Mary Morelli

Why Scentbird is my new favorite monthly subscription

June 14, 2016

Last month I received my very first Scentbird perfume. I heard about the website through a YouTube video and thought I would give it a shot. I’ve always been on the fence about perfumes because of my allergies. It was hard to find ones that I enjoyed, that wouldn’t cause me to look like I’d been crying all day, and that were in my price range. I’ve been wanting to try lots of new ones and start building a decent little collection so finding Scentbird has been perfect.

If you’ve never heard of Scentbird before its a subscription based site that sends you a small 30 day supply of perfume every month. Your first month you’ll also get a case to put the vials in. This way you can try before you commit to an entire bottle of something for a really low price. When I got my first one in last month I was actually really surprised at how much you get in the vial for less than $15 a month! The other really great thing about the company is that their site is designed to help you find the kind of scent that you like, or in my case the kind that I’m not going to have an allergy attack with by just opening the packaging. You can use their smart search to combine occasions, scent type, seasons and more to create a list of perfumes that fit your needs. Then add them all to your queue for a hassle free subscription.

The carrying case is pretty amazing too. Not only is it designed to make applying perfume easy but it actually allows you to take it with you without fear of a bottle breaking or spilling in your bag. It’s perfect when you’re going to be out and on the go all day and need to refresh it!

There’s also a perfume of the month feature and just in case you forget to add to your queue, they’ll send you that so you don’t miss out. It gets even better because they have a colognes available too so there’s something for everyone! Does this sound good to you? Subscribe to Scentbird today and get a free perfume!

Music Monday

8tracks

June 13, 2016

Starting this month I’m going to be trying to do new mixes at least once a month, with the hope of doing them once a week. Some of them might be inspired by shows or movies that I’ve been watching while others might be based on muses for some of my writing projects. Either way, be on the lookout for new ones to be posted on here Mondays, or follow me on 8tracks to hear them first!

Cooking, Lifestyle

Garlic Parmesan Shrimp

June 8, 2016

Recently I did a quick meal out of things I happened to already have in the fridge. I was craving spaghetti but I wanted something a little on the lighter side as well as something that would be healthier for me. This meal was really easy, however I didn’t measure anything out so I can’t give you specifics on how much to use of what ingredients.

First I started with a spaghetti squash since I knew it would take the longest to cook. I always like to roast mine, although I know many people cook theirs in the microwave. I tossed it in the oven with some olive oil, salt and pepper. If you aren’t sure how to cook a spaghetti squash, a quick Google search can show you a few different ways.

While that was in the oven, I started on the shrimp. I warmed some Holy Smoke olive oil (if you haven’t tried this stuff out you really need to) up in a pan with some minced garlic and just sauteed the shrimp until they were done. I set them aside and then added more olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper to the pan and began warming it up while I waited on the squash to be done. After pulling the squash out of the oven I added grated Parmesan cheese to the olive oil along with about of 1/4 of a cup of water (if I was making regular pasta I would have reserved pasta water for this) and let that all simmer together on the stove. I tossed the shrimp back into the pan and began adding the spaghetti squash little by little.

That’s it! The meal took less than an hour to cook and only really included two ingredients I don’t normally keep stocked in the kitchen. If you try it out, let me know!

Lifestyle, Makeup

Time To Branch Out

May 24, 2016

Anyone that’s known me for a while is aware that I have a love affair when it comes to MAC Cosmetics. I’ve been almost exclusively using the brand for makeup for about 1o years and fell in love with it back when I was a junior in high school. I go through phases with makeup so it never really paid off for me to experiment with other brands. Currently I’m getting out of a bare minimum look phase and starting to get back into wearing more eye and lip colors.

In my new adventures with makeup I thought it would be awesome to try out some new brands and new types of products. The first step, of course, was hitting up the Sephora site. We have one here in Charleston now but it’s much safer for me to shop online instead of wanting to buy everything in the store. I did a little research into what I wanted to try first but had been putting off the order until I got and email about free perfume. Of course I had to take advantage of that!

The first big change I made was trying out the Make Up For Ever Pro Finish powder. So far I haven’t noticed a huge difference between in and the MAC powder that I’d been using other than I feel like I color matched better with Make Up For Ever.

The Marc Jacobs birthday gift was a great add on, however I’m not fully impressed with the eye liner. While it goes on smoothly it smudges very easily for me with just wear. The lipstick however feels great and I love it!

As for the Ralph Lauren perfume, I’m in love! I’m going to be doing a full post on perfumes soon so I’ll save it for then!

Perfectly Posh

Perfectly Posh Spring/Summer 2016

February 9, 2016

Perfectly Posh

Honey Honey!

February 8, 2016

As some of you may know, I have an obsession with honey. I use it often and if I had the space I would probably start bee keeping. So when I saw that Perfectly Posh has an entire line of products that contains honey I was ecstatic. This stuff is amazing. It’s Da Bee’s Knees left my skin feeling so healthy that I would probably use it twice a day if I did’t stop myself. Everything is super moisturizing and a perfect pick me up for your skin in the winter while the fresh lemon scent helps lift my mood.

This week our body creme is on sale!

Honey, Honey! Healing Body Creme – $15 (this week only, $17 regularly)
Muddy Honey! Healing Body Mask – $15
Honey, Honey! Healing Hand Creme – $15
It’s Da Bee’s Knees Body Scrub – $24

Home, Lifestyle, Renovations

Guest Room Update

January 22, 2016

Guest room is finally coming together thanks to @jbciv

Now that my office is about half way sorted I’ve moved on to my next project. I’m still debating how I was to possibly incorporate a sitting area with a couch or chairs in there but for now everything is perfect. With the help of my friend Jack, I was able to get a new daybed put together for my guest room. Its a huge improvement over the futon that I’d had since I originally moved out of my parents house back in 2007. This bed is a real space saver with the drawers in the trundle section. I’m able to fit pillows and blankets that I’m not currently using in there and that helped free up space on the rack that I unfortunately have to use for linen storage. That is probably the biggest drawback of this house. My old condo was half the size but managed to fit almost twice the storage space in it. The transition from having a pantry and linen closet to not having either is still a struggle almost three years later.

I’ve got to admit, I might have an Ikea problem now. I’d still like to get a nice linen cabinet for the room and possibly a bedside table, although I’m not sure if it will fit yet (time to break out the tape measure). However, my living room furniture is starting to really show (and feel) their age and I think the guest room might have to take a back burner to a new couch. My goal for this year, as long as I have the funds to budget it in, is to finish both rooms. I have an idea for my living room but again it requires some measuring and careful planning.

Perfectly Posh

On A Chai High

January 21, 2016

Here’s a quick little message about the On A Chai High Snarky Bar. It’s by far my favorite product to use in the morning this winter. As its a former recruiting exclusive from 2015 supplies are limited so make sure to order yours asap!

Perfectly Posh

Spend $25 Get $5

January 21, 2016

I’m currently running a special now through the end of the month. Anyone that spends $25 (before tax and shipping) and selects my January Sales event will get $5 to spend next month on new products! There are lots of great flash sales going on throughout the month and don’t forget about the Valentine’s Day products also available. Those are only available in limited quantities and won’t last long.

Beauty Tip Tuesday, Lifestyle, Perfectly Posh

My Daily Routine – Hair Care

January 19, 2016

Since making the switch to Perfectly Posh I thought it was time to go over some of my daily routines that I’ve adopted. The first one I wanted to talk about is my morning routine.

First I’m going to start with my hair since I’ve always had problems with it. I’m not someone that spends a lot of time on their hair and I don’t really know much other than how to put it up in a ponytail. It’s just never been my thing. I blow dry and straighten every day on top of only getting it cut a couple of times a year. Needless to say, it can be an oily, damaged, split end mess. When Posh launched the End Mend line I knew I had to try it out. Their skin care products had helped me so much already I figured their hair products would work too. I bough the shampoo and conditioner after getting the spritz in my enrollment kit. It took a few days for my hair to adjust and because its so long I tend to use more than the recommended amount, but my hair has been transformed. I have a lot less frizz now and that’s even after being caught out in the rain without an umbrella a few times. My ends feel much more healthy than they normally do at this stage (I’m going on nine months without a trim).