Keurig

Let's take a coffee break, shall we?  

For Christmas this year, The Pink Mixer found their very own Keurig Elite 40 Brewing System sitting under the tree.  An admitted skeptic before ("How lazy can people be?  What's wrong with a good old fashioned coffee pot?") we are writing to tell you that after the first few initial brews we were singing a very different tune.  ("How fabulous that I can brew myself a single cup of coffee in minutes whenever I want!  I hit a button, I pop in a pod, and voila!")

Oh, wait. You want tea?  hot chocolate instead?  Easy-peasy. 

I like my coffee strong, so I go with the "medium" option when brewing -- it took a little bit of trial and error to figure that out, and I'm still trying to decide what my favorite coffee K-Cup is (top contender these days is Newman's Own Extra Bold) but wow, all in all, I gotta say I'm a fan, particularly since it's made brewing for one so darn easy.  No more feeling guilty if I brewed too much coffee from the get-go and have to pour it all down the drain, virtually no clean up at all either.

When I opened my gift I never, ever anticipated putting away my cute little 4-cup Mr. Coffee brewer.  Honest, I didn't.  Fast forward to now, when Mr. Coffee sits all stacked away in my pantry, ready for the day when I'm brewing for more than just me.  Turns out, maybe you can teach The Pink Mixer a new trick now and then...

Average Price: $119   

Rating: 4 out of 5

Dud of the Month: Boots & Barkley Cat Litter

Not to get all cat lady on you, but let's talk for the briefest of moments about my cats.  I have two of them and I love them.  Despite all the stereotypes that I am forever trying to avoid, these two little critters are darn good company. They're chill, easy to take care of, and handle living in a one bedroom apartment like champs.  They also handle sharing a litter box quite well - which, seeing as (again, not a cat lady) I'm not obsessed with cat behavior morning, noon, and night I didn't realize was such a blessing until a few weeks ago when a co-worker confided that they had four separate litter boxes for three cats.  Yeah.  Who's the cat-crazy one, now?

Anyway.  

One of the easiest ways to stick to a budget I've found, is to buy generic whenever possible.  Last year, I happened to be running errands in my local Target when I discovered they'd created their own line of pet products - Boots & Barkley - and were now selling cat litter.  Hooray!  This stuff was about $2.00 cheaper than what I'd normally buy so I snatched up a container joyfully.  And for awhile I - and the kitties - seemed pleased to no end with this new litter.  Or rather, the cats remained indifferent...which was totally good enough for me.  But now I fear that Target has done something to their product, has made some minor switch that probably saved them a penny per container, and in the past four months this stuff has gone from always useable to just awful.  Forget clumping.  The litter now turns to a muddy cement-like mixture which means emptying the litter box (never a favorite chore) is a total pain.  It's suddenly dusty, nonabsorbent, and you use so much every day because again, no clumping, that you end up needing to buy more of the cheap stuff than you would the brand-name.  And where's the cents (see what I did there?) in that? 

Average Price: about $7 for 20 oz.

Rating: 2 out of 5

Pure Beech Jersey Knit Sheets

When work and social engagements and plans and events and life spins out of control, there is one haven we rely on time after time.

Our bed.

There is nothing as rewarding as the moment you decide to turn off the cell phone, shut down the laptop, stop worrying about that never-ending to-do list and crawl into bed; ready to be engulfed in sleep and rest.

And if you happen to be crawling into cozy, super soft sheets? Even better. We first discovered Pure Beech Jersey Knit Sheet's Sets several years ago, while crashing with a friend in New York City for a few nights. We would wake refreshed every morning, ready to step out into the world of Manhattan, and comment all the way to the subway about the amazing comfort of those sheets. Exclusive to Bed, Bath & Beyond, (use that 20% off coupon!) these sheets are some of the softest, coziest sheets we've ever had the pleasure of sleeping on. They come in a wide variety of colors, so you can pick one that matches your bedroom decor and then leave the rest to Mr. Sandman. Because even the most energetic of us need to recharge our batteries now and then.

Sweet dreams.

Set prices range from $24.99-$69.99
Rating: 5 out of 5!

The DeLonghi Oil-Filled Radiator

Typically, old apartment buildings and their antiquated rooms lend an air of charm and loveliness to the décor. They also, under most circumstances, tend to be quite drafty. Often, that draft morphs into a chill in the Fall and then to downright cold in the middle of the Winter.

Ceramic heaters are helpful regarding the chilly room dilemma but they suck some serious electric power when in use. This wouldn’t be so bad except for the fact that the electric wiring in said antiquated (but lovely!) apartments usually haven’t been updated since, probably 1950 or so. In summary: ceramic heaters = blown power fuses. On repeat.

This little gem – the DeLonghi Oil-Filled Radiator – has quickly become an instant favorite for any of those dealing with less than temperate rooms. Personally, we’re a fan of the model called “Bathroom Radiator” (even though we don’t use it in the bathroom). This radiator uses power too and we’re still a little wary about blowing a fuse, but it seems to happen much less often with this oil-filled system rather than the ceramic style. And for such a little heater the amount of heat it churns out is really quite impressive. And also pleasant. And toasty. And warm.

Really, all the kind of adjectives one wants to hear mid-January.

Average Price: $69.99

(They're sold at Bed, Bath, & Beyond where you can use a 20% off coupon!)

Rating: 5 out of 5!

Scotch Fur Fighter

I love my two cats, I really do, and I wouldn’t trade either of them for anything.

The constant shedding though? Not so much.

I like to think I’m a rather clean person. I dust and vacuum on a regular basis, I try to keep most dust bunnies at bay. Still, with two black cats, I seem to find my furniture and bedding covered in their fur no matter what I try.

In an effort to ring in the New Year with a literal clean slate I decided to try Scotch’s Fur Fighter. I worried it might be a gimmick but honestly I was so desperate to be rid of cat hair I would have tried just about anything.

You guys. This is a miracle product. I don’t know exactly how or why it works as well as it does and frankly, I don’t really care. The important thing is that it really, truly grabs up that pet hair just like it promises. It’s super easy to use and I had the light grey quilt on my bed free of hair in a matter of minutes.

I realize we recommend a lot of different things here at The Pink Mixer, but this is one I can’t say enough about. For $10 the stress of seeing cat hair all over my otherwise clean apartment has vanished. That’s worth every - new slate to a clean (cat hair free!) - New Year penny.

Average Price: $9.99/initial starter kit
Rating: 5 out of 5!

Trader Joes' Liquid Laundry Detergent

It's not often we think of straying from our usual go-to laundry detergent. We like the smell, the price, the fact that it doesn't affect our sometimes sensitive skin, the idea we've been buying the same brand for years. A few weeks ago though we were out running errands, er, stocking up on cheap wine at Trader Joe's when we remembered we were out of laundry detergent. Too tired to make another trip to another grocery store, we decided to give ol' Joe's brand a shot. And ladies, gentleman? We might have fallen in love.

The smell - our sensitive sniffers make this a top priority when picking all things scented - is divine. It's kind of minty, kind of soapy, definitely projects a squeaky clean scent, and thankfully isn't too overpowering. Our clothes feel soft, they wash well, and so far we've got zero color fade.

Bonus points in that the detergent is good for the enviroment too. Just make sure you remember to recycle that plastic bottle it comes in before you go back for more.

Average Price: $4.99

Rating: 3 out of 5

Jeremie: Bird Plate

We have a thing for bird prints around here. Knowing this, you can imagine how smitten we were when we stumbled upon Jeremie's home decor line, filled with all sorts of bird related home goods.

Jeremie serves trade stores only, so your best bet is to keep your eyes peeled when wandering through various home boutiques. We picked up our robin's egg blue plate (microwave and dishwasher safe too!) for a steal at $14. This is lovely for a number of reasons, the first being, of course, that we didn't even need to dip into our own nest egg to satisfy our instant crush.

Average Price: Varies by Item
Rating: 4 out of 5

Decorative Globe

So Dooce had to go and mention that she collects globes the other day, which, wrong or not, we’ll admit killed a little part of our decorating soul. Believe us when we tell you that we were pooling our vintage globe collection long before she was, and we have the receipts from various thrift and antique stores to prove it.

Now granted, this particular globe from Target is not an antique and yes, yes, we realize it is mass produced in another country (India, if you’re curious). Call us a sucker for a Tar-jay product, but we couldn’t help but fall in love with it’s vintage coloring and perfect small size even if that’s all just part of the tricky everything old is new again decorating mentality.

It was simply the perfect globe to blend in with the other real truly vintage globes we own. Besides, since when have we passed up a design opportunity when it is staring us right in the face?

Average Price: $24.99

Rating: 5 out of 5

Pottery Barn: Buddha Accent Lamp

Do you know what I love? Buddhas.

I'm not a Buddhist, but man, I get a kick out of their rolly-polly, asking for a belly rub, God. I've carried various Buddha statues that I've found and subsequently fell in love with, back and forth across this country. From San Francisco to Boston to New York to Atlanta, my Buddha statues have covered many miles.

Now that my love of these Gods has been broadcast across the interwebs, you can imagine my delight when I ran across this Buddha Accent Lamp Base in a Pottery Barn catalogue a few years ago. Unfortunately, by the time I got around to trying to order it, the darn thing was unavailable.

I'd all but given up hope of ever having Buddha light my way, until I stumbled upon the lamp in a Pottery Barn Outlet store a few weeks ago. (Correction. It was actually my Mother who noticed him in the store first. She has known about the Buddha obsession ever since my very first trip to San Francisco's Chinatown at age 18 and has a keen eye for these sorts of things.) I leaped for joy at the discovery of Mr. Buddha and immediately picked him up for purchase.

'Twas really like he'd been sitting there waiting patiently for me all along.

Very zen, that.

Average Price: $19.99 (at outlets)
Rating: 5 out of 5!

Senuti

Sometimes we like to live life on the edge in wild and irresponsible ways like, say, not having an external hard drive to back up your computers information. Living dangerously is all well and good until the unthinkable happens and you loose every last – close to 5,000! - song from your ITunes Music Library in one quick, unbelievable fell swoop.

We stressed, we panicked, we cursed the ITunes updating Gods and then we ran to the nearest Apple Genius Bar. When the geniuses we unable to fix the issue we panicked even more, until they recommended - off the record and extremely hush hush - that we give the program Senuti a try.

Senuti (that’s ITunes backwards, gang) works like a computer to iPod set-up except in reverse, allowing you to move music from your iPod onto your computer. Senuti gives you a 30 day/1,000 songs free trial or for the bargain price of $18 you can download the program and (deep, relieved breath) retrieve all of those amazing, wonderful songs you’d been without.

Senuti was our parachute as we tumbled into a music-less abyss. Thankfully we’ve learned our lesson. Our days of living recklessly are numbered. The first thing on this week’s shopping list? An external hard-drive, of course.

Average Price: 30 day/1,000 song - FREE!

Beyond that, $18 to download

Rating: 5 out of 5!

Seventh Generation Dish Liquid

We all know that green is the new black these days and here at The Pink Mixer we do try to always at least consider the green, more environmentally safe options when scouting out new products.

After vetoing Method’s dishwashing liquid because of its poorly designed bottle, we decided to give Seventh Generations’ Lavender Floral and Mint Dish Liquid a go. Bottle design? A winner. Scent? Subtle and the mint kick is a nice touch. Cleansing ability? Solid. The fact that we can understand all ingredients on the label? Comforting. The fact that after the dishes and glasses dry they tend to have white soapy, water spots on them? Eh, not so much.

I’d really like to blame the water in my area on this one, but seeing how I’ve never had spots on my glasses before using this detergent I can’t. While we’re not at all against the product, the Martha Stewart buried inside us *does* want spot-free kitchen ware. And so we’ll keep on keeping on with the hunt for all things going green…while muttering ‘out damn spot, out’ under our breath.

Average Price: $3.69
Rating: 3 out of 5

Curly Girl Design

In this day and age of generic, run of the mill, “cookie cutter” stores and gifts, there’s nothing I love more than finding a new, undiscovered artist who creates unique, one of a kind items.

I first found Curly Girl Designs down on the Jersey Shore this summer while perusing her artwork in a shop off of the Ocean City boardwalk. After spending a little time clicking through her website, I have to say I’m even more enraptured with Leigh’s whimsical art, designs, and expressions.

It’s tough to pick one but I did eventually settle on my own personal favorite. Spend some time browsing and I guarantee you’ll find one that’s right up your alley too.

Average Price: Varies by item

Rating: 5 out of 5!

Target: Pink Trend Home Decor & Faux Leather Docking Station

By now you are probably aware that it’s breast cancer awareness month. For years companies have joined the cause, vowing to donate a portion of their proceeds to breast cancer research throughout the month of October. Target is one of the newer retailers to jump on the bandwagon, creating a line of various cute, rather inexpensive, pink themed home décor items, of which 10% of the retail price is donated to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Personally, I opted for the faux-leather cord organizer and docking station. It’s sleek, smart design is attractive and it’s various compartments actually help avoid the tangle of cell phone, ipod, camera charging cords we deal with in our technology obsessed world. Organization – even on the smallest of levels is a good feeling. Of course knowing that a percentage of my purchase went on to a greater cause is a pretty nice feeling too.

Average price $19.99/Docking Station
(Other items, prices vary.)
Rating: 4 out of 5

Dud of the Month: Method Dish Soap (Pink Grapefruit)

We've talked about Method products before. As much as I am dying to tell you that I'm head over heels for Method's Pink Grapefruit Dish Soap, I can't. It's not the actual soap, nor the scent, nor even the color (who doesn't like pink soap?!) that we have issues with. No, instead, it's the darn bottle the stuff comes in!

Sure, it looks cool. The sleek design is fun and it holds a lot of dish soap. But. That funky aero-dynamic looking top? Well, it's just the pits. It clogs with soap left and right no matter how careful you are to wipe it down from time to time. And, if say, you have a friend who is kind enough to wash the dishes in your apartment while you're in the other room entertaining guests? They might accidentally break the whole darn top just in an effort to get a dollop or two of soap out of the bottle.

This time around The Pink Mixer has no issue with the actual product. But color us frustrated in that we can't actually access that product and we'll quickly label you Dud of the Month.

Average Price: $4/bottle
Rating: 3 out of 5.

The Furminator

For the pet owners among us:

A couple of different websites we look at regularly have recently sung the praises of one Furminator, apparently the end all be all of animal de-shedding tools. Sadly, my house often has tumbleweed after tumbleweed of black cat hair and up until now no amount of grooming has helped. Despite the shock of dropping $20 for a grooming tool (for my “free” cats of course) I had had enough with the constant cat hair littering every single surface in my apartment and decide anything that promised to help was worth a shot.

I have found my new best friend. I am not kidding when I tell you with just three brush strokes I’d already pulled off enough hair from one of my cats to stuff a small couch. The Furminator comb has a slight razor-like edge to it, which I suppose is how it is able to work such magic. Neither of my cats seems to mind it one bit, in fact, I heard purring from Nolan the other day as I used it, so it’s doing something right. Personally, I bought the small (cheapest) one but they come in a wide variety of sizes depending on the pet you’re planning to groom.

If you’re like me you won’t feel like dropping the cash on “a dumb old comb” but once you do, it’s in your hands, and you start seeing the amazing results? You’ll swear you’ll never again go without. Shedding cat and dog hair be gone!

Average price: $22.00/small size
Rating: 5 out of 5!

Method All Purpose Cleaner

Here’s my take on Method’s All Purpose Cleaner. It’s naturally derived and is not supposed to be filled to the brim with harmful, toxic chemicals. This is good. I’ve used both the Lavender scented spray as well as the Unscented one. And they work. To a point. If you want a chemical free, does the “over all” wipe down, clean up job? Look no further. However, if you are tackling mold, mildew, or some dreadful stain or spill? You either need something a bit more powerful or a heck of a lot of Method Cleaner.

Still, I’ve kept a bottle of the stuff in my cleaning supplies bucket for the past three years, so it’s doing something right. It helps that after I use it on my kitchen counters I feel it’s still safe to set down my dinner as I won’t be ingesting bleach. Nice comforts all around.

Average price: $4.99/28oz
Rating: 4 out of 5

Stamps by Mail

Things at Chez Pink Mixer are a bit topsy-turvy this month. An Apartment Move (a move to a 3^rd floor walk up, in the city, in the middle of July is worthy of the caps) is under way and by this time next week The Pink Mixer herself will be resting on yet another new, different kitchen counter, which if you’re keeping score, is the 3^rd counter in less than a year.

Amazingly enough, life doesn’t stop when one is prepping for a move. Bills keep coming, friends keep gathering, work keeps you working and there aren’t enough hours in the day to keep up with even the most mundane errands like buying stamps at the post office.

All of these ‘I’m too busy’ factors led to me try a new offer the USPS has been heavily promoting in and around my neighborhood over the past few months – delivering stamps directly to your door. The cynic in me was skeptical at first, thinking I’d slip a check into the flimsy order form I filled out and the stamps would never appear. You can imagine my pleasant surprise though when I arrived home to find a set of stamps happily waiting in my mailbox the very next day after I’d dropped my order slip in the mail.

I’m not sure if this promotion is just an urban thing (or perhaps a Massachusetts thing?) but if you’re in a hurry and need stamps I’d suggest giving this order form a try. It’s quick and easy and while the design of the order form and envelope leaves something to be desired, I will definitely plan on getting my stamps this way going forward. Who wants to wait in line at the post office anyhow?

Average Price: $8.40 for a book of forever stamps (free delivery!)
Rating: 5 out of 5!

Kilz Premium Latex Primer

The Pink Mixer is smack dab in the middle of a renovation of sorts. She’s a renter, not an owner of apartments so this transformation is more about covering – issues that go hand in hand with old apartments and previous renters decorating mistakes – rather then tearing down and starting fresh.

Trust me, when you’re dealing with avocado lime green living room walls you need all the coverage help you can get. Rather then paint several coats of the pleasantly clean, calming neutral khaki we picked out, we decided to first slap on a coat of Kilz Premium Latex Primer. And what a fine decision that turned out to be. The Kilz Primer is an outstanding, thick, white colored primer. It goes on easy. As a non painting professional I was impressed by how great it works and how easy the clean up was. It dries fast and, best of all, the primer pulls double duty - killing mildew and mold while covering up a certain head hurting green.

A gallon of the primer costs a little under $20 but honestly, it is money well spent. Unless painting coat after coat after coat of the same color (more expensive) paint is your thing. If that’s the case, want to come help redo my new apartment?

Average Price: $18.98/1gallon
Rating: 5 out of 5! (Also known as worth its weight in gold.)

Method Aroma Ring & Gel Fragrance Diffuser

Fact: The Pink Mixer is a sucker for Target and the line of Method products they carry.

Fact: The Pink Mixer works at buying green, less chemically harmful products like Method when possible.

Fact: The Pink Mixer is forever on the hunt for pleasant, non-overpowering home scents to counteract a stinky cat litter box smell.

All of these facts combined led me to purchase the Method Aroma Ring at Target several months ago. The concept is simple. A little white, unobtrusively designed ring (Method calls them UFOs) sits wherever you’d like – I chose the back of the toilet in my ½ bath –an optimal testing location being that a) it’s a bathroom and 2) right next to my cats’ litter box. Once you’ve purchased a Method UFO, you can buy various scent discs. These are inserted into the white UFO and the scent is dissipated.

My results were pleasing at first. I purchased the scent holly berry around the holidays and was happily surprised to find that the aroma was strong enough that I could smell the warm cinnamon scent from my kitchen (right next to the bathroom) but not overpowering to the point of nausea. Too bad The Pink Mixer didn’t quit while ahead though. Seeing as it’s now summertime, I’ve purchased a few light summery scents – like lavender lemongrass and sea breeze. Sadly, these scents barely make it out of the disc holder let alone into the bathroom.

Method promises one disc will last four to six weeks. As mentioned above, I found this to be true with the holly berry aroma but none of the other scents I’ve sampled. It’s a great idea and concept but a bit of a disappointment overall. And so the hunt for the perfect antidote to bathroom and litter box odors continues…

Average Price: $8 for UFO-esque disc and scent set
Rating: 2 out of 5

Crisp Bamboo Reed Diffuser

Living in Boston means that it is cold for approximately eight months out of the year –give or take a month. This, in turn, means the windows in your apartment are only open for about four months annually. Add in the fact that some of us, ahem, here at The Pink Mixer own two cats that love and use their litter box with zeal, and well, you’re probably starting to understand the importance of home fragrance.

Being the aforementioned cat owner, I have sampled plenty of scents, always looking for the *perfect* fit. Anything that smells at all Lysol-ish or reminds me of a sterile doctor’s office is immediately vetoed. If it’s too flowery or sweet it also gets the boot. Ditto if the scent – no matter how pleasant it may be – is so strong it knocks you over the minute you walk in the door.

Truth be told I had just about given up my room fragrance search completely and resigned myself to a life lived in a stuffy, smelly apartment (or a really, really cold one if I left the windows open year round) when, on a whim, I wandered into Pier One on a Saturday morning and took advantage of their home fragrance sale.

Now to each his own, scent wise of course. As noted above I’ve never been one for knock you over scents. Too sweet is always out. Musky, Patchouli fragrances make me feel like I’m eighteen and back in a dorm. Subtle and fresh are musts.

That said, I have been pleasantly surprised and quite happy with the Pier One Crisp Bamboo scent. It’s clean, mellow, and not overpowering. I like the idea that I control how much or how little fragrance is released based on how many reed diffusers I put in the jar. And while I don’t think any scent will ever replace fresh air coming in and out of open windows, I will say this diffuser is an easy fix when an apartment gets that stale smell running through it. Even my cats (and perhaps more importantly, their litter box) appreciate it.

Average Price: $12
Rating: 3 out of 5