Taco Tuesday at The Plum Cafe & Bakery

Yes. Again.

What can I say? The Plum is one of the few places in Sacramento I can go and know that I can order food that is gluten free and doesn't contain any secret meat. So while I won't necessarily go out of my way to eat there (because it's largely out of my way to eat there), I am totally down to give it a try when I can.

So when I invited msyelf to help Simply Luscious Catering taste test gluten free cupcakes, I knew there was absolutely one thing I had to try.

(I totally stole this photo from the Plum)

Taco Tuesday.

I ordered their potato taco and their BBQ Tofu taco. They came out looking pretty similar to this photo. Except, you know. There were two tacos and not three.

The tacos were good, y'all. Really good. So good it inspired me to institute Taco Tuesday at my house (with slightly less stellar success)(alas).

The tortillas were perfect, soft, not super dry the way they can get, and they held together against the filling (am I the only one plagued by tortilla rippage?). The potatoes were crispy and the BBQ Tufo was tangy and sweet, both were just the right amount of warm. Topped with veggies and a kicky, flavorful sauce, each bite was a mixture of flavors, textures, and temperatures that played very nicely together.

Paired up with a Happy Hour Gluten Free Beer (huzzah!), and it was a Tuesday delight I can't wait to repeat.

Of course we were there for the cupcakes. As I've said before, their cupcakes are fantastic. They taste neither gluten free nor vegan, but are moist, decadent and rich. The frosting mimics buttercream or cream cheese frosting almost perfectly, without feeling weird or gritty in your mouth. Disregarding labels, these are amazing cupcakes.

Pictures were a given, although I totally wish I'd thought to take photos of my tacos for you. It was an overcast afternoon, so we had to do some funky things to get the shots, all the while giggling about "fucking food bloggers!".

It was the beer. Honest.

Banana chocolate chip, carrot cake & lemon lavendar

Carrot cake innards

Lemon lavendar innards

The Plum Cafe & Bakery - A Review

I know you think I'm crazy. I've already tried Sugar Plum Vegan and it has not ended well. But I've been really curious since it changed hands and became The Plum Cafe & Bakery (or Bakery & Cafe, I'm not sure if they've decided). I've also noticed that they have a large selection of gluten free options, including baked treats, so I stopped in for lunch recently.

I ordered the gluten free macaroni & cheese, and a selection of treats.

The Mac & Cheese was underwhelming. The noodles were good, but the sauce was weird and clumpy and did not taste a lot like cheese. The salad was good, but it's hard to fuck up spring salad mix and vinagrette.

The brownie was ridiculously good. Rich, moist, and chocolatey, it tasted neither vegan nor gluten free. The cupcake, as well, was very good (only one was for me, y'all). I waited too long to try the cake, so I cannot comment other than to say that two days in the fridge do not do it justice.

I will probably give The Plum one more chance before making a final judgement (after all, I did give Sugar Plum two chances). As of right now, I can recommend it highly for vegan and gluten free pastries, but not so much for the rest of the menu.

I do, however, adore the back patio area

It's quiet, cool, and homey, and was a lovely place to while away an afternoon hour.

Nation's Giant Hamburgers - A Review

For years, Fuddruckers was the Big Burger On Campus in Citrus Heights. Any weekend night would find a line out the door and good luck to you if you planned to eat it there. The economy started to take a bite of their business a few years ago, and, in the last couple of years, new burger joints have been popping up literally within a block of Fuddruckers.

First it was The Habit. I'm totally going to admit that I have a deep love of their Ahi Tuna burger. It is so simple and good, and I can order it with a salad and have a reasonably healthy supper.

Next came Smashburger, which I have yet to try. I've heard differing reports about vegetarian options and the "worthiness" of the food.

Finally - and fairly recently - came Nation's Giant Hamburgers, which we checked out one desperately stormy evening last week.

I ordered the salmon Caesar salad because, dude. It's a salmon Caesar salad. I was underwhelmed at best. First fail: you just don't serve Caesar salad dressing on the side. It really needs to be tossed with the salad so it's even. Chowing on random clumps of Caesar dressing is not the business, nor is forkfulls of dry salad.

MonkeySee ordered the Chili Burger with a side of Chili Cheese Fries. He had to request onions, because they weren't served with them. As you can see, the chili cheese fries were topped with two slices of what appears to be American cheese. Not that there's necessarily anything wrong with that, but in this increasingly "foodie" culture, this just does not fly.

To quote MonkeySee in regards to his meal: "It's like a middle school dance: They aren't really too close, and both parties were forced together by a third party."

And y'all should know that Monkey is an afficianado of chili topped foods.

Overall, I would say Nation's has a vaguely cafeteria feel to it and not much to distinguish it from the multitude of other burger & sandwich fare in the area. The prices seemed reasonable, until you added in sides and drinks and all of a sudden you could have eaten somewhere less hair-netty.

Maybe I missed out by not ordering breakfast*, but I suspect that I will not be back to find out.

The Verbosery verdict on Nation's Giant Hamburgers is: Decidedly Meh.

If you haven't checked them out, you probably aren't missing much.

*Pro-tip: If you're off gluten and sugar (as I am this month), you probably shouldn't get supper somewhere that specializes in pancakes and pies.

Trumer Pils - A Beer Review

While at Saul's, I had (two of) the Trumer Pils. A Pilsner is a bottom fermented, pale lager that is distinctly hoppy and was originally brewed in Pilsen, Bohemia. Yes I just paraphrased that out of Wikipedia.

The Trumer Pils had a crisp, hoppy flavor which was clean and not malty or heavy. Although pilsner is not usually my go-to beer, I can definitely see this as a good summer afternoon hanging out kind of beer.

It doesn't hurt that the beaker style custom glass is super cute.

You know that's important.

Saul's Deli - A Mostly Review

The weekend before last, SweetPea and I went on an adventure with friends. They brought their boxer and we brought Gomi and we hit the huge dog park in Richmond called Point Isabel. While I was convinced that we had one good dog and one asshole, it turns out that we have one short asshole and one tall asshole. Apparently my pit bull thinks that mouthing the necks of strange dogs is an appropriate greeting. So that's awesome.

Anyway, after the dog park, a visit to Berkeley Bowl, and trying to figure out where the heck to stop for dinner, we ended up at Saul's Deli.

Saul's is a restaurant and deli specializing in Jewish and Eastern European cuisine. Some of the stuff on their menu I remember from my childhood, with both German and Jewish grandparents. SweetPea ordered the day's special - cabbage rolls - because it was something her mother used to make. We also got an order of potato latkes to split.

I ordered a sandwich.

Now, the thing about being a vegetarian and ordering a sandwich at a deli is that, often, that sandwich consists of all the veggies that would go on a meat sandwich and that's about it. In the same way that vegetarian pizza is often just a meatless combination pizza. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, but it's boring and kind of sad. There are so many truly awesome, inventive and delicious ways to feed vegetarians (and there are so many of us now), that it really sucks when you lack the creativity to do more than peel the meat off of a regular menu item.

At Saul's, this is not a problem.

I ordered the Eggplant Schnitzel. As you might expect, it came with eggplant cutlets that had been breaded & fried, roasted beets, roasted onions, pickles, arugala, harissa and mayonaisse.

It was kind of amazing.

The eggplant was crisp and warm, the perfect compliment to the cool, sweet beets, and everything else highlighted this pairing. It was perfect.

You can tell I'm not a food blogger, because that's all you're getting.

I had it with the potato salad, which was better than most offerings, but not grammy's potato salad. I also had a Trumer Pils, which I will blog about tomorrow.

SweetPea reported the stuffed cabbage rolls were good, although not exactly like her mom made. The latkes were good, but slightly more dense and less crispy than I would have expected. Having never before had latkes, I have no idea if they were right or not.

I also had baklava for dessert. It was served warm, and the kind of "made right here in the kitchen" flaky that I don't usually see. Most of the baklava I've had has been made elsewhere, so the layers have time to kind of soak into the honey. Saul's baklava was flaky, gooey, crispy, warm perfection.

Saul's is definitely worthy of a do-over, and may even be worth its very own trip to the City.

Breakfast with Jim (Denny's)

Thursday morning after SweetPea's follow up, we hit up Jim Denny's for breakfast. Jim Denny's is a tiny little dive diner with mostly bar seating. In fact, if you sit at one of the tables, most of your "service" will be provided by people seated at the bar passing things along. It's fun and delicious and old-timey and I love it.










If you sit by the phone, you have to answer the phone. Really.






Breakfast burrito, no meat.


So much good.
SweetPea & I also split a short stack. Best pancakes I've had in awhile. Just the right amount of crispy outside, light & fluffy, not heavy and cakey.

All around a damn fine meal that you get to watch being made. The staff is awesome and fit perfectly with the character of Jim Denny's. I definitely think I'm going after the Hubcap - a hubcap sized pancake - as a post-race breakfast one of these days.

Sucker Punch - A Movie Review

SweetPea managed to snake this video right after the vendor loaded it into the redbox and I am so glad she did.

It's like a mix of American McGee's Alice, Charlie's Angels (and, yes, the newer one) and a Guillermo del Toro flick. It's also been likened to a music video or a video game. Of course, it's none of these things.

It is a visual & audio feast. Beautiful girls, gorgeous details, explosions, fights, music that fit perfectly. I think it's a very well done, fun, fiery flick, with an overall theme that:

You have all the tools you need. Now fight.
And how often do we need to be reminded of that?

I definitely recommend it if you're looking for some candy to veg out to for a couple of hours.

Sunflower Farmer's Market

Recently (I'm guessing while I was in Texas)(the nerve), the Sunflower Farmer's Market finally opened. It took over the space in Roseville Square that was once a Ross* and is in the same shopping center as one of my favorite non-running stores Trader Joe's.


So pretty & new!
With "Farmer's Market" in the name, I expected way more produce. At first I was kind of disappointed, but the selection of non-produce items was phenomenal, especially for those of us who are vegetarian. They have things I don't recall ever having seen for sale, such as Field Roast products, a huge selection of Tofurkey products, an entire wall of Bob's Red Mill, and I can go on & on.


The prices were good on most things, great on some things and "about normal" on the rest. I loved that I could get almost all of my shopping taken care of in one stop because, unlike Joe's, they carry Chobani (although not my preferred flavors). I did still hit Joe's because there are some things that I can only get there (and their price on Fage yogurt was better than Sunflower's).

I will definitely be back, and I'm sure I'll continue finding things that are new and surprising and not available elsewhere. Definitely awesome (and how often does grocery shopping make you say that?).

*At the time, Ross swore they'd be back after the rebuild. Five years later and the space is finally finished, with a new occupant? Uh huh. Whatever, Ross.

Sugar Plum Vegan

I want so much to like the Sugar Plum Vegan. For no other reason than there are so few places in Sacramento where I can walk in, order whatever the fuck I want and not have to worry about any hidden chicken in my "vegetable" soup.

Two attempts at their "Bottomless Brunch" have, however, yielded less than stellar results. The potatoes are bland, the fritatta is spicy to the point of burning away any actual flavor, the biscuits are hard, the gravy is bland and, let's face it, there's just no way vegetarian bacon is going to work out right. MonkeyDo reported that, after waiting almost 20 minutes to get a chance at some, the french toast tasted like cinnamon apple oatmeal.

I love Sugar Plum's unique, homey (if your home is a commune) atmosphere, and the food seems to be well and thoroughly enjoyed by people a lot thinner more vegan than I, so I assume there's something to say for it. Personally, it seems very "this is what I have to eat because I'm vegan" and not very "taste this, you'll die." I feel like I could whip up a vegan brunch with a lot more flavor without trying too hard.

I will probably be back to sample some of the non-brunch fair, but, so far, Sugar Plum is oh-for-two and the prospects for improvement don't look bright.


Final note: although their website says they "happily accept cash only!", I was able to pay by credit card, which was wrung up on someone's cell phone. It's 2011, y'all. I don't carry cash, and I really don't know many people who do.

An Open Letter to Cacique

Dear Cacique,

I never thought I'd say this, but I am in love.

I used to wear your bras a couple of years back, but they were not without their problems (including the price!).

Recently, Lane Bryant was having a killer bra sale and, not one to pass up a good deal and having recently heard rave reviews about them, I went in to try some on.

I grabbed a couple of these and made for a dressing room.

The first thing I found out was that there was no way it was going to work if I used my normal cup size - so I went up a cup and tried again. The fit was great and they looked awesome, so I took four home with me.

I didn't, however, really have any idea about how awesome they were until I wore one "for reals" the next day.

All I can say is: OMG.

I have literally never worn a more comfortable bra.

Ever.

Which is saying a lot for a bra that's filled with padding, underwires, and definitely does not sport full coverage.

I did not find myself sagging out under the underwire. There was no binding, pinching, inappropriate underwire poking or "quad boobs"*. I did not feel like I was wearing a modified bodice or device of torture. The straps didn't dig into my shoulders or sag off of them.

Other than what it was doing for my cleavage, I felt, quite literally, like I wasn't even wearing a bra.

Cacique, if you had any idea of the bra issues I have had, and the ways in which I have cursed and given up on the bra industry in the past, you may understand how miraculous it feels to find a bra that is as awesome as this plunge thing of yours.

I am so glad I decided to throw caution and prior experience to the wind and try on a bra style that has never worked for me in the past.

I am so glad that you are taking support garments for fat women so seriously that you have created a bra as fabulous as this.

I am even willing to pay full price for a bra this awesome (not that I did, but that's maybe a story for another time). And, Cacique, that is saying something.

Much Love,
Astonishingly Perky in Northern California

*When your tits "bubble" out of the top of a bra as a noticeably divided section - making it look like you have four boobs. And, no, Urban Dictionary, it is not a good look.


Four bras for $54, after tax? That's less than I was paying for Playtex Wirefree bras! I saved $103 - now that's some awesome shopping!

Figure Magazine - A Fat Girl Rave

One day last week I went to Lane Bryant on my lunch break, and I picked up (among other things), this copy of Figure Magazine:


I was skeptical, at first, because it is a women's magazine, after all, but I was very impressed at how fat-positive it is.

They use real fat women as models, instead of just "fat for modelling" women.


Even for the lingerie modelling!


And, look! A magazine targetting to women (fat women, no less) that contains actual recipes with real ingredients. Not low-fat, low-carb, calorie counting "lose-weight-ipes".


There were articles about diet and excercise, but the focus was on your health and not your weight. The tone of the articles was more "of course you're taking care of your physical health, so here are some things to help you with that" and less "since you don't move much at all, try parking farther away to lose weight". The article about how to pack light for a trip included information about your work out gear because, dur, of course you're bringing that!

In fact, the only issue I had with the magazine was the sections that assumed I was in a relationship with a man (or wanted a relationship with a man!).

I guess a fat femme can't have everything, but I really don't need to read about fat-positive heteronormative sex. I mean, that's nice and all, but kind of "Ew" at the same time.

Aside from that one thing, I really did enjoy this magazine. It had a bunch of things I was interested in without making me feel like I needed to hurry up and lose a bunch of weight so that I could fit into the clothing featured. It's already my size! I don't have to wonder if I'll really look that cute in that one outfit because the model is closer to my size so I have a better idea of what it would actually look like on me.

I felt like I could see myself in this magazine more so than I have any other one that I've read.

And that totally rocks!

Paradise Hill Designs

For those of you who were wondering what this was, here you go:



This was my dad's Christmas present. What arrived was the frame. It was hand crafted in British Columbia by Paradise Hill Designs. The wood is reclaimed barn wood and the coloring complimented the print perfectly. The size (10x10) was not one they had listed, but they were more than willing to accommodate the special request. It took about a week for them to get the necessary parts and build my frame, and it was shipped promptly after the transaction was completed. The frame is lightweight, solidly constructed, and buttery smooth to the touch.

I was so pleased with how smooth and easy the entire transaction was, and the frame was perfect.

Thanks, guys!

Super Stalker - A Review

I stumbled across a website yesterday that claimed to find out all the information available for everyone in your email contacts. As a bonafide Stalkerista, I just had to try this out.

The website is spokeo.com. You log in with your email, and it pulls your contacts and searches the web for information.

At first, I was pretty impressed by the number of hits it was getting. But then I started looking at the information that was available for my contacts.

For example:

It found the WineDog's amazon.com wishlist, but not her website (hello?). It found codejnki's picasa files, but none of his websites (hello?). It also didn't find any of the videos he's uploaded to youtube.

It did find the myspace profiles for some people I didn't know had them, and I totally wasn't aware of this hi5 thing (person found - one of Monkey See's teachers).

Frankly, it didn't really tell me anything I didn't already know that I would have wanted to know.

Overall Super Stalker Rating: 4 out of 10.

Etsy Review - GudonyaToo

Here at The Verbosery, it’s possible that we may have a mild obsession with lips. In fact, it may just be possible that lips are one of our very favorite body parts (in case you’re wondering, it’s possible that our other favorite parts happen to rhyme with lips). So it’s understandable that we take lip care very seriously.

Here “lip care” having the meaning of “how many tubes of lip chap can one woman possess, exactly?”

We always seem to have one eye out for new and interesting lip care products, with a specific inclination towards items relating to maintaining smooth and supple lips (mostly because we just love that word – “supple”).

While surfing Etsy (you know how we do), we discovered lip scrubbies. How cool is that? Of course, because we’ve been so spoiled by the Coffee Scrub, it took some searching and lots of clicking before we discovered a lip scrub that may actually live up to our expectations.

Meet GudonyaToo’s Sweet Lips TRIPLE SUGAR Lip Scrubby.

How beautiful is that? This is definitely the kind of lip scrub that can live up to our expectations – lots of scrub, not a lot of filler.

Is it just us, or have you noticed that most “scrubs” aren’t a lot more than shower gel with some scrubbies thrown in for kicks? That’s what we liked so much about the Coffee Scrub – it was tons of scrub, held together (barely) by rich, moisturizing, body happy oils. No fillers, just bliss.

The GudonyaToo scrub looked like it would be just up our alley, and an order was promptly placed. And, because we at The Verbosery are incapable of leaving well enough alone, we had to also get some tubes of lip chap to go along with it.

We’d love to tell you all about how yummy the scrub and the lip chap smelled and tasted. Unfortunately, between the sick and the allergies, our senses of smell and our palate have both become pretty jacked.

We can tell you, though, all about how the scrub and the lip chap worked, which, we suppose, will just have to do.

The scrub looks just like it does in the picture. Packed full of delicious, sugary scrub, held together by fabulous lip moisture. We use this in the shower, after we brush our teeth (yes, we brush our teeth in the shower). It’s particularly hard to fight the urge to stick our tongue out and have a taste, but we’re just not sure how tasty that would actually be. A sense of smell sure would come in handy right about now! The scrub feels so nice – rough but not abrasive. It leaves a very nice, smooth, moisturized feeling that sticks around for a lingering visit.

As part of our normal “beauty” routine, we follow up the lip scrub with a nice coating of lip chap.

GudonyaToo’s Lip Smoothies have the perfect consistency – smooth and creamy, without being thick, greasy or heavy. The feeling lasts a good, long time, so you’re not reapplying constantly.

At the end of the day, our lips are still smooth and soft, without a flake to be seen.

Perfect!

Recommended?

Absolutely?

Friday Contest Freebie?

Wouldn’t you like to know?

Here “wouldn’t you like to know?” having the meaning of “of course, duh!”

Natomas IHOP is The Suck

Our waitress was cute and sweet and friendly but, y'all, that just didn't help matters at all. She was slow as hell. I had to tell her three times that I wanted a diet Coke, even though I was looking her in the eye the other two times I asked. Hello! I'm the one that can't hear, not you. We ordered these Horton Hears a Who drinks that they had - red and blue jello in sprite. That's what the Monkeys were sucking down in that picture. That one was SweetPea's, but she was too chicken to try it.

Food took forever to come out. It is a bad sign, y'all, when not one but two other tables are eating before you when they arrived after you. She brought out our appetizers with our dinner. When the food did come out, all the plates were hot, but not fresh from the dishwasher or a warmer hot. It was way hot. Like they'd been sitting in an oven or under a heat lamp long enough to heat the plates up real good. Uh. Nice, good to know. None of us had whipped cream on what was supposed to have whipped cream on it. And she only brought out half of my order.

Here's a free tip for all of you IHOP waitresses:

IHOP does not sell pancakes, by themselves, in plates of two pancakes. If you order just pancakes, no eggs and whatnot, that comes in a plate of four pancakes. If there is a plate of two pancakes, there is, by default, another plate that goes with it. So, when you're checking the oven for the order because you're finally done with your cigarette break and feel like serving your customers? Get both plates.

My eggs, which I had ordered over medium, were rubber on the top and on the bottom, and runny as hell/practically raw on the inside. My pancakes were burnt and cold.

I understand that my lack of hearing was fortunate given the dinner conversation going on at the table behind us. IHOP can't really help that, so I guess I'm not going to hold it against them, but it certainly didn't assist our experience much.

Also, I just have to say this: Miss Stripper Lady? Why is a hotass African American woman trying so hard to look like LiLo? I don't know if you draw those freckles on or what, but that spray of country-girl freckles? Seriously. Fucking. Hot. You really need to rethink your dating choices, though. As hot as you are, you should be dating people that will take you some place nice. Not the "airport" IHOP.

All in all, I have to say that I have a more enjoyable time and get better food when SweetPea and I go down to the KMart Diner. Even the time when that one toothless old lady looked like she wanted to throw down because that poor baby was trapped at a table with all the Damn Dykes (*gasp*!).

Yeah. Even that time.

What the Hell is a Rissue?

Previously I posted the totally TMI information about how I use (and love) cloth pads. What I may not have done was dish fanatically about how much I freaking adore the HagRag. For those of you following along, the HagRag is another in our collection of practically 33 year old piscean women. She is sweet and lovely and crafty and fabulous and I adore the ever-loving crap out of her.

I place an order with her every month.

Every. Month.

She makes so much good stuff, and I (and my pocketbook) believe in slowly building collections of things, rather than trying to get everything at once. Plus, if I do that, then I miss out on all the fun new fabrics!

So once a month I place an order, which can range anywhere from a new pad for me, one for Monkey Do (who I am also building a collection for), tsunami liners for said pads, or some Rissues.

Just what the hell are Rissues?

Well, I'm glad you asked.

Reusable tissues. That's the easiest discription. They're kind of like handkerchiefs, only smaller, and infinitely more fun. She makes them in the same fabrics that she uses for her pads, so they're soft and so much fun.

Personally, I have serious allergies. You may have just gotten a picture in your head about what that means, but, believe me, you have no idea. Anyone who has seen me in a full attack for the first time has said, essentially, "woah. I had no idea they were that bad!" Picture a really bad flu. For three months.

Hi!

That's my allergies.

In an average year, it's no big thing for me to go through six of the jumbo boxes of tissues. By myself.

I think GruppieGirl may have just choked, so I'm sorry I didn't warn y'all first.

I'm pretty sure y'all can figure out why I love Rissues so much. First off, if I run out, I just have to run a load of wash. It's like having an endless supply, because they're reusable. They're also way soft, so my nose doesn't get red, raw, cracked and peely the way it does when I'm using regular tissue. They double as napkins if I need them to, and my mom thinks they're great for mopping her brow because they hold up and don't leave little white flecks all over her face. Plus, as much as I love the fabrics, this is so much less off-putting than being all "hey, guys, check out this awesome cute pad I have!"

She also has Rissues that are twice the width of regular Rissues. I love these because they work great for me first thing in the morning when I'm full of overnight phlegm. They also work really good as napkins. There are also Rissues that are slightly bigger than regular Rissues and are two-ply. Great when you need to mop stuff up.

Right now, the HagRag is transitioning to her new website, so not everything is available yet. However, she's offering free shipping through February 22nd and has added some seriously cute prints. Just today I got a new pad in the mail (along with a Rissue) that features Construction Vehicles on a grey background. So cute! And I just noticed that she's updated the pad-of-the-month, and I just might have to go order that, too.

Etsy Review - Coffin Color

I ran across Coffin Color during my Christmas shopping searches and just knew that I'd have to try them out. I'm usually not real big on eye shadow, because I always feel like I look like a dork with it on. And I am not exactly what you would call particularly adept at putting it on so that it looks good. Generally when I do my makeup I stick with what I know: eyeliner & mascara (ok, ok, and face powder and eyebrow powder and lipstick. happy?). Every now & again, though, I go through an eye shadow kick. When I saw the Coffin Color colors, I knew I had found my next kick.

Coffin Colors aren't the type of colors that are made to be blended nicely for a subtle effect.

Coffin Colors are loud and pushy in all the right ways. They stand up and say "HEY! Now tell me I'm pretty, bitch!"

And, you know what? How do you not love that in an eye shadow?

My Coffin Color order arrived last night, a mere five days after I had placed the order. It came with an extra sample (which is what I'll be giving away in the contest) and a Coffin Color button (which you can't have because it's mine).

Of course, I had to try some out right away. I used my fancy eye shadow brush to slide some Girl Pants all over my face on my lower eyelids, and then used Poison Purple on my upper lids.

I was really impressed by how much the color on my eyes was the same as the color in the jar. It didn't fade or get absorbed into my eye lid or whatever it is that happens with regular eye shadow. The color was bright and true and, yes, somewhat lighter than in the jar, sure, but what do you expect, exactly, it's powder? I'm pretty sure that, had I applied a second "coat", it would have been exactly the same shade as the powder in the jar. But I don't need that. So I didn't.

I have tried the bright, funky, wild eye shadows before and have always been disappointed at how they disappear and fade out when I put them on. That is not an issue with Coffin Color, and I love that! I don't have to try to guess what color it's going to be when I put it on, because it already is that color. For me, that is so awesome, not to mention helpful, because I am so not suave when it comes to these things, and I can use all the help I can get. Seriously.

This is what happens with loose powder eye shadow when you're as suave as I am:

And they are serious about the eye shadow's staying power! I had to use actual soap to get the strays off.

Much better after a clean up:


And, of course, because they have much better lighting than my bathroom, a picture from Mr. Pickle:


Obviously, the pictures do not do the colors justice. These are serious colors and they really pop. I am totally wearing these to work today, and I cannot wait. I'm sure I'll get lots of looks and double-takes, especially since I really don't wear much makeup. But that's ok.

At least I'll be pretty!

Etsy Review - Product Specific!

Etsy Review – Wash the Day Away

I do not even recall how I stumbled across her, but I knew I just had to have that Black Honey Soap. I’ve had terrible acne ever since I was pregnant with my daughter (hi! Nine years ago!). The only thing that ever kept it even reasonably under control was Dr. Bronner’s Tea Tree Oil soap. It worked great, and I could totally post pictures so you can see except that I really don’t remember where I put them.

Anyway… Dr. Bronner’s worked great but I still have breakouts, particularly when I’m stressed or getting ready to start my period.

So, of course, I thought that I would try this and see if it helps more than the good Dr., and can finally help me kick the last bit of acne.

It arrived Thursday night and I tried it Friday morning. The first impression? Wonderful! It left my face squeaky clean but not dried out. The squeaky, I have learned, is important to keeping my face zit-free. The not dried out? That’s harder to find and a great bonus. As oily as my skin is, it is also really prone to dryness. This soap seems like the perfect combination.

Obviously, only time will tell if it helps with the acne and I promise to keep you updated. However, I am already looking forward to my morning shower and another round with this wonderful soap!

Of course, once I knew I was placing an order, I had to check and see if there was anything else I wanted.

Duh!

So I bought this, as well. I opened the jar promptly last night when the package arrived. The scrub looks like coffee grounds, and smells like the kind of rich, oily coffee that you just know is going to make the best cup of coffee you’ve had in ages. I could also smell the patchouli, cinnamon and vanilla.

I tried the scrub out on my arms Friday morning. I used it in the shower, but I wiped the scrub off using the washcloth method indicated in the instructions, and only did a final quick rinse under the shower to rinse off stray scrubbies. I saved it for the very last thing I did in the shower, so I didn’t run the risk of washing away the goodness!

I have a skin condition that causes little rough bumps all over my upper arms. I usually just leave well enough alone, but when I feel like having smooth arms (a.k.a. “when I get a burr under my saddle about it”), daily exfoliation and moisturizing do the trick pretty well. Usually it takes a couple of days to see significant improvement, and it is something I need to do daily.

When I used the scrub Friday morning, I could literally see my skin smoothing out under the scrub. As I wiped the scrub away, I saw how much smoother it was than before. And she is not kidding about the moisture! Usually when I exfoliate, my skin is screaming for some lotion before I even step out of the shower. This time, I didn’t even need lotion. My arms are soft, smooth, and moisturized.

The difference it made on my arms would have taken two or three days of daily exfoliation and moisturizing. My arms aren’t perfect, so you know, and it will probably be at least one more day before they’re completely smooth and bump-free. This scrub, however, did so much more and so much better than anything else I’ve ever tried.

Utterly fabulous!

Next time, I’d really like to try some of the Euphoria Dream Balm, the Energy Clearing Aromatherapy Linen Spray (because our house can use a good energy cleaning!), and the Spark Room/Linen Spray.

I promise I’ll keep y’all in the loop.

The Etsy Review

Things I found/looked at one etsy:

This super cute bumble bee charm! SweetPea's nickname for me is BabyBee because, yes, we are that nauseating.

I love looking at the bath and body section. I made soap for awhile as a hobby, and while I enjoyed it and was pretty good for having no experience whatsoever, the soaps listed on etsy are so super-fab they blow me away! I can't believe all the deliciousness that's on display and I'm kind of glad that I have a scant ounce of self-control!

I definitely want to order some of this Black Honey soap because I am so over this adult acne!

I also stumbled across this store, which has the cutest little rubber duckies ever!

I spent some time cruising the market totes section because, you know, if I'm "going green" that must mean I'm making more purchases first! Uh... Oops! Maybe not? I really liked these - the size and shape look perfect for shoppers that have families and are likely to make larger purchases.

I started on etsy yesterday looking for something for my stepmother. We aren't exactly close, so that makes it seem harder to shop for her. I looked at necklaces first because I know she has a fabulous collection and I'm sure she'd love a new piece. Then I started looking at tea cups, because she also collects those. I moved on to candle holders and briefly thought I had a winner before I had second thoughts and moved on again to bookmarks. I saw lots of super cute things during my perusal, but I'm not sure if any of them qualifies as the gift.

I love these bookmarks! What a great idea - perfect for anyone that just has to write something down while reading a book. Or for students, who make notations while reading.

I also looked for something for my Aunt and got a fabulous idea and will probably be hand-making her gift. My aunt loves lavender dryer packets and was purchasing them through a local vendor at the Farmer's Market. Well, he raised his prices some time last year and I think she's never quite forgiven him. This is a fabulous idea for a re-usable packet that you simply empty and refill instead of throwing away and purchasing a new one! Awesome! Since my aunt lives close enough to the Natural Foods Co-op to make me jealous, it will be pretty easy for her to refill the lavender after the initial amount is gone.

I also keep trying to look for something for my mom, even though I swore I had all her Christmas shopping done! I think there's just a lot of things on there that she'd enjoy.

Noble Vegetarian

Last Friday SweetPea and had an adventure.

OK, so we had dinner out. But after that night we spent helping Neighbor clean The Nastiest Restaurant on the Planet, eating out – at a new restaurant – is considered an adventure.

During my morning drive, on the way to drop Monkey See off at school, I was sitting at a red light and noticed a sandwich board sign. It said “Noble Vegetarian” and had an arrow and some other stuff that I couldn't really read because it was on the other side of the road. I promptly sent a text message to SweetPea lest I forget about this little sandwich board because, hello, vegetarian? Yes, please!

I did some searching on the internet and found a couple of reviews proclaiming it good stuff and reasonably priced and, yes, vegetarian food.

Noble Vegetarian is a Vietnamese restaurant tucked away in a strip mall on College Oak. It's easy to miss if you don't know it's there. And we did. Twice.

Once we got parked and got inside, the restaurant was clean and bright. The tables were well laid out and the décor was nice.. simple, elegant, clean.

We ordered two “family style” dishes, an order of “Golden Rolls”, rice, and iced green tea (for me). Now, some of you may know that I have an issue with the green teas served most everywhere. I like plain green tea. It doesn't need to be flavored or sugared or whatevered. It's good just the way it is. Plain. Well, Noble Vegetarian serves plain green tea, loose leaf no less, hot or cold. Very nice!

Everything came to the table piping hot. The Golden Rolls were very good. Light, crispy and tasty, with a sauce that fit the rolls perfectly. There was a dish called “Ruby Pearls” that SweetPea and I both loved very much. They were described as “sweet and sour 'chicken'” but were so much better than that! Smallish balls of fake meat, with a dense, slightly crispy texture. The “sweet and sour” wasn't the same florescent orange sauce of some Chinese restaurants. The sauce was a dark reddish orange, and it didn't cover and suffocate the way the sauce ordinarily does. It seemed almost like the balls were marinated in it, and then cooked. It was very very good, and our favorite dish of the evening. Much better than anything we get at our usual Chinese restaurant. The other dish looked similar to beef with broccoli, and I'm sorry, I forget the name of it. The “beef” strips looked very realistic, and, had we been anywhere else, I'd have made SweetPea try them first just to be sure it wasn't actual beef. The strips were just a little softer than you'd expect for real beef, but very good, and very “realistic”. The broccoli, carrots and bok choy were all cooked to perfection, and the sauce was perfectly light, just the right compliment.

Service was very nice – friendly, attentive and prompt. Our meal, which included two family style dishes, one order of appetizers, rice for me and iced green tea for me, totalled just $20. Now, let me tell you, SweetPea have been known to spend that at Taco Bell. I was surprised to find the bill so low, actually, with everything we got.

I would highly recommend Noble Vegetarian. Even if you aren't vegetarian, the food will impress you, and so will the service.

Noble Vegetarian
5049 College Oak Dr (Suite A)
Sacramento, CA 95841

(916) 334-6060