Don't Shop, Adopt!!: Christmas Gifts for your Rescue Dog!

Last year around this time, I thought of myself as a fairly passionate person.  However, when I stopped to think about, what did I really feel passionate about?  I enjoy writing, but it's not my passion - it makes me feel too pressured and at times insecure.  Same goes for playing piano.  I can't be passionate about reading, though God knows it's my absolute favorite.  I sure as hell wasn't passionate about my previous jobs, which mostly consisted of answering phones and/or selling people clothes and cleaning up after them.  And then Jared and I visited the Humane Society of North Iowa.

To be clear, I had never had a pet before.  And I liked animals for sure, but I had liked them like, "Oh, sure, I'll pet your dog, okay, that's enough now."  But after visiting and volunteering at the Humane Society for a couple of months, I was like, Oh.  Okay.  This.  This is what I care about.  Dog after dog, cat after cat, staring at me from behind bars.  It sounds like a sad place, but it's really not - to me, it's hopeful.  These animals have all been given second chances at new, better lives than the ones they had before.  The look in the dog's face when you approach them with a leash, the way the cats press themselves against the cage to be petted - there are ways of not needing much, and these animals really don't; they just, like so many of us, want to be loved.  The first time Jared and I visited, all we did was hang out in a few of the dogs' kennels.  A simple thing...but when we left, the world I walked outside into was so different from what it was before.  I decided to leave my higher-paying job in order to work as a kenneler, and later, as customer service, at the HSNI.  

This list of "HSNI Christmas gifts" is really more for my entertainment than anything else - and so I can promote the personalities of these wonderful dogs.  Though these would all be kickass gifts for your own dog, if you'd actually like to buy something to donate to the Humane Society, they can always use things like paper towels, plastic bags, and bleach.  Otherwise, here is their Amazon Wish List.  Maybe this Christmas, we can think a little less about spend, spend, spend...and we can think more about spending time with these furry sweethearts, who just want a warm home and someone to snuggle. :)

Beau and Chachi

Beau and Chachi (photo from here, courtesy of Arickx Photography) have been dealt a pretty rough card in life.  Their owner passed away, and they were thought to be in the house alone for a week before they were rescued and brought to us.  Both dogs are considered "senior dogs" (over 7 years of age), and they are not in the greatest of shape.  Multiple health problems and old age have made these sweetie pies get passed over time and time again.  But those ailments haven't brought them down - they are two of my favorite dogs in the building.  Beau's excited prances and whimpers, paired with Chachi's playful barks and side-eyed glances, make them pretty hard to resist.  If they were my dogs, I would totally push them around in this adorable doggy stroller!  Beau still loves to go on walks, but because of their age, this would be a fun and easy way for them to get outside and get some fresh air.  One of my favorite times of the day at work is going to visit Chachi and Beau and watching them fight over who gets petted first. :)

Goldie

Sigh.  Good old Goldie.  (Photo from here, courtesy of Arickx Photography)  This poor girl has a sad story also.  I'm sure many people are already aware of it, so I'll spare you the details.  Basically, she was abandoned and left to die in someone's house for weeks and forced to chew off her tail to survive.  Though she came to the Humane Society pretty traumatized, she has thrived since, gaining weight and wiggling that stubby little tail like crazy!  Unfortunately, Goldie has been there since January of last year.  :(  Nearly a year without a home and owner to call her own!  (The reason, though controversial among HSNI "critics", is that she is unable to live with other animals, and she is a senior dog but very, very high energy.  These factors combined have made her tough to adopt out.)  She is such a trooper though, and she always gets most excited about two things:  food (of course) and tennis balls.  My LORD, she loves tennis balls.  You could honestly wear your arm out throwing the damn ball, and she could still go for hours playing fetch.  Thus, a great gift for a Goldie owner would be this Go Dog Go fetch machine!  This bucket pushes tennis balls into the mechanism and launches them automatically for your dog to chase.  A cheaper option would be this K9 Kannon, which is basically a Nerf gun that shoots tennis balls.

(Oh!  Goldie also loves to be sprayed with water...she tries to eat it.  :)  So cute!)

Chuy

All poor Chuy (photo from here, courtesy of Love and Luck Photography) wants is a warm lap to curl up on and someone to give him lots and lots of love!  This guy is a typical chihuahua, and though he tends to pick and choose who he likes, there's tons of love and affection within his tiny little body.  Chuy is an older gentleman, and what he needs is a home to retire in.  He also loves his beds and blankets.  And yes, yes, this plush dog bed is pink and green, and Chuy is a dude - it's fine :)  I don't think gender stereotypes apply to canines.  Give Chuy a blanket along with this bed, and you will soon only see a small lump under the blanket...he likes to hide under the covers! :)

Jack/Gunner

Look at these handsome boys!!!  (Photos from here, courtesy of Arickx Photography) Both released to us from their previous homes (through no fault of their own!), Gunner and Jack are often passed over by potential adopters because they are both very energetic.  Poor guys!  However, once they've burned off all their pent-up energy, they're total sweethearts.  And the way they like to burn off energy?  FETCH.  Get these two guys in separate outdoor runs (along with Tipper, below!), they run back and forth, chasing each other and tennis balls through the fence - it is hilarious!  But because their jaws are so dang strong, lots of our tennis balls end up pretty much ruined.  These balls are said to be virtually indestructible...perfect for these playful guys.  Plus, they come in glow in the dark!  :)

Tipper

Those ears!  (Photo from here, courtesy of Tyler Trenhaile)  Not only is this guy absolutely gorgeous, but he is also super smart!  He knows several commands and listens extremely well...he also does great on walks.  And man, can he jump!  Showing me his special talent for catching things mid-air, Tipper showed off in the outdoor runs with Gunner and Jack, as well as catching treats when I threw them.  This adorable little pet treat launcher would be great for him and his future owner...it launches dog treats 20 feet in the air for your pup to leap for!

Rico















Rico was adopted out to someone this past summer (photo from here, courtesy of Love and Luck Photography), after which he was sadly shuttled around from home to home - that's no life for a dog!  Somehow, he got out, and he made his way back to us.  Though of course he is sad to be back in the shelter, he is quite a happy little guy.  He gets along with cats and most other dogs, and though he's timid with strangers, he's SUCH a lover once he gets to know you.  Don't be intimidated by his excited barks when he's in his kennel - he is just an excitable dog, and he immediately quiets once he is let out.  He is a lovable lap dog who even loves baths, and his toothy little grin can make anyone's day!  Rico needs to wear a harness when he goes on walks because of his tendency to cough with a regular leash and collar. This plaid harness would look so cute on this little guy!


Chico

Chico came in as a stray (photo from here, courtesy of Arickx Photography) with a little chihuahua girlfriend, and though she has found a forever home, he is still waiting!  I love him because he tries to act super tough when he's in his kennel, but as soon you open the door, he's just a little lovebug.  You will fall in love with his prance when he walks and his crazy, excited tail!  If Chico were my dog, I would dress him up in tough biker doggie clothes (shirt; jacket) just because they're so not suited for him - he's a softie at heart!

CUTTER OMG CUTTER!!


















I am in love with this dog.  (Photo from here, courtesy of Love and Luck Photography)  In fact, the entire staff loves Cutter - how could you not?!  LOOK at this heartbreaker!  I have such a soft spot in my heart for this dog - he needs a home so badly.  He came to us as a stray, and he has turned out to be the sweetest and most loving dog ever.  He picks and chooses which dogs he's friends with, but he loves all humans and children of all ages.  He also seems to enjoy having baths and having his ears cleaned, which is definitely unusual for a dog.  I just cannot say enough good things about Cutter, and it breaks my heart because he is consistently passed over...because he's a pit bull.  The breed has such a bad reputation...but Cutter does NOT fit the stereotype AT ALL.  If I took Cutter home with me (and oh Lord, I would if I could)...I would deck him out in this dapper bowtie, like the gentleman he is!

Okay, this list could go on and on.  I actually had more dogs I was going to discuss, but I'm on the verge of writing a novella here.  Again, if you'd actually like to donate to the Humane Society of North Iowa, don't donate these things :)  Check out their wishlist on Amazon, or give us a visit and see these guys!  For more information on them, you can go to their website.  These dogs deserve another shot at a happy home.

Jared and I also adopted a Peekipoo named Riley from here.  He has human eyes, likes to sleep under the covers by our feet, barks when we kiss, and we're pretty in love with him.  :)  More about him in another post.

Please volunteer at the Humane Society if you get a chance.  It will improve your day for sure, and it'll DEFINITELY improve the day of the animals you spend time with.

xoxochelsea

If I Pretend Not to See You in Public, It's Probably Because I'm Wearing Fuggs and a Grandma Sweater

My wardrobe is made up of mostly boots, leggings, oversized sweaters, and a whole crapton of things that I am vaguely embarrassed about owning, but that I wear the shit out of anyway.  Items that, if I am wearing around in the comfort of my own home, make me feel comfortable and super-stylish, but if I run into you while wearing them in public, I might try to hide.  Because I am wearing two of those very items as we speak, I give you:  "Fashion Trends" That I Secretly Love but am Incredibly Embarrassed About.

Stirrup Pants

photo from here

Stirrup pants are a relic from an 80's version of the soccer mom's closet.  I know this.  And yet I wear them anyway.  I got them from Sears for six bucks, and I wear them with Ugg boots and sweatshirts; I wear them with high heeled booties and skirts; I will probably even wear them to Thanksgiving dinner (the waistband is very forgiving).  But people never know I am wearing them; they look like basic leggings.  The downfall is houses in which I am forced to take off my shoes - not wanting people to see the humiliating band around the bottom of my foot, I tend to look around wildly and say, "Umm..I'll just wipe my shoes off really well."  

Also, I'm pretty sure that Lucy Ricardo was a repeat offender of wearing stirrup pants on I Love Lucy, which doesn't add to their street cred at all.  (Actually, who am I trying to kid?  I would love to own Lucy's entire wardrobe.  I would also love to own Desi Arnaz and have him say to me, "Cheeeelseeeea!  Wha hoppen?!"  while I am shoveling chocolates into my mouth or wrangling a huge loaf of bread from the oven or something.  But that's for another blog post.)

A Ridiculous Amount of Clothing Featuring Animals

photo from here

So this is an actual trend right now.  But I think I have gone overboard with it.  I have the following pieces, for example:  a dog sweater, an owl sweater, a fox (wearing glasses...shake my damn head) sweater, a raccoon sweatshirt, a cat sweatshirt, a dog-printed skirt, three different owl t-shirts, a deer long-sleeved tee, and more things with birds on them than you can even imagine.  That is not even including the scads of animal-themed jewelry I have.  Jared calls me a Taylor Swift doppelganger mixed with an 85 year old woman.  I choose to think of this as a compliment.

And last but not least, it's a tie between Leggings as Pants and The Ubiquitous Ugg Boot.

The dreaded double whammy found here, but if Olivia Wilde is wearing it, it can't be so bad, right?  Right?!

My "Ugg" boots are actually faux Uggs (Fuggs?) found at Claire's for twelve dollars.  (You jealous?)  I wear them at some point nearly every day.  I know that these (usually paired with yoga pants) are freaking rampant at every college campus and loved by girls who wear shirts that say Hollister and Abercrombie.  The logical part of me wants to hate them.  But dammit, I love my Fuggs.  They are warm and they are comfortable and they are the perfect thing to slip on over fuzzy socks when it's snowing outside.  If anyone asks, I wear them ironically.

Leggings as pants.  Sigh.  I am a huge hypocrite here, because I get generally a little grossed out when I see a leggings-as-pants offender.  But it's just so easy to do, and so comfortable...camel toe and bubble butt be damned.  And you know what?  I have some long-ass legs, and when I order a sweater specifically to be worn (at a reasonable length) over leggings, and then I receive that sweater and it seems to be made for 5 footers and doesn't even cover the top of my buttcrack?  I am, on principle, going to wear that sweater with leggings anyway.  Also, men seem to enjoy this look (my husband included) which, yuck, but hey, it's something I guess.

xoxochelsea

Springtime Feelin's in the Middle of December: My Top 5 Christmas Albums

You guys don't understand my love of Christmas music.  You just don't.  I could seriously listen to it all year round if I didn't think the people I love would murder me for it.  I have three separate holiday-themed radio stations on Pandora.  I sometimes listen to my Mariah Carey Christmas cd in my car in the summer and then if someone overhears, I just laugh and say, "Christmas in July!  Don't you do it?!"  When I worked at Younkers, I couldn't wait until Black Friday when the Christmas music would start playing, and then, when my coworkers complained about hearing "Run Run Rudolph" for the 456th time, I would sigh and moan right along with them, but secretly, like, trembling with joy. 

I love it so much.  I probably have more Christmas cds than I have regular ones, so this is a very hard Top 5 list for me to make.  But I'm gonna do it. 

5.  Hey, It's Christmas (Volume 1) - Various Artists

I originally found this (free!) downloadable cd from the blog Rockstar Diaries, and now they're on their third volume!  (Go here to download them all.)  If I remember correctly, I was alone at college and very sick of hearing upbeat holiday tunes...I thought to myself, "Don't they make...depressed-sounding Christmas music?"  Hmm.  Maybe I had my period.  Or, more likely, I was sick of eating ramen noodles every day.  And then I found this.  And it's awesome.  It's a compilation of up and coming bands and artists doing crazy things with cool instruments.  It's definitely nontraditional, but it's also very fun and can suit any mood!  (And I mean any mood.  Jared and I were recently listening to the decidedly unmerry "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas", and he said that it sounded like the singer needed some Prozac.)

 

4.  Family Force 5 - Christmas Pageant

I am not a fan of what you would call "Christian" music.  I don't generally listen to Family Force 5, nor do I care to.  However, there is no denying the awesomeness that is their Christmas album.  A student who sat next to me in a human identity course in college told me about this cd and described it as a mix of "rock, electronica, punk, and rap."  Mmmmwhat?!  But yeah, that's basically what it is.  I like to listen to "Carol of the Bells" with my (extremely meager) bass cranked up as high as it can go in my Pontiac Vibe, lean my seat really far back, and pretend I'm an especially festive badass.

 

3.  Michael Buble - Christmas

I'm not sure why, but I don't want to like Michael Buble.  I really don't.  Whenever I see his face, my brain always thinks the words, "smug bastard," which doesn't make a whole lot of sense, because I have never actually used those words together before in my life.  And I can also never figure out how to make the little ' above the "e" in his last name, which annoys me.  Anyway.  I didn't have high hopes for his Christmas cd, but unfortunately for me...I loved it.  I loved every minute of it, including the annoying way he sings "Santa BUDDY" instead of Santa baby, and including the irritating French girls that simper "Merry Christmas, Mister Buble!" at the beginning of Jingle Bells, and even including the way he massacred "Blue Christmas" into sounding like a 1920s stripper theme song.  I loved it all.  And you probably will too. 

 

A small side note:  I was once contemplating breaking up with a boy I was dating because he consistently made clicking noises with his tongue (I was in eighth grade, and it was weird.  It's fine.)  So we were riding home from a "date" in the back of my dad's van (again, eighth grade) when he said, "So, if you like John Mayer, you'd probably like this other guy..."  "Oh yeah?  Who?"  And then he said..."Have you heard of him?  Michael 'Bubble'?"  Bubble, you guys.  He said Bubble, like you blow with your gum.  And I cocked my head to the side and said, "Hmm...no, I don't think I have.  I'll have to check him out."  While subconsciously hammering the final nail into the poor boy's dating coffin.  I'm so mean.  But seriously.  Michael Bubble.

 

2.  Now That's What I Call Christmas 4! - Various artists

Sigh.  If this Christmas cd were a man, I would marry it.  Actually, I'm already married, so I would just buy it a drink.  While the Now that's what I Call Music! cds are sadly lacking in quality, containing only the poorly edited songs you hear over and over again on the radio, all the Now! Christmas volumes are pretty great.  But I'm partial to number 4.  It is the Rolls Royce of Christmas compilations.  Everything you would possibly want in a holiday music collection is right here:  Rihanna!  Mariah Carey and her classic "All I Want for Christmas is You!"  Carrie and Martina, the two most beautiful voices in country music!  It's Britney, bitch!  PLUS festive Michael Buble, sexy Adam Levine, and the classics like Burl Ives, Elvis, and good ol' Bing. 

 

To be a bit more specific...Lady Gaga's "Christmas Tree" is the only filthy dirty Christmas song you will ever hear.  And you will love it.  You will get "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" by the Temptations stuck in your head for approximately all of December and most of January too.  The "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy" medley by Bing Crosby and David Bowie is the best thing ever.  The only bad thing on this cd is Christina Aguilera and her over-reaching her voice on her merry little Christmas. 

 

I'm gonna rush through the rest of this list so I can go listen to this cd.

 

And Number 1.  Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton - Once Upon a Christmas

This album is literally the soundtrack of my childhood Christmases, and I know every word.  Sigh.  There are just no descriptions for the cheesy fun that is this cd.  Dolly's squeaky voice in "I Believe in Santa Claus," Kenny's dramatics in "Once Upon a Christmas."  And "Christmas Without You?!"  Oh my gosh.  SO the saddest Christmas song ever - forget Blue Christmas. 

 

Old Christmas songs we knew (sniff)

And used to make love to...(okay, eww)

Make it hard to get used to

Christmas without you (sob!)

 

If you haven't heard this cd, then immediately go download it.  It's especially fun if you make your significant other pretend that he is Kenny and you are Dolly and you sing to each other.  ...Not that I've done this or anything.

 

Side note:  I hit a deer two years ago at night while listening to the sweet sounds of Dolly singing "Winter Wonderland/Sleigh Ride" on full blast.  It was a little bit traumatizing, and the song has never been the same.

 

But now it's time for us to go, as our hearts melt like chimney snow.  There's just one thing I want to know...can we do this next winter?

 

xoxochelsea



 

What? A Video Game I Actually Like?!

My husband spends roughly three hours a day playing video games.  And these are the days that he works, mind you.  When he has the day off, I can sometimes come home at five o'clock to find him unshowered and bleary-eyed, his thumbs twitching from an intense game of Black Ops.  But I have never really seen the appeal in video games, mostly because the ones he plays are of either the football or the shoot-everything-in-sight variety.  Not for me, thanks - I come from the "Thank you Mario, but our Princess is in another castle!" school of gaming.  BUT EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED!  Jared came home the other day to find me similarly unwashed and stringy-haired...and it's all because of this game.  No, no.  This piece of art.

The Unfinished Swan.

Some might say that it's a video game for children.  Those people would be wrong.  (Actually, they wouldn't.  I'm sad to say that I'm pretty sure this game is for kids.)  A sweet little game in which you are a boy named Monroe searching for his mother (by way of a magical painted swan), you are dropped into a totally blank white space and must throw paint in order to get an idea of your surroundings.  Soooo crazy unique and unlike anything I have seen before in a video game.

(image from here)

Once you've reached the second chapter, more colors are introduced, and the main goal is to throw water at vines.  The third chapter involves manipulating light in order to keep you safe in darkness, and the fourth and final chapter involves building platforms. 

 

 

The concept of the game is extremely simple, it's true.  All you really do is walk around, pushing obviously bright red levers, squirting water and paint, and paying attention to the "swan tracks."  There's not really much objective to it, other than following the swan and gathering balloons along the way.  But the entire journey is like walking through an amazing, interactive modern art museum!  And the game itself is like a little fairy tale or storybook.  It doesn't have to be challenging.

 

Another thing is that the game is very short.  I beat it in a day...which means you people out there can probably beat it in about two hours.  It's only four chapters long.  And I'm not sure about the replay value, since once you know the "secrets," you aren't likely to forget them.  But the colors and the total uniqueness of this game made it worth the $15.  I abbbbbsolutely loved it!  It was like reading a really good book that comes with a strangely relaxing soundtrack.

 





(picture from here)

The worst part of all this is that as soon as I finished The Unfinished Swan, I kind of went crazy and desperately started asking Jared for more video game suggestions.  Is gaming an addiction?!  I had no idea...like cigarettes!  Or porn!  I needed more PS3 and I needed it now.  Unfortunately, I have yet to find a game that is even half as good as this one.  (But...though extremely disturbing, Limbo is pretty fun.)  Maybe I need a 12-step program.

Happy gaming!

xoxochelsea

The day has finally come... iPad 3! :)

So after a few months of speculation, the iPad 3 has finally came out. Was it worth the wait? Yeah, I'd say so! If you own an iPad 2, I'd stick with it until next year when the iPad 4 is released, but if you don't own an iPad, I would say you better pick this bad boy up. Now without further ado, I now present my review of one of Apple's greatest products to date, the iPad 3. :D

iPad 3 (Image found here)

So if you're an average tech geek like myself, you'll find yourself saying, "Well, it looks like the iPad 2. What could apple have possibly done to outdo its predecessor?" Let me start off by stating that this "beastly" 9.7 inch tablet has the best resolution of any handheld device. Ever.

For all you non-tech peeps, I will give you an example of the resolution.

(You can find this image here)



As you can see from this picture above , the iPad 3 has the best resolution of all time. The resolution is 2048-by-1536, and has 3.1 million pixels. To put that into perspective, that's four times the amount of pixels in iPad 2, and one million more than an HDTV. Wowzers!

Comparison of HDTV and iPad 3 (Image can be found here)



Not only does the gorgeous display give everyone the goosebumps, but just imagine playing Angry Birds on that... Amazing. Nuff said. But with the gaming comes a huge boost in the GPU area. The iPad 3 now comes with A5X chip with quad core graphic drives. Surprisingly, Apple didn't jump ship yet to the A6 quad core chip, but this A5X souped up version will do just fine! Also, for all you other tablet users, this A5X chip is four times more powerful than Nvida's Tegra 3 chip. Boom! :)

The two things that disappointed me about this year's model was the fact that they still have the same Apple home button as previous models have. The second thing that disappointed me was the fact that the front camera is still .3 MP. Shake my head, come on Apple, upgrade this to facetime HD!

To wrap things up, the iPad also comes standard with 4G LTE, the first for Apple products, now hopefully they integrate that with the iPhone 5. Also, the iPad 3 now comes with a 5MP camera on the back of it. Lastly, if you plan on taking a long road trip or flight, or just want to go to the bedroom and watch a movie, this new model lasts up to 10 hours.

I sure can't wait to get my hands on one of these. They are released on March 16. My birthday's the 17th, anyone willing to buy me one? :)


-JRad

Little Pink Boxes = Happiness!

Have you heard of this amazing thing that is Birchbox?!  I heard of it via Nothing But Bonfires, who posted about it a while back, and I am in love.  Basically, when you sign up for the Birchbox "monthly subscription", you pay ten bucks a month to receive an adorable little pink box in the mail every four weeks that contains five or six (sample-sized) beauty/hair/body/lifestyle products, the likes of which you would find in a store like Sephora.  As a gal who used to write down literally every beauty tip and product mentioned in a magazine, this seemed...phenomenal. 

And yeah, I get it, I get that it's silly to spend a hundred bucks a year for sample sizes of beauty products, but you can cancel your subscription whenever you like; there's really no drawback to it.  Except.  Well, you know how you get the big fat September issue of InStyle or something and it's amazing in all its glossy glory and packed full of great tips and ideas for outfits?  And then all is good and well until maybe February rolls around, and you run to Target for the new issue, and it's approximately the thickness of the newest iPod...so you dog-ear a couple pages or so, but really, you're kind of feeling like you wasted your money on this thing that should have been awesome?  Well, Birchbox CAN be like that.  It definitely varies month to month.  For example, one month, I received a full-size Stila eyeliner, a sample of Juicy Couture perfume, and this amazing fancy facial moisturizer that I am trying to use as sparingly as possible.  However, the next month, I got, like, fake eyelashes and a sample of a granola bar (among other things, yes, and, okay, I'm sure it's the brand of granola bar that, like, Kate Hudson eats, but still).  So you see how it is.  Sometimes you hit the jackpot and sometimes you don't. 

Regardless, I get so excited to see that hot pink box at the post office each month!  It's like Christmas comes 12 times a year instead of 1.  They also send a little postcard with each box that describes each product and how it can be used...and the box is decorated with fancy tissue paper (which is a different color each month)!  It is just fun.  Here's a list of the things I've received and loved since I signed up in November:

*Zoya nail polish in a kind of denim color
*Alex and Isabelle hair tie that doubles as a bracelet in a very festive red
*Thymes body lotion that smells SO GOOD and isn't greasy at all, which I love
*kate spade new york Twirl perfume - the packaging is adorable and it smells amazing
*Jouer moisturizing lip gloss in a hot pink color that is surprisingly sheer and flattering
*Clark's Botanicals Smoothing Marine Cream - at first sniff, I was a little nervous to put this on my face, but it's actually THE BEST facial moisturizer I've ever come across!  Sadly, though, I got on the website to try and buy some...and the smallest size costs $115.  Yeesh!
*colorescience pro Mineral Bronzer Face Color - This was a cute little puff that came all prepackaged with the bronzer inside.  The bronzer was very natural and subtle.

What do you think?  Is this something you would try?

xoxochelsea