{Garnier Olia Permanent Hair Color} A Review

I have been meaning to color my hair for a long time.  I had some grays that really needed to be covered.  I tried Garnier Olia Oil Based Permanent Hair Color.



I have dark brown to black hair and I wanted to add some color.  I chose the Dark Intense Auburn.

Here is my before picture:

And here is my after, please excuse the flyaway hair.  It has been very humid.

It is a subtle difference with inside lighting.  When I am outside, you can see the red much better.  But that is ok, I like subtle.  

Olia is Garnier's new "Oil-Powered" hair color.  It uses oil to help the color penetrate your hair and leaves it smooth and shiny.  I have to say, this is the first hair color I have used that did not, uhm, how do I say this?  Stink!  Reek!  Smell bad.  ;)  All kidding aside, I honestly could not smell the hair color unless I put my nose right up to the bottle.  That was a happy plus.

The directions were easy to understand and the packaging was geared toward "upscale."  It included black gloves and the shape of the applicator bottle was pleasing.  I left the color in my hair for 30 minutes.

After rinsing, I applied the included conditioner.  There is enough conditioner for several applications.  Overall, I am very happy with the product.

If you are going to color your hair, at home or at a salon, you need to do a few things to maintain your color. Maintenance not only helps your color last, it keeps your hair healthy.  I like to use a shampoo and conditioner specifically made for colored hair.  I also like to use an oil treatment once every 2-3 months.  I also flat-iron my hair and use a protective spray prior to ironing.

Do you color your hair at home?  At a salon?  Not at all?  What products do you use to keep your hair looking healthy?  I would love to know.

Thanks for stopping by,

Natosha

*I am a BzzAgent and was provided free product.  However, all opinions are 100% honest and mine.

{Five Find Friday}

I haven't done this in a while.  Here are five finds that I love.

1.  This cute bunny necklace:

$20 via prettygirlhandbags

2.  Almond Flour Pancakes:

via SCDLifestyle

3.  I went to Wal-Mart on my lunch break and this pretty much describes it:

via dumpaday

4.  I want this haircut and color:

via handbag.com

5.  Growing roses from cuttings, in potatoes!

via Alternative Gardening Techniques

So what cool or interesting things have you found recently?  I would love to hear about them in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by,

Natosha

{Try-It Tuesday} Sauteed Tilapia with Lemon-Peppercorn Pan Sauce

Sauteed Tilapia with Lemon-Peppercorn Pan Sauce

Now that's a mouth-full of a name.  I have cooked this recipe 3 times in the past couple of months and it is now a favorite.  A few words of caution, go easy on the salt and ingredients with salt.  I made this again last night and used a little too much salt and it was almost unedible, almost.  : )

I think next time, I will skip salting the filets and use a low-salt chicken or veggie stock.  You can always add salt to the finished product, but there's no way you can take too much out.

I found this recipe via My Recipes.  It is from Cooking Light.  The recipe can be found here.

The recipe calls for pickled green peppercorns.  I could not find those so I went for capers and they were wonderful.  The fish was light and flaky.  The lemon and caper sauce was bright and fresh.  And on top of that, it was so quick and easy.  I served the tilapia with rice and green peas.  I have even used this recipe with catfish and it was divine.

Happy eating and thanks for stopping by,
Natosha

I am linking up here today:

{Manic Monday} 3/25/13

I haven't done Manic Monday in ages.  It's basically just some fun or interesting stuff I've found on the web to make Monday a little more bearable.

First, these pictures made me laugh out loud.

found here

Next, I want one of these.

Buy the Pocket Spotlight at the Photojojo Store!

These have been around a while, but allergy season is almost here and I thought this would be appropriate:

Hay Fever GIANT Microbe found here.

Are you hungry?  Me too.  This looks yummy.

via Two Peas and Their Pod

I think Jaxon needs this rain gear set.

by Kidorable

And finally, my Monday would be a lot better if I had this:

Nutella Popsicles via 52 Kitchen Adventures

So what would make your Monday better?

Thanks for stopping by,

Natosha

{Menu Plan Monday} 3/25/13

Hello all and Happy Monday!  Wow, I sound more chipper than I really am, he he.

I have a busy week ahead of me.  Meetings today, court tomorrow, staffing and party on Wednesday and lots of paperwork to fill up the rest of the week.  So, I need quick meals.

If you read my last post, you know we are leaving processed foods behind.  We have also decided to go meatless once a week and try to fit fish into the menu once a week.

Here is what I came up with:

Steak Salad with Lemon-Walnut Vinaigrette via Fitness Magazine, Whole-Grain Roll and Baked Sweet Potato Fries.

Sauteed Tilapia with Lemon-Peppercorn Pan Sauce via My Recipes. This is SO good.  I have made it a couple of times already.  Served with rice and green peas or beans.

Pan-Roasted Chicken with Lemon-Garlic Green Beans and Potatoes via Real Simple.  This recipe boasts 15 minutes of hands-on time and a total time of 50-60 minutes.  We will see.

Turkey Pesto Panini via Nature Box.  This will be the first sammie I make in my new panini grill.  So excited!  Served with a side salad.

Broccoli and White Bean Mac & Cheese via Clean Eating.

Italian Sausage Rigatoni via Key Ingredient.

We usually always have breakfast for dinner one night a week.  I am planning on trying the Whole-Wheat Oven Pancake via 100 Days of Real Food.  I also plan on making the Easy Cheesy Crackers recipe from the same site.

So, does any of this look interesting to you?

I am linking up at the following:









Thanks for stopping by,
Natosha

{It's Time for a Change} & {My Weekend via Instagram}

I've been dancing around.  Toying with the idea.  Now it's time to commit.  I'm talking about my family's eating style.  I am very concerned about my health and weight.  I am afraid for my son.  I have decided to step away from processed foods.  I have been researching.  These are a couple of good sites to start with if you are interested:  100 Days of Real Food and The Blog of Bruce Bradley (A Food Industry Insider Talks About Food, Life and More).  The articles regarding food dyes and the truth behind Truvia are shocking to me.  I mean, I knew some of this stuff and just let it slide because I enjoy the convenience of processed foods.  But my son has been exhibiting behaviors lately that has me very concerned.  My husband has two family members with Autism and my husband exhibits symptoms of ADD, although he has never been diagnosed.  I am in the early stages of seeking help for my son and it seems that a healthy diet has got to be the beginning.  I have heard of "trigger" foods or ingredients that can cause behaviors in children with certain disorders.

This is going to be really hard.  I am not going to go through my cupboards and thrown out all the processed food.  I can't afford that.  I am going to let it get used and not buy anymore.  Will I slip up during this journey?  Yes.  Will I make mistakes?  Most assuredly.  Will I try my best?  Yes.  I'm a lot afraid of failure, but I really think eating whole foods and foods that are not highly processed will benefit my son and myself.

I'm at the early stages of this decision.  I do not have all the answers and continue to research.  If you know of more sites that would be helpful, please let me know in the comments.  I would appreciate it SO much.

Ok, enough with the serious.  Now on to my weekend via Instagram.

Silly faces contest.

Home-made alphabet soup.

Proper way to wear a tie.

Panini PB&J.

Marathon (I love Amazon Prime)

More snow? Really?

What's been on my menu this weekend.

You can follow me HERE.

I hope you have had a great weekend!  Thanks for stopping by,

Natosha

p.s. Sorry for the crappy pics.  Anyone know how to post Instagram photos to Blogger with better quality.

{My Weekend in Instagrams}

I got a smartphone (Samsung GalaxyS III) about 2 months ago and I am having so much fun with Instagram. I thought I would share my weekend in Instagram photos:

For the shiitake soba noodles!

Jax and his great uncle Sidney plowing a garden.

Jax and Ada Grace (cousin) at my high school reunion.

Sign near my house.  Part of #fmsphotoaday for March.

Jax enjoying his "growing" stingray.

Yummy crawfish!  He was so fresh I swear he moved!!

So, do you love Instagram?  I need to find more people to follow.  If you want me to follow, comment with your username or add a link in the comments.  If you would like to follow me, my username is southerngrrrlnz.

Thanks for stopping by,

Natosha

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{Menu Plan Monday} 3/18/13

Wow, is it already Monday again.  I was MIA last week.  Crazy busy at the day job plus the kiddo and hubs, you know what I mean.

Here is what is on the menu at my house this week:

Skillet Ground Beef Strognoff via elly says opa!  This will probably be the 4th or 5th time I've made this dish.    It is so easy and yummy.  Comfort food.  I usually serve it with broccoli or a green salad.

Corned Beef Hash with Chipotle Chiles and Irish Bacon via The Homesick Texan.  This looks like a great recipe to use up the corned beef from last nights St. Paddy's Day feast.  I don't have Irish bacon but I bet I can use regular.

Broiled Tilapia with Tomato-Caper Salsa via My Recipes (Cooking Light).  We love tilapia and catfish at our house.  I'll serve it with brown rice and a garden salad.

30-Minute Roast Chicken via World Food List.  I'll serve it with roasted potatoes and green beans.

Caprese Lasagna Roll Ups via Cooking Classy with a sprinkle of fancy.  Served with a salad and garlic breadsticks.

So what are you having this week?  I would love a link to your favorite recipe in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by,
Natosha

I am linking up here:

{Try-It Tuesday} 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

Today's "Try" is a recipe.  A while back my son wanted cookies and I didn't really want to make any.  The compromise was this super easy peanut butter cookie that has only 3 ingredients, peanut butter, sugar and an egg.

You can find the original recipe here via gimme some oven.  By the way, awesome site for recipes.

Here's what mine looked like:

As you can see, Jaxon (my son) is enjoying them.  He would have eaten them all if I would have let him.  The cookies were easy to make and taste great.  However, they are very sweet and rich.  I made mine bigger than the original recipe, by accident.  That didn't change the taste any.

We give this recipe a big thumbs up!

Thanks for stopping by,
Natosha

{Campbell's Slow Kettle Style Soup} A Review

I am a member of smiley360.  It's a site where you share your opinions of brands and receive samples to review.  The more you share, the more you get to review.  Recently I was given a sample of Campbell's Slow Kettle Style Soup in Tomato & Sweet Basil Bisque with Fresh Cream and Ground Red Pepper.

I love tomato and basil soups. This one did not disappoint. Let me say up front that this is not a diet soup.  It is made with real cream and has 14 g fat per serving.  There are two servings in a container and I ate almost the whole container in one sitting.  I guess I will be eating salads for the rest of the day.

There was a nice bold tomato taste, subtle on the basil and ground red pepper.  If you are sensitive to spicy foods, this soup will not cause you any concern.  There are chunks of tomato, which I love and a lovely creamy taste.  It is a soup that I would definitely try again.

I received $2.00 coupons which I passed out to family, friends and co-workers.  I also placed a couple by the soup as a suprise to shoppers.  I used one to purchase the Kick'n Crab and Sweet Corn Chowder with Flame Roasted Onions and Cayenne Pepper.  It was pretty good, but had a fishy smell that put me off a little.  Despite that, I am looking forward to trying some of the other favors, especially the Portobello Mushroom and Medeira Bisque with Shallots, Thyme and Sage and the Braised Beef Stew with Baby Bella Mushrooms , Roasted Potatoes and Burgundy Wine.

Campbells® Slow Kettle® Style Soups: Thx Campbells® #SlowKettle 4 the free soup and cool stuff! Get a $1 off http://bit.ly/YVxW1D #SlowDownAndSavor

Go here for a $1 off coupon.

Go here to learn more about Campbell's Slow Kettle Style Soup.  You can also follow them on Twitter:  @SlowKettle

Would you like to join me at smiley.360?  Go here.

*I was provided free product to try but all opinions are 100% mine.*

Thanks for stopping by,
Natosha

{MailPix Photo Enlargements} A Review

I was recently given the opportunity by MailPix to review one of their photo enlargements.

If you haven't visited their site recently or have not heard of them, you need to go now. They offer great deals on digital photo printing.

I chose a 16 X 20 enlargement of the picture below:

I couldn't find the original, which was the best quality, so I used a copy from my Facebook account.  The pixels were visible close up, but from a distance you couldn't really tell.  I think I will end up putting the print behind matte glass and you really won't be able to tell then.  And you know what, it really doesn't matter.  The print is so beautiful.  I plan on ordering an 11 X 14 photo of the same picture for my mother.

The photo enlargement arrived in a very heavy-duty mailing cylinder.  It would take some major force to damage it.  The shipping was quick and the price?  You can not beat it.  A 16 X 20 is $12.05.  At that price, you could get one for yourself and some as gifts.

I am really looking forward to ordering more in the future.  Did you know you can order pictures from your Facebook and Instagram accounts as well as from your phone? They also have other products:  mugs, calendars, photo books and canvas prints.  If you are looking to really save money, MailPix offers 4 X 6 prints for a penny each every Wednesday!

*I was provided an enlargement free of cost for review purposes.  However, all opinions are 100% my own.*

Thanks for stopping by,
Natosha

Linking up here:

{Masking Tape Canvas Art} Try-It Tuesday

My son and I sat down the other night and tried out a craft/art project I found via Pinterest.  I was inspired by this:

Crafting Play

All you need are:

Canvas
Finger Paints
Masking Tape

Instructions
Use the tape to create a pattern on the canvas, or let your child make a pattern with pieces of tape.

Let your child paint the canvas.

Let canvas dry.

Take off tape and admire your child's masterpiece.

We did Jaxon's nickname:

And a randon set of lines (which my son calls railroad tracks):

This craft/art project was both fun and easy.

Thanks for stopping by,
Natosha

P.S.
Thank you to all my new followers!  Soon after I reach 100 followers via Google Friend Connect, I will have a giveaway as a thank you!  I'm thinking probably an Amazon gift card.