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Thursday, November 29, 2007

I admit I have been a little remiss in my blogging of late but I have a good reason for doing so. I was hunting BARGAINS!!!

hehehee
(insert maniacal laughter here)
(rub hands with glee)

I found what I consider to be possibly the best cookware you can use. A big call? Perhaps. I have been using a Baccarat 8Lt stockpot for just over a year now and the results have been phenomenal. Imagine using a pot that distributes heat evenly throughout the pot due to an impact moulded stainless steel + copper base. You don't have to stir every 2 seconds because the pot somehow doesn't seem to cook on (burn). Don't ask me how, it could be the stainless steel factor, could be the quality and thickness of the base, I just don't know. Whatever the reason, it makes for a much more pleasant cooking experience. You can cook almost eight litres of pasta sauce, curry, whatever you fancy, and freeze a whole bunch of containers for those nights you can't be bothered cooking. Which for me can be quite a few nights.

So here it is, my newest acquisition:




















Baccarat Pinnacle 5.4Lt Stock Pot $34.95 from OO.com.au
The normal retail price is approximately $80.00, which is a pretty big saving!!

This size pot is better for reducing sauces in a quicker period of time. The 8Lt pot can take a long time to reduce so the 5.4Lt is the ideal choice for making sauces and casseroles.

I have already christened the pot with garlic, olive oil and onions, which became a pasta sauce that is out of this world (I followed my partner's secret recipe!)

In fact it's making me hungry...

It is about lunch time here...

er...signing off!



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Thursday, November 22, 2007

OMG. I am totally blown away.

I received the rest of my prize from the competition mentioned in an earlier post. I really can't say enough nice things about E.L.F. Cosmetics (Eyes, Lips, Face) - they are a real find. Because they forgot to send three of my items, they generously threw in the following bonuses:


Therapeutic Conditioning Balm in "Strawberry Creme" - vitamins A & E with shea butter.









Hypershine Gloss in "Joy" - super shiny reflective gloss that stays on for ages.








Plus, (this is the best one!) an e.l.f. cosmetics bag, similar to the one pictured:














Plus my original prizes came through and I have tested each of them:

Natural Radiance Blusher in "Shy" - this is a beautiful shade, goes on smoothly and isn't too overbearing, just a nice hint of healthy colour.














Plumping Lip Glaze in "Plum Pout" - this is my favourite one, you apply the clear glaze first, then apply the colour on top. The thing that annoys me most about plumping lip glosses is that most of them taste like battery acid. This lip glaze smells subtly of strawberries and is very pleasant to apply. Stays on for ages and does just what it says.








Brightening Eye Colour in "Silver Lining" - I have generally found eyeshadow to be a difficult area - the texture can be cakey or the colour just not right, or they can get all gluggy and weigh down your eyelids!.

This one however, gets it just right - the colours are perfect and the consistency is light and smooth and it's easy to forget you are wearing it.












I have noticed they have a 30% off sale going at the moment and if you sign up you get a chance to win $100 worth of e.l.f. cosmetics.

They did an excellent job of looking after me so it's the least I can do to give them a bit of a plug!









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The following post is brought to you by Overstock Art...



















Are you familiar with this picture? It's hard not to recognise Gustav Klimt's distinctive style of painting. Klimt was born the son of a gold and silver engraver in Vienna, which influenced his use of gold and silver in his paintings. It is also hard to ignore a painting that has graced many a lounge room, doctor's waiting room and office. I think I even used to own a poster version of this very picture. It is not very likely that you will be buying the original artwork, unless you are sitting on a lazy million or so. Klimt reproductions are highly sought after today, however you can get hand painted oil reproductions of Klimt Paintings to hang on your own wall, which can be a lot more elegant than a poster. You can also select various canvas sizes and it is possible to order framing as well. There is a nifty feature on the site that allows you to select from a variety of frames and visually preview the painting inside the frame itself.
















Tuesday, November 20, 2007

How exciting! Last month sometime I left a comment on The Bargain Queen's blog and recently found out I won a whole bunch of cosmetics from E.L.F. Tee hee!! Many thanks to the
Bargain Queen for running the contest.



































So far I have received this nifty professional eye widener (the white eyeliner that makes your eyes stand out!), eyeliner in black and a blushing and bronzing brush.

I have tried out the two eye pencils and I was very impressed. Easy to use, good consistency and above all, they looks great on. I will try the brush and review the other products when they arrive.

I am waiting on a delivery of three more items that should be arriving tomorrow or the next day:






































Plumping lip glaze in plum pout, natural radiance blusher in "Shy" and "Silver Lining" Brightening Eye Colour.

I am also very impressed with E.L.F.'s customer service. I called yesterday to say that only 3 out of the 6 items had arrived and they called back by the end of the day, organised to send the rest of the items, then decided to throw in some more cosmetics for my trouble. So in a way I won again! :-)








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I'm going to be honest here, termites really creep me out. In fact most tiny, multiple-legged creatures give me the willies. I have seen what termites can do to a weatherboard house and anyone who owns a piano strikes a chord of terror when termites are mentioned. If you want to deal with termites or get a termite inspection organised, you can check out this online guide to how to combat the little nasties.


This post was brought to you by Termites Guide.















I have been giggling all yesterday and today, remembering what possibly could have been the dumbest thing I have ever said in my life (big call!). Picture this, I'm cleaning out my cupboards, throwing out junk, when I uncover my favourite solar calculator. I can't remember who I said this to - might have been my mum or brother. Anyway, I held the calculator up and said:


"WOW! My old solar calculator..."


"...and it still works!"


DUH!!



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I write a lot of posts about shopping online. However I have often considered the kind of setup required to sell your own products. I know for a fact that shopping online is a volatile business at times. If I am visiting an online shopping site I will be very fickle when it comes to software glitches. If I don't feel 100% confident that the site is secure and able to process my order without incident, I will do what many online shoppers do when faced with this problem: log out, close the window and never come back. It's easy to work out how important this kind of software can be when rounding up new customers and making repeat sales. Personally, if I feel confident buying from a site I will be most likely to make repeat purchases. For this to happen on a large scale, the system must be reliable. I have tried out a number of Ecommerce Software packages - the best way to do this is to compare features, compare pricing and do your research before committing to any one package. Network Solutions E-commerce was developed by the developers of the former MonsterCommerce Ecommerce software. The important questions to ask - does it include Paypal? Many online shoppers swear by Paypal and if your Ecommerce package does not have this option for payment, shoppers may go elsewhere. It may be that the more options your Ecommerce software offers, the better. The choice is up to you.


Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Have you seen this cardigan?



I think gremlins have made their way into the system again. I bought a great cardigan on Ebay and it just refuses to arrive. The seller is very nice and said she posted it ages ago (and I believe her, you can usually tell if the person is a crook!) so the search continues. Last seen sometime in mid-October. Wearing...er

...itself.
This post was brought to you by Cartridge Finder...

You may have found yourself in this situation before: You have an important report that is due RIGHT NOW. The client is tapping their feet, calling you every five minutes, it's time to print out all that hard work. And then the printer beeps at you these dreaded words "Out of Ink". That's when you may find yourself needing the services of Cartridge Finder to help locate your model and try to locate a competitive price for that cartridge. The site uses the comparison shopping site 'Pricegrabber' to compare prices and find the best deal.

Monday, November 12, 2007

This morning a fellow said "good morning" to me while I was downstairs gathering mugs for coffees. I was distracted for one second while opening the cupboard and whacked myself in the head. It still hurts and it happened one hour and twelve minutes ago. The corner of the cupboard got me right smack bang square in the temple. It was probably a sign I should not have gotten out of bed this morning.

I thought I was going to write something really profound today but I think my inspiration got socked out of me. So, with throbbing temple and mug of dandelion coffee, here are the latest spam emails to watch out for:














































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As you know, I am a big fan of Patricia Cornwell. In fact I generally like books that involve mystery, death, intrigue and dark themes. That doesn't mean that I am unbreakable when it comes to Romance Novels. I have actually read some romance novels in my life, just not as many as books about forensics and serial killers. That aside, a good romance novel can be like chocolate without all the calories. A bit of escapism sitting alone on the beach, in a park, or in a cafe wistfully wondering about that someone special. I have encountered some people who are addicted to romance novels. Like I said, I am not one of these individuals but I remember seeing bookshelves lined with these titles at one of my relatives' place. I also remember sneaking a look at one of these books - I think it might have been written by Susan Meier, and (as kids always do) I found the rude part straight away. I think it was on page 112 or something. I remember chuckling and thinking how funny it was. I suppose when you are a kid you think a lot of things are funny that adults enjoy. It certainly can be nice to escape into a fictional world for a while, even if it is kind of unrealistic and fluffy, but it's all harmless fun.



Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Here are the shots from the Birthday round at Elsternwick. One of my favourite features of the course is the family of ducks that walk across the fairways and swim in the water hazard. They also fertilize the course!

The last photograph features a cockatoo of some description. I know it's not a sulphur-crested cocky because it has a few reddish-pink markings. Love to find out what it was exactly.

(Click to enlarge)
































































Monday, November 05, 2007

It was my birthday yesterday. My partner took me out to a lunch that ended up lasting all day and we had a brilliant time. We were planning to go to the Zoo but it got rained out. So we had to take a raincheck. (haaaaa!!) I had to make that joke, I'm afraid.

On my partner's birthday (last week), we went for a round of golf and found the most incredible bargain - A Greg Norman "Shark" Tiburon Titanium Driver for $40.00 The price sticker was still on the shaft reading "$249.00".

Incidentally, "Tiburon" means "Shark" in Spanish. Interesting bit of trivia. I couldn't find an exact photograph of this particular driver but here is a newer model:



















For this particular round, the new balls of choice were Maxfli D-Tec (High Launch) - said to be the "longest and straightest" - I can confirm they are definitely straight. It is hard to compare these balls to the Srixon Distance (see Field of Dreams post). There doesn't seem to be a lot between them. I noticed the Maxfli D-Tec were especially good for putting. The prices are comparable so it's really down to personal choice. I'd recommend both balls for those who shoot in the 90s or 80s.



















I will post a couple of pics from the course in 2 days, as soon as I get hold of the cable to download photos.
If you own a small business it can be difficult to take time out to set up an intranet system, in fact it can often be the thing that sits at the bottom of the "to do" list for time immemorial.

Some business owners prefer to work from home and to set up a system in one step would be a major boost for convenience for small business owners and employees. It would be handy to have secure file-sharing and on-line project collaboration, especially for those (I know!) who wish to spend more time in the country or combine work and various other activities.

Intranet Software UK provides the information necessary to set up an intranet system for your business. The site offers ongoing technical support and the pricing seems to be weighted based on the number of users who will be using the system. If you are interested in setting up this kind of system for your company, this may be an option for you.


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