Review of Limited Edition Febreze Air Effects: Winter Magic & Glow

I was actually hoping to see a heck of a lot more limited edition seasonal scents from Febreze this holiday, however I found that their winter scents are just as limited as the limited edition label they slap on to them.

Dang it!

So the selection is scarce, and I have yet to see a ton of variety, however I finally came across one new scent for their winter line up (which I hope grows). This one is called Limited Edition Febreze Air Effects: Winter Magic & Glow, and it comes in the standard aluminum spray can that all Air Effects come in.

This one separates itself from the standard spray bottles though, by gracing shelves with a fancy icy dark blue coloring, and a pretty snowflake centered around the logo.
I was excited about what this scent would deliver, as I am when it comes to anything Febreze puts out there. The name however gets me tongue tied still, and that's annoying.

The Scent:

Winter Magic & Glow surprised me when it came to the spray can of Air Effects. The reason being was that I took a sniff of the candle that Febreze released; also called Winter Magic & Glow, and I have to say the 2 scents do not at all smell alike, which was definitely something Febreze has never done before. Usually their candles scents match the spray cans, and plug ins. In this case though you have a candle the smells like a soft laundry detergent, and then this room spray that smells like men's cologne.

It has a very mountain cool air type vibe about it, which I really like a lot, but at the same time, I have to say that it truly smells like a cologne that a man could spray on himself and wear. I even had a friend tell me that it smelled like a manly mans cologne.

Last:

Many of Febreze's Air Effects are short lived once you spray them. I am OK with that though, as many other room spray brands have the same lasting quality. Febreze though always has that extra special uplifting mood setter, so this is why I continue to buy them.

When it comes to Winter Magic & Glow though, this one has a longer last to it when you spray it. It lingers around for quite a bit, especially in smaller rooms, or if sprayed on linen.

Overall:

Although I do not smell anything wintery going on in this one, I still like it a lot. It has this manly cooling sensation about it, which I like.

Review of Glade Spruce It Up Spray

The holidays are quickly approaching. Just as quickly as they flew in, they will also fly out. I find ways to hold on to my favorite holidays for just a little longer, usually in the form of candles with a holiday scent, or room fragrance sprays.

Febreze is usually one of my top favorites throughout the year when it comes to home fragrances. However Glade, is truly holding its own as a top competitor. They spiced up their overall look, and it seems like they are a brand new brand on a battlefield for best home fragrances. When I came across Glade, Spruce It Up, Room Fragrance Spray, I knew immediately that this would be one that would be coming home with me.

They painted up the can nicely in a dark Christmas Tree colored green, and added a white slashed drawn Christmas Tree to the can. All in all, it stands out more than Febreze's pine scented holiday limited edition can this year.

While the can beats out its competitors, does the scent?
The scent of Glade's Spruce It Up, smells just like an authentic pine tree, however they add a small hint of what smells like creamy vanilla to it, which takes away the total authentic vibe. However the overall scents combined are not a bad one, and even Febreze couldn't capture the true scent of a Christmas Tree, as their scent tends to have this crisp air undertone about it as well.
Glade's Spruce It Up fragrance is definitely one that reminded me of the holiday, but I wish they would have avoided mixing that creamy vanilla undertone to it, as it made it seem less pine in overall scent.

Last:

Like many room fragrance sprays, this one did not last all too long after spraying it into the air. The nozzle sprays out the fragrance in a more wispy manner, but not as thin and fine as Febreze Air Effects does.

However, the scent seems to last just as long as any other room spray. I got a total of around 10 minutes of detecting notes of scent, before it was gone completely.

Overall:

Spruce It Up is a decent scent, however it did not capture that total essence of the holiday due to the added mixture of vanilla undertones, which ruined the overall freshness that the pine scent initially had. It's still good though, and I would rate this one 4 out of 5 stars.

-Review also on AC/YAHOO

Review of Limited Edition Air Wick Candle, Winter & Candlelight Warmth

Every year, around the fall season I begin my annual stock up of seasonally scented candles, as fall and winter fragrances are my favorite. Sadly, I only come across these limited edition fragrances once a year, so it is natural to do a test run with newly released scents to decide if it's something I want to stock up on.

Limited Edition Air Wick Candle, Winter & Candlelight Warm is by far a candle that I will be heading back for to do a stock up on.

Anyhow, when it comes to Air Wick, I have never before viewed them as a fragrance company that would manage to stick around for too long, especially ever since Glade picked up their slack, and Febreze took over in nearly every department relating to home fragrances, from candles, plug ins, and even laundry detergent.

However after coming across Limited Edition Air Wick Candle, Winter & Candlelight Warm, I am pretty confident that Air Wick will hold their own, and do it without issue.

This particular candle comes in a cup shaped frosted glass, inside you have a pretty robins egg blue colored wax, which does in fact remind you of arctic iceberg ice. It's pretty, but gives off a wintery vibe when looking at it.

The Scent:

Limited Edition Air Wick Candle, Winter & Candlelight Warm smells simply fantastic and it gives off a unique icy type of scent. It's scent initially is that of a fresh running river, but with this perfect hint of cool and refreshing mountain air topped with a fresh blanket of snow.

When lit, the candle gives off the same scent that I got from the initial in store sniff test.

The Last:

The candle begins to disperse this iced scent nearly immediately, which I really liked. While burning the scent never changed, which was a major plus in my opinion.

After the candle is blown out, the scent will linger for a very long time, which is another major wow factor for me.

Overall:

Limited Edition Air Wick Candle, Winter & Candlelight Warm floods a room quickly with this wintery blizzard like fragrance, which is unique and definitely new to what is out there as far as competition goes. I would recommend this one to just about anyone who enjoys a fragrance that manages to capture an actual outdoor scent.

For $5.00, I do not think I could find a better wintery candle.

Review of Glade Peppermint Crush Room Spray

Ho! Ho! Ho! The holidays are approaching, and just about every home fragrance company already has their holiday line of fragrances packed up and shelved for consumers. Glade in particular has released some new gems, and I have to give them props, this company was borderline failing a few years ago with the lack of eye candy on shelves. Over the past 2 years though, they have revamped their home fragrance line with enticing and eye catching new products.

Glade, Peppermint Crush Room Spray caught my eye immediately, and even while sitting on a bottom shelf in the fragrance isle.

The can is a pretty ruby red, featuring 2 candy canes overlapping one another. I was not sure what to expect from it, as most companies that release a peppermint fragrance never manage to hit the mark when it comes to something people would want to smell in their homes. Glade however managed to bottle up a very uplifting scent, which definitely captured the essence of the Christmas holiday.

Glade, Peppermint Crush Room Spray smells like a candy cane, that's for sure, but it is not overwhelming or too peppermint like. It has a warm undertone of something more vanilla cream in the peppermint mix which works well, and blends with the peppermint fragrance perfectly.

Does It Last?

Many room sprays have a glorious scent when you first spray them around the room, but sadly many of them also fizzle out just as quickly as they come flowing out of the can.

When it comes to this particular holiday fragrance, the scent does have some lasting effect, however they are not very long lived. You can detect the scent if you leave the room and come back 10 minutes later, but after that, there is not much left that you will notice.

Overall:

The scent is delicious, brings in a holiday essence, but does not really stick around that long. The plus however, is that a very small spray of it floods the room quickly. If the scent could stick around for a loner period of time though, this one would have been a 5 star home fragrance. However due to it's lack in staying power, I'd flop a 3 star rating on it.

How To Set Up Roku

1
Out of the box the Roku comes with everything you need to set it up. Setting it up us rather simple, but sometimes for new users even things that are meant to be simple, can be difficult if you have never worked with networks before.

2
The Roku comes with standard VGA cables. You have the option to hook the Roku up using HDMI cables as well. I will be focusing on hooking the Roku up though with what it came with, which includes the VGA cables, and the power chord.

3
First you simply need to unbox the unit. (Duh!) Next plug it into the wall outlet, and plug the VGA cables into the matching colors on the back of the ROKU.

4
Next you will need to find your VGA ports on your TV set. Most TV sets come with this, if you TV does not have VGA ports, it will not work. If your TV is an HDTV, you can use the HDMI ports.

5
Anyhow, once you have everything plugged in, make sure you set your TV set to the correct source. You may have to change the channel in order to find which channel the Roku is on.
On HDTV units, simply connect it to the correct source. Mine is set on HDMI3.

6
The Roku set up screen should display. Keep playing with the channels, or source if you cannot find it. Once it is up, you will be taken through the set up menu. Once you scan through the menus, your network name should come up.

7
Choose your network, and add your password if you have a private network. If it is an open unsecured network you can just choose your network name and go to the next menu.

8
Sit back, wait for the updates. Once updates finish, a 4 or 5 digit code will pop up on the screen on your TV set. You will have to sign on to the Netflix website that is also on the screen.

9
Add the code onto the website, and your Roku will now be connected to your Netflix account.

10
In order to watch movies, you have to add them to your Netflix instant Que, or you can order them off of Amazon Videos right on the Roku.

Things You Will Need:

Roku, Netflix Account, Internet Access- Home Wireless Network

Review of De Blob 2 for Playstation 3

This past weekend I picked up 2 new titles, initially I wanted De Blob 2 for the Nintendo Wii, but unfortunately the dude at Gamestop accidentally hooked me up with the PS3 version, which by the way was $20 higher than the Wii version. Yeah I'm miffed about it, but stuck with it.

At any rate, I worried about the controls in regards to the PS3. In the original De Blob video game, use of the wii mote was fun, and the controls were relatively flawless. I wondered how in hell they were going to incorporate use of the PS3 controller, seeing that I did not have PS3 Move.

Plot:

De Blob 2 starts off as one would expect. Your same hero is your main character, and his goal is to defeat enemies, while restoring color back into the environment brought on before him.

Game play:

De Blob 2 features a lush and colorful 3D world, where 2D is sometimes introduced into the mix. De Blob rolls around the environment in search of paint colors, which you will need to restore color back to the town. However some building require certain colors in order to advance to your next task.

The thing is, the game is rather easy, and there is not a ton of action, what the game does deliver though is a relaxing and oddly engaging and addicting type of game play, where you just sit back, relax, and roll around painting up everything in sight. For me, the first time paying it was almost like a stress release, and it was rather enjoyable.

Controls:

The controls in the game all work without a hitch. You roll and jump your round blob of goo around and color bleached out buildings, surroundings and so on. The camera panning and rotating is a bit flawed though, and at times using the controller to spin the angles around became tedious and sometimes slightly glitchy. Thankfully it is not so horrid as to where it ruins game play.

De Blob 2 is also Playstation Move compatible, so if you have that particular extra, you can use the Move controllers, which I am sure will make controls even easier and funner.

Graphics:

De Blob 2 does not deliver stellar graphics, but it works and is suiting to the type of game that it is. The graphics are semi similar to what you would find in a Banjo Kazooie game, or Mario Bros. The environment is lush, unique, and colorful, once you restore color to it that is.

Multiplayer:

There is multiplayer incorporated into De Blob 2. A partner can help you along the way, but they are semi limited. They can hold paint in reserve for your use, and help kill off enemies. They cannot paint though.

Overall:

De Blob 2 is definitely a fun stress free game, and it is easy to become submersed into it. The issue however is that the same game is available on the Wii for $20 less. I wish I would have gotten it for the Wii instead because it would probably have been funner as far as controls go, and of course easier on the wallet.

For those without a Nintendo Wii though, I would recommend this game still, even with the higher price, as it is fun for anyone, at any age.

Review of Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheat's, with a Touch of Fruit in the Middle.

2 years ago one of my wishes was that cereal companies would create new flavors to plop onto shelves, because I got sick of eating the same stuff day in and day out. Selections were slim pickings, but thankfully a year later nearly every cereal company began competing with one another to create the latest and greatest trend in cereal. While some managed to create sure classic favorites, others managed to miss the mark by a landslide. Cheerios as of late is probably my favorite cereal that seem to be releasing new cereals with awesome new flavors.

Last weekend I happened to stumble upon Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheat's, with a Touch of Fruit in the Middle.

When it comes to mini wheat's in general you sort of have to already have an acquired taste for them, otherwise they are not that spectacular.

Years ago Mini Wheat's drew me in as a fan when I finally gave their Frosted Mini Wheat's a try. I became hooked, and every now and again would stock a box of them in my cabinet. When I saw these new Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheat's, with a Touch of Fruit in the Middle featuring Mixed Berry as the fruit in the middle, I did not hesitate. I threw a box into my cart and couldn't wait to get home to try them out.

Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheat's, with a Touch of Fruit in the Middle looks like a standard Mini Wheat, although you can see the middle mixed berry fruit slightly oozing out of the ends of the wheat pieces.

I tried one dry, and was not too pleased with the blending of sweet fruit and a more bland mini wheat chunk. It was like munching on a very, very dry tasteless granola bar, and once you begin to chew the fruit center begins to make its presence known. The fruit however is where the problem lies. It was like a strawberry flavored fruit snack, or fruit roll-up. Sweet, sugary, and artificial tasting.

In milk, the combo is a lot better because the powdered sugar on top of the mini wheat begins to melt a little adding a sweet flavor to the bland mini wheat pieces. In milk it is not so bad, eating this one dry however is sort of gross.

Even in milk though, those of you whom have never liked Frosted Mini Wheat's in general, will not like this one. It's more for those who have acquired the taste for them.


All in all though, once added to milk Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheat's, with a Touch of Fruit in the Middle, is not bad at all. It's good for you, healthy, and you won't feel guilty after eating them.

Do I think Kellogg's could have done better with this new flavor? Of course, but I am excited to see what they will hatch up next.

Double Mmmm... Cinnamon Burst Cheerios: A Review

Cheerios seems to be releasing new, and delicious flavors every time I turn around. There most recent addition to the ever growing popular flavors goes to Cinnamon Burst Cheerios, and honestly I think that these new delights are by far the best new release they have had to date, in fact I think they are the best tasting new cereal on selves in general.

Initially I was thinking that these Cinnamon Burst Cheerios would taste like original Cheerios with a light dust of cinnamon added to the mix. Honestly I was not expecting to be majorly impressed with them, as their Banana flavored Cheerios sort of turned me off.

I was dead wrong in pre-judging Cinnamon Burst Cheerios though, in fact it seems like our classical little favorites have been totally revamped into something new, modern, and not to mention addicting. Cinnamon Burst Cheerios come packed with an all new flavoring, and no, there is barely a hint of the original Cheerio flavor in Cinnamon Burst Cheerios; fear not, this is a good thing!

Cinnamon Burst Cheerios taste like a warm cinnamon bun fresh from the over. It has a delicious mix of perfect cinnamon flavoring, and sugar added over the little O shaped cereal.

When eaten dry its like having a satisfying snack that tastes like cinnamon grahm crackers, it combines a perfect crunch with perfect sugary cinnamon flavoring, and when milk is added what you have is a delicious breakfast cereal that could be eaten in the morning, in the afternoon or at night. Heck, even a snack if you wanted.

Overall:

Cinnamon Burst Cheerios are probably the best flavored cereal I have come across in a long time. I do not feel guilty eating these because they are good for me, and they do not come packed with a bunch of sugary marshmallow pieces like most new releases have been packed with lately.

You can find these new flavors just about anywhere cereal is sold. Target seems to always have them in stock, so definitely check them out!

Mmmm... Review of Pancake Pockets by Entenmann's

When I first spotted a box of Pancake Pockets by Entenmann's, I was definitely intrigued at what these things would taste like. On the box they features a photo of 2 smaller sized pancakes sandwiching in maple

syrup. I wanted to try them, and wondered how on earth Entenmann's executed Pancake Pockets without the syrup making the pancakes soggy and disgusting.

I have no idea how they did it, but my God they did it, and they did it right. This is like a dream breakfast on the go, it is not messy, it's easy to eat, and they are delicious!

The syrup in the middle of the 2 pancakes is done up a bit thicker in order to keep the syrup from running. I eat them both cold out of the box, and sometimes I will throw one into the microwave for a few seconds to heat it up. Heating them up gives them a more real deal type of texture as the pancake becomes a little more limber and less thick and stiff. It also allows the maple syrup to loosen up a bit.

Taste:

The pancakes themselves taste almost exactly like McDonald's hotcakes, where the pancake itself tastes like it already contains the perfect amount of sweet butter making it so you do not have to add any, and the syrup just about matches McDonald's brand of maple syrup as well, only in Pocket Pancakes the syrup is thicker, but just as equally delicious.

Each Pancake Pocket is individually wrapped allowing you to easily tote them along with you.

For me they are good to go out of the box, and it makes my mornings a lot easier. I do not have to stop anywhere for breakfast,or wake up earlier to cook. These come right out of the box and I bring one along with me to work every morning.

Overall:

For those of you whom love pancakes, but hate having to cook them yourself before heading off to work, Entenmann's Pancake Pockets are the perfect real deal substitute. They combine genuine flavor in a simple form, allowing you to just pop one into your bag and go.

Review of Frosted Cheerios by General Mills

I know that Frosted Cheerios by General Mills is not a new flavor of Cheerios, in fact it has been on the market for quite a few years now. Oddly enough though, I never managed to spot them till this past weekend. It seems Target has been paying extra attention to Cheerios this year as they tend to take up a lot more real estate on the shelves than they used to. Now, you cannot miss it when Cheerios introduces a new flavor.

Frosted Cheerios comes in a dark blue colored box, which coincidentally matches that blue hue that you find on Kellogg's Frosted Flakes.

Although Frosted Cheerios cannot even come close to beating the addicting flavor that Frosted Flakes delivers, they are one heck of a good runner up for the best frosted cereal on the market as of late.

Basically what we have here is a modernized Cheerio. Frosted Cheerios blasts them up with a delicious sugary frost that actually improves the flavoring of our original classic favorites, Cheerios.

I especially enjoyed the fact that they were not over done with the frost and sweet sugary presence. While it will in fact leave your milk a bit sweeter than usual, the sugary flavoring is not overwhelming.

The best thing about Frosted Cheerios, besides the delicious sugary flavoring, is the fact that each O remains crunchy from start to finish while eating them. No sog!!!

Overall:

Cheerios has lately been releasing a lot of new additional flavors to their ever growing family of Cheerios flavors, and Frosted Cheerios, although not completely new, is one heck of a welcomed delicious flavor to the family, and surely it will remain around long enough to be considered a classic favorite in due time.

This one is sweet enough for kids to enjoy, and not too sweet as to where adults couldn't enjoy them! They are good enough for the whole family, and I imagine you will be buying boxes of them quite often, especially after you try your first bowl.

You can find Frosted Cheerios just about anywhere you buy cereal. Target in particular stocks them up nicely making it impossible to miss them.

Review of Nana Saver- The Banana Container!

What a silly, stupid looking thing', was exactly what I though when I spotted the Nana Saver hanging from a small rack on the checkout-line at my local Walmart. But then, just as quickly as I thought the storage

container was stupid, was as quickly as I was picking it up and plopping it into my cart as a last minute whim of a purchase.

I eat bananas! I never eat the whole thing, and I usually store the other half in the fridge only to come back to it later on to find it so revolting to look at, that it ends up getting tossed outside to the birds an squirrels.

I figured hey, maybe this Nana Saver will actually work, no matter how silly the thing looks.

The Concept:

Basically you place a cut half of a banana into the narrow opening, and close it. It will then keep the banana from being exposed to the elements, which quickly brown it.

I did not see how it would work, or why it would work, but I was hoping it actually did work.

Results:

I got around to using the Nana Saver yesterday after using half a banana in my cereal. I wanted to save the other half so naturally I turned to my new Nana Saver, and placed it into the refrigerator.

This morning I woke up, and to my surprise, the Nana Saver had actually done exactly what it said it would do. It kept my fresh banana from turning brown, and I was actually able to eat the banana without tossing it due to the gross browning process.

Overall:

Like a book, do not judge it by its cover. The Nana Saver may look like another one of those stupid tools you do not need, but when it actually comes down to it, this storage container works, and it works well. If you eat bananas on a regular basis and find you are always tossing half of it due to it spoiling or looking too disgusting to eat, perhaps the Nana Saver would come in handy for you as well.

Review of Snyder's of Hanover Jalapeno Cheddar Pumpernickel Pretzel Sandwiches

Back in December I was hooked on Snyder's of Hanover York Peppermint Patti Chocolate Covered Pretzel Sandwiches. So now, whenever I am browsing the pretzel section of my local Target I seek out new releases by Snyder's of Hanover.

My weekend find went to Snyder's of Hanover Jalapeno Cheddar Pumpernickel Pretzel Sandwiches, a new pretzel filled sandwich from the company I so love and adore. Being a fan of spicy hot jalapenos I figured these sandwiches would become my newbie favorites.

They are made up pretty much the same way all of Snyder's new filled pretzel's are made. 2 Pretzel rounds flooded with a delicious center. In this case jalapeno cheddar.

So how are they?

Snyder's of Hanover Jalapeno Cheddar Pumpernickel Pretzel Sandwiches are bite sized, and initially taste delicious. They pack a nice fresh crisp crunch thanks to the high quality pretzels, followed up by a spiced center. The thing though I did not care for was the center though.

These jalapeno cheddar stuffed pretzel sandwiches are more pepper flavored than they are anything else. I did not get a sense of genuine jalapeno flavoring, and the supposed cheddar flavor was non existent to the taste buds.

I was expecting delicious creamy salted center, with a nice tinge of jalapeno, but instead what it tasted like was a peppery center, and the lack of that mouth watering salt I should have gotten from the cheddar was not at all present.

Overall:

The pretzels are good, but the center needs work. I would have called this one black pepper, because that is really all you taste.

Not my favorite Snyder's filled pretzel sandwich, but also not bad, they are tolerable and you can eat them without an issue. I just wished the flavor in the middle was more realistic to what they named them.