If you're like me and just realized that we have only 3 weeks from Thursday until Christmas is here, you're probably freaking out a little.  Or a lot!  You're probably also wishing for a way to get yourself organized so that you won't forget anything, AND your stress level will be under control a little bit more.  I found a few things that might help.

• Real Simple has a 26 day Holiday Blogathon going on right now.  What?  They didn't invite BigSisLilSis to participate?  Even though we're crushed, I do have to say there are some great tips there from some great blogs on all kinds of Christmas topics.
• i-village has a Christmas Planner broken down into the 1st week of December, the 2nd week, the 3rd week, Christmas week, Christmas morning and after Christmas.
• FamilyFun.com shows us how to transform a 3-ring binder into Ann's Amazing Holiday Planner.
• If you have a little time on your hands and are super-duper crafty and stampy, check out this tutorial for a beautiful Christmas Planner from Christine Rowland, a Stampin Up Demonstrator.
• How about a video for those of us who need a visual?  I have a jillion things to do but I sat here and watched this whole 7 minute video on making a cute Christmas Planner.  I couldn't stop watching it! Plus I really enjoyed the music from Josh Groban.
• TwoPeasInABucket's member gallery has this Christmas Planner that is absolutely gorgeous.  There aren't any instructions, but it's certainly inspiring to look at.  I'm pretty OCD and overly-perfectionistic, but this project is beyond me for December 2nd.  Maybe if it was July 2nd I would attempt this jewel.
• OrganizedHome has some Christmas Planner notebook ideas that are pretty practical.
• And last but not least, the FlyLady offers a Holiday Cooking and Decorating Schedule.

We'll send more tips and tools your way as we find them.  Meanwhile, take a deep breath, make a list or two, and enjoy this blessed season!

~BigSis

Posted under Holidays

When I was in Californie last week, LilSis and I were wandering around SuperTarget in search of the Garnier Nutrioniste Anti-Puff Eye Roller.  We found that, plus this other intriguing product that neither of us had heard of.  It's made by University Medical and is called Face Lift WrinkleFree Eyes.  The package screams that it's a “20 Minute Botox” treatment!  Of course, we bought into the marketing strategy…hook, line and wrinkle.  Yep, we forked over our $30 and bought it.

Adios to Wrinkles??

Here's what you get in the 2-week starter kit, according to the manufacturer's web site:

~BigSis

Posted under Beauty and Skin Care

Who wants furry little caterpillars for eyebrows? (Just kidding, I get it.) I liked the photo of the furry little critter. I don't have an eyebrow problem, except that I have to pluck every day since I don't have time to get them waxed regularly.

So, why is it that where we have hair, we don't want it; yet where we want hair, we don't have it? We women pluck, tweeze, wax, use depilatories, and laser off hair from ‘almost' every part of our bodies.

Until BigSis mentioned it to me a few months ago, I had never even thought of removing the hair from my arms. She liked how hers looked after she did it, so, of course, I had to try it.

It's so easy, too, with this Nair Pretty Hair Remover Spray! You just spray it on either your legs or arms from about 4 inches away until you have an even foam. Let it sit for 3 – 5 minutes, then wipe off a small test area to check hair removal. You can leave on for up to 10 minutes. Total hair removal depends on the thickness of the hair. The first time I did my arms, I think it did take the full ten minutes. I used to have a lot of blonde hair on my arms!

I hadn't used Nair in years because I always remember how bad it smelled! The days of stinky Nair are gone! This Nair Pretty Soft Kiwi Spray has the least odor of any I've ever used.

They also have Peach, Raspberry, and Green Apple scents.  If you happen to have a teenage daughter, she might even get a kick out of the Nair Pretty Green Apple Glitter Wax Strips.

Is this ‘hair removal' craze just another obsession we women have or is it just the need to try to do everything we can to look our best?

~LilSis

Posted under Beauty and Skin Care

After overindulging in Mexican food, pizza, or salty chips almost every day for the past ten days, BigSis and I found ourselves waking with what we call “salt bags”. And no, we don't just mean puffy eyes! These are called salt bags for a reason!  Seriously scary!

When I first saw Sarah Jessica Parker on the commercial for the Garnier Nutritioniste anti-puff eye roller, I actually laughed.  I'm thinking to myself, ”yeah right, here we go again with another product that claims to just roll away the puffy eyes.”  I was definitely skeptical. I read a few positive reviews online about this product, so we picked it up one day when we happened to be at Target.

It might not have been a fair time to test this product since both of our eyes were much puffier than normal.  I really liked how the product went on with the little metal ball; nice and smooth, and cool since we kept it in the fridge.  I also liked the way that the product dried so that you were able to put concealer right on top of it and didn't have to wipe it off like some products.

Overall, I do think that this product reduced the puffiness under my eyes.  (Some mornings, I actually used it twice.) I wouldn't say that it's a miracle product as they make it seem on the commercial, but I'm going to keep using it. For $13.00, it's a good buy and I think worth a try for anyone who has trouble with morning under eye puffiness!

What are your thoughts on the anti-puff eye roller, Big Sis?

~LilSis

Posted under Beauty and Skin Care

Did I notice results from the University Medical Face Lift WrinkleFree Eyes? I can honestly answer yes to that question! And, I gotta tell ya, I am really surprised. I wasn't expecting to see a noticeable difference after just one usage.

I'm more impatient than you, BigSis! I used all three products right away.

• First, I used the micro-charged eye patches. Instead of 20 minutes, I might have kept them on for an extra five minutes accidentally. I didn't experience any tingling or itching at all. When I took them off, I was pretty impressed with the immediate results.  I don't know if they should go so far as to call it a 20 minute botox because the patches don't make the lines completely disappear as botox does. (And yes, I admit to occasionally getting my pesky little crows feet injected with botox.)

The true test will be to see how long this lasts.  If the results are still noticeable after a week until time to use the patches again, I'd be sold. I wouldn't even mind keeping these on hand to use before a special event.

• I liked the 24 Hour Face Lift product also. It really did seem to fill in some fine lines. The only thing I noticed is that it left a little bit of a film around my eyes after it dried. I just put some of my normal eye cream on top of it and was able to put concealer on as normal.

• I only used the nighttime Retinol Cream once and didn't really notice anything different with that. I didn't have any adverse reaction but I'll probably be more careful using this product around my eyes at night. I read one of the reviews about the nighttime cream that stated a few of the women experienced red, blotchy skin. When they reported their results to University Medical, they suggested only using the nighttime Retinol Cream every other night if experiencing any adverse reaction.  But on the flip side, one woman reported the nighttime Retinol totally making her dark circles disappear.

BigSis, even though you are the “older” sister, 🙂 I think I have more problems with crows feet and fine lines than you do because of my skin being dryer.  I guess, in hindsight, maybe it would have been fun for both of us to show “before” and “after” photos.  Ha!

So, I say we continue using the other two products for a full week and then report back with our final review. Now, can we talk about something else? Maybe something a little more fun than puffy eyes and crows feet?

Please tell me that you're not seriously considering showing us photos of your kitties' hairballs.

~LilSis

Posted under Beauty and Skin Care

When was a meat-eater, I loved the aroma and the flavor of bacon but almost never ate it because of the high fat content.  Now that it's been over 15 years since I ate anything with a face or parents, I have to admit that I still like the smell of it.  I can't stand the odor of barbecue or any other meat item, but bacon is the exception.  I don't eat it, but I do enjoy smelling it. I'm a little bit ashamed to confess that, but I have to be honest.

I know that lots of vegetarians are disgusted by the meat analog products that some of us eat, because they're too similar to real meat.  I totally understand and appreciate that viewpoint, but soy, wheat and mushroom burgers, patties, etc., don't personally offend me.

Back to the bacon.  I don't think it's the pig itself that smells so good; my theory is that it's the smokiness of the spices.  If it's true that the spice combo creates the aroma, then is there a product out there that would fill the bacon-shaped hole in a vegetarian's or vegan's diet?  And even if you're not a veggie, perhaps a bacon-flavor substitute would appeal to you for health reasons because of a lower fat content?

So I proposed a challenge to myself.  Try to find a delicious vegan bacon-flavored item.  Sounds simple, right?  Let's see!

The first contender is Bacon Salt.  I've been hearing buzz about it for months and months, but never ordered it.  In addition to online availability, you can now buy Bacon Salt in some retail stores.  I got my 2 oz jar of the Original Bacon Salt at Kroger for $4.99.

Bacon Salt

First off, there are lots of ingredients in Bacon Salt.  The first is sea salt, then garlic, paprika, onion, and corn syrup.  It also contains corn cereal (?), natural hickory smoke flavor, natural butter flavor, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, artificial flavors and some other things that I'm not familiar with.  So, my initial reaction is: too much stuff, some of it not good for us.

Secondly, there's the aroma.  Sniffing the jar, I wasn't bowled over.  It smells a little weird and fake-ish, with a mostly smoky odor.

Lastly, how does it taste?

• Tasting it plain out of the jar, it definitely tastes artificial to me.  I get the salt, garlic, paprika, onion and a little sweetness, but mostly I taste smoke and not in a great way.  Even faux bacon bits taste better alone than this.

• I also tried it sprinkled on some raw almonds that I had sauteed in a little butter for a few minutes.  The flavor of the salt was better on the almonds than it was on its own.  It reminded me a little of the smoked almonds you can buy in a can, but not as good.  The smoke flavor wasn't offensive on the almonds, but I wasn't really reminded of bacon either.

• The final taste test on a faux BLT was the most successful for Bacon Salt.  I spread a little mayo on some whole grain bread (you could use vegan mayo, of course), and added fresh tomato slices and shredded lettuce.  The Bacon Salt was sprinkled fairly generously over the veggies.  Dare I say it?  It was pretty darn tasty!  I almost got a touch of bacon-iness, without any of the odd artificial flavors.

The verdict:  2 stars out of 5 on the Sister Scale.  I wouldn't buy Bacon Salt again because I just don't think it's good for me since I try not to eat things I can't pronounce.  It is horrible?  Absolutely not.  Is it as great as the hype?  Nope.

So, the search continues for a great vegan bacon-flavored item.  I truly hope you find some value in this challenge, because tomorrow morning I'm going to have salt bags under my eyes like crazy!

Next time…vegan bacon jerky!

~BigSis

Posted under Food

Cherry-Pecan Meringue Bars

Gearing up for the SPCA Bake Sale, I had one more promising recipe to taste-test.  Like the Double Chocolate Peppermint Bars I tested recently, the inspiration again was Carole Walter's “Great Cookies” – a James Beard Award winner and IACP winner.

These bars took a little doing – about an hour to put together – and are a touch too fussy for the Bake Sale.  You have a brown sugar shortbread base, with a cherry filling and a meringue pecan topping.  The combination of flavors was great, especially if you're a nut lover.  All in all, pretty delicious, and lighter than a lot of the things that come out of my oven this time of year!

So, these bars gets thumbs up for flavor but don't get invited to the Bake Sale!  I'll be making Cookie Madness' White Chip Raspberry Bars for the sale again, since they were well-received last year.  You get a similar zip from the berry jam (I use my homemade cranberry jam) with a nutty complement from sliced almonds.  If you double Anna's recipe, it fits nicely in a 13 x 9 pan, and will give you 12 healthy-size bars.

If you have a little bit of time on your hands, do try these Cherry-Pecan Meringue Bars.  I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Cherry-Pecan Meringue Bars
(adapted from Great Cookies)

Filling:

1 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup water
1 cup cherry preserves or jam (I used homemade cranberry jam)
1 tsp fresh lemon zest
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves
pinch of salt
2 Tblsp POM Wonderful juice (the original recipe called for Cherry Heering liqueur which is a bit pricey, and unnecessary IMHO)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 13 x 9 pan with nonstick foil.

Place the cherries and water in a small saucepan. Cook, covered, over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes or until cherries are tender and almost all of the liquid has evaporated.

Add the rest of filling ingredients. Bring to a boil. Place the mixture into a food processor and pulse 5-6 times. The mixture should still have some texture, rather than being a puree.  Chill mixture for 30 minutes or up to 1 week.

Crust:

3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter (I used salted)
1/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1-3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt

Place the butter in a medium saucepan and barely melt over low heat, remove from heat and allow to finish melting. Set aside to cool to tepid, then stir in brown sugar. Blend in the flour and salt all at once.

Drop 8 spoonfuls of dough onto the prepared pan. Press dough evenly into bottom of pan. Bake at 350 for 15 to 17 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes then spread the cherry filling evenly over crust.

Meringue:

8 oz pecans (2 cups chopped)
3/4 cup sugar
3 egg whites, at room temperature
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Place the pecans in a food processor and add 1 tablespoon of the sugar and pulse 3-4 times, or until finely chopped. Set aside. In a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment, beat the egg whites on medium speed until frothy.  Add the salt.  Increase the speed to medium high and beat until firm but not dry. Add the remaining sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, taking about 1 minute.  Add the vanilla and beat 30 seconds longer to form a shiny meringue. Fold in 1 cup of the chopped pecans.

Spread the meringue evenly over the cherry mixture, smooth the top, and sprinkle with the remaining pecans. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown.

Cool on a wire rack. Remove from pan, using the foil to lift it out, and cut into bars.

~BigSis

Posted under Food

Last week I talked about the Origins Youthtopia eye cream that I bought recently to replace the “more expensive” brand that I'd been buying. As luck would have it, I ran out of my moisturizer at about the same time I ran out of the eye cream. So, while I was at the Origins counter searching for the eye cream, I took a peek at their choices in moisturizers.

After looking over several options, I decided to try the Have a Nice Day Super-Charged moisture lotion. This is Origins description of Have a Nice Day.

Your skin hasn’t a care in the world when stimulating Ginkgo Extract, firming Birch Extract and nourishing Soybean Oil fortify it with everything it needs to face the day in a positive way. Origins potent blend of UV protectors, including nature’s own Titanium Dioxide, defray the rays. Vitamin E stops environmental no-goodniks. Skin runs smoothly sun up to sun down. And one whiff of the gung-ho Grapefruit aroma gives you a sense of can-do optimism.

At first I wasn't real crazy about the screw top lid on this container because I was used to having a pump, which just makes it a little quicker and easier to dispense, but now that I've gotten used to it, it's not a big deal and I think that there's probably going to be less waste. With a container like this, it'll be a lot easier to get every last little drop out of the bottle, which is not the case with the bottles that have the pump. (I never could figure out how to hack into the Chanel bottle.)

There are a few things I love about this product. First, I love that it has an SPF 15 just like the other brand. Even though SPF is not a lot of sun protection, at least I know that when I put this on every morning, I've got some sun protection.  If I'm knowingly going to be out in the sun, I'll put on a SPF 30 or 45 on top of this. I also love that when you apply this product, you get a whiff of the grapefruit aroma. I first fell in love with the grapefruit scent when I started using the Origins Gloom Away products. And, in my opinion, this product goes on just as smoothly and feels just as hydrating as the Chanel.

What I love most about Have a Nice Day is that it retails for $36.00 for a 1.7 oz. bottle versus the $86.00 that I was paying for the exact same size in the other brand. When you think about it, that's $100 savings for every two bottles I buy. That's huge!

Now if I could just find a more affordable “anti-cellulite” cream! 🙂

~LilSis

Posted under Beauty and Skin Care

I talked a while back about how much I love the Dr. Oz Show, and how much I learn every time I tune in. I saw two shows recently that I thought contained amazing information, and I want to tell everyone I know about it, starting with you!

I bet we would all agree that Alzheimers and cancer are two of the most dreaded diseases we can imagine. What if your diet alone could help prevent them from attacking you and your loved ones?

According to these two episodes of Dr. Oz, there are foods that can do exactly that.  Read on!

Dr. Oz said that when autopsies are done on 40 year old women who die in car accidents, 40% are found to have microscopic breast cancer cells. By the time we're 70, 100% of us have cancer cells in our bodies.

So, what makes those common microscopic cells grow into a menacing tumor? Blood supply. It's called angiogenesis; when blood capillaries grow and feed the cells so they can multiply at a sometimes alarming rate.

A study conducted by Dr.William Li has shown that certain foods do have the ability to impair angiogenesis.  The anti-angiogenesis foods include:

• Bok Choy

• Cooked Tomatoes

• Artichokes

• Flounder

• Strawberries

• Green Tea

• Chocolate

• Cinnamon

• Soybeans

Now how about Alzheimers disease?  It runs in our family, and LilSis and I will do just about anything to keep it from attacking us. Dr Oz says that we need to add these brain-boosting Alzheimers-fighting foods to our diet:

• Lentils

• Chia Seeds

• Brazil Nuts

• Coffee

I already eat most of these things, but the rest are going to be integrated into my diet (except for flounder since I'm not a critter eater).  Now…how do you cook bok choy?

~BigSis

Posted under Health

Last Thursday, the Dallas area got a whopping 12.5 inches of snow; shattering the previous record of 7.5 inches to smithereens!  I can't even tell you how gorgeous it was and what a treat it was to see this. My neighborhood looked like some kind of fairy tale North Pole scene.  Even though it was beautiful – and lots of schools closed to the delight of kids everywhere – it did cause a lot of problems.  100,000 people are still without power today.  Thankfully, my power was back on Friday night after being out for the whole day.  We had trees down all over town, and branches ripped off the ones still standing.  Those poor little trees weren't used to holding up all that snow, and ended up toppled over on power lines.

Since this may be the biggest snowfall I'll see in my lifetime if I continue to live here, I wanted to remember as much of it as possible so I took a zillion photos.  Here are a few:

Adios, snowstorm of 2010!  You were a bit of a pain, but you were a blast while you were here!  🙂

~BigSis

Posted under This & That