Currently Eating: Frozen Persimmons

David has had to convince me of frozen fruit a few times now. Always a fan of blueberries, his fridge tended to have the usual frozen fruit varieties of berries and mangoes. He would freeze bananas (which I readily loved with huge slathers of peanut butter) and most recently, he suggested that persimmons were great frozen as well.

Best Drugstore Mascara (Ft Annabelle Big Show*)

The Annabelle Big Show Mascara* ($10CDN) was an unexpected surprise! This basic plastic tube and pink cap amped up my lashes. What's more it performed much better than the waterproof version, which I had tried previously.

Struggling with Fitness

Sharing my struggles in achieving a fitness balance.

This morning I planned to do a yoga and HIIT class at the gym but I couldn't get myself out of bed. In bed, I hated myself for being "lazy" and while I knew that one missed work out wouldn't be the end of the world, I felt guilty about staying home. Worse, I had thoughts about my weight, how I was missing a chance to develop muscle and how I should eat less during the day to compensate (and realizing that I wouldn't, added onto the guilt). 

Trying to Keep Dry (ft.Bio Beauty Refreshing Deodorant*)

A review of the Bio Beauty by Nuxe Refreshing Deodorant.

The Bio Beauty by Nuxe Refreshing Deodorant* ($13CDN, 50ml) landed in the mailbox and I was faced, again, with the struggle of appreciating natural deodorants. I really want to like you!

Some people do crazy things to reduce sweating, like injecting botox into their underarms (botox...in your underarms...seriously!) or using treatments where aluminum strength leaves burn marks on the skin. No-one thinks sweating is attractive but come on, its a necessary body function. Completely cancelling sweat or allowing it to flow freely are both unappealing, and that is my dilemma with natural deodorants. I still haven't found a natural deodorant that can keep me dry when compared to a conventional product. 

PSA: For When You're Sick

Even with the best of efforts, there is a high chance that I will get sick. Sickness can hit me from nowhere, a big wallop that lands me in bed, snot running out of my sinuses. You're welcome for that image.

Currently Eating: Date and Oat Granola Bars

I get stressed when ingredients sit around unused for a long time. Letting food go bad is wasteful. Letting something sit forever, even if its not going to go bad, feels like clutter. I bought a gigantic tub of Medjool dates about....3 months ago, and we still haven't gotten half way through it. I stared at the box for so long, I had to find ways to use them and which didn't involve making more balls (there are two different ball recipes on the blog now...two! Here and here).

Enter the granola bar, or just granola if you want to break them up and eat with milk/yogurt/whatever.

The Latest from MUFE

Its been hard to keep up with Make Up For Ever! They've been rapidly firing out products! I'm already behind but I love this brand so I wanted to share my thoughts on the latest.

A Break

Hey Dudes,

I hope you're well! Just a note that ABZ needs to go on hold for a while. Not entirely sure when we'll be up and running again but a few life changes makes it necessary to take another short break.

Hang in there!

Jenn

Content Restful Times

I'm really down with this "hygge" idea. 

If you haven't heard this Danish word, get yourself acquainted. My Danish colleague pronounced it for me ("hooghe") and its so adorable when she says it. It's sentiment of surrounding oneself with warmth, coziness and the good things in life is something we should all take part in.

Currently Eating: Easy Irish Soda Bread

Lately, I've been yearning for that joyful feeling of seeing something really small grow into something really big. I've been thinking about it for days and I know it takes a lot of work, but frankly...yeast scares me. 

Year of Decluttering: In Review and Final Numbers

I missed my third quarter decluttering review. By the time I realized this, I had mostly given up on controlling the makeup situation. But a nice reminder from the women's shelter that I donate to gave me energy to do a final push to get good unused and almost new items to ladies in need.

Nexxus, Kerastase and Shu Uemura: Winter Hair Options to Protect, Reconstruct or Thicken

Toronto taught me that dry hair is a real affliction. Until I lived there, I never gave my hair a second thought. The wonderful temperate climate of Vancouver keep my hair tamed and generally "regular". The near-Siberian temperatures of Toronto had me battling static fly-aways and brittle strands. I never knew I had to care for my hair until I lived a winter in TO and tried this and this to solve my problems. So if you are in that situation, consider these three options to protect, reconstruct or thicken your hair in crisis.

Saving My Brother: Moisturizing without Moisturizer

My brother, Arthur, has a special kind of lazy. The skin on his face might be bone dry, using anything like cream might cause stinging, and he would really rather it all just be better but...he won't moisturize. "I just don't like the way it feels!" With his logic, the feeling of lotion on his face, is worse, than knowing the top layers are mimicking the topography of the Atacama Desert. 

The Last Minute Purchase

I really am hopeless; best intentions aren't enough to hold me back. It happened. Even when I said I would buy less, and especially buy less makeup, I made a beauty purchase.

The re-promotion of my favorite face wash drew me into Sephora but what really cinched the purchase was seeing a little red box of BITE finally restocked. My hands shot out faster than my mind could caution and my feet took me swiftly to the check out.