August 22, 2009

Tomato Salad with Feta, Basil and Balsamic Reduction

One of the bummers of summer coming to an end is that excellent tomatoes vanish.  The days of collecting big bags of succulent locally-grown tomatoes from the farmer’s market will be long gone.  Boo.  Before that happens and I go into withdrawal and deep depression, I’m making all of the yummy summer tomato recipes that I can.  Here’s a recipe for a delicious fresh tomato salad that couldn’t be easier.

Don’t let the fancy title fool you.  It’s way simple, and you can use whatever quantities and whatever ingredients you like. You could add roasted red pepper, mint, olives, capers, pine nuts…anything your little heart desires!  As my old boss would say, you’re only limited by your imagination!  He would also say that it’s easier to ask forgiveness rather than permission, but the company folded so I’m thinking that maybe that wasn’t such a good philosophy.  🙂  This salad is good though!

Tomato Salad with Feta, Basil and Balsamic Reduction

1 large tomato
2 small or 1 medium tomato, chopped
2 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
Dash of lemon pepper
2 tablespoons or more feta (I like more!)
Lettuce for serving
Balsamic Reduction (cook 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar over low heat until it thickens slightly.  Cool before using.)

First, make the receptacle for the salad.  Turn the large tomato upside down,with the stem side down.  Make 4 cuts, like you’re making an asterisk, but don’t cut all the way through; only a little more than 3/4 of the way down.  You want to be able to spread the “petals” of the tomato to make room for the salad to sit.  Place the tomato on a bed of torn lettuce.

Mix the chopped tomato with the basil, lemon juice, olive oil, lemon pepper and feta. Toss lightly together, and spoon into the center of the prepared tomato.  Drizzle with the reduced balsamic.  Voila!  Vive la Summer!

~BigSis

August 21, 2009

Yesterday, BigSis mentioned The Container Store and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since.  A few weeks ago, I accidentally received someone else’s happy organized home sale catalog in my mail box. I’ve looked through it several times and have been drooling over a few products that I’d really like to have, yet I haven’t found the time to make the trip down to the store. Even though 45 minutes to an hour isn’t really that far to travel for a great shopping trip, I have yet to make it to our San Diego location in the seven years that we’ve lived here.  That’s about to change! 😉

I’ve mentioned how the whole back to school thing makes me want to reorganize a bunch of drawers and cabinets. And not just the drawers for school supplies, I’m even dying to reorganize my makeup drawers. These Acrylic Trays with Removable Dividers will work perfectly for both!

Acrylic Trays with Removable Dividers

These trays come in three different sizes. The large are on sale for $17.99, the medium are $12.99 and the small are $9.99 each. Here are the same Acrylic Trays shown being used to organize cosmetics.

Acrylic Trays with Removable Dividers

And as long as I’m reorganizing my cosmetic drawers, I’ll need to work on the cabinets under my bathroom sink. I love these 2-Drawer Stackable Organizers with the slide out drawers. These are on sale for $7.99 each. These would be perfect for all the hair products and lotions that I keep under my sink.

2-Drawer Stackable Organizer

These Clear Stacking Bins could be used in so many different ways! They come in five different sizes ranging in price from $3.49 for the small to $9.99 for the Extra Large. I’d love to have a few small and medium ones to hold desk supplies.

Clear Stacking Boxes

For some reason, I’ve always had a hard time finding a good hat rack that will hold quite a few hats. BigT went through a little phase of liking certain sports caps, especially ice hockey teams, and BigGuy always had a few favorites, like Notre Dame and ‘Da Bears, but HayHay is way over the top with the hat thing. He’s pretty obsessed with the Boston Red Sox hats, golf hats and Billabong hats and has at least a couple of dozen.

Since the hat racks with pegs never hold enough and I don’t want two dozen hooks all over the wall, I’m wondering if this Canvas Hanging Storage Bag might work well for hats. He could stack several on top of each other in the six compartments. This is a pretty good price at $12.99.

6-Compartment Hanging Canvas Bag

And while I’m talking about getting HayHay organized, I wonder if he would actually hang up his towels if I had one of these Overdoor Towel Racks on the back of his bathroom door? These are normally $24.99 and are on sale for $14.99. At that price, I’m willing to take a chance that it might help keep towels off the floor.

Bungee Overdoor Towel Rack

These are just a few of the products that I’d really love to get while this sale is going on. The only problem is that once I walk in that store, I just know that I’m going to want to go crazy!

~LilSis

August 20, 2009

I called this post Dorm Room Organizers, but these ideas could be used in any student’s room or anyone’s office.  I can personally ALWAYS use more organizers.  I’m a little bit of a fanatic about them…ok, a lot fanatic.  One perfect obsessive example is my pantry.

But enough about me.  Back to the organizers.  You say organizer, I say Container Store!  Oh, sweet mystery of life, at last I’ve found you!  I adore Container Store.  And you may know it’s the #1 company to work for, at least in Texas.  Their employees seem so darn happy, don’t they?  I think I would be if I worked in organizer mecca, however, I wouldn’t be happy when payday rolled around because I would owe the company money.

First of all, the Happy Organized Home Sale is running until September 7th.  My favorites:  Those skinny huggable hangers for $6.99 ($3 off) and their slim folding step stool for $19.99 ($10 off).

Back to back-to-school!  You see how easily I’m distracted in this place!  As always, Container Store has some incredibly cool things for your back to school organizing needs.  I love their organizing tips section for back to school.  You can shop by closet, walls & doors, desk, laundry, bath or storage.  Or you can search by your style of dorm: artistic expression, booksmart, a natural fit, high fidelity, big ideas or fashion forward.  Choose natural fit, for example, and you get this:

Container Store Natural Fit

Gorgeous, isn’t it?  Below the photo, you get a list of all the products used, along with their prices.  I’m loving the bamboo clothing rack ($129) and the coordinating magnet bamboo boards ($14.99 each).

Container Store Mini Mantel

Also, in the category of things-you-didn’t-know-you-need-but-now-must-have is this little mini mantel ($14.99) that grips onto your bed post.  This would be perfect if your dorm room didn’t have room for a nightstand.

And before we leave Container Store, don’t forget all of the awesome Elfa carts that make organizing simple.

And, one last thing.  There is a really cool web site that you must check out if you’re an organizing junkie like me.  It’s Jeri’s Decluttering and Organizing News.  She’s done posts recently on cool ideas in cork bulletin boards and on memo boards with pretty fabric coverings. Love these!

That’s it for today, gang!  Now get out there and organize something!

~BigSis

August 18, 2009

In less than two weeks, I’ll be celebrating my 18th wedding anniversary. I just realized that’s exactly twice as many years as I was married the first time! 🙂

That really makes me sound old. Of course, I was a young teenager right out of high school when I got married the first time.  I still don’t know why we thought that was such a great idea…

If I had grown up in the 50s, I probably never would have gotten married. “The Good Wife’s Guide” was supposedly published in a 1955 Home Economics textbook intended for high school girls to teach them how to be prepared for married life.

Apparently, this has been circulating for a while now, but I’d never seen it until a couple of weeks ago when our friend, C, gave us a copy.

Housekeeping Monthly May 13, 1955

Disclaimer:  You can check out Snopes if you want to see what they say about this article. The graphic that we were given, that was supposedly reproduced from a 1955 Housekeeping Monthly publication, has been proven to be a fabrication. The question is whether the piece quoted above really came from a home economics textbook. Snopes says that it’s undetermined.

“The Good Wife’s Guide”

• Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you have be thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they get home and the prospect of a good meal is part of the warm welcome needed.

• Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you’ll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people.

• Be a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it.

• Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives. Run a dust cloth over the tables.

• During the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering to his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction.

• Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Encourage the children to be quiet.

• Be happy to see him.

• Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him.

• Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first – remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.

• Don’t greet him with complaints and problems.

• Don’t complain if he’s late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through at work.

• Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or lie him down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him.

• Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.

• Don’t ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.

• A good wife always knows her place.

Seriously? Wouldn’t you really like to know if this was really published in a high school textbook?

~LilSis

August 18, 2009

As your kids head back to school, you probably have a to-do list a mile long. There are clothes and uniforms to find, school supplies to buy, transportation arrangements to make, dorm rooms to set up, and schedules to coordinate. In the midst of all the chaos, don’t forget that a meningitis vaccination could save the lives of your children, and may be the most important to-do of all.

I didn’t know much about the risk of meningitis until the son of a family friend passed away from it during his first semester at college. Here’s what I know now and want to pass on to you:

• Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord.

• There are two kinds of meningitis: viral and bacterial. Bacterial is the more severe kind, and can lead to brain damage and death.  There are several causes of each kind.

• The Meningococcal vaccination does not prevent all cases of the disease, but it does protect against most types.

• The most common symptoms of meningitis are headache, fever and a stiff neck.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends vaccinations for these individuals:

• Children: MCV4 is recommended for certain high-risk children from ages 2 through 10.

• Pre-teens/Adolescents: MCV4 is routinely recommended for all 11 through 18 year olds. If your child did not get this vaccine at the 11- or 12-year-old check-up, make an appointment for him or her to get it now.

• Adults: Either MPSV4 vaccine or MCV4 vaccine is recommended for adults if you:

• Are a college freshman living in a dormitory

• Are a military recruit

• Have a damaged spleen or your spleen has been removed

• Have terminal complement deficiency

• Are a microbiologist who is routinely exposed to Neisseria meningitis (the causal pathogen)

• Are traveling to or residing in countries in which the disease is common

There are also some individuals who should NOT get the vaccine.  Please check out the meningitis reference information on the CDC’s web site and make an informed decision for your family.

~BigSis

August 17, 2009

I love all those great ideas for decorating dorm rooms that BigSis just shared with us. It’s nice to know that there are some retailers that make it easy and affordable for us to get just about everything we need in a one-stop shopping trip. Luckily, we’ve got three years to go before we have to prepare for that big move!

Honestly, it seems like school just let out for the Summer and here we are talking about getting organized to send the kiddos back to school.  When we talk about how fast time flies, here’s a perfect example. Last year right before HayHay was about to enter his Freshman year of High School, we all of a sudden noticed that he was literally growing out of his bed.

Well, I wonder why? We bought the bunk beds when he was four years old! So, one day he’s a little four year old with brand new bunk beds and the next time I turn around, he’s a 5’8″ fourteen year old sleeping on a little twin bed. (You gotta give him credit, he never complained or even mentioned that his feet were hanging off his mattress.) I just ran across the photos that I took for my ad .

Here’s what he was sleeping in just last year.

And here was his cute little desk on the end.

I don’t even think he could sit in that little chair and fit under the desk!

After one trip to IKEA and some fresh new paint colors, here’s what the Big Boy Room looks like now.

The IKEA bed, dresser, and nightstand are all from the Hemnes collection. The bed was $299, the dresser was $299 and the nightstand was under $100.

We got the Quick Silver comforter, sheet set, pillow cases, shams and two pillows at Bed, Bath and Beyond all in one “Bed in a Bag” for under $200.00. They may not have the exact set right now, but I know they have some awesome deals going on for bedding.

Finally, drawers big enough to hold big boy clothes.

Yes, the Led Zeppelin wall covering is a ‘hand me down’ from BigT.

But, I love that he still loves his Rugrat pillowcase!  🙂

I’m not crazy about posters being hung all over the room with thumbtacks, but HayHay managed to do this himself without asking and I’ve decided that I need to choose my battles.

We never did totally finish his room, so that’s one of our projects for this week. We’re going to head back to IKEA to try to find shelves for his trophies and some sort of storage unit for all his sports memorabilia and his collection of hats. And, if I find some reasonably priced frames, maybe I can convince him that his surf posters would look better if they were framed.

While at IKEA, I’m going to try to focus on buying just what we need to finish up his room, but in looking through the new 2010 catalog, I’m going to be tempted to browse through the home organization section and the office workspace area.

There’s something about getting the kids ready to go back to school that makes me want to reorganized all the cabinets and drawers in preparation for the school books that have to stay at the house and all the new school supplies. I love shopping for school supplies! I probably haven’t mentioned it lately, but I do have an office supply fetish. (I could get lost in Staples for hours.)

If I find any amazing bargains or any fun, new items, I’ll be back later this week to share them with you.

~LilSis

August 16, 2009

It’s here already…back to school! Where did the summer go? Regardless of where it went or how fast it flew by, the time is here to get our act together for the fall. For lots of folks, that means getting your dorm room set up and organized or perhaps you’ve already moved into your own student house after visiting a website like http://www.aplusstudenthousing.com. Either way, your gonna have a lot of decorating to do! Thankfully, there are lots of resources available to help! Since time for online ordering may be running short for some of you, we’re focusing on retailers with “real” stores as well as web sites.

Bed Bath & Beyond has a “Shop for College” section online. It includes a super-helpful checklist for equipping the space, and a College Practical Solutions section with solutions to common problems, like too little clothing storage or too little light. There is even a Decorating Ideas feature.

How about this Grover Beach theme for a young guy?

Grover Beach

Ok, well, maybe it is a little over the top and packed with stuff, but you don’t have to buy all of it. All of the items pictured in the example are listed below the photos of it, with prices and the option to add them to your shopping cart as you see fit. You can always add more from other places as well, and adjust it to your style. I’ve seen some people add things like these lights from Neon Mama to make the room even brighter. Pretty cool!

For a young woman, I think their Juliet room is a little wild and fun!

Juliet

Target Paisley Comforter

Not to be outdone, Target has a whole line of stylish dorm room decor items, including bedding, bath items, furniture and accessories. I’m crazy about this brown and blue paisley comforter ($14.99) and can see a whole room built around it very easily.

Target also has some pages put together to help you. You can click on the Contemporary Total Dorm, for example, and see photos and prices of everything they think you will need. I’m not sure if the 32″ Vizeo HDTV they show is essential or not, but maybe it is for some students! You can also view their suggested items for the Classic Total Dorm, The Trendy Total Dorm, the Dorm Lounge and different girls’ and guys’ dorms styles. Lots of fun stuff.

JC Penney also has their own Dorm Life section with useful resources: a checklist, tips on finding your own style, living in a small space, and doing what you need to do on a small budget. They have lots of affordable options for furnishing and decor. Although, before you buy anything it might be worth checking of there are any rules about what you can and can’t have in your dorm. For example, I’ve seen some really cool wall decals being advertised but I’m sure many colleges are not keen on students decorating their walls. However, there are still loads of other options at JC Penney. I love that their seating section is comprised of one faux fur butterfly chair and ten bean bag chairs! It doesn’t get any more dorm-ish than that!

We hope we’ve given you have a few ideas for decor to get you started. We’ll be back all this week with more back-to-school info, including some organizing tips!

~BigSis

August 15, 2009

I know that yesterday’s topic was pretty serious and we typically like to keep things pretty “chipper” here on our blog. But, that being said, when we’re passionate about something, we feel it’s important that we share it with you here. That information about the dolphins in Japan is very disturbing, and if there’s anything we can do to make a difference, we have to do it.

When I think of one person who has been able to make such a huge difference in a fight for a cause; it would be Nancy Brinker. I was so happy when I heard that on Wednesday, President Barack Obama honored Susan G. Komen for the Cure® founder and cancer advocate Ambassador Nancy Goodman Brinker with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

“One of the last things Suzy Komen did before she died was to have her sister, Nancy make her a promise,” President Obama said. “Nancy promised that she would prevent other families fighting breast cancer from suffering the way her family had. What began as a shoe box with $200 and a list of friends has become a global Race for the Cure; a campaign that has eased the pain and saved the lives of millions of people around the world. In the months after making that promise, Nancy lay awake at night wondering if one person can really make a difference. Nancy’s life is the answer.”

The story of these two sisters has always stuck in my mind and has motivated me to help raise money for this cause for several years now.

Until yesterday, I had come to the conclusion that I wasn’t going to be able to commit to Captain our team in this year’s Race for the Cure due to some major demands on my time.  I was still going to participate but I was going to try to recruit another team member to take on the role of Captain. Then, in the same day that I heard about Nancy Brinker receiving this award, I ran into a friend, who is a Survivor, only to find out that she is sick again and still unsure of her prognosis. It makes me really, really sad. She isn’t even 40 yet and has two young children.

That sure put things into perspective for me.  Sure, I have too many demands on my time right now, but I’m not fighting for my life! So, I really feel like this is something that I’m supposed to do.

Our local San Diego Race for the Cure is November 1st, so I think I better start rallying my team together! You can go to the Susan G. Komen For the Cure site to find out more about a race near you!

~LilSis

August 14, 2009

Where in the fudge have I been?  I hadn’t heard a peep about this award-winning documentary called “The Cove” until last week, even though it won the Sundance Film Festival and a bunch of other awards, nor did I know anything about the atrocities revealed in the movie.  Since it’s not my style to stick my head in the sand, I went to see the “The Cove” last night, although I knew it would be emotional.

Now I know a bunch of things that are horrifying and haunting me…things that I wish were not true.  To say that I am outraged and disgusted is an understatement.

Here is what I learned:

• There is a tiny fishing village in Japan called Taiji.  Every year from September to March, dolphins migrate through this area, and the “fishermen” of Taiji herd them into a cove, using the dolphins’ sensitivity to sound against them.

• In this cove, the prime dolphins – usually young females – are selected to be sold for up to $150,000 each.  Taiji is the world’s largest supplier of dolphins to water parks like Sea World.  A live dolphin show can bring $1 million per year to the attraction, so there is continuous demand from these parks for dolphins.

• The dolphins who are not chosen for sale are slaughtered by these “fishermen” who stab at them repeatedly from boats with long harpoon-like poles, until the cove is literally filled with blood.  Then the dead dolphins are fished out of the water with hooks and hauled off to be cut up.

• Taiji is alone responsible for the annual slaughter of 23,000 dolphins.

• The *meat* from these dolphins is then sold, often being passed off as whale meat. The acceptable level of mercury for human consumption is .4 ppm (parts per million), however, because dolphins are so high up the food chain, their tissues can contain 2000 ppm.  The risk of mercury poisoning is therefore very high for any one who eats dolphin.

• Until “The Cove” team broke this story, the dolphin meat masquerading as whale meat was being given to schools for free, so the contamination was being delivered directly to Japan’s school children.  It is still sold as whale meat to unsuspecting consumers.

• One dead dolphin may bring $600, but the “fishermen” say they are slaughtering the dolphins for pest control, more than for the money, because dolphins eat so much fish that the supply of fish is diminishing at alarming rates.  They apply this same ridiculous rationale to whales.  Never mind the fact that humans deplete the seas of fish to the extent that some people think the oceans will be void of any fish within 40 years at the current fishing rate.

• Half of the dolphins in captivity only live 2 years.  They suffer from depression, which is understandable since in the ocean they swim 40 miles a day.  They also suffer from ulcers, to the extent that the water parks stock Tagamet and Maalox to treat them.

• Dolphins can commit suicide.  They choose to deliberately breathe when they are out of the water, unlike humans who breathe automatically without ever giving it a thought.  So they can choose NOT to breathe.

Now that I know about all this, I can’t forget that I know it and I want you to know it too.  Here’s the trailer for “The Cove“.

What you first need to know is that Ric O’Barry trained the dolphins for “Flipper” in the 60s.  He had an epiphany after one of the dolphin stars of the show – Cathy – died in his arms.  He says that she was so depressed that she chose to stop breathing and die, rather than continue her so-called life in captivity.

Since then, Ric has spent 35 years trying to end dolphin abuses and captivity.  In the documentary, at great risk to his personal safety, he sets out to reveal the atrocities that are being committed in Taiji.  He and an incredible team plan to film what happens in the cove, since it is highly protected, for reasons you will see.  They succeed, and we see the actual footage of the slaughter.

So now that we have seen this footage with our own eyes, and it has been brought out of the dark veil of secrecy into the light, what are we going to do about it?  It has to stop.  WE have to stop it.  Here’s what you can do:

• Go see “The Cove” and encourage others to see it.  Check thecovemovie.com for viewing locations in your area.

• Stop patronizing parks that feature live dolphin shows.  They aren’t having fun, and they aren’t smiling!

• Support the filmmaker – Ocean Conservation Society – with your financial donations.

• If you must eat fish, find out which fish has the safest levels of mercury.

• Contact our leaders and help get the word out in Japan.  This link will allow you to sign a petition letter online and share the opportunity with other people who care.  It couldn’t be easier.

• Donate to SaveJapanDolphins.

• Learn more about dolphins in captivity.

• Tell everyone you know about the cove and what happens there.  There are people just like me who had no clue about this, and who need to know.

I’ll leave you with one personal experience.  When LilSis and her family and I went to Maui in 2000, the highlight of the trip for me was the snorkeling day trip we took to Kauai.  As our boat cut through the water, we had several different varieties of dolphins swimming along the front of our boat, escorting us.  We had pods of bottlenose dolphins, spotted dolphins and spinner dolphins, and maybe others.  It was thrilling to watch them, and the emotion they exuded was just joy joy joy.  They seemed to be having the time of their lives, swimming and spinning, swimming and spinning.

To think that anyone could slaughter these incredible creatures for any reason is incomprehensible to me.  I’m not going to stop talking about it until the hell in Taji is stopped.

Check out these links for more information:

http://thecovemovie.com/

http://www.takepart.com/thecove/

http://savejapandolphins.com/

http://www.surfersforcetaceans.com/

Sarah Newman’s Huffington Post Article “Japans Dirty Little Secret is Out”

Jennifer Grayson’s Huffington Post Article “Why is the Japanese Government Hell-Bent on Killing Dolphins?”

Tara Lohan’s Huffington Post Article “The Cove: Japan Has a Dark Secret It Hopes the World Will Never See“

~BigSis

August 13, 2009

I don’t know about anyone else, but this Summer has taken a toll on my hair.  And if I didn’t pay a frappin’ fortune for highlights and  low-lights, I really wouldn’t care so much. I sure wish that I didn’t have the challenges of gray hair, but I do and I’m not ready to be like Jamie Lee Curtis and go “all natural”. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.)

It’s taken me years to find a good hair stylist who knows how to do my hair, so I really try to take care of it. As it is now, I go every six weeks in-between appointments instead of every four weeks, which is what I used to have to do! I know, that’s high maintenance, but it’s the lesser of two evils.

Since there is still a little Summer left, I thought that this might be of some interest to those of you that still have that intense Sun wreaking havoc on your hair. When I’m at home, whether at the pool or the beach, I always have a heavy duty conditioner on my hair. Between the chlorine, saltwater, and sun, it doesn’t take long to do some real damage to my hair if it’s unprotected.

I somehow forgot to take a good conditioner with me on my recent trip to Texas so BigSis and I made a quick stop at Ulta to check out some hair products. Originally, I was looking for some sort of color protectant that I had used in the past but we couldn’t find anything similar.

Then, the display of Fekkai Marine Summer Hair Collection caught our eye.

Fekkai Marine Summer Hair Collection

We really loved the ingredients and the scent of all of these products. For our purpose at that time, I decided to buy the Fekkai Summer Hair Beachcomber Leave in Conditioner.

Fekkai Beachcomber Leave in Conditioner

This product is intended to be used as a normal everyday leave-in conditioner, but after consulting with a sales person at Ulta, she agreed that it would be fine to use it to protect our hair while in the sun. To use it in this way, we just got our hair wet first and then sprayed the conditioner in, combed it through, and went on our merry way.

We loved how this conditioner held up, not only to the heat and humidity, but also to our curly hair! Years ago, whenever we went to the pool or water park, we always used a product called Mermaid, which also contained a lot of seaweed and sea algae ingredients. We loved it and have never found anything remotely similar until now.

This description from Fekkai might explain why we like it so much.

Fekkai Beachcomber Leave-in Conditioner — A lightweight formula that contains marine peptides, sea algae extract and UV shielding ingredients to detangle the hair, boosting its moisture and shine while protecting it against damage fading effects.

For those of us with curly hair, it’s a big deal to find a conditioner that you can just comb through your wet hair and it remains sleek looking all day.

This Fekkai leave-in conditioner was actually that good!! We were both pleasantly surprised! Our hair type is a true test for any hair product and this one held up despite the temperatures and humidity!

Since then, I’ve used it after my regular shampoo and conditioner and my hair was quite happy.  But the last time I used it, I decided to eliminate my regular conditioner and just use this leave-in conditioner by itself to see what would happen. I love it! I’m really happy with the results that I got from using it alone.  Honestly, I’ve had better results with this leave-in conditioner than I’ve had with the past two Enjoy products that I’ve bought at my hair salon.

Unfortunately, I just realized that this is a limited edition product so I’m going to have to stock up!

~LilSis