October Obsessions!

It's the end of October already and we're on to November! Where does the time go.....?

My October Obsessions are:

Pumpkin Spice Lattes
I have not been able to get enough of these! They are SO GOOD! They warm you up from the inside and they scream everything Fall. I'm definitely going to miss having these once the season is over. Although I am super excited for Christmas drinks...hehe!

My Owl Mug
I got this owl mug from Chapters and I couldn't be happier! Isn't it the cutest thing ever!What really caught my attention to buy it was the top being removable. Coolest-thing-ever! I'm a happy camper when I drink my coffee out of this in the mornings :)

Peanut Butter and Toast
I know it's a really odd obsession to have... I bought a brand new jar of peanut butter and that's where it all started. Freshly toasted bread with smothered peanut butter, breakfast couldn't get any better. Not sure how long this obsession will last, but I'm loving it!

Halloween!
I am so excited for Halloween this year! I think it's because we've moved to a house and can really enjoy doing Halloween related things. Also, the neighborhood that I live in is serious about Halloween! People here go all out with their decorations! I've been loving all of the decor, recipes and movies too.

What have been your favourite things for October?

~RANDOMiss

BTW Happy Halloween!

Roarrrrange!

To honour all things Halloween, I thought I would paint my nails Orange! 

This is Essie's Roarrrarnge. I love the application as it's not too thick but still gives really good coverage on the nail. In this picture I used two coats. It's definitely a festive colour that's great to wear!

What nail colour are your wearing for Halloween?

~RANDOMiss

SampleSource

Not sure if you've heard of SampleSource. I have been newly introduced to this service by a co-worker of mine. Basically you sign up and whenever they have samples available, they will send them to you to try out. After a few weeks, you will receive a survey through email asking you about your experience with the products. What's neat is that during the signing up process, they will ask you a bunch of questions to figure out products that you use most often and are interested in. So it's not like you are receiving products that are being thrown right into the garbage! Plus, it's nice to get a sample and test out a product before spending money on it.

They don't send out samples continuously all year. They will send you an email that samples are ready only when they have available. Earlier on in the year (before I started this blog) I received my first batch of samples. I just received a second batch last week. It was like Christmas in the mail! I mean we rarely have pleasant surprises in the mail since most of the time its bills... but my SampleSource package always brings a smile to my face!

Anyways, here's a picture of the all the goodies I got!

As you can see, I got samples for a bunch of different things! Over the next few weeks, I will be sure to try out these products. Once I've been able to try them, I will do a follow up post on my opinions and views of these products. 

What are your favourite things to get samples of?

~RANDOMiss

Are YOU Ready for Halloween?

Halloween is only 4 days away! I'm not sure about you, but I felt as if it really crept up on me this year. This day's a pretty big deal around my neighborhood; decorations, costumes and, of course, candy! I usually make a lot of preparations well in advance for this day, so here's my personal checklist of all things Halloween before the big night arrives on Friday!

Halloween Costumes
Did you decide on your costume yet? Make sure to have it all ready and prepped before Friday arrives. Gather all of your accessories and makeup and keep them together. If you're doing really intricate Halloween makeup be sure to get all of the supplies you need. If you are trick-or-treating, it's always a good idea to get glow in the dark sticks, head bands, bracelets. Make sure that you are visible on the street. Safety first!

This will be the second Halloween that my husband and I will be celebrating together in our house. We didn't do anything for decor or costumes last year as we literally arrived back home from a cruise two hours before trick-or-treating started. This year we got a few decorations and we are planning to dress up as Pirates!

We found these costumes at WalMart for $12 each! We thought it would be nice to dress up for the kids!

Keep An Eye On The Weather Forecast
This will help with prep for clothing and how warm you should dress (if you are going trick-or-treating, taking the kids out, or handing out candy). Also if it rains, you want to make sure you are prepared by having ponchos, rain boots and an umbrella.

Halloween Dinner
Have you thought about what you're going to have for dinner? If you're working that day, and then picking up the kids, it's a really quick turn around to make dinner before the doorbell starts ringing. Try to plan ahead a really quick meal (ie. frozen pizza) or get take out! We're planning on getting some delicious take out to enjoy before the festivities start. We all gotta eat and make sure that everyone is well fed for the night! otherwise, you know it, we're just gonna indulge in all of the candy and chocolate!

Gather all Halloween Supplies
Get the candy, the candy bowls, Halloween music, and final touches on decor in gear! You don't want to be doing this last minute. We're planning on getting some Halloween music throughout the week to have playing in the background while handing out candy. We have some of our Halloween decor out and a few more that we will need to put out closer to the date.

Get Into The Spirit!
Get into the spirit and enjoy the occasion! Make a Halloween recipe, dessert or drink! There are tons of ideas on Pinterest! My personal favourite is this one: http://www.ohnuts.com/blog/dirt-pudding-cups-with-gummy-worms-recipe/. I really want to make this sometime this week! It's cute, simple and so much fun!

Around this time we also love to watch Halloween movies! Not the really scary types as I will get nightmares... :s It's best if I avoid those. The family Halloween movies are not that bad. We've watched The Nightmare Before Christmas (It's a Halloween movie), The Haunted Mansion, Hotel Transylvania and ParaNorman. We'll probably catch a few more this week before Halloween night. I love watching Halloween movies as it really gets me into the spirit!

Also, as an aside, why don't radio stations play Halloween themed music like they do for Christmas...?

Carve some pumpkins! We'll get to carving some this week. We're not sure about a specific design but we bought this pumpkin carving kit from WalMart. We might also find some other designs to do on the internet and use the tools in the kit to carve it out. I'll keep you updated with pictures when we do.

There you go! That's my list to ensure we enjoy every bit of Halloween this year! It comes and goes so fast, you have to make sure that you enjoy it! I'm looking forward to all of the little kids and their awesome costumes! I think that's definitely one of the highlights when your a home owner. You can participate in these activities and enjoy the neighborhood!

What's on your Halloween to do list?

~RANDOMiss

Happy Diwali!

Happy Diwali to everyone celebrating! Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights and it is marked by lighting diyas or lanterns when it is dark. There is also lots and lots of family and food involved as well! Just thought I would share these pictures of the diyas that I lit in my home last night.

 

Happy Diwali again!

~RANDOMiss

DIY Makeup Brush Display

I used to store my makeup brushes in my makeup bag. After awhile though, I found it to be really unsanitary, since its easy for the brushes to pick up dirt. So, I saw this really cool idea on a morning breakfast show and thought that this would work perfect for displaying my makeup brushes. It's also a really affordable project as well! All you need are:

-An empty vase/container (I used an empty vase I had lying around)
-Vase filler (I found some at the dollar store)
-Your makeup brushes

Just fill your empty vase with the vase filler and stick your makeup brushes in! You're done! That's how simple this is! Plus, it looks amazing on a vanity, makeup dresser or bathroom counter. Your friends will think that you spent a lot on this project, when in reality -- it's super affordable! Happy organizing!

What is your favourite way to organize your makeup brushes?

~RANDOMiss

Express, Old Navy & Ardene's Haul!

Got a little jitter bug in me to start doing some Fall shopping! It's definitely sweater weather where I am and I always like to get some new items for my wardrobe. I was in for a special treat this time since I got a few gifts for my birthday that I decided to use at Express. Here's what I got!

Striped sweater from Express. I love this sweater and it is very versatile! I can wear it to the office or just go a casual outing. 

Jeans are also from Express. I was looking for a lighter wash since I mainly have dark blue jeans. 

Little pink/nude sweater with little silver round detail on the arms from Express. I have a close up picture of the silver round detail on the arms, which I really like! I think it gives the sweater a bit of a glam element. Again, I can wear this in the office, for casual outfit or for a night out.

Another pair of jeans from Express as well. This pair is also of a lighter wash but it is still different than the pair above. 

Pixie pants from Old Navy! Not sure if you saw the commercial for these but once I saw it I had to get them! They are super cute dress pants for the office. They are ankle pants and tight fitting. They also come in a variety of different colours and styles. I went for the simple black and polka dots. These pants can also be paired for a casual top or can be dressed up for a special occasion. 

 

I had to get a pair of brown boots for Fall - a staple in any Fall wardrobe! I got these at Ardene's and I can't stop wearing these! They are comfy and easy to wear. They do have a zipper on the side which makes it really easy to slip your foot in. 

I also wanted a pair of neutral heeled shoes that are work appropriate for the Fall and Winter. I found that when I wore shoes to the office, they keep getting ruined by the salt in the Winter season. So I decide to buy a new pair and switch into them when I get to work. I had to "break in" to these shoes last week which was not fun....but I have to say I really am enjoying how they look on me. I've received a lot of compliments so far on them. These are also from Ardene's.

Every Fall season, it's a must that I buy two pairs of comfy/fluffy slippers for myself. I really like Ardene's slippers. Other stores just don't have these kind so I wait an entire year to buy another few pairs when they are sold at Ardene's during the Fall season. I believe they continue to sell these throughout the Winter season as well. They have lots of different styles and colours. I went with my usual style (big and fluffy) with pink this year. I had to get something that would make me smile every time I look down at my toes!

That's it for the haul! I'm really loving these items. They were all worth the purchase!

What are your staple Fall accessories or clothing items?

~RANDOMiss

Pumpkin Patch, Corn Maze and Other Fall Fun!

Hope everyone had a great weekend and your Monday is going well! Yesterday, we ventured out to a family run farm close by with a bunch of my cousins. We made plans earlier on Thanksgiving weekend to specifically go for the corn maze. What better way to spend a Fall weekend then to do something fun and exciting like a corn maze!

When I was younger I remember going on a field trip to a corn maze in Winnipeg, Manitoba (where I was born and raised). It was amazing and it definitely was the real deal!

Getting back to the corn maze adventure this past weekend... we decided to partner up and race through the maze. Losers had to buy the winners poutine! Ha! I was partnered with my hubby, of course! We all entered and found our way through. Thankfully, we were the second pair out (what a relief!). The corn maze to everyone's surprise, wasn't as detailed or hard as we thought it would be. We really thought we were going to be in there for a few hours....it only took us 5 minutes! The corn maze was really built for younger kids as the farm has lots of activities geared towards this group.

Nevertheless, the tickets that we bought also included other activities as well. We got to enjoy a wagon ride around the pumpkin patch, go through a haunted barn and the black hole (the black hole was pretty amazing but made everybody dizzy!). There's even a bakery where you can buy fresh pies, produce, pumpkin doughnuts, arts & crafts. I really, really, really wanted a pumpkin doughnut but the line was just out of this world! I ended up settling for some hot apple cider (which I've never had before; it was delicious!) and a caramel churro. My husband LOVES his churros...

It was a great time with everyone! The weather was great and there were a bunch of families out enjoying the nice fall weather. I did accomplish something off my fall to do list, which was to visit a corn maze. I think I gotta tackle my last remaining wish to go apple picking next year....

What's your favourite Fall activity?

~RANDOMiss

Easiest Pizza Recipe

Yesterday I made mini pizzas for dinner. Easy, quick and delicious! There's not really much to it other than the ingredients shown below in the picture. I didn't use pizza dough. Instead I use store bought tortilla wraps. You could also use pita bread as well which I might try for next time. The tortilla wrap is good but it does become a little soggy with the pizza sauce.

Just slap all of the ingredients on and bake! I baked it until the cheese was all melted and it was cooked thoroughly. And bam! Dinner is done!

 

The great thing about pizza is that you can basically use any ingredients that you have laying around. It's a great way to get rid of left over veggies. I tried to go for a Mediterranean theme but not really sure if that was the end result....!

Hope you give this idea a try and let me know! What are your favourite ingredients on your pizza?

~RANDOMiss

Easiest and Cheapest Way to Clean Makeup Brushes

It's a chore that we all hate but it's a very important one. It's important to clean your makeup brushes frequently. It helps to prevent buildup and dirt in your pores that will cause break out. I have to admit, cleaning my makeup brushes always sounds like the most draining, daunting, expensive and time consuming task and I often make excuses to skip this.

But I discovered the easiest and cheapest way to clean your makeup brushes! I hope you agree.

You will need some dish washing soap (I use whatever I have available at home which is usually Pamolive), some small plastic plates with grooves on it and a little bit of a dip to hold water in (I found these at the Dollar Store for super cheap!), water, your dirty makeup brushes and some paper towels. Here we go!

Start off by putting some dish washing soap into one plate. Then fill it up with some water to create a soapy water mixture. It's helpful to find a plastic plate with a dip so you can fill it up with water.

Take your dirty makeup brush and swirl it around the plate. This is where having a plastic plate with grooves on it becomes helpful. The grooves help to remove the dirt and makeup without any effort! Swirl, swirl and swirl until all the dirt is out!

 

Take another plate and fill it with clean water. Swirl your soapy makeup brush in the clean water until all the dirt is removed. You may have to change your water a few times depending on how many brushes you have.

Put your clean brushes on a paper towel to air dry.

You're done! Simple, quick, easy and a cheap way to clean your makeup brushes. The only item I paid for was the plastic plates which you can find for a few bucks at your local Dollar Store. Happy makeup brush cleaning! In an upcoming post I will share my tip for storing your makeup brushes in a fashionable and trendy way. 

Do you have any tricks for cleaning your makeup brushes?

~RANDOMiss

Hotel Room Hack

I was travelling a bit last week (read my earlier post) and wanted to share a quick little tip I discovered. I've been to a lot of hotels over the years and it's rare to have the perfect combination of a mirror and a table/dresser to put your makeup on. For me, I've never come across a room that has this perfect combination. Either there is only one mirror in the bathroom (which is pre-occupied with my husband when I need to do my makeup) or there's a mirror on the wall but no table/dresser.

Well I've solved this problem! Use the ironing board as a makeup table! I don't know how this genius idea came to me but it works so well! In the picture above you can see that I placed the ironing board in front of the mirror. It was prefect to rest my makeup and watch my morning vlogs while I got ready! It's pretty awesome!

What's your favourite hotel room hack?

~RANDOMiss

Happy Gobble Gobble (Thanksgiving) Weekend!

Happy belated gobble gobble (or Canadian Thanksgiving) weekend to everyone who celebrated or are still celebrating! Hope you had a wonderful, joyous and thankful weekend with family, friends and food! We definitely spent the weekend doing just that. It all started out with a Sweet 16 Birthday party on Saturday. Sunday we went to my husband's family for thanksgiving dinner and had fried turkey! On Monday we went to my family for thanksgiving dinner and enjoy a baked turkey! My husband and I joked saying that we had it all this weekend!

I also made Apple Crisp for the first time and it turned out really great! I Googled a recipe and followed it off the internet. The recipe that I used called for lots of sugar! I think next time I will cut down on the sugar to make it not as sweet, but nevertheless it tasted great.

It's so great that we can celebrate a holiday such as Thanksgiving. It really does remind you of everything that you are grateful and thankful for. Even the simple little things that sometimes go unnoticed. There is a lot that I am thankful for that sometimes gets forgotten when a bad day sneaks up on me.

Nevertheless, I hope everyone spent their Thanksgiving weekend well and safe!

What did you do for Thanksgiving weekend? Any traditions?

~RANDOMiss

My Mini Trip

I recently took a very short trip to Canada's capital city, Ottawa! I was there for work and decided to walk around Parliament Hill during my free time. Just thought I would post a few pics of the trip.

Parliament Hill from my hotel room view.

Yummy lunch at Panera Bread on a rainy day. Yes that is Cheddar Broccoli soup, Mac n Cheese with Ice Tea (& lemon!).

We stopped off at the Big Apple on the way home to get some yummy apply pie and apple crumble. If you're ever in this area, go check them out! It's a really neat place with lots to do.

Do you have any must have pit-stops during your mini trips?

~RANDOMiss

New McCafe Coffee for Tassimo

Hi Everyone! Hope the week is going well! While doing some grocery shopping over the weekend, I saw a new item in the coffee isle; McCafe coffee for Tassimo! We've had our Tassimo for about 2 years but got tired of always drinking the Nabob brand and not finding another brand of coffee that tasted great. So, I kind of gave up on my Tassimo for the last 5 months. Instead we've been using a coffee press and really enjoy it! We found the quality of taste a lot better with the coffee press than the Tassimo.

Anyways, I saw the McCafe coffee and decided to pick it up and break out the Tassimo machine again. We tried it over the weekend and it was good! I mean it doesn't taste exactly like the McCafe coffee in store but it's pretty damn close to it. It's a mild to medium roast. It's definitely not bold.

All in all, it's worth the try and I will enjoy having the other pods in the package. I'm sure once this pack is done I'll be looking to try another brand. Also, they have the McCafe coffee in K-cups and ground beans as well!

What's your favourite Tassimo drink?

~RANDOMiss

Nail Polish Haul!

I got some new additions to my nail polish collection that I thought I would share. Generally some new colours that I don't already have in my collection. Now a word of warning, I am very biased when it comes to nail polish. I usually only stick to OPI and Essie. I am a HUGE Essie fan because of their formula and for the reason that they omit certain chemicals that are harmful to your nails, which other nail polishes still carry. Since I do my nails often, its important that I'm not harming my nails.

Without further ado, here's what I got:

I've only used the 3-in-1 treatment a couple of times. So not really sure how I feel about it yet. I have tried OPI's My Vampire is Buff and I love this colour! It's the perfect nude for Fall.

I was looking for a white/off greyish toned nail polish and stumbled upon OPI's Moon Over Mumbai. When I tried it at first it was not the colour I was looking for. It's more of a sheen/sheer grey/silver colour. Nevertheless, it's a great neutral to have in the collection. Especially around the holiday season.

I'm not sure why I never purchased a fast drying nail polish before. But OMG every single girl needs to purchase one! I have no idea how I was dealing with nail polish drying before this. Let's face it, we have time to put the nail polish on but to sit down and wait until it dries...who has time for that? Plus, when we think its dry we end up ruining our polish. As soon as I bought this I tried it the same day and I was so amazed! In 5 minutes it was dry. In 10 minutes I could carry on with whatever else I needed to do. I already used it so many times and it works the same every time. Do I need to say more ladies?

I splurged on some new Essie colours and tried to get some colours I don't already have. Not sure if you can read the colours well but they are (from left to right) Clambake, Fishnet Stockings, Roarrrange, and Warm & Toasty Turtleneck. I wanted a deep red for the upcoming holiday season. I couldn't resist not getting Clambake as its such a beautiful red. I don't have an orange in my collection so I thought Roarrrange might be nice to wear for Halloween, Thanksgiving and on my toes. The purple I got, because its purple! You can never have enough purple!

That's my haul! If you would like to see swatches of these colours, let me know and I can put those up.

~RANDOMiss