Monday, February 13, 2012



With Valentine's Day Literally starting in one hour, I figured I better do something to mark the occasion. I present to you, Valentine Linky Dinks
  • Aphrodisiac foods and recipes  gives you some great ideas for a romantic snacks that won't expand your waistline. Gotta keep things tight and right!!!


  • Coming up with something more exciting than dinner and a movie can be a little difficult for some ladies. Try one of these great date ideas.

  • I didn't forget about you gentlemen. These are some date suggestions she is sure to love.

  • A homemade chocolate dessert has so much more meaning than something store bought.  Hershey's has got you covered with desserts recipes for every skill level.
I know this is short and last minute, but hopefully it will be helpful to at least one person.


-Jess

#82 Attempt to be a vegan

I have always been a huge animal lover, so much so take I have slapped a girl in the face for pushing my cat and almost been hit with a bat for taking a dog from a man that was mis-treating it. So, recently I began to think it really makes no sense for me to sit and preach about animal rights when I am consuming them on a daily basis and feeding into the cruelty cycle. I figured it was time to bite the bullet and tackle #82 on my list, become a vegan.

Armed with a vegan grocery list (thanks Oprah!), a month long meal plan and a couple of great vegan cookbooks, I'm set to challenge myself.
I did some of the grocery shopping last night, but quickly realized that alot of vegan products aren't available where I live. When I got home I actually broke down and ordered some of the groceries online.
Some of my veggie bounty

I have been a vegetarian off and on a few different times, so this isn't gonna be a huge shock to my system. I really enjoy the taste and texture of  soy based meat substitutes and like getting creative with recipes. And what's the worst that can happen, I have some much needed weight loss and no more meat guilt? Sounds like a win/win.

Today was day one, and so far the Quinoa and veggie soup was great and i'm always down for a fruit smoothie. I'll most likely be doing weekly updates with this and hopefully start incorporating a workout routine in as well.

I'm doing this for you little critters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Jess

P.S.: Here are some great vegan recipe sites if your interested.
Vegan Yum Yum
The Post Punk Kitchen
Skinny Bitch (I recommend buying the books)
The Kind Life ( Excellent recipes)

has a great step by step article on how to create the most adorable Valentine cupcakes.
There's a freakin' heart inside!!!! Who wouldn't want to cut into that????

I'm gonna try my hand at making these with stars in them later this week. I'll post to results, which I'm sure will be interesting.

-Jess



I must be turning into one of those prancing, smiling, singing princesses, because in the past couple weeks I have been getting bombarded with woodland critters in the back yard. I am used to the occasional deer wandering into the yard at night, no big deal, but this is ridiculous. Most recently I have had :

1.) A mother opossum with 3 babies living in the garage.

2.) A family of Raccoons living in the old barn.

3.) A woodchuck colony residing under the hen house.

4.) A deer here, a deer there, a deer everywhere!

5.) 15, I kid you not, 15 squirrels over running the backyard and the birdfeeders.

AND

6.) One lone beaver, living in the boat shed. I named him Ramon.

Heck yes, I went all night vision on his ass.


This is not to mention the various hoardes of birds, bunnies and other creatures sneaking around. So, being the animal loving soft heart I am, this animal invasion has resulted in a ton of hay, corn, birdseed, other forms of feed and water being set out.

I figure since I am clearly turning into a warped version of a Disney Princess, Prince Charming has to be on his way, right?? No??? Screw it, I got my critters, I'm happy.

-Jess

I have made no secret that I have oily skin. It's sucks, but for the most part I got it under control. Except for my damn eyelids!!!! Not only are they greasy, but my eyes are deep set, so I got the double whammy for creasing eye products.
Nothing I had ever tried had worked at keeping things in place and it was so frustrating. I found Make Up Forever Aqua Creams and my cosmetics prayers were answered.

The first one I tried was in #17- Plum.  It is a gorgeous violet/burgundy/brown with a good amount of  shimmer to it.



Right off the bat I noticed how light and moist the cream was, which made me think " There is no way this is sticking around for long." I figured 30 minutes, tops. My eyelids are the destroyers of shadows, powder or cream.
I spread a thin layer of my lid and within a minute it had dried and set.......and did not budge. I wore that layer for a total of 12 hours the first day and it held up the entire time.
The next day i layered some powder shadows over the top and it worked wonderfully as a base. The look stood up to 9 hours of wear.





I swear these amazing creams are waterproof. Once they set, they set.





I am so completely in love with this product I plan on ordering as many as I can.
I have also used #17 as a cheek contour and a lip color. Some people will complain about the price, but I feel they are worth every penny. Plus, it takes the tiniest amount to get good color coverage.

Snatch these puppies, they are a game changer!!
Make Up For Ever Aqua Creams

-Jess



I gotta say, this looks really entertaining. Just turned into a mus see in my book.

-Jess






Sunday, February 12, 2012

Having never used a Make Up Forever product before, this lipstick alone has made me a huge fan.

It is an orange based red with a wonderful, creamy finish. It has not sparkle or glossiness, which I love.



 It is a pure sex kitten, old Hollywood red. The double pigmentation in this product is very noticeable. It only takes one layer for a good 6 hours of opaque wear.


When it does finally start to fade, it does it in a way that leaves you with a lovely stain, not a nasty, dried out lip. It is a pretty moisturizing lipstick.
The packaging itself is incredibly charming. The Moulin Rouge writing and red foil windmill are so cute!!!



There is no taste with the lipstick, but I do pick up a very slight floral scent.

All in all, Make Up Forever has created a genius lip color, I love it almost as much as Christian loves Satine ♥



-Jess

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