When I was pregnant with my daughter, everyone I encountered had a piece of advice for me. People told me that I should sleep when the baby sleeps. People let me know that parenting takes a lot of patience. People warned me about that parenthood could cause stress in the relationship with my significant other. This was all good advice, but there was one thing that I wish I would have known. I wish someone would have explained to me the one thing that I find most trying about parenting...the self-doubt.
This seems to be the least talked about issue in parenting, but time after time I find myself bogged down with self-doubt. I would do anything for my daughter and try my hardest to be the best parent that I can be. Despite all this, I still have days when I just feel like a bad mother. I forget to brush my little one's teeth before bed. I let her watch TV for three hours straight so I can catch a break. I feel like I'm not spending enough quality time with her. I think we all have these moments, but there is nothing that causes more grief for me.
The other day, I was feeling particularly overwhelmed with this feeling. My daughter was being uncharacteristically clingy, and I was starting to worry about the lack of interaction she was getting with other children. I was behind on my homework and my house was a total mess. Needless to say, I was just feeling like a complete failure. I called a friend of mine in a moment of need. She's a mother as well, and after listening to all my worries, she said something that actually made me feel better.
She told me, "None of us are perfect. That doesn't make you a good mother or a bad mother. It makes you a human being."
Now, this is my first child, and I still have no idea what I"m doing, but this is something I'm learning as I grow as a parent. I AM a human being. No matter how hard I try, I will make mistakes. I guess this is okay, and the older my daughter gets the less anxiety I have about my parenting skills. I will probably always have days of self-doubt. However, I also know that my daughter is learning and growing and developing into a lovely person, despite the fact that I forgot to brush her teeth.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Five Things my Neighbors Shouldn't Do if They Don't Want Punched in the Face
Sorry about the super long blog title. But, I had to find something that would fit this post perfectly. Let me start out by saying that we are still staying in our apartment. The new house reno is moving along smoothly, but things still aren't quite done. So, we're still in our old place, and I'm still dealing with our crazy neighbors. And crazy is an UNDERSTATEMENT. These people are absolutely nuts. Sorry if any of my perfectly normal, nice neighbors are reading this. It's just that I've never met any of you because you're probably just as scared as I am to leave your unit and deal with these weirdos as I am.
The straw that broke the camels back and motivated me to write this post was an event that happened just a few hours ago. Wait til you hear this...This man, a neighbor of mine, came knocking on my door. This doesn't seem so weird, except for the fact that it was almost 11 o' clock at night. When I opened the door, he proceeded to try to sell me his television. Yes, his television. I tried to tell him politely that we already had a television and did not want or need his. But, this pyscho just would not give up. He kept trying to tell me all about the attributes of this (apparently) great TV that he had, even though it didn't even work! Sorry dude, I don't want your television and I especially don't want your shitty, broken television. Also, $50 is not a steal for a shitty, broken television.
After that creepy encounter, I decided to compile a list of things that my I wish my neighbors would stop doing and narrowed it down to the five most irritating. I'm not annoyed with loud music or screaming kids upstairs. I understand that you should expect those kinds of things in an apartment. There are some things, however, that I just can't deal with. We'll start with number 5.
5. Hanging out in the parking lot-Yes, I'm looking at you Camero guy. Camero guy, as my husband and I fondly refer to him, is a guy that just sits on his Camero in the parking lot all day and night. We have sometimes wondered if he even has an apartment here. I've never seen him in the building. Camero guy and his friends, who are all probably in their forties, are taking over our parking lot. I can tolerate underage teeny-boppers hanging out by my car. I cannot tolerate 40 year old men with no lives keeping me awake all night.
4. Smoking in the halls-There is absolutely no reason why you should be smoking in the hallway. Part of the reason we moved into this building is because of the non-smoking policy. I don't care if it's cold. If you need to smoke that badly, step outside. Or at least step inside your own unit, open a window, and try to conceal it. My visitors and I do not want to see/smell you smoking the moment we walk into the building.
3. Doing 50 loads of laundry at a time-We only have 3 (occupied) units on the floor we live on. There are 4 washers and 4 dryers in the laundry room on our floor. You would think that would be enough, right? Wrong. Every single time I go to do laundry, the lady at the end of the hall is taking up all 4 washers and all 4 dryers AT THE SAME TIME. I go back an hour later and she's still hoarding all the machines. One day, I went into the laundry room and seen that all the machines were full. The crazy laundry lady was in there and apologized for the inconvience. I told her I would just go down a floor and do laundry there. I thought it was a good compromise, until she told me that she was also taking up all those machines. Really lady? Who does 16 loads of laundry at once? And she still dresses like a hobo.
2. Leaving your crap in the hallway-This is so irritating to me. One of the things that I love the most about my apartment is the Huge double closet in the entry way. It is literally a walk in closet. We have a strollers, bikes, and all kinds of other large objects in ours. Not only that, but we also all have assigned storage units in the basement of the building. I"m not sure what all my neighbors are using their spaces for though, because all their crap is in the hallway! The couple below me has two bikes, a stroller, and a coffee table sitting outside their door. It's unsightly and if you have that much stuff inside your apartment that it's overflowing into the hallway, you need to call Hoarders. Also, if you are looking to get rid of your crap that won't fit in the hallway, I do not want to buy it.
1. The Notes-Nothing annoys me more than when my neighbors leave all kinds of notes around the building. We've never had a problem with this anywhere else we've lived, but you can walk around and see notes everywhere in this building. I don't know how this strange behavior started, but it needs to stop. If I park my car crooked, someone leaves a rude note about how I made it difficult for them to get into the spot next to me. If I leave my clothes in the dryer too long, someone leaves a note about how disrespectful I am and threatens to throw my garments away(Note:There were 3 other dryers open for use). I could go on and on. If you have something to say to me..here's an idea...why don't you say it!?!? Your illegible chicken-scratch of misspelled words is not reallly getting the point across.
The other day I was getting in my storage locker in the basement when I noticed that the locker next to mine had a note on it. All of our storage lockers come with padlocks that you open with keys. Apprently one of my neighbors had lost their key, so they just scrawled STAY THE FUCK OUT OR ELSE on a piece of paper and taped it to the front of their locker. Classy. See what I mean? The notes must stop.
I'm not trying to be hateful..but I'm kind of fed up with my crazy neighbors. Maybe they really aren't that bad, but we have lived in other apartment buildings and had nothing but pleasant neighbors. Our very first apartment was the cheapest, crappiest place in the world and our neighbors could not have been nicer. They were always sweet and considerate. We never received one note. It seems as we've moved up in the world, our neighbors have gotten more insane. Keep your fingers crossed for us that our neighbors at our new home are angels. We've yet to meet them, and I'm getting a little worried.
The straw that broke the camels back and motivated me to write this post was an event that happened just a few hours ago. Wait til you hear this...This man, a neighbor of mine, came knocking on my door. This doesn't seem so weird, except for the fact that it was almost 11 o' clock at night. When I opened the door, he proceeded to try to sell me his television. Yes, his television. I tried to tell him politely that we already had a television and did not want or need his. But, this pyscho just would not give up. He kept trying to tell me all about the attributes of this (apparently) great TV that he had, even though it didn't even work! Sorry dude, I don't want your television and I especially don't want your shitty, broken television. Also, $50 is not a steal for a shitty, broken television.
After that creepy encounter, I decided to compile a list of things that my I wish my neighbors would stop doing and narrowed it down to the five most irritating. I'm not annoyed with loud music or screaming kids upstairs. I understand that you should expect those kinds of things in an apartment. There are some things, however, that I just can't deal with. We'll start with number 5.
5. Hanging out in the parking lot-Yes, I'm looking at you Camero guy. Camero guy, as my husband and I fondly refer to him, is a guy that just sits on his Camero in the parking lot all day and night. We have sometimes wondered if he even has an apartment here. I've never seen him in the building. Camero guy and his friends, who are all probably in their forties, are taking over our parking lot. I can tolerate underage teeny-boppers hanging out by my car. I cannot tolerate 40 year old men with no lives keeping me awake all night.
4. Smoking in the halls-There is absolutely no reason why you should be smoking in the hallway. Part of the reason we moved into this building is because of the non-smoking policy. I don't care if it's cold. If you need to smoke that badly, step outside. Or at least step inside your own unit, open a window, and try to conceal it. My visitors and I do not want to see/smell you smoking the moment we walk into the building.
3. Doing 50 loads of laundry at a time-We only have 3 (occupied) units on the floor we live on. There are 4 washers and 4 dryers in the laundry room on our floor. You would think that would be enough, right? Wrong. Every single time I go to do laundry, the lady at the end of the hall is taking up all 4 washers and all 4 dryers AT THE SAME TIME. I go back an hour later and she's still hoarding all the machines. One day, I went into the laundry room and seen that all the machines were full. The crazy laundry lady was in there and apologized for the inconvience. I told her I would just go down a floor and do laundry there. I thought it was a good compromise, until she told me that she was also taking up all those machines. Really lady? Who does 16 loads of laundry at once? And she still dresses like a hobo.
2. Leaving your crap in the hallway-This is so irritating to me. One of the things that I love the most about my apartment is the Huge double closet in the entry way. It is literally a walk in closet. We have a strollers, bikes, and all kinds of other large objects in ours. Not only that, but we also all have assigned storage units in the basement of the building. I"m not sure what all my neighbors are using their spaces for though, because all their crap is in the hallway! The couple below me has two bikes, a stroller, and a coffee table sitting outside their door. It's unsightly and if you have that much stuff inside your apartment that it's overflowing into the hallway, you need to call Hoarders. Also, if you are looking to get rid of your crap that won't fit in the hallway, I do not want to buy it.
1. The Notes-Nothing annoys me more than when my neighbors leave all kinds of notes around the building. We've never had a problem with this anywhere else we've lived, but you can walk around and see notes everywhere in this building. I don't know how this strange behavior started, but it needs to stop. If I park my car crooked, someone leaves a rude note about how I made it difficult for them to get into the spot next to me. If I leave my clothes in the dryer too long, someone leaves a note about how disrespectful I am and threatens to throw my garments away(Note:There were 3 other dryers open for use). I could go on and on. If you have something to say to me..here's an idea...why don't you say it!?!? Your illegible chicken-scratch of misspelled words is not reallly getting the point across.
The other day I was getting in my storage locker in the basement when I noticed that the locker next to mine had a note on it. All of our storage lockers come with padlocks that you open with keys. Apprently one of my neighbors had lost their key, so they just scrawled STAY THE FUCK OUT OR ELSE on a piece of paper and taped it to the front of their locker. Classy. See what I mean? The notes must stop.
I'm not trying to be hateful..but I'm kind of fed up with my crazy neighbors. Maybe they really aren't that bad, but we have lived in other apartment buildings and had nothing but pleasant neighbors. Our very first apartment was the cheapest, crappiest place in the world and our neighbors could not have been nicer. They were always sweet and considerate. We never received one note. It seems as we've moved up in the world, our neighbors have gotten more insane. Keep your fingers crossed for us that our neighbors at our new home are angels. We've yet to meet them, and I'm getting a little worried.
Boo
Sadly, I have no pictures to show you of Halloween. Hubby thought it was too cold to wear our costumes. When we took our little one trick-or-treating, she was just too scared. We made it to one house, and she had a mini panic attack when the guy on the porch was wearing a scary mask. I guess her little heart couldn't take it. She cried so hard that she fell asleep in my arms. So, not only did I not get a picture of her in her adorable outfit, I fear she may be scarred for life and hate Halloween forever. The whole day was kind of a bust. Keep your fingers crossed that next year will go better.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Candles by Victoria!
It's a beautiful autumn day here, and I'm cleaning my house up a bit. Maybe I'm crazy, but when I clean up, I love to light candles. It keeps me motivated. I have recently found the PERFECT candles for this. If you guys have watched pretty much any Youtube beauty guru, I'm sure you're already familiar with these candles. The company is called Candles by Victoria, and when I first heard about them I thought...no candle could possibly smell that good. This must be a cult. Seriously, I'm pretty sure these candles have reached cult status among the beauty community. But, with good reason. When I got my order, I completely understood what all the hype was about.
To begin with, this company is so cute. It is ran by a lady named Victoria Elliot and her family. If you check their Facebook, Twitter, or Youtube, you will definitely see what I mean by cute. You can just tell that this woman has an immense amount of love for her company and her customers. They also carry over 600 scents, which is absolutely crazy. But, I love having options and knew that there would be something I would like.
Now, onto the review. I placed an order in the middle of October and it was shipped the next day, which is awesome. The shipment can take 7 to 10 days, the site stated, but mine went out much quicker. My candles came soo well packed, it was almost ridiculous. Everything was completely intact, wrapped in bubble wrap and covered in packing peanuts.
These are the 16 oz jars. They're $12.50 on the website and they are HUGE. I tried to get scents that I knew I would love in these because I knew they were the largest ones.
Bathtime with Pooh-(yellow) This is a dupe of Lush's Honey I Washed the Kids soap. I have to say, this dupe is awesome. It smells almost identical to the soap. Perhaps a bit more powdery, but still nice. If you've never smelled the soap, it is like a sweet honey mixed with toffee. It's not really a bakery scent though. It's more of a clean, fresh honey scent. Even though I like this one a lot, I don't burn it often. Like I said, it's more of a clean scent, so it's perfect for a bathroom, and I don't burn candles in my bathroom often. I tend to forget about them. : /
Pink Sugar and Coconut-(pink) This one is my favorite out of the whole order. It's supposed to be a duplicate of the Pink Sugar perfume mixed with coconut. I've never smelled that perfume, but I do have Britney Spear's Fantasy, which I've heard comes pretty close and I love that. I was actually looking for a candle that was similar to Bath and Body Works Brown Sugar and Fig(which she does have and I did order). The Brown Sugar and Figis was my all-time favorite perfumey scent, but this beats it out. To me, it smells sweet, like cotton candy mixed with sugar and strawberries. Then, there is a coconutty, creaminess that evens the scent out. It's absolutely amazing. Even though the scent is very soft and feminine, the throw is surprisingly great.
This is the 8 oz. candle that I ordered. These are $7.50 on the website. There is also a 9 oz. jar that is only a dollar more. The 9 oz. jar has a cuter shape to it, so I will probably order a few of those next time.
Banana Coconut Cream Pie-(yellow) I was a little dissappointed with this when I first got it, because it didn't seem to be very strong. I read somewhere that the candles may need to cure for a bit, since Victoria makes them fresh with each order. So, I set this one aside for a few days and then tried it out. Wow! That definitely made a difference. This is a creamy banana and coconut scent that I just can't get enough of. If you like bananas and coconut, then you cannot go wrong with this one.
How stinkin' cute are these?! These are the 4 oz. jars. They're only $5.00 on Victoria's website and they are just adorable. Perfect for a small room. Even though they are small, they are very fragrant. One of these can easily scent my entire bedroom or bathroom. Actually, the 4 oz, 8 oz, and 9 oz jars all have the same size opening, so they basically all have the same scent throw. I have to say, these burn forever. I lit one in my bathroom the other day and completely forgot about it overnight(See? I told you). By the time I realized this, it had burned about 12 hours and only burned down less than an inch. Awesome. These are great if you think you'll like a scent, but don't know if you'll like it enough to commit to a large candle.
Carmalized Pralines-I've heard so many reviews on this, and everyone seems to love it. I am no exception. This is just great. It's caramely and super buttery, a lot like BBW's Salty Caramel, only better. Salty Caramel tends to be sickly sweet. This is filled with caramel, bakery goodness and has the same slightly salty scent, but there is a little bit of added nuttiness that evens the scent out. I love bakery scents, but I'm not a huge fan of spices. This one has absolutely no spice to it, so it's perfect for me. This is the one that I left burning. I've also burned it a couple other days and LOOK! It's barely burned down.
Peace-(Yellow) I really wish I would have ordered this in a larger candle. It is so good. It's a duplicate of the Lush Olive Branch scent. I love that smell, but I was thinking there was no way that Victoria could make an exact dupe of it, since it's such a unique scent. However, she is absolutely amazing and I was wrong. This smells exactly like it. It's such a complex scent that's it hard to describe. To me, it smells like orange blossom and lemon and vanilla. There are a lot of notes, but this is one you would just have to smell.
Lemon Vanilla-(Yellow) I am loving all these yellow candles! Good job Victoria. You must have known yellow is my favorite color. This candle, however, I'm not loving so much. It's good, just not great. The scent is kind of plain, but I don't know what I expected. It smells like Lemon and Vanilla, just like it is described.
These are scent shots. I didn't take a picture of all the scent shots that I got, because...well...that wasn't necessary. I just gathered a few to give you an idea of what they look like. These are 2 oz. pieces of wax that you melt in a tart burner and they cost $2.00. I love them. I have to admit, I purchased a tart warmer solely to try out Victoria's scent shots. I've never owned one before, but I'm sure glad I purchased mine, because these little things are awesome. They're so fragrant and one will scent a large area.
Lemon Pound Cake-(Yellow) This is more of the scent I was looking for in Lemon Vanilla. It's very lemony, but sweetened with a bakery note. This one is buttery and creamy and STRONG. Seriously, I put a fourth of a scent shot in my warmer and I couldn't take it. I had to turn it off and open the windows. The smell was divine, but my head just couldn't take it, so my mom took it off my hands. She loves it, and if you like strong scents you would too.
Pumpkin Chocolate-(Brown) I actually order Pumpkin Cheesecake, but was sent the wrong one. I'll forgive Victoria because I like this a lot. I would never have thought to order this, because it sounds disgusting. The scents actually work really well together. The pumpkin scent in this is like smelling a can of pumpkin, not that cinnamon/clove mess that you sometimes get when you're looking for a pumpkin scent. I think that since the pumpkin isn't too spicey, it evens out well with the chocolate.
Leesha-(Brown) I'm not an apple fan, but I'm a fan of xsparkage on Youtube so I figured I would give this a try. It's named after Leesha, and the scent is supposed to be Dutch Apple Cruch mixed with Caramel Apple. This one was a little heavy on the spice for me, and I wish the caramel was a little more pronounced. I still liked it, though. I think I'll try just the Caramel Apple next time.
Me Tarzan, You Jane- (Brown)This one actually is the dupe of BBW's Brown Sugar and Fig. I'm glad I didn't realize that til after I ordered the Pink Sugar. I like this, but I don't love it. It smells very similar to the perfume, but the Brown Sugar note is stronger in this. The perfume is a little lighter and well....perfumey. This one could almost pass as a bakery scent. It smells like figs, caramalized brown sugar, and coconut milk all mixed together. The throw on this one was probably the weakest too, which is another reason I didn't love it.
Amber Romance-(Brown) Another dupe. This is smells just like Victoria's Secret Amber Romance. It's heavy on the Amber and floral and has a light hint of Vanilla. This is definitely a bedroom scent. I like it, but I'm not sure I want my whole home to smell like it.
Goldilocks-(Yellow) This is supposed to smell like the Lush Porridge soap. Honestly, this was the only one I was dissappointed in. To me, the soap smells smells like a delicious baked treat. This smells like citrus and menthol. I don't like it and I couldn't even give it to my mom. She had the same feelings about it.
Marshmallow Campfire-(White) This was, surprisingly, one of my favorites. I didn't really think I would like this. It doesn't smell like a campfire to me. Think a nice burnt, sugary marshmallow mixed with the most amazing perfume you've ever smelled. That is this scent. I wouldn't say that this is in the bakery category. It's just sweet and perfumey. I will be getting a large candle of this scent very soon.
Pumpkin Pear Strudel-(Brown) This one smells like pumpkin, pear, and a hint of brown sugar. It's really nice. I don't even like pear, but this scent is so well blended that the pear works.
Black Licorice-(Navy Blue) This was a free scent shot. Bummer. I hate black licorice. If you love that scent, you would like this.
Tiffany-D-(Light Blue) I don't watch the Youtube guru this was named after, but if she smells like this I need to follow her around everywhere. I love love love this. It's a mix of watermelon, honeydew melon, cotton candy, and vanilla. It's such a light, fun scent. I really cannot say enough good things about this. I want a million candles in this scent.
Finger Lickin' Good-(Brown) This is a dupe of Yummy, Yummy, Yummy body wash from Lush. I've never tried that, so I can't compare. I heard it smells like strawberries. This does not. To me this smells like when you walk into the Lush store. It's soapy and sweet and a little overwhelming. I'm not sure how I feel about it.
Bubbling Butterscotch Sundae-(Yellow) I love butterscotch. I love ice cream. How could this be bad? It's not. It's smells like butterscotch. Just like the hard butterscotch candies that grandmothers notoriously carry around. I was hoping for more of a salty smelling butterscotch. After I had burned this for a while, it had a powdery undertone, which I ddn't love so much.
Meadow Dance-(Green) This is a really green, florally scent with a hint of fruitness. It smells clean. It's not something I really like, just because I'm never a fan of flower scents. This was one I could tolerate, though.
Overall, most of the scents I ordered were superb. Candles by Victoria is an awesome company and the prices are great for the amazing quality of the products. Go to the website and check it out. http://www.candlesbyvictoria.com/
Sorry this is such a ridiculously long post. I think I'm subconsciously trying to avoid cleaning. But, I better get back to it.
To begin with, this company is so cute. It is ran by a lady named Victoria Elliot and her family. If you check their Facebook, Twitter, or Youtube, you will definitely see what I mean by cute. You can just tell that this woman has an immense amount of love for her company and her customers. They also carry over 600 scents, which is absolutely crazy. But, I love having options and knew that there would be something I would like.
Now, onto the review. I placed an order in the middle of October and it was shipped the next day, which is awesome. The shipment can take 7 to 10 days, the site stated, but mine went out much quicker. My candles came soo well packed, it was almost ridiculous. Everything was completely intact, wrapped in bubble wrap and covered in packing peanuts.
These are the 16 oz jars. They're $12.50 on the website and they are HUGE. I tried to get scents that I knew I would love in these because I knew they were the largest ones.
Bathtime with Pooh-(yellow) This is a dupe of Lush's Honey I Washed the Kids soap. I have to say, this dupe is awesome. It smells almost identical to the soap. Perhaps a bit more powdery, but still nice. If you've never smelled the soap, it is like a sweet honey mixed with toffee. It's not really a bakery scent though. It's more of a clean, fresh honey scent. Even though I like this one a lot, I don't burn it often. Like I said, it's more of a clean scent, so it's perfect for a bathroom, and I don't burn candles in my bathroom often. I tend to forget about them. : /
Pink Sugar and Coconut-(pink) This one is my favorite out of the whole order. It's supposed to be a duplicate of the Pink Sugar perfume mixed with coconut. I've never smelled that perfume, but I do have Britney Spear's Fantasy, which I've heard comes pretty close and I love that. I was actually looking for a candle that was similar to Bath and Body Works Brown Sugar and Fig(which she does have and I did order). The Brown Sugar and Fig
This is the 8 oz. candle that I ordered. These are $7.50 on the website. There is also a 9 oz. jar that is only a dollar more. The 9 oz. jar has a cuter shape to it, so I will probably order a few of those next time.
Banana Coconut Cream Pie-(yellow) I was a little dissappointed with this when I first got it, because it didn't seem to be very strong. I read somewhere that the candles may need to cure for a bit, since Victoria makes them fresh with each order. So, I set this one aside for a few days and then tried it out. Wow! That definitely made a difference. This is a creamy banana and coconut scent that I just can't get enough of. If you like bananas and coconut, then you cannot go wrong with this one.
How stinkin' cute are these?! These are the 4 oz. jars. They're only $5.00 on Victoria's website and they are just adorable. Perfect for a small room. Even though they are small, they are very fragrant. One of these can easily scent my entire bedroom or bathroom. Actually, the 4 oz, 8 oz, and 9 oz jars all have the same size opening, so they basically all have the same scent throw. I have to say, these burn forever. I lit one in my bathroom the other day and completely forgot about it overnight(See? I told you). By the time I realized this, it had burned about 12 hours and only burned down less than an inch. Awesome. These are great if you think you'll like a scent, but don't know if you'll like it enough to commit to a large candle.
Carmalized Pralines-I've heard so many reviews on this, and everyone seems to love it. I am no exception. This is just great. It's caramely and super buttery, a lot like BBW's Salty Caramel, only better. Salty Caramel tends to be sickly sweet. This is filled with caramel, bakery goodness and has the same slightly salty scent, but there is a little bit of added nuttiness that evens the scent out. I love bakery scents, but I'm not a huge fan of spices. This one has absolutely no spice to it, so it's perfect for me. This is the one that I left burning. I've also burned it a couple other days and LOOK! It's barely burned down.
Peace-(Yellow) I really wish I would have ordered this in a larger candle. It is so good. It's a duplicate of the Lush Olive Branch scent. I love that smell, but I was thinking there was no way that Victoria could make an exact dupe of it, since it's such a unique scent. However, she is absolutely amazing and I was wrong. This smells exactly like it. It's such a complex scent that's it hard to describe. To me, it smells like orange blossom and lemon and vanilla. There are a lot of notes, but this is one you would just have to smell.
Lemon Vanilla-(Yellow) I am loving all these yellow candles! Good job Victoria. You must have known yellow is my favorite color. This candle, however, I'm not loving so much. It's good, just not great. The scent is kind of plain, but I don't know what I expected. It smells like Lemon and Vanilla, just like it is described.
These are scent shots. I didn't take a picture of all the scent shots that I got, because...well...that wasn't necessary. I just gathered a few to give you an idea of what they look like. These are 2 oz. pieces of wax that you melt in a tart burner and they cost $2.00. I love them. I have to admit, I purchased a tart warmer solely to try out Victoria's scent shots. I've never owned one before, but I'm sure glad I purchased mine, because these little things are awesome. They're so fragrant and one will scent a large area.
Lemon Pound Cake-(Yellow) This is more of the scent I was looking for in Lemon Vanilla. It's very lemony, but sweetened with a bakery note. This one is buttery and creamy and STRONG. Seriously, I put a fourth of a scent shot in my warmer and I couldn't take it. I had to turn it off and open the windows. The smell was divine, but my head just couldn't take it, so my mom took it off my hands. She loves it, and if you like strong scents you would too.
Pumpkin Chocolate-(Brown) I actually order Pumpkin Cheesecake, but was sent the wrong one. I'll forgive Victoria because I like this a lot. I would never have thought to order this, because it sounds disgusting. The scents actually work really well together. The pumpkin scent in this is like smelling a can of pumpkin, not that cinnamon/clove mess that you sometimes get when you're looking for a pumpkin scent. I think that since the pumpkin isn't too spicey, it evens out well with the chocolate.
Leesha-(Brown) I'm not an apple fan, but I'm a fan of xsparkage on Youtube so I figured I would give this a try. It's named after Leesha, and the scent is supposed to be Dutch Apple Cruch mixed with Caramel Apple. This one was a little heavy on the spice for me, and I wish the caramel was a little more pronounced. I still liked it, though. I think I'll try just the Caramel Apple next time.
Me Tarzan, You Jane- (Brown)This one actually is the dupe of BBW's Brown Sugar and Fig. I'm glad I didn't realize that til after I ordered the Pink Sugar. I like this, but I don't love it. It smells very similar to the perfume, but the Brown Sugar note is stronger in this. The perfume is a little lighter and well....perfumey. This one could almost pass as a bakery scent. It smells like figs, caramalized brown sugar, and coconut milk all mixed together. The throw on this one was probably the weakest too, which is another reason I didn't love it.
Amber Romance-(Brown) Another dupe. This is smells just like Victoria's Secret Amber Romance. It's heavy on the Amber and floral and has a light hint of Vanilla. This is definitely a bedroom scent. I like it, but I'm not sure I want my whole home to smell like it.
Goldilocks-(Yellow) This is supposed to smell like the Lush Porridge soap. Honestly, this was the only one I was dissappointed in. To me, the soap smells smells like a delicious baked treat. This smells like citrus and menthol. I don't like it and I couldn't even give it to my mom. She had the same feelings about it.
Marshmallow Campfire-(White) This was, surprisingly, one of my favorites. I didn't really think I would like this. It doesn't smell like a campfire to me. Think a nice burnt, sugary marshmallow mixed with the most amazing perfume you've ever smelled. That is this scent. I wouldn't say that this is in the bakery category. It's just sweet and perfumey. I will be getting a large candle of this scent very soon.
Pumpkin Pear Strudel-(Brown) This one smells like pumpkin, pear, and a hint of brown sugar. It's really nice. I don't even like pear, but this scent is so well blended that the pear works.
Black Licorice-(Navy Blue) This was a free scent shot. Bummer. I hate black licorice. If you love that scent, you would like this.
Tiffany-D-(Light Blue) I don't watch the Youtube guru this was named after, but if she smells like this I need to follow her around everywhere. I love love love this. It's a mix of watermelon, honeydew melon, cotton candy, and vanilla. It's such a light, fun scent. I really cannot say enough good things about this. I want a million candles in this scent.
Finger Lickin' Good-(Brown) This is a dupe of Yummy, Yummy, Yummy body wash from Lush. I've never tried that, so I can't compare. I heard it smells like strawberries. This does not. To me this smells like when you walk into the Lush store. It's soapy and sweet and a little overwhelming. I'm not sure how I feel about it.
Bubbling Butterscotch Sundae-(Yellow) I love butterscotch. I love ice cream. How could this be bad? It's not. It's smells like butterscotch. Just like the hard butterscotch candies that grandmothers notoriously carry around. I was hoping for more of a salty smelling butterscotch. After I had burned this for a while, it had a powdery undertone, which I ddn't love so much.
Meadow Dance-(Green) This is a really green, florally scent with a hint of fruitness. It smells clean. It's not something I really like, just because I'm never a fan of flower scents. This was one I could tolerate, though.
Overall, most of the scents I ordered were superb. Candles by Victoria is an awesome company and the prices are great for the amazing quality of the products. Go to the website and check it out. http://www.candlesbyvictoria.com/
Sorry this is such a ridiculously long post. I think I'm subconsciously trying to avoid cleaning. But, I better get back to it.
Nyx Review
I have a review for you guys! Surprise surprise...right? Anyway, I'm really excited to review this because it is the very first product from NYX that I have ever tried. Apparently, I live under a tree. I've heard so many other people rave about NYX products that I had to try them out. So, I picked up some of their Ultra Pearl Mania pigments. I have to say, I'm really impressed with this product. I thought that these pigments would have the same quality as ELF eyeshadows. They do not. The quality is soo much better than ELF. The pigmentation is out of this world. My photos from my crappy camera totally do not do these awesome shadows justice.
The three colors I got were White Pearl, Lilac Pearl, and Very Pink Pearl. On my the swatches, the white is on the left, the lilac is in the middle, and the pink is on the right. In the top picture, it goes the opposite way. The bottles are tiny, as you can see. I wasn't upset about that though. These shadows are so pigmented, I'm sure I'll only use a small amount at a time anyway. The colors are very shimmery. If you're not into shimmer and sparkles, stay far away from these. I realize that my crappy swatches are really no help, but you should google this to see better ones. The shadows really do have great pigmentation and beautiful colors. The only gripe I have is that the bottles are not user friendly. You cannot really fit a makeup brush into the top, since the bottle is so tiny. So, you have to tap a little bit out and dip your brush into it. It's a hassle and a mess, but I'm willing to deal with it. The price is pretty reasonable too, which makes me think I'll be ordering and reviewing more ELF products soon.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
It's Halloween!
Hey guys! It's past midnight here, which means it's officially Halloween. I haven't had much time lately to do anything with moving, school work, and being a momma, but I'm so excited to take my Little Miss trick-or-treating tomorrow. This will be the very first year I get to go with her. It's sad, but I had to work the last three years on Halloween, and her dad has taken her. This year, however, I finally get to be there! I think I may be more excited than she is. She's dressing up as a candy fairy. The hubby and I are going to be Batman and Robin. We got these costumes for a party we went to Friday night, so I'm trying to convince him that we need to wear them again tomorrow when we take Bella out. They're so stinkin' cute. I would hate to only get to wear them once. Of course, I guess it depends on whether he wants to, since I would look pretty ridiculous as a Robin without my Batman. If he agrees, I'll post some pictures so you can see our beautful faces. :)
Bella is going to visit my mom tomorrow morning, and Cody has to work, so I may just blog the day away. I always have lots of ideas of things I'd like to blog about. I always feel too rushed to actually sit down and write though. Oh well, the wonderful world of motherhood will do that to you. On that note, I'll leave you with some eye candy. I sure do make pretty babies.
Bella is going to visit my mom tomorrow morning, and Cody has to work, so I may just blog the day away. I always have lots of ideas of things I'd like to blog about. I always feel too rushed to actually sit down and write though. Oh well, the wonderful world of motherhood will do that to you. On that note, I'll leave you with some eye candy. I sure do make pretty babies.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Apartment Storage
I was thinking today about how much I will miss my apartment when we move to our new house. Although we've outgrown the space, we've made some very fond memories here. I'll start off by saying my apartment small. Lovely, but small. It's 1000 square foot overall. Between the cat, the dog, the baby, and Cody and I, we are simply running out of space.
It's funny to think that we actually have too much stuff. When my husband and I first moved in together after finishing high school, we had a bed and three boxes. Literally...that was it. Our lives combined fit into three boxes. Over the years we've collected some luxuries, like furniture and silverware. For the wedding, we received so many lovely home-related gifts. I am proud to say we have come a long way since then, and this place is looking pretty spiffy. We even have extra stuff...stuff we don't have much room for. It's delightful. Since our apartment is so small, I thought that I'd share with you some of the ideas I use for storage.
Storage bins
I love these. They're a perfect way to keep things organized and cute. I have these everywhere in my apartment. My linen closet is filled with them. I use them to hold anything from makeup products to my styling tools. They come in any shape, size, or color you could want, but these three are my favorites. These are in my coat closet by the entrance. One contains laundry detergent, fabric softener, etc..and the other two are full of candles. (Eek!) These are especially good for holding your little ones' books or toys. They're cheap too, and you can find them pretty much everywhere!
Ottomans
Ottomans provide a ton of extra storage for extra blankets, sheets, and other linens. I don't really find these visually appealing. It's hard to find a place where they don't look awkward in a room. We do have a brown leather one that we use as a coffee table, however, that I like a lot. It's large and sits right in front of our sectional couch. It's not the most beautiful coffee table you've ever seen. It does provide tons of room for storing our extra throws, however.
I love shelves. Seriously, I have like a million knick-knacks and useless things that are perfect for shelves. Not only are shelves practical, they add a sense of depth to a room. I have floating shelves in my bedroom. Those are adorable. Thinking about it we have at least one shelf in every room in our home. The pictures from above are from our kitchen and bathroom.
I would also suggest buying furniture that can be multi-functional or provide storage. I have a friend who lives in a teeny tiny apartment. She has a very simple desk that can be used as a dinner table if she has a guest or two over. She simply has to pull out a couple ottomans she stores under her bed, and we all have seating. Another item I love are the beds with shelves in the headboard or drawers underneath the bed. Those are idea for small spaces.
I'm not a master interior designer by any means, but these are just a few, simple ideas that I thought may help someone moving into a small space or looking to organize their small living area. Hope you liked it!
I would also suggest buying furniture that can be multi-functional or provide storage. I have a friend who lives in a teeny tiny apartment. She has a very simple desk that can be used as a dinner table if she has a guest or two over. She simply has to pull out a couple ottomans she stores under her bed, and we all have seating. Another item I love are the beds with shelves in the headboard or drawers underneath the bed. Those are idea for small spaces.
I'm not a master interior designer by any means, but these are just a few, simple ideas that I thought may help someone moving into a small space or looking to organize their small living area. Hope you liked it!
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