Fall Photos and Wine

Sometimes I get super frustrated with the weather in our corner of the world. Spring takes forever to arrive, and winter can be brutal. Nova Scotia has some spectacular weather in the fall however, and I think it would be the best time to travel here unless you're hardcore into laying on the beach.

Photo c/o Brett Locke

Details

Boots: Call it Spring

Scarf: American Eagle Outfitters

Sweater: J Crew

Jeans: Zara 

Bag: Danier

Bag Pom: Topshop

Sunnies: Coach

Brett (check out his website here) and I have been friends since we were twelve. We try to catch up every so often, and both of us wanted to catch some fall scenery. After a quick swing by Starbucks, we were off on Highway 101 to visit Avondale Sky Winery. Even from the highway the leaves were pretty, but once we pulled onto the secondary roads, we couldn't get over the amazing colors.

We sampled some yummy wine and left with a few bottles each.  There wasn't one I tried that I didn't like! The inside of the winery was beautiful. It's a refurbished church and they retained a lot of the stained glass.

I was determined to wear this scarf even though it produces lint like nothing else I've ever seen. It was the first day this fall I wore tall boots, and I was so cozy. We stopped at a few colourful spots on the way back home, and this pretty laneway was the perfect place to snap some photos.

Photo c/o Brett Locke

Photo c/o Brett Locke

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

I'm Done With You: October 2016

In this post, I'll share with you the products that I've finished lately. I'm making a conscious effort to use up products before I replace them. I'll also try to eliminate some things that are not finished yet, but are not being used. 

The first thing is a Tarte Lipsurgence lip stain that started to turn white. I figured that meant it was not healthy, so I tossed it. I love Lipsurgence products though. I have a bunch of them. I was really disappointed with the Ciate nail polish mini in Talent Scout. It chipped really badly the next day on multiple nails. No need for this to be taking up space in my nail polish storage, so goodbye. A Lush bath bomb was in this paper bag. It was from last Christmas (yes I hoard them) and it was Cinders, which was cinnamon-scented and lovely. The mini mascara was from my Sephora Lash Stash. The label wore off but it was Marc Jacobs and I liked it, but it wasn't anything amazing. I'm not loyal to any particular shave gel.  This Gilette Venus Olay brand was fine!

Next up are the hair products. The Moroccan Oil Extra Volume Conditioner was given to me and I did really enjoy it. I'm all over the place with shampoo/conditioner. I get bored easily and always want to try new stuff so I don't repurchase that often. In saying that, the Redken Cleansing Cream I have bought multiple times. I can't stretch my hair to four days between washings anymore, but when I could, I used this every second wash to get rid of product build-up. As far as dry shampoo goes, I've yet to find my holy grail, but this Tigi Pro stuff I got from Winners was awful. I only used it a few times and it made my hair feel dirtier so I chucked it. I used to like the One N Only Argan oil, but then I went back to using Moroccan Oil and I like it better. 

I buy sheet masks at Winners, and I've used at least four of them lately, but this one from The Creme Shop was my favorite. I try to use one every week and a half or so. I went back to using Olay Total Effects for my night cream a few months ago. Shoppers keeps sending my Optimum Bonus Points for it, so it works out well. The Body Shop Chamomile eye makeup remover is my second favorite, after Bioderma Micellar water. I won the Kibio cleansing milk at a SDM event a long time ago. It was ok as a morning cleanser, but didn't remove makeup very well. The Quo cotton pads are a staple in my life. I buy them in three packs. 

Last are my Bath and Body Works empties. I feel like the soaps and anti-bacs are guaranteed to be great. If you like the smell in the store, you're going to like them at home. The candles are a different story because they always smell strong in the store, but might not give off much scent when they are lit. Beach Cabana is one of my summer favourites. It is so strongly scented (jasmine, white towels and orange blossom) and the scent throws all over the house. The only thing that bugged me about it is that the wax turned a weird brown color when it got close to the end. 

I hope you enjoyed peeking in my recycling! 

XOXO 

Glitterary Girl

My Monthly Purchases: September 2016

Every month, I break down my clothing expenses and share them. My quarterly budget is $500. This amount can be rolled into the next quarter if it's not all spent. My goal is to keep my out of pocket expenses within $2000 a year. Gifts and gift cards don't count towards my budget. Since I've been keeping a budget, I'm much more careful with what I buy, and I will return stuff at the end of the month if I'm not crazy about it after hanging it in my closet.

Sweatshirt: Zara

Reg $30

My love for athleisure is not going anywhere. R calls this my "90s teenage boy shirt". He tends to name my clothing that he doesn't understand (e.g. Clown pants, witch dress, dog collar necklace, eyeball earrings)

Top: Zara

Reg $16

I've donated a few black tops that we're getting worn, so I need to replenish. I like the sleeves on this one.

I held the sleeve to show the shape.

Scarf: Zara

Reg $16

Neck scarves are cute and I like that this one is a bit more elevated than a basic bandana.

Top: Hollister

Reg $18 on sale for $9

I bought this top in grey in July I think. I really like it, so when I saw it on sale I scooped it up in black.

Sneakers: Puma via Winners

Reg $125 on sale for $52

These shoes! I've been listing for them for ages and I almost bought them from Town Shoes, then someone told me they were at Winners. I love them. They are so comfy and its a life goal to collect as many fashion sneakers as my closet will fit.

Choker: Call it Spring

Reg $12

I shopped hard for a wrap choker and this was the winner. I wanted silver detail but nothing to flashy.

Earrings: American Eagle Outfitters

Reg $10 on sale for $3.50

I wear my Stella & Dot grey earrings all the time so I know I'll wear these too.

Original value of items $228
Price I paid $139
I saved 39%

I'm rolling over $26 to next quarter. My mission is to find a perfect black crew neck sweater. The last quarter of the year is always so challenging as it includes Black Friday and Boxing Day.

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

Currently 10.01.16

Reading
The Orphan Train - Christina Baker Kline
A novel about two young girls who have no place to call home. I read this on my Kobo and really enjoyed it. The story kept moving from past to present and I liked that there were two main characters.
Wicked - Gregory Maguire
The backstory of The Wizard of Oz. I left this book at work to read on my breaks so it took two months to finish. It was okay, but I wished it had a character guide and glossary. So many weird words! I was relieved when I completed it!

I'm reading two great books now that I'll share with you next month!

Clicking
Zara on-line shopping has been a thing for me lately. I like ordering a bunch of stuff because it's free shipping and free returns. It's even better than shopping in-store because you can try it on in your own home with all your other clothes and shoes. They update the stock twice a week so there's always tons of new items.

Watching
I finished season four of Orange is the New Black - I really liked this season! R and I also finished season four of Homeland. OMG you MUST watch that new show This is Us. I've just watched the first episode and I am completely hooked already. Honestly, the best pilot I've seen in a really long time.  We're also watching a lots of Blue Jays baseball.

Eating
Too much! I haven't stepped on the scale but I'm pretty sure I gained five pounds since early August. Oops. I've been to a few of my old favourites lately- Il Mercato and The Stubborn Goat.  One Halifax staple that I hadn't tried yet - Morris East - was a girls night spot this month. Of course I had pizza and it was delicious. Pannizza is a new spot in The Terrace at HSC. I dropped by for lunch a few weeks ago and I was impressed! I had the pepperoni pizza. I finally tried The Dairy Bar on South Park street, and the ice cream didn't disappoint.

Vanilla bean ice cream

Drinking

Autumn is here and I'm back into hot tea. I need to stock up on some fall blends. One I've tried already is Blueberry Muffin from DAVIDsTEA - super yummy.  I've been loving Bulwarks cider lately.  I bought a taster pack and they are all good! I'm still drinking lots of naturally flavoured sparkling water, and I finally found Skinny Girl naturally flavoured water enhancer. I don't like using the ones that are artificially sweetened. 

Seeing

I'm sitting at Starbucks blogging, and they have the cutest lidded glasses on sale. I don't need one... Or do I? There's a girl here doing schoolwork. If I were still in school I'm sure I'd live here and drink all of my caloric intake. 

Smelling

Coffee.  I'm drinking a green iced tea. I have THREE free drinks on my gold card (learn to work the bonus points system - it's fab) but I'm hoarding them. Whenever I have a free drink I order the most massive elaborate thing I can think of. I think last time I had one it was a venti non fat chai latte with whip, a shot of hazelnut and graham cracker sprinkles. 

Hearing 

Jazz music. Who gets to pick this music here? It should be me. 

Wearing

My  grey and black Cambio jeans, a grey mock neck, Tory Burch black flats. This is probably the last weekend I'll be able to go without a jacket. Sad, but boy am I excited to bust out the bomber jackets. 

Feeling

Productive. I did some housework and ironing this morning and have supper cooking in the slow cooker. 

Anticipating

On Monday I start 22 Minute Hard Corps. I've been doing the workouts sporadically for a few weeks without sticking to the schedule, but Monday is the day that I get down to business. Remember the 10 lbs I lost this spring? It's baaack... Well at least half of it is back. 

XOXO
Glitterary Girl