So many of the Etsy store owners are quite friendly people. Leslie over at Sugar Pie Chic is no exception. Her aprons stood out at me as one of the better designed aprons that I have come across online. I think I really enjoy the cut and style of the pattern that she uses on her aprons.

This one is my FAVORITE.

I haven’t gotten to see one in person, since I haven’t purchased one yet (hint hint, anyone out there?), but I’d love to eventually buy one from her Etsy store and try them out. I am the messiest cook/baker and even eater. I always get stains on my pants when I’m eating. I get splashes of tomato sauce or chicken juice sprayed up on my clean white shirt – even if it’s an old shirt, it still sucks to have it stained when you’re cooking or doing chores around the house.

Pink!! (C’mon, who doesn’t love pink)

I think everyone who is just as messy as I am, or just wants to look cute in the kitchen, to go over to Sugar Pie Chic and check out the designs.

So tell me, are you a messy cook like me?

I did a review on a curling iron (Part I, Part II) from flatironexperts.com a while back. I guess it was successful as they sent me a straightener to review as well! This KQC hair ceramic straightener is from flatironexperts as welll.

I haven’t felt confident about a hair straightener in a long time. My 3 year old CHI caught on fire and I replaced it with a fake GHD (which I thought was authentic), it was then replaced by another straightener I received to review.

This one feels more like my CHI used to. You know the noise when you clamp down on your hair and it makes a “pop” closing noise? This is going to sound weird, but it sounds like a higher quality than my other 2 straighteners. It’s not as flimsy and the clamping handles don’t get super hot. Again, it heats up in no time as does most flat irons lately.

It’s pretty awesome. I love it, and I’m thinking of even giving my fake GHD that I bought in December to my co-workers teenage daughter, I’m that confident in this KQC. I’m also grateful that they’re a Canadian company listed in British Columbia so the shipping wasn’t bad at all. I had it in less than a week.

Product modeling shots. Shooting photos in natural sunlight is definitely way better and more vibrant than artificial lighting. I need to remember this. Summer photos are always wonderful looking outside.

Check out the lighting on this closeup. Fire Engine red plates.

No gaps in this straightneer!

Much sleeker looking than a bold colored straightener. Looks more classy and expensive, doesn’t it?

Swivel cord

Directions and styling tips.

This KQC retails for$250 on flatironexperts, but it’s on sale now for $159 which also includes free shipping. Some features that I thought were of value in case you were interested in the quality or even purchasing this hair straightener:

• Produces a dark red color when it reaches the maximum temperature in less than 30 seconds
• X-Heat generates negative ions to retain hair moisture and reduce frizz
• Heats up in seconds
• Variable heat settings from 140° to 410° F
• Professional 360° swivel cord to prevent tangling
• One year limited warranty

I’m loving that if you’re not satisfied with your product, you have 30 days Satisfaction money back guarantee. Not many places do that! Check out the reviews online from buyers themselves, KQC received 4½ stars out of 5. Probably one of the better hair straighteners they have online right now.

So far so good. Been using it for two weeks straight, and you can clearly see my straight hair in my OOTD posts where my hair is always straight. Give it a quick sweep over your hair and poof — you have sleek straight locks.

And finally, a neat way to end this review, I decided to post another before and after shot to show you how the KQC makes my hair look in the mornings. Nice hey?

Before: Big Texas hair. After: Sleek neat hair.

Thanks flatironexperts for letting me review this product! I loveeeeeeeeeeeee it.

While I was using MAC for about two years I decided to branch away from it, even if I could return my empty bottles for a free lipstick. I just didn’t like it anymore. Everyone gets sick of their old-faithful right?

So while I was deciding on what I wanted to invest in next, I took a good year off expensive makeup and decided to buy a bottle of cheap drugstore brand: Rimmel foundation. Sure the coverage was great, and I ended up buying two more bottles of it when it went on sale. It just didn’t look good after a few hours, and it certainly didn’t photograph well. Not that that matters incredibly too much, because I’m not going to be featured in any magazines anytime soon.

I have been looking for my holy grail foundation for a long time. So I read some reviews, talked to a few people and watched continuous youtube videos. A month or two ago I popped into the Bay and sat down at the Chanel counter. I know, stop right there, hey?  Look – I’m getting older now (lol) and I can afford to splurge once in a while on a new product to try out. Plus, I’m giving you all feedback on it too! So, she started taking off some of my makeup towards my chin/neckline and kept having to guess my shade as she was wiping it off. Turns out, I think I’m one of the lightest colors they have, #10 Nude. I guess all that bronzer I pile on, definitely darkens me up :) (Tanning beds are forbidden in my vocab!). All I wanted was to get color matched that day, so as soon as she was done I said thanks and then left.

Then, while I was in Toronto I decided to pick up Laura Mercier’s starter kit and try it out. Then a few weeks later I decided to pop into The Bay and get color matched at the Chanel counter.

To quote the Chanel website, the “oil-free formula imparts an unprecedented semi-matte finish that can be blended for a soft, natural look or built up for greater sophistication.” I’m pretty much going to have to agree with them on that. The makeup artist demoed using a kabuki brush to apply it, which does impart a nice, soft finish. However, I think I still prefer to use a regular ol’ foundation brush instead. Less work, still looks soft. I immediately LOVED the finish, which is just matte enough to keep things from getting totally shiny mid-day, but not so matte as to look like cardboard (hate that!). Cream blush blends amazingly on top, a light dusting of loose powder makes everything look perfectly finished, and my skin looks like skin, not skin covered in makeup. No settling, no excessive mid-day shinies. However after a few months of use, I’m probably getting more tanned on my face. So the makeup doesn’t match as well as it did. The coverage is fine, but it has a watery consistency. The Chanel counter lady told me I would barely need a pump of foundation. I have no idea what I’m doing wrong, but I often use more than that. Maybe that’s why my makeup wears off and looks cakey at the end of each day, no matter what I wear. Disappointing, especially seeing how expensive it is. I often mixed the two (Chanel + Laura Mercier) together, which gave me a nice finish. But I thought that was a bit weird, mixing it…

Laura Mercier is fantastic, only when you use a buttload of it. It’s tinted moisturizer, and I found that applying my concealer first (I usually do that after foundation), I have been using less. Laura Mercier’s Tinted Moisturizer is very  well known for giving people that dewy look without making you look oily. I love it, but I think I may have to go for the foundation itself instead of the moisturizer. The annoying thing about this is that I can’t buy it online at Sephora as some restrictions with the SPF in it, they have with Canada/USA selling it to us. But! I can buy it in Toronto.  But I don’t know how often I’ll be going to Toronto.

I probably will not be re-purchasing the Laura Mercier (because of the difficulty of getting my hands on it), or Chanel (for the price). I may hit up the NARS counter, or the Makeup Forever line. Holy grail, you have not been discovered yet. No ring bearer pillow just yet.

I did a post not too long ago when I was contacted by CSN stores to pick and item out from their ginormous website, and I reviewed my cooling rack here? Well in June I was contacted again! Love this company.

It took me forever to pick out another item because every store they have listed has thousands of products. I ended up going with a dog bed for Alfie. It’s a Faux Suede and Tipped Berber Round Comfy Cup® in Tan Carolina Pet Company. It’s pretty swanky looking hey? It also comes in a few other colors, but I thought the tan would be classic looking and would go with basically anything in the apartment.

I was positive that Alfie would enjoy this new dog bed of his, as he likes his comfort. It arrived on Friday and I didn’t get a chance to open it and let Alfie have at it until Monday around lunch time.

I decided to document this meet and greet with a new smelling bed.

He wasn’t so sure on what it was for, and if it was even for him. I kept telling him good boy when he was sniffing it and putting his paws up on it.

Rolling around and getting his scent all over the bed.

Clearly, he quickly got used to it and laid on it while I ate my lunch.

It’s huge, fluffy and so comfortable. I got the smallest size, and it was massive. Perfect! I was worried it would be too small, but then again Alfie is only 5lbs. At first he thought it was a toy and started chewing on it like everything else he does.

I decided to take it away from him if he was going to end up destroying it. The bed is such great quality that I didn’t want him to chew it up within the first week. If he keeps acting that way I’m going to have to wait til he’s older to hand it back to him.

Git off you silly kins!

Alfie. DO NOT CHEW.

“Sorry momma”

However, the next morning I put the bed back on the floor, and he did end up gnawing at it again,  until I scolded him and said “AH AH!”.

I think then, he decided it was safe and fine to sleep/sit on, because I left him alone for a few minutes — came back and he was sucking on his bed.

Cuddling into his bed…

…and looking at me.

My other dog Peepers (RIP) used to do this to her toys. I mean, Alfie does this to his bed when he’s inside his crate. But maybe he knows that this too is his bed? Gotta say though, it’s a little strange.

So Alfie and I wanted to say THANK YOU…

…to CSN Stores for having the opportunity to try out the adorable dog beds from Simply Dog Beds.

Since I’m from “Down East” (Eastern Canada, Newfoundland to be more specific), I was automatically drawn to the online store DownEast Basics for some fashionable yet casual clothes for either work or weekends.

I was excited when they sent me a tee from their new arrivals section of their site. This is called the Fancy Tee online and retails in the store for $16.99. As for the fit of the shirts? I requested a size small and probably could have easily gotten an XS. I usually never opt for an extra small because often times I’m not that size.I ended up getting my regular size, in a small — however when I wore it for a full day it seemed as though I could have easily asked for the XS and have it be totally fine, I guess it’s a big make.

The top is really pretty but when I saw neckline on the Fancy Tee online it looked different that it does in person. Online the fancy tee looks like the seams on the neck are just sewn with some satin peaking through, but in person it’s raw edges and a lot of layers of cotton/satin. It’s kind of neat really. But I thought I would let you guys know!

DownEast Basics is pretty rockin’, I have to say. This top would be super cute running errands and maybe even dressed up with some white pants and accessories and you could easily pull this off in a casual work environment. Like any working female, I like to look good for work or “play”. I usually end up putting together a whole weeks worth of clothes together on Sunday night. I definitely would like to get more clothing from DownEast basics, mainly because the store is stylin’ and fits right within my budget. Not too expensive either.

Since I am quite incompetent with putting together outfits, I liked how DownEast Basics’s store works, online. Everything is paired up with one another, so it’s not just showing a model wearing the tee, or just the skirt. You’ll see her wearing accessories, and even carrying purses. That right there gives me tons of ideas on what to pair items up with.

Here are some of my favorite items from their site:

Daydreamer top $22.99 [ x ]

Rise & Sprout Skirt $29.99 [ x ]

Basically this whole outfit + the Rose Garden Cardigan $36.99 [ x ]

And this halter/tankini swim suit $29.99 [ x ]

There is such a diverse selection on the Down East website that it would appeal to anyone of any age for that matter, as the styles just aren’t simply “one set style”. They’re classic pieces that could be worn for more than just one season. Also? So fabulous that you have a variety of accessories, bags and even SWIM wear!! The perfect one stop shop for me. Plain and simple. The site is so easy to navigate, even if a person (like my Mother) just getting into online shopping would find this site easy to search and find what they’re looking for.

Now tell me something. What is a review without a giveaway for my readers? I know you guys love freebies and having a chance to win something fun from DownEast Basics! However the item you pick out must be from the new arrivals section.

I’m not going to make you jump through hoops. But if you want additional entries for this contest, just read the rules and follow! Your first comment is basically free, see below!

Rules and Regulations:

1. Comment once and tell me if you won, which item would you pick from the New Arrivals section?
2. Comment again if you become a fan of DownEast Basics on Facebook
3. Comment for the 3rd time if you follow DownEast Basics on Twitter
4. Last comment? Tweet or Blog about this giveaway!
5. Contest will be open to residents of the USA and Canada
   
6. Contest will close 12 noon EST, July 5, 2010. Additional entries after that will not be counted, and deleted at a later time.
7. Winner will be drawn from random.org

After this review/giveaway, the winner you choose will not be eligible to win another DownEast giveaway on my blog for at least 90 days.

Once the winner is selected, I will request they send me an e-mail with what they would like (from the New Arrivals section) in the color/size + shipping information. I will contact DownEast Basics and send them the information! :)

Wahoooo giveaways are fun! Good luck all. Remember, if you don’t win there’s always next time. Giveaways on spiffykerms.com are a super fun regular occurrence!

Everyone should purchase the Tide 2 Go pen and carry one with you at all times. We only have one at the house and it’s always going missing. Now it’s in the kitchen and thankfully I remembered where it was because during lunch one day last week I was eating Kraft Dinner for lunch (lol) and laid the bowl on my lap while Alfie was probably getting in trouble. I lifted the bowl up and there’s this huge orange cheesy stain at the very bottom of my capri’s.

I swore a couple of times, because these capri’s from Mexx are almost like jean material and apparently you can’t bleach them. I only remembered that though, when I was already applying the Tide 2 Go pen. But it was okay – my shorts didn’t turn purple and it got the stain out immediately.

I went on the Tide website and read some reviews of people who actually disliked the product, and were pretty strong with their opinions.

1 out of 5 stars

I don’t think anything would take mascara out!?

Good to know. Would have thought it would definitely taken out the ketchup. I need a book on stains. I don’t know how to remove any stains. Bike splatters from the mud on a shirt? No idea. Grass stains on white shorts from soccer? Lets hope the detergent I use is strong enough. Seriously, I need help.

But wait a sec. This person said that their ketchup stain was out in a jiffy. Who to believe?

Have you ever tried the Tide 2 Go pen? If you have had you had success or disaster? I think I’m seriously going to e-mail the company and tell them how much I love that product of theirs. Maybe they’ll send me coupons!

I did a review on a curling iron not too long ago, and also not having a clue what I was doing with my hair.

Since I’m addicted to watching makeup guru’s on YouTube like TiffanyD, conveniently enough she posted a video on how to curl your hair with the same size iron that I received in the mail. You can view her video here.

This is the outcome of my crazy ‘do. Of course it could be better. I didn’t go out in public like this or anything. But it’s a start!! YAY!!! Don’t light a match around this head of hair. Soo much product :)

Isn’t it crazy how the first time I used this curling iron, my curls looked like this? What a difference!

I can’t wait for my hair to get a lot longer, so my curls doesn’t look like I have a ‘bob’ styled hair cut. Long lush locks is what I need!

Hey. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post – another giveaway is coming up and it involves one of my favorite stores. Hint hint.

On April 9 I posted my Zevia review after only trying 4 of the 7 flavors. I finally had a chance to taste the rest of them.

Dr. Zevia. I remember trying out Dr. Pepper as a kid, and not exactly liking it. I never did buy it again. I was hesitant on trying this one after I thought the Black Cherry one wasn’t to my liking. But I was surprised I actually liked this one — a lot! Much more so than the Zevia’s Black Cherry flavor. I can’t really tell you if it tastes like Dr. Pepper or not, because quite frankly I couldn’t begin to tell you what it tastes like. I’d presume it mimics the taste. But you’ll have to try this one out on your own. Yummers.

Black Cherry. Thankfully I only received two of these cans, because I’m not sure that I could finish off four of them by myself. I’m not a HUGE fan of this flavor, but I would drink it all if it was given to me over the Orange/Ginger Ale flavor. If Kelly was living around me, I’d give her my last one, as Kelly mentioned once before that Black Cherry is her favorite Zevia flavor.

Ginger Ale. I’m picky when it comes to my Ginger Ale. Schewpps all the way for sure. Can’t say I’ll be drinking this flavor again. I think I may end up giving the last 3 to my co-workers. Wish I had less Ginger Ale and more Lemon Lime Twist. Oh that stuff’s goooooood.

Orange. It was light tasting and delicious at first, though I couldn’t finish all of it. I admit though I drank more than 3/4’s of the orange pop. The boyfriend ended up finishing it for me. It left a not so nice aftertaste in my mouth.

After my review I e-mailed the company telling them it was posted live, and ask when/if Zevia will be coming available in Canada. I was then forwarded onto a friendly guy who asked what city I reside in, and what health food stores were around me. He’s currently working on bringing Zevia to Fiddleheads in Kitchener in case any of my local readers are interested in trying this stuff out. Isn’t that terrific news? I’m so thrilled that they listened to my one single request! Awesome customer service on their part hey?

What flavor are you most interested in tasting?

My favorite still is the cola flavor, along with a close second: ginger root beer. Mmm :)

Ginger root beer and I had a photo shoot earlier this week! Ain’t she purdy?

There are three bikinis in my “swim suit basket” which is stuffed with underwear and socks since I don’t wear swim suits all that often so they don’t even need their own drawer. I only have one bikini that I wear, because the other two just don’t fit me correctly. Why am I keeping them!?

I bought a brown bikini for €7 in Ireland in 2007 when I went to visit my Brother over Christmas. I had yet to find one that I love just as much. Most times it’s the bottoms that are the problem as they don’t cover a lot of my tush, and even the front gets alarmingly low. It’s a shame because there are so many cute swim suits out there, they just don’t look all that flattering on.

I’ve actually never worn a bikini until I bought my first one in ‘07. I was often self conscious of my body and didn’t really like them. For all those ladies who  don’t wear bikinis and would like to perk up their one piece and tankinis, I found a great site for the modest gals who like to cover up but still look cute and fun. As I mentioned on twitter a while back I was browsing Lime Ricki’s website which have quite modest swim suits for those that don’t want to wear a bikini all the time, like myself. Especially when “the pookies” (please don’t make me explain) get out of hand.

Forwarding on Lime Ricki’s site to a friend of mine, she replied back with her favorite choices of swim suits and told me that Lime Ricki is “Totally vintage kind of modest glam“. She totally got that right when she mentioned that they’re super cute and for ladies that refuse to wear bikinis would really LOVE these. So true!Lime Ricki sent me the Lucy tankini to review and I just love it. I almost want to wear the top out as regular summery top, it’s that pretty. Oh and heyyyyy the bottoms FIT! That’s what happens when three sisters get together and create a bunch of swim suits that you don’t have to tug at. You can just be comfortable.

(The bathroom lighting is a little yellow. But it’s just as vibrant as the photo above, promise!)

I think the product shots of the models wearing these tankini’s are just really well done. I have to say that I definitely feel fabulous even while covered up in this tankini. Notice the bottoms how they’re not insanely low on the body? They come up to a normal yet not-too-high rise. So happy about that.

The ladies at Lime Ricki have decided that they want to give one of my lucky readers a swim suit too! For those that don’t win, you can use a 10% off code so you too, don’t miss out on the goodness.

Gosh, you gals are so lucky. What better way to start the summer, with a brand new swim suit? Here’s how it’ll work.

Comment and tell me what you’d get if you won.

Simple as that! The contest is open to residents of the USA and Canada and I will close it in 3 days: June 11, 2010 9PM EST. Entries there after will be deleted.

The coupon code for 10% off is: spiffy10 Just enter it in the checkout!

Remember when I said I had an upcoming review from CSN stores? That was a while ago, hey? It took me so long to decide on what to pick out that I was literally weeks choosing something!

I kept resorting back to the Le Creuset 8 ounce casserole dish even if my Mom told me it was going to be the size of a pop can. I didn’t order that, thankfully. What the heck can you cook in an 8 ounce dish? It’s about the size of my palm. Literally!

I was told I could pick out something worth $40.00 which included shipping. This excluded International Fees however, and in order for me to get the product for “free”, I had to choose something under $20 because of the additional fees that were tacked on.

Since I’ve been baking some goodies lately, I’ve been in dire need of a cooling rack. The one that I had before was miniature and only held 10 muffins out of the 12 that I usually make. It was an annoyance for sure as I want them all to cool evenly and not get all moist and turn to mush in the muffin tins. The choice was easy. I decided to be practical instead of ordering yet another bowl which I was on the edge about. I wanted to put my fruit in it! Or pasta! Yum. Doesn’t it look pretty? Sigh. I just don’t need it though.

I was also tempted to get a new leash for Alfie though. They’ve got some pretty ones.

So here is my brand new … super large cooling rack in all its glory. Much nicer than the one I had before.

I‘m feeling quite productive this morning. We went and got some groceries last night and I was feeling like some blueberry muffins when I woke up at 6:30. So there they are, cooling off on the giant awesome cooling rack.

As I mentioned before, there are over 200 stores to choose from and so many things on their site that it made my decision a bit difficult to make. I swear I could look at their cookware site and tell you what products they have and how much they cost, haha. After weeks upon weeks of trying to choose what to order off CSN’s thousands of products from their hundreds of stores, I ended up getting an extra large cooling rack for $13 (which ended up coming to be $37 with all the taxes and shipping). CSN stores is able to ship to Canada, but more importantly through the States. Since I’m located in Canada, I would not suggest that you order from CSN stores. The international fees (duties and what not) will get you every time, and they’re really high! The shipping also varies on the weight of the item.

Overall though their Customer Service at CSN is pretty friendly. I was dealing with one woman throughout the whole process, and it was very casual and laid back, yet professional in a sense that I trusted them. If I had money to splurge, I’d definitely buy some Le Creuset bake ware/cookware, but I don’t — so I’ll have to stick to places around my city for that stuff. For now at least.