thats-a-first

[thats-a-first]

last week i donated blood for the first time ever. it was something that i had been meaning to do for years. i’m just a really impressive procrastinator. 

this is one of the greatest things i think i’ve ever done. i’m just some random stay-at-home mum but look, i can save lives. the whole process was a breeze too, by the way. you sit there for five minutes, get fed a really good selection of cookies&beverages and then be on your way knowing you did something hugely important. i only wish i’d gone in sooner.

erin.

[thats-a-first]

i learned about whole30 a couple years ago. i had the same story a lot of people who first hear about whole30 do. they stare at whoever it is telling them about this program with a look of confusion on their face and silently, or not to silently, wonder “what CAN you eat ?”

turns out a lot. a lot that is actually really delicious.

so i’m a food addict. i’ll just put that out there. i’ve recognized that shame in any addiction definitely fuels it. so since i’m try to fight... well, there it is. i’ve done whole30 a bunch of times making it to day 20. day 17. day 29 (!!!) and then bailing. but in january i made  a deal with my best friend that we were going to do this together. and, with her support, i did. and so did she. best feeling in the world.

ok. so weight loss is great. dropping nearly 13 pounds in a month is a huge deal for me. but aside from that there’s the clear skin, the energy, the lack of disappointment in myself, the feeling of empowerment as turning down horrible food choices got easier & my control over the food that had always been controlling me grew stronger. 

it’s not the easiest program. it’s especially hard if you don’t have a support system. but i can promise you that the benefits of whole30 are worth the challenge. so find someone you can do this with, and give it a good effort. you won’t regret it. it might even change your life.

whole30.com

erin.

[thats-a-first]

this is the first box i’ve received from my owlcrate subscription.

i almost cried. very nearly. when i pulled “Heartless” from the bottom of the box. mostly because i’ve read the lunar chronicles series by Marissa Meyer and have been eyeing heartless since it came out. i just couldn’t find myself justifying getting anything for me when it’s christmas and there’s so many gifts i want to get... but let me get back on track and tell you how amazing this box is.

so aside from “heartless”, which i’m still reeling about, it also comes with the original “alice’s adventures in wonderland” by lewis carroll. i’ve actually never gotten around to reading it and i’m excited to. it came with a beautiful tin full of loose leaf tea called “wonderland elixir”. i haven’t tried it yet but it smells lovely. there’s also a bookmark with a page out of the book, a paper bookmark, a magnet, a message from Marissa Meyer about Heartless, a quote from heartless, and of course the post card send from owlcrate that outlines the theme of the box. it also comes with a button which i realized my four year old took and now i need to track down...

i was excited about this subscription before i even knew the theme of the november box. the previous boxes looked amazing filled with jewelry, harry potter pop figures, totes, and so many other great things aside from the books themselves which were actually good quality books you’d want to own. there’s merchandise from authors & stories i love like “fangirl” by rainbow rowell and the mortal instruments series by cassandra clare. so much more you guys. check out this link to see what i’m talking about and once the november box is put up you’ll see a much better description of all the amazing things i’ve tried to explain.

 if you’re at all a fan of young adult novels then this subscription will make you as happy as it’s made me. which is to say very, very happy.

erin.

[thats-a-first]

i should have posted this a long time ago but i didn’t. instead of telling myself it was too long ago and i shouldn’t worry about, i’m going to write it out. because it’s a first, and that’s what this platform is for. so instead of being bummed that i fell behind i’m just going to do this.

seriously this post is dated september 5...

the first time i heard about these escape rooms was watching Kaitlyn’s season of the bachelorette. it looked terrifying. but also... intriguing ? i mean i went into it with five of my friends and i figured they had to let us out eventually, right ? but the idea of being locked in a room isn’t especially appealing. 

this turned out to be a really, really fun experience. i’d definitely encourage you to go try one of these rooms out. even if you’re unsure. or nervous. or think you’re not smart enough. just try it out. you’ll like it.

or maybe you won’t, but i promise they will let you out of the room. eventually.

erin.

[thats-a-first]

sometimes i come up with random ideas in my head. most of the time i don’t tell anybody about them. sometimes i do. i have this problem with wanting do start things but then somehow talking myself out of them. but i recently came up with this idea to create a personal website. i ran it by my husband and my best friend, telling them about the sorts of pages i wanted to have on it. i tested their reactions and they really pushed me to go for it. so over the past couple weeks i got to work. 

i created something that is so nonsensical that it makes me really, really happy. it’s the first time i’ve ever made a website for just me and i’m ridiculously proud of it. it’s basically what would happen if my brain was on display for people to see. which is a bit awkward at times. i’ve had people tell me it’s hilarious. and other people tell me they don’t get it. which is perfectly ok because really all i want to do is amuse people. 

i hope it amuses you:

wishonthem.com

erin.

[thats-a-first]

here’s some things i’ve learned from playing bingo for the first time:

1. it’s a lot more confusing than it looks. i went a couple weeks ago with my sister and it was both of our first times. we had no idea what we’re doing. the lady selling us our cards could basically tell by looking at us that we were new as can be. we sat down. organized our cards. and then got right back up again for lesson #2 on how to play. we figured it out eventually.

2. people there are really, really nice. we had two ladies on either side of us giving us tips and shaking their heads violently at us when we started playing on the wrong cards. 

3. it really is very stereotypically an old persons hobby. we were the youngest there by far.

4. it’s very, very quiet. we were the only ones sitting side by side and chatting during the games. most people had entire tables to themselves with all their cards and daubers and other bingo accessories... i’m kind of an awkwardly loud person, but after laughing a little too boisterously and get a sideways look from a very serious bingo player, i turned the volume down a notch. 

5. bingo is really, really fun. until you’re about to win. then it’s an anxiety attack waiting to happen. don’t ask me why the prospect of shouting bingo ! is so terrifying, it just is. i really would like to win. but there’s a good amount of relief when someone calls it first. 

6. the final thing i learned is that i’m going to become a bingo crazed old lady some day. it’s super enjoyable. the amounts you win aren’t nearly enough (by my standards) to make this a gambling issue for me. i know a lot of people go in there and throw down a ton of cash so that the payout is bigger, but i’d rather just go for the outing and the socializing and the heart attacks waiting to happen.

erin.

[thats-a-first]

i needed another excuse to rave about IT Cosmetics. so here it is.

i have wanted to try IT Cosmetics tightline mascara for a very long time. i love the idea of being able to get tightlining over with as you apply your mascara. unfortunately a tube of this mascara is $24 if you order it online. i’m poor. and i live in canada. which means it’s really hard to order it, and it also means that it’s going to cost much more than that for me because our dollar is rotten. i was super excited when the shopping channel had this incredible deal that consisted of this mascara along with four other products for a beyond amazing price.

so i got the opportunity to try this mascara for the first time. look at that tiny brush ! it’s bizarre. and yes, in true to me fashion, i jabbed myself in the eye the first time i ever tried it. and several times since... the tightline feature of this mascara works perfectly. i love it. the brush on it’s own works pretty well for length also, but because my eyelashes are basically non existent on their own i like to do a top coat with whatever other mascara i have on hand as well.

if you haven’t tried it cosmetics makeup yet, i would definitely recommend it. the CC+ cream if nothing else. it really does make your skin appear flawless. it easily covers any redness, blemishes, unevenness... i have a lot of blackheads on my nose and it does a stellar job of making those disappear... it’s fabulous. 

anyway, that’s my rant. itCosmetics can do no wrong by me.

erin.

[thats-a-first]

i absolutely did not take this photo. i won't take credit for it. i took it from the site where i also stole the recipe. because well, you guys already know how i do taking pictures of food i make... but i wanted so badly to have a good picture of this dish because i made it tonight for the first time and it was so delicious. you probably wouldn’t gather that from my photo...

i have really terrible eating habits. i am constantly trying to fix them, usually failing, but always trying. i’ve become a huge fan of whole30 and i’d encourage anybody who’s wanting to clean up their diet to try it out. it’s not meant to be a permanent fix to your diet, but to help you steer your food habits in a healthy direction while also ridding you of addictions to sugar and helping you recognize any symptoms your body is having to different types of food that you maybe don’t recognize. my skin clears up really nice when i cut out dairy, turns out.

when i go on my “i need to eat better !!” kicks, i like to try to stick to a “whole30 at home” mentality. which goes against whole30 rules... but gives me good guidelines for healthy eating. one of my favourite things to do is search for new recipes. which is how i stumbled upon this one. the Paleo Egg Roll in a Bowl. it’s delicious guys. if you’re doing whole30 or following a paleo diet i think you’re going to lovethis one. it’s simple and tasty. i’d also say that you NEED to make the sweet&sour sauce that she has on there. it’s also fantastic and it really adds a lot to the overall flavour of the meal. here’s the recipe (and original photo) :

Paleo Egg Roll in a Bowl.

erin.

[thats-a-first]

i remember one time in high school i put on a random pilate’s video and then shut it off almost immediately because it was SO hard. i wrote it off and never went back. i spent the past fifteen years with pilate’s in my “too hard for erin” box. then took i out over the past couple months. on accident.

i’m not super when it comes to exercise. i’ve done a lot of different things to try to be active that i’ve enjoyed, and that i’ve not enjoyed. i discovered running a few years ago and kind of stuck to that mostly, but found i was missing out on intentionally strengthening my body. strength workouts scared me. still kind of do... because i’m so so weak. i never had a lot of will power to push myself through the cramping pain to get to the point where i’d notice any change, so i’d ultimately give up.

at the end of may i discovered this calendar created by Amy over at Reality of You. i recruited one of my favourite friends to go through it with me. it was incredibly challenging but because i had accountability and someone to say “that sucked big time” with, i pushed myself and found i was capable of moving and strengthening my body beyond what i’d ever done in the past. if you’re struggling for ideas on what to do for workouts, i’d very much encourage you to check this one out. it’s a lot of HIIT and cardio with a good amount of strength worked in. you’ll notice changes in your body, i can promise you that. another benefit of this calendar is that it’s such a wide variety of youtube channels. fitness blender, tara stiles, and my new very favourite : blogilates.

which leads me to my new first and one of my greatest discoveries. that i really do enjoy pilates. and not only do i enjoy it but my body, MY lazy, weak body, is capable of pilates. during the previous calendar i got really excited when a blogilates workout came up. not only because the workouts were just genuinely fun&challenging, but also because they are lead by Cassey Ho. oh my word she’s easily the best youtube trainer i’ve ever watched. she’s cheerful, positive, encouraging, and she somehow tricks you into liking that horrible pain. i started snooping around the blogilates website and discovered that she creates new calendars every month ! YES. better yet, she has a beginners calendar. so i again recruited my friend and today was our final workout day ! so here’s what i have to say, if you want to strengthen your body but are scared to, try this calendar. it’s perfect. Cassey leads you through the correct form, the correct breathing, the modified versions if you need them, all in a fun and really upbeat style that makes you feel like you can do anything. and after you peel yourself sweating off the mat, you’ll feel amazing.

this is me encouraging you to dump out your “too hard for...” box and push yourself to try something you thought you’d never be able to do. you’ll be so proud of yourself. and i just gave you two really great starting points ! 

much love, erin.

[thats-a-first]

i’ve made sugar cookies before. but this was my first time making this recipe, look how cute it is ! it was also the first time i made cookies with my 6&3 year old boys that involved them rolling dough. i have baking OCD so it’s a big deal, but they did a genuinely great job. our summer has been pretty drab. we’ve had a ton of rain and thunderstorms, which basically means a lot of me wondering how i’m going to entertain the boys when we can’t be outside running around. therefore, we had a day of treat making, starting with these cookies. they’re pretty simple, basic, but adorable and delicious. i’m sure you could use whatever cookie recipe you want, but i used this recipe from Just Add Sprinkles. 

we also made cookies and cream home-made ice cream. SO GOOD. i have the kitchenaid ice cream maker attachment and i’ve used it maybe a handful of times. i hadn’t found any recipes i’d loved, until this one. it’s so easy ! it’s got simple ingredients, you don’t have to cook anything, and it’s delicious. it’s a great base to make whatever kind of ice cream you want. you can find the recipe here !

erin.

[thats-a-first]

so, couple things about me :

1. I love makeup. I love trying new products and finding new brands. but I'm very limited in talent. haha. over the past year I've come up with a basic routine that i've mastered, and on days when I feel ambitious i'll do my eyeliner, but my skills stop there. I think I'm pretty normal and I hope that makes me relatable.

2. I'm not at all capable of affording expensive makeup. I hope that also makes me relatable... my very favourite makeup brand is It Cosmetics. it's wonderful. but it's expensive, high quality makeup. I get it twice a year : when I ask for it for Christmas and my birthday. if you get a chance to check it out, then do. you will fall in love. but if I'm going out to buy makeup, I'm heading to walmart or superstore.

essence makeup covers both of these areas in my life. their makeup is extremely affordable - none of the products i found on their site were over $5.99 - on top of that, they have a bunch of tutorial sort of products. eyeshadows and eyebrow palettes that come with lessons on how to apply them. i stumbled upon essence cosmetics at superstore. i usually buy covergirl powder foundation but i wanted to branch out. i really wanted a clear powder that wasn't HD so i figured I'd give this a try. i really like it. it does a fine job without breaking the bank.

I'm excited to experiment with more of their makeup.

erin.

[thats-a-first]

oh how i love free makeup ! this is another one of the products i chose with my ipsy points. it’s makeup mood enhancer by em cosmetics. 

i was really unsure of these products when they showed up as a redeemable product. it comes in five different shades and none of them really appealed to me. i didn’t want my face to seem too dark, or too pink, or too greasy. but again, with makeup i’m curious and i really enjoy trying new products that i wouldn’t come across in just some drugstore. so i chose this shade, which is “dewy skin” because i figured it wouldn’t change the tone of my makeup, just hopefully enhance it. 

i really enjoy this product. i don’t use it everyday, but when i do i mix it with my foundation and it brightens my skin. it almost acts a bit like a highlighter. once i was finished adding my powder foundation, bronzer, and blush, this left a nice little highlight that i noticed especially on my cheekbones. places on my face where the light naturally hits. 

i still am unsure if i would want to try the other shades, but i really love this one. 

erin.

[thats-a-first]

i, very sadly, had to cancel my ipsy subscription. we’re trying to cut back on credit card expenses and i chose to sacrifice my ipsy. fortunately my mum still gets it and i’ll probably be stealing a lot of her unused samples...

anyway, knowing i was going to be cancelling i used my last couple months to seek out quality points products. they offer products on their site that you can use points earned by rating products to receive. most of the time they were products i wasn’t interested in so it took a while for me to use up all my points. then this showed up. it’s Cosmoholic Showlash Mascara with Fibres . i’ve seen these sorts of mascara’s on social media, friends selling them by different companies and such, and i’ve always thought they looked really, really clumpy and awful. just putting that out there... so i wasn’t ever going to buy it for myself, but my curiosity was definitely peaked at the opportunity to try it out for free. here’s my thoughts:

first i was really intrigued by the fibres. they weren’t what i was expecting. the mascara itself i really like, i like the brush, but i found that you have to be EXTREMELY careful with this mascara or it gets crazy on you really fast. i stabbed myself in the eye when applying it, and you know how when that happens you always end up with a TON of mascara all over your lashes... and face... well after then applying the fibres and the top coat of mascara it just was way too much. it got that clumpy, stuck together look that i was afraid of. but the eye i didn’t poke turned out not bad at all. 

i think this concept is really interesting. but i don’t think it’s perfected. i’ve used this product twice now, i definitely wouldn’t find it necessary for a day-to-day look, and both times i had one eye turn out way more intense and clumpy than the other. it took a lot of extra work to try tame it back. i’m already not a makeup pro, so i’m not a huge fan of damage control.

all that to say, the mascara itself is really really nice. and when the fibres don’t get out of control, they really do exactly what they’re meant to - my eyelashes definitely looked longer and fuller. i’m glad i got the opportunity to give this product a try.

erin.

[thats-a-first]

i’m on a roll with new things this week. i love it !

so every year my aunt puts together this huge event for our entire extended family out on another aunts farm.  there’s themes and games & songs & different setups that go with whichever theme. it ends up being packed with family and so so so much fun. we look forward to going every year. she also supplies us all with matching shirts with our names on them. so we walk around as this huge group of pink shirts, or red&white shirts, and this year we’re all going to walk around looking like a bunch of hippies because we’re going to be wearing tie dyed shirts. it’s going to be a very colourful experience.

these shirts are extra fun because she invited us to her home to make them ourselves. it worked out really well because all the kids lasted for about five minutes before leaving the adults completely alone to do the work themselves, which made for a much less chaotic environment. especially since we needed to make around eighty. 

this was my first time tie dying. i had to think about that because it seems strange to me that i’d never done this before, but as far as i can remember i never have. i started off with gloves but it got a hole in it after my second shirt and, i mean, there’s nothing wrong with looking like you spent the day hanging out with a rainbow. 

i’m really excited to see how these turn out.

erin.

[thats-a-first]

so as i mentioned in my previous post filled with all my love for DNCE, me&my husband were super lucky to get to go see Selena Gomez on her Revival Tour in Calgary. 

i’m going to be honest with you, while i was excited to go it was really my husband who’s the super fan between the two of us. if it weren’t for him, i’d have missed out on this really fabulous show.

i’ve always really admired Selena Gomez. i think she’s a really strong person, on top of being adorable and beyond talented. this show just amplified those feelings for me. her voice was terrific, her dancers were all amazing, and she was very candid with her fans. she admitted to having a rough couple days and in spite of whatever she’s struggling with behind the scenes she was able to perform flawlessly and put on an incredible show for her fans. if she hadn’t mentioned her bad days, i can guarantee you nobody would have ever guessed she was having a hard time. it didn’t get in the way at all. 

you can tell by her show, her songs, and what she reveals of her heart that this girls is more than just a celebrity, more than just a performer, she’s a quality human with a really lovely heart. and i’m glad i got the opportunity to see that for myself in person.

erin.

[thats-a-first]

me&my husband went to see Selena Gomez on tour in Calgary on Tuesday. the show was opened by Bea Miller & DNCE.

the only reason i’m not writing about it being my first time seeing Bea Miller in concert is because my husband, who has in the past several months developed a serious fan heart for Selena, had me waiting in a mob of teenage girls and their parents for merch. he bought this shirt. it was by far the nicest shirt she had to offer out of all her merch. also the most expensive. also definitely a ladies shirt. he wore it proudly. anyway. all that to say, we missed all but the final couple songs of Bea Miller’s. it was enough for me to confidently say she’s an excellent performer with an incredible voice and i probably would have enjoyed her entire set had i not been... held up.

but let’s talk about DNCE. because i might adore them. i might. their show was flashy and fun and full of crazy energy. every member of this group is incredibly talented and look like they are having the time of their lives at every given moment of being on that stage. the guitarist, Jinjoo Lee, is the coolest woman i have ever seen in my life. oh man. i wanted to be her. i don’t generally want to be people, but her, i’d like to be. she’s just so coooool. ack. anyway. they all are. they played TLC, they played Prince, they played wonderfully. i had so much fun watching them.

erin.

[thats-a-first]

last time i posted about making the worlds most unhealthy cake and now i’m posting about yoga. it is what it is.

i have this friend who has become the most inspiring person ever to me because we have both struggled our entire lives with being terribly unhealthy and terribly unsatisified with living that way, but never managing to conquer it. i still haven’t, but she has come a tremendous way in her journey towards a healtheir lifestyle and feeling more comfortable in her skin. being able to see how far she’s come puts me in a constant state of awe.

i’ve been trying to pick up my own slack again over the past few months. and i’ve made progress. slowly. i really enjoy running. treadmill running. i think that makes me a weirdo because every time i mention that i prefer running on a treadmill to the great outdoors people look at me weird. the only thing is that i get kinda bored with doing the same thing every day. i’d been on the hunt for video’s that i might enjoy doing, but my body is still incredibly weak. so most of the ones i’ve found i gave up on because i’m not at the point in my head where i can force myself to do extremely difficult maneuvers. also i have a bunch of issues with my body that prevents me from doing most things. i like to whine about them because people love hearing me whine... but basically my knees are big jerks - i’ve started wearing braces - and my feet hate being in runners for anything besides running. they hurt like little bitches. 

i’ve always wanted to get into at yoga. i’ve done yoga on wii fit in the past. let me tell you, wii fit exists to make you think you are amazing at things you aren’t really amazing at. like yoga. turns out that just because i can do a killer warrior pose by wii fit standards doesn’t make a yoga expert out of me. i learned this when trying to do most any other yoga videos. so my bestie who i previously mentioned sent me this one from Popsugar Fitness. i was nervous to even try it because i’d been trying and quitting so many other videos and i didn’t want to find another one to fail at. but guys. listen. this video is AMAZING. not because it’s easy, it’s not at all easy, but because the woman leading it, Mandy Ingber, explains the poses in ways i’ve never heard before so i felt like i might have some hope of doing them somewhat correctly. she also offers modified versions of some of the harder moves if you’re just starting out (like me !). so if you’re finding that it’s too much, just take it easy for a bit. i’ve done this video twice now, i’ve decided to alternate it with my running, and i am SO SORE. my whole body. primarily my shoulders and core. 

as a side note, nothing in life feels better than completing a yoga routine. you’re entire body will thank you for this. i promise

i just want to encourage you guys not to give up. i’m the weakest, least motivated person with the lowest amount of will power out there. but i’m doing this. which means you can do this. if yoga is something you’re at all interested in getting involved in, start here. and push yourself.

much love, erin.