Tacky or Hilarious? Silver Honey Bee

Sometimes there is a fine line between super-cool and super-tacky. What say you about this Silver Honey Bee?

Store your honey in its glass body and scoop it out with the silverplated spoon.

Even though it’s a little pricey ($42.50), it still gets my vote for being the Cutest Gadget Ever.

Homemade noodles - and a gadget

If you’ve never attempted homemade noodles, you are really missing out. I don’t even know how to describe the taste difference, so I won’t even try. But, trust me – if you make these, you had better double the recipe because your whole family will scarf them down so fast your head will spin.

Making homemade noodles is one of those things that sound like too much work, but really isn’t. And, boy, do you ever feel all professional chef-ish when you’re rolling out that dough and cutting the noodles.

This is something I haven’t made in a long time (because of that dang white flour thing), but then I came across this Handcrafted Noodle Cutter:

Seeing this very cool gadget reminded of how much I loved the whole noodle-making process. And how much more I loved the whole noodle-eating process. Slicing the dough into something that looked even slightly uniform was always a challenge for me. This Noodle Cutter looks like it would reduce the cutting (and swearing) time significantly.

Doing a quick search of Allrecipes for homemade noodle recipes (since I cannot seem to locate mine), I found this one for Egg Noodles and this one for Basic Pasta. Be sure to read the reviews on these things because there were some great tips for making these recipes using your bread machine and your Kitchen Aid dough hook.

Homemade noodles are always great in Chicken Soup (the only soup I ever made that Mr. Jelly Belly actually ate – and, after he picked out the carrots and celery, he loved it):

You can also use them in other dishes, like this Chuck Roast with Homemade Noodles:

Homemade noodles are very versatile and CHEAP to make. I just put them on my menu for this weekend because regardless of how strange my noodles always look (because of my inadequate cutting skills), they are always delicious.

Taking the poo out of shampoo

(This was supposed to be my Friday off-topic post, but I was feeling generally blah. But at least I’m only a day late!)

I have bad hair. Really bad hair. This is due to a combination of the curse of naturally curly hair, a thyroid that refuses to work, self-coloring, daily flat-ironing and, sigh, age.

To prove it, I will share this incredibly embarrassing picture of myself, circa 1990-ish.

(Yes, it looks frightening in retrospect, but I looked exactly like everyone else on the street at the time. YES I DID!)

And, just because I want to find out what you think of my new glasses, here’s me now:

(Please ignore the “why-is-it-always-so-freaking-cold-in-this-office” sweater.)

See? Bad, bad hair. I wish you could see the back of it, where I sport a large chunk of frizz that refuses to lie down, no matter what I do with it. Looks like a duck’s butt. Attractive.

Anyway, all of this preamble was just to share with you what I’m recently discovering about what else might be contributing to my awful-hairedness. Sulfates. The “poo” in conventional shampoo. Not good for your hair.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) is pretty commonly found in all detergents – whether you use it to wash your hair, your dishes, or your car. It produces Big Foam. We like Big Foam. Makes us feel like it’s really getting something done up there on our heads.

But what it’s really doing is drying out your hair and scalp, making your hair brittle and causing breakage and all kinds of odd scalp conditions. There are those who feel the residual buildup of sulfates contribute to hair loss. They swear that when they eliminated the sulfates, they either saw a significant reduction in the amount of hair being lost or even got some new growth in previously bald areas.

So that’s the simplified version (there’s so much more, but I haven’t even gotten to the point of this post yet) and what made me decide to start searching out some sulfate-free options.

This is when I became obsessed with Shampoo Bars. Yes, like a bar of regular soap, but for your hair. Wait! Don’t freak out. I admit, it seems very strange to think of rubbing a bar of shampoo over your head. Eeeeew, right? But still, with all the positive reviews I’d been reading, I really wanted to give it a try.

So I headed over to Chagrin Valley Soaps, the maker of THE most touted shampoo bars on hair-related message boards. (Yes, I DID go around reading hair message boards. What of it?)

They have a pretty large selection of shampoo bars that you can buy in either the full size, for $6.75, or in a pretty generous sample size for either $2.50 or $2.60. And they are packaged in the cutest little Kraft bags, ever!

Overwhelmed by options and fearful that I would HATE IT after I bought it, I bought a full size of the Coconut Milk and one sample-sized bar of Carrot Milk and Honey and another of Rosemary Mint. The two products I was most interested in, the Olive Babassu and the Babassu and Marsh Mallow, were both temporarily out of stock. (I would link to the specific products here, but their website doesn’t have separate pages for each product. They also have a pain in the ass shopping cart, but I can deal with it.)

Another advantage of shampoo bars is that if you decide you don’t like it as a shampoo, it’s perfectly fine to use on your body. No waste.

I had already decided I WOULD NOT rub a bar of shampoo on my head. I would lather it up in my hands and then massage it in, like a civilized person. So, picking a day when I had no one to impress but my dentist (in case things went horribly awry), I grabbed the bar of Coconut Milk and marched bravely into the shower.

I got my hair really, really wet and picked up the bar. And I rubbed it directly on my head. I don’t know what happened! It just seemed like the natural thing to do. And I enjoyed it. It had a decent lather and it smelled really nice. And you know what? After I rinsed it out (very, very thoroughly, of course), my hair freaking SQUEAKED. Yes, it did. I don’t remember the last time my hair squeaked after shampooing.

Now, in theory, you do not have to use a conditioner with these bars. Or, if your hair is really dry, you might be able to just use a lot less conditioner. I debated doing a true experiment and not conditioning at all, but panicked at the last minute and used a small amount of conditioner on the ends. All the squeaking had frightened me.

Then, as is my custom, I let it air dry. Usually it air dries into a poofy disaster, so I was surprised that it dried like a normal person’s hair. No poof. My hair was very soft and I didn’t feel any residue. And that duck’s butt on the back of my head was gone! Seriously. A mini-version of it popped up a little later in the day after three hours in the dental chair, a nap and two hot flashes, but it stayed tame for a pretty good long time.

So, obviously, I like it! And I like that it will be so much easier to travel with than regular shampoo. And that cutting out all of those plastic shampoo bottles will be good for the environment. And that one shampoo bar lasts as long as about three bottles of conventional shampoo. And that I may someday be able to get rid of conditioner altogether. Naturally, I’ve already ordered more. It’s a sickness.

Of course, this isn’t the only company that makes shampoo bars. There are also other options for sulfate-free shampoos that don’t involve rubbing a bar on your head.

Lush Cosmetics: Their shampoo bar is smaller and pricier ($9.75), but it is VERY highly rated. Order online, or find a store near you. I’m going to check them out the next time I’m at the mall.

And here’s a way for you to try it for close to free. I found a lot of the products I was looking for at iherb.com – and if you’ve never ordered from them before, you can use my coupon code (DUP544) to get $5 off your first order. I think they will kick back 15 cents to me if you do, but that’s not why I’m giving you the code. I’m giving it to you because most of this stuff costs right around $5, so you can get it just for the cost of shipping. And they ship super-fast. I love them.

Here are some I found today. Okay, I’ll be honest and admit this is what I actually ORDERED today. Maybe you’ll find something that looks interesting to you. I think you can also find these at Whole Foods, if you’re near one:

J.R. Liggett’s Old Fashioned Bar Shampoo. I got the one for damaged hair, natch, and the Tea Tree and Hemp Oil. $4.79 each

Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps. On this one, I actually bought the 16-ounce Hemp Almond liquid to try out. You should read the reviews on this product line. Dang! $6.83

Giovanni’s Shampoo and Conditioners. Again, not a shampoo bar, but this also a very highly rated sulfate-free line. I got a leave-in conditioner, a restructuring conditioner and a couple of other things I don’t remember. $5.17 each

So that’s it. Have you ever tried a shampoo bar? Would you? Next up in my quest for more natural products: Toothpaste. (I heard my dentist telling someone to stay away from Colgate Total and Crest Pro-something because of all the additives. Interesting, no?)

Start saving your pennies

Although it’s just a concept design for now, I know you’ll want to run out and buy this levitating Cloud Sofa (which won honorable mention in a design contest) the minute it becomes available.

No wires or pulleys, this comfy looking sofa is suspended in the air via magnets. Pretty strong ones, I would imagine. Awesome, right?

But I worry – will a small child or pet break the magnetic force if they wander underneath? What will it do to your pacemaker? Or the hard drive of your lap top? Yikes, what about my credit cards? Will I be able to pick it up at Wal-Mart? Pressing questions, indeed.

And, just for a giggle, I present to you the 50th Birthday Barbie. We look so much alike, it’s frightening. All she needs is a spiffy pair of reading glasses and we're twins!


Have a great weekend, everyone!

Things I Need

It’s no big secret that I’m addicted to kitchen gadgets. I love them. The minute I see them, I wonder how I will continue to function if I don’t buy it RIGHT NOW. This is why QVC loves me, I think. Anyway, here are a few things I found this week that I never even knew existed - but now I don’t know how I will live without them.

A cutting board is a cutting board, right? Oh, not so, my friend. Look at this Index Chopping Board, a super-cool set of four color-coded boards designed to avoid cross-contamination of food – red for raw meat, white for cooked foods, blue for fish and green for vegetables. That’s nice and all, but just look at the fun presentation:

I hate using a measuring spoon for oil, so I need this Press and Measure Bottle. Just give it a squeeze and get an exact measurement of oils, salad dressings, soy sauce, whatever:

And, speaking of perfect measuring, this looks a lot easier for perfect pasta portions than pulling out the food scale:
If you like ice cream (and, really, who doesn’t?), how about this Scoop and Stack Ice Cream Server? Jam it into some rock-hard ice cream and pull out a lovely cylinder of yumminess. I’ll bet you could find lots of other foods you could use this for, as well.
I love shish kebab. And I REALLY love grilled vegetables. But I’m too lazy for all that skewer threading crap, so these Kabob Baskets for the grill have my name all over them:



Collecting recipes is something of a hobby for me. I tear them out of magazines and print them off from the internet and write down ideas I don’t want to forget. As a result, I end up with a huge, disorganized pile of recipes that are never going to be made. I finally organized them in a large 3-ring binder, using full-sized page protectors, but this Clipped Recipes Book is much prettier than mine:



And speaking of recipe organization, I am So Excited about this product, I am about to wet my pants. Combining my love of recipes with my love for gadgets and my obsession with the Amazon Kindle, the Demy Electronic Recipe Reader is something I don’t really need, but oh boy, am I ever coveting. Available to preorder on Amazon right now, at $299 it is making me pray for a complete economic recovery by May.

And, just for fun, how about some pants for your eggs?

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Bacon: It's not just for breakfast anymore

Really, TGIF. What a rough week I’ve had – I couldn’t be happier to see it end. And since I’ve been too tired all week to post anything worthwhile, I’ll just continue that trend by sharing with you some bizarre products for the truly bacon-obsessed. You’ll think I’m making it up. Sadly, I am not.

Let’s start with a rather odd way to combine your love of bacon with good oral hygiene. May I present to you, bacon-flavored dental floss:

But, if you’re driving or something and don’t have both hands available to floss out that chunk of whatever stuck between your teeth, you might want to keep some of these in your purse:



And speaking of your car, who wouldn’t love the welcoming aroma of bacon every time you hop in:

All your friends will be jealous when you whip out this classy and elegant bacon wallet:

Got a boo boo? Never fear, bacon bandages to the rescue:



Is your breath a little funky? How about some bacon mints?





Need a little something for the kids’ Easter baskets? Shove those Peeps aside and throw in some Gummy Bacon:

Or even some bacon gum balls:

With all the bacon love sweeping the nation, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see something like this in the future:

Trust me, my friends – this is only the tip of the bacon iceberg. I’d give you more, but I’m starting to feel just a little bit queasy…

Tacky or Hilarious? Voodoo

We’ve all got exes we wouldn’t mind inflicting some pain upon, right? Even if it doesn’t work in the traditional voodoo sense, The Ex Voodoo Knife Holder might still be good for fantasy:

Voodoo a bit too passive-aggressive for your taste? Then how about this Throwzini’s Knife Block:





And if you don’t hate him enough to shell out $70 for the knife holder, how about taking a stab at it with this voodoo toothpick holder - which has surprisingly good reviews - for $8:


I’m out of town on family business until Sunday so I’m auto-publishing this edition of Tacky or Hilarious. Have a great weekend and I’ll see you soon…

Cutlery fun

I’ve come across quite a few interesting examples of cutlery lately. The run the gamut from the ridiculous to the sublime. You can decide for yourself which is which.

Now, I’m kind of dumb, so when I first saw these Salad Hands, I thought they were used to EAT your salad, not serve it. Either way, I think they’re kind of cute:



Also from the salad serving front, I love this Salad Plant. Unique and fun, it should perk up any table:

This Calamente Fork intrigues me and scares me at the same time. I’m sure I would pierce a nostril the first time I tried to shovel in some pasta:






Are your airplane noises alone not enough to get your fussy toddler (or, in my case, husband) to eat their vegetables? How about the Air Fork One?



Now I don’t know if this Sunny Side Up Cutlery is actually available anywhere yet, but I want it:




Although not technically cutlery, I find this Batter Finger silicone spatula rather odd on a couple of different levels. But I don’t really want to get into it, because it may just be me:

At first, The Snap and Dine may seem like a goofy idea, but look again. The more I think about outdoor eating events, the more sense it starts to make:



And finally, in the last and certainly least category, I am going to include these Finger Food Party Plates - only because I think they’re quite possibly the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen (my apologies if you own these):

Mineral Makeup Mania

I love alliteration, don’t you?

I’ve been a reasonably faithful fan of Bare Escentuals mineral makeup for at least five years. I was going to post a picture of how much I have, but then decided that would just be too embarrassing - I’m a mineral makeup junkie and my stash proves it.

Over the last two years or so, I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz about Everyday Minerals. They offer a free (just pay shipping) sample kit that contains 3 foundations, a blush and a concealer – because they want you to be sure to have the right colors for YOU before you spend a lot of money on something you can’t use. They don’t even care if you have to order the free sample kit more than once. Or more than twice, even. Or two of them in the same order.

I ordered the sample kit a long time ago and, for whatever reason, didn’t pursue it further. It wasn’t that I didn’t like it; I guess I just didn’t want to believe that anything could be as good as my BE. I mean, it was half the price – how could it be as good?

Two weeks ago I revisited Everyday Minerals, skipping the samples, because I’m impatient like that, and plunging right into one of their custom kits (6 full-sized products of your choice for $34). I ordered two foundations, praying one of them would be the right shade (it was!), a blush, a flat top kabuki brush, an eye shadow and a lip balm. (Don’t ask me why I wasted 2 of my 6 products on an eye shadow and a lip balm; sometimes I’m not too bright.)

When my order arrived, I was tickled to find I had ordered during a special they were running and they had included two free products – a beautiful medium bronzer and a finishing powder, both full-sized. In case you weren’t keeping track, that’s 8 full-sized products for $34. Bare Escentuals? One full-sized foundation is $25.

But lower prices aren’t necessarily a bargain if the product sucks, right? Here’s the thing: It totally doesn’t suck. I love it. LOVE IT. In my opinion, it’s every bit as good as Bare Escentuals - and dare I say it might be better? I am actually LOOKING FORWARD to putting my makeup on every day. And that hasn’t happened since junior high, for pete’s sake.

Everyday Minerals does not contain bismuth oxychloride. That’s the stuff in Bare Escentuals that is supposed to give you that “dewy look” but some people claim it makes them itch, gives a shiny look and accentuates pores. I always use a primer and apply it wet and I’ve rarely had any of those problems, but it’s a major issue for a lot of people.

If you’re already a mineral makeup user, or you’ve been wanting to try it, head over to Everyday Minerals and order yourself a sample kit or two. (But if you’ve never used it before, you’ll need a brush – try a kabuki.) I’d really like to hear if you love it as much as I do.

P.S. Bare Escentuals is running a limited-time free sample offer. Check it out here. It would be worth getting even if you got it just for the brush.

Brown bag? Bah!

If you’re working outside of the home, it’s always a good idea to pack your own lunch. You can control what’s in the food you’re eating and it saves you a ton of money – and that’s all good. But, really, who knew lunch bags had become such an industry unto themselves?

Remember your old metal lunchboxes from grade school?

They were fun but would always end up with a faint odor of bologna, right?

As we moved on to junior high and high school, we tossed the metal lunch box for the much cooler brown bag:

I continued with the little brown bag thing until I started on Weight Watchers. Then I was eating so much food, I had to move up to plastic grocery bags. I walked into work looking like this:

Then I came across this great lunch bag at Target for about $15. It was so cute, I had to have it.

All the girls in the office oohed and aahed and I really felt like I was stylin’. But that was before I realized how many great lunch bags there are out there. I was watching QVC (I know, shocker, right?) and they were presenting this really cute “Let’s Do Lunch” bag for $18.84:

Their bag put mine to shame and made me realize maybe I wasn’t such a trendsetter, after all. So I wanted to know what else was out there.

I started at the Let’s Do Lunch site and found this cute bag (I think I have a thing for stripes):

Moving along, I then found this line of Mario Batali Insulated Totes:
Finding the Batali totes led me to the highly rated Gourmet Getaway lunch bags, made of neoprene - the same stuff wetsuits are made of. Not only does it keep your stuff cold, it actually stretches to accommodate whatever you might be jamming in there.
Or you can go all out and get some monogramming on your lunch bag. For $34.95, Stitch Atlantic will put your monogram on one of these cute bags:

And if your monogram alone doesn’t stop people from swiping your lunch, you can try these anti-theft lunch bags:

And all of this is just the tip of the lunch bag iceberg. You just can’t call it “brown bagging” anymore, can you?