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. 

Currently coveting

It’s Saturday night as I’m writing this but probably Sunday for you reading now, and I’m looking at the clock wondering how it got so late when I feel like I only just sat down to write a quick post. I don’t know why I keep telling myself I’ll just dash something off. I never dash something off. I’m not a quick writer (second-guessing yourself is a major time suck) and often edit to the point that my final version looks almost nothing like the first. And maybe there’s nothing wrong with that. Maybe it just is what it is. But make no mistake: what it is is not quick. That said, it took me no time to come up with this list of things I’m currently coveting: I’ve had the tabs for all of them open on my computer for a while. Weeks even! (So surely it’s love.)

C’est l’amour ❤️ February’s Glossybox 💄

I received February’s Glossybox in exchange for an honest review. This post also appears on A Year of Boxes. 

Glossybox is a beauty subscription box that delivers 5 deluxe or full-size products each month ranging from niche to high-end. The box ships from the US and items are sourced from more than 400 brands around the world.

What’s inside February’s Mapleblume box #luxebeauty

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

What did the right eye say to the left? “Something between us smells.” 😂 My second Mapleblume beauty box came in the mail last week and a couple of the products smell too. But really, REALLY good. 😁 If you haven’t heard of Mapleblume, it’s a quarterly (formerly bi-monthly) subscription box of luxury cosmetics and skincare with at least five full-size or deluxe sample-size products in every shipment. 

What’s inside January’s GlobeIn Artisan Box

I received the GlobeIn Artisan Box for free for review purposes. All opinions are my own. This post also appears on A Year of Boxes.

GlobeIn Artisan Box is a monthly subscription box featuring handmade, ethically sourced products from makers around the world. Each Premium Box is curated around a theme (so fun!) and January’s is called The Brew Box.

Looker: A Novel by Laura Sims

Simon and Schuster Canada gave me a digital ARC of Looker: A Novel in exchange for an honest review. Here’s what I think. 

Have you read your first book of 2019? Mine was Laura Sims’ new psychological thriller, Looker: A Novel. It was also the first book I’ve ever read on my phone. I’m old school — I love the smell and feel and weight and look of books! — but the digital copy was the only ARC available and I really REALLY wanted to read it so I gave it a whirl. I thought reading on my phone would bother my eyes but that wasn’t an issue. (Maybe because I’m always on it anyway.) But it DID feel weird to not have a hard copy to share and read again and have around, so I bought one. It’s SO SO GOOD!  It’s about a woman whose obsession with the actress who lives across the street turns terribly wrong. 

Trimming my Christmas plant + A giveaway!

Well we’re a week out from Christmas and I don’t feel ready, but I think it’s more that I’ve got blog posts I want to write and share before the holidays than anything else. We cleaned and decorated before Lily’s Christmas party on the weekend (the kids loved the tree-shaped brownies and the Christmas bingo) and most of the shopping is done. The wrapping and groceries I can do in a few days when my mom comes up to visit and help out. The only big thing left to do — besides writing Christmas cards and mailing a few packages, which are both gnawing at me — is get the tree.

What’s inside Mapleblume’s December box #luxurybeauty

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

What did Daisy Duck say when she bought lipstick? “Put it on my bill.” (ba-dum-bum-chuh) Oh you’re lucky I don’t review beauty boxes more often, ha ha. Today for something different I’m talking about Mapleblume. It’s a bi-monthly subscription box of luxury cosmetics and skincare. Each box contains at least five full-size or deluxe sample-size products. Shipping to Canada (it’s Canada-based) and the US is free which I like, because you know what a buzz kill shipping can be. Sometimes it’ll put me off the box altogether. (I think more subscription box services would be smart to build it into the price.)