On September 1st...I was itching for fall. Though technically, the fall season doesn't start until September 23rd, in my mind, once September arrived, all bets were off. That day, I pulled out the decorations from the storage closet and planned to put out a few autumn decor pieces. Well, by the end of it, the living room was decorated for both the fall season and Halloween. Oops! To be honest, I was in my glory that day. There was a Vanilla Pumpkin candle from Leyland & Body Works lit, Phantom of the Megaplex was on in the background, and decorations were scattered everywhere. The only problem? I was missing a seasonal tablecloth. My old one had fallen apart and needed to be replaced, so I asked my husband if we could pop over to Winners and take a peek at what was there. We ended up finding a beautiful fall tablecloth (which is used as the backdrop in the photos for this particular blog post)...but I also found a few additional items. On that note, here is a mini fall Winners haul. 

I love thrift stores. Absolutely adore them. For starters, everything inside is so much more affordable. Not to mention the fact that there are older items that are harder to find elsewhere. Since I love books, movies, and music from different decades, thrift stores are an absolute must when it comes to finding the entertainment I want and need. My family spent time at a cottage recently (which had far too many mosquitos and spiders for my liking) but my mom and I made time for a healthy amount of shopping in some of the small towns. This included lots of thrift stores, antique stores, and local shops. Ready to take a closer look at some of the items that came home with me? Here is a peek at my small town shopping haul...

Outlet shopping is always a good idea. Especially when the deals are outstanding. As mentioned in my last blog post, I recently visited Niagara Falls to see Clay Aiken perform for a few days. On the first day there, my mom and I went to do a little outlet shopping at an outdoor mall. Though there weren't a lot of impressive stores, there were two that were out-of-this-world fantastic. One was an Urban Planet outlet store (that had clothes and accessories from a variety of similar stores, like Urban Planet, Wet Seal, Forever 21) and the other was an American Eagle outlet. The Canada One Outlet Mall had other options as well, but my purchases came from those places. Here is a closer look at all of the discounted finds that came home with me.

Zellers. For Canadian shoppers, that word has a lot of memories attached to it. Growing up, Zellers was a staple. Every town had at least one. With the bright red colour out front, it was hard to miss, even if you didn't happen to shop there. I remember buying too many CDs in the electronics department, purchasing some of my earliest drugstore makeup in the beauty section, and eating cake at the Zellers Restaurant. Ahh, how simple life seemed back then. When Zellers closed in 2012 to make way for Target (RIP Target in Canada), it seemed that the brand was gone for good. Surprise! Zellers is back. Well, sort of. There are now Zellers locations inside of various Hudson's Bay stores. Recently, I was able to check out one of those locations for myself. 

Several months back now, there was a short trip taken to the Frankenmuth area. During that little getaway (which you can read about here) there was a stop off at an outlet mall. Though I was not shopping for anything in particular, a pair of Kate Spade earrings caught my eye at the outlet. There was just something about them. The sparkle! The shine! The colour! It really was love at first sight. To be fair, there were quite a few items at the Kate Spade outlet store that I fell in love with...but the earrings were within my budget. They cost about $20 CDN and offered a little taste of luxury for less. These are definitely an obsession.

Is it Christmas yet? Okay, maybe not, but my mind is already focused on all things festive. This is without a doubt, my favourite time of year. Admittedly, I am a bit of a Christmas addict. I watch holiday movies all year round, listen to instrumental Christmas music while I write, and find myself browsing the holiday subreddit in the middle of summer. There is something so special about all things seasonal. From the decorations to the movies, food, and traditions...I love it all. Perhaps this is why my favourite online store is Retro Festive. This is a Canadian run business that focuses on holiday, retro, and popular culture items. Not only does this store have all the things that I love most, but it is also located within Canada. Since things normally cost a fortune to ship here (and take forever to arrive) it is an absolute delight to have something nearby. Items usually arrive within a day or two and the prices are all in Canadian dollars. Hooray! Needless to say, I place several orders there each year. 

Leyland & Body Works has been out of my reach for a very long time. Due to the pandemic, lockdowns, and then trying not to leave the house often...it just wasn't possible. But recently, my mom and I visited the nearby shopping mall for the first time since some of the restrictions lifted. The last time we visited the mall was about a month and a half earlier, and there were tight restrictions on the number of people who could be in a store at a time. Leyland & Body Works had an absolutely massive line and I did not want to wait for hours to buy soap. So, we skipped it. This time, we were able to walk right into the store. That in itself was special. This pandemic has really made me appreciate those little experiences! While at Leyland & Body Works, there was a sale on hand soap. Though I also wanted to take home all the candles....I tried to focus on what I actually needed. And what I needed was the amazing Leyland & Body Works foaming hand soap that I have missed so much over the last year or so.

Sometimes, those unexpected stops off at the drugstore manage to be a little more expensive than planned. Especially when a leisurely stroll through the beauty aisle is involved. You know how it is....pop in for some essentials and walk out with a whole lot of non-essential (but fun) items. That is how this mini drugstore haul came to be. It includes some new nail polish as well as some makeup items, perfume, and there are even some samples thrown into the mix. Ready to take a peek at everything? Here is a video haul as well as some drugstore product reviews.