Reviews by Friends of TouchOfLace

AngelaWLaFon says "Burt's Bees Lip Balm: Superior Protection for Kisser in Winter" about Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm

AngelaWLaFon — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 02:49:03 GMT

Burt's Bees Lip Balm

We've had 17 days straight here of sledding so you can imagine the cold temperatures we've had but throw in the wind and then the indoor dryness of keeping a wood-stove going all of the time and you've got a recipe for dry, chapped lips. Not here.

We've used Burt's Bees Lip Balm for several years and this winter we stocked up on some of the Burt's Bees Lip Stash Mixed Packs.

Each Burt's Bees Lip Stash Packs- Mixed has a tube of:

Beeswax Lip Balm

Replenishing Lip Balm

Honey Lip Balm

Burt's Bees Lip Balms are made in North Carolina, USA! They use natural ingredients like beeswax and coconut oil, sweet almond oil, peppermint oil, honey and rosemary.

Burt's Bees has eco-friendly packaging. Burt's Bees using soy ink and recylced post consumer waste paper in their packaging.

We found the three packs of Burt's Bees Lip Balm for under $10.00.

I believe that these lip balms are truly superior to other brands. They go on smooth, have a minimal taste and smell and keep...

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AnnaBanana says "Holy SMACKERS! Good news for all of us snackers!" about Jolly Time - The Big Cheeze Microwave Popcorn

AnnaBanana — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 20:41:07 GMT

Usually in my reviews, I try to concentrate on foods with redeeming features -- low fat, whole grain, less calories, etc. -- but sometimes for something special I will leap the fence and take a chance on reviewing something that is only notable because it is so much fun to eat. Such is the case of Jolly Time The Big Cheeze Microwave Popcorn. My doctor would probably wake up screaming in the middle of the night if she knew I was eating this sort ot stuff (and rightfully so) but for a now-and-then treat, Jolly Time has outdone themselves.

In my first excited forays through Alice.com, I noticed that they had several types of popcorn for sale and took a chance on this one. I always think the winter months are an ideal season for fresh hot popcorn made at home. Last night, as I was watching "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," it occurred to me that if I had seen it in the theatre when it was first released, I probably would have been snacking on popcorn so I stopped the disk for...

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AnnaBanana says "Sears brightens up another corner!" about Grandrich Ceramic Table Lamp Model No. G2084 WHT

AnnaBanana — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 04:55:22 GMT

It is the start of another new year and who knows what the future will bring? Well, here is one safe bet -- as we each get older, we will probably feel less enthusiastic about scaling ladders or perching on chairs and reaching up to change bulbs in overhead lighting fixtures. It stands to reason that most senior citizens depend more and more on table lamps, night lights, or lighting fixtures which can be reached from a safe standing position on the floor.

Alas, my dear Auntie's beloved milk glass bedstand lamp finally gave in this year and it turned out to be hard to replace. Aunt Tatty didn't want something breathcatching and dramatic -- she just wanted a nice little lamp to brighten up the corner where her bed is. Sears had the answer and it was something we were able to find on line -- the Grandrich Ceramic Table Lamp Model No. G-2084 WHT.

This little lamp is perfect for a bedroom oriented to either gender and would also serve well in many other rooms. It is just 12 inches...

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AnnaBanana says "It's still not the REAL thing but it's pretty good." about Dean's 2% Reduced Fat Holiday Egg Nog

AnnaBanana — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 20:53:51 GMT

When I was a little kid, no year-end holiday season was complete at Grandpa Bowen's house until some hero among us adjourned to the kitchen in the evening and whipped up a bowl or pitcher of egg nog. The formula was simple -- according to some old family recipe, you beat up a few raw eggs with an egg beater (Remember egg beaters!) before adding in a quart of whole milk, some sugar, and a touch of nutmeg. After apportioning my share to me, the adults may have spiked what was left before they divided it among themselves. We toasted each other with our glasses of nog for a festive moment destined to become a memory which I will always treasure.

If you have never tasted fresh, foamy homemade egg nog, you really missed something and alas, it looks like a lot of people have missed the boat on this permanently. Not only is a bowl of egg nog a lot of trouble to make but the authorities have warned us about the danger of eating anything made with fresh (raw) eggs which now present a...

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AnnaBanana says "It's made with Whole Grain but ..." about Cheez-It - Baked Snack Crackers made with Whole Grain

AnnaBanana — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 04:46:05 GMT

Alice.com has among other things a wide variety of Cheez-It Baked Snack Crackers manufactured by the Sunshine Company. Several of us have reviewed the Cheez-It products, including my own review about Cheez-It Reduced Fat Baked Snack Crackers. Now something new has been added to the line: Cheez-It Baked Snack Crackers made with Whole Grain ... to be more specific, 5 grams of Whole Grain per serving. I am a Cheez-It fan from way back but the fact remains that there are OTHER things besides whole grain in these crackers.

STATS:

Twenty-seven crackers constitute a single serving which contains 150 calories with 70 calories from fat. There are 8 grams Total Fat, 2 grams Saturated Fat, 4 grams polyunsaturated Fat, 2 grams Monounsatured fat, zero each Trans Fat. Cholesterol, and Sugars, 250 mg. Sodium, 17 grams Total Carbs, one gram Dietary Fiber, and 3 grams Protein. Also included are 6% (D.V.) Iron, and 2% each Vitamin A and Calcium.

MY VIEWPOINT:

Cheez-It Baked Snack Crackers made...

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AnnaBanana says "It's delicious and YES, it is all natural, but ...." about Minute Maid Limonada Limeade

AnnaBanana — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 04:06:00 GMT

Peapod was having a sale on Minute Maid juices to salute the onslaught of the holiday entertaining season and so I decided to take a chance and try something different -- Minute Maid Limonada Limeade, one of the famous company's "Latin-oriented" products. I must say that this beverage has a delightful taste and is also a potion with a great potential for blending into smoothies or mixed drinks. That said, I must add that once again we find that "All Natural Flavors" do not necessarily mean that this is as good for you as the limeade you would make for yourself if you felt like squeezing a dozen fresh limes in your own kitchen.

STATS:

Eight ounces of this juice beverage are considered to be a single serving which contains 120 calories, zero fat, 15 mg. Sodium, 33 grams Total Carbs, and 31 grams Sugars. There are zero vitamins and minerals.

MY VIEWPOINT;

Minute Maid Limonada Limeade contains lime juice from concentrate and less than 1% each Natural Flavors and Citric Acid. Alas,...

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LauraBelle says "More Minty Than Mint Chocolate Chips" about Andes Creme De Menthe Baking Chips

LauraBelle — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 05:36:59 GMT

I'm not very adventurous when it comes to baking, especially holiday baking. I make the same things every year. Rum balls, whiskey balls, kahlua balls, mint meringue cookies, peppermint bark, and dog biscuits. For the past few years I haven't been able to find the mint chocolate chips that I used in the mint meringue cookies. They're one of only four ingredients (egg whites, granulated sugar, and food coloring make up the rest), so it's kind of integral. This year I found Andes Creme De Menthe Baking Chips, and decided to try this instead.

The Andes baking chips are much smaller than regular chocolate chips, or mint chocolate chips for that matter. The Andes chips look like you took a typical Andes mint and chopped it in much smaller pieces. They still have that chocolate/mint/chocolate sandwich thing going on. They also taste much more minty, and much less chocolatey than the mint chocolate chips.

The mixing and baking was all the same. They still mixed in the same and still placed the...

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LauraBelle says "This Product Does Exist!" about Dishwasher Magic Dishwasher Cleaner & Disinfectant

LauraBelle — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 05:07:30 GMT

We get a lot of soap buildup in our dishwasher. You can look through all my reviews here to see the troubles with that. Mostly the problem seems to be not enough water pressure to hit all the way around. This causes the soap to sit in the tray. They have garbage disposal cleaners, so why not dishwasher cleaners? I was happy to find one, Dishwasher Magic Diswasher Cleaner & Disinfectant.

With the Dishwasher Magic, you remove the cap on the 12 oz. bottle, but leave the wax plug. It gets placed either upside down in the silverware rack or in another secure place somewhere on the bottom rack. Run the dishwasher on its hottest cycle; this is needed so that it melts the wax plug. This is to remove limescale and rust, but I wanted to remove excess soap.

I tried this and it cleaned the inside of my dishwasher wonderfully, well most of it. Again, I have really bad water pressure inside my dishwasher. The stainless steel interior was sparkling throughout, except on the door where the soap tray is....

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LauraBelle says "Ultra Connectivity" about Vizio - High Definition Blu-ray Disc Player VBR110

LauraBelle — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:34:00 GMT

In my line of work as an entertainment reviewer, I need to keep up with the Joneses. And in this case the Joneses all have Blu-Ray players. It got to the point that I was turning down some things I had a chance to review because I didn't have a way to view Blu-Ray discs. In addition to that, my DVD player conked out on me.

I think it could have possibly been fixed with a good cleaning, but either way, I was without a way to watch DVDs out here in the living room, and the one hooked up to the TV my husband watches (we maintain a happy relationship by maintaining different TV viewing schedules) doesn't work either. I had a choice of the one in my son's room, my daughter's portable DVD player, or my computer. I chose my computer, which just didn't get as loud as I wanted it to with some discs. I started talking about buying a Blu-Ray player when I caught a good sale after Christmas, but it turns out I didn't need to as somehow Santa knew that's just what I needed.

Santa brought me a Vizio...

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LauraBelle says "Everything I Could Want" about iHome iP9BR Clock Clock Radio for iPhone / iPod

LauraBelle — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 22:14:59 GMT

If there's one thing those of us that have iPhones and iPods need, it's a way to charge them and play them through speakers. The prevailing maker of these audio systems is iHome. When i got my first iPod Nano, 2nd Generation, I was on the search. I wanted one for my nightstand to act as my radio/alarm clock. I bought a Jensen that did the trick at the time, but now that I'm on my 2nd iPod Nano and my 2nd iPhone, I needed something else.

The Jensen worked adequately with that first Nano, but it didn't work with my iPod Nano 5th Generation and didn't work with either iPhone. I couldn't even insert my iPhones, and the 5th Generation iPod Nano wouldn't charge and wouldn't play through the speakers unless I monkeyed with it a lot, so it really wasn't worth it. Additionally, it only had one alarm, and it was hard to figure out how to turn the alarm off, so I ended up just changing the time when I wanted to sleep in.

This made it easy to make up a Christmas wish list this year. At the top of the...

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LauraBelle says "Can't Get Past the Smell" about The Healing Garden Starter Kit, Lavendertheraphy

LauraBelle — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:18:54 GMT

It's not like I don't appreciate people thinking of me and giving me a gift, as I do. And I always love little lotions and stuff. I've used products from The Healing Garden before and really liked them. I couldn't wait to try this little gift set I got for Christmas in the "lavendertheraphy" for relaxation.

This set comes in a nice little travel case and includes a body soak, body lotion, body mist, bath and shower gel, and a body pouf. I took the "cleanse and calm bath and shower gel" into my shower with me one morning and couldn't wait to be relaxed. Just opening the bottle I was inundated with a terrible smell. I thought it must get better after you put it on. It didn't. It was hard to even consider myself clean with that smell on me, making it far from relaxing. I may have been cleansed, but I wasn't calm. Sure it smells like lavender, but there's another scent in there that's hard to place, but is highly disturbing.

I thought maybe it was just the bath and shower gel, so I tried a...

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LauraBelle says "As Good as Any Name Brand Razor" about Up & Up Women's Razor

LauraBelle — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 09:46:48 GMT

I don't know how often I can tout Target's brand Up & Up and its products. Everything is either the same as the name brand or better. I'd been looking for a cheaper disposable razor, but didn't want to sacrifice a good shave. I tried the Noxzema razors, and those were basically a bust. Scanning the shelves I thought why not try the Up & Up Women's Razors? They couldn't be any worse than the Noxzema ones.

Not only were they not worse than the Noxzema razors, they were much better. It shaved so close. I don't feel like I'm walking out of the shower with a 5 o'clock shadow under my arms. And my legs are silky smooth after using this razor. And to have these razors be cheaper than any other ones on the shelf other than the typical Bic type, was a real bonus.

The jelly-like orange coloring of this disposable razor makes it like the more upscale disposable razors like Soleil, and it works just as well, if not better. The shape can be a bit puzzling, making it seem like it wouldn't work well....

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LauraBelle says "Making It Okay to Turn Older" about It's Complicated

LauraBelle — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 07:01:51 GMT

Earlier I wrote a review of Old Dogs, talking about who I choose to take as my dates for movies, based on the movie criteria and genre. I never considered taking anyone else to It's Complicated. I figured this would be me treating myself. First, it's a romantic comedy, and secondly, it deals with being middle-aged. It's not something for my husband, and it definitely wasn't for my kids. So I was shocked when my 16-year-old son wanted to come with. He appreciates a good comedy, but this? It turns out he thought the commercials were really funny, and he also wanted to see John Krasinski who co-stars. Granted, he was the youngest person in the theater, but he really ended up enjoying it, just as everyone else did in the theater.

Jane and Jake Adler (Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin) have been divorced for ten years, ever since he had an affair with Agness (Lake Bell), a much younger woman he later married. Although previously not able to be in the same room together, they are now thrust together...

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LauraBelle says "Some Things Never Change" about Did You Hear About the Morgans

LauraBelle — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 16:40:32 GMT

Watching Did You Hear About the Morgans, I thought some things never change. Wilford Brimley is still alive and kicking, and looks amazingly the same. I only wonder if he's still eating oatmeal. Sarah Jessica Parker seems to still be a fashion maven, even when she isn't appearing on Sex and the City. Hugh Grant still has the same romantic comedy sensibility about himself. I don't think he's right for any type of role other than a guy trying to win over the girl in the end. He always plays that role it seems, yet he's successful. So if it's not broken, why fix it?

Parker and Grant play recently separated Meryl and Paul Morgan. He desperately wants to get back together with her, but she just can't seem to bear it. Both lead very busy lives, running their own compaies, and in addition she heads up a few charities as well. She seems to be his only charity as he keeps showering her with gifts as he begs her to come back. He tells his assistant a star isn't enough and asks if he can purchase...

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LauraBelle says "With This Cast, It Should Have Been Better" about Old Dogs

LauraBelle — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:11:37 GMT

When I see previews for movies that are coming out, I gauge it by who I'll take to the movie with me, whether it will be my 16-year-old son, my 13-year-old daughter, my husband, or whether it's a movie I'll go to alone. The action movies are my husband's all the way. The comedies are my son's, and the family movies are my daughter's. For me, it's all the romantic comedies. Truthfully, many times I go during the day, so I end up going alone to some movies even though I know someone else would enjoy it with me.

I was wrong on my choice of "date" for Old Dogs, yet ended up going alone anyway. With stars like John Travolta and Robin Williams, I thought for sure it should be my son to go with. He actually wants to see nearly every movie that comes out, including some romantic comedies, but don't tell him I told you that. i really wanted to see this one with him, but he'd just started on the wrestling team at school, and I knew he didn't have the time, so I went alone. Halfway through, I was...

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LauraBelle says "Feeding On Our Fears" about "EVERYBODY'S FINE"

LauraBelle — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 04:03:15 GMT

The family in Everybody's Fine could be anybody's family. It shows how far we've come and how family life has changed. What we're experiencing now is the end of an era. I don't think it will be as prevalent in twenty to thirty years, but it's prevalent to most of us, as it's how are families are or tend to be.

This is what happened to the families of the 50s and 60s where Dad was still the breadwinner and Mom stayed home and took care of everything at home. We don't have that anymore. Both parents are more often than not the breadwinners and parents share in the parenting chores. This makes both parents just as involved.

Yet in Everybody's Fine, Robert DeNiro plays Frank Goode, a dad who worked hard all his life with the intention of giving his kids a better life than what he had. He wanted them to have the best. He worked at a company that coated the telephone wires and likes to say he coated a million feet of wire to get his kids where they are today. To him they are the most successsful...

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AngelaWLaFon says "MK Signature Eye Color Duets Color Me Happy" about Mary Kay Eyeshadow

AngelaWLaFon — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:12:24 GMT

Mary Kay Signature Eye Color Duets

Mary Kay Signature Eye Color Duets makes choosing compimentary eye colors easy. Each eye color duet comes with two sections with two shades of one hue. MK consultants can also give you a helpful eye color application guide that shows you how to apply you're duets eye colors.

Why I like MK Eye Color Duets:

-Complimentary colors are already paired.

-Lots of colors to choose from.

-Can be applied "wet" or "dry."

-Stays put and doesn't crease.

My latest favorite MK Signature is "Blue Moon." The name is misleading because it's not exactly "blue" but rather one is smoky and the other silvery. It's been my go to eye color fo the holidays. Blue Moon looks really good on people with "Spring" or "Ocean" coloring like blonde hair and blue eyes.

A lot of Mary Kay makeup is made in the U.S.A. I noticed that this eye color duet is made in Italy.

With any eye shadows I think a eye color primer is helpful for longer lasting color and I think good applying...

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AngelaWLaFon says "Variety is the spice of life and I like the Aramis Life variety." about Aramis Life Eau de Toilette Spray

AngelaWLaFon — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 04:29:57 GMT

Aramis Life Eau de Toilette Spray

I like it! My husband has been a Estee Lauder for Men cologne wearer for a long time and I love the scent. He occassionally also wears Royall Lymn which is a winner with me too. It's easy to get comfortable in our ways and in our sprays but recently my husband tried out some Aramis Life Eau de Toilette. I like this one too!

Aramis Life has been described as "woodsy" and "spicy." I don't disagree but to me the scent is really soft. I don't mean "baby" soft. It's a very manly scent but many men's colognes start out soft and end with an edge and this cologne is just really smooth all the way through.

Yes, the bottle is attractive too. It's a bright blue with a silver top.

Aramis Life is very reasonably priced. It's smells clean and manly but yet very smooth and soft. It's more of a casual scent. It's easily an every day scent because it's in no way overpowering but to me anyway, it's very attractive. It makes you snuggle up a little closer...

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AnnaBanana says "A great alternative to a muffin for a fun breakfast!" about General Mills Fiber One Toaster Pastry

AnnaBanana — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 12:49:24 GMT

We probably enjoy more breakfast options today than the centuries of people who came before us could have dreamed of. Prominent among these are the quick and easy things. Nowadays, you can just pop a frozen breakfast entree into the microwave, make a bowl of "instant" hot cereal or knock back a serving of the ready-to-eat stuff and then of course there is the notorious sweet roll or muffin. Should we become so jaded that none of that seems exciting, there is always a healthier breakfast goodie option -- Fiber One Toaster Pastries manufactured by General Mills. These taste almost as good as sweet rolls or muffins and are almost as easy -- you just stick them in the toaster under the lightest setting for a few minutes to create a delightful, warm light breakfast.

Fiber One Toaster Pastries come in a variety of flavors; I chose Brown Sugar Cinnamon which cost about 50 cents a bar and was available from Alice.com (and most supermarkets). My expectations were not high because...

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AnnaBanana says "A wonderful treat but chew carefully!" about Today's Farm - Freeze-Dried Fruit Snack

AnnaBanana — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:43:55 GMT

Among the goodies which arrived in my first order from Alice.com was a .75 oz. Today's Farm Freeze-Dried Fruit Snack manufactured by Justus Foods, Inc. of Georgetown Texas. These snacks come in assorted flavors but I chose Apple Cinnamon. At $2.24 a package, this is not cheap but the ingredient list for this treat is delightfully simple: freeze-dried apples, sugar and cinnamon. The package contains the equivalent of two 1/2-cup servings of fresh apples which have been sliced up as though for a pie before the water was extracted from them. There are no artificial flavors or preservatives. As far as I am concerned, less is more when it comes to ingredients and this is no exception.

STATS:

One entire package is considered to be a single serving which contains 80 calories and zip, zip, zero fat, Cholesterol, Sodium and Protein. There are 20 grams Total Carbs, 2 grams Dietary Fiber, 16 grams Sugars, and 6% (D.V.) Vitamin C.

MY VIEWPOINT:

Today's Farm Apple Cinnamon Freeze-Dried...

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