Crocking

I refer to the act of using the crock pot as crocking. People will ask me what I'm doing and if I have something in the crockpot, I'll reply that I'm crocking.

For my birthday I bought myself a new crockpot: 

Never before had I had one with a dial! I now don't have to set my alarm for 3am to turn something off. I've used it three times now and everything has come out lovely.

I wanted the one that stired- 

and the one one with the meat thermometer.


But decided on the Hamilton Beach programmable because it was half the price. Who knows, maybe some day I'll have three crockpots for various crocking needs.

When I got my last crock about three years ago, I  tried to make various recipes from Pinterist such as this potato soup. The problem is it calls for 5lbs of potatoes and 64 oz of chicken broth. That is a lot. And I followed their insturctions to a T. Never again...

After that I only made beans and pot roasts in the crock. I don't have the weither to make anything that requires a lot of chopping.

In buying the crock I bought two packages of lentles. My mom always made lentle soup and I used to by the dry Kosher mixes and un kosher them with pork products. ( I was kosher for a while then said eh. I don't really eat pork because I think it upsets my stomach. That is until now.) I went to Sprouts and bought a small pork roast because I heard somewhere on pinterst it's good to put a roast in with your lentles or pintos. Then I cooked it on low for six hours. Then I fell alseep so it stayed in the crock all night. But the results were wonderful. I think I only put season salt ( My one true love) and maybe garlic salt. I bought Cumin, because I thought I needed it, but ended up not using it.

Last weekend I went a little wild and crocked both days.

The first day I mad this all purpose chicken. You pretty much just line the bottom of the crock with chicken breasts, dump in half a cup of chicken stock ( I don't measure) and add whatever seasoning you like. ( I'm pretty much a staple of season salt and table Mrs Dash.) and then you let it cook on low for six hours. The key is not to open it. And then you have shred with a fork chicken that you can use for anything.

The next day I made a roast and I decided to try the pinterst belief that Soda tenderizes beef. So I bought one of those one litter bottles of Coke for .99 and ended up marinating the beef in it over night then throwing the whole thing in the crock for a 10 hr slow and low. It was tinder, but there is also a weird sweet to it. The last roast I made I used what I had/ had bought. New potatoes and carrots on bottom, the roast. The last bit of the soda I had in the fridge and a little bit of the beef stock I had. Whatever herbs I had on hand and no salt. I find that lately my food ends up too salty when I'm crocking. I later added some of this Irish butter I had bought at sprouts that was garlic herb. I had expected to use it on bread, but then I said why not. That Mississpi roast that people pin has a whole stick of butter, a packet of ranch dressing mix and a packet of a jus. So I closed the lid and 10 hours on low. When it got into the last two hours I checked on it. tinder and no weird taste associated with the over use of soda. So good.

Lush

I went to Lush last week because I was out of Dark Angels. I thought I wanted to try Herbalism. I remember being turned off by the smell initially, but Dark Angels is sorta rough. Plus they said that Herbalism helps acne. So I bought both. Oh boy now I wish I had just bought Dark Angels. I never feel that my skin is clean with Herbalism and it has this sour smell ( I assume from the rice vinegar.) Which might make me throw up one morning. So now I pretty much use dark angels after I use it, and I'm only using it because I wasted 15.00 on it. :(

I know if I have an Etsy shop I will never do this,unless the review is also negative.

Getting a why don’t you like me note with in hours of giving a shop on Etsy a 3 star review, is sorta like those girls I’ve always known who ask me over and over why I don’t like them. It’s annoying and it doesn’t make me like you anymore. For a shop that has over 2,000 reviews, I’m sorta shocked that she took the time to whine to me about giving her 3 stars. Three stars is ” It’s okay” and her product is okay. Yes, her shop was mentioned on XOJane and probably got a ton of business from that. And I did order one of the you’re gonna like this or hate this scents, but it’s still just okay. I’ll wear it from time to time, because I’m a scent collector, but I don’t smell it and say “God this is wonderful!”.The real reason I gave her the three stars is because it’s nothing special, but an usual scent that I wanted in my collection. . And she took too long to get it to me. Other shops have exceeded their expected shipping time frame, while she took a week and a half to ship it. 


This was my review: 
Out of the roller _________  is intense, but it drys down to a nice scent. As a scent hoarder, I'm happy to have it in my collection. Packaging was nice and came quickly once shipped.


And this was her letter: Hi Sarah,

I wanted to reach out as I just read your recent feedback for the ______ perfume oil and it sounds like it has been overall positive for you (I know that this one is a very strong scent), but I see that you left a 3-star rating. I strive for a 5-star experience for all of my customers so if there is anything that I can do to improve your rating please let me know. Feedback is meant to reflect not just an individual expectation of scent (which is very personal and differs so much from nose to nose), but also the entire transaction including communication, packaging, quality of the product, and excellent customer service and I would hope that overall your shopping experience in my shop was a positive one that perhaps would total more than 3-stars.

So please let me know if you are unsatisfied in any way - I will work with you to make it right as your satisfaction is my number one priority.

I thank you very much for your time and hope you have a wonderful rest of the week.

All my best,

____________

Three stars for you! 

Nobody Move, Nobody get hurt they say....

So my friend and I were at the Swap meet and we were looking at the Urban Decay Naked pallets they sell for like 20 bucks. As we’re saying these aren’t real she pulls her Naked 2 out of her purse to compare to theirs (Not the same colors at all.) and before we know it everything is gone from there table. She said she thinks they thought we were cops. I asked her if we were undercover 21 Jump Street counterfeit make up cops and we laughed about it. But a few rows down we were talking about how we liked a Guns N' Roses shirt and when she went in to see how much it was she made a face and quickly backed out. I thought it was because they wanted too much for it, but she said it was because the cops were busting them. I was like what badasses. I want to be married to an undercover cop. I find new joy in the swap meet now. 

Oh and I bough three G1 ponies for 3 dollars. One my niece picked out is Sunlight who was put out in 1983-1984. I told her she has to be nice to that one she’s really old. But she looks great. I got two Unicorns, Majesty ( whom I knew came with the castle but I don’t have.) and Sparkler. I was like G1 ponies! You want  dollar for them? Take all my money!

Majest G1 Year 2. 1983-1984.

Sparkler G1 Year 2. 1983-1984

This is the back of Sparkler's box, but I wanted to post it because it has a lot of my favorites that I have, Moondancer, Medley, Firefly, Apple jack, Bow Tie, Lickety-Split. 

And my six year old Niece picked out Sunlight, whom she was originally going to call Rainbow for her rainbow mane, but seemed strangely okay with calling her by her given name. 

G 1 Year 2. 1983-1984 Rainbow pony. 

All images are from the best pony identifying site ever http://mylittlewiki.org/

Where you can search for pony info by color and symbol, year, stance, collection ect. 

SpectrumCosmetics on Etsy

I am over my disillusionment with BPAL. For the price they don't smell that great and some of them gave me rashes. Plus the 3ml bottles for 17 on up go too fast and it's just blah. In fact I still have a BPAL review on here that I haven't posted because I haven't ever finished reviewing them. I moved on to Etsy and liked what seemed like a million things before I found Spectrum Cosmetics. I'm not sure if it was due to my interest in pipe tobacco or dirt. Everyone has a dirt scent it seems and I wanted to see what this is all about. Plus this shop had perfume dupes as well as a wide range of fruity, floral and interesting scents. Plus her packaging is beautiful. I ordered a gift set of 4 oils for 26 dollars. They were for me, but I saved about 1.00 on each bottle. So for a dollar less than I would of paid for four 7.50 dollar bottles, I got 4 beautiful scents beautifully wrapped in a white gift box with a red bow. Plus the bottles were sealed in the package as well as had individual peel off seals down each bottle. I was very pleased with the presentation given to my order. Not to mention the business card and personal note of thanks written on my packing slip. I also ordered the set of four samples for 7 dollars. Again much bigger product (in a spray bottle) and cheaper than BPAL Imps. They were also packed in bubble wrap and individually sealed. Not to mention they were processed and delivered from the opposite coast in less than a week. (BPAL is notorious for a two week plus turn around and they are in California.But I did notice that the more money I spent with them the faster my orders were processed. Coincidence? Who knows...) 

For the bottles I got: 

Bite Me has fresh citrus notes of lime and orange sparkle with effervescent highlights as they lead to a luscious blend of berry and cherry in this playful scent. Leafy green accents add intensity as a base of vanilla creates sweet tones for the fragrance.

Smells very juicy and delicious. In the bottle you can  smell berries, cherry and citrus. It's very fruity without being that gross fake body spray scent. I love it. I've decided that it smells like Cherry 7up, which I guess would make sense since it's cherry and citrus... But I put it on at work and someone who doesn't directly work in my office asked who was burning incense. Then said it smelt like Whole Foods. So yeah, there's that. 

JUICY Lovers of fresh, modern fruity florals will love our re-creation of this top-selling designer fragrance. Top notes of watermelon, mandarin, and passion fruit lead to a flowery green middle of marigold, crushed leaves, water hyacinth, and tuberose absolute, atop a sweet bed of crème brulee, vanilla, precious woods, and patchouli.

I don't spend much time smelling high end perfume to know what Juicy smells like,  but this does smell like department store perfume and it does smell nice. 

this is the ultimate summer blend – Freesia, Jasmine, Magnolia and Lilac drifting on the breeze of a summer night. 

I got into florals on BPAL. I think I wanted this one so much because the picture on the bottle is appealing to me. Yup, I'm that kind of shopper.  But the scent. It might grow on me. right now it's not my favorite, but at the same time it's familiar. I wonder if it's an Avon scent. I always think familiar floral scents might be an Avon smells. 

Juicy red pomegranate with notes of anise, patchouli, blackberry, musk, dewberry, iris, vanilla, sandalwood, tobacco flower and cassis. 

Another grown up juicy berry scent. Makes me want to buy poison apple now too. 

The samples I got were:
 ROMANCE - AMBER ROMANCE TYPE - A beautiful duplication of the Victoria's Secret fragrance, this soft and musky scent has warm and alluring notes of amber, black cherry, crème anglaise, vanilla and sandalwood- This smells like nothing on me.I like Romance, but I don't smell this and when I do it smells like soap. 

Dirt - Remember the satisfying richness of freshly turned earth in the garden? The slightly damp, clean smell that meant spring? This is it! - When I sprayed it in the car at the Post Office i smelt pine. Then I read a review on site that said it smells like pine. dissapointed. I wanted a rich earth scent. Onward to the next company... 

Tobacco - A mellow, woodsy scent like fine pipe tobacco or just cut tobacco leaves, with just a whiff of cherry wood – what you’d find in a gentleman’s library Love! My dad smoked a pipe and I love the smell of pipe tobacco. I will get a large of this, or a spray. I want the soap but it has honey listed and I think honey smells like sweat. 

Whiskey Sour- I cannot find t his on the site anymore... But it smells like Irish Cream. 

I don't want to turn this into a look what I bought kind of blog...

But that is where I feel it's going. So let's change that!

I was recently getting to know a gentleman, and when I asked him his favorite song, and told him he could name a few he rattled of around 10. I was like enough already.... I have a basic answer for all my likes and it hasn't change much over the years:
Favorite songs:

and 

But recently there are so many that hold place markers in my life. 

My favorite book is still Girl by Blake Nelson, even though I've owned it's sequel for many months and I can't bring myself to read it. I find I'm that way a lot with things I want to like. Right now I'm reading America the Beautiful by Moon Unit Zappa and I want to like to it so much that I only ready a few pages each night. And do I like it? Meh. It reminds me a lot of my love/hate with Emma Forrest. I want to like her, I do, but I think because I want to like her so much, when she falls short I'm harder on her than I should be. I've read all her books, given most scathing reviews on goodreads... All except the first book of hers I bought before I even knew who she was- Thin Skin. I bough it years ago on clearance at Hastings in Sierra Vista. I paid less than $5.00 for it. It is a small pink book that fit in the pocket of my scrub top. I need to force myself to finish it.   All her characters have good crazy points to them, but are all over emotional hot messes... 

I love the Gilda Joyce books. I love them so much I'm scared of finishing them. 

My favorite movies are Harold and Maude, Ghostbusters I and II, So I married an Axe Murder and most Tim Burton, Wes Andrson, I also don't like to go to the movie theater, unless it's the local Indepent art house for Rocky Horror Picture Show or Cult Classics. 

And now you know. 

Lush

The other day I finally became a Lushie... I was expecting more items in the store. I had heard, somewhere, that it stinks. It's not horrible but you can smell it as you approach. I bought three (really four) items. All of which I'd seen online.

1. Dark angels scrub:

So far I like it. At first I thought I was reacting to it and I was sad, because that little pot is $15.00. I've had acne since I was in 4th grade. I've gone to dermatologist. I even took acutane when I was in middle school. I've come to terms with the fact that I will always have acne. I also think this is part of the reason why people always think I'm a lot younger than I am. I tell people that because of the price I hope it works, but I also hope it doesn't because it's expensive.


2. Shimmy Shimmy

This was an impulse purchase. It was one of the cheaper items at 7.95. My friend and her daughter and I all rubbed it on and decided I needed to buy it. I had originally told her about the nude one that is suppose to give the illusion of pantyhose, but upon seeing it she explained that she'd use the whole bar in one application. I think it would last awhile after smearing this bar on. It did melt in my purse a little yesterday ( damn you 100 degree weather!) so It is now in the fridge. 

3. Karma shampoo bar

I've only used this twice and I already sorta think the nearly $4.00 tin that I bought in additon to the $11.95 bar is bent. I have long thick wavy hair that is almost to my bum. I use Suave Sleek almost exclusively. It's 2.50 for a big bottle and doesn't dry my hair out. I used to be a solid Dove girl. I've tried salon shampoo, and I just don't think it's worth it. This shampoo has a good lather, I actually wish the scent was stronger. I had my friend smell it and she said, "Yeah that smells like you." And I asked her if that was because I smell like incense? ( I burn a lot of dragons blood and Nag Champa, but the time I was told that at the bar I was wearing Aura Cacia's Peaceful Patchouli and Sweet Orange spray.)  My hair is shiny and soft, but I'm also still using my suave conditioner on the length of my hair.

I want to at least go smell the Jasmine one (Godiva).

I also want this items:

 

Okay, I want pretty much all the massage bars... 

and after watching this video: 

I want the Full of Grace Serum bar too... 

Actually, I want a good Vitamin C serum. I'm looking at The Body Shop right now, but that's another post.