4 Ways to Spruce up your Space this Spring

Hello my little chocolate covered peanuts,

          With the warmer weather coming around, some of us may go through spring decor syndrome (I made this up, not actual medical condition). I am no home decorator or stylist but I do have a few decor ideas that I love. So, let's get started...

1.Re-purpose old Heirlooms

When I say 'Re-purpose", i mean taking something old and using it for something other than it's intended purpose. Such as, to decorate your space! We have tons of old Nick-nacks sitting around in my closet that we have used as decor. My mother had her first sewing machine collecting dust in our closet for years before we decided to whip it out and use it as a conversation piece. This sewing machine has given us many great conversations with our guests and it always gets noticed. Also, we have turned out old Singer table into a coffee station. We have a small amount of kitchen space so this acts like a second counter top. One thing to remember when using heirlooms in decor is not to fret if they aren't in the best of shape. My moms sewing machine has a few pieces missing and has collected some rust in the crannies. It happens, their old. 

2. Get Crisp with White

Since moving into a much smaller space last year, I have learned that using white or creams really open up a space and give it a clean and crisp feel. You can combo any color with white which makes it super versatile. I love combining gold tones with white. It adds a touch of decadence to a space without costing a fortune. 

3. Use Books to Warm up a Table

I am a bookworm, there is no doubt about it. But I also love books in decor. Stacking old books on a coffee table, add a warm vintage feel. My mom has tons of books that are not in any shape to be read but would make a great conversation piece on a side table. 

4. Bring on the Blooms

Since it is the season of spring blooms, why not go to your local grocery store or flower shop and pick up some beautiful flowers to cheer up your space. This will really liven the space up and inspire your spring to-dos. 

Until Next Time...

A Sardines Original Recipe: Baked Potato Soup

Hello my little spuds,

              I call you spuds because we are about to make potato soup. Get it? Spuds? Potatoes? Today for Foodie Friday, I am sharing one of my favorite recipes for a warm and tasty potato soup. I share this for alot of reason but one big one is, that alot of my friends have never tried it before. Honestly, if you have never tried potato soup before, then you are missing out. The best way for me to describe it is, it tastes like a bowl of baked potatoes. I am sharing my basic and simple version but you can add so many things to this to make it even tastier. Plus, it's uber easy!!! Bacon pieces and chives make this extra good. So, Let's begin...

*WARNING: THIS RECIPE IS NOT DIET FRIENDLY!! (LOL)

You'll want to begin by peeling and cubing your potatoes. No science here, just peel and cut as if you were making mashed potatoes.

Boil Potatoes until you can easily pierce with a fork. Drain out all but a half inch of water. In the meantime, saute the onion.

With a hand masher, mash potatoes to preferred consistency. I like mine mostly mashed but with a few potato chunks.

Add Chicken broth, milk, butter, sour cream. Mix together using masher to mash it all together.

Using flour and a bit of water, whisk together in bowl, slowly pour into soup while stirring. This will thicken the soup. Toss in sauteed onion.

Add salt and pepper to taste. I love tons of cracked black pepper in my soup. Stir.

Just before serving, stir in cheese and let sit until cheese is melted in.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream and cheese.

Voila! Hope you all will make this tasty soup and let me know in the comments below. Did you add your own flair? Give me some inspiration!

Until next time...

A Downtown Oakville Adventure

Everything you want to know about Oakville's historical figures

Hello my chocolate chip cookies,

                 I hope your weekend was great, but now we are back to classic Monday. A day of needing that extra cup of coffee, of counting the hours till home time and the general Monday "blahs". Anyways, here in Canada, Our first month of spring has been...not so typical 'spring'. But today we got a really nice preview with our 19 Celsius degree weather. Being that it was so amazing out, we (My sister, my niece and I) took advantage and went for a stroll to downtown. This is defiantly a highlight if you come down to Oakville, Ontario. Lots of great little shops, coffee spots and the gorgeous lake front. Here are a few pictures from our day out. 

Oakville's "Downtown Core"

Entrance to Erchless Estates

Town Square Clock

Anthropologie: One of my favorite stores downtown. Super pricey but super cool

Erchless Manor and Oakville's Official Museum

The Oakville Pier

Always looking for a photo Op

Ofcourse I had to stop for a Java Chip a la Starbucks

View From Erchless Estates

Night falls and the lights start flickering

End of a great day

I hope you enjoyed exploring a bit of my favorite part of down. Until next time...

Products Worth The Splurge

Hello my coco puffs,

         So, I have a secret, I love drugstore makeup as much as the next guy, but I also have some splurge-worthy products that I could not replace with a drugstore dupe. I have tried so many dupes in my makeup junkie years and I have not found anything I like as much as these guys. I think sometimes, things are worth the splurge. And despite what they all say (Especially men), there is nothing wrong with splurging once in a while. Let's begin kids...

The Naked 3 Palette-$70

I do not care what anyone says about there being a million dupes for this palette. There no dupes for the quality for these shadows. Being a girl who often skipped shadow all together, when I splurged on this palette, my life changed. Not only are the colors gorgeous, but they apply like literal butter. They blend like a dream and give off a lovely pigment. 

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara-$30

Personally, I find the name of this product extremely unnecessary but the product itself is phinominal. The Packaging it's self is worth the splurge. This mascara packs your lashes with jet black, volume boosting, mascara and I absolutely love it! 

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz-$27

It took me forever to buy this brow pencil, but since buying my first one last year, I have gone through 3. This ultra-thin retractable pencil mimics hair strands and doesn't give off an overpowering color. I tried a few 'dupes' but so far, nothing does the job quite as nicely. Alot of people say the Maybelline Brow pencil is a dupe for this but, personally, I find the tip of that pencil far too rounded verses the ABH Brow Wiz' pointed end which mimics hairs. 

Benefit Erase Paste

This peach-toned under eye concealer is perfect for covering those blue-toned dark circles. This products has a very moist consistency that sheers out really nicely. What I like best about this concealer is how moisturizing it is, unlike other undereye concealers, it doesn't look as dry and flaky as the day goes on. I would suggest setting this lightly with powder. 

Tell me some of your splurge-worthy products below!

Until next time...

March 2015 Favorites

Hello my chicken nuggets,

              The last few months, not much has changed in my beauty regime. But thankfully, in March, I got my hands on some awesome products that I really want to share. I didn't use a tons of new products some you may or may not see a few old friends in this line up. So, let's go...

             Tarte Tartelette Palette

This has been by far my go-to palette last month. It features 12 neutral matte shades that can go with any skin tone. This palette took me from day to night and made my blue-green eyes pop like nobodies biz. 

L'Oreal True Match Lumi Foundation

I got this dewy foundation in 1-2 N for my fair skin, but I will say it turns out a bit dark for me. Other than the fact, I am super happy with this foundation. I love the coverage it gives while keeping my skin fresh and dewy looking. 

Hard Candy Blush Crush Blush in Living Doll

I have talked about this blush one too many times, I know, but it is just such a perfect blush for spring. This blue-toned pink gives a gorgeous pink flush with a touch of shimmer. I skipped the highlighter on any days I used this bad boy.

Maybelline Master Precise Drama Eyeliner

This has been my favorite eyeliner pen in the last few years and I always end up back at it even when I try something new. It is super duper precise which makes it super easy to create the perfect cat eye flick. 

Duo Lash Adhesive

Last month, was false eyelash month and thanks to this glue, they stayed in place all day. I used the clear which did give a bit of residue so I needed to fill with some eyeliner. Other than that, this glue rocks my socks.

That's it for my March favorites! I hope you enjoyed and let me know in the comments what some of your favorites last month were. 

Until next time...

The Beginners Guide to Makeup

Hello my little sprinkle donuts,

       All of us makeup junkies have been there. Using sponge applicators to apply shadow, using those useless triangle sponges to apply our foundation, buying eye shadows that we knew we would never wear just because the color was pretty.

      

       Although developing good makeup skills is a process, I wish that someone had been there to get me on the road to good makeup from the beginning. Like a makeup fairy god mother. For all you makeup rookies who want to venture to the makeup isle, here are some of my top tips for beginning your makeup journey.

Getting Candid- 10 Weird Things about Me

Hello my little chocolate eclairs,

        

 Today I am getting personal so you guys can get to know The Sardines a bit better. Most of us have something weird about us that we usually tend to hide. HA HA!  So, here is me opening up my heart to y'all and giving you 10, count em, 10! Weird facts about me. Let's do this, *deep breath*.

1. I like the smell of anything made of sponge/foam. Yes, you read that correctly. I like foam, like foam rollers, foam mattress pads, foam ANYTHING. I have been caught sniffing foam rollers more than once. Usually this ends with the person walking away slowly and pretending that they didn't see it. Ha!

2. I am scared of seeing things underwater. I am not sure how this started, to be honest. They say any sort of phobia is stemmed from something, but I have no idea how this came about. When I go to the zoo, you will not get me into those observation tunnels. LOL

3. I am obsessed with vacuums. Yes, vacuum cleaners, vacuum smells (safe to say, I have a thing for smells), vacuuming things.

4. I have not gone nail polish free in 4 years. I cannot remember the last time I had 'naked' nails. I just feel like when my nails aren't painted, they get snagged on things. I just feel like things run smoother when my nails are painted.

5. I cannot turn my sarcasm off. I am really bad at holding my tongue when it comes to sarcasm. Sometimes, I don't even realize I am doing it...until someone gets offended. Maybe I should just change it to, I offend people without even realizing.

6. When it comes to men, I have no type. I like what I like. I don't really find one type of guy attractive. Also, when it comes to guys, if I am going to ever like you, in a romantic way, I usually know my atleast the 2nd time meeting you. The odd occasion it takes 3 time.

7. When watching a movie, if the actors are kissing and there are people in the room, I can't look at the screen. I guess this stems from me being a really private person. I don't care for PDA.

8. I have never been on a plane. Yup! I am 25 and never been on a plane. I don't even know how I'd react! Like, turbulence.. ?

9. Sometimes, I google slang words that I don't understand, because I'm afraid to ask. Words like 'Swag', yeah, I had to google that one. Is that so weird?...I'm old. 

10. I must have a bath or shower before bed! Even if I had one before I went somewhere that night, I have to take a bath or shower before I put my Pj's on.

So there you go! I know there are probably weirder things out there that people do (seriously, just watch any episode of My Strange Addiction) but I wanted to get candid with you guys. Hope you enjoyed. And let me know some weird things about you, if you dare.

Until next time...

Spring 2015 Nail Polish Haul

Hello Loves,

     First off, if you follow me on Instagram, I did post saying that I was going to be posting a spring makeup look. Unfortunately, this week has been horrible, lots of family things that have prevented me from posting. I am still unsure if I will be posting that blog yet but in the meantime, here is a spring nail polish haul for you.

I just cleaned out my nail polish collection and I needed some fresh colors to paint on the digits. So here we go ;) oh, yeah, before we begin, I just want to say that all these shots were taken in my new DIY lightbox. Hope you enjoy!!

China Glaze Gelaze (Needs a LED light to cure) Left: Too Yacht to Handle, Right: That's Shore Bright

China Glaze- Bottoms Up

China Glaze- Son of a Peach

China Glaze- Lotus Begin

China Glaze- Highlight Of my Summer

Orly- Key Lime Twist LE

Until next time...

Nail Polish Selections for Spring 2015

Hello,

      Happy Thursday everyone! Almost Friday! Yaaaaay! So, today Im going to sharing some of my favorite nail polishes for the time being.

As spring approaches, I feel like I need to get more into a softer and more femine color scheme but also keeping some of the edgyiness that goes with the winter months. Here in the Great White North, we dont really get a real deal spring. Its more of a jubble of days that range from 10C to about -3C. So it can really go all over the place. I feel like that is why I like to still have that edgy yet soft nail that can work on both sides of the thermostat. I have been into nuetrals as of late and here are some of my picks. I have not swatched them but they will be pinned to my pinterest board soon for swatches.

· Essie - Chinchilly (a light mauvey gray) Seen in picture.

· O.P.I - Tickle my France-y (A nude toned pink)

· O.P.I - Funny Bunny (a milky sheer white that can be build for a more opaque finish)

· China Glaze - Below Deck (Mid-toned mauvey gray)

Thanks for reading loves. Let me know below what some of your spring favorites are!!!

Bookish Diary #1- Uninterested or Busy?

Hello Lovers,

       So today we gotta talk about when it is extremely difficult to get into a novel. Lol so this might seem weird to a my fellow bookworms but it also might be a very relatable thing too. I recently ordered a book online by one of my favorite authors by recommendation. Even though she is my favorite author, I have not read all her books, which again may seem weird to all my fellow book lovers. The book is called The King's General and it is by the author Daphne DuMaurier. If you arent sure who that is, she wrote Jamaica Inn (my all-time favorite novel) and she is also the mastermind behind Alfred Hitchcocks The Birds. Actually, Alfred Hitchcock covered a few of her works, the ladder, Rebecca and a horrendous version of Jamaica Inn.

Anyways, I am finding it extremely difficult getting into this novel for more than one reason. I think a big reason is that I actually have no time to read. I work so much and when Im not at work, I am running errands or catching up on housework. Sometimes I will schedule time to sit and read, but by the time its slot comes around, I am wiped out. Another reason may be this, the book is super thick and one problem I have with Daphnes works is the amount of description she uses. Oh my word! Sometime we can go a whole chapter of decribing how the waves of the sea crash together. Don't get me wrong but sometimes there is too much decription to handle. I can read a super exciting chapter filled with romantic dialogue and then BAM! We are back to the waves.

So tell me everyone, should I step away from this book for now and try picking it up again later or should I push through in hopes I will hit a point where I cant put it down?