Workin' It Wednesdays - Cozy homes

 Today's link up is all about coziness and the home and I am someone who loves everything cozy! There are five things that I believe every home should have to appear and feel cozy.

 

1. Blankets

 

I love a good blanket - my linen closet full of blankets is proof of this. I have been given many knitted and crocheted blankets over the years and have made my own as well. I also love those soft blankets with the fluffy inside, and electric blankets? I can't even. They're just the best. There is nothing better than laying on the couch with a good blanket.

 

The blanket in this picture took me way longer than I'd like to admit to make. I had to take out and redo many parts and connecting the pieces was a pain in the ass, but the results were awesome! We call this the napping blanket, because if you pull it over you, you're sure to have a delicious nap ahead.

Blankets just make a room seem cozier. I also equate coziness with warmth, so it's a good blend :)

 

2. Fireplaces

 

Since we bought a condo, and most condos do not come with fireplaces, we purchased a standing faux fireplace as part of our tv stand. I love that I can turn it on with or without the heat because sometimes I want the warmth and other times I just like to have the effect of flickering flames on a cold day. One of the things our new home must have is a fireplace, preferably one in the bedroom. I wish wish wish we could have a real fireplace, but they don't build homes with those anymore and the houses that we are looking at are in relatively newer areas (probably no older than 20 years), so they don't have those amazing real fireplaces that need chimneys and firewood.
I don't have a picture of our fireplace turned on, so I'll leave you with this photo of it that I found online

Not bad for a fake fireplace amiright?!

 

3. Candles and Diffusers

 

Not a particularly good picture (at all, really), but I recall this evening as super cozy and the photo evokes those same feelings. Plus the smells are amazing. The middle one is custard!

Oh how I love a good candle. We always have an abundance of candles and I burn them all day - usually in the fall and winter (summer doesn't really feel like candle-time) and always the fall scents with pumpkin and the winter scents of either apple cinnamon, or vanilla (vanilla Noel from bath and body works is forever my favourite). At night I diffuse lavender in the bedroom. There are conflicting views about the safety of essential oils for cats, so since our bedroom is largely off-limits to the felines, that's where I diffuse. If I'm resting in the bedroom, which is pretty rare, I'll diffuse frankincense. I love that scent and it just screams cozy to me, but it is so expensive that I don't want to use it, haha. I also love the sound that the diffuser makes. It's got this soft bubbling that reminds me of using a humidifier when I would have a cough/cold as a child. That sound always comforted me because it felt like healing. Doesn't really make sense but there we are. It's hard to control smells when you live in a condo, but we do our best to make sure our home always smells inviting and candles and diffusers help immensely!

I love how you can actually see it diffusing

 

4. Warm drinks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There's nothing cozier than curling up on the couch with a good book and a cup of tea. Tea is always my preferred warm drink at home, but every now and then the husband and I will indulge in a hot chocolate (only in the winter) with marshmallows. There's something incredibly cozy about sitting on your coach with a warm drink while snow and wind blow around outside. I also love sitting in starbucks with a good friend and enjoying a chestnut praline latte in the winter. Warm drinks = cozy!

5. Seasonal decorations

 

This is something I've just recently gotten into (aside from Christmas and Hanukkah) and am loving it! Husband is not loving the money spending aspect of it, but that's nothing new. I think there's really something warm and inviting about a home that is decorated for the season - tastefully. This is more specific to fall/winter, because spring and summer aren't really known for coziness. But I love having little accents of fall around the home. It brings a room together and makes it seem more welcoming, but also more comfortable. I think the idea of the colder seasons alone has something inherently cozy about it to most people, so those little extra bits just take it the extra mile. I definitely feel a little more love for our home when it's decorated for the holidays, so now I've extended it to the whole fall/winter season. Cozy cozy cozy!!

 

When it comes to cozy, I can't get enough. It's my favourite feeling and something I strive to achieve. I love sweaters, blankets, hot tea, Christmas movies, fluffy socks, and delicious scents. Check out the other blogs in this link up to see more posts about coziness!

Short weeks are the best weeks!

 

 

Hoping all of my Canadian friends had a great Thanksgiving and long weekend. I know I definitely needed this long weekend and a break from the craziness that life has been! Saturday started out relaxing, but around 1pm we found out that we had a viewing of the condo at 5 and from that point it was madness. We were cleaning like mad (a lot of cat hair accumulates in a week) and on top of that, I had an on-call volunteer shift that started at 4. Of course I was called at 4:45, just as we were trying to get the cats out of the unit, so I was juggling my phone and a terrified cat who was yowling while making my way to the basement. We ended up just waiting in the car - didn't make sense to go anywhere for an hour. The cats were not happy at all. We don't remove them from the condo often. Twice when we travelled we brought them to my parents house, but now my sister just comes and stays at our place when we're away. So they were both meowing loudly and angrily all the way down to the car and then snicker stared at me with hatred while ginger hid under the seats. Poor kitties will have to get used to it till we sell though!
You can see their fear and anger below.




Sunday was another busy day because we went to my parents house for thanksgiving. Dinner was delicious - we wait all year for Christmas and Thanksgiving dinner! We had a great time and somehow, despite having a very sedentary morning, I was able to get my steps in.
Yesterday was looking to be a sleepy lazy day, but husband wanted kale pasta for dinner and I typically only buy kale the day I know we will eat it - I find it spoils quickly. So instead of driving, I walked to the mall (grocery stores were closed) and got the kale. Was able to hit my steps no problem! This is the last week of my step bet and I'm still trying to decide if I want to do another. You don't make much money - I think I've calculated about $6 US -- but it's more the motivation of the $40 you have to pay to be a part of it. I really don't want to lose that! So I've still got my rest day for this week and don't plan on using it until Friday. We have a work event for husband that evening, so I can't be sprinting around his boss's home in my heels trying to get my steps in. Plus, my heels are super painful (though beautiful!) so there won't be much walking at all.
One thing I am super happy we did, is we slept in every morning this long weekend. So all that sleep we were missing was recovered. I was super tired heading into Friday, so even with an earlier than usual wake up today, I still feel pretty awake.

My new fall jacket is coming today and I am so excited. It took me forever to pick one, so I'm really hoping it fits nicely. It's a pea coat, but it has this gorgeous hood and I am in love. It also came in the most lovely shade of blush pink, but I had some concerns about matching so I went with black. I had my last pea coat for ten years so it's looking pretty tatty and sad this year. I'm happy to be able to move on :) The new one can be found here





I tend to keep coats for a long time, so they're a pretty good investment for me. I typically buy fairly expensive coats but that way they last for the whole time I have them. I think my other pea coat was probably ready to go 2 years ago, but I was in a crap job where I didn't care how I looked/dressed so I carried on with it. Three cheers for job happiness now!
My doTERRA is also coming this week -- I only ordered one oil for myself - Marjoram. I am trying to collect all of the oils I need for a blood pressure oil. I want to make one for myself and for my mom. I don't have high blood pressure on a steady basis, but it does tend to creep up now and again (genetically I'm screwed). Fingers crossed that it works. I currently have 2/5 oils so still a ways to go. I also ordered for two other people who wanted to try out some doTERRA before joining, which is a great idea for anyone on the fence.
They've come out with some special Christmas oils and other goodies that I'm super excited about!
I don't know if posting this will work, but I hope it will. Feel free to visit my page or send me a message if you want to learn more. Using oils has made a huge difference in my sleeping habits, how long illnesses last, getting rid of rashes/skin irritations and even in my digestion. I use peppermint for headaches instead of advil and 90% of the time, that's sufficient. It also has oils that promote weight loss, help reduce/eliminate acne and dry skin and open your chest for physical exertion. The benefits and possibilities with the different oils and blends are innumerable. I'm all about seeing what other options there are to modern medicine because I react quite badly to a lot of medications, so this has been a real eye-opener for me!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5F8zgz360PNcjFLaTBZRXdjRmc/view

I can't manage to get an image up, so that link will have to do. It's worth a click, I promise you!

Anyways, went off on a bit of a tangent there!

I am volunteering tonight with my teen group and looking forward to seeing the other ladies. We have been off for the summer and I missed the first outing because of work, so tonight will be like the first day all over!

Enjoy your short week! I can't believe it's already Tuesday!

Friday Favourites

 

 

 Happy Friday! It's been another whirlwind of a week with too many late evenings and way too much lieu time accrued. But hey, who's complaining?! I actually enjoy my work, so aside from being tired, I don't mind the late evenings.

 

As with all busy weeks, I have completely neglected to take enough photos of my favourite things. Shame really, because I have many. So this will be a short but still worthwhile FF. Since I didn't have time last week, this week is really a compilation of two Fridays. I am linking up with some fabulous ladies who you can find in the Friday Favourites image above!

 

1. Hitting my steps everyday.

 

This has been tough. I don't have a whole lot of steps to accomplish for my stepbet, but working in an office is a very sedentary job. Getting steps is somewhat of a challenge. Last night I had to hit my stretch goal of 10k and it was too late to go for a run. I was able to convince husband to go for a walk with me and easily hit my goal! He hates walks and I love them, so it was lovely (once he stopped complaining). It was a crisp fall evening and just a bit chilly wearing only sweaters. It was nice to finally have it feel like fall, even without an appropriate coat to wear. Note to self: buy fall jacket

(last week). I still have two stretch goals to hit this week (I took my rest day on Monday), so this evening might call for a run! Hope the rain holds off!

 

2. My new panda mug

 

 

I have a serious mug obsession. Not even kidding. I buy them everywhere. When we travel, when a store has a new collection I like, whenever! My mug collection is currently taking up two shelves and I have no shame. they don't match, not even close, but that's how I like them.

I also love panda bears (I even have a tattoo of one!) so after my zoo run, we had to hit up the gift shop for some panda-themed goodies. I got a little stuffed panda and this delightful panda mug. Husband told me it's the last mug, but I'm pretty sure he's been saying that for the last two years.

(last week)

 

3. Fresh Sugar face polish

Image from here

 

 

Ah Fresh, how I love you. Everything they make is just the best! This sugar scrub is not at all rough and I usually use it once a week. If my skin is getting angry, one use makes it all go away. I have fairly sensitive skin and I don't get any redness at all! Plus, the smell is just divine! Seriously, if you're not already using Fresh products, what are you waiting for?!

 

4. My unanticipated new shirt

Morning elevator selfie. Not very clear but the bottom is peplum

 

I was getting in the car for work when I managed to slosh my smoothie all over my shirt. It was too late to go back up and change, so I thought I could clean it off while I drove. Well, the napkins and tissues basically just dissolved and made more of a mess. At lunchtime I had to go buy a new shirt (I had an evening meeting, so going through a 14 hour work day with a dirty shirt wasn't an option).

I went to winners, grabbed every decent looking shirt in my size in the work appropriate section and this is what I ended up with. Definitely not something I would buy on a regular day, but I actually really like it! I think it's the perfect fall shirt! Thankfully when I sloshed my smoothie all over myself again this week, I was able to clean it off with a sponge and soap since I was already at work. Clearly I need a smoothie cup that closes fully (mine has the starbucks type lid) and a washing machine beside my desk.

 

 

5. This sweater

Image from here

 

So soft, so comfortable, and so beautiful. I just love a good sweater! I am a cardigan-sweater-coziness junkie, so I have a billion cardigans and sweaters, but let's be real, can you ever really have enough? Plus, I needed a few thick ones for winter. Since I wear them all year 'round, new ones are necessary :)

 

6. Care packages

 

Image found here



Image from here



Image from here

Image from here

 

I could kick myself for not getting a photo of this, so online photos are my only option. I really need to work on that! I have a lovely friend in the UK (who I have mentioned before) and we send each other care packages a few times a year. She primarily sends chocolate and tea - two of the many things that I think the UK does better than most other places! Husband and I usually battle it out over the fudge fingers, but thankfully he only has my tea once in a blue moon (he's more of a coffee guy). So as I sit here drinking a mug of earl grey and day-dreaming about my chocolate at home, I hope Hana is reading this and knows how much I appreciate her!

 

Well, that's all for today. Our house hunting has come to a standstill while we wait for ours to sell. Financially, this is the best option since we'll know what we are going in with and will be able to buy without imposing conditions of financing. Fingers crossed that we sell quickly, because I am ready to go. In the "everything happens for a reason" mindset, I know we didn't get that dream house for a reason and we will find our real dream house after ours sells. Keeping the faith! Condos don't take too long to sell in this market, so I don't think we will have to wait too long.

 

Happy Friday and Happy long weekend! Hope all my Canadian friends have a delightful thanksgiving weekend with their families and friends.

Don't forget to be thankful for everything that you have. Tis the season :)

When no place feels like home

It feels like Tuesday to me, but I just realized it's Wednesday. I'm definitely looking forward to this weekend and having a long weekend with a short week next week. I could use a break! We went and saw two houses last night but neither of them felt like home. They were actually on the same street, both big corner houses and were essentially the same, but they had different areas where they had spent money. The second house was marginally more expensive, but had put a lot of detail into their home. Even the bedroom doors were beautiful. They both had massive kitchens, but the second home had this huge amount of pantry space (which is my dream) and nice potlights in the kitchen. Still, it didn't feel like home. There was enough that we liked, but having things we didn't like made it hard to imagine spending so much $$, when we'd have to turn around and put more in. For example, neither home had a finished basement, which would require several thousands of work. The cheaper homes we looked at on the weekend had finished basements. It's all such a mystery to me. Either way, the hunt continues. We are slowly closing in on not having our house for Christmas, but at least I know we will have it for next year. The important thing to me is just getting out of the condo (especially before the maintenance fees are jacked up again in January).

Last night, with curtain steaming and house hunting taking up a considerable amount of time, we resorted to breakfast for dinner. Always easy, and always delicious! Tonight I'm working late again (the Fall is just packed with evening events), so husband is in charge of starting dinner. I also desperately need to grocery shop, but have no time to do so. I'm actually contemplating just ordering my groceries, produce and all, from grocery gateway. Otherwise we will have to manage until Friday. It's already so difficult to find time to grocery shop now, that I have no clue how I will find time once I have kids.

In other no-time news, I am slacking so badly on the gym and running and need to just accept that morning workouts will be what I need to do in order to get it done while we have the house hunting going on. My first goal is to get back to my 6am swim classes this week. They started two weeks ago, and the last two Fridays I knew it wouldn't be possible, but this week I am hoping to get enough sleep Thursday night so that I can swim Friday morning! Fingers crossed. At least now there's some accountability out there.

Well, that's it for now! Have the best Wednesday!

Life needs to slow down!

Seriously, I'm the worst at blogging when I'm busy. Things have been nuts, as usual. We finally listed our place. We saw a dream house and were outbid on it (sigh), so back to the house-hunting drawing board. People think the market has cooled, but when you're actually in it, it doesn't seem that way. We sent 10 listings to our realtor to go and see, and only 4 were left by the time we got to the weekend.

 

We spent the entire weekend cleaning and clearing the place up. My dad came over to bring us a closet shelf that he made when we failed to find one that fit our closet (so he made a custom one within a few days), to do a few last minute fix-its, and helped me move some furniture since husband was fasting.

It's a relief to finally have our home listed - felt like it would never happen!

 

This house buying/selling is very time consuming, and is frying my nerves, but I'm trying to operate on the "everything happens for a reason" mantra, and remind myself that there was a reason that we didn't get that house we wanted so badly.

 

In other news, I am being sent to Winnipeg for a conference for work, so in a few weeks I'm off to the prairies!

 

 

Doesn't look too prairie-ish! Photo found here

 

 

 I've never been to any other provinces, despite travelling in many other parts of the world, so I'm excited to go. Even though it might be very cold. I should probably unpack my winter coat. Goodness knows how deep that box is buried in my parents basement. We were a little starry eyed and didn't think about closing dates while we were packing everything away. So at least it's just at my parents and not in a storage locker or something.

Even though it's only October 3rd, I feel like time is just flying past and October will be over before I know it. I'm looking forward to November and December (short trip to Miami, office closed for two weeks over Christmas, celebrating the holidays in general, etc). October just feels so busy.

 

Last nights dinner was quick, easy and super delicious. I used a recipe I found online at myrecipes.com that and can be found here

and let me tell you - it was the best fish I've ever made (that wasn't deep fried and served with fries that is). We had a wild rice and quinoa blend with it and some broccoli on the side and I could have eaten 10 more pieces. I am not a seafood lover by any means, but we do try to incorporate white fish and shrimp into our meals because chicken and beef become boring very quickly.

 

Anyways, the recipe had very few ingredients and was ready in 20 minutes. it was super easy to coordinate everything to be ready around the same time too. I'd highly recommend giving it a shot. I gave up looking for gluten free recipes a long time ago for meals and now just search up what I want and modify it. For this meal I omitted the lime juice (because I hate the taste of lime) and used gluten free breadcrumbs. Easy peasy! While I am happy to see so many gluten free recipe websites around, they often require way too many ingredients or finicky cooking. For baked goods I think gluten free recipes are needed but for dinners, the substitutions are generally pretty easy. I have only had issues when I come across something that has to be made to be gluten free, like hoisin sauce. That can add a lot more time to cooking.

Today I have to bring our curtains in and exchange them for longer ones. Our ceilings and windows are such a ridiculously random height that nothing works. I think it's better to have too long than too short though, so back to bed bath and beyond yet again. The house we buy had better have good curtains because I don't want to deal with curtains for a long long time after this.

Well, I'm off. Wanted to check in for a random Tuesday post. I will hopefully be able to post more this week. I was especially bummed out to miss my Friday Favourites, because I love that post (and it gets a lot of traffic :)!)

Till next time!  

 

Oasis Zoo Run 10k Race Recap

 Happy Monday! I have so many late nights this week for work that I am just counting the days till the weekend! I feel like I'm already sleep deprived (last night there was a spider web in my room and I of course knew there was a spider lurking somewhere and thus couldn't sleep).

I am excited to give a race recap of my Oasis Zoo Run 10 k this weekend though!

 

#realtalk

I haven't done a 10k in so long, that I actually can't remember when. If I had to guess, I would say it was probably within the half marathon I did in May 2016 so y'know ... it's been awhile. So I did my 8k last Monday, felt good and knew I could have run 2 more kilometres.

Saturday was an early start. We left our home around 6:15 because the race was pretty far away and I needed to do day-of race kit pickup. Because we got there around 7, the parking situation wasn't bad. We were in a traffic line up to get in for about 5 minutes and were able to park with no problem. The downside was that we were SO FAR from the actual race start. I guess the later people got the closer spots, which seemed unfair ;)

 

The line up for kit pick up was insane. We waited for about 30 minutes and it really felt like it could have and should have been more efficient. They had to delay the start of the race by 10 minutes and I'm thinking that crazy line up was why. The t-shirt in the race kit is so lovely, but that's really all that was in there aside from the chip, an Oasis juice box and some hand cream.

 



Photo link here

 

Then we went onto the porta potties. I can't stand them (who can?), but it was a long drive and frankly, I had no choice. We had to wait another 20 minutes to get in to use the porta potties so despite getting there an hour before the start, I ended up getting to the corral about five minutes before the start of the race (that was before the delayed it). They started the groups in waves that were about 3 minutes apart. which was a nice way to start without giant crowds. The first 4.5k of the run was animal-free which was kind of disappointing. We were basically running through backroads of the zoo. But at about 4.5 I saw the baby panda bears and nearly died because holy bananas they were cute!

 

So hard to get pics with this glass wall
 

I wish this was a better photo. They were adorable!

 

 

I had to stop to adore them for a minute and snap some pics through the glass. They were just sitting there all fluffy and eating bamboo. Oh I could have stayed there forever! I eventually dragged myself away and went back on my route.

 

I also stopped briefly to see the two humpback camels, flamingos, a leopard (jaguar?), red tree pandas (oh so adorable) and llamas. It was actually really fun to run and see all these different animals but the hills... Oh gosh those hills. They warn you before you begin that the route is hilly, but wow it was harsh. I didn't exactly hill train so let's just say there was some walking up hills involved.

 

 

Red tree panda!

 

As for the actual run (minus my brief animal stops), I stopped quite infrequently. As I result, I probably didn't drink enough of my electrolytes. I stopped at about 3, 7, and I think 9 for fuel but probably only for about 30 seconds. I also walked up some hills and tried to drink at those times as well but didn't always. I had a really bad headache later on in the day which was probably from dehydration. The water on the course also tasted terrible. I'm not sure what was wrong with it but it was nasty. I was glad that husband found a water bottle after because instead of passing them out to finishers, we got more cups of the weird water.

My official time was 1:06:48, which I was actually pretty impressed with, given that I stopped several times for animal pictures, and walked up some hills. And of course because I didn't exactly train for it. Doing races again has definitely amped up my motivation to run, so I'm going to register for a half marathon in the winter (chilly half) and try to keep it going. It's not about timing for me right now, but more about learning to love running again. So I know my speed will come back eventually, but right now I want to enjoy my runs rather than suffer through them. I think this will help me to move forward in a more positive way.

 

 

 

I was so exhausted after the race that I actually took an afternoon nap, which I rarely do. It was awesome and super cozy with my dim bedroom and frankincense in the diffuser. A delicious Saturday for sure.

We met with a realtor on Friday who we really liked, so we are now in the process of looking for a house to buy. While he wants us to buy first, we are going to try to list and buy somewhat simultaneously. He has a good track record and comes recommended from husbands work. Our goal is to be in our new home by Christmas. So keep your fingers crossed! We are going to look at houses next weekend, which makes me excited and nervous. Even with a decent budget cap, we are still looking at insane prices. The market is slowly dropping, and more and more houses are up for sale. The unfortunate thing is that a lot of people are stuck with insane mortgages on houses that have probably lost a significant amount of value now that the market is cooling slightly. So they are still trying to sell for close to what they paid. I'm not sure how the offers will work on those. I guess these are all things we'll find out!

Well, that's all for today! Have a great Monday!

 

 

 

Friday Favourites

 

 

 

 As always, I am linking up with Friday Favourites to share my very favourite things this week!
I am getting so tired of this hot sunny weather (who says that?!). But really, it's too hot and it's not even summer anymore so it feels wrong. It is supposed to cool down by the end of next week, so fingers crossed. I'm not looking forward to my 31 degree clear skies race tomorrow. Thank goodness it's in the early morning. Should be done around 9 before the sun really hits later in the morning. I know tomorrow's race won't be fast. Since it'll be at the zoo, I have no doubt I'll be distracted by the animals and stopping to snap photos. It's more about getting out there! Yesterday I did a 5k, which was tough with my huge lack of sleep this week. I was tired, but I managed to push through. As usual, my speed increased km by km, so I'm starting to get some of my old mojo back. Even running three times this week will be a huge change from my "maybe once every two weeks" past. I am happy to feel changes and can slowly feel my mindset changing. I also have to admit - this step bet has got me going. Sure I wanted to sleep instead of run yesterday, but then I would have been eliminated from the step bet (I took my "rest" day Wednesday because of Rosh Hashanah). I'm not losing my $40, lol. Anyways, here we go!

1. All the Fall Things -- Again!

I love this little pumpkin!

Some much better lighting to see this beauty

I just can't. It's too adorable!

I went back three times and kept fawning over this. At 60% off it was a steal

I am 100% Fall obsessed. and pumpkins have taken over my home. So here are some of my beautiful fall pieces, plus a much better picture of our guest room table. I took it at night so there was no glare! I really love seasonal decorating, and decorating in general. It creates such warmth!


2. Meeting Renu Mandhane

Yesterday I met Renu Mandhane, the Chief Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission. I was too busy fan-girling to ask for a photo but she really is like a real-life superhero. She is getting stuff done here in Ontario! So here is a photo of her talking with me in close proximity. I'm not sure why my back looks like the hulk here. Perhaps because I was slouching.

3. Healing Blend:

 

This blend of frankincense, tea tree and lavender oils has done wonders for my wrist. I mix them with fractionated oil and apply it topically. My apple watch tends to give me a rash, especially after working out. I now clean my watch strap with rubbing alcohol after each work out and the healing blend takes care of the irritation. At one point it got so bad that it started spreading to my entire wrist and was just so itchy. The healing blend was pure relief. I am so glad that it's not as bad anymore.




4. Burberry scents:

 

 

Husband and I picked these up in the Utah duty free on the way home. We had all these gift certificates and hadn't needed to spend anything on the trip so we used them for some fun. We somehow both ended up selecting burberry scents, but what I love is that they are totally complementary to each other. His smells amazing, as does mine but together they just mix seamlessly. Not that it matters - but it still makes me smile. We rarely like the same brands for perfume/cologne so this is just cute.

 

 

5. Vasanti lip colour:

 

 

 

I got this in an Ipsy bag in June and was surprised when I tried it on that I really liked it. In fact, I brought it to Utah and it was the only colour I used for all of our evenings out. It wasn't sticky or thick, has the most beautiful complementary colour and lasts until you eat (it doesn't have much staying power when it comes to food -- it's fine for drinks). I have a lot of trouble finding lip colours I can deal with. I don't like lipstick at all (I'm trying though). So this is a perfect find for all those people like me who don't like how lipstick feels. This colour is called "Super mom" which is a little weird since I don't have kids ... but whatever. I think I'll definitely buy this again when I run out.

6. Pumpkin Candles
I know, I know, candles are supposed to be bad, but I need my home to smell like pumpkin spice chai. We all do.

Terrible photo quality (another fall sign peeking through the back)

 

 Well, that's all for today. I'll be back Monday with a race recap and hopefully some cute panda bear pictures!

Happy Friday!