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Ospreys are one of my favorite animals and I'm loving the local osprey nest camera!

I hang my metal cleats by their laces off my gear bag around a baseball bat, but I just discovered vlirka's shoe holsters and want to order some!

These vegan recipes are definitely next on my list: spicy kale and romesco pasta, lentil Fresco melt, pasta primavera with garlic cashew sauce

Sign up to get more covid tests mailed to you!

Here's a great guide to tofu! Personally, I prefer the fried tofu.

I am absolutely loving this vegetable print packable sun hat from BAGGU.

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lucky bandit is a for profit blog. I use affiliate links and paid advertisements. I may earn compensation for a click or purchase through a link. Paid (whether via product or monetary) reviews will be noted in the actual post. Though compensation may influence the type of posts, all opinions and reviews will be legitimate and honest.

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Photo by Thomas Verbruggen on Unsplash

empties #24

I've used up a lot more products in my attempt to declutter. As usual, things that aren't cruelty free are marked, but I'm only human so please check if you think otherwise!

Tree Hut Shea Sugar Scrub in Pear & Chia Seed // I love these scrubs and pick them up when they're on sale. They last a while and don't tend to leave a residue.

Philosophy Holiday Pajamas Shower Gel // not cruelty free // This was a Christmas gift. It lasted a long time and I enjoyed it, but it's sadly not cruelty free.

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream // not cruelty free // I loved this cream for my eczema, but unfortunately FAB isn't cruelty free anymore. I'm trying Pipette's Eczema Cream now.

Ulta Rosewater Facial Mist // Initially I wasn't super happy with this, but it definitely grew on me. I'd pick this up and keep it in my bag for the summer.

The Body Shop Body Butter in Coconut // I kept this in my desk drawer. I think it works way better as originally intended, as a body butter, instead of a hand cream as it was slightly greasy.

Pixi H2O Skindrink // This was just not great. I finished it because I spent money on it, but I felt like it just sat on my face instead of absorbing. Sometimes I'd find a little drop of it still on my face later in the day. I wouldn't get it again.

Simply Soothing Body Butter // I was sent samples for being a Bug Soother Ambassador of their body butter. I think the pandemic put the kibosh on that line, but if they revive it, it's great! Check out their bug spray, which is the only one I'll use! (Get 15% off with code KATELYNCARTER using this link*.)

Lacoste perfume sample // not cruelty free // I was sent this in an order. Not cruelty free, so I wouldn't buy it.

Hanhoo Watermelon Illuminator // This came in a ipsy bag. I liked it, and I saw a difference in my skin even with out sporadically I used it. I'd pick up a full size!

The Body Shop Tea Tree Blemish Fade Night Lotion // This worked well and I need to pick up another tube of it. It doesn't work overnight, but I definitely saw a difference fairly quickly.

Pacifica Hardcore Happy Rollerball Perfume // This smelled nice, but it left what appeared to be a greasy mark wherever it was rolled?? Not attractive. I was happy to use this one up.

J. R. Watkins Lotion // A hotel sample I used up. It was mediocre lotion. I wouldn't buy it.

Sephora Banana Hand Balm // not cruelty free // I think this was a cheap buy to get my birthday gift. Sephora is behind the times and needs to stop testing on animals.

I decluttered any lip balm that didn't work for me anymore. I had gone through so many on my search to find a balm that would help my chronic dry lips. None of these helped, unfortunately.

Nubian Heritage Lemongrass & Tea Tree Lotion // This was a great, hydrating lotion, but I've had it too long and it's gone off. I'd get it again.

Sun Bum Sunscreen // My favorite, favorite sunscreen. It's formulated well and smells like bananas. I pick this up every year. This bottle was almost full, but it was expired so out it goes. I'll definitely buy this again.

Jason Fresh Cucumber Dry Spray Deoderant // This was not good. I wouldn't buy this again. It was just weird.

Pacifica Mineral SPF Body Butter // I picked this up on clearance and while it was over half full, it was expired, too. I don't mess around with expired sunscreen. I'd buy this again, though!

Julep palette // I've had this so long that I couldn't tell you which palette this is, or when I got it. I depotted it into my magnetic palette. Julep's makeup isn't phenomenal, so I doubt I'd replace it.

Milk Kush Mascara // I loved this mascara. The brush is amazing and it's buildable without being super clumpy. I'd definitely get this again.

Wet N Wild Megawear Mascara // not cruelty free // Wet n Wild is no longer cruelty free (a shame!) and this mascara wasn't that great, anyway. It was thin and just not buildable.

Another collection of trash off to recycling!

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lucky bandit is a for profit blog. I use affiliate links and paid advertisements. I may earn compensation for a click or purchase through a link. Paid (whether via product or monetary) reviews will be noted in the actual post. Though compensation may influence the type of posts, all opinions and reviews will be legitimate and honest.

*All affiliate links will be marked with an asterick.*

vegan food review // tattooed mom // philadelphia, pa

We don't typically celebrate Valentine's Day traditionally, so this year we took a day trip up to Philadelphia and went to the Mütter Museum and checked out a great restaurant called Tattooed Mom.

The first thing we noticed was the quirky decor and the excellent atmosphere. We sat at the bar because the restaurant was busy, and the bartender was super friendly and helpful. After taking in the bright colors and all, we tried to figure out if we had a similar place back home to try!

I had the vegan cheese steak (with tomatoes on the side to add because they're my favorite) and we split an order of waffle fries. It was made with local seitan and it was delicious. I'm not usually a "beef" fan, but this was so good! It was seasoned well, juicy, and just damn tasty. Mike had the Nashville Hot Chicken sandwich, which was up to par on his spicy scale. All in all, we'd definitely return!

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lucky bandit is a for profit blog. I use affiliate links and paid advertisements. I may earn compensation for a click or purchase through a link. Paid (whether via product or monetary) reviews will be noted in the actual post. Though compensation may influence the type of posts, all opinions and reviews will be legitimate and honest.

*All affiliate links will be marked with an asterick.*

how I find free & inexpensive books

I've always been an avid reader. When I was a child my grandfather took me to thrift shops to pick out books. I've continued the practice, but I've been really cutting back on spending lately, so I don't snatch up books like I used to. Here are some ways that I still consume books without breaking the bank.

All of these titles I painstakingly sourced for under $5 a piece (many under $3) over the course of a few months. That's not including the many free ebooks I downloaded to my Kindle app and library apps. Here are some ways I save money on books:

Utilize your local library. Of course this tops the list! I'm a cardholder at my home county's library for physical and digital book check out and I'm a digital cardholder at a neighboring city's library. I lucked out and grabbed a digital copy of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins for free instead of Amazon's $17.99 Kindle price tag. To be honest, I don't check out many physical books because I'm so awful at returning them on time, so the digital option is great for me.

Sign up for book deal emails. I receive daily emails from Bookbub with that day's book deals. I get a lot of books for free that way and occasionally I'll spot something on my TBR list that's been marked down. Riffle is another option, but they don't send emails out as frequently.

Check Facebook Marketplace. Recently I got an almost complete Karin Slaughter collection for free from someone locally who was giving them away. I've picked up mixed boxes of books for free and gotten some good reads out of them!

Keep an Amazon wish list. This one might seem odd, but I keep books I want on a separate wish list. Occasionally I'll scroll through and sort by price. Every now and then I can score one I've been wanting for free or at a big discount. 

Utilize thrift stores and secondhand book stores. I sometimes have to stay away from the book section of thrift stores because I'll bring home a half dozen of super low priced books, and I deliberately stay away from 2nd & Charles for the same reason. We have some great used book stores here locally, too! I treated myself to a book store trip when I interviewed for my current job and told myself "one book for a good interview" and came out with seven. My favorite online bookstore is definitely ThriftBooks*. If you use that link, sign up, and spend $30, we both get a free book!

It's easier than ever now to find books! There's absolutely no reason to drop retail price on a book!

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lucky bandit is a for profit blog. I use affiliate links and paid advertisements. I may earn compensation for a click or purchase through a link. Paid (whether via product or monetary) reviews will be noted in the actual post. Though compensation may influence the type of posts, all opinions and reviews will be legitimate and honest.

*All affiliate links will be marked with an asterick.*