I don’t take baths very often because I feel bad using so much water, but with all the bath products I got in recent months, I’ve managed to take two. It’s been a nice way to really take time to care for my body. Whereas a shower tends to focus on washing things away, a bath is all about soaking things up. It’s a chance to condition your skin and soothe achy muscles. It’s a complete change of pace from the normal shower routine and I like how it sort of forces me to look at how I’m feeling. When you’re resting there with bath salts or a tea soak, there’s not too much else you can do simultaneously. I certainly don’t want to risk dropping a device in the water, so it’s not like I’m connected to my technology during that time. Tonight I took time for a bath and it has been very relaxing. Sometimes a bit of TLC is just what you need to feel great.
365great Day 190: baths
Treatsie September 2013 review
Treatsie is $15 per box and comes with artisan candy from 3 brands. That usually means 5 or 6 different flavors of treats. Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. They offer a referral link program.
This time around the label was new and shiny.
See how it reflects the light? The old labels were a paper that was matte.
Oh my yum.
Morning Glory Confections Chai Tea & Cashew Artisan Brittle: Ooo, what an exotic-sounding brittle. I’ve only ever had peanut brittle, which is one of the few things with peanuts that I actually like! This is with chai tea flavor and cashews, which is very fragrant and warm. It’s such a perfect treat for the fall and the crunchiness is super satisfying. Watch out if you have sensitive teeth and can’t bite very hard! Might want to put part of a piece in your mouth to let it soften first. Or, if you like hard candies like me you can just dig right in.
Katherine Anne Confections Vanilla Black Pepper and Cinnamon Sugar Marshmallows: The texture of these marshmallows are amazing – soft and supple yet they just melt in your mouth when you bite in. NOM! I loved the uniqueness of the Vanilla Black Pepper, which was sweet with a kick. So much fun! And of course the Cinnamon Sugar was a lovely sweet aromatic flavor for those of you who don’t want the contrast of sweet and spicy.
Grey Ghost Bakery Cinnamon Pecan, Chocolate Espresso, and Molasses Spice Cookies: I think one of these is the amazing smell that came wafting up as I was opening the box. Namely, the Cinnamon Pecan, but I can’t be sure because there were so many cinnamon items in the box! I love it; it totally reminded me of the fall season. The Cinnamon Pecan is a crisp sort of cookie, which is a bit crumbly. The taste is good but I like more soft cookies. I don’t like espresso flavors so I’m saving it for someone else. My favorite was the Molasses Spice that was just the right softness, sweet and fragrant, and had fabulous sugar granules. Oh yes, please.
Did you get a Treatsie box? How do you like these fall-inspired treats?
[This post contains affiliate links. Signing up through them helps support my subscription and I’d be ever so grateful. 🙂 All opinions are my own and I received no compensation for this review. I just purchased this box and wanted to share what I got!]
365great Day 189: traditions
Learn more about 365great here.
Traditions are an important part of human history and a way for cultures to celebrate certain ways of doing things. Sometimes entire nations partake and sometimes it’s just you, but no matter what the size and scope, it’s a way to connect with the past. Today is the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, where there is a tradition of eating moon cakes. It’s a simple gesture, but one that ties all those with a similar cultural heritage together. The act of buying a moon cake and consuming it may not be as meaningful to Panda and I in this day and age, but it’s still a way for us to respect our ancestry and do something that our forefathers (and mothers, hehe) have been doing for centuries. Even on a smaller scale, traditions are a way to bind us together, like when you have rituals related to how you celebrate anniversaries and other personal events. I think it’s a great way to create deeper connections.
The laundry basket
Panda and I have very different habits. Some we’ve compromised on and others we tolerate. His laundry basket habit falls under the latter category. You see, to me a laundry basket is something you use to gather dirty clothes. When you no longer plan on wearing them, you throw them in there. Therefore, it is not a place you want to be rummaging through. Things go in one by one, they all get dumped out around the same time, and sometimes a freshly laundered load will temporarily go in to be transported away from the dryer.
Is that how you use your laundry basket?
Because it certainly is not how he uses it. For him, the laundry basket is a holding cell for clothing that has been worn once but is still viable for another wear. Yet at the same time, there are items meant for the wash as well. This grosses me out even though really it’s just a bit of weathered clothing – not like there are dried stains from sauces or anything super dirty. I can’t help it; it’s completely psychological but if something goes in that basket I am NOT taking it out unless it goes straight to the wash.
So how do you manage your laundry?
365great Day 188: Soma
Learn more about 365great here.
I forgot how I came across Soma, but it was probably a Kickstarter email or a news article. I loved the concept of a water filter I’d be proud to keep out on the kitchen counter. Even better was that the filter would be fully compostable! When I discovered that, I knew that I wanted one of these. I absolutely hate throwing things out, so if I can recycle or compost (or just keep) something, I’m super happy. I feel better about how it will impact the environment and when I get a yard I’ll be interested in seeing how the filter composts. For now I’ll just trust them and put it in the compost pile. That’s a pretty rewarding feeling and I get to feel even better knowing they’ve partnered with charity:water to help make clean drinking water something everyone in the world can enjoy. It was a long wait, but my Soma filter and carafe finally arrived and I’m excited to have it as a staple in the new place, where it will fit right in on our beautiful kitchen counter tops with sunlight streaming in. It’ll be great!
Ipsy September 2013: Classic Beauty
Alright! My Ipsy bag arrived on Monday but I’ve been getting home from work kind of late so it’s always too busy at night for me to do a proper video or get pictures (plus the lighting isn’t as nice). Sooo I made sure to get those pictures taken today for this post. 🙂 Oh, and I have the video up now!
Ipsy is $10 per glam bag and comes with 5 or so beauty/skincare products. Bags are sent monthly with no option to skip. There’s usually a waitlist to get the subscription. They offer a referral program that earns you points towards free products.
I just wanted to note that this was the flattest bag yet, to the point that I almost doubted there was anything in the pouch before I opened it! Funny how that works.
Cailyn Tinted Lip Balm in Big Apple – keep. I quite enjoy the unique shape of Cailyn products. I haven’t really gotten to use the purple eyeliner I traded for from a previous bag, but I did have some fun with it (and discovered I really suck at making good lines). Now this is something I can’t really mess up! The red is more bright and bold than I’d choose for myself, but since it came in my bag I’m all for it. Totally into non-lipstick lip products these days, including lip balms, tinted lip balms, and lip scrubs.
NYX Eye Shadow in Fantasy – trade. This one was unavoidable since everyone got one and while it’s cute, I just don’t use eye shadow. Definitely going up on the trade list, as with any other eye shadow I will ever get. I’ll give Ipsy a pass on this since it wasn’t one of the items that you might have gotten – it was one for all the bags and IpsyMatch certainly can’t unmatch you to a staple item.
It’s So Big Volumizing Mascara by Elizabeth Mott – keep. I’ve started to use a little mascara here and there for work, so this will come in handy. I’m still looking for one that is really waterproof/smudge proof since I always forget and end up rubbing my eyes. I don’t enjoy looking like a raccoon for half the day! We’ll see how this one performs. Volumizing is cool and all, but what I really need is one that will stay on my lashes until I decide to wash it off with oil or makeup remover.
Freeman Paper Masks in Rose, Star Fruit, and Blue Agave – keep. These I’m excited about!! I enjoy masks of all sorts and I’ve been trying a bunch but these would be my first paper masks in a long time. I’ve never tried Freeman before so I’m excited to see what they have to offer. These masks seem really nourishing and I absosultely love that they included three different ones to try! Almost makes up for the fact that they gave me all these eye products that I don’t really use. I’m probably going to want to repurchase these at some point.
Starlooks Eye Pencil in Obsidian – trade. So this is the one I’m most disappointed in, since I already had to get the eye shadow that I won’t use and now I’m getting this pencil that I won’t use, PLUS it’s a product that came in a previous bag. If they had to do that, I would have been fine with a Pop Crayon since I traded mine and then decided I wanted to try one, haha. Even better would have been the Butter London nail polish, which is something I actually really want. Definitely going to try my luck trading for one of those, though I don’t know what colors people got.
Ok, so it looks like IpsyMatch either faltered a bit or just didn’t want to give me the cool high-value nail polish I would have enjoyed a lot. Well, it’s always a risk and at least I’m happy with the masks and I’ll be trying out two of the other items. Thank goodness for trading! Oh, and the bag itself is cute. I like the round zipper tab and the more subtle design. The summer bags have been more flashy and fun so it’s nice to get a change from that.
So what do you think of the items I got? What came in your Ipsy bag this month?
[This post contains affiliate links. Signing up through them helps support my subscription and I’d be ever so grateful. 🙂 All opinions are my own and I received no compensation for this review. I just purchased this bag and wanted to share what I got!]
365great Day 187: cooking
Learn more about 365great here.
Panda and I have been cooking a bit together* and I’ve really enjoyed it. Not only are we spending time together, getting a chance to chat and catch up, we’re producing results that we get to enjoy at the end. There’s something very rewarding about getting a product that is useful after all that effort. Then we get to sit down and eat together and spend even more time together! Oh, and of course cooking is nice because you can make things taste just how you want and you don’t have to leave a tip. 😉 You save time and money (usually) and you are more active too. We really should do it more often, but it’s so easy to slip into laziness and order out or just go out. That’s why I’m exploring options to make it easier for us, like this Hello Fresh meal that was pre-planned for us. I won’t delve into it too much since I’ll feature them another time, but suffice it to say that cooking at home can be a great experience.
*More like I’m doing the cooking and he’s doing the cleaning up, but hey we’re working together and that’s what matters.
Homegrown Collective August 2013 projects
Are you ready to see the results of my Homegrown Collective August box?! I sure had a ton of fun with it. 🙂
The Homegrown Collective GREENBOX is $39 per box + $9 shipping (or as discounted as $429 for an entire year, with options in between) and comes with fun and easy projects to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. They offer a referral program you can apply to join.
I started off with the alfalfa sprouts project.
I put in just enough to cover the bottom of the jar.
I then filled with plenty of water to submerge them, though I had some floaters.
The next day, the water had browned and I poured it out. It was hard to get the screen on underneath the lid! It’s a tight fit. I rolled the jar and shook it so the seeds got spread around.
By the third day, they’d sprouted! I was so surprised I actually gasped out loud when I saw it.
On the fourth day they continued to grow and I tried to get the remaining seeds to sprout by giving them more space.
By the fifth day, I noticed that they had orientated themselves upwards even though there was no sun where I kept them. Guess they just knew which way is up!
Just six days in and they were definitely full grown and ready to come out. I let the brown seed covers float up and dumped them out.
I then let them sit out in the sun and the heads went from yellow to green. Ready to eat! I had some but gosh, this was waaay more than I could handle.
Next up was a lovely bath soak to pamper myself!
I put together a few scoops of green tea and some lavender flowers in the muslin bag and mixed them up.
I ran really hot water, put in epsom salts that quickly dissolved, let the tea bag sit in the running water, and then let the bag float around the tub.
After my relaxing soak, I flipped the bag inside out to get the tea out, rinsed the rest off, and let it dry for next time.
Finally, I got around to trying the pomegranate chocolate cups!
It was a slow process ensuring I got the seeds out as whole as possible, but I was rewarded with a nice pile of them.
I don’t have a double boiler, so I melted the chocolate with a bowl in the pot. I boiled the water too much and water got in, but it turned out ok. I nearly forgot to pat dry the seeds before putting them in the cups!
I poured the melted chocolate over the seeds and just about overfilled the cups. I generously sprinkled the salt flakes on top and put it all the in fridge. It came out looking not much different and tasted fantastic, even with my messed up chocolate.
I decided to have some fun with it and make some with my cat-shaped ice cube tray! I accidentally messed up the chocolate again so it didn’t turn out to well, but I’m totally trying again later. Nom!!
So what do you think? Jealous yet? 😉 I loved each of these projects and will definitely be doing them again. I’m also looking forward to the upcoming box!!
If you’re interested in getting it yourself, sign up here!
[This post contains affiliate links. Signing up through them helps support my subscription and I’d be ever so grateful. 🙂 All opinions are my own and I received no compensation for this review. I just purchased this box and wanted to share what I got!]
365great Day 186: water pressure
Learn more about 365great here.
One of the things I really enjoy is a nice hot shower with good water pressure. It’s so uncomfortable when the water sort of dribbles out and barely covers any area. Similarly, when I wash my hands I prefer a good stream of water to help create some super sudsy action when I use soap. At our current apartment, the water pressure can be weak and I’m really looking forward to moving in to the new condo partly for the stronger water pressure. I totally turned on the shower ever so briefly when I was visiting the model home once, just to make sure the water shot out instead of just falling down. On the UK trip, Panda and I stayed at hotels where the water pressure was awesome. I really enjoyed that and I can’t wait to have that at home! I mean, it’s like getting a gentle massage every time and that’s always great in my book.
UK Vacation Day 2 Recap
Continuing from my UK Day 1 recap, here’s a look at what we did the second day of our UK trip. We did a lot of walking as we went from the Victoria region to Buckingham Palace, through Green and Hyde parks, into the Science and Natural History museums, and back to Victoria.
The day started off with breakfast at the hotel, where we encountered some traditional English items like baked beans and cooked mushrooms. Panda loved it!
I also discovered some things I couldn’t quite figure out, like these “roll mops.”
We then walked to Buckingham Palace, stopping along the way at a gift shop where Panda found tea towels for our moms.
From Buckingham, we went over to Green Park, which was new to me.
As we crossed the street I wanted to get a shot of the thick trees lining the road and it totally got photo bombed.
Apparently there are a fair share of equestrians around here since they have their own crossing lights!
This is the second time I’ve seen a tree like this (the first time was at Hershey Gardens). I want one in my yard!
I couldn’t resist going into the little tree cave for a moment. I mean, it already had an opening!
This adorable squirrel looked so forlorn when the squirrel it was chasing went through the fence. Why it didn’t just follow I don’t know.
Seems like the pigeons and squirrels get along quite well here.
Pigeons are always pecking, which makes me wonder if they’re ever not hungry…
I found some cute baby coons nesting in the reeds. Aww!
Haha! This ruffled up pigeon was cooling its feet in the pond.
Click on this pic and zoom in to see the freakin’ NEON feet of this bird.
Now there’s an unusual duck with pretty black trim.
There were a ton of swans around and it doesn’t look like I’m that close, but it felt like I could touch it!
Some of the kids enjoyed chasing the ducks, geese, and swans into the pond.
The park provided tons of chairs for anyone who wanted to relax. So nice.
After the park we went to the Science Museum, where I got a delicious pasta bake lunch.
Next up was the Natural History Museum where we came across a microscope and decided to take a look at my ring up close.
On our walk from the museums back towards the hotel, we came across signs that had been tagged with fun stickers.
Before going to the room, we stopped at Victoria Station to pick up our train tickets for the duration of our trip. It printed out so many!!
For dinner it was Wagamama and I unknowingly went to the exact one I’d eaten at years ago.
