It's Always Something . . .

Giveaway News! And A Challenge . . .

2012-01-23T20:35:00.003-06:00

I want to have a monthly giveaway. Yay! I've been kicking the idea around for a while and today decided to just do it. Have no fear, the prize will not always be soap. (Although maybe I should provide the option to trade the prize for a choice of soap. Hmm.) Anyway, I thought I would try to mix it up a bit and maybe have soap one month, tarts another month, gift cards from different places, just a variety of things.

I will try to have the giveaway posted on the first of each month. Since January is rapidly drawing to a close I knew I had to get this posted NOW. And this January 'giveaway' is going to more of a challenge anyway. Are you ready?

(Image from the Bodycology Facebook page.)

You've no doubt noticed that I've been posting about Bodycology lately. Well one product I just can not find is their lip glosses, and when something gets in my head I obsess about it. This is where the challenge comes in . . . If you can find these in a store in your area, send me any or all of the three scents/flavors and I will send you one, two, or three bars of soap of your choice from my stash. I have many soapmakers to chose from!

There is no deadline for this challenge. If you do happen to find these lip glosses and want to participate, contact me through the handy dandy new Contact Me button that I've added in the sidebar. I will swap up to three bars of soap to the first person who succeeds in finding these little buggers. If you send one shade, you can pick one bar. Send two shades, pick two bars. Send all three, pick three bars. That part is totally up to you.

Bodycology products can be found in many common stores like Walmart, Target, Kmart, Walgreens, etc. I live in south-central Wisconsin and I can NOT find these lip glosses anywhere. But I do know they ARE out there. Maybe you'll have more luck!

This challenge begins . . . NOW.

***UPDATE - Jan. 26***

Bodycology answered my question on their Facebook page, saying these "are available in select Walmart stores." Hmm, well, I'll have to check the Walmart that I rarely ever get to in another nearby city. The challenge is still on though!

Ancestry.com and Some Ranting

2012-01-23T09:04:00.001-06:00

Ok, I don't even know if I can accurately describe all the reasons why I hate Ancestry.com right now. I've been interested in my family history for many years but I've only just recently taken the plunge and started a paid subscription with Ancestry. We've all seen those commercials on TV where the people find these amazing things about their ancestors. I've heard stories from many people who supposedly found tons of information in their searches on the site.

I guess my expectation were just way too high.

When I decided at New Year's to finally revisit my family tree project I knew I'd finally be starting a paid subscription this time. First I spent several days just entering the information I already had into a free family tree program on the site. I decided I wouldn't worry about my mother's side of the family at this time because there is already someone in the family who has that all figured out. I decided I'd start with my dad's side, and then start working on my husband's family. As for my dad's side of the family, I've never had much information . . . a handful of names and dates, mostly pulled from gravestones or obituaries. I was so excited, thinking that with so little to start with I'd surely be finding tons of amazing new things once I started on Ancestry.com.

Wrong!

I couldn't find ANYTHING beyond what I already had. Really?! Where my dead ends begin are not that far back. You'd think it would be easy to at least find my great-grandparents' details. But no.

So I decided to leave that and start puttering around with hubby's family. I had to upgrade my subscription to get access to all the international records but that was ok because I'd figured all along that was where most of my work would be anyway. At first it was fun because I found small details about a couple of hubby's ancestors but then it all quickly dead ended again. What. The. Heck?!

If you're at all familiar with Ancestry.com you know if a little green leaf appears by any of your people you can click on that and it takes you to a list of possible connections or information. So far these have almost always been other members' family trees but these other people usually don't have any more info than I have, or there is no way to see more of the overall family tree. You can also hover your cursor over a person in your family tree and it brings up a box with options, one being 'Search Records,' which I've done for just about every person in my tree. It brings up a list of the most likely matching documents like census records or birth/death indexes. I've gotten a few small bits of info from the census records, but in general these 'records' offer nothing.

Does Ancestry.com have copies of birth/marriage/death records or not??? I was under the impression they did. Isn't it supposed to be the biggest genealogy site out there? With the amount of money you pay for their subscription you'd think you'd be able to see such things. But I have yet to find one. I've only been taken to 'indexes,' which are crap.

This doesn't give me any more information than what I probably had to enter to get this. It's a death *index* with no option for a death *certificate.* Oh sure, there is a certificate number there at the bottom but what good does that do me? If I have to go to the courthouse or wherever to see the actual certificate I'm pretty sure I could have done that with the same info I already had, and probably done it for free.

Ok, so I'm already angry and frustrated but I decide I must just be a noob with big expectations, and I take a deep breath and soldier on. I go over the same people again and again, and keep coming up with the same few and rather useless results. It occurs to me to try searching individual areas instead of the little 'Search Records' thing that pops up. Heh, should have figured it would just pop up the same list of results as the other way does. So really, what's the point? This site is supposed to be so huge, hosting sooooo many files and records and things, yet after handing over a huge chunk of money I'm only ever directed to the same old census records and birth/death *indexes.*

So I decided to go back to the messageboards. Years ago I'd played around with the free areas of the site and had posted on a couple messageboards. Last night I posted, asking for info on one of hubby's ancestors, thinking it might at least give me a new bit to work with. I did get a reply last night but it also reminded me why I hated posting those years ago when I'd first tried. The people are snotty. Seriously. Every person I've ever had any contact with in regards to ancestry has been snippy and cold, like they're being bothered. Well, snotty people, why put your info out there then? Heck, if someone were to contact me about info I had, I'd be thrilled to talk to them!

Anyway, the person who answered did indeed provide a bunch of information but when I went to the link that was provided, nothing matched. So really, I don't know if I can even rely on that new info. And it makes me wonder how this person got soooooo much detail when I can't even find a stinkin' date or two. Maybe I AM just a starry eyed noob?! I'm already considering canceling my subscription and just continue plugging away at the free sites and messageboards.

What a huge disappointment this has been.

If any of you are seasoned pros at Ancestry.com, would you be willing to talk me down from the ledge and help me out? I'd love you forever.

***UPDATE***
I did a bit of experimenting with people that I had plenty of information about and was still only getting referred to stupid census records and birth/death indexes. My dad was in the military. I know the years and where he served. I put every bit of information I could into a search of military records and NOTHING came up. It wasn't even giving me results for the surname in general, just a lot of stupid 'oh this is kinda close' names. Bunch of crap, that's for sure.

I came across a video on YouTube about a girl's love-hate (mostly hate) relationship with Ancestry and while she wasn't talking about the problems I'm having I did recognize some of the things she was angry about. And in the comments left on the video, I couldn't believe how many people hate Ancestry.com. I felt better about my own anger issues.

Soooooo . . . I rage quit. (Haha, gamer term.) I found that you can get a full refund if you are within the first seven days of your subscription, and I'm on Day 6 so I quit. I will still use the Family Tree Maker program to organize what info I have but I think I will now spend my time on the free sites and forums. If anyone has any recommendations, I'm all ears!

Review - Bodycology Body Cream & Shower Gel

2012-01-22T08:09:00.000-06:00

I recently received a package from Bodycology with some products for review. I'd been told I would be receiving "a package of samples," so imagine my surprise when I found two full size products!

I received a tube of the Bodycology body cream in White Gardenia scent. I always say I'm not a floral fan, so at first I was a bit bummed by this scent choice but I must admit, this is something I quite like. It's light and almost a bit sweet. The description on the tube is:

'beautiful

The rich floral scent of fresh gardenias promotes love, peace and good spirits.'

And . . .

'beneficial ingredients:

Moisturizing Aloe Vera, Shea Butter, and Nourishing Vitamins E & C.'

This is a thick cream, perfect for dry winter skin. It spreads amazingly easy and smooth though. A little definitely goes a long way! And it absorbs quickly, with no greasy feel. The scent lingers for quite a long time, but not in an overpowering way. This White Gardenia scent is just a soft, pleasant presence, not at all perfumey. Very nice, very fresh.

The full size tube of body cream is 8oz/ 227g, and sells for $3.97 at Walmart.

I also received a bottle of shower gel/bubble bath in Island Coconut scent. I was very excited about this because I *love* coconut scents. The bottle describes it as:

'tempting

The essence of the beach comes alive with the tempting scent of fresh cut coconut and sweet cream.'

It's a very sweet coconut scent, with that cream note being a definite presence in there. It's not a heavy scent though. It does linger on the skin well after you've showered but it's subtle, which makes it nice.

I used this as a shower gel, on a mesh pouf as always, and it lathered like a champ. There was a ton of immediate and long lasting, creamy lather. The bottle says there is honey and aloe vera in this product. Nice! It rinsed away easily and cleanly, and did not leave me feeling dry and tight. The scent was nice in the shower, but again it was not overpowering. A very nice product.

A full size bottle of shower gel/bubble bath is 16oz/473g and sells for $3.97 at Walmart.

Bodycology products can be found almost anywhere . . . Walmart, Target, Walgreens, etc. . . . and are extremely affordable. They have many scents to choose from, and a wide range of products from lotions and body washes, to hand soaps and body mists. They even have lip glosses, but those are extremely hard to find. If you 'like' them on Facebook, there is usually a $1.00 off printable coupon available in the left sidebar. I have enjoyed every product and every scent I have tried so far. Sadly, my one small complaint is that their website is not at all current. It would really be nice to have a place to go and see ALL of the products and scents currently available. But oh well, I still enjoy the products and hope to work with them again for future reviews. I've even signed up to be a Bodycology tester!

I encourage you to try any of the very affordable, very available Bodycology products. There is sure to be something for everyone!

Have YOU tried Bodycology yet?

Random Acts of Kindness - Milk

2012-01-18T11:43:00.001-06:00

I had to make a quick trip to town this morning because we were low on milk and bread and a few other things. As I'm cruising every aisle I come upon an 'extreme couponer' roadblock of sorts. Her cart is parked cockeyed nearly in the center of the aisle while she's piling it full with boxes of cereal and her young daughter is dancing back and forth in the rest of the aisle.

Ok, when it comes to coupons I think the Extreme Couponing way of doing things is pretty much just hoarding. I *did* see a story about a couple who learned the system and used it to donate the things they bought to shelters and food pantries and things like that. Now THAT is cool. But in general I think it's more awesome when you find ways to save big on your normal groceries.

So anyway, this lady was obviously on a strategic shopping mission. I kinda laughed to myself and went on my way when she finally moved on. Fast forward to the checkout line, where I find myself waiting behind this same lady. She had broken her purchases down by group or something, and was doing several separate transactions. I overheard her saying things about not applying whatever credit to whatever because something or other builds up and blah blah yadda yadda, and just being very precise about how the coupons and credits were used. At one point she apologized to me for taking so long but said she was lucky this time because there were no problems yet with the many coupons. But OOPS . . . spoke to soon! On her final transaction she was a few dollars short of whatever goal she needed. She was looking around the checkout area almost frantically, considering packs or gum or a magazine to make up those last few dollars. And then . . .

"Scan her milk!" she blurts out, pointing at my gallon of milk. She asked if she could borrow the milk, told the checkout girl she'd just go grab another after, and would that be enough to cover the amount she was short? So they scanned my milk and it was indeed enough. She turns back to me and smiles, "You're milk is paid for." The bagger girl asked if she should run and get the second milk for her, and she says no, to forget it. I started to pull out my money to pay her back and she flat out refused, saying she'd just saved way more money than what the milk cost anyway.

Well thank you, Random Coupon Shopper!

Blogger's Block

2012-01-17T10:29:00.000-06:00

I'm still around. Might not seem like it with my lack of posts lately, but I'm here. I just don't know what to blog about. I'm trying to cut back on crazy shopping this year and I think I've been doing a pretty good job but that means there aren't a lot of hauls to post about. I could start going back and doing actual reviews of things I've featured in past hauls. I could do more book or movie reviews, but those don't seem to get much attention so it makes me think people aren't interested in them. Or maybe just not interested in the ones I am? I could write my thoughts about the Secret Circle episode each week but again, I don't think many people are interested. I could write about my continued (and growing obsession) with the Tudor dynasty but . . . again . . . not an area many people here seem interested in.

And then there is the daily life natterings that I used to do, and what I originally started this blog for. People seem to like those and get a kick out of my ho hum life adventures. It would certainly be a way to keep actively posting.

*frustrated sigh*

But yeah . . . I'm still here and would love to hear your thoughts, ideas, suggestions.

Haul - Candlelynn

2012-01-09T16:21:00.000-06:00

Candlelynn is a brand new shop to me, but has been on Etsy since 2009. I came across it recently in a very round about way . . . a comment on one blog led me to a post on another blog which had a link to the shop in a review. My first reaction was 'Bleah, no soap here,' and I left the site without really looking around much. Then I remembered I don't need any more soap, that it's lotions and other things I'm looking for now. Doh! So I gave the shop a second look, a much more thorough look.

I was excited to see she had body cream that appeared to be the light, fluffy 'frosting' type that I prefer. Looking at the ingredients, and not knowing anything about this shop, I wondered if this was homemade or made from a base, but then decided I wanted to try it regardless. The creams can be colored if requested, and there were so many scents I wanted, but since I'm looking for unscented lotions right now I just picked a small jar of unscented, uncolored. I tried a little dab when I opened the package and found it's thicker than I'd expected, but still seems very nice. I'll see how it goes when I start using it like normal.

Lip balms are another thing I've been looking for. There are plenty to choose from in the Candlelynn shop. When I saw this caramel scent, I knew this was the one for me. Mmmm, smells so. freakin. yummy! I did one quick application when I opened the package, just to see what it was like, and found it is the soft type, the sort of 'wet' feeling kind where a little goes a long way. I'll have to use it for a while to see how it works and how I like it.

This shop has tarts too! I know, it seems everyone is making tarts now, but what the heck . . . since I was ordering anyway, I decided to add some tarts to the cart. There are several size and package options available. I chose a five tart 'littles' sampler and asked Jana to pick random scents for me, anything but floral. She picked some good ones! AND she included a freebie! (Thank you, Jana!)

Zucchini Bread - Hot and fresh out of the oven, just like grandma's. Warm spices and sweet bread!

A very nice warm, bread-y scent.

Gingerbread - A perfect holiday treat! A richly spiced gingerbread with just

the right hint of sweetness.

This is the sweeter type of gingerbread scent, like cookies. I like it! (Not sure about the odd looking spots or wax on top. Hope it doesn't affect melting or throw.)

Carrot Cake - A buttery spice blend with hints of peach, coconut, carrots,

cinnamon and warm vanilla.

Not sure about the funky looking wax in this one either but hubby requested a carrot cake scent a while ago so I was tickled to see this one. It's more spicy than cake-y.

Buttermilk Pancakes - Vanilla, Creamy Buttermilk, Sticky Maple Sweet Cream, Maple, White Cocoa Musk, Vanilla Bean and Golden Honey!

Had to chuckle at this one too after just writing about my other Buttermilk Pancake tart yesterday. This one does have the maple notes that the other didn't have. So sooooo yummy!

Apple Jack's Peel - Wonderful fresh apple aroma with spicy notes of cinnamon and clove.

An awesome fall scent that I'm well familiar with from my soaping days, and happy to have again.

Cupid - This one is a must-smell! It's a rich, cherry almond coconutty scent!

I'm guessing this is the freebie because of the name and the upcoming holiday. This one smells so good! At first it was so familiar to me, would have sworn it was some kind of candy, but when I saw the description I realized it is probably the cherry making me think that. Very sweet, and very appropriate for Valentine's!

And that is my first order from Candlelynn, which can be found on Etsy. She has many more things in her shop, like sugar scrub cubes, foaming hand/body soaps, candles, room sprays. One thing I'm considering for next time is the solid perfume sticks. I've never tried one.

Have you ordered from Candlelynn before? Any recommendations or thoughts to share? I'd love to hear them! And, as always, if you'd like a more in-depth review of anything you see here, just let me know.

Haul - Nature's Art

2012-01-09T12:22:00.001-06:00

I had some credit in my account at Nature's Art so I thought it was time to use it up. Looks like Kimberly is changing her look a bit, but it's cute to see the pink and black ribbons that go with her pink and black business card. So what did I get?

I've long been on the hunt for a perfect lotion. I prefer the light and fluffy 'frosting' type lotions, and I'd tried the goat milk 'Body Whips' from Nature's Art before so I already knew I loved them. Kimberly makes her lotions from scratch . . . no pre-made bases here. And that's one of the things I like the most. I'd always had the small jars before because I loved trying different scents. I'm to the point now though, that I just want some good unscented lotions so I don't have to worry about scents clashing with whatever soap I've just used, or with the body sprays I seem to be accumulating. So for this order I picked just a big ol' jar of unscented 'Body Whip.' I think I'll even try using this on my face, and see how it does.

Well imagine my surprise when I found a freebie bar of soap in my package! And not only was it just a free bar, but it was one I had 'liked' on my Facebook page a while ago . . . Buttered Maple & Oats!

I just checked and it no longer shows up in her shop so I can't get the description but since my sentimental favorite scent is Oatmeal, Milk & Honey, I thought this might be along those lines with the added perk of yummy nummy maple. It was such a treat to find a bar in my order! The scent is quite faint just sniffing through the hole in the wrap. Hopefully it comes out more in the shower. And even if it doesn't, I still send many thanks to Kimberly for the freebie anyway.

As always, if you'd like a more in-depth review of anything you see here, just let me know.

What goodies have you stumbled upon lately?

Review - Febreze 2oz. Candle

2012-01-09T11:09:00.000-06:00

Maybe you remember a post from back in November when I'd just bought this set of Febreze candles? Well, I've *finally* gotten around to burning one of them and thought I'd revisit this and do a bit of a review.

I was not even aware Febreze had such sets available until I'd seen a well known YouTuber mention them. Even then, I was surprised that she liked them so much. I guess I'd just sort of dismissed them because they are 'air freshener aisle' candles. But the set she had in her video, and the only set I found at my store at that time, was the yummy sounding Spice Collection. It contains three candles: Gingersnap Vanilla, Anjou Pear Spice, and Cinnamon Dolce.

The set costs $9.97 at Walmart. Each candle is 2oz. and comes in a heavy glass mini jar. The wax is a soy blend. The packaging does not mention an estimated burn time but I did some Googling and found that 2oz. votive candles often fall into a 15 hour burn time, so I'm guessing this would be about the same. I didn't keep track of how long we actually burned ours.

The one I chose to burn first is the brown one (left, back), the Gingersnap Vanilla scent. Described as '...the spice of cinnamon in freshly baked gingerbread is balanced by creamy vanilla,' it was sort of a sharp gingerbread scent, not really like the creamy, cozy scent of gingerbread cookies. The cinnamon made it extra spicy. The scent was ok, a bit too harsh for my liking, but the throw was surprising. I admit, I was not expecting much from this candle. This little guy did a good job of scenting our huge living room and then some, but was not overpowering.

When I first lit this candle I had it sitting on the top shelf of my desk, where my tart warmer sits, so I could judge the scent and throw like I would with a tart. I suspect my desk does not sit level because I noticed the candle was burning to one side . . .

When I was sure it was just tunneling down more on one side I moved the candle to our normal candle burning spot on the living room coffee table. After pushing some of that higher wax down into the wax pool, and getting things leveled out, the candle burned fine and even. So yes, I do think the early problem was with the position on my desk and not with the candle itself.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this little Febreze candle. I know there are other sets like this one in a variety of different scents, and I know there are other sizes and types of Febreze candles. (I received a larger 5.5oz one for Christmas.) The air freshener aisle is never where I think to buy candles but after trying this one I think it's at least worth taking a look now and then. Who knew??

BH&G/Walmart Tarts - Spring Scents

2012-01-09T07:13:00.000-06:00

While shopping at Walmart the other day I noticed a new aisle-end display of the Better Homes & Gardens wax tarts in what appears to be the spring line. Of course I had to stop and sniff each one! I had also noticed several weeks before this that my Walmart now carries the Scentsational brand of tarts, which is actually the same company that makes the Better Homes & Garden tarts. While I did sniff each one, there were too many to remember details of so I will just list them here.

Better Homes & Gardens
- Mandarin Orange Zest
- Tranquil Garden Spa
- Orange Buttercream Cupcake
- Wild Island Fruit
- Enchanted Evening Walk
- Vanilla Lavender
- Twilight

Scentsationals
- Honeysuckle
- Soft Cotton
- Garden Cantaloupe
- Rain Kissed
- Strawberries & Cream
- Exotic Dragonfruit
- Apricot Vanilla

Since this is a spring line and many fall into floral, fresh types, I am not nearly as gaga over these scents as I was with the winter/holiday line. Of these, just on my quick sniff, Enchanted Evening Walk was my favorite and Rain Kissed was interesting. Exotic Dragonfruit and Apricot Vanilla smelled very similar to me, which was weird.

These are the clam shell packages, six little break away wax cubes, and I believe both brands are $2.00 each. As mentioned, this was in a separate display away from the regular candle aisle. There was a large variety of random scents over in the candle aisle . . . fall and winter leftovers, generic 'all year' scents, some of the spring type ones, just a mix over there. Also in the spring display were $15 electric tart warmers in three styles. There was a frog, an owl, and a Grecian Urn style that came in gold, red, or aqua colors. Not nearly as cute as the winter ones, but still quite nice.

Actually, looking back over this list, I wonder if this is more of a summer line. Maybe they just do a spring/summer mix? I'll have to keep an eye on this as we get closer to summer, see if they do come out with a 'summer' line.

So, if you are a fan of these affordable tarts and are anxious for some fresh spring scents, head over to your Walmart soon!

Haul - Country Home Scents (Tarts)

2012-01-08T12:19:00.000-06:00

I have ordered from Country Home Scents many times but it's been a while. My last order was for some yummy fall scents way back in late August. As my tart stash has finally started to dwindle (gave a lot away at Christmas, hehe) and as CMS returned from a holiday break with some enticing new bakery scents, it was time for another order. I went with the six tart sampler pack this time.

So let's see what I got . . .

Hazelnut Cream Coffee...A true hazelnut coffee aroma with a touch of

creamy vanilla. Nutty Goodness!

I have not melted any of the tarts in this order yet but just from cold throw, this little guy is STRONG! I think I may have become tart sensitive over the holidays, with all my time off work, because I'd been burning tarts almost non-stop and was eventually getting headaches no matter what scent or vendor I melted. Since I already know CHS tarts are strongly scented, I'm pretty sure I'll be cutting this one in half when I do melt it. Anyway, there is a definite coffee scent to this but there is a rich creaminess to it as well. We've been on a coffee kick lately so this will be perfect.

Butterscotch Zucchini Bread....We love our zucchini bread so much and when you add some butterscotch to it...WOW!

This one just sounded interesting to me. I know CHS has another zucchini bread scent that is hugely popular but this one called to me more. Butterscotch is the top note here, but you also notice something else in there. You might call it hints of bread scent, or maybe it's the zucchini that keeps this from being a straight butterscotch sweet candy scent. Very nice.

Banana Caramel Cupcakes...The scent of ripe bananas drizzled in warm caramel and

a hint of vanilla cupcake....Mmmmmm!

Another one that sounded intriguing to me, I wondered if this might be along the lines of Candles By Victoria's Banana Pancakes. Whether they are similar or not (I don't have CBV on hand to compare), I do like this scent! Neither the caramel or the banana takes top billing, but they work together to create a softly sweet yumminess with background hints of that vanilla cupcake.

Buttermilk Pancakes...The mouth watering aroma of warm buttermilk pancakes hot off the griddle! A blend of buttermilk, baked cake, sweet cream butter and a touch of vanilla!

Now tell me that is not the freakin' cutest tart you've ever seen. Or one of the cutest at least! Cold throw, this one is on the weaker side. I hope it blooms when warmed. There is no maple scent as you might expect. I had to go back and read the description to be sure I wasn't just missing it. No, this is more just buttery pancakes. But that's ok! It's a nice, homey, scent. I wonder how this would be with part of the Hazelnut Cream Coffee tart melting in another warmer? Oooh, it could be like a perfect lazy weekend morning scent.

Tinsel...A refreshing holiday blend of winter berries, soft vanilla

and peppermint leaves...gotta try this one!

I should have ordered this one *before* Christmas, I know. I will have to try and remember this one for next Christmas because it's a great holiday scent. I love vanilla-mint scents like Jack Frost, and the addition of berries to this one gives it a hint of tartness. When I first smelled this without looking at the description I almost would have told you there is a touch of pine, or something outdoorsy about it. This is a unique scent that I'm anxious to smell when it's warmed.

Royal Cake...A cake aroma fit for a king or a queen! The wonderful scent of vanilla cake drenched in rich buttercream frosting with a hint of cherry!

Alright, call me a dork, but I had to have this one because of my obsession of late with British royal history. And yes, I do have a mild fascination with William and Kate. The fact that there is a hint of cherry to keep this from being just another cake scent is what sealed the deal. According to the website these are made with either gold or silver crown/glitter. Mine is obviously silver. And I'm glad I ordered this! You can definitely smell the cherry, with the cake and frosting following softly behind. Can't wait to melt this one!

Holiday Eggnog...Smells just like the classic holiday drink that is rich

and creamy with eggs, sugar, cream and light rum!

This was a freebie included in my order. Perhaps they're just clearing out the holiday leftovers, but I was quite tickled to find this one. I've loved other eggnog scents I've come across. This one is little heavier on the rum, I think, and not as sweet and creamy as others I've had. While I think I prefer the creamier ones, I have so many sugary sweet scents already that this will be a nice twist. Thank you, CHS ladies!

I'm happy with my little order. If you'd like a more in-depth review of any of the scents or of Country Home Scents in general, just let me know and I would be happy to do one.

See any here you like? What are some favorite tart scents you've come across recently?

Movie Review - Apollo 18

2012-01-02T14:51:00.000-06:00

Apollo 18
2011
PG-13
87 minutes

If you buy in to official statements, Apollo 17 was NASA's last manned mission to the moon. But what if found footage of a secret Apollo mission that had taken place the following year could prove otherwise -- and explain why we haven't gone back?

When I first saw previews for this on other DVDs I was torn on how I felt. While it did look creepy in a Quarantine or Paranormal Activity kind of way, I also felt 'Really? We have to take it to outer space to keep that scare tactic alive?' Still, I decided I wanted to see it.

Hubby and I watched this on pay-per-view a couple nights ago instead of waiting for Netflix to get around to it. One thing I'm not used to anymore is watching movies that are not on DVD. I am so used to being able to pause a movie or rewind to double check something, and we couldn't do that with this movie. Hubby doesn't care about such things. He'll just talk and leave the room for food or the bathroom and not care that he's missed anything. I have to be totally glued to what I'm watching. And right away in this there was some text info at the beginning that I missed and I couldn't go back to check what it was. Gah! (And it might very well have been an answer to my biggest question, as you'll see later.)

This is done in the style of Paranormal Activity, or Quarantine where you only see things through less than perfect camerawork. In this case it is handheld cameras the astronauts have, and the cameras onboard the spacecraft. The whole idea of a Quarantine type story out in space is rather nerve wracking. Not like you can just run or drive to safety! Right away, I was examining every inch of the screen, determined to find all the creepy little things I just knew were supposed to be there. And it's always so funny when I do that with this type of movie because I *know* that things won't be showing up immediately. I can't help it!

So in the movie, NASA calls upon these three guys to go on this top secret mission to the moon. I don't remember what information they were given, if any, but they were all bummed that they couldn't tell their families 'Hey, I'm going to the moon!' When they got there, one guy stayed in the 'orbiter' craft (?) and the two others went in the other craft that actually landed on the moon. Those two guys were supposed to explore and gather samples of rock or soil or whatever they did when they went to the moon. Pretty early on they start noticing problems in communications with both NASA and the other spacecraft. They start noticing strange noises and happenings around their own craft. While exploring they come across something startling, and in questioning the guys back at NASA they figure out they've been lied to and have been sent here for much darker puposes.

The actual creepy, spooky thing behind it all was a bit of a let down but the tension was still there. And the fact that they are on THE MOON and eventually cut off from all communication is rather terrifying. What are you going to do??? When contact is restored late in the movie, and desperate decisions have to be made, one was so shocking that hubby's reaction was like he'd literally been kicked in the gut. NASA decides to leave these guys up there because they can't risk bringing them back.

But that leaves me with that one big question I mentioned earlier . . . how did they get all that footage back?
(Yes, I know it's not real.)

This was not a fabulous movie but it was still pretty good. You don't really need to be a space fan to enjoy it. However, if you don't like the whole handheld camera technique you might get sick of this one. There are a couple gross scenes where one of the guys has an injury but other than that there is not much violence or swearing or anything. Well, there are some violent bits but the way they're shown is so choppy. And I suppose there was swearing but again, it's all sort of a blur in the 'realistic' chaos of the moments. Still, not a movie for kids.

Have you seen Apollo 18? Or are you bored to death with this type of movie?

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T15:41:00.000-06:00

And here we are in 2012. Crazy how fast 2011 flew by, isn't it? Did you do anything special last night, help usher in the new year? Not me. I was in bed by about 8:30pm, trying to finish the last little bit of the Secret Circle book I'm reading, but dozing off instead. Oh well, it's been years since I've seen a new year come in, and I've gotten used to it.

Here in Wisconsin, 2012 is starting off with a Winter Weather Advisory for up to 2 inches of snow, rain, slush, mess possible, and a Wind Advisory with temps dropping down to the teens and gusts of 30-40mph. It's cloudy and blustery, but we haven't really gotten any of that precipitation yet. There is still sort of a dusting of snow on the ground from what we already had, and a bit of crunchy icy coating on top from this morning, but that's it.

I'll finally be going back to work on January 5. Since Nov. 16, I have only worked 5 1/2 days. Woohoo! That has been accomplished through a series of vacation days and holidays, with a couple sick days, and all of my usual days off. The last time I worked as a partial day on Dec. 17. It's been great to have so much time off, but it also makes it really hard to go back. I think it will be even harder this time because I was in an unhappy place work-wise when this whole break began. We'll see how it goes, I guess.

I'm not really one do make New Year Resolutions but there are some things I want to do or change this year. There are some attitude changes I need to work on, and there are some projects I want to work on. In some ways I think they go hand in hand. If I'm in one of my funky, low moods I can't for the life of me get myself to work on a project. On the other hand, if I *CAN* get myself to work on any project, it lifts my mood dramatically. What I want to work on is skipping that in-between point, where I come up with piddly reasons not to do what just moments ago I was gungho to do.

Hubby and I both want to get back to doing more things outside. We've really become slackers when it comes to lawn care. We tend to throw ourselves into big projects instead of becoming consistent with the things we've already started. Our greenhouse for example. We were so excited about it when we built it in 2010, but pretty much ignored it in 2011 because we'd gotten in over our heads. Same with our garden, and with the huge flowerbed we built along the edge of the back yard. We've decided this year we will stick with fixing THOSE projects up and not worry about expanding or adding to them. We'd also like to start going for walks, and even simply going fishing now and then.

Hubby's workshop will probably be our big project of 2012. We'd meant to do this in 2011. We've decided to do as much of the work ourselves as we can. Even if it means we only get one room in the barn rebuilt and weatherized, as long as it's something he can go out and putter around in, it will be a huge step.

I have tons of de-cluttering I want to do in the house. Hubby wants to do the same outside. For me it means getting rid of things I've been holding on to for sentimental instead of practical reasons. Things like all the old baby items we had from when the boys were young. I had thought we would have passed them on to friends or family who would be having babies after us. Then I thought we'd just reuse them when we had our own grandbabies. So far, neither has happened and those items are now so old and outdated that if I ever do have grandchildren I want to spoil them with new things. So yeah, major cleaning like that. As I've gotten older I've come to realize I don't want tons of clutter. I can see now why older people prefer gifts of going places and doing things over gifts of clutter. I could probably make some good money if I were to Ebay some of the things I have accumulated! LOL

As for my blog in this new year, I'm not sure where I want it to go. Sometimes I like posting personal natterings such as this, but then I think people who are reading for the soap hauls or reviews don't give a poo about my personal ramblings. I don't want to limit this blog to just one area because I like ACTIVE blogs, and I'm sure if I focus on just one thing I'll have long stretches of nothingness in between posts. I'm often jealous of bloggers or YouTubers who are sent free things to review, but I know I do not want to be one of those who is endlessly contacting companies ASKING for things. (Although, having said that, I will admit that I just recently contacted one company and am still waiting to hear back, but don't have much faith that I ever will.) Even for myself, in my own buying choices, I can't make up my mind if I want to find a good handcrafted bath and body shop and stick with, find a good tart shop and stick with it . . . or not limit myself and just keep trying new things. It would definitely make the blog more active and fun if I were to just keep trying new shops! In fact, just this morning I found new tarts, lip balms, and body creams that I'm extremely curious about. So really, I guess I've answered all my own questions and the blog will plow ahead as is.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on things. :)

Christmas Recap

2012-01-01T13:31:00.000-06:00

I've tried several times now to write a Christmas recap, and each time I give up and delete it. I get too long winded. I get too whiny. I have too many pictures to add. But still, when I delete and think I'll just skip such a post, it keeps nagging at the back of my mind to do it. So I'll give it another quick try.

(You can see tons more of my Christmas pictures . . . HERE. Check them out, leave some comments, share some love, hehe.)

Christmas seemed lacking to me this year, like I'm still waiting for it to happen. There was nothing wrong with it really. It was just . . . I don't know. I had a ton of time off work because I had vacation days to use up before the end of the year. We didn't put a tree up because of Minion, the ADHD kitty. I didn't even get my tons of other decorations out, only a few minor, easy things to remind us it was indeed Christmastime. We had our outdoor lights and decorations up early, just waiting to be turned on after Thanksgiving, but in the end were disappointed in how we did them this year.

Minion - The Grinch Who Stole Christmas

We made the decision to cut way back on who we shopped for and sent cards to. This was hard for me because I love to do both, but it's gotten to the point where we were give give giving to EVERYONE and getting nothing in return. I know, I know . . . it's better to give than to receive. But I think you all know what I mean, when you wonder why you bother sometimes. And I still LOVE Christmas cards, good old fashioned Christmas cards, but it seems so many people have switched to simple text greetings or e-cards, or nothing. We did get a few more cards this year than we have the last couple years but it's still a bummer to see how this tradition is dying away. (Or maybe it's just the people we know?!)

My favorite Christmas card this year. The camera doesn't do justice to all the sparkly beauty.

I listened to more Christmas music. I watched more Christmas things on TV. I had my cards done and sent at a decent time. I had my shopping done and presents wrapped with plenty of time to spare. The lack of tree was, surprisingly, not bothering me. I nibbled Christmas candy throughout the month instead of holding back until closer to Christmas. I made Christmas cookies and a couple other Christmas treats.

Christmas Eve Day, we had hubby's side of the family over for ham dinner and exchanging gifts. We haven't done anything with his family on Christmas for years. I'm not overly close to my in-laws, have never really felt like one of them. I always feel like they tolerate me only because of who I'm married to, even though hubby insists I'm just being mental. Anyway, it was a nice enough afternoon and it did start to really feel like Christmas.

After the in-laws left, hubby and I took some things over to my mom's place, where my side of the family would be gathering for Christmas the next day. We helped her set up some tables and things, then decided to take her for a drive around town and look at all the houses decorated with lights. That was fun and I think she really enjoyed getting out and doing it.

Christmas Eve, we sort of just puttered around the house. Our 'adopted' third son Matt was here, of course. This is the second year he's stayed with us all the way through Christmas. Last year it was a bit awkward. This year it was just accepted. I don't have a problem with him being here but it seems a little sad that he didn't have any desire to be at his own home for Christmas. Seriously, he came over on the 23rd and stayed until late evening on the 26th. I would have been itching to see if Santa left me anything at home! But whatever, I guess, huh?

Even in their late teens, my boys would still get up in the night on Christmas Eve to check if Santa had come yet. The last two or three years though, they stay up half the night anyway playing video games so Santa no longer comes until early Christmas morning (whenever I get up, hehe). Doing it this way means I don't have to try and stay up longer than them anymore. And I still think it's more fun to be surprised on Christmas morning than to just put all presents out before.

We were all commenting on what to do in place of a Christmas tree. At this last minute, it just didn't seem right to not have one. I joked that I would draw one on paper and tape it to the wall. The menfolk thought this was an awesome idea so I found a coloring book type page online and printed it out. Matt volunteered to color it. This was scary enough that I dug one of the window decorations out of a box of decorations and taped that to the wall before Matt was done with hideously festive artwork. So in the end we had TWO trees. LOL!

Christmas morning, I was the first one up, of course. I piled all the gifts under our two trees, then hopped in the shower, hopped online, and waited for the menfolk to wake up. We actually had to wake Ty up later in the morning because we were all getting anxious to open our gifts. He was cranky the first few minutes but quickly got over it. We had fun opening everything. Shopping had been a lot easier this year, more mellow, and everyone seemed to really like everything for once. But then it was over and everyone was off to play with their new toys and it seemed like just another day.

My side of the family gathered at my mom's new apartment later Christmas Day. This was her first Christmas in this apartment, her first back in our hometown, and her first year in a long time that she was hosting. It just seemed like it should have been a perfect type of day. Hubby and I got there a bit early and found most everyone was already there. Ty and Casey were going to drop by later. It was a huge shock to see my one brother there since he tends to be an anti-social hermit and we haven't seen him at a family gathering in years. Not only was he there when we got there, but he stayed the hole darn time!

It was a full house, 20 of us. Tons of food. People mingling and talking. Pretty little Christmas tree. People taking pictures. We managed to get a family photo . . . my mom and all six of her kids . . . for the first time since, well, ever?! That was pretty cool.

Gifts were exchanged. More food was eaten. Some people left. Some of us dusted off the old family tradition of playing the board game Sorry. There was laughter and merriment.

And then it was over.

It was in the days AFTER Christmas that the lack of tree and decorations really started to bother me. Since I'm such a creature of habit, I wonder if all the changes we made this year changed the whole feel of the holiday for me. Again, there was nothing *bad* about my Christmas season, so I just don't know why it feels like I'm still waiting for it to happen. Even yesterday, hubby and I were driving to town and I would see that people still have their trees up and see the decorations on porches, and I would get that excited feeling in my stomach . . . exactly like Christmas is still just around the corner.

Weird.

Two Quick Discoveries

2011-12-30T12:28:00.001-06:00

If you type 'bodycology' into the Google search, my blog posts show up on the first page of results. Woot!

And, the Bodycology lip glosses are apparently not new. I just saw a blog review of them from way back in July of this year. Hmm.

That is all.

**Edited to add - Apparently the body butters aren't new either. I'm seeing reviews going all the way back to 2009. Why haven't I seen them then, and why aren't they on the site? Craziness.**

Bodycology Scrub/Butter Gift Set

2011-12-30T10:55:00.000-06:00

After an anonymous comment left on my previous Bodycology sugar scrub post, I popped into Target bright and early this morning after doing my regular grocery shopping. And what did I find?

Just as 'Anonymous' said, there were Bodycology combo pack gift sets containing a sugar scrub and . . . a body butter!! I didn't even know Bodycology had body butters! Oh happy day! I saw the Hazelnut scent I already have, and the Coconut Almond, and maybe one more, and then found the Brown Sugar Vanilla that 'Anonymous' had mentioned. Of course I grabbed it.

Brown Sugar Vanilla is one of my favorites of the Bodycology scents. It's described as 'The warm blend of vanilla, brown sugar and sensual amber creates a cozy, comforting scent,' and is very similar to Bath & Body Works Warm Vanilla Sugar. So I was very happy to see this scent in these products.

The body butter is nice. It's not the light and fluffy type that I prefer, like what I can get in the handcrafted community. No, it's more of that sort of springy or rubbery consistency that Bath & Body Works has. It's a little harder to stick your fingers in and scoop some out but it works fine to just run your fingers across the top and sort of gather up what you need. It's quite heavily scented, so the scent will indeed remain on your skin. It spreads easily, absorbs quickly with no greasy feel, and so far (I've only been home about 15 minutes, lol) it's leaving my skin very soft and nice feeling.

Now for the heads up if you are at all interested in this gift pack . . . you might want to hurry to your Target. These will be found in the Christmas clearance aisles. You know, where they've crammed all the leftover Christmas items and marked the prices way down. There were plenty of them at my Target but who knows how long they'll last? The jar of scrub is slightly smaller than the regular single jar you can buy (10oz in the gift set, 16oz regular) and the body butter is only a 5oz jar, but these are still decent sizes, and perfect if you like to change up your scents more often.

The set was originally $9.99 but with Christmas clearance it is now $4.99. How awesome is that?? And why did it take me until I was home to realize I should have grabbed a bunch more of these?! DUH!!! The regular sugar scrub jar sells for $5.96 at Walmart. So here I'm paying only $4.99 and getting body butter on top of it! I have not seen body butters anywhere else yet. I'm fighting the urge to go back and grab more. I've warned hubby that if we go shopping anywhere today I *will* need to go back to Target. He just laughed.

I had first looked in the regular Bodycology section of the store and did not see these sets there. Did not see separate body butters either. But I did notice another scent of sugar scrub that I had not seen yet . . . Coconut Lime. So now we're up to five known sugar scrub scents. This is one thing I don't really like about the Bodycology website. They do not show new items. Well, I can't seem to find them on their site. When they came out with the new Enchanted Forest scent a while ago (which I really like), I first saw it on Facebook. It was quite some time, and I'd already bought a bottle of the body mist, before I saw it had been added to their site. I have not seen the scrubs on their site yet, or even the body butters. And the other day I saw, again on Facebook, that they now have lip glosses. I haven't found them in stores or on the site yet. Guess I should be thankful for Facebook, huh?

I know the handcrafted community is probably ready to burn me at the stake for venturing back to the bad side. I do look at the long, unpronouncable names of some of the ingredients in these products and cringe. I see that these are made in China and I cringe. I'm not even sure why I'm drawn to this brand. Part of it is price and convenience, I'm sure. It gets frustrating trying to find a natural, handcrafted product you really like only to have that shop close or change or discontinue things. Or, I really hate paying the extra dollars for an awesome handmade lotion that I love, only to find out it's just a pre-made base that the 'handcrafter' simply added scent to.

Or ok, yeah, I should at least find a natural, US-made commercial brand if it's convenience I'm looking for.

But whatever . . . there are plenty of people out there who aren't concerned with such things, so these posts will be for them :)

Birthday/Christmas Haul

2011-12-29T09:23:00.003-06:00

Results of the quicky poll showed overwhelmingly that you all (well, six of you anyway) love to see Christmas hauls so I'm going to go ahead and post mine. Since my birthday is Dec. 21 and I did receive several things from that, I've lumped it all together to make this post easier. Also, you've probably already seen several of these things from my previous posts about the Secret Santa exchange, and the package I got from Ellie. Oh, and the quality of the photos is not as good as usual because I didn't use my usual set up in my usual spot, and didn't have patience to wait for some daylight natural lighting.

I've sort of broken these down by category, and I will go through them quickly.

Hubby had gotten me a big gift basket from Bath & Body Works that contained the items above. The basket was a dark brown, square, wicker type and it had all been wrapped in clear cello and tied with a red bow. Four of the five items are the Aromatherapy - Sensual line, which is Black Currant Vanilla scent (which I love). There is a sugar scrub (read review HERE), shower gel, lotion, and candle. There is also a candle in Vanilla Lavender scent.

I also received a B&BW face mask in Peach Citrus scent, B&BW lotion in new Rio Rumberry scent, B&BW triple moisture body cream in Dark Kiss scent, and B&BW pocketbac (and holder) in Cranapple Crisp scent. And then there were three Bodycology lotions: White Gardenia, Cucumber Melon, and Cherry Blossom. I forgot to include the two bars of soap from HurriKayn Naturals that I posted about HERE. Oh! And I had also bought that Bodycology sugar scrub for myself (read HERE).

I got the second Secret Circle book (which I'm currently poking my way through), The Host (by Stephanie Meyer), that Mary I book that I posted about and technically wasn't a birthday or Christmas gift but I consider it one anyway, and the new Legend of Zelda game for Wii.

Candy! Oh my gosh, so much sugary goodness and I haven't even started on any of it yet. Let's see, there is a box of Hershey's Pot of Gold assorted chocolates, box of Russell Stover French Chocolate Mints, and a Ferrero Collection with what looks like three types of chocolates (one being coconut, yum!). The big Lifesavers tube is something I bought myself because I saw it was Butter Rum flavor and you just can't find simple rolls of Butter Rum Lifesavers anymore! I realized later there is an assortment inside the tube but there ARE two rolls of Butter Rum. Anyway, moving on . . . two boxes of Sweetarts (which I don't like, bleah), the package of Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark that you've already seen, a holiday KitKat, three tea packets, and handfuls of Hershey's Kisses.

Home fragrance galore! Most of these I've already written about but I'll go through them quick again. Yankee Cherries on Snow, and Autumn Wreath candles. Yankee Peppermint Cocoa, Pumpkin Buttercream, and Root Beer Float tarts. Two Yankee holiday themed tart warmers. Febreze Cranberries & Frost candle. Bath & Body Works Sticky Toffee Pudding candle, and mini candles in Dark Chocolate Mint, Hot Chocolate, Salty Caramel, and Spiced Madeleine, and a bottle of fragrance oil in Gingerbread scent.. Sandalwood incense. Candles By Victoria tarts in Warm Christmas Splendor, Christmas Eve, Christmas Kitchen, and Sugared Spruce. And finally a green leafy ceramic tealight holder with a pack of Chesapeake Bay tealight candles in White Poppy scent.

Some random things I got were a snow globe ornament, Starbucks mug and cocoa mix, jeweled 'D' ornament, a dancing/singing Mickey Mouse, and a bottle of Febreze in Gain laundry soap scent. Ha, yes, a bottle of Febreze. That would be from my son's friend, who we consider our adopted third son, who always buys THE most random things. That's why we get him coal candy every year . . . lol. I forgot to include a silly toy that my sister got me, silly and simple and somehow addicting. It is one of those old fashioned toys that is pretty much just two metal wires (about like coat hanger wire) and a disc with pegs on each side and you move your wrist up and down to get the disc to roll back and forth, up and down on the curved shape of the wires. Anyone have any idea what I'm talking about? I have no idea what they're called so I can't even Google to find a link. Anyway, it is such old fashioned silly fun. I also received some money, which will probably be used on a new Family Tree Maker computer program.

Clothing is a very awkward area for me as far as gifts. I hate receiving clothes! It usually doesn't fit or it's almost always something I won't wear anyway. And then it becomes awkward with 'Does it fit?' or 'It can be exchanged, you know.' I received several clothing gifts and, yep, they are all either things that don't fit or that I would never wear anyway. All except for one . . . the gorgeous VIKINGS sweatshirt that hubby got me. I love it and it fits! And it's now replaced my worn out plain blue one that I wear near constantly at home. As for those other things, I'm undecided. They will most likely be donated to Goodwill.

One last gift is the beautiful snowy blue background theme you see on my blog right now. The wonderful Lynda has once again worked her magic and I thank her sincerely.

And that is my Christmas haul. I was spoiled this year, and with some really great things too! My thanks go out to so many people!! If you're interested, you can see a TON more family Christmas pics HERE, in the Facebook album I created. Hope you check it out.

Now it's your turn! Show me your holiday hauls! *waits excitedly*

Christmas Haul . . . Or No?

2011-12-28T11:17:00.002-06:00

Short and sweet . . . do you fine folks like to see Christmas hauls? Or do they come across as bragging?

Feel free to comment here or simply vote in the poll to the right. ----->

**Edited to add - Results of the quicky poll were 6-0 in favor of Christmas hauls, so I will get to work on that now.**

A Yankee Christmas

2011-12-28T07:26:00.000-06:00

It seems to have been a Yankee Christmas for me. Not only did hubby surprise me with some really nice Christmas gifts from the candle store, but we also popped in there the day after Christmas to check out their big clearance sale. So let's see what I got, shall we?

First I had opened this adorable fall themed tart warmer. How stinkin' cute is that?! Back in the fall I had been browsing the Yankee website and saw a bunch of awesome warmers, but they also had huge price tags. It was fun to look at them but I would never pay those outrageous prices when my $4.00 Walmart cheapie warmer serves its purpose just as well. Never thought I'd get one as a gift! As I was admiring this I had commented to hubby that I'd seen some really nice Christmas ones on the site too and that we'd have to go check out the clearance sale. He just nodded slightly and had a sort of blank look on his face. Since I had another box waiting to be opened I glanced at him again, laughed and said "Or did you already . . . "

And sure enough, it was one of the Christmas themed tart warmers! Again, how cute is this thing?! I am so sooo cheap and practical that I would never dream of buying such things for myself. Hubby, on the other hand, sees things on more of an 'Might as well enjoy life' level. In his mind, if I'm going to be melting tarts anyway, why NOT have the nice warmers? We used this one right away on Christmas Day and it worked fine. The bowl holds about the same amount of wax as my regular warmers, and I like that it detaches from the stand so I can just pop that into the freezer to remove spent wax instead of trying to shove the whole unit in. It is quite a bit bigger than my regular warmers but luckily it still fits in the spot I needed it to go. So fun!

I also received some candles. Hubby got me two from Yankee, and my son's friend (our 'adopted' third son) got me the Febreze one you see in the picture. The Yankee ones first . . . I got Cherries On Snow, which I don't see on the site but is described as 'An enchanted, sparkling blend of bright, juicy cherries with sweet almonds and an icy freshness.' The name of this is very familiar to me so I must have seen a review of it somewhere. The scent is very nice, very cherry. The other one I got is Autumn Wreath and is described as 'There's a cheerful fall welcome in the spicy warmth of autumn leaves and cinnamon apples.' This scent is definitely apple, but the spices make it warm. A very nice fall scent. I wonder, will the scent still be good if I wait till next fall to burn this? Maybe I should just burn it now while the apples and spice of the holiday season are still fresh on our minds.

I'm not sure why AdoptedSon got me a candle but he sure scored big points with it. LOL! It's a limited edition holiday candle in Cranberries & Frost scent, 'As the wintry freeze creeps in, a delightful berry presence adds a welcome tartness.' Not a very good description, huh? I don't know if the 'frost' note is vanilla or what but this is a very nice scent, mainly cranberry but something soft and sweet mixes with it. I like it! And if he thought he was being funny by getting me a 'crap' gift, as is his usual tactic, if backfired this year. Hehe!

I thought that since hubby had gone out of his way to go to Yankee, that surely there would be some tarts at stocking stuffers but nope. Not a tart to be had.

So then I had seen online that Yankee's big year end clearance sale was starting the day after Christmas. Since hubby and I were both off work and had planned to be out and about anyway, I suggested we stop by Yankee and see what we could find in their big discounts. I also needed to check for some clearance fragrance oils for someone. It wasn't until we were walking into the store that I found out this was an outlet store, and the regular sales didn't apply here. *SIGH* Still, pretty much everything in the store was 50% off . . . except, of course, the oils I was looking for.

Hubby was pointing out all the tart warmers and I think he would have bought about ten more if CheapDeb hadn't been along. There were some cute Easter/spring ones though, I will admit. Then he was looking at all the big candles while I was headed to the tarts. Ok, now I remember swearing that the next time Yankee tarts were $1.00 a piece I was going to stock up. Well, they were $1.00 a piece that day. And I got none. I even stood there telling myself 'You should get some. You should do it. You should just stock up. You know you should.' Hubby passed by me at one point and agreed that now was the time to grab a bunch. But I didn't for several reasons. I don't like that you can't smell their tarts through the wrap. We tried to go find candles of the same scents that we could actually sniff but that became a back-n-forth hassle. Also, I don't think outlet stores have the full range of scents. I was seeing mostly Halloween, fall, Christmas leftovers, and some generic common things like lavender and lilac.

I found the three oils I needed to get . . . Garden Sweet Pea, Home Sweet Home, and White Christmas.

And we ended up getting a few candles there were, oddly, all coffee scents. I guess we're sick of the holiday scents, huh? I had found ONE candle in Hazelnut Coffee scent, 'A full-bodied blend of java suffused with macademia nut, vanilla, and cocoa bean.' This is yummy! We've been burning this daily and it scents the house wonderfully. We also found a small jar candle in just plain Coffee scent, which I don't see on the site but it's sort of a creamy coffee scent. And we found Cafe Au Lait in a small jar candle, and thought it was more of a straight up coffee scent than the actual Coffee one, although the site describes it as ' . . . rich, fresh brewed coffee topped with milk froth and a dash of cinnamon.' Must be the cinnamon adding what we thought was the coffee 'sharpness.' Still, all three are very nice, very homey.

We also got a wick trimmer, again something I never would have bought myself when a pair of $.99 fingernail clippers has been doing the job just fine. He said he finally realized maybe I was right about trimming wicks when he was buying the Christmas gifts and they trimmed the wicks at the counter. Silly hubby, must have thought I was being picky and anal all this time. Well, about the wicks at least . . .

I think this Yankee outlet store might be hubby's new favorite place. I'm pretty sure he would have spent way more money if I hadn't been along. And I'm wondering if more gifts in the future will be from here . . . which I'm totally ok with!

Did Yankee Claus drop any goodies down your chimney this holiday season?

Haul - Creamery Creek

2011-12-26T18:29:00.001-06:00

Last week I posted, wondering if I should order from Creamery Creek or not. I am trying not to buy any soaps for a while but they were having a holiday special and they're top on my list of shops to try next. All of my Evil Enabler Blog Friends felt I should go for it, and I had said I'd think about it. Well, obviously I went for it. LOL

Since I first stumbled across handcrafted goat milk soap from Goat Milk Stuff, the other big one I kept hearing about was Creamery Creek. And what I always heard was nothing but good. So why had I never ordered from them? I don't know. When I was still a soap maker I was so into the whole YouTube soap community . . . which is quite cliquish . . . that I think I sort of had blinders on. Once I gave up soap making, and started phasing out of that YouTube crowd, I started revisiting shops that had been pushed aside. This is what brought Creamery Creek up to the top of my list for when I wanted to start buying again.

I ordered on Tuesday morning and got my package in Saturday's mail. Pretty darn good considering it was during the Christmas rush! I had tried to keep my order to one bar because the holiday special was a free shaped soap with any purchase, so I knew I'd be getting a second bar. But I just couldn't decide on ONE! One thing I like about this company is that their scent list remains consistent, with enough variety to let you have some fun but not so many choices that you get overwhelmed. And if you find one you like, you know it will most likely still be there when you go back for more. Funny then, that I ordered two of their brand new scents.

Oats 'N Marmalade is described as 'This scent is nostalgic, tart, and spicy, not sweet like a regular orange. It is rich without being to heavy just like traditional orange marmalade. We have added ground oats for a gentle scrub. We think this scent is just dreamy!' One thing I have heard about Creamery Creek soaps is that the scents are on the lighter side. I don't know how it will be in the shower but sniffing it out of the box the scent is plenty strong. I don't mean it's overpowering, not at all. I'm just saying that I'm having no problem smelling it. This one is very nice, a spicy but sweet unisex scent that will be a refreshing change after all the heavy fall and winter scents we've been working our way through lately.

Lemon Drop is described as 'Lemon Drop is a happy fragrance that combines zesty citrus notes of Italian lemon, yuzu, mandarin with lychee, orange blossom and ginger flower, then adds sensual undertones of oak moss, caramel, and white santal.' You would think this would be pretty much a straight up lemony scent, right? So when I read that there was oak moss, and caramel, and other things in there, I was intrigued and had to have it. This is a two tone bar and I don't know if both sides are scented the same but I am picking up way more scent from the tan side and almost nothing on the white side. And I think this would fall into that lightly scented category that people talk about. I do detect traces of lemon, but the overall scent is just a light, bright mix of nothing specific. It could be a unisex scent, and would be a great scent for morning.

The bars from Creamery Creek thick and chunky but fit the hand nicely. The website states they are between 6-6.5oz, and they are only $5.00 each. That is a great price for the size you are getting! They come with a paper cigar band style label and no other wrap, which I like. (Ok, I admit I adore a pretty package but in the end the less waste we have the better.) If you look closely at the pics above you might be able to see the bars are stamped. One has the goat logo, and the other says 'Beautiful Skin' with some flowers and the company name. Very cute extra touch.

The holiday special was if you typed in the word SNOWFLAKE in the comments during checkout you would receive a free shaped bar of soap. From looking at the pictures on their blog, it looked like some were small and some were big. Luck of the draw maybe? Not sure. I screwed up when I was placing my order, and missed the comment box, so I emailed them right away and included the code and admitted my goof . . . and they honored it anyway. Yay! (I think the special runs through Jan. 1.) My free bar is the green one on the right. It is a decent sized (probably 3-4oz) star, sun, flower, something shape in Siberian Pine scent. Described as 'As pure and fresh as a new Christmas Tree blended with natural ground vanilla bean to create this wonderful scent,' it even has little dark bits of ground vanilla bean in it. I quite like this scent! A tart in this would be great for Christmas! It's definitely pine, but it's very nice and soft so maybe that ground vanilla bean really is adding to it.

I also received a small sample piece of Chai Tea scent, which I was thrilled to see because that is one I was also considering getting. 'This delightful spicy blend is the perfect Chai Tea!! Its complex blend of spices - with a touch of vanilla - is the epitome of what Chai Tea is,' and it definitely is a chai tea scent. Oh, it's so yummy! This will be in my next order for sure!

It took me a while to get around to them but I am glad I've finally ordered from Creamery Creek. I look forward to trying these first soaps!

Have YOU tried Creamery Creek yet?

Review - Bodycology Sugar Scrub

2011-12-26T16:38:00.001-06:00

I usually buy myself a little something for Christmas and this year it was Bodycology's new sugar scrub. I'd actually bought this well before my disaster with the Bath & Body Works Scrub of Death, but I could not try it because it was a Christmas present. It was in my head those several days in between 'Ohhhh, what if it sucks like that other one???'

I've tried several of the Bodycology products and have liked them all but with my mood swings between 'I love Bath & Body Works!' and 'I love all natural handcrafted!' this brand keeps getting passed over. You can find Bodycology pretty much anywhere . . . Walmart, Target, Kmart, etc. It's very affordable too. So when I saw they now have sugar scrubs, I was super excited. It's a 16 oz. jar, and costs $5.97 at Walmart. I saw three scents: Apricot Mango, Coconut Almond, and Hazelnut.

I bought the Hazelnut scent. It smells yummy, strong enough to be pleasant in the shower but not overpowering, and I don't think it lingered on my skin, which is fine if you like to use other scents in lotions or sprays afterwards. The consistency of this product was on the more liquid side, but not totally oily and runny. You can easily scoop some out and get to your body without having it run all over before you get there. The sugar granules are small and gentle, but last plenty long enough to get a good scrub. The oils left my skin feeling soft and moisturized but didn't leave me feeling like an oil slick. My bathtub did not become slippery, maybe because the consistency is so workable that most stays on your body, not running down all over the floor of the tub. That was a huge plus.

I am a fan of this scrub! I will definitely get the other two scents. They are convenient to get for me and highly affordable, and they seem to work just fine. It is not all natural, which sucks, but I'm not hardcore on that rule anyway. If I do find a natural one I like in the handcrafted community I will probably give it a try, but for now I'm happy with the Bodycology scrub.

Are you familiar with the Bodycology line? As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Review - Bath & Body Works Sugar Scrub

2011-12-26T15:08:00.009-06:00

I received a jar of Bath & Body Works Aromatherapy line sugar scrub for my birthday. It is in the 'Sensual' line of the Aromatherapy products, which has a black currant/vanilla scent. The jar is 13oz and is priced at $16.00.

I've been curious about sugar scrubs for a while now, have tried a few from the handcrafted soap shops I've ordered from. I used to think scrubs were just a waste of a product to get you to buy more things. Thought they were for high maintenance girlie girls who have to primp and preen. But after trying the few I have, I think there really is some purpose to scrubs, and I really do think they work. I get rough dry patches now and then, and have found scrubs really do polish and smooth such spots.

When I saw this jar in my birthday gift, I was super excited. I didn't even know Bath & Body Works HAD sugar scrubs?! The scent of this is fantastic . . . which is a good thing because hubby also got me body wash, lotion, and a candle in this scent. Unfortunately, that was all I liked about this product.

First of all, it is the super liquid-y type of scrub. I don't like the drier, crumbly scrubs but this is to the other extreme. You scoop your fingers in and have to hurry it to your body because it's already running out of your hand. Next, I found the sugar granules too large and too harsh. They lasted a long time, which is good, but they were so large and hard and rough that it was like grinding your skin away. I was already finding this experience an unpleasant mess when I was suddenly slipping and sliding all over my tub from the extreme oiliness. True, it's rather common to have such products make your bathtub slick but others I have used have still been tolerable. With this one, I was practically hanging on for dear life and moving around as little as possible. I feared for my life when it came time to step OUT of the tub because I knew the remaining foot would want to go sliding, and it did. Good thing I was clinging to the towel rack on the back of the bathroom door!

I will admit, my skin was smooth after using this scrub. However, there was SO much oil. I had noticed when I was trying to rinse off that there was still such an oily residue all over me, and the tub. I grabbed my shower pouf and tried to lather up with my current bar of Beguile soap (which lathers like a dream!) and could barely get anything. While drying off I couldn't help but wonder what kind of oily mess the towel was going to be. And even after drying, my skin was slightly oily. Maybe I just used too much of the product?? I don't know. It was so hard to get anything workable out of the jar because of it's near liquid consistency.

The tub remained rather slippery even after I rinsed it for a while with really hot water, and even after the menfolk of the house took their showers, and it was still slicker than usual the next day after taking my next shower. Not good. Even the jar has stayed an oily, slippery mess on the outside, not matter how many times I rinse it with hot water and wipe it with paper towels.

EPIC FAIL, Bath & Body Works.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this product . . . if you've tried it, if you've been considering it, or even just scrubs in general. Any good (and affordable) ones you'd recommend?

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T12:50:00.002-06:00

They Said No Snow . . .

2011-12-22T16:22:00.002-06:00

We've been having a very mild winter here in Wisconsin. Ok, yeah, I know that technically winter has only just begun, but you know what I mean. They've been telling us all week in every weather forecast that it will not be a white Christmas. So when I woke up in the wee hours of the morning to the sound of a snow plow going down our road I was thinking 'Whaaaaaa . . . ?'

When I got up later and happened to glance out the window as I stumbled my way downstairs, I actually smiled and giggled like a kid at Christmas.

And once the sun was up enough for me to go outside and take some pictures, this is what we had . . .

Looking out from our back porch, towards the garage.

So then I just went around the yard and took a few more pics to share . . .

Looking towards the front yard, from by our back porch.

Looking across our side yard, down the road towards our neighbor.

Looking across the back property. This is always a cool scene when the snow is just right.

My little bird feeder area.

This horse and buggy used to light up but the mice in the garage seem to find it appetizing and now it doesn't work. (You can see an older pic of this actually lit up . . . HERE.)

One of our lighted deer herd. This is the only glamor deer, all gold and sparkly.

Mini flag by our back porch.

Cute little door greeters on the back porch.

Cute little sled hanging by the back door.

Merry Christmas!!

(This snow will not last because our temps are supposed to be in the mid to upper 30s from now through Christmas. In fact, this was already starting to melt a bit by the time I was taking these pictures. And now, in the late afternoon, we have enough left to see that it has snowed but it's going fast. Oh well, it boosted the holiday mood for a while anyway!)

Review - Beguile Soap

2011-12-22T14:26:00.001-06:00

Beguile is a handcrafted bath and body product shop that I used to confuse with Haunt and often thought of together with shops like Haus of Gloi and FuturePrimitive. When I realized Beguile was an Australian shop I sort of sighed and figured I'd never order. But wait! FuturePrimitive is a UK shop and I have ordered from there several times, so why not try an Aussie soap?

I ordered three bars . . . Milk, Honey, and Ritual. Coming all the way from Australia did take a bit of time, but I was prepared for that, and it was still rather quick considering. Once the conversions are all figured out, I think Beguile's bars are around 4.5oz, and cost right around $6.00. I think she must have been having a sale at the time though because my receipt shows I paid $5.10 per bar. Shipping was high, as was to be expected coming all that way. The bars each come in a clear biodegradable plastic baggie with a tag/label tied on. These bars are so cute, sort of a compact, chunky bar with big lazy swirls on top. I also received two small samples in my package.

The only bar I have used so far is the Honey one. On the site it's listed as Honey 'n Oats, but mine is just labelled as Honey, although the ingredients do show there is ground oatmeal in there too. The only scent in this one comes naturally from the ingredients, mainly the honey, and even then there really isn't much to smell. But that's ok because it's an all natural bar. I would feel differently if it was *meant* to have fragrance. The other ingredients are fairly simple, and that's all fine by me. As I've said before, I'm not convinced adding oodles of 'fancy' ingredients really do anything.

I used this Honey bar in the shower with a pouf, as I always do. I tend to rub the bar on my body first before lathering up the pouf, and let me tell you . . . this baby explodes into lather with the littlest of effort! The oatmeal is not scratchy, and was a pleasant bit of scrubbiness before doing the bulk of my showering with my overly sudsy pouf. I *LOVE* lather, so this bar was a joy to use. I know the common saying is 'Lather does not equal cleansing,' but give me lather! It was sad to rinse it away but when I finally did it rinsed easily and I did not feel any dryness or tightness afterwards. Being an unscented bar, I didn't pay attention to whether there was a generic 'soap' smell or not while in use.

Overall, my experience with Beguile has been very positive. It's really too bad this is a shop so far away and shipping is a killer, because this is one of the better soaps I have ever come across. If you are an extreme soap connoisseur, always looking for something new and fine to try, I would absolutely recommend this shop. I would definitely order again as a treat to myself. I'm not sure how often Beguile has sales or specials but it might be worth it to keep an eye on the site and snatch some bars at those times. There are also scrubs, body oils, herbal balms, and wax tarts available.

And if you're already a Beguile user, I'd love to hear your thoughts. What should I try next time??

A Small Haunt Soap Review

2011-12-22T12:10:00.001-06:00

Haunt is a handcrafted soap company with a wildly popular cult following. I had been curious about this shop for a long time, loved the look, the style, and was intrigued in general. But this is one of those shops that you can't just pop over to a website and order when you feel like it. No, this is one those shops that only pops up with sales every now and then, and only the fastest internet connections have a hope of ever getting anything.

But still, the Haunt fans seem to believe so strongly in this shop that I finally decided give it a shot when the last sale happened. Of course I didn't get anything, and that only added to my changing opinion of this shop and others like it. (These 'only open for a day here and there' shops, I mean.) Some time later I won a blog giveaway and part of the prize package was a bar of Haunt soap in Cinnamon Girl scent, the same product I'd been trying to purchase. Well, alright! I could finally try this and see what all the fuss was about!

The bar is a decent size, on the thick and chunky side, which I was glad to see. According to the Haunt site bars are approximately 4.5oz and sell for $6.50. That's kind of pricey, but I tend to be cheap, and I know it's getting harder and harder to find handcrafted soaps for under $5.00 lately. The ingredients in this soap are average, not a bad thing as I'm not convinced so-called 'high end' ingredients do anything more than common stuff. The bar came with a beautifully designed cigar band type label. I don't know if it originally came in shrink wrap or anything, because I had gotten it from someone else and not directly from Haunt. The scent was nice, not overwhelming but enough to know it was there. Again, not sure how strong it was to begin with because I don't know how old the giveaway bar actually was.

So, how did it perform? I used it in the shower with a pouf, which is how I use all my soaps. It lathered nicely after a bit of work to get it started. The lather was sort of a light, small-bubble type which was nice but it didn't quite last long enough. It rinsed away easily and didn't feel drying. The scent was barely noticeable in the shower. Every once in a while I'd get a whiff of something like cinnamon but overall I couldn't detect much. The bar is quite hard and didn't seem to get overly gooey or melt-y as I used it. It was a pleasant enough shower experience.

Overall, I found the Cinnamon Girl bar of soap from Haunt to be . . . average. There was nothing wrong with it, but I've had better. And because it was about the same as a lot of handcrafted soaps out there, it makes me wonder why people jump through hoops to get this stuff when they can go to just about any other shop and get what they want, when they want. Even if you do manage to snag something from one of the Haunt sales, you still face the ridiculous turnaround time of something like eight weeks or more. I've been watching the updates since that last sale and there have been shipping delays after delay after delay. With hurdles like that I would expect this soap to be something really special, something above average. Maybe then I could understand the thrill. But for me, no thanks. I will not be bothering with Haunt again.

Birthday/Christmas Combo Package

2011-12-21T14:49:00.000-06:00

If you don't know Ellie yet, you need to get yourself over to her YouTube channel (pepper19882007) and check her out. She is a Bath & Body Works guru, but also has the occasional makeup tutorial, and I've gotten to know her over the past year. We both have birthdays close to Christmas and we had been talking at one point about what a bummer it can be when people feel the need to just clump the birthday and Christmas together like we won't notice or care. So I knew quite a while ago that I would be sending her a birthday package and a Christmas package . . . funny that it ended up being sent together, thus clumped together anyway. LOL (To be fair though, I had them in separate gift bags within the mailing box!)

Well, I received a package from Ellie today . . . right on my birthday, yay! . . . and when I opened it . . .

Oh my gosh, this girl spoiled me! I was laughing when I saw this, and seriously spoke "Oh my god, Ellie!" like she could actually hear my reaction. It was like a bottomless box as I was pulling goodies out!

There were indeed two cards in there, one for Christmas, and one for my birthday, but beyond that nothing is designated as to which day it belongs too. In this case, it doesn't matter. LOL

As mentioned, she is a B&BW guru so it was no surprise that there were B&BW goodies. The variety of those things was an interesting surprise though. She sent a tube of 'triple moisture body cream' in Dark Kiss scent (her absolute fave). I *need* this right about now because my itchy spots are coming back in this colder, drier weather. She also sent a face mask in Peach Citrus scent. I think these are new to B&BW, and this will be fun to try. I laughed out loud when I saw she had included a mini bottle of Rio Rumberry, part of the new tropical (?) line coming early next year. She'd done a video about these and I'd mentioned this was the one that caught my eye the most. There is a little PocketBac (and holder) in Cranapple Crisp scent. And there is a room spray in Island Nectar scent. I've been so submerged in warm, spicy, holiday scents lately that I'm actually quite looking forward the return of these lighter, fruitier scents.

Candles AND tarts! Oh, happy day! The big candle is Sticky Toffee Pudding, from B&BW. I already have this one but it's such a great ooey gooey foodie scent that it's no problem at all to have a duplicate. She also included four of the mini 'preview' size candles, which is cool because A)I melt them as tarts, and B)I'd been told they were no longer going to making these. She sent Hot Chocolate, Spiced Madeleine, Salty Caramel, and Dark Chocolate Mint. There were also three tarts from Yankee included: Pumpkin Buttercream, Peppermint Cocoa, and Root Beer Float. YUMMMMERS!

She also sent a package of incense because we're both all about home fragrance and she just recently started playing around with this form. I think this is sandalwood scent, and it will probably go to Ty since he's the one who has been burning incense. And then there are three packets of tea because I've mentioned here and there that I'd like to get into drinking tea. There is a Spiced Apple Chai, a regular Chai, and an English Breakfast Tea. I will definitely have to give it a decent effort now. There was also a bunch of Hershey's Kisses scattered throughout the box.

So how fun was that?! I thank you like crazy, Ellie, and then I thank you some more. It was fun acknowledging our birthdays together, and I look forward to many fun new videos in the coming year!

THANK YOU, ELLIE!!!

HurriKayn Natural Soap

2011-12-21T13:32:00.000-06:00

I received a package the other day but was waiting for today to post about it because it was a birthday gift from my online friend Mindy. We've known each other for years, going all the way back to the first season of Lost, when we were both on a Lost message board. (Those were the days! Marshall the marshal, anyone?) She is well aware of my soap addiction and this year has treated me from a shop I'd never heard of . . . HurriKayn Natural Soap, Inc.

I received this bar of Oatmeal Lavender soap, and while I'm not a lavender fan this one also has cinnamon, which somehow turns it into THE most amazing scent ever. I would never have imagined those two would compliment each other so well! I am in love with this scent now and will be looking for it in any shops I visit in the future. There is also ground oatmeal in this soap, making it both soothing and gently exfoliating. I'm looking forward to trying this one! (After I sniff all the scent out of it. Mmmmmmmmmm!)

I also received this bar of Spice Of Life soap, but I don't know much about it because there was no label and the website is not very informative. It says on the site this is for deep exfoliation, so I don't know if the dark specks I see are coffee grounds . . . ? There is a soft spicy scent that is very nice, definitely cinnamon, and maybe a hint of vanilla or something sweet. Very nice, just wish I knew more about it.

Looking at the HurriKayn website, I see they also have bath salts, lip balms, sugar scrubs, and body butters. Nice! I just wish they listed their ingredients on the site. The body butter looks rather pricey, so it would be nice to see what is in there before committing to such a purchase. Same with the scrub, would love to see the actual product and know what is in it. I wonder if they do sample sizes. Hmm.

Well, for now I am looking forward to trying the two bars I've been given, and I send heartfelt thanks to Mindy, for once again making my birthday a very happy day.

Thank you, Mindy!!!

Liking At The Moment . . .

2011-12-21T12:26:00.000-06:00

I don't drink coffee. I *want* to, but it has to be sooooo heavily flavored for me to be able to tolerate it that it's not really like drinking coffee. I love hot cocoa though, where it's ok to be flavored. So when I saw this while picking up some last minute things this morning I was intrigued.

I've had one mug of this so far, went into it a bit leery and doubtful, but found I quite like it. I made it with water that time, and will try it with milk next time. There is plenty of chocolate flavor for me to be able to enjoy, but there is just enough coffee under- or after-taste to let me pretend I'm a coffee drinker. WOOT!

Have you tried this Swiss Miss selection? Are you a coffee drinker? A cocoa drinker? What are some of your favorites?

To Order, Or Not

2011-12-20T07:16:00.000-06:00

I've been good about not buying any more handcrafted bath and body products for a short while now. I've wanted to, of course, but I've managed to find a bit of self control. I've wanted to at least wait until after Christmas, to see if I end up getting anything soapy from Santa.

But Creamery Creek is having a special now.

And Creamery Creek is on the top of my list of shops to try when I do start buying again.

What. To. Do . . . ?

Secret Santa

2011-12-19T16:55:00.000-06:00

Earlier this fall, I had signed up to participate in a Secret Santa exchange over at the Candles By Victoria messageboard. We received the name of our person in mid-November and had to have our packages mailed out by Dec. 15. The person I was shopping for was someone in Tennessee, and was a huge Lush fan so it was very convenient that we had gone to Minneapolis that weekend after I got her name, and that there was a Lush store close to our hotel. Hehe!

Well, MY package finally arrived today. Yay!! Funny, it's from Tennessee but not from the same person I was buying for. Anyway, it was so fun to open this and see what a total stranger would pick for me. (There was a thread on the messageboard where we could list a few things that we like, so our person wouldn't be totally clueless.)

I received this sparkly silver 'D' ornament. Too bad we don't have a tree up this year because this would be hanging right in front.

A package of Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark. Yum! And now I don't have to make more of my snowflakes, hehe.

Four Candles By Victoria scent shots (tarts) in Christmas scents. I think *everyone* in the exchange got CBV in some form. LOL! I'd already had Sugared Spruce but that went to the winner of my giveaway. And I'd also had Warm Christmas Splendor but I think that is the one I'd tried melting recently and it just wouldn't cooperate. It would only partially melt and I couldn't smell anything, so I'm hoping this one works better. The other two are new to me ... Christmas Eve 'Evokes memories of Christmas Punch! Simmering spices nutmeg, mace, and ginger, float on an eggnog, vanilla base,' and Christmas Kitchen 'Cinnamon, Orange & Pumpkin.'

I seriously laughed when I pulled this out of the package. Lynda and I had just been talking on her blog earlier this morning about how I should give fragrance oils another try, and what did I get but a bottle of Gingerbread fragrance oil from Bath & Body Works. I guess I will indeed be giving oils another try.

And the big thing in my Secret Santa package was this huge Starbucks mug with a packet of Peppermint hot chocolate mix in that brown bag. Awesome! Love me some hot chocolate, and hubby will love the ginormous mug for his coffee (which he drinks way more than I drink cocoa). Very cool.

I've never done a Secret Santa exchange. Well, we pick names in our family for Christmas but that doesn't seem the same as this type of exchange. I had a lot of fun doing this!

So as I was getting ready to post this, Casey came home from school and said the bus driver had been handing out gifts to all the kids on his bus . . .

He got a Christmas mug and a treat bag with a packet of hot chocolate and a handful of candy. Pretty darn cool, I think!

And THEN, as I was sitting here typing away on this post I kept noticing something out of the corner of my eye, outside the window that is right next to my desk. Took me forever to actually look and when I did I was stunned . . .

Ok, yeah, we live in the country and we see a lot of wildlife, but we don't get deer THIS CLOSE to the house. These were right in the yard, maybe 25-30 feet from the window. Since we've lost Meena, we've had a lot more of this type of visit lately. Gotta love it.

(I told Casey these were three of Santa's reindeer and they're actually just scoping out the place, checking up on him. He just smiled and nodded. At 17 years old, I don't think he believes that stuff anymore. Hmm.)

Eco-Emi December Box

2011-12-19T14:44:00.000-06:00

My second Eco-Emi box came today! Let's just dive right in . . . this is what I found upon opening the small flat rate box is came in. Oooooh, how fun already!?!?!

I admit, a couple of the wrapped items totally reminded me of tampons. LOL! Moving on . . .

Look at all those fun things! And on first glance it looks like I will use everything in here. Score! Let's take a closer look . . .

Genesis Today Vitamin C With Zinc chews - Who couldn't use a boost of vitamin C at this time of year? I know these are easily available at Walmart, which is one of the reasons I like Eco-Emi, you can actually find and buy the things you sample.

Green Shield Organic Free & Clear Laundry Detergent - I've tried a few homemade, natural laundry soaps and they haven't done a thing in our hard water, on hubby and Ty's super grimy machinist clothes. It will be interesting to try this. And I can buy this at Menards!

Artisana 100% Organic Raw Cacao Bliss - This is a raw chocolate coconut butter that is supposedly good on fruit, bread, cookies, etc., or used in smoothies, or for anything you want to sweeten up. I will probably give it a try on toast, unless anyone is familiar with this and has a better suggestion.

Zambeezi tangerine lip balm - Lip balm? Yes, please! This is an organic, fair trade product from Zambia, Africa. I haven't tried it yet but it has a pleasant, light tangerine scent.

Lauren Brooke botanical lip gloss in Winterberry shade - This is a full size tube, worth $8.00, so this month's box has paid for over half of itself just with this. Pretty cool. This is the one thing that I probably won't use because I don't wear lip gloss and I don't wear lip color. Maybe I'll try it just to play around with it, or maybe I'll pass it on to whoever is interested. Not sure yet.

Wyk Candle in Whispering Pine scent - Lynda, LOOK! Weren't we just talking about pine scents?? LOL This is just a tiny candle, maybe 1oz, in a cute little tin. I'm not sure yet if I'll burn it as is or try to pop it out and melt it like a tart. Wow, just looked at their site and they are super pricey. Ah well, at least I have this little baby to try.

John Masters Organics Blood Orange & Vanilla Body Wash, and Jojoba & Ginseng Exfoliating Face Cleanser - Nothing more to say than 'Can't wait to try these!!'

Maggie's Functional Organics socks - How fun is that?! I had seen a teaser about this on Facebook but had forgotten about it until I was tearing the wrap off my pair. There were four designs available and mine is in a cute snowflake pattern.

Natural Candy Store's organic candy cane - A festively fun little treat for me. Yay!

And then of course there is the info card about this month's box, along with several cards from the companies, many including discount codes. If you think you might like to order from any of these, let me know and I"ll pass the codes along to you.

This second box was even more fun than the first. Several people have told me they'd rather put that $15 monthly fee to better use, and I totally understand that, but for now I'm enjoying this. And I enjoy sharing it with you!

I Was Floored By This

2011-12-18T09:43:00.001-06:00

So the other day I'm coming home from shopping and stop to grab the mail out of the mail box. There is a package that I immediately recognize as being from Amazon, but I don't think anything of it at first. Then it occurred to me . . . I hadn't ordered anything recently. Hmmm. Ooooh, maybe my hubby had ordered something for me? Nah, he wouldn't know how to shop online to save his life. Did my son order something for me? Nah, it would probably have been in his name.

In the house, I looked over this mysterious package and did the whole shake and consider the weight thing. I didn't want to open it just in case it was a mistake or if it was indeed meant to be a birthday/Christmas gift. I decided to go to the Amazon site and double check my order history, make sure I wasn't forgetting about something I really had ordered. Nope, nothing.

I wondered if it was actually my gift from a Secret Santa exchange I'm in online. I wondered if my sister had ordered something for my birthday. Then I remembered that just the day before, my online friend 'Quilla' had mentioned she'd just ordered something for me. But would it have come already? I actually sent her a message about it, but it was not her. I considered some of my other online friends.

Then couldn't wait any longer and tore that package open.

And instantly knew who it was most likely from.

It was from 'Logan,' an online friend going waaaaaay back to the beginning of my computer/internet days, all the way back on the Countdown To Titanic messageboard. A bunch of people had eventually left that board and hung out for some time at a general interest board that one of the girls had made. All those people have long since wandered away from that board too, but 'Logan' and I still pop in and leave messages now and then, usually about books and movies. He knew I'd been watching The Tudors, and I'd mentioned over there that I was intrigued by Mary . . . so he gifted me with this amazing book. I couldn't believe it. It was so unexpected!

The book is Mary I: England's Catholic Queen (The English Monarchs Series), by John Edwards.

The lifestory of Mary I—daughter of Henry VIII and his Spanish wife, Catherine of Aragon—is often distilled to a few dramatic episodes: her victory over the attempted coup by Lady Jane Grey, the imprisonment of her half-sister Elizabeth, the bloody burning of Protestants, her short marriage to Philip of Spain. This original and deeply researched biography paints a far more detailed portrait of Mary and offers a fresh understanding of her religious faith and policies as well as her historical significance in England and beyond.

John Edwards, a leading scholar of English and Spanish history, is the first to make full use of Continental archives in this context, especially Spanish ones, to demonstrate how Mary's culture, Catholic faith, and politics were thoroughly Spanish. Edwards begins with Mary's origins, follows her as she battles her increasingly erratic father, and focuses particular attention on her notorious religious policies, some of which went horribly wrong from her point of view. The book concludes with a consideration of Mary's five-year reign and the frustrations that plagued her final years. Childless, ill, deserted by her husband, Mary died in the full knowledge that her Protestant half-sister Elizabeth would undo her religious work and, without acknowledging her sister, would reap the benefits of Mary's achievements in government.

It is a thick, heavy book and looks to be full of references and footnotes but I am so excited to have it, and anxious to start reading. There is a small section with photos of paintings and artifacts and things, which is exactly what I love. I'm really curious if this book keeps it bland and factual, or if it might paint her as the vengeful, brutal 'Bloody Mary' that she became. Ooooooh, I can't wait to get into this!

THANK YOU, LOGAN!!!!

Time

2011-12-12T08:56:00.000-06:00

Early in The Tudors series finale episode there is a conversation where old Henry is asking old Charles something along the lines of 'What is it you lose in your life that you can't get back?' Charles says your virtue. Henry says no, because through your actions your can possibly restore your virtue. Charles says your honor. Henry says no, because again through your actions you can possibly change what has gone before. Charles says he knows of nothing else. Henry says . . .

Time.

And I cried.

Hubby laughed at me, a bit because I cry at everything, but because this was early in the episode and to him it wasn't even particularly sad. But to me, it hit the nail on the head.

"I agree with him," I sniffled to hubby. He turned back to the TV, and I started thinking about it.

Time. This has been probably my biggest source of stress and depression the last several years. Next week I will be 45 years old. When I was young I thought 45 was getting into the old category. Now that I'm here it's a mixed bag of emotions. On one hand, I don't *feel* like I'm 45, or old. I still laugh and joke and goof around like a kid. I still get excited about silly things. I still listen to current music and watch current movies and read current books and swoon over hot guys young enough to be my sons. (Ok, yeah, that's creepy.) Although my knees like to remind me I'm not 15 anymore, I think I'm doing ok physically. I don't *feel* old. But when I stop and think about it in terms of time, I am very likely over halfway through with my life. And that scares me because I feel I haven't done anything. I feel these first 45 years flew by, and that the next however many I'm lucky to have left will fly by even faster.

Why do I feel this way? What do I feel I still need to do? I don't know. There aren't any significant things that are nagging at me, like climb a mountain or write a book. So what is bothering me? I don't know. This is what I need to sort out. If I have no grand plans or dreams, I should be content to pick my way through my minor projects as time allows, right? Then why do I feel that every day that goes by is a day wasted??

So many of my little projects I tend to push aside because I sort of talk myself out of them. Anyone who really knows me knows my family photos are very important to me. The old family photos I got when my grandma died, and even the ones I've took possession of from my mom . . . they're a mess. Not everyone believes in labeling their pictures. YOU might remember that was Aunt Clara when your all got together at Grandma Smith's for Christmas in 1942, but when you're gone who will know what it is? In my grandma's later days I tried from time to time to get her to recall who people were in the old photos, and labeled them as subtly as I could. I didn't want to keep hounding her, didn't want to put it as bluntly as 'When you're dead, how will I know who these people are??' but now part of me wishes I'd been more diligent. And I'm finding the same problem again as my mom ages. I've tried now and then to learn about her childhood, to have her look at old pics and tell what she remembers, but without sitting down and making it an urgent top priority project, the bits of info are scattered and vague. Because of this, I am rather obsessive about labeling all of MY pictures.

But why? My boys have little interest in any of this. Maybe it's a guy thing, because hubby has little interest in his own family's history. I can put all the effort I want into making sure my pictures and things are labeled and saved but when I'm gone, who will care? What will happen to those carefully labeled photos? They'll sit in boxes in an attic. Maybe my boys will marry wonderful women who share an interest in this, but what if they don't?

I used to be really interested in genealogy. When I got my first computer and then got internet service, I thought this was going to be the most amazing thing, that I could discover TONS of family history and dig back to ancient times, and oh what a collection of information I would accumulate! But then I found it's not as easy as that, and then I met someone on my maternal grandmother's side of the family who is an expert in this field and already has more information than I could ever hope to find. So my thoughts switch to 'Why should I bother? She's got it all already. I'll get copies of what she has.' Ok, so she's doing one side of my mother's family . . . there are still plenty of branches of the family tree I could work on. But again, why? Who will care after me? What will become of whatever I collect? What if that family member working on my mother's side passes on before her wealth of information can be shared? Should I be doing my own anyway? But why?

Do see how I talk myself out of things?

So what do I feel I should be doing? Why do I feel my days are wasted? One reason I gave up soap making was to get back time for myself, to do things *I* wanted, not work 12 hours a day for BigNameCorporation and spend my days off working to satisfy the orders and chaos from others. I wanted to be able to relax and read a book if I felt like it, or watch a movie if I felt like it, or get back to playing video games because I used to have so much fun with them. But still . . . I find a constant nagging in the back of my head that there are other things I could or should be doing.

Yet I don't know what they are.

And time is slipping away.

The Tudors - Final Thoughts

2011-12-12T07:52:00.000-06:00

I finished watching The Tudors last night, the entire four season series. Thought I'd share some final thoughts on it all.

First, I wonder if the creators knew going into the project that it would only be four seasons. With the show Lost, the creators met with the TV execs and laid out a plan for how many seasons the show would be so they knew how to pace the story. It seemed the finally season of the Tudors really started jumping through things. Ok, I do realize most of the drama came earlier anyway but it just seemed to start flying through things, touching on things here and there, and suddenly it was done. It seemed like in the third and fourth season characters were disappearing without explanations. (Or maybe their absences were mentioned briefly in conversations and I missed them.) I'm just curious about it now.

*HATED* the whole Katherine Howard portion of the story. I realize she was supposed to be much younger than Henry and was supposed to be a scandalous breath of fresh air in his life but . . . really??? There were plenty of other young brides and mistresses and ladies at court, yet they made this one carry on like a spazzy ten year old. Seriously?! Her constant inane giggling made me want to fast forward through every bit she was on. Her stupid reactions to, well, everything, were soooo freakin' annoying. Oooh, it's snowing so let's giggle and stare wide eyed with our mouth hanging open because, you know, we've NEVER seen snow before. Oh look, it's raining! Let's giggle and stare wide eyed with our mouth hanging open because, you know, we've NEVER seen rain before . . . and then let's go dance it in like a five year old. And let's use every possible chance we have to push the boundaries of child porn because she looks like she's twelve. They could have done so much better with this part of the story.

I can't find a good pic of how Charles Brandon looked by the end of the show but even in his old man not-hotness, there was still some Henry Cavill hotness lurking. I was very disappointed in what they did with his story though. Granted, I'm no expert but I did consult the Wikipedia biography of him and there was no mention of the French mistress he took in his final years. In the series, he and his wife were having problems but since they'd been the one good couple through it all until then I thought it would be worked out. I don't know if the actress playing his wife didn't return to the show or what happened but suddenly when Charles was off fighting for Bologne he captures a French soldier who -oops, surprise!- happens to be this beautiful French woman. Of course he keeps her prisoner. Of course they start banging. And then he's in love with her and takes her back home after the battle. Huh? And the story didn't really go anywhere after that. This is one of the things that makes me wonder if the series was originally meant to be longer, especially since I see no mention in the bio of him having a significant mistress. I did love, however, when his wife snubbed the mistress at his funeral. Yessss!!

I really liked the nearly life-long relationship between Lady Mary and Ambassador Chapuys. No, not THAT kind of relationship. It was like a father-daughter relationship, like he was the one constant in her life. He was always so sweet to her, and when he died . . . oh, yes, I cried. Again, consulting the Wiki bios, there is little mention of any relationship between them but I loved how they added it to the show. It was like the one good thing all along. I'd really like to see a second series, this time about Mary's life. I know she goes on to become the evil 'Bloody Mary' but I find her whole life sadly interesting.

Before I started watching the series, when I'd just catch bits of the show here and there from commercials or flipping through channels or whatever, I didn't think they'd 'aged' Jonathan Rhys Meyers much over time. Even as you watch the episodes back to back in long marathons, the changes are subtle. But then suddenly you're at the end and you realize, wow, they really had been tweaking him! In the finale, when they flash through memories on a couple occasions, it's shocking to see how young they all really did look in the beginning.

So was Henry going mad by the end of his days? They were rushing through things so much it was hard to tell what was really going on. I know he was supposed to be this evil tyrant but I found myself feeling bad for him many times. I want to know more about him now. I want to know what HIS father was like. I need to get some history books. Ooohhhhh Santa . . .

Overall, I really liked this whole series and am glad I have finally watched it. I think the second season was probably the best because of all the Anne Boleyn drama. The third season was boring by comparison, and the fourth season seemed so rushed. If you're a total history geek maybe you'll not enjoy this as much because you might be picking it apart for it's historical accuracies/inaccuracies . . . I don't know. Remember, I'm an English history noob. If you're not a history geek you can just enjoy the show for it's beauty and it's soap opera type storylines. I say at least give it a try!

Lookee What I Won . . .

2011-12-11T13:35:00.000-06:00

I recently won a giveaway and my prize arrived yesterday. YAY!! More soap! And just in time because, you know, I was running dangerously low . . . *snort*

This bar of Cinnamon Girl soap from Haunt is the main reason I entered. You might remember my frustrating failed first (and will be my only) attempt at ordering from Haunt, and if the prize for this giveaway had been anything other than Cinnamon Girl I probably would have passed. But since was this was THE one I was trying to get I thought I'd at least try to get it in this roundabout way, hehe. Described on the site as 'Creamy vanilla, sticky molasses, and fresh coconut shreds, lit with cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and nutmeg ~with coconut milk and blackstrap molasses,' it is a very nice scent. It's not a strong, spicy cinnamon because the other notes are there to tone it down a bit. It's more of a warm spice, but does not fall into a foodie or bakery type. I was glad to see the bars are at least a decent, chunky size. It looks like there are some hints of lighter swirls in the brown, and the large, lazy swirled texture on top make it look almost like fudge or something good enough to eat. I'm really curious about this bar of soap and might pop it into the shower ahead of all others just to finally see what all the fuss is about. Looking at the ingredients, I see nothing more impressive than any number of other handcrafted soaps out there. So, we'll see.

I also received this bar of Lassi soap from Haus of Gloi. You already know I love me some Gloi. I don't see this one on their site, but I see on the label it is from their Spring '11 release. It's described on the label as 'Fresh mango cream, orange blossom water, black ginger to ground, splash of green tea and a soft squeeze of lime juice.' Reading that description, I don't think this is a scent I would have ever ordered on my own but that just goes to show, you never know what you'll get sometimes. I quite like this one! There is something fruity about it but there is also something that must be the tea and ginger, something making it more sophisticated than a simple fruity scent. It is a bit 'cooler' and 'brighter' than the fall and winter scents I've been surrounding myself with lately so, yeah, it makes sense that this was a spring release. I'll have to remember to go ahead and try things I might be leery of next time I'm pondering a Haus of Gloi purchase.

A surprise in my package was a free tart. Can you ever have enough tarts??? This one is from AJ's Country Cottage on Etsy, a shop I'm not familiar with, and is in Caramel Pecan Pie scent. Described as 'Divine blend of luscious, creamy caramel and sweet nutty notes with a touch of buttery vanilla,' this is right up my warm, bakery alley!! The vanilla, caramel, and nuts blend together in a nice, warm, creamy scent but you can also pick up hints of buttery crust. I can't wait to melt this one!

So, a very nice little prize package indeed. I'm glad I entered!

Thank you, Lynda!

2011-12-08T11:07:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to take a moment to send a huge "THANK YOU!" to Lynda, who has been a follower of my blog and who I've been getting to know through chatting on Facebook and in email. She took the time this morning to provide my blog with a few small tweaks that you might not otherwise notice, but things that really help the look.

She made the signature you will now see on my posts, and she fixed my header to give it a more polished look. She also helped me correct a problem that I was not seeing on *my* screen but others with larger screens might have been experiencing, like she was. (The green background color was not extending fully to the sides of the screen. It should be now.)

So thanks again, Lynda. And to everyone else, I encourage you to check out her blog . . . HERE. It's still a fairly new blog and she's already had one giveaway. Maybe there are more surprises up her sleeve?! Go check it out!

Dec. 7 - The Tudors

2011-12-07T15:00:00.000-06:00

As I seem to do with a lot of things, I came into this show late. Well, after it was done in fact. I was well aware of it when it was current but we didn't have Showtime and really, I was under the impression it was just a total pornfest so I never gave it much consideration. For some reason, earlier this year I decided to go ahead and give this show a try. I ordered the first disc from Netflix and wasn't at all surprised to slapped in the face with boobs and butts pretty much right off the bat. I was surprised, however, at how fast I was hooked despite that! We went ahead and bought the complete dvd set.

Now, I will admit that I don't know much about British history or royal history. I mean, sure, we've all heard of Henry VIII and all of his wives. Anne Boleyn is a pretty common character too. I *always* remember in the movie Steel Magnolias, when Clairee says Anne Boleyn had eleven fingers and one of the other girls asks who Amber Lynn is. I was pretty much the same, had no clue. It wasn't until many years later that my interest started to turn to this time and place in history. I don't recall now what started it but I do know that I had watched the movie The Other Boleyn Girl and was fascinated. I know I had read a book around that time that was also about this general time in history, and it sort of took off from there.

I'm still a complete history noob in this area but I have been reading more books that seem to be connected to the Tudor times, and continue to be fascinated. I don't know how accurate the show is . . . I guess it would depend what historian you want to believe anyway . . . but this post is going to be about *the show.*

First, it is a *beautiful* show. Wow . . . the costumes, the places, the scenery . . . it is fun to watch. Some of the sex is a little 'Really? We needed that?' but I was so glad to see the frequency of it slowed way down after the initial rush.

Anne . . . hated her at first. I think we're supposed to, aren't we? I hated the bitch that the character was. I hated the actress playing her, her constant snotty little smirk mouth, her look, everything. By the end of her time on the show though, I had really warmed up to her. She was such a huge part of the show and the story.

Henry . . . there is a hotness about Jonathan Rhys Meyers that I never knew existed. Too bad he is apparently the UK's messed up bad boy like we have Charlie Sheen. As Henry though, at times you hate him and at times you feel bad for him. He's so 'I'm the king of England!!!!!' like that can get him anything, but when things are falling apart all around him you kinda feel bad because he doesn't know any other way. Everyone had been filling his ear about how bad Wolsey was, how he would be the downfall of everything, and then after Wolsey is removed you see things really start to crumble and Henry screams at all those people that . . . basically . . . whatever Wolsey was, these people suck more.

There is one scene during the happy days of Henry courting Anne where they are going out for their morning ride, Anne already on her horse when Henry comes out and smiles and says "Good morning, sweetheart." Awww, I could watch that one little bit over and over. He's so polite and charming and gentle there. It's visually beautiful. Ah, it's just one of those random little things that strikes you and sticks with you. Love it. And in that very same scene Cardinal Wolsey is trying to walk out to meet Henry and is stopped by the guards because this is the start of his downfall. He's crying out to Henry, pleading in a confused sort of panic, and Henry just ignores him rides away ... like a bastard.

And Henry was so in love with Anne for so long while he fought to have her, it was sad to see how fast that died away and he moved on to the next one.

Charles Brandon . . . did not like this character early on, thought he was just a manwhore bully. Along with the couple scenes mentioned above, one I will always remember is when his first wife (Henry's sister) dies a horrible death while he's out banging some skanky ho. He sort of fell out of favor with Henry for a while after that, and he sort of settled down after that too. I grew to really like him. He was happily married and doing his job, and was just a super cute guy! And then he ruined it all by putting up no resistance to the foreign slut who threw herself on him in the barn. I was sooooo disappointed in him for that!

Ohhhh. Em. Gee.

(Sheri - He is Theseus in Immortals.)

Thomas Moore . . . I liked this character, liked the actor. This is probably going to have everyone screaming at me but I got soooo mad that he wouldn't just take the damn oath!! I understand he felt it was going against his principals or whatever, but those who knew him knew how he really felt even if he would have taken the oath to please the king. HE would have known how he really felt, and since he'd said he would go quietly away and live his life in private it's not like he would have been forced to live a lie every day at court or something. Take the oath, make the crazy king happy, and go on with your life knowing what YOU truly believe. I mean, yeah, I understand the whole standing up for your beliefs and stay true to yourself but I guess I'm just not that dedicated or something spineless like that. It's the same with so called martyrs today, dying for their cause, suicide bombers . . . give your life to 'prove a point.' I think you can accomplish far more alive than dead. Ooooohhhhhh, I was just so mad at Thomas Moore for this.

Catherine . . . really grew to love her. At first I didn't know if we were supposed to feel bad for her or be mad at her. Early on I thought she was just being stubborn. I was like 'Come ON, woman, take a hint. This is going nowhere.' She was always so poised and composed though, and there is one scene where she's coming out of court or church or something and the people just adore her.

There are plenty of other characters too but those were some of my favorites. I'm not sure how I feel about Cromwell. I didn't like him at first, then he grew on me, but now I'm not sure anymore. Anne's father was an ass all around. When he was in prison and fearing he'd be executed along with the rest of them, then sort of giggled when he found out he was being released, I loved how Charles threw him up against the wall and got in his face, asking him if it was worth it to him, if he'd watched his son die. And what a bastard when he was released and turned to look back and Anne was waving and he just walked away . . . knowing she was about to die. I'll need to Google him and see what happened to him after that. I hope it was miserable. Gah!

I had wondered what the show would be like after Anne's execution, which came at the end of the second season. I certainly don't know any of the history after that, just that Henry continued to marry and behead wives . . . hehe. And sure enough, I'm only a couple episodes into the third season and there is a definite change. He's married to this lovely lady Jane now and she's all about peace and trying to reconcile Henry and his daughter Mary. I Googled her and thought her story would continue to keep the show drama filled and end with sadness because she gives Henry the all-mighty male heir but dies in the process, but so far the focus of this season is the religious battles and that is something that I can never keep straight in my head. I also don't like that so many of the familiar characters are gone now, and the new ones they've brought in just seem to try too hard to be cool. The eye-patch pirate bandit bully guy? Please. The king's new whore? Please. I will continue to watch though and hope it can get back to something as powerfully addicting as it was up to this point.

Again, I don't know how accurate the show is historically speaking. I'm pretty darn sure the people were not all beautiful like they are in the show . . . LOL! So I will continue to just go with it and lose myself in the show, the characters, the stories.

How about you? Did you watch The Tudors when it was on? Did you catch it later like me? What are your thoughts on the show, or on the real history if you're a history geek? I'm all ears on this one.

Dec. 2 - Giveaway #2 WINNER

2011-12-02T11:46:00.000-06:00

I'm surprised and a little disappointed that there were only three entries in this one. Looks like I need to advertise the giveaways more, huh? But at least your odds are better when it's small like this! And since the three of you have probably scrolled to the end already anyway . . .

Congratulations, Lynda!!

Dec. 1 - Giveaway #1 WINNER

2011-12-01T11:45:00.000-06:00

Thanks to everyone who entered! And without further ado . . .

Congratulations, Ellie!!!

Nov. 27 - Holiday Treats

2011-11-27T12:36:00.000-06:00

Peppermint Bark Snowflakes

I first saw these fun and easy holiday treats in BentleyBlonde's video (HERE) and she mentioned seeing it on Pinterest. When I saw the video I knew I'd be making some this holiday season. She said she was using a silicone mold found at Target so that's where I checked and sure enough, it was right there in the cheap stuff section when you first walk in the door. It was only $2.50, so it is a thinner, flimsier mold than I used to have for my soap making, but for this it seems to work just fine. If you can't find this at your local Target, I'm sure any other silicone mold would work. This recipe made six snowflakes about 2.5" wide.

What you'll need . . .

~ 1 cup brown chocolate (dark or milk, it's up to you)

~ 1 cup white chocolate

~ crushed peppermint candies or candy canes

~ peppermint extract ***

~ 2 tsp. vegetable oil

~ snowflake silicone mold

What to do . . .

~ Crush several candy canes into very small bits and powder. I crushed six regular candy canes and that will be enough for several batches. I put them in a ziplock bag and pounded with them with a meat tenderizer. This worked great but it left fine holes in the bag and peppermint dust on the counter.

~ Pour one cup of brown chocolate into a microwave safe bowl. I used regular dark chocolate chips. Microwave about 30 seconds at a time, stir, repeat until the chocolate is melted and can be stirred easily.

~ Add one teaspoon vegetable oil to the melted chocolate and mix well.

~ Add 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract to melted chocolate and mix well.

~ Spoon melted chocolate into snowflake molds, dividing equally. It won't look like much in the molds. Gently shake the mold around a bit to get the chocolate spread into all areas. Gently tap the mold on the counter to remove any air bubbles under the chocolate, and to get it into all the grooves and designs.

~ Sprinkle some of the crushed candy cane bits/powder onto the chocolate. It's up to you how much you want to add.

~ Place mold in the freezer until the chocolate hardens, about 10-15 minutes, then remove it and continue with the next layer.

~ Repeat all steps but this time with the white chocolate. (Melt, stir, add oil, add extract, spoon into mold on top of brown chocolate, sprinkle with candy bits, freeze.)

~ When chocolate has hardened (about 15 minutes) remove mold from freezer, and you will now unmold the snowflakes. Gently pull the sides away from each flake to make removal easier. Working with one flake at a time, sort of pull the silicone down and push up with a finger from underneath, so you are turning that mold cavity inside out. The snowflake will peel away from the silicone as you do this. Set the removed flake aside, and repeat the process on the next, until you have them all removed. Let your cute little holiday treats return to room temperature . . . and enjoy!

***Original recipe called for 1/4 tsp. peppermint extract in the brown chocolate AND 1/4 tsp. in the white chocolate. If you feel this might be too strong, eliminate adding it to one layer. I did not add it to the brown layer, and I cut back what I added to the white layer. I couldn't really smell it in the finished candy but people told me it was near perfect, light mint.

These would be so cute in little holiday cello treat bags and tied to gifts or as stocking stuffers, Bundle a couple together and give to teachers, mail carriers, babysitters, etc. Place one on each plate at a family holiday meal. Possibilities are endless with these little cuties!

I've been trying to think of variations to the recipe. How about an all white flake with a red food coloring swirl? How about an all brown chocolate flake with bits of nuts mixed in? These really are so easy and quick to make. I did one batch just to see how it would go, and I'm sure I will be doing more as Christmas approaches.

Can you think of any other variations? Will you making some?

Nov. 27 - Minnesota Vikings Trip 2011

2011-11-27T09:07:00.000-06:00

For the third year in a row, hubby and I have taken a November weekend trip to Minneapolis to see a Minnesota Vikings game. Yeah, we live in Wisconsin . . . but we are Vikings fans and have been for years. This year the game we saw was against the Oakland Raiders, and that was funny to me because I *used* to be a Raiders fan back in the '80s. I'm not sure when *I* settled in as a Vikings fan but hubby has been since we got together. He was not into football at all before that so when he started favoring one team it was the Vikings because of his Scandinavian ancestry.

Anyway . . .

We tried to find a home game that was on a weekend I wasn't working but that just wasn't working out. Then we started looking at what games were in November because that's just become our traditional travel month for some reason. In our two previous trips we had seen them play the Bears and the Cardinals. The cost of Packer tickets . . . even playing in Minnesota . . . was sky high. So when I saw they were playing the Raiders I knew that had to be the one. Not only because they used to be my team, but because one of the supervisors at my workplace is a huge Raiders fan and I figured he'd be going. One things we've thought would make these trips better was if there was someone else there that we knew. So this was the game we chose.

I'd been keeping an eye on the weather forecast for Minneapolis and was not thrilled to see it was supposed to be cold and rainy and even snowy. The previous two years we'd lucked out with decent weather, which made walking around the city and waiting in line outside the dome nice. It didn't look like we'd be so lucky this time. We packed our heavy jackets and gloves in the truck just in case, even though it was quite warm and dry when we left here last Saturday morning.

We had stopped at one Fleet Farm about halfway to Minnesota, hoping they'd have a mix of Packer and Viking things but no, we must have still been too deep in cheese country. At that stop I think the weather was just starting to get rainy. So then we stopped at another Fleet Farm closer to the WI/MN border and found a fair selection of Viking shirts and things. Weather at this point was turning to a sleet-snow mix, and was getting windy. We ended up going back in and buying several sandbags for the back of hubby's truck just in case conditions got worse.

And they did. The farther into Minnesota we got, the worse it became. Most of it was slick and sloppy sleet snow mix, until we got right around St. Paul/Minneapolis, where it was finally plain ol' snow. Visibility sucked. We saw several cars off the road or sliding around during lane changes. Travel speeds that are normally around 75mph or more on this freeway were down to maybe 40 or so a lot of times. I was pretty much white knuckled and near cardiac arrest by the time we pulled into the hotel parking lot. Gah!!

We stayed at the Normandy again. This was the view from one window of our room. Another window had a view of the pool area. It was a step up from our view last year of the walls of the neighboring building.

We love this place . . . except for the highly overpriced meals, but I guess you'll have that anywhere you stay in the big city. This is looking down one of the hallways.

One of the sitting areas in the front lobby, looking out over the busy city streets.

After we were checked into the hotel and had a few minutes to recover from the snowstorm drive, we hopped back into the truck and managed to find our way to the American Swedish Institute, which was about a mile away from our hotel. I had seen online that this place was hosting a Nordic Christmas Fair. We talk every year about finding more things to do while we're in Minneapolis, instead of just sitting in our room and going to the game, so this seemed perfect.

We had no idea what to expect of this place. As we approached, I was in love. Anyone who knows me knows I'm all about castles, and this is about as close to one as we're going to get in the US! I would have loved to get more pictures outside but the weather was still cold and windy with icy little snow bits pelting us in the face.

(I'll take a moment here to let you know that you can see tons more pics from this museum and this trip if you go to the photo album I made . . . HERE. Hope you check it out. I love comments!)

As soon as we were in the main room our jaws dropped in awe. So much beautiful woodwork, and everything decorated for Christmas. Oohhhhhhh my gosh. Please have a look at that photo album linked above because there are tons more pics than what I'm posting here.

Each Nordic country had its own room. There were displays that are part of the permanent museum, traditional items from each land, and the rooms were also decorated for Christmas. Soooo gorgeous.

This is just a smidgen of the things we saw . . .

The place had just recently re-opened and is still in the process of a construction project. I'm not sure what is all being done but it seemed like some of these gorgeous old rooms were cheapened by being nearly empty and having kids run amok. Maybe it was just for this event that there cheap tables scattered around and activities for kids. Some of those 'incomplete' rooms could have been closed off because it just sort of took away from the awe factor of the rest of the place. We still loved it overall though.

We made it back to the hotel after getting a bit lost for a couple minutes. Doh! Then we decided to walk the several blocks down to the shopping area not far from the hotel. Each year we have stopped at Barnes & Noble, but this is the first time we didn't buy anything. We'd hoped to get the newest Piers Anthony book in the Xanth series but found out it wasn't coming out till the following week. That happened to us last year too!

We walked over to Macy's to go to the LUSH shop inside. I needed to get a couple things for a Secret Santa thing I'm in. Plus it's always fun to just go there. There is no LUSH shop anywhere close to me otherwise.

And then we went to Target to look at their Vikings selection and to look for some small Christmas presents that I hadn't been able to find around here. Then it was back to the hotel, where we went down for an overpriced meal, then settled into our room for the night.

One thing about this trip is that hubby had a brand new Vikings 'hat' he was dying to wear to the game. I had found this item on Etsy, in a shop called Legendary Crafts. I laughed and showed hubby and he HAD to have it. Through some messaging back and forth with the creator, she agreed to customize it slightly to fit the Minnesota Vikings look hubby wanted. Hubby was giggling like a little kid when he finally received it. I was dying of embarrassment. LOL

So the morning of the game he was obviously raring to go. Unfortunately, it was still freakin' cold and having to wear his big winter jacket ruined the effect until we got inside and he could take it off. But yeah, this thing got SOOOO many comments and compliments, so many people asking to take his pic, and even some asking to take pics WITH him. It was quite funny, I'll admit. And just what is it that drew so much attention?

Yep, this huge yarn beard and hat with horns. LOL!

He got his pic taken with the Vikings mascot, Viktor.

He got his pic taken with this girl who was done up in a full body Viking-ette outfit. She even had furry boots. SHE approached hubby and asked for the pic.

My Raider fan coworker found us before the game and of course we had to get a group shot.

As for the game itself . . .

We had new seats this year . . . first row, upper deck, on the visitor sideline. These seats were awesome, well worth the splurge.

To the left is the huge inflatable Viking ship that becomes the entrance tunnel for the Vikings. To the right is the horn that signals it's game time.

Here come the Vikings!

Hard to see in the pic but there is a motorcycle near the center. Paul Jr, formerly of American Choppers, had built this bike for Adrian Peterson's charity and was actually there to ride it onto the field. We were surprised by this. It was kinda cool!

The Vikings Skol Drumline. LOVE these guys!!

Random game action.

The flag dudes do a lap every time the Vikings score a touchdown.

It was Salute To The Military Day at the game, so there were a lot of activities related to that, including an emotional reunion that you can see . . . HERE.

We lost, but expected that since we suck so much this season. LOL To be fair, they were making a comeback in the fourth quarter but just ran out of time. It was funny to see the mass exodus not even halfway into that quarter, only to have them start scoring again. Too little too late though. Oh well.

Hubby and I at the game.

We ended up with two guys from Raider Nation North sitting next to us. (It's like a fan club sort of thing.) They were very nice though and it was fun to tease back and forth with someone who didn't get angry or nasty. They kept apologizing to us for a very vocal guy several rows behind us, saying "We're not with him." But really, that other guy wasn't bad. He was quite humorous in his devotion to his team.

After the game, we went back to the hotel to munch some munchies we had in our room and try to decide what to do with the rest of our day. We weren't leaving until the next morning because I don't want us to be traveling at night. We ended up walking back to Target to kill some time and buy some food so we could avoid the overpriced breakfast option in the morning. It was quite funny . . . we ended up buying a whole pack of plastic forks/spoons/knives just to have two forks to eat our microwave food with. There was nothing to use in the room. I've already made a note for next year: pack utensils. LOL!!!

I realized the next morning that I hadn't taken any pics out and about around the city, like I usually do. The crappy weather had been part of the reason. So after we checked out I snapped this pic just to have one of the big city. Then we hopped in the truck and headed for home.

Random snowy scenery on our way home. By the time we got closer to our home area the ground was back to green and dry again. Funny.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed my little trip. And I really hope you check out the rest of the pictures in that album I linked to earlier in this post.

Do you have any trips planned? Anyplace special you tend to return to? Or maybe someplace you've just recently returned from? I'd love to hear about it!

Nov. 26 - Bath & Body Works Haul

2011-11-26T14:33:00.000-06:00

I really didn't need to go to Bath & Body Works. I rarely go there, and I certainly don't NEED any more body products OR home fragrances, but now that we've shifted into full holiday mode there is just something FUN about it all. Ok, well, to be honest I went there with a purpose but it backfired.

I had been watching Ellie's video last night, her B&BW Black Friday haul, and she had mentioned not being able to get Twisted Peppermint in any body products. At the time I took that as her store just didn't have any, so I was all 'Ooooooh, I'm going to check MY store and I'll surprise her!' I knew that scent was only going to be out for one week, and I thought this was the week. But noooo, it's next week. DOH! So then I thought back and figured duh, that's probably what she meant anyway.

Ok fine, so I'm already in the store and the always pushy and perky B&BW storegirl was hovering, trying to make up for that lack of Twisted Peppermint. I glanced around and asked where the mini candles were, the little preview sized ones for the holidays. She said "Oohhh, we don't have those anymore. They're not going to make them anymore because they say they're unsafe." We looked at each other with looks of 'Unsafe? Really?' Well that sucks regardless, and now I'm 0 for 2 in my shopping.

"Well this is just not my day, is it?" I sigh, and am met with a perky laugh and apology.

So she took me to the regular holiday candles and starts shoving various ones in my face. I asked if there was any sale on the 4oz size. She said no, and we laughed again at my rotten luck. She explained that the little candles are $9.95 (I think?) but since there is a special on the large candles, 2 for $20, it would be silly to pay the price of the small one when you can get the bigger for five cents more. I showed her my coupons and she pointed out that after the first two candles, any after that would be $10 each, and since one coupon was $10 off a $30 purchase it would be like getting one candle free. HMMMM!!

My other coupon was a free item with any $10 purchase. She thought I would need to make and additional $10 purchase. I had thought it would still work with my original $30 purchase but I didn't push the issue, and just grabbed a fourth candle.

So what did I get?
Twisted Peppermint large candle - 'A refreshing mix of spearmint and mandarin, layered with iced peppermint, vanilla extract and sugar musk.' Love this scent! Perfect for Christmas, with the cool mint softened by the vanilla. I don't really pick up the mandarin or the musk. It's just a really, really nice scent.

'Tis The Season large candle - 'Golden apples, pine needles and holiday cider are combined with a touch of ground cinnamon.' When I smelled this in the store I was immediately in love. The perfect Christmas scent! Once I got home I found it wasn't *quite* as good as in the store but it's still awesome. It seemed more piney in the store, but now I smell more of the spice. I get a slight hint of the apples and cider but it's mainly the cinnamon and pine that comes out when you sniff it. Can't wait to get our tree up, house decorated, and start burning this one.

Sticky Toffee Pudding large candle - 'A rich, tempting treat that combines melted toffee, pure maple syrup and toasted pecans, topped with brown sugar and whipped cream.' This one is a direct result of Ellie's video because I don't think I would have looked in this section of candles otherwise. This one is also right up my ooey gooey foodie scented alley. YUMMM! The toffee and maple are right there, and it's creamy, and warm, and comforting. It reminds me of the Butterscotch Maple Cream tarts from Better Homes & Gardens that I love so much.

This candle was a winner in the My Candle Recipe Contest that I knew nothing about. Apparently people were invited to send in their favorite recipes and the top three that they were able to turn into candle scents were the winners. They have a special label on the cover of the candle, and if you peel that label back you get the actual recipe for that candle's scent. Kinda cool!

Hot Buttered Rum large candle - 'Rich and delicious, a comforting blend of spiced rum and warm caramel, with a touch of vanilla bourbon.' I tried to get this one last year, sort of my first taste of the Bath & Body Works world, but it was apparently one of the hot ones because it was sold out every time I checked. It must be old news this year . . . there were plenty of them on the shelf! So I grabbed one. It's another of my warm ooey gooey scents, a bit heavier on the caramel and vanilla than on the rum. Other buttered rum scents I've come across have a bit more, I don't know, rum-i-ness to them. This is still very nice though!

And for my free item I chose a bottle of Winter Candy Apple shower gel to go with the lotion I already had. 'Our exclusive Winter Candy Apple is a mouth watering blend of crisp apple, candied orange and rich cinnamon spice.' This is a bright, sweet, fun scent. Yeah, it does smell like candy but there is just enough of the cinnamon to keep it from total tooth decay. Even hubby and Ty liked this one when I shoved it in their faces. And it will be fun to switch to this for the holiday season, and let hubby work through the stockpile of handcrafted soaps we have. Hehe!

There a some good deals going on now but you have to hurry, most are only through this weekend. It's a bummer I don't have more people to Christmas shop for because I would love to go shopping again! LOL

I also got three more of the $10 off a $30 purchase coupons, AND a survey coupon on my receipt. Woohoo! Bummer again that I probably won't get to use them. *sigh*

Have you treated yourself to Bath & Body Works lately? What did you get? What are your favorites?

Nov. 25 - Giveaway #2 !!

2011-11-25T07:20:00.001-06:00

GIVEAWAY #2 !!!!!

Yep, another giveaway and the first one isn't even done yet. WOOT! This time I'm giving away six scent shots (tarts) from Candles By Victoria. These are approximately 2oz each, and I usually cut them and just melt half at a time. I've heard other people just use 1/4 size pieces, but as you know my rooms are large and I like my scents strong.

If you're interested in Candles By Victoria but haven't ordered yet . . . the amount of scents and candle styles available is overwhelming! . . . scent shots are the way to go. Pick some scents you want to try, and if you like them you can go back and order it again candle form. It's a good way to test the waters. And I'm giving someone SIX of them! The winner will pick three from the list I will provide at the time, and I will pick the other three for a bit of fun surprise.

Keeping it simple again, because I don't like those contests where you have to complete several steps just to enter. Just leave a comment below about . . . hmm, your favorite scent. Do you love the scent of lilac because it reminds you of the huge lilac bush in the backyard of your childhood home? Do you love coconut scents because you dream of a tropical getaway? Ooooh, or comment about your least favorite scent! That could be fun too!

This contest will run from now (7:15am/central, Nov. 25) to sometime in the morning of Dec. 2. I will choose one winner from all the qualifying comments using random.org. Please leave an email address if I have no way to contact you through your profile. Thanks!

GOOD LUCK!!!

Nov. 24 - Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T08:25:00.000-06:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

(This blogger's family gathering, 2009)

Is anyone else having trouble believing that we have arrived at Thanksgiving already? Where has this year gone?? Well for me, I blame a lot of this lost time on my dorky work schedule. I work 12hr shifts, two days on/two days off, and every other weekend is either three days on or off. Days that I work I pretty much don't do anything else, so those days don't really seem to exist as far as 'life' goes, and that makes time seem to fly by that much faster. And it sucks.

But whatever.

Thanksgiving had been gaining popularity with my for the last several years, about to overtake Christmas as my absolute favorite holiday. Thanksgiving just always seemed much more laid back. We would all get together for the day but there was not the stress of everything involved with Christmas. With Thanksgiving there are way fewer decorations, no crazy shopping, but you still get a fabulous meal and you have a casual day of hanging out with whoever it is you choose to hang out with. It was like the last bit of calm before the chaos of Christmas.

The last couple years I don't even have that fondness for Thanksgiving anymore. Things have become rushed with everyone seeming to have somewhere else to be . . . drop in for a plate of food and a bit of chitchat and then it's off to the next place. Kids are grown and starting lives of their own. I've grown so distant from my own family, barely see them throughout the year, that it's almost like sitting awkwardly in a house full of strangers. Sadly, this day does not hold the warmth and excitement that it used to for me.

But I will make the Cherry Crisp and grab the Cool Whip and we will troop over to my brother's house later today, and we'll see how it goes.

Wherever you are and whatever you're doing today, I hope it's a warm and cozy kind of day for you. Watch some Macy's parade, watch the Packers suffer their first loss of the season, eat some turkey . . . and draw one last deep breath before hitting those sales in the middle of the night!

Nov. 23 - GIVEAWAY!!!

2011-11-23T12:42:00.000-06:00

GIVEAWAY TIME!!!

Everybody loves a giveaway, right? I've been delaying this for some time now, waiting to hit 25 followers, but since I seem to be stuck at 20 I figured I'd go ahead and do it as a holiday event instead. Yay!

The winner of this first giveaway (and there will be more) will receive three packs of the Better Homes & Gardens wax cube tarts that can be found at Walmart, and that I've been raving about lately. The winner will choose one scent from a list I will provide at that time, and I will choose two others.

This contest will from now (12:30pm/central Nov. 23) through sometime in the morning of Thursday, Dec. 1. I will use random.org to pick one winner from the qualifying entries.

How do you enter? I'll keep it simple. Just leave a comment below about anything holiday related, whatever winter holiday it is that you celebrate. It can be a favorite memory, family tradition, anything! Please enter only once. And please leave an email addy for me to contact you if you don't have one connected to your account. 'Enter Me' comments will not be counted. Open internationally.

So that's it! Just leave a holiday themed comment below and you might win three packs of tarts.

GOOD LUCK!!

Nov. 22 - My First Eco-Emi Box!!

2011-11-22T15:17:00.000-06:00

Earlier this year I signed up for Birchbox, which is a monthly subscription box of beauty and skin care products samples. I'd seen several YouTubers having so much fun with it and even though I'm not a girlie girl who gets into makeup and all that stuff, I thought it would be a fun way to just play around with some things. I cancelled my subscription after only a few boxes because I was finding most of the stuff I was receiving was just not stuff I would ever even try. It was disappointing, yeah, but I liked the idea of getting a box of goodies every month so I went on the hunt for similar programs and found Eco-Emi.

Eco-Emi is similar in that you get a box of random samples each month but Eco-Emi is an eco-friendly program. The products they send are all earth friendly or organic or fair trade, etc. The monthly fee is a bit more than Birchbox, but you get more products and it is not all beauty and skin care products. I watched some YouTube videos and saw everything from bath and body products to food, tea, snacks to makeup to candles. I decided to give it a try. When I signed up there was a waiting list, but a couple weeks later they were able to expand things enough to get rid of the waiting list and my first box was the November box.

So let's see what I got!

It arrives in a typical small flat rate box. I had seen some reviews of the October box and info in that one had said the November and December boxes would be holiday themed, so I was super excited to see this!

Inside the box I saw lot of greens and reds and most of the items appeared to have come in a handy zipper pouch.

There is an info card, just like Birchbox has. It tells a bit about the theme of the month's box, and then has info about the products, including the prices of the full sized items.

You also get extra cards or pamphlets from the companies themselves. Most, if not all, have coupon codes for their products if you should choose to order more.

As mentioned, this month everything came in this handy zipper pouch. This would have been great over the weekend for our trip to Minneapolis. It's travel sized, good for putting your makeup or whatnot in. Looking through the info cards and things, it looks like this is a product from Hugo Naturals.

And these are the things out of the pouch. Most of the items are wrapped up like fun little gifts. I couldn't wait to tear into them!

First up is a 2oz bottle of 'essential mist' from Hugo Naturals, in Vanilla & Sweet Orange scent. The info card says you can use this anywhere you want to freshen things up . . . on your body, in your hair, as a room spray, anywhere. I haven't actually used it yet but I did open the bottle to sniff it and OMG, love love love it! It's like a creamsicle, with the light sweet orange and the creamy warm vanilla. I love this Eco-Emi box just for this!!

Keeki Pure & Simple lip shimmer in 'Ooh La La' is another item in this box. I'm all about lip balms but I've never really worn any color on my lips. This is a reddish brown, and the info card says it adds both color and shimmer, and is infused with vanilla and peppermint oils. Awesome! I'm not sure if I will try this or pass it on to someone who already appreciates lip color. I do have some holiday swaps coming up, hehe.

Samples of shampoo and conditioner from Organic Excellence, in Wild Mint scent were also included. I'm so low maintenance that I usually use whatever 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner I can find. Actually, I would be more likely to use separate shampoo and conditioner but the menfolk would only use the shampoo because two steps is beyond them. *snort* These will be a nice little treat for me to try. They smell so nice, a sweet minty smell.

Left to right: Planet Botanicals hand cream, Earth's Beauty eye shadow, Blissoma clarifying face mask.

The hand cream is Ugandan shea butter in a lavender scent. I'm not usually a fan of lavender scents but this one is sort of sweet and more 'pretty' than those I usually come across. It's a thick cream, but I haven't actually tried it yet. It's just a tiny little sample.

The eye shadow is a loose powder in 'Sunlight' color, which the website describes as a 'pearlized gold.' It has more gold shimmer than the pictures are showing. This will probably also be passed on to someone else.

The face mask is a 'Clay Renewal Treatment' made with clays from Morroco, and a bunch of other interesting goodies. It looks rather oily and slimy but it has a very pleasant smell.

The green and white card is from Soul Flower and includes the little blue pin in the upper left corner. The red and white packet is a peppermint foot cream from Deep Steep.

And finally . . . chocolate!! It is a dark chocolate Yumbar from Sweet Riot, and I can't wait to dive into this one! Ohhhhh wait, I just noticed on the package that it also has raisins. Bleah, not fond of raisins in my chocolate. But yay for including chocolate!

Not bad for my first Eco-Emi box. I like that there is a mix of products in here, and they are products I will actually use. Well, most of them . . . hehe.

What do you think about Eco-Emi?

Nov. 22 - Haus of Gloi Yule Haul

2011-11-22T13:03:00.001-06:00

Every time I think I'm done ordering bath and body products, something sucks me back into it for 'just one more order.' I hadn't really planned on making that last FuturePrimitive order, had been telling myself I have plenty, and my interest has swung over to tarts and candles anyway . . . but then I decided to just go for it in one big last hurrah.

That's kinda what happened this time too. I knew the Haus of Gloi Yule release had gone live but I hadn't even bothered to look at it because I just. have. so. much. already. Then someone was talking about it (*ahem* Lynda) and I thought 'Oh what the heck. Just a small order then I'm DONE.' I couldn't decide what to get. I felt like just one bar of soap was a waste of an order. And it makes for a boring blog post, hehe. So once again, I purchased more than I'd ever intended. And once again I'm telling myself 'That's IT. Done!' Ha, you're laughing, I know. I know, I know, I know.

This package arrived while I was gone for the weekend. One of the first things I did when I got home was rip the box open to have a peek, but then left it until today when I would finally have time to thoroughly go through it. It was quite festive even just seeing these bits of red and green and gold papers!

Parkin

Glorious ginger cakes celebrating Guy Fawkes Day! Brown sugar, black treacle, oats, a peculiar blend of white spices tossed with chopped roasted chestnuts and coated with the lightest of icings.

When I read the description for Parkin, I knew this was the one I needed to get. Sugar, oats, sweet and warm . . . right up my alley. It's a simple two-toned brown bar with a lightly textured top and some silver shimmery dust on top. The label reminds me of New Year's more than Christmas, with it's gold colorings and fireworks in the background. And the scent, impossible to describe as always. You know how I've said in previous posts that certain soap makers' soaps have a sort of signature smell along with whatever scent it's supposed to be? That rule applies once again. You KNOW this is Haus of Gloi, and then you start to pick out just what that scent is. In this case it is indeed a sweet scent, but not as 'warm' as I had imagined it would be. I don't know what treacle or chestnuts smell like but I guess you could say you smell the sugars and the icings, but it's not sickly bakery sweet. The mention of 'white spices' in the description is adding just a hint of zip to this. It's a much more sophisticated sweet scent, not at all like the common scents you might think of like Oatmeal, Milk & Honey or cupcakes or buttercream. No, nothing like those. It's nice. I quite like it.

Hearth

The warm glowing center of any home. Autumns last apple pickings, warm bread, orange rind, various fire roasted nuts, cracked black pepper all nailed down by an oozing sticky benzoin.

Reading the description for Hearth, I knew I wouldn't be able to keep this Yule order at just one bar of soap. Another warm foodie scent? I'm there! And when I pulled this out of tissue wrapper I was first hit with a sense of old-time Christmas. The reds and golds on the label, with the designs and the old fashioned picture, and even the red sprinkles in and on the bar itself . . . I loved it the moment I saw it. There are some little brown seeds on the lightly textured top, along with some red confetti type sprinkles. There is a layer inside the soap with little shreds and some bigger bits of gold shimmer coated pieces that at first look like bits of peppermint candy. Looking closer, I wonder if these are bits of Snow Wolf soap? Whatever they are, they add such a nice festive touch to this tan colored bar. And the scent is much more of a warm cozy type, like I thought the previous bar would have been. Again, I don't know what benzoin smells like but looking at the rest of the description I do detect just the faintest traces of fruit, although you'd probably never be able to identify them for what they are. There is indeed the warmth of the bread and nuts, and it all comes together to become just like you'd imagine a warm hearth, busy with holiday baking in days of old. Very nice!

Eggnoggin

The Haus 'nog! Cream, sugar and a shot of dark rum topped with fresh grated nutmeg.

I ordered another small jar of their lotion (pumpkin butter, as they call it) because I do enjoy the product and because I wanted to try this scent but it's not offered in bar soap form. I had read on the Haus of Gloi Facebook page or somewhere that this scent didn't come through the soap making process close enough to what it should be. Too bad it didn't work in soap because I *LOVE* this scent!! It's definitely eggnog-y, and definitely rum-y, and just ohhhh soooo good. I'm tempted to go back and get more of this in whatever product I can! It's sweet and warm and festive and yummy. What more can I say??

Sweet Potato Treat

For me, this is the epitome of holiday comfort food: Sweet potatoes with mild spices, butter and brown sugar baked off with marshmallows.

I think it was in my very first Haus of Gloi order that I first tried whipped soap. At that time I had a scent called Cocoa Mint or something along those lines. Since I was ordering things I did not need anyway, I went ahead and ordered a jar of the whipped soap, this time in Sweet Potato Treat scent. Might as well keep the foodie theme going, right? The first thing you notice about this stuff is how light the jar is. You'd swear it was empty. That's because the soap inside is whipped so light and fluffy. It looks like a Cool Whip consistency but it's wee bit more solid than that. You just scoop a bit out and it lathers up easily, and works great. This particular one has a pale orange color (sweet potato, ya know) and smells divine. The butter comes through with the sugar for another warm sweetness, and then you get the hint of spices and the marshmallow-y potatoes. This would actually be and awesome tart scent! Love it!

Going into this order I thought for sure I would have to get a bar of Snow Wolf soap just because I've heard so many people rave about it. I loved the look of it (sort of like peppermint candy) but when I read the description I was a bit turned off . . . 'Bristling and prowling, lonesome and haunting. Three howling firs, white frankincense, vanilla bean husk, tainted by droplets of blood cedar.' I kept looking at a couple other scents too but was so unsure of them that I decided not to order them. Then I had an idea. I know a free perfume oil sample is included in every order, and I'd heard that they used to (or still do sometimes?) give soap sample if you asked, so I left a comment during the checkout process, asking if they do small sniffer samples of soap and if not could I at least get the perfume sample in one of the three scents I was debating. My questions were not acknowledged in any way (my one pet peeve about this company) but I did get one of the scents in question. Whether that was because I asked or not, I'll never know. And it's the one I actually *least* wanted, ha.

Plotter's Breakfast

Oatey porridge, stove smoke, kindling wood, a hint of gunpowder and pinch of sweet pipe tobacco.

The description sounds soooo, I don't know, odd . . . like why would anyone want that scent in body products? So ick, that I was intrigued. And yeah, it's an odd one. LOL It reminds me of a garage that has an old wood stove burning as its heat source. Kinda takes me back to my childhood, being raised with four brothers and a dad who were all mechanical and there was always something being worked on in the garage, even in subzero Wisconsin winter weather. Fond memories but I wouldn't want to smell like that by choice. So I'm still intrigued by this one and would love to hear what others who have smelled it think of it.

And that is my Haus of Gloi Yule haul. Did you order any goodies?

Nov. 19 - We're Off!

2011-11-19T07:02:00.000-06:00

We're off to Minneapolis for the weekend, for the Vikings-Raiders game, and some big city wandering. I will definitely be posting sometime next week with pics and tales to tell . . . and hopefully some video bits.

Talk to you soon!

Nov. 18 - Quickie Mini Haul

2011-11-18T14:50:00.001-06:00

Did my usual weekly grocery shopping this morning and picked up a few fun extras. If you happen to have followed the comments of the previous couple posts you'll know I have decided to finally give fragrance oils a try. I had also seen a YouTube video just before heading to town that mentioned a candle I had never even considered trying before. And I also stopped at Target to pick up something I had seen in another YouTube video.

So let's take a look, shall we?

First, I had a coupon for a Glade holiday air freshener. Even with all my tarts and candles, we still keep a can of spray in the bathroom and I do like to make that scent seasonal. In this holiday collection, Glade has Apple Cinnamon, French Vanilla, Spruce It Up (cedar, sandalwood, and balsam fir), Peppermint Crush (vanilla and peppermint), Holiday Cheers (cider, cinnamon, and cloves), and Holiday Baking (vanilla, pecan, and nutmeg). I didn't see Holiday Cheers at my store. I really wanted to get the Peppermint Crush but hubby and the boys aren't fond of mint. So I chose Holiday Baking. I gave it a little squirt just to sniff it, and it seems way spicier than I ever would have expected. Maybe that's just because I inhaled the fresh spray. I'll have to see what it's like after a proper spray.

While passing a bit of time before shopping this morning I happened to watch a video from xxmissirenexx about her latest candle haul. She showed a package of Febreze candles and mentioned that she'd previously been impressed by them so she bought more. Huh. I've always passed right by all these types of candles that you find in the air freshener aisle. I don't know that I've ever actually tried any but I got it in my head somewhere that they were all weak and crappy. Well now seeing this YouTuber mentioning them right there along with her Slatkin and Yankee candles, I thought 'Hmmm . . . ' So I had to at least check for them in my store, and found just one package left. And it was even the same 'Spice' set she'd had in the video. Since it was the last one, something in me kicked in and I had to have it.

The candles are 2oz. each and come in pretty decent thick glass containers. This spice collection contains Gingersnap Vanilla, Anjou Pear Spice, and Cinnamon Dolce. I haven't burned any of them yet but the scent combo just coming from the package is divine, and strong.

I'm a tartaholic, but the liquid fragrance oils (warming oils) are something I had not tried yet. I first became curious about them nearly a year ago when I started watching pepper19882007's videos about Bath & Body Works. She used to have a lot of the B&BW home fragrance oils and they always sounded so fun, and the little bitty bottles looked so precious. I never tried them though because I don't like the fact that they are always a liquid form. I'm leery of them spilling or my cats getting into them or any number of scenarios. True my beloved tarts are also in liquid from for part of their life but when not actually in use they are solid and small and easy to store.

More recently though, chatting with Lynda from the Soap Obsessions blog through comments here on my own blog, has reawakened my curiosity in these oils. I've known all along that Walmart has a variety of fragrance oils but I also tend to think they are cheap because they are, well, cheap. But whatever. How will I know if I never try? So I bought a small bottle of Warm Sugar Cookies scent and am going to have a go at it!

I've often read that you only use 20 drops of oil in a warmer. This is not a squeeze type bottle and the top is not even particularly small so I wondered if I could just pour some in the bowl without being so specific. I couldn't find any information on using this particular oil though, so in the end I dug out a dropper I had from my soap making days and put exactly 20 drops into my little soapstone warmer. Really? It barely looked there was anything in there!! Why would the dish of the warmer be so big if it's only meant to hold barely a smidge of liquid? I debated for a bit, then added 20 more drops. Told myself to stop playing around at that point and lit the tea light candle . . . still wondering if that's really all I needed.

I've had it lit now the whole time I've been writing this post and it smells fabulous! I see the little wisps of smoke/fragrance. I can easily smell the scent but it's not overwhelming. I must say I'm impressed with this cheap little bottle. I'm still wondering about that 'only 20 drops' rule, like will that burn away before the candle burns out? I guess it's a learning process for me at this point. I don't see myself giving up tarts but this could be fun if I notice scents I can't find in tarts. Or for Ty's room! He currently burns incense in there and it's SO strong in that little room, I don't know how he can stand it. This might be perfect for his situation!

When I was finished at Walmart I was about to head home but decided to pop over to Target to check for yet another thing I'd seen online. Yesterday I watched THIS video from BentleyBlonde, making super easy and festive peppermint bark snowflake treats, and thought that would be fun to do. She mentioned she'd gotten her silicone mold at Target so that's what I wanted to look for. And sure enough, I found it right in the front section when you first come into the store, where all the dollar things are. It was funny to be buying a silicone mold again when I just sold the tons I had from soap making. And this is super cheap for these molds . . . only $2.50. The snowflakes are a bit smaller than I thought they'd be but that's ok. I'm totally going to make some of these treats before Christmas!

While at Target I wandered around a bit, just looking at some things because I don't go there often. I picked up a couple other fun things but they are Christmas things that I don't want to show yet. And I noticed more of the Febreze candle sets. Target did not have the spice collection but they had two other ones, a floral one and a fruit or garden one. Or maybe it was a spring collection? Can't remember for sure but I wasn't interested in either of them. Also noticed Febreze has wooden wick candles! There was only scent that I saw though. There is also a large variety of wooden wick candles over in the regular candle section of the store. They look very similar to the Walmart one but the brand name was different, something like NatureWick...? I'll have to keep that in mind for next time I want to try one.

And that was my little haul of fun bits. I got chattier than I'd intended in this post. Oh well, it will keep you busy while I'm out of town the next three days. We're leaving bright and early tomorrow morning for a weekend trip to Minnesota, to see the Vikings kick some Raider butt. wOOt!!!! (Yeah, doubtful that will happen but it's still going to be a fun time.)

Have you picked up any goodies lately?

Nov. 17 - Tarts 101

2011-11-17T17:09:00.000-06:00

I love tarts. No, really, I do. I'm always trying to get people interested in them, and would have loved to buy tarts and warmers for everyone for Christmas this year . . . but sadly, not everyone around me shares my obsession. Some don't even have a clue what tarts are. I also tend to see comments and confusion online about tarts and warmers, and thought I'd do a little informational post.

I will say right off the bat that I have never tried Scentsy tarts or warmers but I would think the same rules apply.

So let's get started.

I currently have three tart warmers. They are tea light style, and these can be found for probably less than $5 at Walmart, Kmart, or similar stores. The one in the middle is my favorite as far as *look* but it's small and I think is meant more for fragrance oils. The dish is attached, and rather deep, so it makes it a little harder to remove the hardened wax, but it's just such a cool looking soapstone warmer. The white one on the right is the cheapest one and while it serves it's purpose, the bowl is slightly smaller and more shallow than the one on the left, and because it's taller I found the heat from the tea light wasn't quite reaching it enough to fully melt some tarts. I had to improvise, as you'll seen in an upcoming picture. The one on the left is my favorite, my workhorse.

There are other types of warmers . . .

There are basic electric one that uses a sort of hot plate to heat the dish and melt the wax.

There are electric ones that use a light bulb as the heat source to melt the wax, and have the added visual effect of the the light shining through various holes. Just adds a bit of a prettier touch.

From there you can find a multitude of shapes and styles and sizes. You can probably find something to fit ANY decor or personality . . .

Some are so darn cute, but some are also darn expensive. I'm not sure about Scentsy but some of the Yankee warmers can be up to $35. In the end though, they all do the same thing: heat wax to release fragrance into your home. Just depends on what you are willing to spend.

Most people use the electric warmers, and from what I've seen it's about equally divided between the hot place vs. light bulb styles. Some people don't like the light bulb style because they say it's hard to find replacement bulbs or because it doesn't get hot enough to melt larger or harder wax chunks. (I've often heard that Scentsy warmers do not heat enough to melt harder tarts so Scentsy wax must be pretty soft.) A lot of people don't like the tea light style because it involves a burning candle. I'm in the minority here. I prefer the tea light warmers. I like that I can place my warmer anywhere, not limited to where it can be plugged in. I like that the tea light will burn for several hours, burn itself out, and the wax will cool and harden after that. I did try an electric (hot plate style) warmer at one point but none of the areas I could plug it in were good spots to have a tart warmer. I also didn't like that it just stayed on. I wish there was a timer or something that would shut it off. At times I think it would be nice to just turn it on in the morning and have lovely scents all day without thinking about it, but other times I think I'd forget it's on and 'waste' my tarts. Of course, having said all that, I would love some beautiful electric warmers if I could come up with a place near a plug to put them!

Anyway, back to my warmers.

The inexpensive tea light warmers are all basically the same. They are usually one piece, with a built in dish on top. You put a tea light candle in the opening in the back and the heat from that rises to warm the bowl and melt the wax. (You can sort of see inside the one on the right, that tall one I mentioned earlier, I had to glue and empty tea light tin upside down inside to make a platform to set all future candles because I needed to get more heat up to the bowl.)

Even tea lights vary greatly in price. I get mine at Walmart in big 50 pack bags for only a few dollars, or the 24 pack (when bags are sold out) for something like $1.24. (I will update the prices next time I get to town and can check on this.) Tea lights for tart warmers do NOT need to be fancy. They are not seen and their only purpose is to heat that wax. No need to spend extra money here. I find that each tea light burns about 3-4 hours, and they burn themselves out.

Tarts come in many shapes and sizes. Again, they all do the same thing . . . the wax melts and fragrance is released. Whether store bought, brand name, or handcrafted from small business vendors, the types of wax used can vary, and the scent strength (throw) can vary too. I live in a drafty, country farmhouse with large rooms so I tend to use full tarts and prefer the strongly scented ones. I use two cubes from the Better Homes & Gardens/Walmart tarts although I could probably get away with one. I have used entire scent shots from Candles By Victoria but have more recently started cutting them in half and find that works just as well. But I also know that some people prefer lighter scents or live in small apartments, and a smaller portion might work sufficiently. It just depends on your situation.

Place your wax in the dish . . .

Light your tea light (or turn on your warmer) . . .

The wax will begin melting in no time . . .

And soon enough you'll have a big ol' wax pool and plenty of lovely scent filling your room or your house!

Cleanup is another area where opinions vary. I think most people do the freezer method, but I've recently seen people talking about pouring the still-warm wax back into the clam shell (cubes) packages. I've never tried this method because it seems like it would be hot and messy. I used to just do a lot of frustrated scraping of wax until I found out about the freezer method. It's very simple! Once your wax has cooled back down and hardened, just put the dish (or the whole warmer in the case of one-piece units like mine) into the freezer for 10, 20, 30 minutes. You'll find the time needed will vary depending on the type of tarts you use. Once it's had time to freeze, some wax will just slide right out of the dish. (I've found Bath & Body Works, and Walmart tarts do this.) Others might need a minute or two of sitting out of the freezer to actually loosen up and then will usually pop right out. Some need a little more coaxing, like working the edge of a butter knife or a spoon under the edge to sort of break the seal or cling. And some still need a bit of scraping no matter what you do.

I bought this little plastic scraper for under $1 (found in the kitchen gadgets aisle at most stores) to use for removing used wax from my warmers. I use the pointier edge (to the right), and as you can see from the one little curled area of wax, it doesn't take much to loosen the whole thing. Toss this into the garbage and start a new tart. It's handy having more than warmer because if the scent is not quite done on one but I feel like a different scent, I just pop something in the other warmer and light that.

And that's really all there is to it. Can I buy you a warmer and some tarts for Christmas??

Nov. 9 - BH&G/Walmart Tarts . . . Again

2011-11-09T16:39:00.002-06:00

I'm a posting fool today, I know. But it's my day off and I feel like writing so I'm trying to get these posts all done and out of the way before the crabbiness of my long work days ruin my mood. Oh yeah, and we're having our first snow storm of the season and it's putting me in a holiday mood. Heheee!

So, I posted that list of the Better Homes & Gardens tarts holiday scents that can be found at Walmart, and then I went back and bought a bunch of them. Well it was bothering me that there were some I'd missed and since I had to run back to town for something else today anyway . . . I went and grabbed the rest of the holiday line. I'm crazy, I know. I've stopped buying soap, and put that effort into buying tarts now apparently.

I really wish there was a website or someplace that I could get actual scent descriptions of these tarts. One reason that I didn't post this yesterday was that I had emailed the company (made by well known Scentsationals, from what I can tell) asking about it and was waiting for a reply. They never answered. I really hate when companies, large or small, do not respond to emails. Why offer your addy then? Even if they had replied just to say they do not offer scent descriptions, that would have been fine. At least it would have been something. But no. So I will have to totally wing it on these . . .

Warm Apple Cider - (tan) I'm not sure why this is in the Christmas line. I don't think of apple cider as a winter or Christmas drink. I'm pretty sure this was also in the fall line, only colored dark red. Actually, this is one I passed up when I was grabbing holiday tarts yesterday but grabbed it today when I decided to go ahead and get them ALL. Anyway, it smells like apple cider ... very apple-y and quickly followed up with the slightly spicy and somewhat champagne-y notes.

Spiced Apple Wreath - (light green) I've heard others describe this as straight up apple. I don't agree. There is definitely apple, but there something sort of citrus-y and some greenery but I wouldn't call it piney.

Maple Candied Almond - (light brown) Another that I passed up at first because it was just foodie. I still don't think of Christmas or winter in particular when I smell this but wow, I love it. (OMG, Ellie, this is right up our ooey gooey caramely alley!) If I didn't know it was maple I would say it's caramel, but yeah, it is rich and sweet and the almond gives it just enough of that slight cherry hint that almond is known for. This is a must for any sweet, foodie scent lover! (Ty just said it smells like the Special K Bars I make every Christmas, and he's right! YUM!)

Spicy Cinnamon Stick - (burgundy red) I passed this up the first time too because it's just straight up cinnamon, but after smelling all the cinnamon scented Christmas decorations in other parts of the store I guess, yeah, it does make me think of Christmas. This is a sharper spiciness than some of the cinnamon scents that resemble the sweeter Red Hots candy smell.

Spiced Sugar Plum - (deep purple) I missed this on my first haul, and it's part of the reason I went back today. I really wouldn't know a plum smell if one was shoved in my face but since I do smell fruit I'm going to go ahead and say it smells like plums. LOL The spice in this is very soft, just something to keep it from being too fruity.

Fresh Frasier Fir - (pine green) Smells like Christmas trees, or a tree lot. There is perhaps a hint of citrus or spice in there too, or something 'fresh.'

Chocolate Peppermint Truffle - (pale green) LOVE this one! Mmmm, to die for! Others have compared it to Bath & Body Works/Slatkin's Mint Chocolate candle and I agree. It is just like a big bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Snowy Evergreen Forest - (gray) This is a weird one and I really wish I had a scent description as my guide. I suppose I smell pine trees but it seems there is almost something citrus-y. Actually, the more I smell it, the more I think this is more of a pine scent than the Frasier one above.

Candied Caramel Pecan - (beige) Another that I first skipped because it just strikes me as foodie, not Christmas-y. I also originally thought it smelled a lot like the maple one previously mentioned but now I can tell they are very different. This one is much more of a salty, nutty, slightly sweet caramel scent. Another super yummy scent but not quite as sweet and fun as the maple one.

Frosty Peppermint Snow - (white) This one screams Christmas to me like none of the others. If you like Yankee's Jack Frost, you'll love this . . . for a whole lot cheaper! It is a sweet vanilla/peppermint blend. A must have for Christmas.

Velvet Poinsettia Blossom - (red) I am not a floral fan and I don't know what Poinsettias smell like but this is a straight floral scent, perhaps a smidge perfumey.

Vanilla Cinnamon Sugar - (brown) Passed on this the first time too, considering it just foodie. If I didn't know what this was I would never guess there is cinnamon in here. It's not spicy. There is some sweetness from sugar and some warmth from vanilla, and I would consider this just a nice, comforting scent.

Frankincense & Myrrh - (grayish gold) When you hear "Frankincense and myrrh," you probably automatically think of Christmas, but just what does it smell like? I have no idea. Someone else described this as something like a mens cologne. I can see that, but I still don't have any idea how to break that down. I don't smell musk. It doesn't seem 'earthy.' I really don't know on this one. Except for the name, I would never think of this one as Christmas or even wintery.

Creamy Spiced Eggnog - (cream) Another warm, sweet foodie scent. Other eggnog scents I've smelled have a sort of tangy or sour hint, but this is just sweet and creamy, with only a hint of spiciness.

Vanilla Sugar Cookie - (yellow) Warm and yummy but a lighter scent than most 'heavy' bakery scents. Just like baking Christmas cookies, or having them all spread out on the kitchen table while you decorate them. Mmmm.

Ginger Spice Cake - (tan) I've had this one for a while now so I know it was also part of the fall line. I haven't melted any of this one yet though because I was waiting to use up my pumpkin and apple fall scents, and now I'm glad I didn't get to it because I can now put it in my Christmas lineup. You will absolutely think of a delicious fresh baked spice cake with yummy vanilla frosting. Again, not particularly Christmas-y, but a nice warm scent for those cold winter days.

Iced Winter Cranberry - (maroon) Definitely cranberry, but something more. It's not spicy. 'Iced' in the name makes think there would be hints of mint but I don't really get any. I don't think it's vanilla but there is definitely something else with those cranberries.

Classic Frosted Gingerbread - (dark brown) A very nice, deep rich gingerbread. Others have said there is a lot of molasses in this scent, that it's a more 'grownup' scent than a sweet gingerbread house type. Agreed.

Orange Clove Pomander - (orange-yellow) I know from the picture on the package this is a popular, old fashioned scent. It is a very zesty smell, not a sweet orange. Very zesty but at the same time somewhat soft which makes it tolerable.

Holiday Sleigh Ride - (blue) Another unique one that I really wish I had a scent description to go by. It's a fresh, outdoorsy smell . . . some hints of pine in there perhaps, but also traces of floral and sweet. Very hard to describe without knowing what is really in it.

Sparkling Berry Garland - (light green) I love this as a Christmas scent. It smells like a mix of Christmas trees and something sweet, possibly citrus-y. Might even be hints of spice in there. I think this is the best of the bunch for an all-around Christmas smell.

And that is the complete line that my local Walmart has for this winter/holiday season. See any you like? Are there any you've tried?

Nov. 9 - Country Soaps By Marlene Haul/Review

2011-11-09T14:06:00.000-06:00

(Excuse the crappy color and lighting in the photos you're about to see. It's been so rainy and dark here lately that natural light has not been an option. I used to have a program that could edit photos, tweak the colors and balance, etc., but since I switched to this other computer I don't have a program like that yet.)

Country Soaps By Marlene

You might remember a post not too long ago about the shops that I want to try when I go on my next soap shopping frenzy. Country Soaps By Marlene was one of them. I didn't think I'd be trying her things so soon but an opportunity presented itself recently, so I hopped on it. She had mentioned on Facebook that she had made some body sprays and was looking for a few people to try them in return for feedback. She had some other Facebook specials that day, so in the end I had compiled a package of sample goodies to try. I did pay discounted prices on some of these things, and some were included for free.

I chose Pink Sugar scent for my body spray sample. If you're not familiar with Pink Sugar, it is an Aquolina perfume dupe described as 'A fruity blend of cotton candy, lemon drops, caramel and raspberry jam on a dry down of musks.' I have no idea what the ingredients are because this is a new product she's making and it's not even on her site yet. The reason I'm curious about the ingredients is because I've found this spray just stays on my skin. It doesn't absorb or evaporate for a dry down. When I eventually wiped it off, the scent was still there and there was no greasy residue, so I'm not sure what could be tweaked in the formula, but as is I would not buy it again. I tried several times, even trying to get the finest mist with the bottle held as far away as my arm would stretch. I even compared a commercial body spray that I have to be sure that one did indeed dry down.

I also wanted to try her lotion and chose Pink Sugar scent again. Since I only saw her lotions in this squeeze bottle form I was a bit leery because I like my lotions thicker, more like the 'frostings' that are out there. But what the heck, I figured since I was trying things I'd give this a shot. Again, the scent is awesome, enough to know it's there without being overpowering. The lotion is a bit thinner than my preferred type but it's not runny, which is great. It's light and fluffy and sinks in quickly. It's not a heavy duty lotion though. I will probably squirt this into one of my empty sample jars and use it up that way because I hate squeeze bottles.

I asked if she had any sample size shower gels and received this small bottle in Lilac scent. I will admit right off the bat that my experience with homemade liquid soaps is severely limited and I'm not quite sure what's normal. The couple times I tried them I was put off by the fact that they looked like they had separated and I had to shake them up to remix everything, and by the fact that it seemed like I had to use tons to get even the slightest bit of lather. Going into this Lilac sample, I wasn't sure what to expect. It did look slightly separated and I did shake it up but I don't know if I really *had* to. I was pleasantly surprised with the lather though! I used it on a pouf in the shower and it surpassed my expectations. I still had to use more than I would use of a commercial product but compared to my previous limited experiences, this was great.

I don't see them on her site but she apparently does sugar scrubs because I received a sample in Pumpkin Pie Paradise scent. This was a thick consistency, and I like mine a little thinner and 'wetter,' but I was greatly impressed that the sugar didn't dissolve right away like I've seen several others do. The sugar in this hung around long enough for a good scrub, and then some. Again, I don't know any ingredients on this one, and it did leave my tub a bit slippery but wow, my skin felt fantastic afterwards!

Another thing she had for Facebookers to try were Sinus Relief Tabs, and Muscle Relief Tabs. I chose the Sinus Relief. They are similar to bath bombs in that you put them in the water and they fizz and release their goodness. You can put it in your bath or simply set it on the floor of the tub during your shower and it will still work. As you'd think, being for sinus relief, this smelled like Vicks so it was probably a eucalyptus/mint blend. I'm usually stuffy in the morning (aren't we all?) so I used this in my morning shower, just plopped it on the bottom of the tub and it fizzled away and made the shower all Vicks yummy. I can't say for sure that this product cleared me up because just the steam and water from a normal shower often helps but this certainly didn't hurt anything. This was a fun little product to try, and I still have two more!

She threw in a bath bomb sample too, in Yuzu (grapefruit/citrus blend) scent. I'm not a bath lounger, so bath bombs are not my area of expertise, but this had a light, refreshing scent, fizzled away easily, and did not leave my bathtub slippery or oily. My skin didn't feel oily afterwards either. Since I'm not a bath bomb user, I don't have much to say about this one.

I received two mystery lip balms too. She had said on Facebook that we wouldn't know exactly what scent/flavor they were because she was using up a mix of oils. So whatever flavor it was at the start would probably not be the same flavor in the middle or at the end. That was fine with me. If the quality of the lip balm itself was good enough, regardless of the scent/flavor, then I would know if it was something I'd be interested ordering in the future. Unfortunately I did not like these lip balms at all. When I first opened one tube I immediately noticed some moisture. When I tried to wipe around the edge of the tube and across the top of the balm a good sized slice of balm easily slipped off with the kleenex. Odd, I thought, but gave it a try anyway. Instant dislike. It was very moist and soft and goopy on my lips. I had to wipe it off with more kleenex. I checked the other tube and had the same experience. I don't know if it might have been because she had used up different oils in these or what but I absolutely did not like these two.

I also received two bar soap samples. The brown piece on the left is Cherokee Creek scent, described as 'earthy with notes of oakmoss and sandalwood, yet light and airy with just a hint of floral and herbs. Great unisex fragrance.' The green/tan one on the right is Sandalwood & Clary Sage scent. I already know I like her bar soaps because I tried a sample a while ago and more recently had bought a bar of Oatmeal, Milk & Honey at a local farmers market. While I haven't actually tried these two newest samples, I know that her soaps lather great and because they are goat milk soap they are super moisturizing.

So in my fun little package of mixed goodies I found a mixed bag of results. I'd also like to remind everyone that these are MY opinions of the products. Perhaps your preferences a different than mine and things I didn't like might be right up your alley. Country Soaps By Marlene has been doing good business for some time now and she has a large line of products to choose from, so she's certainly doing something right! I encourage you to check out her shop and give her things a try!

Country Soaps By Marlene on . . . ETSY

Country Soaps By Marlene on . . . FACEBOOK

Country Soaps By Marlene . . . . . WEBSITE

Nov. 9 - Quarantine 2: Terminal (movie)

2011-11-09T10:16:00.000-06:00

Quarantine 2: Terminal
(2011)
When a virus that turns its victims into crazed killers infects travelers on an airplane, authorities seal off the jet to let the virus run its course. Realizing they've been left to die, a flight attendant and a passenger plan a daring escape.

When I saw the first Quarantine I was freaked out big time. It was the scariest movie ever until I saw Paranormal Activity a short time later. When I saw that there was a second Quarantine I thought 'Whatever,' and wondered why they always have to do that, try and ride the success of a surprise hit. Just like Blair Witch 2 and Paranormal Activity 2 sucked and failed because they tried too hard, I figured this one would too. But then I saw previews for it a couple times on other dvds we were watching and something about it intrigued me. I think it was the fact that this one was taking place on a plane. THAT is terrifying. Where can you go to get away from it???

So we Netflixed it and watched it recently. And yeah, it failed miserably. I was surprised that going into it my stomach was all in knots, tensed so much just at the thought of things. The things happening on the plane were indeed terrifying but the problem was that they landed quite early in the movie and most of it took place on the ground, locked in the terminal. It all went downhill from there. There were some tense, freaky moments, even some sad moments, but overall it was predicable and lacking.

If you saw this one, what did you think?

Nov. 9 - The Caller (movie)

2011-11-09T09:57:00.000-06:00

The Caller
(2011)
This spooky thriller tracks the private nightmare of Mary Kee (Rachelle Lefevre), a divorcée who begins receiving strange telephone calls from a woman she doesn't know. After engaging the stranger initially, Mary tries to extricate herself -- with horrific results.

I thought this movie was on my Netflix list because it was one a coworker had told me about but once we started watching it last night I found that wasn't the case. Now I think it was on my list because the main girl in it is the original Victoria from the Twilight movies. Regardless, we watched this last night and I was pleasantly surprised. And confused.

It was the kind of thriller I like because it wasn't over the top Hollywood shock value gore and violence. There were some violent images but it was quick and 'real.' (Like, getting stabbed in the leg and seeing blood, not zombies ripping your intestines out while you're still alive and screaming.) It was mainly spooky in the little things, in the conversations, in the things you weren't sure if you saw or not in the background, and in the wondering 'What the heck is going on?' It did get into a bit of time travel though, and if you know me you know I *HATE* time travel plots because there are no rules and because I argue to much about it all. LOL

I was confused by this movie when it was done. I understood things as they were happening but then in the end hubby and I were left wondering . . . was any of it real? Again, I understood things as they were happening but at the end I guess I was hoping for something like her waking up in a psychiatric ward or something, something to explain it all. While I was a bit disappointed that things weren't neatly laid out and explained in the end, I think this might be a movie I will buy. It's the kind of movie that you want to go back and watch again and see what you might have missed.

Have you seen this one?

Nov. 4 - Candles By Victoria Browser

2011-11-04T11:01:00.000-05:00

If you're a fan of Candles By Victoria you really have to check out the new CBV Browser that was rolled out a few days ago. (Go HERE . . . now!) I had heard mentions of it at the messageboard and kinda thought 'Yeah yeah, whatever,' but wow this thing is fun! And so helpful!!

You do have to register but it's quick and painless. I think you just pick a user name and give your email address and that's it. There is a little bit more you can add to your profile if you want, but the fun stuff is that you can go through ALL of the CBV scents and add them to your wish list, or mark them as ones you've tried, or rate them, comment on them, etc. You can go through the scents alphabetically or by category, and it looks like the categories might be broken down a bit more specifically than on the main CBV site. There is a section showing new scents. There are charts that keep up with statistics such top rated, most tried, etc. It will also keep track of those types of things in your own profile, the ones you have marked yourself. You can make lists for yourself such as what you've tried, what you want to try, what your favorites are. You can even plot an order . . . pick what you want and it will keep track, total it up, factor in discount codes. FUN!

And one of the coolest things is that you can see other users 'Want To Try' lists which makes shopping for scent lovers super easy!

I've found this browser much less intimidating than trying to browse scents on the main CBV site. In the browser you can scroll the list and click which scent you want, and it will take you to a description page that shows ratings and comments. You can add it to your lists from there, and then right from there you can click 'previous scent' or 'next scent' which makes it sooooo handy.

Since there are about a bajillion scents, it will take you a while to get through them all if you go alphabetically but that's what I did this morning. And it's really cool for me now to be able to click on my profile and see what I want to try next, or how I felt about those I've already had.

I know there are several other scent lovers out there, and I know several of you have considered trying Candles By Victoria. Even if you haven't taken the leap and placed your first order, I still highly recommend this browser . . . or shall was say, this new toy . . . because it might help you organize your thoughts enough to go ahead and MAKE that first order! So go check it out. Doooooo it. It's fun!

That link again . . . CBV Browser

Nov. 3 - Walmart/BH&G Christmas Tarts

2011-11-03T10:26:00.000-05:00

A quickie post . . .

I was at Walmart bright and early this morning and wasn't at all surprised to see the Christmas aisles being set up in full force. I noticed a huge section of candles and home fragrance items so of course I was drawn to that. They have several of the 'Slatkin copy' candles in holiday scents but what I was most excited about was the Better Homes & Gardens tarts in Christmas/winter scents! YAY!!!

- Sparkling Berry Garland
- Velvet Poinsettia Blossom
- Frosty Peppermint Snow
- Fresh Frasier Fir
- Iced Winter Cranberry
- Holiday Sleigh Ride
- Candied Caramel Pecan
- Vanilla Sugar Cookie
- Snowy Evergreen Forest
- Ginger Spice Cake (already out in fall scents)
- Vanilla Cinnamon Sugar
- Frankincense & Myrrh
- Classic Frosted Gingerbread
- Warm Apple Cider (I think already out in fall scents)
- Chocolate Peppermint Truffle
- Spiced Apple Wreath
- Creamy Eggnog
- Spiced Sugar Plum
- Spicy Cinnamon Stick (already out in fall scents)
- Maple Candied Almond
- Orange Clove Pomander

I gave each one a quick sniff but did not buy any because I just got that big order from Candles By Victoria. They also have a bunch of Christmas/winter design tart warmers out now. Some of them are SO darn cute that I wanted to buy them even though I don't need them. They are electric, the light bulb kind, and $15.00 each. The tarts are $2.00 a pack and come in the clamshell container with six little cubes. A lot of people disregard these tarts because they are inexpensive and they come from Walmart. I've found them to be amazing for the price. The scent is strong, the throw is amazing, and I get several good melts out of them before the scent starts to fade. I've been so happy to see some other people, including scent gurus, give credit to these tarts.

Anyway, just wanted to post that list because I know several people have been curious about these Walmart/BH&G tarts. I will probably buy some of them closer to Christmas, but if anyone would like a full review (or shall we say 'my opinion') on any in particular from the list I will be happy to have an excuse to go buy and try it.

And of course, I couldn't find any pics of these items on the Walmart website. *grrrr*

Nov. 1 - Candles By Victoria Tarts Haul

2011-11-01T20:48:00.000-05:00

I've only had two small CBV orders before this and part of what's held me back is trying to decide what to get. There are soooo many scents! Then I discovered the scent shot samplers, with random scents chosen for me, and thought this would be a great way to get to know some scents!

I ordered a Christmas scents sampler, a Bakery scents sampler, and a House Blends sampler. I'm going to go over them briefly but I can't really break them into groups because either there was a mix up or the House Blends category is huge and crosses over into other categories. These are cold throw opinions since I just received my package and haven't melted any yet.

Holiday Homebrew ~ (A blend of Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Clove with a dash of Warm Vanilla.) Definitely cinnamon. Vanilla softens it but I don't pick up a vanilla scent specifically. There is almost a musky note to it. Nice, I like it.

Christmas Apple Cider Snap ~ (A strong, spicy cider with cinnamon red hots. Doesn't have that "fake" cinnamon smell.) I would almost call this a straight up cinnamon. Similar to the Homebrew one but without that extra bit of whatever.

Warm Christmas Splendor ~ (Cinnamon, Spice, Nutmeg, Vanilla and Peppermint blend together to bring you this amazing Christmas fragrance.) Oh this one is NICE! It's like a near perfect Christmas scent. I think the peppermint/vanilla blend outweigh the cinnamon but you still pick up its spiciness. Very, very nice!

Christmas Cabin ~ (A blend of bayberries and cranberries with a top note of freshly crushed cinnamon bark with hints of orange zests.) This one has the berries just beating out the cinnamon. It doesn't have the sharpness of the previously mentioned ones. It's more of a soft, slightly sweet holiday scent, sort of the toned down feel after the chaos of Christmas day slips into evening . . . if that makes any sense. LOL

Victorian Christmas ~ (A Christmas blend of cinnamon bark and leaves with fir needles and pine enhanced by clove buds.) The pine and the cinnamon do battle at the forefront here, with pine slightly winning. At first I did not like this, but then it started to remind me of something definitely Christmas but I can't think of what. Maybe like the mix of Christmas smells in large stores?

Christmas Memories ~ (A house blend of Sugared Spruce, Cranberry and Spiced Oranges. A wonderful holiday mix!!) Sort of a lighter scent, it's hard to describe. I want to say the cranberry is the main thing you smell but it seems more complex than that. Not a favorite.

Charlie Brown Christmas ~ (Name that Scent winner. A wonderful holiday fragrance with top notes of Brazilian orange, bergamot, and bread with cinnamon, nutmeg, and lily of the valley on a base of vanilla and raspberry.) This one is VERY interesting. You definitely get a bit of a bakery note, I thought of raisin bread before reading the actual description, but then you get the orange and raspberry chasing around, some light cinnamon, and the vanilla taming it all a bit. I like it!

Sugared Spruce ~ (A most unique scent that combines sweetness and greenery. If you are looking for something a little different this is the one.) Definitely different. I really don't know how to describe this one! I want to say pine, or outdoorsy but yeah, there is a sort of sweetness mixed in. Very hard to describe, and I've been sniffing it so much trying to figure it out that I need to just move on.

Banana Pancake ~ (Comfort food at it's finest wrapped up in one amazing candle fragrance!) I just watched someone's video the other day who had won this scent, and laughed a bit when I pulled this out of the box. She was right though, I would probably never have picked this but it's actually a fabulous scent. You get the buttery pancakes right away and the yummy banana is lurking just under that. Love this one!

Banana Brown Sugar Drizzle ~ (banana, brown sugar with a hint of crème Brulee.) I would never guess banana if I didn't know it was in here but yeah, there is a slight fruitiness behind that warm sugary bakery note. This is nice for this time of year, warm and cozy.

Caramelized Pralines ~ (This is a yummy rich scent. Rich delicious caramel and fresh roasted pralines.) I can never remember what pralines actually are but this scent is warm and ooey gooey good. It's caramely and almost nutty. Yum!

Orange Chiffon Cake ~ (This creamy rich fragrance will make you lick your lips and want to bake a cake!! Orange lovers this is a must have for you!! Outstanding fragrance!!) Absolutely reminds me of orange Kool Aid. It's immediately a bright, fun scent with just hints of the cakey bakery note in the back.

Hawaiian Hula Muffin ~ (Pineapple, Buttercream Crunch, Caramel and cookie.) We had this in candle form and absolutely loved it. I was so happy to see this in my order! You first get the warm caramel and buttercream bakery notes but the pineapple is right there to brighten it up, adding just a bit of fruity sweetness. Love this one!

Marshmallow Banana Dream Cake ~ (Rich Vanilla Cream, Marshmallow, Banana and a yellow cake.. what's not to love.) This one smells like Playdoh. I don't know any other way to describe it. I don't like this one and can't pick out anything specific in it. Maybe it will be different when I melt it?

Orange Almond Lace Cookie ~ (Orange, Almond, cookie, cake.) It's called 'cookie' on the site but 'cake' on the label. I'm not fond of this one either. There is the almond cookie scent, with just a bit of orange lurking way down deep.

Spiced Apple Pie ~ (Bring back memories of Grandma's home baked apple pies. If you like Home Interiors Hot Apple Pie you will love this one even more!) Oh yes, perfect for this time of year! Near perfect apple pie scent, strong on the apple note but with enough buttery crust and hints of spice to keep it from being straight fruit. Close your eyes and you'll easily imagine the warm pie being set before you.

Apple Cinnamon Butter ~ (Rich warm cinnamon with bakery notes of Apple Butter just like Grandma used to make. This is one yummy fragrance that will transport you back in time.) Yummy! An equal blend of apples and warm, buttery goodness with a hint of spice. Very different from the apple pie one though!

Pumpkin Apple Cinnamon Bread ~ (Sweet creamy pumpkin, rich cinnamon apple with a crunchy strudel base note.) I was so excited to pull this one out of the box, being pumpkin and being fall holiday time. There is some soft spiciness, and the hint of apple in the pumpkin note, and then it's all wrapped in a slight warm bread note. Quite nice.

Raspberry Rainbow ~ (Take an escape everyday with this refreshingly-familiar scent of raspberry, fresh squeezed oranges, strawberries and bananas.) I think the raspberries and strawberries are what I smell first and foremost, but then there is something candy-like about it. I don't know what it is, maybe like Lifesavers? Probably good for summer, but this is not a favorite for me.

Caribbean Coconut ~ (One of the summer trio introduced at Bath & Body Works this spring/summer. A tropical citrus delight beginning with mango, nectarine, banana and scrumptious grapefruit. The middle notes blend blackberry and coconut with island lilies and watery ferns. The dry down is sweet vanilla and musk.) I love coconut scents and I love this one. You absolutely know it's coconut, and you get that nice vanilla/musk, and all the other things play softly in the background. I love this, but my hubby hates coconut scents, so my dreams of large candles of this are dashed.

Spellbound ~ (When you think of fun you think of Cotton Candy! We have taken the aroma of sweet, fresh spun cotton candy and combined with fresh tart granny smith apples to create this super fun and unique fragrance. Spell Bound begins with top notes of tart granny smith apples and creamy butter, followed by a middle note of caramel sauce all sitting on base notes of vanilla, maple and spun sugar!) I don't really like this one. It's like there is too much going on. I think it's perfumey then I pick out hints of apple. I think it's fruity, then I pick out hints of warm and sugary. I would call it a sweet perfume scent.

Cosmopolitan ~ (A combination of Cranberry and Lime.) Interesting! This one is immediately bright and bubbly and fun. It kinda reminds me of Sweetarts. The cranberry is stronger than the lime, but that lime makes it fun. A good summer scent.

Butterscotch Pecan Pie ~ (Dripping in yummy sweetness, this fragrance is one of my new favorites!!) Ooohh yeah, this one is right up my alley. Warm comforting sweetness of butterscotch, almost a mapley note, and hints of pie crust bakery goodness. A warm, cozy scent.

Iris & Fern ~ (Are you drawn to really fresh smelling florals? Sniff this one and you'll easily picture delicate irises blowing in the wind surrounded by fronds of ferns.) I always say I don't like florals but wow, this one is NICE. It immediately brings to mind spring rains, and seeing those first beautiful flowers coming up. It is sort of sweet, and oh so pretty. It makes me think of Easter!

Breath Of Ireland ~ (This fresh, romantic floral is fantastic during the whole year! This fragrance begins with top notes of fresh green clover, and ivy with middle notes of romantic snap dragon, rose petals, and carnations; ending with base notes of white musk and fig leaves.) Another floral that I actually quite like. This has been on my list of possibles to order for hubby, so I was happy to see it in this box. It's definitely more of a green scent than the previous sweet floral one. You get the flowery notes in the middle somewhere but you're first hit with green and then a slight musk note. It's quite nice in a very different way than the Iris one above.

And that is my order. My nose is begging for a break now! LOL
Quite a few that I really like, and a handful that I'll probably pass on to others. This was fun!

Oct. 31 - Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T14:21:00.000-05:00

Minion's First Halloween!

AnCatDubh would like to direct you to THIS Facebook album where you can see

plenty more of his favorite Halloween photos.

We didn't do much Halloweeny stuff this year. We were very excited, early on, to decorate our back porch with lights for the first time but we were lazy about actually doing that and didn't get it done or turned on until Saturday night. They looked fabulous! Twinkling white/green ghost lights, twinkling purple spider lights, simple orange lights . . . all the Halloween colors in a simple layout. I forgot to take a picture that night, and wouldn't you know, the next night half of them weren't working. Maybe hubby can find the problem this evening and I can get a pic of them tonight.

We did spend most of Saturday getting our CHRISTMAS lights hung. Last year we waited too long and they looked like half-assed crap because it was too cold to hang things properly, so this year we grabbed what might be one of the last decent days and at least got the basics strung up. We have our lighted figures (deer, etc.) placed too but have not yet hung the more obvious things like big wreaths or green garland along the porch rails. And no, they won't be turned on until after Thanksgiving.

Sunday we went to Menards to grab a few more Christmas lights and ended up grabbing several more Halloween decorations because they were on sale for about half off. The weather was crappy though, so we didn't actually finish hanging those lights. I was going to make fun Halloween cupcakes but have never made cupcakes before (believe it or not!) and in the end decided to just make a boring pan cake. Hubby and I carved our two pumpkins last night, and that's about it. The boys had no interest in carving this year. Well Matt was willing but when he realized we didn't have one for him he stomped off. Heh, Matt, that's what I meant Saturday when I told you and Ty to get more pumpkins if you want to carve some. *shakes head*

Hubby has been watching every cheesy zombie show and movie that comes on but I don't bother. The only scary movie I've watched recently was Quarantine 2 even though early in the month I'd been wanting to dig out all our classic thrillers and watch them leading up to Halloween day. Oh well, maybe we'll at least force a viewing of Charlie Brown tonight before hubby watches Terra Nova.

And today is Halloween. To me, it seems like yesterday was Halloween. Not sure why. Today is my day off and I've been fighting the urge to pack up all my Halloween decorations already.

Did you have any spooky fun this Halloween?

Oct. 31 - Haul vs. Review

2011-10-31T08:42:00.000-05:00

I've been asked several times "What is a 'haul'?" A 'haul' is just a showing of what you got on your recent shopping spree or in your latest order. Hauls are not really reviews because the items are usually being shown before they've been tried out. It's the thrill of "Look what I got!"

A review is your opinion of products that you have used and are familiar with. You wouldn't give your opinion of a book before you read it, would you? No, just like when I get new soaps I can oooh and aah about how pretty they are or how lovely they smell, but an actual review would not come until much later after I'd had a chance to really use that soap in the shower and see how it performed, how my skin felt, etc.

I much prefer hauls over reviews, and you may have noticed I rarely even do actual reviews here. With a haul you can see how the product comes to you, how it's packaged, if any other goodies come with it, initial reactions. With a haul you might get an idea of how fast or slow the shipping was, or what the price was, or how customer service was . . . and you might get that info in a review too. But I like the fun of the sort of excited show-n-tell of hauls because you're just seeing what's presented without the strong personal opinions of a full review.

If I see something in a haul that I know just isn't what I'm looking for, I already know I don't need to concern myself with it further. If there is something I was considering ordering but then see in someone's haul that it's way smaller/larger or ugly or something other than I thought, I know I probably won't order it. If it's something I think is still really cool or something I might not have considered before, I might go ahead and order.

A review, on the other hand, is so subjective. (Or is relative the word I'm looking for?) If I were to review a goat milk soap in lavender scent and said I hated it because I hate lavender scents, that doesn't mean the soap is bad for everyone. Maybe you love lavender scents. If I reviewed that soap saying the lather was weak and barely lasted, well there are a lot of things to consider in that. My water is very hard. Maybe yours isn't. I prefer huge amounts of lather because I've been spoiled by commercial body washes. Maybe you prefer a soap that just gets the job done without bubbles galore. If I review a candle and say it's weak because I can't smell it in the next room . . . I have huge rooms in my old country farmhouse. Maybe you are in a small apartment.

See what I mean? Even if I had a horrible experience with a product and reviewed it that way, doesn't mean you would. Example, the one time I ordered from Bath & Body Works online it took extra long to get my order, only to find out *I* had screwed up and switched some numbers around in my address. If I reviewed a candle and whined about how it tunneled and the wick sucked, and then found out that I should have burned it for longer periods at a time . . . maybe that's something you already know and that candle would have been great for you. If I review a soap that I complain leaves me dry and itchy, maybe your skin type is totally different than mine and that soap would be fine.

So you see why I prefer hauls? I'm showing you what you'll get, with the basic information about it provided, without delving too deeply into my very personal opinions.

Having said all that, I am not against doing reviews at all. I just don't prefer reading or watching them. If there is ever anything you'd like to see a full review on, feel free to let me know! :)