Happy New Year 2012!

Wow! Is it really 2012 already? Where did the year go!


Every year I think of things I want to improve on. This year one of those is to improve on blogging. I haven't posted nearly as much as I had wanted. I hope I can do better this year!


If you have any suggestions on what to review, please let me know in a comment.


Happy New Year!!

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a Blessed Christmas. I spent it with my family - going to church, playing games and baking some bread and pumpkin pies!






How was your Christmas? I'd love to hear about it!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Good Morning!  I hope you are having a good Thanksgiving so far!  I've been making some pumpkin pies for later tonight. I'm using the recipe from 'The Joy of Vegan Baking' (it's really good!).   I've used this recipe many times before, but this is the first time I'm doubling it.  Hoping they turn out!

Season Premiere of The Office and The Mentalist

The 8th season of The Office premieres tonight at 9pm/8pm CT on NBC and the fourth season of the Mentalist premieres tonight at 10pm/9pm CT on CBS! I'm a big fan of both and I'm looking forward to watching them! On the Office, we will finally know who is replacing (the irreplaceable) Michael Scott (Steve Carrell) as Manager of Dunder Mifflin Sabre. If you have never seen The Office, you should definately watch seasons 1-7.




The Office description:


In this hilarious and faster-paced adaption of the popular British comedy series, Steve Carrell is Michael Scott, the egotistical, insensitive and almost supernaturally incompetent regional manager of the Dunder Mifflin paper supply company. Michael sees himself as the office funnyman, a fount of business wisdom and his emplyees' cool friend. He has no clue that his staff merely tolerate his inappropriate behavior because he signs their paychecks. Michael acts as the obnoxious tour guide for an omni-present documentary crew who unflinchingly capture his many shortcomings along with Dunder Mifflin's petty workplace politics, simmering romances and side-splittingly awkward moments.




I have to say, I really enjoy this show. I was one of those people that thought it was a boring show when it first started back in 2005 but then, I had only seen commercials for it and had never given it a chance. That is until two seasons ago. I watched an episode that I kept seeing previews for and I liked it, but didn't know the characters, so I was kind of lost. So, I checked out season 1 and it had me laughing out loud (especially Michael Scott). One of my favorite things about the show, ironically, is that there isn't any music in the background. That was one of the reasons I had dubbed it "boring", but it makes it seem more like a reality show. Although there are things that I don't like about this show (i.g. the occasional bad langue ), it's still a very funny show.


Here's a link to watch the season 8 Promo of The Office


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RZZqJRhdTI

The Mentalist - Description:

"A mentalist is a master manipulator of thought and behavior." The mentalist is Patrick Jane (Simon Baker in an acclaimed performance), a celebrity psychic whose wife and child are viciously murdered by an elusive serial killer callled Red John. Devastated, Patrick admits his paranormal act is fake, renounces his earlier life and uses his astonishing skills of observation and analysis -talents that made him appear psychically gifted - to bring killers to justice. At crime scenes across California, Patrick now helps an elite team of detectives break their toughest cases. But no matter how many criminals he catches, Patrick never forgets his central goal: Find Red John. And bring him down.


This is definately one of the best crime-dramas on TV right now. In the season 4 opener, Patrick Jane is in prison for killing a man and must now prove that that man was "Red John". Meanwhile, Lisbon wants Van Pelt to get counseling for having to shoot her fiance when it was discovered that he was "Red John's" inside man.  




Here's a link to watch the promo trailer for season 4.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-V43id2rpJo

Bare Minerals "Glimmer Heart" eye shadow

★ ★ ★ 








I really like this eye shadow. It's a shimmery, light violet rose color that I think would look nice on most women. It stays on really well unlike other mineral powder eye shadows that, instead of having shimmer, has glittery specks in them and gets all over the face. I have a few other eye shadows from Bare Minerals, but this is my only shimmer shadow from them so far. I want to get a suede color shadow by them as well. It is a little pricey, in my opinion, but it does last a long time, since you don't need to use much per application.

The brushes they make to apply the eye shadow are really great. Although I wish they were synthetic instead of boar hair, I love them anyway. I have the tapered eye shadow brush, eye liner brush and the contour brush, and they work great. You can sometimes get the brushes with an eye shadow kit, which is where I got mine. I do recommend getting the eye shadow brush if you are going to get the eye shadow or any eye shadow from them, though, because the eye shadows work best with it. Although, I have read good reviews on Eco Tools brushes. They are half the price and I don't think they are made from animal hair, so that's a plus. I haven't personally used them, so I can't say if they are good quality or not.





ingredients to "Glimmer Heart":

Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides, CI 77491, CI 77499), Bismuth Oxychloride (CI 77163), Carmine (CI 75470),Ferric Ferrocyanide (CI 77510), Ferric Ammonium Ferrocyanide (CI 77510), Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Ultramarines (CI 77007), Chromium Oxide Greens (CI 77288), Chromium Hydroxide Green (CI 77289), Kaolin (CI 77004), Zinc Oxide (CI 77947)






While listing the ingredients on here, I realized this eye shadow has Carmine in it. I am a vegan and do NOT like products of any kind with animal ingredients. All my other Bare Minerals do not contain animal ingredients (at least to my knowledge), so I had assumed it wouldn't either, but I was wrong! Bare Minerals claim their products are pure and natural, which I had thought was true, until I realized that many of their newer products contain things that I don't think are healthy and that I don't want to put on my face! They don't contain chemicals, though, so if you don't mind animal products like carmine or beeswax in your cosmetics, then Bare Minerals would be an option. I have to take two stars off  because of it, though. :(

Remington S2044 Damage Therapy Ceramic Hair Straightener with Teflon Fiber Plates

★ ★ ★ ★ ★






I have the older model of this hair straightener and I love it! It has been the best one I have ever used. I have had quite a number of other hair straighteners in the past, of which I had liked for the most part, but for me, none compare to this one. I've owned this one for around four years now and it's still in great shape (even after a few accidental falls). Most of the hair straighteners I've had in the past lasted only two-three years. I had thought I might not like the Teflon fiber on the ceramic plates, but I love them. I don't seem to have near the amount of breakage with it as I did with all the other straighteners I've had and it doesn't make fly-aways, but smooths them. It only takes me 20-30 minutes to straighten my medium-thick, wavy/curly, semi-frizzy hair, (which is about half the time it took me with the others) and my hair is silky smooth. It's easy to flip the end of my hair too. Even with the summer's high humidity, my hair stays just as straight as when I first finished straightening it  (not sure if it's just my hair or not). When this one finally goes, I will definitely be getting the newer model!

Desert Essence Pumpkin Hand Repair Cream

★ ★ ★ ★ ★






This is the best hand repair cream I have ever used! My hands get very dry in the winter to the point that they crack and even bleed. Since using this cream, when used daily, my hands haven't gotten this way. I've used this cream for a few years now, and have no complaints.


It's 100% VEGAN, WHEAT and GLUTEN Free and contains no PARABENS, SODIUM LAURYL/LAURETH SULFATES, PHTHALATES, ARTIFICIAL FRAGRANCES OR COLORS, SILICONES, EDTA, GLYCOL OR PETROLEUM BASED INGREDIENTS, which means it's great for very sensitive skin - like mine! Many of the hand creams I've used in the past would make my skin very itchy (even when my hands weren't cracked or irritated) and didn't work well at all. My hands got slightly itchy the first time I used this cream, but my hands were so cracked and irritated that I believe that is why it felt that way. It healed my cracked skin rather quickly and my hands haven't gotten itchy from it since. It contains Organic Jojoba Oil which deeply penetrates the skin making it soft; Organic Pumpkin Seed Oil and high levels of vitamins A, C, E & K plus Zinc, which helps to fight the daily stress put on the hands by the environment.


It has a pleasant scent and dries pretty fast. You don't need to use much each time and it's not necessary to reapply each hour (unless you're washing your hands excessively) - so it lasts quite awhile.  


Ingredients: 
Aqueous Infusion of Certified Organic Extracts: Cucurbita Pepo (Pumpkin) Seed1 and Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Leaf1, Certified Organic Cucurbita Pepo (Pumpkin) Seed Oil3, Certified Organic Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil2, Glycerin, Emulsifying Wax*, Stearic Acid*, Carbomer, Sodium Hydroxide, Potassium Sorbate, Potassium Gluconate, Phenoxyethanol, Proprietary Blend of Essential Oils.

1 Certified Organic by QCS
2 Certified Organic by QAI
3 Certified Organic by GOCA 
* Vegetable Derived