Dove Advanced Conditioner Review

I'm not going to lie. One perk to blogging is the opportunity to try out new products for free.  I like product and I'm cheap.  This is a double win for me.

I am, however, honest in my reviews.  My blog is my happy place and selling my soul for a small amount of money would be sad.  Having said that...

I just tried out Dove's line of advanced conditioners.  The Intensive Repair conditioner to be exact.  I haven't tried a Dove product that I didn't like so I was excited to test out this conditioner. 

I naturally have thick and coarse hair. I thank my father for these qualities.  And my amazing sense of humor. Conditioner is a must for me.  My hair is super short but I still can't get a comb through it without using conditioner.  True story.

I color my hair. I blow dry my hair.  I flat iron my hair.  My poor, poor hair.  Not to mention that this summer has been particularly hard on my hair.  Sun exposure, heat, and humid have done a number on it.

Dove Intensive Repair conditioner is designed to reconstruct hair and prevent split-ends and breakage.  It is designed to leave hair strengthened and resilient to future damage without weighing it down. The pharmacist in me is always curious as to how these things are supposed to work.  The Dove website tells me that "Fiber Active technology penetrates deep inside the hair strand, helping rebind damaged proteins.  Patented Micromoisture Serum targets damage, repairing the surface of hair by sealing lifted cuticles."  Sounds fancy.

Now on to the important stuff. What did I think? It smells good.  Not too strong.  Not too floraly (That's a word. I swear).  The conditioner has a nice, thick formula.  My hair felt soft after using it.  It was seemed less frizzy and a little shinier.  Most importantly, I could get a comb through my hair without crying.  Bonus!  The conditioner didn't weigh my hair down or make it feel greasy.  Overall, I was definitely pleased with the conditioner.  Dove just doesn't let me down!

Are you a conditioner user?  Is summer wreckign havoc on anyone else's hair? Who's ready for fall?  In the mean time, be sure to enter the contest below!!  There is also a link to a coupon for you fellow money savers out there.

Enter to win a $1,000 Spafinder gift certificate!

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY

COMMENTS TO THIS POST ARE NOT SWEEPSTAKES ENTRIES. PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR ENTRY METHODS FOR THIS SWEEPSTAKES.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Follow this link, and provide your email address and your response to the Promotion prompt

b) Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: "#SweepstakesEntry"; and then visit this link to provide your email address and the URL to that Tweet.

c) Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and then visit this link to provide your email address and the URL to that post.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. Winners will have 72 hours to claim the prize, or an alternative winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 9/4/2012 - 9/30/2012

Be sure to visit Dove^®Hair.com to get a coupon for $1.50 off Dove Hair Therapy products.

$500 & Our Home From Scratch

Happy Labor Day to my American readers! Happy Monday to the rest of the world!

I am taking a little vacation with Nate and my brother.  I didn't want to leave the blog all alone so I tricked five fellow bloggers into writing a guest post for me.  See, I asked them to write a guest post about what they would do with $500 fun money.  I think most of them thought I was going to give them $500 to do so but so sad for them. They just get the wonderful experience of being a guest blogger on Decor and the Dog!  That's almost as good as $500 cash, right?

First up are John and Lisa from Our Home from Scratch.



John and Lisa are fixing up their new construction home.  Sound familiar?   What isn't quite as familiar is that John does a lot of the blog writing. They recently finished their dining room and it's quite lovely.  Be sure to check out their informative posts on how to install moldings.

 ***

Hey everybody! Lisa and I were lucky enough to be asked to write a guest post for one of our favorite blogs. So I guess you could say we're blog sitting for the day. It's sorta like baby sitting, except Michelle didn't leave us pizza money on the fridge. The good news? Nate doesn't have to drive us home when we're done.

To help us out, Michelle selected the topic: what we'd do with $500. It's an interesting idea. For the sake of making the post tolerable for your guys and not turn this into an episode of Clark Howard, we're not going to suggest things we'd actually do with an extra $500, like make an additional payment on my student loans or add it to our 401(k). Yawn city. No, instead we're going to list the things we'd really, really like to do with $500.

Since everybody likes lists, here's our top five things we're itching to spend that dough on. Please note, we would definitely donate 10% to a charity up front, so really we are already down to $450. Have to check that box!

5. Make it rain up in here. For real, this one is Lisa's idea. We're talking about a stack of George Washington's getting tossed into the air. Swimming in cash. You can't say you've never wanted to do this. Since we can't actually swim through a stack of bills like Scrooge McDuck, this is the next best thing. We may spend a solid $5 on a cheap bottle of Proseco or Donaghy Estates to celebrate the moment. While we're at it, why not take a bath in only Evian water as well.

4. Buy a copy of Photoshop. Do you know that Photoshop costs nearly $600!? Say what? Remember the good old days when the most expensive software program was Where In the World is Carmen San Diego? And that was like $40. Oregon Trail was around $10. Ridiculous. Maybe I should pull the cord and go back to my old Apple IIe. We've been thinking about getting a graphics software package to draw some logos and banners for our blog. Windows Paint just doesn't cut it.

3. Redo our home office. This room is sort of a catch-all. It needs some help. We've got plans to rip out the carpet, install hardwood and make some home made built-ins with a custom desk.

Our Current Office:

Aside from the floors, the most expensive aspect will be the wood for the built-ins. We're thinking poplar and plywood, with it all painted white. The hardest part of this job will be finding time to build everything. $500 should just about cover the material costs. Either way, we're likely to start this project over my December break (I'm in grad school part-time). We like the look of these built ins, but we would have to configure them to fit into our office space.

(via Houzz.com)

2. Buy a "big girl" bedroom set for our daughter. Every now and then Lisa will peak at the Pottery Barn and Land of Nod catalog's bedroom sets. It's tough to justify spending that kinda money on toddler furniture, but $500 could make that an easy decision. She is really loving this Jenny Lind twin bed from Land of Nod.

 

1. I promised Michelle I would "dude" this post up a bit for Nate's sake, so here goes. I'm in the market for a MIG welder. Have I ever welded before? No. Do I know anything about welding? Does watching a 2 minute long YouTube video count? Because, if it does, then I'm a learned doctor of welding. I figure the keys to a quality weld job involve not getting blinded by the arc flash and not setting yourself on fire. Easy peasy. My Jeep needs a rusty body panel replaced and it's well past its prime. It's seems like a perfect opportunity to learn some welding. There are also a bunch of other welding/metal working projects that would be suddenly be possible with a welder. So that's what we'd
blowinvest our five Benjamins on.

What would you do with $500?

Lisa and John blog about their home improvement projects and other fun stuff at Our Home from Scratch.

Sedona/Grand Canyon Recommendations

I don't know about you all but I stink at planning for trips.  Luckily Nate does picks up my slack.  Sort of-ish. 

We are headed to Sedona/Grand Canyon soon.  We would love your input on places to eat, things to do and hiking trail recommendations in both locations!  You all didn't let us down in Chicago so I'm excited to hear what your favorite Arizona spots are.

via

Enjoy the rest of your week-end!  We have a great group of bloggers lined up with guest posts this coming week.  We'll be back with plenty of photos, tips and stories the following week!

Diggin’ It

It’s that time of week where those of us behind Décor and the Dog share what we are currently diggin’.

Dudette:

• Did you catch the nursery reveal over at NewlyWoodwards?  If not, you may want to.  Kim’s kind of a big deal and the nursery was featured over at Design Dazzle this week.
• I have recently become obsessed with Emily Henderson’s blog. (And Emily Henderson in general.  Total girl crush.) She has this way of teaching me design things without me even knowing.  Like her post about best gray paint colors according to Ryan Gosling.  I thought you all might enjoy that one as well. You’re welcome.
• I’ve been loving Benefit Cosmetics They'Re Real! Mascara for about 3 months now.  I like to really test things about before I share them on the blog.  I LOVE this stuff.  It goes on well.  Really defines the lashes.  Doesn’t clump. Opens my eyes up so Nate has an easier time gazing into them.  (I just barfed.) What more could a girl ask for?

Dude:

• Nate is loving the Roku HD Streaming Player a lot lately.  What is a Roku box?  It’s a little device that allows you to stream tv/movies without a computer (You just need Wi-Fi).  Nate uses it watch nerdy internet tv shows and Amazon Instant Video. You can also use it for Nexflix.  I can’t wait for tax season so I can start the second season of Downton Abbey!
• One of his favorite nerdy internet tv shows is D-Town TV.  It’s a great weekly show about photography.  The show teaches DSLR tips and photographic techniques for all skill levels.  Sounds nerdy to the dudette but it will hopefully result in some great vacation photos.

Dog:

Alli sent me an e-mail a couple of weeks back about a Groupon offer for the BarkBox.  Think Birchbox but for dogs. You pick your dog’s size and how much you want to spend per month (lowest is $17/month).  Each month a box of goodies is delivered to your door. At delivery, your dog not only gets a goodie box but he also has an excuse to bark at the delivery man.  It’s a dog win-win. Ike was totally into this.  I told him he needed to get a job.  He got mad and went and chewed a bone and forgot about it…until now…but then he saw a fly so I think I’m safe again.

What are you diggin’ this week?  Anyone else girl crushing on Emily?  Is your dog spoiled enough for the Barkbox?

Easy Baby Gifts

Dear People in My Life,

Stop drinking the baby making water!  I can’t keep up with the baby gift giving!

Love, Michelle

Seriously.  Everyone is my life is having babies.  Babies. Babies Babies.  These babies make me feel old.  They make my mom think I should have babies.  None of this is good.  STOP WITH THE BABIES!!

Since my friends are obviously not listening, I am here today to share with you some fairly simple baby gift ideas.

First up, the easy sew blanket.



I've shared the finished product a couple of times (here and here) but I actually remembered to take photos of the process this time.  Bad photos but they are photos none-the-less. Baby steps.
Friends/family love these blankets for tummy time.  Babies love them for throwing up on.  Win. Win.
You will need:

• 1 1/4 yard fabric for the front
• 1 1/4 yard fabric for the back
• Batting (I usually buy the craft size.  It will say something about crib size on the packaging.  Have a coupon handy because the batting runs ~9.99.)
• Heat N Bond (not pictured)

I recommend prewashing the fabric.  Sometimes I forget/get impatient and don’t.  I have seen that the prewashed blankets hold up a bit better.

If you want to personalize your blanket, cut out the letter/shape that you would like onto some fabric and Heat N Bond.



Follow the directions on the Heat N Bond and attach your letter to the front fabric.



Sew around the edges.  I like zig zag stitches.  Zig zags cover imperfections well.  Use what you like.  A coordinating thread would be good.  Or white, if you are a fancy gift giver…like myself.



Next, lay your front fabric and back fabrics right sides (pretty sides) together.



 Place your batting on top and pin.



Trim excess fabric.  Start about half way on one of the short sides sew around the edges leaving about 6 inches unsewn.  Leaving this 6 inch opening will allow you to turn the blanket right side out.  I don’t have an exact seam allowance for you on the sewing.  Probably 1/4 inch.  You really can’t screw this blanket up.  Trust me.



Reach your hand in the 6 inch opening and pull the blanket right sides out.  Doing this project in cupcake pajama pants will give you guaranteed results.


Make sure to poke your corners out well.  Use a pen or scissors if needed.


You will then be left with the 6 inch opening.



You can hand stitch just the opening shut or you can stitch around the entire edges of the blanket.  Make sure that you have the opening pinned well.  My decision on this depends on my mood.  I like the look of both finishes.  For this particular blanket, I decided to stitch around the edges.  If you decide to only stitch the opening, I suggest sewing a few stitches every few inches on the blanket to keep it from bunching (more info on that step here).

You’re made it!  A giant burp cloth ready to give to those new little bundles of joy!





I added a little print along that I whipped up in PSE and shipped it off to one of my childhood friends to share with her teeny tiny baby boy. He was born very early but is doing wonderfully.  They were able to leave the hospital with him this past week-end!



As if this post isn’t long enough already, here’s another quick idea for when you forget that the work shower for your head boss is the next day.  (I’m amazingly on top of things.)  You go to Target and you find a utensil candy on sale for $6.  You fill it full of random baby crap…like Tylenol, saline drops, Butt Paste, travel baby soap, booger sucker, books, onesies, and some burp cloths…and hand it to your boss like you totally planned this gift ahead of time.



What’s your go-to baby gift?  Do you prefer to give handmade, purchases, or a good mixture?  Mom readers, what was the best baby gift that you received? Non-moms…don’t drink the water!!!!!!

Linking up to: Serenity Now

DIY Dog

Did you all know that Ike is a talented DIY dog?  He totally knows how to work a roller.

Actually he was blowing air into the end with his nose.  He did this for a good 10 minutes.  My little genius dog.

Anyone else have a dog big into DIY? 

Rubbermaid LunchBlox Sandwich Kit Review

Can I tell you how much I love products with clever names?  Well, I do.  Like Rubbermaid's LunchBlox Sandwich Kit.  Blox.  Clever.

On Sunday, I mentioned that we are going to start seriously meal planning.  Nate and I both pack a lunch and a bonus of meal planning is lunch that isn’t a frozen dinner.  Frozen dinners. Bleck.  Packing a lunch, however, can get old easily.  The same stuff over and over.  The whole having to plan ahead so you don’t end up eating granola bars and Skittles from the vending machine.

Luckily for me, the kind folks at Rubbermaid sent me their LunchBlox Kit to test out.  The kit contains containers that are perfectly portioned for lunch foods.  Cute little portion containers with pretty green lids.  Pretty is important for me and lunch..and life.   The kit also contains a handy Blue Ice pack.  I have easy access to a fridge at work but I might (key word, might) let Nate borrow this fancy little kit during tax season when he’s out auditing away.  Maybe.  Probably not.

We switched to glass containers for our lunch needs a year or two ago.  The BPA thing freaked me out and the plastic never seemed to get clean.  The containers in this kit are BPA-free and also microwave, dishwasher, and freezer safe.  Phew. 

I decided to test this kit out for the first time with Sunday’s leftovers… Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce.  Mmm, spaghetti.  I also packed some yogurt, cherries, and almonds.  All of this together in a cute little containers that snap together and slide right into my lunch bag.  It felt so good to have my lunch all planned out and put together for the day.

One of my biggest problems with packing a lunch is the fact that I leave the leftover food in the container. I get sad the next morning when open my lunch box and decide to just to grab a new container and let stuff grow in the old one.  I’m a responsible adult.  I have now banned myself to this little kit which I must clean and take care of daily…like a precious little lunch box pet. 

I didn’t heat the spaghetti in this container because I was afraid of it staining.  Just storing the spaghetti sauce in it overnight made it difficult to clean so I will keep this for sandwich/non-staining items only.  The sauce can live in the glass containers.  Sauce grows the coolest stuff when I forget to wash it anyways.  I love science experiments.

You can find this lovely contraption over at Rubbermaid’s site…click here.  (They have a coupon for $1.50 off!) It can also be found at places like Target, K-Mart, and select Wal-Mart stores. You can get more info on other fun Rubbermaid products by following them on the Twitter and the facebook.

I received no monetary compensation for this post. I did, however, receive this pretty little LunchBlox kit for review.  All thoughts/opinions/crazy ideas are completely my own.

Are you a lunch packer?  What’s your favorite lunch food?  Anyone else guilty of letting things grow in their lunch box because they are too lazy to clean them?  Tell me I’m not alone!

Wood Floor Questions Answered

Some of the most often asked questions I receive are about our wood floors.

I’ll be a good blogger and answer some of those questions today.

What is the type of wood floors do you have?  They are BR111's Brazillian Cherry (Solid Wood).

Do you like your floors?  We love them!  We love how the color has changed over time. They started light and have darkened over time.  We would definitely install them again.  Brazilian Cherry is a hard wood and it has held up great for the almost 4 years that we have lived in the house.

I like the look of wood floors but I’m afraid my dog would scratch them to pieces.  How have they held up against Ike?  Ike is a little dog (24 lbs) but he’s also crazy.  He tears across them when we get home at night or whenever we have company.  We are starting to notice a little wear at the bottom of the stairs and around some corners.  The wear is all the dog.  The scratches aren’t extremely visible though.  I only notice them when I am cleaning them.

Your wood floors always look so clean.  How do you clean them?  First, they aren’t always clean.  I’m just slowly learning to not put disgusting pictures on the blog.  The gross ones always end up on Pinterest.  We generally have a clean house but I can only clean these floors so many times in a week.  My time is better spent…blogging.  The summer is the worst.  Sweaty man feet and dog drool could keep me busy for days.  I try to relax a little more during the summer.  We are outside more.  We use the deck more.  My husband sweats more.  The dog drools more.  Life happens.  It just means I bust out the mop and Bruce’s floor cleaner a little more often. (We purchase the floor cleaner at Lowe’s.)

Look directly right of this photo….running dog prints.  Pinning the following photo will result in bad karma.

Any other wood floor related questions?  Are you a wood floor fan or do you prefer fluffy carpet or tile?  Anyone else struggle to keep the house clean with a sweaty life partner and drooling furry friend?

Meal Planning

Meal Planning.  What an evil set of words.  I keep talking about it but never quite get around to it.  Nate and I aren’t really “think ahead” type people so this one is a struggle.  Neither of us minds cooking but it’s the dreaded “What should we eat tonight?” that makes eating in less fun.

Meal planning will no longer be a struggle. I am going to make this work.  All of you in blogland are going to keep me accountable.  Okay? Okay.

Each week I am going to post my meal plan for the week.  (Except for next week because I’ll be sunning myself slathering myself in sunscreen in Arizona.)  We eat the majority of our meals in. (I’d say we don’t eat out a lot (once or twice a week) but that is all relative.) Hopefully some of you can get some extra meal time inspiration out of the deal too.

I will be pinning (such a fun verb) my favorites to a board on Pinterest (located here!).  This board will only contain recipes that we have tried and are Décor and the Dog approved.

Sunday Breakfast:
Pioneer Woman’s Baked French Toast

Source: thepioneerwoman.com via Michelle on Pinterest

Sunday Supper:
Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce and OMG Bread via Iowa Girl Eats

Source: iowagirleats.com via Michelle on Pinterest

Monday:
Mexican Chicken

Source: genaw.com via Michelle on Pinterest

Tuesday:
It’s kickball night so we’ll either have leftovers or pancakes.

Source: pauladeen.com via Michelle on Pinterest

Wednesday:
Healthy Baked Chicken Nuggets and Baked Potatoes

Source: skinnytaste.com via Michelle on Pinterest

Thursday: 
Girl’s night/Nate fends for himself.  Dude.  It’s week one.  Did you really expect a FULL week’s worth of meal planning?

Are you a meal planner?  Any tips?  Feel free to e-mail me your favorite weeknight recipes (decorandthedog (at) gmail)!

Diggin’ It

Today I am going to start a new series. Because I am awesome at keeping up with a series (i.e. Blogging Basics and DSLR for Dummies).  Third times a charm, right?

Every Friday Nate, Ike, and I are going to share with you some of our favorite things. I’ll be sharing some of my favorite things from blogland plus girl stuff.  Nate will be sharing his favorites in photography, technology and boy stuff.  Ike will be sharing dog stuff.  (Duh.)

What’s the clever name of this series?  Diggin’ It with Dudette, Dude and the Dog. 

(They let anyone blog these days, don’t they?  And don’t you love our senior portraits?  My husband (aka: the dude) is a saint.)

Let’s get this series started…

Dudette:

• Kelly (View Along the Way) is a genius.  Check out her tutorial on how to make any lamp cordless.  Genius, I tell you.
• I’m in love with Gabbi’s (Retro Ranch Reno) bench make-over.  I’m also in love with her cat. Yes, her cat.
• Kate Spade sucked me in with her super mega secret sale.  The Belltown Quinn was too cute to pass up.  The dude asked if I ordered it and how much it cost. My response to both was “doesn’t matter.”

Dude

• HDR Efex Pro 2 is a great software program that allows greater dynamic range in photos.  I’ll be using this for interior photos when it’s bright outside.  Tutorial to come.
• Fancy is a website/app that, to quote their site, “is part store, blog, magazine and wishlist. It's a place to discover great stuff, to curate a collection of things you love, to get updates on your favorite brands and stores and to share your discoveries.”  The dudette thinks it’s a lesser version of Pinterest but it has some unique items that are entertaining.

Dog

• Ike is glad he isn’t the only bad dog out there.  We cuddled and laughed at all of the bad dogs over at Dog Shaming.

Did you enjoy Dudette, Dude and the Dog?  What are you loving this week?