Epinions Recent Reviews for nativegirl

Gorgeous light for the money

Thu, 10 Mar 2005 17:21:54 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author nativegirl - My husband and I use the Canon Speedlite 420EX in our work as food columnists. We are very happy with this flash, which we use to enhance natural-light shots (not for studio work). With its 180-degree swivel, it's easy to bounce, and the light is very...

Best value in a 256mb card

Thu, 10 Mar 2005 16:20:03 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author nativegirl - My husband and I are professional food columnists and photographers. We use the Sandisk Ultra II 256mb and have been completely satisfied. It holds 40 high-resolution images, which is plenty for our needs -- we usually download the images onto the...

Professional newspaper photographer loves this camera

Thu, 10 Mar 2005 14:39:40 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author nativegirl - My husband and I are professional food columnists. We style the food, too -- everything but click the shutter, until now. We got tired of hiring out the photography simply because we didn't have professional-quality equipment. We researched several...

Pur has vastly improved its products!

Tue, 14 Dec 2004 14:08:44 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author nativegirl - Pur's new faucet-mount filters are much better than they were a few years ago -- although still not trouble-free. In 2001, I gave the Pur Plus Faucet Mount a bad Epinions review. It did a decent job filtering the water, but the unit kept leaking,...

Awesome for hardwood, low-pile carpet, and long-haired people

Mon, 16 Feb 2004 17:55:11 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author nativegirl - This vacuum is cute -- its translucent blue panels and rounded body are so iMac -- but it's also quite powerful, lightweight and versatile. I did a lot of research before I purchased the Kenmore 23195 -- Consumer Reports, internet reviews ... I...

Toastmaster Softwave Waffle Baker TM243: Cool wavy waffles

Thu, 18 Dec 2003 18:52:11 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author nativegirl - For golden, crisp-outside, tender-inside, light, perfectly cooked waffles ... this is a good waffle iron. I received mine two years ago as a Christmas present from my mother-in-law. I'd never seen a waffle iron quite like it; instead of the deep square...

Black & Decker Smart Power Boost Mixer M175: 6 years of use by a food columnist, and still going strong

Thu, 18 Dec 2003 18:34:24 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author nativegirl - I am a food columnist at a midsize (100,000 circ) newspaper. I have owned a Black & Decker Spatula Smart hand mixer with Power Boost since 1997. It is my only mixer. In that time, I have used my mixer an average of twice a week to mix cakes, cookie...

Decent, inexpensive washing machine

Thu, 18 Dec 2003 16:28:44 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author nativegirl - I must confess, I chose this washing machine for its low price. Period. My husband's ex-wife had just taken custody of the washing machine, and I needed to replace it quickly and inexpensively (it was Christmastime, and money was tight). I found a...

Should be very nice -- once they finish renovating

Mon, 7 Jan 2002 20:33:51 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author nativegirl - Finally, a hotel with a classy bedspread.

Honestly, a non-tacky bedspread is so rare -- even among high-end hotels -- that I still remember this one. Apparently the first thing the Sheraton Station Square added during its major renovation was a...

Ramada Plaza Suites Downtown: The customer is apparently always wrong

Fri, 4 Jan 2002 14:37:14 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author nativegirl - My fiance and I attend Pittsburgh sports events several times a year. We like to stay downtown, near the Mellon Arena, so we can just garage our car and walk to the games. The Ramada has always been our choice -- great location, convenient parking...

Hearty, authentic pizza -- and more

Fri, 4 Jan 2002 14:03:43 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author nativegirl - I've always been loyal to the local family-owned pizzeria (and still am), but even I have to admit: Pizzeria Uno pizza is awesome.

I met some family there for lunch shortly after Christmas. The place was moderately busy -- not too bad, and no...

Lightweight, but MAJOR SUCTION!

Thu, 3 Jan 2002 20:22:02 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author nativegirl - Spilled potting soil, firewood fragments, plaster dust -- none of them can escape the Dirt Devil Ultra.

My fiance and I are renovating a house, and we've put this little hand vac through its paces. Some of the jobs probably called for a...

I'm a food columnist, and I couldn't live without it

Thu, 3 Jan 2002 19:20:01 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author nativegirl - I write a cooking column for a midsize newspaper, and I couldn't do it without my food processor. And my Black and Decker's a good one.

The processor has a place of honor on my kitchen counter -- I use it that often. Have you been putting off...

Proctor-Silex makes a better cheap iron

Thu, 3 Jan 2002 18:46:27 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author nativegirl - I bought this Black and Decker iron to replace a Proctor-Silex I won as a door prize once. Ah, now that was a good iron. I'm sure it was just as cheap as the Black and Decker, but it worked great.

But I lost it -- left it at a hotel. So there...

Black & Decker HC3000 Handy Chopper 1.5 Cups Food Processor: No more tedious mincing!

Thu, 3 Jan 2002 18:25:04 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author nativegirl - When my sister presented me with this at Christmas years ago, I thought, "I'll never use this gadget." Of course, at the time I didn't cook much. It was handy for the dreaded celery/onion/pickle mincing for tuna salad, but that was the extent of...

It'll take you back ... to when music was real

Tue, 31 Jul 2001 13:49:58 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author nativegirl - Q: Who are the Soggy Bottom Boys?

A: A fictitious band created by filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen (yet I will not compare this band to The Archies).

B: The artists of the best, most haunting song on the incredible O Brother, Where Art...

"Our lives are in danger, ya beatnik!"

Thu, 21 Jun 2001 16:26:57 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author nativegirl - OK, so EVERYBODY doesn't get murdered. But quite a few. The murders aren't the funny parts -- not that they're really scary -- but the bumbling, bantering, in-between-murder activities of the mysterious guests at Mr. Boddy's dinner party kept me rolling...

Never match wits with a Sicilian ... when death is on the line

Thu, 21 Jun 2001 13:39:26 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author nativegirl - This is a sharp-witted comedy, one of the few Hollywood makes for those of us who like our humor funny. (I think Raising Arizona, Mystery Science Theater and Clue are funny; Dumb and Dumber and anything by Woody Allen are not,...

Meet the (soon-to-be) legendary Gillian Welch

Thu, 14 Jun 2001 14:29:48 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author nativegirl - Gillian Welch was born in Southern California, I think, but her voice sounds straight from the hollows of Appalachia -- believe me, because that's where I'm from and still live.

Welch has the honest sound of the beehived church women who sing...

Original, gritty and real

Sat, 9 Jun 2001 20:21:52 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author nativegirl - I have never thought Lucinda Williams had the loveliest voice in the world. Even though she wrote "Passionate Kisses," I can't help but think how much better Mary-Chapin Carpenter sings it.

Still, Williams' rough-around-the-edges voice has a...

McMurtry's masterpiece

Sat, 9 Jun 2001 19:00:18 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author nativegirl - This first album by Larry McMurtry's son is still his best.

James McMurtry may have learned to write literate, poetic lyrics from his father, the Pulitzer-winning author of Lonesome Dove and The Last Picture Show.

But his music --...

Has endured 3 years of hard use ... gracefully

Fri, 8 Jun 2001 19:24:15 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author nativegirl - Even the time I let a pot of black beans dry out on the stove for an hour and fuse to the bottom of the pan was not enough to destroy my Revereware -- or even make it look dingy.

My grandmother bought me a set of copper-bottom Revereware for...

Mother-in-law coming to dinner? Grab this cookbook

Fri, 8 Jun 2001 12:20:19 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author nativegirl - Finally, recipes just like mom used to make -- if your mom was a good cook.

Until the Pillsbury Complete came free to my office (we do book reviews), I didn't own a basic cookbook. Just Italian cookbooks, country-style cookbooks ... nothing to...

More trouble than it's worth

Tue, 5 Jun 2001 19:47:42 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author nativegirl - I'll admit: PUR did filter the water. And the filter cartridges, though pricey, lasted a long, long time.

But then, there were the leaks. The spewing of water all over me and my kitchen, more than once, and usually right when I was headed out...

Nice big gourmet sandwich

Fri, 1 Jun 2001 19:31:17 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author nativegirl - On my first trip to Panera, I couldn't wait to leave. I unwisely chose a seat behind a man and woman who would not stop snapping at their three young children (who weren't doing anything wrong, by the way). Very unpleasant. And I still highly recommend...