Five on Friday - October 25, 2024 ~ Calgary Farmyard, The Pumpkin Spice Cafe Book Review, Calgary First Responders Run, Make Me A Mixtape Book Review, and

Happy Friday everyone - I hope you all have a great week! 

ONE 

Make Me A Mixtape was received as a review copy 

This past weekend we enjoyed a little pumpkin patch at the Calgary Farmyard - it was so much fun! There was so many great activities for us and the kids and the weather was fantastic. It's been a great Fall here in Calgary! 

Five on Friday - October 18, 2024 ~ Thanksgiving at the Cabin, Jillian Harris x Joe Fresh Sweaters, Spooky Halloween Classic Reads, Oreo Coca Cola, and Somewhere Beyond The Sea Pre-order

Happy Friday everyone - I hope you had a great week! 

ONE 

I purchased everything in this post

We spent the Thanksgiving weekend at the cabin with our family - it was a beautiful, quiet weekend that was so relaxing! I read a whole book, did lots of scrapbooking and enjoyed the weekend! 

Five on Friday - October 11, 2024 ~ The Crescent Moon Tearoom Book Review, Alberta Larches and Aurora Borealis, October Anticipated Reads and Calgary Police Run

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

ONE 

This book was received as a review copy

Happy to share my thoughts on The Crescent Moon Tearoom by Stacy Sivinski - what a perfect cozy witchy book for the Fall. We find ourselves in the Cresent Moon Tearoom, that our three sisters own - all triplets that can read the future. But they find out someone may have put a curse on them to try and separate them at the same time the Witch's Counsel gives them a difficult task. The sisters are finding their own paths and are finding it harder to stay together - a book about family with distinct characters and magic! Great read! 4 stars. 

Monthly Reads ~ September 2024

Time for a look at my September 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! 

I purchased everything in this post

So, in September I read 10 books with a mix of genres from dark fiction to cozy mystery. 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 had a good mix of both! 

Monthly Beauty and Book Haul ~ September 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! 

Well Order ~ $95.80 CAN. I love Wet n Wild's big collections and used to order a ton of them - I've chilled out, but when I saw a whole Nightmare Before Christmas Collection, I could not resist picking up so many goodies to try! Can't wait to review these soooon! 

Five on Friday - September 20, 2024 ~ Heartless Hunter Book Review, Cozy Fall Reads, Briefest View of the Northern Lights, Cupshe Dresses, and Mexx at Walmart

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

ONE

The Crecsent Moon Tearoom was received as a review copy

Another amazing book review to share with you - Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli was a 4.5 star for me! This is a young adult romantasy that had me hooked and kept me up late wanting to know what happened next! It doesn't get any more high stakes and enemies to lovers than a witch hunter falling in love with the Witch he is hunting and her putting herself in that position. I loved the tension and there was so much going on with the characters. I cannot wait to read the second one!

Five on Friday - September 13, 2024 ~ Never Whistle At Night Book Review, September Most Anticipated Books, Porcupine in the Wild, Sunflowers, and Bissell Little Green Machine

Happy Friday everyone - hope you had a great week! And, happy Friday the 13th! 

ONE 

I purchased everything in this post

Another great book to share - Never Whistle At Night by a variety of indigenous authors, 4 stars. This is an Indigenous horror and dark fiction anthology - I've always said I sometimes struggle with short stories and ambiguous endings, but when it's explained by means of cultural teachings and leaving it up to the listener, I can be a little more accepting even though I typically like my stories wrapped up nicely.

Five on Friday - September 6, 2024 ~ Experienced Book Review, August Month of Vegetarian/Pescatarian Meals, Costco Plant and Top, and One Night Ultimate Vampire

Happy Friday everyone - and happy Back to School week for the kids! My little guy went off to Grade 2 and my oldest went to College this week! 

ONE

Experienced was sent as a review copy

Time for another great book review - Experienced by Kate Young, 4 stars! This was a good, easy romance read. We meet our main character, newly out, whose girlfriend decides that she wants her to take a 3 month break so she can go experience the dating scene before settling down. Of course, it doesn't go to plan, but our main character does discover herself, friendships and perhaps love along the way!

Monthly Reads ~ August 2024

Time for a look at my August 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! 

I purchased everything in this post

So, in August I read 10 books with a mix of genres from adult romance to YA fantasy. 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 had a good mix of both! 

I read 3 physical books and listened to 6 audiobooks and read 1 e-book. Here's a quick look at all the books I read in the past month:

Monthly Beauty and Book Haul ~ August 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! 

Amazon Blush Finds ~ $31.64 CAN. I was so excited for these Maybelline Sunkissed blushes and they are more available now, but were only available on Amazon at the start of the month. I picked up 2 shades - a bronzy one and a brighter yellow and the formula is fantastic! Hoping to have a review up soon! 

Five on Friday - August 30, 2024 ~ Book Club, 9th Anniversary Hike - Ha Ling Peak, New Fit Bit and Walking Pad, and The Last Hunt

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

ONE 

I purchased everything in this post

This past weekend was Book Club and it was a blast! We went to Vacation Brewery and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine and chat books! The book we read was 84, Charing Cross Road which was a non-fiction quick novella read! 

Five on Friday - August 23, 2024 ~ Wayward Series Book Review, The Calgary Zoo, The Big Bounce, Troll Falls Hike, and PSL Season

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

ONE 

I purchased everything in this post

New book series review for you - the Wayward Children series books 1-3 by Seanan McGuire (Be Sure is a bind up of the first 3 books in the series!) If you like weird adventure stories that get a little dark, these novellas series set around children who have traveled to portal worlds is a must read!

Book 1 is Every Heart A Doorway - we meet our main characters at a boarding school for children from portal worlds all waiting to return, but they start dying off - it's a bit of a whodunnit to figure out who is hurting the children. Book 2 is Down Among the Sticks and Bones and it is Jack and Jill's portal story - starts with their sad childhood that leads to them finding the door. They go down to a dark world with a vampire prince and a mad scientist. Book 3 is Beneath the Sugar Sky has us back at the boarding school meeting a mermaid and a daughter of a past student who is dead. They have to travel to a nonsense world to put all the pieces back together!

Five on Friday - August 16, 2024 ~ The Spellshop Book Review, Auction Finds, Monopoly Bid, Dollar Store Finds, and New TV Watches - Too Hot To Handle and Dirty Pop

Happy Five on Friday - I hope you all had a great week! 

ONE 

I purchased everything in this post

I am always excited to review a great book and The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst is a great, cute, cozy fantasy novel! It takes place as our main character is fleeing an uprising in the city and she gets on her boat with some spell books she wants to keep safe and her helper, a sentient spider plant. With nowhere else to go, she flees to her home island where she plans on staying to herself so no one should find out what she has. But of course, there are neighbors and people start showing up in the island so they have to band together and make a living! It was a great story! 4.5 stars. 

Five on Friday - August 9, 2024 ~ Sheep River Falls, July Month of Vegetarian/Pescatarian Meals, Summer Romance Reads, YYC Icecream Fest, and August Most Anticipated Books

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

ONE 

I purchased everything in this post

This past weekend we took a family drive out to Sheep River Falls - it's a such a gorgeous drive and the falls were beautiful. The family actually swam in the water and it was so cold it hurt, but they had fun! It's a beautiful spot in South Kananaskis to check out! 

Monthly Beauty and Book Haul ~ July 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! 

Indigo Preorder ~ $27.55 CAN. This book was so gorgeous and sounded so good - I had to put in a preorder to make sure I got those beautiful purple edges! 

Monthly Reads ~ July 2024

Time for a look at my July 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! 

I purchased everything in this post

So, in July I read 6 books with a mix of genres from adult romance to YA fantasy. 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, but this month was mostly new books! 

I read 3 physical books and listened to 3 audiobooks. Here's a quick look at all the books I read in the past month:

Monthly Beauty and Book Haul ~ June 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! 

Walmart Order ~ $36.13 CAN. I was super excited to try these bronzing drops from Lottie London and I've heard amazing things about the Milani Lip Stain - I can't wait to try these both soon! I have used the LA Colors Crackle Top Coat - you can see my review here! 

Five on Sunday - July 7, 2024 ~ Penticton, B.C. Trip, The Enchanted Forest, Amazon Shirt Find, Monopoly Deal, and July Most Anticipated Books

Happy Sunday everyone - hope you all had a great week! 

ONE 

I purchased everything in this post

Over the long weekend, the boys and I went and visited our family in Penticton - it was beautiful out, we had a ton of fun! I went wine tasting with my brother, sister, husband and oldest son - it was a blast as usual and we had a great visit! 

Monthly Reads ~ June 2024

Time for a look at my June 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! 

I purchased everything in this post

So, in June I read 9 books with a mix of genres from adult romance to YA fantasy. 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 pretty close to that! 

Five on Friday - June 28, 2024 ~ This Summer Will Be Different Book Review, Carley Fortune Book Event, June Month of Vegetarian/Pescatarian Meals, Olay Sample, and Perfect Match

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

ONE 

I purchased everything in this post

I love bringing in new book review and This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune was fantastic! 4.5 stars - this was such fun Summer romance! This is the third Carley Fortune book I've read and they just keep getting better and better! This had an amazing PEI setting and it makes me want to go back for sure. The premise is that our main character has a worldwind night on the island, until she finds out it was her best friend's brother and now she's trying to stay away - their tension is amazing and the friendships are so great. Our best friends are keeping some secrets from each other and that part was a little tough, but it adds to the layers of this book!