How LazyMom Looks Like UberMom Today
July 16, 2008
I haven’t done a lot of product reviews on this blog up to this point, unless you count software or online sites. But some days, my life is all about the super cool product I’ve found somehow and I usually find myself telling friends and family all about it.
At this point, you guys are friends, right?
I will note that nothing I’ve reviewed on this site so far, including what I’m about to talk about has been pitched to me, nor have I been remunerated in any way by any of the companies whose sites or products I have reviewed. If that were ever to happen, you’d better believe I’d be up front about it. But in the case of the stuff I’ve reviewed so far, it’s just UberCool stuff I thought I should share.
Okay, that out of the way. Let’s talk about two UberCool products that I’m all about today.
The first one is Downy Wrinkle Releaser.
Now this little bottle has a magic potion in it. Seriously. I went out and bought a new bottle today to take with me to San Francisco this week. Because when it comes down to it? I loathe ironing.
I first heard about this product last year before going on a cruise. The folks over on the DisBoards were all raving about how wonderful it was - especially since you can’t take irons on-board a cruise ship - not even travel irons.
I got my first bottle thinking “yeah, well, at worst it will work as well as a spray bottle filled with water - but if it does work better, cool!”
Now? My husband has to convince me not to use it on everything. Yeah, seriously, it’s cheaper to iron. But it’s faster and easier to spritz something with this, tug a bit, and Voila! you have a garment that looks better than it does after most ironing jobs.
And if you really want to be rocking it? you can use this as a spray before ironing. It gets the wrinkles out faster and easier and leaves a nice clean scent too.
Before someone posts to tell me how “Product X” works pretty much the same or that you could do the same thing more cheaply by just hanging suitcase-creased clothes in a steamy bathroom - let me just tell you - if you had tried this, you wouldn’t say that. It’s kind of creepy how well it works. Especially on those “little girl dresses” that look so pristine in the store, on the hanger, but the first time they come out of the dryer are a mass of wrinkles that defy any normal-sized iron…
I honestly recommend this product to everyone & anyone who will listen to me. The do have a nifty 3 oz. Travel Size option for those business travelers doing the carry-on routine - but I’ve never seen it in the stores. But, once you are hooked, you can always by them in bulk here. I meant to do that before this trip but time slipped away, so I’ll be lugging enough for a dozen other BlogHer friends to de-wrinkle-ify themselves too.
Still, if I were traveling as much for business as some of my friends, believe me, I’d be knee-deep in these carry-on size ones. Faster, easier, and better results than the hotel iron.
Trust me, LazyMommies always find the easiest way to do something!
Speaking of which, today while I was at the store buying the bottle of liquid de-wrinkling magic known as Downie Wrinkle Releaser, I sort of stumbled into another completely unrelated product that will now be going on my list of must-haves.
Duncan Hines Oven Ready! Homestyle Brownies
Oh. My. Gosh.
Buttercup, ever the eagle-eyed dessert connoisseur, saw these when we were standing in the Frozen Desserts section while I was perusing the 100-calorie-won’t-make-you-feel-guilty frozen offerings.
“Mommy! Brownies!” she squealed, looking at the conveniently placed at a 5-yr-old’s eye-level box you see here.
Granted, she’s been teaching herself how to read for the past few weeks - but who needs reading skills when there’s a picture like that on the box?
Since I succumb willingly to MommyGuilt on a regular basis, and since I’m leaving tomorrow and won’t get to see her until Sunday, and since I personally love a good brownie and plan on excising them from my diet when I get back next week, I took the box out and looked it over.
Did I mention it was the last box left in the freezer? Surrounded by dozens of other tempting treats that were all fully stocked, this one lone little box was sitting there looking like it might disappear if I waited too long. (Yes, yes, I know - but I’m good at rationalizing stuff to myself!)
So. The box said that I could take out the little tray that the batter is in straight from the freezer, peel off the plastic, put it into a 350 oven for 25-27 minutes and *Poof!* perfectly baked “Homestyle Brownies” in a disposable tray. No mixing, no mess, no cleanup.
How could I resist?
Well you know I couldn’t, so I didn’t. We got home, pre-heated the oven, opened the box, peeled the plastic, threw the little trayful of frozen brownie batter on a cookie sheet, popped it in the oven and waited 27 minutes.
Annnnnd then we waited another half hour because GeekMommy is evil & mean & cruel and forgot that she was waiting for them to cool down until a forlorn Buttercup reminded her with “can we have a brownie now Mommy??!!?”
Okay, granted, these only taste “homestyle” if the only kind of brownies you’ve ever made in your home come from a box. But if the only brownies you’ve ever made come from a box? These are bound to be better.
Maybe it’s that the industrial mixing & measuring that occurs long before it exits the Duncan Hines factory - which is surely more efficient than what we can do in our little home kitchens - but these are darn near perfect brownies.
Just ask Buttercup. She snarfed hers down quickly and asked for another one. (No, not until after dinner! I’m lazy, but I’m not really that bad of a Mom.) Okay, yeah, 5-year-old-palates may not be that discerning when it comes to brownies - but mine disappeared just as quickly. Yeah, I wanted another one too. But I’m trying to save the rest for when GeekDaddy gets home and we’re done with dinner. Given that you get about 8 decent sized brownies out of the tray, that means 2 more for each of us.
Shh! He doesn’t have to know that Buttercup & I already snarfed one each, does he?
Meanwhile, I’ll be putting a couple of these in my freezer for those times when I need to look like UberMom by “actually baking” without really having to do anything much. I highly recommend it for anyone needing to take brownies to a ‘function’ as well - I mean, the tray is disposable. Cool. So Duncan Hines Oven Ready! Homestyle Brownies get a huge thumbs up!
Okay, now I’m going to go play with Buttercup given how much brownie-fueled energy we both have!! See ya!
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