Home Chef

One thing I despise, no, let me rephrase, HATE, is going to the supermarket. I love to cook, but I hate to shop for the supplies I need. I always seem to forget something, even when I have a list. I'm on an app called Nextdoor and someone was advertising Home Chef, a meal delivery service. I was super excited to try this out! Some of my friends at work buy their meals through a meal delivery service and they seem to enjoy it. Now, let me warn you, it is a bit pricey.  

I'm going to be honest and say that I didn't do a ton of research before picking this company to try. Originally I scheduled four meals to be delivered, for the two of us (the hubbers and me). The price was $9.99 a meal. My first set of meals ended up being $49.60 for 8. I was given a $30 discount for my first purchase. Not too shabby. My next set of meals cost $59.70. 

The food is delivered straight to my front door, every Tuesday, in a large box with lots of ice packs. So much ice, in fact, that by the time I got home, the bottom of the box was broken. Could this be because of the moisture? The box I got was very heavy. I had a heck of a time trying to carry it upstairs to my kitchen.

When you register for an account, you fill out a profile page of things you like and things you dislike. For example, I don't eat beef or pork, so I can plan my meals around chicken and fish only. You can also request for meals low in carbs and calories. 

WHAT I LEARNED

I realized that four full meals was too much for the week. I ended up cutting it down to three. There are other dinners I still like to make on my own. 

I have to be careful and only select meals that are easy. It takes me a while to navigate the kitchen. I really do love to cook, but I still have to follow a recipe card. I don't have the cooking styles of Monica Geller, but I'm no Rachel Green either. I know that a traditional Trifle does't have meat, peas and carrots (Friends reference). I thought that the food was going to come to me precooked and all I would have to do was heat them up. NOPE. I have to actually cut the potatoes into cubes, core tomatoes and mince the garlic myself. The prep is what takes me forever. The recipe cards have a suggested time that it takes to make the meal from starting prep to finish. What takes a normal person 45-50 minutes, takes me an hour and fifteen 

I don't have nonstick pans and most recipes call for them. I'm not a fan of the nonstick variety. I think they cause cancer, and while don't know if this is scientifically proven, I want to stay as natural as possible without having to build a fire out of wood with my hunters and gatherers. So, how do I use my "non" nonstick pans without having my food stick? Someone please tell me. 

Each meal card gives a recommended cook time. The fish products say to cook within three days, while the chicken says five. This is all fine and dandy, but why did my fresh basil wilt before the recommended three day cooking period. My tomatoes did the same thing. The plantain that arrived in my box was already black. I don't know much about plantains or how they're supposed to look, but aren't they a banana? 

THINGS I LOVE

So far what I've made/eaten has been very tasty and healthy.  I love that they sent me a recipe folder to hold my recipe cards.  I love that my ingredients are delivered straight to my door and I love that the time spent trying to figure out what to make for dinner has been cut. I love trying new recipes and I love to cook the food. 

As of this post I made three of my four meals for the week, a Dover Sole Piccata, Shrimp Pomodoro and Jerk Chicken with Brown Sugar Plantains. 

The Jerk Chicken didn't stick on my stainless steal pan. This made me very happy!!

I really do love to cook. It's very relaxing. 

I love buying organic food, but  I'm not sure if this is organic or not. The meals, however, are very healthy and the ingredients are fresh.

The packaging can be recycled and the ice pack are reusable (according to the Home Chef website). 

I love the recipe cards. They give you step by step instructions and all of the nutritional information for the entire meal. This is something that is very important to me. 

THINGS I HATE

I hate that it still takes me forever to cook my food!!! How does Rachel Ray make it look so easy? I hate that my "non" nonstick pans make my food stick. 

I had the toughest time cooking the Dover Sole Piccata. The fish stuck on my stainless steal pan and eventually turned to mush. The only fish I'm comfortable cooking is Salmon. 

I don't like the fact that some of my greens wilted before their recommended cook time.   

FINAL OUTCOME

I am only going to keep this service for a couple of weeks. I like that all of the ingredients are healthy and fresh. I like the ease of having the food delivered to my home. I like the recipe cards. The meals are pricey but, I would absolutely recommend this service only if you can manage it in your budget. If you are interested in this type of service, here is a link to the registration page.  Home Chef

Is IT Worth IT?

Last weekend I had the opportunity to see IT with the hubby and I didn't take him up on his offer. While he was watching IT, I wanted to give some love to the other movie released as IT's competition, Home Again. That movie I loved and thought was absolutely adorable. We all know that Home Again wasn't going to hold a candle to IT. 

After hearing how my hubby and my friends loved the movie, I decided to check IT out for myself. I hate gory films but I love horror/thriller. Give me a great Scream or scary Halloween and life is good. On a side note, I'm over the moon with excitement that Jamie Lee Curtis will be in the new Halloween film, coming out next Fall. I loved her return for Halloween H20. Maybe she'll rectify her Halloween Resurrection mistake. Anyway, I digress.

I watched the original IT miniseries in 1990 (27 years later IT returns, interesting ploy there Warner Bros.) I feel that the 1990 miniseries was scarier than the movie version. I jumped once and IT wasn't even a full jump, IT was more of a twitch. I think what was so terrifying about the 1990 version of IT was that I watched as a little girl CHILD. What is IT after? Children's fears. Knowing the ending and knowing that IT is a giant alien spider, doesn't make IT all that terrifying. I cried in this movie, can you believe IT!  I laughed a few times too. I pains me to say IT, but IT was't all that scary. The Conjuring, now that was a scary movie (the original, not the sequel). 

Like Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an allegory for the demons we face in high school, IT is an allegory for the fears we face in real life. I was more afraid of crazy mama, the bullies and the disgusting dad, than of the circus clown. I loved how the outcasts joined together to fight against their fears. 

I don't think I can read the book. The insinuations already make me feel sick to my stomach. I don't need to read IT in print, where everything is described in detail.  Anyway, I'm reading Joe Hill's (Stephen King's son) NOS4A2. IT's taking me a long time to get though because IT makes me nervous to read (so I read a little bit, then stop, then start again and repeat the process)

Bill Skarsgard was good as Pennywise, but he's attractive in real life, so he's not that scary. His voice was the scariest thing about him. Tim Curry was good in the role, but IT's been forever since I watched the 1990 version, and I can't remember how much he was in the movie.  Don't get me wrong, I don't like clowns, but to me, they're more laughable than they are scary. When I think of clowns, I think of Circus Circus in Vegas, and I always had fun there when I was little. The whole "killer clown" craze  from last year was just one long Halloween prank to get everyone ready for the movie (I loved watching those videos online). 

My hubby didn't make me go alone, that was nice. He watched some YouTube videos explaining the Easter Eggs throughout the film, and wanted to watch IT again. 

Overall the director, Andy Muschiette, did a good job with the film. I enjoyed IT a lot. Would I see IT again, no. Would I buy IT on DVD, no. I'm glad I saw IT and I'm glad IT wasn't gory. Even though IT wasn't super gory, this is definitely not a children's movie. IT is rated R for a reason. I hope parents are smart enough not to take their kids.  

Because IT is almost Fall (and Fall is the time for scary things), and I'm feeling some nostalgia for 1990, IT gets 4 out of 5 Pink Gerber Daisies. I hope IT enjoys them!! I tried to capitalize and bold, and use a lot of ITs. I hope I got them all.  Yes, I wrote this way on purpose tonight, even using the redundant "little girl CHILD." 

Too Faced Peaches, Yummy Yum Yum!! Part 1

"Movin' to the country, 

Gonna eat a lot of peaches

Millions of peaches, peaches for me

Millions of peaches, peaches for free" (Presidents of the United of America)

I've been obsessed with the Too Faced Peaches line for quite some time, and OMG they just came out with a new line of peaches, the "Just Peaches Matte" collection.  Last December, I bought the Sweet Peach eye shadow palette. I think this palette was originally launched Summer 2016??? It had such a cult following that Too Faced expanded the line. 

I've posted reviews on all of the Chocolate Bar palettes, but for some odd reason, I never posted one on the Sweet Peach. This one happens to be my absolute favorite. I've used this one so much, that I've already hit pan. There were so many items in this line, but I only bought a few of the lip oils and shadows. 

The smell is amazing. When you open the palette, the shadows smell like the candy peach rings I'd eat at the movie theaters when I was little. A little bit of the powder fell into my mouth, and while I don't recommend eating them, the taste was delicious. 

The colors are so pretty, (I love them so much)!!!!!! I apply all of my shadows with primer. I hate the Too Faced Shadow Insurance, so I use either the MAC Pot in Painterly or the NYX Eyeshadow Base in White.  I don't care for the purple and black shades. The green can be tricky. Sometimes I like it and other times I have a hard time working with it. I really don't care for the black.  I don't like ANY black in ANY palette. Sometimes the colors can be a little muddy. I love the entire middle row and; Luscious, Just Peachy, Charmed I'm Sure, Peaches N' Cream, Summer Yum, and Puree. My least favorite is, Talk Deby to Me. As you can see from the swatches below, it's extremely patchy. You can't always base your decision to like or dislike a palette on swatches alone. Sometimes a shadow can swatch poorly, but look really great on the eyes. That's how I feel about my Pur Cosmetics Troll palette. The swatches were bad, but they work lovely on the eyes. I still like to watch YouTubers color swatch. It makes it easier for me to determine if I like the colors. 

Top to bottom; White Peach, Luscious, Just Peachy, Bless Her Heart, Tempting, Charmed I'm Sure

Top to bottom; Nectar, Cobbler, Candied Peach, Bellini, Peach Pit, Delectable 

Top to bottom; Peaches N' Cream, Georgia, Caramelized, Puree, Summer Yum, Talk Derby to Me

Apparently I purchased five Peach Lip oils in; Peach Tease (love), Peach Fuzz, Papa Don't Peach (love), Pure Peach and Peach-Sicle. I only really wear these during the spring and summer when I want a more natural look. They aren't really pigmented because they're a lip gloss. If I had to do it all over again, I probably wouldn't get these. They're all right. They taste sweet and perfumey all at the same time. These end up looking the same color on your lips anyway and they emphasize any dry patches you may have on your lips. As I mentioned before, I wouldn't recommend these. 

While I really do love the Sweet Peach palette, there are a few palettes from NYX that are very similar. They're not exact dupes, but the color scheme is similar, minus the ugly black and ok green.  Of course you're not getting the yummy scent, but for a cheaper price, they're nice. I'd say that the NYX shadows are a bit stiff, but they blend nicely. The NYX shadows are a perfect example of bad swatches vs. decent application.  For $18 a palette you can get both and it would still be cheaper than the Sweet Peach. If you're a sucker for adorable packaging and yummy scented shadows, buy the Sweet Peach Palette. 

Warm Rust Palette.

Warm Rust

Sugar High swatches 

Sugar High. This palette swatches poorly, but blends nicely.

The Sweet Peach Palette is $49. This palette gets 4 out of 5 Pink Gerber Daises.

Items in the original collection:

Sweet Peach Glow Highlighter Trio

Sweet Peach Creamy Peach Oil Lip Gloss

Sweet Peach Papa Don't Peach Blush

Sweet Peach Eyeshadow Palette

Items in the new collection:

Just Peachy Velvet Matte Eyeshadow

Sweetie Pie Radiant Matte Bronzer

Peach Blur Translucent Smoothing Finishing Powder

Peach Perfect Comfort Matte Foundation

Peach Mist Mattifying Setting Spray

Peach Perfect Mattifying Setting Powder

Peach Kiss Moisture Matte Long Wear Lipstick

Primed & Peachy Cooling Matte Perfecting Primer

Peach My Cheeks Melting Powder Blush

Peach Frost Melting Powder Highlighter

Bronze Peach Melting Powder Bronzer

Week 1 My Life Limiting Social Media

I'm sitting once again in my favorite locale, the coffee shop, sipping on the "new" Fall flavors. Not a Pumpkin Spice Latte, in my case an Iced Toasted Vanilla Brown Sugar Latte, I added some cinnamon too, yum yum. Anyway, I digress. Last week I decided to limit my social media usage. I have completely "gone off" Facebook, very rarely Tweet, Snap once in a while and barely go on Instagram. I've decided that I feel fine being "antisocial". Here's why.....

1. I've gotten further in the book I was reading, Voyager, by Diana Gabaldon. The new season of Outlander starts tomorrow and I haven't finished the third book. I started reading it in July. Then I got sick and stopped reading completely. 

2. I spend more time talking to my hubby and playing with my puppies.

3. I do more things around the house.

4. I stay latter at work, to finish my grading, so that I don't have to take things home over the weekend. This may not really be the result of staying off social media. This year I've decided to stay at work until 5, every night, so I can spend that time grading on weekdays. I'd rather reserve my weekends to doing the things I love, like sitting in a coffee shop, sipping my favorite fall drink. It's peaceful in my classroom, I'm not tempted to pickup my phone and see what everyone is doing.

5. I've been going to be earlier. I get up every morning at 5. By not spending time on social media, I get a much better night's rest.

So far, I'm really liking the "antisocial" thing. I completely understand the irony of blogging about how antisocial I'm being.  Anyway, see you next week! 

I'm a Social Media Zombie, so I'm Momentarily Saying "Goodbye"

Since watching Ingrid Goes West, I've decided to take a minute and get off of social media platforms. I was talking to my mom last night and told her that it's easier for me to text someone, than have to talk to them on the phone. I'd rather just read their text, and respond quickly, rather than having to speak to them. Having to talk to someone takes so much more time and is so much more work. That's why I like being on social media. 

I'm not leaving all social media platforms, I'm still going to text. I have some makeup coming next week, so I'm going to post pictures of it on my Instagram page. I'm going to watch the videos I usually watch on YouTube and Snap Chat, but for this experiment, my time on those platforms will be very limited and I'm not posting on Facebook. I've already logged out of my accounts on both my phone and tablet.  I'm not going to log out of my account on my laptop. I don't spend as much time on my laptop, as I do my tablet and phone. I will still check out Yelp and post to Twitter, so I won't be completely silent or cut off. 

I'm going to journal my experience daily, post the journal midway through, on my blog Facebook page, and then post again at the end of the "experiment",  hoping I make it an entire month. I will be accessing my email. There is something that I applied for as a brand ambassador, if I get approved I will log back into Facebook before the end of the month. I'm excited to test this out and be SOCIAL AGAIN, be PRESENT AGAIN and I want to see how long I can actually last. Ten years ago, I didn't have Facebook, Yelp, Twitter, Instagram, Snap Chat, Goodreads, and YouTube. What did I do with my time then? I wasn't on MySpace like the rest of the people my age. I was so anti-MySpace, I thought it silly, but here I am now, a "Social Media Zombie". 

With that, I wish everyone a great month, may the force be with all of you (and with me).  I wonder how much the world will change in a month??

Just a side note, I'm not against social media. It's a great way to keep up with the family and friends I don't see on a regular basis, because of distance or complex schedules. 

Ingrid Goes West

We're all guilty of it. Spending hours on social media, posting, checking on comments or just getting the satisfaction of knowing that someone liked what we had to say. Well, tonight my husband and I watched a very unsettling movie, Ingrid Goes West and it was about that very thing, our obsession with the antisocial, social media.  

A Brief Synopsis:  Ingrid (Aubrey Place) a very troubled woman, who has just been released from a mental institution, is social media obsessed. She starts to cyber stalk Taylor (Elizabeth Olsen), a photographer. She decides to move west, to Venice California to physically stalk Taylor, (married to Ezra played by Wyatt Russell). Going so far as to steal Taylor's dog from her house, to "find and return him" just to get an introduction to Taylor and inject herself into Taylor's life.  Being extremely grateful to Ingrid for helping them find their dog, Taylor and Ezra open their lives to her and start inviting her out. Ingrid knows all of the "ins and outs" of Taylor's days and studies her. Nothing is sacred on social media. 

Ingrid moves into a one bedroom apartment. She is always using her landlord, Dan (O'Shea Jackson Jr.), who crushes on her instantly. She convinces him to play her "boyfriend" to impress Taylor, Ezra and Taylor's brother, Nicky (Billy Magnussen). Nicky discovers her secret obsession and blackmails Ingrid, whom he calls Olga. Ingrid convinces Dan to help her kidnap and scare Nicky, because Dan thinks that Nicky beat Ingrid up. So much more happens after that, but because it's integral to the to the end of the film I won't say anything more about the movie.

My Social Media Perspective: My husband and I were discussing the film on our way home. While yes, Ingrid was mentally disturbed, Taylor was the worst. Taylor was a hipster millennial, who posted pictures about her avocado toast (Girl, I grew up eating that in the 80's!!) and everything else about her day. Her life was too "perfect". 

I tell my students that social media is a wonderful thing, it's also the worst invention mankind created. It doesn't make us more social, it makes us less social. Yesterday my hubs and I went on a whale watching excursion in Newport Beach. I was so obsessed with trying to capture the perfect shot of the dolphins surfing our waves, I almost missed a pod of mamas and babies. I put my phone away. Who care if my "Snap Fam" didn't get to see it. It they want to see it, then they should go on a whale watching trip. 

Today was our annual family picnic in the park. I took a few snaps, for the family who missed out, and I took a few photos, for my mom who requested them. Then I put my phone away. We're so quick to capture the moment, that we miss out on being in the present, we miss out on life. 

My mom was telling our friend Jessie, that ever since she got her tablet and a Facebook account, she hasn't been able to finish a book. We used to be in a book club with Jessie and a few other friends. The fact that she is on her tablet all the time and doesn't read anymore, something she loved, is sad.

I'm guilty of this too. I have a Yelp account, a Goodreads account, a Snap Chat, a blog, a Twitter account, a Facebook account and three Instagram accounts, one for just family and friends, one connected to my blog and one for my dogs.  I do get satisfaction from seeing the likes and reading the comments.  It's the affirmation that people like me. It's that stupid pleasure seeking ID that rules over my social media accounts. I think that I'm going to start limiting my social media usage. I'm going to go off Facebook, and test this for a month. I want to conduct a little experiment and see how long I can actually go without checking my social media accounts. I'm not going to delete anything, but I am going to take a break. I need to spend more time living in the moment and enjoying the things around me!

We put so much of our lives out there for everyone to see. Why, my life really isn't that spectacular! 

Recommendation: This movie was a modern day Single White Female. I think this movie was AMAZING! Everyone with a social media account should go see it. The acting was great, even by Wyatt Russell. I didn't really care for him in Table 19 (which I recently saw again and sort of liked it), but he isn't that bad in this. Aubrey Place I never cared for, but she deserves to get some awards for Ingrid. This really was a very well done film. This movie is rated R. 

To quote British political commentator, journalist, blogger, etc... Milo Yiannopoulos, "Shallow emotions. An incapacity to feel genuine love. A need for stimulation. Frequent verbal outbursts. Poor behavioral controls. These are just some of the things that social media are encouraging in all of us. They're also a pretty comprehensive diagnostic checklist for sociopathy - in fact, that's where I got the list."

This movie gets 5 out of 5 Pink Gerber Daisies.  Go and watch it, you may learn a thing or two about yourself. 

PS. It's ironic that I'm on social media writing about how much social media has ruined our lives!