My Favorite Makeup Pouch + Giveaway

If you’ve known me at all, then you’ve probably seen my cat makeup pouch that I take with me everywhere. It’s the perfect size to fit all of my essential makeup (eyeliner, concealer, foundation, lip gloss) without being too bulky or too small; and best of all, it’s in the shape of a little cat face.

I bought this pouch at Aberdeen mall in Vancouver 12 years ago, which means I was only in grade 11 at the time! It’s actually held up remarkably well for how much use it gets, but sadly, it’s gotten really worn down with holes and a zipper that splits open with the slightest bit of tension. You can see in the image above what a difference there is between the new and old case! Because I love this pouch so much, I’d been searching for a new one on and off the last few years, but couldn’t find it anywhere…until it popped up on ebay recently. Ensuring that I’ll have these for the next 60 or so years, I bought 6 of them, and I want to give one of them away here on the blog. Just enter below!

I will never forget you, old friend.

Song Bird Egg Cookies

I hope everyone has a happy Easter! For this holiday I made a bunch of song bird egg cookies using SweetAmb’s orange vanilla spice cookie recipe, which tastes SO good; I don’t think I’ll ever go back to making regular sugar cookies. For the icing, I followed this recipe with the help of these instructions for the right consistency. As for the icing coloring, I used Americolor gels and a mixture of the gels with almond extract for the speckling.

House Tour: Guest Rooms

Next up on the house tour are the guest rooms! The first one is my favourite space of the whole house; it’s always full of natural light and the only room I got to decorate from scratch. The second guest room was previously used as a nursery so it has a bit of a younger feel, especially with the wallpaper and yellow walls. As much as I like it, I am getting a bit tired of the wallpaper and will probably take it down when I convert this space in to my future office.

Sources:

Bedroom 1 
Headboard – Pier1
Quilt – Barbara Barry
Lumbar pillow - Discontinued item from West Elm
Lamps – Ralph Lauren
Night stands – Home Sense
Mirror – Ikea

Bedroom 2
Night stands – Wildon Home
Dressers – Kijiji find
Lamps – Discontinued item from Ikea
Art - Tadahiro Uesugi Print
Mirror – Home Sense
Duvet set – Discontinued item from West Elm
Throw – West Elm
Chair – Discontinued item from Ikea

House Tour: Living Room

I’ve been really busy with work lately, which means I haven’t been able to bake or make a lot of the things I’ve been meaning to. I did just vacuum and clean the house though…so I thought I’d start sharing bits of our place!

Josh and I moved into here just a few months after we got married. The couple we purchased it from had very similar tastes to our own, so we’ve barely changed anything in the house (save for painting a couple rooms). Here you’ll see the living room, which has gone through several iterations since we first set it up. I’ve been slowly getting rid of my old condo furniture and swapping it out with furniture that we’d like to keep for the long haul.

Sources:
Coffee table – Restoration Hardware
Sofa – Ikea (discontinued, this is the updated version)
Console table – Crate & Barrel
Shag rug – Costco in-store
Brass taper candle holders – Etsy
Shadow boxes – Discontinued item from Indigo/Chapters
Tall planters – Crate & Barrel
Terrarium glass demijohn – Local kijiji find
Cross ottomans – Wayfair
Map – Metsker’s
Pillows -  Discontinued items from indigo/Chapters
Arm chair – HomeSense find
Owl table – Discontinued item from Urban Barn
Pouf – Home Outfitters
Pom pom throw – Serena & Lily
Floor Lamp – Discontinued item from Urban Barn
Sofa table – Discontinued item from Crate & Barrel
Curtains – Came with the house!
Wire Laundry basket/throw holder – Antique Farm House find

I ♥ Peter Pan Collars

1 – Short-Sleeve Chambray Shirt from J.Crew Factory
2 – Viyella Peter Pan Stripe Jersey Top from John Lewis
3 – Peter Pan Collar Tee from J.Crew Factory
4 – White/Violet Striped Blouse with Lace by Paul Smith from Style Bop
5 – Embellished-Collar Merino Wool Sweater by Milly from Net-A-Porter
6 – Sleeveless Embroidered Blouse from Zara

I find I’m always drawn to tops with a peter pan collar, and lately, they’ve been popping up at all my favorite stores. However, I’m still in search of the elusive plain white shirt with the beautifully-rounded collar…I keep spotting them too late when they’ve already sold out (like this one from Farfetch or this one from asos). One of these days I’ll find it!