One month later …

Posted in Crafty, Fashionista by

Last month I got my very first subscription box! It was a box of handpicked, homemade, delights and as a person who likes supporting artists and their works I thought that I might enjoy the monthly goodies.

Now it’s one month after my first box, one month to use the products and form my opinions and I have to say, surprisingly, I still love pretty much everything!

20141016_211120I’m still using my Voodoo Colour Balm from Black Widow Balm. I did notice that, since the weather got colder, it’s a little harder – most likely due to the ingredients in the lip balm, but a few rubs and it’s back to a nice consistency. I love the colour and I love that it seems to stay on – something other colour lip balms haven’t been doing for me. I have really dry skin and when the weather turns it gets worse, however, I have found that if I am consistent with using this balm that it soothes the cracks.

Surprisingly I’m still using the Lip Balm Holder from Gabriel’s Good Tidings. This isn’t something I’d purchase for myself – I still don’t feel like I would if I ever lost it or had to replace it, but time will tell. However, having received it in the box along with lip balm I find that I’m using it more that I would have thought. Often it’s easy to clip onto my bag strap for easy access and because mine is so bright if I leave it in my bag it’s easy to spot it between the other things I carry around all day. I can see this and the lip balm making really cute stocking stuffers this year.

One thing that I wasn’t sure I’d use but I am absolutely loving is, Not A Dirty Hippie’s Chamomile and Lemongrass Shampoo Bar. First of all, the smell of this bar makes me think of carefree summer days and beautiful blue skies. It’s super easy to use and leaves my hair feeling clean. I use an apple cider vinegar rinse afterwards and I absolutely love the way it makes my curls look. I’m glad I used this, I will be frequenting this store a lot in the future.

Finally, Plain J Body and Home’s Soy Candle, I rarely use candles, but when I do I like them to leave the air with a lasting, but not overwhelming, scent. I used this for the first time a few days ago and I love it! Definitely a great gift for any candle loving friend of yours.

~*~

October’s Loot Crate!

Posted in Bookish, Gadgets, Gamer Girl?, Geeky by

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When I was thinking about what sort of boxes I should sign up for, Loot Crate was one of my top picks. My first one came yesterday and it had quite a few great things inside, just in time for Halloween.

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The first thing I pulled out was this skull t-shirt, but look carefully and you’ll see that it’s really a bunch of kittens.

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The next thing I was How to Survive a Sharknado. I haven’t seen this show but this book looks like it contains some funny anecdotes.

Seeing as I just started watching The Walking Dead, I’m curious to see what the comic book is all about.

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Probably my favourite item in the box, this chainsaw/sledge hammer pen will be a great Halloween kind of pen!

There were a few more things but these were all the pictures I took. I’m actually very pleased with this box, looking forward to November’s!

A box a month …

Posted in Fashionista by

I’ve been eyeing the subscription boxes for a while now and recently I took the plunge. This month I got my first box!

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The Dottiebox came beautifully wrapped with handmade goodies from independent vendors that I wouldn’t have heard of otherwise.

The first thing I opened was the Black Widow Tinted Balm, which is made with familiar ingredients whose names I can pronounce. I like that it’s a little on the dark side, it goes well with my lips.

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The next thing to open was Gabriel’s Good Tiding’s Lip Balm Holder – the lip balm fit perfectly. I didn’t know I needed one until I opened this up. For me this makes perfect sense as I never find my lip balms and I have very dry skin and lips all year round. I can’t tell you how many lip gloss/balms I’ve bought only to find two stashed away at the bottom of my purse afterwards.

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Also in the box were Not a Dirty Hippie’s solid shampoo bar. I didn’t open this up because I’m doing the no-poo thing, but reading the ingredients on the site I might use it. The reason I stopped using shampoo was because of the chemicals, and since all the ingredients in this bar looks familiar to me, I think it would be OK to use.

There was also an Apples and Maple Bourbon Soy candle from Plain J Body and Home which smells delicious.

It’s only one box but I really like it so far. I’m excited to see what they will send in November!

I Am Eleven

Posted in Cultured, The Telly by

I am a summer baby, so eleven found me looking forward to school. I had a little over a month before school started again, but I was looking forward to it because I was starting secondary school that September – I was finally a high schooler. I was a little nervous as well. They randomly assigned classes so I was also worried that I might not be in the same class as the few St. Margaret’s friends that were attending Queen’s College with me that year. And there were ten houses and I chose Austin (C) house, what if none of my other friends chose that house? Then of course there were the classes, what if I couldn’t cut it at this school?

But, mostly I was looking forward to the new school. It was an exciting year, eleven.

I’m not randomly thinking about eleven, there is a reason. I watched a film yesterday called I Am Eleven where filmmaker Genevieve Bailey traveled to fifteen countries and interviewed different eleven year olds asking them questions about life, love and other mysteries. It both extremely funny and insightful, I enjoyed it and it really causes you to think about life and how we live.

I think the most eye-opening piece of the film for me was when the kids were asked what they would change if they could. One girl wanted longer weekends and another wanted a home. A lot of children around the world (and in America) face different challenges and some are fortunate to live a life where the only thing they have to worry about is getting up for school and hanging with friends on the weekends, I wish all kids could experience that, but that’s just not the case. This is something that will stay with me, that I will need to think about and consider a bit more. How can I help those less fortunate? How can I bring awareness of the issues? I think this film really encourages that sort of thinking and I think it’s important for children to be exposed to the differences in the world around us. 

Check out the trailer below and if it’s showing in a theater near you, I do hope you to go! 

Do you remember when you were eleven?

~*~

They see me riding, my Citibike …

Posted in My New York by

chartAfter a year of admiring the shiny (and not so shiny) bikes at a distance, I finally gave in and got a Citibike key. It took me about two weeks after getting my key to psych myself out enough so that I actually got ON one of the bikes1, but I did it and I like it.

I started in August and I saw a significant lift in my biking that month, am definitely looking forward to September.

Being Citibike user I’ve learnt a few things, and so I will now share my observations with you.

  1. It’s actually quite easy to use Citibikes – well, after you’ve read the instructions.2
  2. It’s also very easy to return the bikes, as long as the location has power.3
  3. The actual riding of the bike in the city isn’t as bad as I thought it might be. Though I do feel safer when riding on a protected path and would go out of my way to use one.
  4. Sometimes riding on the other types of bike path opens you up to cat-calls from people in their car.
  5. It’s always good to have hand sanitizer handy. ALWAYS.
  6. If you’re going to be taking a bike from, right after someone else returns it, you will most likely not like the experience of that person’s sweaty palm imprints on the handle bars.
  7. Hold the silver metal part when you are trying to loosen or tighten the seatpost clamp.

Now that I’ve ridden Manhattan, I’ve finally used all its major forms of transportation – I feel like a local. Happy riding.

1. It’s scary riding a bike in the city!
2. How did I miss the whole, remove bike by lifting seat instruction?
3. There was one time when three stations were not accepting bikes and my time was running out. It was a race to find an open kiosk! What an adventure (no, not really).