Someone Old, Something New: Episode 1

I've been trying a whole bunch of new products lately, mostly because I've been cutting coupons like crazy and I'm totally the type who buys things they don't need just because they have a coupon. Also, I buy things I do need because I have coupons and I buy more expensive brands of things than I usually do just because I have a coupon. So, I've got all the coupon bases covered.

Anyway.

New stuff. Some things have proven to be super awesome and I will continue to buy them, even if I don't have a coupon. Other things were sincere disappointments and others just aren't worth the money no mater what.
Let's review, shall we?




Nature Valley Granola Thins in Dark Chocolate

 I'm already a fan of Nature Valley products, specifically their ultra crunchy granola bars that come in twin packs. They are constantly trying new products and their latest is the Granola Thin, a square, super-thin, granola bar with coating on one side of either dark chocolate or peanut butter flavored substance. It's about half the thickness of a regular bar. There's not much to them considering the 4 grams of fat in one 17g square. For an 80 calorie product that's a fairly high percentage. For comparison, their twin bar packs have 6 grams of fat in 42g of product.

I don't crave chocolate with my granola in such a fashion that this would really satisfy. I imagine that these appeal to folks who want a little crunchy snack with a hint of chocolate but still know that eating a Kit Kat isn't their best option. The chocolate is labeled "dark" but it's certainly not of a high cacao count given how sweet it is. It's fine, maybe a little benign, not really worth the extra price. I'll stick with the old fashioned Nature Valley bars.

Lime flavored Crush

Remember when you were little and stores sold those little plastic containers of juice with foil tops? You could get them for about 10 cents and they were full of sugared water that was flavored with cherry, orange, grape, blue raspberry, lime and maybe lemon. Well, if you are missing the lime flavored one then you are in luck! Crush has managed to capture that barely authentic, cartoonish lime flavor in a new soda. Not that Crush was ever really that concerned with the authenticity of their flavors but this lime on is an especially vile representation. I suppose kids would like it, because it's a very bright color and research proves that kids (and some adults) will chose what catches their eye before considering what it actually tastes like. Anyway, it's just a boring soda. I didn't even finish it because I mean, why waste the calories?



Pledge Fabric Sweeper for Pet Hair

 I am officially a Pledge Pet Hair Remover customer. I shall sing it's praises like a songbird. Just listen:
When I was little my Mom had fuzz remover for clothes. It was like a little paddle with a textured velvety side that would pick up fuzz off of fabrics. Pledge has essentially configured the same tool but turned them into rollers. Two rollers work in tandem to pick up pet hair from fabric surfaces. One roller picks up the hair and the other roller pick it up off the other roller and deposits it into the clear plastic hollow handle of the tool.

To use it, you rub the roller over hairy or fuzzed up fabric, back and forth using short strokes. You get to see that it's working because very quickly you start seeing tufts of hair and fuzz in the handle.

I was thrilled to see that this little sucker really works. I used it on the arms of our sofa where some fuzz had been matted in, impervious to the vacuum cleaner brush or the sticky lint roller. I also tried it on a small patch of carpet where it worked like a champ. It's meant for use on furniture, blankets, throw pillows, rugs and other large upholstered things, I would never use it on clothing, it's a little too big and macho for wardrobe use.

I think even non-pet owners could find good use for this little gem too as it's good for picking up any fibers, not just pet hair. It's ideal for quickly cleaning carpeted steps too, when you don't want to drag the vacuum cleaner out.

The packaging for it calls it "disposable" but some folks are claiming that you can empty out the handle and keep reusing it until the rollers wear out. I found this one on sale for $3.00 and had $1.00 off coupon to use as well. Totally worth the $2.00.

Garnier Skin Renew 3-Way Cleanser

When I was a sophomore in high school I was friend with a girl named Michelle Foreman. Her father was French, or something like that and one day when I was at their house he got all close to my face and said in his thick accent "Why you have blackheads all over our nose?" I was like, 14 or 15 and I did have blackheads on my nose, which had dogged me since puberty. I didn't understand about exfoliating and thought that liberal use of Sea Breeze would take care of them. It didn't and I was mortified. From that moment until now I have been embarrassed of and obsessed about my pores. So, thanks for that Mr. Foreman, appreciate it.

Anyway, I was looking for a good all purpose exfoliator/cleanser and found Garnier's Skin Renew 3-way Cleanser. I don't usually purchase Garnier products because they use Sarah Jessica Parker as a spokesperson and I was deathly afraid that their product would make my face resemble that of a horse, like they did to hers. HOWEVER! I had a coupon and CVS was having a doozy of a sale so I took a chance and whatdoyaknow, this stuff actually does what it says it will do, clean my pores and leave my face looking fresh as a daisy (and not at all like a horse.)

You can use the cleanser in any of three ways, as a daily cleanser, as a deep exfoliant a few times a week or as a masque once a week. I tried it all 3 was ans each time it worked wonders without leaving my face feeling stripped. When used as an exfoliant it made a visible difference. Sure, my pores were still there, but they weren't "blackheads" anymore. Blackheads are just pores clogged full of dirt. When they are clean they aren't nearly as ugly or gross.

I found it to be easy to rinse off and it didn't smell too bad either. Even at full price (about $5.00) this is totally worth it, you're getting the quality of a higher priced department store product at a drug store price.

Now, on the flipside...

Garnier Skin Renew Anti-Sun Damage
Daily Moisture Lotion

This Garnier product claims to "instantly brighten skin" as well as smooth fine lines and reverse sun damage. Really, it's just SPF 28 sunscreen in a green bottle bottle. It feels like sunscreen, it looks like sunscreen and it even smells like sunscreen. I was ALREADY using sunscreen, I don't need to add another one. Skip this product and use a higher SPF non-comedogenic moisturizer. If you don't, you'll probably end up looking like a horse.




Junior enjoys a sandwich made with
Oscar Mayer Carving Board Turkey


Lunch meats have a terrible reputation, mostly because they are rarely that good, and they suffer from poor naming. "Lunch meats" is rather unappealing. Anyway, I find that the lunches I take to work tend more towards the carbohydrates rather than proteins so I bought some of the new Oscar Mayer Carving Board Turkey. According to Oscar, he slow roasts this meat for over 4 hours and then it's thick cut just like you carve your own turkey at home (with the dull electric knife.) Great concept, who doesn't love leftover turkey? And look at that kid up there? He's positively LOVING his turkey sandwich? He's like, making those foodie moans and groans that sound a lot like bedroom noises. He keeps his eyes closed so he can imagine his mom there, wearing an apron over her Thanksgiving appliques sweater, smiling because she's so thankful her son came home from college with only 2 bags of laundry and one S.T.D.....not like her whorish daughter....

*ahem*

Sorry about that, got carried away.

Speaking of carried away, it seems as though Mr. Mayer may have gotten a little carried away with the salt. This lunch meat is so incredibly salt that it only tastes like salt. Cold. wet, salt. Like it was tucked into some surfers wet suit and marinated in the ocean for an entire afternoon of hangin' ten. I also purchased the ham and frankly, I fear for my blood pressure. If you don't hear from me for a while please tell my family I love them and blame it on Oscar Mayer.




Anderson & Erickson Yogurts

 I'm not sure exactly when I became a yogurt snob but for a while I was buying only Yoplait brand yogurt, coupons be damned. I think it was all about the container and how they stacked so nicely with their lid resting inside the bottoms of the ones above them, like a cup of yogurt wearing another one for a hat.

And then one day, in the dairy aisle of my local market, one word caught my eye. "Rhubarb." Then I saw the words before and after it. "Stawberry Rhubarb Pie." It was a container of Anderson & Erickson yogurt in the exact flavor of my favorite pie. How could this be? Was this a joke? I looked for hidden cameras, wondering if this was a cruel prank. But it wasn't, A&E Dairy really does make Strawberry Rhubarb Pie yogurt and it is AMAZING. Somehow I can even taste the crumb topping and flaky pie crust. It's seems nearly impossible but somehow, with some sort of magical Willy Wonka type magic A&E Dairy as created the most delicious cup of yogurt in the universe.

Don't like Strawberry Rhubarb Pie? Well first of all, shame on you, your mother raised you better than that. Second, don't worry because A&E probably has a flavor you do like, after all, they have 50 flavor combinations. FIFTY. Black Cherry, Strawberry Shortcake, Orange Grapefruit, Pina Colada, Apple Bread Pudding, even plain Vanilla. If you're mouth isn't full of drool then you're a colossal fool. And I'm not just a sucker for the flavors. The yogurt is really good! Excellent texture, never too watery or too tangy. And the cups! Sure, they don't stack as fancy as the competitors, but they are perfect for reusing with their cute little lids. I use them for individual portions of my dogs food instead of plastic baggies, for snacks on the go, small portions of leftovers, holding beads, buttons and other small crafty things & at least a dozen other things. Or you can recycle them. The choice is yours.

Well, that's about all the new stuff this old lady can manage for one blog. Have you tried something new that you like recently? Tried something and hated it? Love using coupons as much as I do? Tell me about it!