A Little Bit of This & a Little Bit of That!

In my makeup collection, there are two palettes that are my most recent gifts. I love these both for very different reasons, and they are almost polar opposites of each other. The First would be the Naked Palette by Urban Decay. Now, let me explain, this is MY FAVORITE palette of the ones I have. It's safe to say this is my "go to" palette. It has an array of different neutral shades that I'm confident could create a look for ANY occasion. I've done brown smokey eyes, charcoal smokey eyes, gold shimmery eyes, plum/brown eyes and so many more, all with this one palette!

The closed Naked Palette. The outside is so cool to touch, its a velveteen chocolate brown color :)

The palette opened up, comes with a double sided 24/7 eyeliner in Onyx & Whiskey & a tiny Primer Potion as well!! There are 2 Matte shadows in this Palette, third in from the left (Naked) and 5th in from the left (Buck). Virgin (1st on the left) is the best brow bone highlight EVER! :) (The new Palettes replaced the eyeliner duo with an eyeshadow brush)

*This palette is so hard to come by nowadays because it's in such high demand. I asked my Sephora to notify me when it became available and when I got the email I ordered right away and still had trouble reserving it! I suggest grabbing one if you see it, because you probably won't see them for long, and this is a DEFINITE must have for anyone's collection! The eye-shadows have a great payoff and they are a very decent size as well. To view its availability on Sephora click here ! $48


This next palette is also by Urban Decay (I think its safe to say I kind of love Urban Decay products lol) It's called the Book of Shadows III. I love this palette first off because its so uniquely packaged! It has a whole NYC cityscape with lights and a mirror.  Although this makes the packaging a bit more bulky, in my opinion, I think this is definitely worth the art work :) You will find much more bold colors in this vs. the Naked Palette. This is something I use when I'm going out at night and wearing something a bit more subdued. Personally, I never like to play up my wardrobe AND my makeup, it's one or the other.

Front cover

The artwork I was speaking of! How cool!! You cant see because of the lighting, but there are lights positioned throughout the scape :)

As you can see it comes with 16 shadows, all shimmer finishes except one matte black (always useful!) Comes with 2 eyeliners in Zero and Ransom (a pretty iridescent purple) and a tiny primer potion. 

*I love that there is a little bit of everything in this palette. There is still quite a few colors that can give you a neutral eye look, but if you're feeling bold you could definitely whip up something of that nature as well. The eyeliners are great, I have yet to have problems with smudging and I feel confident recommending them for the waterline as well :) Also, the color payoff is amazing, as with all Urban Decay shadows that I've ever used. Unfortunately, Sephora and Ulta no longer carry this product, but you can still find it on the Urban Decay website here ! $54 Happy Shopping! xox

Chop it up! --My Favorite Salads

It's no secret that when I find a great salad I can eat it for months straight! At the moment I have two absolute favorite salads, both very different. My first one is a simple, three ingredient salad, the second one is a more intricate salad with many more little parts, both are equally amazing :) Lets get started:

Simple Salad

This salad is just one of the ones I always get, there are however many brands of boxed spring mix salads in the produce section of your grocery store. This salad has a pretty great taste. I don't like iceberg because I feel as if it has no taste at all. Spinach and arugula are just two of the things you can find in these boxed salads, and this beings such a fresh great taste to your mix! With this I grill a little chicken and cut it into pieces and throw it in the salad and top it off with my MIRACLE dressing. I say miracle because in my opinion this dressing can make ANYTHING taste good. I've used this dressing on steaks, chicken and salads and I love it more each time :)  You can add some croutons or anything else you may like but I leave it at this and its just as good.

 Chopped Salad

Next is my favorite restaurant salad. With a mix of so many things that I already love eating separately, this is fail proof for me. Included in this salad is corn, apples, bacon, blue cheese, avocado, tomatoes & romaine lettuce. All of these ingredients are chopped finely to perfection and tossed in a vinaigrette dressing. You can try this salad at The Cheesecake Factory :)

I hope you can add a little spice to your normal "salad regimen" (haha) by trying one of these! Enjoy xox

Cute Knick-knacks!

It was one hot month in 2006  (I believe), that a few friends and I ventured to Bethlehem, PA for Music Fest. Bethlehem is such a beautiful town let me tell you! Its set up like a little village with so many shops and parlors, definitely a sight to see. While venturing into different shops, mainly trying take in some air conditioning to relieve some of the heat stroke signs we were feeling haha, we came across this vintage shop. This place was crawling with everything vintage and I was in heaven! The girls and I discovered this table with tons of little knick-knacks that had the funniest pictures with even funnier captions attached. Later we learned that the woman responsible for bringing us many laughs was a woman named Anne Taintor. She creates everything from magnets to car fresheners with these hilarious illustrations and sayings! Needless to say we all stocked up on her items and I still find myself picking up some of her things which I sometimes find at local boutiques.

* To view these and even more of Anne Taintor's work click here !

Scrumptious Sweets!

A few months ago, while at my friend D's house I came across this recipe in a magazine that she had in her kitchen. This book was glorious, it had hundreds of recipes JUST for COOKIES! My taste-buds can't really handle extremely sweet things, so the baked goods that I usually make aren't too too sugary. On another note I do not like chocolate, but love white chocolate.  I know I know I'm missing out, or so I hear! haha This recipe is a mixture of oats, cranberries, and white chocolate, all things I absolutely love. For this reason I am so excited to share this recipe with you all :)

Just as it looks, this cookie has a bite of cranberry, white chocolate and oatmeal in EVERY bite guaranteed. Its quite delectable! :)

For this recipe click here. Enjoy xox!

Lets Kiss & MAKEUP!

Have you ever gotten a sudden small breakout on a part of your face that you normally don't? Noticed some abnormal irritation on your face? This could in fact be from "dirty" makeup brushes! Makeup brushes can sometimes harbor some serious bacteria if not cleaned proper enough or often enough. These bacterias transfer onto your face and can cause blemishes and breakouts. Just as you wouldn't put a dirty toothbrush in your mouth, you shouldn't put a dirty brush on your face. Below I am going to show you a simple way to deep clean your brushes. Now this is just MY way of doing it, you can adapt your own way as well, as long as you're getting those babies clean! I suggest being near the sink as this will make things a whole lot easier and you will be using water.

What you will need: Sponge, Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I learned this trick from a makeup artist!), Baby Shampoo, a dry cloth to lay your brushes on and paper towels or napkins.

First you are going to want to spread out your brushes on a clean dry cloth. You will be using this cloth later as well to lay them on for the drying process.

Second, grab some EVOO and drizzle a small amount onto a paper towel or napkin

On this napkin in a swirl like motion and swiping back and forth motion as well, you are going to work the brush through the Olive Oil. This conditions and gets some of that deep built in makeup out. You will often notice immediately, I definitely do, that tons of makeup comes off right away! I get so happy when this happens haha

 Grab a clean sponge and moisten it with some lukewarm water and add some baby shampoo (any brand).

 Next, take your brush and swirl back and forth in a circular motion on the sponge, creating a nice lather. This is another way of cleaning the brushes and also washes off all of the oil.When you are finished, rinse the brushes with the bristles face down in a light stream of water. work the soap out with your fingers.

You do NOT want water to seep underneath the metal part on your brushes! This will cause them to rust and you will get much less use out of your brushes before you find them falling apart at the hinge. Always work with your bristles face down!

After each time you use your brushes on a daily basis, you do not have to do this deep clean. I do it to my brushes every two weeks (I do not wear makeup everyday). In between though, when I do use them, I ALWAYS sanitize and clean them with a regular daily makeup brush cleanser. You don't have to use a MAC one, I just so happen to have this one. Any brand will work just the same. For this do the same method that you did with the Olive Oil and the Napkin!






Hope this was explained easy enough! Enjoy and remember a clean face is a happy face! xox

Here Ye, Here Ye-- I Present to You, Her Royal Madgesty, Princess Ruby!

Ruby and I do photo-shoots often, as you can tell shes LOVING this one hahaha

Royalty has arrived! lol Ruby is definitely Mommy's Princess, and I always keep her well aware of how amazing she is via supreme spoiling. Everyone knows I talk to her more than some people in my own family, yes I'm one of those. 8 years ago I was so blessed with her presence when my nagging brother finally got his way and was able to get a dog. He loves her, but lets face it shes a mommas girl so I took over primary care of her haha Ruby has many nicknames, most of which just I call her including, Rubina, Princess, Mama, Ruby Scooby and many more. Ok...ok lets get back to normality, ehh hem..Dogs are seriously mans best friend. I had always heard this before, but never truly became attached like this to a dog until Ruby. Shes such a bundle of joy. She greets you at the door, wags and jumps around, shes AMAZINGLY house trained, its astounding how short a time it took us in the beginning to teach her rules and commands etc. All in all shes just a pretty amazing dog, and I feel so lucky that we got to share our lives with her! <3


On a less brightening note, there are many canines out there (and other animals as well), who aren't as lucky as Ruby to have come across a loving home and shelter and food everyday. If you've ever visited an animal shelter, you know that as soon as you come into the sight of a needy animal, their eyes light up (I always ball out crying of course). No animal deserves to live their lives in a shelter on a cold cement floor, crowded with other animals. Every animal deserves a chance to become part of a family, and to share their lives with someone. Although Ruby didn't come from an animal shelter (mainly because my brother was younger and we didn't want to risk possible unstable behavior from an adopted animal), without a doubt in my mind, I will for sure have pets from animal shelters in the future for my own children, its an amazing gift to give to not only the pet but to yourself.

*If you are not able to shelter a pet for whatever reason, no worries there are other ways that you can help! It's as simple as calling your local animal shelter and asking them if they need anything i.e. food, toys etc. Sometimes they just need people to come visit the animals and play with them, my brother and I have done that before and it's so much fun! Either way act now or regret it tomorrow. xox!

To find out more about what you can do, and info on your local ASPCA click here & here, or just call your town municipal offices.

Can I get a SIDE of that?

Do you ever make an excellent main dish and think, hymm what can I use as a side dish that not only complements what I made, but also makes the plate look even? lol This has happened to me so many times, so I am going to share a few dishes with you that are quick and compliment a few dishes that come to mind.

Firstly, Sauteed Green Beans, one of my personal favorites!

Level: Easy
Ingredient Count: Approx 4

What you're going to want to do is go to the grocery store and get those green beans that you have to get a handful of and throw into those plastic produce bags. Once you get home, with kitchen scissors if you have, or a knife if not, trim off the ends of the green beans and halve them.

Grab a saute pan and drizzle a little bit of Olive Oil on the bottom to cover the bottom of the pan. Add some minced garlic, DO NOT burn the garlic, which is so easy to do. Don't let the oil get too hot before adding the garlic or else you will get a huge splatter and burnt garlic in no time. Another key is to keep the flame at a low level. Once you add the garlic and it has been sauteing  for a few minutes, add the green beans mixing thoroughly to assure the flavors of the garlic are distributed throughout.

I love the part where I see the green beans turn a bright almost kelly green color, this lets me know that they are cooking to perfection. Add salt and pepper to your liking and mix thoroughly once again. Now this part is completely up to you, how long to saute. I like my beans to have a little bit of a crisp to them, I'm not one for mushy vegetables, but if you like them softer leave them cooking a little longer.


Next, Garlic Chive Mashed Potatoes!

Level: Easy
Ingredient Count: Approx 5

Growing up, my brother and I would always ask my mother and grandmother to make mashed potatoes, it was by far our favorite side dish ever. Mashed potatoes are a go to item when cooking a steak or sometimes a chicken as well. They are simple to make and always a hit as well.

You can start by peeling the potatoes if you wish, often when I use red skin potatoes I leave the skin on, adds a delicious texture and taste to the recipe! Add the potatoes cut into tiny chunks into a pot of boiling water which you should season with salt. When the potatoes are soft enough for mashing, drain them and add butter, milk, salt and pepper while mashing and stirring. For the Chives and garlic, use finely minced garlic and wash your chives (found in any supermarket near the produce) and finely chop. Throw these ingredients in the pot with your potatoes and mix all together for a lovely savory side dish!