A Couple of Things

First off: We found a new place to live! We have been accepted so now we just wait for moving day! I feel so so happy. It seems to be the perfect place. It is very close to a metro, has a mall close by and many other stores we frequent. It has a working fireplace, air conditioning, a pool and it is within our budget. So now I start planning THE MOVE.

Also this week I found out I passed all my quizzes with pretty good marks. Now I just need to not freak out about midterms, which are after my March break. Yay!

And now onto the main reason I am writing this post:

Lush.

I adore Lush. I remember stopping at the Byward Market store in Ottawa in 2008. I had never heard of them before and the smell coming from the shop drew me in. Over the last few years I have mostly just been buying hand creams, body scrubs and bath bombs. I wanted to try out their face cleansing products but they are expensive so I held off. Two days ago I got a good chunk of change from a family member, so I decided to finally go talk to someone at a the Lush store on St.Catherines street and see what they have for my moody skin.

9 to 5 
This is a cream that removes makeup and cleanses. After two days of use I am in love. I used to wash my face with hot water because after years of trying different face cleansers I was sick of getting rashes, pimples, blotchy skin etc. But when using hot water my face remained blotchy and very dry. I just accepted that I could never have nice bare skin. Well I was wrong. After I wash my face with 9 to 5 my skin feels amazing. No blotchyness (is that a word?), no redness...nothing. I don't even have to put a cream on afterwards as my skin remains moisturized. It is also pretty good at removing my makeup. I only use this at night.
I rub 9 to 5 on my dry face then I take a warm face cloth and wipe away. This combination seems to work for me but there are other ways to remove it. The comments section on the site is very helpful.

Aqua Marina
The woman at Lush recommended this for my dry skin. I am not too sure on it yet, it seems to be doing a good job but I don't know if it's worth the price yet. Although you don't need a lot of it, it is still expensive. I use this in the morning while I am in the shower. I like the smell and I like that it's a paste you rub on your skin. Some people prefer a lather. I haven't noticed anything special yet with it but it's only been two days.

Ocean Salt
This is an old favorite of mine. I have been using this for a couple of years now. I only use this on my body as it is a little rough for my face. It smells amazing, like showering with a margarita, and my skin is so soft after using it. It is probably the most expensive thing I have bought at Lush but it is well worth the price. I freak out when I run out. I highly recommend you buy this.

Lemony Flutter
Use this with the Ocean Salt on your feet and you will have the softest feet in the world. I got this in 2010 and I still have a lot. You only need a small amount wherever you are using this, it is quite greasy. I only use this on my hands, feet, and elbows. Great for very dry skin.

Celestial Moisturizer
I only got a sample of this because I already like the Nivea face cream I have. But so far it hasn't done anything odd to my face like some other creams have. I use this after Aqua Marina in the morning. It smells pretty good and it doesn't leave any residue on my face. The verdict is still out there on this one.

Tonight I think I am going to go buy the Eau Roma Water Toner so help keep my face moisturized during the day.

THE MOVE

I think it deserves all caps.

We got the "You have 30 days to decide if you are renewing you lease or moving" letter and although we knew we'd be moving it still makes it real. It's still early to look for apartments, most are for sublets and there is no way I am moving mid semester. So we wait until June.

Today we started talking about the logistics of THE MOVE and realized that it would be well outside our budget to hire movers. Ideally it would be the way to go: We don't have to ask family and friends, Marc wont have to worry about his leg, less stress. I've been reading a lot about people getting screwed over by movers and having to pay a couple hundred more than what was agreed on or they don't get their stuff back. It worries me. I know, I know, it doesn't happen a lot but still I'd rather know what my expenses will be. Besides we are moving within the city so it's not that bad...right?!

We have been talking about slowly packing stuff up into boxes starting February and then renting a storage container and putting them into it, then once all the furniture is moved we go and get the boxes on our own time. We don't have a lot of furniture and some we aren't keeping so with help and a rented van we move the furniture and get out of the apartment faster. It's about 68$ for the smallest container, which would be more than enough room. And insurance is only 4$ for 1000$. I wouldn't put my most valuable stuff in there, just clothes we don't need, books, knickknacks, pictures. You know the small stuff that takes up time on moving day.

Then we'd just get beer and food for friends and family who want to help so overall A LOT cheaper. And if we end up staying in the area we currently live in, instead of going downtown, it wont take that much time.

Telling Marc that I want to start slowly packing and do deep cleaning months before the move helps with my stress levels. The last time we moved he was pushing things back and then left for Vegas for a week for work and we had like a week left to pack :P This year he said he's taking two weeks off: one before the move and one after so that I wont be stuck with packing and unpacking alone again. That's very sweet of him :)

Maybe I should make a tab where I can stick all the moving posts in. But for sure there will be lists galore to help my organize lol.


Also: To friends and family who may be reading this...we will offer food and beer and much thankage. We could really use the help :)