This & That Fridays – October 2

I was going to start this post off talking about how I can’t believe it’s Friday yet again but I just did that last week and I feel like I say that a lot, whether it’s about another week being gone, or a new month or whatever.  So, instead I’m going to talk about how it’s October and it definitely feels like fall!  The weather here has cooled off, the leaves have turned and started falling off the trees and we’ve packed away our patio furniture and cleaned out the flower pots.  A little sad but I also love  October, November & December.  There’s (Canadian) Thanksgiving, Halloween and Christmas; good food; parties; time with family and friends; and no excuses needed for putting on cozy sweatpants and hoodies after work.  🙂

Apparently flare jeans are making a comeback. Sigh.  I just got comfortable wearing skinnies.  However I loved flare jeans for a very long time, well after they were no longer “in style” so I’m not all that disappointed.  Plus I feel like they are much more flattering on my shape.  I prefer a more subtle flare like these ones from Paige Denim.

I recently picked up this necklace and I cannot wait to wear it!  Fossil always has such great quality costume jewellery (BTW I got an extra 40% off that price!) 🙂

I recently watched Makeup Geek’s video about determining your undertone.  I already knew that I was cool-toned, but I learned some things that I didn’t know, like apparently I should be wearing a warm-toned blush!  Video here.

I was the biggest N’Sync fan back in the day – still holding out hope that some day, they’ll reunite and do a world tour. #humorme  This Buzzfeed article was successful in making me feel extremely old.  Seriously, 20 years?  Those pictures sure are a blast from the past…how embarrassing for them.  And me, I guess…

Lastly, if you need some guidance on how to properly enjoy the fall season, this Siberian Husky can show you how it’s done.

As per usual, I’m behind on posts.  But I’m determined to get a bunch written up this weekend so expect to see my e.l.f. haul, Boston travel diary and Birchbox creation posts written and posted this weekend.  Wish me luck because I’m going to need it.  Professional procrastinator here…

Have a great weekend!

This & That Fridays – September 25

Happy Friyay!  I hope everyone had a great week.  I can’t believe we are heading into the last few days of September – where did the month go?  I feel like it flew by faster than usual.

It’s now officially Fall, which means it’s sweater-season!  Personally I like wearing sweaters and other fall/winter clothes for about a month and then I want to go back to wearing flip flops and t-shirts.  Regardless, how adorable is this version courtesy of Ricki’s?

If you haven’t yet heard, adult coloring books are all the rage!  I picked up this one from Costco recently and I’m really liking it!  I do a little bit each night before I go to bed and I find it helps me relax and clear my mind.  Until I color outside the lines that is.

If you’re a fan of Bath & Body Works, I’m sure you’ve already determined which are your favorite scents from their Fall line.  My favorite?  Pumpkin Pecan Waffles!  So far all I have is the hand sanitizer but I kind of want to eat it, it smells so good (I won’t).  Need the 3-wick candle and hand soap now.

The Muppets debuted a new prime time show this week and I haven’t had a chance to watch it yet but I can’t wait to.  The first episode is called Pig Girls Don’t Cry (bahaha – my kind of humor!)  The Muppet Show was one of my favorites when I was a kid and and while that obviously can’t be duplicated, I’m excited to see what this is like.

I know it’s still September but my favorite holiday is inching closer and closer – Halloween!  I have a large collection of decorations for outside of my house and now I want to add to my small collection of inside decorations.  Pier 1 always has cool, albeit expensive, stuff!  Loving this Glow in the Dark Ornament Tree, this Skeleton Hand Serving Bowl and this sign, which is highly appropriate for me BTW.  Crossing my fingers for a 20% coupon…

One of my favorite fall recipes is the Pioneer Woman’s Beef Drip Sandwiches.  Technically these can be made at any time of the year but because it involves an oven, I always make it when it’s cooler outside.  I’ve been making this recipe for years and I assure you it’s absolutely delicious. Perfect for football Sundays and it’s so simple!   I always make the version with the pepperoncini peppers but I might have to give the basic recipe out sometime soon too.

Lastly, I did my nails last night in Essie’s Merino Cool which is my go-to fall color every year.  The formula on this polish is perfect, two coats and you’re done which I always appreciate.

And that’s it for this week!  Have a wonderful weekend and as always, thanks for reading!

This & That Fridays

 

So I’ve decided to add a new weekly post to my blog.  It’ll be called This & That Fridays and it’s basically just going to be sharing whatever I enjoyed/saw/tried/did over the last week.

Lately I’ve been feeling that my posts are pretty long-winded.  So I’ll be keeping these posts short and sweet and relaxed – perfect for Fridays.  Because these are so simple and quick to write, I’m going to commit to doing them EVERY Friday (#noprocrastinationallowed).   So I hope you enjoy them!

Now, on to post #1!

I made this Sun-dried Tomato Pasta recipe this week and it was delicious!  I made a few modifications – substituted plain greek yogurt for the cream, did a quick blend of the sun-dried tomatoes into the sauce (not the point where they were fully blended, just so they were in smaller chunks) and used a basil and tomato chicken sausage instead of the suggested andouille sausage.  It’s a relatively easy one so I’ll be adding this to my recipe rotation for sure.

♥

My new favourite drink from Starbucks is the Cinnamon Dolce Hot Chocolate.  I can’t drink coffee or caffeinated tea (gives me the shakes!) and the chilly weather we’ve been experiencing lately has me gravitating towards warm drinks in the morning.  I get it non-fat and no whip and it’s not too sweet or too rich.  I see they also sell the mix in store, might have to give that a try for when I’m craving one at home.

♥

When I was in New York a few weeks ago, I treated myself to my very first Kate Spade handbag. I’ve been eyeing it for months and waiting for it go on sale.  And so far, I’m really liking it!  The colour is so vibrant and bright and I love the girly bow on the front.  It makes me happy!

♥

I’m sure you’ve heard/seen that Sephora released their holiday box sets…and there are many enticing options.  Coveting this and this.

♥

I need some ideas to store my make up brushes – I’m loving this idea via Pinterest.  Time to hit up Dollarama and Michaels!

♥

Speaking of weekend, I cannot wait to sleep in and relax!  I literally had the week from hell.  Work was extremely stressful, as were some personal things going on in my life right now that were also stress-inducing.  I can’t wait to forget about it all for 2 glorious days…

♥

And on that note, I think I’ll sign off.  Feel free to share your faces of the week with me!  And have a great weekend!

Favorite things – Summer 2015

 

Happy Sunday!

It feels like the summer is just flying by – I can’t believe next week is the last week of July!  August always feels like the wind down of summer to me, which is sad!  In the spirit of summer, I thought I’d put together a list of my favorite products of the season.  Some of these products I actually own and love and you may remember seeing in some of my previous posts!  Others I either want and intend to purchase before summer ends, or I have something similar.

1) LeSportsac Hailey Tote (Joy Print): I’ve been eyeing LeSportsac’s bags for a while and I’m absolutely in love with the print on this one.  I”m in need of a new beach bag and while I feel this is a bit pricey, I feel like it would be worth it.  So pretty!

2) Margaritaville Fiji Frozen Drink Maker: We “invested” in one of these a few years ago and have had absolutely zero regrets.  I love the convenience of making restaurant quality slushy drinks at home….something which can be a blessing and a curse! #glugglug

3) Zoya – Lola Nail Polish: This polish is a bright neon pink with a hint of a blueish/purpleish duocrome and its absolutely gorgeous.  This is my go-to polish for my toes for summer as I love how bright and fun this is.

4) The Angel Sleep Tee by Victoria’s Secret: I tend to get really hot at night, especially in the summer, so light sleepwear is a preference of mine.  I own at least a half-dozen of these sleep tees because they are so soft, light and comfortable, and perfect for those hot summer nights!

5) Sun Bum SPF 30 Coconut Lip Balm: I’ve mentioned how much I love this previously – this is my go-to summer lip balm for the beach or pool.  It smells amazing and is super moisturizing!

6) DL Denim 1961 Florence Cropped Jean: I purchased a pair of DL Denim cropped jeans from Winners a few months ago and I’ve been in love with them ever since.  They are the only pair of jeans that I’ve ever owned that are stretchy without stretching out and are so comfortable.  I paid a lot less for them than the ones I’ve linked here, but I honestly could easily justify the full price of these because the quality is just so great.  Also I love cropped denim for casual Fridays at the office; shorts fall outside of the dress code so these are a great alternative, plus they keep me a little cooler than just regular old jeans.  A summer staple for me for sure!

7) Fossil Everleigh Cat Eye Sunglasses: I’ve purchased many a pair of sunglasses from Fossil because they take a licking and keep on ticking!  Plus they always have great classic styles like these!

8) Bobbi Brown Beach Fragrance: This smells amazing and exactly like summer!  I’ve seen the rollerball version at Sephora and it’s on my shopping list for my next trip in!

9) Bath & Body Works True Blue Spa Heel of Approval Cracked Heel Treatment: I’m prone to dry, cracked heels, and they get particularly bad during sandal season. I’ve been using this on my heels at night and I wake up seeing a definite difference!  Now if only I could remember to do this on a consistent basis!

10) Lake Louise Breeze Poured Glass Scented Candle: Indigo always has such a great selection of fun seasonal items and their candles are no exception.  I love how these candles are designed with some notable Canadian locations in mind and given that I’m an Albertan, I can’t help but desire the one named after one of the most beautiful places in the world. ❤

11) Vaseline Spray & Go Cocoa Radiant Moisturizer: I’ve used the cream version of the cocoa moisturizer and I loved it.  The spray version seems like it’d be a great time saver on weekday mornings!

12) Reef Twisted Stars Flip Flops: I never get as many compliments on my shoes as I do when I wear these.  The little bit of sparkle in these really makes them stand out and appear fancier (as fancy as flip-flops can be) than they are.  And they are so comfy!  Reef is my go-to for good quality, comfortable and stylish flip-flops.

13) Express Blue Floral Cami Sundress: This is the perfect summer sundress and I have 2 of them (one black and the other in this blue floral print).  The cut is super flattering and it looks great topped with a denim jacket or cardi as the nights get a little cooler.

Thanks for reading!

Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award

While I was on vacation, I was nominated for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award by theStephanieStory!  Thank you Stephanie for nominating me for my first award! 🙂  Please go and check out her blog – lots of good beauty tips, especially in regards to skincare!

The Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award recognizes the unique voices of women bloggers around the world.

Here are the rules:

• Thank and link the blogger who nominated you.
• Answer the 10 questions your nominator has provided.
• Nominate 10 other bloggers.
• Create 10 questions for your nominees and notify them of their nomination.

On to the questions:

1. Name one make-up / beauty product that you could not live without.  Mascara by far.  I’m still searching for my all-time favourite, but lately I’ve been really liking Maybelline’s The Colossal Volum’ Express.
2. Where is your dream travelling destination?  Hmmm this is a hard one.  I’d have to say staying in an over-water bungalow in Tahiti.
3. What is your all-time-most-memorable-song?  I Knew I Loved You by Savage Garden.  Our wedding song!
4. Who is your real-life most inspiring character? (actresses/ politicians/ businessmen, etc) and Why?  Another tough one!  I’d have to go with Malala Yousafzai.  She’s an education activist from Pakistan who was shot in the face by the Taliban and lived to survive.  Read more about her here.  Anyone who has gone through what she’s gone through and continues to fight for what she believes in is inspiring to me! ❤
5. What is your beauty secret?  Using conditioner before shampoo!  I find this makes my fine hair less greasy and less frizzy.  I don’t know why but it works!  For my hair at least.
6. Name your favourite make-up brands.  Urban Decay; L’Oreal; Bare Minerals; Maybelline; NYX
7. What is your favourite me-time activity? A warm bubble bath, a glass of wine and a good book or my iPad so I can browse Pinterest or catch up on my favourite bloggers and Youtubers!
8. At what age did you start your first make-up?  I want to say 16.
9. What did you do last weekend?  I was in Vegas!  🙂
10. What are the most current beauty / skincare products you purchased?  I just bought a bunch of Bare Minerals and NYX products, a new Maybelline eyeshadow which I’m loving!

I’d like to nominate:

1. Beauty, East Coast Style
2. thepinkimpact
3. A New Side of Beauty
4. Milli Liza
5. Naturally Dreamy
6. Sugar Coated Sweetness
7. Makeup and Macaroni
8. half n half
9. Lippie Obsession
10. Laauraborealis 

Here are my questions:

1. What’s one thing that your followers may not know about you?

2. What’s your favourite movie of all time?

3.  When it comes to cosmetics, do you prefer drugstore or high-end?  Why?

4.  In your opinion, what’s the best and worst thing about writing a blog?

5. What’s your favourite piece of clothing that’s currently in your closet?

6.  If you could only eat 3 things for the rest of your life, what would they be?

7.  Name something you know you’re really good at and something you know you could improve on.

8. List the one beauty product (skin care, hair care or cosmetic) that has changed your life.

9.  Name the most memorable place you’ve ever travelled and why (was it so memorable).

10.  Who’s your style icon?

If you’ve previously been nominated for this award, or if you’re just not interested, please feel free to ignore my nomination.

Thanks for reading!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Wishing all Mothers, but particularly my mom,  a wonderful, beautiful day!

Enjoy!

Weekend Recap – April 28

A little late in posting this one…I hope you had a good Monday (#oxymoron) and a great weekend!  Mine was somewhat uneventful.  I didn’t do much at all but there were a bunch of things I could have and should have done…such as organize my closet, clean out my basement, rake my yard.  Maybe next weekend…

One thing I did do was head to Sephora to return those Cover FX drops which didn’t work for me (see post on this here).  While I was in there picked up a couple foundation samples.  I’m currently wearing Estee Lauder’s Double Wear Light Foundation and while I like it, I don’t love it.  I’ve almost finished the bottle so I thought I’d take an opportunity to see if there’s something better out there.  The sales clerk at Sephora gave me samples of Clinque’s Super Balanced Makeup and Lancome Teint Idole Ultra 24 H Foundation.  The price of the Lancome foundation scares me ($50) and I hate liquid makeup in glass bottles but I’m willing to give both of these a try.  I’ll let you know how they work for me.

I also snuck into Shoppers Drug Mart and spent some time scanning their makeup aisle and impulsively purchased Rimmel’s BB Radiance Cream. I’ve never tried a BB cream before and this was on sale for $7.99. So far I have to say I’m impressed.  The BB cream was kind of a scary colour when I first applied it but once blended I actually find it to be a really close match to my skin tone.  I also picked up a Stay Matte Pressed Powder for $7.99 and a bottle of Lasting Finish Foundation for $8.99 (can’t find this on their website so now I’m wondering if this has been discontinued?). I’ve been testing the BB cream with the Rimmel Stay Matte Primer I picked up last weekend and I’m liking this combination.  Even moreso when I set it all with the Stay Matte Pressed Powder.  I want to give this trio a try for at least a couple of weeks before I review it, so stay tuned for that.

Lastly, yesterday I had a craving for some chocolate chip cookies. I had a bunch of semi-sweet chocolate chips in my pantry and  I came across this Betty Crocker recipe online, so I thought I’d whip up a batch. I prefer chewy cookies rather than crisp ones and these delivered.  The only thing I didn’t like was that they were a little flat.  Next time I make these I’ll try substituting the baking soda for baking powder as apparently that can make a difference.

Wishing you a great week!

 

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Weekend recap – April 20

Happy Monday!  I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!  I was lucky enough to have a 3 day weekend so I feel a little more refreshed than usual and not too cranky about it being Monday again!

I spent my Friday at the shopping mall.  I spent waaaay too much money but I’m pretty excited about the things I picked up!  If you read my Friday post you’ll know that I was out looking for some new spring work clothes and I was successful there (post coming later this week on this).  I also hit up Sephora, Lush & Shoppers Drug Mart!  Considering I just made a significant purchase online at Sephora earlier this week I’m a little scared to check my credit card balance.  Anyway, here’s what I picked up at Shoppers Drug Mart:

Left to Right: Maybelline Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles Concealer ($10.79 CAD – On Sale); Rimmel London Stay Matte Primer ($6.99 CAD – On Sale), Essence I ❤ Stage Eyeshadow Base ($3.49 CAD – On Sale); Essence Eyeliner Pen ($2.99 CAD – On Sale); Essence Superfine Eyeliner Pen ($2.99 CAD – On Sale).

So far I’m really impressed with the Maybelline concealer, Rimmel Primer and Essence eyeliner pen!  Not too crazy about the Essence eyeshadow primer and the Essence Super Fine eyeliner pen.

I also picked up the Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub ($9.99 CAD) and I’m really liking it!  Earlier this week I was contemplating the Fresh Sugar Lip Scrub but I was struggling with the price.  This one was half the price and works great – so far.

Lastly my Sephora purchases:

Left to Right: Rouge Dior Brilliant Lip Gloss & Lipstick Samples (free) ; Boscia Konjac Cleansing Sponge ($19.00 CAD); Living Proof Instant Texture Mist (100 point sample); Sephora Collection Eco Biodegradable Sharpener ($7.50 CAD)

The sponge seems to work well to remove my makeup but I’m not sure it’s doing anything groundbreaking just yet.  Haven’t tried the sharpener or the samples but I will at some point.

I plan on giving all these products at least a good week of use before I do a full review (only seems fair).

The rest of my weekend was pretty boring which was fine with me.  I caught up on a lot of sleep, went for a few dog walks and cleaned the house. #exciting.

Wishing you a great week!

Weekend recap – April 13

Well it’s Monday again.  Weekends always go so fast and never seem long enough. My weekend mainly consisted of me alternating between laying in bed and lounging on the couch. I was still getting over this head cold/flu that I caught last week (still am) so I had no energy to do anything.  It was pretty disappointing as I missed out on a few things that had been planned for quite a while but what can you do.

Quality time with my bed and couch meant I had time to create a new header image for my blog, as you may have noticed.  I used Pic Monkey which is my new favorite photo editing tool. The photo editing options offered are literally endless, it’s really user friendly and best of all – it’s free! Another bonus: you also don’t have to log in and create an account to edit or create anything, which is great for lazies like me (just another password to remember). I also took the opportunity to change up my theme as my new header didn’t go well with the last one I was using (Sela).  I’m not convinced this one (Able) is truly the one either, but for now it’ll work.

One thing I learned about myself while I was furiously working away on my blog this weekend – I’m super critical and a perfectionist.  I’m still not happy with the fact that my header looks blurry but I finally had to let it go.  I spent hours creating one version, only to upload it and end up scraping it and then starting over again.  I had an idea in my head of what I wanted it to look like but creating that image wasn’t so easy.  Don’t even get my started on sizing #rage.

Anyway it’s done now and I feel it’s more reflective of me so I hope you like it! I also spent some time perusing Sephora.com this weekend.  If you’re a VIB Rouge member you should have received an email for 15% off your purchases from now until Tuesday.  I’ve got a long list of wants but for the sake of my credit card balance I need to scale that list back.  Here’s a few purchases I’m seriously considering: 1. Beauty Blender ($26 CAD) – I currently use a Quo knock off that I bought on sale for around $4.  It works well and I’m happy with it but I keep hearing everyone rave about these.  But $26 for a makeup sponge?  Seems ridiculous but I’ve spent more on stupider things.

2. Cover FX Custom Cover Drops ($44 CAD) – I’m running a little low on foundation and I’ve been hearing nothing but rave reviews about this product.  The idea behind this is that you can blend a few drops with any face product – moisturizer, primer, oil, etc. and it works as a foundation which you can customize to create whatever level of coverage you desire.  Anything that’s versatile and customizable sounds great to me so I’m pretty tempted to take the plunge on this one.

3. Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm ($35 CAD) – I’m also in need of a new face cleanser and again, the reviews on this one are very positive.  Ultimately I need a something that’s moisturizing and gentle, but can remove my makeup and not make me break out.  This isn’t a cheap option either but apparently it’s supposed to last a while which makes up for it.

4. Fresh Sugar Lip Polish ($26 CAD) – My lips have been super dry and peel-y lately and I’ve been wanting to give this a try for a while.  The reviews on this one seem a little mixed so I’m interested to see how it works for me.

Have you tried any of these?  If so let me know, I’d love to hear your thoughts on them!  I’ll be doing a blog post later this week to update you on my purchases.

One last thing I wanted to share – I watched the movie Tammy yesterday.  It’s a little older (released last summer) but I hadn’t had a chance to watch it yet.  Overall: HILARIOUS.  I’m a huge Melissa McCarthy fan and even though I think she’s played a similar character in her last few movies, she still cracked me up.  The critics weren’t kind to her in their reviews of it but who listens to them anyway?  If you like slapstick comedy with a touch of raunch I’d recommend it.

Have a fantastic week!

Maggie ❤