Imagine her face when she opens this

Finn here again. I’ve got a lot to say. Apparently.

I’m not hard to buy for—if you pay attention. But so many people just don’t. Or at least that don’t pay enough attention. Maybe they realize that I am a perfume whore (The more the merrier, I say and I’m not ashamed). What they don’t get is that just because I like fragrance it doesn’t mean I will like their favorite, which they will invariably assume, even if I didn’t say I liked it or even notice they were wearing any. And invariably that scent will be something sweet and delicate, which is NOT me at all and should be obvious to anyone who’s ever been in my presence.

But enough about me.

What I’m getting at is this: Unless you know for sure what your giftee likes perfume-wise, it really has been better just to refrain from giving that particular item.

Until now.

Sephora has the perfect solution:  Sephora Scent Samplers. It’s ingenious really. You buy the sampler, which includes a handful (7, 10 or 12 depending on the collection) of sample bottles of their bestselling fragrances. Once you’ve tried them all and decided on a favorite, you bring the enclosed voucher to your nearest Sephora store and redeem it for a full-sized bottle of your pick.

Easy-breezy and oh-so-cool. Plus, they have samplers for men, too.

A few caveats: You must redeem the voucher at a Sephora store; you can’t use it online. And it’s not valid for our Canadian friends unless they cross the border. Finally, there is always the chance that the recipient won’t like any of the available scents. But the included selection is diverse enough that the chance would be slim. Two of the collections have one scent that I’ve recently fallen in love with and I’m picky as hell.

Pricing on these are $50 for the Best Sellers or Deluxe samplers and $75 for the Collector’s Edition, which features seven miniature versions of the regular perfume bottles rather than the little sample packages. For men there are two versions, the Deluxe for $50 and the Collector’s Edition for $75.

I gave one these to both my brother and my dad for Christmas (they like cologne almost as much as do) and they loved it. Gift-giving WIN I tell you. Even my mother liked the idea and she’s a pain in the ass when it comes to gifts. Trust me, you’ll be a hero. Try it.

P.S. These are a great way to sample several fragrances and even save a few bucks on new scent if you’re in the market for yourself.

Maybe, just maybe, someone in my life will get the hint (anyone?) and buy me one of these babies. But they’re probably not paying attention.

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Post tags: cologne, fragrance, gift ideas, gifts, gifts for women, perfume, scent, Sephora

Comes in five colors

This post is brought to you by the lovely Finn.  She is my personal shopping guru, so I’m beyond excited to have her pitching in here at Buy-Her!!

There are two things you should know about me: 1. I’ll read just about anything I can get my hands on. 2. I’m rarely at home when I have time to read.

I spend a lot of time in waiting rooms. Waiting. Books are great company, but I found out the hard way that my favorite metal bookmark with the inspirational quote and the leather tail really sucked outside the relative safety and calm of my house. And by that I mean the stupid thing fell out all of the time. It’s really hard to keep up with the continual stopping and starting of trying to read in between appointments when you keep losing your place.

Last year I had a little bit of money left over on a gift card, so I decided to give the Book Bungee from Levenger a try. It’s a hard plastic bookmark with a thick, flat bungee cord attached. You mark your place with the plastic part, then wrap the bungee around your book. And lo and behold it keeps your place AND keeps the book closed. It makes my heart happy. You just don’t know.

I don’t have to remember to take the book out of the car anymore; I can toss a book in my tote in the morning and have it with me whenever I have time to read. It never falls out and I never lose my page. You can use it horizontally or vertically and it fits all sizes of books: hardcover, trade paperback (my favorite) or regular paperback. The best part is that it’s cheap inexpensive at $6. And it comes in several different colors.

Two words: Stocking stuffer.

Legal nonsense: Although I’ve done freelance work for Levenger and my brother currently works there, no consideration was (or will be) provided to me (or my family) by Levenger for this review. I purchased the item myself and wanted to share it with others.

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Post tags: book bungee, book lovers, book lovers gifts, book saver, gift ideas, gifts for book lovers, stocking stuffer

You can tell they’re an iPhone junky because you know what kind of freaking cell phone they have. They don’t call you.  They “call you on their iPhone.”  They don’t lose their phone or their cell.  They lose their iPhone – except they don’t, of course, because iPhone users are rarely far enough away from their iPhones to lose it.

Shopping for an iPhone junky can be difficult, because they already have the whole world in the palm of their hand.  Just ask them.  But, there is something that iPhone users love even more than their iPhones: stuff to go with their iPhone.

5 Holiday Gift Ideas For People With iPhones

iHome clock Radio for iPhone

1. iHome Docking Station and Clock Radio

I did a review of the iHome Docking Station and Clock Radio back in September.  I still love it.  I’ve since run into several readers of this site who have added it to their own wish lists because a good speaker system and iPhone compatible alarm clock is hard to come by.

The problem with most “iPhone docking stations” like this is that they are  made for iPods, not iPhones, and so you have to put your phone in airplane mode to use it, or endure the annoying buzz of interference.  This system is compatible with every single iPhone, way back to the first generation (what I had until about 24 hours ag).

The iHome docking station lets you play music over the speakers with impressive sound quality.  It also lets you wake to and fall asleep to specific playlists.  On top of that, it’s a great alarm clock that allows you to set two separate alarms and designated an alarm for a 1, 5 or 7 day schedule (no more accidentally waking up early on Saturday or forgetting to reset the alarm for Monday morning!).

The iHome iP9BR Clock Radio for iPod is $81.88 right now on Amazon. ($79 if you get it in silver.)  Buy it here.

2.  Mophie Juice Pack Case – Rechargeable iPhone battery

Juice Pack rechargeable battery case

This is something I don’t have and want desperately.

The biggest downfall of the iPhone is that the battery isn’t removeable, so heavy users can’t buy extra batteries to keep charged.  The Juice Pack addresses that problem by giving you a fully rechargeable battery that doubles as an iPhone case.

Like I said, I don’t have this and have never used it.  But reviews online as well as reviews from people I know who have this product say that it doubles the battery life of your iPhone.

You can charge the case and the iPhone simultaneously and switch the case’s power source on and off to decide if you want to save your extra battery life for later.

The juice pack will add a little bulk to the iPhone – more than a simple silicone case – but the extra power you get is worth it for someone who uses their phone constantly.

Amazon offers a variety of colors for the juice pack that will fit the iPhone first generation, 3G and 3Gs.  Click here to see the full range.

wireless head set for iPhone

3.  Bluetooth Stereo Headset

Another “don’t have, want badly” product for me. I’ve been looking forever for a headset that works for music and phone conversations, and isn’t plagued with reviews about a short product lifespan.

This looks to be the answer I’ve been looking for.

The Sony DRBT160AS Bluetooth Stereo Headset is perfect for iPhone users who like to run or workout regularly.  This headset gives you the ability to listen to music and take a call (although obviously not at the same time).  Headsets that do both can be difficult to find for the iPhone.

The “behind the head” design is ideal runners and the wireless aspect makes it perfect for just about anyone.  It’s also going to provide much higher sound quality than the stock ear buds that come standard with iPhones.

The Sony DRBT160AS Bluetooth Stereo Headset is $81.95 on Amazon. That’s more than $40 off what they’re charging at the Apple store for the same product. Buy it here.

4. iPhone Armband

armband case for iPhone

Speaking of people who run – an armband case is pretty much a necessity if you’re the type of person who works out while listening to music on your iPhone.  Otherwise you end up trying to shove your iPhone down the back of your pants.

Trust me on this – not. comfortable.  Also not comfortable?  Having to dig down the back of your pants to retrieve your slipping iPhone while you’re in the middle of a packed gym.

Ahem.

ANYway, the Tuneband from Grantwood Technology uses a silicone case to secure the iPhone in place.  The case has a screen protector, but still allows you to access all of the ports and camera.  The band itself is stretchy velcro to fit most arm sizes.

Another fun fact: it comes in lots of pretty colors!  (Oh, and navy or clear if, for some odd reason, you’re not into pretty.)

The Tuneband is designed for the 3G and 3GS iPhone models.

(Hint – it’s cheap and a great stocking stuffer idea.  Jared.)

The Tuneband Armband with Silicone Skin and Screen Protector is just $16.99 at Amazon. Buy it here. (in pink, if you’re my husband.)

5.  Go Groove FlexPod: iPhone FM Transmitter and Car Mount System

FM Transmitter Docking System

This?  Is a freaking awesome device.

You plug the device into your car’s cigarette lighter (or power source if you have a newer, snobbier car) and put your iPhone into the cradle.  Your phone is now charging.  Yay.

BUT, more than that, the FM transmitter lets you play your music from your iPod through your car stereo’s speakers.  For those of you unfamiliar with the idea of an FM transmitter – it works good.  You should have it.

For those of you who know what I’m talking about – this is one of the more advanced models of FM transmitters and seems to have a strong locking system that makes it easier to find (and keep) stations available to play your music.

Added bonus: it turns your car into a bluetooth device for phone calls.  When a phone call comes in while you’re listening to music, the music fades and the call options come up on the screen.  Accept the call and you’ll hear the voice via your car’s speakers.  End the call and you go back to the music you were listening to.

The Flexpod (that’s the official name of this thingie) also has a USB port so you can charge other USB powered devices through it.

The entire iPhone cradle is held up on a flexible gooseneck device so you can hold your iPhone steady at multiple angles.

You can watch a video on how the entire thing works here.

The Go Groove FlexPod Car Mount System is $34.99 on Amazon. Buy it here.

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Post tags: alarm clock, amazon, bluetooth headset, cell phone, docking stations, holiday gift ideas, holiday gifts, ihome, iphone, iphone accessories, iphone armband, iphone case, iphone fm transmitter, iphone gifts, ipod, stocking stuffer

This stuff lasts forever. Seriously.

Hi, I’m Finn and I’ll be posting here from time to time while Britt’s off conquering the world. Or shopping. Why? Because I’m a giver, a goddess, a saint. Plus, I love to shop probably as much as Britt does.

I hate makeup removers. I’m not kidding. I’ve never used them, mostly because I can’t stand being blinded while trying to get my mascara to come all the way off. And then I discovered Deep Cleansing Oil from DHC. And the clouds parted and the sun shone. I tried it, I love it and I’ve never looked back.

Deep Cleansing Oil is made from ultra-purified extra virgin olive oil and does exactly what it says it will do. It takes off every trace of mascara (yes, even waterproof), liner, foundation, lip stain, whatever, then rinses clean. Just cleanse as usual afterward. You won’t find a single black smudge on your towels ever. And you won’t be left with a greasy face either. Yet it doesn’t dry you out. I’ve always been on the oily side, but as I’ve gotten older I’m finding my face is getting drier. This stuff has worked for me through it all.

The best part? It lasts and lasts. Just a squirt on your hand at night will get all your makeup off the first time. The six-ounce bottle lasts me at least six months. Considering that, $25 for a bottle is not bad at all. You can also try a smaller, two-ounce bottle for $12.50.

I’m really fickle when it comes to things like cleansers and moisturizers because I’m easily dazzled by interesting packaging and wildly inaccurate effectiveness claims (despite the fact that I began my career as an advertising copywriter), so when I recommend something like this, you can rest assured I am crazy in love with it because it works. I’ve been using it longer than I can remember. If they ever discontinue this stuff, I’m hoarding it like a Today sponge. Try it. If you don’t like it, send it to me.

Legal nonsense: No consideration (that’s cash and/or product) was provided to me by DHC (or by anyone else for that matter). I’m simply a loyal customer who likes to share my finds with others. See the giver-goddess thing up top.

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Post tags: cleaners, deep cleansing oil, DHC, makeup remover, makeup removers

Bare Escentuals bareMinerals Buffing Brush

My friend Megan introduced me to Bare Escentuals bareMinerals makeup a few months ago, and I have been in love ever since – with only one complaint.

I use the Bare Escentuals bareMinerals SPF 15 Foundation and the Bare Escentuals Mineral Veil to set the powder.  My only problem to date has been that there wasn’t a good way to apply touch ups to my makeup through out the day.  You see, although the mineral makeup has the amazing ability to provide great coverage while being super light and natural looking – it all comes in a loose powder form.  In other words, it’s really, really, messy.

Much too messy to stick a pot of foundation or mineral veil in your purse.  Which sucks, because a quick retouch of mineral veil at 4:00 in the afternoon gives you instant fresh face.

Thankfully, the good people at Bare Escentuals have answered my prayers in the form of a refillable buffing brush.

You can get the Bare Escentuals Mineral Veil Refillable Buffing Brush with or without the mineral veil included.

The brush (with the mineral veil included) is $35 at Sephora, and is also available at Amazon.

The brush has a screw in pot that goes in the bottom of the brush.  If you only use the powder, you could conceivably fill the pot with that instead of the mineral veil.  I prefer the mineral veil for touch ups that don’t make my makeup look thicker.

I’ve been using my buffing brush for a few weeks now, and I love it.  I had to shake the crap out of it the first time I used it to get the powder into the brush, but after that I’ve had no problems.  I keep it in my purse and use it to freshen up my makeup the same way I used to with a compact when I was using pressed powder.

Bare Escentuals fans everywhere, you should definitely add this to your must have list.

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Post tags: Bare Escentuals, bareMinerals, Buffing Brush, makeup, makeup reviews, mineral powder, Mineral Veil, Sephora

ANYway, after BlogHer, I heard a few people talking about Eye-Fi cards. Apparently, some people got some SD cards for their digital cameras that automatically uploaded your pictures to your computer. Or the Internet. Or something.

I take way more pictures than I share and am perfectly adept at getting them off my camera and on to my computer and up on the Internet if I want, so I thought nothing of it at the time.

And then Nikon invited me to join their “COOLPIX Circle” – which meant they were going to loan me a camera and I had to upload pictures to their COOLPIX circle Flickr group from time to time.  And I, um, forgot.  A lot.  Like, for weeks and weeks and weeks I would get a new email with the weekly “prompt” and think “crap!  I didn’t add anything to the group for last week’s prompt!”  I was kind of starting to feel bad, what with the $200+ camera I was getting to use for free and all.

And then (longest product review intro ever) I saw one of CityMama’s pictures in the group, and saw that she’d tagged it as being “effortless uploaded by Eye-Fi.”

I decided I had to have one.

Their PR people told me that was great – and that I’d have to buy one myself.  Because #eyefihatesMissBritt.  Apparently.

I started to research all of the different types of Eye-Fi cards that were available and weighing the pros and cons between the expensive versions and the really, really expensive versions.

Let me first say that their web site kind of sucks and it took me hours and a lot of googling to find out exactly what was available, what card did what, and what card would be the best card for me.  Seriously.  Hours.

I ended up purchasing the Eye-Fi Share 2 GB Memory Card.  Here’s why:

• I wanted to be able to put them on my computer AND on the Internet.  You have to buy one of the “share” versions to do that.
• A lot of googling suggested that “hotspot access” that came with the Eye-Fi Explore Cards or Eye-Fi Pro Cards would be limited. Meaning that while in theory I could upload wherever there was internet available, that “available internet” wouldn’t exactly be global.
• I needed a version that would work with my Nikon D50.  My Nikon D50 will only work with 2G versions, because the technology on the 4G versions is different.
• I don’t give two craps about the geotagging feature that comes on the higher priced cards.

None of that will make sense unless you end up reading the comparison chart, but I tell you all that to say, I ended up with the 2G share – which means, my 2G Eye-Fi card can upload to the Internet and/or to my computer over my home wireless network.

I used the card for the first time on Halloween.  I used it first in my (borrowed) Nikon Coolpix S630 point and shoot camera and then in the D50.  I just took pictures the same way I normally would while we went trick or treating.  I came home and settled the kids into their candy sorting, and went to hang out with my husband and my girlfriend for a while.

I left my D50 on, but noticed that it didn’t appear that the pictures were automatically uploading the same way they had earlier when I had my point and shoot on.  I stuck the card into my laptop’s card reader and went on hanging out with my husband and friend.  About 20 minutes later, I had an email that my pictures had been uploaded.  I went to FlickR via their iPhone app and saw that I now had 99 new photos in my photostream, all marked private (because that’s how I set the card up initially).  I quickly changed the permissions on one or two photos using my iPhone – and voila!  Picture available on Flickr and safely stored on my computer.

About 15 minutes later my friend took a bathroom break so I quickly opened the laptop, went to Flickr, and did a batch edit to all the pictures I’d just uploaded via the eye-fi card, making them public.  I sent my mom and dad a text message letting them know the kids’ Halloween pictures were online.

Done.

My parents back in Iowa had pictures of their grandchildren by 11:00pm on Halloween night, and all it required was 2 minutes of work on my part.

I later took another 30 seconds to open the card on my computer and delete all the pictures that were already stored online and on my hard drive.  Super fast, super efficient.

I love this card.

It would have normally taken me days to get those pictures live online to share.  I would have had to transfer them to my computer, and then go through and batch upload them to FlickR.  While I still needed to go back in and edit a few pictures and delete some of them, the bulk of my pictures from that night were available for me to share with my family quickly and easily.

I highly recommend this card if you share your pictures frequently.  If you end up with hundreds of pictures on a memory card that only get transferred or uploaded once every few months, you’ll love that this does it automatically for you.

However, if you’re the type of person who carefully edits each and every picture you take before ever sharing it with anyone, this card might not make sense for you – except that you will automatically have your pictures on your hard drive and/or online as storage, at the very least.

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Post tags: Coolpix, digital camera, eye-fi card, Nikon, Nikon D50, point and shoot camera, SD card, wireless memory card

A lot.

One could surmise that I have a lot of tension in my life, or possibly that I have horrible posture and my spine is all out of whack causing my neck and back to always be tight and messed up and hurting my head.

Whatever the reason, I get tension headaches – the kind that starts in your shoulders, go up through your neck, and end up right behind your eyebrows.

Obviously, I try to keep ibuprofen on hand.  But I’ve also discovered another more natural – and immediate – solution for my headaches, courtesy of my local Aveda salon.

(Seriously, those people know me by my first name.  They should send me Christmas and birthday presents.)

I love my Aveda Blue Oil.  They call it a “balancing concentrate”, because they are Aveda and airy fairy fancy.  It comes in a small bottle with a roll on dispenser top.  That’s the official name of the dispenser thingie, I’m sure.  Basically, you roll it on wherever you hurt.  I roll it on the back of my neck and on my temples when I get headaches.

Do you remember Icy Hot, or Bengay?  It’s kind of like that, with much less of an old man smell.  It is slightly mentholated, but not overwhelming.  It’s soothing, not stinky.

Aveda describes it as:

“Our stress-relieving blue oil helps dissolve tension and raise energy levels with the balancing aromas of refreshing peppermint and soothing blue camomile. When gently touched to skin, its special rollerball applicator releases the perfect amount of concentrate for on-the-spot, cooling acupressure therapy.”

Rollerball applicator.  Yeah.  That’s what I said.

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Post tags: aromas, aveda, aveda salon, blue oil, camomile, headache cure, peppermint, tension headaches

Finding something that the four of us can do together is… let’s say… tricky.

My son, for example, loves the Monopoly board game.  My daughter can’t add or subtract or sit still for a four hour board game.  My daughter loves to color, and my son is so. over. coloring.  *eye roll*

We watch a lot of movies as a family (and Lord knows even finding a movie we can all agree on can be agonizing), but once in a while it’d be nice to do something together where talking is allowed.

Enter Hasboro’s Family Game Night for the Wii, which we’ve apparently had forever but never played before.

We played this together for the first time last Friday night, and it was a big hit with everyone.

My son likes it because his little sister can’t cheat.  My daughter likes it because she gets to take her own turn and the game will keep score for her and pretty much make her follow the rules whether she understands them or not.  My husband and I like it because OMG NO ONE IS FIGHTING! FOR TWO WHOLE HOURS!

The game features several “classic” board games from Hasboro, including Yahtzee, Battleship, Connect 4, Sorry and Sorry Sliders.  Our favorite game was Sorry Sliders, mainly because we got a kick out of knocking each other off the board.  The game Boggle is also included, and I am dying to kick my husband’s ass play this with my husband one night after the kids go to bed.

If you have a family on your Christmas list, this is a great gift idea.  (Tell me I’m not the only one who saves money at Christmas by giving to the unit instead of to each member individually.)

If you have my family on  your Christmas list, there is a Family Game Night 2 out.

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Post tags: classic board games, family game night, favorite game, great gift idea, wii

Boys read too

Listen, I don’t subscribe to the idea that there are girl things and boy things.  While I may be what is typically called a “girly girl”, it’s by choice and not genetic shackling.

If my kids want to play with dolls, trucks or lab rats, I don’t care, as long as I don’t step on it in the middle of the night.

That being said, I’m probably not going to convince my son to read more by handing him my first edition copy of Sweet Valley High.

The holidays are coming and I think books make great gifts for kids.  Books are an especially good gift for boys who are so. not. impressed. with clothes (and really don’t need another video game.  Really.  Please.)

As of December 14th, I’ll have a 10 year old boy, so the focus of this post is “mid-grade” books for boys.  (Most of these books will work for girls as well, obviously, but I wanted to concentrate specifically on ideas for boys today.)  Let’s just pretend it’s not called “Buy Her” for a moment.

Gift Ideas For Boys:  10 Books

1. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

From Publishers Weekly:

“When the pilot of a small, two-person plane has a heart attack and dies, Brian has to crash land in the forest of a Canadian wilderness. He has little time to realize how alone he is, because he is so busy just trying to survive. And learning to survive, to plan on food not just for a day but until and if he is rescued, only begins when he stops pitying himself and understands that no one can help him.”

I remember this as an amazing story of a 13 year old boy stranded in the wilderness after a plane crash.  Reading the reviews again years later reminded me of the additional back story about a boy whose parents are going through a divorce.

It’s recommended for children 9-12.

2. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

Who among us does not remember the first time we read this book – and cried like babies?  I remember having it read to me in a classroom and being amazed as all the boys in my class sat beside me and cried just as hard as I did.  This is an especially wonderful book for kids with a soft spot for animals.

3. The Call of the Wild by Jack London

More animals, more nature.  This book is recommended for “young adults” but I would be happy to see my 10 year old curled up with this classic.  What makes this story different from the first two is that it’s told from the animal’s perspective.  It’s much more raw and complicated than the first two stories.

4.The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

The very first sentence of this book reminds us that we first learned about Huckleberry Finn in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.  Now it’s Huck’s turn.  It’s another great adventure story with young boys as the central characters.  If you’re having trouble getting your son interested in reading, having them read a story with a main character they can more easily relate to is helpful.

5. The Great Brain by John D. Fitzgerald

The first in a series, this was one of my favorite books as a kid.  I adored the main character, J.D, and aspired to be as clever as he was.  I remember vividly the story of the first indoor water closet and J.D. selling admission to the flushable toilet to his friends and neighbors.  To my young mind, this kid was a genius.

6. The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

If your child is into mysteries (hint: was Scooby Doo their favorite cartoon?), there’s a good chance they’ll love The Boxcar Children Mysteries.  The stories center around four orphans, ages 5-15, and is a great starter for beginner readers.  The book was written in the 1942 by a teacher who cleverly used only the 500 most common words in the English language to create a very easy to read, yet exciting, beginning chapter book for 7 and 8 year olds.

7. The Hardy Boys by Franklin W. Dixon

There are dozens and dozens of books in The Hardy Boys series, and this starter set includes the first 6 in the series. The picture at the top of this post? That’s my son, enthralled in a Hardy Boy book and neglecting his beloved Nintendo DS in order to finish it.

8. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell

My son read this book recently and we actually had a discussion about how much we would have to get paid to eat fried worms. That may sound like a small thing, unless you’ve had a 9 year old boy – who never wants to talk to his mother anymore. The book is hysterical and disgusting at the same time as the characters concoct a myriad of ways to eat big, juicy worms.

9. Ben and Me: An Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin by His Good Mouse Amos by Robert Lawson

This was the book that got me interested in history and historical figures, although at the time I just thought it was really cool that this mouse thought he helped Benjamin Franklin do so much. I went on to read more “Insert Important Name Here and Me” books, and the historical events they covered were never more accessible to a young kid.

10. Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White

OH, how I cried when Charlotte died. But I don’t plan on telling my son that. Instead, I’m going to lead with “it’s a story about a pig and a spider”. That should lure him in. If not, I’ll mention the potential slaughtering of said pig.

What favorites did I miss?

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Post tags: amazon, books, gift ideas

Not Really A Waitress

It’s been years since I painted my fingernails with anything but a clear coat.

My toenails?  Pretty those babies up with reds and pinks and purples!

But my fingers?  No way.

There is nothing tackier than chipped fingernail polish, and even a manicure from the Ritz Carlton spa cannot make colored nail polish stay on my fingers.  The last time I had a manicure was on the way to the airport before a weekend trip.  By the time I reached the hotel in my destination city, my polish was chipped and peeling.

I vowed then and there to never paint my nails again.

Luckily, last spring I discovered how to fix my soft, peeling nails and make my natural manicure look beautiful.  What I didn’t realize at the time was that I held the key to my polish woes.

I apply Nail Tek II Nailcare to my fingernails almost every day.  Once a week I wipe down my nail beds with nail polish remover and start over.  It’s given me longer, stronger nails than I’ve ever had in my life.

Last week, I picked up a new bottle of Nail Tek II and happened to read the back of the packaging.

“APPLY DAILY as a top coat over polish.”

Could it be?

My lovely friend Becky, the same woman who turned me on to the Nail Tek II in the first place, insisted during her recent visit that we get pedicures and manicures.  I looked at the dark red polish, considered my 80s pop star Halloween costume, and remembered the instructions on the Nail Tek bottle.

I took the plunge.

Freshly polished nails

Immediately after I got home from the salon, I put a coat of Nail Tek II on my fingernails over the fresh nail polish.  Shortly after, I took a shower, washed my hair, and checked my nails.  The nail polish had survived a shower – which was already an improvement.

Five days, five showers, three loads of dishes, one party, and roughly 30 hours of typing later, and my nail polish looks like this:

5 Days After Manicure

Look, Ma! No chips!

My nails aren’t quite as perfectly smooth and fresh looking as they were right after I left the salon, but I feel very comfortable walking around with them like this.

What I’ve done is add one coat of Nail Tek II every day before I get in the shower.  It only takes about 30 seconds for it dry completely and I can get on with the business of my morning routine.

While I appreciate the natural look of a clear coat manicure, I’m excited about the idea of being able to paint my nails with colored nail polish again.  I can have girl hands!  (I mean, kind of, if you ignore the fingers and stuff.)

Nail Tek II is cheap, cheap, cheap and lasts forever.  I had my first bottle for about 10 months.  You can get get Nail Tek Nail II at drugstore.com for $10.99. OR, you can get 2 for $8 at Amazon.

(The color, by the way, is Not Really A Waitress by OPI.)

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Post tags: fingernails, manicure, nail polish, nail tek, nailcare, peeling nails