Past Subscription boxes

I've always loved the idea of getting surprises in the mail, so I'm a sucker for subscription boxes.  Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately for my bank account) there are a lot fewer options in Canada.  Here's a break down of all of the ones I've tried in the past:

Beauty:

Julep - I quit this subscription this fall as I just have TOO many nail polishes and wear it very rarely.  I got this one mainly for my DD, but she wasn't crazy on the colors.  I liked that the polish is 3 free, but she still prefers the awful stuff she gets in the cheap 'teenager' type of stores.  

Beauty Box 5 - this was likely my favorite beauty box because it was the cheapest (around $12/mo) and frequently had more natural alternatives.  I ended when my year was up last summer only because I had a stash I had to use up.

Ipsy - I didn't mind this one since it was inexpensive, but I just don't wear enough makeup to make use of what came in the box.  There were eye shadow colors I'd never wear, sparkles, etc.  I think it would be great for a younger woman or teen.

Glossy Box - I subscribed to this for about 6 months and then the Canadian division closed.  I did like most of the products, and they were frequently drugstore type items so I was able to repurchase items I liked easily.  What I like the most is that the products were most often full sized.  Not long ago, the US division announced they would be shipping to Canada and provided a box at half price for past Canadian subscribers.  I signed up for $26/mo and should be getting my first box (pictured below) any day now.

Food:
Snack Box - healthy snacks delivered monthly from Vancouver.  Although I did like most of the snacks, and the concept, I found I was throwing out 2-3 month.  I realized I could just go to the health food store with $20 and probably find as many things that I knew we'd like to try.  I thought about resubscribing last week but found they have now merged with a US company and items will be shipped from California.  I'm not interested in dealing with duties, etc. so likely won't get again.

Other:
Ecocentric Mom - I received this one for about 3 months and found that I liked half of what I got.  It's geared towards moms but some of the items were for younger kids than mine (18, 14 & 12).  There were also supplements or vitamins in each of the boxes which increased the value but not something I'm interested in.  I would try it again if I don't find another one I like better.  I did like the personal items (lotions, makeup, etc.) that were included.

Fancy:
I tried 1 month of the regular and 1 of Tyler Florence because I received them for half price but I was stuck paying duty which was more than what I saved with the discount code.  In each case I got items that I used as gifts, but I also received items I had no use for - to gift or personal use.  When the cost worked out to over $60/mo I need to be sure I'm going to like what I'm getting.

At this point I'm only signed up for Glossy box, BUT I've picked out a couple of others I'm going to try out.  Let's hope I get some great surprises!!!

Working on my goals

This weekend I spent some time working on my three goals for the New Year:

1.  Focus on home, this month on the kitchen in particular.

I was able to purge and organize one section of my kitchen.  That's about 25% done already!!

2.  Healthier snacks

I mixed up some popcorn seasonings for the kids and discovered a new GMO-free, organic purple tortilla chip that we all enjoyed with some fresh salsa.

3.  "Treat" myself daily.

I ordered a few subscription boxes that I have been admiring for a little while.  I love the idea of surprises in the mail so thought I'd try out a few,  I've ordered a few in the past and cancelled for one reason or another, and now have a few new ones to look forward to.  I'll post reviews as they arrive.

While purging my 'beverages' section of my kitchen, I got rid of about 6 mugs that were mismatched, chipped or just unloved.  One of my little treats for myself was to purchase a couple new sets to replace them.

Tonight I plan on sitting in front of the fireplace, watch Team Canada hockey game with my knitting and a cup of hot chocolate in my new mug.

Yesterday ..

"Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365 page book.  Write a good one."   

I love Brad Paisley, and this is one of his many great quotes.  




Although we didn't really do anything too productive w.r.t to our yearly goals, we did have a family discussion and my DH surprised the kids with adding a weekly financial incentive to their responsibilities - their rooms, their bathrooms and the basement.  Let's hope their love of cash helps keeps the house in better condition this year.

My focus will be the kitchen this month and I did discuss some of my plans with DH and got his okay on a few things - which is half the battle.  I found some nice goal sheets but want to think them through a bit more before printing out.  I'll share once I do so.

As for eating healthy snacks - that didn't really happen - we had leftovers from the party last night so didn't have a need for snacking.

For 'treating' myself, I purchased a few too many things on Zulily.com.  I've been feeling that some of my casual, hang out at home clothes, needed replacing and I really don't like clothes shopping.  My 12 yo DD acted as my shopping stylist and we found 9 casual tops that should work well.  I don't think I've ever bought 9 items of clothing at once before!!

It was a lazy day and a nice start to the New Year.

Hello!!

Life gets crazy.  
I think I have ADD.  
I'm also lazy.
And scatter-brained,

Over the last couple of years, I have blogged about about home organization projects on my other blog organizingourfamilyhome.blogspot.ca/.  But I fell off the wagon there too. I did complete a few more home organization projects, I just didn't blog about them.  I even went so far as taking the pictures in some cases, I just didn't finish.  That pretty much sums up why my house is frequently chaotic - I start a lot of things but don't finish!!

I'm going to try to get back at it, but this time I'm going to post about a few other things as well, which is why I decided to use my original blog I set up so very long ago.  

As a family, we sat down on January 1st to record our New Year's Resolutions.  We haven't done this in the past but as the kids have gotten older (almost 18, 14 & 12) we want them to get involved in setting family goals.  I'd like to use this blog to keep track of our progress, share some projects and links, and hopefully brag about what all we've accomplished.  

As a family we are declaring 2015 the "Year of our Home".  Doing some home repairs, decorating, and keeping things more 'presentable' on a regular basis.  I've got a lot of PINS ready, followed quite a few other blogs and have a list of areas we'll tackle in 2015.  I've decided we'll start in the kitchen.  Not only is it the most used and loved area of the home, it's also an easy start since we don't have any big projects to do there.  

In addition, I want to continue on my goal of removing as many processed foods from our diet as possible.  I can't expect teens to give up junk food completely, but I'm planning on concentrating on keeping healthier snacks available to them (and my husband and myself too).  Since I'm still the one who does all - well 90% - of the cooking, I know they eat healthy main courses, but I want to be sure to have some healthy snack options around to grab and go, or munch on while doing homework or in front of the TV.  I've got a few recipes printed off and I'll be searching for some healthier store-bought alternatives too.  I found a Canadian subscription box, Little LIFE box that I just ordered that should give us a good start.  

I've also promised myself that I'm going to make a point of treating myself a little more often than I have in the past.  I'm fortunate to have the majority of the school hours to myself to get things accomplished and I'm going to try my best to squeeze in a little ME time everyday before the craziness of our evenings start.  I've got big holes in my wardrobe that need filling, old makeup that needs to be tossed and replenished, dry skin that needs hydrating, muscles that need toning, craft projects that need finishing, and the list goes on .......  Too many things that are easily pushed to the back burner when we are busy.

I hope to look back at this a year from now and see all I've/we've accomplished.  Hopefully, there will be someone out there in the blogging world that will enjoy our journey.

joann

Labadee

Our first stop on the cruise - a beautiful day in Labadee, Haiti. I used a sketch from Let's Scrap to put this together. I also put my Silhoutte to work on the title & palm trees.

Dragon's Tail coaster

The second page I accomplished this weekend.

I've decided to do the entire cruise album in blues, greens & browns. I went through many of my supplies and pulled stuff into a bin and hid everything else. I'm thinking it will speed up the process for me as I won't have as many decisions to make as to what supplies/colors to use. It should also give the album a uniform look. We'll see if it works..........

This layout is based on sketch #93 at Creative Scrappers. My DH and kids rode on a coaster at the cruise's private beach. Unfortunately, it was impossible to get any good photos.

I'm back......finally a new page done!!

You know how sometimes life throws you a little more than you can handle at once??? Well, something had to give for me, and unfortunately it was my crafting time. I haven't been in my scraproom for over 5 months!!! I have SO been missing it!

This weekend I was able to make some time for scrapping and it felt SO good. Here's my first page, based on Sketch #54 at the Scrappiest.

In addition to all of the usual, everyday stuff to keep us busy, our family went on an AMAZING cruise to Caribbean/Central America in January. I have decided to push aside all of the other photos that need scrapping and concentrate on getting the trip documented. These are couple of misc. photos from our stop in Costa Rica: