Toadily Candles & Soaps haul

While out visiting my mother for our Christmas, we stopped in downtown Morristown and I picked up a few things at Toadily Candles & Soap, an adorable little shop with a penny tiled entryway and a giant toad in store!





All of their candles were half off, so I snagged a Toadily Cantaloupe jarred candle. It smells amazing!





I couldn't decide on a full-size bath bomb, so I picked up a couple small samples to try, in Basil, Sage, and Mint and Just Peachy, along with an aromatherapy shower tab in Wake Up and Start the Day.



While at the register I spied their Pure Vegan lip balm and since I'm a total sucker for lip balm, I brought home one of those, too!

If you're in the area or just love bath products, Toadily is cruelty free and lots of products are vegan. Check them out!

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Pacifica cruelty free & vegan stocking stuffers

My mom is brilliant at paying attentions to things I talk, blog, and text about and in turn saving those little tidbits throughout the year. She picked up these two stocking stuffers for me from Pacifica and they're perfect!





I haven't yet tried the body butters Pacifica offers, but the Indian Coconut Nectar is my favorite scent they offer. Of course I can always use makeup wipes, and being cruelty free and vegan don't hurt! I've tried their Super Detox wipes and they worked well, so I'm looking forward to these.

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a belated merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! It's 34 degrees and a chance of snow today, so I thought it would be the perfect time to write a little post about the wonderful Christmas I had. The holidays this year were a blur, but a good one! I spent Christmas morning with my father's side of the family and it was great. I received a lot of amazing, thoughtful gifts. Later in the week, I went out to Tennessee with my brother and his girlfriend to celebrate Christmas with our mom and stepdad and that was just as good! It was a really nice week full of family and food.

How was your holiday? ♥

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vegan food review: Gardein meatless pepperoni pizza pockets

In one of the cruelty free beauty groups I'm in on Facebook, someone mentioned that Gardein has some pocket type meals. Then I noticed that there were meatless pepperoni pizza pockets and I immediately started looking for them.



I found them! They're certified vegan, quick to heat up, and delicious! Typically I'm not a big faux meat fan, but the texture of the pepperoni wasn't bad at all, nor did the pockets have that gummy textured cheese.



I keep them in the freezer at work for quick lunches as they only take less than two minutes to heat. They have great flavor and are pretty filling. The sodium is a tad high, but not terrible, and they don't have much sugar. I'd highly recommend these.

If you've been looking for a tasty vegan pocket meal, go find these!

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empties #10

Another month of digging through my trash! Here's what I used up this month. As always, I'm still working through old products that aren't cruelty free or vegan from my couponing days, and I'm human so sometimes I miss an ingredient.



Petalfresh Pomegranate Rejuvenating Facial Wipes // cruelty free and vegan // I like to pick these wipes up at Ross or Marshall's to get the bulk of my makeup off before I cleanse. They weren't excellent for eye makeup, but they did the job. I'd get them again.

Jojoba Farms Jojoba Treatment Conditioner // cruelty free // I really liked this conditioner. It lasted me a while and was really rich, but didn't weigh my hair down. If I saw this again I'd pick it up, pending the verification of a few ingredients.

Dove Men +Care Fortifying Shampoo & Conditioner 2 in 1 // Sigh. This was a freebie with a men's body wash I got for a super low price forever ago with coupons. My father and brother both have super short hair, so they don't use shampoo, so I just used this up so it didn't go to waste. I treated it as just a shampoo, and it was fine. I wouldn't get it again.

Neutrogena Body Lotion & Shampoo // These were hotel bottles. You know that feeling when you use a bar soap that makes your skin feel tight and dry? That's what this shampoo made my hair feel like. The body lotion was your average run-of-the-mill lotion. I wouldn't buy either of these.

Not Pictured:
Dial 7 Day Moisturizing Lotion // I didn't see how it did any better than any other lotion. I wouldn't get this again.

Crest Pro Health Complete Mouthwash in Clean Mint // It's mouthwash. Sometimes it would leave a purple residue in my mouth. Gross. I won't get it again.



L. A. Colors Nail Polish Remover Pads // cruelty free and vegan // I think in my last empties post with these in it I said I wouldn't buy anymore after this tub was used up, but I did anyway. Oops. They're fairly decent and convenient, and only $1! They do leave a bit of a residue, so I use them before I shower.

Gucci Bamboo Eau De Parfum Sample // Meh. I wouldn't buy this in full size.

Estee Lauder Foundation Sample in Beige 2C // I received, from a friend, three Estee Lauder foundation samples since she didn't like them, so I've been slowing using them up. This isn't the ideal color for me, so I use it sparingly and blend it a lot. The coverage is decent, but I wouldn't buy a whole bottle, especially since EL isn't cruelty free.

B&BW PocketBac in Snow Kissed Berry // This smelled great, but B&BW isn't cruelty free, so I won't be purchasing again.

Estee Lauder Makeup Brush // I'm not sure what kind of brush this is, but I used it for powder. The bristles had started to get manky, so I'm setting it free. I've replaced it with an EcoTools brush, so I won't be getting another.



Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara // cruelty free and vegan // I absolutely love this mascara. The brush is fantastic, the formula is perfect. I just really, really, really hope that Too Faced remains cruelty free after being bought by Estee Lauder.



Covergirl The Super Sizer Fibers Mascara // I received this in an Influenster VoxBox. The brush looks weird, but it works pretty well. The formula starts off REALLY wet, but works a lot better once it dries out a bit. I wouldn't purchase this, though.

That's it for this month! What have you tried lately?

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