Review: Furkid – May 2016 Box

Happy Tuesday!

Today I’m reviewing another Furkid (aka Paws & Play by Furkid Subscription Box); I had actually planned for the April box to be the last we received but thanks to their auto-renewal service, I was subscribed for another 3 whole months at a cost of $133.95 CAD. Originally I signed up for a  3 month subscription that began in February and ended in April – or so I thought.  I failed to read the (very) fine print that stated that the subscription would auto-renew on the 1st of the month following the end of my original subscription, unless I cancelled prior to.  This irked me given that I had only received our April box on April 28.  So I was given 2 whole days to decide if I wanted to renew my subscription?   Plus, the fact that it renewed not only for 1 month but for 3 was a bit shocking to me, especially given that I received no notification whatsoever that it was auto-renewing!  Unfortunately this seems to be a common practice amongst many subscription boxes, so take my advice and read the fine print before signing up so you know exactly what you’re getting into.  I did share my concerns with the owner but I was basically told I was out of luck and offered some additional items in my May box. I debated sharing my review given how unhappy I am but I felt I could still be objective, plus I have two more of them coming and it means I get to gratuitously share pics of Maggie, so I figured I might as well.  😉 So let’s get into it:

First up, the product Card; the value of this month’s “box” is equal to $50.98 CAD.  Keep in mind that my subscription for 3 months cost me $133.95 CAD which equates to $44.65 CAD per box, so the value of this box is just slightly over what I paid for it.

DIGZ Peanut Butter Smash Cookie:  As I’ve stated before, one of the reasons why I signed up for this subscription was due to the fact that it was supposed to be customizable; Maggie doesn’t like hard/crunchy cookies (#princess) so our profile states soft cookies only.  Yet we still continue to receive hard cookies.  This wasn’t included in the product card so I’m not sure if everyone received this or if this was one of our “bonus” items.  Regardless, we’ll be passing this on to one of our doggy friends.

Caru Soft & Tasty Venison Recipe Baked Bites:  These are soft and chewy and Maggie was pretty happy with them.  I really liked that they’re all natural, do not contain any wheat, gluten, corn, soy or animal by-products AND they contain no ingredients from China.  These appear to retail for about $7-8 US; again, this is not listed on the product card so I’m assuming this was another bonus item.  Overall we were pleased with them.

Earth Rated Leash Dispenser with Bags: We actually buy these bags regularly, but I’m not crazy about the dispenser (too bulky) so we’ll likely give this away too.

Etta Says Beef Liver Treat – This was a small little individual treat (assuming it’s a sample which is why it wasn’t included in the product card). Maggie gobbled it up.  No complaints.

N/A Nothing Added 100% Canadian Atlantic Pollock:  Maggie loves anything fish and these are no exception.  They stink to high heaven though, I hold my breath when I give her one.  Love that these are 100% Canadian.  Happy with this addition to the box.

Digz Prime Lung Beef Steaks: I always struggle with giving Maggie various animal body parts/organs but of course, like most dogs, she absolutely loves them.  These are actually pretty hard and crunchy but if I break them into smaller pieces, she eats them.  We’ll take the good with the bad on these.

Kong Bendeez Toy: Kong toys are expensive and are generally good quality however ours appears to be broken.  The instructions state that it should squeak when you bend/twist or shake it but it does nothing of the sort.  As a result Maggie doesn’t have a lot of interest in it.

So overall, I’m slightly happier with May’s box when compared to April’s but that’s only because of the bag of chewy treats that was our bonus item. Otherwise the only item that we would have been happy with would have been the Pollock.  One down, two to go!

Until next time!

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Read our previous Furkid/Paws & Play box reviews below:

February 2016 Box

March 2016 Box

April 2015 Box

DIY Olive Garden Salad Dressing

We don’t visit the Olive Garden very often, but when we do, I make sure to load up on their salad and breadsticks.  I honestly could drink their salad dressing straight from the bottle – it’s so good! I’ve been trying for years to dupe their dressing recipe and never really been successful.  Until now!  I found this recipe on foodnetwork.com and thought I’d give it a try.  It was close, but I made a few small modifications and I personally think this as close as I’m going to get to the real thing.

What you’ll need:

• 1/4 cup Canola Oil
• 1 tablespoon White Wine Vinegar (or Cider Vinegar)
• 1 tablespoon of White Vinegar
• 3 tablespoons of Mayonaise
• 1 tablespoons of Lemon Juice
• 1/4 teaspoon of Pepperonicini juice
• 2 tablespoons of Fresh Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon of Garlic Seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon of Italian Seasoning

Combine ingredients into a blender, or a salad dressing shaker and mix until fully blended.  I personally use this salad dressing shaker and I love it because I can just throw all the ingredients in and give it a good shake, and I’m good to go.

I like to double the recipe and I find that the dressing lasts me a week of salads for lunch; I tend to keep it simple for myself, but if I was making it for a group and I wanted an authentic Olive Garden salad experience, I’d pour this over a mix of iceberg and romaine lettuce, sliced tomatoes, pepperoncini peppers, black olives, red onion, matchstick carrots, chopped purple cabbage, and croutons.  Top with freshly shredded Romano cheese and freshly cracked black pepper.  And maybe add some warm breadsticks too…;)

Adapted from foodnetwork.com  

Enjoy! 🙂

Father’s Day Gift Guide (Last Minute!)

 

You guys, Father’s Day is THIS Sunday?  Are you prepared?  Did you get your Dad a fantastic gift?  If you didn’t and need to,  I’ve got a few last minute gift ideas for you:

1. Rocky Mountain Soap Men’s Stuff Gift Set – $38.25 CAD: Because Rocky Mountain Soap products are natural and toxin free!
2. Fossil 65mm Wraparound Gradient Sunglasses – $70 CAD: Because Fossil makes the best sunglasses and there’s no better time to gift sunglasses than the present!
3. Cufflinks Inc. Iron Man Cufflinks – $69.50 CAD: Because how cool are Ironman cufflinks?
4. The Tie Bar Dot Silk Tie & Cotton Pocket Square Style Box – $40.37 CAD: Because a tie is a classic Father’s Day gift – bonus that this one comes with a matching pocket square!
5. HS Soda Pop Crew Socks – Sale! $10 CAD:  Because fun and funky socks are such a fun way to add some personality to a dull suit.
6. Titlelist Personalized Pro V1 Double Digit Golf Balls – $62.99: Because my Dad is golf lover and how neat would it be to present him with an entire box of personalized golfballs with his initials on them?
7. Corkcicle Wine Chiller – SALE! $20.99: Because who wants to wait around for wine to chill?
8. Picnic Time Fiero BBQ Tool Set –  Because it’s BBQ season!
9. Home Studio Dream Hammock Chair – Sale! $449 CAD: Because…okay, this is expensive but OMG does this not look like the most amazing chair ever?  If you have a big budget or lots of siblings I feel like this would be the best Father’s Day present ever!
10. Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye – price varies ($35 – $45 CAD): Because if your Dad likes rye/whisky, this is apparently one of the best (my husband and Dad agree).  It’s not easy to find so if you see some, scoop it up!  Bonus points for it being Canadian!
11. Godiva 72% Cacao Dark Chocolate with Almonds: Because you can’t go wrong with chocolate and Godiva is some of the best out there!
12. NESPRESSO Nespresso VertuoLine Black – SALE! $187.49 CAD: Because how convenient is this if Dad’s a coffee drinker?  I don’t drink coffee but if I did I’d be all over one of these!

I wish you all a wonderful weekend and a Happy Father’s Day to all the Dad’s out there!

Review: CND Vinylux Weekly Polish

How often do you do your nails?  I go through stages where I do my nails every week and then others where I don’t do them for months.  I love having polished nails but I like to make sure I have enough time do to them properly.  I don’t have a steady hand so if I rush through applying polish it never ends well.  And after I invest time in doing my nails, nothing irritates me more than to have them chip after a day or two of wear.

That’s why I was pretty excited to give CND’s Vinylux Weekly Polish a try.  I was sent a package containing CND’s Weekly Polish in Regally Yours #140 and a bottle of their Weekly Top Coat as part of ChickAdvisor’s Product Review Club.  Using these two together claims to result in 7 days of chip-resistant wear.  Sounded promising to me!

The Vinylux line is described as a fast-drying, 2-step system that offers brilliant shine that lasts.  It also claims that natural light will result in increased durability; I’m not exactly sure what that means and I couldn’t find anything online that explains that, although I’m assuming it means a UV lamp isn’t required to set it.  Lastly, these are 7-Free polishes meaning that these are free from toluene, camphor, formaldehyde, phthalates (DBP), formaldehyde resin, xylene and lead.

I’ve been wearing this polish for the last 2 weeks and I definitely have an opinion on it.  First up, where it delivers:

• I can vouch for its claim that its fast drying.  This is what impressed me most. I’ve applied it twice over the last few weeks and within minutes it was dry to the touch and I could apply a second coat or the top coat.  Only once did I have it smudge after application and that was my own fault.  I definitely appreciate this factor in a polish as I can be pretty impatient waiting for coats to dry.
• The formula is thin and relatively easy to work with (however this is also a bit of a problem as described below)
• The weekly polish lets off a decent amount of shine but the Weekly Top Coat is exceptionally shiny.  I love having shiny, glossy nails and this doesn’t disappoint.
• There is no base coat in this line and it is not recommended you use one as it will negate the adhesives in the colour coat.  Given how dark and deep the shade I received was, I very concerned about using it without a base coat as I was certain it would stain my nails.  I can’t say it didn’t stain them at all – it did leave a slight tint behind but no where near what I was expecting and am used to with darker colours.  I found that to be impressive.

And where it falls a little short:

• Unfortunately for me, this wasn’t a chip-free polish.  I’ve applied it twice over the last two weeks; the first time I was pretty hard on my nails and there were some small chips and noticeable wear on the tips of my nails after the second day.  Because this is such a dark colour, the chips and wear were pretty noticeable but there was no large chips or peeling at all.  I didn’t think it’d be fair to judge it solely on that experience, so after a week I removed and re-applied it again the following week when I was much kinder to my nails.  Unfortunately I experienced the same issue and it was actually a little worse.
• I attempted to use the top coat to cap my nails in order to provide that extra bit of protection as they suggested, but it rubbed the polish off the tips of my nails (I did ensure my nails were completely dry before doing so).  If I could get this to work, I feel like this would definitely help with the chipping and wear as all of that took place on the tips on my nails – nowhere else.
• While the formula is thin and easy to apply, it can be a little bit patchy.  The colour I received was a deep, dark purple that actually appears black after applying 2 coats and the top coat.  Despite those two coats, there were some very visible areas on my nails where the polish was spotty.
• I had a small gripe with the brush – it’s on the thinner side but I prefer a thicker brush as I find I can apply polish more evenly this way.  I feel like this may have contributed to the patchy application.

I’m kind of on the fence with this – there were things I liked about it but the lasting power was basically their claim to fame here and it didn’t work all that well.  I’ve admitted defeat on the shade that I was sent but given that it wasn’t one that I would have picked out for myself, I may give another colour a try and see if there’s an improvement.

CND Vinylux Weekly Polish retails for $12.95 CAD and is available at select retailers and salons.

Special thanks to ChickAdvisor and CND for sending me these products to try!  These products were sent to me for review purposes but all opinions are my own.

FURKID by Paws & Play – April Box

Another month, another Paws & Play box.  Actually this is the last box of our 3 month subscription and it was going to be the determining factor if we extended our subscription or not.  I was hoping that it would blow me away and I wouldn’t be able to resist re-subscribing (you can read our review of the February and March boxes here and here).  To find out if it convinced us to stick around or not, keep reading!

Paws & Play is a Canadian monthly subscription box for your furkid; each month you receive a variety of high-quality products for your pet and you can personalize your box based on your pets preferences (i.e. strong chewer, soft or crunchy treats, gender, etc.).

This month’s “box” came in a bag again, I’m not quite sure why as I feel it would have fit in a box.  As a result the product card was a little worse for wear.

The total value of the box came to a total $51.95; I found most of the listed prices pretty reasonable, aside from maybe the toy.  As mentioned, we purchased a 3 month subscription for $109.95, which calculates out to each box costing $36.65.

They also included a separate card this month showcasing a rescue pet and their story – this month’s being cutie Tika.

First up was the Hyper Pet Gnarly Gnaws Bone. ($14.95)  It had a squeaker in it and I think these are met for strong chewers (which she is not).  Maggie doesn’t really destroy her toys (unless they have fur on them) and unfortunately she didn’t much interest in this.

Next was the Petcurean Catfish Barbue Jerky for Active & Opinionated Dogs ($16.95).  Love the opinionated dogs thing – that’s a good way to describe Maggie.  I knew she’d like these as she likes jerky treats and fish and she gobbled one right up.  These were a hit!

Our third item was Northern’s The Big Biscuit ($4.95). This is a hard crunchy treat and our profile was set up not to receive crunchy treats so I was a little miffed to see this included.  I broke Maggie off a piece but as expected she turned her nose up at it.  There’s that opinionated dog thing kicking in.

Also included was a Fur + Body Revitalize & Sustain Dog Refresher ($12.95).  This is a spray that can be used to deodorize your pet’s coat if it’s getting a little less than fresh and you don’t have time for a bath.  We don’t have anything like this so I thought this was kind of neat.  I gave it a try and it smelled pleasant and seemed to work pretty well.  I like that its made with organic and natural ingredients too.

Lastly was a This & That Duck Wing ($1.95).  Looks appetizing doesn’t it?  😉  I was a little concerned because there was no packaging on this, it was just loose in the bag. I had to reference the product card to determine what it was but it didn’t give any details as to to where it was made.  In addition, I googled “This & That” and couldn’t find anything about them online so that was disappointing; I like to know where the products I’m feeding Maggie are coming from.  I’ve never given Maggie wings to chew on before and the shape of this made me a little nervous, but she was going crazy for it.  So I gave it to her and as you can see, she really enjoyed it at first:

Thank goodness I was watching her because within a few minutes of her chewing on it, she started coughing and I had to pull it out of her mouth because she had started to swallow it yet it wasn’t completely chewed.  After that I chucked it right in the garbage (much to her dismay).  I know there’s a choking hazard with any type of chew but this didn’t seem to be breaking down like a bully stick normally would, which is why she nearly choked on it.  Scary moment for me and I definitely won’t be purchasing any duck wings (or any other kind of wings!) for her going forward.

And that was this month’s box.  Unfortunately I don’t think I’ll be renewing our subscription.  I really like doing these unboxings with Mags, she gets so excited when we go to open them up.  But on the other hand, I find we’re only using about 50% of the items that we receive and I’m feeling a little frustrated that our profile preferences have been ignored twice now.  I might do some more investigating on other pet subscription boxes just to see if there’s a better option for us.  If you have any recommendations, please let me know below!

Mother’s Day Gift Guide

Did you know that Mother’s Day is less than 2 weeks away?  Eeek, it always seems to sneak up on me.  This year I’m attempting to get ahead of the game and I’ve put together a gift guide in case you need some ideas too.  I thought I’d break it out by price point because everyone has a different budget but that shouldn’t mean you can’t get your Mom a great gift!

$25 AND UNDER:

My experience is that Moms’ like to keep organized, so why not gift a book that specializes in that exact subject?  Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class On The Art Of Organizing And Tidying Up ($13 – SALE) has been touted by many as life-changing | A beautiful journal ($25) makes a wonderful gift for anyone.  Maybe your Mom doesn’t write but she make lists or just jots down important things; doing it in something that looks like a piece of art makes it that much more enjoyable | Perhaps a Herb Gardening Kit ($25) because flowers die and how awesome would it be to snip a sprig of rosemary or thyme right from your own little kitchen garden? | You can never go wrong with a gift card to Shopper’s Drug Mart.  They sell everything from snacks to lipstick and anything in between.

$50 AND UNDER:

Candles are nice but the scent from diffusers lingers longer and you don’t have to worry about them burning your house down if left unattended. 😉 Illume’s Blackberry Absinthe version ($32) is the perfect mix of fruity and musky without being overpowering | Sunglasses are a Spring/Summer essential so pick Mom up a classic Wayfarer pair in this beautiful gold and tortoiseshell design ($42) | Not only is this S’well water bottle ($45) sparkly, it keeps drinks cold for up to 24 hours or hot for up to 12 hours. | What about a pretty little polka-dotted jewellery box ($50) to hold all of her precious treasures?

$75 AND UNDER:

Treat Mom to a day at the spa with a WaySpa.com Gift Card ($75).  These are great because they can be redeemed at over 5,000 spas across Canada, the US, Mexico and the Caribbean | I couldn’t resist throwing in another Kate Spade item because these Cluster Stone Stud Earrings ($64) are perfect for Spring! | My mom recently introduced me to L’Occitane’s Verbena line and and I love the scent – it smells so fresh and clean.  This Verbena Star Gift set ($76) gives her the chance to try out some of the best products in the line. | Any makeup-loving Mom would appreciate this Lancome Spring Essentials set ($65) that comes complete with 7 of Lancome’s best beauty products (that palette looks gorgeous!).

$100 AND UNDER:

You can give your mom the gift of memories with one of these Fuji Instax Mini 8 ($86) Cameras.  How fun would it be to instantly print your photos? | Or stick with a classic fragrance like Coco Chanel Eau De Parfum Spray ($85); this is one of my Mom’s personal favourites | Having a zip wallet you can throw your phone into is so convenient, I don’t leave home without mine.  Fossil makes this vibrant version: Sydney Phone Zip Wallet – $86 | Last but not least, how about this goes-with-everything, rose-gold watch with a ceramic bracelet ($76 – SALE)?

I hope my picks spurred some ideas for you!  Usually I buy my Mom a gift and we spend the day together – we going shopping, hit up a movie or enjoy lunch/dinner together.  Do you do anything special with your Mom for Mother’s Day?

Have a great day!

What Should I Buy?: Filling my Z-Palette

I purchased my first Z Palette a little over a month ago and I’m starting to research products to fill it with.  I purposely bought the Dome palette so I wouldn’t be limited in what I wanted to include, as it has an extra deep base.  Although now that I’ve started window shopping, I suspect this won’t matter too much as I foresee additional Z palettes in my future #wantallthethings

MY CRITERIA: I see my palette mostly consisting of eyeshadows, with a blush or two thrown in and maybe a highlighter or bronzer.  I don’t plan on traveling with this palette and I kind of want do a mix of neutral everyday shades and pops of colour.  Ideally I’d like to not have to de-pot anything, which is why I focused on products that are available for purchase in a pan format.

In addition, I’m only purchasing products from Canadian retailers, either in-store or online.  While I would love to add some Makeup Geek products to my collection, the extra costs associated with exchange, duty and shipping make it hard to justify right now.  So I’ve narrowed my choices down to Mac, Inglot, and Anastasia Beverley Hills.

MY OPTIONS:

• MAC

Eyeshadows: Paradisco (Frosty bright pinky-coral with pearl); Gleam (Lustre barely pinked gold); Swish (Frosty bright pink with icy shimmer); Fig.1 (Matte eggplant purple); Nocturnelle (Frosty pinked-up chrome purple); Plum Dressing (Veluxe pearl pinky-plum with metal); Stars & Rockets (Veluxe pearl purple with a pink pearl); Deep Truth (Frosty True Dark Blue); Satellite Dreams (Deep plum with pearl); Steamy (Frosty bluish-green with gold pearl); Patina (Frosty taupe brown with golden pearl); Satin Taupe (Frosty taupe with silver shimmer); Swiss Chocolate (Matte muted reddish-brown)

Blushes: Plum Foolery (Frosty plum); Peaches (Pure Peach)

• Anastasia Beverly Hills:

Eyeshadows: Macaroon (Titanium Pastel Lavender); Emerald (Metallic Rich Forest Green): Prussian Blue (Titanium Reflective Peacock Blue)

• Inglot

Eyeshadows: #399; #420 (sold out); #407; #341; #339

Blushes: Blush #20:

THE VERDICT: I won’t be purchasing these all at once but slowly over time, unless I do an online purchase on Inglot of course.  I will update my purchases as they happen.

If you have any shadows/blushes/bronzers/highlighters that you would recommend or advise I’d stay away from, please let me know below – I’d so appreciate it!

Have a great weekend!

This & That Fridays – April 15

Have you seen the new Lite Brites collection by China Glaze?  I came across Young Wild & Polished’s swatches on Instagram and wow, they all look so beautiful!  I need to see them in person but I think Bite Me and What I Like About Blue are on my list.

The second season of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is out on Netflix so my weekend plans are set.  Hopefully Season 2 is as good as Season 1.

Two things I love for Spring here, lightweight sweaters and ombre.

This is too funny!  And I can relate – out of all the sports out there, I find baseball the most painful to watch.  It’s so slow and it drags on and on…I can’t get into it.  Go Jays though!

I bought this sweater from Joe Fresh a few weeks ago and I can’t stop wearing it.  It’s so comfy and easy to wear and looks great with leggings and jeans.  The only drawback is that it needs to be hand-washed.  But I love it so much I’ll sacrifice a bit of hand-washing.  I bought it in pink but I think I’m going to pick up the green too.

Waffle iron pizza?  Yes please!

Did you hear that Hudson’s Bay is now carrying Teeez Cosmetics?  I have one of their lipsticks that I received in my Luxe Box and I really like it.  And their packaging is amazing!  Excited to try more of their stuff.

Need to catch up on my posts?  Here’s what I published this week:

• Saturday Cocktail – Cherry Limeade
• Sephora Shopping List
• March Loves & Letdowns

Have a great weekend!

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March Loves & Letdowns

I’m a little behind on this month’s favourites – but on the bright side I’m actually doing it this month.  I completely forgot to do February favourites!  Oops!

I’m going to jump right in – here’s what I loved this month:

Gap Open Front Cardi: I love cardi’s any time of year, but especially for Spring and Summer.  This one is super lightweight so it’s perfect to throw overtop of a t-shirt or tank in the morning when it’s still a little chilly out.  They offer this sweater in a wide variety of colours; I selected it in Heather Grey colour but I’m tempted to pick up another in Turquoise or Blue.

Bath & Body Works Cinnamon Spiced Vanilla Hand Soap: I can’t get enough of this hand soap – it smells exactly like my favourite warm drink from Starbucks – their Cinnamon Dolce Hot Chocolate.  Love it!

Tarte Maracuja Oil: This was included in a Tarte set I bought on Black Friday and I was a little hesitant to use it as I haven’t really had much success with using oils on my face.  My skin is super sensitive and I usually break out when I try to use them.  This one is different though!  I’ve been using this off and on throughout the month as a night-time moisturizer and mixed into my foundation in lieu of primer and it works so well!  I totally expected it to leave me greasy and oily by the end of the day when I mixed it into my foundation but it just made my skin look glowy and healthy and my foundation applied like a dream.  Used as a nighttime moisturizer, I couldn’t believe how supple and smooth my skin felt the next day.  I’m about halfway through my little mini bottle of it but I plan on purchasing the full size, or at least another of the same size.

CoverGirl TruBLEND Blush (Light Rose): This might be one of the best drugstore blushes I’ve ever tried.  Be warned this particular shade is quite light so it probably wouldn’t work well for those with darker skin tones.  But for any of my fair-skinned friends, I’d recommend this.  It’s a really soft pink-ish peach and you can build it to your desired intensity.  On top of that the formula is great – it’s silky, soft and buttery.  Highly recommend this!

Frilly Lilly Argentinian Lemon Shea Butter Creme:  I’ve found my new favourite hand cream!  Frilly Lilly is a local mani/pedi/waxing boutique with locations in Alberta & British Columbia, and California.  I’ve been using this cream for probably a month and a half and it has really helped my chronically dry hands.  It’s not at all greasy – it absorbs quickly but moisturizes really well.  I also love that it doesn’t leave white marks on darker clothes if you touch them before it’s absorbed (one of my biggest pet peeves with hand cream!).  I picked up the Argentinian lemon scent and at first I wasn’t sure about it but I’ve grown to really like it – it’s very refreshing.

NYX Butter Gloss (Angel Food Cake / Strawberry Cheesecake): I’ve talked about how much I love the NYX Butter Glosses before and that hasn’t changed.  I gravitate towards lip glosses and these are some of the best I’ve tried.  They’re glossy and pigmented and so easy to wear.  Angel Food Cake is a lovely nude/mauve shade and Strawberry Cheesecake is a warm medium pink.  I really haven’t been wearing any other lip products aside from these this month!

L’Oreal Brow Stylist Definer (Blonde):  I have to admit I’m kind of lazy when it comes to brows – half the time I forget to do them.  However this eyebrow pencil is so good I’ve pretty much done my brows every day this month.  I can’t believe the difference between this and my previously beloved e.l.f eyebrow pencil – they don’t even compare!  Not only is the shade perfect for me, the precise tip makes it so easy to fill and define my brows (hence the name).  I’ve heard others say that this is a dupe for the Anastasia Brow Wiz – not having tried it, I can’t confirm but if that’s true, but I see why everyone was going crazy over them if they are indeed similar.

Letdown:

NYX HD Concealer: I’ve been researching new concealers for a while and I had heard some good things about this one.  Unfortunately this did not work for me.  The reason: it’s ridiculously drying!  It seemed a little dry when I initially applied it but it only got worse as the day went on.  I used this to cover blemishes so I can’t imagine using this as an undereye concealer – it would totally emphasize and enhance any fine lines.  So this was a disappointment and the search for a new concealer continues…

Maggie’s love: Pet Kind Wild Pacific Salmon Treats

Maggie wanted to join in and share her love for the month.  She’s really been enjoying these salmon treats that I found at Homesense for $6.99.  Love that these are a Canadian product and made with wild pacific salmon.  And they stink so of course Maggie just loves them.  This is the second bag we’ve gone through and I haven’t seen these again at Homesense, so I’m going to have to track down a retailer here that sells them.

What were your loves and letdowns for March?

Thanks for reading!

Saturday Cocktail – Cherry Limeade

Happy Saturday!

What’s a weekend without a cocktail or two?  Not much if you ask me! 😉  Today I’m sharing my version of one of my favourite drinks from the Yard House.  Unfortunately here in Canada we don’t have any Yard House locations…actually perhaps that’s a good thing because I would eat and drink there way too often.  If you ever visit them I’d highly recommend their Queso Dip – it’s pretty much the most amazing thing ever.

Another one of my favourite items on their menu are their Cherry Limeades.  I discovered them last year at their Vegas location and I was hooked. It’s the perfect drink for summer…or anytime really.  So I thought I’d try to make them at home for the time when I really feel like one and can’t make it to a Yard House location hundreds of miles away.

According to they menu, the cherry limeade contains Cruzan Black Cherry Rum, Amaretto Disaronno, citrus agave, fresh lime, and a sugared rim.

Here’s the recipe for my at-home version:

1 Shot Bacardi Torched Cherry Rum
1 Shot Disaronno Amaretto
Splash of Rose’s Grenadine
Minute Maid Simply Limeade
Fresh lime

Combine the first 3 ingredients in a cocktail shaker with the desired amount of ice.  Shake it like a polaroid picture (sorry, couldn’t help it).  Pour into a short glass.  Top with limeade. Squeeze in fresh lime juice and garnish with a slice of lime.  Enjoy.

Adjust the sweetness to your liking using more or less grenadine.  Adjust the tartness with the fresh lime juice.  You can also add salt to the rim but I was being lazy and didn’t feel like bothering with that step.

Where’s your favourite cocktail?  Let me know below!

Have a great weekend!