Do you know what is an absolute delight? Using this raisin bread to make french toast. It’s delicious, and even efficient since you’ll need fewer ingredients in your egg mixture.

Enjoy,

~Darleya~

Stuffed Ashes has taken a little break as you may have noticed. The reason is because I had my baby December 3rd, so I’ve been quite busy with the little one.

I hope to start posting again soon for 2012. With a fresh new banner as well.

Thanks for your patience and support,

~Darleya~

Method, the all-natural green cleaning supply company, has come up with a fabulous line of holiday products in cute festive bottles. all of their products use recyclable packaging, are naturally derived, biodegradable and never tested on animals.

This holiday collection has pump dish soaps, gel hand wash, and foaming hand wash. Their holiday scents are frosted fir, spiced pear, candy cane, and cinnamon drop.

Well I just HAD to try the candy cane dish soap! I’m so sick of my green apple or citrus scents. So I have the candy cane pump dish soap, and I decided to try the frosted fir gel hand wash, because I love the smell of real Christmas trees, and always get them.

The pump mechanism on the dish soap is awesome. Usually dish soaps get all gunked up at the top and you don’t even bother to close them anymore. They’re just goo. Well this is a pump, so you never get that gooey mess at the top. It comes out nice and smooth and you have less chances of wasting it because you’re not pouring/squeezing it out. The candy cane smell is fabulous! Makes me want to eat the damn soap lol.  I also love the red Christmas bottle with the bulbs on it. I have a black and white kitchen, so the red stands out nicely.

The frosted fir hand wash is a perfect holiday fragrance. The smell of fresh fir tree stays on your hands afterwards. You’re reminded of Christmas throughout the day. My brother in law was joking around about it though, because he decided to eat a sandwich after he washed his hands. He said he felt like he was going to take a bite out of a tree each time. So it’s fairly strong, but I enjoy it.

These method holiday soaps are perfect for gift-giving to your holiday hosts. They make great holiday décor, too. The Method dish soaps are $4.59, while both hand washes are $4.39. Even though they’re a bit pricier than other dish soaps, the fact that they are biodegradable and have such unique scents makes them worthy in my opinion. Plus they’re much less than the Body Shop or Fruits & Passion.

Method sells a whole bunch of other cleaning products, body washes,  detergents, and bathroom care. I’m very anxious to try their line of  ’wood for good’ collection for my hardwood floors and my piano.

~Darleya~

The country originals line includes a white loaf, a whole wheat loaf, and a 12 grain loaf. What’s different about this line of bread is that it is entirely made free of artificial flavours, colours, and preservatives.

I don’t understand why bread has not just ALWAYS been free of these things. The dates on this line of bread are no different than any of the other brands on the shelves, the expiry dates are comparable.

I cannot taste ANY difference between this new line of bread and Dempster’s other lines of sliced bread. It totally tastes the exact same to me.  They should just stop making the other ones.

The country originals line is one that I recommend. No one needs preservatives, artificial flavours or colours. On the topic of colours, why the heck would there be colour added to bread? This bread appears to look identical to the other loaves I’ve seen. Thankfully society is moving towards more healthier natural eating as it once was. I’m really happy that Dempster’s has come up with this new line of bread, because it’s just that much better for you to eat, and easier on your entire digestive system.

I can’t tell the difference in flavour at all (if there even is any), so I highly doubt children would, or anyone for that matter.

Making the change to this new Country Originals just makes sense to me. I will keep buying them.

Click here for some coupons.

Dempster’s products are sold at most National Canadian chain grocery stores. The Loblaws chain does not seem to offer Dempster’s anymore, likely in favour of their own President’s Choice line.

Enjoy,

~Darleya~

I decided to buy the Nutmeg cuting board of the Epicurean Kitchen Series. It met a bunch of criteria that I felt was important, most notably that it was dishwasher safe. Here are all of this cutting board’s attributes.

Dishwasher safe : easily sanitized in dishwasher
Eco Friendly : made using materials that leave a low carbon footprint
Knife Friendly : will not dull knives by allowing surface to slightly score, protecting knife edge
Heat Resistant : heat resistant to 350F (can be used as a hot plate)
Made and manufactured in the United States
50% Recycled material : materials made using 50% recycled corrugated cardboard

When I first read the tag on the cutting board, the breakdown of each attribute was not given. I just saw the titles. The reason I bring this up is because of the ‘knife friendly’ quality. I took this to mean that the cutting board would not be affected by knife marks…

After a few uses I noticed the scratches show up on the board. I was very disappointed. Now that I’ve looked further into the brand, I’ve seen that knife friendly means that the board is friendly to your knives, and not the other way around. In fact, the website says that the surface is supposed to ‘slightly score’ in order to protect your knives. Ohhhh!

The board I bought is very large (18×13), very lightweight, and has so far not warped, meaning it remains flat after numerous dishwasher loads. I really do like it because I can chop many different veggies on it without having to clear the board all the time. Since it is made with recycled cardboard, I am reluctant to cut raw meat on it though. I save my ugly plastic cutting boards for raw meat. Although they do claim that the board will NOT harbour bacteria. Here is a video!

Other than the knife marks(which apparently will never be deep cuts), I am pleased with this cutting board. Especially now that I realize I was mistaken. It’s a nice-looking board, and is perfect for all of my vegetable chopping. It is also very easy to slide off the cut vegetables into whatever pot or pan to cook, because the entire surface of the board is smooth, there are no ledges. The little hole makes it easy to pick up, or could be used to hang it for those with kitchen hanging systems.

The board cost me $35. Since it was made with recycled material, I didn’t mind paying a bit more for it. Hopefully one day I will find a board that is scratch free, but until then, I am glad that my knives will keep their sharpness on this board.

~Darleya~

The Giveaway mentioned in this post went to my fabulous reader Lex! Thanks for your support Lex

How fitting to start off October with a treat post? A treat post with a special giveaway that is! Read on…

Allan Candy company has come up with a new line of individually wrapped candies called Saybon. Ordinarily I would describe these candies as your typical ‘business’ or ‘grandparents’ type candies. The kind you find when leaving a restaurant, or the ones you would avoid until the end at Halloween.

These thoughts vanished after I tried them. I tried two different packages of the Saybon line. The But’r Mints, and the soft fudge candies (2 flavours). All of the Saybon candies are made in Canada in a peanut-free facility and are kosher.

My favourite of all the ones I tried is the dairy chew from the soft fudge package. Soo delicious! The regular chocolate fudge ones were fantastic too. Both are very soft and melt in your mouth. I thought they would be really sticky and get all into your teeth, but they’re much softer than that. The flavour of the dairy chew reminds me of maple somehow, but they only describe the flavour as ‘dairy’.

Ah-hah! I just checked out their website, and realized that they actually describe the dairy chew as ‘a delicious maple flavoured chew’. I wonder why the bag doesn’t say that. At least my taste buds are accurate!

The but’r mint candies are much closer to a hard candy. It’s a very interesting flavour. You get the buttery cream then the mint in your mouth. They’re very good. They’re still chew-able, but not like a soft fudge. I planned to give all of these candies out to my guests whenever people come over. They all lasted about a week instead. My husband and I ate most of them, then my father kept eating but’r mint after but’r mint, and even hid the last few from me lol.

The Saybon line has11 different flavours to chose from. Visit SAYBON on Facebook to enter the “It’s Good to Share Sweepstakes” for a chance to win $10,000.

These candies were a definite pleasant surprise. No longer will I judge a candy by its packaging. You have to try them.

One of my readers who posts a comment on this review will win a gift pack of these SAYBON candies, so please post a comment to be entered in a draw. I’m looking forward to sending one of my faithful readers a special October treat!

~Darleya~

Being a fan of Aveeno’s products, when I saw that they now have a hair care line, I jumped at the chance to try it.
The Aveeno conditioner that applies to my hair needs is the Nourish & Moisture one, so I grabbed it.

The bottle is very narrow and small, and with my thick hair, a bottle like this would not last long. That being said, at a sales price of around $8.99, this is still much cheaper than the Lanza.

When I judge conditioners, it is totally about how my hair feels when I rinse it out. I typically leave conditioner in after washing, for around 2 minutes -  or rather, the time it takes me to wash my body, and shave anywhere that requires shaving. For the conditioner to be considered excellent, my hair has to feel extremely silky and smooth when rinsed out, and I should have no difficulties brushing my fingers through it.

The Aveeno Nourish + Moisturize conditioner does just that. It feels awesome. It’s very annoying to try fancy sounding conditioners, or even expensive salon conditioners that are not able to meet the above criteria. There are so many that fail at doing this. The Aveeno conditioner is my current conditioner of choice. I will keep using it along with my Tresemme Naturals shampoo for as long as my hair continues to feel healthy.

I do advise to change up your hair care products every once in a while, because your hair can become immune to the positive effects. It needs a change once in a while.

I highly recommend the Aveeno nourish and moisturize conditioner. For those with different hair types and needs, I bet their other varieties would work just as well.

~Darleya~

It’s a small little place from the outside, but once you venture in, you’ll see a fabulous warm atmosphere, with lighting that’s just right. Not too dark, but not too light either. My father had made reservations the day before, but when we got in, they couldn’t find us on their list. There were no issues though, they apologized and immediately sat us at a table.

The service was excellent. Out waiter was extremely courteous, polite, and very respectful. He was also very patient with my mom’s indecisions about which wine to have with her appetizer. He had her try a few before she decided on his recommendation.

The menu at Allium is one that changes monthly. They chose their meal plans according to the seasons of fresh ingredients. Everything at Allium is fresh. The restaurant has their own gardens, and it is clear that chef Arup Jana takes pride in selecting his ingredients, and in serving beautiful dishes. The meats come from local organic farms.

Our appetizers. My father and I both ordered the Heirloom Tomatoes. (Tomatoes From Ian’s Farm/Fresh Goat’s Cheese/Pickled Beets/Bacon/Honey/Basil/Red Wine Pickled Shallots) My mother ordered the Seared Scallops(Potato Salad/Sweet Pea Puree/Corn Salsa/Radish/Sour Cream/Cilantro), and my husband ordered the Beef Carpaccio & Tartare (Shaved Parmesan/Peas/Corn/Herbs/ Balsamic/Herbs/Radish/Truffle Toast/Foie Gras Mousse).

My appetizer had the most delicious tomatoes I’d ever tasted. They were served on a bed of creamy goat’s cheese, with flavourful beets, and such distinctly selected herbs. It was beautiful. I did not take a picture of it unfortunately. I also tried my husband’s tartare selections. They were fabulous. It all just melted in your mouth. My mom also loved her scallops.

After our wonderful appetizer experience, we became even more excited for our mains. I ordered the Duck Breast (Mushrooms/Zucchini/Peas/Light Jus/ToastedAlmonds/Raisin Puree/Potato Croquettes/Seared Foie Gras), my father surprisingly ordered the Vegetarian Dish (Crispy Polenta/Quinoa and Goat Cheese Stuffed Pepper/Portobello Mushroom/Tofu Cream/Roasted Pepper Sauce/Pecans), my mother ordered the Lake Erie Walleye (Spicy Fish Cake/Shrimp Sauce/Roasted Potatoes/Green Beans/Tomato/Hollandaise), and my husband ordered a mystery meal.

Yes, at Allium you can order a mystery meal that is completely to the chef’s discretion. You cannot make any specifications, it is entirely a surprise. It is not recommended that people with food allergies chose this option.

Everyone thouroughly enjoyed their meals. My husband’s mystery was a grilled Halibut served on the tastiest vegetables and sauce. I cannot even remember what the principal veggies were, they were Japanese. See photos.

On to the dessert. Allium is famous for it’s Banoffee, a tarte made with Graham Crumb/Toffee/Bananas/Cream and Shaved Chocolate. Both my husband and mother ordered the Banoffee, while I ordered the vanilla bean crême brulée, and my father the Lemon Tart served with Pascale’s Golden Raspberry‐Honey Ice Cream and Berries. The Banoffee was indeed to die for, while my crême brulée was perfect. The ice cream that came with my father’s lemon tart was incredible. Such an amazing flavour.

Allium has excellent service,  and gourmet food that you’ll crave for weeks after you’ve left. I cannot wait to return. You must go to this little gem of a restaurant. You will not be disappointed.

The Lady Speed Stick Stainguard antiperspirant has been all over the tv commercials for a long time now. I’d been meaning to try it for quite some time. Deodorants stain your clothes over time. It’s been pretty much inevitable it seems; until now.

Testing a product like this stainguard antiperspirant is really something that has to be done over a long period of time. I am pretty confidant that it does indeed prevent stains in your clothing but can’t prove or disprove that fact at the moment.

The problem I have with it, is that it just doesn’t keep me all that dry, and I’m not a sweaty person either. It certainly keeps me from smelling, but I don’t really like the stickiness factor by mid day. I haven’t even tried using it at the gym yet. That being said, it is a great invisible solid. No white marks at all.

I’m still not giving up on this deodorant. I think I will keep it for white clothing, or any new tops that are sleeveless which would show any stains.

I really like the idea of this antiperspirant. I hope they continue to improve upon it.

~Darleya~

So, having had success with their other products, I decided to give this line a try. I bought the NORMADERM Tri-Activ Anti-Imperfection Hydrating Care, the NORMADERM Active Anti-Imperfection Concentrate, and the NORMADERM Micellar Cleansing Solution for imperfection prone skin.

I have never been happier about a product line before. I works so well! Just 3 or 4 days into it, I noticed immediate improvement. My blemishes were disappearing, and the redness was  almost gone.

Every morning and every night, I use the Micellar Cleansing Solution, which is water-based and doesn’t need to be rinsed off. I just use my Shiseido cotton pads, it removes all my make-up and leaves my face feeling very fresh. I then use the Tri-Activ cream, which comes in a nice pump. It’s a very light cream, and you really don’t need a lot. It moisturizes very nicely, although you cannot use it anywhere near your eyes, so I use a separate cream on my eyes. This makes sense since it is targeting acne.

The last step is to use the anti-imperfection concentrate, which is essentially a zit killer. It’s a small tube with a blue gel-like solution that you dab on your problem spots. You immediately feel it working, it’s great.

I am very satisfied with Vichy’s Normaderm line, and feel that the cost of around $20-$25 for each bottle is highly worth the results. I will continue to use this line, and highly recommend it to anyone facing skin problems, whether hormonal or otherwise.

~Darleya~

Basically, it looks like you sprinkle the powder everywhere on your carpet, then vacuum it up for some awesome stain-free results.

It doesn’t quite work like that.

The powder is actually moist and clumpy. You first have to shake it before sprinkling it on your problem areas. Then you have to find a cleaning bristle brush. I didn’t have one, so I used one of my vacuum parts then cleaned itafterwards. You have to take the brush, and really scrub in the powder deep into your carpet.

It smells quite strongly. Once you’ve brushed it in as best you can, you then leave for at least 20 minutes so that it dries up and the dampness is out. My carpet is berber, so that’s maybe why I had to brush it in much harder. I also wanted to really clean my whole carpets, but because of the process, I spot cleaned the areas that were really bad, including my stairs(damn parties where people came in with their dirty shoes).

It was actually a lot more work than I’d anticipated, and I had troubles breathing afterwards. The product is apparently non-toxic though.

After I vacuumed the carpet, it was overall less stained. It was not a miracle worker, given the fact that these stains were old, but it still lightened my stairs which now have an overall cleaner appearance.

The product is not bad, but I find the commercial to be highly misleading. I’ve used other carpet deodorizers that you just sprinkle around then vacuum. I thought that this Resolve Deep Clean Powder would work similarly based on what I saw on TV.

It doesn’t. Be prepared to be on your hands and knees scrubbing it in wherever you put it, and be prepared to inhale that shit.

~Darleya~

Side note: I am fully aware that it is the month of May, I just haven’t gotten around to making the banner just yet. Sorry!

~Darleya~

Colosseum is a very fun strategy game. It is not difficult to learn, but only with experience will you know which strategies to use in order to win. This game is of top quality, with wooden pieces, and very colourful tokens, and a detailed board.

The premise behind this game is simple. Each player (or, a Roman impresario) produces events at the Colosseum. You each have an arena space that you can expand at a cost. At the start, every player receives tokens representing animals, or other elemental participants(event asset tokens). They also receive three different event programs, which show the required elements to produce the events in question.

As the game progresses, you earn money for successful events, and points to move you ahead. You have the chance to purchase more costly events that can earn you greater points, which may require the purchase of expansions to your arenas. There are a lot of additional rules and bonuses along the way, for instance, emperors and nobles regularly pass through everyone’s events, and a player may garner extra points if these peons are there when the points are tabulated. While this came may sound highly complex, the rule book is very straightforward, in an appropriate step-wise progression. Anyone can read the rules, and fully understand, unlike some other poorly translated board game instructions.

I love playing this game, it is an excellent family game, for ages 10 and up, and is no longer than between 60 and 90 minutes. Even newcomers will enjoy this game, and have an equal chance at winning. Your opponents will not know your plans for your future events, and since this game is progressive, as in, the points earned in previous rounds are not cumulative; any one event can earn you enough points to be the winner.

What is also noteworthy, is that pretty much everyone thinks that they will be the winner in this game. It is of top quality, and definitely a game that I will keep forever.

~Darleya~

I’ve tried two varieties of their organic granola bars, the Sunny Hemp, and the Pumpkin-N-Spice flavours. Both are a source of Omega-3 Polyunsaturates, and both are good sources of fibre. Based on my own dietary issues, I have not tried the bars drizzled with yogurt, but I imagine them to be of the same quality as these ones.

The Pumpkin-N-Spice is a fresh change from the flavours you normally get for granola bars. Full of healthy grains and flax, you don’t notice that you’re eating a health foods product because they taste delicious. The Sunny Hemp (I know, weird name – includes image of THAT leaf) granola bars contain ‘organic hemp seeds’ among lots of other seeds and raisins. While I have no idea what hemp seeds really are, these granola bars are also delicious, while being a bit sweeter than the pumpkin ones.

All of their granola bars contain brown rice flower, tapioca syrup, and invert cane syrup, instead of non organic sweeteners or white flour.

The full list of ingredients for the Sunny Hemp bars is as follows: Granola, tapioca syrup, brown rice flour, invert cane syrup, raisins, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, hemp seeds, acacia gum, granulated sugar cane juice, sea salt, natural flavour, and molasses.

Their line of granola bars are typically found in the organics aisles of most Canadian and American grocery stores. They taste delicious, are healthy, and kids will enjoy them.

~Darleya~

is a new gadget that allows you to use touch screen tools on your desktop computer. For browsing, you can use your hand as a mouse by simply moving it around the smooth surface of the bamboo. You just use simple hand gestures and finger taps to move around your desktop and can easily zoom in and out of pages, rotate images, go back and forth between browsers, in addition to a whole lot more. Scrolling through documents is so quick, just picture your iPhone capabilities for navigating the web,that is pretty much how the hand tool function of the bamboo works.

Using the pen tool as your mouse is totally different. To move your cursor around the screen, you don’t have to touch the pen to the bamboo pad, you just hover it across. With the pen tool, your bamboo pad becomes a replica of your screen, but on a smaller scale, and so moving around is much different than with a mouse, or the hand tool. The top left corner of your bamboo pad is always the top left corner of your computer screen.

The pressure-sensitive pen tool is designed for editing, writing, and sketching. With the precise pen, you can draw as you would on paper, sign your name perfectly, and create images that you’d never be able to make using a regular mouse and keyboard. If you press hard, it would be like an ink pen, where you would draw more ink out. If you draw lightly, your image reflects this.

The Bamboo Pen & Touch comes with a whole variety of complimentary applications, games, and Adobe Photo-shop Elements. It combines the benefits of Multi-Touch with the comfort and precision of an ergonomically-designed pen that has little buttons on it for additional scrolling capabilities. And because the active area is larger than traditional mobile devices and laptop trackpads, it’s comfortable and natural to use.

Using the Bamboo is easy even if you’re new to the touch experience because it comes with a very detailed tutorial which takes you through each and every tool you can use, while making you try everything for yourself and succeeding before moving on. Both the hand tool and the pen tool are fully covered.

The Bamboo can certainly replace the need for a mouse. That being said, if you’re a gamer like me, then you’ll want to keep your mouse for obvious reasons. If you’re really really talented, then check out what you can do in this video.

My favourite application from the Bamboo’s lineup of mini-aps is Sumo Paint. It’s a much fancier application than Microsoft Paint, but isn’t complicated like some of the other illustrator or photoshop type programs. The symmetry function in Sumo is simply awesome! You can make the prettiest flowers with such ease. The one I made was done using the symmetry function in Sumo.

Wacom’s bamboo is only $99 which I think is very reasonable considering all the features and tools it has and comes with. My husband bought it for me as a surprise, I’d never even heard of it, but am so glad I have it now! I’ll be able to make much cooler Stuffed Ashes banners.

~Darleya~

My secret is now out (well to those that don’t know me ha ha). I am a huge Britney Spears fan, and I always make sure to buy her albums. I can’t help it, I have always liked her, her music, and her positive attitude despite her public struggles. Unlike how I feel about some other artists who do not write their own music, or less powerful vocals; when it comes to Britney it just doesn’t matter. I find her voice truly unique and very sexy. I will keep supporting her because I’m always routing for her to do well. I pre-ordered Femme Fatale’s duluxe version, because I really enjoyed Hold it Against Me and was excited for her new sound.

I finally received my CD yesterday, and I think that Femme Fatale shows a Britney who’s back to herself. Circus was an improvement, but she still hadn’t regained independence in her life. I’d say she’s back on track, but who really knows.

In Femme Fatale’s album she looks beautiful, fresh, and happy. Her hair also looks much better. I’ve found her locks to be lacking these past few years. More importantly, here is my take on her songs from this wicked album (spelled as on the back of the DC):

1. till the world ends: This is one of those tracks that makes you want to go on a long road trip with the sun shining bright. So happy and fun.

2. hold it against me: I often don’t agree with what songs get released off Britney’s albums, but I definitely agree with this one. It’s perfect, and I love the beat. The video doesn’t really match the song though, and I don’t understand why there’s brand promoting in it.

3. inside out: This song is about breaking up, but wanting to get it on one last time. Her voice sounds really pretty.

4. i wanna go: This dance song is awesome. She sounds a little bit like Nicole Scherzinger when she goes: “Shame on Me to need release” I like it.

5. how i roll: This song has a very different beat for britney, and is very ‘au courant’. A little slower than the other tracks so far. I also like this one. It sounds like she says: ‘you can be my fuck tonight’. I think she does, lol.

6.(drop dead) beautiful feat. sabi: This one sounds a little Lady Gaga-esque (not that I dislike Gaga). It’s good, but not one of my favourite on this album.

7. seal it with a kiss: This one is one of the weaker tracks as well. I hope it doesn’t get released. It sounds very similar to the song hot as ice from Blackout.

8. big fat bass feat will.i.am: LOVE this track. I listened to it at work for the first time and I was dancing at my desk. I had to stop myself just in case someone walked by. You can definitely hear the will.i.am influence in it.

9. trouble for me: I know her voice is being tweaked quite a bit but I definitely love her singing in this song. It’s different than her former albums. Definitely one of my favourites as well lol.

10. trip to my heart: This track has a pinch of a latin beat, and would be perfect for running.

11. gasoline: I don’t feel like there’s enough variety as far as tonality  in this song. It’s a bit monotone, but it’s still fun while you’re driving.

12. criminal: This song makes me think she’s referring to K-Fed haha. More of a ballad compared to the rest of the tunes on this album.

13. up ‘n down: I like the harmonic sounds in this song. “keep on watching me go down and up and down” The lyrics are pretty much referring to her status in the limelight and how it fluctuates.

14. he about to lose me: She sounds great singing in this song too. I feel as though either she’s trained up her voice or it’s being altered more than usual. It doesn’t sound altered though, I like it.

15. selfish: Meh. A bit boring compared to some of the other dance tracks. Still has you bob your head though.

16. don’t keep me waiting: This song has a rock undertone, but sounds very much like an afterthought to the album just to make it longer.

Overall the album is a dance album with varying beats and sounds, it is perfect for working out and driving, or mixing in at a party. Typically there’ll be songs on Britney’s album that I do have to skip through, but not this one. I really love it all.

One thing I will criticize about it is that the CD cover is the soft paper type which seams cheap to me. At least there’s still an inserted pamphlet with more pictures, but she has not provided her lyrics as she normally does. I hope I didn’t just get jipped because I bought it ahead of time.  Love you Britney!

~Darleya~

GreenPan is a Belgian Eco friendly cookware company that specializes in non-stick cookware that does not add harmful toxins to your food. In addition, their factories follow earth-friendly processes, which release 60% less C02 emissions than other manufacturers. While I’m still on the fence regarding the link between human C02 emissions and global warming, the PTFE-free aspect of this cookware and its price tag, are what drove me to try their products. I’d prefer not to be eating all those chemicals, you know?

That, and the fact that these frying pans are the most stick-free frying pans I have ever seen or used. Ever. They simply amaze both myself and my husband every time weI use them. Raw chicken, eggs, you name it! It’s sliding around on that pan with ease. These ceramic-based pans require very minimal grease.

In addition to the above, the cookware heats things faster. I was grilling my chicken, and had to double check the temperature a few times because it was sizzling much quicker than any T-Fal or Lagostina I’d ever used. Low and behold it was only just below medium. The results I’ve had speak for themselves. When the below sale is back on, I will go back and buy the bigger version of the two smaller pans I have. The regular price for GreenPan is also incredibly reasonable given their quality and results.

Since I still really enjoy my GreenPan cookware for baking (which are still in mint condition), I jumped when I saw the  Bali series frying pans on an early sale, which will be on again soon. Exclusively for Earth Day, (or rather between April 15th and 30th) a set of two Thermolon™ coated non-stick frying pans will cost just $39.99 compared to the regular price of around $80 if they were sold separately. GreenPan products are sold at Sears, London Drugs and gourmet shops across Canada, and are also sold in the the US among other International locations.

All was indeed pleasant until about a third way through our meal. I’ll get to that in a bit.

Milestones is a set of chain restaurants that are found in British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario. They pride themselves on being ‘au courant’ and modern. They usually have a bar with very exotic drink choices. Their menu offers a wide variety of choices for every taste or craving.

Friday I went to the trendy Milestones Ottawa on Sussex. This place is always busy. It being a Friday night, there was no room in the dining area, so we sat in the bar area. This didn’t phase us as we got one of the lower tables. I don’t really enjoy sitting in high chairs for eating, so that was good.

We each received our 10 oz wine glasses (I had my red Zinfandel), then selected our meals. The service was received at an acceptable pace given the day of the week and amount of people. I ordered the Grilled Mediterranean Chicken’, which is a grilled chicken breast, layered with Goat cheese, on a bed of Asian greens, chickpeas, roasted grape tomatoes, and pomegranate molasses. $17.99. My friend ordered the ‘Grilled Chicken Salad’, which is a hand-shaved chicken breast, crispy red corn tortilla strips and cilantro, tossed with honey-lime vinaigrette and drizzled with peanut sauce. $14.79.

My meal was absolutely delicious. It was a welcome change from the foods I’ve been eating, while not being too far away from what I should be eating. All was well, until I looked down to find this:

A curly black hair, that I grabbed, and found that I kept pulling, and pulling, it was so long and very intertwined in my chicken and goat cheese. I finally I got the whole thing, but at the end of it? Was a gross, gross chunk. Of what? We have NO idea. It looked like a hair that came out of your drain and had a chunk with it.

I wish we took a pictures. Both of us immediately lost our appetites. It was that gross. The waitress came, we showed her our treasure, and she too had a look of disgust on her face. She took away both our meals as there was no way my friend was going to be able to keep eating after that either. The manager came over, apologized, and told us that we would not be paying our meals. He offered us complimentary desserts, but we really wanted nothing to do with their kitchen.

We finished our glasses of wine, and were not impressed with the fact that we still had to pay. The manager had insisted that he could take care of anything we wanted, so we didn’t  even think we’d have to pay for our wine. But then when she brought us our bills for the wine, I decided I would write this review. Neither my friend or myself are good at confrontation.

Milestones Ottawa on Sussex is not the quality establishment it makes itself out to be. I would strongly urge you to stay away, or eat there at your own risk.

~Darleya~

Luckily, soy milk is not the only alternative anymore. Walking through the organics aisle, I came across these Almond Breeze beverages.

Not having any expectations, I was very pleasantly surprised. My gosh, the chocolate Almond Breeze drink is so delicious! It also has 20% of your daily calcium, and 1 g of fibre. I was very impressed. I also tried the Vanilla Almond Breeze as it is perfect for adding to my morning coffees. I’ve been forced to drink black coffee with a pinch of sugar, but not that I have the vanilla almond breeze, I don’t need either! It’s quite perfect. It is soy free, and lactose free. I am very happy that I’ve tried Almond Breeze. I can taste that it is not milk(not ever actually liking the taste of plain milk), but the chocolaty almond flavour is just so delicious, I feel like I’m drinking a fancy dessert.

The ingredients are: Almondmilk (filtered water, almonds), evaporated cane juice, cocoa (dutch process, calcium carbonate, sea salt, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2, natural vitamin E.

Purified water, evaporated cane juice, almonds, cocoa (Dutch Process), tricalcium phosphate, sea salt, potassium citrate, carrageenan, natural flavors, soy lecithin, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2, and natural vitamin E.
While I don’t know what ALL the ingredients are, I still feel that the Amond Breeze beverages, are very healthy for you. You can also buy the calorie free and no-sugar added versions, but at this point, I can use the calories.

My next attempt will be to buy the plain Almond Breeze and add it to my morning fruit shakes as a close friend has suggested. Should be delicious, and will added some extra protein and carbs.

I also like to have a glass of chocolate almond breeze right before bed as it actually relaxes me quite nicely.

Almond Breeze is made by Blue Diamond, and comes in refrigerated versions and shelf versions found in the organics aisles. I’ve been buying the shelf versions for now.

Try it out!

Darleya

My enjoyment of it.

I always thought of Nutella as junk food that tried to be in the healthy breakfast category. I’d tried it once or twice when I was a kid, but never decided to buy it myself. Nutella has been around since 1949 and is originally from Italy.

I blame my husband for this new addiction since he came home with it one day recently.

That, and the fact that I’m so restricted on food right now.

Why have I allowed myself to indulge in Nutella by the, ahem, spoonfuls at times?

It contains no preservatives, no artificial food colorants, and is filled with hazelnuts. I’m allowed hazelnuts, maybe not chocolate, but hazelnuts; yes. Due to this, it contains fiber.

And HELL yes is Nutella ever delicious. It only has 100 calories per tablespoon for the calorie conscious. Its ingredients are sugar, modified palm oil, hazelnuts, cocoa, skim milk powder, whey powder, soy lecithin, and vanillin. Skim milk and soy. Both very healthy. I would totally feed my future children this for breakfasts on toast, say once per week.

I love the stuff, and totally recommend it if you’ve never tried it. It is delicious topped on ice cream, toast, and especially bananas.

I typically eat it alone(hey it’s THAT fantastic) since I’m not allowed any of the above-mentioned accompaniments.

Try it!

~Darleya~

As some of you may know, I already use Dior’s Blackout Dior Show mascara, and I love the quality of it. At the Dior counter at The Bay, my regular mascara costs me $35.00. Last week, I decided to go and check it out. I was already determined to buy it, but not if it was over $50. To my luck, it was actually only $39.00 so 4 dollars more.

This mascara, is essentially a mascara for the lazy. How perfect for me! The tube comes in two parts. The lid and wand, and the mascara with a little lid. It came with a whole booklet with instructions, but I didn’t pay them any attention.

Instead, I looked at the mechanism, and turn the little dial. It rotates and a fairly slow speed, and can go in either direction.  I turned it off to dip it into the mascara, and will continue to do it this way. I don’t want to waste the batteries on this sucker.

So anyways, it’s a treat to use. Making sure that the rotation is proper for the eye you’re going to do first, you just bring the wand up as you normally would. All you have to do is brush it sideways and thanks to the rotation it gives you a perfect application every time. When I’m finished with the top lid of one eye, I keep the same rotation going then do the bottom lash of my other eye. Then I turn it off, re-dip, and rotate it the opposite way for the top last of the other eye, then the bottom lash of the first eye. Simple!

Overall, my mascara is applied quicker, and has less chance of clumping. My lashes have never looked more full, open, and pretty. I can definitely tell the difference with this tool. Although it is definitely a luxury item, and not a necessity, I think I’m prepared to continue paying $4.00 more for it. It sort of amuses me, and with me not being a morning person, I’ll take all the pleasantries I can get!

~Darleya~

You’re led to believe that this movie will be a nice romance movie, but be weary of the work ‘blue’. Yes, there are some romantic parts in it, but the theme of the movie is so dark that you don’t fully get swept up into the ‘aww’ moments.

The maker of this movie was creative, in that they show the relationship and how their lives are at the present time, but then show flashback scenes of when they met, and how. It’ll make you really want to see the past much more than the present.

Don’t let the movie’s descriptions fool you. This movie is a tragedy, but it is one that is showed done in a very realistic manner. Through the way it is filmed, with the awkward up close shots, you really see the emotion on the characters’ faces, which makes it seem very real. Relationships ARE like this, and it’s really too bad.

The basic plot is of a poor man with a lot of love to give, falls head over heals in love with a girl. This girl seems to love him, but you’re never sure if she ever really did. Later in life they have marital problems. His lack of desire to pursue better careers because of his contentment with his family life, in addition to the far too-playful attitude by a man with a bit of a drinking problem, leads them into marital boredom. You feel really bad for the husband for he makes all of the effort yet gets turned down, again and again. His wife cannot communicate, and eventually blows up.

You’re left feeling down after this movie. My mom and I went into it thinking we’d find ourselves a really cute romance film. You leave feeling sort of depressed. It is also a slow and quiet movie. Not a lot happens, although all of the acting is extremely well done.

Watch this movie, but do not expect it to be a romance novel. It isn’t.

LoL is a lot of fun. Especially if you know other people who play. I’m lucky enough to always have someone to play with, since I married a gamer. Now that I know this game well, I totally play it alone, and would recommend it just as well.  Knowing myself though, I’d have never tried it if it weren’t for my spouse, but it’s awesome.

League of Legends is team-based DotA type game, where you play custom, normal, or ranked online games against other players worldwide, or against bots, namely, computer characters. All games are team based, but you can play 1 vs. 1., 3 vs. 3, or 5 vs.5. At the moment there are only two different playing fields, Summoner’s Rift(5 v 5), or the Twisted Treeline(3 v 3).

Before I explain a bit of the gameplay, I have to say that this game is very colourful, has great animation, and a really nice music to it. Having the game screen left on when you’re not playing, is nice and relaxing I find. Yes, I’m a super geek. We know this already.

So basically, your character is a champion, one of 82 hero characters that you level up over the course of a game match(or map). Each character is totally unique with different skills and strengths. You can either play a champion that is a tank class, a mage class, a support class, a fighter class, or an assassin class.

There are two sides to every game, and your goal is to cross to the other team’s side, and destroy their base. Each side releases ‘minions’ which assist the champions in attaining their goal. Along the way there are turret towers to take down, the opposing team’s automated minions to combat, and summoners to destroy; in addition to the other team’s champions.

During LoL you have unlimited lives, but the more you die, the more gold the other team gains which increases their chances at winning. With more gold you can buy yourself better armor, weapons, or magic items. You have to be skilled at playing stealthily, cautiously, and to strike when it counts.

The game-play is very intense, especially when the skill level of both sides is closely matched up. You can get very very angry and frustrated when you lose, but feel awesome when you win.

The more games you win, the better your rankings are and the more master skill points you receive. You need to chose your skill points wisely, for instance, do you want to have a stronger champion, or one that retains mana better? With so many champions to chose from, and no restrictions to which one you take each time, you will have to decide whether to cater more to one class, or another. By no restrictions I mean you can chose a champion from any class type. Out of the 68, only a certain amount of free champions are available to take at once. These change ever so often. You can still take the other champions that are currently greyed out, but you must purchase them with your in game points. Yet another reason why winning is key.

I highly recommend this game. It is currently my favourite, and I’ve been playing quite frequently. I’m definitely not up to par with most players, but I keep learning, and gaining skills.

See you in game!

~Darleya~

The MarcAngelo Tzatziki sauce is not a sour cream based tzatziki. Our regular choice for tzatziki was unavailable, and so I decided to try this brand. MarcAngelo’s tzatziki, is found in an odd spot at your grocery stores. Instead of being either with all of the dips and hummuses, etc, or with the yogurts, this tzatziki is found near the bacon, next to some of the company’s other meat products.

The tzatziki claims to be of Mediterranean quality. Yes, the tzatziki has its own claims, ok?

So anyhow, this tzatziki isn’t bad. It’s not that great, either. I feel like there’s an inherent ingredient missing from it. There isn’t nearly enough flavour, and it has a sort of chalky aftertaste. I couldn’t tell you what the missing ingredient is, as I’ve never made tzatziki sauce before, but I’m leaning towards garlic and spices, or maybe some lemon juice?

The good thing about this tzatziki is that it contains no unnatural ingredients. There are no preservatives. Its ingredients are as follows: Yogurt, cucumber, garlic, canola oil, salt. That’s it! I ate it all, which is a good sign, but if I’m forced to buy this type again, I will attempt to add flavour to it myself.

MarcAngelo is a Canadian company, but their products are sold in major retail grocery stores across United States in addition to everywhere in Canada.

~Darleya~

The emphasEYES aqua-gel eyeliner by tarte is a cooling, absorbing, long-wearing eyeliner. It is made with an aqua-based gel, and is branded as capturing the high pigment concentration and staying power of a gel pot in an effortless pencil.

I’ve been an eyeliner wearer for years, and always put eyeliner on my inner eye rim. Eyeliner on your inner rim never has the staying power like liner on your top lash, for instance. What I like about this eyeliner is that it is incredibly smooth and creamy. You actually feel the wet coolness of it as you apply it.

Unfortunately, putting it on my inner eye rim turned out bad. This eyeliner is supposed to be natural, yet it burns my eyes and gets into my eye, likely because it is still wet when applied. I’ve tried it numerous times, and even tried to hold down my lower lash line to let it air dry, to see if it improved any eye pain. It didn’t.

I now only use this eyeliner for my top lash line, because of this unavoidable burn if it goes on my inner rim. It’s really a shame, because the best part about this eyeliner was the speed with which you can apply it. It just really doesn’t feel safe for my eyes, and that means that for $18, I won’t be buying the emphasEYES aqua-gel liners again, but will definitely continue to try other tarte products, and more specifically; the other natural high-definition emphasEYES liner that is intended for inner eye rims. I should have gotten that one in the first place I think. Tarte products can be found at Sephora, among many other places, and online at tarte.

~Darleya~

I once found a really awesome knife block that functioned very much like the one I’ll describe here today, but it was very very expensive and out of my budget at the time because it also sharpened your knives. I never found it again, unfortunately.

The Bodum knife blocks are very funky. They come in eight different colors, to add pop to any kitchen. My husband surprised me with one in my stocking this year, and I couldn’t’ have been any happier. I have finally been able to stop using the boxes that my good knives came in!

There’s no rule as to where you have to place your knives. You can place them anywhere in your knife block,because the inside is made of a bunch of very fine plastic sticks allowing any knife to sit anywhere in the block – tight and secure.

The block itself is also very compact, and doesn’t take up much counter space at all; which is a definite plus. Bodum is a British company, but their products are also sold online, and at a myriad of kitchen stores worldwide, including The Zone, here in Ottawa.

Our Bodum knife block was bought on Amazon for 39.99$ CAD which is very reasonable. It looks especially awesome with my colourful Scanpan knives.

Enjoy,

~Darleya~

I bought myself the Rose Classique colour. It is the perfect shade for my complexion and looks very natural. The tip of these lip stains is just like a highlighter marker. There is also a little bit of a fruity smell to them, but it goes away once dry.

Now, although I really love the color of this lip stain, the purpose of a lip stain is for it to stay on your lips all day long.

This really is not the case. This little tube of lip stain costs $20.00. It was a bit of a spur of the moment purchase for me, but had I known that it didn’t stay put anywhere near as good as I thought it would, I wouldn’t have spent that much on it.

I will still use my lip stain, because it does give a really nice shade to my lips, and it’s a good option for me because I really don’t like wearing lipsticks, and glosses typically annoy me with their stickiness.

If you’re like me, and dislike lipsticks, then you’d probably like these hydra lip stains. Just don’t assume that they’ll last all day long as promised.

~Darleya~

I hadn’t.

I got one in my stocking this year thanks to Santa. The NSD Powerball Gyroscope is quite amazing.

It’s this little ball that contains an inner ball that spins on itself when started by a sting wind-up, then continued with your own wrist’s movements.

This ball is a tool used for exercise, sports training, rehabilitation(carpal tunnel), music(pianists), and fun!

The trick is to keep the ball rotating by moving your wrist in a circular consistent motion. The ball has a grip on it so that you know where to hold, in addition to a digital display which can show you numerous features, including the speed of revolutions you attained.

Not knowing what this was at first, my husband eagerly took it out of the box, even though it was my toy, and proceeded to show me how it worked.

Well, he struggled quite a bit to get it going. He tried many times to no success, but as I watched him, I thought I could see what he was doing wrong. So finally I got my turn, and on my first try, I got it going!

The trick is to really be consistent with your revolutions, starting slowly at the start. You want to only move your wrist, and not your whole arm. That’s where he was going wrong. If you start to hear the inner ball knowcking, it means you aren’t doing it right.

It’s an amazing feeling once it gets going! The faster you go, the more and more tension builds up, and it becomes increasingly difficult to keep your grasp on it, and keep rotating faster. It’s a natural power creator, and the faster you go, the more it’ll light up as well. It goes bright bright red(or blue), the quicker you move it. It’s a really cool visual, especially in the dark.

After some lessons from the natural Powerball pro, myself, my husband finally got the hang of it. We used it so much that first day that our arms were definitely sore the next. It’s a great tool to improve your forearm strengh, in addition to many other arms muscles, depending on where you hold it while spinning. It really works! You can purchase them off the official website, or on Amazon at cheaper prices.

To get a glimpse at what I’m talking about, here’s a youtube instructional video made by a young boy. There are many youtube videos out there, including world record attempts.

This ball is a fun little gadget that I now have at my desk at work. I have a weaker left arm thanks to a childhood accident, and this ball should really help me strengthen it. A really nice surprise from Santa.

Enjoy,

~Darleya~

This year, President’s Choice has released a new box-set of delicious puff pastry hors d’oeuvres to add to their already substantive collection.

The new packages comes with 40 hors d’oeuvres in 4 different flavours:  chicken sausage rolls, swiss, gruyère & smoked ham boats, roasted sweet potato & goat cheese rolls, and apple, smoked gouda & caramalized onions lattice rolls. All of the above are extremely delicious. If you’re hosting people this holiday season, then you have to run out and grab a box of these little delights. I cannot stop eating them. $7.99 at any Loblaws-branded supermarket.

They are simply fantastic.

Another puff pastry treat by President’s choice is their fig & goat’s cheese blooms. These have been a favourite of mine ever since they came out about three years ago. They are seriously addictive and a perfect addition to an hors d’oeuvres soirée. There are 12 in this package, and they come in individual mini pie plates so that they keep their bloom shape while cooking. I actually like to cook them without the pie plates, because I like it when they flatten out a bit. It’s just my personal preference. $6.99 at any Loblaws-branded supermarket.

Also delicious, and in their puff pastry collection is the PC Cheese Hors d’oeuvres pack, which includes 4 varieties of unique cheese fillings. Cheese & Onion puffs, Mushroom & Cheese Triangles, Cheese Tomato & Pesto crescents, and Cheese & spinach puffs. This variety, while not quite as fantastic as their latest creation, still offers some pizazz to your pallet. My favourite from this pack is the cheese & onion. $7.99 at any Loblaws-branded supermarket.

Yet another pack by President’s choice is their PC Mediterranean Hors D’Oeuvres, which include 4 more choices for your guests. Creamy Artichoke & Spinach, roasted red pepper & three-cheeses, Caramelized onion & Asiago cheese, and Feta Cheese and Sun-dried tomato. These ones are neat looking. When frozen they are simply little balls of filling laid out on flat pastry. They come to life once baked. $8.99 at any Loblaws-branded supermarket.

The last two of their puff pastry collection are their mini Beef Wellingtons and their Wild Pacific Salmon mini Wellingtons. Both look really cute once cooked. I haven’t tried the salmon ones, just because I’m not a big salmon fan, but I’m confident that a salmon lover would enjoy these. $8.99 at any Loblaws-branded supermarket.

Christmas eve and New Years are our main hors d’oeuvres soirées. I love eating finger foods, they are far more interesting because you get such a wide variety of flavours, and you can eat them anywhere.

Enjoy!

~Darleya~

A few years ago, we bought this stand, and have not been disappointed. This stand has a swivel, which makes it exceptionally easier to put up your tree. You can even set up your tree alone!

The Swivel Straight XTS3  tree stand is very easy to use. You must first attach the smaller rounded part onto your tree trunk while the tree is laying down. You can then lift your tree, including the compartment attached to it, then just flip it onto the swivel where it clicks in.

All you have to do next, is make your tree stand up nice and straight by unlocking the swivel base with the lever, and shifting it around until you are satisfied that the tree is straight. Once straight, lock the base once again with the lever and you are done!

This tree stand can hold any tree up to 10 feet tall and 100 lbs. Some of these tree stands come with a side water dispenser; ours does. The water dispenser doesn’t seem to be included on the ones sold today, and I can attest to the reason. After a while, the mechanism for the water dispenser gets loose, and it starts to leak. We solved the problem by just leaving the dispenser on the stand and filling it directly instead of removing it to transport to the sink.

Even without a dispenser, this stand holds plenty of water to feed your tree.

A fun side tip I learned from Blahggy, is to add 1 can of Sprite or Ginger Ale to your water mix, in addition to a small capful of bleach. This will both feed your tree with extra sweet nutrients, and, once time to dispose, the tree stand will not smell all moldy as they typically do.

The Swivel Straight Tree Stand is currently available at Canadian Tire for $59.99, in addition to numerous other retailers, including Amazon online.

~Darleya~

Recently, we bought the gigantic bottle of orginal Frank’s RedHot sauce, and it came with a smaller RedHot BBQ Wing Sauce.

Now, I’m not one for eating chicken wings because they sort of gross me out; but that’s just my odd taste. Who needs to use things for what they’re intended for? Certainly not I, and I would have never tried this sauce had it not been conjoined with the large Original Frank’s Red.

Luckily, I did get to try it, because the Frank’s RedHot BBQ Wing Sauce is superb! I didn’t really have any expectations for it, so it certainly was a pleasant surprise. The sauce tastes like a cross between Bull’s Eye’s original BBQ sauce, and Frank’s RedHot itself. So basically, it is sweet, but with a good amount of kick. Not so much kick that will have you racing for bread or water, but enough so that you notice its steaminess.

I love this new sauce, and I’ve started using it with numerous food items, including pizza, grilled cheeses, rice, you name it! It’s an excellent addition to the numerous condiments and sauces in my fridge, and I highly recommend that you try it.

~Darleya~

Vtech Cordless Phone DS Series DS6211-4

These Vtech phones come with DECT 6.0 Digital Technology for clarity and range, have caller ID display, and display dialing. Vtech’s sales motto is: ”Where Amazing begins”.

Um, NO. “Where the worst products ever begin”.

We’d tried Vtech phones in the past and had problems with them, but when we decided to buy a pack of multiple cordless phones, we gave Vtech another chance, because they have the lowest prices.

At $119, the DS6211-4 series looks nice, the phones are sleek to hold, and have an easy button system. The problem with these phones are their battery life. The phones start off with seemingly long lives, but after only 1 month of usage, they would die within a few hours of not being on the receiver. In our household, this is a huge problem, because there is a phone walker.

What is a phone walker you say? Well a phone walker is a person that walks around everywhere while on the phone, then proceeds to leave said phone wherever the conversation ends. This means that it never ends up back on its receiver.
The Vtech phones proved themselves to be useless. Their battery life worsens very quickly over time. Do not buy these phones, or any Vtech phone for that matter, you will be greatly disappointed.

GE Cordless 5.8Ghz Model 28021EE3

We then upgraded (or so we thought) to this cordless phone set by General Electric. General Electric being a large reputable electronics and appliance manufacturer, we assumed that their cordless phones must be of quality. The phones retailed for around $130 CAD.
 
The GE phones, at 5.8Hz, seemed clear enough to me as far as sound quality. These phones also featured DECT 6.0 technology, had call display, in addition to speakerphone. The phones were a little more cumbersome to hold, in that they could easily slip right out of your hand. There wasn’t much as far as grip was concerned.
 
Aside from the material aspects of these phones, they had one major problem. After just a few months of using them, if you didn’t know what base your phone went on, and placed it on a different base, it would un-sync itself and be unusable until you’d re-program it. This really did not bode well at all with the phone walker. Phones were de-syncing left and right, and I myself never really took initiative to learn how to re-program them every time. So it was up to the phone walker.
 
This meant for some hasty runs up the stairs to our only land-line phone in the office. With no trustworthy cordless phones to be found, this became our only and unacceptable option.

Time to try again.

Panasonic KX-TG4034B digital cordless answering system

The Panasonic digital cordless answering system comes with 4 handsets, 3 small bases, and 1 principal base. These phones have bright call display, and talking call display. In addition to this, these phones have an answering machine that you can listen to from any of the handsets.

After 4 months of owning these phones I can confidently say that we have found no issues. No matter where we are in the house, we can hear who’s calling in a wonderful robotic female voice. We had concerns that we might lose our voice messages should the power go out, but these phones are all equipped with memory capacity which prevents such an occurrence.

The handsets have a non-slip design which is great. The phones have no synching issues, you can dock the phones at any base, and they’ll work fine. The answering machine works very well, and it’s handy to be able to check messages from any phone in the house. This system retails from anywhere between $149.99 and $199.99 CAD.

In a brand war, I really dislike having to declare the most expensive option as being the best, but in this case, both the GE and the Vtech options are completely over-valued at their current low prices. They are not worth it in the slightest. We are finally very happy to have solved the major phone issue in our house. I highly recommend the Panasonic phones.

~Darleya~

Every turn, each player must denote the number of tricks they predict to have. The first hand, only 1 card is distributed to each player meaning there is only one trick to be won. The second hand, it is two cards, and so on until the last round, where all cards are dealt. The game is over after the hand in which all cards are dealt. (You can later make silent trick-calling by writing them down as proof, so that no one knows whether their stats are risky or not.)

The difficulty in this game, is the fact that you get penalized for incorrect predictions. Should you go over, you get minus 10 points. If you go under, it’s -10 points; that if you’re only off by one trick! The game gets more and more interesting as you progress, because people will start predicting more tricks than are possible in the round, or less tricks. This means, someone is definitely losing points; but who?

Tricks are won by either the highest card or the highest trump card. At the start of each round, after the hands are dealt, a card is flipped to determine trump. Wizards add extra challenge as they beat all trump cards, and all high cards. Only the first wizard plays will count, so it is pointless to play a wizard after someone else has; unless you have no choice. Jester cards serve as neutral or nil cards, should you not want to win tricks by mistake.

The game is a lot of fun, you’ll end up playing round after round. This game is perfect among groups of close friends, families, or for chillings at cottages. You’ll always have tons of fun, and will keep coming back to this classic 1984 game.

The game can be found at Walmart, online at Amazon, or any game store. (Among other places) It’s also a perfect stocking stuffer.

Enjoy!

~Darleya~

Half of the time, I’ll just make some myself with real cranberry juice and gingerale, but, it’s nice to have the pre-made versions as well, since it is much quicker, and handier when you’re serving drinks to many people.

I’ve recently tried two different pre-made cranberry ginger ales and I’ve compared them for you here. President’s Choice Cranberry Gingerale and the classic Canada Dry Cranberry Ginger Ale. Both drinks also come in diet versions, but I’m really not a fan of diet sodas.

PC Cranberry Gingerale

The PC Cranberry Gingerale 2L bottle costs around $99, or less. It can be found at all Loblaw company grocery stores.The first thing I noticed when trying the PC version, was that you can really notice the tartness of the cranberries. I’m left with an aftertaste very similar to one from eating actual dried cranberries. There’s something about this flavour though, it’s a little too tart. I don’t notice enough of the sweetness of ginger ale. It’s still very good, and sells for a bit less than the regular brand name. It doesn’t quite leave me with the right aftertaste though. It’s too mild of a flavour, while being too tart at the same time.

Canada Dry Cranberry Ginger Ale

I’ve been having this drink ever since I was little at my Grandmothers. She always had some around. maybe I’m a little biased to it, but I have both drinks in front of me, and strictly based on taste, this one is sweeter. Not an overpowering sweet, but just the right hint of sugar to tart balance. Canada Dry’s version tastes much more similar to when I mix ginger ale and cranberry juice myself. The 2L bottle sells around $1.99, but often goes on sale. The Canada Dry Cranberry Ginger Ale would work best when mixed with alcohol, simply because it has the stronger taste on its own. You would taste the alcohol a lot less with this one.

Based on my tastebuds, I declare the traditional Canada Dry Cranberry Ginger Ale to be the better drink. Sorry, PC, you just can’t win them all!

~Darleya~

I then noticed a very similar-coloured dip, and saw that it was the same main ingredients, so I picked up two.

As soon as I got home, I plopped my grocery bag  and purse on the counter, unloaded my extra fiber pita bread, and tore open this new feta cheese and red pepper dip.

My acute taste buds have confirmed that this was indeed the very same dip as my beloved Tyrokavteri. Phew!

I guess sales (or lack thereof) suggested that some people were taken aback by the “foreign-sounding” title. I certainly did not fall into that category. Tyrokavteri is totally fun to say. Plus, all they had to do was read the sub-title of ingredients. Oh well!

My favourite store-bought dip is now officially called ‘Feta Cheese and Roasted Red Pepper Dip‘, and I am so happy that it is back on the shelves at all President’s Choice Loblaws locations.

The other brands of red pepper feta cheese dips do not even compare to how delicious this dip is. It makes an excellent snack or hors d’oeuvre accompaniment.

Enjoy!

~Darleya~

Their website can display prices in either American or Canadian dollars, which is nice when you’re buying from the US and live in Canada. All of their items have detailed descriptions and photos that you can mouse over and zoom in on.

In addition, every item also has reviews by people that have purchased the same item, received it, then describe exactly how it was once they got it. Was it what they expected, did it fit differently, etc etc. It is very helpful and promotes good faith in their merchandise.

The prices on Free People are very reasonable for what you get. You’re paying for originality and quality. Everything that I’ve bought from there has been of utmost quality. I really enjoy shopping on their website because no one else here will have the same clothing. Except maybe now that I’m sharing my secrets.

They also have excellent sales section, and since they have new inventory every week, if you see something that you love, like this beautiful military sweater(pictured), it’ll most likely eventually be on sale. This one isn’t just yet, but I’m keeping my hopes up, or may just add it to my Christmas list.

Go and check it out ladies, you will love the styles.

~Darleya~

Ryvita is a food product company from Dorset England in 1930 that has recently been introduced to North America. They have a wide variety of flavoured whole grain rye crispbread crackers among other goods.
 
These crackers, or crispbreads, are genuinely healthy, crunchy, and tasty. They are high in fibre, Vitamin E and Phosphorus in addition to other benefits depending on the flavour.

As noted above, there are a wide variety of flavours of crispbread, including: Sweet Onion, Cracked Black Pepper, Original, Dark Rye, Sesame, Multigrain, Sunflower Seed & Oats, Pumpkin Seeds & Oats, and Fruit Crunch. They also sell their multi-grain and sesame varieties in snack packs.

You can do so much with these slices of crispbread. There are many recipe ideas on their website, but one of my favourite things to do is to top them with cream cheese and Frank’s Red Hot sauce. Mmmmm. Or even better? Goat’s cheese.

Even if you’re not dieting, I highly recommend these crackers. They are delicious, and so good for you. I haven not tried all the flavours yet, but so far my favourite is the Sunflower Seeds & oats version.

I will continue to try all or most of their flavours. These are perfect for serving as hors d’oeuvres with a fancy topping, or, as an afternoon snack at the office to tie you over until dinner.

Enjoy!

~Darleya~

This game can be played with as many people as you’d like, which is first off, very good when you have large extended families. It’s always nice to be able to include everyone at a family or social gathering.

This game is a tremendous amount of fun. It is a very simple game, but will provide you with many memorable laughs.

The basic game-play is as follows. Each round, there is a ‘reader’. The reader chooses a diagram card. These diagram cards have a very wide variety of pictures and scenes on them. The reader has to describe the image verbally to the rest of the players. These players do not get to see the image, but must draw according to the reader’s verbal instructions.

There is only 90 seconds for this to take place. Once the time runs out and everyone has drawn what they’ve heard, the reader uncovers a series of criteria questions that are used to grade every one’s drawing to see how they were able to interpret and draw accordingly. The drawings are swapped among players to do the grading. No one grades their own picture.

The reader never sees the criteria questions while they’re describing the pictures, so they don’t know what will end up being important. The reader then scores points according to how many criteria questions were obtained by the players. The players get points for each one they get right, in addition to a bonus question, which is predetermined with a dice roll at the start.

This game is frankly hilarious, people’s drawings look very ridiculous, it’s a challenge to listen and draw at the same time. You’ll find yourself drawing the first things the reader says, but you’re so concentrated on your drawing that you’ll miss what they say next.

It is so much fun, and everyone gets a change to be the reader. I highly recommend this game to anyone, especially if you host family and friends over.  With the holidays coming up, this would be a perfect Christmas present for the family.

Also, for some good adult amusement, since the game is not complicated it can also be played while alcohol is served.

Enjoy!

~Darleya~

The reason I bought this cream was because my Vitamin Enriched Defense Cream was a heavier, and more for the winter, so once summer came, I wanted something a bit lighter.

The Emergin C cream is found at the Caryl Baker store among other places, and what I liked about this one is that it can be used as both a night cream and a day cream. I can feel a sort of soothing when I apply this cream. It does wonders for my often tired skin, and is very gentle while having caused no irritation or blemishes.

As far as skin care, it’s a pricier option. It retails for $85.00 but if you’re a member of Caryl Baker, they’ll sell it for $75.00. I am not a member of the Caryl Baker store, but, they still gave me the discount. Their memberships are more for people that get their eyebrows done, and since I do that myself, they realized that a membership was useless to me, and still offered the discount.

As with most expensive skin care, you really don’t need a lot of this product. A little goes a very long way.

Here is the product’s full description: A super energizer for the skin with fabulous antioxidant Alpha-Lipoic Acid, Coenzyme Q10 and Rose Extract. An intense hydrator and skin enhancer infused with herbal extracts and vitamins for advanced skin care. Alpha-Lipoic Acid not only neutralizes free radicals, but also works together with other vitamins in order to increase their potency. Rose Extract soothes and calms skin.

I really like this cream.  I will buy this again once I run out, but may opt for the Emergin C Protocell Bio-Active Apple Stem Cell Combat Cream to fight aging. Hey, it’s better to start fighting wrinkles early!

~Darleya~

The 3-inch LCD monitor has anti-reflection coating so that you can see your pictures clearly in any lighting condition. This camera weighs more than your typical point and shoot, but keep in mind that it is the world’s thinnest 10X optical zoom. The extra weight is totally worth it.

What I like the most about this camera is its ability to take perfect photos while you are moving around. It still shocks me every time I take moving pictures. I have no idea how they can be so still and crisp, but they are. I also don’t have to really think about what scene I’m in, because the auto function works very well.
 
With this camera I can take beautiful high definition videos of my aquarium, and photos of microscopic critters. The 10 X optical zoom on this camera functions like a professional DSLR camera, but at a fraction of the cost. When you zoom in, its auto focus happens within seconds, and you have very detailed zoomed pictures.
 
It is very easy to take videos with this camera, you do not have to go into your settings and switch it to video. Instead, there is a simple record button that you can press at any time to start recording videos. This is perfect for in the moment captures, and would be especially useful when you want to capture the moments of young children.
 
I am very pleased with this camera, it is of top quality, and my pictures are beautiful. I highly recommend this camera to people who want a simple point and shoot, but with the quality high definition pictures and videos that are comparable to the much more expensive DSLR cameras.

The only little thing I would change is the flash pop-up. It pops up right where you would naturally have your finger, so I always have to warn people to watch out for the flash.

The price varies for this camera, depending on where you buy it and what deals they have going. At most it’ll retail for $279.99. I think I got mine for $210.00 at Audiotronics.

Enjoy!

~Darleya~

That, and clearly I love real butter. Amen to bread and butter! Salted butter, is my butter of choice, but I’m not worried because I do not typically add salt to my cooking; unless specified in a recipe.

Gay Lea’s spreadable butter has a hint of unsaturated Canola Oil added, which gives it its smooth creamy consistency. In addition, they also pack in some Omega-3s for you; that fatty-acid that is supposed to benefit you in some way.

This spreadable butter tastes just like real butter, you really can’t tell the difference whatsoever. It is delicious, and really easy to use!

The only problem now is that I’m constantly finding myself making excuses to keep eating more butter with many different things; so it doesn’t last nearly as long as a traditional brick.

Enjoy!

~Darleya~

P.S I love their add that says: “Margarine, is, like so freaked out right now!”

I put a small Band-Aid on my pinky toe from a summer sandal blister, and, because it was still too  long, it had to double-up onto itself, which is typical when bandaging a toe. So let me tell you that when I went to remove it, I absolutely could not separate the Band-Aid from itself. To get that thing off, I basically had to scratch at it forever, failed, then had to stretch the Band-Aid’s material and use scissors to cut it because it was so damn sticky.
 
I then went and assumed that my difficulties with these Band-Aids on my toe were due to the fact that the Band-Aid doubled onto itself, so I gave it another shot.
 
I used the little circle Band-Aid on my face unfortunately, yes, to cover up a “picked” zit. To get that darn thing off, I had to scratch at my skin around it to get the damn band-aid started so that I could actually peel it off. Scratch at my face. Not good.
 
Now I’m an adult here, and these Band-Aids hurt ME, and were extremely cumbersome to say the least. Band-Aids are used most commonly on children, mainly because they’re rambunctious little creatures that get injured a lot. I can’t imagine putting a child through the removal process of these Band-Aids.
 
So, it suffices to say that I won’t be buying the Comfort-Flex Band-Aids anymore. The Band-Aid brand makes many other varieties of course, so I won’t stop trying their other products, but will certainly stay away from these ones.
 
~Darleya~

As you may have noticed from my energy drink brand war, I like energy drinks. I know, I know, they aren’t really good for me, but every once in a while; mainly weekends, I’ll indulge.

In that brand war, I stayed away from any of the sugar free or calorie free versions. This is because I’m personally not a fan of the sugar-free aspartame flavour.
 
That being sa  id, my husband came home with this Premium Pink Energy drink for me. It has zero calories, zero sugar, and no aspartame! Prior to even knowing this, I tried it.
 
I was pleasantly surprised. It is pink grapefruit flavoured, and I couldn’t tell at all that it was a zero-calorie drink. They sweeten it with sucralose, which is safe for diabetics.
Let me tell you that I absolutely loved the flavour of this energy drink, and I will definitely get it again. They certainly know what flavours attract women, and this drink is OBVIOUSLY targeted towards women. Or husbands.
 
~Darleya~

Aveeno makes some really great skin care products, so when I saw that they’d recently come out with a new line of body washes that contain exfoliants among other things; I had to try them.

These Positively Nourishing body washes have wonderful new fragrances; they have a pomegranate based-one, a lavender based-one, a lemongrass based-one, and a fig and shea butter based-one.

While this line of body washes smells incredible, I won’t be buying any again.

For some reason, they’ve decided to package them in a tall slim bottle with a thin push cap. You can’t squeeze the darn stuff out of it! It’s more of a fight with the bottle than having any sort of a lathery good time.

A friend of mine also bought one of these body washes to try, and she had the exact same experience as I did.

Unless Aveeno decides to fix their bottles, I can’t foresee anyone enjoying these great new scents and features; especially at their current cost of around $10.

~Darleya~

is a local Ottawa Jewellery store that has two locations, one at the Rideau Center, and the other at 799 Bank Street in the Glebe. The jewellery that is sold at Magpie is mostly sterling silver, and most off the designers are Canadian, with the few International exceptions. They have an online store in addition to their walk-in stores, where they sell many of their collections, but with fewer options.

There are some incredibly beautiful lines at Magpie. My favourite is the Silver Seasons line. I love how everything looks so delicate and right off of tree branches. I really want that clover necklace and those green leaf earrings. Oh and those intricate bangles by Holly Yashi. So beautiful.

Aside from the wonderful jewelry at Magpie, I have found their service to be excellent. Keeping in mind that there are always way too many people browsing their store, the staff at Magpie always take the time with their clients, and offer the exact same service whether you’re spending $400 or $40. In reference to the Rideau Center store specifically, the staff is always friendly, and won’t pressure you into anything. Be patient if they are with someone. They will not rush off their customers just because you are waiting. If you wait, you will get the same excellent service and time.

I have found most jewellery stores to be uncomfortable to shop in.  The store personnel always watches you and only speaks to you if it looks like you’re going to buy something expensive. At Magpie, I am unaware if they make commissions, but even with hoards of people in their little store, they are courteous and offer quality service that you just wouldn’t expect.

Magpie is my go-to place to shop for family and friends when it comes to jewelry, although I’ve really got to start shopping there for myself some day.

~Darleya~

Apples to Apples is one of those games that anyone and everyone can play.  Let’s say that you have to be at least 8 years old, otherwise you really won’t get the references. You can play up to 10 players, but with one of the expansion packs, even more people can join in.

The game is incredibly easy to play, but a whole lot of fun is had while doing so. There are two decks of cards in this game. A red deck, and a green deck. The red deck is filled with random objects, people, places, and so forth, while the green deck is filled with adjectives and descriptive words.

Everyone receives a handful of the ‘things’ or red cards, I think it is seven, or so. Each turn, someone becomes the ‘referee’, or the ‘judge’ if you will, and they must flip a green or description card from the draw deck and place it face up on the table. The rest of the players have to to pick, from the cards in their hands, the “thing card” that is the best match for that particular Description. This has to be done quickly! The last person to put a card down has to take it back and has no chance at a point.

Here comes the fun part. The judge then has to look at all the cards that were played, and best determine which card matches the flipped description. For an example, let’s say the description card was ‘romantic’., and say the cards people threw down were ‘Paris’, ‘Hot bath’, ‘candles’, ‘beach’, and “Hitler”.

These answers are not necessarily part of the game, but I’m just trying to come up with a decent example. The judge then decides what card is the winner. The people that put the cards down are allowed to fight for their card to try and convince the judge that their card is the best match.

The winner of each round keeps the ‘description or green’ card as a point.  The judge becomes the next person, and the play continues as such. The game winner is the person who gets to the allotted number of green cards. Typically, this is decided by the number of people playing, but we like to make it a bit higher so that the game lasts longer since it’s so much fun.

Often times, the cards in your hand don’t match the description card in the slightest, and this is where it can get funny. Everyone I have played this game with has loved it, and I definitely recomend it to anyone that enjoys games and laughs.

~Darleya~

OH, and this game mixes VERY WELL with alcohol

The Socializer comes with two eye  pens in which you ‘click’ out cream into a soft brush. One pen is called Bright Lights, while the other pen is called Late Nights. The premise behind having two seperate solutions is to treat the eye area differently, depending on what time of the day it is. For instance, if you worked all day long, are tired, but still want to go out at night, you’d use the ‘Late Nights’ pen to take the fatigue from under your eye area. If you partied all night(or have terrible insomnia) but have to work the next day, then you’d use the bright lights, to treat your eyes in the morning.

I was curious to see if the two solutions were actually different so I compared the ingredients. They are!

I am very pleased with my purchase of the Socializer. I’ve been using it for around three weeks now but it wasn’t until the other day that I tested the product without applying make-up afterwards to see if I noticed a difference. I really did notice that my eyes brightened up in about 10 minutes.

When you first apply the cream, you have to rub it in gently. Once it starts to sink in, you’ll feel the very slightest tingly or cooling sensation. This tells me that it’s doing something. I believe that this product works over a few hours based on my experience with it. Your eyes will continue to ‘de-fatigue’ as it progresses. It is by no means a miracle worker, but I can certainly tell the difference.  Once it settles into your skin(about 2 mins), you can continue with your regular make-up routine.

At $40, I am pleased with my purchase. I feel that it is worth the investment because I always have tired eyes, I need all of the help I can get. You can buy The Socializer online at the Elizabeth Grant store. It comes in the cutest silver tube that has a fashionista that can change outfits when you turn the tube. A very nice touch, if you ask me.

Once my creams run out, I will not hesitate to buy them again.

~Darleya~

At first I looked at this game and was shocked that it’s premise is about chopping off various noble’s heads for points. Gory, right? And how about inappropriate? Maybe a little. But it was already purchased and brought home, so I gave it a chance as I do with all games. The game’s premise is comedic, and not actually meant to offend anyone. It is for ages 12 and up due to its theme, although I think a mature enough 9-year old could play.

Guillotine happens to be a clever and competitive card game that’ll make you laugh. The game-play is not difficult, and not long. You have character or noble cards lined up, waiting to be executed. At the end is the guillotine. The characters are worth different amounts of points, based on their popularities. The goal is to score as many high ’noble heads’ that you can to win. There are also cards with negative points as they may have been innocent! Since the guillotine was used during the French revolution, the comical characters in this game are all from that era and area. For example, a high in card is the lovely Marie Antoinette.

The game also has another deck of cards which changes how the game is played. You may scramble the characters in line, move better ones forward, or ruin your opponents chances by attacking them, or stealing cards from them.

The game mixes both strategy and luck, although is weighed more on the luck side, since good cards can make all the difference. The game is different every time, and with varying numbers of players, the outcomes are also always different. I have yet to play with 5 players, but have played with 2, 3, and 4, and all games have been very amusing.

I enjoy 2-player games because they are very useful for couples when you are bored of your routine, and want something different. Plus, it’s always great to beat your spouse at anything. Guillotine is by no means difficult to learn, and only takes around 30 minutes to play.

Enjoy!

~Darleya~

Salt Water Taffy is an American specialty that originated in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Although it originated in New Jersey, Salt Water Taffy is also a known specialty of Salt Lake City, Utah.

A friend of mine was kind enough to send me a large bag of them a while back, so I thought I’d share my thoughts on it.

Despite the name, salt water taffy is not made with sea water.  It is instead made with sugar, cornstarch, corn syrup, glycerine, water, butter, salt, flavor, and food color.The candies are very sweet and soft. You can either chew them, or let them slowly dissolve. I enjoy letting them dissolve, because they do stick to your teeth.

The bag I received contained around 15 flavours. I was actually quite shocked at how remarkably well they mimicked the flavours of different fruits and desserts. The flavours for pear, peach, and blueberry were my favourite.

There’s pretty much a flavour for everyone in the bag I received. It also had Neapolitan, peppermint, and black licorice among others.

I found a Taffy store in Utah that also seems to have numerous other gourmet flavours to try. It is called Taffy Town; have a look.

If you haven’t had a chance to try salt water taffy, then I suggest you do. You will be pleasantly surprised at how delicious they are. Just don’t forget to brush your teeth!

~Darleya~

It seems that healthy non-plastic bottles are the craze nowadays, so of course I had to jump on that bankwagon. Browsing for nice-looking non-plastic water bottles is a bit of a chore, I found.

Most of these water bottles are expensive. Who wants to pay between $20-$40 for a water bottle? Certainly not I. Even though so many of them are very beautiful; as beautiful as a water bottle can be, I opted to find one that was priced more reasonably.

Water bottles by Kerplunk are just that. They have a wide variety of designs, are 100% stainless steel, and have the convenient looped lids for easy carriage at the gym. When you’re transporting weights around, it’s nice to be able to just loop your water bottle with an available finger, rather than having to have a hand handy. Hand, handy. I like that.

In addition to the health benefits of stainless steel, it also keeps your water cold much much longer. A piece of advice: Do not forget one of these bottles in the freezer filled with water. They can explode, as my friend’s did.

The Kerplunk water bottles are $10. This is very reasonable, considering that so many are overpriced. Kerplunk is a brand by The Madison Company from Toronto. These bottles can be found at many retailers. I found mine at Home Outfitters.

My bottle is light green with a pink cherry blossom branch on it. Very girly, but I like it. The lid on mine is different and smaller than the bottle pictured, but has the same design.

Enjoy!

~Darleya~

The restaurant is a Spanish tapas place in the evenings, and serves Canadian breakfast in the mornings.

I went there with my family a few weeks ago and so naturally, I enthusiastically suggested this new little local place.

The look of the restaurant is fine, nothing fancy though. Yellow walls with a few accent Mexican decor pieces. The staff was friendly, but disorganized.

I will not be returning to this tapas place. The menu was very limited, even for a Tapas place. The selections were also similar in nature, so variety was lacking.

We managed to pick out a few things and had a pitcher of Sangria. The Sangria was made with very cheap red wine and didn’t taste like much else was in it. It had apple pieces in it too, which we thought was odd. The pitcher was small and not very good at all.

When we saw our dishes arrive we were so very unimpressed. Tapas portions are small; yes. These portions were so very minuscule, especially the artichoke dish. On top of that, the artichokes were clearly from a can, and the sauce was certainly just a jar of regular mayonnaise with some spice thrown on top. The descriptions of the food sounded delicious, but the delivery was the complete opposite. It was very very bad. We also had 2 chorizo platters, which were pretty much the same, but with minor differences. I felt like I was eating leftover scraps that would best be served to the dogs.

Nothing felt like authentic cuisine, and none of it was fresh. We ordered 5 dishes at the start, and wished we’d only ordered one. When the 5 dishes were done we left that dump and went for some Fritomania Poutine next door.

Do not venture into this place, it isn’t good at all.

~Darleya~

(p.s my August banner is coming…this weekend)

For this music review, I’m going to do a song by song discussion. Christina Aguilera’s latest album is again totally different from her last ones. As the title suggests, Bionic has much more of a hip hop dance vibe to it rather than ballads and a focus on her strong voice. I also have to note that I find it interesting that she has dedicated the album to her son, when she is naked in most of the album pictures(with small things covering her bits up). It’s still sweet that she mentions her son.

Aguilera does not need to do the weird digital voice-tweaking that’s in all of hip hop nowadays, but she does it in Bionic. The album does not do any justice to her actual talent, rather, it is filled with a bunch of club songs(for the most part). I don’t know why she chose to do this when her voice is meant for powerful emotional ballads (like Hurt), but here are my thoughts.

1) Bionic – Borderline Cool. She sort of raps in it which is different for her, but I prefer it when she sings. The beat is pretty fun, but, the chorus is lame.

2)Not Myself Tonight – Definitely a good dance song. It reminds me slightly of the Car Wash song she did a few years ago though. Again, it’s not anything spectacular, but a fun car ride song.

3)Woo Hoo feat. Nicki Minaj- Has a hip hop vibe and reminds me of something Fergie would come out with. The parts she sings are nice, and it yet again has a good beat to it. I’d never heard of Nicki Minaj, but I like her rap part better than X-tina’s. This song  does make me want to do some good reggae dance moves.

4)Elastic Love – Love the beat in this one. Definitely something to turn up the volume to. Alright so it starts off strong. I’m not used to her using her voice so plainly, almost like she’s just speaking. I’ll give her one thing – it’s very TODAY.

5)Desnudate – Go figure she’s singing ‘get naked!’. It’s a very fun song though, I love the occasional latin lyrics and beats.

6)Love & Glamour – An intro of Christina speaking about love and glamour like they go together. It’s stupid.

7)Glam – Paint your face like a movie queen. What? Yeah. Another club track, with her speaking in it in her whiny fake voice she does. When she goes ‘Now snap’, I find it quite lame, sorry.

8)Prima Donna – Another club track. Nothing special about it again. Christina, what are you doing? If you’re a prima donna, then please sing. Thanks.

9)Morning Dessert – Intro. I’ve never liked intros. This one is no exception. What’s the point?

10)Sex for Breakfast – The title of this song just screams cheesy to me. The song itself isn’t so bad, at least she actually sings in this one. It reminds me of something from her Stripped album. Again, it’s a totally forgetable track, one of the ones that usually go at the end of an album when you’ve got nothing good left.

11) Lift me Up – This song is pretty, but doesn’t manage to move me like other ballads of hers have. It is still one of my favourites in Bionic.

12) My Heart – another intro, but it’s cute because her son(I’m guessing) says mama in it.

13) All I Need – This one is also a favourite of the album. She actually shows her talent in this one. It’s very relaxing and pretty. I like it a lot, it’s a song about being a mother.

14)I Am – I like the orchestra music in the background of this song. The violins give it a different light. This one is another great track on this CD.

15)You Lost Me – I love this song. It is so beautiful. Songs like these are what Christina’s made to sing. I get chills with this one.

16) I Hate Boys – Another wannabe Britney/Gaga Song. Another waste of time.

17)My Girls feat. Peaches – There’s a retro 80s dance vibe to this one; at the start. It then ends up sounding like a Ke§hia song or something. Not good.

18) Vanity – This one sounds like she’s just yelling again. I don’t like it.

Overall, the club music just doesn’t suit Christina. My favourite songs of this album are the slower ballads that have meaning in them. it lacks inspiration. I don’t know why she succumbs to the need to make meaningless pop, but, I guess that’s what she hasn’t really done yet(not counting her first album). She doesn’t need to try hard to make a musically powerful album, and yet, she tries way too hard to stay current when in fact; she’s so talented that she doesn’t need to. The album is overall a disappointment, but I do love the last few songs, so I’ll keep playing the last few tracks of the album to justify my purchase. The dance songs are still fun, but aren’t her specialty.

~Darleya~

Walking into a Kettleman’s you’ll see people working away at the large stone oven and rolling bagels like it’s nobody’s business. They are like machines and usually have headphones on, listening to their music while working away with their hands. It’s pretty cool to watch them go. You can purchase bagels by the dozen, bagels to go, or eat in and be served.

The service is always friendly and quick. One of my main reasons for going to kettlemans besides the delicious bagels, or rather, THE main reason I go there; is for their hot pepper cream cheese spread. I am obsessed with this spread. It is simply fantastic! I always get them to put heaps of it on my bagel because I can’t get enough of it. You can also buy their cream cheese spreads in tubs to bring home, which I’ve obviously done.

The unfortunate thing for me is that bagels are difficult on my digestive system, but I certainly indulge anyway on occasion.

The local Kettleman’s are found at 2177 Carline Avenue, 912 Bank Street, and 1222 Place D’Orléans Blvd. In addition to bagels and cream cheese, they also make a wide variety of bagel sandwiches, and have some additional pastry treats, like knish’s. Mmmm.

~Darleya~

This review is for their baked eyeshadows.

Stila’s baked eyeshadow trios are simply stunning. The colors are bright, and go together wonderfully. I purchased the trio called ‘champagne glow’ (pictured)which features soft pink, cool taupe and rich brown shades. It is my absolute favourite shadow. It has a very nice sheen to it, too.

The trio’s represent a base, the crease, and liner, so that you don’t have to think of what colors are needed to create very pretty eye effects. I purchased one for my mother as well, and she just loves it.

Because the eyeshadow is baked, it is much less likely to crumble and break. The baking of the shadows also makes the application much creamier and smoother. I have managed to drop my palette already, and to my luck it has remained intact.

The aluminum compacts are very stylish too. You can purchase these shadows at Sephora among other places, and they cost between $20 and $28 depending on the sheen factor. This is pricey when you compare it to drug store brands, but the difference in quality is very obvious. The shadow can also be applied wet with an eyeshadow liquifier.

The one thing I will note with these shadows is that the pallette tends to spin around in the container, so you have to be careful when you use your brush on it. I use MAC brushes to apply the shadow. You don’t need a lot on your brush as a little goes a long way.

Enjoy!

~Darleya~

Since I have been eating ketchup all my life, this brand war is a bit difficult, because the taste of Ketchup is the taste of Heinz Tomato Ketchup.  I’m trying very hard not to discriminate and will solely be describing the flavours.

President’s Choice Tomato Ketchup

This PC ketchup is always around 50 cents cheaper than Heinz when no specials are on. President’s Choice is a Loblaws company brand that typically manages to execute copied recipes very very well. The President’s choice ketchup does not quite hit the mark on taste. Although the ketchup lists the very same ingredients as Heinz, the flavour is a tad more bitter with less sweetness. I am guessing this means less vinegar and more sugar, but there’s some sort of odd after taste that reminds me of cloves for some reason. The exact listed ingredients are: Tomato paste, (made from fresh ripe tomatoes) liquid sugar, white vinegar, salt, seasonings. While the PC ketchup is not horrible, I won’t be buying it again, at 50 cents cheaper than Heinz.

Heinz Tomato Ketchup

The Heinz tomato ketchup seems to have the perfect balance of vinegar and sugar, which makes it quite irresistible to me. Its exact ingredients are: Tomato Concentrate From Red Ripe Tomatoes, Distilled Vinegar, Sugar, Salt, Onion Powder, Spice, Natural Flavoring. Perhaps it is the added quality of their ingredients, and the fact that Heinz grows its own tomatoes to make its ketchup, but the taste of Heinz is rather imprinted in my taste buds as how ketchup is supposed to taste. Buying the other brands for this brand war has been difficult, because we’ve had to finish the ketchups from the other brands. Also, the Heinz ketchup website has a widget where you can squeeze a ketchup email to a friend. Try it here.

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Great Value tomato Ketchup

Walmart has its very own brand of Ketchup as well. The Great Value Ketchup is the cheapest of the three in this brand war. The Great Value ketchup differs the most in its ingredients: Tomato Concentrate, Distilled Vinegar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Salt, Onion Powder, Spice, Natural Flavoring. It is much less healthy than the other two brands, however, I will say that the Great Value ketchup had a better taste than the President’s choice. I was the most skeptical about this brand, but after tasting it, I am more reluctant to try other ‘great value’ products. The difference for this one, is that it tastes a bit sweeter than the Heinz, which is likely attributable to the high fructose corn syrup. If you’re on a budget, then I’d recommend the great value ketchup since it is so far the closest taste to the real deal.

This brand war is slightly skewed, because I’m comparing the two different brands to the Heinz taste. I will say that the Walmart Great Value ketchup was much better than the president’s choice ketchup, which shocked me. It is much cheaper. Unless I’m on a tight budget I will keep buying Heinz, but it’s nice to know that I have options if the case were otherwise.

What do you put ketchup on?

~Darleya~
]]> http://www.stuffedashes.com/2010/07/14/review-of-ketchup-a-brand-war/feed/ 8 http://www.stuffedashes.com/2010/07/11/review-of-star-gate-universe-again/ http://www.stuffedashes.com/2010/07/11/review-of-star-gate-universe-again/#comments Mon, 12 Jul 2010 02:29:28 +0000 Darleya http://www.stuffedashes.com/?p=837

I’ll admit that it was starting to get a little soap opera-esque by mid-season, but they rightfully brought it back to its sci-fi goodness after the break.

I was really excited when I first saw it, because hey, the name Juan is an authentic Latin name, this place MUST be good.

Unfortunately, I was highly mislead. Not only is this place  not authentic, but it is way overpriced with horrible service to boot.

The first time we went there, we went for lunch. While the service wasn’t horrible that day and just slow, the food was not good, and again, overpriced. We ordered the Chorizo entrée, and it was very very dry, with little to no flavour. I’ve cooked some mean chorizo sausages before, and this was crap. Handmade my ass!

The second time we went was for a friend’s birthday dinner. We were a large group of people. Some people arrived at varying times, but everyone was ordering drinks and appetizers until everyone got there.

I don’t understand how you can get snotty attitudes from servers and management when you’re spending a lot of money. The two just don’t go together in my eyes. They gave us evil looks like ‘how dare us cause them to work a little harder’. Some of us had to go to the bar to get a drink because they were not coming back. We weren’t even being rowdy. I mean, we were a bunch of 30-year olds, and two very young children that were being well-behaved.

When we finally ordered, they messed up many people’s dishes, and charged extra for things like hot sauce, when in most Mexican places, those things are unanimously free. I do not think that this was a one-time bad experience. I wasn’t one member of the staff, it was all of them.

I will not be going back there ever. Not only do I not recommend this place, but I pray that you do not go there, so we can finally get a decent Mexican place in Orleans. Until then, I will stick to my wonderful Pancho Villa downtown.

(side note- I saw the new Mexican Café on St-Joseph, but I have yet to try it so I’ll keep you posted)

~Darleya~

I went a little nuts and tried three different kinds because they were on sale.

Smucker’s Butterscotch

The Smuckers Butterscotch topping is my favourite out of the three. The sauce is thicker than the syrups. It’s very sweet, and goes very nicely with french vanilla ice cream.

One thing you should not do with this butterscotch topping, it top it on your ice cream cone. It seemed like a good idea at first, but, one little dabble goes a long way…down the side of your cone.

A sticky mess indeed.

I found a recipe that uses this butterscotch off the Smucker’s website that sounds very delicious that I’d love to try. Pumpkin Roll with Butterscotch Cream. Check it out and tell me that doesn’t sound devine.

Smucker’s Strawberry Sundae Syrup

The strawberry syrup was the one I was the most skeptical about, but, I bought it for my husband. I was actually pleasantly surprised by its flavour because I typically don’t like any artificially flavoured strawberry things.

This syrup tastes much closer to your average strawberry jam, which tastes like real strawberries. It was very flavourful, and again, very sweet.

I decided to find a recipe for this as well, and the smuckers website offers a few. They called this one, the Canada Day Strawberry Trifle, but, I think it would be delicious all summer long. It also looks very easy to make! Yummy.

Smucker’s Chocolate Sundae Syrup

The Smuckers chocolate sundae syrup was actually my least favourite of the three. I found that sort of tasted like Neslté’s Quick and perhaps a little too strong and not chocolaty enough.

It’s still better than having nothing on your vanilla ice cream.

The recipes aren’t as enticing either. I think I’ll try their microwaveable hot fudge topper next time.

These three smuckers ice cream toppers are not something that you give to your kids all the time, but, once in a while it’s a great treat to make them happy, or keep them quiet.

Enjoy!

~Darleya~

is an internationally available Internet-based free music provider. You can listen to full albums of streaming music for free simply by performing a search for your favourite artist or song.

The website is very user-friendly, and you don’t need to download anything in order to use their service. You can create and save as many playlists as you like if you create a free user account.
You can even steal your friend’s playlists if you know their usernames.

I like it especially for the office, because I get tired of the music I bring in, so like this, I can continue to be entertained while working by listening to brand new music.

I highly recommend this website, especially if you can listen to music at work, and have access to the Internet. It’s wonderful, and it’s free! There are no lags, you’d think you were listening to the CDs themselves.

For more information about Grooveshark, check out their wiki page here.

You can look up my playlists under username ‘stuffedashes’.

Enjoy!

~Darleya~

Effaclar astringent  micro-exfoliating lotion is supposed to help instantly unblock and reduce pore size.

A while back I was at

Mistake number one. Do not wait for a friend in a store that sells skincare and makeup.

Mistake number two. Just because something is on the same table as some clearance stuff, does not mean that it will also be cheap.

So now you know my state of mind the day that I picked up Bioderma’s Crealine TS H20 cleansing solution. I needed a new make-up remover so I thought, why not?

I applied the Bioderma cleansing solution as I would my regular eye-makeup remover, with nothing else than my Shiseido cotton pads. This solution does feel refreshing, as it is strictly water based, but it did not remove my heavy eye makeup nearly as well as Neutrogena’s Oil-Free kind that I normally buy. I had to re-wet the cotton pad numerous times, and rub much harder than I’d like to rub my eyes.

This 500ml bottle was $22.00. I wish I’d have looked at its price before buying it. That very same day I also bought the Cargo Texas Lash mascara, so it was clearly a bad day as far as shopping went. I should pay attention to the mistakes mentioned above next time.

Based on the fact that this Bioderma cleansing solution is expensive, and on the fact that it simply does not work as well as the cheaper Neutrogena eye-makeup remover; I will not be buying it again, nor would I recommend it to anyone.

~Darleya~

The Ryobi products are affordable and offer the most variety when it comes to their tools. They have a cordless tool for everything. I mean everything. We have many of them, including the drill, the weed whacker, the flashlight, the air pump, and many more that I cannot remember and would have to ask the husband. We also have saws of sorts, but I do not know their proper terms.

The Ryobi line is very easy to use. You can either buy the lithium ion batteries, which I recommend because of their much lengthier lifetime, or you can get the regular batteries, if you’re not planing on many DIY projects.  The batteries are interchangeable if you ever wanted to upgrade. The lithium batteries are of course pricier, but definitely worth it, AND they’re fluorescent green. HELLO!

The fact that all the Ryobi tools use the exact same batteries is great, because you can just own 1 or 2 batteries, and use them for everything. We own two lithium ion batteries, which is ideal because as one may potentially run out, there is always a back-up charging. I actually enjoy assisting in DIY projects on the house with Ryobi tools, because not having a cord makes it much less cumbersome, to say the least. AND, fluorescent green!

I recently had my close friend buy herself the Ryobi drillset because she bought herself a condo. We hung pictures, a huge mirror and put together some furniture. Afterwards, she got really excited about it and exclaimed ‘I don’t need a man, I have a Ryobi drill!’

Really.

Ryobi products are found at Home Depot, among other places.

~Darleya~

So I’ve finally decided that I shouldn’t be spending $40-$60 each of my shampoos and conditioners. Really, unless there’s something wrong with your hair, you shouldn’t need to spend that much.

Upon this realization, I’ve come to trying various ‘cheap’ shampoos and conditioners. After many failed attempts at finding cheaper hair care that I love, I recently came across the new line by TREsemmé called Naturals.

This line by TREsemmé has lower sulfates, and contains natural ingredients such as USDA certified organic Aloe Vera and Avocado, which hydrates your hair naturally and protects it against breakage and damage.

I absolutely LOVE the way both the shampoo and conditioner make my hair feel. It isn’t weighed down in the slightest, feels incredibly soft, and is much less tangled after the shower, it’s unbelievable.

I was actually pretty sceptical that I could find good hair care for under ten dollars, but alas; here it is!  The TREsemmé Naturals line(which also has a mousse and hair spray, which I will buy once mine run out), can be found at all major drug stores, department stores, and grocery stores. Basically it is found wherever you’d normally find shampoo.

The product claims that your hair will feel ten times stronger. Mine actually does. I’m extremely happy, and so is my wallet.

Enjoy!

~Darleya~

is a skincare brand that is offered at Sephora among other places. The brand was created by Canadian chemist Ben Kaminsky,who sought to use only the highest-quality, proven ingredients to solve everyday skin issues with gentle, yet effective formulas.

The matte moisturizer with spf 15 did not wow me; and for a 50 ml bottle that costs $80, I think I should be more pleased with the product.

There’s nothing necessarily wrong with it, but it’s definitely not a moisturizer for Canadian winters. In the winter, I’d apply it, then not 10 minutes later my skin felt dry again. I don’t have complicated skin or anything either. I’d say it’s pretty non-temperamental.

When I realized this cream was not adequate for winter, I gave it another chance and saved it until the warmer less dry weather of Spring/Summer. While it now doesn’t leave my skin dry 10 minutes later, I still find that it isn’t moist enough so that my concealer doesn’t crease and cake.

Maybe some of B Kamins other products are better, but this Matte Moisturizer is not going to be purchased again. I will stick to my Caryl Baker cream until I find a magical wrinkle preventative cream that works.

~Darleya~