What I Bought This Week #29

This was a very low spending week in terms of the things we brought into our home. We were busy eating all our Costco goodies (hubby picked out a HUGE piece of salmon last week), so I only needed to grab a few things from the grocery store. And yes, I know we are on an alcohol no-buy, but they were giving out free cider on the street! I love cider and I've never tried this one -- I couldn't didn't say no.

What I Bought This Week #28

This week was a relatively big shopping week. We are starting to run low on a few things -- shampoo, dish soap, groceries, and pet supplies. One thing we're not running low on is alcohol, yet we keep buying more! We don't drink booze nearly as quickly as we purchase it, so our stock has become rather inflated. In an attempt to course correct, effective immediately, we're going to implement an alcohol no-buy until the end of the year. We may still purchase some as gifts or if we're visiting friends... or if we go out of town, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. In the meantime, we'll slowly enjoy what we currently have -- I'm sure it will last us quite some time.

What I Bought This Week #27

It's been a hot and sticky week in Toronto. The air is much lighter today, but the rest of the week has felt humid and downright stifling. I've been craving fruit and cold drinks -- preferably enjoyed on a shady patio -- which is the theme of this "What I Bought This Week." Besides having fun meals on our condo's communal terrace, hubby and I have been enjoying downtown TO's many patios. We've become Happy Hour aficionados, and this has allowed us to derive maximum enjoyment out of our summer restaurant dollars. :) I hope you've been making the most of this lovely weather!

How to Maintain Strong Healthy Nails

In the past 6 months or so, I've noticed that my nails have been a lot stronger and healthier -- and a few of you have also commented on my long nails. In this video, I discuss how I maintain strong healthy nails and some changes I've made that have improved my nail health. If you're someone who can grow long nails but tend to break them as soon as they're long, I hope this video will help.

Three foundational tips - these are things I’ve done for years and have helped me to grow long nails:
1) Drink lots of water (at least 8 cups per day).
2) Keep your hands moisturized.
3) Use a glass or crystal nail file.

Three things I’ve changed that have improved my nail health and made my nails stronger and healthier - my nails break much less frequently since implementing these changes:
1) I started minimizing the amount of time my hands were wet (e.g., I started using gloves while washing dishes and batching my housework).
2) I started taking probiotics (note: I’ve tried 4 different brands and I haven’t noticed any significant differences by brand).
3) I started moving more slowly and mindfully (of course, a lower level of stress could be a factor as well).

Please let me know if you prefer short or long nails, and what nail shape you like!

What I Bought This Week #26

Happy Canada Day to my friends in Canada! Happy Independence Day to my friends in the U.S.! I'm a little late with this post as we spent the majority of the long weekend out and about. Now that the Canada festivities are over, I'm eager to get back to my regular routine.

We are halfway through the year and I've been loving my 2019 no-buy. I've learned so much about myself and I've also drastically improved my relationship with money. This past week in particular was very light on money spent on things coming into the home; however, hubby and I have been enjoying a lot of meals out. We also booked a vacation a few days ago (more on that another day), which means my spending is starting to track a bit closer to my budget -- but I don't consider this a bad thing! The exercise this year was not to deprive myself, but rather to learn to use what I have and derive maximum fulfillment out of the money I do decide to spend. So far, it's been working with very few hiccups. There are a few things I've noticed that I want to improve, but I will save that discussion for my next update video.

What I Bought This Week #25

This week was so much fun -- and I barely spent any money! My friend and I went to the Raptors' championship parade on Monday -- it was very intense but well worth the long wait. Patio season is my favourite time of the year, and hubby and I have been taking advantage of the beautiful weather by dining al fresco. We went out a few times, but we also BBQ'd at home and ate on the terrace a bunch! We have been experimenting with eating slow and eating less, which is pretty much the perfect mindset for this time of the year. On top of that, we've been trying to eat more balanced and nutritious meals; it's still a struggle some days but I think we've made some progress. I hope you've also been enjoying this lovely weather!

In other news, Truffle seems to be having trouble with his teeth again so I've been syringe-feeding him critical care 4-6 times a day. He gets a bit testy at times, but overall, he's been a really agreeable bunny with the feedings. We'll be taking him to the vet again this week. I hope he's ok.

Empties • April to May

Here is my latest empties video! These are the products I used up in April and May, before I started the foil packet sample challenge on June 1st. I'm making slow but steady progress with using up my products!