Five on Friday!

 It's 5 on Friday!! 

Well, its Saturday but I missed last Friday and the weeks are starting to all blur together so I really want to get this out there. It's so amazing for my own personal record to have these memories documented in this way, I read older blog posts and I am jolted back to that mostly forgotten moment in time. 

I am so happy to be back with some consistency and I would love if you felt inspired to start your own blog, public or private, paper journal or virtual. It's such a great little hobby and has brought me so much joy and special friendships. 

1. Trigger Warning for this one

This may be a bit of a trigger.

I am not doing well with all the pain and violence lately. I am incredibly sad and feeling very alone. Every day is difficult for me, that burden never takes a day off but when yet again, a fresh deep devastation happens and on the back of another and another... I find it unbearable to shoulder.

Because I believe it doesn't have to be this way if only we would put aside our differences & come together. It's time to be proactive not reactive.

What I've learned that means for me personally is that I will continue to try and contain my emotions, continue on with sharing the positive, advocating, channel my energy into constructive efforts and remember you cannot fight violence with violence. 

Please take some time to soak in the little things and share some kindness this week. 💗

Now onto the 5..

Nilah is officially signed up for Pre-school in the fall! It will be a couple of mornings (half days) a week every week. We attended the open house for her and she was thrilled! 

She really loves other kids and has a great little imagination. She didn't want to leave the orientation and her teachers laughed that she shouldn't have any shyness attending come the fall. 

The Pre-school is absolutely amazing, Noelle had such a fabulous experience there and it really prepared her for Pre Primary. 

But this week especially, it just felt incredibly emotional, she's so little.. is it safe.. I had to dig through all the feelings. 

I know she is going to flourish and for myself I looked into some options for filling my time while she's at school. Not that I would have any problem finding ways to fill time 😂 but I want to be very intentional and maybe try something new.. I looked into a few things and there is a Yoga Class nearby that fits the time frame perfectly so to start I think I will sign up for that.

My girlfriends and I tried to commit to some yoga classes a few months back but something always fell through = snow storms, sickness, holidays, so having one class in the am when I am guaranteed to be child free (unless someone gets sick etc. 👻)  it should work out great!

It feels like levelling up in my mom-game! A short time when all my kids will be in school, I am excited to begin the new season.

2. 

I made a video featuring this Click here for the link to this peach Catrice corrector

See below for the video!

@hollyshousewifelife My fav is back!!! @Catrice Cosmetics #beautyblogger #halifax #rosecea #roseceacheck #momlive #fyp #PCMadeMeBuyIt ♬ original sound - Holly Clarke

 

Which is just so awesome, affordable and I was pleasantly surprised to see it was relaunched with an upgraded formula and packaging. 

THEN, I was watching Rachhloves <Click that link

And she mentioned something similar.. that I now MUST TRY 💝

Click here to see the Wet N Wild color corrector

This is also a wonderful drug store brand, it is a cushion formula which I usually love because the coverage should be light and natural. 

Will keep you posted! 

 

3. 

Another beauty product that I absolutely loved and was so happy to find at my local Shoppers Drug Mart was this Versed Beauty brand specifically the Makeup remover, click here

This is an up and coming brand with really great reviews. I've used an entire container of this cleansing balm and I will repurchase!

Let me know if you've tried it or anything by Versed. 

4. We wrote some letters this week.

IYKYK Noelle is getting great at writing! She practices all the time and she really enjoys it ^

& we really appreciated this super cute note that was taped to the freshly painted benches. Thank you for taking the time to add a little fun to our day 😘

5. And we've watched lots and lots of Tv/Movies but what's sticking out to me right now is the movie 

Queen Pins Click Here

Gosh, was this on Amazon Prime?? I think so. 

It has Kristen Bell in it and its about couponing so I was already intrigued. 

I was also thrilled to see the Post Office being represented! Theres just not enough Post Office inclusion in tv and movies imo 😍

Worth a watch if you ask me!!

Ok, thats it for now, thanks so much for hanging out and chat soon!

A post shared by Holly Clarke (@hollyshousewifelife)

What to buy at Costco.. May 2022

Non Spon by Costco but should be, so feel free to share 😂

We have been experimenting with ways to make our $ go further.

I've found some gems at Costco that help the budget and I've also listed some items that are just for fun but good value. 

And as always I have to suggest thrifting or buying used, the climbing dome and swing are great examples of how buying a classic item can lead to it being loved for many years and then handed off to other families before its lifetime wears out. 

Also, want to note that Costco Items seem to be a few dollars more online and a few dollars less in store, I'm not sure why or how that comes to be but take note.

Sadly they changed the shape of this children's climbing dome.. 

I purchased this one second hand and the kids love it! 

The new one is linked below and is an investment but if you have a Little Rock climber on your hands this may be for you. 

$329 new or keep an eye on buy and sells.

The swing in the centre of ours does not come with the dome but is also available at Costco and this swing is a HUGE hit!! Its sooo fun hanging and swinging in a tree or very cool attached in the centre of the dome. 

Click Here to see the new shape and colour of the climbing dome $329

Click Here to see the round swing  $59

Click Here to see the 2 seater swing, its bomb dig! $79 

This is my favourite brand of Gluten Free bread.

I usually purchase the wide slice white bread style, but I cannot pass up this Seeds and Grains version as its 2 for the price of 1 at Costco. 

No online link so sorry. 

These Croissants have been a game changer!!

Our kids will eat a croissant as breakfast, lunch, supper, snack and dessert 😂

I actually considered making my own croissants from scratch at one point but I knew I could never haha

These are unbaked frozen croissants and every couple of days I pop a few in the oven, they're so fresh and buttery. 

I'm so thankful to my friend Little Sarah Birch Click HERE for having these at her house last month and giving me the idea because its one of those things I would walk past for 100 years but probably never pick up on my own. 

Completely changed the game for school lunches 😍

You must grab these!! Under $20 in store and all the rage for sandal style this year!

As Dr. Strang would say "now is not the time for Costco sandals" but Holly's Housewife Life says 

THE TIME IS NOW! GO GO GO. 2022 Sandals are hot, hot, hot!

Click Here for the link to the Sandals $25

I actually have a pair of sandals so incredibly similar to these coming in my Summer 2022 Jilly Box so I didn't pick these up but I convinced my girlfriend hahaha.

This Maple Syrup is Bomb dot com, we use soooo much real maple syrup in our house.

Click Here for syrup $14

Since I recently discovered my intolerance to Dairy I've made the switch completely to Almond Milk for things like my coffee and this Almond beverage is great!

I enjoy making my at home coffee using this Almond mix and I slightly sweeten it further using the maple syrup above. 

The Almond beverage itself is great and has a slight vanilla flavour but I am Buddy the Elf apparently and Maple Syrup is one of my basic food groups, so more is more.

What I like about this Almond drink is that it comes in a box of 6!

Click Here for the Almond Drink $14

Costcos garden centre is getting started! And people were clearing it out already, last week I saw everyone going with cart fulls. 

It's a bit early to leave your flowers outside but if you take them in at night they should be ok. 

My hack is to purchase these beautiful full hanging baskets ($25) and split them up, transfer into pots.

(see photo above of me starting that) 

It's a great way to get a variety of flowers for an affordable price 

and your local lazy lady hack for us non green thumbs.

Okie doke, that's it for this week!! 

Hit me up with what I should add to next months Costco run!

Happy Monday, have a great week 💝

5 on Friday!

 It's Friday Thennnnn, its Saturday, Sunday, WHAT??!  😘

This week was cray, cray!

1. I feel like we had appointments every day this week. 

After quite a few months of Nilah & I boppin' around to appointment, after appointment, after appointment we sort of came to a conclusion/non conclusion about her speech delay... She is not on the Autism Spectrum, no sensory, nothing SPD, and maybe not even ADHD but maybe, ADHD.. basically that's just too soon to tell and probably not related to her speech delay either way.

Basically she's just a gal with a speech delay and a very expressive, emotional, empathetic, big ol' personality!! Sounds kind of familiar... huh.. so weird. 💅👻😘

We have seen so many people and my favourite (who I felt was most helpful) of the bunch was Early Intervention https://www.nsecdis.ca, Laura. 

She was very caring and compassionate, she spent a lot of time getting to know us, was super informative and even though Nilah most likely doesn't qualify for any further assistance, Laura is hoping to continue to advocate for her (and us) so that feels great. 

Nilah seemed to stump Laura just as much as she's stumped us and I feel like you can't help but want to "solve" the puzzle of Nilah! Thats how Laura and I kind of discussed it anyway. 

You see this sweet, smart cookie, teeny tiny (over) 2.5 year old girlie who can communicate SO well through almost zero words. 

It's both puzzling and impressive so you can't help but want to engage with her to see where she will go and if once the words come they just don't stop coming or if they continue to form super, duper slow and steady as they have over the last 2 years. 

Every week we do hear Nilah learn new words, even if they aren't clear, as a family we hear them and we celebrate that. 

This week she said water and bucket out of the blue during swimming lessons and it is so exciting to me whenever she says something she hasn't verbally said before.

She also communicated to me this afternoon by rapidly blinking and pointing to her eyes and then pointing to my eyes, that she wanted me to close my eyes.

Then she held out her hands and pointed to my hands to indicate she wanted me to close my eyes and hold out my hands so she could give me a gift just as Noelle had done a few minutes prior.

She acts out everything in such great detail and we usually know what she wants but it takes great effort from her to act out these scenes and its a game of charades where we get some of her words but not all so we have to keep trying to guess and its just quite taxing. 

My wish is that those words start to tumble out and my sweet little girlie can begin to relax a bit. 

I'll welcome the additional voice into the Clarke sibling wars.. aka the source of my daily headache.. hahaha

2. No Spend May though?!?!??! 

We have spent way too much on groceries this week, we have spent way too much on going out last month so I am all about chilling and grilling at home these next couple of weeks!

We haven't purchased anything for a week now. 

 I even stood in line at our local Tims... I did get my hair done (sorry but that was booked in advance lol) and I was starving afterwards... I went into Superstore to pick up a prescription and I desperately wanted an ice coffee, I found myself standing in queue but I hopped out of it before ordering and I said to myself 

 "Make it at home Bish" 

Say it with me now 👏💪

We are going to the Avril Lavigne concert this month and we're going to Sensea Spa.. 

I KNOW. gahh 

We have been cooped up for so longgggggg.

I feel like Nick and I are eager to live a little, ya know?! 

So I'm looking forward to both those things but I am trying to shop my closet and find something fun to wear to Avril, I have this feeling like I must go all out Sk8er Boi style.. maybe that's the high school emo in me. 

I will try and make some fun reels of me shopping my closet and finding the perfect look, stay tuned. 

3. I'm going to show you my nails.. I do not love my nails, they've always been brittle, they actually split like, peel.. IYKYK.

& I have been getting worse at picking, I can't explain it, I tried explaining on Insta but it sounded nasty so I deleted the stories lololol 

As it turns out this compulsive feeling can be a huge thing amongst us ADHD crew so that actually made me feel better about myself, I am not alone in this awful habit. 😂

One of the things that can help is getting your nails done and on schedule, but something else about having ADHD.. is that I never book appointments on time! 😭

This is 2 weeks grow out after I having a beautiful mani at Embrace Spa. 

The colour is Beckoning Begonia and it is so gorgeous, the perfect pale purple with a tiny bit of shimmer.

I am going to book another mani stat (I know no spend 😅 but that's more about purchasing food and clothes all while having loads of food and clothes at home).

 I did grab some Colour Street from my friend Stephanie and I will link her group here Stephs Clean living Group Click here

The good news is that I haven't been tempted to peel my nails since getting this shellac mani and I would say this is the longest and strongest they have been in a long time! 

Don't judge me because I already know my cuticles are the worst ever and my nail beds suck! 

Just call me Karen 😉

4. TV TV BAY-BEE

We love tv, obsessed, 80's baby, 90's child. 

The Staircase on HBO is good. Definitely worth a watch if you're familiar with the story. 

If you're not familiar, I suggest you start with the documentary on Netflix, its about 4 years old now and this HBO show almost seems like the Netflix doc refilmed with well known actors in place of the real people. 

Colin F is AMAZING at recreating the vibe of Michael Peterson. 

Colin is just an amazing actor, very impressed. 

And I am Toni Collettes biggest fan, she is incredible and if you haven't watched The United States of Tara.. well boy, buckle up and head all the way back to 2009 and start there. 

The Girl from Plainville on HULU is also very well done and worth a watch. 

Watch it just for Elle Fanning. 

She is an unreal actress and seems like she's doing it with so little effort! 

She must have prepared like crazy but seems so casual and looks EXACTLY like Michelle imo.

I have to go watch everything else she's ever done because if its half as good as her acting in this one.. 

I will be a satisfied viewer.

5. 

Trash Monday is starting up in 2 days!! Hopefully... weather pending!

Its been a rainy spring and that's really held me back from Trash diving

but the temp is rising and hopefully I will be out and about searching in peoples garbage for some gems!!

This little stool was from the very start of my Trash Monday series, which started over 2 years ago!!

Been trash hunting for many, many years before that but now it has a name! lol

2 years!!!!

Whoa baby!!!!

I know many of us have been together almost as far back at 8 years now and I just wanted to say 

THANKYOU for hanging out with me and growing with my fam jam!

I have been really struggling to find myself again, putting my family first but also finding time to do some things I enjoy and of course share it with you all 💗

I want you to know how much you mean to me and how much I enjoy this blog world and connecting with everyone.  Thanks so much for being here! 

Have a Great week 💝

Hit Or Miss Monday!

 It's time for Hit or Miss Monday!

A big hit was finding these jeans at Winners for $25!

I looked up the brand and I am more confused than ever because everything on the site is sold out and it seems there is some connection to Kendall and Kylie??

Anywhoo, I know that Winners is hit or miss (hehe) for even finding something that you've seen someone else buy so may the odds be ever in your favour!

I did try on another pair of Jeans from this brand in the same size but they did not fit, so as the old saying goes try before you buy!

$49 for this pink dress, oh no, oh no, oh no, no, no, no, no.

Noellie took me shopping and she loved this print! Too bad the fit wasn't a hit. 

Winners/Homesense is my absolute favourite place to pick up porch decor.

The outdoor rugs and pillows are gorgeous.

I did not bring these home with me but it was close!

Nails Inc is one of my absolute favorite nail polish brands!

I always pick it up at Sephora but oh my goodness, now that I know its at Winners, I will never pay full price again.

This Pink and Orange duo was one I wanted SO badly a couple of years ago.

I never forget a beauty product so I even went back for the link to my friend Renees post -

See Renee's swatches, click here

Renee herself is another one of my hits!! She is such a rockstar, she is a working mama, creates amazing blog posts and inspires me with all of her beauty content.

I just got giddy scrolling back in her feed looking for that nail polish pic, so many fun beauty looks and incredible nail art.

These baskets are the stinking cutest thing I've ever seen!!!

So I am kind of lying about the 'miss' but I would love to DIY it.

I have all the materials and I think I could make it, I've been saying that since Valentines Day when I also saw this style of rainbow on a pillow at Walmart but maybe someday soon I will get the time!

I currently have this style DIY rainbow hanging in the girls room, I made it during the OG 2020 lockdown and would love to try my hand at another one. 

Another lie!

I love this table but I do not have it in the budget to bring home with me so I am going to attempt a DIY of something similar to this one too. Stay Tuned :)

This Freaking Mario walkie talkie is picking up someone else talking and I am NOT here for it.

Smuggling this out of the house first chance I get 😂

Epicure Pulled Pork is fantastic and so simple. Set it in the slow cooker and forget it. 

Makes an awesome slider, or sloppy Joe style burger, can be served on its own with veggies and rice, and is even better the next day.

Epicure Queso was not my fav and I gifted these to my friend Sarah.

Picked these sugar cones up from Giant Tiger last week because I had a nostalgic moment but I also sent these along to a friends house since my body can't handle a cone full of sugar like it use to 😂

And that's a wrap!!

Whats something that has been your hit/miss of the week.

Happy Monday!!!

Five on Friday!

 It's Friday Yeahhh.

Well it's Saturday as I just couldn't get myself typing last night after Mattea's loss on Jeopardy! 

She had such an amazing run and all of Canada is so proud. With an extra special shout out from the East Coast and Nova Scotia in particular, we will never forget how she brought us together and inspired so many. So happy for her! Congratulations!

She wrote this really lovely blog, click here to read all about her Jeopardy! adventure

1. Trying to get back into doing fun looks with the girls hair (and mine too! see below)

Noelle has developed her own sense of style and likes to wear her hair down lately so I haven't had as much fun with updos recently and Nilah likes to copy her big sister.. but I have been able to get a few "do's" in and this bubble braid is soooo simple yet so cute!

All you need is elastics and starting at the front continue adding a little more hair to every section. 

Its really not a braid at all but its a nice tidy way to keep their hair back.

2. Nilah and I went for her hearing appointment and it went great! She seems to be right on the mark for everything and she followed all their instructions so well, even when they were a bit advanced. 

She had her ears looked at with some scope things and then we sat in the booth while she listened to instructions on when to put pegs into a peg board, she pointed to photos, etc, etc and everything was perfect. 

The only request is to come back within two years just to keep an eye on some possible damage to some little hair things (look I am no doctor and don't have the wording in front of me Lolol) basically they're a bit imperfect but it could be from her grinding her teeth etc. Which if you look at any photo of Nilah smiling you will see her jaw is always wonky and she's a grinder, but at this age there's not much you can do. 

3. May the 4th be with you! Star Wars Day was this week and I did not get my buns tutorial up before the date but I will try to get it on instagram soon, may as well since I already filmed it! It will just be very early for next year, love being super ahead of the game 😆

4. We said GoodBye to Uncle Jac's house this week. 

He moved near us about 6 years ago & it was very sad to say goodbye, we are going to miss him so much but the market is hot and now is the time to sell if you've been meaning to. 

So onto a new chapter and I hear he's going to visit us even more than before! aka I decided he will. 😂 

5. Giant Tiger had some super cute matching dresses and some Mothers Day T shirts! If you're reading this on May 7th I have some other examples in my stories on Instagram. 

The pricing is good, dresses for kids $15 each and $18 for mine but the T shirts is where its at! Only $5 each or 2 for $8!

Old Navy also has some amazing matching family outfits right now and I am HERE FOR IT. 

Hoping to grab 1 or 2 before our Summer Vacations.

I always try to order a size or 2 up from what the kids are currently wearing because you can squeeze a couple of years out of things if you try to plan the sizes well. 

Thats it for now! Will keep things short and sweet because I have a million things to do! Would love to get back this week with some hits & misses posts, a thrifty Thursday post and my Easter tradition post that I've been wanting to share but who knows what's really going to make it live! 

Proud of myself for publishing 5 on Friday 3 weeks in a row now!😆

If you start a 5OF tag me in it so I can have a read 💗

Happy Weekend!!!!!!