and chose the Michael Todd Beauty Sonic Refresher — a professional grade microdermabrasion system! This minimally abrasive tool provides gentle suction (kind of like a Shop Vac to your face) for deep exfoliation to remove dead or damaged skin cells to reveal firmer, fresher and more radiant skin! 
4. Swim Lessons
I snapped this cute picture of Tom before swim lessons this week! Both kids are doing so well at Aqua-Tots!
5. Amazon Luxury Beauty Products
I’m a sucker for tacking on beauty products to my Amazon orders. Some of these items are tried and true favorites that I’ve been using for years and have blogged about time and time again. A few others are products I’ve purchased more recently and wanted to report back on now that I’ve used them for a bit!
As a reminder, you can always find lots more of my Amazon beauty favorites here!
- Moroccanoil Root Boost: If you’re looking to boost your hair volume, this is the product for you!
- Hyaluronic Acid Serum: Most of the hyaluronic serums I’ve seen people raving about are $150+! So I went on a mission to find an affordable product at the same quality and was SO pumped when I found this $15 bottle. I’ve been so impressed with this anti-aging product and apparently so have 6,644 other Amazon buyers. I add it to my face creams both morning and night and have definitely seen a difference in my skin — it is softer and smoother.
- EltaMD UV Lip Balm Sunscreen Broad-Spectrum SPF 31: My favorite lip balm for sun protection.
- Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask: This is a newer product for me I picked up a few weeks ago after Cristin Cooper recommended it. This has truly been a dry lip saver!! And it smells good too.
- Revision Skincare Black Mask: Going on two years with this product and it’s still my favorite mask in my collection! (see previous review here)
- RevitaLash Advanced Eyelash Conditioner: I just started using this a few weeks ago and have seen a ton of eyelash growth!! I purchased the travel size to test it out but will definitely be splurging on the full size when I run out.
- Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe Herbs and Rosewater: Love, love, love this long time favorite spray. I use it to set my makeup and love to keep it in my pool bag to refresh my face.
- Mario Badescu Cleansing Milk With Carnation and Rice Oil: Another new product! I’ve been experimenting with different face cleansers and have finally found THE one! My skin doctor mentioned that I should be using a milk-based cleanser due to my dry skin and this creamy cleanser is amazing!
- L’Oréal Paris Makeup Voluminous Lash Boosting Conditioning Primer Mascara: The very best mascara primer — ever.
- L’Oreal Paris Makeup Lash Paradise Waterproof Mascara: After several years of trying 32893445634 mascaras, this one still takes the cake as the best!
Katie P NC
Monday 15th of July 2019
I checked out Butterfly Garden - omg, so twisted but I couldn't put it down. I'll happily take any more book suggestions you have. Thanks for the recommendation!
Christina
Tuesday 16th of July 2019
RIGHT?! It's so disturbing yet captivating!!! I've NEVER read anything like it before!!!
Laura Wyatt
Wednesday 29th of May 2019
I just went back to Lash Paradise after using Roller Lash and can't believe I ever strayed!! Love that stuff!!
Caley
Tuesday 21st of May 2019
Yikes - I love a good thriller and suspense fiction but I just don't know if I could read that one... x
Hena Tayeb
Sunday 19th of May 2019
I read the Butterfly Garden last year.. it was a chilling read.
http://www.henatayeb.blogspot.com
Morgan
Friday 17th of May 2019
The book looks SO GOOD. I've already added it to my list!