Reviews by vivasuzi

vivasuzi says "So now I have another one to add to the DVR" about Eastwick (ABC)

vivasuzi — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:46:36 GMT

I had never heard of Eastwick, but after an episode of Dancing with the Stars, I left ABC on because they kept talking about all these new shows that were coming out. After 5 minutes of the Eastwick Premiere, I had already gone in and set up my DVR to record this whole series.

I had just been getting into Lipstick Jungle, when they took it off the air, so I was happy to see Lindsay Price was back on the small screen. Joining her as stars of the show are Rebecca Romijn and Jaime Ray Newman. All three are great in this show and I enjoy their different personalities. Sara Rue, who has been in multiple TV series, also has a pretty big part as the friend of one of the girls. She adds a nice humor and down-to-earthness to the story. Although the show is not a comedy, it isn't incredibly drama-filled either. I'd compare it to Desperate Housewives in that there is some silliness, some drama, and a few chuckles here and there.

Having never seen the movie The Witches of Eastwick, I went into...

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vivasuzi says "It's stylish and useful although a little bit hard for travel" about Bed Bath and Beyond Bamboo Chip 'n Dip

vivasuzi — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:40:02 GMT

I registered for the Bamboo Chip 'n Dip for our wedding because it was pretty. I didn't think about how practical it was like I usually do. Most the items I buy now-a-days are travel-friendly and easy to wash. The Bamboo Chip 'n dip is neither, but it's still four stars!

Made of Bamboo, the 12.5" plate is sturdy, and holds a lot of veggies! Although it was designed for chips, it works well for veggies, bread, or any other food with dip you might have. The ceramic dish in the middle holds quite a lot of dip. This dish is also heavy and sturdy enough to stay put in the little grove inside the bamboo dish.

However as nice as it looks, it is a bit heavy and clunky. While I was able to transport it to a party by covering the dish with one plastic sheet and then covering the rest with more plastic, I had to wrap it really tight to keep the items on the dish. While I managed to wrap it and carry it to a few parties, over time I decided it's easier to bring the veggies in...

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vivasuzi says "A great brush with many optional pieces" about Aqua Palm Bath Brush

vivasuzi — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:54:29 GMT

My mom had a bath brush when I lived at home, and I never realized how much I missed it until I moved out into my own house. Although I can reach my back and legs and feet, a bath brush just makes it 10 times easier to scrub these areas.

I found the Aqua Palm Bath Brush at Bed Bath and Beyond and bought it first and foremost because it had various attachments. While I only purchased the brush with the scrubbing head, they also had a pumice stone attachment and a few other attachments. I figured I could always go back and buy those attachments if I felt the need in the future.

The handle is plastic and is 18" long and makes it so you can reach any part you need to reach. Scrubbing the bottom of your feet just got easier! Even if you can normally reach everything just fine, this scrub brush is a good thing to have for days where you are sore or tired. They say the handle is shatter resistance so you don't have to worry about that either. It's a very lightweight plastic so...

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vivasuzi says "Great tasting and healthy too!" about Turkey Hill Duetto

vivasuzi — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:27:40 GMT

We are always looking for a good ice cream to make smoothies with because I just love making smoothies with my Party Blender! But at the same time, I'm also looking for healthy options because ice cream can be quite fattening and it's not worth it. Lately we've been looking for frozen yogurt, which has been hard to find!

When I saw Turkey Hill Duetto at Kroger on sale, we bought it thinking it can't be that good. A lot of times cheaper frozen yogurts and ice creams are watered down. However, we were very pleasantly surprised! In the flavor we bought, the Strawberry Venice Ice combines with the Banana Soft Serve to make the perfect treat! I added some strawberries and bananas to turn it into a perfect smoothie. Even eating it straight out of the bowl, it's very yummy.

One thing they claim is that it is easy to scoop because it is soft serve. It turns out to be very easy to scoop even if it's been in the a really cold freezer. There's no defrosting for Turkey Hill

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vivasuzi says "Finally! Scissors that HELP my scrapbook rather than HURT!" about Fiskars Brands Fiskars Scissor 8" Razor Edged

vivasuzi — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:54:10 GMT

After years of dealing with junky dull scissors, you would think that this scrapbooker would have invested in a solid pair of scissors. But it was actually my sister who ended up buying the Fiskars Razor Edged Scissors. For her wedding, we had to cut up 100s of cloth squares to make some candy roses. I cut the majority of them in my spare time. No other scissors would cut through cloth like these ones could! It made the job a million times easier. I was able to put the scissors down and slide them to slice right through the cloth - just like the pros do at Michaels stores! We set up the cloth roll so that we could pull one edge out, cut on the measurement, and repeat.

After her wedding roses were finished, she gave me the scissors for scrapbooking with and I absolutely love them! Everytime I'm cutting out a photo or cutting up an accent piece, I can't believe how quickly and easily these scissors cut! In fact, if I'm not careful it would be easy to cut a photo all the...

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vivasuzi says "The best scrapbook I've ever seen!" about Kolo Newport Scrapbooks - various sizes

vivasuzi — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:16:55 GMT

I found the Kolo Newport Expandable Refillable Scrapbook at JenniBick.com and I'm ready to buy more once my current scrapbook gets "full". Of course, it's hard to know when an expandable refillable scrapbook will get full!

The Kolo Newport Scrapbooks come in various sizes but my size of choice is 12"x12". The best part of this scrapbook is that the pages are almost completely 12"x12" instead of being cut off for binding like some other scrapbooks. The actual page you scrapbook on is 12"x12" with a cloth hinge added on to that so you can hook it in to the book.

The best part about the Newport Scrapbook is that I can now work on pages of my scrapbook individually without having to take the whole book out. My first scrapbook was spiral bound so it made it hard to work on individual pages. With the Kolo Newport, I keep the book empty and add each page only after I complete working on both sides. Adding pages is easy with the screw-like pieces that are tucked inside the book...

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vivasuzi says "Who knew there were so many different Easter Shapes!" about Wilton 18 Piece Easter Cookie Cutters

vivasuzi — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:40:09 GMT

Someone bought me the Wilton 18 Piece Easter Cookie Cutters for my wedding shower. I kept them even though I had already gotten the 100 Piece set (which contained some of the same shapes) off of my registry.

While the 100 Piece set is plastic, the 18 piece set is made of tinned steel. The benefit of this is they have sharp edges so they cut easier, but the downside is that you have to make sure they are clean and don't get rusty. Also, the sharp edges may be a little too sharp for kids. If you plan to bake with kids, the 100 Piece set is safer because it's plastic.

I would have never gone to buy this set since I already had the 100 Piece set, but since someone bought it for me, I used it. The cookie cutters came in handy on Easter a few years ago, and more recently they were great templates for cutting out photos from my Easter Holiday for my scrapbook.

The set comes with some Easter specific items and some that are generic to spring. There are 4 different styles of bunnies,...

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vivasuzi says "It works and it's low odor but it's pricy" about Raid House and Garden Spray - 12 Pack

vivasuzi — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:51:04 GMT

We had tried various things after a fruit fly problem but none of them seemed to really work as we had hoped. The fruit flies were a result of a leaky washer, but even after the washer was fixed we still couldn't get rid of them!

Once I bought Raid House & Garden all of my problems were solved. This brand is low odor so you aren't dying as you spray it. Obviously you aren't supposed to stay in the room breathing this in, but at least while you are applying it you aren't completely drowning in a bad scent.

How it works for flying insects is that you spray all around the room, aiming at windows and light sources. Then you completely fill the room with the scent and close all the doors. Leave it like that for 15 minutes (or longer if you have the time) and next time you go in you will see a bunch of dead fruit flies all over the ground. It's a good idea to clean out the room before doing this so you avoid having bugs on all your things. Alternatively you could cover your things...

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vivasuzi says "Much more interesting than I expected" about Slumdog Millionaire

vivasuzi — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 02:10:24 GMT

I would never have taped Slumdog Millionaire off of HBO if it wasn't for so many people saying how great it was. It takes a few minutes to get into it, but once you do it is actually very interesting. Perhaps it's just so new and different that I'm drawn in with the details of this culture.

The movie begins with a man getting tortured. Apparently he was 1 quesiton away from winning a million dollars in the Indian version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire". The reason he is being tortured is because they are trying to find out how he cheated. They assume he cheated because how else would a "slumdog" know all these questions.

Jamal goes about to tell them stories from growing up that explain why he knew all the answers. Each story though goes to show how horrible his life was growing up! I'm not going to tell you any of the stories because I think you should see for yourself. Seeing a young boy grow up in these conditions is insane and I'm sure it's realistic.

Dev Patel...

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vivasuzi says "Nice variety of scents but can get pricy" about Bath & Body Works Wallflowers

vivasuzi — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 03:26:18 GMT

My friend gave me a Wallflowers as a gift after I was in her wedding. This is something I had wanted to try for years but never went ahead to try them. Now that I have one, I have been using it and already went to buy a variety of scents to get me through the holidays :)

A "wallflower" sold at Bath and Body Works is basically a plug in air freshener. They plug in to any regular plug and dispense a scent constantly until it runs out. The scents come in liquid "bulbs", named as such because they look like light bulbs. You twist these on to the product, plug it in and the scent you have chosen will last approximately 2 months, give or take. I know 2 months is long for some, but for me I think it's short. I have started to unplug this during the day when I'm not home or when no one is coming over and save it for company :) Why waste it if no one is there!

I also found if you leave it plugged in constantly, you start to get used to the scent and not notice it as much. So...

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vivasuzi says "A cheap option to avoid losing tupperware at parties" about Durable Foil Bake & Take 13" x 9" x 2" Cake Pan With Lid (Set of 2)

vivasuzi — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:19:10 GMT

When I had to make Deviled Eggs for a potluck, the first thing I thought of was how would I get them there? I only have a few big sized tupperware, and I know these pot lucks are always all over the place so I was worried I'd lose my tupperware. That is when I found Durable Foil Bake & Take Cake Pans.

The Durable Foil Cake Pans are 13" x 9" x 2", therefore the perfect size for almost anything you need to bring to the party. The lids add another 2" to the height though, which I think is a bit higher than is needed. However, this means you have 4" of space to stack whatever you are bringing.

The pans come in a set of 2 and the reason I choose to buy the set (instead of just one) is because the second one ends up being great to keep my dish on ice! I bring both to the party and since they are stacked it's not a big deal to carry both pans. Then when it's time to serve, I can fill the empty pan with ice and put the other pan inside of it.

The set of 2 costs about 3$ depending...

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vivasuzi says "A simple toy that provides hours of joy!" about First Learning Pop Up Tunnel

vivasuzi — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:03:42 GMT

I love playing with my nephew and introducing him to new toys. So when my mom got him the First Learning Pop Up Tunnel, I was very excited to see how he liked it. We found it on sale at K&B Toys before they went out of business so it was a great deal.

The Pop Up Tunnel starts out as a flat toy, tied on 3 sides to keep it closed, and tucked away in a plastic zippered bag. When ready for use, you just have to untie the 3 sides and it pops open. There is no assembly involved making this an easy toy to take out whenever he is over. My mom stores it behind her couch for easy access and so that it's hidden away when he's not over.

At first site, my nephew couldn't wait to crawl through it! He did many many times. As he got a little older and bigger, he wanted to do different things with it. For example, he plays "hide-n-seek" in there all the time. He likes to roll around in it too. Or we will throw his toys in there for him to find. Another thing we do is push it down so...

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vivasuzi says "I don't care if they say "Juniors", I'm still wearing them!" about Mudd - Birchh Wedges

vivasuzi — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:47:36 GMT

I love high heels but when it comes to all day, every day at work I need something comfortable. I usually buy a pair of shorter shoes to wear each day, and then mix in the high heels once in awhile. When my last pair of "work" shoes finally bit the dust, I had to buy a new pair asap or else be forced to walk in heels until I did. JCPenny and Sears were a bust, as was Payless (where you'll find a lot of flat ballet shoes).

Kohl's looked to be a bust at first too, until I went to the "Juniors" section. In the womens section they had a lot of high heels that were cute, but I wanted comfy. All their "comfy" shoes were also ugly. I guess they think only juniors wear cute shoes! I found these Mudd Birchh Wedges at Kohl's in the Juniors section, along with 3-4 others that I liked.

The Mudd Birchh Wedges are cute! I like cute shoes. Cuteness always rates higher than comfort for me and is the first thing I look for. The Wedge portion is skinnier so they don't look clunky...

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vivasuzi says "Pant overload! But I did find what I wanted, eventually" about Sears - Westland, MI

vivasuzi — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 01:39:57 GMT

I usually don't look for clothes anywhere except my favorite store (New York and Company), however I needed some casual pants since the few pairs I owned finally had it. I usually don't shop at Sears since the last few years I've found it hard to know what section I belong in. Their store isn't labelled well, or at least not well enough for me to notice signs, so I don't even know what section is for me. It's rough. I bought some turtlenecks there last year, but it was just a fluke that I saw them.

Anyway this weekend my mom was looking for some clothes and shoes at Sears and I decided to look too since I had time while she tried stuff on. There were SO MANY PANTS! I swear there were 40+ racks of pants. Some were labelled with what style they were, others weren't. I'd find the rack that was labelled for the style I liked (straight leg), then I'd find my size and the pants I pulled out were often times not the same style as on the rack label. So many of the items were misplaced....

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vivasuzi says "This is more of a talker than I expected, but still good" about Body of Lies

vivasuzi — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:39:33 GMT

I had been wanting to see Body of Lies for awhile, so when it came on HBO my husband and I made sure to DVR it so we could watch it this weekend. While Body of Lies is a good movie with a good story, it wasn't quite what I expected. Comparing it to movies like The Departed, this film had way less action than other Leo DiCaprio films.

What's it about: Leo DiCaprio plays a US Citizen who lives and works for the CIA. He works undercover in the Middle East with his ultimate goal being to track down a master terrorist who is killing innocent people throughout Europe with random attacks. It's really hard to explain much more than that, you get the gist!

The Actors: Leo is great, as always. He seems to do well in this CIA type of roll, just like he did in The Departed. He was the only one in the movie that the audience could trust. Russell Crowe played Leo's boss, more or less. He was giving instructions from the safety of his hometown in the US. Although he was on the side...

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vivasuzi says "The Hosemobile is great but has a few flaws" about Suncast Corp No. Jnf175t Hose Reel Cart

vivasuzi — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 03:00:08 GMT

I got tired of keeping our hoses on the wall assemblies that we had in the front and back for a few reasons. For one, it was hard to get them on there and for another there were always spiders gathering there! Yuck!

We bought the Suncast Corporation Hosemobile Assembled Hose Reel Cart for the backyard and then shortly after went back to get one for the front yard because it worked well. As you can see in the picture, the Hosemobile let's you roll up your entire hose onto it. Then, a small hose connector let's you plug it into the wall. When you're done with the hose for the winter, just disconnect the hose connector and wheel the whole thing into the garage.

The two wheels allow you to move the whole cart around easily, but this does cause it to be a bit annoying when you just want it to stay put. Sometimes when I'm pulling the hose the whole cart will move if I got caught on something. This is because the cart is very light weight and has nothing to hold it down. It...

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vivasuzi says "For about $1 an inch, this 30" fan is great for small spaces!" about Harbor Breeze 30" White Breezeway Ceiling Fan

vivasuzi — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 02:22:24 GMT

I had no idea ceiling fans were so cheap! When I went to Lowes to find a small ceiling fan to fit above my dining table, I was almost certain that it would cost us a bundle. Then I looked up and saw the Harbor Breeze 30" White Breezeway Ceiling Fan and said that is the one! For only around $30, this fan was exactly what I needed.

We don't have a lot of space above my dining table since it is close to a wall, so we couldn't get a very big fan. I had never seen such a small ceiling fan before so I was really excited to find one that was only 30" around. We installed a remote into the fan, even though technically it isn't supposed to use one. It's so small so we did have to manipulate it a bit to fit the remote control in. My dad used double sided sticky tape to hold it inside so it won't hit the fan's motor. It could be dangerous if you don't know what you are doing, so be careful with that! We didn't have much choice since there was no switch hooked to this fan and we...

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vivasuzi says "A great product for exercise, crafts, cooking and more!" about FlipKlip Book Holder

vivasuzi — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 20:39:32 GMT

I was searching for some kind of book holder after many failed attempts to read a book while on the treadmill or bike at the gym. Books just will not stay open without one hand on them, but then I didn't end up getting much exercise. I found the FlipKlip on Amazon right away and purchased it after reading many positive reviews.

The FlipKlip holds open books of all shapes and sizes. It's made out of springs and clamps that make it lock on to any size book or magazine. Two arms fold up, you slide the book in, and the two arms snap down to hold the pages open. I've used it on thin books, thick books, cookbooks, and more. It worked great on all.

Turning pages is easy too. They have a video about how to turn the pages, but I don't think you really need training to use this! Simply pull the one page down and out of the clip, then tuck it up and in to the other clip. Easy enough. The clamp ends have a rubber type material on them so you don't have to worry about it denting...

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vivasuzi says "I don't get it for personal use, but see benefits for business" about Twitter

vivasuzi — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 19:37:11 GMT

When Twitter was gaining popularity, I tried it, I hated it, I quit it. It was just so boring! Facebook allows people to keep in touch in many ways, including status updates, photos, games, etc. Twitter only allows status updates - that's it! I didn't see the point of having a Twitter account just to read one liners from friends and businesses each day. So I quit.

Recently I reactivated my account for business reasons. I was writing a Reality TV Blog and wanted to get more readers. Twitter seemed to help! I put a link on the end of each article "Follow me on Twitter to find out when I write a new article". In just a month I was up to 26 people following me on Twitter. It's not much, but it has potential. Every time I write a new blog entry, I twitter it on my Reality TV twitter. I don't know for sure if it's pulling in my readers, but the fact that I'm getting followers gives me hope.

In the end, I still don't see why anyone would use twitter to keep in touch with...

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vivasuzi says "Living life through the eyes of a robot... does it make sense?" about Surrogates (2009)

vivasuzi — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:30:06 GMT

Surrogates was an interesting one, although there were a *few* parts that didn't quite add up. Overall I found the plot to be intriguing and it is something that will make people think about the "what if".

Surrogates is about a society where everyone has their own personal robot. Basically someone invented a technology that allowed the elderly and physically disabled to control a robot body using only their mind. They could essentially stay home while experience the world through their robots eyes. The trouble is, this robot technology has begun to be mass produced to the point that no one leaves their houses anymore! Everyone goes everywhere as a "surrogate" while their real human body just lays in a chair and watches. It has become an addiction to the point that going outside without your surrogate is considered crazy. Crime has dropped since real people never leave their home.

Bruce Willis comes in to the story as a cop who is investigating some strange deaths. It...

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