Posted to
Health & Beauty on May 22, 2012 - 14:24
This is a product I have grown to love and cherish. And to think I wouldn't even have known about this product if it weren't for some of you ladies on LUUUX.
My cuticles aren't terrible, they're rather short, but they are rather noticeable whenever I am giving myself a manicure. This Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover makes the world of a difference and it's so quick and easy to use. All
you do is unscrew the top of the bottle and squeeze some of the gel onto your cuticles along the base of your nail and under your nail tips. You wait roughly 15 seconds and gently push your cuticles back. I use the tip of my nail to do this and then wipe the cuticle that comes off on a napkin. I do my entire hand then wash my hands with soap and water. The bottle states to wash your hands immediately to get the excess gel off your fingers. There is no need for cuticle scissors, etc. I'm unsure as to what it would do if you didn't wash it off your fingers -- but, better to be safe than sorry, right?
In a matter of seconds your hands are transformed from "dreadful" to gorgeous. It makes the world of a difference to have a clean looking nail bed free of cuticles. It also makes the world of a difference in a manicure. This can be used on your feet as well to give yourself a pedicure. Just follow the same simple instructions and wash the excess off with soap and water. You can follow up with putting some cuticle oil on your cuticles once your hands are dry -- but that's optional and really a matter of personal preference.
The back of the bottle also states this can be used on calluses. The directions state to apply to calluses for 1 minute and wash away excess gel immediately with warm soapy water. I don't have any calluses so I have not tried this out but if you do have calluses or know someone who does have them give that method a shot -- it might work wonders for them.
There are some safety instructions with this, as there are with just about every product out there. You are not to touch your eyes during use and you are not to use this product more than twice weekly (does anyone's cuticles grow that fast??) or on any broken or sensitive skin since that would generally cause a lot more irritation than one would be looking for.
This product can be purchased at any major drug store (CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid) while it can also be purchased at stores like Walmart, Target and I have even seen them at Big Lots for $1.
QUESTION:
Do you use or have you used the Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover?
Photo 1 - Product. Photo 2 - Nails with product on them. Photo 3 - cuticle free nails
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Posted to
Fashion on May 22, 2012 - 04:01
This is the maxi dress I wore on Sunday to run a few errands. I had been organizing and doing laundry, etc., so I wanted something comfortable yet cool on since I was working up a sweat. It was actually a lot longer at one point, but a few washes and dries later, it's since shrunk lengthwise and now stops above ankle level whereas before it would drag on the floor it was so long. I like it
because it's a simple, breathable cotton material, which is what I would describe as army green. It's got a patterned bottom where subsections are sewn together to make a long flowing maxi dress and the top of a halter that has ties that go around your neck. You don't have to use the neckties, because the bodice that goes around your upper body has elastic to it that holds tight without moving much at all -- the back may slip down a little but the front never moves. I actually purchased this at Old Navy last year for something ridiculous like $6. I LOVE bargain shopping!
QUESTION:
Do you like maxi dresses?
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Posted to
Food on May 22, 2012 - 02:39
There was a brand of chocolate that was sold in my area, years ago, under the name "Ice Cubes". It was manufactured by a German chocolate company, Moritz. They haven't sold them around here in a while, but the chocolate used to be shaped like an ice cube and was a really smooth "icy" chocolate. The chocolate was cool, but the moment you put it on your tongue it began to slowly melt away, just
coating your tongue and mouth with this smooth, creamy, yummy chocolate. I was out at one of the local Lebanese bakeries/smoke shops and spotted a bag of Moritz chocolate candies. It was under $3 so I grabbed the bag. I tried them and oh my! They are ice cubes just in a different shape! They are so good and having one is truly enough to satisfy any sweet tooth. It's not something like Reese cups that you can eat a million and not realize it.
I know a lot of people have particular chocolate types that they like, Belgium, etc., but I have to say German chocolate is pretty spectacular. I'd say I actually prefer that over Belgium. English chocolate is my 2nd best favorite chocolate -- but that's another story ;).
QUESTION:
Do you like German chocolate?
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Posted to
Food on May 22, 2012 - 02:23
One thing I love about the spring and summer months is the abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables. Particularly the fruit selection -- watermelon, cantaloupe, grapes, pineapple, honeydew, etc. They all come out with a bang during the spring and summer and are delicious for months on end. Since I had been spending more money than necessary buying quarter pieces of watermelon at the market, I
decided to just buy the big 5 pound watermelon and cut it up myself. I did that and have been eating watermelon for days and love every second of it. It's one of the most refreshing fruits. Then while at the market I had purchased a whole pineapple. I waited a few days for it to ripen a little more on the counter before cutting it up into chunks.
This afternoon I had a nice bowl filled of watermelon and pineapple chunks. It was a refreshing, yet filling snack to satisfy my tummy during my mid-afternoon snack time.
QUESTION:
Are there any fresh fruits that you enjoy the most?
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Posted to
Food on May 22, 2012 - 02:17
Wise makes my favorite brand of crunchy cheez doodles (or growing up and even know I call them cheezy doodles). They're my favorite because it was the go to brand my mother always purchased when I was a kid so it's the one I grew accustomed to having. I know a lot of people like Cheeto's crunchy version, but I find these a lot more pleasing on the palette. They're not as sharp as the Cheetos
brand can be - and they don't smell (call me crazy but Cheetos have a distinct smell to them which sometimes is just - yeck). These are more cheesy, nice and crunchy, yet airy and are terribly, horribly addicting. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it is when you can't stop eating the darn things.
QUESTION:
Have you ever tried Wise Cheez Doodles?
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Posted to
Food on May 21, 2012 - 04:59
For the past few weeks I have dying for some Chicken Chow Mein. I figured instead of being tempted by all the foods that I used to love at my local Chinese restaurant that I was going to give a try in making my own homemade chicken chow mein for the first time. Then again since I’ve been getting more and more into cooking, I enjoy trying to make dishes which are “foreign” to me and out of
my normal comfort zone.
I was surprised with how simple this really was and how delicious it tuned out. I actually ended up using rotisserie chicken meat for my chicken because I didn’t want to boil chicken/bake it/ etc. I looked up how to make chow mein on allrecipes.com and kind of winged my vegetables and the measurements of my liquids.
I put 2 tablespoons of margarine in the bottom of a pan and put in my sliced onions, minced garlic, celery and red peppers. I seasoned my veggies with black pepper, a dash of sea salt, ground ginger, and garlic powder. I put them into the pan and let them sweat out, but I didn’t allow them to cook all the way ‘til they were soft. I then added in my mushrooms and fresh bean sprouts. I let them cook for a few minutes so the bean sprouts were more pliable. I then put in some canned drained baby corn, water chestnuts and sliced bamboo shoots. I then added in 3 ½ cups of fat free low sodium chicken broth and 1/3 cup water. I mixed to combine, and then added in 1/4c low sodium soy sauce. When all set I then took my chopped rotisserie chicken and added that in and stirred in. I let it heat and added in some cornstarch to thicken. Once everything was nice and hot (my chicken was cold since I cut it up the night before) I served with the hard chow mein noodles on top of the mixture.
I served with plain white rice I steamed in the rice cooker and since I didn’t feel like making eggrolls, I took out a pack of Lean Cuisine Garlic Chicken Spring Rolls and microwaved them per package instruction and served.
Overall the meal was absolutely delicious! The chow mein wasn’t as thick as it generally is at restaurants, but I didn’t want to overkill with the cornstarch – but I didn’t mind the consistency, I actually find I enjoy it more. Better yet, it definitely cured the Chinese food bug.
QUESTION:
Have you ever made chow mein at home?
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Posted to
Food on May 21, 2012 - 01:41
Yes! I FINALLY got my Chick-fil-a fix! It's been months and my boyfriend and I had been saying we'd head to the mall to have dinner after work one day and it never happened. Something would come up, other plans, or we'd just want to go home after an insanely long day of work. Well, this Friday, we had made plans to grab dinner at the mall before heading back to attend a birthday
party.
Sadly, when I got up to the counter to order my salad I was told they don't sell that particular salad at this location (I wanted the Chargrilled & Fruit Salad OR the Southwest Chargrilled Salad). Dammit!! So that made me annoyed and I stormed off to go find something else at another mall-food booth. But I didn't want anything else, I wanted Chick-fil-a. So I sat at the table with my boyfriend as he started to eat his nugget meal. Since I follow Weight Watchers I had to kind of figure out the points for things. I didn't want a chargrilled sandwich (that I typically order and love).
I decided to go with a Chick-Fil-A Nugget Salad. I specifically asked to replace the chicken strips with nuggets since I know 8 nuggets were so many points and the strips were slightly higher. Yes, complicated, but it made me feel better in my head LOL. I ordered their fat-free honey mustard dressing since it's seriously the most amazing salad dressing. Then because I really wanted the fruit ON my salad, I ordered a small fruit cup on the side and a medium coke zero. My meal cost me almost $12, which was ridiculous. I love Chick-fil-a but I feel their pricing structure is ridiculous, especially when in comparison to other fast food joints. I know, their food is the freshest and you are getting real unprocessed chicken, but geeze-louise.
I can't complain all that much because my meal was fabulous AND I ended up getting an extra fruit cup because the girl screwed up and gave me 2 in my bag. So, thank you Chick-fil-a employee.
QUESTION:
Do you like Chick-fil-a? If so what's your fav meal there?
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Posted to
Fashion on May 21, 2012 - 01:25
This was out my outfit from this past Friday. On Friday's I am able to wear jeans to work, as long as they are business appropriate (not ripped, torn, etc.) and our shirts have to be moderately casual, not t-shirt material. I had just purchased the shirt shown from Fashion Bug when I went back to exchange a top I had purchased online that was too big. I found this on the clearance rack for I
want to say $11. It was adorable and it had the side bunching, which I absolutely love. The name of the shirt was "Big Bang" which you could relate to the galaxy. I liked that it was on the longer side. I paired this up with a pair of flares that I had bought at, dun-dun-dun, Fashion Bug a while ago for $12. You can't go wrong for $12 jeans! They're comfortable and I love them to bits. I wanted a comfy outfit because Friday was a very long day for my boyfriend and I. We worked, went out to dinner and did a little shopping then had a birthday party to attend to -- so we didn't get home 'til almost 10 o'clock on Friday. We really got home that early because I was exhausted and yawning AT the party. I'm getting old OR 6 am is just kicking my butt.
QUESTION:
Have you ever shopped at Fashion Bug?
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Posted to
Food on May 20, 2012 - 04:44
Isn't it a beaut? It was delicious as well. My boyfriend bought a bag of bagels at the market and I'd been wanting one. I used to have this immense love for bagels but since they're so carby they always send me down the wrong path -- which generally is hand in hand with a carb overloaded day. I had my meals for the day but was still hungry. To curb my hunger, protein always does it for me.
I looked over at my boyfriend and asked if I made a breakfast sandwich on a bagel, would he eat half with me? He said yes (bless him - then again my mere mentioning it made his eyes widen).
I learned a trick from my local mom & pop coffee shop. They make breakfast sandwiches (and I say hands down the best 'fast food' variety) because they use all fresh ingredients. Real eggs, cheese and frozen sausage or pre-cooked REAL bacon (not that microwavable crap). I do the same thing at home now and it makes making breakfast a breeze, especially when I don't feel like getting out pans, etc.
All you do is spray a microwave safe bowl (plastic or glass -- but be aware the glass is going to get very hot to the touch) with cooking spray (i.e. Pam). Crack your egg into it, whisk and add your salt and pepper. In the photo I used eggbeaters. You then drop a frozen sausage patty right into the center of the egg to let the egg form a cocoon of sorts around the meat. I used a plastic bowl that was the same size of the bagel, so as my eggbeaters started cooking (they're primarily colored eggwhites) they started poofing up which is why the egg looks completely massive. If you are using a regular egg and sausage you cook for a muinute, check and cook for another 30 seconds. With this, I have to cook it 2 minutes, check and cook another minute because the eggbeaters just take a little more. Typically I'd throw a slice of cheese on this BUT the BF doesn't like cheese so it was dismissed. But that's fine because this was fantastic and quite yummy!
QUESTION:
Do you make bagel sandwiches at home?
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Posted to
Fashion on May 20, 2012 - 04:14
This is my outfit of the day from Thursday! I had bought my top from Kohl's but never even tried it on. It was one of those impulsive buys. I saw it on the rack, really thought it was adorable and when i went to check the price tag - there wasn't one on the item. So up to the registers it came with me and the cashier found the price to be like under $5 so I bought it. On the hanger it looked
like one of those shirts you'd need to layer because I thought it would be above waist high -- well, I was wrong. It was actually a little longer than I thought. I ended up throwing on a longer black shirt from Banana Republic and putting the top over it, to find that the black top went well with my pants (they were gym yoga pants that I had bought recently ... SHHHH LOL) plus I wanted to make sure they were going to completely cover the pink waistband in case the top I was wearing were to creep up over my booty (which it did so I'm glad I had the layered look going on).
Designed Top w/ turquoise shading - Kohl's
Black Layered top (you can't really see it) - Banana Republic
Black yoga pants - Bob's
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