Another TV Obsession: Revenge!!!

Happy Monday!!! Hope you all had a great weekend and a great Father's Day. If you've been following this blog, You know that my father passed away two months ago, so it was a bit of a sad day for me, but I tried to keep busy by reoganizing my office, taking on a number of DIY projects and watching marathon sessions of my new favorite TV show, Revenge!

I'm not watching much TV these days, so Revenge is one of those shows that I didn't discover until I saw it in the lineup on Netflix. I blasted thru seasons one and two and then switched over to Amazon Prime for season three. This show is full of soap opera drama and it is just amazing at how evil and dastardly some of the characters are (I'm looking at you, Victoria Grayson!). Plot twist after plot twist has kept me interested and I swear, this show is like crack!!! 

Emily Thorne and Victoria Grayson
(Emily Van Camp and Madeleine Stowe)
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My favorite character is Nolan Ross, the delightfully geeky computer nerd who is perfectly played by the delicious Gabriel Mann. I've always been attracted to smart guys, and he's as smart (Nolan--despite his social awkwardness) as they get. Plus, he's got great taste in clothing and houses (and he's a great friend to Emily Thorne, the Queen of Revenge).

Gabriel Mann

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Revenge really does grab you and pulls you in. There's so much going on in this show---intrigue, murder, love, sex, scandal...the list goes on and on. I've also been reading a little bit how the show is made and interestingly enough, one of the stars of the show, "Grayson Manor," the summer home of the fabulously wealthy Grayson family, actually doesn't even exist---it's completely computer generated!!! Check it out in the picture below:

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Amazing, huh?

Anyway, Do yourself a favor and get yourself over to either Netflix or Amazon Prime to begin watching this addictive show. If your're anything like me, you'll devour the first couple of seasons and be ravenous for more!!!

An Easy Peasy Tip for Great Winter Skin

If you’re like me, this is what you skin looks like in the winter (unless you take steps to prevent it). Every year I get older (and better, in my humble opinion!) my fight with dry, itchy, flaky and dehydrated winter skin ramps up a notch. With all the flying I have done this winter, it’s been terrible. Well, I finally tried something that I have “poo pooed” for years! As I’m typically viewed as a pretty intelligent person, I’m almost ashamed that I wasn’t open to this sooner. What finally got me going in the right direction is a co-worker (a GUY, I might add!) who told me he’s been using this for years. By now you’re saying, “Just spit it out, Denise!!!” Well, this “miracle” skincare product is…a HUMIDIFIER!!!

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OK, now before you say, “Well DUH!!!” hear me out. I have always associated humidifiers with babies and since I have never had a baby, I’ve never experienced their benefits. It really wasn't until I hired Mike (the guy I mentioned above) that I learned about this miracle product (work with me here, people). Mike’s office is in an old home that has been converted into office space. The heat source is one of those old radiators and apparently the air is really dry in his office during the winter. Now Mike is one of those guys who is open to anything that works (yeah, and he also advocates use of a Neti Pot, but I’m still too chicken to go there) and on a recent business trip, he mentioned that he also travels with a portable humidifier (more on that later). So about a month ago, after more travel and more dry itchy skin, I finally decided to bite the bullet. I’m happy to say that I purchased my very first humidifier for my home office.

Available at Amazon

I’ve been using this beauty (don’t you love the color??) for about three weeks now and it has changed my life (OK…maybe I’m being a little dramatic). Seriously, though, my skin is not dry and flaky anymore without copious amounts of super fatted moisturizer, my lips are soft and smooth and even better, my sinuses are clear and not dry as the Sahara. For less than $50, I’ve solved an annoying problem and feel great about passing this tip on to you! This particular humidifier, by Crane, is really easy to clean, holds enough water to get you through a long work day (and more) and is adjustable in terms of the amount of vapor it releases into the air. I have a very large home office and it’s just perfect. Better yet, it turns itself off when it runs out of water so if you forget to turn it off after work (which I may or may not have done before), you have no worries. I also purchased the optional filter because, even though I have a softener at home, my water still has too many minerals. The other option would be to use distilled water, which (in my opinion) is inconvenient. This particular model comes in several lovely colors (what---you don’t like the pink???) so get yourself over to Amazon and check it out!

Mike also recommends traveling with a humidifier and one he has used includes this one from CVS. It’s small enough to fit into a carry on (it uses a bottle of water instead of having a separate tank) and he reports that it’s great for the hotel room. I've yet to purchase one but will soon.

I’m pretty much sold on humidifiers now and my skin is thanking me. How about you? Do you have a humidifier in your office? Has it helped your skin?

Holidays, Capt. Jack Harkness, and Beauty Products—the Perfect Weekend!

Hope you had a great weekend! It seems like the last three days went buy in a flash but I was productive, in a weird sort of way. Most of my time was spent setting up and learning my new camera (hopefully no more fuzzy pictures), shopping for large numbers of beauty products, and organizing my home, all while catching up on episodes 1 thru 3 of “Torchwood” on Netflix. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, Torchwood is a science fiction television show of an extraterrestrial-fighting secret (well, sort of secret) government agency headed up by sexy beast, Captain Jack Harkness. I swear that man is the hottest and he would be the one and only on my “list” if I actually had one of those lists (and he wasn’t merely a character on a TV show, albeit an incredibly delicious character). The actor who plays Harkness is John Barrowman, below.

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Not bad, huh? Although my love is for the Captain, if I wasn’t a happily married heterosexual woman and he wasn’t a happily married gay man, I think I could be persuaded to check him out <cough>. But the CAPTAIN….sigh! I digress…

Anyway, I love “Torchwood” and have really gotten into the characters. I actually shed a tear at the end of season two when two of the central characters were killed. And the series “Children of the World” made me feel sick due to its allegorical nature (watch it and you’ll understand). Even so, it was a great diversion on a busy weekend. If you are looking for a new show, check out Torchwood on Netflix (and it’s probably on other networks as well). You also may be interested in checking out the multi talented John Barrowman at his website here.

In between watching many episodes of Torchwood, I also bought and photographed lots of new beauty products, which I will be showing, swatching and reviewing starting today. Here are some of the products that I will begin posting later this morning and for the rest of the week.

    

Stay tuned for more!!! And check out Torchwood!!!

  

Cool Thing: The Nu Project

I’ve long been a big proponent of positive body image. For all of my youth and much of my adulthood, I’ve suffered from a self consciousness that has impacted how I see myself and how I believe that others see me. Over the past eight to ten years, I’ve learned to be happy with the way I look and fairly comfortable in my own skin. But almost every day, I speak to friends, family members and other women who have one complaint after another about their bodies. They’re too fat, their breasts are too small, stomachs are too big, they have “big” arms, are too pale, too dark (this one from some of my African American friends), too much hair, hair that’s too thin, too gray or too “nappy.” And what is the first thing that you notice upon greeting another woman (or group of women)? That’s right---we look at each other up and down, as if taking inventory of our subject’s flaws and comparing them to our own. We really need to stop doing that.
 
It was with GREAT pleasure that I discovered The Nu Project last week. A simple message—“you are beautiful”---should resonate with all of us. Creator and Photographer, Matt Blum, began this project in 2005 in Minneapolis. He began filming non-models in their homes, wearing minimal makeup, in poses that captured their true beauty. So far, over 10,000 women have applied and Matt’s website contains many beautiful women of all shapes, sizes, ages and ethnicities. The images are sensuous but not sexual, provocative but not titillating. Each truly shows the natural beauty possessed by each woman. We should all be as free and comfortable with ourselves as each of these glorious women are!

I pulled some of my favorite images from the site but please check out the project yourself by clicking here.

   

       

       



        
The smiles on the faces say it all!

What do you think of the Nu Project? Would YOU be comfortable participating in a shoot? Please share your thoughts!

Cool Things: Truffle’s Purse Organizers

Back in May, I blogged about the arrival of my new PopSugar Summer Fun Box. It contained all kinds of goodies for the summer including a Truffle Classic Clarity organizing pouch. At the time, I wrote, “I don’t know if I’d pay that much” ($38) for a canvas and plastic pouch but after having used it all summer, I have changed my mind!! I was so, so wrong!!! In fact, I will be ordering more Truffle pouches, probably the smaller ones, to replace what I am using in my purse right now for lipstick, etc.

Truffle organizers are made of heavy duty canvas and thick, clear plastic with seriously industrial strength zippers. I need tough zippers because I’m always jamming extra stuff into my purse and the pouch as well. While I haven’t used it for my iPad, apparently The Clarity is the perfect size for a tablet and I can definitely see how well that would work. In the almost three months since I’ve been using the pouch, it hasn’t torn, scuffed or really shown any wear (unlike the two other small pouches I am using) which is why this is not only a “cool thing” but also a great buy!

To give you an idea of its use in real life, check out the pictures below!

My Large Jane Marvel tote which has become my summer staple bag

A Bottomless Pit!!!

My Truffle pouch holds keys, my wallet, checkbooks, a comb, travel receipts, a bluetooth headset and my sunglasses and a bunch of other things. It truly is a workhorse! And soon it will be joined by at least one other Truffle pouch!!!

You can purchase Truffle purse organizers in several sizes and pretty colors at Truffle’s website http://onetruffle.com and prices range from $32 to $44. Check them out!!!

Product Review: S’Well Bottles

I was recently introduced to S’Well Bottles when I purchased the Pop Sugar Summer Fun Box (here). To be honest, I was a bit skeptical of the claims that this bottle will keep hot things warm and cold things cold for 24 hours. Recently, I got a chance to put this claim to the test---on a road trip with my parents thru the Arizona desert!


S’Well uses what they call “ThermaSwell Technology” to insulate their bottles. Apparently this refers to the double walled stainless steel used for the bottle. The neck of the bottle is big enough for ice cubes and it is capped off with a screw top lid that not only creates a vacuum when sealed but is also replaceable if needed.



S’Well Bottles are eco friendly and easy to use. Amazingly enough, they don’t sweat, which makes them great for a work bag or a gym bag. While using my bottle for either cold iced tea of water, I found absolutely no evidence of sweating, even in extremely high heat!



S’Well makes its bottles in several sizes, including a wine bottle which will hold a 750 ml bottle of wine. I will definitely be getting one of those! There are also many different finishes and colors available, depending on your preferences. They also will customize bottles for your company or for your special event (S’Well Bottles will make excellent wedding favors or attendant gifts).

I mentioned, above, that they claim that their bottle will keep cold drinks cold for 24 hours (and hot drinks warm) and it does! On a recent trip, with my parents across the Arizona Desert, we were literally “stuck” in Gila Bend, AZ with a generator problem (we were in a motor home). It was 118 degrees in Gila Bend and 90 degrees in the coach. I had forgotten that I’d filled my S’Well bottle before the problem started and when I woke up the next morning, the iced tea in my pink S’Well bottle was ice cold! I can 100% vouch for their claim!

S’Well bottles are reasonably priced at $35 each for the 17 ounce bottle and can be purchased here on the S’Well website. Check them out! You won’t be sorry!

Ages of Beauty rating: *****