ITS A FREE FOR Fall! #GotItFree

Happy FALL!
Tonight I am going to do an honest review!  I plan on doing lots of these as I maneuver through the Autumn  season.

First off I would like to say I LOVE this mascara!  When they say NO CLUMPS they really mean it.  I have already long thick lashes so mascara usually isn't in my make-up routine for the simple fact that I don't really need it.  However, since @BuzzAgent sent me this awesome product #GotItFree and asked me to write a honest review on my thoughts of the product I couldn't resist.
I put this on this morning as I embarked on a busy day.  Today was one of my days where I worked two jobs almost back to back.
I applied at 7:15 am and noticed right away how smooth and simple this was to apply.  Honestly NO CLUMPS!  Usually I have to brush out my lashes and end up with flakes and clumps that look horrible.
The brush/wand is unique with its silicone type bristles and really does give your lashes volume.  I was home for a brief break in between jobs and had a chance to lye down for 45 minutes.  I got up expecting to look like a scary clown to find that there wasn't even the tiniest fleck on my face!  I finished work at 8:30, came home and had no problem washing the mascara off!  It truly was crazy how much it lived up to all the package said it did. 
I was fortunate that I #GotItFree from @BuzzAgent (more about how YOU can get free stuff at the end of this post) but looking online this mascara is very affordable (from $5-$8)
So would I recommend this to my friends, family and co-workers? Absolutely!

Now do you want to review awesome products for FREE??
of course you do, who does not like free stuff?
@BuzzAgent is a fun and cool website where you can review everyday products
Click on this link and sign up bzzagent.com/go/canada-raf2015 
 
It only takes a few minutes and I promise you will thank me when your mailbox if full of free stuff!
Let me know in the comments if you become a BuzzAgent
xo
Shan

A Summer Full of Pictures

Hello,
Happy Fall.  As much as I hate to say that, it's here and it's not going anywhere.  So I must embrace it.  But for the sake of this post I am reminiscing about the amazing summer that I had.  It was spent with friends and family trying new things and visiting some fun places.  I will speak briefly on all the locations and if you want to know more please feel free to comment on this post and I can give you the nitty gritty ;-)
Also since I slacked on summer blogs the picture and events are not in chronological order, more so as I downloaded the pictures!

Girls Fun!
This was one of the most hilarious things we as a group of friends have ever done.  It's a drinking game that involves nice weather, comfy chairs and a busy road!  WHAT A BLAST we had and we can't wait to make it an annual event. Name of the game: Post a sign out at a busy road that says "YOU HONK, WE DRINK" Bam!  Instant drinking game, no deck of cards required!
Throughout the day and evening we played a few games, "Postal Pong" which was our adaption of beer pong and three-legged races which ended in some non-life threatening injuries.

Road Trip!

We took a road trip!  With Kids! We all had a great time...TRUE STORY!
First we left early and by early I mean it is very cruel to be up at that time! Here we are all happy and wide awake ready to embark on our 3 day road trip!

First stop and day one:
After a long drive and tons of bathroom breaks (cough, cough Danielle) we landed at Cedar Park Resort in Bowmanville, ON.  This is a water park located in a campground.  Very affordable for the day and lots for all ages to do.

We were very fortunate that we had nice friends in the area who allowed us to crash their house.  It was nice to spend some time with them in the evenings and catch up.  Thanks again to Teresa and Matt for letting us trash their house!

Day two:
We left bright and early to make it to Vaughn Mills to adventure into LegoLand.  The kids had a blast and so did I.  I love LEGO!!!

After LegoLand we stopped for lunch and desert ;-)

And then spent the rest of the day shopping at Vaughan Mills Mall and Bass Pro Shop 

Day three:
On day three we were up bright and early, packed the van and ventured to the Bowmanville Zoo.  This was the highlight of our trip, I love animals...alot!
CAUTION!  Buy your tickets from GROUPON, this will save you a TON of $$

Well folks, that's only a part of my fun and exciting summer, stay tuned for more fun and exciting stuff...
xo
Shan

Our first 5k! What a fun morning

WHAT A MORNING! COLOR VIBE 5K
I honestly can't believe we even did it.  Had you asked me a few months ago if I would EVER think of entering any type of race, I would have laughed in your face!  If you read my Blog you would remember in a few posts I mentioned that I was trying to make some lifestyle improvements.  With these improvements I also needed to be held accountable and so I needed to sign up for something with someone that would help me maintain my goal.  So in come Shawna and Danielle who happily signed up and kept me motivated!
Come Friday we were all anxious as we had been slacking over our holidays and were unsure of what we got ourselves into!
Friday morning I headed to Ottawa to check in and pick up our race packs for the next morning, when I got to Wesley Clover Park at 11:45 there were already 70+ people lined up, when I left the park the lineup was almost 3 km long!

That should have been my first inclination as to how busy it was going to be the next day.  Anyways 7:15 came mighty early as we headed back to the park Saturday.  When we got close to the exit we could see the cars lined up down the highway, luckily we were coming in from out of town and got to breeze past all the people waiting from the other side :-)  Once the car was parked and shoes were tied we headed over and joined in the large group of people stretching and dancing.  A 8 am dance party is not something I am use to as we were still sipping our Timmys!  Music pumping, colour packs being thrown around and a DJ starting to count down from 10, we lined up and awaited our turn to take off!  They let heats of 500 go at a time.  We were about the 4th group to take off. As we ran thru the starting line we were sprayed with colourful powder and were headed on a grass like path.  It was very bumpy terrain, not at all what I am use to jogging on!  We jogged for a while (1km) and slowed down to catch our footing as the path worsened.  The ground was very uneven, full of dips and groundhog holes and lined with hay bales (which I am allergic too)  Anyways we still trucked thru!  The path crossed over some gravel paths which helped us to up our speed as we ran thru the different colour stations.  In total it took us 45 minutes to finish the 5k.  We were so excited and proud to be done we celebrated by tossing up our colour packs!  What a great day!  We can't wait until next year as we have a great costume idea and plan on bringing a bunch more people with us!
Below are the pictures that were snapped throughout the race!

I've got the ITCH!.....The Pintrest ITCH!!!!

Hi ALL!
I am still giggling over the title of the BLOG!  I can just hear the rumors swirling now ;-)  Anyways as I descend on my second week of holidays I figured I would share some of my pintrest itches that I was able to complete.
I found these few quick and fun ideas as I was searching for ways to spruce up my front porch/yard.  Most of the supplies I either had on hand, found at the dollar store or second hand store.
First up was my tea cup bird feeder. 
Items needed:
Tea cup and saucer (please for the love of God, don't use a family heirloom.....I picked this one up at a second hand store for $2)
Crazy Glue (Dollarama $2)
Bird Seed (Dollarama $2)
Ribbon (I had this kicking around)

Super easy craft or cute gift.  I put crazy glue on the saucer and lay the tea cup, handle up and let it dry.  I then tied the ribbon around the handle and added some seed and found a spot to hang!  That's it! BAM!  Super easy.

Next up is painted rocks:
My Pintrest news feed was flooded with the "suggestion for you" painted rocks.  Very self explanatory....
Supplies needed:
Smooth surfaced rocks (Dollarama $2) or you could pick your own
Paint
Brushes
If you search for designs on Pintrest they will be plentiful.  I plan on painting some more in hopes to have enough to fill a full rock garden by next summer!!

Let me know if you try any of these, I'd love to see some pics
Stay tuned to some more Pintrest crafts I have completed lately!

July Mid-Month Review and What I have been up to

Hello, again!  Once again I went on hiatus.  I seem to get in a writing funk and don't end up reporting on what I have been up to, even though nothing fun has really happened....BUT....I have tried a few new things lately and I want to tell you about them.
*Note: I am in no way compensated for the products that I will mention in this BLOG.  I paid for these products 100% on my own

First product that I want to mention is the FITBIT Flex.  I purchased the product only yesterday and already I am OBSESSED.
"This slim, stylish device is with you all the time. During the day, it tracks steps, distance, and calories burned. At night, it tracks your sleep quality and wakes you silently in the morning. Just check out the lights to see how you stack up against your personal goal. It’s the motivation you need to get out and be more active."
I purchased the product yesterday at around noon, set it up and by the end of the day I had almost reached my first goal!
I am not a huge fan of the colour but my only choices were the blue and black.  I am already shopping for cute accessorized bands online!
I also downloaded the app for my android so I can see my up to date progress throughout the day.
The Fitbit Flex retails at Walmart for $119.95 but yesterday I was able to admatch from another store and scored it for $99.99.  I give this product ***** (5 Stars)

Next product that I purchased and was so excited to try was the TERRA Tropical Chips.  I purchased the bag from a local Bakery and they retailed for $4.95 (ASTRONOMICAL :-( ) But since I was on day 5 of my low carb diet everything looked amazing and I probably would have paid double for them.  Anyways I have had a few of Terra's products and the sweet potato chips are one of my favorite chips. Sweet yet salty and are actually healthy for you, so I imagined that this bag would be heavenly!  Guess what?  Total disappointment.  There were a few coconut flakes, one or two plantains, a few Terra and Batata and ONE BEET CHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
frown emoticon Total disappointment since beet chips are my all time favorite. The bag was filled with sweet potato chips (which like I said before I love) but when you are looking forward to all the other flavors it makes you sad! I have contacted the company on Monday to relay my disappointment but have yet to hear from them. I have to give this product ** (two stars) for the lack of variety but **** (4 stars) because I still love the potato chips.

Let me know if you have tried either of the above and your thoughts and feelings on them. Stay tuned for some more fun blogs that I have in the works! Girls day fun!, Colour Vibe (5k), Party Island. Also I have some Pintrest posts that I have put to the test that will also be in an upcoming post!

DIY BUTT Cream...Say What?!! & At home spa night

Spring has sprung and it's time to get our butts in order literally! 

Once again our adventure begins with a PINTEREST pin that got Danielle and I excited to get our butts in gear for summer time :-)  Actually she was a brave soul who bared all, almost! I took the cheap way out and used our amazing concoction on my face.  COFFEE SCRUB (to view the original pin ) I would just like to say WOW. Two days later and my face still feels soft and moisturized.  Anyways here is how our "At home spa night went:"

After some much needed sun on Saturday when the temperatures started to cool down we (myself, Danielle and Arleigh) headed indoors to begin our spa night.  Arleigh jumped right in and began making our coffee scrub 

Ingredients needed:

1/4 ground coffee (not instant)

1/2 cup coconut oil 

Mix together until you get your desired consistency.

At this point a few beverages had been consumed so we allowed Arleigh to administer the great smelling paste.  As you can see in the picture below Arleigh is not very enthusiastic about helping out at this point! (Side note: Danielle is fully clothed :-P)

Make sure to rub the scrub in a circular motion.  This will help exfoliate the skin and help stimulate the circulation of blood flow to your problem areas such as cellulite or acne.  I will suggest it is best to hop in the shower after, unfortunately I made a mess of Danielle's bathroom trying to get it off my face!  All in all I give this DIY 4 **** (stars) only because of the clean up.  This scrub would make a great gift for a teacher or your Mom on Mother's Day.

So after we exfoliated we began to give ourselves a paraffin wax treatment on our hands.We used the Revlon Paraffin Bath and it was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G

I love the feeling and I know Arleigh had a blast peeing the wax off.  We were so happy with the turn out we even convinced the husbands to join in!! 

An at home spa night is a great way to spend a quiet evening.  Let me know if you have an DIY home spa recipes, I would love to give them a try!
xo
Shan

I'm Back

Hello, and happy Spring....FINALLY!

Its been a while and I am here to tell you what I have been up to!

Remember that time where I set forth my New Years "wishes"? if not...take a gander! NEW YEAR NEW START

Guess what....I am currently working on them and have not yet failed :-)

A few months back I decided to give into Danielle's pestering (just kidding) and join Curves with her. If you haven't been or heard about Curves it is a great place to start working out.  Very little pressure, ladies only, tons of support and very affordable.  This kick-started my vision to get in shape and it only takes 30 minutes out of your day...do-able...right?

My overall goal is to be able to jog at least 5km by September.  I was given a recommendation for a app to help me achieve that goal and I must say Couch to 5K is amazing.  I actually look forward to getting out and jogging!  The app cost $2.04 and it has been the best investment.  I give the app
5 *****!
Also along with the physical aspect of getting into shape comes along with healthier eating choices. I must say, this by far is the hardest challenge for me.  I hate cooking and love junk food!  Those two things equal disaster! but I am slowly making improvements :-)  I will post some of my new healthy recipes in the next few weeks.
I have also still been couponing and price matching to keep my stock pile up in case of the ever looming Zombie apocalypse!  I'll have enough dish soap and shampoo to keep everyone clean in my compound!  Anyone who loves to save money, should be couponing and price matching!  I promise you that you will be shocked at how much you can save.
And there you have it....what I have been up to.  In the next little lit I hope to share with you some Pinterest fun and summer activities that are currently planned.  SO STAY TUNED.....

xoShan

Fifty Shades of OMG! Movie and Pre-Release Review

Not sure where to begin and I feel so much pressure to be writing this review since so many people are waiting to hear about it! HA!
Well lets begin:
Book vs Movie:
If you haven't read the book, DON'T!  why you ask?  Well sorry EL James but you should have invested in an editor.  It was horribly written!  The movie on the other hand was great!  I dont know if it was great because my expectations were so low because a) the book was horribly written or b) because Charlie Hunnam wasn't playing Christian Grey.  With that being said Jamie Dornan did a good job, not what I expected but he filled the roll and Dakota Johnson did a amazing job as Anastasia Steele.
Also for all of you that are dying to know there was tons of nakedness!!!!!
So all and all I give the movie two thumbs up.  It is a good girls night out that will provide you with lots of giggles!

Pre-Release Event by Passion Parties
What a well organized and fun night!  Kudos to the organizers! Amy-Lynn Murdoch was a great hostess, (To book a party or order some great things just click on her name)  For a total of apx $19 that got you: admission, medium popcorn, medium drink and a pretty awesome swag bag.  Cant beat that price.
I will admit I was a bit sad that my swag bag didn't have the same as Danielle's, however a nice girl named Crystal up'd my SWAG!!

My swag bag 

Danielle's treat

All in all I had a great girls night out.  It was well worth $20 and I am looking forward to the next two movies.

This is the selfie that has won me the new nickname T-Rex Arms!
I will be purchasing a selfie stick ASAP <3

Fun and Eventful Weekend Away

I know....its been like what?  A month and a bit.  To be completely honest I have just been too lazy to type.  I hate the winter and it makes me not want to do ANYTHING other than hibernate and sleep.  I have done a few fun things though, and this past weekend was filled with tons of fun things Jason and I, along with some friends did.  Here is how our weekend went:

Friday February 6:
We left Renfrew around noon and traveled towards Kingston to meet up with our good friends Chris and Ashley.  Usually when we head that way we must make a mandatory stop in Balderson, ON.  Balderson has a cheese factory where they have fresh curds (one of my favorite treats) This time I opted for the garlic dill curds.  I swear we weren't even out of the tiny town and I had them all eaten!

If you happen to be in the area I highly recommend stopping in.  They have a ton to look at and so many yummy things to taste.  Check out their website and you can see what I'm talking about!  Balderson Cheese
After getting turned around in Perth we were back on track!  While we were in Kingston I wanted to make sure I stopped at Target to see if I could score any deals. :-(  No such luck!  Most things I wanted were picked over or still rather pricy.  We arrived at our destination at around 4:30 and spent the rest of the evening catching up and eating!!

Saturday February 7:
We left Kingston at noon and headed for Toronto.  We arrived to the Westin Harbour Castle at around 2 and checked in.  If you need to stay downtown Toronto I would highly recommend this hotel.  This was my second time staying and it did not disappoint.  You are only a 10 minute walk to the CN Tower, Air Canada Centre and the Ripley's Aquarium.  Plus the amenities are great.  I give THE WESTIN HARBOUR CASTLE, TORONTO Two thumbs up.  After we got checked in and situated we headed to Ripleys Aquarium of Canada.  One word: AMAZING!  I had goosebumps the whole time I was there.  I am sure my mouth was on the floor the whole time.  We spent a total of two and a half hours there and it was well worth the ticket price.  If I had to complain about anything it would be that it was so hot and we didn't find the coat check until we were leaving.  Anyways here are some pictures.  (Please note that I was so busy watching all the fish that when I did snap my camera the fish I was aiming at had swam away!)

I would highly recommend going.  There is tons to do and a family could spend a full day.  They have special showings throughout the day of them feeding the fish, play structures and your even able to pet the stingrays and crabs!

After the aquarium we asked a staff member for a restaurant recommendation.  Her suggestion was the old spaghetti factory.  It was again only a few blocks from the hotel.  By this time though it had began to snow heavily and by the time we arrived we were snow covered.  So pasta was a great choice as it was filling and kept us warm!
The restaurant was eclectic and full of energy.  We had a great dinner and headed back to the hotel.

Once back at the hotel we had a few drinks and headed down to the pool and hot tub.  We spent a few hours there and decided to hit up the lounge in the hotel lobby.  Drinks here were pricy but the atmosphere was fun.

Sunday February 8:
I dont want to talk about how crappy the drive home was.....lets just say we left Toronto at 10 am and arrived home at 5 pm.....Did I mention I hate freezing rain?

All in all we had an awesome weekend spent with amazing friends who we don't get to see as much as we should.  Thanks C & A for inviting us along.  We had a blast and cant wait for the next weekend adventure!
xo Shan

New Year, New Start

HELLO,

 Its been a long time since I have written anything but to be honest I haven't really had to much going on.  Christmas and New years were super fun and I loved spending the time with my family and friends.  For New Years we had a small gathering at our place and we did a snack pot-luck and played the ever "politically incorrect" game Cards Against Humanity.  I was kind of neglectful of my camera and only managed to snap a few pictures:

So since it is a new year I thought that I would put out my New Year wishes.  I choose to use the word "wishes" instead of resolutions so that I am not so disappointed when next month rolls around and I have failed at 99% of them!!!
So here is my "WISH LIST"
~Save $$$$ and cut down on frivolous spending
~De-clutter and purge and by this I mean GET RID OF EVERYTHING!
~Become active and enjoy it!  (Haha this will be fail #1)

So that my friends is some of my 2015 wishes.  All of the above are very do-able...if you have any tips on how I can achieve these before 2016 please let me know!  I hope by becoming more active I will have lots so write about and keep everyone entertained.

Until next time...

Shan