Category: Things I love Thursday

As Jenny mentioned earlier this week, we’re the proud new owners of iPhones. We didn’t even have the shiny new things in our hands before we started worrying about dropping them or our kids breaking them – we needed cases and we needed them fast!

Since we’ve worked with Otterbox in the past, we reached out to them to see if we could review the new cases for the iPhone 4S, and they kindly agreed.

Jenny knew right away that she wanted the absolute best protection for her phone that she could get, so she picked out the Otterbox Defender Series.

From their website:
This rugged iPhone 4S case provides heavy duty protection from rough treatment in the worst environments. Our Defender Series iPhone 4S Case defends against drops, dust and damage without taking away from the interaction of the iPhone’s features. The iPhone 4S Defender Series Case offers triple-layer protection and is built from a high-impact polycarbonate shell, durable silicone and a built-in screen protector, making it one of the toughest iPhone 4S Cases out there.

Jenny’s not exactly using her phone in a war zone, but let’s face it – life with kids ensures “rough treatment in the worst environments.” The case has protected her new phone well, which is good because I’m pretty sure she’d off herself if her phone broke.

I also wanted great protection for my phone, but it was important to me to find a case that offered that but that also fit in my pocket easily. I picked the Otterbox Commuter Series case.

From their website:
This sleek and tough iPhone 4S case protects from scratches, bumps and shocks. The new camera rivals point-and-shoot cameras on the market and deserves the level of protection only OtterBox delivers. The Commuter Series iPhone 4S Case has two layers of protection that work together to divert any impact force away from the device, keeping you and your new iPhone 4S ready for anything.

I really like the case a lot, and I feel very comfortable knowing my phone is protected. I’ve dropped it a couple times, and it’s no worse for the wear. I picked the color shown above, and if I had it to do over again I would have picked a different one because the white silicone has gotten a little dingy. Other than that, though, it’s perfect.

Both of us got the black iPhone 4S, but I’ve heard that the white version is slightly larger than the black phone and that finding cases to fit it is not easy. I did some research on the Otterbox site, though, and according to the FAQs, all of their cases work with the white iPhone 4s as well.

We’ve been quite happy with all the Otterbox cases we’ve tried, and we highly recommend them!

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This post is linked to Things I Love Thursday at the Diaper Diaries.

Take a look at what I’ve been eating for breakfast:

I know, I know.

It looks delicious and you wish you had some.

That’s not what you were thinking?

Here’s what Jenny had to say about it:
“Cousin, I KNOW we’ve had the discussion before about how lunch should be CHEWED, not SLURPED. Don’t make me get out my “INTERVENTION” banner on you. YOU KNOW I WILL.”

Jenny loves green drinks but prefers them chock full of caffeine and high fructose corn syrup.

In any case, I’ve been drinking green smoothies every morning in 2012, and I love them. Seriously, I do. I put a pear, a banana, an apple, some celery, and either spinach or kale in the blender, hit the “smoothie” button, and one minute later I’ve got a delicious, nutritious concoction that I can sip/slurp/chew on the way to work.

All five servings of fruit and vegetables before I’ve even had my coffee.

I’ve found a zillion recipes – my favorite website so far is IncredibleSmoothies.com. You can look up recipes by ingredient, which I find helpful. I can’t wait to try a watermelon smoothie this summer.

Any other green smoothie drinkers out there?

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This post is linked up to Things I Love Thursday at the Diaper Diaries.

I hate my hair.

I addition to it being not curly but not straight, gray, and all around annoying, it is so thin on the top front of my head.

It makes me cringe to call attention to it, but take a look…

The thin part on the top of my head is the bane of my existence. I’ve been trying to do things that will make it better (or at least hide it)… vitamins, different shampoo, styling products, etc. A year or so ago I discovered something that did help quite a bit – highlights. I had resisted highlights for so long because frankly I was cheap, but once I got them I was hooked. So every few months, I grit my teeth and hand over my credit card to the girl at the salon. Expensive? Sure. Worth it? Definitely.

I’ve come to terms with the expense. Just recently I told my sister that the only way I’ve found to make my hair situation better is to throw money at it. It was then that I had a revelation – I was getting pricey cuts and color and using high-end hair goo, but I was using cheap hair appliances every day. My hair dryer and straightening iron together probably didn’t cost $50, and it seemed entirely possible that better models would produce better results. I started scouring the internet and found folica.com. Not only do they have every hair tool anyone could ever possibly need, the customer reviews are amazing. These people are serious about their hair! Since I was clueless, the reviews were a big help to me.

I reached out to the people at folica and they were nice enough to send me the Sedu Revolution Pro Tourmaline Ionic 4000i (say that 5 times fast) hair dryer for review.

This hair dryer is definitely an investment – the regular price is $200 (although it’s on sale for $159.99 right now), but I love it. It is a serious machine – according to the website, the air comes out at 80 mph. It has an on/off button for the ionic generator, which is great when you’re going for a smooth, straight look, but not so much when you’re looking for volume. It’s got 6 different speed/heat settings and a cool blast button as well.

I can seriously tell a difference in my hair when I use this dryer, as compared to my drugstore model. I’m not sure how to describe it, but it leaves my hair more fluffy (in a good way) and full, which is critical for hiding my thin spots! I also love how quickly and thoroughly it dries. Kate has really thick hair (lucky girl) that’s below her shoulders, and most of the time she and I lose interest in getting her hair dry when it’s about half way there… the Sedu Revolution cuts the time it takes in half, so she is no longer going to bed with a wet head.

I liked this new hair dryer so much that I asked Andy to buy me a professional-grade flat iron as a Christmas present (and by asked I mean sent him a link with a coupon code for $25 off if he ordered it that day. Which he didn’t. So I did. He stuck it in a gift bag on Christmas Eve, though, so it was still technically a present). After scouring Folica for the perfect model, I decided on a Sedu 1.5 inch flat iron.

The flat iron came in a set with clips, a heat mat, Sedu Antifrizz Polishing treatment (which I am obsessed with) and a black clutch for travel. It’s regularly $244.98 (*gulp*) but thanks to some CRAZY sales they had going on, I managed to score it for about $80. Even that is about 4 times what I’ve ever spent on one before, but it is worth every penny. It makes my hair so straight and smooth, I feel like I just came out of the salon.

These new toys have made such a difference in how I feel about my hair and about myself as I head out the door every morning. Like I said – Expensive? Sure. Worth it? Definitely.

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I’m linking up to Things I Love Thursdays at the Diaper Diaries!