Pocketful of Joules

I just received my Fall FabFitFun box, which means it’s box reveal time!

Before we get into the goodies, here is a quick overview of FabFitFun:

• Boxes come on a quarterly basis and cost $49.99 each. To upgrade to a ‘select member’ you just pay for a year at once (rather than quarterly), it’s usually a little cheaper and it gives you the chance to make some choices on options. If you want to try them out, here is a special $10 off link for you to use on your first box.
• You can find links to all of my previous FabFitFun box reviews here.

Here’s my Fall 2018 box:

I love the design of this season’s box! I used a previous one for pretty storage in my closet and this one may be used to store something small like bathing suits in the off-season. So cute!

Let’s look inside:

Yeah, there’s A LOT going on in this month’s box!

BeautyBlender, retail $20
I’ve heard of the BeautyBlender sponges before, but since I don’t wear foundation I’ve never really looked very closely at them. According to FabFitFun, the BeautyBlender seamlessly blends cream, powder and liquid formulas for a flawless finish. While I appreciate the item, it is not really for me so I already put it on the trade board and traded it for something I’d actually use.

Vince Camuto Luck Tote in “Red Desert”, retail $128

As a seasonal member I was able to choose between a black and gray version of this tote, or the brown one I picked. This tote is made of vegan leather and has a slim look that could fit a laptop and a few essentials. It also has an interior pocket for smaller stuff. To be honest, I don’t really like this tote. I think the retail price is super inflated for a tote made of plastic. I would have much preferred an actual leather tote, but I know that’s not everyone’s preference. Since I don’t want it just sitting around my house, this one also got traded away for something I’ll use (see below, I traded it for another jar of the eye mask!).

GlamGlow BubbleSheet Oxygenating Deep Cleanse Mask (2 pack), retail $18
The masks activate into a 3D bubble experience with microbubbles that invigorate and detoxify the skin, revealing a glowing, deeply purified complexion. I’m super excited to try these masks. And if the bubbles are extreme, I’ll probably put it on my Instagram stories so we can all giggle about it together!

Simply Whimsical Tea Towels, retail $14.99
I actually just bought some more kitchen towels recently, but these will be great to add to my collection. I use tea towels basically every day, so this is a great addition to the box.

Skin&Co Roma Blue in Capri, retail $22
This multipurpose shower gel is inspired by the lemon farmers in Capri, Italy, and is scented with wild sage, lemon and alpine rose. I really like the scent of this shower gel and I just ran out of my current lingerie cleaner, so this one will be used when I hand-wash my bras. It’s a nice way to keep them clean without ruining them, and also puts a little bit of scent on you that lasts all day long!

Alfred French Press, retail $22

Another opportunity for seasonal members to personalize their box was with the choice between this coffee press or a ceramic teapot. I’m a coffee drinker, so I decided to try the coffee press. While I do think the coffee press is super cute, I don’t know if I’d ever bother to use it. This one will be going into my gift pile for Christmas.

Cylo Cobra Bluetooth Wireless Earbuds, retail $40
This was yet another seasonal member choice, where I was able to pick between an umbrella or these wireless earbuds. My current earbuds are acting up, so these came at the perfect time because I was about to buy a new pair!

Grown Alchemist Polishing Facial Exfoliate, retail $67
This exfoliate gently polishes dry skin to reveal a radiant and moisturized complexion. It is formulated with glucomannan from konjac to absorb oils and pink grapefruit to fight free radicals. I don’t know what any of that means, but I use an exfoliant on my face 3x a week and this one will be added into rotation when I need a new bottle for the shower.

Farmacy Dew it All Total Eye Cream, retail $38

How cute is this packaging?! I am a new convert to eye cream, so I’m excited to try this one out. If it is anywhere near as effective as it is cute, I’ll look younger in no time! I have high hopes for this cream, so I traded the tote for an extra jar of it for my stash.

Overall Thoughts
All in all, this was not my favorite box from FabFitFun. The tote was the item with the largest value, and it was a total miss for me. I also won’t be using the BeautyBlender or the French Press at all. I am very happy with the ear buds, bubble sheet masks, eye cream, tea towels and face exfoliator though. The total value of everything in my Fall FabFitFun box was $370, which was much less than the Summer box. However, I did find enough items that I enjoyed that make it worth the price for me.

What is your favorite item from the Fall FabFitFun box?

Do you want to try out the FabFitFun box? I have a special code that will give you $10 off your first box, just use this link.

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post and FabFitFun did not pay for me to review their products on my blog. If you decide that you would like to sign up for your own subscription and use my link, I will receive referral credits on my account and you will receive $10 off your first box.

Each year on my birthday, I post an annual birthday picture.

If you feel like doing a little clicking, here is 40, 39, 38, 37, and 36.

And now, I’m 41.

Years and years ago, I remember thinking that it would be fun to do a pinup photo shoot.

But I would never do it. I mean, I’m not skinny enough. I basically only have two poses. And I’m dreadful at trying to ‘be sexy’ in photos… instead I look mad. Or constipated. Or just terribly unphotogenic and weird.

The thought stuck with me though. And a couple years passed.

And I still had plenty of excuses: I need to lose {magical number} pounds. I have weird tan lines. My tattoo wasn’t finished. I’ll probably look stupid. The photos will call attention to my lumps and bumps. It will be disappointing and a waste of money.

But then, when I turned 40 last September I told myself that THIS is the year. I’m going to just do it. I’m not getting any younger or skinnier or more coordinated.

So, for my birthday last year I purchased a photo session from Atomic Cheesecake Studios. I decided to do a 2 outfit shoot, so that I could try two separate looks and a bunch of different poses. I figured, at least one of them might turn out well, right?!

Stacy from Atomic Cheesecake started by putting my hair up in curlers, airbrushing foundation on and then slapping on a crap-ton of makeup.

Then, she helped me pick out my first outfit. I chose a classic pinup look and went with a corset, ruffled panties, stockings, garter belt and heels. She used superhuman strength to tie that corset so tight that I could barely breathe. Then, she styled my curls, added a flower to my hair and told me EXACTLY how to pose.

Since this is the internet, I’m not going to share most of the photos with this outfit because it was QUITE THE SEXY. Honestly, if I saw you all in person I’d show it to you on my phone. However, I’ve gotten some gross emails/comments/direct messages from stinky boys on here asking to see my goodies… so I’m not going to share them because EWWW.

However, I will share this close-up shot:

Yeah, that’s right. I’m a pinup.

And I don’t look weird OR dorky!

For my second outfit, I wanted something garage/mechanic themed. My husband was a mechanic for about 7 years and he still spends lots of time in his fancy garage rebuilding cars for fun (and changing my oil, thanks honey!). So, I thought it would be fun to do something that I could stick on a calendar for his garage.

Stacy had a “mechanic’s outfit” and added different thigh-highs, a garter and red heels. She also restyled my hair into a different look. She even added a few props I could use for my super sassy ‘oooh, I’m a sexy ass mechanic’ posing.

These are my two favorites of this look:

I’ve had these photos since the spring, but I haven’t shared them anywhere before today. I’m not sure why. I love them. I mean I really LOVE them. They make me feel sexy and confident and pretty and strong and awesome! I’m coming up on my 41^st birthday in a couple days, so I figured it was the perfect time to show you all.

And I alllllllllmost shared the scandalous photos too, because they are HAWT. Maybe when I’m celebrating my 50th… {wink}

Have you done a pinup photo shoot? Is it one of those things on your bucket list that you think you might do someday?

Almost exactly 2 years ago I posted about my *groundbreaking* idea of having two laundry baskets in my closet (read it here). Sure, it wasn’t rocket science, but since implementing my new approach I have shrunk my clothing by accident probably 98% less often.

There was one issue though. After washing my ‘no dryer’ items, I’d lay them all on top the washer/dryer to let them air dry. Or, I’d stick them on hangers and hang them all over my bedroom – on my closet door, on my dresser knobs, on Ollie’s tail if he was moving too slowly…

It was a mess.

So I decided to improve the situation with a fancy, new laundry rack. I didn’t have space for a standing rack though, so I found one that mounts on the wall. I checked out a bunch of options and ended up with one that had 3.5 out of 5 stars and almost 100 customer reviews.

Specifically, this one:

I ordered it off of Amazon (of course, because I order practically EVERYTHING off Amazon nowadays) and it came a couple days later. I also ordered a set of clothespins and chia seeds and a dog collar and a lunch box…

Anywhoo… it came like this:

It wasn’t too much of a pain to put together, but it was missing one screw. I still haven’t gotten around to replacing it, which is kind of annoying. The whole thing went together in less than 20 minutes or so and then I screwed it into the wall (with drywall anchors):

I like that it collapses to the wall when I’m not using it and then I can easily open it up and hang items when I’m doing laundry:

This $50 investment makes doing laundry so much easier/better/more tolerable for me. I mean, I still hate doing laundry, but at least now I can hang everything up to dry without playing clothing Tetris on the top of the washer/dryer.

How do you air dry clothes? Do you have a clothing rack or just hang things all over the house?

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