I was looking for a pair of boots worn by Katherine Pierce in episode Know They Enemy of the Vampire Diaries. Somebody else found them first- they're BCB generation Sandra Ankle booties.

George Foreman minigrill review

I got a little george foreman grill because I've been wanting some steak, but I can't cook worth a damn. One of my co-workers mentioned that it cooks the meat well while still leaving it juicy and tender. And key- it's easy to use. According to them, all I have to do is throw the meat down on the grill, close the lid, and wait a few minutes.

After a description like that, I had to get one and try it out. I ordered the smallest size off of amazon, which came out to 17.99 plus tax. Fairly reasonable, imo. The picture showed it cooking two nice little steaks, with vegetables. It arrived kinda quick, and I left it in the box until I could go shopping and get some meat.


For my first use, I purchased a set of three little rib eyes and some hickory and brown sugar steak sauce. I also grabbed some pam grille cooking spray since my co-worker mentioned there was a problem with sticking. For the very first steak, I didn't let the meat sit in the sauce, I just slapped it down in a puddle of the sauce, flipped it, spread a bit around the edge, then threw it on the grill for five minutes. While that one was cooking, I sauced up the other two pieces and stuck them in a ziplock baggie, then put that in the fridge for later.

My first steak, when completed with its time, came out a nice color, with neat little grille lines. It ended up looking a little burnt on one end, but didn't taste burned. The sauce didn't really get a lot of time to sink into the meat, so it wasn't exceptionally flavorful, but I could still taste it a bit. The meat was a little(very little!) dry, but my five minute time was a guestimation between the two times in the book: 4-6 minutes for a 3/4 inch steak for medium-well. I went with 5 minutes, and ended up much more well done than I had hoped. I think a little less time will give me the juicy steak I'm looking for. All the grease had drained off, thanks to the slope of the grill.

Cleanup of the grill was actually pretty easy. It comes with a nice little grill sponge cleaning thing, which was effective at pulling off all the juices from the meat and getting off any crusty bits. Right now it's sitting and air drying.

Escada Taj Sunset review

Ok. First perfume review. I found this nice little gem on a shopping excursion to Sephora. Well, more of a browsing excursion. Anyhow. I was walking down the perfume isle and you know how sometimes you smell a scent that just stops you in your tracks and has you looking around for the source of it? This is one of those scents. I smelled it and was completely stopped in my tracks. And then, being in the perfume isle... I proceeded to go down the isle, smelling each and every bottle in an attempt to find the correct bottle. But, even though I had the right one, I hadn't really budgeted for a perfume, so I put it off.

Then, while at a school, I was in the PX and found it again. I was sooo excited, because I remembered what it smelled like at sephora, and when I tried it again, it didn't disappoint. I ended up purchasing a little 1.0 fl oz bottle.

On to the actual scent. Sephora's webpage describes it like this: "A scent of tropical sensuality, it opens with a burst of citrusy blood orange and the exotic, fruity aroma of the Alphonso mango—the first fragrance to capture this unique note. Next, floral and fruity heart notes emerge, including watery blossom, sweet primrose, and raspberry. The scent lingers on a sexy, beach-inspired base of coconut cream, musky notes, and sandalwood. "

I gotta say, that seems fairly accurate. It is a very fruity smell, but definitely more in the citrus and mango end of the fruit spectrum, without being tart or sour. And, I completely agree with it being a very beachy smell, without smelling like the ocean. It's fantastic, and light, and sweet. I've never had anybody compliment on my perfume before, but with this one, I've gotten multiple compliments and inquiries as to what I'm wearing.

And, rather unfortunately, it appears to be a limited edition scent. It will only be available to purchase during 2011. I know I'll be stocking up.

Juice Beauty Green Apple Peel for Sensitive skin

I got a fairly decent size of this as a sample... Well I tried it today. Just now. and uuuhhhhh....... anyways.

So it says to apply for ten minutes, then rinse. I applied it. After about two minutes I noticed a tingling reminiscent of my allergic reaction to some proactive stuff, and went and checked in the mirror. I then proceeded to freak out and stick my head in the sink to desperately wash it off. My skin where I had applied it had turned bright red. Bright red. No swelling that was noticeable, just really bright red.

A quick browsing of the interwebs turned up that turning red is a fairly common reaction. And that it goes away. A re-read of the box turned up a "IMPORTANT: A mild tingling sensation and slight redness are normal with the Green Apple Peel."

I'll be trying it again later.... Overall, once it was rinsed off and my skin dried... My skin was softer and smoother. If also redder.

Ok. So I waited till the next day, and tried again. Now that I know the redness is normal and not an allergic reaction, I didn't freak out and rinse it all off early. I waited the time limit, rinsed it and moisturized. Skin is soft and smooth. It feels a bit tight, but it's not unbearable.

Birchbox

Ok, so I was catching up on my subscriptions on youtube, specifically- Missglamorazzi. Anyways, she did a box-opening/haul from birchbox. I'd never heard of them before, so I followed the link and checked them out. Here's what they do- they send a box of deluxe fullsize highend samples each month for a $10 subscription, with no shipping fees. And I'm not talking itty bitty samples that is like... a drop of product squished into one of those tiny little packets. Judging based on her video, these are massive samples. Bound to last maybe a month. They also sell the fullsize products of the samples they send, some of them with completely free shipping.

So I subscribed and am gonna try them out. What's really awesome- no cancellation fee. So if I don't like the first box? I'm only out ten bucks. Not too shabby, imo. I am super excited for my first box from them- It'll arrive sometime next month and I'll let you guys know how it goes.

CC Skye Double Wrap Bracelet & Calypso polish

I ordered this, and it arrived today. I'm really liking it. Very cute and unique. At the 85.00 I paid for it, it was expensive, but not the most expensive piece of jewelry I've purchased. This is also something that I can throw on nearly any of my outfits and it'll work great. It probably wouldn't go too great with something exceptionally girly. On the other hand, maybe it would work, especially if I wore my black heels that have the gold studs all over them.



I also purchased this, and just now got a chance to use it. I did my toes, they're so cute now. The color is kind of an orangey-pink, more orange than pink, with a lot of sparkle. A lot. I love the color, but on my initial use, I kindof wish there was a little less sparkle. I might feel differently in a few days. Another thing I like about this polish is that it dries really fast. That's supernice. I don't feel like it'll smudge when I rack out for sleep. This is my first time using any of perfect formula's polishes and so far it's really great.

More on Jungle Conditioner

Ok. So after using it for.. almost two months? I've come to the conclusion that I won't be buying more.

Don't get my wrong, I love it. Love the smell, love how it makes my hair feel when it's dry. But, I can't stand that it doesn't make my hair manageable when it's wet. I guess that's the lack of silicone stuff. But when it's wet, it's just difficult to work with. I feel like I'm yanking my hair out by the roots. So I'm gonna be using up what's left, maybe gifting some, and then going back to a silicone conditioner, one that makes my hair unbelievably silky both wet and dry.

I did try using the jungle to "perfume" my hair.... I used the silicone conditioner, rinsed, then used the jungle. Jungle just wasn't strong enough to beat out the smell of the other conditioner. Oh well. /sadface.

Peep Toe Boots

Ok. I'm sorry. But who the hell came up with that idea? I've seen them on celebs, and on regular people.... and I really don't know how they get the courage to walk out the door. In my opinion, it's a terrible, horrible fad. You either wear cute little peep toe heels, or you wear boots. Combining the two does not work. It defeats the purpose of the boots. Little booties with a peep toe I can almost get past, but then I see full on boots with that little cutout and it's just hideous. To make matters worse, there are also boots with both the toe and the heel cut out. Seriously- what is that?!

Rant done.

Moving on-

I did my very first coolspotters spot the other day, and liked bringing that shoe to other fans so much



that now I'm hunting for another shoe to spot. It's not really a shoe that I would wear, but I would love to help other people rock Katherine's fashion.

I also grabbed another piece of Vampire Diaries jewelry- Katherine's bracelet. Can't wait for

it to arrive!