Day 060 - Tobuscus

Currently Burning: Warm Christmas Splendor

I found Tobuscus a couple months ago, but he's been making videos for a long time and has over a million subscribers so I was a little behind the times on this one. Toby makes several types of videos on his main channel, but the two most popular are the series Cute, Win Fail

and the Literal Trailer videos

He also has a vlog channel called TobyTurner where he posts daily vlogs to the audience.

Finally he has a gaming channel TobyGames where he posts Let's Play type videos and highlights videos.

He's hilarious and I'm so glad I found him!

Happy Leap Day!

Now onto the daily review!

Warm Christmas Splendor (4): I figured since today is almost a holiday I could burn a Christmas scent. No but really I'm just trying to go through some older ones. This one has peppermint, cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, and spice. I really like this one. It almost smells like it has a fruit in it (like cranberry) but it may just be my nose playing tricks on me. I'll probably be ordering this one in the Fall to prep for the real holiday season.

Remember to keep those wicks trimmed!

Jason

Day 059 - Cowboy Stew

Currently Burning: Who's that Lady

This is the easiest dish to throw together! This is the second time that I've made it and I really enjoy the way that it turns out. While I'll concede it's not be most glamorous looking dish, it really does taste great!

Start off by browning 1 lb of ground beef over medium heat in a medium-large stock pot. After it has browned, drain off the excess liquid (I skipped this step because I was using extra-lean ground beef). Add salt/pepper to taste.

Mix in 1 (10 oz) can of tomatoes with green chiles (Rotel)

Stir in 3 (10 3/4 oz) cans of minestrone soup

Add 2 (15 oz) cans of Ranch Style Beans

Stir in 1 (15 1/4 oz) can of whole kernel corn.

Add 1 (14 1/2 oz) can of diced tomatoes.

Simmer on low heat for about 25 minutes or until heated through.

I love how easy this is to throw together if you don't have a whole lot of time. It also makes a LOT of stew (serves 10) so prepare for leftovers! You could totally make this in a crock pot too since after you brown the meat, there really is not cooking involved.

Now onto the daily review!

Who's that Lady (2): This one does not want to agree with my nose. I do like it better now than I did a few months ago, but it still doesn't quite sit well to me. It is a VERY strong and pungent perfume. Perhaps it wouldn't be as pungent if I only melted 1/4 of a scent shot, but with 1/2 it's overwhelming. I won't be reordering this one. I think Victoria said this is a dupe of a Calvin Klein perfume.

Remember to keep those wicks trimmed!

Jason

Day 058 - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Currently Burning: Vanilla Bean Noel

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first full length animated feature released by Walt Disney. I was released in 1937 so it's been around awhile :) The Disney films from back in the day were kind of scary! The Evil Queen is an awesome villain in this one. I think that it's kind of funny that Snow White is probably the healthiest looking of all Disney princesses. She has a very boyish frame with a larger waist and smaller bust.

While not my favorite Disney movie of all time, this one is definitely amazing for its time. It's clear that a lot of hard work went into the production. The background and foregrounds are all painted on glass panels by hand! Check it out if you haven't!

Now onto the daily review!

Vanilla Bean Noel (4): This is a dupe for a Bath and Body Works scent. Not having smelled that product before, I won't be able to give a comparison. When I first burned this one a couple months back, I thought it was pretty good, but nothing really special. It's a combo of vanilla and peppermint and it's much heavier on the vanilla (compare to sweet snow which is the opposite). Now that it's been sitting for a couple months it's blowing my socks off. I think this one is a great mixer (I know a few CAS are already out there - I'm going to throw 1/4 scent shot of spearmint in here in a few to make Eskimo Kisses). The throw on this one is pretty strong. I'm not sure if I would order this one by itself, but I would definitely get one of the combo scents.

*Update* The CAS Eskimo Kisses is AMAZING! I may have to break my candle freeze to get this in a Love, Victoria with Gem Blue Glitter!

Remember to keep those wicks trimmed!

Jason

Day 057 - The Hunger Games

Currently Burning: Red Velvet Cake

I finally decided to join the bandwagon. I was told to read this book back in 2009, but I pushed it off because I really didn't want to. I finally broke down and decided to buy all three of the books. On Thursday, I started reading the first book as soon as I got home. I could not put it down until I finished it. While the book only took me about 6 hours or so to read, it was incredibly good! I was really surprised. I'm planning on reading the other two at some point and will definitely post a review once I read them.

In case you are living under a rock like I was, the Hunger Games is a book that takes place in a fictional nation a few hundred years in the future. Panem is divided into 13 districts and the Capitol. The 13th district was destroyed 74 years before the story begins due to an uprising and attempt to overthrow the capitol. The Hunger Games were created at this time to remind the 12 remaining districts that the Capitol remains powerful and rules them.

The whole process is very reminiscent of ancient Rome, with names in the capitol like Caesar, Flavius, etc. The Hunger Games are an annual reality show in which the 12 districts are required to submit 1 girl and 1 boy between the ages of 12 and 18 to participate in a fight to the death in the arena. The arena is different every year, but essentially it's a very large outdoor area with lakes, forests and open fields. The last individual left alive is the Victor.

The main reason I couldn't put this book down was the book forms a continuous narrative. Chapters aren't divided in a way like other books. Typically there's not even a pause in the dialogue at the end of a chapter. It makes it very difficult to find a stopping place when reading these books. I was also reminded of the style of writing of something like Twilight where single words make up an entire sentence. Seriously. The font is pretty big so even though it's over 300 pages, 6 hours was more than enough time to read thorough it all.

I definitely recommend that you read this book if you have not yet. The movie comes out on March 23rd, so I'm definitely going to have to see that!

Now onto the daily review!

Red Velvet Cake (5): When I first got this scent, I wasn't really blown away. It did smell like cake, but it wasn't super strong. Now that I've had this since July 2011 so it has cured wonderfully! This is a really good cake scent. I definitely get a hint of cream cheese frosting in the back of this one. I wouldn't necessarily say that it is specifically red velvet cake, but it definitely smells like a chocolate cake that just came out of the oven that is in the process of being frosted. SO GOOD! The throw on this is medium. I'm not sure if I would order this again since I have it in a 9 oz that I haven't burned much, but I would definitely consider it!

Remember to keep those wicks trimmed!

Jason

Day 056 - 16 oz. Candles

Currently Burning: Cashmere

 Continuing with the review of CBV Candle sizes that I started a couple weeks ago, I thought I would talk about 16 oz. candles. I currently only own 1 16 oz candle in Butterfly Kisses. This is the largest candle that's available in the sampler packs of 6. I honestly don't really care for this size. It takes a good 5 or 6 hours to reach a full melt pool. This is about twice as long as an 8oz or 9oz candle. Also, the throw is not that great, because the scent door is small compared to how much wax it has.

I'll probably never order this size again because the scent throw on these is pretty low. If I want a big candle, I'll either get a tureen or a Love, Victoria candle (maybe mustard jar). The candle does burn clean if you give it time. My 16oz is about half way gone so I've burned through quite a bit of it.

The other thing this size is good for is Create a Scents (CAS). Victoria allows people to mix any 2 scents into a new one and call it whatever they want. The option to do this is only available in the 16 oz, 22 oz tureen, and the Love, Victoria (18 oz) sizes.

Bottom Line: This is not my favorite jar size. You do get a lot of wax for the money, but the burn time is just too long for me to actually use this often.

Now onto the daily review!

Cashmere (3): This is a perfume scent. To me, it smells like a perfume that an older woman would wear. It reminds me of someone's mom's perfume. I don't believe it's a dupe of anything, but it is a nice scent. It's not overpowering so that helps. I probably will not order this in a candle, but it's not bad. The throw is pretty light as well.

Remember to keep those wicks trimmed!

Jason

Day 055 - Final Fantasy XIII-2

Currently Burning: Sophie Belle

Final Fantasy XIII-2 is the direct sequel to Final Fantasy XIII. Typically, the final fantasy series are completely different from each other, but SquareEnix does, on occasion, release direct sequels. The first was Final Fantasy X-2.

This game is similar to Final Fantasy XIII in terms of battle tactics, but the leveling system is pretty different. It's still based in the "crystarium" but instead of leveling each battle role on a different path, you choose which battle role to level on the same path. I'm not sure that I'm a fan of this, but it is what it is.

This time around, there are only 2 characters that are playable and controllable. Serah and Noel. Serah is Lightning's sister from Final Fantasy XIII who was trapped in crystal. Noel is from 700 years in the future. Essentially the game is about time travel. A lot of areas from Final Fantasy XIII are explorable in different time periods. Serah and Noel have to travel up and down the timeline solving paradoxes.

Instead of having a third party member, this time around you can capture monsters to play for you. They level up in a similar way, and each have a particular battle role. This helps with creating paradigms which are configurations of different battle roles (such as Medic (healing), Synergist (buffs), Saboteur (debuffs), Commando (phys attack), Ravager (magic attack), and Sentinel (defense). )

Overall, the game is not my favorite Final Fantasy game, but it is definitely worth checking out if you're into this style of game. I really liked the tie back to the Final Fantasy XIII storyline, but I think that I liked Final Fantasy X-2 better as a sequel.

Now onto the daily review!

Sophie Belle (5):  This is in the same vein as Bella Swan and Butterfly Kisses in that it is a sweet, complex floral. Victoria lists the following as the scent description: "A wonderful fresh aroma of carnations, baby's breath, and rose petals, with middle notes of cyclamen and muguet, underlined by apples, peaches, pears, fresh cut grass and white musk." I'm not sure what some of those things actually smell like, but I really do like this one. It's a very pretty scent. The throw on it is pretty strong too.

Remember to keep those wicks trimmed!

Jason

Day 054 - 30 Rock

Currently Burning: Sweet Snow

30 Rock is a spin-off from Saturday Night Live. It's essentially a parody of the production of a variety show on NBC. The writing on this show is genius! I love Tina Fey and it's her creation. This show is really one of Roman's favorites, but he demands that it's on every Thursday so I've gotten into it as well. It's currently in its 6th season. Check it out!

Now onto the daily review!

Sweet Snow (4): This is a mixture of vanilla and peppermint and it's definitely heavier on the peppermint. I really like this scent and I'm super sad that I tossed in my last 1/4 of a scent shot. The throw on this one is pretty strong (as with most mint scents). I'll be getting this one in either a 4 oz or 8 oz candle for sure.

Remember to keep those wicks trimmed!

Jason