MAC Mean & Green Nail Polish DUPE

Hi again,

I know this was last year's hype, but since I'm currently wearing the nail polish, I wanted to share it with you. Last year, MAC came out with a Disney collection that included a nail polish called Mean & Green. It was one of the most popular nail polish, which was a limited edition. I'm not sure if many of you knew about it or probably forgotten about it, but there is an inexpensive dupe of that nail polish from Hard Candy that can be found at Walmart and any other drugstore that may sell that brand. Hard Candy came out with a  nail polish named Beetle, which consisted with colors such as green, gold, pink and purple that changes when you move your fingers. It's a beautiful nail polish color that fits in with this Fall/Winter season. Check this out...it only cost $5! Hard Candy's nail polish applies great and doesn't chip or fade as quickly as others. Orly FX did come out with a similar nail polish color; however, that was also limited edition. So, if you've missed out on MAC's Mean & Green from last year, you should pick up Hard Candy nail polish in Beetle #321.

My Favorite Lush Skincare Products

Hi again,

My skin's very sensitive and anything that touches my face that my skin doesn't like, it will get irritated and break out. It's very hard for me to find any products that will work for me; however, I was introduced from someone to try out some of Lush's products. I do like Lush because of their fresh handmade cosmetics, so took the plunge in trying their skincare products. I've been using these products for a few months now and I do like it; however, these can be a bit pricey. Some I may repurchase and some I won't.

Face Cleanser

I've tried out the Aqua Marine. It can be a bit messy because of the Nori seaweed wrapped around the product. This is made for the most sensitive and dry skin, which includes calamine and aloe. You only need a small pea sized amount, mix with warm water and massage into your skin. It's supposed to make  your face feel clean, soothed and soft, but I only felt the soothing part, and not the clean feeling that it claims to be. I was given a good size sample to try, but won't purchase.

Toner

I do like their Fresh of Breath Air, because it doesn't irritate my skin and feels really fresh when spritz on my face. This one is a keeper and I may repurchase this again.

Face Scrub

I've tried a few face scrubs and by far I do like their Dark Angel. It doesn't irritate my skin and leaves it feeling soft and smooth. It claims to give your dull skin glowing. It's made with black sugar, powdered charcoal, rhassoul mud, vitamin-rich cold pressed organic avocado oil, sandalwood and rosewood oils. I will also repurchase this face scrub again.

Face Moisturizer

I love how moisturizing the Skin's Shangri-la is. It does not feel irritating to my skin and leaves it so soft. It does have a weird scent to it, but it doesn't bother me too much. It doesn't leave my skin looking oil and it's not heavy either. It's made for dry and agin skin, but works well by soothing, hydrating, and helps reduce redness. This is very pricey, so I will have to find an alternative.

These are just my opinion on some of my favorite skincare products from Lush. I was not asked to blog or review any of these products, but I just wanted to share with you some of my faves. Try it out or try out some of their other products that is made for your skin. If weary, ask for free samples. Visit their store or go online http://www.lush.com

Pho Soup

Hi again,

Since I'm in a blogging mood I decided to blog about yummy Vietnamese Food, particularly Pho! Yum, right?! There's this Vietnamese Pho restaurant called Xeula Vietnamese Restaurant that have oh so good dishes! That restaurant was the first Vietnamese restaurant that an old friend took me and I was in love, especially love how their bubble tea taste. In Canada the people there called this particular drink, bubble tea that I first known it as. I was craving for some Pho soup and luckily I had the ingredients to make this soup. It's not hard to make and it's quite fast to cook up. However, you do need to thaw the sliced beef a bit before cooking. If you're ever in the city of Vaughan, which is a suburb of Toronto...check out Xeula.

Xelua Vietnamese Restaurant

180 Steeles Avenue West, Thornhill, ON L4J 2L1, Canada

Thanksgiving Day

Hi again,

Gooble! Gooble! Last Thursday, the United States celebrated Thanksgiving. I celebrated my Thanksgiving dinner with a smaller group of friends, which still made the day even more special. I made four individual cornish game hens rather than having turkey, due to the fact that many of us did not crave the turkey that much. We actually had lots of food; however, I did not take a picture of most of our dishes. We did have most of the norm such as garlic mash potato, candied yams, green bean casserole, sweet potato pie, apple pie, and more deliciousness. It was a great dinner with fun people.

Black Friday actually started real early this year and I didn't realize the time change to 10 pm Thursday evening. My first stop was Walmart, just because I wanted to get some household essentials and they were dirt cheap. At this particular Walmart, the people were definitely anxious and sad to say, greedy. In addition, at this location compared to others that I've shopped at on Black Friday was not organized at all. Luckily I was able to purchase what I wanted/needed and then some, lol. I did check out other stores along the way and at the end I was so tired. I wasn't as hype as the previous years, nonetheless still had fun.

What are you thankful for?

This year I am thankful for the love and support from our family and especially God's blessings that He has bestowed upon us. I look forward for the many opportunities that lies ahead.

Thanksgiving Pies

Hi again,

Woke up this bright and early morning to make a few pies, sweet potato and apple. They all turned out great and taste absolutely amazing. Of course I had to take a bite out of some of them just to test them out first. These pies are for tomorrow's Thanksgiving feast and these were the first dishes that had to be made first. I had extra filling and an extra pie crust so I just made a few individual sweet potato pies that turned out so cute and tasted delicious. I just used a mini butterfly cookie cutter and cut the center of the pie crust and also added slits on top. The second apple pie that is below, I just did an easy lattice style crust to give it a different look. The apple pie would taste great with a scoop of french vanilla ice cream, "oh yeah"! lol. Now onto prepping the bird, which will be posted tomorrow. Check out the pictures above and below.  Message me if you would like the recipe, thanks.

Sweet Potato Pie

Individual Sweet Potato Pies

Apple Pie

Dog Biscuits - Chicken and Sweet Potatoes

Hi again,

As we are nearing Thanksgiving, I decided to make some chicken and sweet potato dog biscuits for Bree and Hazel so that they can enjoy a Thanksgiving treat also. They both enjoyed eating the treat and begged for more. The dog biscuits are not as hard or crunchy as I would prefer, but nonetheless, they both think it's yummy. Try it out for your special dog or pup. Recipe provided below. Check out the pictures too.

Bree

Hazel

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups of wheat flour

6 tbsp chicken broth

1/2 cup of apple sauce

1 cup diced cooked sweet potato

1/2 cup of oats

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F.

2) Cook the diced sweet potato in a pot.

3) In a large bowl, add wheat flour and oats, and mix together.

4) Add chicken broth, apple sauce, and sweet potato, and mix together until it forms into a dough like consistency.

5) Roll dough with a rolling pin on a flat hard surface at a 1/4 inch and use your favorite cookie cutters.

6) Bake on a cookie sheet with parchment paper for about 25-45 minutes, depending on your oven as well as your preference on how hard you would like the biscuits.

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup and Bread Bowl

Hi again,

As the weather gets colder, it's always nice to have a warm bowl of homemade creamy chicken noodle soup for lunch or dinner. I've never made a soup bread bowl before and took the challenge in making it as I have learned recently on how to make a variety of styles of bread. It took time to make the creamy chicken noodle soup from scratch as well as making and baking the bread, but was definitely well worth it. I basically used the recipe on how I make a loaf of bread, but instead of allowing it to rise or proof in a bread pan, I shaped the dough into a ball, pinched the bottom, and then allowed it to proof on a cookie sheet. The outcome was amazing and had a nice crusty crust and was also soft inside. I made my creamy chicken noodle soup a little bit thicker so that it can retain in the bread bowl. This dish is definitely a winner during those cold times, try it out sometime!

Stay warm always!

* Message me if you want the bread bowl recipe. 

Roasted Chicken and Potatoes

Hi again,

For dinner a few weeks ago, I decided to make some simple roasted chicken and potatoes. It was so delicious! I liked the end results with the crispiness of the skin and the how the inside was so moist and juicy. Fresh herbs would be better, unfortunately I only had dried herbs, which still brought out the amazing taste. Not much to say about it, but do try it. I have provided the recipe and directions if you want to make this for lunch or dinner. Bon appetit!

Ingredients:

6 Chicken Leg Pieces

6 Garlic Cloves, unpeeled

3 Large Potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces

Juice of one small Lemon

3 Sprigs of Fresh Rosemary

4 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme

1-2 carrots, chopped

3 Tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

Directions:

1) Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.

2) In a large bowl, add the chicken pieces, lemon juice, fresh thyme, the two roughly chopped sprigs of rosemary, chopped carrots, 1 tbsp of EVOO and season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix everything together and let it marinade for a minimum of 20 minutes or up to  24 hours in the fridge.

3) In a large glass baking dish, add the cubed potatoes, remaining rosemary, garlic cloves (unpeeled), and 2 tbsp of EVOO. Season with salt and pepper to taste and toss the potatoes to ensure the oil is coating everything.

4) Arrange the chicken in the baking dish around the potatoes flat and bake for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes.

5) You can squeeze out the garlic out of the skin as a paste to bring out more flavor with the potatoes and carrots afterwards.

Whoopie Pie

Hi again,

Whoopie pies is one of the next dessert faves at parties. They are basically two small round cakes sandwiched together with filling or frosting. I recently purchased a Wilton Whoopie Pie pan at Bed Bath and Beyond since it was on sale, because I tried making them exactly how a baker made them on youtube just using a piping bag and a cookie pan, unfortunately the cake did not formed properly. I made mine with devil's chocolate cake and buttercream frosting. To give it more texture and taste to the whoopie pies I made, I added some sprinkles in the frosting. Try it out for a party, they will definitely be a good hit at the dessert table.

Whoopie Pie Filling (Wilton)

6 tbsp Butter, softened

1 1/2 cups Confectioners' sugar, sifted

1/8 tsp Salt

1 jar Marshmallow creme (about 7 oz)

1 tsp Pure Vanilla extract

Pink food coloring (optional)

Directions:

1) In a large bowl, beat butter with electric mixer until creamy.

2) Add sugar and salt to the butter; mix well. Add marshmallow creme and vanilla extract; blend well. If desired, add food coloring. 

3) Use immediately to fill whoopie pies or refrigerate covered up to 1 week. Bring back to room temperature and lightly beat before using.

* Makes about 2 1/2 cups of filling, enough to fill 12 whoopie pies.

Black Friday 2011

Hi again,

It's that time of year again, exactly one week from now will be black friday!! I'm not sure if any of you have participated with black friday shopping, but I have and let me tell you...it's crazy! lol. Stores open mad early, about 3 or 4 am the earliest and people line up or camp outside the stores from the night before. I haven't camped out like some people have because that's just nuts, but have lined up as early as 1 am. Most of the things I have gotten were from Walmart, so luckily the people can wait inside in the warmth. Last year I went to a local outlet mall and it was freezing, but was well worth it. This year I'm still debating whether I should participate with black friday since I have way too many things and it's not a necessity to buy things. Nonetheless, it's great to get deals for early Christmas shopping.

Tips for Black Friday:

1. Take a nap so that you can get up by midnight
2. Dress warm
3. Bring a chair
4. Wear comfortable clothes
5. Bring some things to entertain you 
6. Check out your local ads and mark down what you want to get
7. Stay on a budget

Check out Walmart, Best Buy, Target, Kohls, Outlet Malls, etc. 

Check out this Black Friday site:

http://bfads.net/

Filipino Beef Lumpia

Hi again,

I recently watched one of my favorite guru's on youtube, it's judy's life, and her mom made some yummy Filipino Lumpia, except hers was made with pork. Although I do eat pork from time to time, I decided to make mine with beef. After watching her youtube channel, it made me crave for some big time, so luckily I had the ingredients to make some. However, I did substitute some of the ingredients with others. I do make lumpia occasionally, but it's always good to pick up some new tricks when making it. I love dipping mine in white vinegar sprinkled with black pepper. Yum!

If you want to check out Judy's youtube channel of her mom's lumpia recipe, click below.
http://www.youtube.com/user/itsJudysLife?blend=7&ob=5#p/u/13/imZIkibE3n0

The Amazing World of Technology

Hi again,

As funny as this sounds, I've never used Skype before, lol. The reason being is because I didn't have the need for it and had found other ways to video chat with others for free. Ever since I reconnected with my family from the Phils, it was a great way for all of us to video chat since they mostly use Skype. For some reason I thought you have to pay monthly in order to use it, but boy was I wrong. I had a great time talking to my cousin and imagine we talked for about 6 hours, lol. It was great, cause I haven't seen her since I was 11 years old and that's a very very long time!! If any of you haven't tried using Skype yet, which I doubt, try it, cause there is a FREE version that you can download. Technology is awesome! Now I should get a laptop for the parentals so that they can keep in touch with the family more often.

Click on the link
http://www.skype.com

FYI: I am NOT affiliated with Skype.

Chicken Souvlaki with Tzatziki Sauce, Grilled Veggies, Potatoes, and Rice (Greek)

Hi again,

I've been craving for some Greek food and I haven't found a good Greek restaurant nearby, so I decided to make some for dinner. I used to make this dish a lot, but didn't have my binder full of recipes since it was hidden in my many boxes from moving. This is not hard to make, especially the tzatziki sauce that tasted so good! Try some Greek food for lunch or dinner sometime. Even if you don't cook it, take a trip to a restaurant. I grilled some chicken kabobs, seasoned just like in the restaurant, grilled some onions and green peppers, because that's what I had in my fridge, seasoned and baked some potatoes, and made some rice that was obviously non Filipino style.

My Favorite Foundation Applications

Hi again,

I wanted to share with you some of my favorite foundation applications that I consistently use almost on a daily basis. The reason why these are my favorite applications to use is because I currently use the Revlon Colorstay Liquid Foundation and these applications help create a flawless look and allows applying foundation more effortlessly. I prefer a more dense, but yet still want some softness when applying. All of these applications were under $15, some can be found at Target and the others were purchased at IMATS. If you  haven't tried Revlon Colorstay Liquid Foundation, some say it's comparable to Mac's Studio Fix but for less. It gives a medium to full coverage, comes in a plethora of colors, and can be found in almost all drug stores, even Walmart and Target. However, this foundation dries quickly, but I found the best solution when using this foundation. You can spray your brushes, I prefer a flat top type of brush, with some distilled water, then dab a little bit of liquid foundation on your brush and start stippling on your face, and then buff away. You must work quickly, but spritzing on some water allows applying effortlessly. I pour only a little bit of foundation on my stainless steel palette so that I can dip my brush or sponge quite easily.

If you are attending IMATS in Toronto this weekend, try to pick up some Crown brushes because they are good quality and inexpensive and also the Mehron Face Smoothie, if you don't want to splurge on a Beauty Blender. It works great and doesn't crumble compared to Sonia Kashuk's.

Here are some of my current faves! (In order from picture above)

1. Mehron Face Smoothie $10-14 (can't remember) - IMATS
2. Sonia Kashuk Flat Top Foundation Brush $14 - Target
3. ELF Flat Top Bronzer $3 - Target
4. Crown Brush's Flat Top Foundation Brush - $7 - IMATS

Homemade Thin Crust Pizza

Hi again,

I've been on a roll with blogging today, so here's another food blog. I have taken so many pictures of so many food and other things recently; however, I haven't had the chance to blog about it as the October blogs were very slim compared to other months. Hopefully I won't slack off this month, lol.

I made some homemade thin crust pizzas with my homemade pizza dough too. This was my first time making pizza and it was quite fun with the tossing and shaping of the dough. I made two pizzas, one was pepperoni and the other one was half veggies/turkey sausage and half cheese. They both had a butter garlic herb crust, which made the pizza taste extra delicious!

Sweet Potato Chili Steak Fries

Hi again,

Here's another great and delicious recipe that I made this week. This Fall season there are a plethora of sweet potatoes at the supermarket. You can make so many wonderful dishes, such as sweet potato pie, dog treats, steak fries, etc. I came upon a recipe and wanted to try it out as it is so simple and easy to make. I cut one large sweet potato into steak fries size, drizzled some EVOO, salt, black pepper, and chili powder, then placed them flat on a foiled cookie sheet pan. I baked it in the oven at 450 degrees F for about 30 minutes. It may differ on certain ovens. Et voila! They're tasty, sweet, and with a touch of spiciness. I had it with some grilled steak and garlic mash. Try it out!

Sephora Freebies

Hi again,

I love makeup! Although I don't wear it too often, I do have a collection of several different brands. I love receiving free samples at JC Penny's Sephora every month. Basically, JC Penny's Sephora would send me a newsletter or card in the mail every month, with a free sample that I can pick up at the store. Mind you that these are an addition to the points rewards that Sephora offers. I don't think I signed up for anything, I just receive those notices in the mail. I've received some Makeup Forever Black Aqua Eyes and HD powder, Benefit's the POREfessional, Philosophy's Purity face cleanser, and Bare Minerals Matte SPF 15 Foundation, a cute kabuki, and a Prime Time foundation primer. Bare Minerals was the latest freebie I picked up; however, they only had "fairly light", which obviously wasn't my shade, but the sales associates were generous enough to still give me that one and made me a sample in my shade. I have only used some of the products as I have similar products that I'm currently using. If you're living in the U.S., probably shop at the JC Penny's Sephora and you might possibly receive some additional freebies too just like moi.