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Showing posts from 2012

How to Do Dip Powder Nails

 Staying at home means avoiding the nail salon, and as someone who always  smudges regular nail polish (seriously, how is it possible that they can still  be ready to smear by the time I go to bed?), I have a newfound appreciation for the variety of modern manicure solutions available. I previously reviewed Ohora's at-home gel strips , which are a great option for hassle-free designs. Another option that I really like, even though I am far  from a pro, is dip powder. Dip powder is essentially an acrylic powder that contains pigments or glitters. You purchase a set of liquids that can be used with the powders of your choice for a quick and clean manicure that requires very little dry time. Dip powder is easily accessible, and if you're new to dip nails in general, I'd suggest a reasonably priced option for practice. I started with the Lavender Violets brand on Amazon, which comes with a set of powders + all the liquids you need for a beginner. I did find that the l...

Confetti Cake Brownies

My husband's favorite cake is "Funfetti" and he also happens to have a love for brownies, so when I found this recipe for Cake Batter Blondies , I knew I had to try it. You can find the original recipe at the link, but my slightly modified version is below. Ingredients: 1 box of "Funfetti" cake mix, or a yellow cake mix with sprinkles added 1/2 cup of milk 1/4 cup of vegetable oil 1 egg (I ran out of eggs, so I used 1 small cup of applesauce as a substitute (about 1/4 cup) which worked) 1/2 cup of butterscotch chips (original recipe called for white chocolate chips, but I'm not a fan, so I used butterscotch as a delicious alternative) To make, mix all of the ingredients together and bake in a 9x9 inch pan for 30 mins at 350 degrees. Optionally, you can frost them, but honestly, these are dense bars of funfetti cake mix, so they are very sweet on their own. I left the frosting out of the recipe, and they were delicious!

DIY Centerpiece Vases Without Flowers!

Budget a was a big concern when planning our wedding, so we immediately crossed flowers off of the list for centerpiece ideas. While they can be lovely, bouquets can also be expensive. Plus, I wanted something "sparkly" and a bouquet of flowers in a vase just wasn't going to cut it. We/I spent a long time discussing/researching the different possibilities. We eventually found a set of plain glass cylindrical vases which we could buy in bulk, and that came in assorted sizes. We also ordered enough floating votive candles to float in each one, and estimated how many tiny acrylic gems to buy to sit at the bottom of the vases. Originally, the idea was to buy flowers in bulk, and submerge them in the vases. The trouble came when I started researching types of flowers, and learned of the risks of certain flowers fading, wilting, or breaking apart. Unfortunately, the flowers that were most suited for this type of display were either expensive or unappealing to me.  Source: googl...

Popular posts from this blog

How to Do Dip Powder Nails

 Staying at home means avoiding the nail salon, and as someone who always  smudges regular nail polish (seriously, how is it possible that they can still  be ready to smear by the time I go to bed?), I have a newfound appreciation for the variety of modern manicure solutions available. I previously reviewed Ohora's at-home gel strips , which are a great option for hassle-free designs. Another option that I really like, even though I am far  from a pro, is dip powder. Dip powder is essentially an acrylic powder that contains pigments or glitters. You purchase a set of liquids that can be used with the powders of your choice for a quick and clean manicure that requires very little dry time. Dip powder is easily accessible, and if you're new to dip nails in general, I'd suggest a reasonably priced option for practice. I started with the Lavender Violets brand on Amazon, which comes with a set of powders + all the liquids you need for a beginner. I did find that the l...

Apple Cinnamon Sheet Pancakes and Bacon

If you've seen my post about  Peachy Cinnamon Sheet Pancakes , you already know how I feel about sheet pan recipes. These sheet pancakes pull together all the goodness of regular pancakes, plus the ease of a casserole-- no more standing at the stove flipping batter! UPDATE: These make a great breakfast sandwich -- perfect for a crowd! If you have not checked out that recipe, I recommend you check it out , as this is a significant improvement over an adaptation of the first. Since it's fall, and we have been doing all the fall things-- like a family pumpkin painting day, and trying to brave the fall festivals even though it's unexpectedly hot-- these pancakes bring a taste of fall with apples, cinnamon, maple syrup and bacon. Yum! Read on for the recipe. Apple Cinnamon Sheet Pancakes Ingredients: 1 cup gluten free bisquick 2 tbsp cooking oil of choice, plus a little for greasing the pan 1 egg 1 cup milk 1/2 tsp cinnamon, plus extra for...

Curly Girl Routine for Wavies: My Secretly Wavy Hair

My hair has been straight for my entire life. Puffy-straight. "Needs time to calm down" after blow drying it, straight. Works great with extra heavy conditioner, straight.  Sure, occasionally I'd wake up with a few curls here and there, but after brushing my hair-- because brushing is a must!-- they would disappear into a puff of frizz, so I'd add some serum and calm it down. It literally never dawned on me that my straight hair struggles were happening because my hair wasn't straight. Sure, it had some  wave, sometimes, but I just assumed straight hair was the default. Mine was puffy and needed help all the time, but it was straight. It turns out, I'm not alone. In fact, this blogger  had the same realization, and the descriptions of her hair rang true for me as well. I've always had "damaged ends" or "a texture issue", even right after a major haircut. So what gives? About two years ago I decided it was time to do a big chop, and cut ...