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Roxymandy September 25, 2015

Creating a Fall Centrepiece with DIY Painted Pumpkins

Fall is absolutely my favourite time of year! I love decorating my home for the season, and this year I decided to get crafty.

I wanted to get started early on my table decor for Thangsgiving, and I thought it would be an easy project to paint my own pumpkins.

I have seen lots of painted pumpkins in stores, and I thought it would be fun to do it myself!

I could have used real pumpkins, but I decided I may want to use these pumpkins again next year so I bought some fake ones.

I picked up some paint from the dollar store, and also paint brushes, and a couple fake pumpkins which were only a dollar. I also stopped at Michael’s craft store to grab a couple mason jars to paint, and a couple more fake pumpkins. Michael’s happened to have their pumpkins for 50% off which was great.

Even though the Michael’s pumpkins were already black and white, I painted them anyway to match the others.

The mason jars were easy to paint, and with a few coats of gold they looked great! They are perfect candle holders for my centrepiece.

I didn’t use a pattern for any of the pumpkins, and did everything free-hand. It was fun to just paint for a while – it was actually kind of relaxing!

Once my pumpkins had dried I added some fall-coloured candles and a couple of my favourite acorn decor items I previously owned, and I had the burlap table runner I made for my Thanksgiving dinner last year to finish it off.

I completed the whole project for under $30, and I think it looks pretty great! Hopefully this project inspires you to create your own fall decor items.

Roxymandy September 17, 2015

Review of Indeed Laboratories Skin Care

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to be introduced to a skincare line called Indeed Laboratories. I had heard of the brand before, but never tried it. I attended a fun event at Cabana Pool bar at the tail end of summer where I learned all about what this line had to offer.

Sold exclusively at Shoppers Drug Mart and select Loblaws locations, all Indeed Labs products are free of parabens, fragrances, colourants, sulfates, and are not tested on animals.

All of the products are extremely affordable as well!

I brought home a few items with me to try for myself, amd I really like them so far!

The first is the most impressive to me – the facial powdered exfoliator. This dry powder just needs a little water, and voila – it’s transformed it into an exfoliator!

It gently removed my dead skin cells and left a smoother surface below. I experienced no irritation at all, and loved the look of my skin after. It’s actually kind of fun to create the exfoliator too!

I also tried out the hydraluron mega moisture jelly which was to be used after cleansing. It has a great dispenser where you don’t need to guess how much product you need – just press down and the perfect amount is dispersed. I hate having to wonder how much product I should apply to my face! It’s a really soothing gel to apply first thing in the morning or before bed. Not having a fragrance is nice as well, and it added lots of moisture to my skin. It’s an instant feeling of being moisturized, and the product absorbs quickly.

I also tried out the hydraluron moisture mask which was so soothing. It covered my whole face with a bit of breathing room, and it was like having a deep moisurizing tent covering my face! It felt great on my tired, dry skin and it was a great way to relax at the end of the day. It’s meant to be worn for 15 minutes, and it forces you to just stop and relax.

The nanoblur instant skin perfector basically gives your skin an Instagram-worthy filter in real-life. It gives your skin the illusion of airbrushing when applying to skin prior to powdered makeup or after liquid foundation.

Nanoblur changes the way light reflects off of your skin – in a flattering way!

I opted to apply it after my foundation, and it was extremely lightweight and seemed to blur my fine lines. To get a great idea of what it can do you can try a little on one of your hands and compare it to the other – the results are pretty amazing. This stuff really works!

Indeed Labs is affordable, it does what it says it will, and it is easy to get a hold of at Shoppers Drug Mart (and select Loblaws sores). Overall the line is very impressive!

Learn more about Indeed Labs at www.IndeedLabs.com.

Roxymandy September 16, 2015

Investing in a Bucket Bag

Blanket Scarf: Dynamite | Bucket Bag: Dynamite | Riding Boots: Michael Kors {similar}

If you are looking for a great investment bag for the season, the bucket bag is your best bet.

It’s versatile because it’s roomy but at the same time looks great, and is a very trendy accessory. I am pretty sure I actually had this style of bag back when I was 14 which is pretty funny. Actually, I really wish I saved it! I love the color of this one from Dynamite.

Last year I bought a similar blanket scarf to this one I’m wearing, but again I fell in love with this pattern and had to have it (this one is from Dynamite). I would be scared to count how many blanket scarves I actually own.

I’ve also dressed up this bag for a night out and it looks great with a less casual look as well. It’s the perfect bag for fall!

Roxymandy September 7, 2015

Back to School Lunches with StenLock

I can’t belive it’s already time for back to school!

My son spent the summer in camp at his Montessori School, and will be heading back there next week after a break, and I’ve been preparing by picking up new fall clothes for him, and gathering supplies like a new backpack and lunch bag.

I’m lucky because I don’t need to make my son’s lunch every day because his school takes care of that, but for class trips and events I need to put something together.

It’s easier when I’m with him to convince him that he needs to eat everything, and remind him of what he likes. He often says “I don’t like that!”, but forgets that he actually does! This means that when I’m packing his lunch for days I’m not there, I need to be creative with his food so he’s interested enough to eat it.

StenLock contacted me to give their Tupperware a try for my son’s back-to-school lunches, and I jumped at the chance to see what I thought of the Tupperware, and what my son thought of it as well!

All StenLock containers are made of food-grade stainless steel, which resists bacteria and germs more effectively and will not impart peculiar tastes or smells to your food.

StenLock is 100% BPA free, stain-resistant, light, and has a leak-proof airtight seal.

With all of the different sizes of StenLock I tried out, I was able to create a fun lunch for my son. He loves having his sandwiches cut up into shapes, so I used fish-shaped cookie cutters to create is sandwiches.

I picked up some mini-grapes from Farm Boy which are perfectly bite-size for toddlers to mix in with his blueberries, and I cut up lots of green and orange pepper and cucumbers. I finished off his lunch with crackers and pretzels fit together in different patterns and a pasta salad. Very easy lunch, but organized in a fun way so he would be interested in eating.

My son was easily able to open all of the StenLock containers, and close them back up when he was finished. The containers were lightweight enough that he could stack them up, and they hit the ground a few times during clean up and they weren’t damaged at all.

Although it’s suggested the lids are washed by hand, the rest could be thrown in the dish washer which was handy! Any excuse not to do dishes works for me.

For more information visit http://www.stenlock.ca.

Roxymandy September 3, 2015

Winner of the $200 Dixie Outlet Mall Gift Card Giveaway!

Thank you to everyone who entered the Dixie Outlet Mall $200 Gift Card Giveaway! The winner of the gift card is Betty Spry!

Congratulations Betty! We will be contacting you shortly to claim your prize.