I finally bit the bullet, cashed in my upgrade rebate and bought the dataphone I've been coveting: the new Blackberry Curve 8310 in Sunset Red. (Of course, I did this and a few weeks later T-mobile finally releases info on the G1, which incorporates all the features I orginally wanted. Oh well, such are the risks of being too grabby!)
Despite the lack of a touch screen and a sliding keyboard, I love my Blackberry. Now that I have one, I don't know how I lived without a full QWERTY keyboard for so long. There was little to no ramp up time for me to figure out how to use this phone, although all the phone numbers bunched up on the left side of the phone took some getting used to. (Hey, I'm left-handed. I want everything to be on the right side of the phone!).
I love the media capabilities of this phone. Do I miss that I can't take video? Not for a second. I have a fancy DSLR that can record oodles of video that I never use for that purpose. I've never used the video feature on any other phone, either. The photo quality is pretty good (although you need a VERY steady hand), but again, I don't take all that many photos with my phone. I am most excited about the MP3 player and the expandable microSD memory. I was finally able to reuse the old ringtones I created for my beloved Motorola V360 that I lost a couple of years ago. Now when my boyfriend calls me, I can hear 'Stare Too Long' by Corrosion of Conformity - which you'll never find on any ringtone service provider. Still, I appreciate the immense variety of pre-loaded ringtones that came with the Blackberry - specifically Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor (my all-time favorite classical piece). Also, the phone actually came with stereo headphones instead of one monophone earbud. Handy!
I noticed that the batteries were draining REALLY quickly - a fully charged phone in the morning was dead by the end of my workday. I started carrying a data cable so it could be charged up from my CPU, but just changing one setting really saved my battery life: I keep the backlight brightness at 10 instead of 100 (even though the screen looks so sharp and pretty at 100). I also make sure I actually turn apps OFF instead of just backing out of them. Now a fully charged phone keeps a charge all day long - even with all the phone calls/email pushes/text messages/game playing/music listening I do, I come home with a phone that doesn't need to be charged until bedtime!
Of course, the Product Slut in me would be remiss by not talking about my most favorite 'feature': the color. It's the most perfect nail-polish-esque red. Online, it looks like it might be orange, but it's really a metallic red that I am completely smitten with. Even though I protect it with a silicon case, I can't resist pulling it off to show off the shiny red back. It's divine.
Maybe I can wait for the G1 to evolve a little more. After all, it's a functional black. Maybe by the end of my 2 year contract they'll have one in Sunset Red!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Someone knew I was a product slut...
... so they sent me something I was actually coveting to review! I knew if I kept myself pure that good things would come to me! (Well, relatively pure...) I actually gasped when Allure magazine wrote that they were sending me a sample of the newest Chanel mascara for my review. Joy!!!
Chanel 'Exceptionnel' mascara is touted as providing 'intense volume and curl'. They have a new six-sided brush. Three sides of the brush look like very short eyebrow brush bristles and they alternate with three tiny combs. The specific instructions for applying it are similar to my own method for applying mascara: put mascara wand at base of lashes and roll out to the end of your lashes (I've always done this to make my lashes look incredibly long.)
Now, I love curling mascaras as I don't always have time to use an eyelash curler. I also love Chanel Inimitable mascara, so I felt sure I would adore Exceptionnel. Sadly, I was really underwhelmed by Exceptionnel. One coat gave okay coverage and okay curl, but two coats became a glommy Tammy Faye-esque look. I had to attack my lashes with a comb to de-gunk. When I'm spending $26-27 dollars on a mascara, I don't expect to have to wipe off most of the product. It just seems a waste.
Also, I'm not a fan of these huge brushes anymore. I just don't find them handy. They don't get the tiny inner lashes well at all and I seem to accidentally brush my eyeball instead of my lashes at least once during the application process. (I would just like to point out that this NEVER happens with my Chanel Inimitable.)
I still love Chanel, but I'd suggest you spend your hard-earned mascara dollars on Inimitable over Exceptionnel.
Chanel 'Exceptionnel' mascara is touted as providing 'intense volume and curl'. They have a new six-sided brush. Three sides of the brush look like very short eyebrow brush bristles and they alternate with three tiny combs. The specific instructions for applying it are similar to my own method for applying mascara: put mascara wand at base of lashes and roll out to the end of your lashes (I've always done this to make my lashes look incredibly long.)
Now, I love curling mascaras as I don't always have time to use an eyelash curler. I also love Chanel Inimitable mascara, so I felt sure I would adore Exceptionnel. Sadly, I was really underwhelmed by Exceptionnel. One coat gave okay coverage and okay curl, but two coats became a glommy Tammy Faye-esque look. I had to attack my lashes with a comb to de-gunk. When I'm spending $26-27 dollars on a mascara, I don't expect to have to wipe off most of the product. It just seems a waste.
Also, I'm not a fan of these huge brushes anymore. I just don't find them handy. They don't get the tiny inner lashes well at all and I seem to accidentally brush my eyeball instead of my lashes at least once during the application process. (I would just like to point out that this NEVER happens with my Chanel Inimitable.)
I still love Chanel, but I'd suggest you spend your hard-earned mascara dollars on Inimitable over Exceptionnel.
Monday, September 08, 2008
Would you like some cheese with that wine? (Yes, please!)
Who knew that one day I'd covet a stainless steel cookpot as much as the new Givenchy mascara? Or that I'd lust after a Cuisinart electric kettle? I guess I just love all things new & shiny...
My equally product-slutty friends and I are always on the lookout for something fun to occupy our time. Thanks to some word of mouth, we discovered cooking classes at the Urban Gourmet - specifically a Soft Cheesemaking class! The first session filled up so quickly that a second session was added. We jumped on that second class as soon as it was posted!
As luck would have it, it was also the first Seahawks breakfast of the season at the Beach Tavern. They only serve breakfast on days that the Seahawks play early away games on the East Coast (10:00 am PST). They also make the best chicken fried steak I've ever eaten in my life! The 5 of us that took the class met there first for breakfast (and for Seahawks trouncing) and then went on to class.
The teaching kitchen at Urban Gourmet is really fantastic. Huge cement counter, comfortable seating for at least 15-20 people, mirrors and closed-circuit flat screens to see the chef at work and a warm atmosphere. We were handed two packets when we checked in; one held cheese recipes and the other was a glossary of cheesemaking terms and other tips and tricks.
Chef Hope Sandler taught the class. She was very personable and really determined to educate a group of people who could easily have disintegrated into foodie discussion. Not only did she demonstrate cheesemaking, she gave real tastings of cheese she'd made herself. We smooshed, tasted, smelled and enjoyed her Farmer's cheddar, mascarpone, cottage cheese, ricotta and chevre. Wine, fruit, breads, salsa and preserves were also served to bring out the flavors of the cheeses.
As a class, we made three soft cheeses. One team made Farmer's Cheese (a very citrusy dessert cheese) and the other made Queso Blanco (a very mild white cheese). They were ridiculously simple to make and tasted heavenly. She also started a mozzarella cheese for us, but due to the over-pasteurized milk it was a little difficult to get a stretch on the cheese. (It still tasted good.)
Now that I have a recipe and the skillz for making ricotta, I am next taking a pasta making class so I can make a completely-from-scratch lasagna!
If you're interested, visit www.urbangourmettacoma.com for class schedules.
My equally product-slutty friends and I are always on the lookout for something fun to occupy our time. Thanks to some word of mouth, we discovered cooking classes at the Urban Gourmet - specifically a Soft Cheesemaking class! The first session filled up so quickly that a second session was added. We jumped on that second class as soon as it was posted!
As luck would have it, it was also the first Seahawks breakfast of the season at the Beach Tavern. They only serve breakfast on days that the Seahawks play early away games on the East Coast (10:00 am PST). They also make the best chicken fried steak I've ever eaten in my life! The 5 of us that took the class met there first for breakfast (and for Seahawks trouncing) and then went on to class.
The teaching kitchen at Urban Gourmet is really fantastic. Huge cement counter, comfortable seating for at least 15-20 people, mirrors and closed-circuit flat screens to see the chef at work and a warm atmosphere. We were handed two packets when we checked in; one held cheese recipes and the other was a glossary of cheesemaking terms and other tips and tricks.
Chef Hope Sandler taught the class. She was very personable and really determined to educate a group of people who could easily have disintegrated into foodie discussion. Not only did she demonstrate cheesemaking, she gave real tastings of cheese she'd made herself. We smooshed, tasted, smelled and enjoyed her Farmer's cheddar, mascarpone, cottage cheese, ricotta and chevre. Wine, fruit, breads, salsa and preserves were also served to bring out the flavors of the cheeses.
As a class, we made three soft cheeses. One team made Farmer's Cheese (a very citrusy dessert cheese) and the other made Queso Blanco (a very mild white cheese). They were ridiculously simple to make and tasted heavenly. She also started a mozzarella cheese for us, but due to the over-pasteurized milk it was a little difficult to get a stretch on the cheese. (It still tasted good.)
Now that I have a recipe and the skillz for making ricotta, I am next taking a pasta making class so I can make a completely-from-scratch lasagna!
If you're interested, visit www.urbangourmettacoma.com for class schedules.
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