On Pause

So. . . umm. . . it's been like a month since my last post.  Sorry about that.  I thought I'd just drop a little post in here in case anyone's been stopping by, wondering what's up.  Nothing new really, nothing bad. . . just work and parenting and that's keeping me pretty busy.  I'm not going anywhere but I'm not sure how often I'll be posting over the next little while.  Let's call it a "pause", shall we?  See you again sometime :)

If you've been a fan of my musings and box reviews, thank you! Also, if you scroll to the bottom of this page, you can enter your email so you'll be notified of any new posts (so you don't have to check back here regularly. . . unless, of course, you want to).

Tea Sparrow February 2016 Review

So I'm a little behind. . . there's a lot to do besides blogging when you're a mommy and a full-time career woman, let me tell you (upcoming post perhaps?).  Anyway, this is really only a few weeks late since Tea Sparrow ships mid-month.  I'm working on catching up!

What is Tea Sparrow?  A fave sub in my house!  For $20 CAD per month (including shipping), Tea Sparrow sends 4 different types of loose leaf tea (so yes, you need some way to brew loose leaf  - tea balls are an inexpensive option) - usually a green, a black, a rooibos and an herbal but sometimes they mix it up.  The teas are separately packaged and are each approximately 0.6oz for a total of about 35 cups of tea per month (less if you use a lot of tea in brewing, maybe more if you're willing to brew twice using the same tea).

If you want to try Tea Sparrow, check out this 60% off offer and get your first month for only $8!  When you click the above link, you will be taken to a password-protected page.  Enter "teas" as your password and you will be offered the promotional discount.  Please be aware that this will start a recurring monthly subscription but Tea Sparrow allows you to skip any month through their website (although why would you want to?) and you can cancel at any time.  Enjoy!

Mask Maven February 2016 Review

Here's my fave sub right now:  Beauteque Mask Maven.  I love sheet masks and getting a variety pack delivered to my door once a month always puts a smile on my face.  Beauteque is an American beauty shop specializing in Asian beauty and skincare products and they offer two monthly subs:  a BB Bag which includes 6-8 full-sized products in a cosmetics bag, and Mask Maven which is a variety pack of 9-11 masks.  While the BB Bag also sounds awesome, I know I'll get the most out of Mask Maven.  It costs $15 per month plus $6.95 shipping, in US funds, but you can get it for less if you purchase longer subscriptions.  I picked up a full year of this subscription when they were having a 30% off sale for a total of $264.06 Canadian, including shipping - that's about $22 Canadian per month.  If you would like to check out either of these subs, you can do that right here :)

As you can see above, this month's theme was "Fabulous February" which is vague enough, I suppose.  The description sounds like they're going for ingredients that are also edible, I think (although the masks are not, obviously).  Here's the info sheet that comes with the masks, outlining what we received, what each mask is supposed to do for your skin, and how to use each mask.

ChickAdvisor: Garnier SkinActive Micellar Water and Miracle Wake-Up Cream Reviews!

About two months ago, I received a product review offer from ChickAdvisor and, although I rarely throw my name into the hat, I thought "why not?" Surprise, surprise! I was selected to receive and review both of the products below.  Full disclosure:  I paid $1 to have these items shipped to me and also received a cute mug and a bag of David's Tea.  I then had to review these items on the ChickAdvisor website within two weeks.  These reviews are based on those ones but more detailed. . . and after using these products for a longer period of time.

If you've never checked out ChickAdvisor, it's a website where women like me (and you?) can share our honest reviews of a range of products, stores, etc.  They also provide a platform for companies to have their new products reviewed by a built-in group - that's the Product Review Club and there are usually a few review opportunities listed in there.  This is my first time actually being selected but I've signed up a handful of times.

Here are the products:  Garnier SkinActive Micellar Water and Miracle Wake-Up Cream

Like my terrible pic? Well. . . it's the only one I got before (spoiler alert!) sending these off to a new home

Fabletics February 2016 Review

I give up! As much as I always say I'm going to skip Fabletics. . . citing our poor dollar - exchange sucks!. . . I don't.  There's always something that pulls me in!  And lately, that something is an attempt to convince myself that some of these items are work-friendly, with some success!

For those who are unfamiliar with Fabletics, they offer monthly workout outfits (or loungewear, if you're more like me) starting at $49.95 for VIPs (and seemingly at $10 increments from that point depending on the items and the number of items - outfits tend to be 2 or 3 pieces).  It is a subscription program so at the beginning of each month, you must either choose an outfit or opt out for that month - if you fail to do either, you will be charged the $49.95 minimum cost although you can later use that money to make a purchase (it's not like a punishment fee or anything).  To make things even more enticing, Fabletics offers your first month at half price - that's $25 for one of the cheaper outfits (or half of whatever the cost is of the outfit you choose).  Note the phrasing there:  "first month" - that means that taking advantage of this offer will set you up in their VIP program and you will then either need to purchase/skip each month. . . or I guess you could take advantage of the offer and then cancel if you really wanted to.

Now that that's out of the way, on to this month's outfit!