Product Reviews, Inspired Make-up, FOOD, and Weekend Recap

Whew! It's Sunday night which means tomorrow it's back to the grind! Friday was my day off work so my dad came over and helped me finally get my washer and dryer to work! I was so excited I washed and dried clothes all damn day! Lol! I've been living on my own for about 1 1/2 years w/o a washer n dryer! Yes, the horror.  Anywho, I later went to Whole Foods with my neighbor.  I got a ton of great stuff that I've been meaning to buy for some time like chia seeds, tempeh, acai fruit pulp, carob chips, raisin mochi (win!), buckwheat flour, spelt flour, fruit jam, etc etc! It was a bit of a drive but totally worth it! Friday night, the bf and I stayed in just catching up on DVR.  Saturday morning, we woke up early and went for a jog.  I haven't run in such a long time so I was afraid I'd burn out but I held up okay.  We jogged about 3 miles and I made these delicious puppies when we got back.  Whole wheat blueberry pancakes. Recipe from Eye it. Try it.

We spent the rest of the day just kinda hanging out, I made frozen yogurt cups with some items I had purchased from Whole Foods.  

I really, really loved these!! Organic sour cream, organic yogurt, sugar, frozen berries and viola!

Today, Mario woke up super sickie! Boo! I took one of my dogs (can't take both-madness) for a quick jog.  My legs felt tired from Saturday nights workout ! It was kill-ahh!!

I had a protein shake w/spinach for breakfast and went off to Target for a few things I needed.  I had purchased some yams Saturday morning so I decided to try making whole wheat yam bread. This the result. 

The online recipe didn't say how long to bake it so I had it in the oven at 325F for about 35 min and was heartbroken to see that the very top middle section didn't cook all the way through! Oh well, practice makes perfect.

Took care of the boyfriend all day, makin' teas and giving him meds.  He's still not better! We've established it's definitely allergies which neither he or I have ever experienced before.  He's now taking the right meds and hopefully he feels better soon. 

I saw this picture of Gwen Stefani last night and was immediately inspired to try out this look.  

Image Source

I whipped out my MAKE UP FOR EVER stash and went to work! Haha, not entirely happy w/it but I do like the look.

Eww, foundation lookin' light! I must be transitioning in my summer skin tone hahah time for tinted moisturizers

Jesus, can I get to the review?! Ok, here are the 2 items I've been using for the past several weeks.  I'm in love, seriously.  These babies make my hair feel so smooth and soft.  Aside from these I've tried the CHI Silk Infusion serum which is the best hair serum ever!  I've also used CHI Keratin Mist-eh, not a big winner but still a great product.  

back of conditioner label- purchased both at my local TJ Maxx! The shampoo was $7.99 and conditioner was $12.99-steal!

Also from TJ Maxx, I purchased these 2 Garnier products-eye cream and overnight cream

Meh.  The product is quite thick and I personally don't like thick creams under my eyes.  I prefer light weight creams or serums.  I wouldn't purchase this again, forgot how much it was though.  I want to say about 5 dollars.   

Winner.  This product left my skin feeling silky, soft and moisturized.  The only down side is that the container is very small.  I believe it was 6 or 7 dollars for 1.7oz.  I'm debating whether I'd purchase it again.  

bottom is Skin Renew and top whitish one is the eye cream

Now, we're both sipping on tea getting ready for bed. 

Have a great week, everyone! 

I didn't get around to recording a video but I'm going to try n get it up this week.  I'm going to be reviewing more mascaras-yay!

Another Foodie Post!

My boyfriend asked me to bake some cookies for a cookie bake off kinda thing at his work.  My inner competitor emerged and I search the internets for a unique, vegan recipe.  I combined 2 recipes and replaced banana with sweet potato! Here are the results!

must. stop. eating. these. seriously.

ingredients: whole wheat flour, baking soda, vanilla extract, old-fashioned oatmeal, light brown sugar, granulated sugar,sweet potato, dash of salt, Smart Balance buttery spread, and dash of soymilk

I'm going to record a video soon reviewing 2 mascaras... I mean, this is a blog about mascaras, right?! Lol 

Quick Foodie Post: Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers :)

Ok, they don't look like much but these taste amazing!!  I got the recipe from Eye It. Try It.  Check out the link for better pictures hehe 

quinoa, black beans, shredded carrots, tomato, spinach, cheese...all kinds of goodness! 

Gotta do a quick ab workout and I'm off to bed! Today was insanely busy! Mario and I went to bed late so we woke up at 930am.  I worked out, and we headed off to Costco to stock up for the week.  We then went to Home Depot *cough* 3 times in efforts to create a storage type shelter for our washer/dryer that has to be hooked up outside.   While Mario built the shelter, I started up on dinner. I was inspired by Eye It. Try It. so I gave this recipe a try and it came out delicious!! My goal is to plan out all my meals and cook more this week lol I get so lazy :P

Mini-Getaway to Catalina Island

Friday was my day off work so my brother and I took off to Catalina Island for the day.  We got there at 7am and strolled around before having some coffee and a bagel. 

Apparently, no one is up before 10am =)

Avalon Theater

aww pet cemetery

decided to hike up Wrigley Terrace Road...ended up above that burgundy house, swinging from the tree on the left hehe

gorgeous view

that swing was quite uncomfortable haha

i wish that were me!

took off around 4pm and we were back to Long Beach by 5pm

Sat & Sun: didn't do much, was in a blah mood...managed a trip to Trader Joe's, got my mom some flowers and workout gear for Mother's Day, and survived another  Jillian Michaels workout :)

Trader Joe's Goodies

Today was such a gorgeous day in LA! I picked up the bf from the Angeles National Forest n we went for chinese food.  I managed to clean the house, nap, and do 2 workouts woohoo! I ended my day with a trip to TJ's and TJ Maxx where I bought CHI Organics Olive Oil Shampoo.  I purchased their conditioner a few week ago and I LOVE it!! My hair has never felt so soft! So I bought the shampoo this time and a Garnier under-eye overnight cream.  I'll update w/a review on that after a few weeks.  Hope everyone has a great week!! 

Crappy Start to a Great Saturday!

Friday morning I woke up at my usual 5:35 and was surprised to see a text from my friend.  Her friend cancelled on a concert so she asked if I wanted to go- heck yeah! I'm down! Lol We went to 93.5 KDAY's Krush Groove concert.  Great old school hip hop =) Performers included Kurupt, Too Short, Xzibit, Digital Underground n more! Concert ended late so I didn't get home til 2am and I had to be up at 5am to drop off the bf at Angeles National Forest.  He went backpacking with his coworker for the weekend.  So anyways, I took my dog, Mac, with me to start the hike w/them and come back down.  So ... uh, I forgot I told my brother I'd meet him at 7:30! We were going to go to Chino, CA to a outdoor flea market where they also sell animals like chickens, goats, pigs, etc. Luckily, I had reception up in the hills past Altadena n got his text asking where I was so ran back down with Mac and drove off in a hurry.  Bad idea.  I must've not been fully awake (plus, I don't know the area) cuz I totally almost took a red light! I saw it about 15 feet away from the line so I hit the brakes- Mac was in the front seat so he went flying!  He's 80lbs of muscle so his big head cracked my windshield! I was more relieved to see he wasn't hurt or cut so we hop on the freeway and a fwy connector is closed!! Grr! So I call my brother and tell him I'm going to be a little late and he friggin cancels on me! He ended up going to work instead.  I went home to catch up on sleep.  

I woke up at 2pm and went to get my windshield replaced.  I LOVE that I live in LA and you don't ever have to pay full price for anything! I went to an auto glass repair area and found a place that only charged me $130 for the new window and install! At a dealership, this would have cost WAY more! Because I was in the area, I went to the Society of St Vincent de Paul Thift Store! I love this place, you never know what great things you'll find.  

This time I only bought 2 things -

Shirt by Mossimo for $2.99

t-shirt- $1.99

I then got a massive craving for Yogurtland haha so I treated myself to some- forgot to take pic! I may or may not have sat in the parking lot alone in my car eating it! =P

After that, I went to see my friend's pitbull puppies! Ahh, I died! They're too stinkin' cute! 

Lastly, I went to the 99 cents only which is seriously one of my favorite stores ever! I ALWAYS find great stuff there! Here's what I got today- not pictured are boxes of organic chicken broth and organic tofu I bought from a different 99cents only store by my work.

Yogurt was 0.59cents, balance bar was 0.69cents and everything else, 0.99

The Quaker Multigrain oatmeal is such a great buy! 8 packs?! I eat those often for breakfast at work =) 

I'm going to now organize all my makeup that ends up on all over the place! I bought these little plastic containers to help out with that!

Also, going to do a makeup look inspired by the spanish soap opera, novela, Teresa.  

I'll update with a pic of my results =)

Soo not the best lighting! and not the best quality pic (damn you, iPhone!) 

Anywho, she always has neutral /classic type makeup with a matte lipstick in shades of pink/red.  Her foundation is always flawless! Average to heavy eyeliner sometimes winged out with light shades on the lids.  I went with MAKE UP FOR EVER HD foundation in #127, stick concealer by L'oreal in Medium, MUFE lipstick Matte #24, L'oreal eyeliner, filled in brows with a soft brown by Coastal Scents, and eyeshadows by MUFE #35 called Buff for highlight and inner corner of the eyes, #37 shimmery golden yellow all over lid, #24 Cantaloupe (matte light apricot) outer V and blended above lid, and lastly #25 called Pearly Orange on top of #24 and blended upwards 

not entirely happy w/results haha gotta try it again later this week 

Dinner Time: Organic Quinoa + Baked Chicken

Sunday recap: Easter mass, washed clothes, had some Thai food in Hollywood n later made this for dinner.  My first time making quinoa (keen-wah) with chicken broth.  I'm not all that knowledgeable with spices so I didn't throw anything in for this time.  BF said the quinoa was a bit bland so we threw in a dash of salt which made it a little better.  

le finished product =P

1 cup organic quinoa (mine from Trader Joe's)

2 cups chicken broth (also from TJ's)

diced up a carrot and a tomato n tossed it in, brought to a boil

rinsed the quinoa, throw it in

bring to a boil for a few min, simmer for about 10 minutes on low heat then cover n turn off

quinoa is ready to go! 

a tossed one of these bad boys in the oven (tightly covered in foil)

20 min at 400 F degrees

took it out, seasoned it with a bit of seasoning salt and rubbed some lemon, flip over

put in the oven again for about 15 min (not in foil)

check to see it's cooked thoroughly and you're set!