What’s New With Ten Shades & Me? June 2024

Hello Lovelies,

What a wonderful, warm month it’s been! Summer is finally here and I’m thoroughly looking forward to the garden parties and evening barbeques. With July just around the corner, let’s talk about the exciting things that happened this past month:

1. I Finally Got My Black Baccara!

If you’ve been reaing my sister blog, you’ll know that I’ve been dying to get my hands on a “Black Baccara” rose bush! The Black Baccara – the deepest, darkest natural rose – was on my garden must-haves list for presumably all-too-obvious reasons. Deep and dark? That sounds a little like someone you know! 😉 

Anyway, when I could finally afford to buy it from Ebay, disaster struck – it was no longer in stock! Of couse I panicked, I really, really wanted a Black Baccara bush in my garden. Well, panic no more! With thanks to Leafy Tiger, I’m now one very happy owner of one very healthy (rose) bush!

2. Ten Shades & Me Grew (Again!)

A huge THANKYOU to everyone who has commented and subscribed lately. It’s been a crazy month, and it gets even crazier with the more people I interact with. I love it though, and I love being able to help, educate and inspire you, however that may be. Thankyou for supporting us, and for asking us to support you 🙂 

3. I Loved (And Lost)

Eesh, you know, I’m one of those people – I just love to love! Unfortunately, that’s not always good for me, and though I’m getting better at recognising unhealthy behaviours and situations, I think I still try and convince myself sometimes that I can just love the world all better! It’s great meeting new and wonderful humans, but it’s a lot harder when that shiny new human doesn’t want to to play nice with you, or when you feel like we might have made a connection, and then watching it all fizzle away. I don’t regret forming connections, at all. Perhaps saddeningly, I just need to learn to stop getting my hopes up with them so much.

4. I Accepted Another Affiliate Offer

I am so ecstatic to have been invited (and accepted!) to become an affiliate of Honey Play Box! I was invited to review a product and contribute to their brand, drawing upon my vast knowledge from almost two decades in the BDSM lifestyle. I can’t wait to get started on all that this exciting collaboration has to offer!

5. Matt Watched His Idol Live! 

Not a day goes by that I don’t hear about Dave Grohl (he’s even enshrined above Matt’s desk!), so when Foo Fighters were performing at a local venue, it was just destiny that Matt would go! He goes to a lot more gigs these days, and to be honest, I don’t mind it one bit! Gigs and festivals aren’t really my scene, but I’m more than happy to let Matt go. He is taking me to see a couple of comedians later this year though, which I’m both excited and nervous about!

6. We Went To War (With Our Neighbours) 

Ahh yes, you may recall that last month I told you about the issues we were having with our neighbours? Well, unfortunately, and despite my efforts to try and convince them to mediate, they have chosen to ignore my offer – they have chosen “war”. I really didn’t want to have to go down this route: having moved from “neighbours from hell” almost a decade ago, all I want is to get along with my neighbours and resolve our differences with a respectful conversation! Alas, if they’re not going to play nice, then, they leave me no other option. 

7. We Continued With Our Emergency Preparedness… And I’m Actually ENJOYING It!

I know! It sounds really sinister, right? Hear me out. Planning for emergencies is actually proving to be fun! There was a time that Matt and I tried an MRE (just as a taste test thing, to see what they were like) and we both ended up feeling quite unwell (and not really enjoying it anyway!), so we’ve been thinking about what we might actually like to eat in the event of an emergency. How would we heat it? What’s the best fire extinguisher(s) for our home? Where will we keep it? If our home caught fire, how will we escape? Should we install a grit bin? How would we prevent flood damage to our home? And more! It’s been challenging, but it hasn’t been scary – getting in some wet dog food trays for the pup even made our emergency preparedness feel quite cute!

8. We Got More Fish

I’ve given up on guppies, seriously. You know, I once said that “anyone who can’t keep a guppy alive should probably give up fishkeeping and get a houseplant instead”. Well, here I am! I don’t know what and I don’t know why, all I know is that one minute my guppies are acting like guppies, and the next, they’re clamping their fins, shimmying, not eating, barely moving and they typically pass away within a week. I’ve checked my water chemistry, it’s perfect. Water temperature? Absolutely fine. The thank is fully cycled (it’s been running three years!) and there’s no bugs because I run a UV sterilizer on my tank, so, I don’t know what’s going on. All I know, is that I’ve made the decision to go back to Endlers Livebearers, which typically prove to be much hardier than a “hardy” guppy.

We also got some more goldfish, after my Mum cleaned out her pond and discovered dozens of babies! We now have six new additions in our pond, including a fantail goldfish.  

9. We Ordered Another Toy To Review

Sometimes, browsing Lovehoney is dangerous business, I tell ya! I’m not exactly sure what made me buy it (curiousity, maybe?) but I purchased the Mantric Remote Control Knicker Vibrator to review. Matt and I have played around with remote control vibrators before, but didn’t really find the product lived up to our wants and desires. Can Mantric pull it off? Can we make our date nights out exciting again? Only time will tell! 

That’s it from me for this post! What’s been happening for you in June? What was your biggest bit of news? Give this post a like, share, or leave a comment below. Alternatively, click here for more news!

Until next time!

Stay safe & have fun.

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