April 30, 2011

woops!

Ever do anything somewhat embarrassing like send your husband a racy text just to find out he was driving and asked his co-worker in the passenger seat to read it to him?

Yeah, me either.

April 29, 2011

go give someone a compliment!

Who doesn't love to receive a compliment? It's so nice to hear, "cute shirt!" or "I like your earrings." Right?

So why don't people give compliments to each other more? The other day I was with a few girls and I commented to the one that I really liked her headband and another girl there said, "I've been thinking that all night too!" And I thought - well why didn't you tell her?! Why keep something nice about someone to yourself? It makes me happy each and every time I receive a compliment. Don't think I'm asking you to gush over me, or the people around you, and definitely don't give someone a compliment or say something that isn't sincere but if you think something nice about someone - say it! Even if they are strangers. I can remember 2 compliments I got from perfect strangers (and one anti-compliment from a perfect stranger but that's another story (...one of my favorites by the way.)). I was in a jewelery store with my mom once and the lady working at the counter told me I had the most beautiful eyelashes she had ever seen. How nice! Another time I was walking in Costco and a little girl who could only have been about 10 walked up to me and in this sweet little voice told me she thought I was pretty. How adorable! So even if you don't know the person if you think something nice about them - say it. You will make their day, or they'll think you're a weirdo for talking to them but, whatever.

I have no idea where that came from but I thought I'd share. Now go compliment someone!

(And if you want to compliment me follow this blog, you'll be entered in a giveaway when we reach 100 readers!)


April 28, 2011

those darn samples

Places like Sephora and The Bay hand out samples for one main reason - in hopes that you'll like the product and come back and purchase it. Well it works! On me anyway. I recently noticed the products I have bought (or plan to buy) because I tried a sample first and realized I'm. A. Sucker.

As I mentioned I don't have a working camera right now so this post is text only (boring, I know) so I'll link to a website for the product so you can see what I'm referring to. Here is a list of products I sampled and fell in love with - gawl, they get me every time!

We had a sales associate from Dior come to the makeup course I took last year and this was my favorite of the many Dior samples she gave us. It's a very feminine scent, I feel like such a fox when I wear it. I'm still savoring the last drops of my sample but I will definitely be purchasing a bottle when I am out.

I did a post about these products already but I have to tell you I am so pleased with my purchase! My hair has never been in better condition, let me just tell you that. When used in conjunction with my Moroccan Oil my hair feels strong yet soft and looks shiny and healthy, although it needs a trim right now. Aaand I love the tingle from the menthol in the conditioner, love it.

I wasn't familiar with this line until I found lisalisad1 reviewing some of their products. She raved about this gloss and so on my next trip to Sephora I sought it out for a swatch. The kind SA asked if I'd like a sample to take home as there was barely enough left in the tube for just that. I've used it a couple times now and probably have enough for one more application but I'm really contemplating shelling out the high price for one lipgloss! It's such a great formula, very soft and smooth and not sticky at all. I don't love it at first but after it's been on my lips for a few minutes it settles into a beautiful pink/gold shade. I apply it quite thin as too much looks very va va voom but a sheer stroke over the lips looks amazing.

The Sephora SA helping me with the Fortune lipgloss asked if I had tried the Illusion tinted moisturizer and since I was am  on the hunt for my HG foundation I told her I'd love to try a sample. I was in for a treat! I know some girls don't like it because it does have a slight shimmer to it but when I say it's minimal I mean it's not even worth  mentioning. I didn't realize there was any actual shimmer to it until I read a review saying there was, all I noticed is the beautiful glow it left on my skin. It applies almost like a mousse, very fluffy and creamy, and a little goes a long way. It's a beautiful product.

We have all read review after review about these MUFE foundations so I couldn't leave them out of my hunt for "the one" foundation. I am happy with both of these foundations quite honestly and as I alternate between both of these samples I can't decide which I like better, if either. I am leaning to the HD as I like the coverage, however I love the finish of the Mat Velvet +. See, I just really can't decide.

Have you made any purchases because you fell in love with a sample first?

April 27, 2011

GIVEAWAY

When I first started blogging I very quickly grew to 12 followers (which by the way, is a term I dislike - I do not consider myself a follower, haa!), and stayed there for a long time. I started linking to the What I Wore Wednesday parties at The Pleated Poppy and the numbers grew. When I linked some of my handiwork, specifically my dresser transformation I got many more followers, and more recently I see that some of the beauty bloggers I follow are now followers of mine! Awesome! I was never really concerned with how many followers I had until I saw the numbers start to grow.  

You can see where this is going....

So what I'd like to do is offer a giveaway (I haven't decided yet but it will definitely be a product I use and love myself!) to all my readers once I reach 100 followers! I've been hovering under 80 for a while now so it's time for a growth spurt. Invite your friends, link to my blog and anyone that is a follower will be entered into the giveaway.

It's a blog written about a sassy stay at home mom with opinions on almost everything, a passion for fashion and good deals, DIY handiwork and a heavy concentration on make-up and beauty products, all while trying to find the humor and irony in everything. Sounds fun right? So follow! Even if it does mean calling you a follower. :)

April 26, 2011

aaaaaaand we're back

Ok, by a show of hands who thought I crashed and died on the way to Saskatoon?!

Well guess what?

I didn't!

We just got our internet hooked up today - yeah, a week after we got here. I had an appointment for the day after we arrived to get our services from Shaw but when Neil called SaskTel and found the same thing (but better - why hello there you cute little PVR, you!!) for almost $60 cheaper, I was happy to wait a week for them to hook it up. So here I am, miss me?

I have a few exciting things to blog about but I have to first tell you something sad. Just days before we left our camera died. Like died, dead. Soooooo I'm not really sure what to do until we go purchase a new one, which will be who-knows-when as my husband loves to research these things out, hum and haw over them, go visit them all a few times and then purchase something. I guess it's like me going lipstick shopping so I can cut him some slack. He has less than no time right now for that kind of business so I guess in the mean time I'll be using my iphone. Yippee. Phone pictures.

Come back and I'll tell you all about our awesome apartments, the great location, some new products I am loving, a few long lost loves and maybe a giveaway!! 

Nice to see you again. :)

April 18, 2011

Saskatoon!

I don't know how I've completely neglected to mention this but I'm pretty sure I have. We are spending our summer in Saskatoon this year! We are excited for another summer away and really excited as this is Neil's first year managing. It's going to be an awesome year.

I have done absolutely nothing to prepare for the move other than sort through a few closets and make a few lists. (You know when you have so much to do that it's kind of overwhelming and instead you just do nothing? That was my entire week last week.) TODAY we are packing up the house, packing up the vehicles and tomorrow morning we drive away.

Stay tuned for the fun adventures of a Vivint summer in Saskatoon!

April 16, 2011

chicks with Steve Buscemi's eyes

I came across this today and really, how could I not pass it on? It's possibly the most disturbing thing I've seen in a long time.... or ever, I wouldn't feel right keeping it all to myself. 

This is just a sampling, if you would like to be further horrified, click here.
And be sure not to miss the video!


*And because my mom reads this and I'm pretty sure she has no idea who Steve Buscemi is, here's a photo of him in all his googley-eyed glory.*
That sounded meaner than I meant it. I like him good enough.


Ah, yes, that guy!



April 14, 2011

any ideas?

Does any else's house smell funny when it's windy outside?

Ok, hear me out. 

It seems as though when it gets especially (and sometimes not even especially) windy outside that our house gets a funny smell. I've noticed it before here and there but found it especially (I've used that word three times already....) bad this past Sunday. We went to my in-law's for dinner and when we came home and I walked in the door there was an immediate odor. I can't put my finger on it exactly - it's not overly strong, it kinda smells mildewy, but then also a little like hay. Neil says that to him it smells like old smoke, like when you walk into a hotel room that USED to be smoking and now isn't but you can still smell the remnants. I'm totally making you want to come over right!? It's Neil's theory (and it does make sense) that it's just stench that's left in the walls from people previously smoking in our house and that for whatever reason when it's windy that smell comes out. I promise I don't have a stinky house, I'm actually really on top of things like that (thank you Bath & Body Works and Scentsy...) but when the wind blows even I can't keep this smell away.  

What on earth is it?!

April 13, 2011

don't eat Pete!

I'm sure my friends Jennifer and Laura will remember playing this game (and if you don't shame on you!) The other day as both my boys were squawking and I had just about had enough I remembered this fun little game and got everything out to make one up to occupy them for a while. It's all very simple and really fun. (Neil and I used to play it when we were dating... haa!)

You start by making a little grid. You can draw your own pictures as I did, or use stickers or stamps. (And if you google "don't eat Pete" you can print some really cute pre-made grids.) You can also make the grid as small or as big as you want, I made mine a little smaller because there's treats involved and well, I'm not gonna lie, it was right before dinner.




After you have your grid made you place a candy on each square. 




This is going to be awesome!


Now you go first by picking a "Pete." You think of a square in your head (so pick a shape or a sticker or whatever) but don't tell the other person. (If you're playing with more than one person send him out of the room so the group can pick the square together.) The other person starts eating the candy from any square one at a time until they get to your Pete and then you yell, "DON'T EAT PETE!!!" and they have to stop eating treats. Now you refill the grid and it's their turn to pick a Pete and you get to eat treats! (See why this is so awesome?) It's fun because sometimes you'll get to eat the whole grid before getting "caught" and sometimes you only get one in your mouth before they yell "don't eat Pete!"

It was fun playing with Porter today because the Pete he picked was always the Pete I had just used for him on his turn. Kinda like when we play hide and seek and he always hides wherever he just found me! Haha!



We had to switch out the jujubes for M & M's part way through, that was a lot of chewing!


I hope you'll try this with your kids and if you want you can substitute Cheerios or Goldfish or something less candy-ish. But why would you?!  :)

April 12, 2011

NYX at Ulta

Unfortunately, actually maybe fortunately when I think about my bank account, we don't have Ulta in Canada. I have read so much about these amazing trips to Ulta girls are taking and I was getting pouty that I wasn't able to experience it. As soon as we hit Arizona I looked one up and planned a trip there, specifically to purchase my Naked palette. It was as amazing as I envisioned! One of the brands I really wanted to check out was NYX. There is only one small NYX display in my local Save On Foods and other than that this line is difficult to find here. I have a few NXY products I've purchased online and for the most part have really liked them, especially their lipsticks.

The Ulta gods smiled upon my first visit there and all NYX products were buy one get one 50% off! I purchased these 4 lipsticks and love each and every one of them.



L-R Indian Pink, Rose Bud, Galaxy, Summer Love


L-R Indian Pink, Rose Bud, Galaxy, Summer Love

These colors are looking really frosty in the swatch photo but except for Galaxy which is a frosty beige, I would say they really aren't. Indian Pink is an adorable pinky coral, Rose Bud is a bright pink with gold flecks and Summer Love is a nice nude, a bit more pink than my numero uno nude lippy MAC's Creme d' Nude. I really love the formula of NYX lipsticks. First of all they don't have that nasty plastic lipstick smell/taste, and they last forever on me. They also don't transfer or shift (case in point: the other day I kissed Neil and he said "wow, what are you wearing, I don't mind that at all!" as he usually complains about the waxy or sticky consistency of my kisses.) They have a huge selection (like seriously, how's a girl to choose?!) and they are affordable ($3.99 at Ulta - I believe $5.99 here at Save On Foods.)

There were probably a dozen other things I could have easily picked up at Ulta but for once my self control kicked in and I walked away. I am just glad I can finally say I've had my first Ulta experience... and there will definitely be more!

Have you tried any NYX products?

April 11, 2011

Arizona!

You know you are with some FUN company when they show up with custom T shirts to commemorate your trip together. How fun! We knew it was going to be a great week.


We stayed in a beeeautiful home where we wanted for nothing. Gorgeous bedrooms, a full kitchen, a pool and hot tub in the backyard and a van for us to use as we pleased. We relaxed, we shopped, we ate out, (Cafe Rio, will you be mine?!) we laughed... it was ah-mazing - truly a recipe for 6 of the funnest days I've ever had!

 Drinking my Henry's
(It was snowing at home!)


 Visiting the Mesa Arizona temple. (Not the best photo but it's one of the few we got all together.)

 Me and my sissy!

Don't touch the cactus!  
(This is funny if you've seen the video my husband posted of his recent trip to Arizona - where he and his brother poked their fingers over and over when inspecting the cactus. BOYS!)

Sharon has the pictures of our shopping trips. We did some serious damage at Target (like seriously, who doesn't love that place!) and thoroughly enjoyed our day at San Tan outdoor mall. Including the trek Sharon and I took to Ulta to purchase the Naked palette they had on hold for me. The rest of the group was at Dillards shopping for dresses so we thought we'd "POP" over to Ulta quickly. We didn't realize until we were about 15 minutes into the walk what we had signed up for. Turns out Dillards to Ulta is .9 of a mile so with the trip there and back we walked nearly 2 miles (that's almost 3 1/2 kms for us Canadians!!) to get that eyeshadow! Two miles in the Arizona sun with less than appropriate footwear, I might add. Sharon got 5 blisters, bless her. I better love it.

It was an incredible trip, full of friends and laughter. It was so nice to reconnect with these amazing women. We're already planning the next get away. 



*Come back to see the rest of my haul on my first trip to Ulta!*

April 9, 2011

Honey, I'm home!

And look what I came home with!


I'm excited to tell you all about my trip! Come back next week to hear more about the fabulous ladies I went with, all the shopping and eating out we did, and why my sister and I walked almost 2 miles to get this palette.


I've missed you!

April 1, 2011

You say goodbye and I say....

HELLO ARIZONA!!

Sunshine, sleep, shopping and friends await me, I'm so excited! We've had a crazy week so the laundry/groceries/clean house situation isn't quite what I had hoped it would be but I married a very capable guy and I know he'll be just fine....... and if not...... I'm on holiday!! (Hee hee!)

Now it's just a matter of saying goodbye to these yahoos. 

Think they want to come?