Summer 2023 - The Jilly Box Subscription Unboxing

I'm a big fan of Jillian Harris, so when she announced that she was starting a subscription box, I was so excited! The box started with the Winter 2019 box and sadly, I was not one of the lucky originals who won a subscription spot, so I sign up every season and hope to get picked for a lottery spot! 

The box was purchased by a family member for me

The Jilly Box is a quarterly seasonal subscription box - the products within the box include some of Jillian’s (and Team Jilly’s!) favourite items (and brands) from home decor, fashion, bath and beauty, health and wellness, accessories perfect for each season. Some of the items included will be custom designed exclusively for the Jilly Box. The Jilly Box really focuses on including products from small, local businesses while being ethically sourced and inclusive. They also focus on reducing plastic waste and packaging - the big boxes can be turned inside out and reused! Also, they try to include Canadian, woman owned brands, as well as Bipoc and LGBTQ owned brands as well. 

The Jilly Box is $199 CAN quarterly + taxes and includes free shipping to Canada and the U.S. And, while this is on the pricier end for a subscription box, it will contain at least $400 worth of products each season! The box is shipped out prior to the start of each season - so the Winter box shipped in mid-November.

Manicure Monday - Spring Floral Rose Nail Art

Happy Manicure Monday - I hope you all had an amazing weekend! I had a really quiet weekend and it was much needed! 

I purchased everything in this post

For the past few years in May the #CBBxManiMonday group has always done florals for May (must be something about the "April Showers bring May Flowers thing - really I'm in Calgary, so April Snow makes way for May rain and June flowers, but it's still the beautiful month of Spring when things start to bud and bloom here!) 

Five on Saturday - May 27, 2023 ~ Damian's Graduation, Graduation Cupcakes, Switch Game Holder, One Night Ultimate Werewolf Game and Our Game Night Go-To's, and Daisy Jones and The Six

Happy Friday - it's been a busy crazy week! We had family in town for the long weekend and have been doing grad things for Damian all week! 

ONE 

I purchased everything in this post

I can't even explain how proud/emotional I am - my oldest son, Damian graduated this week! It was so amazing to see him walk the stage and it was amazing! 

Manicure Tuesday - Stamped Lily Nails

Happy Manicure Tuesday - I'm coming in a day late because it was a busy long weekend here (we had family in town and threw a graduation BBQ for my oldest son!)

I purchased everything in this post

For the past few years in May the #CBBxManiMonday group has always done florals for May (must be something about the "April Showers bring May Flowers thing - really I'm in Calgary, so April Snow makes way for May rain and June flowers, but it's still the beautiful month of Spring when things start to bud and bloom here!)

Five on Friday - May 19, 2023 ~ May 2023 Owlcrate, Mother's Day, Getting My Garden Prepped, Italy Trip Reminiscing, and Alberta Wildfires

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you all have had a good week! It's the long weekend here, so hoping everyone enjoys - we have family coming in to town and are celebrating Damian's grad this weekend! 

ONE 

I purchased everything in this post

I just received my May Owlcrate subscription and this month's theme is "Against All Odds" - each month the book Owlcrate includes is signed by the author and comes with a note from the author as well. They often have special edition covers just for the box, and they seem to include a lot of exclusive items just for Owlcrate, which is so fun! As a bookworm, I have been loving this subscription! (Also, I put everything away and didn't take a picture, so check out my instagram or youtube for the video!)

Monthly Beauty and Book Haul - April 2023

Last year I set a monthly beauty and books budget at $200 per month and I really stuck to it! I am trying to be thoughtful in my purchases, so this has been holding me accountable for being reasonable with my spending. Since it worked so well last year, I'm really trying to do the same thing this year! 

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! 

I purchased everything in this post

Sephora Order ~ $70.35 CAN. I only made a small order during the Sephora sale - I really wanted to try out the Rare Beauty Lip Oil (full review post here) as well as a couple of Glossier products (also reviewed in a full post here!) I also grabbed a Sephora Collection velour puff that I've been using lately. The samples were the Tom Ford primer and the Amika shampoo and conditioner. 

Manicure Monday - Bright Abstract Floral Nails

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

I received the Bio Sculpture polish as a PR sample

So, this week's manicure is one that I'm going to chalk up as "a manicure that looked better in my mind than on my fingers" - I was going for an abstract look with gold flowers in the middle, but they don't quite pop as much as I was hoping for! 

Five on Friday - May 12, 2023 ~ Funeral Songs for Dying Girls Book Review, Elliott's Soccer, New Succulents, Queer Eye Season 7, and Happy 9 Year Blogiversary!

Happy Friday everyone - I hope you all had a good week! 

ONE 

I received the book as part of the review program - this post contains affiliate links

Ahh - another great book by one of my favourite authors! I'm excited to share my thoughts on Funeral Songs for Dying Girls by Cherie Dimaline. We meet our main character Winifred when she is about to turn 16, so she's at a pretty vulnerable stage in her life, but she's also dealing with the grief of losing her mom and while also facing her father potentially losing his job and them being evicted from caretaker at the cemetery. But, Winifred's late night prowling at the cemetery may have started a rumour that the cemetery is haunted and she wants to find a way to use that to save her home.

Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Tinted Lip Oil in Joy - Try-on and Review

Oooh I've been so impressed with the products that I've been trying from Rare Beauty - it's been a brand that's taken me a bit to get on the bandwagon, but they are really growing on me and I'm a fan! 

I purchased this product on my own - this post contains affiliate links

Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez Soft Pinch Tinted Lip Oil in Joy ~ $26.00 CAN. An innovative gel-to-oil formula that starts glossy and leaves lips tinted while staying comfortable—never sticky—all day.

Monthly Beauty Favourites - April 2023

Here's a look at what I've been loving this past month:

The CurrentBody Skin was received as a PR sample - this post contains affiliate links

Last year I started just picking any number of products I'm loving, instead of trying to find 5 each month (which I did previously!) So, whatever number of products I'm loving, that's what I will be sharing. 

Manicure Monday - Easy Daisy Nail Art

Happy Manicure Monday - I hope you all had a good weekend! (I was home with a sick kid all weekend, but alas that's been my life the last couple of months, so nothing new!)

The OPI polish was received as a PR sample

For the past few years in May the #CBBxManiMonday group has always done florals for May (must be something about the "April Showers bring May Flowers thing - really I'm in Calgary, so April Snow makes way for May rain and June flowers, but it's still the beautiful month of Spring when things start to bud and bloom here!)

Skoah Zinc Lotion 30 Try-on and Review

It feels like a 30+ thing to be excited about sunscreen, but alas, here were are! (I mean really, everyone should be excited about SPF - don't make my mistakes and wreck havoc on your skin in your teens and 20s and then try and make up for it later on!)

So, on that note, I'm always excited to try and find my perfect sunscreen - I've got a few that I love, but as more brands are upping their skincare game and focusing on SPF, I'm always happy to try all different sunscreens! 

Five on Friday - Thrifting Finds, Month of Vegetarian/Pescatarian Meals, New Walmart Shoes, Poshmark Find, and Spring 2023 SampleSource

Happy Friday everyone - it's been a busy work week, so I'm happy it's the weekend! 

ONE 

I purchased everything in this post

Alright, the first Wednesday of the month has quickly become my favourite day to go thrifting! If you are in Calgary, then all the WINS locations does Customer Appreciation Days on the first Wednesday of the month, so you get 50% off all clothing and such so I always make a point to go! So, everything here cost me $39.50, all of the items except for two, were brand new with tags - the pink dress itself is regular priced $117! 

Monthly Reads - April 2023

I hope you all are enjoying all the book reviews, since it's just another hobby of mine, it's not going anywhere! I loved doing the Monthly Wrap-up last year to share mini reviews on all the books I've read each month! 

It could be a big range from 2 to 10 books depending on how much I read, but I figure I can share a little synopsis and quick thoughts on each book. I will still be doing more in depth reviews on books that really capture me! 

I purchased the books in this post - this post contains affiliate links

So, in April I read 9 books - a mix of genres from middle grade fantasy to adult mystery. I love most genres, and I really want to keep my reads diversified this year - I think I have been doing a great job of that so far! Also, I've been trying to read a mix of old and new books, so I'm working on that (I think it was more new books this month with a mix of a couple older ones in there!) I read 8 audio books, and 1 physical book. 

Manicure Monday - Neon Spring Floral Nails

Happy Manicure Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend and happy first day of May! 

The Biosculpture and OPI polish were received as a PR sample

For the past few years in May the #CBBxManiMonday group has always done florals for May (must be something about the "April Showers bring May Flowers thing - really I'm in Calgary, so April Snow makes way for May rain and June flowers, but it's still the beautiful month of Spring when things start to bud and bloom here!)