Monday, January 30, 2023

Manicure Monday - Lavender Haze Nails

Happy Manicure Monday everyone - hope you all had a good weekend! It was so cold here all weekend, I hibernated inside! 

Manicure Monday - Lavender Haze Nails
I purchased everything in this post

Okay, there were a few viral nail trends last year - the glazed donut and chocolate nails, so naturally, when Taylor Swift just dropped her Lavender Haze music video this week, I have seen these gorgeous lavender nails everywhere! Personally, I love this look of light, gentle shimmering lavender nails! 

Saturday, January 28, 2023

Five on Saturday - January 28, 2022 ~ Damian is 18, Printed Cupcakes, Bulk Barn Valentine's Haul, New Plants, and a Weighted Blanket

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you all had a good week. It was a long week here, just lots of work and it was busy! 

ONE 

I purchased everything in this post

You guys - my first baby turned 18 this week! I can't believe - time has flown by. But, we went out to celebrate at a pub (family friendly so his friends could come and so could his little brother). You guys loved up doing a tequila shot together on instagram (my most watched reel in a while!

Thursday, January 26, 2023

The Three Worst Products I Tried in 2022 - Skincare and Makeup

You should know by now that I really try and shy away from poor or negative reviews - I like to keep things positive around here, so I typically only share things I love! Now, that doesn't mean I will lie, if something isn't great I would never say it is, but I tend to keep my content to things I enjoy. 

But, I make an exception for the Worst Products of the year, because these aren't just a little bad or I didn't like them, these are all pretty terrible products that I could never recommend them!

The Three Worst Products I Tried in 2022 - Skincare and Makeup
I purchased these products on my own

It's 2023, but do we still need disclaimers like, "just because I didn't like this single product, doesn't mean I don't love the brand" or, "please, don't be offended if one of these is your favourite products"? Because, yes all of that is true, and I think it should go without saying - a lot of these products are from brands that I like and have tried other things from and one product is not a reflection of the whole brand! And really, to only have 3 terrible products to talk about means it was a pretty good year! 

Monday, January 23, 2023

Manicure Monday - Magenta Floral Nails

Happy Manicure Monday - I hope you all had a great weekend! 

I purchased everything in this post

I always get excited because the start of a New Year means a new Pantone Colour of the Year - I'm so excited for the 2023 Colour of the Year because it is Viva Magenta! I love pinks and magentas and it's such a gorgeous colour family - I feel like I'm going to get a lot of inspiration from this colour! 

Saturday, January 21, 2023

Five on Friday - January 21, 2023 ~ Valentines Day Haul, Gaz Oakley Book, Strange World, That 90's Show, and The Last of Us

Happy Friday everyone - I hope you all had a great week! It's been pretty quiet here. I am taking a slow approach in to blogging, so I'm enjoying time to myself and indulging in some other hobbies as well! 

ONE 

I purchased everything in this post 

Is it too early to think about Valentine's Day?! I just rarely go out to a store, so when I did last weekend, I had to pick up a few goodies. Elliott loves squishmallows, so he will get this on Valentine's Day and some cute chocolate for the boys. Then, the Power Bracelet slap on bracelets for E to hand out in class! 

Thursday, January 19, 2023

New At Sephora Haul, First Impressions and Swatches ~ Rare Beauty Positive Light Silky Touch Highlighter, Sephora Collection Color Shifter Eyeshadow Palette, and Sephora Pout Perfect Lip Set

Trying something a little different here - I don't often do a full haul with my initial swatches and thoughts, but I picked up a few little new sets and items from Sephora that I can't do full posts on each item, so thought I'd share my thoughts here and show you what I picked up! 

I purchased everything in this post - this post contains affiliate links

There have been a few things that have caught my eye lately - specifically the Rare Beauty Positive Light Silky Touch Highlighter and the Sephora Collection Color Shifter Eye Shadow Palette!

Monday, January 16, 2023

Manicure Monday - Viva Magenta Dotticure

Happy Manicure Monday - I hope you all had a great weekend! I've been loving starting these weeks with lovely pink nails! 

Manicure Monday - Viva Magenta Dotticure
These products were all purchased by me

I always get excited because the start of a New Year means a new Pantone Colour of the Year - I'm so excited for the 2023 Colour of the Year because it is Viva Magenta! I love pinks and magentas and it's such a gorgeous colour family - I feel like I'm going to get a lot of inspiration from this colour! 

Saturday, January 14, 2023

Five on Saturday - January 14, 2023 ~ New Plant, Costco Finds, Calgary Zoo, New Miley Cyrus Music, and New Reddit Obsession

Happy Saturday everyone! Phew, what a week - this is when everything is back at and I'm exhausted! I know I was back to work last week, but this week the boys were back in school, basketball started again and so did volleyball for me. The adjustment I think is hard on everyone, so it feels like it's been a really long week! 

ONE 

I purchased everything in this post

I'm actually trying not to buy a lot of extras or useless stuff this year - if you saw my goals, I'm trying to be thoughtful about everything I pick up. But, this Monestera was only $19.99 at Costco, and since I spent more than that on protein bars for my husband, I figured this couldn't hurt. It's huge and lovely, but I didn't research that this is labelled as "toxic" to my kitties - I did a bit more diving and saw nothing is toxic, but there is crystals on the leaves that are an irritant (I'm not saying that's good, just I'm not going to kill my cat accidentally). So, I got an elevated stand and they don't like it so it works. 

Thursday, January 12, 2023

Best Product Discoveries of 2022 - Hair, Skincare and Body

I always love rounding up my favourite products of the year - I just completed my Favourite Makeup of 2022 and I'm excited to share the rest of the best products I tried this year! (Also, I do mean what I tried this year - some products were not released this year! 

Best Product Discoveries of 2022 - Hair, Skincare and Body
The JVN & Skoah products were received as part of their ambassador programs - this post contains affiliate links

I personally didn't try a ton of new products all year - I'm really working on trying something and using it all up before trying too many other new products in the same category! With that being said, everything I talked about on my Monthly Favourites, I still love; but, when I think of the best products of the year, I think of the ones that have been total standouts or game-changers in my routine! 

Monday, January 9, 2023

Manicure Monday - Magenta Stripy Abstract Nails

Happy Manicure Monday - I hope you all had a great weekend! 

Manicure Monday - Magenta Stripy Abstract Nails
The Biosculpture polish was received as a PR sample - this post contains affiliate links

I always get excited because the start of a New Year means a new Pantone Colour of the Year - I'm so excited for the 2023 Colour of the Year because it is Viva Magenta! I love pinks and magentas and it's such a gorgeous colour family - I feel like I'm going to get a lot of inspiration from this colour! 

Sunday, January 8, 2023

My Top 10 Favourite Books of 2022 (And A Little Yearly Wrap Up and My Five Worst Books of the Year)

I've wrapped up all the books I've read all year through my Monthly Reads and I've been sharing reviews on everything I've rated 4.5 and 5 stars (so my top 10 might not be a total surprise as I'm sure you've seen these around here)! 

My Top 10 Favourite Books of 2022
I purchased all of these books - this post contains affiliate links

I read 110 books this year - a good mix of older and newer books and from every genre you can think of!  There is a mix of adult and YA from all different genres - fantasy, romance, contemporary, and historical fiction, so a little bit of everything in there! 

Friday, January 6, 2023

Five on Friday - January 6, 2023 ~ My 2022 Tarot Spread, Reviewing My 2022 Goals, Setting Goals for 2023, 2022 Brand Recap and Brands To Try in 2023

Happy Friday everyone and happy first Friday of 2023! I always find it a little hard to get back in to the work groove after the holiday break - it was a busy week, so I'm happy it's Friday and looking forward to a weekend with Elliott (he was at the cabin for a week so it was quiet here after Christmas!)

ONE 

I purchased everything in this post - this post contains affiliate links

I love getting prepped for the New Year - I'm not big in to resolutions or anything, but I am in to feeling reset and refreshed and planning and looking ahead! So, since I got the beautiful Phantomwise Tarot deck (designed by the talented Erin Morgenstern - my favourite author) in November, I have been trying to get back in to tarot. I often just draw a card a day to manifest the day, but I saw her do a spread for the year - a card a month, plus a summation card for the year. This is my year ahead and I really enjoyed summing up each month and will make sure to reflect back on this! 

Wednesday, January 4, 2023

Monthly Beauty and Book Haul ~ December 2022

I'm switching up my Monthly Haul posts a little bit this year, because I'm actually *trying* to stick to a bit of a budget! I've been going a little crazy on the beauty and books front, so I just want to be a little more thoughtful in my purchases. So. I'm trying to keep my beauty and book purchases to $200 a month - we'll see! 

I do always love my Monthly Haul posts - it's a good way to keep track of everything that I picked up each month. I don't always blog about everything I pick up (I try to), but if you ever spot anything in here that you really want me to talk about, let me know! 

Monthly Beauty and Book Haul ~ December 2022

Sephora Order ~ $35.27 CAN. I needed to pick up some cleansing oils and balms - I was trying to pick new, affordable cleansers and so far, the Innisfree Cleansing Oil is a favourite! It made my Favs on December - plus, the samples were from brands I love. I haven't tried the Inkey List yet, but I will try it out soon! 

Tuesday, January 3, 2023

Best Makeup Discoveries of 2022 - Top 10 Favourites

I always love rounding up my Favourite products I've discovered every year - this is the  Personally, I include products that I've discovered within the year (not necessarily products that were released in the year, or I don't include every category as I just want to pick the best products I've tried overall!)

Best Makeup Discoveries of 2022 - Top 10 Favourites
The XO and Estee products were received as PR samples - this post contains affiliate links

With that being said, everything I talked about on my Monthly Favourites, I still love; but, when I think of the best products of the year, I think of the ones that have been total standouts or game-changers in my routine! So, that is what I'm going to focus on for this year's Top 10 Favourites! 

Monday, January 2, 2023

Manicure Monday - Magenta Warm & Fuzzy Winter Penguin Nails

 Happy Manicure Monday - can we believe it's 2023 now?! It's so exciting! 

Manicure Monday - Magenta Warm & Fuzzy Winter Penguin Nails
I purchased everything in this post

Well, I always get excited because the start of a New Year means a new Pantone Colour of the Year - I'm so excited for the 2023 Colour of the Year because it is Viva Magenta! I love pinks and magentas and it's such a gorgeous colour family - I feel like I'm going to get a lot of inspiration from this colour! 

Sunday, January 1, 2023

Reflections of 2022 ~ Yearly Recap

Happy 2023 Everyone! 2022 was another year to remember - it's been full of highlights and a few ups and downs; but, we always make the best of it. I finally got my trip to Italy in that was postponed and all restrictions were lifted, so it was nice to see things get back to normal! 


I'm a super nostalgic person and I love looking back a moments in time and remembering how it was and picturing myself back there (this is why I'm a big scrapbooker too!), and despite dealing with a pandemic, there was some really amazing moments from this year!