what i'm loving: sigma update & a recipe

so this isn't technically a "what i'm loving"..exactly........ it is an update on my sigma purchase and another somewhat recently discovered product. you'll see...
~L-c ^.~

current dorama: Love Keeps Going -- totally crazy/bizarre show...but i love it. i hate how they do a preview of like the entire series at the beginning of each episode, so i know what's going to happen..just not when! asdklfjasdl;fjseiotawsgjsa;ljdf!!!!!!11111 >.> lol.

Sigma beauty:

12 Brush kit - Make Me Cool (aqua): these brush sets come in a variety of colors, travel (7 brushes) and.......nontravel? the polar bear on the box is so cute >w< anyway; i was actually looking around to get a makeup brush holder for my counter and this set is pretty cool in that it comes with two that snap together if you are traveling (i guess the one in the travel set is smaller???) and the outer casing seems to be a durable leather. i actually decided to get this set partially because of the holder(s) and because i wanted to see what's so great about sigma brushes....not to mention the fact that i had a 10% off coupon code (0112XJML until 1/31) and got a free brush after spending $30. shipping on their site is actually pretty outrageous, 'spend $1k and get free shipping'.....wooooooh! that's a deal there! >.> anyway, back to the brushes. the instructions said to clean the brushes before the first use, and for a good reason. because half of these are natural hair brushes, they shed..and did they shed while being washed!
impressions after the first use:  they still shed but it's probably because they're still super new...

• Eyeliner E05 -- picks up pigment well, line is about as thick as a slightly dull eye pencil. will definitely use if i had more/better gel or pot eyeliners
• Blending E25 (free brush, not pictured) -- i think this is the travel size since it's a freebie, but it works great
• Pencil E30 -- works great in corners and retains pigments well, but doesn't clean easily for "quick" daily cleaning
• Tapered Blending E40 -- it works well, but i think it's kinda big for me, i think i'll probably us the E25 more.
• Eye Shading E55 -- works like my ecotools, this is a bit wider and covers more area though
• Large Shader E60 -- this brush is pretty large for my uses, but it works well
• Small Angle E65 -- love it! 
• Medium Angled Shading E70 -- liked it a lot, probably will start using this frequently.
• Large Powder F30 -- this is a massive brush, in a few quick sweeps, it covers your entire face
• Large Angled Contour F40 -- it took a bit for it to pick up pigments, i give it an ok. see F50's review for more
• Duo Fibre F50 -- i didn't like using it with my deluxe sample sized pink leopard because the pan is small (see pic below), and it was very attracted to the pink vs. bronzer. with the regular size pink leopard, it was much better, still very attracted to the pink though.
• Foundation F60 -- works and cleans like my other foundation brushes. (see pic below)
• Concealer F70 -- like i said before, i'm not huge on concealer...but it does do it's job!

Dry'n Shape: i saw reviews and how-to's for this and i decided that i had to try it. in the end, i feel mixed about it. my bronzer brush handle is a tad too big for the largest loop, but with a little finagling it'll go through. it does fit my larger brushes, but the smaller loops are too large for several of my eye brushes. the 3rd smallest loop can fit my foundation brushes. the sigma f30 (large powder brush) is probably the largest brush i have--aside from the ecotools bronzer brush--and it can fit in the second largest loop. as for drying time, i actually didn't check it after about 6 hours (which is when they claim the brushes will be dry), i checked it more like 12+ hours later. ^^; but my brushes were all dry and ready to use! ... remembered about 8 hours later the second time and they were dry as well. i think i'll have to talk about this again when i actually get the timing right ^^;

update: so i checked them after almost exactly 6 hours, and a few of them were still damp/wet. i think 8 hours is about right.

Anastasia Clear Brow Gel -- ok, so this is weird. anyway, a year or two ago, sephora had a box set of favorites..or something. the tiny one was in it. i was very reluctant to use it because...well.. [eye]BROW GEL?!?! anyway, so i started using it because i had a few brow hairs out of line and would not stay put! in the end, i love it! it does not make them crusty (when you use the applicator, which looks like a mascara wand) and hard like normal hair gel and it keeps them in place when they go astray ^^; i don't use it every day, only if i really notice hairs out of place or growing in crazy directions. if you want to try some, they're currently in this small set or 2 for $30 (reg. $21 ea).

Food:
Pat's Broccoli and Chicken Stir fry: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/patrick-and-gina-neely/pats-broccoli-and-chicken-stir-fry-recipe/index.html
sorry guys, i made this last night and forgot to take a picture ^^; paul and i are trying ways to make our own sauce instead of buying packaged marinade, so we tried this recipe. we made some modifications though.

1. i used about a pound of chicken and a regular sized package of great value frozen stir fry vegetables. 
2. following the measurements on this recipe, the only ingredients we used were: orange juice (try using 2x), red pepper flakes (try using 1/2), light brown sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar (aka, rice wine vinegar), sesame oil, cornstarch, and minced garlic. mix these in a separate bowl.
3. cook chicken thoroughly, then add vegetables. when frozen vegetables are done, pour on the sauce, stir to coat, and serve over rice. yum!