The Perfect Holiday Gift: Paul Frank Julius Dance Machine

I came across this gem on the Internet the other day and purchased one of these suckers for myself. If your into Paul Frank or having a fashionable MP3 player, this is the tip. Or maybe you have someone special that is a huge music fan? This would be a perfect gift for the holidays. 
The Paul Frank Julius Dance Machine is the market’s first truly fun, transportable Apple iPod compatible docking station. With specially crafted stereo loudspeakers, designed in the form of Paul Frank’s most recognized and beloved character Julius. It features a built in rechargeable battery and a 3.5mm audio input so you can basically hook up any MP3 player you want to it. 
You can find it at Merch.com!

Animal Acres: Adopt A Turkey!

Why take the life of a feathered friend when you can save one? Through Animal Acres you can adopt a turkey to celebrate Thanksgiving. Animal Acres is an awesome animal sanctuary for farmed animals. They help save the lives of poor farmed animals destined for nothing good, religiously.

"Animal Acres was founded by Lorri Houston, who is considered the "pioneer" of the farmed animal sanctuary movement. In 1986, Lorri co-founded Farm Sanctuary, which opened the country's first sanctuary for farmed animals. For 18 years, she directed the group's rescue and fundraising efforts.

Through her farm animal sanctuary efforts, Lorri has directly saved thousands of animals from the cruelties of factory farms, stockyards and slaughterhouses, and brought national attention to the plight of animals used for "food production." Lorri's work has been featured in hundreds of newspaper, television and radio news stories, including guest appearances on CBS This Morning, Animal Planet, and PrimeTime Live.

The sanctuary is a refuge for animals, and a sanctuary for the soul. Farmed animal sanctuaries are a place where cows, pigs, and chickens reach out and touch the human heart. The "animal ambassadors" gently teach people to extend compassion to ALL beings through one-on-one interaction. For many people, it is the first time they have ever looked into the eyes of pig or chicken, and it can profoundly affect the way people view and treat farmed animals. "

Recently Animal Acres opened their lovingly doors to 41 additional turkey feathered friends. For a small chunk of change, $15, you can feed one turkey for a month.  You will receive a framed photo of the turkey you adopted and a Animal Acres membership. You may even be able to name your adopted turkey as well. You can call 661-269-5404 or click here. Happy Thanksgiving.

Brazilian Blowout Savvy: Gas Mask Included!

Trends normally change with the season. Right now there is something new influencing salon trends...OSHA. Gas masks now are the hottest accessory in some salons. They really make your eyes stand out and add a little glow to your skin. Wait, that's probably just the deadly chemical fumes slowly sinking in. Sounds awesome doesn't it?

Shockingly, yes to some! Money and frizz-free hair apparently out weighs the importance of health. I find it jaw dropping! The extremes stylists and clients are willing to go to continue to use the Brazilian Blowout products is one fall of the rocker too many for me. Where and when are people going to draw the line?

The company Brazilian Blowout is still denying the allegations that their products contain higher levels of formaldehyde than the OSHA standards. OSHA allows .1 percent of formaldehyde in the formula to claim formaldehyde free. Officials tested 37 samples of the Brazilian Blowout formula. All averaged 8.68 percent was formaldehyde. The report concluded there are meaningful risks with use of this product.

Many law suits have been filled. Nothing is finalized. Awaiting the verdicts. I'll continue not to the Brazilian Blowout products until their products become more consistent. Please read my post Brazilian Blowout: All The Rage Or All The Raged? for more information regarding to this content. Become knowledgeable about the risks that could be involved with this service before spending your pretty pennies.

Fall In Love With Fall

Fall is a special time of year. Cozy clothing, warm drink sipping, crisp air, the leaves on trees changing colors all remind me of the season. Although, they're not reasons why I fall in love with fall every year. I love fall for all the yummy soups to eat! Including this delicious veggie chili recipe I am going to share with you. Break out your soup pot and get in the kitchen! Best part about it, it's easy!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 yellow onion
• 1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 15 ounce can chili beans
• 1 15 ounce can pinto beans
• 1 15 ounce can black beans
• 1 package chili powder
• 1 package Morning Star Sausage Style Crumbles
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 bag Frito Lay chips
• 2-4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 avocado cubed
• 1 tub of your favorite sour cream

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook and stir until onion is tender, about 10 minutes.  Mix in the vegetarian burger crumbles. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 5 minutes.
2. Mix the tomatoes into the pot. Season chili with chili powder and salt. Stir in the chili beans, pinto beans, and black beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 1 hour.
3. Serve and add toppings to your liking.

Imagine music playing in the background, sitting next to a fire, surrounded by holiday decorations and eating a yummy bowl of this chili. It would make anyone stop and think about how much they enjoy this season. Yay for fall! Enjoy!

Drug Store VS. Professional Hair Products: The Match Is On!

Drug store and professional salon products will always go head to head. Put them in a ring and who will win? Whoever is winning your money! But, do you really know what your spending on? What is the difference between professional and drug or grocery store products besides the price? I'm here to let you in on the differences.

Take a professional and drug or grocery store brand conditioner and compare the labels. They may look fairly similar right? Well, they're not at all actually. Even if the labels read the same exact ingredients the actual amount is completely different. Aveda, Joico, Goldwell (to name a few) are professional salon products that have much higher amounts of proteins and moisturizers. These ingredients are what provides nutrients to your hair strands to keep them healthy. Pantene Pro V, Aveeno, Garnier Fructis (drug and grocery store brands) contain the very minimal amount of these ingredients to claim the benefits for your hair. Tricky huh?

Shampoos main difference is the lathering agent used. Sodium laureth sulfite is the most gentlest sudsing ingrediant for your hair and scalp. Ammonium laurel sulfate, ammonium laureth sulfate, or sodium laurel sulfate are all harsher lather ingredients. All sound close in name but that T and H makes a big difference. Professional products normally choose to use sodium lareth sulfite even though the lathering factor is less compared to the others. So don't judge a shampoo by the suds, read the ingredients!

Are you starting to see a trend here? Same goes for styling products. I am not saying drug and grocery store brands aren't effective products. They will do get the job done but don't expect quality. You have to also consider your hair type and what you do to it. Do you color your hair? Hi lites? Perm? Straighten? All chemically altered hair needs professional products to replace much needed nutrients to the hair to maintain it's health and shine. If you don't, drug and grocery store products may work fine for you.

Please make sure you are buying your professional salon products from a salon! You can now find professional brands at drug and grocery stores. This is called product diversion and has become a problem. The products make look the same on the bottles but in reality aren't. The contents inside have been altered. It's a complete scam and a huge waste of money! Professional products are only guaranteed when purchased from a licensed retailer, like a salon.

So which products are you placing your bets on? Consider your hair's health and make the right decision biased on that!

Tofurkyriffic: Save A Turkey

Another month has past. Just like that. Happy November 2nd! Time to get out your Thanksgiving decorations and start planning your dinner for the 25th. Why not go veggie this Thanksgiving!?!? Try celebrating turkeys instead of eating one. For generations and generations it's been bred into our traditional family holiday meals to eat meat. Especially a turkey on Thanksgiving. For the same amount of time people have choose to look the other way on the animal cruelty involved. Turkeys are intelligent birds that deserve not to suffer the painful experience of being slaughtered.

Just because your not going to eat a turkey on Thanksgiving doesn't mean your meal will be skimped. There are many great options for meals that don't involve hurting animals. Tofurky has a fake turkey roast stuffed with wild rice and bread crumb stuffing that will make a great main coarse. They even have a gravy to go with it!

Maybe do a vegetarian lasagna? Here's a yummy recipe:

Ingredients

• 12 lasagna noodles
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 heads fresh broccoli, chopped
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 green bell peppers, chopped
• 2 small zucchini, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cups milk
• 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 1 (8 ounce) container small curd cottage cheese
• 24 ounces ricotta cheese
• 2 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add lasagna noodles and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
3. Heat oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot add broccoli, carrots, onions, bell peppers, zucchini and garlic. Saute for 7 minutes; set aside.
4. Place flour in a medium saucepan and gradually whisk in milk until well blended. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook 5 minutes, or until thick, stirring constantly. Stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper; cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in spinach. Reserve 1/2 cup spinach mixture. In a small bowl combine cottage and ricotta cheeses; stir well.
5. Spread about 1/2 cup of spinach mixture in the bottom of the prepared pan. Layer noodles, ricotta mixture, vegetables, spinach mixture and 2 cups mozzarella cheese, ending with noodles. Top with reserved spinach mixture, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until lightly browned on top. Cool for approximately 10 minutes before serving.

Whatever you do, save a turkey! You will feel tofurkyriffic about yourself for supporting vegetarianism and saving the animals. Hope you have a nice holiday! xoxo