BzzAgent Green Mountain Fair Trade Coffee November 26, 2012

Today I bring you Green Mountain Fair Trade coffees that I received from BzzAgent.  First I’ll start by telling you about the flavors and then about why fair trade coffee is a good choice.

I was sent 4 flavors, Vermont Country Blend, Sumatran Reserve – Extra Dark, Columbian Fair Trade Select, and Wild Mountain Blueberry.

Vermont Country Blend – This is a mild coffee, like a breakfast blend. It goes well with everything and is not bitter. Using my Keurig I was able to get a perfect cup at 10oz. This is well balanced but not very aromatic.

Sumatran Reserve– This is a BOLD coffee. It is very aromatic. It smells like a coffeehouse. Brewing the k-cup at 12oz was still to strong for me, but my husband adored it and asked me to buy more.

Columbian Fair Trade Select – This coffee is on the Bold side but not as strong as the Sumatran. It is aromatic and not too bitter. It doesn’t have an incredible amount of acidity either.

Wild Mountain Blueberry – I was not expecting to like this, but once I brewed it it smelled like I made coffee and fresh blueberry muffins.  That is also what it tasted like when I drank it. It was super delicious. I will definitely get this again.
Now, lets talk Fair Trade.

Fair trade is when farmers in third world countries are introduced to methods of building a sustaining business model. With the help of  the brands who support fair trade, these farmers are given reasonable pay and premiums for their work.  The farmers also have access to healthcare and child labor is prohibited.  The farmers communities also receive premiums for predetermined development activities. Buying Fair Trade products like this coffee creates a sustainable future and transfers more of the profit to the hard working men and women. These products will be similarly priced to other high quality items, but mass marketed – mass produced items will still be cheaper, but they will also still be lower quality.

Now that I’ve learned about the benefits of Fair Trade, if I have a choice between a fair trade product and something else, I know which I’ll choose…What about you?

 

Information about Fair Trade from http://www.fairtradeusa.org

FTC Disclosure: This review contains a sample product sent for consideration by PR (bzzagent.com). My priority is to you, and I honor that commitment by being honest! I do not conduct paid reviews or guarantee reviews. I promise to remain truthful with you. If you are uncertain what this all means, I suggest you to read my Disclosure Policy for further clarification.

I voted today November 6, 2012

I voted today. Did you?

Here’s why!

FTC  Disclaimer: Not affiliated with nor compensated by anyone regarding this post.  For more information please review my disclosure policy.

Fall Back November 3, 2012

If your US location observes daylight savings time it is now time to “Fall Back” tonight (Technically tomorrow at 02:00). You will need to turn your clocks back 1 hour (so if you go to bed at 9pm then right before you turn in you should set your clock to 8pm).

If you have a smart  phone and you have automatic date/time set and don’t have anything disabling DST then you should be good to go, but check your microwaves, ovens, most cars, and your handy wrist watch to make sure they are ok – remember VCRs? If you have one of those you should check it too – you don’t want to miss taping an episode of The Young and the Restless – Is that still on?

Anyway – enjoy the extra hour of beauty sleep or the extra hour to party!

*Art inspired by Dalí

Get out and VOTE November 2, 2012

During the last Presidential Election only about 50% of the population who are able to vote voted. That means that only half of the country decided who would make the laws and affect change.  For those of you who think voting your conscience is still wasting a vote because your state is always different than you or because no one from your party ever gets elected…it isn’t.

Happy Halloween October 31, 2012

   

I’ve got my fun Halloween look for today and I thought I’d share! I’ve got Stila Mimosa on as the bright orange on my lids with Kitten on my brow bone.  I used an Urban Decay cream shadow in a green (but the label has worn off) for my top lid liner.  My lips are CoverGirl temptation 285.  I think it turned out very festive.

Oh and I have a devil dog!

FTC  Disclaimer: Not affiliated with nor compensated by anyone for this post. Items purchased by me for my own personal use. For more information please review my disclosure policy.

Influenster is back! October 16, 2012

Hi everyone, Influenster.com is back and better than ever. If you want to get in on this new version of influenster you need to request an invite.  I have 3 invitations remaining, so if you want one, let me know and you’ll get in on it immediately.  Here is my review of the new Influenster.com!

Wella Shimmer Delight Shine Review October 12, 2012

Today I bring you the Wella Shimmer Delight Shine. I have a texture to my hair that makes it so that when my hair is clean it looks dry. I deep condition, I wash in cool water, I try everything and my hair always looks dull, even when I leave the salon. I have always longed to have the lustrous shiny hair that I see everywhere. When Total Beauty asked me if I wanted to try this, I jumped…I’ve tried everything so I was ready to try more.

And this works! I get my hair in the style that I want and then spray about 3 pumps from arms length away from my head and my hair looks glossy and beautiful. It doesn’t weight down my hair and it doesn’t look greasy. I don’t end up with oily hands, like with some solutions. This is the perfect 30 second method to boost my style. The only downside is that the next day my hair ends up fairly oily looking, not the natural glossy look of the previous day. I like to get 2-3 days out of my hair, and this gives me 1 styled day and one pony-tail day.  The positive aspects of this spray are so amazing that they far outweigh the frequent wash inconvenience.

I have added this to my personal beauty arsenal. I would highly recommend this to anyone who suffers from dry, dull looking hair.

Will I finish the sample? Yes

Would I buy this again? Yes!!!

FTC Disclosure: This review contains a sample product sent for consideration by PR (TotalBeauty.com). My priority is to you, and I honor that commitment by being honest! I do not conduct paid reviews or guarantee reviews. I promise to remain truthful with you. If you are uncertain what this all means, I suggest you to read my Disclosure Policy for further clarification.

BzzAgent Smartfood Selects October 10, 2012

One more food post then I’ll go back to beauty products for awhile. Today I bring you Smartfood Selects. I received 3 bags of different flavored treats and I’ll tell you how I liked them.

BzzAgent Glade Expressions Review

Today I bring you Glade Expressions. There are two, fairly new (to glade at least) methods of freshening your home.  Remember  when Glade entered the market? Their jingle was “Plug it in, plug it in”. I guess with the concern about our carbon foot prints, leaving something plugged in day and night that is constantly running has become a faux-pas, so Glade has introduced a Oil Diffuser and a spray mist.

BzzAgent UNREAL- Candy Unjunked September 22, 2012

Today I bring you food…who doesn’t love food? Even better, sweets, candy, junk food…whatever name you call it by, it is a tasty treat. UNREAL (slogan: Candy Unjunked) is relatively new to the market and Bzzagent gave me the opportunity to try some of their candy – provided I could find it. After looking at a couple of the suggested stores I found these suckers at Walgreens in an end-cap. I grabbed one of each of the 5 varieties and went to check out.  Apparently they are so new that the clerk didn’t even know the store had the candy.