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Author Archive

Review: Domino’s New & Better Pizza

Domino’s, at least my neck of the woods, has always been known as decent pizza, but it’s the one you get when you can’t afford Pizza Hut.  It was fine, but not something you went “This is so good!” over.

They’ve changed that though! After seeing all of the commercials for the last few weeks, we decided to give it a shot and see what we thought.  The commercials say they’ve changed the crust, the sauce, and started using fresher ingredients. We got 2 pizzas, one pepperoni and mushroom, the other pepperoni and bacon.

As soon as we opened the boxes, we could smell the yummy garlic from the crust.  The mushrooms were decent sized pieces, you could actually TELL they were mushrooms!   The crust was lighter and fluffier than I remembered, and the edges were covered in a nice, slightly salty, slightly crunchy garlic and herb mixture.  You could really tell that they’ve changed everything up, you could taste the ingredients, it didn’t taste like cardboard like I’ve noticed in the past.

Kudos to Domino’s for listening to their customers, and making some very positive changes!  Not only are they providing a better pizza, but they’re keeping their prices in line with their affordable reputation.

At a glance

ProsCons
great taste, fresher ingredients, affordableanchovies
Verdictanyone who loves pizza, not just those on a budget
Rating
99%

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Review: Vanilla Solid Lotion Heart by Serenity Soap Works

Solid Lotion Bar w/ Celtic DesignI recently received a sample from Serenity Soapworks (via The Spotted Box) of their solid lotion.  The sample I received was a super cute little heart, and it was vanilla scented.  Vanilla scents are one of my favorites, and the scent with this one was so yummy!

I’d never used solid lotion before, and with my skin issues I’m always on the lookout for something that WORKS.  I have severely dry skin, due to having the same skin condition as my daughter (called ichthyosis), and I have to be careful because artificial scents irritate it worse.  Serenity Soapworks uses essential oils, not artificial fragrances.  The other ingredients are Jojoba Oil, Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter and Beeswax.

As it says on their website, allergies & skin conditions within their own family were the primary concerns when Melanie began formulating the soaps we now proudly offer. Eczema & Psoriasis were addressed not long after the first soap sales, when Melanie researched things that seemed to help those suffering from extreme dry skin.

On top of my dry skin issues, I also can’t handle the greasy “ew” feeling that most lotions leave on my hands and body when applying.  It grosses me out majorly.  This lotion bar does NOT leave that nasty feeling!  I wasn’t sure how a lotion bar “worked”, as you rub it on your skin, the warmth from your body softens the bar and releases the lotion onto your skin.  I applied it, and it was absorbed pretty much immediately, and due to the solid bar, I wasn’t left with excess lotion on my hands.  There was just enough residue to rub my hands together to give them a softening blast as well.

My standard test when trying a new lotion product is to apply it to one arm only.  Then see how it feels as the day wears on.  After 30 minutes, the scent was still nice and strong-not overpowering by any means, but still there, and my arm was still very soft.  My skin is also very itchy, due to the dryness, and after more than 12 hours, I still didn’t have any itching and my skin was still very soft.

It does feel a little bit sticky as you’re applying, but I think that’s just because my body temperature runs towards the cool side, so it didn’t soften the lotion as quickly as I wanted.

This product is definitely a win, and I’ll be placing my order for a few bars in just a few minutes actually!  So go visit Serenity Soapworks, and check out their lotion bars, candles, soaps, and more!  Tell them you heard about them on Stuff to Love!

Your turn: Do you have any skin issues?  What products have you found that really work?  Give me a link so I can check them out!!

At a glance

ProsCons
scent, long lasting moisturizing, natural ingredientsslightly sticky as you apply it
Verdictanyone with dry skin
Rating
99%

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Review: Revolution Foods Grammy Sammy Strawberry Yogurt Flavor

Revolution Foods Grammy SammyAs a mom, I try to be conscientious of what goes into my kids bodies.  We limit their sweets, make sure they get plenty of fruit and veggies, and on and on.  One of the most challenging stages for me personally with that, is the early toddler stage.  When they aren’t quite ready for sitting down to a plateful at dinner, but want to feed themselves.

Enter Revolution Foods Grammy Sammy’s.  The come in 3 flavors-Honey Graham & Strawberry  Yogurt, Cinnamon Graham & Vanilla Yogurt, and Cocoa Graham & Banana Yogurt.  They are soft baked with organic yogurt filling. They use 100% Whole Grains, no High Fructose Corn Syrup EVER, and no artificial ingredients.  Each one is wrapped individually for easy packing.

I recently had a coupon for Babies R Us, and seeing as how I live in the boonies, our closest “R Us” store is over an hour away.  I went browsing online to see if there was anything we wanted/needed to get and stumbled on their toddler feeding section.  They were have a 10 for $10 sale on a bunch of the Revolution Foods products so I jumped on it!

In this area, finding anything organic/HFCS free, etc. is very difficult outside of the obvious cutting/mashing up your own fruits and veggies.  Which is fine, but sometimes you want EASY!  When we got the box, I immediately ripped it open with Wyatt (age 2 1/2) and Ree (age 1) helping.  Wyatt saw the boxes which have pictures of the sammy’s and fruit, and started screaming “BERRIES! BERRIES! BERRIES!” (this is a boy who loves his berries for sure).  I opened up one of the  Honey Graham & Strawberry Yogurt flavor, and it smelled SO good!  I had to take a bite before I’d give it to the kids.  One word-YUMMY!  Nice and soft, and the strawberry flavor from the yogurt was just divine.  I was initially afraid the graham portion would be tasteless, but it’s not.

Wyatt wouldn’t try it at first, he was very disappointed that it wasn’t a berry like he saw on the box.  I gave one to Ree and she started munching away.  I set Wyatts on the table, and about 10 minutes later I saw him pick it up and take a little bite.  He ate the rest in no time flat and wanted more!

We also tried the Cinnamon Graham Grammy Sammy’s, and the Blueberry Jammy Sammy’s.  Seriously, they are all SO good, and it feels good knowing that I’m giving my kids a snack that makes them think they’re sneaking one over on me, when in reality it’s nice and healthy!

My one issue with these (other than the fact I can’t get them locally, have to order online!), is the packaging.  Each one is individually wrapped and then they’re boxed.  The box is about twice as big as it needs to be to contain the 5 pieces within.  I’d love to see a company that is obviously so concerned with what our children are putting in their bodies (they have a school lunch program on the west coast as well-awesome), be more concerned with their packaging impact on the environment.  I understand they’re trying to combat the things like Ding Dongs, Fruit Rollups, and such being packed in kids lunches, but they should at least offer some packages with the option of NOT being individually wrapped for those people who don’t pack lunches, or who use reusable snack bags for lunches.

Overall, I’m patting myself on the back for finding these.  I’m looking forward to trying some of their other products as well (see the full lineup here), the mashups especially are on my list of things to try.

What about you? What are your favorite healthy snacks for your kiddos?  I can always use new suggestions!!!

At a glance

ProsCons
HFCS free, organic, SUPER yummy!packing options
Verdictmoms who want healthier snacks for their kids
Rating
98%

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Review: Wish Garden New Mother’s Salve Nipple Repair Cream

New Mother's Repair Salve-awesome

*For any male readers, I want to warn you that this post might include a little TMI for you, BUT if you have  wife or girlfriend that is pregnant-read on, because you should buy them this stuff!*

As a mother of 4 before Gennah, having a newborn wasn’t a whole lot of new & different to me, except for learning HER as a baby.  I’ve only successfully breastfed Wyatt, due to a myriad of issues that I won’t go into here, but I was committed to trying with Ree as well.  We struggled, and struggled.  After a month of struggling, my nipples were cracked, bleeding, and I was convinced they were sure to fall off if things continued as they were.  So I went to Ema, who is my go to girl for all things natural, to see if she had any ideas for anything I could do to help my poor nipples.  She told me to check out Wish Garden, and see what they had that might work.  I found the New Mother’s Repair Salve & Nipple Cream and initially I was hesitant.  $8 (plus shipping!) for only 1 ounce!  That set the frugal side of me on alert, but I was desperate! The ingredients were all things I knew would be safe for Gennah to ingest, so no having to remember to wipe it off before feeding her, which was a major plus because hello-sleep deprived mother of 5, one of which was a newborn!

So I ordered it.  When it arrived, I was still apprehensive-it was a teeny little jar of stuff, that wasn’t liquid, and I just knew that it was only going to last one application on my cracked parts! I tried it anyway.  This is a thick salve, that kinda “melts” with the heat of your skin, so as you use your finger to apply it, it develops kind of a lotion texture.  It DID help the cracks and bleeding over the course of a few days, but unfortunately Gennah and I’s breastfeeding issues were too much to overcome, so the nipple cream got put away.

Gennah's skin on a bad day

Fast forward a few months, and my daughter’s skin condition developed with full force.  It’s called ichthyosis, and is a genetic disorder that is hard to look at, and hard to deal with especially in infants because there are no real treatments for little ones (the picture above is what her skin looks like on a bad day).  The itching and discomfort are almost painful to even look at, let alone what they must be going through.  Ichthyosis is characterized by large scaly patches that crack and bleed and itch like crazy.  Well, in a genius moment, I remembered the nipple cream and how well it worked, and thought “What the hey, it’s not going to hurt her!”.

Ree's skin on a good dayAfter putting it on her once, there was a definite improvement.  After a week, it was still obvious she has a skin condition, but as you can see from the picture at left, there is a HUGE difference!  We’ve now used this on all sorts of skin issues-cracks from cold, rough cuticles, dry patches and more! A friend of mine even took a tub of it when she got 2nd degree burns on her hands from a coffee spill.  This stuff helped speed the healing and she ended up with NO scarring whatsoever!

The only two things I would change about this are 1) I really wish it came in a larger size, and 2)be a bit more easily spread; while it does soften a bit with the warmth of your skin, it’s hard to get a very good spread area with it.

Overall, this would be a fabulous tuck in gift for any mama to be, or anyone you know with skin issues!  So go check out Wish Garden Herbs, they have some really fabulous, all natural products for lots of different issues!

At a glance

ProsCons
all natural, a little goes a long way, healing properties small size, needs to be more spreadable
Verdictnew/expectant moms, anyone with skin issues
Rating
90%

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Review: Isabella’s Upcycle Treasures Handmade Crayons

Lego crayonsWhat kids don’t like crayons?  I know all of mine love them!  But we end up with LOTS of broken bits and pieces all over the place.  Isabella over at Isabella’s Upcycled Treasures has found a great solution.  She takes broken crayons, and melts them down into new ones!

In January, I was a vendor with The Spotted Box (go here for an explanation of the Spotted Box and find out how to get one for yourself!).  Isabella was one of the other vendors. When I got my box, my kids immediately latched on to the Lego shaped crayon that was inside.  I was very impressed with the quality of the crayon-it holds its shape well, the color coverage is really good (unlike some of those cheap waxy crayons you can buy), and it was a hit with the kids.

Puzzle piece crayonsI recently purchased some more crayons from Isabella’s shop for upcoming birthdays for my kiddos.  My now 6 year old Mattie is a huge puzzle lover, so I had to get these puzzle piece crayons for him.  He LOVES them!  The pieces interlock like a regular puzzle, so you get double the entertainment value with this set.  I also picked up a full set of the Lego shaped crayons for my oldest son.

She has these layered color block crayons as well that are really cool. I remember having something similar as a kid and I always loved making a rainbow.  It’s a big rectangle, so super easy for my 2 year old to hang onto and color with.

Rainbow Layers Crayon Block

The only things I see as cons with these, are that you can tell what color was in the mold before the crayon you actually have (you can see in the pics..the orange on the yellow puzzle piece for example).  That led to a “Mommy, they’re dirty!!!” moment before I explained it to my kiddos. No huge deal at all!  The other thing is to make sure you buy enough for all your kids or they’ll want to fight over them!

Isabella offers custom listings for colors, shapes and large quantities.  Her prices are very reasonable as are the shipping charges.  So go check out Isabella’s Upcycle Treasures today-and be sure to let us know what you think!

At a glance

ProsCons
shapes, easy to hold, good color coveragecolor rub off from the molds
Verdictkids of all ages-easy to hold for the little ones, fun to use for the bigger ones
Rating
95%

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Duel Days: Zadyball-Your baby’s first & favorite toy

Hoots the Owl Zadyball

Hoots the Owl Zadyball

Zady®ball is a handmade toy that is easy for young babies to hold on to, and will quickly become a favorite! They are soft to hold and cuddle, and have lots of knotted fabric strings to grab and rub. As your baby grows, Zadyball just becomes even more fun! It is great for soothing sore gums while teething, easy to throw and catch – especially when you are learning how, and machine washable – a MUST for any baby toy!
Zadyball is available in many different colors, styles and personalities. You are sure to find one that is perfect for the baby in your life! (text taken from the Zadyball site)

Mika’s view: I bought our first Zadyball when Wyatt (now almost 3) was about 6 months old.  Made of soft flannel with a nice and squishy stuffing, it became an immediate hit with all the kids for its chewability and throwability (without breaking anything in the house).  At that time, the choices were much more limited than they are today, but we got a nice striped one with the awesome chewy strings.

After about 6 months or so of daily use, one of the side seams did split (it looked like where the opening to stuff had been handsewn shut).  As a seamstress myself, it was easily enough remedied, but for someone without even basic sewing knowledge I can see where that would immediately delegate the toy to the trash bin.

Once that seam was fixed, the ball went back into heavy rotation, where it is still played with all the time!  We’ve lost a couple of strings over time, but I think that is to be expected with the amount of play this toy receives I know I see it being played witMonkey Zadyballh at least 3 times a week .

For Christmas Ema and I were discussing toys to get our infants (both almost 1 at the time), and Zadyball immediately came to mind.  Both of the babies were at the perfect age, so we went with it!

I got the Monkey ZadyCreature for Ree.  This one had the soft body with the strings, but it also has crinkle material in the ears which I thought she would love.   She really does like it, and chews on this constantly.  Well, when she can keep it away from her brothers of course!

Ema’s view: Mika had shown me the Zadyball when Wyatt was little. I thought they looked like a really cute idea. Of course with new-mom-brain and everything, I forgot about them after Bodi was born. Bodi loves cords, so I wanted to get him baby-safe toys for Christmas that had strings for him to play with. Enter the Zadyball. It was perfect! Strings to chew, and a ball to squish. I ordered one for him and wrapped it up. While the new styles are cute, I like the ‘old’ style zadyball with a ball and strings. Bodi didn’t play with it much on Christmas day, and he doesn’t play with it as often as I think he should (hee) but when he does discover it in his toy box, he LOVES it.

Happy baby got a ZadyBall for Christmas!

Bodi loves to carry it around by the strings. He really likes that its easy to throw. Mama loves that while the bell makes an audible jingle, it is not loud or annoying. Its been a great toy for Bodi and his older sister (she’s 8 ) to play with. The toy is so soft, I don’t have to worry about her throwing the ball too hard and injuring him. They will sit on the floor and roll it back and forth to great giggles and wiggles!

I do wish I wold have remembered this toy when Bodi was younger…he would have really liked a Zadyball mini to cut those first teeth on. But, since the Zadyball is so versatile, I don’t regret buying the one we have now. I see it getting use for years to come.

Final thoughts: This is a toy that every kid in your house will love, from infant to teen.  There are a lot of really neat options, but like Ema, I like the Original Zadyball the best!

At a glance

ProsCons
soft to throw, chewable, cute, lots of optionskids fight over it
Verdictkids of all ages
Rating
95%

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Friday Fail: Kraft Shredded Cheese

Today’s Friday Fail is about another company shrinking packages to line their pockets even heavier. I am a HUGE fan of Kraft cheese, I’m generally happy with store brand items, but Kraft cheese is consistently tastier and better quality than many store brand shredded cheeses.

That’s part of why I was so disappointed when I went grocery shopping last night.  I was doing my price comparisons as usual and noticed the Kraft was cheaper per ounce than even the store brand so I was excited (yes, I’m very easy to please)!  Then I got to looking at the packages.  The smaller packages were a mixture of the regular 8 oz. packages, and the newer ones are only 7 oz!  The packages are now 1 3/4 cups instead of 2 cups.

Now, I don’t know about you, but most of my recipes use even cups of cheese, and we’re a large family so we go through at least one smaller package of cheese anytime we use it in a meal.  But now that they’re shrinking package sizes, we’ll have to buy 2 regardless.  I know this is their point, to get consumers buying more so they make a larger profit but it is SO maddening!

This is not a new phenomenon, nor one exclusive to Kraft, but that doesn’t make it any less of a fail.  The website Consumerist.com even has a section devoted to companies doing this, called the Grocery Shrink Ray, it’s rather enlightening, go check it out!It’s very unfortunate to see yet another company, one that is such an institution on our landscape as a country, stoop to this level.  I know, I know-it’s CHEESE, not anything life altering, and the point of any company is to make a profit, but it’s a matter of principle.

So that, my friends, is this weeks Friday Fail-Kraft Cheese for becoming yet another company that shrinks their packages to line their pockets.

At a glance

ProsCons
It's yummyshrinking packages
Verdictwho is it best for
Rating
50%

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Review: Sunbeam Steam Master Iron

A question I see all the time on crafty blogs is “What iron do you use? Do you love it?”, so I wanted to post this review of my iron-a Sunbeam 4229 Steam Master Iron .

I’m on my third one of these irons in 3 years, but I don’t see that as a failing with the iron at all.  I iron every single day, so I definitely use and abuse this thing!  I got mine at Walmart, and it runs around $30 or so.

Some of the features of this iron include:

  • Stainless steel soleplate-makes for easy, no stick gliding over fabrics.
  • Spray mist feature and shot of steam
  • Storage strip indicator lets you know when the iron is cool enough to store.
  • Anti-drip
  • Vertical steam
  • Retractable cord
  • Automatic shut off

The weight of this iron is really good-it weighs about 3 1/2 lbs. which is heavy enough to help with getting out wrinkles and giving a nice crease, but light enough to not wear you out while using it.  The water reservoir is a nice size, and this thing can steam! The vertical steam is really nice for using on hanging items-shirts, skirts, pants, etc.

Like I said, I’m on my third one of these in 3 years, because I’ve simply worn them out.  I know Rowenta’s are generally the iron that everyone recommends as the best, but I’ve not been able to justify the expense of one so I can’t say how they compare.  I would like it if this didn’t wear out quite so quickly, but really, for the price point, I think I probably get much more use out of it than you would expect for a rather inexpensive iron.

At a glance

ProsCons
nice and heavy for a good crease, good steam, durablecould be a smidge heavier
Verdictanyone who sews or irons
Rating
90%

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Fail Friday: 2012: Supernova

Looks really good right?

Let me be the first to tell you that I love small movie houses-there have been so many  movies we’ve discovered off the beaten path that have been fantastic that never saw the inside of a movie theater. Now, I also love a good disaster movie, even bad disaster movies generally keep me watching.

Upon first glance, I thought this one would be a winner.  It stars Brian Krause (mainly known from his role in Charmed-as Leo, which I personally loved) and Heather McComb.

2012: Supernova-When a star in a nearby galaxy becomes unstable and goes supernova, an astrophysicist puts together a dangerous and desperate plan to sheild the Earth from the destructive burst of radiation heading toward it. (from The Asylum website)

This movie stars Brian Krause (mainly known from his role in Charmed-as Leo) and Heather McComb.  As it says above, the premise of the movie is that Brain Krause is an astrophysicist who comes up with a plan to shield the earth from a star that has gone supernova (it blew up).  The movie follows two sides of the story-Brian, and what he’s doing at Nasa to prevent the destruction of the Earth; and his wife and daughter, who are trying to get to the base to stay with him.

I don’ t even know where to start.  The acting, the story line, the special effects-you expect a certain level of “amaturity” when watching a low budget film, and you don’t expect the huge and amazing special effects.  But.  Seriously, I’m not sure if there were three different people writing this, none of whom discussed the plot line with each other as they went along, or if they let a 5 yr old loose in the editing room with a pair of scissors.

I won’t spoil the movie for you (if that’s possible), but there are times that things just don’t make sense.  Brian is attacked a few times throughout, and it’s never really talked about WHY he is being attacked.  The performances were very choppy, it didn’t really feel like it had a good flow of the story at all.

The special effects weren’t horrible, except for the fact that they were inconsistent.  There were points that would first show something being completely destroyed, then later on down the  line you would see it in the background completely intact.  You can catch things like that in any show, but it was quite blatant in this movie.

I’m glad we didn’t purchase this movie-we borrowed it from a friend to watch along with a couple of other 2012 themed titles.  Brian Krause provided the best performance by far, and honestly I was even disappointed in the showing he gave.  This was definitely not one of his best works.

At a glance

ProsCons
it's a disaster movietoo many to list
VerdictFAIL
Rating
25%

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Mika’s Top 10 Products of 2009

Being a frugal girl, finding products that are worth the money you spent on them can be a challenge.  How many times have you purchased something, used it, and then said “Now that wasn’t worth it!”.  Well, here are my Top 10 products of 2009 to help combat that! I’ll be doing full reviews on these products over the next few weeks, so here’s a glimpse of what’s to come!

  • #1 is easy.  My Keurig B40 Coffee Maker.  I’ve always had a weakness for Starbucks, and with battling the fatigue of a newborn, 4 other children, running a home and business-that was becoming an expensive habit!  Enter the Keurig-I can make one cup at a time throughout the day, so I never have to deal with reheating coffee or wasting the half a pot I didn’t drink .   And this leads in to product #2…
  • Caribou Blend K-Cups-These are my favorite of all the ones I’ve tried so far.  Nice and smooth, very yummy!
  • Brother 1034d Lay In Serger.  I bought this model to replace my Singer serger I’ve been using for the last couple of years-it’s much more user friendly and I look forward to exploring all the options.
  • Wish Garden New Mother’s Repair Salve.  This stuff is AMAZING.  At first I was hesitant because $8 for 1 oz? But just wow.  My daughter has a skin condition called icthyosis, and the general treatment for infants is simply hydrocortisone ointment.  Keep watch for my full review on this one-it’s not just for nipples!
  • Nutella-ya I think I’m late to the party on this one!  I remember watching a show on Food Network a few years ago where Giada De Laurentiis made Nutella ravioli, I didn’t get it then, I do now!  This stuff is SO decadent and delicious-quite rich though, a little goes a LONG way!
  • Babylock Ellageo Embroidery Machine.  Yes, 2009 was a year of sprucing up my sewing tools as I ramp up my small business.  I LOVE this machine!  I wanted something I didn’t have to have near my desktop computer for transferring designs, and the onscreen editing were serious selling points for me.  I’ll delve into this deeper with my full review of course, but this is a really great machine for the home embroiderer.
  • Sulky KK2000 Temporary Spray Adhesive.  I bought this brand on the recommendation of some friends who had more experience with embroidery and applique than I did, and I’m glad I did!  I tried the 3M brand temporary spray once when I ran out of the Sulky, and it was HORRIBLE-live and learn.  I now keep a good backup supply on hand!
  • Totino’s Pizza Rolls.  Ugh, I know..not organic, natural or healthy by any means, but ever since I was pregnant with Ree I eat them all the time.  My husband teases me and says I’m going to turn into a pizza roll!
  • Target brand Up & Up diapers.  I know Ema really likes these too, and I can’t remember which one of us recommended them to the other but really, both of us loving them should tell you something.  I have 2 in diapers, and my 2 yr old is a super soaker (seriously, its major).  We’ve NEVER had those nasty gel thingies as long as we’ve used these.  And they don’t have that stinky “day old wet cheerios” smell that other diapers do. Oh, and just a note, price per diaper on these is cheaper than Walmart or any other store I checked pricing at (CVS, Walgreens, etc.).
  • Walmart/Parent’s Choice wipes.  I haven’t been able to manage to convert to cloth wipes all the time yet, we’re still adjusting to the “ick” factor here, but the Walmart wipes are my favorite disposable wipe out there.  They feel like cloth (and not in that marketing way that companies say…I mean for real), and they don’t stink like chemicals even though they’re unscented, they really don’t smell like much at all.

So there ya go, Mika’s Top 10 products of 2009.  Your turn..tell me about something that you use and love, and maybe we’ll pick it up and do our own review!