How To Make The Perfect Easter Basket

Tis the season of Cadbury Mini Eggs and chocolate buttons. It’s also the season of making egg bread, which I have failed making this year, but I digress. Ever since having my daughter Everleigh I feel like it’s been my parental duty to make every holiday extra special for her. So even though she’s 1, I thought why not make an Easter basket for the little one? Fill it up with age appropriate things for her and a little chocolate for us. So ladies and gent’s here are my must haves for creating a perfect Easter basket. 

The basket

I got Everleigh’s basket and the liner from Pottery Barn Kids. What I like about this basket is that the liners can be easily switched out. Meaning if one year she’s into unicorns and purple stars another year I don’t have to buy a whole new Easter basket. The build quality of the basket is exceptional and you can find great deals at Pottery Barn Kids once Easter is done. 

The Treat’s 

Since our little one is only 1 the majority of the chocolate in the basket is for us . However it wouldn’t be an Easter basket without a mini eggs and a kinder surprise. If your family is more on the health conscious side of things you can always replace chocolate for healthier alternatives, one of my favourite healthy treats are Oatmeal Banana cookies (they are vegan, gluten and sugar free recipe here) 

The Toys

Some families don’t do an Easter toy, however I grew up getting a little Easter “treat” as my mom would call it. Not wanting to overdo things I bought three little Easter toys for Everleigh. All very affordable the toys I got for Everleigh are a plush Nici Wonderland doll (here and on sale), the other is a set of maracas (found for around the $5.00 mark at Winners) and finally a bunny plush toy (no idea where I got this but it was super inexpensive). From one shopper to another I highly suggest purchasing a month or so before Easter. I find there are excellent deals out there just after Valentine’s Day. 

The Extra’s 

Depending on your child’s age you might want to throw in some Easter basket extras. Some of my favourites are colouring books, bath bombs, stickers, puzzles, pj’s, books or stationary. Growing up my mom would often add a cute pair of spring themed socks or cute pink lip gloss as an Easter basket extra. 

Like with all holidays the most important thing when purchasing any gift is keep your eyes open. Now I seriously can’t wait to crack open in to these cookies and cream eggs. Have an excellent week everyone, and should you have any Easter-y ideas feel free to leave me a comment below or on my social media. 

Life Style Favourites Christmas Edition

Instead of talking about the best red lipstick or my favourite spicy holiday perfume I thought why not get a little crazy and talk lifestyle favourites? Plus I've done a post on Christmas red lipsticks (here) and on perfume (here). So today I'm talking about those little Christmas-y things that elevate your entire holiday experience.

So Delicious Coconut Eggnog

I am not vegan, nor am I lactose intolerant but I am someone who finds the thickness regular eggnog kind of gross. So when I saw this pop up at my local grocery store I had that “I like coconut milk and this that might be good” moment. I find the texture off this eggnog thinner and just generally speaking I find the flavor better. I may have went a little crazy with this because currently I have 8 bottles stacked in my pantry. You can enjoy this alone, with rum or with my next favourite…

Nespresso Limited Edition Holiday Pods

My current drink of choice is a Gingerbead Nespresso pod and a splash of coconut eggnog. In addition Nespresso has released a banana bread flavor and a pumpkin spice flavour. I wish I could pick a favourite, but to be honest I love all three. If you have a Nespresso machine I can’t recommend these festive flavour’s enough.

Scentsy and Wax’s

Recently I purchased some Christmas inspired wax bars and I have to say I have fallen in love with this wax burner all over again. Currently I love the very Christmas-y Iced Pine and the very warm scented Apple S’mores. Another personal favourite is Blueberry Cheese Cake, but proceed with caution this scent smells so yummy it may make you hungry.

Le Creuset Traditional Pot

Another food favourite, can you tell I’ve been eating a lot lately? In my opinion Christmas/winter is the best season for warm hearty meals. So when it comes to cooking soups, pasta sauces, stews and chilis nothing is better then the Le Creuset Traditional Pot. Like all Le Creuset’s this pot is easy to clean, durable, has excellent heat distribution, but the round shape lends itself better to soups and other liquid-y dishes. 

So with a pot of soup on the stove and a baby up to no good in the living room I hope each and every one of you have an excellent Christmas. Remember to be safe, eat plenty and enjoy time with family. Merry Christmas guys and thank you for your continued support over the past year. 

My Planning Obsession & Etsy Sticker Haul

I am someone who needs a planner. Literally if you were to take away my Moleskine I would be lost. While I have always loved stationary the world of planner decor is new to me. Stickers, customized book marks, pretty post-it's? Have I been living under a rock? So my current obsession is planning, washi tape and Etsy stickers. I have no ideas on departing the world of beauty, however I thought it would be fun to share with you my newest fad.

The Planner

For the past 10 years I have been using a Moleskine Weekly Pocket Planner. Usually I opt for the soft cover in Black, however this year I went with the hardcover in Grape Violet. After years of use I can throughly say I like that Moleskine's are small, durable and functional. 

I bought this agenda here, its on sale too!

The Stickers

Typically stickers are made for much larger planners such as the Erin Condren planner or the Life Planner. With that being said if you have a smaller planner you can cut stickers and make them work for you. Also there are some shops that sell pocket sized stickers too. Okay on to the Etsy stuff...

High Glow Designs

To wet my feet into the sticker world I decided to purchase one of there Glitch bags. For $5.00 you get 5 sheets of stickers, with minor defects. The defects were so minor that to be honest I didn't notice any.  Fast shipping and affordable, I would definitely order a glitch box again.

Shop here,

Shells Scribbles

My order with High Glow Designs had me addicted. However this time I wanted to try something made for a pocket sized planner. To curb my addiction I ended up ordering three pockets sized kits from Shell's Scribbles. Each kit I ordered is not only functional, but the design and detail in each sticker kit is stunning. I have to say everything from Shell's Scribbles came beautifully packaged and there was a cute shell bookmark freebie thrown in too. 

If you have a Moleskine, these sticker kits fit perfectly! 

Shop here.

Elegant and Organized 

My final purchase was from Elegant and Organized... I'm telling you I have a seriously sticker problem! For this order I purchased two of her 'daily sets' and one grab bag. Although she didn't have pocket sized packages like Shell's and Scribbles I thought her daily sets would be a good match for my tiny sized planner. The grab bag was an absolute bargain and the weekly sets will work wonderfully in my planner. 

Shop here.

I'm not sure what got over me but I am seriously into the planning business. Let me know if you like seeing these kinds of posts and I would be happy to provide more.
Until next time ladies. 

Lifestyle Favourites

After doing my August favourites post I thought to myself 'I have so much more to share'. At first I was going to make an extra long favourites post, but given my ramble-y nature I didn't want to drag things out. So today I'm putting my tube of lipstick down and talking about lifestyle favourites. Lets begin...

S'well Water Bottle

These water bottles are pricey. Actually, for the longest time I thought there was some sort of computer chip in them that tracks how much water you drink during the day... because who in there right mind would pay $45.00 for a water bottle? However after hearing nothing but positive reviews I couldn't help but to purchase one.

The honest truth is S'well water bottles are nothing short of amazing. Yes, there soda bottle shaped is adorable and yes, they come in a huge selection of cute colours. However there ability to keep water ice cold for 24 hours makes them better then any other water bottle I've tried. In addition S'wells also keep hot drinks, hot for 12 hours too. If you were looking for a fun water bottle, with excellent build quality give S'well a try.

Lululemon Vinyasa Scarf

This scarf is by far the softest, stretchiest, cuddliest scarf I've ever owned. To make things better the vinyasa scarf can be worn 10 different ways (video here) and its super breathable too. If you were looking for a handy, cozy scarf for the upcoming season I can't recommend this one enough. My love for this scarf so strong I am highly contemplating on purchasing this in black and grey too.

Saje Sleep Well Remedy 

As a new mom I am looking for any tip, trick or treat that well help me get a more restful sleep. Thus far I've tried yoga, lavender essential oil, but nothing has worked as well as Saje's Sleep Well remedy. The very scent of this makes me yawn and before you know I'm on my way to a good nights rest... it's kind of like a natural sleeping pill. If you wake up frequently at night or just have a hard time getting to bed this cocktail of sleep inducing essential oils is a game changer.

Healthy Banana Cookies

I love this recipe for three very important reasons; 1. it's an excellent way to use overly ripe bananas, 2. it's healthy, 3. it's easy. Yes, people with three handy ingredients you can whip up a batch of guilt free, banana oatmeal cookies. In addition to being easy and handy also really like that this recipe is flexible, often times I've added coconut, cinnamon or almonds to the recipe and they turn out each and every time. If you want a healthy cookie breakfast or just wanted a nutritious snack you can find the recipe here. 

Healthy cookies, water bottles and natural sleep remedies this Lifestyle Favourites post surely makes me sound way more health conscious then I actually am. Actually embarrassingly over the past 3 days I've eaten an entire apple pie, over indulged in pizza and ate a bag of Twix Bites... Life is about moderation? Without getting to reflective here I have some amazing posts lined up for you so until next time ladies. 

5 Tips For a Better Sleep

After months of persistent exhaustion I knew my sleeping habits needed to change. The old me would go to bed around 10:00pm thinking 'this will be the day I go to bed early'. However after reading the news, looking at Instagram and surfing the web, my hopes of restful sleep go out the window. So if your reading this and relating to my experiences or yawning (I hope your not bored), here are my 5 tips for a better sleep.

1. No Electronics

Every article I've ever read on sleep has recommended to avoid TV, computers or phones before bed. To be honest I feel like I've known this tip for ages but never applied it in my own life. Finally one night after aimlessly surfing the web for hours I realized this has got to stop! These days I make a effort to go to bed laptop free and the end result is a night filled with sleep.

2. Aromatherapy 

There is nothing out there that makes me as sleep ready as lavender. So every night I quickly spritz lavender mist on my pillow. Not only does this step take seconds, but it instantly creates a tranquil sleep environment. For those who are interested I use the affordable Aura Cacia Lavender Mist and it can be found here. 

3. Pyjamas 

Another contributing factor to my shit sleep routine was the fact I would wear clothes to bed. Pyjama's, sleep? Hear me out, but the habit of putting on a comfy pyjama before bed tells my brain its time to sleep. As where the act of putting on legging and a t-shirt get me ready for lounging in front of the TV. So to combat this issue I highly recommend the magic of a good set of pj's. All through slightly overpriced some of my all-time favourites come from Soma. With that being said there is always a great selection of affordable pj's at stores like Winners. 

Pyjama magic is a very real thing!

4. Routine

I have a bedtime routine for my daughter, we play, read and feed for a goodnights rest. However when I looked at my own bedtime routine it was a little backwards. So just like my baby I implemented a bedtime routine in my life and damn it ever change things. I think the old me use to get overwhelmed at a routine but really it only takes 10 min. My personal routine consists of pj's, brushing my teeth, aroma spray, lip balm, quick glance at Instagram and lights out. 

5. Go to Bed When Your Tired

As newly converted master of sleep the best tip I could have given my old self is go to bed when your tired. For years I would go to bed in hopes I would fall sleep early when in reality I wasn't tired at all.  After hours of tossing and turning, followed by hours wasted online I would fall asleep in the wee hours of the morning. These days if I'm not tired I make a cup of tea, read a book or go for a late night walk. 

With a little pyjama magic followed by a quick mist of lavender you can be a master of sleep too. If you have any tips feel free to share in the comments section below. 

Favourite Cook Books

My love for cookbooks grows deep. For instance I remember purchasing Julia Child's, Mastering the Art of French Cooking over 10 years ago and thinking to myself I want to move to France and master Coq au Vin. Unfortunately my dreams of moving to France never happened. With that being said to this date I can whip up one badass Beef Bourguignon. Thank you Ms. Child!  Since we all know that I'm a perfume addict and a blush hoarder I thought today venture out to cookbooks, more specifically my current favourites.

The Oh She Glows Cookbook by Angela Liddon

Don't let this vegan cookbook scare you each recipe I've tried has been flavourful, delicious and healthy. Thus far I've tried well over 10 recipes such as the zucchini muffins, Tex Mex Casserole and 15 min Creamy Avocado Pasta. However my all time favourite is the Fall Harvest Butternut Squash.

If you looking for some recipes that just so happen to be vegan and healthy you might want to check this out.

Also, just wanted to point out the photography in this book is just stunning.

Milk Bar Life by Christina Tosi

 I find the original Milk Bar cookbook overly complicated and the ingredients hard to find. Milk Bar Life on the other hand is loaded with simple, easy to follow, tasty recipes. One of my personal favourites is Grandma's Oat Meal Cookies... I swear these are some of the best cookies I've ever made. Filled with personal stories Christina Tosi narrative makes this cookbook quirky, playful and very loveable. If you happen to be a cookie monster with a love for comfort food Milk Bar Life would make an excellent addition to your collection.

Brown Eggs and Jam Jars by Aimee Wimbush-Bourque

From tips on barbecuing to making homemade jams this cookbook is an excellent all rounder. There is even a section on how to prepare for a summer picnic! I've tried a handful of recipes from this book, but some of my all time favourites are the Cheesy Butternut Squash Penne, Chicken Leak Shepherd's Pie and Coconut Cream Baked Oatmeal. The Coconut Cream Baked Oatmeal is so good I embarrassingly ate it all in one sitting. For fresh, seasonal, yummy, crowed pleasing recipes look no further then Brown Eggs and Jam Jars.

So there we have it my top three cookbooks of the moment. Now I need to go eat something because I've never written a post that made me so hungry! Thank you all for taking the time and reading.

Let's talk Sanitizer

Let’s take a break from the beautiful world of skincare and talk hand sanitizer. Yes, you heard me right hand sanitizer. Not a sexy must have, but a must have none the less. So ladies put your bottle of Purell down let’s talk Dr. Bronner’s Organic Hand Sanitizer.

Formula wise this hand sanitizer is banging, no parabens, petro chemicals or any other nasties. Actually this sanitizer only has 4 ingredients, which makes it makes it one of the purest I’ve ever found. Ingredients aside the reason you need this hand sanitizer in your life is the beautiful lavender scent. With real lavender essential oil this hand sanitizer transports you to a lavender field somewhere in the south of France.

I’m obsessed.

So obsessed actually I’ve considered wearing this hand sanitizer as a perfume…

Who am I kidding I embarrassingly have worn this as perfume.

With its handy spray, beautiful scent and pure ingredients Dr. Bronner’s Organic Hand Sanitizer is a product worth talking about. 

Kitchen Beauty Essentials

Like most beauty obsessed you can find makeup and skincare all over my house. In each powder room a lip product, in the family room a selection of face masks and by the front door a couple of fragrances. However there is one beauty "hot spot" in our house and that is the kitchen. From hand creams to a selection of lip products here are my kitchen beauty must haves.

Hand Soap and Hand Cream

Nothing says at home spa then a sink full of dirty dishes. HA...

In all seriousness (well as serious as soap can be) using dish soap can and will dry out your hands. To avoid chapped, cracked and even bleeding hands I say spurge and buy your self a proper soap and hand cream. My new favourite is William Sonoma's Lime Blossom. Apart from making me feel really fancy the Lime Blossom fragrance is fresh and the formula is nourishing.

Lip Products

Sometimes the kitchen island becomes a dumping ground for lip products. With that being said I always keep at least two lip products in the kitchen at all times. One is a sheer lip balm perfect for everyday use and the other is typically something with a bit of colour. Currently I have have the clear Fresh Sugar Advanced Therapy (review here) and Fresh Sugar Lip Balm in the colour Berry. 

Homeoplasmine (in an old Dior Pot) 

Every kitchen should have some sort of  multi-purpose ointment in it! Strong statement I know, but there is no other product hydrates dry skin, moisturizes lips, repairs cracked cuticles, helps calm down bug bites and help aid burns. If your unable to find Homeoplamine, Elizabeth Arden's 8 Hour Cream and the Honest Companies Healing balm are both excellent alternatives. 

Hair Things

Firstly let me start off by saying I don't do my hair in the kitchen. However as someone who worked in in the food service industry keeping your hair up while cooking has been drilled into my head. So I always keep a hair tie, bobby pin and clip handy to prevent my long hair flying everywhere. 

Tweezers

Again I don't pluck any sort of hair in the kitchen... actually the very thought of it makes me want to puke. Now this might be TMI but I'm going to go there... chin hair. Every now and then I find a random ass chin hair thats long and nasty. To avoid people confusing me for an ogre, troll or any other fairy tale villain I like to have pair of tweezers handy. Again I don't remove hair in the kitchen, but I the powder room is fair game. Chain hair, tweezers, plucking ... this is becoming all sorts of gross-ness... on to the next item. 

Mirrored Compact

Having a mirrored compact is key to avoiding fo

od in teeth or on the face situations. A Chanel mirrored compact might seem like the ultimate luxury, but I'm here to tell you its not. Instead of tossing out an old Chanel blush I just removed the shabby blush and bam I was left with a pretty fancy compact. The Chanel mirrored compact sells for $45.00 online and using an old compact is free... easy beauty hack if you ask me.

So now you know our house is a dumping ground for beauty products. I also keep a selection of nail polishes in the office and face creams on my coffee table... I seriously have a problem! Until next time ladies... 

Saje Wellness

Last fall I got pulled out of a conference call to take a phone call. Usually these types of urgent phone calls are indicate some sort of family emergency. However there is one other women who is just as obsessed with beauty as me... my mom. I kid you not on the other end of the phone my mom is belligerently chanting "Saje Wellness", "open", "skincare" and "yoga mat spray". The normal reaction would be to be mad, but as a beauty junkie myself I sprung out of my chair and yelled "there opening a Saje at the mall" and then we proceeded to talk about yoga mat sprays, natural skincare and aroma therapy for the next half an hour.

I wish this story was an over exaggeration, embarrassingly this actually happened.

 Saje Natural Wellness specializes in natural healing and healthy living. There range of products include everything from skincare and hand wash to things like natural headache remedies and aromatherapy oils. What I like about Saje is there high quality products and excellent customer service. I also really happen to like there Canadian roots too.

I have tried a few things from Saje like there Peppermint Halo natural headache remedy and there yoga mat spray (you can use to refresh your running shoes). However my favourite thing among the bunch has been there Nebulizers and diffuser blends.  Basically Nebulizers are a heat free essential oil diffusers. These compact machines create a thin stream of water vapour that also help aid allergies and purify air. Now I'm sort of a low maintenance candle burning kind of girl, so I was slightly intimated by using this diffuser. With that being said its a super easy to use machine, add water, a few drops of essential oil, turn on the on button and the next thing you know you've transformed your bedroom to a spa. As for the Diffuser Blends I really like woodsy invigorating Mountain High during the day and soothing lavender Stress Release for night.

There are still so many things I want to try from this brand including there skincare and "Sleep" range of products. Actually I would like to try some of there candles and deodorants too... this might be the start to a slight Saje obsession. I've noticed these stores popping up everywhere in the Toronto area so if you have any recommendations I am open to suggestions.

For more information on Saje click here.

The Perfect Bath

 I’ve always considered myself more of a shower girl, but soaking in the tub has recently been growing on me. Sometimes I watch TV shows in the tub, while other times I do absolutely nothing. I have to say me recent preference has been doing absolutely nothing. I think the switch went off when I started adding pampering touches around the tub. These inexpensive, insignificant details might not seem like anything but trust me they work together to give a spa like experience. So today we are taking this to the tub, here are my much-loved ways to creating the perfect bath.

Let in Nature

I once saw a picture of a magical looking bathtub surrounded by vines, orchids and moss... I fell in love with the picture, but in reality having this beautiful enchanted forest scene in my bathroom isn’t practical for me. So to capture a touch of nature I bought myself a plant and a low maintenance succulent at that. In addition to the a little greenery I also added a slice of wood that I use as a tray for my bath products. This ‘slice of wood’ is actually a mini cutting board I got at my local Winners for under $15.00. I think I will eventually add more plants to the tub area, but I have to say I am happy with the two little nature touches I have right now.

The Perfect Soap Dish

Trying to catch a bar of soap in a bath is nearly impossible and soap scum on the sides of your tub suck. The answer is a cute soap dish people… They are inexpensive, they save your product from waste and they look nice too. I opted for a white soap boho inspired tray, but you could also use a teacup saucer for really charming results too.

Indulgent Bath Products

As someone who has stained there tub with gold glitter, ‘therapeutic’ mud and pink bath bombs, bath products can make or break a bath experience for me.These days I stick to bath products that don’t come with a high upkeep cleanup, which overall creates a more relaxing experience for me. You can totally spend a fortune on products; however you can also save should you choose. A personal time bath favourite is the NUXE Oil Prodigieuse. This oil works on face, hair and body, but a couple of squirts into a hot bath is truly a beautiful experience. Now I’m not saying this oil is drugstore cheap but because it’s so multi-purpose it’s easy to justify the price.

Candle Power

I strongly believe every bath should be complimented by some sort of candle. Sure you can opt with a fancy Dyptique candle, but trust me any candle providing you like the scent works. I have always liked Valuspa candles, with that being said I currently have two random candles by my tub. So ladies turn off those harsh bathroom lights and prepare to unwind.

What are some of your favourite ways to create the perfect bath? Leave me a comment! 

No Bake Turtle Cheese Cake

There is a restaurant by our house that has the best Turtle Cheesecake one could ever ask for.  Jay and I love the cakes so much that we even strategized a really crappy plan to try to get the recipe. After realizing that paying off the waiters and hiding cameras around the restaurant wasn’t an option I decided to come up with a recipe of my own. What I created shocked me… not because it resembled the restaurants but because it was so tasty yet so easy. Yes Cheesecake can be super heavy and dense, but this light weight Turtle Cheesecake so light it makes it perfect treat after a summer BBQ.

Crust

1 PKG of Oreo’s

2-4 TBS of butter (room temperature)

Filling

1 PKG of cream cheese (room temperature)

½ cup of sugar

473ml of whipping cream

Melted milk chocolate to taste

Topping

Carmel Sauce (store bought it fine)

Melted Milk Chocolate

1 hand full of Pecans

1.       In a food processer, process entire package of Oreos and two table spoons of room temperature butter. You’re looking for the consistency of wet sand here, if your Oreo “sand” is not wet enough add more butter and process until consistency is just right.

2.       Take crust mixture and press into bottom of spring form pan. Try your best to make things as level as possible.

3.       In a mixer (or by hand) whip, whip cream until it forms stiff peaks. To avoid over mixing I always start my whipping cream in a mixer and finish it by hand. Transfer whipped cream into big mixing bowel.

4.       No need to wash that mixer bowl or attachment for this step! Add cream cheese, melted milk chocolate and half into mixer bowl and mix until combined. You could add more chocolate if you crave a richer Cheesecake. Personally I like my filling quite light, so I add enough chocolate to make my cheese mixture look like weak chocolate milk (about a half of chocolate bar).  

5.       Slowly fold in cream cheese mixture into whip cream. This will ensure your filling is light and fluffy.

6.       Once mixture is combined pour Cheesecake filling over Oreo crust. Smooth top with end of spatula and place in fridge. I let my cheese cake set overnight but 5 hours should do the trick too. Once cheese is firm release for spring form pan.

7.       Now is the time where this becomes a Turtle people… and it couldn’t be and more easy! Sprinkle pecans on cake, I use a handful of roughly chopped pecans. Finally I drizzle caramel and melted chocolate over the cake and I am done!

3 Products For a Soothing Sleep

I'm sure I'm not alone when I say this but, sunday night is my unofficial relaxing time. And this particular Sunday is no exception to the rule. In search of some relaxation I headed right for my beauty stash and selected some of my favourite sleep inducing, relaxing products. So before I doze of to dream-ville here are my top 3 relaxing products for a sunday evening. 

Bath and Body Works Sleep Vanilla Lavender Pillow Mist 

For years the Sleep Vanilla Lavender Body lotion has been my bedside must have. Surprisingly, even though I've repurchased the body lotion, I can wholeheartedly say I never noticed the pillow spray. Come to think about it maybe I thought it was a body spray! 

I am getting way off topic here, but what I am getting to is this pillow spray was an unexpected discovery. With the warm scent of vanilla and the calming scent of lavender, in seconds this transforms your bed into a relaxing, sleep inducing retreat. 

Sanctuary Sleep Restoring Body Elixir 

I adore beauty oils and I also happen to love sleeping, which kind of makes this perfect combination. With notes of patchouli, frankincense and ylang ylang this earthy product is a stunning night time must have. If your not into the typical night time lavender scents Sanctuary's Sleep range might just be what your looking for. 

FAB Ultra Repair Hydra- Firm Sleeping Cream 

A gentle, firming, moisturizing night cream is the perfect way to finish any evening beauty routine. Plus there is also something very graifiying about slathering yourself with a thick cream and waking up with super soft skin.  I have been going on about this cream for over a month now and even have a full in-depth review here. 

A quick, easy, sleep ready beauty routine is what I am all about tonight. Before I sleep off to dream world I would love to know what some of your favourite relaxing, sleepy beauty products are! 

Around the Home: Affordable Spring Touches

Lately I’ve been looking around the home and thinking “damn it sure is dark in here”. Granted our home doesn’t boast too much colour, but at the same time it needs a little spring pick me up. Staying true to our style and without breaking the bank, here are my some of my favourite inexpensive spring touches for the home.

Fresh Tulips

I love fresh flowers, but the bottom line is most of time they can be expensive. Then there are tulips! In my humble option nothing screams spring more than tulips and at $5.00 a bundle they are cost-effective too.

Kitchen Towels

Not only are dish towels practical, but can also add the perfect touch of color to your kitchen. Unable to rock a full-on Easter themed kitchen I settled for two pastel towels. A set 5 of the green cost me $7.00 and the blue and white was $1.99 for one.

Plants

Most of us have house plants and most the time house plants sit in the background of our homes. To make things more spring-y I have taken my house plants and brought them forward. For example my ivy plant which now sits on my coffee table. Cost free!!

Random thought… Mini Eggs also make a great inexpensive Easter themed decoration. Unfortunately Jay and I are unable to resist eating them all! 

These are inexpensive ways to spruce of the house for spring. Totally different post for me today, let me know if you would like more design themed posts.

What are some of your favourite ways to decorate for spring, leave me a comment!

Done With Diptyque

When I think of luxury candles the first thing that comes to mind is Diptyque  These perfumed beauties go through a 9 step process of ensure optimal quality. Even if you do a quick glance online beauty bloggers and fashionista’s alike claim these to be “the best”. Now with three candles under my belt here are my final thoughts on Diptyque.

My first candle from Diptyque was Rosa Mundi. This rose scented masterpiece was the best candle I’ve ever owned. The scent was a beautiful, it burned like a dream and the packaging was downright stunning. Again Epice was a just as nice and although being a mini size it had no problem filling a room with its stunning scent.

Then there was Figuier a candle loved by so many, it was on my musts of things to try. The first time I opened the box and noticed it was lacking any scent I knew there was something wrong. So I called my local Diptyque store and the instructed me to burn it to “release” the scent and this did absolutely nothing. Now unable to return my burnt candle I was left to contact Diptyque customer service and heard nothing… actually I emailed them twice and both with no response.

I’m not one to bash a single brand and I realize duds happen. However when you pride yourself quality wouldn’t you want to maintain that? In fact, I think there are many candle brands both luxurious and affordable that exceed Diptyque's customer service. So while the Rosa Mundi jar proudly stores my makeup brushes I am unfortunately done with Diptyque.

Pomegranate Noir Room Spray

I never knew the luxurious Shiseido facial cotton could be so good, nor was I expecting to love Guerlain’s $53.00 Rouge G’s as much as I do. Sometimes luxurious products are so good that they are revolutionary. So ladies put that bottle of Febreze down here is my escapade into the fancy world of fine room fragrance.

My first experience in the world of luxury home fragrance was with Dyptique. Out of the two pristinely packaged candles I bought one was a hit and the other was a horrible miss. On the fence about Dyptique and quite happy with BBW’s Leaves I was not looking into purchasing another lavish candle, home scent diffuser or anything like that.  

Then Jo Malone happened!

Let’s keep it real, $60.00 for a room spray is absolutely crazy. I don’t live a life of luxury, I don’t own a private jet nor do have a closet full of Louis Vuitton… I am a normal girl. Sure I have nice things, but the nice things I do have I save up for. However, I am not kidding you Jo Malone’s Pomegranate Noir room spray is worth saving your nickels and dimes.

Pomegranate Noir smells like tart pomegranate meets the heady patchouli. The overall effect is sweet yet masculine, combined with a whole lot of sexy. Wholeheartedly the Room Spray stands up to the regular perfume. There’s none of that watered down-ness or strong chemical filler it’s just full on Pomegranate Noir. 

The most surprising part is the longevity of this.

 This is going to sound a little sales pitchy but …

With only a couple of spray’s you can enjoy a 3 hour scent journey with Pomegranate Noir.

Yes 3 hours!  So while this is expensive you need so little that in reality one of these huge bottle will last you a long time. I have been using this in our bedroom and living room almost every day and the bottle barely looks touched.

For me this is one of those pricey items that is so revolutionary it's worth the price tag. If you enjoy Pomegranate Noir you will go mad for this. Jo Malone also has an assortment of other famous scents done for their room spray line. The quality of fragrance, the amount or product and the longevity really make this worth its money.  It’s like your favorite perfume in the comfort of your living room!