Manicure Monday - Matte Pastel Daisy Nails

Happy Manicure Monday - I hope you had a good weekend! 

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For the month of April the #CBBxManiMonday group is doing pastel nails - I always struggle a little with this month as I typically love bright and bold nails and I'm ready for our May theme which is always my favourite since it involves flowers, so I'm combining the two themes together! 

Five on Sunday - April 28, 2024 ~ Greek Mythology Retellings, Elliott Turned 7, Monster Mini Golf, Apple Creek Arcade and Strawberry Cupcakes

Happy Sunday everyone! I hope you all had a good week! 

ONE 

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I'm not someone who plans what they are reading each month, but I do love a theme and I've picked up a few books that are Greek Mythology retellings that I need to read soon, so I thought I'd share them with you! 

• Girl, Goddess, Queen by Bea Fitzgerald ~ I think this is more of a romantasy around Hades and Persephone - it's actually not something I've read any retellings of so I'm excited - I picked up a gorgeous copy from Waterstones too! 
• Lore by Alexandra Bracken ~ This is a past Owlcrate book and it's not quite a retelling, but instead a twist with 9 greek gods forced to walk the Earth as mortals every 7 years as punishment and are hunted during that time! 
• Threads That Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou ~ This is another Owlcrate book and it's based on the Greek Fates and their descendants - each can control people's threads! 
• Atalanta by Jennifer Saint ~ This is a retelling of Atalanta, the only woman in the band of heroes, The Argonauts!  

What's your favourite retelling?! 

Manicure Monday - Shimmery Pink Unicorn Nails

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

I purchased everything in this post

For the month of April the #CBBxManiMonday group is doing pastel nails - I always struggle a little with this month as I typically love bright and bold nails, but when I saw this shimmery purple I knew it would pair perfectly with a pastel pink so I looove how these turned out! 

Five on Saturday - April 20, 2024 ~ The Night Circus Vintage Quarterbound Classic Edition, Orchard YYC Restaurant, Crucial Conversations Course, Poshmark Order, and Taylor Swift Tortured Poets Department

Happy Saturday - I hope you all had a great week! 

ONE 

I purchased everything in this post

I just got this brand new gorgeous Vintage Quarterbound Classic Edition of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - it's gorgeous! As this is my very favourite book, I'm so glad it's being referred to a classic - it's such a stunning edition. It is only available in the UK right now, but Blackwell's offers free shipping to Canada in their prices! 

Manicure Monday - Essie Spring Apricot Jelly Nails

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

I purchased everything in this post

For the month of April, the #CBBxManiMonday group we always do Pastel and Easter nails - I've been loving the pastel polishes this moth, so that's typically what I'm sticking with. 

Five on Sunday - April 14, 2024 ~ Weekend Update, Science Centre, April Most Anticipated Books, Blurb 2022 Yearbook, and A Little Instagram Fun

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

ONE 

I don't usually get to share a weekend update on these since I'm supposed to write them on Fridays! But, Friday was my husband and I's 12th Dating Anniversary, so we had a good dinner and enjoyed a glass of wine! Then, Saturday we had a retirement party for my Uncle and today was just a beautiful to enjoy the weather! 

TWO

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This past weekend, we went to the Telus Spark Science Centre - we always have a blast there! The latest exhibits that they have on right now are DaVinci (which was great) and the digital immersion gallery that is all about space exploration and NASA. So well done! 

Revlon Illuminance Serum Tint & Gel Serum Blush - Swatches and Review

I have been swapping to the drugstore lately and I've been really impressed with what they have to offer at affordable prices! So, when I saw Revlon was releasing a few products in this Illuminance line, I knew that I had to try them out. 

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I actually don't typically go for a glowy look or overly oily/shiny skin, but I thought with these being really skincare focused that they might have some good balance for my skin! 

Manicure Monday - Tutti Frutti Dotticure

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

I purchased these products

For the month of April, the #CBBxManiMonday group is doing pastel manis - I love this fun mixed glitter polish with a light pastel base so I knew I wanted it to use it this month! It's super pretty and the Insta-Dri polishes are amazing for when I need a quick mani! 

Monthly Beauty Favourites ~ March 2024

Here's what I've been loving the past month:

The Skin Proud and XO were received as PR samples

Nails Inc Mani Marker in White ~ $12.99 CAN.You don’t have to paint it like the pros to try out these mani markers. Bring your nail art ideas to life, from simple to complicated designs. Turn your nails into the ultimate canvas in just a few minutes. 

I've used this in a couple mains now and I really like! It paints on really easy and exactly how you want it - my only tip is to make sure your polish underneath is totally dry! It's a great alternative to nail art polishes with really long brushes that have a little less control! 

Monthly Beauty and Book Haul ~ March 2024

Back in 2022, I set a monthly beauty and books budget at $200 per month and I've been pretty good about sticking 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! 

ELF Cosmetics Order ~ $44.00 CAN. I've been waiting to do this haul for a little while - I'm excited to try the clicky lip balms so I picked up two! I also picked up the liquid blush brush so I can try out the Camp brush. Also, ELF appears to be one of the only brands to still make brush cleaner so I picked up a couple! I haven't tried anything yet since I am slow right now!

Five on Friday - April 5, 2024 ~ After The Forest Book Review, Month of Vegetarian/Pescatarian Meals, Easter, Weekend at the Cabin, and New Makeup Bag

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

ONE 

I purchased everything in this post

I just talked about my March books on yesterday's post; but, After The Woods by Kell Woods still deserves it's own post because I really enjoyed it! This is an adult fantasy/fairytale retelling. This was a Hansel and Gretel "retelling" but set 15 years or so in the future when Hans is squandering the family money and Greta is baking some magical gingerbread to keep their family afloat. While the village folks are starting to question if she is a witch and the ruling people are looking to collect more money, Greta isn't sure what she should do. There are also dangerous creatures lurking around - wolves and bears in the forest nearby and the lines are blurred on what is good and evil. I loved the twists, the sentient book, the magic types, the potential romance. This focused very much in the beginning of characters and ambience and the plot really picked up in the second half and I enjoyed it!

Monthly Reads ~ March 2023

Time for a look at my March Monthly reads! Each month I share a quick look at the books that I've read with a little synopsis and my rating - anything that I love or is really intriguing, I will share a more in depth review on a different post! 

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So, in February I read 8 books with a mix of genres from true crime to YA horror. I love most genres, and I really want to keep my reads diversified this year! Also, I've been trying to read a mix of old and new books, and this month I'm right down the middle which is perfect! 

Manicure Tuesday - Easter Mini Egg Nails

Happy Manicure Tuesday everyone! 

I purchased these nail polishes

Can you believe it's already April?! It was just Easter and so for April the #CBBxManiMonday group usually does a mixture of pastel and Easter nails, so I'm doing a combination of both today!