The Broke Girl Blog
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In Lifestyle

Life Lately #5- New Site Design, Sylvie’s Spaying and Incessant Snow

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Helllloooo internet friends! First off, welcome to the newly redesigned TheBrokeGirlBlog.com! The change that you’ve been seeing since last week was a months-long labor of love finding the right user interface and doing the back end work necessary to whip this little corner of the internet into a space that can grow with me now that more people are checking out what’s going on here. Life lesson from this one: asking for help is ok, even when you could do it yourself. So what else has been going on since I last did an update post in mid-January? Well, chronologically: Dad and I volunteered at our yearly event supporting a youth robotics group. I love the opportunity to pitch in at an event that encourages our youth to consider careers in science, computing, engineering and applied trades. It’s ultra-cool that it’s held at my work! If you didn’t see me…

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In DIY

Landscaping on a Budget

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Hey Guys! If you’re like me and you’re living in one of the colder regions of the world, you’re going to see this post and laugh to yourself because there’s still like eight feet of snow, five snowstorms to come, a period of freezing and thawing combined with mud and some rain to make our ways through before spring even thinks about arriving. But, not everyone lives in places like this, and loads of people who do are still starting to think about and budget their landscaping. Recently my sister sold her last property and upgraded to a single family home that she had built- which meant a beautiful, dirt filled lot. Just kidding, it meant she either had to sell her soul to pay for landscaping orrrrr roll up her sleeves and get a bunch of the work done herself to save some money. She’s not the devil incarnate, so she…

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In Affordable Decor

How I spent $510 to Furnish and Decorate my Dining Room

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Hi Guys! It has been forever since I posted my last affordable home post! How I Spent $660 to Furnish and Decorate my Living Room was one of my most popular posts in 2016 and 2017, so I’m not sure why I haven’t done another since clearly people enjoy these posts! Again, let’s start with what I actually bought in this space: my walnut bar stools ($50 each, local store), my 4 black dining chairs ($60 each, local store), my mirror ($110, Costco), mirrored tray (~$35, Homesense, old) and my sea surf picture ($25, Superstore, old). This brings us to a total of $510 that I spent on the space. So, that obviously means a lot of items were free! My kitchen table was from my parent’s old study and was sitting unused in my dad’s loft. It was originally from Ikea and had a blond lacquered wood top… not really my…

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In Casual Wear

Current Favorites

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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGfaZSj5tsA] Hi Guys! I’m back with another favorites post, this time talking about some of the items I loved through January and February. Rockstar 24/7 Jeans for Women • Old Navy •  in Black – These are the jeans I replaced my black Walmart jeggings with after I wore them into death. I’m working on repairing them, and also a video/post combo about 5 different ways to style a $40 pair of black jeans! Driving Loafers for Women • Old Navy •  – I love these shoes. I think I said eighty times in the video how comfortable they are. My chiropractor would probably be unimpressed with the lack of support, so maybe don’t go walking 5km in them like I have, but they are a good shoe with a slip-proof sole which I really appreciate. Luxe Studs •  – These studs were a sweet Christmas gift from little Sylvie…

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In Lifestyle

Real Girl Review- Tarte Tartelette in Bloom

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Hey Guys! Time for another Real Girl Review! This time I’ll be taking a look at the Tarte Tartelette In Bloom palette. My sister recently got me this palette as a gift as a thank you for helping her out when Sylvie was very newly home and wanted to do nothing more than howl and cry. All night long. Fun fact about me: I can sleep through pretty much anything. I can also fall asleep in some pretty ridiculous conditions. A howling dog? No biggie. My sister is a light sleeper, so when Sylvie first came home, so did I as her puppy au pair. Nobody can live on zero sleep! The fact that she had a sweet puppy to snuggle and love had a lot to do with it too. I’m obsessed with this dog, guys. So, back to the point of this: my sister got me the…

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In Casual Wear

Best of 2017

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Hi Guys! I’m finally getting to posting my 2017 “Favorites”, or the best of 2017. This year, I have three main categories. They’re makeup, skincare and fashion- but I have some favorites in the haircare category as well as a few random things to share that I’ve loved all year. For full information on why I loved each item, check out my video: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9_XG5DU4iY] Makeup: HOURGLASS Ambient(R) – Dim Light Lighting Powder • Hourglass • BECCA X Chrissy Teigen Glow Face Palette • Becca • Laura Mercier Matte Radiance Baked Powder • Laura Mercier • Too Faced Chocolate Bar Eyeshadow Palette • Too Faced • Maybelline Fit Me Concealer • Maybelline • MAC Pro Longwear Concealer • M·A·C • L’Oreal Infallible Pro-Glow Foundation • L’Oreal • Skincare: Biotherm Life Plankton Mask Philosophy ‘purity Made Simple’ One-Step Facial Cleanser • philosophy • Garnier SkinActive Moisture Rescue Refreshing Gel-Cream • Garnier…

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In Casual Wear

Cold Weather Essentials

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Hey Guys! So shortly after I posted this picture to my Instagram, I started getting DM’s asking for tips on choosing a winter jacket that is actually warm, reasonably priced, and lasts well. Those conversations then kind of grew into questions about base layers, the best (actual) winter boots and the inevitable “It gets how cold there?” If you want tips on dressing warm in snowy and cold conditions, I recommend asking a prairie region Canadian. While our neighbors on the east coast deal with moist cold, snow and freezing rain, and our neighbors in the Okanagan can deal with intense amounts of snow- in the past month, my city has had temperatures above freezing, around -30Celcius, freezing rain, snowfall warnings and frigid sunshine. We see a little bit of it all which means our winter gear has to be pretty well-rounded- especially considering we can go from above zero…

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In Personal Updates

Life Lately #4- Jazz, Fun Activities and Christmas

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Hi Guys! Happy Friday! Today felt like a great day to do a Life Lately post since so much has happened in the past seven weeks. Firstly, I chopped my hair off in late November and it’s been super fun playing with it shorter. I waffle on keeping it this length versus growing it back out, but my general dislike of my hair touching me will probably lead to me growing it back out eventually- I just love how fun short hair is. Next item, I hosted a super fun “Friendsgiving”/Holiday Dinner with some of my friends and it was great to all hang out together! That night I also discovered a water issue in my garage that set into motion a BUNCH of things that sort of took over December, but thank God for good friends and especially my dad, who helped me troubleshoot and clean up what was…

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In Lifestyle

Real Girl Review: OPI Infinite Shine 2

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Hey guys!   Today I’m sharing my final post in my Real Girl Review roundup of gel-alternative nail polishes! This last experience is with the OPI Infinite Shine 2 polishes! They are marketed to last 11 days which seems an odd number, but they are specifically stated to be “gel-like”. My sister picked up this color and the starter set of the base and top coat at Sally Beauty supply and I’ve tried it a couple of times now. The first difference is that you need to use a base coat and a top coat, the duo pack of which will cost $19.99. Then, you’ll need a color, which will cost about $13, and there are 150+ to choose from! Keeping everything the same to my last two posts, a once-monthly salon gel manicure will cost you about $420 a year. With the $13 per color and $20 set of base…

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In Lifestyle

Gifts from 2017

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Hey guys! I love a “New Years Resolution” post as much as anyone else, but this year I wanted to share the things I’m grateful for, rather than just what I’m striving for. This time last year I was honestly in a fog- having lost a job, lost a family member, started a new job and feeling all of the struggles of life we can all relate to each other regarding. I feel like I spent too much time thinking about what I wanted 2017 to be, and not enough time reflecting on the good in 2016. So here are five things I loved about 2017 that I’m grateful for as we kick start 2018. Time with Family 2017 was an awesome year for spending time with my family. Up until July I was working half-time, so my afternoons were often spent with my mum, and as the summer wore…

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