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2015 Blogging Year in Review

By Sheetar 15 January 2016 8 January 2016

With some help from the Jetpack help team, I finally have my Annual Report from Jetpack/Wordpress. Somehow it didn’t generate automatically, but the admins pushed it through! 2015 was overall a better year, but again not without loss (two cousins on the husband’s side), and more uncertainty with husband’s job which is a rather big worry at the moment. For the good, we had a nice trip to New Hampshire in the early part of the year, and another to Holland in the fall (that I still have yet to blog about, oops). I had all kinds of photography jobs this year from band concerts to Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, babies, families, and birthday parties. Our dogs are still around at 12 years old, though they sleep a little more than they used to (but hey, who doesn’t love a good old dog who snores an awful lot?!). I knit a little less, we homebrewed more, harvested tons of grapes and peaches from our yard, had some fantastic gatherings with friends and family, started beekeeping, and found new genealogical connections.

2015? Not bad! Looking forward to see what 2016 has in store for us!

Sepia Saturday

Sepia Saturday 312

By Sheetar 9 January 2016 7 January 2016

The prompt image for Sepia Saturday this week featured a group of men playing, “Push Ball.” It’s a game I’ve never heard of before, but taken as a group of men, my image fits in! Something about the prompt image immediately brought this one to mind, so I’m going with it. The image is from a set taken by Earl William Powis (15 Oct 1896 – 26 Mar 1973) while he was serving in the Navy during WWI (1917-1919, stationed at Yorktown, Virginia. It doesn’t look like Earl is in this photo, so I’m assuming he was the photographer and took a photo of a few of his friends to send home. The back has no label or precise date, so all we know is that they’re Navy men stationed at Yorktown and a two year span which isn’t terrible in terms of identifying an unlabelled photo!

Sepia Saturday

Sepia Saturday 311

By Sheetar 8 January 2016 8 January 2016

My first thought on seeing the prompt image for this Sepia Saturday was WOW, I’ve got nothing. Then I started flipping through the photos from my husband’s family and BINGO, there this one was. The back reads, “Mom, first customer at Grand Union.” I’m not sure which Grand Union or what year this was, but it’s probably in the 1950s in northeastern New Jersey, and the woman is my husband’s grandmother, Hilje “Hilda” (Dijkema) Jaarsma. I can’t seem to find any newspaper articles in NJ mentioning the event, or at least not any indexed and scanned online. Still, it’s a great photo of an interesting event, and is completely relevent to the prompt image for this week! What a great chance to get to use this photo for a Sepia Saturday.

Sepia Saturday

Sepia Saturday 310

By Sheetar 7 January 2016 7 January 2016

Well, after a very busy holiday season, I’m finally catching up on a back log of posting. This is Sepia Saturday from before the annual winter break. Seated in the chair, examining the manual for his new Polaroid Land Camera 250, is Leon Kitko, my grandfather. The Christmas tree is decorated with garland and tinsel, and all the unwrapped gifts sit under the tree. Christmas was a big deal for his second wife, Romayne (Greenaway) Kitko, and there are tons and tons of photos of the Christmases they spent together over the years. I’m fairly certain the camera that goes with the manual followed me home in the last few years after Leon and Romayne both passed, so it’s neat to have this photo to connect it to Leon. It’s also a photo I’d absolutely expect to see – Leon with the furrowed brow, intently reading a manual, feet up, dirty socks just pulled out of his work boots on the floor. The date on the back of the photo is 25 December 1967, and the photo is a polaroid as well.

Subscription Boxes

BOOM!Box December 2015

By Sheetar 17 December 2015 14 August 2016

Welcome to Espionage Cosmetics’ BOOM!Box, first of its name. Earlier this year, they had a Kickstarter campaign and the rewards included beta testing for their new subscription box. I originally had one month of beta testing but expanded to three additional months towards the end of summer (Check out the older posts under the Espionage Costmetics tag). The beta testing boxes were mostly nail wraps, four per month, so I wasn’t sure what to expect for the first official EC BOOM Box, but I know they have a habit of going above and beyond, so I was hoping for something epic. EPIC was definitely what they delivered here! I couldn’t even begin to expect that they’d add in items from other vendors, but am super pleased with the selection of products that go from glitter to art prints, nail wraps to perfume. Below is the run down of the contents, but Espionage Cosmetics? You rocked my world this month.

Wyvern Scales Nail Wrap – 1 wrap / $10 – A take on their popular Mermaid Scales line in green and glitter to match the limited edition Bombsheller leggings released this winter! The Mermaid Scales design was already a favorite, so this is a fun color to have in addition to the blue and orange. Plus, this nail wrap set the theme for the whole box. Also included with the wrap is a nail file because you can never have too many.
Cosmetic Glitter in E.L.F.S. – 1 pot / $7.50 – ALL the holiday colors in one crazy pot of red, green, and gold glitter. I’ve already seen this used on a nail polish base and LOVED how that looked, so I may have to try that sometime soon!
Wyvern Headband w/ Self Rescuing Princess Pin – 1 set / $25 – HOW AWESOME IS THIS?! Again on the Wyvern Scales theme, this is the same fabric used in the Bombsheller leggings, but made into a headband (I have SO MUCH HAIR so this is perfect!) and adorned with a Self Rescuing Princess pin. The pin is probably going to go hang out on my knitting bag and the headband will be put to use right away. The button is by Kiru and the headband was sewn up by the geniuses at the EC HQ.
Wyvern Scale Pendant – 1 pendant / $15 – The pendant, from Optimystical Studios, reads, “Never laugh at live dragons, you fool.” The background is the same Wyvern Scale pattern as the nail wraps and the quote is from The Hobbit. Cute geeky pendant and a fun way to extend the theme into something beyond the nail wrap.
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab Imp’s Ear – 1 vial / $4 – I received the Edith Cushing scent which is described as, “pearlescent vanilla musk with white sandalwood, grey amber, white patchouli, ambrette seed, and oudh.” It’s a really wonderful earthy, musky scent which suits me perfectly. Sandalwood is probably my favorite scent of all time, and I couldn’t quite pick it out of the blend at first because the scents all work together as a unique entity. Edith Cushing is a character from the Crimson Peak movie, and while I didn’t get a chance to see the movie yet, it’s on my to-watch list should I get the chance! Oh and BPAL is already on my list of favorite companies, so I was happy to see them involved in this box too.
Sam Skyler Artwork & Coloring Page – ??? – A, “We Are Not Things,” print of Furiosa from Mad Max Fury Road and coloring page both of which are awesome. What’s more awesome is that Sam Skyler created the painting of Furiosa using a sharpie and Espionage Cosmetics products. Brilliant! I need to find a nice frame and appropriate spot on the wall for the print since I LOVED the movie.
Cupcake Bath Bomb – 1 bath bomb / $7 – In the scent, “Peppermint Forest,” this bomb is 1/2 bath bomb and 1/2 sugar scrub. I’m not a big bath person since we have a teeny tiny tub and it’s just not good for taking baths. I’m going to save this for a future vacation that includes a big jacuzzi tub since that’s the only way to do it justice. Peppermint isn’t my favorite scent either, but this one isn’t overwhelmingly candy-cane scented, more sugary than anything else, so I’ll have to report back once I’ve had a chance to try it. Oddly, this item wasn’t listed on the product card, but it’s a great inclusion in the box!

Overall value is somewhere around $90 if I count the print and coloring page as a $20 value. Considering the box costs between $25 and $30 depending on the subscription length, that’s a HUGE value! On top of the box, there are all kinds of coupon codes and offers plus possible “Golden Tickets” in random boxes worth $10-75 in shop credit. You really can’t go wrong with this box – so much thought and time went into the whole thing and I’m positively blown away. If you’re interested in signing up for February’s box, do it now! And if you want to give a little love back to me, use my referral link 🙂

Subscription Boxes

Goodbeing (formerly GoodeBox) December 2015

By Sheetar 15 December 2015 15 December 2015

December’s Goodbeing Box is here! Note the name change – Goodebox is now Goodbeing, and the name change reflects an upcoming change in their structure which will include dedicated beauty, wellness, and lifestyle boxes. Pretty excited to see what’s coming, but if the boxes continue to be this good, I’m sticking around! I have to say that December’s box pretty much knocked my socks off. The only item I’ll pass on is the nail polish which is way too hot pink for me, but the rest of it is absolutely spot on.

Red Flower Ocean Purifying Body Wash – 8 oz / $22 – (Product is 50mL, value of $4.65) I’ll admit that I wasn’t sure about the scent having read the description. Eucalyptus is one of those scents that’s totally off-putting for me – reminds me too much of those gross cough drops. However, the other scents really come out on top of the eucalyptus in the end and make for an invigorating scent that’s great for a morning shower. It doesn’t foam a whole lot, but all those oils make my skin feel really well moisturized at the end of a shower, so it’s a keeper!
Kumari Aroma Mist – 2 oz / $24 – (Product is 1 oz, value of $12) WOW. For the record, I really like musky, earthy sort of scents, and the scent label on this? Earth. Right up my alley. It’s an interesting blend of cinnamon, jasmine, and citrus that I would’ve never thought worked well together, but my does it ever! They all work together to make this warm, spicy scent that is just pure magic on my skin. I like that it’s light and not overpowering either, perfect for everyday use.
Graydon Superfood Mask + Scrub – 20 capsules / $39 – (Sample is 5 capsules, value of $9.75 – price is in CAD, so it comes out to $28.41 USD at the moment for 20 capsules or a value of $7.10 USD for the sample) This is a really interesting way to deliver a mask. Each ‘dose’ is placed inside a clear capsule. The contents of the capsule are then added to water (or oil, honey, or yogurt) and used as a scrub or mask or both! The capsule is supposed to help keep the ingredients fresh and I’d imagine it keeps them together better so you’re getting an even mixture every time. It sounds great, in theory, until you find out the capsules aren’t incredibly willing to open, and you end up trying to cut one open while you have a tablespoon of honey in your palm. After I got the capsule open and combined with the honey, it worked in a creamy mixture that was just enough to cover my face. I left it on for about 5 minutes while it tingled on my face and then washed it off. It really did tingle while on my face and while I can’t say it did anything super spectacular, it did feel nice, and the results are less drying than a clay mask, so I like it as a nice treatment that isn’t too harsh. There are apparently some tips and tricks on how to open the capsule on their blog here that I wish I had found earlier!
Board and Batten Sugar Scrub – 4 oz / $36 – (Sample is 2 oz, value of $18) This smells absolutely delightful. It’s a thick paste sort of sugar scrub and the addition of Shea and Jojoba makes it moisturize as it scrubs. I LOVE a good sugar scrub like this, and with the scent being so wonderful, it’s going to be a quick favorite.
Aila Nail Polish – .5 oz / $17 – (Product is full size) I already love Aila nail polish, but I’m not a fan of the color provided here, Dr. Rosenbeaver. I have a huge hatred of anything pink, and this is billed as a fuchsia polish with red glitter. It’s a world of nope for me, but I’m sure I can find someone who will love it. It’s a shame because I really do love Aila, but not pink.

The total value of the box is $58.75 which is about average for this box. I don’t know why this one is sticking in my mind as being more amazing than some of the others.. it might be that the products all feel very luxury and suit me rather well. Even without the polish, the box is still a great value and they’re products and brands I haven’t tried before which is always fun.

Sepia Saturday

Sepia Saturday 309

By Sheetar 12 December 2015 11 December 2015

For Sepia Saturday this week, our prompt image features a soldier eating a donut. I’d been itching to include the above photo for quite a while, so I decided to go with the theme of eating and include it! The folks in the photo are clearly having a good time, and you can almost hear the laughter burst out of the image. It’s actually a double exposure, and the back has the label, “English Lesson.” At first I had a good laugh – if this is an English lesson, sign me up! Then I realized that you can see a bookcase, names on a chalk board, and students hunched over their desks in the far left of the photo. The foreground of people laughing and drinking out of glasses is definitely a second exposure. From the names on the board, it appears that this was taken after the Jaarsma family arrived in the USA from the Netherlands, so sometime after 1951. I have to imagine that the more jovial scene was in a dark restaurant or cafe that allowed the other image with the bookcases and chalkboard to show up in the spots the flash didn’t touch. I don’t recognize any faces, but the names on the chalkboard are clearly readable, at least a few of them. The class would’ve been somewhere in Northern New Jersey near Paterson, and a quick search on Ancestry.com led me to find an Elvira Lucaire living in Ridgewood, NJ in 1960, and she may be the Ellie Lucaire on the chalkboard list. I’m including the other names here in the case that the magic of the internet brings someone looking for their ancestor to this photo! Janet Lehmann, Ellie Lucaire, Marge Lesch, Marilyn Kozlowski, Liz Lee, Nancy Kime, Muriel Knapp, Dot Lynch.

Sepia Saturday

Sepia Saturday 308

By Sheetar 5 December 2015 2 December 2015

The prompt image for Sepia Saturday 308 featured a man walking along a beach with his dog. I thought about it for a second, and since my family lived mostly the center of Pennsylvania over the last 100 years, an area with no sandy beaches, I decided I had plenty of photos of men with dogs and took the easy way out this week! Pictured above is Leon Kitko with “Tramp.” The back of the photo says that it was taken in May 1971 and that Tramp was Lynn Adams’ dog. If I’ve got my facts right, the dog wasn’t Lynn Adams’ for very long and Leon basically ended up adopting the dog since he spent more time with Leon than anyone else. There are bunches of photos of Tramp in the collection of Polaroids from the 1970s proving that he was a beloved pet and companion for a number of years. Anyone who has had a family dog knows exactly what I’m talking about, and we have two rescue pups who share our home. Just like grandpa, we’ve taken countless photos of our dogs and share them with anyone (and everyone). While people might think it’s odd to save photos of grandpa’s pets, I feel a sort of nostalgia for them even though I never knew any of these pets. Beyond that, the photos work to paint a bigger picture about the sort of person Grandpa was – all the photos of pets show he was an animal lover. To me, they’re not just a mass of photos of pets, but photos taken with love to remember a life shared with furry companions.