My New Wheels

It's about time I showed you these.  For Christmas my husband said he was ordering me custom Antiks.  So a few days later we went to Rollerbug to order them. It kind of felt like FOREVER for them to show up (It ended up being 10 weeks). But I knew it would be worth it.

TA DA...

My new skates!  They are pretty freaking sweet. I tell people that I was unable to choose one colour, so I chose them all.  The pink and green are metallic, and what looks like purple in the photo is actually blue.

I love these skates.  They hurt my feet a TINY bit on the very first day, but since then I've had zero problems.  They are super comfy.  The envy wheels might be a little bit too soft for my liking, so I'm going to play around with that for a bit.

Where in the world am I?

Ok I know I've been Mia for a while now.  I had a crazy two weeks consisting of a business trip and then a personal vacation. Got home with a cold that knocked me on my butt for another week.

But now I'm back and I feel like I have so much to share with you! More on that later though. Right now I'm starting in line waiting to get into the L'Oréal spring warehouse sale. Its invitation only and I was lucky enough to be gifted one by a friend who couldn't make it.  I've heard the deals are pretty awesome here. I'll be sure to show you what I get and maybe do swatches!

Follow me!

Just wanted to point out that I've added a section down the right hand side where you can follow me now through your Google reader. Make sure you don't miss a single post :)

Rrrrrrrroll out of winter!

It's here! It's here! My favorite part of Canadian Winter! It's time for Tim Hortons Roll Up The Rim to Win!

For those not familiar, Tim Hortons is a chain of coffee shops across Canada (and now some US states) and every February they hold a contest. You roll up the lip of your coffee cup to find out if you won a prize. The grand prizes are usually cars and BBQs, they have some other prizes like gift cards, but they also give away lots of food items and coffees too. Most times you see the all-to-familiar words "please play again", but I have in my time won lots of coffees and donuts. I think one year I had a 9 day streak of winning a coffee.

My love of this contest isn't actually about the possibility of winning a prize. Because I don't actually know anyone who has won more than a food item. What I love about this is a timing of it all.

The contest starts at the end of February and runs (I think) 6 weeks. And at the end of 6 weeks from now SPRING is usually starting to make its way in! Yes folks, to me, Roll up the rim to win symbolizes the end of winter!

So for the next six weeks, instead of talking about how damn cold we are we can now talk about how many coffees we have or haven't won.

I know this sounds silly but it gets me excited. I will fully admit I do up my coffee intake during th is contest. (I realize that is exactly what Tim Hortons wants me to do...) but it's ok. I'm drinking a decaf right now ;)

Good luck to all my caffeine addicted friends. Good luck fellow Canadians, and congratulations to everyone for surviving another Canadian winter!

 

Posted with Blogsy

It's my party

So I was at this party where the host had invited 250 friends and relatives. There was lots of laughs shared and conversations had and for the most part it was a pretty good time. Except the host kept walking through the room with a megaphone saying a bunch of incredilby offensive things.

They would rant out their extreme opinions on whatever was being talked, much to the surprise of their guests- Opinions so extreme that they usually offended a large group of people who were actually AT THE PARTY.  Politics, religion, guns, even sexuality and race - nothing was taboo for this host.

Quite often the host was just ignored, but ocassionally when something was over the top, one of the offended persons would stand up and be like "I'm sorry but that is really offensive".  And the host would throw a fit, claiming it was their party and they could say what they want.

And technically the host is correct, except it wasn't a party - it was Facebook - which is kinda like a party. 

I have strong opinions on controversial things as well. But I will discuss those opinons with close friends, family, and like-minded individuals.  Sure I rant on my blog, but you aren't going to see me take to here and be down-right offensive to a large segment of the population.  Especially a segment that is apparently close enough to have come to my party!

When you say something offensive on Facebook, everyone at your party can see it. And what's worse, they can see when someone you've offended speaks up. 

Please people, don't be the person on a megaphone.  I do encourage you to always have an opinon, even if it is controversial, but please be cognizant of the fact that your opinion may be offensive.  And to those who feel that "if they don't like what I have to say, they can just unfriend me"... you know what.. I hope they all do.

I do beleive that we should all be able to speak our minds. But we should not be hurtful to each other. I think there is a fine line and people need to recognize where that is.

Finding your happiness

Last night I was in bed reading one of those Chicken Soup For The Soul books. As I finished reading a truly inspiring story about a dying girl with a truly remarkably positive outlook on life, I closed the pages and fell asleep thinking about how I'm going to cherish each day and enjoy living every moment while I still get them.
And then today happened...

1. I slept in
2. I realized I forgot to take chicken out of the freezer for dinner last night
3. The coffee I bought was not right
4. I had a frustrating day at work (I'm not blogging the details)
5. I bought a quilt block ruler on my way home only to get home and discover it was broken
6. The chicken didn't thaw out in the fridge
7. I overcooked the meatballs I cooked instead
8. I realized I didn't have any tomato paste left so my sauce was too runny
9. We are out of decaf coffee

Ok, so I realize that some people in this world have real problems and that mine are so minuscule that they shouldn't even register... But SERIOUSLY... Come ON universe.... Please... Not so much in one day!

I'd like to say that I'm going to start tomorrow off on a more positive note, but I have a dentist appointment. At 8am. I'll start the day after with a smile.

Good night moon.

Posted with Blogsy

Unicorn Power!

Super awesome video post today! It was the only way I could show you what I needed to!

Posted with Blogsy

Your goals are bad and you should feel bad.

One of the trends I'm seeing on Pinterest lately is bucket list boards. Exept I feel as if maybe a lot of the teenagers on Pinterest don't really understand the concept of a bucket list and what it means. Either that or some people are just that shallow.

Here are some of the pins I've found that make me want to throw the computer out the window and never look at the internet again.

Really? REALLY? Getting hair extensions is one of thing that you want to do before you die? I mean, if you want extensions that is cool and all... but I have a hard time believing that anyone would be on their death bed and feel as if their life was not fulfilling because they never had hair extensions.

Ok, so I have an iPhone. It's not that special. It makes me sad for humanity that a disposable consumer good is something that would find it's way to a bucket list.

 This one isn't quite as bad. Something from Tiffany & Co. could be passed on through the generations. But this one gets a spot here as another example of the consumerism filled bucket lists.

And my favorite. Own a 96 color eye shadow palette. SERIOUSLY? It's not good enough to have one with 12, 24, or 50 colors. Before you die you must have 96... inside of a single palette.

Teenagers of Pinterest. I encourage you to set bigger goals for your life. And to learn the difference between a wish list and a bucket list.  Think about having experiences rather than things. The happiness they give you lasts much, much longer.

As inspiration, here are some of the more redeeming bucket list pins I found.

Pizza can be cruel

I did something this evening that for many people would be cruel and unusual punishment. I ate half a pizza and then tried on all my bathing suits.

We are away in a couple months and I've been browsing online looking for new bathing suits. Victoria Secret has their swim sale on right now so I had a few tabs open on my iPad. I had just finished dinner (half a pizza) when I decided it was time for a shower. I picked up my iPad to check on something and remembered I wasn't sure what size bottoms I needed. I figured since I was getting ready to shower I would just try on the bathing suits I had and see how they currently fit and how many of them would be good for this trip.

Uhg. I hated it. I looked in the mirror and thought I should just wear a moo-moo for the whole week. It's funny because I've actually LOST weight since the last time we went away. So I really shouldn't have been down about it. I think it was the fact that I had just eaten half a pizza. (Not even a big pizza, one of those small Dr Oetker ones!)

So as I'm standing in the shower thinking about what I want to say in a blog post about the silly thing I had just done and how much I was hating myself at that moment, the hot water ran out. Instantly icy cold water shocked me back to reality.  And I laughed at myself because you know what-- I'm almost 30 and I'll wear whatever I goddam want to on the beach. And I'll drink. A lot. And I won't care because I'll be having too much fun. And I look good dammit.

If you need further reminder of how I feel on this matter, please go back to December and read this post.

Finish What You Start

I have to write about this so that it is public and I hold myself to it. I think I've mentioned before that I start a lot of things and never finish them.  There is one thing I need to make a serious attempt to finish. (Maybe not actually finish, but get closer to an end...) My eyeshadow collection.

As you can see, there is a lot of eyeshadow.  Since one of my goals for the next year is to finish paying off some debt, it would seem silly that I keep buying eyeshadow when I have all this good stuff to use up!  (And in case you were wondering, the depotted ones in the Book of Shadows are the Urban Decay Ammo Palette, a Stila Trio, The big beige one is Makeup For Ever, and the other 3 are Mac... sorry I can't remember colour names.)

So as another personal goal, I'm resolving to not purchase any new eyeshadow in 2013.*
This should give me ample opportunity to work towards using up some of what I have here in my collection.  It's a pretty decent, all good quality stash, and I can't for the life of me think of a time where my life will be over if I need to use a colour that isn't in here.

So friends, please hold me to this. I don't need more. And I don't need to spend any more money on this until I use up some of them.

*Unless Urban Decay finally releases a big all-matte palette. If that happens I reserve the right to purchase it as soon as possible.

Pineapple Party Dip

I made this dip for a party my parents recently had. I wish I could link you to the source of my inspiration, but for the life of me I can't find it anywhere. This taste REALLY good. We had it with various crackers but I imagine it also taste good as a veggie dip.

Ingredients:

• 1 8oz brick of cream cheese.
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 pineapple
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 yellow pepper, chopped
• Dash of salt
• "small bunch" of parsley, chopped
• About 60 pecans

1. Mix the cream cheese and sour cream together until blended.
2. Cut the top off your pineapple and set aside.
3. Take about an inch of your pinapple and put the rest away in the fridge. Cut up this piece into small pieces.  Mix into the cheese mixture, including juices.
4. Mix Chili powder, salt, yellow pepper, and parsley into the mixture.
5. Form into a roundish shape and place on a plate large enough to serve on.
6. Starting at the top, place pecan pieces over dip
7. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
8. Before serving, place pineapple top as garnish on side.

Julep NYE 2012 Mystery Box: Review

I'm a sucker for mystery boxes. Julep had an offer recently to get their New Years Eve mystery box, which promised to contain between $100 and $500 worth of product for $20.
Here is what I received:

1. Reusable tote bag (perfect size for carrying my lunch to work)
2. 5 polishes (more about those below) ($70 value)
3. 1 pot of nail glitter ($2 value since they sell a set of 3 for $6)
4. 3 samples of One-Step Polish Remover Pads
5. 2 samples of Glyncolic Hand Scrub
6. 1 full-size Age Defying Hand Brightener (Normally $32 but currently seems to be on sale for $6.)

So if we let the hand brightener be valued at $32, then it seems my mystery box has a value of approximately $104.  These prices are from the Julep website.  As a Canadian, the only other place I know to purchase Julep products is Sephora. And they charge $17 per polish. Which sort of increases the value of this box by another $15.

On to the polishes in more detail:

From left to right I have received:

Isla - looks like it is actually a pearly white colour. I think this is going to be really pretty and I plan to try it out later tonight.

Portia - a glitter that looks like various shades of white, silver, blues, and teals. Very pretty.

Hoch - a matte greeny colour. I've been saying for a while I need to get some green nail polish, especially with Pantone selecting emerald as the colour of the year for 2013.

Matte Top Coat - I think this excites me more then anything else in the box. I haven't been able to find one anywhere in stores and I don't typically purchase a lot of polish online so it's never made sense to just order one.

Unknown - I'm not sure what this polish is. It does not have the plastic seal around the cap, and the name sticker is missing from the bottom. It appears to be a glitter with flakes of gold, silver, copper, and black.  I think it may have missed its chance this year to get a lot of use. It looks like something I would want more for holiday parties. I'm a little disappointed by this one and wish I had another colour instead. I'm going to give this one away on r/randomactsofpolish.

Overall I'm happy with what I received in my Mystery Box and it was definitely worth the $20 I spent. However, I feel that with a marketing promise of $100-$500 worth of product it would have been nice to be SLIGHTLY a little more over the $100 mark. I would buy another mystery box from them but I don't think I would do it with as much excitement as I had waiting for this one to arrive.