10 Seconds of Volume

I am a BzzAgent and periodically I get to review new products and give my opinion about them!  I was pretty excited when I got to try göt2b POWDER’ful Volumizing styling powder.  My hair is always so flat and I am always looking for ways to add volume to it! 
I had never used a powder anything for my hair, so it was a little weird at first.  You can shake it directly onto the roots of your hair, or shake it in your hand first.  Then rub your hands together--the powder disappears but you can feel it on your hands and then you apply it in your hair.  I tried it both ways, I preferred using it in my hands instead of just shaking powder in my hair.

 Here is what it looks like in the package.

I really wanted to love this product, however, I was pretty disappointed in this product for a few different reasons. 

1. it smells awful, enough that I felt like I wanted to put in more product just to get my hair to smell good!  I really like my hair to smell nice.

2. It made my head itchy and left weird residue that was hard to get out with one washing.

3. worst of all, in my opinion...it didn't even work for me!  The little catch phrase for this product is "10 seconds 2 volume!"  But for me, it was more like "10 seconds of volume."  I felt like any volume I had in my hair was just from using my fingers to tease the product into my hair and that it really didn't do anything.  Not long afterward my hair would be lying flat and un-volumized (I don't think that's even a word!) just as it was before putting any product in. 

I had been excited to post before and after photos of my hair using this, but it doesn't even deserve that. So it comes in this really small bottle, and maybe if you just needed a quick little hair pick me up during the day it is easy to slip into your purse or whatever, give a quick little shake and run those fingers through your hair...or you just use your fingers and probably be just as good.  Maybe my hair is too long and fine?  I think maybe someone with maybe a different type of hair or a different haircut from what I have, it might work wonders!  But for me, I will not unfortunately not be purchasing this product! 

Sensitive Skin

Because I am a BzzAgent, I got to try out a couple of new products from Burt Bees!
The first product was the Sensitive Skin Cleanser.
The first thing I noticed about this cleanser is that it did not feel like a cleanser at all--there is no soap in it and it doesn't bubble up like you expect a cleanser to do. It felt like I was rubbing a cream on my face, which wasn't bad. It was just different. I kind of liked it! I even have a friend who is allergic to sodium laurel sulfate, which is what causes the bubbles in a lot of cleansing products, so it would be a great product for her!
I loved knowing that what I was putting on my face was natural and there were no chemicals or anything in the product.
The one thing I didn't like about this product was that it didn't do a great job of removing my eye makeup. I would have to use it multiple times or else just use a different cleanser when I had heavier eye make up on.

The next product I got to try was the Daily Moisturizing Cream.

I loved this product! It was so light and I couldn't even feel it on my skin.
The one thing I would have liked to see different, which might not work because it is for sensitive skin, was a sunblock added. My skin is very sensitive to the sun and I burn easily and so I would have liked a 15 spf added into the moisturizer. I understand though that for some people that might cause more problems for their skin because of it being so sensitive and it's probably not all natural ingredients like they have in their skin. So I guess I would have to use a different product for my little bit of sunscreen! Maybe they could offer one that contains that in it though? Just a thought.

Jewls

I love earrings. I own four pairs of earrings from Made By Jewls. I would love to own more if I won this giveaway!

Bananagrams

When my husband and I were first married we would play scrabble all the time and we would do a 1000 piece puzzle during the summertime. Doing little things like this was fun! Now we have two little kiddos who are not old enough yet to do things like this with us, and who would probably sabotage our game/puzzle if we tried to do it on our own.
Since we had our first kiddo I have wanted to try and continue our weekly dates but it has gotten a lot harder as time has gone on.



These things being said, I just found out about this game Bananagrams. It's like scrabble but looks much simpler! Our almost three year old could probably "help" us spell letters if we wanted to play as a family until he is old enough to play on his own. How simple would it be to take camping or to the park for a fun family outing! No board, no mess. Just throw the banana pouch in the picnic basket and go!

Also I think it would be more likely we could use it as a stay at home date night activity after our kiddos are in bed and it wouldn't take forever like Scrabble or a puzzle does but we'd still be doing something fun together. I would love to try this game!

Dreamlights

today we made a little "tent" to play in. As you can see, it was pretty small, so the we made a bigger one. This led to some inspiration for our next fun activity when my husband leaves for work training again. 4-6 times a year he has to leave for work training...we always try to do fun things when he is gone...and I think building a fort or an indoor tent is in order.
This picture would be so much more fun with one of these Dreamlights in it!




I would love to try one out! I've never seen real fireflies, this would be so fun! How fun for a romantic rendezvous outside or for hosting a party in the backyard.
With two little boys, I'm sure they would love playing with these!
Here's hoping we get to try them out soon...

Cuisinart Smart Stick Hand Blender

Oh how I would love one of these!

Recently I have been really trying to be more frugal when it comes to food--which includes making our own bread, making our own tortillas, and using powdered milk in place of fresh milk.

This would be aMAZing for mixing powdered milk! Not only that--did you know you can make your own sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk? This would be awesome in mixing those up.

Cooking would be so quick and much more enjoyable with one of these in so many ways!

I have a three month old. Can I just say baby food in a couple months?? So wonderful!

I've really been wanting to start making our own breakfast instead of just eating cold cereal all the time. How much more likely would it be for me to make pancakes, smoothies, etc with one of these?
Plus the fact that it is dishwasher safe! A-MAZ-ing.
This would help my stay at home mommy days easier and better! It would make my quest for frugality better! It would make my aspiring culinary goals possible!
I need one.
Please?

Bodun Glasses

These glasses would be a great addition to my new home. New house = housewarming gifts to myself, right?

Also, I've been wanting to start dating my husband again...two kids does not equal time for the two of us. Maybe these gorgeous glasses would lead to some date night inspiration!

Pickling

I think it would be fun to try pickling someday!

Halloween Surprise Balls

Love this Pottery Barn cute little tutorial video!
http://youtu.be/u6oG86vhj_Y

food storage recipes

I need to make all of these. See a video here.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Fat-Free Nutri Grain Energy Bars
Ingredients:

1 cup cooked white beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs (1/4 c. dry egg powder and NO water)
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup coarse oat flour (take quick oats and pulse in blender until a coarse flour)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder (make sure it's fresh!)
1½ cups chopped almonds, optional
3/4 cup raspberry (or other fruit) jam

Method:

Heat the oven to 350°. Grease a 9"x13" baking pan.

Place the beans and sugars in a large bowl, and cream them until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs (egg powder).

In a small bowl, combine the flours, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, then mix or stir in the almonds.

Use your fingers to press half of the dough into the bottom of the baking pan. (You may need to grease your fingers with non-stick spray to keep the dough from sticking to your fingers.)

Put the jam in a small bowl and loosen it up with a small whisk or a fork (this will make it spread easier). Spread the jam evenly over the dough, leaving about a 1/4-inch border around the edges.

Sprinkle the remaining dough over the jam, all the way to the edges of the pan, and then press on it gently to form the top layer.

Bake until the top is golden and the edges are starting to brown, about 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely in the pan, and then cut into whatever size bars you like and serve. The bars will keep for at least three or four days at room temperature, or you can freeze them.

Homemade Pop Tarts
Ingredients:

Easy Pie Crust
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup milk ( 1 T. dry non-instant powdered milk or 2 T. instant milk + 1/3 cup water)
½ tsp. salt
Filling:
Use anything you would normally find in a Pop Tart. Jams and jellys are great for fruit
filling. I also love honey and chopped nuts inside.

Method:

Mix flour, salt, and dry milk powder together. Add oil and mix until mixture is crumble, then add water (or fresh milk if that is what you are using). Stir until mixture forms a ball of dough. Roll dough between two sheets of parchment paper to form a rectangle.

Cut dough into rectangles 6 inches wide by 5 inches high. Place filling on one half of the dough leaving ½ inch around sides. Fold over and pinch sides together with a fork to close.

Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Homemade Fruit Roll Ups
Ingredients:

2 cups freeze dried fruit (I like to do 1 c. strawberries and a ½ c. each of raspberries and
blueberries)
1/3 cup warm water

Method:

Place fruit and water in blender and blend until very smooth. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick spray. Pour fruit mixture onto aluminum foil and spread evenly and thin on top of aluminum foil. Bake at 250 degrees for 25 minutes. WITH OUT OPENING YOUR OVEN DOOR, turn the oven off and let sit for 8 hours. After 8 hours, peel fruit leather off aluminum foil and place on wax, parchment or cling wrap. Cut into long strips with scissors and roll up.

Homemade Fat-Free Granola Bars
Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup bean puree (blend white beans and enough water to form a puree-the
consistency should be that of a smoothie-in your blender)
5 T. honey
3 T. cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup rice krispies
1/2 cup toasted shredded coconut, optional
½ cup chopped almonds, optional
1 cup craisins*
1 cup white chocolate chips*

Method:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F . Lightly grease one 9x13 inch pan. In a large mixing bowl combine the oats, flour, baking soda, vanilla, bean puree, honey and brown sugar. Stir in the coconut, rice krispies, craisins, white chocolate chips and nuts.

Lightly press mixture into the prepared pan. Bake at 325 degrees F for 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes then cut into bars. Let bars cool completely in pan before removing or serving.

*You can use any combination of add-ins you would like just make sure it equals 2 cups. Some ideas may be raisins, chocolate chips, etc.