Burt's Bees Intense Hydration

I have been using the new Intense Hydration line from Burt's Bees for a few weeks now.  I received samples of this new line as a BzzAgent.  The best thing about this line is the smell.  Clary sage is the main scent, and it is wonderful and calming.  The clary sage scent is present in all three of the products I tried: the cleanser, night cream, and treatment mask.

I have eczema, and it most often shows up on my upper lip. After a few weeks of using Burt's Bees Intense Hydration cleanser, mask, and night cream, the eczema is really a lot better.  I forgot to take a picture "before," but picture my upper lip area as being red, itchy, and a little flaky.  This is what it looks like now, after using these Burt's Bees products:

Hardly any redness/itchiness/flakiness.  Yay!

The cleanser is not sudsy - which is great for preventing dryness - but I sometimes miss the suds.  It makes me feel like it's working.  I have read that soap makers actually add the sudsing properties to products like this, just to make us think they're working.  So I guess suds are better off not there.  My only critique is that the cleanser didn't always remove the makeup I was wearing.  I had to use a different face wash to make sure all my makeup was gone.  I have been using the Intense Hydration cleanser at night, followed by the night cream, then a different face wash in the morning.  That works well for me.

The Intense Hydration night cream also worked well for me.  I don't usually wear night cream, but - as I'm getting into my mid-30's now - I might as well start!  The cream is thick and, as I mentioned, smells great.  It feels like the cream stays on and provides moisture all night long, but without feeling caky or weird in the morning.

I have only used the treatment mask a few times, because I keep forgetting about it.  But those few times, it has been nice.  The mask, which you slather on your face and leave on for 10-15 minutes before tissuing off, has a similar viscosity to the night cream: thick and creamy, providing lots of moisture.  It really felt like it soaked into my skin, keeping everything from getting too dry.  But it had a cooling, refreshing feeling at the same time, which was nice.  And of course, it smells great.

In these cold winter months, I'll definitely be using my Burt's Bees Intense Hydration products to keep my skin moisturized.  Try them out yourself soon!

Dr. Pepper Crock Pot Ham

We spent this Thanksgiving with my husband's family, so my mom came to visit the weekend before to get her grandbaby time in.  I wanted to make a Thanksgiving-like meal.  Something significant and tasty, but not turkey and stuffing.

I love ham.  I love Dr. Pepper.  I love smelling lovely things cooking all day in the slow cooker.  When I went to the store, ham and Dr. Pepper were both on sale!  I did a search for Dr. Pepper ham and it turns out lots of people have tried this combination.  What I did is below.  It turned out a fantastic, juicy treat - one of the best hams I've made!

For sides, I combed through my November Food Network Magazine.  I chose Celery Root, Potato, and Pear Gratin; Pumpkin-Parmesan Biscuits; and Roasted Green Beans With Pancetta and Yogurt.  If you haven't tried celery root, you should - it's lovely.  The gratin was tasty, but a little time-consuming to make.  Next time, I think I'll just roast the celery root.  The biscuits were amazing, and I will definitely make them again.  I can never find pancetta, so I used turkey bacon in the green beans.  The yogurt sauce was nice.

Dr. Pepper Crock Pot Ham

1 shank ham, whatever size fits in your slow cooker (mine was about 7 pounds)
1/2 - 1 cup brown sugar
1 8 oz. can pineapple, chunks or tidbits
1 - 2 cans of Dr. Pepper or other dark cola

Trim some of the fat off the ham and cut into pieces so that it will fit in your slow cooker, if needed.  Put the ham, flat side down, in the slow cooker.  Rub brown sugar all over the ham.  Pour the can of pineapple, juice included, over the top.  Pour the Dr. Pepper over the top and around the sides.  I like to have the crock pot at least half-full of liquid, or else things tend to burn, so I used about 1 and a half cans.  Cover the slow cooker (with the lid if it'll fit, with a couple layers of foil if not), and cook on high 4-5 hours or on low 6-8 hours.

I forgot to take a picture, so it'll have to wait until I make this ham again.

Glade Expressions Collection

Have you noticed that the air freshener aisle at Target has become kind of overwhelming lately?  There are SO many choices for keeping your house fresh and clean, from plug-ins to sprays to candles to diffusers.  There are so many affordable choices of great-smelling products now, no one needs to keep a stale bowl of potpourri on their coffee table for a couple years (like my mom did).  And the leader of the pack, with the most choices and best scents, is Glade.

I recently tried two new Glade Expressions products: the fragrance mist and the oil diffuser.  I received coupons for samples through BzzAgent.  In fact, the store where I purchased the items was also giving away a free refill for each of these items with the purchase of the starter kits.  Yay!

Glade Expressions Fragrance Mist

I purchased the pineapple & mangosteen variety of the fragrance mist.  Now, I have no idea what "mangosteen" is, but apparently it smells good when combined with pineapple.  The scent is very fruity and the best thing is that it seems to immediately cover up whatever I was smelling before.  I have been keeping the mist in the bathroom, and as you can imagine, some scents need to be covered up in there!  The scent also carries quite far.  When I spray it in the small bathroom, I notice a faint pineapple fragrance throughout the entire floor.

I like that the mist has an easy to remove label which, when removed, makes the bottle a simple white shape.  It's still obvious that it's an air freshener, but it's slightly nicer to look at than other varieties if it's sitting out on the sink like in the picture below.  And I definitely like the idea that I only have to purchase a refill to keep using this mist.  I can even try out a different scent next time, while spending less money.

One thing I don't like, however, is the actual act of spraying this thing.  A quick glance when you pick up the bottle doesn't make it apparent which side the spray is going to come out of - so you might accidentally spray your furniture or yourself.  It's also a little difficult to squeeze the bottle to make the mist come out.  I have some carpal tunnel in my arms, so I have to use both hands to squeeze - not a big deal, but not quite so convenient either.

Glade Expressions Oil Diffuser

For the oil diffuser, I tried out the fuji apple & cardamom spice flavor.  I love fall scents, especially apple-cinnamon, and this one is no disappointment!  I placed the oil diffuser in our nursery, right next to the diaper pail.  Within seconds of opening the oil container and setting up the diffuser, the ENTIRE second floor of my house was filled with a warm, apple-y scent that I loved!  It not only covers up the diaper-pail scent, it also makes all the rooms nearby smell great too.

The scent has not stayed quite as intense as when I first opened the package, but it is still going strong after a couple of weeks.  Every time I come up the stairs, I start to smell the apple & cardamom and it makes me feel warm & happy.

Like the fragrance mist, the oil diffuser looks great with our decor.  I got the white one, and since everything else in the nursery is white, it blends right in.  I also really like that I don't have to use up an outlet or find batteries or push a button to diffuse the scent.  It provides continuous apple-scent just by sitting there.  With a little person soon to be crawling around that room, I can't put fragrance diffusers in the outlets.  Here's a picture of how nice it looks:

Both of these new items from Glade do a great job of covering up bad smells and creating nice ones instead.  And both blend in with your decor more than other air fresheners out there.  Give them a try today!

Best Excuse in the World

Here's why I haven't been keeping up with my blog for awhile:

Yep, my baby girl was born on September 1.  I have, of course, been focused on nothing but her since then.  But now I am ready to start posting again - and not only that, I am going to have a lighter work schedule to allow me to focus on blogging and writing from now on.

Greens, Beans, and Ham

This week, we received lots of goodies from our CSA, including kohlrabi and rainbow chard.

For the kohlrabi, I cut it up into slices, drizzled some olive oil and lemon juice on it, and seasoned with salt and pepper.  It made a nice appetizer.  We also received the greens from the kohlrabi, which I read could be cooked and served just like any other green (chard, collard, mustard, etc.). So I decided I wanted to make a dish with the chard and kohlrabi greens and one of the things I've been craving lately: ham.  I also wanted to use white (cannellini) beans.  And since it's been about 100˚ here each day, I definitely did not want to turn the oven on.  I looked around online to find a recipe, but nothing quite fit what I wanted.  This one from Closet Cooking is close, but no ham.  Be Localicious Utah had this one, but it involved baking.  Both added tomatoes to the mix, so I decided to throw those in too.  All the other recipes were for some kind of soup, something I wasn't in the mood for.


So I combined ideas from a few recipes, and added my own touches.  What I came up with was pretty tasty!  And the hubby thought so too.

Greens, Beans, and Ham

1 bunch Swiss chard and/or other greens

1 ham steak

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 onion, chopped

1-2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 cup chopped carrots

1 pinch red pepper flakes (about 1/4 tsp.)

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can white cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

fresh parsley

lemon juice

• Wash, trim, and chop the greens into strips or pieces.  I did not use the stems, though you could if you cook them a little longer than the leaves.  I also like to spin them in the salad spinner.
• Trim the ham and cut into strips or pieces.
• Melt the butter in a large pan (I used a Dutch oven).  Add the onion, garlic, carrot, and red pepper flakes and saute until they start to soften, 2-3 minutes.
• Add the ham pieces and saute another 3-4 minutes.
• Add the greens and about 1/4 cup of water.  Cook for another 3-4 minutes, until the greens cook down as much as you like.  I found the kohlrabi greens a little tough, so if you're using those, add them first to give them some extra time.
• Add in the can of tomatoes, with the liquid.
• Smash up 1/3 to 1/2 of the beans, then add all (smashed and unsmashed) to the pot.
• Season with fresh parsley, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.
• Cook for another 5-6 minutes to let the flavors blend.
• Serve with pasta or potatoes.

We found the flavors were even better when eating the leftovers the next day, so perhaps cooking even longer to let everything meld together is the way to go.  I served our Greens, Beans, and Ham with rigatoni, which was a little too large.  Next time I'd use a smaller pasta, or serve it over sliced potatoes.  Also, don't hesitate to season with as much or as little red pepper flakes (or other spice) and lemon juice as you like.  Both are great with greens.

Greek Yogurt

Now, a short post about one of my new favorite things: plain Greek yogurt.  I've long known that Greek yogurt is thicker and more filling than regular yogurt, and is quite tasty, but I didn't realize until recently just how many ways you can use it!  I have been buying the plain variety of Fage brand yogurt.  Here are just some of the ways I've been using it:

• in place of sour cream on tacos
• as a replacement for mayo in tuna, egg, and potato salads
• in other recipes that call for sour cream and/or mayo, like creamy pasta dishes
• with chips and salsa (again, in place of sour cream)
• as a veggie dip (add some fresh herbs!)
• in smoothies
• with fruit, honey, and granola for breakfast
• in homemade frozen yogurt (I used this recipe)

My favorite use is in place of mayo.  I always feel guilty when I eat mayo, but those dishes that contain it are some of my favorite things (salads, dips, appetizers, etc.).  And let's face it, low-fat mayo just doesn't cut it!  But Greek yogurt does!  I find the taste of things in which I replace mayo with Greek yogurt to be pretty close to the original.  I still have a jar of Hellmann's in my fridge, but I honestly don't know if I'll ever go back to using it!

This web page says one can also use Greek yogurt in place of buttermilk, in chocolate frosting, and in cheesecake.  I think those will be my next uses for this great food!  Fage has some great recipes on their website as well.

New Products from Neutrogena Cosmetics

As a Bzz agent, I recently received a few samples of new products from Neutrogena Cosmetics.  Overall, these new cosmetics from Neutrogena are very nice.  Here are my honest thoughts...

revitalizing lip balm: The new lip balm adds a bit of color while doing some good moisturizing.  When I used them around others, my friends noticed the cool shape of these lip balm tubes, and the fun shades.  I was impressed that the color stayed on and the balm didn't seem to dry out my lips as some others tend to do.  I'll definitely get these again.

brightening eye protector: The eye protector does a nice job helping to cover my dark eye circles.  I wish there was a product that would take them away entirely - this isn't it.  But it does brighten the area around my eyes.  It is easy to apply with the built-in brush, but I needed a second brush to fully blend it in.  Not a problem - what woman doesn't have 10 million make-up brushes?  I would get the eye protector again too (unless those circles magically disappear of course).

nourishing eyeliner: My eyes looked pretty good after using this eyeliner.  The liner is dark and thick, but there were two things I didn't like about it.  First, the smudge brush didn't do much for me.  I ended up using another eyeliner's smudger to blend.  Second, I got a tiny bit a little too close to my eye, and it hurt like crazy.  Perhaps this isn't the best eyeliner for sensitive skinned people like me.  Or, we should just be really careful using it!  I only wear eye liner on special occasions, and I've never been very good at applying it, so I may not buy this particular one again.

Neutrogena has a great line of cosmetics, and I look forward to trying more of their new products in the future!