Category: Product Reviews

While I’ve never been one of those wake-up-early-and-camp-outside-a-store people for Black Friday, I am quite the internet deal finder. So, each year I make myself a little ‘watch list’ for items that I want to purchase utilizing those Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals.

Instead of having a list of appliances and electronics, I tend to use Black Friday sales to replenish items that are running low, or to see if a coveted item falls within my price range. Here is my list for this year:

• Sunday Riley: I’ve been running low on my favorite face moisturizer, so I’ve been stalking the Sunday Riley site to see if the C.E.O. Hydration Cream will go on sale. (UPDATE: I just saw that it went on super sale on Amazon… marked down from $65 to $39!).
• Athleta: I tried on the Coaster Luxe Jogger in the store and really loved them, but would prefer to spend less than $79 on a pair of joggers. I’m planning to check the Athleta website over the holiday weekend to see if any good deals pop up on these.
• L.L. Bean: I shared the $149 Signature Cotton Fisherman sweater in a post (here’s the post) a few weeks ago and I’m crossing my fingers that L.L.Bean adds a discount of more than 10% (which is lame).
• The Perfect Jeans: Another past blog post share was when I replaced my husband’s jeans with The Perfect Jeans. He could use one more pair, so I’m planning to check the website for any holiday deals! Here’s the post with a $20 promo code if you’re looking for jeans for your man or kiddo.
• Nespresso pods: I love my Nespresso machine (blog post here), so I always keep an eye out for pod sales. My current favorites are a Nespresso chiaro pod mixed with a Starbucks espresso pod (I add them both to some frothed milk and a squirt of vanilla cold foam. YUM!) So, I’ll be doing a quick check over the long weekend to see if any deals pop up and restock if they do.
• Jack’s List: I’m also planning to have Jack write up his Christmas list tonight and put it on an Amazon Wish List, so that way I can keep an eye on whether any prices dip low over the weekend. Typically there are some STEM toys and video games I can snag from either Amazon, Target or GameStop when the sales start.

Are you planning to do any online Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday or Cyber Monday shopping?

Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon and ShopStyle affiliate links. This means that clicking on a link may help me earn a small commission at no cost to you.

This review is very overdue, since I bought this carpet cleaner back in 2019. However, I just pulled it out of the closet to give my living room carpet a nice refresh and it still works as perfectly as the day I got it… so I figured now is actually the PERFECT time for a quick review!

Over the years, I was always a ‘rent a carpet cleaner from Home Depot’ kind of girl. I did this every few years in my townhouse I owned (before husband and kiddo) and I did it every 1-2 years in our current home (husband and kiddo are dirty). When searching the blog to check for the last time I rented a carpet cleaner, it was actually in April 2019, followed by buying my own carpet cleaner in August 2019.

Since then, carpet cleaning has become SO. DANG. EASY.

I no longer have to drive to a store, stand in line, rent a ginormous and heavy machine, drag it out of the store, load it into my car, load it out of my car, drag it into the house, use it, drag it out of the house, load it into my car, load it out of my car, and drag it back into the store. Oh, and pay money each time (typically around $40 for a day of rental).

Now, when my living room carpet is looking a little dingy, or someone has accidently dripped purple popsicle juice (?!?!) on it, or if the dog has an accident of any sort… I just grab my carpet cleaner out of the front hall closet, use it, and then return it to the closet. It’s convenient. It’s easy. It does a fantastic job. And even better, I paid $119 four years ago and it doesn’t cost me any additional money.

This is the exact one I have:

It is the Hoover PowerDash Pet Lightweight Compact Carpet Cleaner and it currently costs $119 on Amazon. I keep a bottle of carpet cleaning solution (I have this one) under the kitchen sink and pull it out for any carpet cleaning or spot cleaning needs. The one container has lasted me for the past 4 years, so a little really does go a long way.

Benefits of the Hoover PowerDash — it is very lightweight. The container on the side is easy to detach and fill with water and carpet cleaner. And the little tub at the bottom is super easy to remove and carry to clean out the dirty water. For my living room, I usually go through about 4 containers of water in a session.

Because it’s so easy to use and lives in my front hall closet, it also takes no pre-planning if I want to clean the carpet. In fact, just last week after I dropped Jack at the bus stop, I grabbed the carpet cleaner and cleaned the entire living room in about 20 minutes before logging into work for the day. Everyone was out of the house until evening, so the carpet had plenty of time to dry and looks so, so, much better!

Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means that clicking on a link may help me earn a small commission at no cost to you.

Last year, I started a new series called “Empty’s” where I revisit an item after it’s been used long term, and decide whether I want to repurchase it.

You can find my previous posts here:

• Empty’s – May 2022
• Empty’s – July 2022
• Empty’s – September 2022
• Empty’s – February 2023

I just cleaned out my linen closet and threw out a bunch of old makeup I was never going to wear. And then in a cleaning frenzy, I also went through my bathroom and trashed a bunch of current makeup because it was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay past its expiration date. If you didn’t already know, most makeup has an expiration date of 3 months to 1 year, depending on the item.

Nowadays, I don’t really wear much makeup but I know for a fact that my mascara has been in play for at least a year. AT LEAST. And mascara is one of those items that has a pretty quick expiration date – only 3 months from when you start using it. The last thing you want is germy mascara touching near your eyes. So, it hit the trash bin and I made a quick Amazon order for a replacement.

Since I was reordering stuff anyways, I thought I’d do a quickie blog post with my favorite makeup under $10 that I keep buying over and over again.

Covergirl Lash Blast Volume Mascara – $8.53

This is my favorite mascara ever! Actually, it’s the ONLY mascara I ever wear. It’s gentle on my contact lenses and when my right eye gets a little teary due to some overachieving tear ducts, I don’t end up with mascara all down my face. I get this in ‘very black’ and it does great at coloring in the clear ends of my eyelashes without any clumps.

NYX Professional Epic Wear Liner Stick – $7.82

And this is my favorite eyeliner, ever. I previously wore Covergirl eyeliner for years and years, but as I got older I’d end up with smudges of eye liner shadowed under my eyes. I switched to this gel liner and never had that problem again. This stuff goes on really smoothly because it’s a gel and then it stays like permanent marker. I own it in a bunch of colors, including: brown shimmer, gunmetal gaze, all time olive, silver lining and berry goth. Once it is on, it does NOT budge. I’ve even washed my face in the shower and come out with fully intact eyeliner. (see how I get it off below)

LUXAZA Cream Eye Shadow Stick – $9.99

It’s actually cheaper to buy the multi-pack of these, but in order to keep it under my $10 limit, I’m sticking with just one of these eye shadow crayons. They are totally stupid-proof, you draw the shadow on like a crayon and then use the brush on the other end to blend it in. It is smudge proof and waterproof and looks professional with no effort. I have a bunch of the shades, but #45 (a shimmery brown) is my most used.

Oh, and this isn’t included in the whole $10 and under thing, but I’m guessing you’re probably wondering how I get this makeup OFF my face when it’s all smudge proof and water proof and budge proof. These are magical:

The Original MakeUP Eraser set

I bought a set of these as an impulse purchase at Costco a couple years ago and they are the absolute best. You just wet one with warm water and wipe your makeup off. That’s it. No fancy creams or lotions or potions. I pop out my contact lenses and then wipe the wet MakeUp Eraser over my eyelid a couple times and the makeup is gone with no irritation.

Then, just throw the wipe in with your laundry to go through the washer and dryer. Super easy! I’ve been using these multiple times a week for 2+ years and they are still in perfect condition. However, the laundry machine has eaten a couple over the years, so it would be helpful if you put them in one of those laundry bags.

Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means that clicking on a link may help me earn a small commission at no cost to you.