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! 

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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 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! 

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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. 

Five on Friday - October 4, 2024 ~ Wedding at the Fairmont Palliser, Devonian Gardens, September Month of Vegetarian/Pescatarian Meals, September Maniology x Me Express Kit, and Virtual Bookclub

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

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I purchased everything in this post

This past weekend my cousin got married at the Fairmont Palliser and it was such a stunning wedding - a gorgeous venue and what a beautiful night! But, I love when we get all dressed up and we had a great night! 

Five on Friday - September 27, 2024 ~ Boston Pizza Kids Card, Amazon Dress Find, Beakerhead, The Rec Room, and Funny Catman Attempt

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

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I purchased everything in this post

Have you guys heard of the BP's Kids Cards?! Right now for a $5 donation you get a card that gives you 5 free kids meals (with the purchase of an adult meal), but still a great deal. BP's is Elliott's favourite restaurant, so we picked one up for sure - quick easy meal out is perfect for us here and there! You can get them in store, but if you are interested you can get a digital card too - check them out here! 

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! 

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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 - 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! 

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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! 

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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 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! 

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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! 

Five on Friday - July 19, 2024 ~ Activate, Science Centre Bugs and Bytes, Sandals, Hand Held Fan, and Vacation Time!

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

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I purchased everything in this post

I think I've shared Activate before, but it's so much fun - me and Kayla went and ran around for 90 minutes and had such a blast. There is so really from rooms: the laser, the throwing, the big grid - it's all a blast! 

Five on Friday - July 12, 2024 ~ Calgary Stampede, Pancake Breakfasts, Peonies, Stampede Shirt, and Heat Wave

Happy Friday everyone - I hope you all had a great week! It's been busy here, but a fun week! 

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I purchased everything in this post

It's Stampede time! Yahoo! I went with my sister in law and a cousin to Stampede and we had a blast - I had pickle pizza, dunkaroo mini donuts, and had so much fun! It's been such a hot week, but it's always a crazy, busy day! 

Calgary Birthday Freebies 2024 - Ultimate List of 25 + Free Gifts

If you followed along on my birthday (yes a while back), you remember that I made it my mission to get as many totally free birthday items as I possibly could and am FINALLY reporting on my full list of items I got in Calgary! 

I started my day with my first freebie at 6:00 a.m. so I could get a whole bunch in before and after work - I highly recommend picking out a few things or go for them all! Some you will need rewards apps for and others you can show your ID - I will do my best to share what you need as well! 

Let's start with Food & Drink items:

Denny's Free Grandslam Breakfast 

This is one of the easiest - simply dine in with your photo identification for a totally free Grandslam breakfast of your choice! I built my own here with eggs, hashbrown, pancakes, eggs and toast! 

Five on Saturday - May 4, 2024 ~ April Book Club, Month of Vegetarian/Pescatarian Meals, Engine 23 in Calgary Library, Maverick's Donuts, and Fallout

Happy Saturday everyone - I hope you all had a good week! Mine has been so crazy but I have a very relaxing weekend planned! 

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I purchased everything in this post

Last weekend was our Calgareads Book Club meet up - in April we discussed the book Breasts and Eggs - it wasn't a book I could finish, but I always enjoy our bookish chats and catching up with a great group! We spent the afternoon on the patio at Mardaloop Brewery and it was great! 

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 

I purchased everything in this post

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?! 

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! 

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! 

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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! 

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I purchased everything in this post

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! 

Five on Friday - March 29, 2024 ~ Grape Escape, Wilfred Twirl Pleated Skirt, Ricki's Clothing Haul, Amazon Bodysuit, and Old Navy Haul

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

ONE 

I purchased everything in this post

This past weekend we went to Grape Escape - it's put on by Co-op and it's sampling of everything that they are selling! I had lots of wine and snacks and we had a great night out with our family! 

Five on Friday - March 15, 2024 ~ Divine Rivals & Ruthless Vows Book Reviews, Urban Planet Finds, WINS Thrifting Finds, ReGrub Nerd It Out Milkshake and WTF Is Up With The Royal Family

Happy Friday and happy weekend! I have been so behind on my blogging if you've noticed these are a little delayed! 

ONE

I purchased everything in this post

This duology is beautiful inside and out - Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows! This is a YA fantasy duology with a great romance in it! Waring gods and enchanted typewriters add great tension to this series! This focuses on our main characters, Iris and Roman as they are competing journalists in the same company vying for the same job. They come from very different worlds, where Iris is struggling with a brother at war and a mother in the throws of addiction, while Roman is from a well-off family looking at an arranged marriage. They find a connection through magical typewriters, where only Roman knows her identity. The war is two old rival Gods who have awoken and are calling civilians to pick sides and fight for them.

Five on Friday - March 8, 2024 ~ A Girl Called Echo Omnibus Book Review, Mirror Mirror Experience, March Most Anticipated Reads, Blurb Italy Photobook, and Howl's Moving Castle

Happy Friday everyone - I hope you all had a god week! I can't describe how busy I've been the past few weeks and I'm looking forward to a chill weekend! 

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A Girl Called Echo was received as a review copy

I always love sharing my favourite reads, and I'm happy to share A Girl Called Echo Omnibus by Katherena Vermette - this is a bind up of the 4 graphic novels in this young adult historical fiction graphic novel series. In this series, we meet Echo, a young girl separated from her mother, thrown in to a new school and environment where she doesn't fit in. While in her history class learning about Metis history she is compelled to know more about her history and her people and we learn the history first hand as Echo is transported to big milestone events in Canadian history surrounding Metis people - in four volumes, the Pemmican Wars, Red River Resitance, Northwest Resitance and the Road Allowance Era.

For me, this wasn't history I learned in school, and while I've tried to learn more about Canadian history, there was still plenty in this book that I didn't know and I think it's an important story to be told about generations that are separated but still affected by their past.

Five on Saturday - March 2, 2024 ~ Fairytale Retellings Books, YYC Hot Chocolate Fest, Month of Vegetarian/Pescatarian Meals, February Bookclub, and Love is Blind Season 6

Happy Saturday everyone - coming in a little late again (this might be my new normal while I'm juggling two jobs, I feel like free time is not coming easy!) I hope you all had a good week! 

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

I'm not a huge reading planner, but I do love a theme and I've picked up a few books that are Fairytale Retellings that I need to read asap, so I thought I'd share them with you! 

• How To Be Eaten by Maria Adelmann ~ This is a few fairytale survivors coming together in a basement support group sharing their stories - I love that concept of the dingy group meeting and sharing of stories! 
• Spindle Fire by Lexa Hillyer ~ A sleeping beauty retelling with twin sisters who have each had a sense taken away from them and then everything changes! 
• After The Forest by Kell Woods ~ This takes place 20 years after the witch in the gingerbread house and Greta is using the witch's recipe to keep her family afloat but dark magic is coming back - this sounds great! 
• The Forest Grimm by Kathryn Purdie ~ This one has our main character plunging in to the Forest Grimm to procure a magical book and reverse the curse placed on her. This one looks like a Red Riding Hood, but might have more than one fairytale twist! 

What's your favourite retelling? 

Five on Saturday - February 24, 2024 - Maude Horton's Glorious Revenge Book Review, Activate Calgary, Polar Plunge Calgary, Calgary Zoo YYC Hot Chocolate Fest and Monthly Declutter

Happy Saturday everyone! I hope you all had a good week! It was crazy busy for me, but good! 

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The book was received as a review copy - this post contains affiliate links

Maude Horton's Glorious Revenge by Lizzie Pook is a little different than what I typically pick up - it's a historical fiction with a little murder mystery twist! We follow Maude who is trying to find out how her sister died while posing as a ship boy out at sea on an arctic expedition. We follow Maude in the current trying to track down the murderer and eventually plotting her revenge on the murderer. We also follow her sister's journal that she wrote while out at sea and it helps solve the mystery. I thought the story started out a tad slow, but really picked up and I couldn't wait to see how her revenge worked out! It was a little dark too and I enjoyed this! 4 star read for me!