Category: Product Review

Jan 20

Iowa Winter Essential: Rain Boots

I like to wear my sheepskin boots when the weather is dry in fall, winter and spring . When the weather is wet and filled with slushy snow, like today, forget about heels, sheepskin boots, or whatever…

“Mayday, mayday, we are going down, please send some help!”

Freezing Rain

Freezing rain

CAPTAIN SPERRY, where are you?

Sperry rain boots keep my feet dry

Ta.. ta... ta! Captain Sperry sweetheart comes to my rescue, keeping my feet dry

Hunter, Sperry & Emu

I heart my winter troop: Hunter, Sperry & Emu

Sperry Top-sider Pelican and Emu Welly Plain are furry inside, wool-lined that is. Sperry has more fitted footbeds. They provide me with equal comfort.

Emu has been working for me for two winters now and it still performs like a charm. These winter soldiers are my best hire. Pair them with skinny jeans or leggings, with Smartwool socks; they keep my feet feeling comfy and dry all day!

Hunter is my new hire that comes with a manly rubbery smell.  Although I love its rugged look, I am waiting for the smell to subside (sorry, Hunter). It has the skinniest shaft of all three boots.

If you want a little comfort in Iowa winter, do invest in some good rain boots. They will keep you happy for many slushy wet winters to come.

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Dec 08

Rue La La: My ooh la la

[Tuesday]

I love Ruelala.com.

Rue La La is an exclusive, invitation only shopping site where Members discover premier-brand, private sale Boutiques.

Every day there are new boutiques, each open for just a brief window of time (usually two days).

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I love discovering new brands, new products and something unexpected.

I bought this BCBG bag on NOV 16th at $149. I had an oh-la-la moment when I received this bag.

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Back View

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Close-up


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Interior

Although I wish the leather could be a little thicker, I was happy with my purchase at a great price.

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I loved the color. It was selling at Saks.com for $398 (on sale today for $277.99) on the same day (Nov 16th)!

The thing with Rue La La is the new boutiques are open at 10am CDT. So, if you are interested in certain boutiques, you better act fast. By fast, I mean you better make up your mind within 10 minutes after the boutiques are open. The prices are good (30%-80% off retail) and the Members are sharp! They are very focused and know their style.  The best styles are usually sold out within 10 minutes.

If you are 80% sure about a product, I would suggest you just buy it. You can return the item later if you change your mind. Return shipping is free and you’ll get store credit to be used towards your next purchase. Sweet!

Check it out. The membership is free, but it’s by invitation only. Here’s my invitation to you: RUE LA LA.  You’ll receive $10 for trying out Rue La La and I’ll get $10 store credit reward when you find your ooh la la items.

If you are a designer, you might want to contact them to see how they can help promoting your brand and testing your new line.

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Nov 20

Luxe Link Purse Holder

[Friday]
It’s here! It’s here!

My Luxe Link purse holder has just been delivered.

Purse holders have been around for a while now. I can’t believe I just bought my first (certainly won’t be my last)!

Where do you put your purse when you are at a bar, restaurant, office, etc? Does your precious purse deserve the dirty floor? Is it safe to leave it there? You may prefer to hold your handbag in your lap, but seriously, that gets old pretty fast!

Sistas! You gotta get one (or five) purse holders!

There are many different purse holder brands and designs to choose from. I chose Luxe Link because the brand gives me the most confidence that their products are going to hold up longer.

My favorite is the Luxe Link Madison.

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But I couldn’t get myself to spend a WHOPPING $79 on a purse holder. >.<

So, I chose my second favorite. Let me present to you, the BLACK DIAMOND.

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Here it is! Shhhh… She is in a nice gift box.

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Oh yeah, lucky girl, that’s me.

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She is protected by a soft pouch.

Drum roll, please.

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I just got BLING-ed!

My Luxe Link purse holder is handcrafted with genuine black Swarovski crystals.

Ooooo! so LUXE!

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It’s small, lightweight and very portable, but can hold up to 9 lbs.

Let’s put it to test.

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It holds a 3 lbs bag, easily.

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A different angle.

More! More close-ups, please.

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So stylish and so glam!

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Another close-up. Love!

To see how a purse holder works, check out:
http://luxelink.com/-i-24.html

Money saving tips:

  • Google to see if there are cheaper deals out there. I got my Black Diamond from Delight.com. It’s on sale for $48.89.
  • (I know it’s still a lot of $, but I am going to use it a lot. I’ll feel so happy every time I use it.)

    delight-luxe-link

  • Search for coupons (I googled Delight.com coupons and found a 10% discount coupon. It usually takes me 2 minutes to find one if there’s one.)
  • See if Delight.com is listed under Ebates.com (I’ve earned over $220 cash back so far! Just click on the merchant links on ebates.com, that’s all you need to do.) Since Delight.com wasn’t listed on ebates.com, I didn’t earn any cash back.
  • My purchase on Delight.com was over $100, so I received free shipping. ^_^

Purse holders make great gifts. What to give a girl who has everything? Another purse holder!

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Oct 26

Thinking Ahead

I really like my new Miss Sixy Military Trench Coat. It has this cool military design, oversized collar and faux leather piping detail. I love the navy color too!

It’s good to collect a few jackets that have classic design and will not go out of style.

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Kai, get your nose out of my butt and look at the camera, will ya?

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Keeps me warm (the dog and the coat)

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I heart my new trench coat! :)

The best part is I got this coat at Nordstrom fall preview sale for $109 in July.  This is called Thinking Ahead!!!

MissSixy
This coat is $168 as of today!

What a score!! I am not a cheapo. It’s up to you if you want to spend $168 (rather than $109) for something that’s in the “want” category, not “need” category. I like to think that I am more careful with my money now.   :keagree:

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Jul 23

I Heart My OXO Salad Spinner

I am not a big fan of green salad. I am simply not into raw vegetables. Ask any Asian on how much green salad he has had this week, or this month, or this year? Most probably the answer would be close to none.

If you are in Asia and you suggest that you are going to bring a green salad (not fruit salad, not potato salad) to an Asian party, don’t be surprised if no one jumps up and down out of excitement. It’s not you, it’s us.

My mom bought lettuce from the market and she chose to stir-fry it. Frankly speaking, I quite enjoyed the dish.

I decided to eat more raw vegetables this year, so I started a new lettuce veggie bed.

I threw some seeds in my veggie bed and now the lettuce greens in my veggie bed are growing like wild horses! Seriously. I have given away bags of greens to friends and even my dog is getting some in each meal too. And still, I have a hard time keeping up with my lettuce!

FYI. My dog does eat vegetables. Here’s him chewing on a celery stick when he was four months old.

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Now it only makes sense for me to consume more greens too. I know, I know, eating greens is healthy and blah blah blah. Knowing it is one thing, but actually eating it is a whole different story.

I picked some lettuce from my garden and washed it. The greens were damp, soggy and the salad didn’t turn out good. I was pretty bumped.

When there’s a problem, there must be a solution. What can’t you find on internet? Thank God for internet.

Who doesn’t know about the existence of salad spinner, please raise your hand.

Has this product been around for a long time? I have never heard of it. Pardon me!

Definition of Salad Spinner from dummies.com.

salad spinner: A two-part device made up of a plastic basket inside a large plastic bowl. Place washed greens inside the basket and spin it (using whatever method your spinner offers). Centrifugal force removes the water from the greens.

Ok. Boys and girls, now let’s give a big round of applause to whoever invented the salad spinner!

The process is much like the last cycle of your washing machine: spinning the access water off your clothes.

I was sold on the idea and quickly ran to the At Home store and bought one.

Now, drum roll, please.
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OXO Salad Spinner

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1. Put freshly washed salad greens in the non-slip bowl (you can wash the veggie in the basket).

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2. Press the non-slip knob to start the basket spinning.

3. There’s a built-in brake to stop the salad spinner.

4. Done! The greens are crisp and dry! If the greens are still little damp, just put them in the fridge for a few hours. They would dry out naturally.

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5. To store the greens away, simply press down the knob and lock it.

I noticed that the greens stay fresher longer when I store them in the salad spinner.

We learn something new every day. Don’t we? :-)

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