The Influenster Spring Fever VoxBox

Hi all!

As you know, I partner with a few different companies to try out products and share my opinions with the world. I recently signed up with www.influenster.com and they graciously sent me the Spring Fever VoxBox. Inside was a bunch of different goodies (5 different items, to be exact!) and they all were pretty great products from great companies.

Inside was two cards, one welcoming me to the Spring VoxBox and detailing what was inside, and the other was a $5.00 off coupon for Ulta for any Schwarzkopf Professional OSiS+ purchase, a full size thing of Secret Outlast Completely Clean clear gel deodorant, a box of imPRESS press on manicure nails, a full size bottle of Schwarzkopf Professional OSiS+ Dust It Texture mattifying powder, NYC Applelicious Glossy Lip Balm in Big Apple Red, and a Tastykake Kandy Bar Kake in Reese's flavor. Needless to say, I was pretty pumped. Everything looked awesome and I was really excited to give it all a go.

Schwarzkopf Professional OSiS Dust It (a $23.50 value)

Let's start with the mattifying powder. According to the description, the OSiS Dust It "is a multi-purpose mattifying powder that adds incredible root lift, texture and control." I am a fan of Schwarzkopf products, but really was not all that impressed with this. While it was this really cool powder that turns into almost a liquid in your hands when you rub it together, it's hard to actually get into your hair (most sticks right to your hand) and I didn't see much of a difference. Here's what the powder looks like:

And here is the before and after when using the product:

Before... 

After

I felt like it just made my hair look messy. Maybe if you had very short hair and you were looking for that textured, messy look, this would be awesome. But in my opinion, the difference isn't there and it's not different enough to warrant .35 oz for $23.50.
Grade: D 

Broadway Nails imPRESS Press-on Manicure (a $5.99-$7.99 value)

Next was the imPRESS nails in 110 "Joyride". These nails "feature advanced nail technology, so you can get a salon-perfect manicure in seconds - simply peel off, press on, and you're done. There's no drying, a killer shine and a manicure that lasts up to a week!" This color was really hard to capture on camera, but it was a gorgeous fuschia/purple color with shiny glitter undertones. My experience with fake nails that aren't professionally put on hasn't been great - I had almost this same exact color for prom a million years ago that you could put on with nail glue, and I lost three before we even got to dinner (one before I even got in the car. Nice!).

Technology has come a long way with this sort of thing though, and I was imPRESSed (ba-dum-ching) with these nails. They were easy to apply and had their own sticky on the back of each one, all you do is pull off a plastic tab covering the sticky, press and go! There are 24 nail covers in 12 sizes, so you possibly could get two sets of out this, depending on the size of your nails. I put them on before work one morning, and they applied very quickly and felt VERY sturdy. I decided to not baby them because I wanted to see how they would last... and they easily went all day at the keyboard, through meetings and even through dishes later that night. The next morning I woke and all were still there, no problem, but I did notice that the index finger was getting a bit wobbly, so I took them off. So instead of lasting a week, they lasted one full day, but I still thought they were very sturdy and looked REALLY nice. I would absolutely buy these again for a big day or event.
Grade: A-

Secret Outlast Clear Gel Antiperspirant/Deodorant (a  $4.59 value)

Next was the Secret deodorant, which "leaves fewer white marks on clothes than the next leading invisible solid! And, with the 48 hour odor and wetness protection at such a low price, why pay more?" I personally feel like $4.59 is a bit crazy for deodorant, but then again I'm a basic Lady Speed Stick girl. I have some allergies with this sort of thing, so I have to be really careful what brands I buy. I was actually even hesitant to give this a try, but I decided to anyway. And you know what? It didn't bother me. BUT. I am not a fan of that clear gel. It left a weird wet and COLD feeling that I know I couldn't do every day. I also have used it twice and less than half of the bottle remains, so while it's neat and now I know I have another brand that doesn't bother me, I won't be purchasing this any time soon.
Grade: C

Tastykake Kandy Bar Kakes Peanut Butter (a $4.49 per box value)

I touched on these a few days ago in this blog post, but these are pretty dang good. The TastyKake Kandy Bar Kake had a really good taste and I wish that they were around here! (Come to MI, TastyKake!) :)
Grade: A

NYC New York Color Applelicious Glossy Lip Balm (a $2.99 value)

Last but certainly not least, NYC Applelicious Glossy Lip Balm in Big Apple Red. I'm supposed to (and always do :) give my honest opinion of things I receive, and let me tell you - you have to go and try this stuff. I've never been able to find a red color for lips that didn't make me look like a clown. Ever. And with this... it's the perfect amount of red without being ultra matte and bright. It's got a great taste and smell too.

Before...

After (a few swipes)

It looks even better in person. It moisturizes, smells good, tastes good, and stays on for a good amount of time. And for $2.99, you can't beat it.
Grade: A+

And so concludes my Spring Fever VoxBox review! Hope it was fun to read and maybe helped you find some new products to try! Thanks Influenster for letting me try these items out!




(Disclaimer - I was sent these for my review for www.influenster.com. I was not compensated in any other way to give a negative or positive review of these products and was allowed to keep the products in return for my honest reviews.)

Tastykake® Kandy Bar Kake

Want to hear something cool? I was selected by Influenster to try out Tastykake® Kandy Bar Kake... and they sent me Reese's flavor. Also known as the best flavor in the whole entire world, Kandy Bar Kake or not.

What's Tastykake? They started from an idea to make small cakes, pre-wrap them fresh at the bakery and have them be conveniently available at the local grocer for a delicious grab and go dessert. They offer a ton of different options now, including Honey Buns, cookie bars, and even sugar free options. 

"The Tasty Baking Company, founded in 1914 and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is one of the country’s leading bakers of snack cakes, pies, cookies, and donuts. As a subsidiary of Flowers Foods, the company has bakery facilities in Philadelphia and Oxford, Pa. that offer more than 100 products under the Tastykake brand name. Celebrated for their freshness and quality ingredients, the Tastykake line includes such classics as Krimpets, Kandy Kakes, Juniors, and Kreamies. For more information on Tasty Baking Company, visit www.tastykake.com."

The Kandy Bar Kake comes in three different flavors: peppermint, s'mores, and peanut butter flavor. The flavor? Unusually good for being packaged (and shipped, too!) cake. It's fluffy cake with a layer of peanuty goodness in the middle, surrounded by creamy chocolate and peanut swirls. My only complaint was that the chocolate coating was falling off the cake, so it made a bit of a mess. 

Unfortunately, they aren't available in MI yet... so it may have to be a while until I get to try this deliciousness again, but thank you to Influenster for giving me the opportunity to try something new!

Want to see what else I received complimentary from Influenster? Check back later this week with my full Spring VoxBox review!

Homemade Parsley and Garlic Croutons

If there is nothing I like more, it's a big flipping salad. Sometimes it just sounds so good, especially if I've been eating a lot of not-so-good for you things.

When my husband and I make salads, we make 'em big with lots of toppings. The toppings are (not surprisingly) my favorite part. A while back, I really wanted croutons on my salad and we had none. Thus, homemade parsley and garlic croutons were born.

Want to make your own? You'll need:
• 2 TBSP of butter (you can use less)
• 1 slice of bread (I used whole wheat, it's great with white too)
• a generous dash of parsley flakes
• a generous dash of garlic salt

You'll also want:
• A cookie sheet & oven
• A microwave safe bowl or measuring cup

1) Preheat your oven to 350. I use my toaster oven. Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl or measuring cup. Add a generous dash of parsley and garlic salt. (I probably "dash" the spices 5 or so times into the melted butter)

2) Cut your bread into 1/2" size or so cubes and dunk them in the butter. I use a butter knife to scoot them around and mix the bread so it all gets a nice coating.

3) Your oven should now be at about 350. Arrange the cubes on the tray and let them cook for about 5-10 minutes. Keep your eye on them and move them around so that all sides get crispy and toasted, not just the bottom side burnt (I speak from experience! :)

  

4) Remove them carefully and let them cool for a bit. Add them to your big flippin' salad with other toppings (in this salad, I used chopped chicken, cranraisins, a bit of celery, a boiled egg, cucumber, tomato...) and enjoy!

BBQ Bacon Turkey Calzone Recipe

Bacon makes everything better, doesn't it? :)

That's what I thought when I was trying to figure out what the make with a half package of bacon and about 3/4 of a pound of ground turkey a few nights ago. I combined those with some BBQ sauce, some cheese and a pizza crust.... and came up with the "BBQ Bacon Turkey Calzone" - and it was so good Mr. LOC requested it again ASAP! :) This post was my second time making it and I think it was even better than the first!

This makes a great splurge meal! ;) It's got all the makings of a classic comfort food. If you've got a BBQ lover in your life, you've got to try this out.

Ready to make your own? You'll need:
• Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Chipotle BBQ sauce - we think that this is a big part of why this tastes so good, so I highly recommend grabbing some of this.
• 10-12 oz of ground turkey (about half the amount of turkey in the package above)
• Half of a package of bacon
• About 1/2 - 3/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
• a packet of easy prep pizza crust
• A dash of onion powder
• A dash of garlic powder
• Salt and pepper

You'll also want:
• A cookie sheet
• Some flour
• Some Pam-type spray
• A rolling pin
• Kitchen shears
• Large saucepan
• A cutting board
• A colander

Start by preheating your oven to 450. Follow the directions according to the packet of pizza crust and prepare your pizza crust to the point of letting it rise in the bowl, and let it rise while you work on the next steps of the calzone. You could also use a pre-made dough ball crust too.

Next, start browning your ground turkey in a large saucepan. Add a dash of salt, pepper, and onion powder. Once it's browned, put it in a colander, bowl underneath to catch the grease. Set it aside for now.

In that same saucepan, cook your bacon. Cook it until it's just cooked - you don't want it ultra crispy (which is tough for me, as that's the way I like it...ultra crisp! :).

Move the bacon once cooked to another plate. Using some kitchen shears, cut the bacon into pieces. Set aside.

Add your BBQ sauce to the meat. Add just enough so that it will cover the meat completely once stirred. I probably added about 1/4-1/3 cup of BBQ sauce. Stir so that the meat is coated. I do this right in the colander.

Now, add some flour to the pizza dough (not a lot, just so it's not so sticky) and kneed the dough. Take a rolling pin and roll the dough out to fit your cookie sheet, I usually do this on a separate cutting board. Spray your cookie sheet with Pam spray and move your stretched out crust carefully and quickly to your cookie sheet (having them right next to each other is recommended.)

Now, add your toppings. I add my ground turkey first, bacon, cheese and then a layer of BBQ sauce.

Now, start at the bottom of the pan, closest towards you and begin rolling. You have to be quick and do this pretty carefully, otherwise it will get explode-y or not want to roll correctly. Roll up the pan until the roll is at the top of the pan, then scoot it (carefully so you don't tear it apart!) back to the middle of the pan.

Then, take your garlic powder and dash a little down the calzone on top. This cooks up really nicely and gives it a great flavor.

Your oven should be preheated at this point, so go ahead and put it in the oven. Bake for 12-15 minutes in the oven, your top will get golden brown.

Take it out and let it cool for a second (the sugar in the BBQ really stays hot for a bit! whew!) and then enjoy!

Thank you for following along! I hope you enjoy my BBQ bacon turkey calzone recipe. Let me know how this turned out for you! :)

It's Pinspired Friday! {A New Style}

TGIPF! It's Pinspired Friday!

So, I have a relatively large announcement regarding life outside of the blog... I've accepted my first full-time job with a local advertising agency. I am SO happy. I went to school for and graduated with a B.S. in Advertising and it's been a lifelong dream to work in an agency. Needless to say, I'm on cloud nine. 

So what does that mean for this blog?

I have no plans to abandon the blog! Will I still have time to do every Friday still and a post sometime earlier in the week? I'm not sure yet. You may just start seeing many more crockpot meals and recipes. ;)

---------------------------------------------------

So in light of the recent development in my career, today I am touching on office attire. I definitely have some dressy clothes in my closet, but I thought I would share what I'm slowly grasping:

You need basics.

Who would have guessed, eh? I have this fantastic ability to purchase shirts and forget about my bottom half because it's boring. So I have a wonderful selection of bright shirts or "exciting" shirts, but very few cardigans, pants or skirts that are just basic. Is basic boring? I am learning it doesn't have to be. And people prefer if you wear pants in public, so...

I have a collection on my "My Style Pinboard" on Pinterest that I've been collecting forever, it seems, and a lot of my styles I've "collected" have the following basics:

Patterned Skirt	Black Skirt
From Outfitposts.blogspot.com	From Cleo.Ca
Grey/Dark Grey Skirt	Navy Skirt
From Outfitposts.blogspot.com	From Hello-Gorgeous-Blog
Khaki Skirt	Bright Colored Skirt
From Polyvore	From Hello-Gorgeous-Blog

So now that we've got six basic colored skirts, we'll want the same in dress pants. You can start to see in even just those five images, if you've got the basics, you can change around the tops easily to make them work with the other colored skirts too! It's worth noting having basic shoes: black pumps, tan/brown pumps, black flats and camel/brown flats go with everything too. You can throw some sandals or sandal heels in there too.

So now we need pants:

Navy Pants	Grey Pants
From Simplyme091909	From outfitposts.blogspot.com
Colored Pants	Black Pants
The Streetstyle Tumblr	Unknown Source
NICE Jeans	Khaki Pants
From SimplyMe091909	From Polyvore

Get the idea? I finally am. I need basics and the rest will come. Grab a cardigan using the same basic formula (black + tan + navy + patterned + colorful + grey) and you can easily layer and make a great looking outfit.

Next, you need accessories.

Some offices may be more or less stringent on what is appropriate. I always tend to stick with more traditional styles when it comes to accessories like purses so that it matches with everything, but I may have more exciting earrings or necklaces. If you can balance a more traditional accessory like a purse with crazy shiny earrings, you'll look more put together and avoid my biggest fear - look like you're trying TOO hard to love every trend.

Basic Semi-Exciting Studs	More Exciting Earrings
From Anthropologie	From FashionDivaDesign
More Traditional Necklace	More Exciting Necklace
From MaxandChloe.com	From Luulaa
More Traditional Purse	More Exciting Purse
From Toryburch.com	From JustFab.com

So there are just a few tips and tricks that I am learning! I am excited to have the chance to wear more office appropriate attire and of course, to be an asset to a company that does what I've always wanted to do.

Have any tricks or tips when it comes to office attire, or heading into a new position? Thanks for reading! Have a great weekend!