cottage thrift store haul (music, movies, books, and more)

It is no secret that thrift stores and antique stores make me happy. You never know what treasure you might find there! During a recent cottage vacation with some family members, there were several such stores visited in Fenelon Falls, Bobcaygeon, and Lindsay. I was lucky enough to find some wonderful items to add to my always growing collection of movies, books, and music. 

more vacation highlights: souvenirs from atlantis bahamas

It is near impossible to return home from a vacation without at least a few souvenirs. My husband and I recently took a trip to Atlantis in the Bahamas (check out that vacation highlights post here if you missed it) and picked up a few themed items. Some were purchased out of necessity and others were fun treats. On that note, here are the souvenirs that I chose to take back.

small town shopping haul (books, music, and movies)

I cannot be trusted in thrift stores, antique stores, or anywhere that sells music, movies, and books. This is clear based on the shopping that I did during the recent cottage trip with my family. Though the cottage is still not my favourite place to be (unfamiliar location, nature, mosquitos, and all the rest) there are usually some good finds at the various stores nearby. Sadly, my favourite store, Kicking Cowgirl Designs closed down, but there were still some fun items that were brought home. 

walt disney world week: souvenirs

There are all sorts of stores in Walt Disney World. In fact, everywhere you turn, there seems to be someone selling something. Popcorn, Mickey shaped pretzels, drinks, t-shirts, pins, and all sorts of other odds and ends. It was hard not to pull my wallet out at every opportunity. Though I did my best not to overindulge, there were a few items that came home with me from my vacation. It was mostly clothes, but there were some other fun souvenirs that were included as well. Take a look....

bath and body works: post-holiday sale haul

It is always nice when at-home favourites are on sale. Bath & Body Works is one of my most visited stores, but mainly around the holiday season. I love all of the products that are available (candles, body wash, soap, lotion, body mist, and all the rest) and often purchase enough seasonal releases to last me the rest of the year. Though the spring and summer products are lovely and refreshing...fall and winter is my time to shine. I recently decided to look at the Bath & Body Works website on a whim. This is not something I have ever done before, as I always purchase products in-store. But for whatever reason, I decided to see if there were any holiday items left. Turns out, there were, and those items were nicely discounted. There were many items that tempted me, but in the end, it was the Wallflowers refills that I decided to purchase. Wallflowers are essentially room fragrances. Scents make me happy and so I often have a Wallflower plugged in. These were on sale for $3.50 CDN (normally $8.95 CDN) and were all holiday inspired. In the end, fifteen were purchased, so I am now fully stocked.

life lately (wok with yan and shopping trip mini haul)

Summer is winding down and it seems life is determined to cram as much activity as possible into the last remaining weeks. Events, appointments, get togethers, and on and on the list goes. Lately, my schedule has been a little busier than I tend to prefer...but some of that has been for some exciting reasons. Like meeting a childhood idol and doing a bit of shopping across the border! Ready to find out more? Here is a little life update post with some highlights from a few recent days out. 

cottage highlights and small town shopping haul

The summer season is coming to a close and September is right around the corner. (I love the "ber" months....September, October, November, and December. We are so close to sweater weather and pumpkin spice everything. How exciting!) As has become a bit of a tradition in recent years, my family went to a cottage this August for a week. Though I am more of an inside person, everyone else in my family enjoys the water and the views. My husband went fishing, my brother went kayaking, and my parents took some scenic walks with the dog. As for me? I did my best to embrace the nature, read, spend time with loved ones, and make some memories. Here are some of the highlights and a small town shopping haul with lots of thrifted finds. 

buffalo shopping haul

Ahead of Mother's Day weekend, my mom told me she wanted to take a shopping trip to Buffalo, NY. So, my dad drove us across the border for a couple days. We went to an absolutely massive mall as well as Target, Walmart, and a handful of other stores. There were all sorts of exciting items to look at...and take home. Keep reading for a peek at my Buffalo shopping haul.

disney theme week: walt disney world souvenirs

No Walt Disney World trip would be complete without a little shopping. (Or a lot of shopping.) As someone who loves to shop in general and especially loves to shop for themed items...it is difficult to reign myself in at Disney. From the World of Disney store to Main Street USA and everywhere in between, a decent amount of browsing and buying was done. Want to see what souvenirs came home with me? This theme week post is dedicated to all sorts of Walt Disney World memorabilia. 

thrift store haul: lots and lots of records

Life is more beautiful with music. Quite frankly, life feels especially beautiful with a stack of new-to-me records sitting underneath the record player. Shortly before Christmas, my husband and I went to a local thrift store to poke around. It isn't something that I do too often (because I always seem to come home with at least a few special somethings) but every now and then, it is a nice treat. Well, this time, it was fantastic. I hit the absolute jackpot in the record section. Most of the time, there isn't much there that interests me, but according to someone at the store, records that hadn't sold at a church sale had been donated. I guess my musical taste can now be described as: records that do not sell at church sales.  At any rate, I was thrilled to bring seventeen different records home, including the one album that I have been desperate to get my hands on for years. Ready to take a peek at these new-to-me records? See what was added to my collection? Here is my latest thrift store haul.

mini fall winners haul (accessories and makeup)

On September 1st...I was itching for fall. Though technically, the fall season doesn't start until September 23rd, in my mind, once September arrived, all bets were off. That day, I pulled out the decorations from the storage closet and planned to put out a few autumn decor pieces. Well, by the end of it, the living room was decorated for both the fall season and Halloween. Oops! To be honest, I was in my glory that day. There was a Vanilla Pumpkin candle from Bath & Body Works lit, Phantom of the Megaplex was on in the background, and decorations were scattered everywhere. The only problem? I was missing a seasonal tablecloth. My old one had fallen apart and needed to be replaced, so I asked my husband if we could pop over to Winners and take a peek at what was there. We ended up finding a beautiful fall tablecloth (which is used as the backdrop in the photos for this particular blog post)...but I also found a few additional items. On that note, here is a mini fall Winners haul. 

small town shopping haul (thrift store finds and more)

I love thrift stores. Absolutely adore them. For starters, everything inside is so much more affordable. Not to mention the fact that there are older items that are harder to find elsewhere. Since I love books, movies, and music from different decades, thrift stores are an absolute must when it comes to finding the entertainment I want and need. My family spent time at a cottage recently (which had far too many mosquitos and spiders for my liking) but my mom and I made time for a healthy amount of shopping in some of the small towns. This included lots of thrift stores, antique stores, and local shops. Ready to take a closer look at some of the items that came home with me? Here is a peek at my small town shopping haul...

niagara falls outlet shopping haul.

Outlet shopping is always a good idea. Especially when the deals are outstanding. As mentioned in my last blog post, I recently visited Niagara Falls to see Clay Aiken perform for a few days. On the first day there, my mom and I went to do a little outlet shopping at an outdoor mall. Though there weren't a lot of impressive stores, there were two that were out-of-this-world fantastic. One was an Urban Planet outlet store (that had clothes and accessories from a variety of similar stores, like Urban Planet, Wet Seal, Forever 21) and the other was an American Eagle outlet. The Canada One Outlet Mall had other options as well, but my purchases came from those places. Here is a closer look at all of the discounted finds that came home with me.

the return of zellers + my first time visiting the new store

Zellers. For Canadian shoppers, that word has a lot of memories attached to it. Growing up, Zellers was a staple. Every town had at least one. With the bright red colour out front, it was hard to miss, even if you didn't happen to shop there. I remember buying too many CDs in the electronics department, purchasing some of my earliest drugstore makeup in the beauty section, and eating cake at the Zellers Restaurant. Ahh, how simple life seemed back then. When Zellers closed in 2012 to make way for Target (RIP Target in Canada), it seemed that the brand was gone for good. Surprise! Zellers is back. Well, sort of. There are now Zellers locations inside of various Hudson's Bay stores. Recently, I was able to check out one of those locations for myself. 

current obsession: kate spade earrings (light amethyst studs)

Several months back now, there was a short trip taken to the Frankenmuth area. During that little getaway (which you can read about here) there was a stop off at an outlet mall. Though I was not shopping for anything in particular, a pair of Kate Spade earrings caught my eye at the outlet. There was just something about them. The sparkle! The shine! The colour! It really was love at first sight. To be fair, there were quite a few items at the Kate Spade outlet store that I fell in love with...but the earrings were within my budget. They cost about $20 CDN and offered a little taste of luxury for less. These are definitely an obsession.

my first time visiting the retro festive store.

Is it Christmas yet? Okay, maybe not, but my mind is already focused on all things festive. This is without a doubt, my favourite time of year. Admittedly, I am a bit of a Christmas addict. I watch holiday movies all year round, listen to instrumental Christmas music while I write, and find myself browsing the holiday subreddit in the middle of summer. There is something so special about all things seasonal. From the decorations to the movies, food, and traditions...I love it all. Perhaps this is why my favourite online store is Retro Festive. This is a Canadian run business that focuses on holiday, retro, and popular culture items. Not only does this store have all the things that I love most, but it is also located within Canada. Since things normally cost a fortune to ship here (and take forever to arrive) it is an absolute delight to have something nearby. Items usually arrive within a day or two and the prices are all in Canadian dollars. Hooray! Needless to say, I place several orders there each year. 

bath & body works: fall scented hand soaps

Bath & Body Works has been out of my reach for a very long time. Due to the pandemic, lockdowns, and then trying not to leave the house often...it just wasn't possible. But recently, my mom and I visited the nearby shopping mall for the first time since some of the restrictions lifted. The last time we visited the mall was about a month and a half earlier, and there were tight restrictions on the number of people who could be in a store at a time. Bath & Body Works had an absolutely massive line and I did not want to wait for hours to buy soap. So, we skipped it. This time, we were able to walk right into the store. That in itself was special. This pandemic has really made me appreciate those little experiences! While at Bath & Body Works, there was a sale on hand soap. Though I also wanted to take home all the candles....I tried to focus on what I actually needed. And what I needed was the amazing Bath & Body Works foaming hand soap that I have missed so much over the last year or so.

mini drugstore haul (reviews and video)

Sometimes, those unexpected stops off at the drugstore manage to be a little more expensive than planned. Especially when a leisurely stroll through the beauty aisle is involved. You know how it is....pop in for some essentials and walk out with a whole lot of non-essential (but fun) items. That is how this mini drugstore haul came to be. It includes some new nail polish as well as some makeup items, perfume, and there are even some samples thrown into the mix. Ready to take a peek at everything? Here is a video haul as well as some drugstore product reviews. 

why i reordered the emily edit (the needs) palette

There are some makeup items in my collection that get used more than others. My most used? The Needs palette from The Emily Edit collection. For those of you who missed the initial launch, Emily Eddington aka Emily Noel on YouTube teamed up with Revolution at the end of 2018. There were two items in the collaboration: The Needs palette and The Wants palette. The Needs was all about those everyday essentials where The Wants palette was loaded with lots of colourful eyeshadows. (Take a peek at that palette and a full review here.) All in all, it was a fabulous selection of products. Ones that I continue to go back to time and time again. Though I have not been buying new makeup products lately and been dedicated to using more of what is in my collection....it was time for a re-stock. As I mentioned, my original The Needs palette has been around since 2018 and I have used it almost every single day. So, I went on the Revolution Makeup website and ordered two more palettes. They were super affordable and on sale as well, so with shipping, both palettes cost a mere $25 CDN.

boxing day: saving money and surviving the post-holiday rush

Boxing Day. Those words can bring immense joy (if you plan to partake in the tradition) or immense fear (if you work in retail). This holiday has brought in waves of shoppers to stores all across the city. Every December 26^th, discounted holiday merchandise and seasonal items go on sale across Canada. That means savvy shoppers can save money if they shop smart. Are you planning to score some Boxing Day deals this year? Find out how to save money – and survive the post-holiday rush by prepping and planning ahead of time.