Monday, January 31, 2011

Challenge Day 1 - Favorite Eyeliner

I'm always looking for fun and interesting things to do on the blog and I often run out of ideas. I don't go shopping every weekend (but I love reading other bloggers haul posts) and I don't particularly dress up very often. . . can you imagine post after post of scrubs and rubber soled closed toed shoes? The point of this banter is .... I think I'm going to do another 30 day challenge. I like having a topic and the beautiful Gena at Glam-Me Up is doing a Beauty and Fashion related challenge. I'm respectfully "taking" the idea because it looks like fun!
Day 01 - Your Favorite Eyeliner.
Gena and I agree on this one for sure. Urban Decay 24/7 is the smoothest eyeliner on the market and I have super watery eyes (haha sexy!), this stuff really stays put. I own a few different colors Bourbon, Flipside, and Zero. I also like Coastal Scents gel liners when i go out.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Hungry Girl Shout Out!

I'm really enjoying Hungry Girl's new show on Cooking Channel. Yep it was a smart move giving this lovely lady her own 30 min segment considering how popular her website and publications are. Her personality is tops - she is kitschy but in a totally cute way. I don't like that her kitchen looks an awful lot like Rachel Ray's 30 minute meals, at first glance she looks like Rachel Ray anyway so it's a little distracting. But I adore that her meals are low calorie and quick for a working girl...they are also portion controlled. I have already tried two of her recipes from the show and loved both. They aren't as photogenic as Ina Garten's dishes and she doesn't waste time plating and garnishing her food...who cares? The taste is fantastic!
If anyone is interested, new episodes air Saturdays at 4pm

Thursday, January 27, 2011

I realized I hadn't filled out a "Best of" list for 2010. It's super late but forgive me, I didn't have internet access for nearly 2 weeks out of the month. Anyway it's just for fun - my opinion only. These are my most used and most loved beauty products. Best Foundation: Korres WRF (I've been using this for 2 years and I don't want to switch) Best Bronzer: Lancome Flash Bronzer Anti Age Best Blush: MAC Springsheen (is the one used most in 2010) Best Concealer: SmashBox Camera Ready Concealer Overall Favorite Eye Shadow: Urban Decay Mushroom and S&M (its a tie) Best Eyeliner: Urban Decay 24/7 Zero Best Mascara: Covergirl Lashblast Best Lip Gloss: Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss in Pink Pursuit Best Lipstick: Benefit Ladys Choice Outstanding Brush: Coastal Scents Angled Eyeliner Brush Best Packaging: NARS Orgasm / Laguna Duo (a new product for me but it saves room in my travel bag) Best Hair Product: Kenra Platinum Gloss Drops Most Valuable Product: Big Sexy Hair Spray and Play Harder - in Carolina humidity it keeps my hair bouncy in damp or humid conditions

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

New favorite Product

This stuff is my new best friend. If you have pets or allergies (or just a super dusty apartment like me) this reduces the amount of dust particles that fly around the air when you attempt regular dusting. It can be used on all furniture and antiques and it is safe to use on electronics - no excuse for a dusty tv. Endust can be used in the interior of the vehicle per it's website but I haven't tried that yet. Lilly sheds quite a bit and this does a great job of getting her hair off surfaces. I've always been a Pledge fan for my furniture but I can't use it on electronics so using this is just faster for me. It is more expensive that Pledge products and the bottle is kind of small..it's also scentless which is a downside for me because I love the lemon scent of furniture spray. I had a coupon when I bought mine and now I definitely prefer it.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

In the kitchen: Yum Yum Brownies

I love HungryGirl's new show on Cooking Channel Saturdays at 4 pm EST!
These are her YumYum Brownies!
1 15 oz can puree pumpkin
1 box devils food cake mix
Mix these two ingredients together (it takes a few minutes to get it blended but don't add anything else to it). Preheat the oven to 400* and bake for approx 20 minutes.
My suggestion - these brownies are fluffy and cake like so add maybe a cup of mini chocolate morsels to make them fudgey. This could also be used as is for a cupcake batter and frosted YUM!

Friday, January 21, 2011

I have a legit excuse and a twitter account

I was not MIA on purpose. I was having some phone issues for a week and then it took almost another week to order a new one. My Sprint EVO is also my computer router so (*sadly*) I wasn't able to get online for quite a while.
In other news....I finally joined Yes when other people started tweeting I thought it was a waste of time. After all the texts, emails, blog posts, youtube updates, facebook and yes even an oldschool myspace that I rarely ever check who has the time for twitter? If anyone is interested in real time updates, this is me...

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

End of Winter Shopping

Oh how I love outlet shopping: 3 cocktail dresses 2 dressy tops 2 pairs of tights 1 pair of jeans 1 evening clutch all for less than $150

Monday, January 3, 2011

In the Kitchen: Zuppa Toscana (my loosely based version)

My attempt at making a Zuppa Toscana soup a bit healthier. Unfortunately I didn't really measure the ingredients so these are more general guidelines - any amount of the following list will be delicious!
1 cup lentils
4 medium sized potatoes cubed
1 pound of fresh pork sausage (italian sausage removed from casings is more traditional)
1 half chopped white onion
2 tablespoons of minced garlic
1 tablespoon of crushed red pepper flakes (more or less depending on taste)
1 tablespoon of italian seasoning
1 full carton of chicken broth
2 cups of spinach (kale is more traditional, my supermarket's kale didn't look very good so I used spinach)
1/4 cup half and half (I didn't have this so I used fat free milk, it was definitely less rich but less calories too)
salt and pepper to taste
Bring chicken broth to boil and add lentils (rinse them first in a colander), onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, and Italian seasoning and cook for 15 minutes at a low boil. Add potatoes and bring back up to a boil (I had to add a little extra water to cover the potatoes). I cooked my sausage in a pan so I could drain most of the fat out afterwards on some paper towels. The traditional method calls for crumbling the sausage in the boiling broth with the rest of the ingredients until it is cooked through - I really didn't want all that extra fat in my soup though. I added the sausage to my soup after I had cooked and blotted the grease. The soup is done when the potatoes are soft. Turn off the heat and add the spinach (or kale) and stir until the greens are soft. Add the milk (or half and half) last. Serve it up!
**traditionally there are no lentils in this soup...I have recently been in the habit of adding lentils to all my soups to bulk them up by adding fiber and no fat. This is a super filling soup!

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Challenge Day 2 - Favorite Bag That I Own

Weird. When I saw this question was on the list I thought about all my purses and honestly I'm not "attached" emotionally to any of them. I have several quality handbags that I love to carry and I have several "fun" options for nights out. This is a coin purse that belonged to my grandma. She taught a Sunday school class over forty years ago and a student gave this to her, I remember seeing it my whole life in her handbag. It was one of the many beautiful things that became mine after she passed away. I had it cleaned and it looks new! Now when I travel I use this to carry my jewelry.