End of May Photo Roundup

1.) May the 4th Be with you, 2.) Sour Patch Kids, 3.) Duo monitors! Yay! 4.) My new Tee Fury Shirt, 5.) Spending the day in Edmonds, WA, 6.) Being crazy close to a train,7.) Completed cupcake scarf (Read about it here!) 8.) Marvelous new socks, 9.) Taking my old dog for a walk

Just a few things you've missed by not following me on Instagram

Influenster Venus® Snap with Embrace Review

Disclaimer: This post is a review of  the Gillette Venus Snap with Embrace. I received it free from Influenster for testing and review purposes. All thoughts and opinions shared on my blog or other social media about this product are my own.

You may have already seen them in stores, and had to do a double-take like I did to make sure your eyes weren't deceiving you. Yes, that is a full razor that's actually small and travel size! Most of the travel or disposable razors I've seen have the full-length handle, and I think that's such a waste personally. (Despite the fact that the whole disposable razor market is waste actually, but I digress...) Being an Influenster member means doing lots and lots of reviews, and sometimes to get points I'll be doing them on my blog. You have been warned! lol


Here is an overview of the Gillette Venus Snap with Embrace:

The razor and handle measure 3 inches in length. It has a comfy grip handle that is somewhat pliable. Like other Venus razor products, any shaving head can fit on this razor. The one that comes included with the Snap is Venus Embrace with 5 razors. It claims all you need to do is "wet the razor and go!" It comes in a compact clamshell container that includes holes on the bottom so that the razor can dry out after every use.

My thoughts:

I had tried a few Venus brand products before, but hadn't tried the Embrace shaving heads yet. Overall I like the brand, but there was a miss or two with their products, such as the Venus with Olay in Sugarberry that I got a huge pack of at Costco. I had to keep those out of the shower otherwise they would melt away much quicker than I wanted them to. They also claimed you just wet the razor and shave. I thought the Embrace shaving heads were fantastic for close shaving. However, I wouldn't suggest using only the shaving head unless you were desperate and properly moisturized afterwards. I shaved my left leg with just the wet razor and the right with shaving cream. On my sensitive skin I had a lot more shaving bumps on the left leg than on the right. Also, like most other Venus handles I feel like the head will pop off at any time because of where I hold it which is really close to the release.

Despite that, I think the size is perfect for me. I'm a little lady with small hands, and sometimes I feel like the regular handles on shavers are just a bit too big or too far away and I'm not doing the best job I could be doing. I love how squishy and comfortable the handle it is to hold! I agree with Gillette when they say that the size is perfect for travel. When I first moved to Washington from California I was making a lot of weekend trips down to Tacoma where my friends live. This would have been the perfect little travel buddy because fairly often I would forget my razor and/or my shaving cream. Now when I go traveling I can just throw it in my bag and go! The case might seem a bit bulky if you consider putting it in a purse, but for a gym bag or a weekend bag/carry-on it's perfect size. I also like that it cuts down on garbage because it uses shaving heads instead of throwing the whole unit away. I think with proper care this handle and case will last at least a year if not more.

Final review:

I would give this product an 8/10
I would recommend it to others with suggestions
I would purchase it again, especially the shaving heads

tl;dr:

• nice size
• compact and portable- perfect for travel
• comfortable handle
• razor has 5 blades and offers a close shave, but I wouldn't recommend using it without shaving cream if you have sensitive skin like me.

p.s. Thanks for reading! Part of being an Influenster member means that I do reviews on the website as well as post them on my blog and other social media, so thanks for putting up with that! I also had fun playing around trying to get the text to match as closely to the brand's as I could. So that was fun practice for me anyway. We'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming soon!

Nerdcrafting

I had a really awesome chat with a couple of fantastic nerdy craft bloggers Melissa from Readerly Geek and Jenny from Magic Cat Jenny on Monday and thought I would share!



Basically: Nerdcrafting is awesome because we get to make things personalized to ourselves that we might not find in stores, we get to share that nerdy/crafty enthusiasm with others, and we get to have fun doing so!

I had a lot of fun, even if it was kind of weird being a moderator! I'll be moderating another Con-At-Home in a few weeks covering Sci-fi (because we all know how much I love that! look at what's behind me in the video! lol.)

Be sure to check out their Etsy shops too and favorite if you haven't already :)

Melissa's Cute Crochet: She makes really adorable crochet amigurumi that are geeky inspired from Star Wars to Doctor Who! And she even sells some of her patterns!

Nerdy Monsters by Jenny: She makes her signature "nerdy monsters" that all have their very own favorite fandoms they belong to, but she also has some other neat things for sale like bows and purses too!

Weekend Adventures: Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle

So this weekend my mom and I decided to go to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle for a little adventure. Here are some of the things we saw and did! (Mostly a bunch of pictures of animals and also my face.)

Bears and wolves, oh my!

 

This little one really wanted to land on me. It made my day!
This is the first time in my life that it has happened too. I felt so very special.

More of the winged variety. Peacock, Saw-whet owl (very small, but full grown!), and a flamingo.

Left: My ravens and I are ready to take over Westeros.
Right: Monkey kisses are best when they're given by fake monkeys

Speaking of monkeys.... and their other variations of species and whatnot (obviously I'm not an animal expert, okay.) Clockwise from top left: black-and-white colobus, (oops sorry don't know!), orangutan, and lemurs

"I'm not related to monkeys!"- a little girl said after her dad said they were her "cousins"
and here I am monkeying around.

I was actually really disappointed when I found out there wouldn't be any poo paper making.
It must have been a code violation or something.
(Warthogs, lion, and elephant)

Lots of spotted kitties! Clockwise from top left: leopard, ocelot, and cheetah

More spotted things that aren't as cute to me. My exact words were "I hope Harry Potter isn't here... because I'd be really happy if these three giant snakes didn't escape while I'm here."

I love zoos even if the animals don't seem to be enjoying themselves. It's still interesting to see them interact with each other and with the people behind the glass in ways that I would never get to see otherwise. This is also one of the best I've been to, and I've been to quite a few! I'm happy we were able to see most of the animals too.

I hope you enjoyed my little photo post! Did you do anything fun this weekend? Let me know in the comments!

Crochet cupcakes are a girl's best friend

It should be pretty obvious by now just exactly how much I love sweet things. (So much so that it's an integral part of my blog title!)

Well, a couple of years ago I got Twinkie Chan's book "Crochet Goodies for Fashion Foodies" and I crocheted three cupcake scarves for my friends (you can read about them here: Twinkie Chan Scarves!) After I finished theirs, I started making my own, but never finished it. For almost two whole years it sat in my stash.

I was only one cupcake and cherry away from having the right amount. I even started sewing them together, but for some reason I just gave up.Weird. (It's actually not that weird for me. I do it all the time. I'm a procraftinator. I procrastinate by crafting and procrastinate doing my crafting that needs done.)

Well, better late than never right? I finished this pretty in two nights and I'm very happy with it! (And it fits in perfectly with my blog decor! lol)

What kind of sweet (or food) would you love to see as a crochet/knit scarf or other kind of accessory?

Mother's Day custom and DIY gift ideas

Mother’s day is less than a week away! While I was brainstorming ideas for my own mom, I came up with a few others that might inspire you in your own gift-giving/making.

The Card

I usually just buy a card from the store last-minute, or take the time to make one by hand. This year I wanted to do something a little more personal and include pictures of my mom and I because we haven’t had any printed recently. I heard about a company called Treat Greetings (http://www.treat.com/) and decided to give them a try. They had a huge selection to choose from just for Mother's day. It should arrive here just in time for the occasion too! Here’s what it’s going to look like:

Front and inside of card

I added more pictures and a special note from me, but I’ll keep that a secret so I don’t give everything away! I think it really speaks to what the relationship between my mom and I is like. I can't wait for her to get it! I liked a lot of the other cards Treat had to offer, so I’ll probably be ordering from them again! My favorite part is that it's so customizable and you can change a lot of the greetings to suit your needs. You can also make personalized mugs, stationary, iphone cases, and other gifts. I thought that was pretty neat!


The Gift

Idea 1: Memory box for mom/step-mom/grandma

My original thought was to use an old shoebox, or get one of the brown cardboard ones from a craft store. Instead, as I was shopping the aisles I found this wooden box and thought it would be more appropriate for my mom.

But if you have little ones, the shoebox/ brown box idea is a great way to make a memory box for mom to store all her favorite handmade presents from the little ones! Just gather up some paint, markers, scrapbook paper, pens, stickers, and glue and you’re all set!

In my case, I decided to paint her memory box so that she will always have May flowers and a place to store her favorite cards/gifts from me!

Obviously, I'm not the most experienced painter ever, lol.


Idea 2: “You are my sunshine” painting

This was an idea I found on pinterest a while ago, and originally posted about here. My ex’s daughter and I made it for him, but it would also make a great gift for a mom, step-mom, or a grandma!

All you need is a blank canvas from the craft store, some paint, and a pair of little hands (or more if you’ve got em!). I’d suggest getting a bigger canvas than I did, that way it will have more space for the hand prints. (Don't forget your 40/50% off coupon!) Paint the canvas a base color like I painted mine blue. Allow time for that coat to dry and apply one or two more coats of paint as needed. Once dry, draw a circle near the bottom of the canvas using a plate, bowl, or other round template. Then paint the little one’s hands and press them onto the canvas around the circle. Hold for a second or two, remove, and then apply more paint. After the hands are done, paint in the circle and paint “you are my sunshine” and you’re done! It’s a great craft project that the kids will be proud of and the recipient will love!


Idea 3: Manicure/pedicure at home kit DIY

As I was in the process of thinking up gifts, I decided that the basic “card/chocolate/flowers” gift probably isn’t for all moms. I asked my friends who are young moms what kinds of gifts they would prefer, and a lot of them said they’d like some time off or to have some time to pamper themselves. So dads (and various other family and friends) take note! The splurge option will be to get them a gift certificate for a spa day or for a mani/pedi. Both will give that special lady some time off and some well-deserved pampering!

Or if you’re the crafty DIY friend like I am you could make them an at home mani/pedi kit!

Things to include:

• Emery board or nail file. (If you can find the glass nail files they are the best!)
• Cuticle cream/gel
• Nail polish (If you're not sure what color to get, a nice top coat is always a good alternative)
• Small tube of lotion
• Toe seperators
• Pumice Stone
• Nail care sticks/cuticle pushers
• Nail clippers
• Nail buffer

After you’ve gathered your supplies, put it all in a pretty gift bag (I got mine from the Daiso, the Japanese dollar store) and add a ribbon or a pretty hair clip!

I know, shameless self-promotion! But the flowers that I sell in my Etsy really do make excellent gifts as well! By now you should already know how I feel about it: anything handmade is always awesome!


The Treat

I’ve chosen to fill up mom’s box with chocolate (specifically See’s candies), but you should get that lovely lady in your life whatever kind of sweet (or savory) treat that she likes!

Remember that the reason behind having Mother’s day is to let moms, step-moms, grandmas, great grandmas, etc. know that you appreciate them and that they’re special to you! So whatever you decide to get them this mother’s day, make sure it comes wrapped in love.