Am…musings

Paisley and Chewy are nightmare pullers on the leash. With Chewy it’s annoying, but Ms. Paisley now weighs 50 pounds and is incredibly strong so her crazy pulling is downright hazardous. Plus, it seems the college girl isn’t going to adopt her so I need to whip her into shape on the leash for adoption events.

I shared my dilemma with a coworker who quickly recommended a harness they sell at her favorite pet store. The pet store is Pet Supplies “Plus” on Manchester in Ballwin. I was expecting a small boutique store with a limited selection, but it is just as big as any “big box” store … only with boutique service and a better selection, making it well worth the drive for me. There are lots of friendly employees willing to help and one quickly fit Paisley in the Premier Easy Walk Harness and then suggested I take her for a walk around the store and outside to see how she did. It was only a short trek, but the difference with the harness was miraculous … no pulling. And she didn’t seem super irritated with it like Chewy is with the one that goes over his mouth. I bought him one too.

I also found another great product. Chewy and Paisley can also go from zero to “kill” with plush toys in an instant. Pet Supplies “Plus” offers a line of Tuff Plush toys and I bought one for less than most toys at the “big box” places. They’ve been playing tug-of-war and destroy-the-squeaker with it for about an hour and despite being slobbery as hell, it’s still in great shape. I also like that the toys don’t have traditional stuffing so when they do kill it (I imagine the time will come), I won’t have a huge mess like normal.

P.S. If you know of anyone looking for a super sweet, really great dog, let me know!

A month or so ago, my friend Chrissie wrote a Facebook post about her allergies, including one to sodium laurel sulfate (SLS). Our friend Val chimed in that she had the same reaction to SLS. I don’t have many traditional allergy issues, but I do have sensitive skin and wondered if SLS might be the culprit. I’ve also always wondered about products with petroleum … how healthy can they really be?

After a little online research and a query to Chrissie and Val on the SLS-free products they use, I made a trip to Whole Foods (WF), which is one of the only places in the ‘Lou that I can find organic products.* Here’s the scoop on my experiments so far:

• Overall … I’ve always felt WF was ridiculously over priced (hence the nickname … Whole Paycheck), but I do believe you get what you pay for and I don’t think my local grocery store would provide half the customer service I get at Whole Food. Proof positive … testers as WF aren’t just something to experience in the store. If you ask the extremely helpful employees, you’ll get a generous sample to try at home.
• Face – Val recommended Dr. Hauschka’s. It’s not for the faint of heart … it’s pricey and figuring out which products to use is a bit daunting. But I was willing to give it a try … partly because the approach made sense to me and mostly because I was a bit desperate. As a teen, I had pristine skin, but the second I hit college … bam … breakouts galore. They haven’t stopped since … even though I’m nearly 40. After a few days of Dr. Hauschka’s, my skin cleared up. My staples are the Cleansing Milk and Facial Toner at night and the Cleansing Cream, Facial Toner and Rose Day Cream Light in the morning. The Cleansing Clay Mask once a month is fun, but in my honest opinion, the Facial Steam Bath and the waaaay-over-priced Rythmic Night Conditioner aren’t worth it … although I’ve only tried them once and may give them another shot.
• Hair – Check your shampoo and SLS is likely the first ingredient. After switching to organic shampoo, my hair seems healthier. I have lots of fine curly hair that I can wear curly or straight so I like to have a few shampoos to choose from. For curly days, Kinky-Curly Come Clean shampoo works great. I pair it with JASON’s “thin to THICK” conditioner, which I swear is doing its trick on my mane. On days I straighten, the JASON’s conditioner with the “thin to THICK” shampoo is a good combo. Unfortunately, Avalon’s nourishing lavender shampoo is a bit too heavy for my fine hair, but I know Chrissie’s daughter Michaela loves it … and it smells awesome.
• Body cleanser – I discovered L’Occitane Shea Butter Milk Soap at little shop in Winter Park, Fla. It is a bit pricey, but smells wonderful, lasts forever and does good things for my sensitive skin. Trader Joe’s had a similar version at a lower price, but hasn’t stocked it the last few times I’ve checked.

Up next … facial SPF, lip balm and body lotion testing.  I’ll keep you posted!

*My beloved Trader Joe’s offers organic products, but they seem to have become a little stingy and are only stocking their store brand. I’m sure their “key message” on this “store brand” thing is that it keeps prices down. But as I dip my toe into the Au Naturale waters, I’d like to be able to compare the higher-priced versions with the store brands and make my own decision … which WF allows me to do.

I’ve had a crush on a guy named Joe (Trader Joe, that is) since I lived in Los Angeles in 1998-99. I left him for a while … moving to Orlando and then St. Louis, but he found me, opening three stores in the ‘Lou sometime around 2005.

I visit Joe a few times a month and always take my reusable bags, one of my favorite things . At the register I fill out a slip for the weekly drawing Joe does for his customers that bring in their own bags. Last week … I won the drawing!!!

I picked up my prize last night … a reusable Trader Joe’s bag filled with goodies: three dark chocolate bars, a pumpkin bread mix, a gingerbread mix, a beer bread mix, organic penne pasta, pasta sauce, a big can of coffee beans, pumpkin butter and an Indian dinner mix.

It’s really great marketing tactic because it’s mostly things I ordinarily wouldn’t buy, but will likely buy again. I had the pumpkin butter on some toast for breakfast and it was fantastic. I’m also blogging about it and have mentioned it a few times on Facebook … as I said there, I’m so excited about winning the drawing, you’d have thought I won the lottery! Not to mention the fact that when I when it to pick up the prize, I, of course had to shop some more!

I’ve been wanting a Bumpit ever since I saw it in InStyle magazine a few months ago. Then my friend Michelle blogged about it and I was sold. I may be stuck in the ‘90s, but my go-to updo is the “Rachel” twist … my hair’s pretty much too fine for a good ponytail unless it’s in a ball cap and a girl needs an updo option without a hat … especially for work. I typically tease and spray to get the bump, but by end of day, it usually falls. With the Bumpit … no falling.

I finally found mine at Walgreens after a few failed trips because they were sold out. Michelle’s post mentioned it didn’t work for her neighbor, who has fine hair. My hair texture is fine, but I do have lots of strands so that might help. I also teased a lot per the directions, and the nifty comb that’s included did a great job.

I bought the Bumpit on Saturday and HAD to try it out Sunday even though mowing the grass with a fancy updo may have been overkill. Today, I paired the accessory with a maxi dress. I only mention it because I think it’s a good fashion lesson. I got about 10 compliments, including a gushing one from a complete stranger on my lunch run. I wasn’t sure about the whole maxi thing so instead of investing a ton, I spent $20 at my local Kmart … for those who used to “play” Charlie’s Angels like me, it makes me laugh to know it’s a Jacqueline Smith . Without having to spend a fortune, I was able to try out a trend and get lots of kudos. And next year, when they may no longer be in style, I can move on to the next trend without guilt.

I had a client event this morning (a cool client event including the Gateway Arch, the president of Major League Baseball and Bill DeWitt Jr. and III from the Cardinals. Any baseball/history lovers out there? You should make a trip to the Arch to check out their great new exhibit: Baseball’s Gateway to the West.).

But I digress … my coworker and I were starved after the event and headed to lunch. While we waited for our orders, we perused a few free publications. An article in Sauce Magazine caught my eye. It was about a local farm that sells corn only on the day it’s picked.

After a nap, I decided to make the trek to Illinois to hit one of Keller Farms’ four stands. The drive was about 40 minutes after I got a little lost, but it was absolutely, positively worth it.

I was stuffed after lunch so I skipped dinner, but decided about an hour ago to boil up one of the dozen ears I bought for $4.50 (cash only! I never have any so I had to give them about half in change I’d been saving for meters.). The corn was incredibly tender and tasty. And I can’t wait to grill up a few ears tomorrow … my preferred method of corn on the cob preparation. What’s yours?

I found these at Trader Joe’s (for less cashola than grocery store eggs, which is why TJs is a “fav thing” too). Do they taste better? Not that I can tell, but they’re just so darn cute!

P.S. One benefit I have noticed … they seem to crack better because the shells are a bit harder.

P.P.S. Do you know why brown eggs are brown and white eggs are white? Someone I know swore it was because white eggs were bleached. I knew that wasn’t it, but had to Google it on the iPhone to prove it. So … do you know … without Googling?

Although I have curly-Qs, my hair is really fine and I am typically skeptical of hair product that may weigh it down. My amazing stylist (curly-haired girls in St. Louis, I’d be happy to give you her number; just comment or send me an e-mail) used Moroccan Oil on my hair once and I purchased it on my next appointment.

Yes, I inwardly gasped at the price (she charges $40), but honestly, it’s worth it. It smells luscious and makes my hair look shiny and style incredibly well (and a little goes a long way).

I use it alone (with Mark’s Mega Volume Root Lifting Spray) for a blow out, and with the spray and Aveda’s Be Curly for a twisted ‘do.

Veggies are typically freebies on any diet so here’s a free snack … cucumbers and salsa. I’ll admit I smirked when I learned about it, but I swear it’s surprisingly tasty!

Ok … the inspiration for this series … the purchase I’m so jazzed about … nail polish (now you understand why I chose the eco-friendly, socially conscious post first!).

I remember seeing a presentation by Daniel Pink about consumerism and the role design has played … why pay $2.99 for a plain old toilet bowl brush when you can pay three times that for a Michael Graves-designed brush (hello, my former roommate who had such brush, among other MG items !). But what I love about this polish is that the design makes it useful (I’m guessing the MG toilet bowl brush doesn’t clean any better than the cheaper model).

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri has an extra-wide brush that makes application easy. I have teeny-tiny fingers and nails so this may not work for everyone, but it really only takes one stroke per nail – except my thumb. I also bought it because it said it dries almost instantly (which is true). I always sport painted toes, but my fingers seem to chip immediately, which has meant bare nails. However, the ease of this polish makes it ok to repaint often.

One drawback … I’m the girl who tests nail polish in the store (sorry, but you really can’t tell until you put it on) … and a few of the darker colors dried flat (ie. not shiny enough). Although that might be solved by another favorite thing … Sally Hansen Mega Shine, which makes any polish dry quickly and look super shiny (another favorite thing, but a girl can only write so many polish posts).

A recent purchase I’m totally jazzed about got me thinking that a “favorite things” series might be fun. In addition to my new purchase, I thought of several other things to blog about. Which to start with? A re-tweet on Twitter helped me decide …

I’ve sort of known plastic bags aren’t good, but didn’t have any specifics. Today @SBlanquera posted a link outlining the dangers. It’s very enlightening and disturbing, particularly the image of a bird that became entangled and died, likely because it couldn’t fly to catch food.

Working at SeaWorld, I saw the horrible damage things like discarded fishing line and plastic rings on sodas cause (seriously, please take the time to cut those up … it was heartbreaking to see turtles and manatees with things we thoughtlessly discard embedded in the flesh around their necks or cutting off the circulation to one of their limbs).

When it comes to bags, I found this great black nylon bag on an NYC trip. I bought four more at http://www.reusablebags.com/. They are perfect because they don’t take up much space, are made well and aren’t branded so I feel like I can use them anywhere. I also personally love that they’re black because they’re low key and more chic than some of the other bags I’ve seen.