I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! Can you believe 2011 is just four days away!? I spent most of Christmas all bundled up :D This is the cozy, soft furry blanket that my dad got me~ It's so light yet warm and SO SOFT. He bought it at Hanaro Food (yes, a grocery store) because he said he noticed I would always stop by to pet it xD I have the best dad ^_^
Stellamor is apparently the "No. 1 blanket manufacturer in Korea. Other brands: Uno, Aroma, Safari and Stellamor." Their official website (English) shows a lot of really pretty prints (including Disney ^^), but Hanaro only had this old fashioned Oriental-rug print :P This is an "acrylic mink blanket" and very easy to wash, much easier than a huge comforter, which is why this kind of blanket is usually used in Korea as an extra winter blanket to go between you and your comforter. Apparently it can be used outdoors (as a picnic blanket) as well. It's a surprisingly light and thin blanket, so even a queen-size fits easily into a washing machine. It was $39.99 for a Queen-size.
I got the blue colored blanket (it shows a red blanket on all the packages :P). I wasn't crazy about the Oriental-carpet-ish pattern, but gosh darn - IT'S SO SOFT. I washed it right after I opened it since it smelled like plastic from the packaging and there was absolutely no pilling and was still so soft! Word has it that this blanket is popular since it's never supposed to pill or lose it's softness like fleece does. If you ever see this in your local market/K-town area, I so recommend getting this. It'd be great for college students (warm, machine washable, very portable since it's thin and light) and I can literally see myself keeping this for the next several years (if not decades :D). It's just a very high-quality blanket for a remarkably reasonable price.
Since it started snowing in VA today, I did some mini-hauling from the comfort of my home ;) I picked up a few products from Boscia, Pretty & Cute and a few nail polishes from Ebay. Here are the sales I partook in:
1.) Boscia: A flat $10 off $30+ with free shipping with $45+. You also get 3 free samples with any purchase (like Sephora ^_^). I got 2 items that was exactly $45 after the discount, so that I qualified for free shipping. Overall I was able to pick up both products for $22.50/each~ Not bad since this winter has been really dry and my sheet masks are barely keeping the flakiness at bay. I need something intensely more hydrating so we'll see if the Intensifying Moisture Pack + does the trick :) I got the Smooth Facial Polish as well because I can never resist exfoliating products, but this one is supposed to be very gentle - aka perfect for winter. Ends 12/31/2010.
2.) Pretty & Cute: P&C has been bringing in a lot of new things from various brands lately, but I'm only interested in the new Lioele products. It was a pretty small haul of mostly lip products and the new Lioele Princess nail polishes, which reminded me of beautiful Easter eggs ^_^ Perfect for spring I think! I'll prolly review them quite soon since nail polishes and lip products are things that don't need to be used long to know if they're "good quality" or not. Ends 12/31/2010.
I also picked up some petit fours from Wegmans! They came in a box of 8 with 2 of each flavor ^_^ I've always thought petit fours are the cutest thing so I couldn't resist these! They're basically bite-sized cakes. Don't they look so cute lined up in a row like that :D? I think the yummiest looking one is the 2nd from the left~
Green: My favorite! Green-tinted white chocolate on the outside and white cake with apricot and a buttercream filling. It's quite sweet but it tastes exactly as a petit four should I think!
Chocolate: It's coated in dark chocolate with chocolate cake and a "white icing" filling. It's good, not too sweet, but rather 'typical' tasting.
Lemon: Vanilla and lemon flavored coating with some kind of fruit filling, raspberry I think. I didn't like this one very much. I think the artificial color and flavor of the pink filling kind of threw me off...it's tart but not...satisfying. It's a weird clash of tastes, lemon and something tart. My least favorite.
Another Chocolate: Dark chocolate coat with yellow cake and a raspberry filling and rum I think. There was definitely some kind of alcohol in it cause it made my throat warm. I wasn't crazy about this one either because I don't like rum in my sweets. While rum does add a certain complexity to the flavor of chocolate, it just wasn't subtle or pleasing here.
Sweet Pumpkin Pocky, a cute little spin off the classic Pocky I'd say~ I think it's was a seasonal flavor for Fall (Halloween).
Adorable packaging huh ^_^?
Flavor-wise I don't have much to say...it's not pumpkin per se, maybe a sweet pumpkin pie. The wheat cracker stick is the same as all the other Pocky and the coating is a vanilla-pumpkin pie-esque flavor. The coating is very thin so the taste is quite subtle. It's yummy, but nothing to write home about. So if you don't get to try this, rest assured you are not missing out on much. I just get a craving for Pocky every once in awhile so this fulfilled it :)
And that's all for now!
UPDATE: And oh yes, today is Boxing Day! This day is traditionally when people distribute gifts to the needy and public service people; and while everyone should knock themselves out hauling, don't forget to set aside a little something for your mailman/post office or drop off something at the Salvation Army~ I for one, know that my mail peeps deserve a little something....lord knows they lug up enough packages to my doorstep from Hong Kong/Japan/Korea ^_^