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.