Currently coveting

How’s everybody doing? My house looks like a bomb went off and everything feels sticky in the humidity but I’m just going to ignore that a while longer (maybe weeks, ha ha) to check in with you. Are you sorry the summer’s half over or counting the days ’til fall? You know what camp I’m in. 🎃 🍂 🥾🕯 📚 I’ve just nuked a stone-cold tea and let the cat out so I’ve got approximately two minutes before I have to hop up and let him in again. And then out again. And in again. You know the story. Here’s the rando things I’m loving this month. Let me know if you see anything you’re coveting too!

Because my alone time is for everyone’s safety: July’s Sweet Reads Box

I received July’s Sweet Reads Box for free in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

We’re only a couple of weeks into summer break and I’ve already lost my shit more times than I can count. I thought I was pacing it out okay, but then last week was hot as hell and my mom was visiting so the kids were pushing it and none of us are getting enough sleep so I ended up reaching my shit-losing quota way sooner than I thought. “I’ve got to do better at keeping it together,” I told myself. But how? Then the universe sent me a sign.

Currently coveting

After a run of sunny days it looks like we’re in for a wet week so I’m going to settle in and write a few blog posts, finish this book (loving it so far!) and maybe try to tackle some more piles in the small space sold to us as a third bedroom that’s really just a tiny catch-all. (Mainly because I promised Jennifer I’d send her one of these hilarious postcards and I’m pretty sure they’re in there somewhere.) In the meantime, here’s some things I’m seriously crushing on this month.

Meet the maker: A chat with Arnprior’s Bee Savvy Honey + A body care giveaway!

Bee Savvy Honey sent me the products in this post in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

🎵 You make me feel, you make me feel, you make me feel like a na-tur-al woman 🎵  •  You know a product’s good when it makes you want to sing. This week I’ve been trying some all-natural body balms and scrubs from a local company called Bee Savvy Honey and I’m bee-yond excited to share them with you. 🐝 (And you can bet I’m pollen out all of the buzzwords while I’m doing it.) I have a Q & A with one of the co-founders (thanks Alicia!), some info on the products I’ve tried and a chance to win a gift card to the shop. It’s a honey of a post, so pour yourself a cup of tea and get comfy!

It’s a limited edition! The Book Lovers Box from Sweet Reads Box

I received the Book Lovers Box for free in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Shoana Jensen was on Cityline this week talking about subscription boxes and I was so surprised she didn’t mention Sweet Reads Box because IMHO, it’s one of the best on the market. (If it’s new to you, it’s a Canadian monthly subscription service that delivers a bestselling novel and few treats that tie in to the story, including gourmet goodies and an interesting bevvie.) Their monthly boxes sell out super quickly, and their new limited editions seem to be snapped up just as fast. Today I’ve got a look inside the first Book Lovers Box. 

Inside May’s Mapleblume box #luxebeauty

I received Mapleblume’s May box for free in exchange for an honest review. This post also appears on A Year of Boxes. 

If you haven’t heard of Mapleblume, it’s a quarterly subscription box of luxury cosmetics and skincare with at least five full-size or deluxe sample-size products in every shipment. May’s box is my third (you can see the other two here) and I’ve been so looking forward to it! 

Currently coveting

And suddenly it’s Friday! I hope you’ve had a good week. Wednesday I put this egg-cellent iron-on patch on an Old Navy cardigan that has seen better days and I’m still so happy with it! Partly because it’s so cute, partly because I finally did something I’ve been meaning to do for ages. Look out world, I’m just getting started! 😂😂 Now on to this month’s list of big loves.

Bird is the word: Flying off the shelves for Mother’s Day + Win with Foxy Originals!

Foxy Originals gifted me the pieces in this post in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

“[My kids are] 7, so to me, I’d just rather have a hug and a ‘Happy Mother’s Day!’ But when they’re that age ― and moms know ― you have to be a good actress. That’s when you gotta turn into Meryl Streep. Seriously, because they give you gifts that are just … [sighs] … So I just had to go ‘Oh that’s amazing! Oh that’s so beautiful!’ And they were so proud. But now I understand why athletes buy their moms a house when they make it ― because they really should to make up for this crap!” — Wanda Sykes 😂😂

As much as we love the kids’ homemade gifts and cards, sometimes it’s nice for us mama birds to get something we would pick for ourselves. This selection of Foxy Originals favourites fits the bill. 🐦 😂 But hurry, they’re flying off the shelves!

A tisket, a tasket: Five things for your tween’s Easter basket

Easter is almost here and THANK GOODNESS! I’m ready to bite the ears off chocolate bunnies and see fuzzy newborn chicks and set the table in pretty pastels for a special dinner celebrating our favourite Spring holiday. But I think I have the most fun (next to decorating eggs) building Easter baskets for my kids. Usually a few little treats tucked around a special chocolate bunny — smaller treats when the kids were smaller, and now a little more substantial. Mainly because I find so many cute things they’d like and I CANNOT RESIST. But also because I want them to really value what they get and enjoy it for a while. Today I’ve got some ideas for an Easter basket I made with my tween in mind but older and younger kids might like them just as much too.