A place for me (Kimmy) to tell the world (or, rather, the portion of the world that might check out my blog from time to time) about some of the stuff I like.
In case you didn't know, I love cosmetics. Skin care, color, smell-goods, you name it. I am a product junkie, for sure. I spent many years working for The Estee Lauder Companies (for the Origins brand), which I really loved. One thing to know about many prestige cosmetic lines that you find at the mall is that they don't go on sale. I mean, they may do value sets at the holidays, or the occasional Gift With Purchase, but they don't ever offer a discount on everything at the counter like they do in the rest of the store. But... one of the cool things Estee Lauder started doing when I was there was offering the Friends & Family discount to use on the web (or free-standing stores like Origins). Well, this week, they're running one for Prescriptives! Yay!
From today through Friday, October 24th, get 25% off, plus Free Shipping, using the code FRIEND8 at checkout.
I haven't used anything from Prescriptives lately, but I have heard great things about the Super Line Prevention Xtreme Lifting Concentrate. (I love the pen applicator!) I'm also wanting to try the Colorscope Plush Blush for cheeks and lips, because I'm all about the gel blush right now.
One of the products I recently won in a contest is called a Tassi Hair Holder. It's kinda hard to explain, but I'll do my best. It's a terry cloth headband that you use to keep your hair back when you wash your face, etc. Thing is, it not only keeps the hair in front out of the way, but it is smartly designed to keep long hair off your neck and face, too!
It's best explained on their website, so go there for a better illustration.
Here's the thing I love about it, and forgive me if this gets gross, but it's the truth, so I'm telling it. Since I have Chronic Daily Migraine, I get sick a lot. Meaning I often vomit. Which also means that I often need to keep my hair back, you know, while I'm getting sick. Believe me when I say that the last thing I want to do when I'm sick with a migraine is put my hair in a ponytail or a banana clip, because that is very uncomfortable for a tender head. (And my husband is wonderful, but I don't want to wake him up in the middle of the night every time I need my hair held back from the commode.)
Enter, the Tassi. Oh my gosh, y'all, it is straight from HEAVEN when I am in that awful state. It quickly and comfortably goes on and keeps my hair back off of my face and out of the mess of it all. Thank you, Tassi Creators! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!!! Because if there is one thing more depressing than going back to bed with a raging migraine, after having thrown up for the fourth time, it's going back to bed with Puke Hair. It's so sad, and nobody should have to do it.
So the lesson for today is this. The Tassi is for everyone who needs to put their hair back when washing their face, applying skin care, or doing their makeup, sure. It may be one of the best girly stocking stuffers since those Garment Deodorant Remover thingies. But if you have a friend who gets sick a lot, this is a GREAT gift idea, so I hope you'll remember it when you hear of someone who could use such a thing. Believe me, she will appreciate it.
I am always on the hunt for products that are good for people who suffer from migraines. Over the summer, I read a little blurb in Health magazine (one of my faves, BTW) about a company who makes headbands that are super-comfortable, and neither cause nor contribute to migraines. I checked them out, and got in touch with them to express my appreciation.
Well, to my delight, they sent me a headband to try. It is ADORABLE, and just could not be more comfortable.
I am SO tickled to finally find something with which I can pull my hair back, especially when working out, without causing discomfort. They have all kinds of prints, and I officially want one of each.
Anyway, if any of you are headband wearers, and want style AND comfort, check out Violet Love Headbands!
My copy of Entertainment Weekly arrived this afternoon, as it does every Friday. This time, though, it had the most beautiful man I have ever seen on its cover. One of my all-time favorite actors, gentlemen, philantropists, and Good Guys, Paul Newman. It took my breath.
Shine on, kind man. You will be missed, but will continue to inspire so many of us.
I can't deny it-- I looooooove me some Reality TV. It's a horrible habit that I can't quit. So I am very much looking forward to the second season of Celebrity Rehab 2. What can I say? I'm a Codependent who happens to 1) have a huge crush on "Dr. Drew" Pinsky (especially in jeans and a t-shirt), Addiction Specialist, and 2) have special places in my heart for the dark and damaged. Whattayagonnadoo? [shrug]
According to VH1's website, "similar to the first cycle, the second season of “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew” will follow the real-life experiences of celebrity patients undergoing detoxification and treatment at a center in the Los Angeles area. The show will follow Jeff Conaway as he checks back into rehab after a series of back surgeries, setbacks and subsequent reliance on pain medications." Sean Stewart (Rod Stewart's son), Amber Smith (model/actress-- no idea who she is), Rodney King, Nikki McKibbon (from American Idol), Steven Adler (Guns n Roses) and Tawny Kitaen (Actress, car crawler). "Gary Busey, who is 13 years sober, will also be joining the cast to share his experiences and thoughts on the recovery process." (Personally, I had no idea that Gary Busey was sober-- didn't we just see him bitch out a young girl on the red carpet recently? Didn't seem all that sober to me then, but whatever. Should be interesting!)
Anyway, another thing I love, without shame, is a band called Alter Bridge. I think that their lead singer, Myles Kennedy, is one of the best vocalists ever, and that his bandmate, Mark Tremonti, is an absolutely amazing guitarist. Well, VH1 is using one of their songs to promote the new season. Yay!
So here is the video for "Watch Over You," with scenes from the upcoming season of Celebrity Rehab. If you're a fan of the show, can you watch it without tearing up? I, myownself, cannot do it.
The new season starts on Thursday, October 23rd, at 10pm EST.
Since I love to read, and, thus, buy books, I'm a fan of the Amazon Wish List. I've used it for a while, and enjoy being able to hear about a book and add it to the online list with a note to remind me where I heard about it or why it interested me. (Truth be told, sometimes I even add a note if I see it cheaper somewhere else-- by using AllBookStores to compare prices.) I have a few lists, so that I can keep it all somewhat organized. I have lists for books, movies, music, marketing, cooking, and "fun stuff," which is a catch-all for things like pajamas, headphones, cosmetics, and other random things that I would like.
I keep the lists for myself, mostly, but it sure has been nice to send my husband to look at it when he needs gift ideas for me. I wish everybody used them, though, so I could see them! So, to that end, I want to share something I discovered today, which makes it even easier to add things to your list-- things that aren't even from Amazon!
It's the "Universal Wish List" button! It's a button you add to your browser (a lot like the "Share on Facebook" button, if you're familiar with that), so it's visible every time you open your browser. When you see something you like while you're surfing the web, such as a new Limited Edition Eyeshadow Palette Bobbi Brown has available on her site, for example, you just click on Add to Wish List, and a little box will pop up to confirm that you want to add it, and let you choose in which list to put the item. It's brilliant! I love it.
Anyway, it's a cool tool. Check it out, and get to work on your lists.
In my mailbox today, there was a lovely card from my cable provider, offering me Showtime and The Movie Channel for free for TWELVE MONTHS. So that's cool enough, right? A full year of more channels-- exactly what my butt needs to get a little bigger?
Well, here's why it felt like Christmas. My new Favorite Show on Television, as of a couple of weeks ago, is called Dexter. Guess what channel it's on. Oh, yes. It's on Showtime. Yaaaay!
After a couple of trusted friends were raving about the show on a messageboard I frequent, I decided to check it out. After all, it was easy to do-- I could watch the first season online via Netflix (possibly my Favorite Service on the Internet)! So I watched the first episode, and was instantly hooked. The premise, if you've not heard about it, is that Dexter is a Blood Spatter Expert for the Miami Police Department. Oh, AND HE'S A SERIAL KILLER. Uh-oh, right? It is delicious! The characters are richly written and beautifully acted, the plot is unique, twisted, and twisty, and each episode is jam-packed with relevant plot development, rather than filled with airy filler. I watched the first season in two days, then watched Season 2 on DVD. The third season just started on Sunday, the premiere of which I watched online last week, thanks to some entertainment blog I found, which had a secret code to preview it, courtesy of Showtime.
But now I can watch it on the big screen at home. In Hi-Def, even! I am so excited. Thanks, Cox Communications, for the free movie channels. And thanks to the guy who answered the phone when I called to take advantage of the special offer. After he changed my service, he said,
"okay, we're all done here." I said, "suhhhhweeeeeeeeet! Do you even KNOW what you have just GIVEN ME?!!" He said, "umm, I am pretty sure I do, but what do you mean?" "Well, only the greatest thing you could give somebody whose favorite show on television is DEXTER, that's what!" [shouting/shrieking now] "Oh, well, that's great. I'm glad you're pleased. I hope you enjoy it." "Enjoy it? I'm about to do a round-off back-handspring right this second!" "Oh... well... may I suggest some stretches before the handsprings, then?" "BWAAAAAAHAHAHAAAAAAAA! That's funny. Good idea. Thanks! Bye!"
And I did about 42 round-off back-handsprings in a row. I did! On the inside. And so, as I am sure you can imagine, I'm very tired now, and am going to bed.
Goodnight, Dexter! See you next Sunday at 9 o'clock Eastern!
3. What high school did you attend? Stone Mountain High
4. What is your favorite color? various shades of purple
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Jack Black
6. Favorite drink? Sweet Tea
7. Dream vacation? Seagrove Beach, Florida
8. Favorite dessert? Houston's Five Nut Brownie
9. What do you want to be when you grow up? A mommy.
10. What do you love most in life? Wonderment.
11. One word to describe you? Unique
12. Your Flickr name? KimmyDarling
If you have some time to kill, may I suggest creating your own flickr based mosaic.
Here's how: Go to flickr, type your answer to each of the above questions into flickr's search box. Using only the images that appear on the first page, choose your favorite and copy and paste each of the URL’s into the Mosaic Maker (3 columns, 4 rows). Voila!
Thanks to Karin at What the Font for sharing this idea with me.
I've won lots of stuff lately-- mostly from my favorite beauty blogs (a few of which you can check out if you look to the bottom right of this page). I'll be blogging on the winnings with which I have fallen in love as time goes on, but today I'm talking about the thrill of winning stuff.
I love that feeling, and really do run around like the most frenzied of newly-picked-to-play Price is Right contestants when I win... on the inside. I don't really run around at all, truth be told, but the spirit of it is absolutely there. I bet the people who offer the contest have no idea how much I am delighted by being chosen as their winner, but I try to convey that if/when I can.
Anyway, today I came across a fantastic video of the announcement of a contest winner. It was awesome, and it made me wish I had a contest to offer all five of you who read this, just so I could do something equally as exciting when I pick one of you as the winner. Unfortunately, however, I have no such contest, so we must all live vicariously through the guy in the video...
Congratulations, Deb in Denver! I actually know a Deb in Denver, but it's not the same one. But damn, I wish it was!
Tell me-- what's the best thing you've ever won in your whole life? I would love to hear about it.
Anyway, thanks for reading. Hope you win something wonderful very soon.
When I was a kid, I always wanted one of those storybooks that was "written just for me." Remember? The kind that you could special order, that used the kid's name and hometown in the book? I thought it was the stuff dreams were made of-- my name in an actual story in an actual book! Alas, I never got one. I can understand why I never received one of those books, though, looking back, because they do seem to have simply been like bad form letters-- I imagine the publishers just duplicating the same story, over and over, but just changing the names in the [Insert Name Here] fields throughout. I'm not even sure they used the same font when they put the names in. So it wasn't seamless. Probably not all that fun, actually.
But now, as a grownup, and with newer/better technology, we can do better than that, and have the power to make personalization, well, more personalized.
A great example of that is in TasteBook.com, a service that allows you to create your own hard-bound cookbook, and I am In Love With It. You build your own book, from start to finish-- the title, the picture on the cover of the easy-open binder, the order of the tabbed chapters, and, best of all, the recipes. Add any recipe you have in your collection, whether it's tried and true, or brand new to you. (You can even upload pictures for each one!) Or, if you would like to browse recipes from various sources and add them, choose from the following HUGE collections.
The possibilities are endless! (And hello... I could drool for days over the Southern Living Cookbooks and the Coastal Living recipes alone.) Furthermore, you can add your own personal notes, tips, tricks, and stories to each recipe you add to your book. I think it makes for a great cookbook-- one that I see myself owning forever.
So those are some of the things that made it interesting enough for me to get one. But there are a couple of things I absolutely LOVE about it, that stand out as really smart design ideas.
First of all, it's a binder, so you can pop out the recipe you're going to use and return it when you're finished. This is perfect for me, because I like to be able to put my recipe under a magnet on my fridge while I'm cooking, so it's easy for me to see and read, but out of the way and off of my countertop. Others might like taking the recipe out so they can take it to the grocery store with them. You can also reorganize them as you see fit-- I group the ones I use most at the front of each section. I think it just makes a lot of sense to be able to take them out.
Another thing I think is brilliant is the way in which they let you fill your book. They have what they call Recipe Credits. Here's the how and why. Each book will hold 100 recipe cards. However, they have three pricing options, with different numbers of cards included with each. You can get a book with 25 recipes for $19.95, or one with 50 recipes for $29.95 (both with the option to buy more recipe cards later for .50 each), or (the best deal) one with 100 recipes for $34.95. But let's say you only have 19 recipes right now, but you still want to make a book. No problem. TasteBook will send you your book of 19 recipes, with Recipe Credits for you to use to complete your full set anytime in the future! When the recipes arrive in the mail, simply use the easy-open binder to slip them into your TasteBook.
Finally, I really love the gifting options TasteBook offers. Of course, they have the standard Gift Certificate option, in denominations of $25, $50, and $100, which you can either print at home or have emailed to the recipient. That's nice, but no big whoop, right? Yeah, but the coolest gift idea they have is the books you can make for others. Maybe fill one with all of your family recipes and give it to all of the cousins at the holidays. Or make one for your kids' teachers, filled with recipes from each student's family. Or you want to convince your friends that your Raw Foods recipes really are delicious. Maybe your husband's favorite ingredient is pesto, so you want to fill a book with pesto recipes! (Keep dreaming, Nerdboy. I'm not about to arm you with a Pesto Cookbook. Or a Garlic one. But doesn't a BACON one sound good?) My point is that there are all kinds of books you can make as gifts. But here's another idea-- you can create and send partially filled books as gifts, too-- which the recipients will receive with a redemption code for Recipe Credits, to be used whenever they want! I think this would be awesome for friends and family, or for a wedding party. For example, say the bride wants to give each of her bridesmaids a book she designs for them, to commemorate her wedding day, but to also share a few of her favorite signature recipes. Maybe she wants to do them all with the same cover picture, but wants them all to be able to fill the rest of the book with whatever they'd like. She could totally do that here, with ease! And the groom could give his groomsmen one that includes his favorite recipes for cocktails, game day food, or his grilling masterpieces.
Okay, I could come up with a hundred other ways in which I think it's one of the Best Gift Ideas Ever, but I think this is enough. They're actually having a contest right now where you can win a $1000 Gift Card to Cooking.com, so click on the link below for details, even though I plan on winning it myself. Otherwise, I'll be keeping a link posted on my site, because I think it's Just That Good.
One of my faaaaaaaaay-vorite things in the world is finding a good bargain. Thanks to the interwebs, I am able to find infinitely more bargains than I ever could in "bricks & mortar" stores, so as time goes on, I'll be sharing some of the sites that give me great bang for my bucks. [Note-- a few of the sites I'll be sharing are "members only," but I can send you an invitation anytime to join if you send me your email address. Send it to StuffKimmyLikes (AT) gmail (DOT) com.]
This is one of my favorite members-only bargain sites, for a few reasons. First of all, they offer limited-time-only sales (they call them "boutiques") for a wide variety of high-quality brands. For example, they might launch a Vera Bradley boutique one day, with discounts well over 50% off, and Wustoff cutlery at a huge savings later that week. Or Gucci sunglasses today, and Le Petit Bateau infantwear tomorrow. Which translates to "full of surprises," in my world, so I like it.
They also send your order beautifully nestled in fuschia tissue paper, with a sweet thank-you note in an envelope with your packing slip. It's Marketing to Women done right-- something you'll hear me rant and rave about, ad nauseum, if you keep reading my blog. (Note: I am a big believer in the value of Paying Attention to the Female Customer, and think Marti Barletta's Marketing to Women should be required reading for all who do anything that Lloyd Dobler wouldn't.)
Another cool thing they do is give you the opportunity to invite your friends to join the site. If they make a purchase, and you were the person who referred them to the site, you get a $10 credit to your account. It's an added bonus-- fact is, I'd shop there with or without it, but I do think it makes it even more fun. I really think it's another brilliant Marketing to Women move, in that it keeps their customers talking about RueLaLa in an exciting way. I mean, if I get an email from them that says something like "Hey, Kimmy. Sharon loved the La so much she bought something, so we just put $10 into your account," the first thing I'm going to do is call or email Sharon, to find out and talk about (read: squeal over) what she ordered. BRILLZ! And fun.
So, anyway, I say "ooh la la" for the RueLaLa, and hope you'll like it, too. And if you have shopped with them, tell me what your experience has been.
I can't do caffeine, so I drink water about 95% of the time. (The other 5% of the time, I splurge on the occasional Sprite.) After having seen the video about how nasty the lemons are, AND given the fact that citrus fruits trigger migraines for me, all that water I've been drinking has been plain. Bland. Boring. Blah. Until I had the big O.
O Water, that is! It's the brain child of one of the Toms from Nantucket Nectars, by the way. (No trivia in the bottle caps, though...) I am in love with their Unsweetened Water line, which has natural fruit flavor and electrolytes. I LOVE it. Somehow, it has some zip to it, without any carbonation. It is exactly what I have been wishing for! There are tons of flavored waters out there, but they're full of sweeteners-- just not for me. O Water is refreshing and light-tasting, and puts an end to my plain water doldrums.
So you can imagine my disappointment when, on Friday, I went to the ONE store where I've been able to find O Water, only to find that they no longer carried it. I almost screamed, right there in the middle of the bright, shiny, wide bottled water lane at the new Giant. Devastay-shonnnn. I immediately went home and fired off an email to the company, hoping (begging and pleading, truth be told) that they could tell me of any nearby stores that carry it. I NEED THIS STUFF!
Well, this morning, the DM for Canada Dry called. He not only looked up what stores carry which flavors, but he BROUGHT ME FOUR CASES, two each of strawberry and mixed berry (my favorites), "for my trouble." That's right. Brought. Me. Four. Cases. I am in HEAVEN. Not only does my primary grocery store now carry it, but I won't even need to buy some more for a couple of weeks! AND he told me to call him again if I am unable to find it in stores.
Anyway, I am beyond thrilled with the service I received, and am even more of a fan of the O than I was before. If you see O Water in your stores, and it piques your interest at all, just know that I absolutely love it, and definitely recommend it.
One of my favorite things to do is share the things I'm "into" with other people, so this blog is dedicated to doing just that.
As I get started, there may be some things that aren't new to you, but, since they could be new to somebody, I will still be writing about them. Feel free to add your comments, and certainly forward the link to my blog to your friends, if you like what I'm sharing.
. I think that their lead singer, Myles Kennedy, is one of the best vocalists ever, and that his bandmate, Mark Tremonti, is an absolutely amazing guitarist. Well, VH1 is using one of their songs to promote the new season. Yay!
(click on picture for a larger version)
