Years ago I had a small YouTube channel with a very niche audience. At some point I stopped making videos, I just sort of got burned out on it and had a lot of other things going on in my life. My heart wasn’t in it anymore. It’s been a solid 6.5 years since my last video! Within the past year I’ve really had a strong desire to get back into it, with a new channel and a fresh start.

Last week I spent 4 days shooting content for a rather large video I will upload hopefully in the next several weeks. I’m in the editing phase right now and it’s a beast. I had about 2 hours of raw video footage! I’m trying to condense it down to a 4-5 minute video. We’ll see how this goes…

You would think I’m a slacker due to my lack of posts, but in reality I’ve been crazy non-stop busy and just too busy to post much. Oops… anyway, I just got my Mighty Fix delivery for May, so here goes…

I received a 2 oz jar of All Good Goop, which is a product I actually purchased about 10 years ago at the San Francisco Green Festival. I enjoyed using the product in the past, but for whatever reason just never repurchased it.

The ingredients are natural, GMO free, and mostly organic. This is the first personal care product I’ve received from this subscription, and I really love using alternative/natural products.

This formula is olive oil and beeswax based and is quite similar to some of the infusions I’ve made in my kitchen. I have a combination of two “untreatable” skin diseases on my legs and often take herb baths to try to alleviate the symptoms. Three of the ingredients in this Goop are what some of what I use in my baths: comfrey, calendula, and plantain.

The product is light yellow/greenish in color and has an herbal scent at first which dies down shortly after application. Since it’s olive oil and beeswax based it does have a little greasy feel to it. I use Argan oil in lieu of a traditional facial moisturizer so the oily nature of this product doesn’t bother me too much.

While it’s not a magical cure all product, I do like this as a moisturizer and a salve for minor skin irritations where treatment with something stronger may not be appropriate.

Just realized I never posted what I got in my Mighty Fix subscription for March! I’m rather excited about both March and April’s items, so here we go…

March’s item was a Stasher brand reusable ziplock bag! I’ve been wanting to try one of these for several years but it’s the type of purchase I didn’t really make for myself based on cost. 50 ziplock bags for $5 at Target or 1 Stasher bag for $15? Hmmmm…. that said, I do feel guilty every time I use disposable bags and this is one of the final frontiers of my eco friendly journey.

So far, I’m impressed by the Stasher bag. It’s made from high quality silicone, and is BPA and phthalate free. The zip seal on the top is very durable and easy to open and close. The bag opening is also large enough where it’s easy to get in and out of. Now that I have one and see the value in it, I will definitely be reducing my disposable ziplock use and gradually adding a few more Stasher bags to my kitchen!

April’s delivery was an item that I already have been using (and loving!) since late 2018:

Bee’s Wrap brand reusable food wrap! I cook a lot and I struggle with how to store extra halves of fruits and vegetables, and how to cover bowls, without using single use plastic. I received a large and medium size wrap this month, so I definitely got my money’s worth from my subscription this month. I purchased a set of 3 (small, medium, large) off amazon last year for around $20.

You can reuse these wraps a ton. They are made from organic cotton cloth that’s been saturated with beeswax, tree resin, and organic jojoba oil. Unfold, wrap around your item, press to seal, and store. When you’re done using the wrap, gently wash with cold water and a little soap and air dry, then fold back up.

I’ve had my purple set of wraps in my cabinet next to my single use items. I am happy to say I haven’t even touched the Glad Cling Wrap since I got the Bee’s Wrap! They’re holding up well and I think they should last me at least until the end of the year.

Since my average cost of the Mighty Fix subscription is $8-$9 a month, I definitely got more than that in overall value of product the past two months. Very satisfied!

Out of nowhere three weeks ago my life took a drastic change of course. I’m still in shock and not really feeling all that great, and of course everyone is giving me advice and none of it is helpful and all of it is stress inducing. Eventually things will get sorted out but in the meantime it’s miserable.

My March Ipsy makeup bag arrived in the mail today! Lately some of the items I’ve been sent have missed the mark, but this month’s selection seems like an improvement.

First, the bag. Super cute this month – I love it! It’s a metallic copper, embossed words and a star shaped zipper pull. One of my favorite bag designs I’ve received thus far.

First item, the little pink tube, is Sand & Sky Australian pink clay mask. I have very acne prone skin and love using clay masks several times a week, so this sounds interesting to me.

Next up I got an angled brush, the bristles are a little on the firm side. Seems like a good brush, not sure what else to say!

Also a Lord & Berry eyeliner pencil in a dark green color. Very pretty shade! I have sensitive eyes and applying eyeliner can sometimes be uncomfortable. I’m interested to see how this goes for me. Just swatching it on my hand it seems to go on pretty smoothly and gently so that’s a good sign. Its made in Italy too, which I associate with good quality.

City Limits eyeshadow in a metallic dark brown. Really like this shade and think it will be flattering on me.

Estate brand highlight powder. I like using sparkly powders and creams on my legs, arms, and chest when I go out for an evening, so I’m sure this will be put to use. The one thing I’m not too sure about is the shade, which is a pearly pink… pink shades usually don’t look that great with my skin tone. This does look very sparkly though so I may just swipe some bronzer over it and see how it goes!

Overall very excited to try my new items this month!

I live in a small studio apartment and though it doesn’t have a balcony it does have plenty of windows and great natural light. I moved in almost exactly five years ago and have maintained a wonderful herb garden on my tiny kitchen windowsill. Since I travel a lot, I need to choose plants that will do well with little maintenance. Herbs for the windowsill, air plants and succulents for the rest of the apartment. I recently saw an ad on Facebook for Succulent Studios and decided to try out their subscription service.

This post is not sponsored, I paid for the box myself and this is 100% my own opinion and experience.  If you would like to try this subscription box yourself, you can get $5 off your first month by following this link: http://www.succulent.studio?ccode=Hz-qkR@qmz

This subscription is $10 plus $6.50 shipping per month.  You get two succulents mailed to you, and you are able to change the delivery address if you want to gift your box that month to another person. I can definitely see this coming in handy if I want to send a box to a friend or family member for a birthday or other occasion. I was impressed by the packaging and how safely everything arrived.

The succulents are in individual pots with packing fibers and rubber banded into place. You remove the rubber bands and fiber after it arrives. There’s also a care guide and card with info on the current month’s plants.

My first impression is that the succulents are TINY. I mean they are very very small. The diameter of a quarter.

The first succulent is a Love Plant. The one I received was not rooted at all. I have followed the care instructions and am watering it and trying to get it to root. It arrived a bit shriveled and weak looking. I may contact the company via their Facebook page in a few days if it doesn’t look better.

The second succulent is an Aeonium Suncup and this one was rooted, by a single root. It at least looks healthier than the Love plant, and I’m optimistic for its outcome.

It looks adorable and I hope it gets a little bigger. Supposedly this will bloom white flowers in the summer, provided it lives that long!

I’m not sure if I will keep this subscription that long but I will at least give it a few more months.

I took a quick 48 hour trip to Las Vegas Tuesday through Thursday of this past week. Normally I only go on weekends, but this was a special occasion and I was celebrating John’s first show back with Celine after being sidelined with an injury for a few months. I was also able to see friends who were in town from England and Japan! This was sort of a bonus trip, and I was lucky to be able to find inexpensive airfare and comped hotel.

I made a commemorative sign for the occasion. Of course there was glitter involved!

After cancelling my NYE and late January trips, it was wonderful to be back in town again. I was able to find a very inexpensive second mezzanine ticket for Celine’s show on Feb 26 and I treated myself to a front orchestra seat on Feb 27. I was in the center of row OO so I was skeptical if I would be able to make it up front for the mosh pit, but I did it! Running down stairs in stilettos is a definite skill.

It was such a quick trip, and I spent a good portion of it working remote from my hotel room, so I’m looking forward to going back this coming week for a longer trip that includes a weekend in it!

Back in January I decided to do a year subscription to Mighty Fix. With this subscription service you receive one eco-friendly item per month, aimed at replacing a product you already use with one that’s better for the environment. I consider myself to already be a environmentally conscious person, so i think some of the products will be simply a replacement for things I already use that may be worn out.

In January I received my first item, a set of 3 wool dryer balls, aimed at being a replacement for dryer sheets, which I’ve never used. Since I didn’t already use dryer balls, fabric softener, or dryer sheets, it’s taken some adjustment to incorporate using these in my laundry routine. Overall I’m happy with the quality of this item and while I don’t use them on every load, I think they do help with the drying speed of some of my bulkier items such as bedding and towels.

This month I received my second item, a set of colorful organic cotton dishcloths aimed at replacing paper towel use. I have used dishcloths for years and some of mine are getting pretty worn out so these are a nice replacement. I don’t have a dishwasher so I feel like I’m constantly washing dishes! I rarely use paper towels, so this is not really a huge switch for me to make.

Overall I’m very happy with the quality of the five dishcloths I received and they have washed nicely!

I’m looking forward to see what next month’s delivery is!

Several weeks ago I had some last minute travel complications which resulted in me cancelling my New Years week trip to Las Vegas. I rescheduled it all for this weekend. And I cancelled it today. Hotels are ridiculously expensive this weekend, and I’ve been sick with some sort of nasty cold-flu hybrid disease all week. At least this time around I didn’t have hundreds of dollars of non-refundable Celine Dion tickets, so I’m thankful for that!

New plan for the long MLK holiday weekend ahead is to rest, clean, and list like crazy on Poshmark.

This was my 5th year participating in the Reddit Secret Santa. I’ve always had great experiences with it, and I find the entire process of random internet strangers sending gifts to each other so intriguing. Here’s what I received this year!

I received three packages from my Santa! First was a set of little DIY ornaments, which are the perfect size for my mini Christmas tree. The second box that arrived was a set of three handmade paper flower writing pens. They are made from Harry Potter book pages! I am taking them to work to use in my cubicle. The third box was wine! I received a bottle of Chardonnay and a bottle of Zinfandel, my two favorite varietals. I’m totally blown away at how thoughtful and personalized this gift was.