I have very fine hair. Fine as in I've gotten a salon perm (back when perms were in) that barely lasted a week. It's hard for me to style my hair and even harder for that style to hold. So, imagine my excitement when I saw the new Instawave styling tool from Kiss. A salon quality curling tool that practically does all the work for you!



I mean, check out this video!

Looks pretty cool, right!?

Brandbacker sent me one for testing; I practically ripped the box open and ran to the bathroom when the box arrived.




My fine hair prevailed. Oh well, this is a different kind of tool and I'm sure there's a learning curve.
By the end of the week, I'd given up. It was nearly impossible to get this thing to hold and twirl my hair let alone make a decent curl when it did succeed to do so. Maybe it just wasn't for us fine-haired gals.

I was thinking of skipping this review. This isn't the first time a universally loved hair product has given me zero results. I know I'm the minority. It sucks, but I'm still hoping a product that works for my hair type is on it's way.

But, while wandering through facebook, I happened upon another new instawave review. One from a girl who has no hair woes in common with mine. One that was equally frustrated with this tool. I tweeted her: "I thought it was only me."  

The reply was almost instant: "Oh you aren't at ALL..."

The instawave issues seem to be common amongst women of all hair types, and as an objective blogger it is my duty to always give honest opinions. In this case, the Instawave wasn't for me. And it appears that there is work to be done before it is for most of you. I have more success (and time saved) with a regular curling iron. I hate to be negative, but I hope Kiss sees the issues at hand and can channel them into developing an instawave that truly is a miracle product for women of all hair types.

Apparently Thanksgiving is in a week and then November is pretty much over.Wow!



It's been a great month to give things away (seriously, I have two other open giveaways here and here), and I'm not done yet! Is your blog needing some extra love? I've got your back. I have 4 open slots for December sponsorships that won't cost you a dime- you'll enjoy a sidebar ad, social media promotion, and a sponsors-only group Pinterest board so you can promote any of your content to my audience at any time. Not too shabby. Enter below!

  December Sponsorship

This time last year, I was jobless. I lost a friend to leukemia. We were struggling to make ends meet and could only look forward to a free trip to the beach a friend had offered us. A free trip that we had to cancel the night before because an emergency dental procedure and Sean's engine stopping all in one week left us with thousands of dollars of new debt. We couldn't even afford the gas to get to the free beach trip. I was bitter and thankfulness was hard, to say the very least.

If you're new here, you're in for some crazy miracles.
If you've been following me for some time, thank you. I'm reminding myself as much as you that God is good. Here's the photo version of what's happened since. What I have to be thankful for this year:

1. For the temp job where I got back on my feet and met some incredible people.














2. For my current career where I get to use my skills to help save lives across the world...and enjoy a daily waterfront view!
























3. For the house we were able to buy with support from said career

























4. For the wonderful man I get to share the house with

























5. For the long awaited puppy who tries our patience and makes us laugh

I've joined Southern Beauty Guide and her other sponsors to bring the gift of sponsorship to another blogger...hopefully you! Check us out and enter below! Nothing beats lots of free promotion for your blog!
The Southern Thing
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Good luck to everyone! Make sure you stop back by and enter daily! 

Last August, I saw some reviews floating around for an alternative to dryer sheets: balls made of wool. I was intrigued and then thrilled when I had the chance to try and review them. I kid you not when I say I have not used dryer sheets since.



The thing is, I was living in an apartment and doing laundry at my mother-in-law's house (she lived a mile down the street and our laundry center cost $3/load. yikes!). She, too, loved the balls. They were essentially shared for a year between five people.

Fast forward to this July when we bought our first house. I was thrilled to finally have our own washer and dryer. I was not so thrilled to realize things were coming out of the dryer with lots of static. (seriously, though, what a bargain! laundry for five for a year with one set of balls! definitely economical!) I knew it was time to buy a new set.

I'd noticed some alternative brands of wool balls pop up in the market since I received my first set of balls, one of them being eco nuts. I was curious and more than willing to see if they were comparable.

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I won't tease you all any longer: the answer is YES!

I was pretty darn excited when the balls (a set of 4) came in. I ripped the package right open, and tossed them in the next load of laundry I did. I reached in, expecting the static I'd been dealing with...and realized there was none. Ahhh! Nothing like a new set of dryer balls.

Also in the package was a surprise: a 10-load trial of organic eco nuts laundry soap. Sign me up! I wasn't sure what to think when I opened up the package to find...well, a bag of nuts, but I left them in the washer for ten loads and didn't have to re-wash a single thing!

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I love how well everything works, but come on...we all know I'm a crunchy girl. I especially love how economical these products are and the fact that they don't contain synthetic fragrances or other harmful ingredients. Eco nuts is definitely a winner in my book!

The way I cook has definitely changed in the past few years. From relying on a microwave to barely touching the thing, from sparingly using dried herbs to insisting on fresh garlic, I've definitely grown in not only what I eat, but how I prepare it.

When I was going through things during our move, I came across a new-in-the-box Pampered Chef garlic press my mother had given me back when we got married. I'd never touched it, but since I'd taken to the aformentioned garlic, I opened it up to see what the fuss was about...it's safe to say that garlic press is now one of the most-used items in my kitchen!

I'm addicted. via

Thinking about it, I realized there's a lot more Pampered Chef in my kitchen than I think about. The products are sturdy and seem to last forever! Aside from the garlic press, I have many of their wooden and bamboo utensils- and they've outlasted other ones that have broken (like new ones from our wedding registry that only lasted a couple of years - yikes)!

Since I love this stuff so much and know many of you do too, I've teamed up with Betsy for the month of November - the perfect time to make sure you have all you need to make the best holiday meals! Browse her site and specials, grab what you need....and enter to win the Pampered Chef large bamboo platter, a $38 value!

via

Enter below!


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I work in a  Baltimore neighborhood that is quaint historic waterfront by day, bar crawl central by night. Factor that into Halloween landing on a Friday, and our office kindly let everyone off an hour early to get home before the streets were shut down for the excessive partying to come.

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A few minutes after 4, I stepped outside to a bright, chilly afternoon...and parents walking around with their toddlers in costume, trick or treating from the local shops. Really? At 4 p.m.? In broad daylight? Ok, fine...

I passed even more kids, older kids, on my way home- all dressed up and running around...some already making the candy rounds. I mean, most adults aren't even home to give you candy and you're out? Fine. I'm going home to walk my dog. We can talk candy when it at least looks like dusk is coming.

I'm walking Anise right at 5 and notice neighbors on their porches, candy bowls in tow, kids making their way down the sidewalks,

I took Anise home and grabbed the candy stash for the kids who surely must be coming any minute now. An hour later, Sean spotted kids out the window. Finally! We handed candy out to the four children at our door and left it open to wait for the other two groups of kids  on our street.

Except they walked past us. What!? We clearly have candy and you're not coming to take it??
Our neighbor across the street had candy. We saw him give it to the same four children...then we never saw his door open again; nobody knocked.

People in Baltimore don't knock on doors.

It was an interesting people-watching experience. The families would study doors, not sure if they should knock or where they should go. At one point, I stood with my bowl in the glass storm door until a mother spotted me, pointed, and rushed her kids over to indulge. Weird stuff. They zig-zagged to random homes, seemingly without rhyme or reason.

My trick or treating experience was nothing like this. I went, parentless, with my siblings, friends, whoever was with me that year. We went once dusk hit up the street to every house, then back down the other side of the street. No zig-zags; we must hit every house we can! Then off to the other streets until it was too dark, late, cold, or tiring to be out any longer.

Not so in the city. I finally gave up and sat with my bowl on the porch. 30 minutes later, we were down to 4 pieces of candy. Not bad considering our neighbors likely have full bowls.

So, it was, that by 7:30 pm on Halloween, we sat in front of our TV, lights out, eating our own "treats:" $3 Chipotle, of course.

And the biggest treat? Of all the children on our street, I only saw one Elsa.

if anyone knows the original source, I'm happy to cite.