Beauty Box 5

My Beauty Box 5 came! This is a US sample box much like Glymm and Luxe Box. They claim to have more eco friendly products which I liked. Their packing and presentation is not as nice as Glymm or Luxe Box. Glymm and Luxe Box come in nicely package little boxes that can be re used, they always have a card explaining the product and values.

Beauty Box 5 had neither of those. For me that's a bit of a downfall, especially being Canadian I'd like to get information about the product and know costs without having to search the internet.

That said the products are nice.

I received a self tanning towelette, something I am going to save and try closer to summer. I'm curious about this product, this is one for sure I would have liked to know more info about. One towelette value 2.00

I also received one towelette of a soya based nail polish remover, I can't wait to try this one. I find the crackle polishes really hard to get off so something that works better and is more environmentally friendly would be a plus.

One towelette value 1.00

I got a Pur - Lisse soya cleaner in a nice size, I'll save this for travel. It doubles as a cleanser and make up remover and the size is decent so it'll be a nice addition to my next trip!

1.7 oz size value 11.00

Two samples of Weleda creams a daytime and night time, again these will be great for travel. Part of what I love about these beauty boxes is I get wonderful sizes for traveling and I don't have to size down all my own products.

.17fl oz each total 7.00

Lavera brown eyeliner, it's beeswax and palm oil based. For me I am positive this will crease badly so I'm putting it in my "to give away" box. But it's a nice color and a full size sample.

Full size value 10.80

My total sample value was 31.80, a nice value for the 10.00 subscription. And most of the products are ones I'll use. It was nice that there were no perfume samples, I am starting to rack up a LOT of them!

March Julep Box (Again)

I had two Julep Maven boxes coming for march and my second arrived! This one is the March It Girl box. The red color on the right is Jodie a bit to red for me so I'll be giving it away. The center purple color is Charlotte and very much a color I'll wear. It's opaque so I'm curious to see how it goes on. The far right is Melissa and it's so shimmery, I think it'll look gorgeous over any color.

I painted my toes the other night in Sofia and it glows in the dark! I'm like a little kid again with these boxes playing with new toys!

More Snowmobiling

This last weekend we headed back up to Princeton and spent two more days snowmobiling!

The picture above is a BIG hill I made it all the way up without crashing. I still have a hard time turning while going up hill but I'm getting better. We once again had a great time, there is something so magical about where you can go on a snowmobile. Places you could never hike to or get a horse into. I could do it every day if I lived where there was more snow!

We bought a Phazer snowmobile of friends Sheri and Joe and it's THE best thing we've bought for ourselves in a long time. I am already trying to get a couple more rides in here on the Island before the season ends. I really appreciate them selling it to me (I mean us?!) HA!

Closer

Julep Maven

My first Julep Maven box came today, and yes it seems a though I am addicted to beauty boxes! I still get giddy when I find a little package in my mail box all for me! This box was a penny, yup you read that right a penny. I got it on a introductory promotion they were having.

I got a awesome hand scrub, it smells a bit citrusy (is that a word?) and made my hands baby soft. My hands take a lot of abuse, especially if I'm working more metal than glass. So the scrub gave me a pretty big smile.

My boxes theme was Bombshell, not really me but fun none the less. The orangeish color is Natasha and not a color I'd use. it will be going into my gift box. But the green HOBOY a nice sparkly limey green. Sofia I like! I'm thinking it will look nice under my white China Crackle polish. I never do my nails but pretty much always have polish on my toes.

The hand cream value is 32.00 and the nail polish 14.00 each, which seems like a huge value for a penny! I'm pretty happy with this box and am excited to see what the colors are in the next one.

Luxe Box March

My March Luxe Box came today! I have to admit I've been stalking the mailbox, I am still waiting on my Beauty Box 5 and my Julep Maven boxes. I think I have a sample box "problem"?

Anyways as always this months box came beautifully packed, there was a coupon for 1.00 off a JR Watkins product and a seed card for Loose Buttons 1 year anniversary. It's a pretty little thank you card you plant and it grows a wildflower mix, cute!

This months samples include the following.

A full size Cargo Glitter Top Coat, it's a glittery (very!) topcoat you can put over any eye shadow. This was my "request" this month, I'm going to give it away as it's way too sparkly for me. But someone is going to love it I'm sure. Full size valued at 18.00

JR Watkins Lavender body lotion sample. Perfect timing for me I need a travel size hand cream for relaxing at night and this one will do the trick perfectly. Small sample size valued at 1.00

A selection of perfume samples CK One, Vera Wang and Marc Jacobs. All different than samples I've gotten in the past. I'm keeping the Vera Wang for me, I'm curious about this scent. The rest will probably be gifts, my gift box is getting pretty snazzy! No value on these all small samples.

A full size Cargo Eye Shadow Duo. I got a brown and pinkish color. In a nice little tin, it'll be perfect for travel! Neutral tones which I tend to gravitate to. Full size value at 16.00

This months samples total 35.00 making this box once again well worth the value!

March Glymm Box

My March Glymm box came! I'll repeat how happy these boxes make me! I've tried some new beauty products and I'll admit they've made me spend more thought about getting done up once and a while. I'm NOT a girlie girl but these boxes are bringing it out of me!

This months box was great yet again. They did send a replacement bamboo cleansing cloth for the one I was missing from a previous month and I got a bonus Coup Eclat lifting ampule I assume as a "thank you for being so patient" kinda thing.

In this months box was

Anastasia Lip Gloss, a bit of a weird applicator and it looked really bright but once on it's pretty nice. And it's a perfect purse size! It's a 1ml size value of 12.30

Magic Fini is a little pot of face cream tinted to smooth out skin, I haven't tried it yet I'm saving it for a going out kinda thing. But it's a color that should be fine with my skin tone. 5ml size value 6.30

Nu Me feather hair extensions in turquoise! I have to say I think my face must have lit up when I saw these. I think they are pretty cool! I'll be saving them for a rodeo or drag race, add some POW to my outfit HA! The only thing I couldn't find about these is if you can wash your hair with them in? Full size product value 25.00

Ocean nail polish in a red, I'm putting this in my "gift" stash it's not a color I'll wear but someone will love it. Full size product value 12.00

This months samples totaled a whopping 55.00! Once again, I'm pretty happy with them.

Shine

“We are told to let our light shine, and if it does,

we won't need to tell anybody it does. Lighthouses don't fire cannons to call attentionto their shining- they just shine.”

Spring Sale!!

Have you always wanted a spinner ring? Well now is the time!

I am having a spring sale in my etsy shop!!! 25% off and as always I offer free shipping. Just enter coupon code Spring2012NV at check out. Coupon ends at Noon March 22nd PST. Enjoy!

Do less

Do Less Thinking, and pay more attention to your heart.

Do Less Acquiring, and pay more attention to what you already have.

Do Less Complaining, and pay more attention to giving.

Do Less Controlling, and pay more attention to letting go.

Do Less Criticizing, and pay more attention to complementing.

Do Less Arguing, and pay more attention to forgiveness.

Do Less Running Around, and pay more attention to stillness.

Do Less Talking, and pay more attention to silence.

Earthly Goods Craft Market

I've joined two new shows this year I'm pretty excited about. The Earthly Goods Craft Market has two shows in Nov and I will be in both! I'll keep you updated as time draws closer.

The Sooke Prestige Craft Fair is Nov 9th - 12th at the Prestige Oceanfront Resort in Sooke. The Westshore Wonderland Craft Fair is Nov 16th - 18th at Eagle Ride Community Center. I am really excited about these shows, for one they are close to home (YAY!) and second they are juried. This is in the first paragraph on their home page " Earthly Goods Craft Market showcases the handcrafted wonders of local artists on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Offering craft markets that focus on quality products and service. " That really excites me.

Different Path

Today I chose a different path.

Soul Inspired

Blog Hop Reveal!!!!

What a exciting day it's the Bead Soup Blog Hop Reveal!

My Bead Soup partner was Nan Emmett and was I ever lucky! I got my gorgeous package from her mid Feb and laid it out so I could mull it over for a week or so. My favorite is the bird focal and the caps, oh the caps! I thought maybe the caps would look good on one of my beads.

I was fairly determined to not add a bunch of my glass beads and crystal. That's my "inside the box" fail safe and I really wanted to keep things simple to best flatter Nan's beads. I made this very simple necklace, basically just stringing the bird focal and matching beads on leather. It's a bit longer and I think it's something I'll wear a lot with jeans and a sweater.

I also made a bracelet only adding one of my lampwork beads, and this was harder than I thought. I realized how I tend to repeat the same stringing pattern over and over. I really tried to keep things simple in this, I LOVE her caps!

This is my leftover bead soup, the heart is already on a key chain. It's perfect for me with my last name being Valentine and all I collect hearts!

I want to thank Nan for being such a wonderful partner, I adore the beads I got from you!

Last but certainly not least check out the other Bead Souper's. You'll see some amazing and creative work. There is a complete list with links on Lori's blog.

More snowmobiling

I believe this is Roddy, Maggie, Terry and Nancy coming down the cut block we rode to Saturday. I thought it was a pretty cool action shot.

We had such a good time, I think I said "this is SO pretty" at least a dozen times. We're really lucky to have friends like Maggie and Terry, we hadn't seen them for about a year and it felt like it was just last week. We just picked up where we left off. Lots of laughing and good times. We're also very appreciative of them letting us use their snowmobiles so we can go out. We wound up buying a snowmobile off Sheri and Joe and are really looking forward to more sledding!

All four of us on the top of Mount Kathleen.

Snowmobiling 2012

Last weekend we headed up to Princeton to visit good friends Maggie and Terry and do some snowmobiling! The picture above is from the top of Mount Kathleen a gorgeous view (see below), and a wonderful ride up! I fell a couple times but really felt like I was starting to get the hang of things.

A fairly good picture of Roddy coming down a cut block we rode to on Saturday, we went with Craig and Nancy this day and had a great time. It's really hard to NOT have a ear to ear grin when your out in the snow having fun!