How to: make a browser tab act as a desktop program

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When I learned of this trick, I was so excited! I hope your inner nerd loves it too.

Are you like me and hate having certain tabs open in your browser because you want to be able to use a site as if it was a separate program? Well, with Google Chrome you can basically achieve that! As I discovered recently, you can pop out certain sites you want to have open without having to resort to new windows or tabs. This way, it gets its very own icon in your taskbar and when you close it, you can quickly re-open it by clicking the image. This is called an application shortcut and is particularly useful for sites you listen to music on (so it’s like having a music player program open), sites you’re messaging with (so it’s like having an IMing program installed), or even just your favorite sites (like your blog editor).

I think you really need to try it out for yourself to understand it better. It’s a lot like the Add to Home Screen option on iOS devices (but the Windows desktop version), if you’ve done that before. Here’s how to do it:

Step 1 – Go to the menu in the top right, More Tools, then Create Application Shortcuts…

google chrome browser application shortcut setting option

Step 2 – Choose one or both application shortcuts to create. You can create a Desktop shortcut and/or a Pin to Taskbar one.

google chrome browser create application shortcut options

Step 3 – Now your app shortcut sits on your desktop and/or your taskbar for easy access. Just click to open!

google chrome browser application shortcut on desktop

Here I set up Grooveshark so I can listen to music and quickly switch to it to pause my music. Behind it, I’m working on this blog post in the browser!

Power Supply Week of Jan 26 review

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This was a rather successful week, with plenty of dishes I enjoyed!

Power Supply is around $9.50-$15.50 per meal (when you sign up for a recurring plan – single orders are 5% more) and offers a variety of ready-made meal types, all gluten- and dairy-free. Boxes are sent once or twice weekly (depending on your plan) and you have total control over customization of which meals you get. You can easily switch between plans or choose to skip some weeks. They offer a referral program that earns free meals for referrer and referree.

Coconut Lime Chicken Tenders w/ Thai Coleslaw (SPICY)

power supply coconut lime chicken tenders with thai coleslaw paleo lunch meal in box

Mmm, chicken tenders and Thai slaw. Tropical flavors that sounded intriguing!

power supply coconut lime chicken tenders with thai coleslaw paleo lunch meal open

I enjoyed the taste, though next time I will bake the tenders instead of microwaving.

Pulled Chicken w/ a Kansas Style BBQ Sauce, Cabbage Slaw & Sweet Potato Fries

power supply pulled chicken with kansas style bbq sauce, cabbage slaw, and sweet potato fries mixitarian dinner meal in box

Kansas style BBQ? Well this I had to try.

power supply pulled chicken with kansas style bbq sauce, cabbage slaw, and sweet potato fries mixitarian dinner meal open

I liked the BBQ and the sweet potato fries. The flavors mesh well in this dish.

Roast Turkey w/ Garlic Cream Spinach, Sage Roasted Squash & Chocolate Almond Cookie

 

Could it be? I forgot to take a picture of this meal altogether, it seems. I found it to be rather dry and not exciting, so I likely won’t get it again.

Charmoula Hake w/ Kale, Harissa & Tomato Salsa (SPICY) (NEW)

power supply charmoula hake with kale, harissa, and tomato salsa mixitarian dinner meal in box

I saw all sorts of strange words so I ordered this just to see what it all meant.

power supply charmoula hake with kale, harissa, and tomato salsa mixitarian dinner meal open

Good flavors, though a bit smelly. Hope my coworkers didn’t mind.

Asian Marinated Pork Tenderloin w/ Brown Rice & Korean Cabbage

power supply asian martinated pork tenderloin with brown rice and korean cabbage mixitarian lunch meal in box

This one was presented in partnership with Teaism! Pretty cool.

power supply asian martinated pork tenderloin with brown rice and korean cabbage mixitarian lunch meal open

Oh yum, this is right up my alley. Tart cabbage, tender pork, and brown rice for a variety of textures and tastes.

AdoreMe Lorelei lingerie set review

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I was pretty excited to be offered a chance to try AdoreMe for free, thanks to Influenster. I qualified for their XO VoxBox, which included a free lingerie offer from AdoreMe! I quickly set up a VIP account and started browsing for what I wanted. I ultimately settled on the Lorelei set, which includes a lacy black and blue push-up plunge bra and hipster undies (or the option of bikini undies).

AdoreMe is just under $40 per store credit for intimates, sleepwear, or swimwear. Credits are charged monthly unless you choose to skip (which is very easy to do). Each month, bra and panty sets available in your size are selected for you in the showroom. You can always get other items at their VIP pricing of $40-50. They offer a referral program that earns you money towards purchases. Use my referral link to get your first outfit for $25!

black adoreme box with white lettering

It came quickly in this black box.

inside of adoreme box with sketch of lingerie items and products wrapped in pink and red tissue paper

I loved the drawing on the inside!

inside of adoreme box with definition of adore printed

Great choice of word.

adoreme lorelei lingerie set of black and blue lacy push-up plunge bra and hipster panties

The Lorelei push-up plunge bra and hipster panties.

Lorelei Push-Up

VIP: $39.95/SET (Regular: $49.95/SET)
62 reviews, 4.5 stars

  • Push-up plunge
  • Underwired
  • Double row hook & eye closure
  • Fully adjustable straps
  • Nylon / Spandex / Polyester
  • Matching bra & panty

Anything is possible with a little sparkle! And the latest addition to our designer collection proves just that. Our midnight black and blue Lorelei push-up is irresistibly sexy and you’ll love the dramatic lace embellishments. Complete this look with a string bikini or hipster, both featuring rhinestone-dotted lace.

Ok, so at this angle the undies look disproportionately larger, but don’t worry – they look great on. Check out the pictures of them on the models and you’ll see. I like their use of lace to make it from a bikini shape to the hipster look. It’s a bit of extra coverage without completely obscuring the area. Demure! The lace could have been a bit softer, but that might be fixed with the first wash. The fit was perfect and they felt great.

As for the bra, I love the look, but with plunge style might not be so fitting for me. I wore a v-neck and felt like something was going to show at any point each time I leaned over. Plus, I felt a bit of a draft, which I’m totally not used to. Ah, the challenges of a small bust. Still, this is great for when I feel more daring and of course it’s not even an issue if I don’t pair it with a low neckline. Typically I’m a t-shirt bra sort of gal, so it’s nice to have a more intricate, fancy bra for when I feel like dressing it up.

I’ve enjoyed my experience with AdoreMe so far and I even managed to win first place in one of their weekly contests! It’s basically like the game of 2048, but with underwear icons. I happen to be quite good at 2048 (I’ve achieved the 4096 tile a few times), so it wasn’t too hard to sweep the win. I love that each game played is also money towards a charity. I plan on using my winnings towards some casual sleepwear or a swimsuit set. They have some adorable options!

adoreme info cards and ads

The pamphlets and such that came with the box.

Frying Pan Farm animals

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Panda and I were going to do a trip to Nashville last weekend, but due to the weather we thought better of it and ended up staying more local. One of the things he found nearby is a fun little farm! I’d driven past it on the way to work before (and wondered about it), but I had no idea it’s part of a park and free to the public. Nor did I know there were so many cool animals waiting to be visited.

We went on a freezing cold day. I totally underdressed, so I was quite cold and we didn’t stay long. However, we still managed to see horses, cows, sheep, pigs, and rabbits! Next time we’ll have to go when it’s a little less brisk so we can stroll around more and check out the general store too.

three pigs in stall with hay and heat lamp for winter cold

The pigs kept pushing each other out from under the heat lamp. The right one has a black head with pink body!

brown cow staring from inside stall in barn

She just looks like she should be a Bessie, don’t you think? Her eyes and nose are HUGE.

sheep mama with baby lambs in stall inside barn

This mama has three little lambs! Two boys and a girl.

baby lamb sticking head out to be pet

One of the boys was super friendly and wanted to be pet. 🙂

lamb and cow sniffing each other

One of the lambs and the cow would sniff each other.

sheep staring through wooden fence

Getting the stare down from the mama.

cow mom and baby calf in stall of barn

Cow mom and baby calf in their stall.

white rabbit with black accents in cage with frozen bowl of water

Rabbit with a mustache. 😛

frozen bowl of drinking water for rabbit

It was so cold most of the water bowls were frozen over!

pretending to kiss cow sticking its tongue out

Would you kiss a cow? I pretended to. Those tongues are weird!

Treatsie February 2015 review

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Mmm, goodness these are tasty treats! I tend to like more chocolate, caramel, toffee type candy and this box was chock full of that type of thing.

Treatsie is $15 per box + $4.95 shipping and comes with artisan candy from 3-4 brands (I am grandfathered in for $15 for 2-3 brands and fewer items). That means about 6 or 7 different flavors of treats (or 4 or 5 for me). Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. They offer a referral link program to earn store credit. Use my referral link to get your first box FREE!

treatsie february 2015 box contents with carla hall petite cookies, chocolate twist peanut butter pretzel bar, nunu chocolates milk chocolate lollipop, and mcfaddy candy co valentine toffee with cat sniffing box treatsie february 2015 info card

Carla Hall Petite Cookies: I have no idea how all those cookies could have fit in the container. They were exploding out of it when I opened my box! It was a bit messy, with crumbs everywhere, but at least they’re clean enough. I couldn’t stuff them all back in though so I’m pretty impressed at how much they fit in. I love the little bit of cinnamon that gives these cookies an extra kick. You think you’re getting a normal chocolate chip cookie, but then there’s that bonus taste…

Chocolate Twist Peanut Butter Pretzel Bar: At first I thought this was sort of like a Snickers bar and similar to the fixx chocolate bar. Then I saw it has pretzel, which is definitely different. It is nice and hefty, with a generous portion of caramel. I didn’t really get much of the peanuts or pretzels, though there was definitely a hint of peanut butter flavoring. This is quite a rich bar that is nice and dense. It’ll last me a few more rounds!

Nunu Chocolates Milk Chocolate Lollipop: How sweet! I’m thinking this could also work well as a hot chocolate stirrer, which is my newest obsession. I’ve had a couple of those recently, just by stirring chocolate into milk and it’s so much fun. I might just chow down on this like any other lollipop, or if I run low on the stirrers this will be my backup. 🙂

McFaddy Candy Co Valentine Toffee: Hmm, this totally foreign to me. I’ve never had fruit-flavored toffee! It’s very interesting, with the tartness of the raspberry mixing in with the sweetness of the toffee. Very intriguing. I’m not quite sure what to make of it still.

These were all solid choices and candy I will enjoy, though I still have my favorites from other boxes. Which treats would you like to try? To get Treatsie, sign up with my link and get your first box free!

[This post contains affiliate links. Signing up through them helps support my subscription and I’d be ever so grateful. 🙂 All opinions are my own and I received no compensation for this review. I just purchased this box and wanted to share what I got!]

Petit Vour February 2015 review

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Is it almost spring? This makes me ready for the new season, with fresh products that can make me feel great going out.

Petit Vour is $15 per box (or as much as $30 for international subscribers) and comes with vegan beauty, skincare, and other personal care products. Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. They offer a referral program that earns you points towards free boxes (email contact@petitvour.com to say I referred you if you sign up!).

contents of petit vour february 2015 box with balancedguru body scrub, ellovi body butter, my daughter fragrances, lily lolo mascara, and info card with love is bold, love is kind theme petit vour february 2015 box info card with item details

Balanced Guru Scrub Me body scrub – I’m really into gritty scrubs, so the texture of this is awesome. The strong coffee smell isn’t my thing and there’s like some minty-ness that hits you too. I can see this being very refreshing and giving you a nice jolt awake.

Ellovi Mint Chocolate body butter – Oh my, this body butter is nice. It melts so easily and spreads the way an oil does. It absorbs quickly into the skin and hydrates well. The mint chocolate smell is fantastic and whimsical!

My Daughter Fragrances in Always Loved – This is a super rosy scent that is warm and sweet. I almost never wear fragrances but I tend to gravitate towards more citrus-inspired ones, so I would have loved to try their Joyful scent instead (orange, lime, grapefruit, jasmine – now that’s what I’m talking about).

Lily Lolo Black Natural Mascara – After many years, I started to wear some mascara again and I’ve not even gone through one tube yet! This one will have to wait. I think this one will be really nice for general daytime wear.

I’ll share the fragrance with anyone who wants it, but I’ll keep and use everything else. I feel like I had just gotten the last box and already another one came. These months are going by fast! What items do you like from this box?

[This post mentions a referral program. Signing up and emailing contact@petitvour.com to say I referred you helps support my subscription and I’d be ever so grateful. 🙂 All opinions are my own and I received no compensation for this review. I just purchased this box and wanted to share what I got!]

Rupert the bear’s giant uncle

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Back when I first got Missy and Molly from the shelter, I also added Rupert to the family and eventually deemed him Missy’s boyfriend because she loves to massage him so much. A few weeks ago, Panda and I were at Costco (check out their cute video) when we came across what can only be described as Rupert’s uncle. Or granddad.

 

giant teddy bear at costco

This guy is impressive. He is absolutely MASSIVE at 93″ tall and who knows how many pounds. I could barely lift up the top half that I’m holding here. There’s no way I could have dragged him out of the bin without assistance. You could potentially use him as a backup mattress if you ran out of guest beds. I mean, I had an easier time dragging my LoveSac around. Poor Rupert looks measly at just 53″ tall (feel free to send him condolences if you’d like). Check out how his cousin of identical size, Gogobear, compares to us human folk.

As you might suspect, the price tag on this giant teddy is hefty too, at just under $180. But gosh, think of the awesome things you could do with this guy, including some pretty awesome photo shoots. Costco has sold out of their first batch, but promised more to come this spring. In the mean time, get your fix on the Facebook page for this guy! You bet I’ve liked it. 🙂 Since I have Rupert though, I won’t be getting one of these

Beauty Box 5 February 2015 review

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Wow, has it been another year? I remember getting their last birthday box, which had a very celebratory nail polish set (I felt so, anyway). This time around they included a nice variety to get you ready to party.

Beauty Box 5 is $12 per box (or as discounted as $99 for an entire year, with an option in between) and comes with 5 cosmetic products. Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. You also have the option of buying it as a gift your box to a friend. They offer a referral program that earns you points towards products or boxes.

february 2015 beauty box 5 contents beauty box 5 february 2015 information card

Marsk Mineral Eyeshadow in Vanilla Frosting: Aw, how cute. This seems like a lighter version of an eye shadow I already use so it’s going in the trade bucket. Too bad, since it’s a nice dainty tub and looks like a nice bright shade.

Revlon Colorstay Nail Enamel in Spanish Moss: I’m not so keen on the color of this, but I’ll probably try it. After all, I thought the same about a shade of taupe I received and it ended up being one that grew on me. The same could go for this! I don’t choose darker, earthy colors for myself but this could work out well once I try it. It’s a little more runny than I’m used to, but that can help cover the tiny spaces that other polishes don’t get to.

Absolute New York Absolute Love Strawberry Lip Balm: I thought that the other lip balm I’d gotten from this brand was also from BB5, but turns out it was in an Ipsy bag! I also ended up getting the green apple flavor from a trade I did, so I’m pretty well stocked. All the scents are wonderful and the tins are quite large so I’ll be using these for a long time. This one is a bit more on the subtle side.

Avon Big Color Eye Pencil in Natural Vibe: I’m still debating if I’ll open this and use it. I’m not quite sure how – is it similar to eye shadow? If so, I already have a similar creamy color that I’ll never use up. But I’m thinking this could be something I dab under my eyes to help lighten them up. Would that look odd? Maybe I’ll try it.

GlamGlow Youth Mud Tinglexfoliate Treatment: This is the kind of product that’s right up my alley. When I get a chance to enjoy a bath or feel like doing a mask I’ll use this. I wish they could have included one more packet as a bonus!

Another exclamatory theme this month with “hooray!” BB5 is now three and liked the fun colors they used for the paper confetti. This box will be half keep, half trade or so. I would like to see less eye stuff all the time. It’s unfortunate when I have to stock them away for trading. What products do you like most from this month’s box?

[This post contains affiliate links. Signing up through them helps support my subscription and I’d be ever so grateful. 🙂 All opinions are my own and I received no compensation for this review. I just purchased this box and wanted to share what I got!]

Escape Monthly February: Nashville Box review

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So I kept Escape Monthly because I was super intrigued by Nashville. Coincidentally, Panda and I were planning a trip there this weekend. I was hoping the box would arrive in time so I could bring the guide book and look out for more of any treats I particularly liked from the box. It did end up getting delivered just in time! Buuut due to the weather conditions, we decided to postpone our trip for another time. There just aren’t many places to go for a short vacation when it’s snowing so much. Luckily, that means I get more time to prepare when we do decide to go.

Escape Monthly is just under $40 per box (with code for 20% off your subscription – see end of post) and comes with a variety of food, home, skincare items themed around a city/region. Each box comes with a guide for that area. Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. They offer a referral commission program.

escape monthly february nashville box products showing escape monthly february nashville box info card

escape monthly february nashville box info card opened with fact sheet showing

They’ve always included facts, but I never photographed them. Figured I’d include them this time since the back is boring and no longer offers a preview of next month’s destination.

escape monthly february nashville box info card opened with details of products included (click to enlarge and read full messaging)

So the first thing I thought was, only five items outside of the guide book?! That was disappointing. So I scoured them for something that perhaps was a super high value item. Didn’t find that. For the price, I felt like they could have included at least one more thing. Just looking at what was included without thinking about value, I certainly did enjoy what they sent.

Here’s what came in the box:

Moon Handbooks guide to Nashville – As I mentioned, the timing of this would have been perfect had we gone ahead with the trip this weekend. We can use this to help plan the trip when it actually happens.

Willa’s Wildflower Honey Shortbread – Oh my word these are delicious. If I didn’t stop myself, they’d be long gone. Instead I have maybe a third left and I probably won’t resist much longer. These are lightly sweet without being too much and a wonderful buttery, slightly crumbly texture. The bite sizes are just perfect too!

Little Seed Farm Farmstead Milk Soap Rosemary Mint Scrub Bar – This is a super soft bar of soap that I accidentally nicked with my nail. It smells so relaxing and is such a great blend of scents. It makes me think of Chivas, a company that also uses goat milk. I visited their farm in SoCal way back when and it was my first time seeing Square being used. I’ll add this to my arsenal of awesome soaps to use.

Brittle Brothers Peanut Brittle – I’ve had both their peanut brittle and their cashew brittle come in Treatsie boxes before! I definitely prefer the peanut one, which is strange since I am generally not into peanuts. But gosh, there’s something about their brittle that lets the peanuts stand out in a way that I am totally happy with. I’ve already eaten half of this!

Sweet Meat Beef Jerky – Oh gosh, I probably would have gobbled up another flavor, but I don’t like mango and I prefer my jerky sweet or salty, not spicy. Still, I did try a piece and it was an interesting burn with a hint of sweetness to mellow it out. I can definitely see people liking these flavors enjoying this jerky.

Soberdough Brew Bread Mix in Roasted Garlic – So I first saw this whole beer thing and I was like, is that the scent emanating from the box? But it’s just the dough and you can use beer or just carbonated water to make it (whew!). I’ve never made bread before, so this should be fun. Turns out the flavor I got is roasted garlic, so the smell must have been garlic. I’m pretty excited to try it!

I feel like I got a great intro to some of the snacks to be found in Nashville. I would have loved to have gotten some sort of trinket or tool as well. I’m pleased with the products but wish that either there were more or that their value was a bit higher. Which items in this Nashville Escape Monthly box do you want to try? If you want to sign up, try one of these codes (not sure which ones are still active): AUSTRALIA or MYESCAPE for 20% off the lifetime of your subscription or GIFTESCAPE for 25% off.

It seems like the new thing is to promote the chance to win a $1000 towards a trip, which they offer every month. It’s a FB photo contest and I have yet to enter, so maybe I should. I checked their Facebook page and found that next month it’s going to be Australia – who could resist that? So I’ll keep my subscription alive. Well played, Escape Monthly.

[This post contains affiliate links. Signing up through them helps support my subscription and I’d be ever so grateful. 🙂 All opinions are my own and I received no compensation for this review. I just purchased this box and wanted to share what I got!]

Caulking those cracks

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For awhile now, Panda’s been talking about caulking the cracks we’ve been seeing. The builders left us with a tube of it, which we have been meaning to use. So two weekends ago, we went shopping and got a caulking gun. We opened up the caulk tube and got to work in the coldest part of the home – the stairway leading up to our unit. It turns out that I’m far better at it than he, so I ended up doing a lot of the work. I even had to fix some of the caulking he did (what would he do without me? ;)). The cats were also super fascinated by this activity, so they sat around watching. Panda was a bit worried that they may try to sniff and then lick the stuff, but they didn’t seem that interested in it.

Have you caulked your home before? We still have plenty to go and I keep putting it off. Would you hire someone for jobs like this or do it yourself like us?

crack by stairs of home prior to caulking

These were the cracks that we tackled.

caulk gun poking hole into caulk tube for use

We poked a hole to let the caulk get squeezed out, but eventually it clogged and came out the back end so I just scooped it out with my finger from the other end.

midway through caulking process with globs of caulk covering crack

Putting the caulk on in all its globby goodness. We tried smoothing it with a plastic card, but I found it easier and faster with my finger.

two cats sitting on stairs watching caulking project

The cats love to oversee our home improvement projects.

crack by stairs of home concealed after caulking job

Finished product! Looks pretty good, doesn’t it?

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