Hush Puppies Bonita Mary Jane

Great deal on Hush Puppies Bonita Mary Jane right now on Amazon. I recently bought this for Elizabeth but now it's on sale! It's really comfortable and easy for her to put on. I highly recommend it!

Crispy Chicken Thighs and Roasted Veggies

One of my favourite, easy to make chicken recipes that the family actually eats.

Ingredients
3-4 chicken thighs with skin and bone (I buy packages of bone-in, skin-on chicken from Costco and freeze them for days when I don't have anything fresh.)

olive oil

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon all-purpose seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 - 2 cup(s) of carrots, cut diagonally
1 - 2 cup(s) of red potatoes, cut into quarters or smaller
1/2 teaspoon of seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions
Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Pat chicken dry with paper towel. Arrange chicken thighs on baking sheet. Drizzle chicken with olive oil.

Mix garlic salt, oregano, all-purpose seasoning and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper together in a small bowl. Sprinkle mixture on chicken thigh and rub. Make sure both sides are covered. Turn chicken over so skin side is facing up.

In a separate bowl, drizzle carrots and potatoes with olive oil and toss with seasoned salt and black pepper. Arrange vegetables around chicken on baking sheet.

Bake for 1 hour. Enjoy.

Gel Nails

There's something about painted, glittery nails that makes a gal feel pretty and delicate. I wash my hands a lot and I cook almost daily, so manicures do not last a day on me. After seeing the lovely fingernails of my friends, I decided to give gel nails a try.

What is it? Using a gel polish that cures under UV or LED light, making it hard and resistant to chipping, peeling or cracking.

First day of gel manicure

Indeed it is miraculous! Usually my weak nails would be peeling as I grow it out, but the gel prevented that from happening and my polish remained intact.

1 week after gel manicure

Since it didn't break, I didn't cut it and I ended up with long nails that I haven't had since I was pregnant with my oldest. The only problem was that although the polish remained intact, you can obviously see my new nails growing out.

 

2 weeks after gel manicure 

After 2 weeks it became inconvenient to have such long nails so I had to cut it myself.

 Not so pretty now, eh? Grrr ...

Halloween Goody Bags

Happy Halloween! Once again it's the time of the year where kids binge on sugary treats and ladies find excuses to dress up as "sexy-anythings". Ah, those good ol' days ... 

As a fun bonding project, Elizabeth and I made Halloween goody bags for her preschool class. We made our own tags by printing out Hello Kitty pirate faces and colouring them in. During this bonding session, she revealed that she was going to marry a certain gentleman in her class. I reminded her that another lady had her eye on this gentleman already, but she assured me that she didn't mind if they all married. All three of them. Oh, my ...

Amidst the glittery princesses in the school, Elizabeth was an original as a Broken Scary Doll. It was fun doing her makeup and she does a pretty good impression of being "broken".

Have a safe Halloween!

How to Cut a Passion Fruit Without the Mess

Oh, yes. This is the question on everyone's mind. If you're like me, you toss and turn every night wondering what you can do to prevent juice from ending up on your cutting board when you cut open a delightful passion fruit.

There is a way. 

What you'll need:
1. A pair of (very clean) scissors 
2. A small spoon
3. Nimble fingers

Step 1: Using scissors, cut off a small round opening from the top of the passion fruit.

Step 2: Using a small spoon, scoop out the inside

Step 3: Enjoy! You can now pat yourself on the back because you have not wasted any juice. Whoopee!

 

Passion Fruit Green Tea with Honey

Passion fruit is a delicious summer treat that's also good for you. Here's an easy way to make your own passion fruit drink without going to Tea Station.

Sorry, I almost finished my drink before remembering to take a picture.

Ingredients:
1. Passion fruit - I used 5 good size ones, but you can use as little or as much as you want.
2. Green tea bag.
3. Honey - I ran out of honey so I used Agave nectar instead.

Directions:
1. Steep tea then remove tea bag.
2. Add honey into tea - I use around 1 tablespoon.
3. Stir until honey dissolves.
4. Cut passion fruit in half and add the flesh of the passion fruit into tea ... don't eat the skin! It's bitter!

For a cold drink, let tea cool in fridge first or add ice.

Some benefits of passion fruit:
- Has high fibre content to improve digestion
- It is rich in vitamin A and C so helps improves vision and increase immunity
- Increases blood production since it contains high amounts of iron
- It has also been found to improve sleep quality as it helps relax the nervous system

Gel vs Liquid vs Pencil Eyeliners

Out of the different types of eyeliners, my favourite formula would be the liquid eyeliner because it has the longest staying power for me. Here are some looks I did with gel, liquid and pencil liners.

Gel ... I'm using M.A.C's blacktrack. This does smudge on me though. It's a softer look than the liquid liner and you get great precision with a brush.

Liquid ... I use the Physicians Formula Eye Booster in Black. This gives me the longest staying power but a more "rigid" line.

Pencil ... I use L'Oreal Extra-Intense Liquid Pencil in Charcoal. It's definitely the fastest to apply and you can smudge it for a smokey look, but staying power and intensity is not as good as the liquid liner.

Jello! Bear on a Beach

As a fun treat, Elizabeth and I decided to be creative with Jello. We've recently enjoyed the beach, so we decided to create a "beach-themed" jello treat. Here's how we did it.

What you'll need:
- clear plastic cups
- Jello powder and whatever you usually use to make jello
- toothpick
- paper and a little artist to draw on the paper
- tape and scissors
- graham crackers
- cake icing
- gummy bears (here I'm using the large ones)


Step 1: Create the ocean.

Put your jello cups in the fridge to freeze overnight.

Optional: Throw a gummy bear into the "ocean" so you have a swimming bear.

Step 2: Create your umbrella.

After decorating our paper with cute pictures, we cut out a circle.

Fold the circle in half again and again until you can no longer do so.

Wrap tape around a toothpick. This will prevent the paper from slipping 

down and hold "open" the umbrella.

Open up the folded circle and poke the toothpick through the middle. 

Wrap another piece of tape around the top of the toothpick to secure your umbrella.

 Step 3: After the jello has solidified, create your beach.

 Create "sand" by crushing graham crackers.

Ensure the "sand" will stay in place by putting cake icing on the surface of jello.

Scoop the crushed graham crackers onto the icing. 

 Using a sharp knife, cut a "slit" in the ocean and push the gummy bear half way in.

Add your umbrella. Voila!

 

L'Oreal Paris Voluminous Butterfly Mascara

I'm a big fan of drugstore mascaras because it doesn't hurt when you throw them away frequently. My current favourite is the L'Oreal Paris Voluminous Butterfly Mascara in Blackest Black, the waterproof version. What I look for in a mascara:

- Smudge proof

- Keep my lashes curled

- Define and add volume to my lashes

I've tried the regular, non-waterproof version and found that it doesn't hold the curl of my lashes as well as the waterproof. It's harder to remove, but since I don't wear mascara on a daily basis so I'm ok with that. 

There's a difference! You can see my lashes! I would repurchase. 

Clothing Swap Party!

My very talented and creative friend J (also the author of the blog Transformed) hosts a clothing swap party every half year with her sister, and I was lucky enough to be invited to these events. See how she organizes the event here.

A clothing swap party means just that -- we bring items that we feel are still cute but we don't wear much anymore, and we "swap" with other members of the party. I think this is a great way to "freshen" up your wardrobe. As the saying goes, "one [person]'s trash is another [person]'s treasure!" ...

I left the party with a couple of cute items and a happy tummy. I can't wait until the next swap party!

Toddler Meal Ideas

Here's an example of what my little 15 month old eats. She's allergic to soy, dairy and sesame (I know this because of an allergy blood test) ... having said that, I still give her a little egg yolk once in a while since she seems to take it pretty well. Her pediatrician says it's ok to give things that she has had before as long as she doesn't have a reaction to it.

Breakfast: Cheerios, blueberries and scrambled egg yolk. 

Lunch: Rice, steamed carrots, and zucchini-minced-pork stir fry (leftovers from last night's dinner).

Dinner: Baked chicken breasts and pasta with tomato sauce.

Night Time Skin Care Routine

I previously talked about my morning skin care routine and now I'm going to share (finally) my night time skin care routine. Like I previously mentioned, if I can get away with using cheap stuff I will. I think the important thing is to find something that's suitable for your skin, regardless of the brand or price tag. I have dry, combination skin so I gravitate towards "gentle" products with no fragrance and are very moisturizing.

Step 1: After removing makeup, I squirt two pumps of CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser onto the little plastic pink face scrub I bought from Mitsuwa (Japanese market) and rub all over face. Then I use my fingers to further massage the cleanser into my skin. Rinse with water.

Step 2: I wash my face again with Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser, just to make sure I've removed all impurities. Rinse with water.

Step 3: Using a small cotton ball, I apply Thayer's Rose Petal Witch Hazel toner all over my face and neck.

Step 4: I've recently started using a serum before my moisturizer since my skin has gotten drier with age. I like the Ole Hendriksen Truth Serum Vitamin C Collagen booster. It smells really nice and makes my skin feels soft. Does it do anything else? Who knows ...

Step 5: I then apply my favourite moisturizer, Clinique Moisture Surge Intense For Very Dry To Dry Combination Skin all over my face.

Step 6: Finally, I apply Shiseido Benefiance WrinkleResist24 Intensive Eye Contour Cream. I like this eye cream because when I wake up in the mornings, the skin under my eyes still feel moisturized.

DIY Perfume Car Air Freshener

What do you get when you have a used fabric softener sheet, a perfume tester and a plastic container (left over from yummy Japanese pudding!)? If you were MacGyver, you can probably build a small bomb with it; but I decided to make my own car air freshener.

Step 1: Stuff the fabric softener sheet into your plastic container.

Step 2: Pour the bottle of sample perfume onto the softener sheet (I have A LOT of these little sample perfume bottles. Sephora gives 3 samples with every purchase and I usually pick scents).

Step 3: Place your very own perfume car air freshener in your car. Enjoy!

Quick & Easy Everyday Smokey Eye Tutorial

If you're a mom you'll agree that time is something we do not have and cannot spare, but since I'm completely superficial and shallow, a portion -- albeit small -- of my time must be devoted to making up my face. Some people look good with just lipstick or foundation, but for me it's the eyeliner. If I don't have eye makeup on I look like Casper the friendly ghost, and not in the cute way. Anyway, read on for a quick and easy look.

Step 1: Apply SPF. Sun protection is very important.

Step 2: Use concealer to quickly cover up any problem areas; for me, it's around my nose, on my chin, the top of my nose and under my eyes. Use fingers to blend.

Step 3: Apply eye primer.

Step 4: Apply eye makeup.

Look at me! No makeup! ... not entirely. I have permanent eyeliner tattooed on my lower lashes. The experience was extremely painful and I remember almost wetting myself during the process. Would I do it again? Yes. Would I ever do the top lashes? No. I only did the bottom because my eyes were so watery and eyeliner always smudged on me.

Using an angle brush, line your brows with brow powder. I use the NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder in Taupe.

Use a brow pencil and gently feather out the shape you like. I use the Shiseido Eyebrow Pencil in Natural Black. I usually just follow the natural curve of my brows. If you have time, you can use a spoolie to further blend out the colour for a softer look.

Using a brush, gently pat your favourite metallic grey-purple shadow all over lid. I'm not sure what the name of the shadow I'm using is, but it's from the NYX Butt Naked Palette. 

Using the same brush or another brush (whatever you want!), deepen your crease and the outer V with a darker grey or brown shadow. Here I'm using a dark brown shadow from the NYX Butt Naked Palette. Blend with your fingers if you find there are hard lines.

Line your upper lash line. I'm using the L'Oreal Extra-Intense Liquid Pencil Eyeliner in Charcoal. 

Using a pencil brush, smudge out the liner. For a smokier look, you can pickup a little more of the dark brown shadow on your brush and smudge it into the line.

Line your lower lashes with a waterproof metallic liner. I like the Urban Decay Shadow Liner in Mushroom. 

I like to further smudge a dark brown liner on the lower lashes. It makes my eyes look bigger and brighter. What's the point of permanent makeup if I'm just going to use eyeliner anyway? It was great for the first few years (I had it done in University) but it faded over the years. Oh well! ... If you have time, you can add a highlighter underneath your brow and to the corner of your eyes. 

Curl your lashes and you're done! I'm not wearing mascara here, but if you have time, go for it!