The Unwritten Road

        I was trying to figure out what to write about today but I had no idea.

       As I look out my window I see nothing, I'm not kidding snow has covered my window. We are having a storm currently and expected to have over 50cm of snow today. Pretty much the entire city is shut down as the roads can't stay clear due to the snow and wind. The snow just makes me love and hate winter like most people. I love the look of snow but hate shoveling it. I love sliding, skating and snowshoeing but hate scaring ice off my car for 10 minutes.
      Whenever winter comes around all I think about is my childhood. I remember making a house in the snow because the drift on our lawn would just be perfect to make a sofa. Then we would make an army of snowmen to protect the house when we weren't outside. I remember going sliding down this hill by our house which is so fun to go down but then you realize you have to walk up the enormous hill. One year we had a tractor tire tube and my dad put spray 9 on it to make it do faster. We flew down the hill it was the fastest slide there. I had to go with my mom, dad or neighbour to go on the slide because I was to tiny that I would just fall though the hole in the middle.
    Now my winters are so different, I spend my time inside cuddled up in bed or on a sofa with a cup of tea binge watching a show. Or shovelling snow or scrapping ice off my car. Even now people who are young have different winter memories than I had because of all the technology. Its funny how much things changed in such a short amount of time. As much as winter can be annoying I LOVE the cozyness of it. My goal for this winter is to spend more time outside by going on walks, sliding or skating.

What are your memories of winter?

  I always take the month of January to get back on track. After taking down all the Christmas decorations I find that the house looks so bare. So what I like to do is go room for room in the house and give it a good deal clean, move around the furniture and wash down the walls. While doing this I like to gut out the house also, meaning donate the stuff I/we don't use. Since do this a few years ago I have come up with some great tips on how to keep things organized and how to start the new year on the right root.



1. Turn around the hangers in your closet.
      Yes at first I thought this was stupid also but it turns out this is the best of the lot. By turning around your hangers you will quickly learn which clothes you wear the most and what you don't wear. When the following year comes around it is very easy to see which clothes to donate as you haven't wore it in a year. Now there are some exceptions like special dresses. But this little hack is great when gutting out your closet.

2. When cleaning a bedroom always remove everything from the bed and make the bed it will make your room look tidier instantly.

3. Take it one room at a time
    By this I mean start and finish one room completely before starting a new one because it can get overwhelming really fast.

4. Use baskets
    When your cleaning there is always random little things that have no real place. So I use decorative baskets and put all the odds and ends in and put it on a bookshelf so it

5. Don't Get Overwhelmed
   This might seem like an odd tip but gutting out and deep cleaning a space can get quite overwhelming really fast. Thats why its best to take it slow. What I do is start in the morning and put on some upbeat music. Once I start cleaning I take it section for section for example I will take down the curtains and my bedding and throw that in the wash. Next i'd start with my nightstand, move it a vacuum under it then take everything out and give it a good clean, then go through the stuff and put everything back neatly. Once I've completed that I would move on to another piece of furniture. Its best to look at it per room then deep cleaning the entire house. Don't worry it does take time you won't get it done it one day. Some years its taken a week and others weeks just go at your own pace.

Hope you guys enjoy my tips for deep cleaning/ gutting out your room. If you have any tips you would like to share feel free to post a comment. Thanks.

   
 New Year, New Me!! thats what most people make for their new years resolution. Well its not my resolution, I decided to make actual achievable resolutions.  I find that when I made resolutions, I would never achieve them because they were unrealistic. This year I decided to make resolutions that I should incorporate into my lifestyle and something that I probably should of done years ago.

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS 2017

1. Take care of my skin
       No more going to bed with makeup up and no more forgetting moisturizer

2. Don't waste money
       I found that I was wasting my money on pointless things that I never used. So for the next few months I'm going to try to save my money by doing a no spending challenge.

3. Eat more fruits and vegetables

4. Get on a sleep schedule
     I'm guilty for staying up until 3am watching netflix then having to get up at 7am. My goal is to go to bed around the same time everynight and wakeup about the same time, just to get myself into a schedule.

5. Use my planner more
    I normally only use my planner for writing down my hours for work but I would like to add things like blog posts, videos, cleaning schedule etc to keep myself organized and onto of things.

6. Floss more
     I know your suppose to floss your teeth every night, but honestly who does. Plus I have tight teeth which only makes it more of a chore (excuses i know). So I want to floss more.

7.  Be active
    I look back at myself 2 years ago and just think how much healthier I looked. I let myself slip and let my stress and life get in the way. I want to be like I was 2 years ago, healthier and being more confident.

8. Say YES
    I am someone who holds back a lot if its something new or going somewhere that I know nothing about. I find that I miss out on opportunities because I like my comfort zone. This year I want to say yes more and step out of my comfort zone.

Lets hope this year is a good one, and better than 2016. Here's the the 2017!!

   Origins is a skincare line that I have been quite interested in, and i've heard a lot about the Origins Night-A-Mins. I wanted to switch up my night moisturizer as the weather is becoming colder meaning my skin will be drier and I would need a more "intense" moisturizer. While browsing the Sephora site I came across this Origins Best Sellers Kit which included the night-a-mins moisturizer and 5 more products and it seemed the better bang for my buck so I decided to give it a try.


Price: $50 CAD valued at $125 CAD
Products: Gin Zing Moisturizer (1oz)
                  High Potency Night-A-Mins (1oz)
                  Clear Improvements Charcoal Mask (0.5oz)
                  Frothy Face Wash (1oz)
                  Renewal Serum (0.5oz)
                  Brightening Eye Cream (0.5 oz)

   Overall I do like this kit as it allows you to try 6 different products from Origins. This set is very affordable as you are able to test the products with a deluxe sample size to see if you like it before committing to the full size. Now I do have my favourites from this set and I will break down all 6 of the products individually incase you are just interested in a few of the items.

Origins GinZing Energy-Boosting Moisturizer

Sample Size: 1oz
Full Size: 1.7 oz and $35 CAD
Claims: instantly hydrates and revs up radiance. The moisturizer has coffee bean and gin-zing to jumpstart hydration levels and skin should look hydrated and refreshed:
Pros: I loved the sent of this product, it has a citrus sent to it. I thought that the sent might irritate my skin but it didn't and I feel that the sent wakes me up in the mornings. I also like that this product is more of a gel in consistency as it is cooling on the skin which also helps my skin wakeup in the morning.
Cons: Not enough moisture. I find that once I put this product on and it soaks into my skin that I still need a bit of moisture. Yes it hydrates but not enough. I do have dry skin, so this product may work better for someone with normal to oily skin. I find that the First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream is a better daily moisturizer for someone with dry skin.

Origins Checks and Balances Frothy Face Wash

Sample Size: 1oz
Full Size: 5oz $26.50 CAD
Claims: formulated to combat both dry and oily skin. It claims that you skin should never feel tight, parched or pulled.
Pros: It removes any excess makeup that a makeup remover didn't remove and does froth a nice bit meaning product is not being wasteful as you only need a little bit at a time.
Cons: Product claims that skin should not be left tight, pulled or parched. I have used this product quite a few times and every time my skin feels tight after and like all the moisture is sucked from my skin. This cleanser is just not for me and I fell it is suited for oily or normal skin.

Origins Skin Renewal Serum with Willowherb

Sample Size: 0.5oz
Full Size: 1oz $50 CAD
Claims: claims it is a super-serum that helps skin look fresher, brighter, and smoother while blurring imperfections.
Pros: This product is similar to the gin-zing moisturizer but better. This product has the same citrus sent as the gin-zing moisturizer which i like. I also like how quick it sinks into the skin.
Cons: I find that this product works the best when I use it before the ginseng moisturizer, I find that if I use 2 of them together my skin gets a bit more moisture. Its only a con because I find that I need to use 2 products not just 1.


Origins High Potency Night-A-Mins Mineral Enriched Renewal Cream

Sample Size: 1oz
Full Size: 1.7oz $55 CAD
Claims: best for compilation or dry skin. Moisturizer helps replenish and restore skin, with relaxing aromas to help you sleep. Over night your skin get vitamins, minerals and hydration leaving your skin refreshed and younger looking skin by morning.
Pros: Love the sent of this product it has a hint of citrus like the other moisturizer and serum. This moisturizer is thicker and I find it has the right about of moisturize. When I wake up in the morning my skin feels refresher and moisturized. This is my favourite product from the set and I notice a difference in my skin if I don't use the product.
Cons: The only con to this product is the price for the full size product is expensive and is only 0.7oz bigger than the sample.

Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream

Sample Size: 0.5oz
Full Size: 0.5oz $39 CAD
Claims: help reduce dark circles and leaves the under eye refreshed
Pros: love the formula, its a more light cream meaning it is't very thick which is what I like. A little goes a long way with this product. It states to use it in the morning but I use it both morning and night which is fine. The eye cream leaves the underlies refreshed, brightened and moisturized.
Cons: I like the formula in the sample better which is a tube than the pot. I find the cream in the pot is formulated different and is thicker. If I wanted the tube I would have to buy it in a set and the pot is only sold separately.

Origins Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask Treatment

Sample Size: 0.5oz
Full Size: 3.4oz $34 CAD
Claims: charcoal mask helps remove toxins, and dirt that clogs pores. Leaves skin clean and refreshed.
Pros: I like charcoal products and I love that you only have to keep the mask on for 10 minutes. It does get dry and your skin feels tight but that just shows that it is working. I love  that this mask isn't hard to remove just use a facecloth and warm water and it comes off very easily. I hate masks that are hard to remove. Skin is left clear and more alive after the mask.
Cons: Would recommend using at nighttime if you have sensitive skin as I used it in the morning and it left my skin red for a while.

I've been blogging now for a while and I noticed you know nothing about me, i've been getting some questions about myself. I thought I would do a little get to know me Q & A.

  Halloween is quickly approaching and I still don't know what to be yet. This costume is great if you are running out of time, or need a quick and easy costume. It took be a maximum of 5 minutes to make this costume from start to finish.

Halloween is quickly approaching, meaning time to start thinking of what you are going to be. I find it so hard to pick a Halloween costume, mainly because I don't want to spend a ton of money on a costume. I decided I would see what I had in my closet and if I could use any of it to make a costume.  I found a black skater skirt and a button up shirt and immediately thought Mary Poppins. This costume is fairly easy to make, as many people people own these basic pieces.