Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Well, aren't you looking Suave

Now, little more than 6 months ago I was buying Suave shampoo and conditioner because it was cheap and it said “Works as well as the salon brands”.  Well I wasn’t going to fancy salons back then --- I do not count Great Clips as a fancy salon.  And neither should you.  But I’m sure you don’t.  You’re so smart! I can tell by the way you read by blog --- so how was I to know THEY ARE A BUNCH OF LIARS?!  Whatever shampoo and conditioner I was using in January was not making me feel pretty.  It was making my hair feel very coarse and it was really “big”, not sleek like I want it to be.  But because I was still a cheapskate I continued to buy the Suave.  Stupid Suave.

But now that I am able to treat myself to some luxuries I do go to a fancy salon and I do buy better types of hair care products. (But still on the clearance.  Old habits die hard my friend.)  Currently I have been using John Freida’s Brilliant Brunette.  I really like it!  I got a shampoo, conditioner and a straightening gloss for less than 8 bucks at Target a while back.  Now that is a great price.  The shampoos and conditioner alone would have been 10 and I don’t know how much that gloss would have been, I’m guessing another 5 bucks or so.


But anyway, I liked that brand.  My hair was sleeker and shinier, and I think it smelled rather nice.  The only problem I had was that it didn’t really lather up too well.  Especially when my hair was dirty.

*Just to be clear:  I take a shower everyday…… UNLESS I am going to go swimming at the in laws.  Then I just wash my face, brush my teeth and go.  So by the end of the day (or Sunday morning) my hair is not looking its best.*

When it is really dirty I need something to get in there all sudsy like and get to cleaning.  And I just didn’t feel Mr. Frieda doing that for me.  So while I was grocery shopping the other day I stopped to look at the shampoos.  Since I knew I was only going to use whatever I bought once a week at the most I knew I didn’t want to spend too much on it (but of course, I never want to spend too much on anything, ever) but I wanted it to not leave my hair feeling like a Brillo pad.  I had decided on some sort of smell good stuff  and then a bottle of Suave Clarifying shampoo caught my eye.



Since what I was really trying to do was clarify the look and feel of my hair I decided to just get it.  It was only 88 cents! What’s the harm in buying really cheap shampoo?  It would get the job done and the only person I would have gross hair in front of is my husband and he has already seen me at my worst (believe me).

And you know what?

This shampoo is great!  My hair felt clean and soft and manageable.  It was really a very nice surprise.  I even used it this past Monday I liked it so much.  John Freida better watch out!

And you know what else?  And this is just icing on the cake since the shampoo is actually good.  It was actually an even BETTER deal than I thought!

The same exact product is sold on Amazon for almost $0.60 more.  Woot woot!

So there you have it.  A great example of living the couture life on a clearance rack price!

What’s your favorite cheapo product that works like something WAY more expensive?  How are you living the couture life on a clearance rack price?

Pictures from here and here.

Monday, August 1, 2011

House Hunting 7.31.11

My momma and I were busy this Sunday! 5 houses! Good times, good times.

I won't mention all of them, just the 2 that were the most........ memorable.

The first house we looked at is now officially my "I could really live here" house.  I know I said that about this house on this post but this time I mean it even MORE.  This house was well within our budget and was totally move in ready.  It had everything we want on our list.  It was great!


Oh, lookie there.  I made the picture bigger.  That's nice.

I mean, look how cute this little home is!  Can you say curb appeal? And look at that covered porch.


When I saw this house the first time online I was a little concerned about that wrought iron gate lookin' thing.  But when we got to the showing it was gone.  I guess it was a baby gate or some such thing.  Also, I would lose the navy blue counter tops.  But that flooring! I am a sucker for hardwoods (hehehehehehe) and that's pretty floor is throughout the house, even in the basement.



The dinning room is right next to the kitchen but it's not an eat in kitchen, which I do not like.  And look at how pretty the view is into the backyard!

The house has 3 nice sized bedrooms (they would have to be repainted.  One of them is little girly with flowers and purple walls.  Cute, but not for me.)  and 2 full baths; one on the main floor and one in the basement.  And please, check out this basement:





The hubby gets the whole basement, man cave, what have you. Except for the laundry room.  I'm sure that will be my domain.  This is the basement bath.



It's freaking HUGE!  The whole basement is so so well done.  I have seen some that are not that great but this one is super nice.

You know what else is super nice?


This huge back yard!  The 2 car garage!



It has a fish pond for crying out loud!

The 411:
Total square feet: 2208
Finished: 1644
Unfinished: 504 (laundry room and storage in basement)
Brick; built in 1960
Asking price: $145,000

Plus, remember how I looked at the house that I could walk to work from?  Well, at this house my hubby could walk to work.  It's just down the street and take a left!  Plus, this place is just down the street from where we live now, and we love the central location.  If it was 2012 I would so buy this house!


Now, on to another house.  This one memorable for different reasons.


Let's start with this AWESOME Photoshop job by the realtor:


HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!  And he put in a BMW and maybe some sort of Porsche?  It's hard to say.
Oh, this makes me laugh.

Now, the floors are nice (you know how I feel about hardwoods).





Let me tell you a little secret about this bathroom.........


It was DISGUSTING!  I mean, the toilet bowl was brown and dirty (TMI?) and so was the sink.  It was just gross gross gross.

And apparently something else was gross.  The realtor's breath! HA!  As we were leaving my mom said he might have had the worst breath she has ever smelled.  And my mom would not just say that!  The realtor was not a winner.  He tried to pressure me into buying or leasing the house (ummm, no) and he was wearing shorts.  Now, I know it's been in the high 90s here for weeks but really, the house was air conditioned.  Be professional and put on some pants man!  He also said he would love to work with me.  I politely declined.  If the man will show a house with a nasty bathroom I just can't trust his judgement.  And you shouldn't wear shorts to work.


So there you have it! It was a great Sunday and I cannot wait till this weekend to do it all again!

Photos courtesy of this site.