Reviews by Courtney

Courtney says "Great read for peer to peer insight on business and in life" about You're Hired: How to Succeed in Business and Life from the Winner of The Apprentice

Courtney — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:56:34 GMT

For the most part I enjoyed this book. Bill Rancic was the winner of Donald Trump's show, Apprentice, and provides his insight into his life leading up to the show as well as during and after he won. He breaks the books up by talking about a part of his life and them following up with a couple pages of "lessons learned" during that period.

I've always been interested in the entrepreneurial world and at some point would love to dip my feet into it so some of the experiences and lessons he provides are worth reading about. He shares his advice as if he were trying to help out a friend so it's actually meaningful as a reader.

The only part that threw me about his book was his picture on the cover. He maintains a modest tone throughout the site but the suite he has on for the cover looks so out of place! It's gawdy and almost trying to "show off." Kind of weird.

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Courtney says "love this eyeshadow" about L'Oreal HiP high intensity pigments Concentrated Shadow Duos

Courtney — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:15:44 GMT

perfect color

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Courtney says "Looks great but doesn't keep me that warm" about North Face Denali jacket

Courtney — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:54:11 GMT

I have the white/gray version of this jacket and while it looks great, it doesn't keep me that warm. I hate to say it, but summer is ending. The past few days felt like 50-60 degrees at night. I had this jacket on and was still freezing! I get cold fairly easily but I still thing this jacket should have kept me warmer than I felt!

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Courtney says "I couldn't make flowers taste more delicious if I tried!" about Edible Arrangements Delicious Party Fruit Basket

Courtney — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 22:13:09 GMT

Honestly, I am not one to give out 5 stars often :) but this fruit basket was amazing. The fruit was perfectly fresh and didn't have any bruises ... and there was A LOT of fruit. The chocolate covered strawberries were a great touch and of course the first to go! After eating and stuffing myself with as much as I could, I stopped to smell the roses and really take a look at the beautiful arrangement of everything! The melons and pineapple were cut out really well in flower shapes and placed very strategically so there was never too much of one type of fruit in one area. I would for sure recommend this to anyone!!

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Courtney says "Love this product, it makes my hair shiny and soft!" about Rusk Phytomarine Lusterizer

Courtney — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 05:33:06 GMT

This is a great product and trust me I have tried TONS. It smells great and makes my hair very shiny and smooth. Overall, it smooths better than most products I have tried.

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Courtney says "Good phone but not the best for 2009!" about RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8100

Courtney — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 04:41:40 GMT

I definitely like this phone but for the price it just doesn't seem up to par. It feels a little bit outdated. Almost everyone I know has an iPhone so maybe I am just comparing it too much to that phone, which I have to admit, looks and does things in a much cooler way :) Also, I'm a big texter so I'm not a fan of the fact that it deletes data. It also seems to freeze and just turn off by itself. Memory is also very small. I wouldn't recommend this phone .. it's certainly nothing very exciting.

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Courtney says "Truly a meat lover's dream with a fantastic ambiance!" about Tango Sur - Chicago, IL

Courtney — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 19:53:28 GMT

I am a total advocate for BYOB places. It gives you a sense that the restaurant is focused more on the food rather than the other parts of a restaurant that I think should come secondary to the food. Tango Sur is definitely one of those restaurants. And, they don't charge any silly corkage fees!

Tango Sur is for the most part, a steakhouse. It's actually an Argentinian restaurant but it's known for its meat. And truly authentic meat it surely is. I always get the petit filet and I'm not usually a filet person but this one is amazing. I had to send it back once since it was kind of still moo-ing and I eat my steaks medium but it's such a delicious, tendy and flavor filled steak. The portions are definitely more than enough for one person and there is a great variety to choose from.

The atmosphere is great too. It's more of a romantic setting with dark candle lit rooms even with everything crammed in there. The staff is fairly attentive as well.

The last time I went, however (or...

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Courtney says "Land End luggage - was carried on, then carried off!" about Lands End 20" Lighthouse Wheeled Carry-on Set

Courtney — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 21:57:42 GMT

I received some excellent looking Lands End luggage for Christmas this year and it couldn't have been more perfect timing. My sister and I are always traveling back to Boston during the holidays to visit the fam so we use our luggage a bunch of times throughout the year. We have had the same luggage for the past 10 years now and needless to say... both of our bags were getting fairly run down. Each one had suffered broken straps, tears in the seams, bent handles, shattered plastic and way to much more. Upon receiving my new Lands End bag this year I was excited to travel back with something that would hopefully make my life (and traveling) a whole lot easier. Unfortunately, it wasn't necessarily so. I NEVER check my bags when I fly... if my Dad has to wait more than 10 minutes at the airport to pick us up he is not a happy camper (sorry Dad). Plus, I have had my bags lost before and it can take days to get it back. So, on the flight back from Boston, I excitedly rolled my bag onto the...

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Courtney says "The Starbucks downtown needs to brew up some help!!" about Starbucks - Chicago, IL

Courtney — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:34:06 GMT

Alright, I've had it up to the foam that is never in my latte. When I do take the train to work I get off at the Merchandise Mart. How convenient that there is a Starbucks located right inside! Sooo, you would think with all of the traffic coming through, including all of the people that get off the train as well as work near or in the Mart, that the store would be running fairly efficiently. Unfortunately, it's not.

I don't get coffee very often from Starbucks because one, it's expensive and two, I just don't drink coffee too much. So far, evertime I have ordered a latte from them it has taken about 20 minutes to finally get it.

Here is the process I usually go through....

After getting in a ridiculous line, which I can handle because that's just the way it is in a busy buidling with a train stop, I order from someone with a headset, which is then relayed to a frantic person behind the bar. He is always very friendly and more than willing to help out his customers with anything. He even...

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Courtney says "Sapori Trattoria is a great little italian restaurant in wrigley" about Sapori Trattoria - Chicago, IL

Courtney — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 16:21:11 GMT

Who knew that you could find a great little Italian restaurant in the craziness of Wrigleyville! I live right in the neighborhood so I am always looking for casual places to go that are a little bit farther away from the "bar" type of sit-down place to grab a bite to eat. While there isn't parking, they do have valet.

Sapori Trattoria has deeeeeelicious Italian regional cuisine and offers the tradtional meals you would expect but with the "yummy" factor. While the selection isn't huge, there are still a few quality dishes that range from chicken to pasta to antipasti. I love Italian food so you could throw some bread, olive oil and cheese at me and I would be fine with that but I do know good food when I smell it!

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Courtney says "Macy's is a great store with tons of great brands!" about Macy's - Chicago, IL

Courtney — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 04:33:34 GMT

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Courtney says "I have passed the denial stage... I am addicted to Triscuits!" about Nabisco - Triscuits

Courtney — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 21:29:27 GMT

Yes, it is official. I am addicted to Triscuits and there is no one in my office that will argue with me on that one. I try not to give people dirty looks when I see them eating any one of the four boxes that we usually have in stock... yes it is that bad! But, I always seem to be the first one to open the box and the last one to throw it away. Does that mean I ate the entire thing myself?!

It could be the combination of flakey, salty, crunchyness and the 8 pounds of hummus I dunk each cracker in but I think it is just the cracker. It's a little thicker than your average cracker and can certainly hold a heavy load of whatever it is that you want to slap on top of it. It's a simple and healthy wheat-woven cracker that comes in a variety of flavors, most of which I have yet to try but I think the Original version is pretty fabulous.

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Courtney says "Coke Cherry Zero has great flavor" about Coke - Coca-Cola Cherry Zero

Courtney — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 20:21:21 GMT

I don't normally drink soda and I don't like the taste of regular Coke. Oddly, I love the taste of Diet Coke! I was expecting Coke Cherry Zero to taste more like Coke with the Cherry flavor but it's a nice mix between the regular Coke and Diet coke. The only thing that it is lacking is calories! I wouldn't give it five stars because I think soda in general has a fair amount of chemicals that probably aren't very beneficial to anyone!...

Courtney says "Smuckers Natural Peanut Butter is worth going nuts over!" about Smucker's Natural Peanut Butter 16oz

Courtney — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 19:27:40 GMT

Smucker's Natural Peanut butter really is the best! It has great taste, a great consistency and is fairly healthy. Believe it or not, my mom was the one who got me into this peanut butter. After always wanting more "fake" types that were loaded with sugar and definitely not good for you, I developed a taste and a craving for the natural types. Smucker's was able to create one that is not processed so it doesn't contain hydrogenated fats, which are used to preserve freshness and prevent the oil from separating. The natural ingredients mean you have to stir the peanut butter most likely every time you open the jar and doesn't have as long a shelf life as the processed ones but I think the taste makes up for it!

The price of the jar runs around $3-$4 for the smaller 16oz. The larger jar runs about $5-$6. Overall, I think the prices are well worth what you are getting.

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Courtney says "Great product with lots of capabilities!" about Apple - iPod Video White (30 GB) Media Player

Courtney — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 21:47:03 GMT

I have had my iPod for a couple years now and I don't think I will ever be able to use up all of the memory! 30G works perfectly for me. It holds songs, pictures, videos, etc. and does tons of other things (I still haven't figured out what half of them are!). Maybe once I start loading up on other things besides music I will begin to use some more of the memory. My only critiques of this product is the battery and the headphones. The battery doesn't seem to last too long. Sometimes it seems like it is dead after 2 hours. The headphones lasted a decent amount of time but the quality in the sound seemed to worsen quickly. Overall I am very happy with the product!...

Courtney says "Great store but sometimes can be hit or miss!" about Express

Courtney — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:36:15 GMT

This is a great store to shop in. It is definitely geared more towards a young business profession type of person, offering both men's and women's clothing. Prices are reasonable and what you would expect for the quality. Very stylish!...

Courtney says "Good services offered if you are under warranty! " about Fletcher Jones Volkswagen - Chicago, IL

Courtney — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 16:41:48 GMT

After the battery in my Volkswagen died it was somewhat of a process to figure out exactly why it had failed. I eventually figured out that it may have been a problem with my trunk, which wouldn't shut (causing the light to remain on and drain the power). I brought it into the Fletcher Jones Volkswagen and mentioned that it may or may not be the trunk that is causing the problem. They told me it would cost me $200 to diagnose the problem. This amount didn't include any servicing to my car and to fix the problem it probably would have been about $300+. Since this seemed to be a huge rip off to me I told them not to do anything to the car and took it to a small auto repair shop. They fixed my trunk latch for $45 and tested the battery to be sure that it was in fact the trunk causing the problem! If you are not under warranty stay away from this dealership!...

Courtney says "For the price, the Casio Exilim is worth it!!" about Casio - Exilim EX-Z1050 digital camera

Courtney — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:48:18 GMT

I use my Casio Exilim all the time and it works great! For the price, I think you get a compact, easy to use camera that takes quality pictures. It fits in my pocket and I can take it anywhere because it's failry small. It's not as small as some of the other cameras out there but I think it's small enough to go just about anywhere. When I first purchased the camera I spent about 30 minutes checking out all of the features and buttons. Overall, it has some great features like a zoom, red eye adjustment, anti-shake feature, auto timer, etc. that any average camera user would like to have.

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Courtney says "Short battery, lots of technical issues" about Motorola - Razr V3 Cell Phone

Courtney — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:16:44 GMT

I was fairly excited when I purchased the Motorola Razr a couple years ago, mostly because it was pink but I've learned fairly quickly that there seem to be quite a few technical issues. The battery life doesn't last as long as you would think an average phone should last. I'm not a huges phone talker so when the battery starts to dissapate 12 hours after it was charged (with little or no use) I'm not a happy camper. Also, when I open the phone, the screen sometimes takes a while to appear... for a couple seconds everything is blank. Overall, not the best phone. Definitely could use some upgrades....

Courtney says "Not sure what I would do without it!" about Frizz Ease Hair Serum Extra Strength Formula

Courtney — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:44:47 GMT

My mom used to say I had a CVS in my closet because of all the products I bought. I would say 95% of them were for my hair! I finally found the John Frieda collection and the Frizz-Ease product. It really does work great for thick and frizzy hair and adds a glossy finish without being greasy. If you don't have thick hair I think it may make your hair a little heavy. Nothing really seems to keep my frizz from coming back when it's humid so if you have an reviews on products that could help I would love to read them!!...