#it's honestly pretty good but pretty pricey for the size of the box

[omnybus]

I used the sponsor codes from hundreds of Youtubers all at once to buy a box of Magic Spoon cereal and now they own me fifty thousand dollars

[meruz]

Hey I can't find this in your FAQ so sorry if it's been asked before! Your traditional art is so stunning and vibrant, would you happen to have any brand recommendations for people trying to get into painting? Maybe specific gouche paint, brushes, papers etc. Thank you so much and have a nice day!

no one has ever asked me this before because this is like the first time ive started putting traditional art on my blog! LOL umm to be honest I’m very far from pro on this front, most of my knowledge comes from a handful of classes I didn’t pay a lot of attention to and lots of youtube videos but here’s my recommendations:

Paint

A lot of my paints are winsor newton designer’s gouache because this is what my teachers made me buy when I was a freshman at art school LOL. it’s definitely kind of pricey, I think it’s like $10.99 for a tube which I was NOT a fan of as a college student and is still not my favorite thing now. But they’re overall worth the price if you really want solid, high quality opaque paints. Though I’ve heard their student grade winton paints are decent as well?

I’ve heard less good things about brands like reeves and artist loft... but I think turner is alright? m.graham is supposedly great.

I also bought a set of holbein acryla gouache when it was discounted on amazon a while ago and have found it very solid. One thing you have to know about acryla gouache is that it uses a binder more like acrylic paint (hence the name acryla). Paints are made out of pigment + binder and most gouache is essentially watercolor but with extra pigment/chalk to make it opaque - the binder is water soluble so these paints can be reactivated with water. Acryla gouache is NOT water soluble when dry and it dries pretty fast so it’s overall less flexible. But other than that you can pretty much treat it like any other gouache and I find they keep a little better too, less likely to get gunky or stiff.

All paint brands have a handful of starter packs which are slightly discounted but if you want to build your own starting palette I’d say get a warm and cool tint of all the primaries, get a lot of white (working with gouache somehow involves a lot of mixing with white lol), and get a brown, maybe like burnt sienna or raw umber for underpaintings. No need to get a black, mixing darks builds character, looks better, and having one out of the tube can become a crutch. If you find a white watercolor paint tube that’s cheaper you can buy that instead of a gouache white. Again, they have pretty much the same make-up. And white paints are generally opaque enough that the composition between gouache/watercolor shouldn’t matter too much.

I’ve never used a block tray of gouache. Like those paints that come in little blocks in a tray? I know there's a bunch out there but I’ve never used them and I don’t know anyone else who does so I have no opinion on them.

Brushes

I’ve been kind of exploring this myself. I recently bought a cheap set of flat brushes off amazon LOL and I like them a lot?

Theyre probably not The Best or anything but I found flat brushes suit gouache plein air painting really well because its suits the kind of color blocking shapes I want to make. Also these had the right handle length to fit in my painting bag. That’s like the main reason I chose them tbh.

Honestly a lot of my art supplies philosophy is “give it a whirl with whatever you have lying around and when it feels like you're missing something specific keep an eye out for when that stuff goes on sale”

Paper

GOTTA BE HONEST I’m using cheapo paper. Because I’m making these paintings half for study and half to give my parents something to hang in the living room.

You can actually see some of them curling in on themselves here lol. If you’ve seen the sketchbook I’m holding in any of my pics of paintings it’s one of the canson mixed media books.

and its FINE... I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it lol.. I like that the texture is very fine but it doesn’t hold a lot of water and definitely distorts. Also I keep ripping off the surface with painters tape but that might just be on me. Oh buy artist tape. Just because its so satisfying to have clean edges.

I’m using painters tape instead of artist tape because I found it in the basement but if youre buying supplies buy artist tape because it’ll be kinder to your paper. 

SPEAKING OF PAPER.

I guess anything heavyweight for watercolor/mixed media will be fine? some people like a lot of texture but if you’re painting small you might want to avoid it and pick hot press over cold press. Honestly I feel like a lot of this is going to depend on what your specific needs are.. how big do you want the paper to be.. do you want a sketchbook or would you rather carry around loose paper... etc. Maybe go to an art store and touch all their paper. I feel like its easier to understand sizes and texture when you’re seeing it physically.

When I go on a trip, I normally bring a softcover heavyweight stillman & birn sketchbook because I tend to obliterate metal spiral books in my bag LOL. Also I don’t rip any pages out of my travel sketchbooks so I don’t need perforation or anything. Also they go on sale a lot in the art store I go to haha. I havent used gouache extensively in it but it takes inkwash/maker pretty well.

On the higher end, I personally haven’t used it that much but my friends who do traditional illustration professionally swear by arches watercolor paper. It comes in lots of different sizes.

Whatever you use, if you really want it to lie flat you’re gonna want to soak and stretch it on a board but I don’t bother with that because I am lazy.

Palette

You didn’t ask about palette but I’m taking the opportunity to be a shill because I personally use a sta-wet palette and I LOVE it.

One of the biggest frustrations about gouache for me was how quickly it dries after it leaves the tube. And even if you can reawaken it with water its not quite the same? and consistency is SO important when it comes to applying gouache so I don’t want to be over-watering my paint.. ugh. Anyways, I don’t have to worry about that with the sta-wet palette and really its been a game changer for me. sta-wet is a brand name but there are a bunch of other wet palettes not by masterson that I’m sure are just as good. I mean, it’s just a box with a sponge basically, that can’t be hard to replicate.

The only thing - and I personally have not had this issue but I have friends who have - is that if you leave it wet for too long it could grow mold? or a mouldy smell? Just wash your palette with soap and don’t leave it for weeks on end and it should be fine.

If you’re not feeling a palette that’s always moist, the best palette I used in school was a simple glass palette. you can buy one I guess but it’s so easy to DIY, I think the way we did it in school is getting a piece of glass and mdf from the hardware store cut the same size and then duct taped them together on the sides so it wouldn’t be sharp.

costs like nothing.

what else...get a palette knife if you like to mix paints? and like to save paints... mixing with the brush means you lose paint in your brush in the mixing process so a knife is a good way to maximize that process. I don’t use it much but sometime if I have to mix a lot of one color I’ll pull it out of my bag.

I don’t know anything about easels, I sit on the dirty ground like a gremlin when I paint.

Ok yeah that’s all the supplies tips I have. hope some of it was helpful! always try to save money with art supplies, I think. Especially if you’re just starting out - it’s less stressful to use cheap supplies too lol. Good luck! Happy painting!

[werealljustwinginit]

Tell us about what skincare ingredients and products you love!

Okay, so I LOVE TALKING SKINCARE. This is a huge topic for me and I often write up a blog post once a year where i recommend skin care products. So here is this year’s recommendation! An insanelyyyyy long and detailed post nobody asked for!! HERE WE GO: 

I am a long time skincare advocate...before it really blew up and people started really getting to know more about their products and ingredients. I’ve just always had very acne-prone skin so I’ve had to pay attention to what products and ingredients I was using and how their formulas worked for me. As a result, over the years I tried A SHIT TON of products. Many expensive, fancy, high end, etc. But now I have my skincare routine down to a much more manageable and quality ingredient list. Obviously everyone’s skin is different...but this is what I use on a regular basis these days:

Serums:

- Krave Beauty’s Great Barrier Relief Serum: Honestly, this is THE SHIT. My favorite moisturizing serum to really help balance your skins hydration barrier and stay hydrated. It’s thicker and almost feels like a moisturizer. It’s so great.  - The Ordinary’s Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% Drops: Niacinamide is an amazing ingredient for your skin and can help a tremendous amount with clearing the skin, resurfacing, fading scars, and more. This really does a good job helping with my acne, so i really recommend to anyone. And I am pretty sure it’s like $5 cause it’s from the ordinary.

Moisturizers:

- CeraVe Moisturizing Cream: It’s a very cheap drug store moisturizer that has good, clean ingredients. After using fancy moisturizers for years, I finally gave into my dermatologist’s recommended lotion. LOL. They do have a lotion that is lighter, but my skin tends to be dryer, especially in the winter so I use the cream not the lotion. It’s thicker. (For high end junkies--it’s like comparing Drunk Elephant’s LaLa Retro to their Protini cream). I also sometimes throw in drops of a marula oil into this cream if I am really dry. Make myself a little face smoothie. 

Eye/Lip Creams:

- Mario Badescu Ceramide Herbal Eye Cream: Now honestly, I still haven’t found my perfect eye cream yet...but I have used this one for a few years now. It moisturizes well and is cheap to buy. It’s probs not the most effective but at least I am moisturizing my eye area. One day I will take on more eye creams that target certain things, but that is one day when I have money to spend lmao. -Glossier Bubblewrap Lip/Eye Cream: This is a very unique moisturizing product that is meant for sensitive skin like your eye area and lips. It does say it plumps a bit, which I don’t ever feel a plumping effect, but I do love to use it on my lips. It’s so moisturizing and is kind of like using a primer before you apply chapstick or lipstick. 

Exfoliators:

- Glossier Solution: The OG chemical exfoliant I tried and loved. These types of products aren’t great for everyone, and may have to be used less or more depending on skin type, but as an acne-prone human, I love a chemical exfoliant. This works and lasts a long while.

- Krave Beauty’s Kale-Lalu_AHA: Another chemical exfoliant. I recently tried this one because I do believe Krave Beauty uses better ingredients than Glossier Skin typically does (no shade tho). They were close in price, so I made the switch and have enjoyed the results so far. The packaging is also beautiful.

- Dr. Brant Microdermabrasion Exfoliant: This is NOT a chemical peel, this has aluminum oxyde crystals in it to polish the skin like a normal exfoliant would. It also has a lot of ingredients that help renew and refresh the skin while exfoliating. Now this product is HELLA expensive...I only have it because I once bought it for way cheaper when I had a subscription box. I don’t know if I would spend the full $80 bucks on it, but your skin does feel smooth.

- Tatcha The Deep Polish: This is an enzyme powder that you mix with water and exfoliate fro there. It is from when I used to buy the highest end products in hopes it would help my skin. It is pricey, but again does leave your skin feeling soft. So I rotate it in from time to time.

Masks: 

- The Ordinary’s AHA 30% BHA 2% Peeling Solution: AKA THE BLOOD MASK. Now hugely popular on social media, the “blood mask” is a chemical mask that peels off dead skin and essentially works to eliminate the top layers of your skin and begin rejuvenating a fresher layer for softer, healthier, plumper skin. I do this once a week and it is way cheap. I can compare it to Drunk Elephant’s Sukari Babyfacial and it definitely beats that expensive version.

- Glow Recipe’s Avocado Melt Sleeping Mask: This is an overnight moisturizing mask that you simply wash off in the morning. It really helps lock in moisture and feels nice on the skin. I use this when I am feeling really dry. 

- Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay Mask: This one you have to mix the dry clay mixture with water and apple cider vinegar to create a goo that you can then let dry on your face. It may be intense for some, but I find it really helps dry out my acne spots and reduce redness in my skin. It’s always a fun one to do with other people too because you do have to prepare it. Good sleepover activity. 

- GlamGlow Bubble Sheet Mask:  This one is honestly more so used for when I am traveling and want to keep a mask on hand or when I am having a fun girls night or something. It’s a bubble mask--so to me that just means fun. I typically avoid sheet masks (unless I am traveling) because I think you end up throwing a way a lot of product you are paying for. But this one is fun, it’s cute, it’s different. I don’t notice a huge change in my skin tbh, but it is a fun activity for girls night. 

Honorable Mention/Random Products:

- Youth to the People’s Kale and Green Tea Superfood Cleanser: I stayed away from this one for a long time because it’s expensive and I could rationalize buying such an expensive cleanser, but I got a gift card to Sephora and finally decided to try it. And ya know what?? I guess I am fancy now because I really love it. It does not overly strip your skin at all, and for the first time in my life I really know what that means. It’s so great, it smells so good. Ugh. Can’t get enough of this bougie bitch of a face wash.

- The Inkey List Retinol Cream: A recent purchase, but I have enjoyed seeing the results. Everyone imo should be using an eye cream and a retinol. This is a nice introduction to retinol, so I recommend to those looking for one.

- Glossier Mint Balm Dot Com Chapstick: THIS AGAIN--IS THE SHIT. Many will say they would never spend more than two bucks but one tube of their’s is seven bucks and it is WORTH IT. I buy the three pack once a year and i’m good. This is the best chapstick you will literally ever use. Fucking buy it. If I could tell you only three products that are a must from this list this would be one of them. (the other two would be great barrier relief and the kale cleanser)

- Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask: I like this lip mask, it’s not needed everynight, but I do like to use a lip exfoliant (made or buy one, whatever) and then use this to really retextures my lips. 

- Bag Balm: Now this is a very unusual product to recommend lmaooo. Originally, bag balm is used for chapped cow udders on farms--which is how I discovered it. Farmers eventually noticed that it helped your skin retain moisture and repair cracked skin in their hands. So now it is known as a good thick ass cream for hands and feet. Now this shit is again--used on cows originally, so the formula feels thick and greasy. I like putting it on at night and letting it soak in for a while as I lay on my phone. It really works--I swear to you. 

- Sagely CBD Cream: I use their relief and recovery crea which smells like lavender and has a cooling effect when applied to the skin (kinda like biofreeze or icyhot would). This is only a 50mg CBD lotion, but I do like it. 

- Mad Ritual CBD Muscle Recovery Balm: Now this is thick and definitely a balm, not a cream. It is much higher strength though, so I break it out when needed and a little goes a long way. This one is 200mg of CBD. 

- Mario Badescu Drying Lotion: This drying lotion is now so popular but has been a staple of mine for at least a decade now. You leave it on over night and it really does dry up and reduce zit size. Helps a lot. There must be a reason why super models are told to use this shit before a runway show. 

- Tatcha The Essence: Essences are a new and kind of weird thing, kinda like priming the skin to allow for better absorption of a product. Now this product I received as a Christmas gift one year, but I am pretty sure it’s like $100...breaking the bank as always, tatcha. Anyway, it does allow for better absorption of products and feels light and refreshing on the skin. One bottle has lasted me two years now. I don’t know if I would recommend it, but I do use it somewhat regularly and it does make you feel like a bougie bitch. 

AND THAT IS THE END. Sorry that was soooo long. But like I said, I do a write up once a year of my skincare products anyway. So there you guys have it!! If you have any questions at all about your skin or skincare routine , honestly hit me up. Over the years I have slowly has friends come to me. Once I collect all of the I will have all of the infinity stones lmao. 

[nancypullen]

We're Home

Actually, we've been home for a couple of days- I'm just exhausted. Not even sure why I'm tired, probably from wondering if the people on our flights were super spreaders. Honestly, the airports and flights were better than I expected. The airports looked like ghost towns, security screening took mere seconds, and flying into Baltimore our flight was about half full. Coming home our flights were packed and that made me nervous. We're vaccinated and we never took our masks off in the airports or onboard - I'm not sure what else we could have done. I'd never forgive myself if we carried this awful virus to our sweet, unvaccinated grandgirl. ANYWAY... Our trip was quick but productive. We covered a lot of ground and definitely know where we would and would not like to live. I took notes because I knew that it would all become a blur..."Which town was that blue house in?" We still love Chestertown. It offers an awful lot, especially for people staring retirement in the face. The only problem with Chestertown is that the housing inventory is limited. We saw an adorable house that had been flipped - top to bottom with gorgeous HGTV worthy finishes. But they saved money by not installing central air. As a woman of a certain age, there are some things I'm not willing to compromise on and good air conditioning is one of them. The closer we looked the more it seemed that money wasn't the only reason for leaving out the HVAC update, that perhaps the electrical wasn't upgraded on the (old) home and might not support a system. Farewell, beautiful kitchen. I love the way you look but I'm not willing to sweat inside my home.

We found several neighborhoods in Easton that we liked - quiet, wooded, lovely homes, and convenient to everything from healthcare to shopping. Easton also has a charming downtown. Loads of history, sweet parks, fun shops and restaurants. We explored a bit and sat outside Storm & Daughters ice cream shop and enjoyed a cone. There's a lot to like about Easton and it's definitely at the top of our list. Bonus, Talbot County property taxes are quite reasonable. Just down the road from Easton we toured Denton. It's a small but vibrant town. They boast a cute, historic downtown, and seemed to have an involved community. We found a couple of neighborhoods that we really liked, one even had lots for sale. The downside is that even though it's just a few miles to Easton and Talbot County, Denton is in Caroline County and the property taxes are much higher. Still okay, but high enough to make me pump the brakes. We're definitely not taking Denton off the list, but we'd probably opt for less house there. I'll be honest, my favorite house was in Denton. It ticked ALL of my boxes. Roomy, updated kitchen, pantry, walk-in closets, garage. The back yard was postage stamp sized, but we're not getting any younger so it's fine. The neighborhood was delightful and convenient to so much.

I checked on the property taxes for 2020...almost four thousand. Get outta' here. I know that we're really spoiled with low property taxes here in Wilson County, and we understand that we'll pay more in Maryland...but...ugh. Right now there are people in New Hampshire saying, "Four grand?? That's a steal! Buy it!" It's all perspective and something I'll have to work on. We traveled town to town, loving some of them and putting others in our rear view as fast as possible. Centreville? Loved it, but pricey. Ridgely? NOPE. Rock Hall? Charming, loved the Harbor Woods neighborhood, but they have one mom & pop grocery store and I didn't even see a clinic anywhere. It's 30 minutes to Chestertown, some of it through a wildlife refuge where my brain was screaming "SNAKES!". Adorable, but no. I think it will be Chestertown or Easton for us. Exploring the Eastern Shore was a fabulous history lesson and I'm eager to learn more. Back in the day they were big on their monarchs. There's Queen Anne, Princess Anne, Queenstown, Caroline County, and so on. In a pretty park in downtown Centreville there's a really lovely statue of Queen Anne. Some 271 years after Queen Anne of England signed the charter that created Queen Anne County on Maryland's Eastern Shore, a statue in her honor was unveiled by her namesake, the current Princess Anne. I'll bet that was a big day in Centreville. The statue shows the queen seated, holding the charter she's just signed and a little spaniel sleeps behind her chair. I thought I'd snapped a couple of pictures, but all I can find is this really bad video.

I was more in love with that tree than with the statue. Just across the street from that park was an Irish pub named O' Shucks. In my mind that was amusing, like saying darn it. More likely it has something to do with shucking oysters.

Beyond all the royalty and colonial settlements of the 1600 and 1700 hundreds, the Eastern Shore also has a rich history of Underground Railroad and abolitionist activity. Cambridge was the birthplace of Harriet Tubman and there's a museum and plenty of historic spots documenting her fearless work. Over in Easton they're proud of native son, Frederick Douglass. His story is fascinating, from slave to statesman. He was self-taught - a brilliant orator and writer, responsible for great social reformation, tireless in his pursuit of equality and fairness. He was a staunch supporter of women's suffrage, saying, "In this denial of the right to participate in government, not merely the degradation of woman and the perpetuation of a great injustice happens, but the maiming and repudiation of one-half of the moral and intellectual power of the government of the world." In other words, by not allowing women a vote our country was wasting half of its intellect. Here in Tennessee you'll find proudly displayed busts of KKK leaders in government buildings. Our parks are home to statues of the confederate generals who fought to keep slavery alive. Don't give me that B.S. about the Civil War being about state's rights. Ask yourself, a state's right to do what? Enslave people! It was economically beneficial for the south to enrich itself on the backs of slaves. Okay, I'm rambling- from property taxes to Civil War issues. None of which you probably care about. The very best part of the trip was, of course, quality time with the grandgirl. And oh, she is grand. We played princesses, we did a craft, we read books and made snacks. We squeezed a whole lot of fun and love into a short visit. She's smart, funny, curious, sweet, and beautiful. That's my 100% unbiased opinion. No matter which town we land in, it's closer to her and we'll get to enjoy all of the milestones that are so important. FaceTime is fine in a pinch, but nothing beats being there. Time for me to hush and get a couple of things done around here. There's laundry to fold and a dishwasher to unload. I'm currently sitting at my desk, gazing out at the gardens (the pumpkin plants were 3/4 dead when we came home and I'm not taking any heroic measures to save them) and loving what September is showing me so far. I love this month, the light hits differently and everything seems to calm down. After the busy, blazing summer months it's a welcome change. We still have some hot weather ahead, but there's a hint of change in the air.

Also, I'd like to add that IT'S JUST 53 DAYS UNTIL HALLOWEEN!!!

I'm getting happier by the day. Join me. Stay safe, stay well, and start stashing away some candy for the kids. XOXO, Nancy

[max--phillips]

I have a question but if u don't have the answer then u don't- Like you're not obligated to answer.

Okay so. I'm overweight. And i would like to lose a few pounds but I've never been good with like motivating myself to lose weight. The only time i did it was for my high school prom where i got the dress i wanted months later and it didn't fit and i lost idk how many pounds so i could fit in the dress and that was what motivated me to do it. (The dress fit me btw so i was fine)

I've been having fun with having a new style (of clothing) that's not like jeans and a marvel shirt and I've been toying around with colorful sweatpants/flowy pants that are not jeans, crop tops, dresses. But it's also HARD. to find cute cheap plus size clothing where i live. I swear there's like two stores at my nearest mall that sells cheap plus size clothing and not all of it it's my style.

I would like to lose weight to fit into better clothes but i feel like not even that is motivating enough for me to actually lose some pounds.

I was also starting to love myself how i am and i think that's what has stopped me a little. but i do KNOW that I'm overweight. And it doesn't help I'm 5'1" weighting on almost 220 pounds. So imagine that. Also I'm eating like crazy. Like i have eating anxiety or however it's called and sometimes i go to sleep late (for me) at like 10-11pm and what i snack on before going to sleep is either a piece of ham or cheese. Or both.

I don't believe i can afford a trainer or go to a gym. I had started to walk around my neighbourhood a few weeks ago but then i stopped and now I'm thinking of doing it again but like yeah. It's hard to motivate myself to lose some pounds.

Honestly, I might not be the best person on the planet to ask this just because I personally have no intention of losing weight on purpose myself? However, I will do my best :0!

First off, regarding the clothes thing: online shopping is your friend. Just make sure that whoever you’re shopping with has a good return/exchange policy. You might have decent luck with a subscription box; I’ve been using StitchFix for about a year now and I’m really impressed with them, though they can run a bit pricey.

Motivating yourself to do anything can be difficult, I get it. I have trouble motivating myself to do Many things in my day to day life. But here’s what I can suggest: technology is your friend, and if you can create new habits, do it. Set a reminder on your phone for the same time every day to take a walk. There are plenty of YouTube videos with workouts you can use, too, depending on what you want to do. But just get in the habit of setting aside some time every day to do that thing. That’ll do wonders for you.

Acceptance is good! And you can accept and love your body while still having goals to make yourself stronger, or make yourself a bit more active, or work on your resting heart rate. Maybe that’s a good way to look at it: stop thinking about what you want to do as losing weight, and start looking at it as wanting to help yourself be healthier. Weight doesn’t indicate health. It just doesn’t. In fact, muscle weighs more than fat tissue. Also BMI is a hoax. So, maybe instead of setting weight loss goals, you set goals like… being able to lift a certain amount of weight, being able to walk so many miles, being able to do a certain yoga pose.

As for the eating. I 1000% relate to this. I loooOoOve snacking. I love FOOD. Aaaand I’m known to stress bake. But, one thing I’ve learned is that it’s really about quality over quantity. Honestly, ham and/or cheese is a pretty good snack. You got protein in there! (Also, the whole thing about fat in food being bad for you is a myth. It’s fine. Protein and fat are your friends. It’s when you mix simple/processed carbohydrates with fat that gets you.) Personally, I eat a FUCKTON of pasta and I probably should stop. I don’t eat a lot of vegetables. But I’m sure if I like, cut down on the pasta and added a salad or something?? That would probably be better for me. So, switch up what you’re eating, maybe. I know it’s a lot cheaper to eat food that isn’t so great for you (look at me and my tuna helper dinner right now fjgjdbfjsbsj), but let me tell you what: frozen vegetables are cheap as fuck, and stir fry is Wicked Easy and super delicious. Veggies, protein, and some rice? Pretty good meal!

That’s really all I can think of right now, but if other folks wanna chime in that’d be cool :0! Ultimately don’t be too hard on yourself, you’re perfect as you are and i know you’ll figure it out one way or another 💖

[snail-care]

Snail 101: How to set up a snail enclosure

So, you're considering getting a pet snail? Great! Before you acquire your snail, you should prepare a home. Here are the basics:

TANK:

Reptile tanks are ideal for snails, they allow plenty of air in, while many are designed to hold humidity that reptiles need. These can be on the pricier side, but luckily snails don't really need huge amounts of space. The linked calculator below shows how much room you'll need for a certain amount of snails, as well as how many snails you can fit happily into a tank you may already have.

Fish tanks are also super great for snails. Betta fish starter kits, while awful for actual Betta fish are perfect for a few snails to live in quite happily. Goldfish starter tanks and such are perfect too. Make sure it has a secure lid!!! Snails can lift several times their own weight so a clip on lid or a heavy one is best. You may want to DIY a lid with mosquito mesh to let air in if the lid that came with the tank is solid glass.

Critter keepers are also good for snails, just don't get the teeny ones. Snails can move surprisingly long distances in just a day, and need room to wander and explore. Again, make sure the lid is very secure.

Please don't:

Use cardboard boxes. They don't hold humidity, they get soggy and snails can eat right through them and even get impacted (blocked digestive tracts) Wood is not great for the same reason.

Use tanks that are super tall. Snails are pretty good at holding on while climbing, but they do sometimes fall off. More on this in a bit though.

Use tanks that are too tiny. You will just have sad snails.

~~~~

So, you have your tank. What next?

To start, you'll want to get a suitable substrate. There are plenty of good options, as well as several you should avoid. Substrate is super important as it provides a place for snails to burrow, lay eggs, and a lot of snails also eat their substrate, likely to help them digest. Substrate also provides a soft place to land if they fall off of something.

Coco peat/coir. My absolute favourite snail substrate! Coir is made of the husks of coconuts, but is a lovely soft texture. It holds water really well, which is good for humidity, without getting bogged and swampy. Snails will happily crawl over, dig in and eat coir. It's eco friendly, takes a very long time to break down, can be reused and it's also really cheap. You can get coir in pretty much any nursery or hardware store, and it comes in these sweet dehydrated and compressed blocks so it's pretty much guaranteed to not come with any pests. The only bad thing I can think of is that once it's rehydrated and set up, pests quite like to live in it.

Peat. I'm not a fan of using peat in anything, not just snail terrariums. My main reason is that peat is taken from peat bogs, and is not renewable. The peat bogs are running out :( The good things about peat are that it holds moisture well, and is also easily reused. It tends to come dry in bags, so it's unlikely to have pests already there. Like coir, it can also harbour pests once it's set up. If you want to use peat, I'd recommend researching the company to see where they harvest it, as there are some peat farms out there that don't take from habitats. It can be a little expensive.

Loam. I've never used loam, so I can't attest to it, but from what I've read it seems good! It's often used for acid hating plants, as it has high ph which is good for snails (acidic substrate can damage their shells) Make sure if you use loam it has low sand content, as sand is b a d. I can't find the pricing of loam, but it's good points are that it drains well, but holds moisture, so it won't get swampy.

Potting soil. This can be a hard one, but if done right can be good. if you use potting soil, please please make sure it's organic, with no added fertilizers, and a high ph. As soil often comes moist, it will likely need to be baked to sterilize and kill any pests in it. It can also be pretty dirty to work with compared to other options.

Sphagnum moss. Sphagnum moss is rad, some people use it as a full substrate in its own, but I'd just add a layer on top of others. Holds moisture and is great for humidity, but isn't great for snails to burrow in. can be kind of pricey.

Substrates to avoid

Sand. Grains of sand can get stuck in snail's shells and really irritate them

Normal potting soil. Potting soil often comes with fertilizers and pesticides already in it, which is bad times.

Random dirt from outside. Dirt outside usually will have pesticides, chemicals from pollution, just all kinds of weird shit you don't want your snails on.

Make sure the substrate is damp before adding snails!

Decorations and Enrichment

Snails love exploring their home!! Decorations provide things to climb on, hiding spots and just visual aesthetics. In my tank, I have a flowerpot, a stick to climb on, plenty of leaf litter and a little ladybug ornament from the dollar store! This does not have to be expensive whatsoever! you can literally just get things from outside, but if you do, make sure you bake 'em in the oven for a bit to kill germs and pests. You can even put little plants in there if you want, just make sure they're not toxic and have no pesticides. Some ideas are fake plants, a plastic flowerpot, a kids plastic cup, various little ornaments from dollar stores, sticks and leaves, etc. Try to avoid large, pointy and hard objects like sharp rocks and such, to avoid shell damage.

Food and Water Bowls

I definitely recommend using bowls or plates for food. Food placed directly on the substrate will spoil and go mouldy quicker because of the moisture. The bowl I use is made for reptiles, and is designed to look like a natural rock but it's made from resin, which is a great material because it's very unlikely to damage their shells, but very strong and easy to clean. You can use the same bowls for water, I use the lid of a jar lol.

This seems complex, but I promise it's honestly the most complex part of keeping snails and it's a lot easier than you think. I hope it was helpful! I'm going to make another post on bioactive vivariums too!

[themessywitchs-blog]

Witchy Haul pt.2

Here’s a part 2 of things I have bought and have yet to use 🤦‍♀️ I know it’s so bad to do that and it feels like I’m hoarding things but I’m tryinggggg😭

So technically this is part 2,3&4 cuz I bought lots of things and forgot to post a haul. Also I had a package get lost in the mail that I’m super sad about because it had crystals. I just tell myself I didn’t need those crystals yet because it makes me sad to dwell on my loss 😭😭

That being said without further ado here’s the haullll.

Books

For starters boookkksss. I LOVE books!! So I got a shadow work prompts book and 2 coloring books! I was having a hard time doing shadow work so I bought a prompt book to ease my way into it. I would have liked it to be more deep but it’s ok for starting off, most of the prompts don’t resonate with me (which is ok) but they might for you so if you’re having trouble with shadow work I suggest this book. The 2 coloring book I got to unwind but still honor my deity and learn moreee.

Cards

At this point Is it a surprise that I got cardssss…… no, not it’s not. So honestly I got the first two decks for my birthday as a present from my aunt. I haven’t used them yet but they have been cleansed so I’m just waiting for a good timeee. The last deck I got from Etsy…..the energy radiating from them is incredible. They’re so beautiful I love themmm so much. They have gold detailing and are so thick but easy to hold and use. I’m thinking of buying the matching tarot deck but it’s pretty pricey so maybe I’ll save for them since it’s not a need but a want.

Miscellaneous

So 2 of these were gifts one isn’t pictured. The rose quartz trees was a gift I blessed it under the light of the pink moon but I still don’t know what to do with it. Right now it’s on display but I don’t know what it’s for…..it’s pretty tho❤️ I also got a box on incense hehe. I got the string because I was tired of constantly throwing away those plastic ribbons after drying flowers. So this string is paper and easily compostable. The mortar and pestle I got for a candle I’m work shopping it’s super cute and just the right size for my room.

Candles

I got soooo many candles. Starting front to back I got birthday candles to use for separation rituals and glamor spells. The green candle is for a money candle that I’m working on….. I’ll definitely post a “tutorial” on how I did it (tutorial in quotes cuz I’m definitely not qualified to be making tutorials but more of a “am I doing this correctly??” Type thing) The small pink tea lights for ritual baths. The 7 day white candle is a candle I made with my protection Sigil and blessed under the light of a full moon. The pink one was also blesses under the light of the pink moon. I originally bought it to use a a deity candle but more and more I’ve been called to make a deity candle so I’m thinking of doing that instead and using this candle or it’s intended purpose of family happiness.

Dishes

I bought most of these to use a offering trays. The bigger black one I got to use a cauldron it’s ceramic so I can’t do spell in it but it’s prefect for buying Sigils (also I live in an apartment so it’s not the best idea for me to be burning things anyways) the rose tray is currently being used as decor but I got it for the money candle hahah if I ever get to it 🙂

Crystals

I saved the most exciting for lasttt. I reordered some crystals and actually got them this time😭😭 this is a mixed bag I got so I don’t know the names of the crystals😭 they’re cute thooo….. the crystals on the black box are from a different trip I still don’t know the names thoook😭😭

These are the crystals that came with names and info on the crystals which I thought was supper cooool!!!

The end!

In very me fashion I forgot to take a picture of all the things in the same frame🤦‍♀️ so I guess a gif will do for now😭 anyways I hoped y’all liked it and hopefully I will actually use all these things😭😭😭

[skinsharpenedteeth]

just a little piece...

AN: This is just a little bit of a Malex WIP. It’s actually a piece of about Kyle and Alex’s friendship which makes me smile a lot. Because honestly... Kyle and Alex in my mind are the kind of friends that are uncomfortably, intimidatingly close. And Kyle is the kind of guy who always goes OVERBOARD. So yeah. I thought it was cute and wanted to share it. 

The next morning, Alex groaned loudly into his pillow as he came abruptly into consciousness. He’d forgotten to close the curtains in his hotel room and the sun was glaring in on him as if seeking vengeance. It took him a moment to remember that he wasn’t in some other dessert half a world away and that the pounding he heard was not the distant sound of bombs dropping, but of someone knocking on his door….loudly. Way too loudly for… Alex squinted at the clock on the bedside table, 8 a.m.  

              “Coming!” Alex called, voice a little hoarse from sleep. The knocking stopped and he groped around for his crutch before hopping over to the door. He left the security chain on as he opened it and peaked outside.

              “Delivery for Mr. Alex Manes?” a short, Hispanic woman said from the hallway. Alex shifted his eyes down to look at the package she held in her hand. She was wearing the hotel’s uniform, but the package was definitely not from the hotel gift shop.

              “Yeah, okay…” he said gruffly, closing the door to unlatch the chain and then reopening it. The woman, ‘Martha’ her name tag read, thrust the object in question at him as if it were on fire. He looked down at it and realized why about the same time that she turned on her heel and all but fled down the hallway to the elevator.

              “Uh… thank you!” he called, closing the door with his foot and backing into his room. He set the… thing on the bed and went to call room service for coffee. He had a feeling he was going to need to be more awake to deal… that.

              As he waited for his coffee and fruit bowl to arrive, Alex found his eyes continually traveling back to the desk. He tried watching TV, playing on his phone, and even going out onto the balcony attached to his room, but the thing on the desk was always at the back of his mind. Sighing, he hopped into the bathroom and started up a shower. It always took room service twice as long as he felt like it should have to deliver even the simplest orders, so he was probably safe to take a quick shower and wake himself up. He grabbed a clean pair of briefs and some sweatpants before closing the bathroom door firmly and starting up the water to warm.

              He figured he knew who the gift was from, but he didn’t want to presume until he’d actually looked at the card. Scrubbing his hands over his face in frustration, he turned and hopped into the shower and sat on the stool inside. He washed himself slowly and thoroughly, trying to draw out the moment when he’d have to deal with reality of his surprise gift. Halfway through washing his hair he heard the door to his hotel room open and an indistinct voice call out “Room Service!” followed by a squeak and giggles. Gritting his teeth, he stuck his head past the shower curtain and called out a thanks. He listened for the thud of the door shutting before he continued washing out the conditioner. If he was lucky, maybe the attendant stole the damn thing and he wouldn’t have to open it.

              A ping from his phone was a welcome relief once he was out of the shower.

<Kyle> Did you get your gift? > I did. I haven’t really looked at it yet. What the fuck did you get me???? <Kyle> Text me when you’ve looked at it! And also, tell me how your date went last night? Am I too late? > Too late for what? <Kyle> Go look at your fucking gift, Manes! > Ugh. Fine.

              Alex slipped on his clothes and prosthetic before re-entering the main living area of his room. He spotted the coffee and fruit set on the desk right next to his present… from Kyle, apparently. Sighing, he stepped closer to the desk and finally gave it a good once over.

              “Where in the fuck did you find a penis shaped gift basket?!” Alex asked as he took in the shape of his present. Groaning, he closed his eyes briefly and felt a headache coming on. Kyle never did anything halfway. He was thoroughly dreading what he would find once he undid the bow and let the acetate fall away to reveal the contents. With shaking hands, he reached out and pulled at the strings of the red and pink heart covered bow. He parted the thin, crinkly grey plastic and swore under his breath, face heating up from instantaneous embarrassment.

              The box was filled to the brim with sex paraphernalia. Alex tried to suppress his horror as he slowly took out all the items. There were three different boxes of condoms, a bottle of lube with a pump handle, as well as a bag of pocket sized packets of lube, a reusable douche kit, a sex candle, a box of dental dams, a tub of something called Boy Butter, a packet of sanitary wipes called Crusty Cock Wipes, a REALLY NICE abalone cuff style cock ring, 2 or 3 silicone cock rings,  a silver butt plug with a touch-sensitive multi-color light-up flared base, some silk scarves, a tube of Nu vitamin tablets, and a bag of penis shaped THC gummies. By the end of the reveal, Alex’s face was so hot from embarrassment he wasn’t sure how the fire detector hadn’t signalled. And his coffee was stone cold.

>First and foremost, What. The. Everloving. Fuck?! >Secondly, OMG. WTF!!! <Kyle>Text leaves something to be desired. I can’t tell if you’re excited, chagrined, or furious. I’m going to call you.

              Alex glanced over his desk now absolutely covered in sex-related products and let his face fall into his hands, whining piteously. His phone started chirping that a video call was coming in from Kyle. He glared at his friend’s photo and pressed the ‘Accept’ button aggressively. Kyle face popped up smiling and excited.

              “What the fuck, Kyle?!” Alex half-yelled, gesturing towards the desktop. Kyle’s smile fell a little, but Alex could tell he was rallying to defend his gift.

              “I thought you might need some stuff! You didn’t bring a lot with you for your trip and I know you weren’t getting a lot of hot dong while in the military. That gift basket is like… amazing and I’m kind of hurt you aren’t appreciating it properly. Plus, I think it catches me up on like every birthday and Christmas I’ve ever missed because some of that shit was pricey. I almost kept that cuff cock ring for myself.”

              Alex looked at his friend incredulously. Kyle looked completely unrepentant and like he did not see where anything he’d done was crossing a line.

              “I think maybe med school has desensitized you too much. Or maybe we’re too good of friends. I have no clue which, but you bought me a BUTT PLUG? That’s a pretty personal purchase to get from someone who is not ever going to be intimate with my actual ASSHOLE,” Alex may have screeched the last word. It felt like a screech. Kyle’s cackling told him it was a screech.

              “I’m just being supportive. You don’t have to USE all that stuff. At least not in one night. I mean, that’s a lot of lube and condoms to go through. At our age, it’s a little ambitious to think you’d even finish off a full box…” Kyle trailed off and started laughing again. Alex’s face must’ve been doing something hilarious, but all he could feel was embarrassment and affection for his friend’s misguided attempts to make up for a couple shitty years of high school where he’d been a jackass homophobe.

              “Kyle… you could’ve just gone to a Pride parade with me someday. You didn’t have to… buy me weed gummies shapes like penises… or Boy Butter?” Alex picked up the tub and examined it. It was designed to look like a tub of margarine and proudly proclaimed to be water-based.

              “I have it on good authority that stuff is amazing for any sort of prolonged anal play. Good thick texture, doesn’t dry up quickly…”

              “Kyle, no! No, Kyle! I just… You just… YOU BOUGHT ME A DOUCHING KIT!!” Alex cried piteously, thumping his head onto the desk and moaning in despair. His best friend was the worst.

              “You’re being dramatic, Alex. Honestly, as the Smashing Pumpkins would say, Cleanliness is Godliness and God is empty… like your bowels will be if you use the kit,” Alex opened his mouth to protest, but Kyle cut him off quickly, “Also, everyone involved in the results will praise heaven when the time comes. Jeez, I mean, a guy tries to help a bro out in the twenty-first century and this is the kind of thanks he gets,” Kyle complained, starting to look a little hurt at Alex’s response to his gifts.

              “Kyle…. I think we may be too comfortable with each other. I’m not saying that as a bad thing, but you know this is not a normal gift for like… anybody, right?”  Alex asked, softening his tone and trying to inject some humor into it. “I mean, I’m appreciative and all… I definitely WON’T be telling you if and when I use any of this stuff… but like….”

              Alex was at a loss. It was a really nice gift and he was kind of being a dick about it. Sighing, he smiled and covered his eyes for a moment. Resting his chin on his upturned palm, he finally gave in.

              “Thank you for the gift, Kyle. Let me know next time you get in a serious relationship so I can repay the favor. And never… and I mean, NEVER…. Buy me underwear,” Alex finished, trying to look serious though he was smiling. Kyle smiled back and laughed some more.

              “I apparently didn’t do well enough picking your outfit for last night or you’d be begging to let me buy you underwear next. I take it the evening did not end up with any naked shenanigans?”

              Alex smiled and thought back to the previous night.

[the-bridge-burners]

Perfect Gift

“Merry Christmas!” Spinel said, jumping up from the couch as Steven stepped into the living room.

“It’s only December 1st,” Steven replied with a chuckle.

“Yes, but that means its finally Christmas season!” She smiled wide, lifting her arms up into the air.

Steven couldn’t help but smile back, as always, her energy was infectious. “Yeah, I suppose it is. But uh… where are the other gems?” Spinel was the only one home as far as he could tell, though he’d just woken up so he could be missing someone.

“Amethyst went to get donuts and Pearl went to the barn to talk to Peridot about some invention they’re working on together. Garnet went with her. And you missed out on all this because you were sleeping.”

“Uh…” Steven glanced at the clock. It was less than an hour away from noon. “Whoops, I didn’t mean to sleep in that long. But um… anyway, speaking of Christmas I… haven’t finished my Christmas shopping yet.”

“Really? But I thought you went a couple weeks ago.”

“I did most of it. I got you and the other gems stuff and Dad and even Lion something but… I don’t know what to get for Connie.” And he’d been putting it off because he was nervous about it but time was closing in, he needed to get something for her soon.

“Why don’t you ask her?”

“That would ruin the surprise. And no, you can’t ask her either because she’ll know you’ll tell me and then the surprise is still ruined. And it has to be a good present so I can’t just get her any old thing.” After everything they’d been through together this year – most of it gem stuff and therefore something she’d been dragged into because she was his friend, by choice yes, but still – he owed her a good present.

“You… really like her, don’t you?” Spinel sounded almost a little sad? She was giving him that same look she always gave him every time he grew up a little more. The one that said she was afraid of him outgrowing his need for her despite his promise that that would never happen. Which was a tad worrying because why would she feel like that now?

“She’s my friend so of course I like her,” was what Steven said though. Confronting her directly about it would only lead her deflecting.

Spinel’s full smile returned. How real was it though? “Yes, and I’m sure you’re going to get her a great gift. Don’t stress about it.”

“Yeah, okay.” Steven nodded; optimism was good. “After I grab some breakfast or uh… I guess lunch, you want to head to the mall with me and help me find something for her?” He’d been planning to go alone but having someone else there to help keep an eye out for good gifts was probably a good idea. And it’d give him someone to talk to and bounce ideas off of.

“Sounds like a plan. I have nothing else to do today anyway.”

 -

Beach City wasn’t large but there were still enough people in it to crowd its little shopping mall. It wasn’t nearly as bad it would be come closer to Christmas time but it was still far more crowded than it was at any other time of year.

“She likes books,” Spinel said as they passed by a bookstore.

“Yeah but… I don’t know what book to get her. The next book in her favourite series doesn’t come out until next year. And of all the other series I know she likes, she already has all of them. And she told me that her parents always get her books every year. What if I accidentally get her one of the same books her parents are getting her?” Steven couldn’t think of a worst gift if that happened to be the case. It was a bit unlikely though – but still very possible especially since this bookstore was the biggest one in the city, meaning it was probably where Connie’s parents would be doing their book shopping – so… “But I guess if we can’t find anything better we can come back and get her a book.” It’d be better than nothing.

They passed by a few other stores with potential. A game store; Steven considered getting her a video game before remembering she didn’t have a console of her own, they always played on his. A store that supposedly sold swords among other various interesting items; Spinel pointed it out as a possibility before next pointing out that Connie already had a sword and it was it better than anything you could get in a store. Steven almost stepped into a fashionable clothing store before remembering he didn’t know the first thing about fashion and Connie wasn’t into it either. There was the pet store too but a) adopting was far better and b) getting someone a pet as a surprise gift was irresponsible. Which left them with not many options.

Steven sighed as they finished the loop of the mall. Just like back when he’d gone shopping for everyone else when it came to Connie he was pulling a blank. There had to be something he could get her that was special and that she would like but… what?

“Maybe… a stuffed animal?” Spinel suggested.

Steven turned his head to look at her. “You think she’d like one?”

“I don’t know.” Spinel shrugged. “But I do know that giant stuff animals are things people get for people that they really care about. I remember that on the first Christmas Greg and Rose were dating, he got a her a huge pink teddy bear. It was almost as big as him.” She sighed, her shoulders deflating as she looked off into space. “She loved it. I don’t know what she did with it though, probably put it somewhere special so she’d never lose it.”

Steven patted her on the shoulder. With how happy she normally was, seeing her sad was always jarring and felt wrong. “That actually sounds like a good idea.”

 -

Finding the right giant stuffed animal took a bit of work but when they found it, Steven knew the moment he lay eyes on it. It was so perfect it could’ve been made for her. It was a bit pricey even with the discount the toy shop owner gave him for ‘saving the city’ but it was worth it.

When they returned home, the other gems were back. But other than a quick ‘hello’, Steven and Spinel paid them no mind as they rushed up the stairs to wrap Connie’s gift. They didn’t have a box big enough for it so they had to wrap it as it was. Spinel’s stretchy arms came in handy when it came to manhandling the paper into place over the awkward shape. They put three layers over it to make sure the wrapping paper wouldn’t rip or tear on accident.

“I’m so proud of you,” Spinel said once they were done.

“Uh… thanks but why?”

“You’re growing up and it’s…” she put her hands on his shoulders, “… kinda scary. But that’s okay, I’m still happy for you. And I know things are gonna work out with Connie, you guys great together, basically made for each other. It’s great being able to see you guys grow together.”

Steven’s face was burning by the time she finished speaking. “Thanks, but me and Connie are just friends, we’re not… you know.”

Spinel raised her eyebrows. “If you say so,” she said in a tone that implied she didn’t believe him.

Steven quickly retreated before it could get any more embarrassing.

 -

“It’s huge,” Connie said as Steven carried his present down the stairs.

“Yup,” Steven said as he put it at her feet, in front of the couch. It was just the two of them in the living room. Connie’s mother had made it very clear she wanted Connie with her and the rest of the family all day Christmas Day and Christmas Eve night which meant this gift exchange was happening midday Christmas Eve instead. All the Gems had cleared out to give them some privacy. Which was fine with Steven because Spinel’s suggestive comments about how he felt about Connie were maybe not too far off from the truth. “You want to go first, or shall I?”

“Uh…” Connie looked down at the present she’d brought in standard sized gift box and then back up at him. “You first,” she said holding it towards him. “Because it’s smaller.”

Whatever was in the box was light weight. He gave it a small shake, holding it up to his ear. But there was nothing to hear nor was there anything to feel. So, with nothing else to do, he ripped off the wrapping paper and opened the box.

Laughter bubbled up in and out of him as he pulled out the pink lion plush inside. It was honestly perfect, too perfect in fact.

“What’s funny?” Connie asked. “Do you like it? I couldn’t think of what to get you and then… I saw that and it looks a lot like Lion so I got it.”

“I love it,” Steven said truthfully as he hugged it to his chest.” But open your gift, you’ll see why I laughed.”

Connie gave him a speculative look before pulling his gift up onto her lap. It took her a couple seconds to get through the wrapping paper but when she did, she laughed too.

It was the same gift: a pink lion that looked just like Lion. The only difference was the size. The one Steven had gotten her was much bigger, nearing Lion’s actual size.

“I didn’t know they had bigger ones,” Connie said. “I totally would’ve gotten you one this big if I’d known they had them.”

“This was only big one there I saw.” Steven had seen a few smaller ones too but with the giant option available, he’d had to go with it. Meaning since they’d probably gone to the same store, Steven had gotten there first. So he wasn’t the last person to finish their Christmas shopping among everyone he knew like he’d thought he’d been.

“It’s perfect though,” Connie said as she hugged the stuffed lion’s head to her chest. “I’m going to name him Lion 2.0.”

“I’ll name mine Mini-Lion. We’ll have to show them to him, see if he responds.”

“If he does care he’s either gonna love them or hate them, my money’s on the former.”

“Eh, I don’t know, he can get pretty grumpy about things sometimes. But last I checked he was sleeping so we gotta wait on that. For now, you want to play some video games until your mom calls?” Steven had considered possibly talking to her about his feelings but… he wasn’t ready for that yet. Maybe he would be soon but not right now.

“Sure! Dibs on being player one.”

[letsreviewthatbox]

Splendies review

So I’ve had Splendies for about a year now and they’ve been... Okay, not that it’s a bad monthly box but they’ve had their ups and downs for me. That’s honestly why I got Knotty Knickers, just to kind of compare the two and see which is better! We’ll find out! :) So Splendies is a monthly underwear sub box where you can get 3 pairs of panties every month. :)  They offer sizes fom S to 4XL but please note if you’re a curve girl the price does go up sadly, which I’m not a huge fan of even if it doesn't effect me. they have two kinds of boxes which are “splendies” for sizes S - XL for $14.99 a month, they went up I believe a few months ago from $13.99. I haven’t really noticed any change in the box itself for the new price though. And “volupties” for $16.99 a month with free shipping. so a bit more on the pricey side. They offer three packs which are: Never thongs, only thongs, and a mix (both thongs and full coverage panties.) Please note since I don’t like thongs and find them uncomfortable I will only be reviewing the “never thongs pack”. :) For these guys I had to size up to a large since they’re sizing tends to be a bit off, so a heads up if you’re thinking of getting this pack! :) So here’s a first pair form this box:

Pretty cute pair, I like the pattern and the style of them! :) though I do wish they lined up a little better and they feel kind of cheaply made, also had a few strings hanging around the crotch. this pair is made of 92% Polyester and 8% spandex so not made of the best stuff sadly. they’re tag also says they retail for $12.00 though I honestly wouldn’t pay that much for these, I’d pay maybe $3 for these. Over all these get a C- On to the 2nd pair:

I really like this pair! They’re a very pretty color and I love the little see-through hip part, a little sexy but still good for simple everyday stuff! This pair feels a lot less cheap and better made, they do have some strings hanging off however that need to be snipped.This pair is made from 86% Nylon and 14% spandex, once again they’re tag says they retail for $12.00 I still think that’s a bit of a mark up for these but that might just be me, I think I’d pay about $8 for these. Very cute pair though and they get an A :) Now onto the last pair from this pack:

Oh, these are cute! Simple but sexy, I like the dark blue color- ... Wait. Are these a thong?

Yep. That’s a thong in my “never thongs” pack... Hhhhh, not ganna lie this is a bit annoying since I do really like this pair and it’s not the first time this mistake had happened in one of my packs. :( I’ll write them about the mistake and update you when I hear back! But sides that this is a very cute pair of panties! I love the look of them and the color, the fool of them is nice but nothing amazing, I wish they were a little more silky feeling but other then that very nice, no lose strings on them or anything. :) this pair is is made from 84% Nylon and 16% spandex and again on they’re little tag they say they retail for $12.00, still feel this is a bit pricey for what they’re made of but I don’t buy thongs so they could be priced a little differently. XD And that’s it for this month’s Splendies pack! What did you think? Let me know! :)

[cutiecrates]

Cutie Reviews: Kawaii Box Nov 18

So far nothing from Blippo, but it’s only been like... 3-4 days since I got the email from them, I assumed if anything it’d at least be a week, maybe two at the most. But again no tracking so I can’t be positive.

I can’t wait!

This months Japanese word: Shichimencho - Turkey

Gudetama Chocolate Bar

If you’ve been a reader of this blog then you might recognize the candy bar image on the wrapper. That’s right. It’s this again. I swear every few boxes we’re getting one. 

But for anyone new or who are unfamiliar with this, this candy bar has a textured outside, sorta giving it a log design. On the inside is wafer, usually with a very thin layer of cream. They either come in chocolate or white chocolate, and features tons of various wrapper options; I usually just see Sanrio, but I’ve also seen Disney ones and on the Blippo website they have a Detective Conan one right now for $1.90.

Rating: ♥ ♥

It tastes pretty good, and that’s coming from someone who isn’t the strongest fan of white chocolate. I prefer dark or strawberry, but regular chocolate is always good too.

It makes me think of an imitation kit-kat bar, which isn’t bad at all. But I really wish they would give us something else.  

Sakura Desk Calendar

Our next item is a very useful one for writing down appointments and keeping schedule of important dates- next to a planner that is. This is a cute little fold-able, standing calendar featuring a water color sakura theme.

And kitties of course.

It also features a side for writing down important notes or events/appointments. Available on the blippo website or $3.90.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I really love the colors and designs, they’re so gentle and pretty to look at~ Calendars are useful and all- but in all honesty I can’t even put mine on the calendar. Not only because Peach (my cat) would knock it down, but because I can’t get these ones with the folding bottom to sit. At all. I don’t know why, but they don’t work for me.

But on the plus side it’s small enough that I could keep it next to my bed in my stand, or I could put it in my bigger purses.

Sanrio Characters Sakura Plushie

A super cute Sanrio buddy to match our adorable new calendar. Each has a pretty pink pastel color scheme and cute little sakura on them. This line features My Melody, PompomPurin, Hello Kitty, and Cinnamoroll, and each one costs $4.90. These types of plush are similar to Tsum-Tsum, which means they can be stacked. Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ No, it doesn’t go with Thanksgiving like at all, but it’s so cute! I love the detail of the little flowers, which are very pretty to look at. The plush quality is also really nice, and she’s very soft~ 

Sushi Pen

Okay, still not thanksgiving- but at least this item is a food, which counts for something right?

Each pen costs $3.90, and there are 6 variations; salmon, egg sushi, riceball, rice in leaf, fried shrimp, and shrimp on rice. The topper is a rubbery plastic.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

The pen is fine-tipped and it works very well. But the ink takes a while to dry so it isn’t a good option unless you plan to leave your book or paper out to avoid smears. I also discovered that the topper doesn’t stay on like you think it would. When you put the cap on the “pen butt“ it falls off semi-easily. 

Thankful Memo-It Notes & Molang Eraser

Our next item are these cute Memo notes themed after 3 different girls, and oddly a polar bear. Each set is $1.80, and they have 30 notes in total.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I think it’s a cute idea, you never really see memo notes like this here. I like how you can write on her top, and if you’re really bored you could “design“ her a new one.

What bugs me is that it feels like lately they’re always giving us memo notes, and I have them practically coming out of my ears now; but at least I have a variety to suit the mood or theme.

Going with the stationery theme, our following item is a set of adorable Molang erasers. The set costs $1.90 on Blippo.com- and to get it out the way now, no they aren’t scented. They stink like eraser. 

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

The quality is pretty much like any other eraser, pretty good. They look so cute together, I can’t bare the idea of actually using them though~

Pastel Animals Coin Purse

Next up is this cute pleather (imitation leather) coin purse that features an adorable animal on a soft pastel background. Each costs $2.90, and besides this sheep, there is also a pink bunny, a light blue squirrel (which oddly says “forest” despite being surrounded by cactus), and a mint one with dancing kitties.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

For a coin purse this is perfect. It has a nice clasp to keep it shut, and the inside is really soft, but I feel like it could collect dirt easily. As much as I don’t like yellow, I still think it’s pretty cute. It’s small enough to sit in a variety of locations and not get in the way.

I will note that there is an issue with the fabric, as you might be able to see in the pic; it’s like the material is deformed. I didn’t use this yet and it hasn’t been out of packaging or the box since I took the picture. I’m not really sure what caused it, and nothing seems to fix it. 

San-X Corocoro Coronya Stickers & Kawaii Neko Letter Set

For $2.50, this is a sheet of Corocoro Coronya stickers featuring Coronya and his friends, and pretty gold line details. The sheet includes 70 stickers in total, and their smaller size makes them puurfect for dressing up plain items~

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

They’re so cute~ These would be perfect for resin projects if I was still doing them. When stickers include gold or glittery detail, I sometimes worry the sheet will end up being a mess (like the jinbeisan stickers I got a while back...). But this one is great! There are a few gold lined spots that are messy, but I would still give it an 8 or 9 out of 10.

Next is this cat letter set from the brand TreeinArt, a stationery and gift shop. There are 3 envelopes and 6 pages. I couldn’t find the exact one on Blippo.com, but I did see a unicorn set that looks like it for $2.90, so I’m going to assume that was what this one is too.

Both the paper and envelopes have a kitty design.

Rating: ♥ ♥

It’s very simple, but kind of cute still. But I kind of wish there was more to it than this this. Like I think it would have been cute if they had included a pencil and eraser (or an eraser on a pencil), or maybe a little sticker sheet to decorate it a bit more. I don’t know, to me it feels like it needs something...

Marumofubiyori Plush Pouch and Coin Purse

Our final item is this adorable Marumofubiyori pouch/coin purse. Available for $5.90, there are 4 different poses available, each one cuter than the last~

The inside of the pouch has a very soft mesh-like cloth in it, so it feels really nice to touch. The tag also includes little details on Marumofubiyori and his friends.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

With how many Marumobubiyori items that have been popping up lately in these boxes, I’ve quickly become a fan x3 they’re so precious. The quality on the pouch/purse is well done, although they used a slightly transparent white fabric (you can see the spots of his blanket through him). The applied blush is also an adorable touch~

♥ Cutie Ranking ♥

Content - ♥ ♥ ♥ Honestly I wasn’t feeling this box too much. I like a couple of the items, but it’s overall stationery theme was kind of bugging me. I love getting new pens and erasers, but did we really need all of the stationery basics in a single box? 

Price -  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥  Some of the items I was a bit surprised over how pricey they were. But I’ve seen worse so it’s not too bad, and in total this box costed $32.50- and remember, the box itself only costs 17-19 dollars. So yeah, I’d say they were spoiling us with this one.

Theme - ♥ Nothing actually fit thanksgiving, like at all. A couple of items had Thanksgiving descriptions in them- but I felt like it was forced, and I’m sure there are ways they could have achieved something that felt like the holiday besides the cover art. 

Total Rank: 4 out of 10 Cuties. This box felt completely underwhelming to me. It wasn’t bad and I’m probably being too critical, but compared to this one I felt like last months box was way better. I don’t have a problem with stationery, but I know for a fact they do have some food items that would have been perfect for a Thanksgiving box.

♥ Cutie Scale ♥

1. Sanrio Sakura Plush - I love love love love pink, and I love love love flowers! This is a perfect item for me ♥

2. Pastel Animals Coin Purse - As much as I dislike yellow I ended up really liking this purse a lot more than I thought I would. I really like pastels though so I think that plays a part in it. The sheep on mne is also just really cute.

3. Coronya Stickers - Looking at these just makes me want to sink my teeth into some delicious coronet~

4. Marumofubiyori Pouch - I kind of wish I got it in one of the other poses, but this one is still really kawaii~ I also like how soft the pouch is. I definitely want to start using this one.

5. Sushi Ink Pen - I really wish I would have gotten the rice ball one, but it’s still pretty cute. I love sushi, so sushi-themed items are automatically awesome in my books. Although looking at it too long is liable to make me hungry~

6. Memo Notes - The little girl design is pretty cute. 

7. Molang Erasers - As cute as they are, the poses are generic. Plus I was an avid eraser collector as a child, I know I can’t use these. I’d hate to ruin them.

8. Sakura Calendar - I love how pretty it looks, but the folding flap on the bottom is kind of annoying. I don’t understand why they don’t work for me >3<

9. Gudetama Chocolate Bar -  The package is pretty cute, but I’m tired of these.

10. Neko Letter Set - The images are cute but I really don’t see myself using it anytime soon.

[the-luminary-of-stars]

Kirumi  came out with a medium sized silver platter, with a singular slice of chocolate cake on it, as well as a vanilla milkshake to go with. The mirror glaze was clearly made with vibrant colors and white dots and sprinkles that made it look like outer space. As the maid, it was up to her to remember everyone’s birthday, and the time has come for Kaito’s. She added a personal touch so that Kaito felt special on his day: she had always been careful to take the interests of her Master into mind in the past.

“Sir Momota, I’m sorry for the wait. Here is your dessert. I hope you have a wonderful birthday.” She bowed in servitude toward the Ultimate Astronaut, leaving him with a heavy box, neatly wrapped in navy blue wrapping paper. Inside, was a decorative sword that looked real, but couldn’t cut anything with its dullness. It looked pricey just by looking at it– Kirumi must have paid a pretty penny for something like this. Eavesdropping his conversations with Shuichi had paid off.

Honestly, despite it being his birthday he had little time to celebrate it this year which while a shame he was still content enough. It was the International Space Day and he got to celebrate that instead, even if it wasn’t anything near what he was used to. So when he had gotten back to the academy in the afternoon it was refreshing that some of his classmates, and almost all sidekicks, had remembered it.

Including those who remembered it was, of course, Kirumi, who had honestly set the bar a bit higher than expected. The cake was the first thing that caught his eyes and with how pleasing it looked he almost didn’t want to eat it as it was such a good reminder of his passion and his future.

“Thank you Kirumi…and you don’t need to tell me that twice, I could never be disappointed this day of the year!” Today held a special place in his heart, not because of the birthday but rather because of his passion. Even if it was likely outside his control he wants it to be this day of the year that he gets into space. He couldn’t help but be curious about the gift, similarly to the cake he didn’t want to ruin how nice it looked. But he was able to easier move past it if mostly for the curiosity of what it could be.

He was honestly a bit surprised when he finally got it open, a sword. Not an ugly by any means of the word, but usually weapons were not a common gift. Inspecting it closer he at least could figure out it wasn’t really dangerous. It was kind of impressive-looking and he could only guess it wasn’t cheap. Even if he couldn’t use it in any capacity it’d probably fit well on the wall in his dorm, or maybe at his grandparents if he wasn’t allowed to keep it there. He’d have to be careful with it, but that’d be no problem for the Luminary of the Stars. 

[allspark]

Cheers, love! The time manipulating speedster frontwoman of Blizzard Entertainment’s Overwatch has arrived in the first wave of Hasbro’s new six inch line of action figures, and now she’s blinking into the Allspark Studio!

Overwatch Ultimates Tracer

To tell you the truth, I couldn’t tell you the last time I played Overwatch. While I was really big into the game when it launched, I think I can comfortably say my time with it is over. However, I think it speaks volumes about Blizzard Entertainment’s skill with crafting fun, enjoyable characters that I still found myself extremely intrigued by the proposition of Hasbro starting a new line of six inch action figures based off of the game. Though Max Factory over in Japan has already put out a handful of similarly scaled Overwatch action figures as part of their Figma line, the pricey nature of those figures for a game I’m no longer super passionate about gave me pause.

  While my tastes in non-converting action figures do typically skew more towards the Figmas and Figuarts of the world, I was still very much interested in seeing what Hasbro could do with the license. Despite my reservations based on past experiences with Marvel Legends and Star Wars Black Series, I’m very happy to report Tracer has been an extremely pleasant surprise for me!

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To give a small peak behind the curtain, I didn’t know I’d be writing a review of this figure when I purchased it. What this unfortunately means is that I didn’t know to save the packaging for photography. While I can’t illustrate this for you, I will assure you that the Overwatch Ultimates line has extremely striking packaging! A clean, white box with a matte finish features very bold strips of color on the sides, plus some very nice illustrations of the character on the front.

  What’s a little less cool in the case of Tracer, however, is that once you open her up, there is a whole lot of empty space in that tray she comes packaged in. She’s part of the same single packed, $20 range of Ultimates figures that also include bulkier characters like Lucio and Reaper, who I presume fill out those trays a bit more, so it’s not necessarily her fault that she and her accessories are on the smaller side. Still, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit shocked when I saw just how much empty space was in her box.

Speaking of accessories, with Tracer you get her two submachine gun pistols, effect parts that give the effect of shooting them, two alternate right hands, and the time bomb she uses for her in-game ultimate. That last one is a bit sneaky, as it comes attached to her back in-package rather than laid out in the tray, so be on the look out!

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The submachine guns are very nicely detailed for their small size, as is the time bomb for that matter. While they are easy enough to fit into Tracer’s default, gun-hold-y hands, the actual grip she has on them can feel just a bit loose. Not so loose that you can’t trust that she’ll be able to hold onto them if she’s posed on your shelf, but there’s a good chance they’ll slip out or at least turn sideways if you’re changing her poses while they’re in her hands. The effect parts are similarly reliably able to stay plugged in while Tracer holds a pose, but anything more than slight jostling is likely to knock them off. By looking inside them, it seems clear that there’s very much an intended top and bottom that the muzzle flashes are supposed to plug onto the guns, but it’s a bit difficult to tell what that way is and, in my experience, they feel the same whether they’re upside down or rightside up.

  For her handswaps, Tracer has an open palmed waving hand and a little two finger salute hand, both of which are for her right hand. The hands all plug in nice and solidly and feature a wrist joint. It is kind of a shame that she doesn’t feature any alternate left hands and, as far as I can tell, I don’t believe her left hand is even removable. While the included two hands are nice, it’s a slight shame that she didn’t come with at least an open palmed left hand as well.

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When it comes to her detailing and paint work, Hasbro did a good job of picking out all of the most important notes of her character design, making sure they got the attention they needed. Her shoulders feature nice and clear tampographs of the British flag on the right and a flight patch from her piloting days on her left. Her eyes are very nice and crisply painted on beneath her (non-removable) clear yellow goggles as well as some amazingly cleanly applied pink paint on her lips. The timey-wimey, sci-fi glow of her chronal accelerator harness is picked out in an eye catching electric blue, though unfortunately only on her chest. The back part features no such blue paint, though it is still picked out in a nice, bright white and silver. Tracer’s tights feature an amazing yellow-to-orange gradient, along with another tampograph of her own name that she has written on her left thigh for some reason and grey mesh running down the sides her thigh and calf. The gradient really is something to see, though, and helps give the figure a premium feel.

  Unfortunately, there are noticeable amount of smaller details, like the belts that run under her arms and fasteners/buckles that are molded but unpainted. Her unpainted gauntlets also seem a little under-detailed compared to the in-game model. A very slight blackwash or even just a bit of panel lining would’ve really helped them pop a little more, I feel. Some paint, like the aforementioned electric blue, is a bit messily applied on my copy, though it’s only really noticeable on close inspection. There is one very egregious paint flaw on my copy though, as underneath her time bomb there is a gigantic splotch of white paint on her brown jacket. While this is thankfully hidden just by virtue of being on her back and almost being completely covered up by the bomb, it’s still not an insignificant paint error.

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When it comes to articulation, I found Tracer to be better than expected, but still very limited in some ways. Chief among those limitations was, out of the box, my Tracer’s top right knee joint was completely stuck. Stuck in such a way that I feared trying to use force on it would cause it to break. Thankfully though, I was able to remedy this by sticking her in a plastic bag and then dipping her legs in hot water for a minute or two, which loosened her knee up good. With that fixed, Tracer’s legs are remarkably posable! She’s able to assume the kind of nimble poses you’d want her to be able to pull off. In addition to thigh swivels, her knees can bend just as far back as a human knee can without looking too freaky, and her legs can spread for almost full Van Damme level splits. While her legs can move forward decently high, she lacks pretty much any sort of backwards leg movement.

  Unfortunately, as you move further up, Tracer’s articulation starts to get less impressive. While she does have an ab crunch and a balljointed upper body, her bulky gauntlets mean she has practically no elbows articulation beyond pointing down or sitting at a near 90 degree angle, though they can swivel right or left. Additionally, while her shoulders can move back and forth just fine, they have next to no outward or inward movement. While not nearly as limited as her arms, the high collar of her bomber jacket does slightly get in the way of her otherwise quite good head articulation.

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All in all, despite my not particularly high opinions of Hasbro’s previous 6″ scale offerings and some stumblings with her, I’ve ended up being rather taken by Tracer. Giving her a once over after taking her from the box, I wasn’t too sure, but as time went on (and bad knee joints were fixed) I found myself warming up to her more and more. Honestly I think she might be the best experience I’ve had with any of Hasbro’s six inch figures. From what I can tell, they’re really stepping up their game for Ultimates, and I’m excited to see what they can do with it from here. If you’re willing to perhaps risk some slightly spotty QC, I think you’ll really find a lot to love with Tracer.

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Overwatch Ultimates Tracer Gallery and Review! Cheers, love! The time manipulating speedster frontwoman of Blizzard Entertainment's Overwatch has arrived in the first wave of Hasbro's new six inch line of action figures, and now she's blinking into the Allspark Studio!

[88frostfromfire]

My February & March budget

I just recently posted a photo of my budget tracker, but last night I made another purchase, so my budget for the month is pretty close to gone now. So, I think it's a good time to discuss what I've spent and how I feel about it.

Originally, my idea was only to include shopping from certain categories (beauty, clothing, accessories, and homewares). However, as I was shopping on my trip to Toronto, I bought a few things that still felt like "shopping" even though they weren't part of these categories, so I included them.

Overall, I am happy with my purchases. Even with the budget and replacement-only rules for makeup/skincare/haircare, I felt like I was still able to have fun and enjoy shopping. The key difference is that I wasn't able to make mindless purchases because I had a limit for how much I could spend. This gave me a good mix of carefully planned purchases, as well as a few spontaneous purchases. I expected traveling to be difficult because I normally shop a lot on trips. I know that I still want to want, so coming home from the trip with a few new things that weren't planned in advance really satisfied that desire, but I know I didn't go over my budget, so I don't feel guilty about it. The main question I have is whether that desire will fade over time. Honestly, I don't know if I want to stop shopping entirely. I just want to be more mindful about it and be happier with what I already have.

This contains all shopping between February and now (today is March 23). My trip to Toronto was March 14-18, so I decided to mark all the purchases made during that trip with *

Sephora: I originally wanted to go on a "no buy" and save my entire Feburary and March budget for the trip to Toronto I took in mid-March. However, I am glad I bought this colour corrector locally instead of waiting to buy it. It works well and gives me more confidence that some of the redness in my face is minimized.

*David's Tea: Even though this latte mix technically falls under "food" and not the categories I laid out to include in my budget originally, I bought it because I wanted to buy something. It was something I specifically planned to buy and I'm glad I did. I've already had a couple cups of it and it's really delicious. It's pretty pricey for what it is, though, so I don't think I'd get it again.

*Rohto Lycée eye drops & breath care: I bought these Japanese eye drops from 2 different stores (I decided to buy 2 packs of it) and am happy I did. I did research into them before purchasing and I happened to come across 2 different stores that sell them. I bought 1 pack at the first store, then tried them and by the time I went to the second store, I decided to purchase ... A BACKUP! (I know backups are frowned upon in the spending less/minimizing community). The reason I decided to get a backup is because eyedrops are perishable and for hygienic purposes cannot be kept for too long, and also, because I know I don't have access to these drops at home. I also purchased some Japanese breath mints. While I don't regret buying them, I can pinpoint exactly why I got them. I was in an Asian beauty store, and before going in I'd planned on purchasing only 2 things (the eyedrops and Beauty Blender cleanser). They didn't have the cleanser and I wasn't allowing myself to buy any other beauty/makeup/skincare items that I don't need. So when I found a cute looking bottle of mints, I jumped on it.

*Starbucks mug: My list included a Toronto Starbucks mug (I have a Montreal one and thought it would be neat to collect as a practical souvenir). However, I go to Toronto fairly often so when we went to Niagara Falls and I saw a mug there, I decided to get it instead and was very happy about that! I paid with my Starbucks card, so it didn't cost me anything (most of the money on my Starbucks card was from gift cards at Christmas).

*Lush: This was a carefully planned purchase, as I only allowed myself to buy bubble bars (I got 2), a facial scrub (I got the smaller of the 2 sizes available), and a solid shampoo bar.

*Muji: Even though my purchase at Muji was just 2 highlighters for school, I decided to include them in my budget because I didn't actually need highlighters. They will be useful, but I bought them mainly because I wanted to buy something from Muji for myself (I also got a gift), and they didn't have the other 2 things I was looking for.

*Nordstrom: These were both somewhat impulse buys. I love checking out Nordstrom's Pop-Ins, which is a little "pop-up" shop inside their store, and it changes every couple months. I checked it out one day, and then at the hotel that night, I read reviews of the 2 items I'd been interested in. Again, similar to what happened at the Asian beauty store when I got the mints, almost everything else at the Nordstrom Pop-In were items I can't buy right now (like skincare, haircare, and makeup), so I bought a brow serum and a lip plumper, 2 items that I don't have. I honestly don't regret buying either one. I had read reviews before buying and I also made sure they fit into my budget. But it also felt a little like finding a loophole in my own rules.

Pusheen box: During my trip, I got an email that the charge for my quarterly subscription box went through. Because it also is a form of shopping, I included it in my budget.

Sephora: During the trip, it was a bit too early to pick up my free birthday gift at Sephora, so I placed an order last night for it. I also got the Glow Recipe Watermelon face mist. I don't want to call this an impulse buy, because I waited a while to buy it, but I wanted it the instant this product launched. I also am very low on the existing face mist I have, so I'm going to use that one up first.

[slureads-blog]

Cat Scratcher

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title Unanswered summary All I need is one word pairing itasaku, tobisaku, hot messes

Part i | Part ii | Part iii | Part iv | Part v | Part vi | Part vii | Part viii | Part ix | Part x | Part xi | Part xii | Part xiii | Part xiv | Part xv (here) | Part xvi | Part xvii | Part xviii | Part xix | Part xx | Part xxi | Part xxii | Part xxiii | Part xxiv | Part xxv | Part xxvi | Part xxvii | Part xxviii | Part xxix | Part xxx | Part xxxi | Part xxxii | Part xxxiii | Part xxxiv | Part xxxv | Part xxxvi | Part xxxvii| Part xxxviii | Part xxxix | Part XL (it ends here)

The cicadas were already buzzing when Sakura returned to Tokyo. 

She sat in the back seat of the car, powdering her nose. Zabuza rustled around with a plastic bag for a bit. And then he leaned back, handing her an ice candy. Her answering gaze was even frostier than the treat. Zabuza took it back without complaint. She listened to him unwrap his own ice cream. He crunched through it in big chomps. She checked over her lipstick in the mirror of her compact. 

“Everything’s been quiet at the club?” she asked. He glanced up at her through the rearview mirror. Wiping his mouth on his sleeve, he nodded. She snapped the compact shut. There had been a second of hesitation.

“...Zabuza...” she warned.

“Just... you should see it for yourself,” he sighed. 

“I don’t like surprises, Zabuza,” snapped Sakura. The ends of her words biting and hard. 

“You might like this one,” suggested Zabuza, shrugging. She glared. Whipped her head to the side to look out the window instead.

“Fine.”

When she stepped out of the car, Zabuza lowered the passenger side window. She leaned in through it to hand him her cigarette. He stubbed it out in the ashtray before looking back at her. 

“Tenten asked me to oversee a deal in Yokohama tonight. If I’m not back in the morning, I might have to send the kid to drive you, Aunt Cheng,” he informed her. Sakura smiled. 

“Chouji will do, I suppose. But you come back in one piece. And check in on Mad Dog while you’re down there,” she replied. Zabuza cracked a rare smile. 

Sakura watched the black car drive off, arms crossed over her chest. Once it turned the corner, she fluffed her hair a little. She adjusted her dress and then the white linen blazer she had thrown over her shoulders. 

Standing in the street, she looked the building over. Twilight Dreams looked untouched. As if no one had shot up the front just 4 months ago. According to Ayu, business had taken a hit. Despite the help from the local news, people were still wary. But the most loyal regulars had returned, and overall, things seemed to be staying afloat. 

The new sign was a little too pink for her tastes. But, she supposed, unlocking the door and stepping inside, being garish wasn’t a bad thing in Ginza. 

When Sai and some of the staff arrived a few hours later, they found Sakura sitting at the bar with a gin and tonic. The staff greeted her with bows before they went on to clean and set up the club before opening. Sai eyed her glass with disdain, hesitating in the door to the staff room in the back. Sakura waved him on. He returned several minutes later in a crisp white shirt and black trousers.

“Mama, honestly, you should have just asked me to come in early,” Sai complained as he tied his apron tight around his waist. Reaching over the bar, he sniffed at the contents of the glass. When he met Sakura’s eyes, she gave a little nod. He took a sip. Made a face. 

“Mama, you’re a woman of many talents. But mixology is not one them,” he remarked, turning to get a clean glass. Sakura watched him pour her a new drink. His fingers plucked out a wedge of lime, sticking it on the rim of the glass. She rested her cheek in her hand.

“Maybe you should give up your other job. Just bartend full time,” she suggested. Sai shot her an a look. Found her smiling just a little. Huffing out a sigh, he pushed the glass across the bar to her. When she accepted it, he took her other glass and dumped out the contents. 

“So?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” he questioned in return. Sakura eyed him as she sipped her drink. The glass made no sound when she set it down on the coaster. 

“What’s my surprise? Zabuza was surprisingly tight-lipped about the whole thing,” Sakura clarified. Sai rolled his eyes at that. 

“Ah. That. Check your table. The delivery guys insisted on leaving it in your office, but I told them that that was close enough,” he said, pointing to the VIP table in the back.

Sakura took the glass with her. She crossed over to the seating section of the club. Of course, all the booths were empty. None of the hostesses had even arrived yet. But when she pushed past the white curtains in the back, she found that one booth wasn’t empty. Wondered how she hadn’t smelled all the flowers before. 

She counted at least 10 baskets of different shapes and sizes. Each one was filled to bursting with flowers in different shades of purple. Roses, lavender, lilac- some that she didn’t even know what to call. And on the seat of her booth was a big white box tied with a red ribbon. She had no choice but to set her glass down so that she could open it. 

Inside was a fluffy white fur coat. Sakura stared at it for a long time. Picked up her glass again as she considered the gift. Sai came to join her, leaning on his broom. 

“It’s July,” stated Sai. 

“Uh-huh,” Sakura agreed. 

“This is from the Kumicho, right?” he guessed. 

“Uh-huh,” said Sakura again, taking a sip of her drink. 

And then it hit her. 

All those months back, when he had helped her escape from the club, she had been wearing a white fur coat. It had been a nice one, too. Nothing so valuable. But as she stroked her finger across the fur, she guessed that this one was mink. Pricey. 

“That man...really knows what I like,” remarked Sakura. She nodded a few times as she downed the rest of the drink. 

And just because she could, she sent him a text right then and there. One word.

Thanks.

So it didn’t surprise her at all when he arrived around 9 that night. Sakura sat at the bar. Waiting. 

She didn’t look up when she heard the door open. Could see that it was him out of the corners of her eyes. She could pretend that she was so occupied by her wine that she couldn’t be bothered to look at him. Plastic crackled as he stepped closer.

“You know, I’m not a tree hugger. But maybe you should leave some flowers for the rest of the world,” she remarked. He placed the bouquet next to her hand. Pink, orange, and white roses. All the colors were slightly different shapes. The fluffy petals spiraling out and out like twirled lace. She stroked one of the petals with her pointer finger. Just once. It was all so pretty.

And just a little boring.

“Could I request some of your time, Mama?” he asked. 

She took her time raising her chin. Regarded him through her eyelashes. Took immense pleasure in the eager look in his eyes. After some consideration, she held her hand out. He took it in his, thumb stroking across the back of her hand. He helped her off the barstool. 

“You know, I don’t know if there will be enough room for you back here,” Sakura added as they walked together. She pushed back the curtain to reveal all the baskets of flowers. He chuckled. 

He ordered the most expensive champagne- as always. They sipped it, chatting about nothing. Wasting the hour together. The hum of conversation and laughter from the other tables played in the background. 

“I want to show you something,” he suddenly said as the hour was almost up. Her eyes narrowed but she said nothing. 

“When you close, would you make some time for me?” requested Itachi. There was nothing sly in his tone. Not suggestive glances or jumping eyebrows. Just that earnest gaze. Eyes dark as the blackest part of night. His hand just a little tight around hers. She pulled out of his grasp.

“We close at 2. But you can come get me at 1:30. The side door,” she replied, reaching for her glass. Just to give her hands something to do. So that he wouldn’t see her looking less than composed for even an instant. 

Sakura walked Itachi to the door after that. She kept her hand on his forearm. Over his shoulder, she saw Charlie Lau sitting with his usual girls. He met her gaze, shook his head. 

“Well. Have a good night, Kumicho,” declared Sakura, placing her hands on his chest. Itachi said nothing. HIs gaze drifted from her eyes, down to her mouth. Back up to her eyes. And then, he quirked a little smirk. The cocky expression took her by surprise. She had never seen him look quite that way before. He lifted her hand to his mouth. Barely kissed her knuckles.

“Until next time, Mama,” he replied. 

Sakura went up to her office right after he left. Glaring out at the streets of Ginza. She stared at him as he got into a car just outside the club. Pretending that the heat in her cheeks was just from the summer heat. 

As closing time drew near, Sakura let the staff know that she was slipping out early. Hugging her clutch to her chest, she stole out the staff entrance. She kept close to the wall, waiting until she felt the door close against her back. 

“Punctual,” Itachi remarked. He was standing just under the light. Not skulking around in the dark like she had half-expected. Itachi held his arm out to her. Sakura eyed it. The sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up. She could see the beginnings of his tattoos spiraling up his arms. 

“Be honest. What were all the flowers for?” she questioned as she took his arm. He led her down the alley. 

“You know, I’m a little boring, Sakura. My motivations don’t easily change,” he answered. She could hear the smile in his voice. Even through the darkness. As they passed under a streetlight, she saw his face. His eyes squinting into crescent moons. “I just want you to look at me.”

She felt a little twinge of pain in her chest. Looked away from his face. Said nothing else to him as they continued walking. Just their footsteps echoing back and forth to each other. 

They got into his car at the end of the alley. Itachi didn’t even say anything to his driver. He just seemed to know where to go. Sakura kept a close eye on each of the turns. All of the landmarks and buildings. 

Itachi kept his hand on the seat between them. Like he knew not to touch her just then. He watched her, black eyes almost unblinking. Face lighting up violent orange each time they passed under the streetlights. 

Several minutes later, they were in some old, industrial part of the city. Sakura vaguely recognized the area. Saw that they weren’t anywhere near the river. She glanced over at Itachi. He was still smiling. Completely readable. Predictable. Only, this place wasn’t.

The car stopped. He got out first, opening her door for her. Holding his hand out. Like he was some spokesperson for how to be a gentleman. She took his hand. 

“You know, it’s always bothered me... what happened to your club,” Itachi declared. She stood, staring at him. This area looked like it had been abandoned for years. All the fences were chained shut. And the gleam in his eye was a little alien to her. But when he met her gaze, they filled with warmth again. 

It was the strangest thing she had ever seen. 

Itachi gestured to the cement building behind her. It was some half-finished structure. The windows didn’t even have glass. The scaffolding at the top was rusting and falling apart. 

“Shall we?”

Jaw setting, she allowed him to lead the way. Their joined hands heavy like lead between them. The driver followed several paces behind them. When Sakura glanced back, she couldn’t read his expression at all. Not past those opaque sunglasses. His bald head gleaming softly in the night.

They walked through several doors. And Itachi unlocked one before they arrived at their destination. He slipped his hand out of hers to do so. And didn’t take it again when they walked through that last door.

It was an unfinished room. Big and grey. Each tiny sound echoing and magnifying off the concrete. In the middle of the room, tied to some columns were six men. Their heads sagged. It almost looked like they were sleeping. But when the door slammed shut, their heads jerked in unison. 

In the far corner of the room were a few yakuza. There were a few folding chairs clustered around some wooden crates. 

“Kumicho!” they sputtered, jumping up. The one who stood last was Kisame. She recognized him, even in the dim lighting with those diamonds glittering in his ears. 

“Ah,” replied Itachi. His voice suddenly so deep. It was jarring. 

“Have they been talking?” he demanded, taking several steps forward. Kisame pushed past the underlings. 

“No. Although, you did say not to be too rough. Since they were a gift for Mama over there,” replied Kisame. He flashed her a grin. Sakura nodded back. He held out his hand, inviting her to step closer. 

Arms crossed, Sakura strode across the room. Itachi turned to look at her when she approached. But she ignored him as she squinted at the captives. She crouched, craning her neck to stare one in the face. He didn’t meet her eyes. 

“So. You want to tell me why you’re here?” Sakura queried. 

He said nothing. 

“...Are you seriously going to be rude in this situation?” she then asked. 

“Fuck you, bitch,” he grumbled. 

Before she could react, Itachi stepped up. Hands in his pockets, he swung his leg back, smashing his foot into the man’s face. Blood gushed out of his nose. When Itachi put his foot down, his shoe gleamed dark with blood.

“Have some respect, brat. You have no idea who you’re talking to,” Itachi stated, drawing out his syllables. His eyes hard. Sakura shot him a look out of the corner of her eye. Reaching into her blazer, she pulled out a clean handkerchief. She dabbed at his nose. But he jerked his face back.

“So, are you going to be nice? Or should I let him keep going?” she asked.

“Go to hell,” he growled in return. She heard Itachi’s footsteps approaching again. But he stopped short when she pulled her gun out of her clutch. The gold glimmering in her palm. The barrel pressed against the captive’s adam’s apple, bobbing as he swallowed. 

“Or... you could keep being a little shit and I’ll stop playing nice,” she suggested. Her voice was soft, tinged with sugar.  She grabbed his face, leering. 

“You can suck my cock, bitch,” he snarled. 

Sakura pulled the trigger. The bang made her ears ring. Blood spurted into her face, hot and metallic. Her gun burned in her hand. She released the man’s face, letting his loll down to rest against his chest. Rising to her full height, she glanced down at her weapon. Wiped it clean on her white jacket. When she looked up, the five other captives were staring at her. Eyes liquid and jaws trembling. 

“Are you going to talk?” she asked, pointing at a random one with her gun. He nodded frantically, spitting little incomprehensible noises. When Sakura cocked the gun, he managed to string together a sentence.

“W-we were hired to shoot up some club in Ginza.”

Sakura’s eyebrows rose. 

“By who?” she asked.

“I don’t know! I don’t know anything else, I swear!” he whimpered

Another bang made her flinch. But it wasn’t her Desert Eagle. Sakura looked over, found Itachi with his arm extended. Smoke rose from the tip of his revolver. One hand still in his pocket. Eyes stony. 

“I’ll talk! I’ll talk! Please don’t kill me!” a third one began to wail. Snot dripping out of his nose. Itachi gestured toward him with his gun.

“That’s the one,” he declared. He handed his gun off to Kisame. 

“Clean this up,” he ordered. His men moved right away. 

Sakura shrugged her jacket off. She pulled her phone out of her pocket, raised it to her ear. Chouji picked up after just two rings.

“Boss?” he said, voice a little gravelly. 

“I’m going to share my location with you. Get Sai. I’ve got a couple friends I need you to come pick up,” she ordered. She heard him yawn.

“Should I get the car, Boss?” he asked.

“Pok gaai,” she swore at him, “Of course not. Get a fucking van.”

“Right. Right. Sorry, Boss. Mou man taai,” Chouji sputtered. She hung up. And then she shared her location with him. Watched the little dots light up as the GPS located the distance between them.

When she looked up, Itachi was in front of her. He wiped her cheek with the sleeve of his jacket. She pushed his hand away.  She made an impatient noise.

“Don’t bother. It looks like I’ve got a long night in front of me,” Sakura stated. He offered her his handkerchief instead. She pushed that away too. He gave her a little smile. 

“It took my men a while to track them down. I apologize for the delay. I wanted to surprise you,” Itachi explained. 

“And what do you need from me in return, daai lou? This is no small gift,” Sakura demanded in return. Her mind was already racing, calculating what favors he might be angling for. Itachi took a step closer to her. His eyes gleaming darkly. 

“You’re thinking too much again, Sakura. I keep telling you why. You’re looking at me right now, aren’t you?” he murmured. His thumb touched her chin. When she didn’t flinch away, he moved his hand to cup her blood-flecked cheek.

“When I was in Hong Kong, all I could do was clean your shoes. But here, I have so much more.... leverage,” Itachi explained. His euphemism almost made her laugh. 

“What’s your end goal, Kumicho?” inquired Sakura, eyes narrowing. 

“Like I said, I’m boring. All I want is for you to want me. And I’ll do whatever that takes,” he declared. 

Heat rose in her cheeks. And she knew that he could feel it spread in his palm. That smug look of his said it right away. He ran the back of his hand down the side of her neck. The softest touch. And then he released her. 

“Would you like a ride back?” he offered her. 

“No need. I’ll wait outside for my boys,” Sakura answered.

And outside, she lit a cigarette with trembling fingers. Stood puffing out blue-grey clouds. Gritting her teeth. Eyes squeezing shut. Wishing that her face didn’t remember the shape of his hand so perfectly.

When Chouji arrived, he and Sai loaded the remaining men in the back of the van. She oversaw all of this, silent. Standing as far from Itachi as she could. On her way out, he caught her wrist. He said nothing. Answering her silence with the same. Raising her hand, he pressed a kiss to her palm. Where she knew that her skin would still smell like metal and gunpowder. 

She left.

The next evening, when she walked into the club, she found another box sitting in the VIP section. A white linen jacket. And a necklace in the shape of a snake biting its own tail. Its eyes were polished jades. She had a sneaking suspicion that it was made of 24k gold. 

Tossing the necklace back in the box, Sakura walked away.

“Sai! Ham ga chaan, what have I told you about locking up properly?” she shouted.

Part i | Part ii | Part iii | Part iv | Part v | Part vi | Part vii | Part viii | Part ix | Part x | Part xi | Part xii | Part xiii | Part xiv | Part xv (here)| Part xvi | Part xvii | Part xviii | Part xix | Part xx | Part xxi | Part xxii | Part xxiii | Part xxiv | Part xxv | Part xxvi | Part xxvii | Part xxviii | Part xxix | Part xxx | Part xxxi | Part xxxii | Part xxxiii | Part xxxiv | Part xxxv | Part xxxvi | Part xxxvii| Part xxxviii | Part xxxix | Part XL (it ends here)