cheap and chic: DIY Scarf Vest (1 minute or less!)

You're one rummage through your own closet and 60-seconds away from a cheap and chic fashion hack that will double your investment on a staple accessory.  YOU HAVE TO TRY IT!


Little rant before I get down to the quick and dirty on this fun and flirty little DIY: I hate Facebook "click-bait."  "Wait until you see what he does with this hammer!" "She takes a paper plate, a garbage bag, and a piece of gum...watch what happens next!!!"  "This guy can make shelves...out of roadkill...you have to see to believe!!!"  UGH!  STAHHHHPPPPPPP. I don't get how to monetize (or whatever is achieved through likes and shares) on social media.  Are people getting rich?!  Are people getting actualized?!  I don't get it.


That being said, I did totally come across this fashion hack on such an FB click-bait.  Guilty.  A fashion-forward and totes fun gal from my graduating high school class posted a video on her wall and I felt as though if she endorsed it, I endorsed it without even seeing it.  But I DID watch it and I learned to use a common closet staple in a completely new way.  And now I'm more than slightly obsessed with blowing peoples' minds when they compliment my "super cute vest" and I tell them, "I made it!"  Stop it.

front

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Watch the below video from momtrends for the tutorial. Once you get the hang of it, you can go from scarf to vest in under a minute. No sewing involved.  If you can tie a knot, you can make a vest. So many practical and fun ways to integrate this cheap and chic trick into your wardrobe!

In my experience, thinner materials work best.  I tried this with a blanket scarf and it did not go well.  I'm personally sticking to knits, jerseys, and voile fabric which most scarves are made of anyway.

If you don't have a scarf large enough to achieve a vest, you can buy like 1.5-2 yards of fabric of your choosing and  just use that!  If the edges fray, who cares?!  Even more "on-trend."



DIY All-Purpose Cleaner

Raise your hand if you haven't gotten the stomach flu this winter.

Bet most of your paws are comfy and cozy in your hoodie pockets, yeah?  Everybody and their dog either had or has the stomach flu around these parts.  

My household got sick December 26th which was actually pretty great timing.  I mean, there's no great time to get the stomach flu, but December 26th is pretty clutch. We didn't miss any Christmas celebrations and got rid of holiday bloat. We started 2016 fresh, leaving behind a lot of literal crap.

I also started 2016 fresh because I had to disinfect and clean three bathrooms, three bedrooms, and oh, EVERYTHING else.  Fortunately, two weeks earlier I came across a DIY All-Purpose (and anti-bacterial) cleaner that is just as useful as it is cheap.  

This DIY AP cleaner takes only 3 ingredients:

*Castile soap

*Rubbing alcohol

*Water (distilled is recommended, but I just use tap)

If you don't have castile soap on hand, consider researching and purchasing it.  Since buying some a year ago, I've stopped having to buy pricey makeup remover and face wash because it's just so ridiculously easy and affordable to make it using castile.  I love castile so much that I gifted it this Christmas.  Look into it.  I like Dr. Bronners. You can get it cheaper on Walgreens.com, especially when the site is running a promotion.  I also see they have 32 oz of Peppermint Dr. Bronners at Costco for $9.99 (which is a ridiculous deal)!

To make your very own AP cleaner, gather your supplies and an empty spray bottle.  You can buy a standard "cleaning" spray bottle at the Dollar Tree if you don't have an empty Windex (or the like) bottle at home.

Take 1/4 cup of rubbing alcohol and mix in 1-2 TBSP of castile soap in a scent of your choosing. I personally like Tea Tree Oil and Citrus.  Citrus AP smells like you're cleaning with vodka-tonics which is a little bit of sassy fun, IMO.  Dump the rubbing alcohol and castile mixture into your empty cleaning bottle and add either tap or distilled water until full.

*Note: if you don't have rubbing alcohol, you can use vodka.  We don't use drinkable alcohol in this house to clean but you can if you want!  I'll cheers to that...with my vodka.

This AP cleaner doesn't leave a weird residue or even a lingering scent of alcohol.  It's also clean in the sense that it doesn't have harsh chemicals.  I love using this for my toilets, counter tops, even my kids' toys.  I keep a bottle of it on our treadmill also because second only to toilets, that is consistently the grossest thing in our house. 

Isn't it great that you're only ever like 10 seconds away from cleaning with this recipe?!  I knew you'd be thrilled :)

Guilt-free Root Beer Float

I love root beer floats but nothing turns me off more than entering one into My Fitness Pal.  Talk about a real drag, man.  

About 3 years ago, I really got into root beer floats while I was pregnant with my first son.  I had very few cravings but I couldn't shake jonsin' for RBFs.  While I was pregnant last summer with my second son, my RBF craving came back.  

During my first pregnancy, I didn't have a fancy Smart Phone with My Fitness Pal on it so I was blissfully unaware of just how much of my daily allotment of EVERYTHING was consumed by just one, stupid RBF.

I didn't have luxury of naivety last summer when I became a slave to My Fitness Pal.  There I was, just innocently sipping a little RBF on a hill with my husband and my toddler and my little tadpole baby in my belly.  Some free wifi action popped up so I decided to go ahead and just log my little floatie.  AND ALL OF MY DREAMS DIED.

This summer, for whatever reason, my very NON-PREGNANT self is in the mood for an RBF a little too often.  And this summer my very NON-PREGNANT self is also very in the mood for her pre-kid jeans.  These moods cannot coexist. But I'm a problem solver, girl.  Can't we all find a way to get along?  Guess what, Bae, we totally can!  

So if you're in the mood for a feel-good RBF that will satisfy your craving and not make you all bloaty and full of regret, check out this guilt-free RBF!

What you need:

-1 cup of milk. Cow, almond, whatever you want. I use 1% dairy.

-1 scoop of vanilla protein powder.  I use Markey Pantry vanilla whey.

-1 shake of powdered Stevia 

-1/2 to 3/4 tsp root beer extract

-1 cup of ice

-Blender (I use NutriBullet because it's AMAZING)

Add all the ingredients to your blender and blend until smooth

Then drink up, buttercup!

*Don't worry, you'll probably look better drinking it than I do in this photo.

#nomakeup #nofilter #aintnobodygottimefordat

This RBF has 33 grams of lean protein and under 13 grams of sugar.  It also makes you feel like you're getting away with something very, very naughty.  Tastes just like a melty, refreshing, creamy, dreamy RBF and you'll still be able to get in your jeans the next day.  Unless you go crazy on some nachos or something (which is totally WORTH IT.)

Cheers!

Eat it: Chickpea Waffles (grain & dairy-free!)

I love traditional waffles.  Traditional waffles do not love me back.

Eating a traditional waffle is like dating a dude who really isn't "good" for you but he's exciting so you keep him in rotation.  You don't want to make him a habit but it's hard not to. He's sweet and he's fun.  He's a decent enough dude but at the end of the day, he lacks ambition. You innocently start out for a chill, a.m. hang with the guy and before you know it you're ass-deep in an all-day lounge session on the couch. After a few weeks, you start asking, "Hey man, are you going to put on actual pants today?" and to your surprise he turns it right back on you, like, "Are YOU going to put on actual pants today?" Whoa. When did this stop being fun?

Traditional waffles stopped being fun for me when I realized that metabolizing them made me feel sleepy and bloated and lazy.  But I can't resist the charm of a waffle.  They have the practical allure of being pretty easy to make with the added benefits of freezing and reheating well. And I cant resist those little pools of maple syrup, with little rafts of butter floating atop.  Stop it.

I set out to find a recipe for a decent waffle that doesn't make me feel like a lazy, self-loathing heap of a person an hour after I eat it.  I found a recipe using chickpea flour (garbanzo if you're proper) that I modified ever so slightly and will now very enthusiastically share with all you fine people.

Did I mention these waffles are grain-free?  Did I mention they are also dairy-free?  

Big deal, right? But maybe it is a big deal for you and if it is, BONUS. 

These beauties are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.   They are more on the savory side than the sweet side which I feel leaves you plenty of room to get crazy with toppings.  I favor syrup and/or fruit.

Also, let's not gloss over the fact that these waffles are packed with protein, fiber, and good carbs that will keep you full and energized all morning.

A few things:

1. You can make your own chickpea flour.  It's stupid easy if you have a good quality food processor or blender.  I took a bag of dry GOYA chickpeas, threw it in my NutriBullet about a half cup at a time, and pulsed until those little chickpeas were the consistency of whole wheat flour.  One bag yielded about 5 cups of chickpea flour (which I recommend storing in a freezer.)  It's worth the few minutes for the money you'll save.

2. These waffles do taste slightly like chickpeas.  I mean, how could they not as they are MADE OUT OF CHICKPEAS?!  just thought I'd make that clear.  If you don't like chickpeas, you probably won't dig these waffles.

3. Do not underestimate the power of non-stick spray.  Use it.  Love it.  Do not trust your non-stick waffle iron because IT LIES.

Chickpea Waffles (yields 6 waffles)
adapted from Lauren Goslin's Easy Chickpea Flour Waffles here

1 cup of chickpea flour
1 large egg and 1 large egg white
1 cup unsweetened, vanilla almond milk
(you can also use dairy milk if you don't care about dairy-free)
1 tsp powdered Stevia extract*
2.5 Tbsp coconut oil (melted)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1.25 tsp baking powder
.5 tsp baking soda
*feel free to sub sweetener. plain sugar, brown sugar, etc.  note that you should then add 2 tsps instead of one or whatever to your liking

I suggest your first step in making these waffles is pouring a big cup of coffee for yourself.  Circling back to that one shortly.

Standard waffle rules apply: mix the dry ingredients in one bowl, beat the egg in another.  Add the egg to the dry bowl and slowly incorporate your almond milk while mixing on medium speed.  At the very end, add your melted coconut oil and vanilla and beat on low until well incorporated.

If you poured a big cup of coffee earlier, take the spoon you used to stir your melted coconut oil and dunk it in your coffee.  Trust me.  It will add a mild and pleasant flavor to your java AND as a bonus, moisturize your lips while you drink it.  Try it.

If you pour a little less than half a cup of batter in each well of your iron, you should end up with 6 hearty waffles (which is what I based the below nutritional info on when I drafted my recipe in My Fitness Pal)

So now my fun little waffle fling is turning into a full-blown relationship. Don't tell my husband.














 

cheap and chic: e.l.f. mineral eyeshadow primer

I am not Beyonce.

I DO NOT WAKE UP LIKE DIS

Makeup, no filter.

I wake up like THIS

No makeup, no filter.

 I need makeup in my life.  I don't feel like a fully-functioning human being without it. True story.  

Here are the products I generally use every day, ranging in price from lowest to highest 

left to right: e.l.f. concealer, e.l.f. primer, rimmel eye/brow liner, blistex deep hydration, covergirl clump crusher mascara, covergirl smoothers powder, covergirl outlast foundation, benefit blush in hervana, and naked pallet by urban decay

Please direct your attention to top row, 2nd in from the left: e.l.f. mineral eye shadow primer because that, my friends, is my secret weapon. 

E.L.F. mineral eye shadow primer is $2 at Target.  TWO DOLLARS.  It works just as great as higher end eye shadow primers.  I swear it's just as good as Urban Decay and did I mention it's a TWO DOLLARS?! 

You can find a ton of blogs out there about makeup dupes who will support my conclusion that e.l.f. makes one fine eye shadow primer that doesn't break the bank and holds its own against high-end competitors.  My "fresh take" on this product is to also use it as an under-eye brightener and a brow highlighter.  This cheap little product is why I "don't even look that tired!" despite the fact that I am.  I am tired ALL THE TIME. #newborn #toddler

Dab underneath your eye and blend by tapping your index finger on your "dabs" until it blends in underneath your eye.  The reflective properties of the mineral primer helps minimize the appearance of under-eye darkness and makes me look more alert. It subtly conceals without being "cakey" on the delicate eye area. Also, apply a little just below your brow line to highlight your arch and open up your eyes. Sometimes I throw a little dab on the inner corners of my eyes just for fun.  I mean, go nuts.  IT'S TWO DOLLARS.

                     

Here's a little side-by-side action.

Same camera on my phone.  Same spot in my kitchen.  Again, no filter.

It's like buying low and selling high.  

I'm a bargain stock in the morning before makeup and by the end of the business day, I'm blue-chip, baby!

I LOVE MAKEUP.

I encourage you to try e.l.f. eye shadow primer.  For the price, you can afford to give it a go.  I will warn you that I am having a hard time finding it on the shelves lately.  Target carries it and even Old Navy has e.l.f. products (by the checkout) but I'm not the first person to find out how great of a bargain this stuff is and it's often sold out.  You can purchase it online through Walgreens and even through e.l.f.'s website but I wouldn't write off finding it "in the wild."  Keep your eyes open for e.l.f. at Target and if you take home the mineral eye shadow primer, it will keep your eyes open for you. See what I did there?

mani monday: gellin'

I've had a few 'Mani Monday' posts in the works since my last one (see here) but I never make my own Monday deadline and 'Mani Tuesday' isn't as catchy or cute.  Good thing there's no shortage of Mondays, right?

If you re-read my first Mani Monday post you'll be reminded that I'm essentially a mani purist. I generally shy away from acryllic, gel, and the Jamberry-esque products not because I'm not adventurous but rather because I'm non-committal when it comes to nail color. I do my manis at home and exclusively use lacquer.  I prefer that medium for nail art because it's relatively easy to apply and remove which means I can switch up my manis/pedis frequently with ease.  If applied with proper product, I can make even cheap lacquer (what up, Wet n Wild) last beyond a week...if I want to.  I usually burn out on even my favorite hues after 5 days.

But in the spirit of embracing something new, I decided to try out an at-home gel manicure.  My sister has a kit and swears by it.  She also is very generous and let me borrow her kit twice to get a feel for the product and the results.

It took me a while to take her up on her many offers for me to give gel a try because of my following pre-conceived notions (some based on factual research, some based on exaggerated guesstimations):

• You have to essentially damage your natural nail to make a rough surface that allows the gel primer, base, and topcoat to adhere for maximum wear and durability.  If you don't rough up your nail, the gel literally slides off your nail after application or peels off days after.  True story.  I put effort into having healthy nails so I wasn't too turned on by the idea of roughing-up my nails.  I WORK TOO HARD!

• Removal of gel polish at home is THE WORST. It's like a thousand times worse than trying to remove glitter.  It also costs monies for you to get it professionally removed.

• Proper application of the gel polish requires several steps.  Though the polish dries super fast, there's like a bajillion steps involved.  Ain't nobody got time for dat.

Last week my sister told me that she started short-cutting her gel sessions by doing the following:

• Paint nails with traditional lacquer
• Apply the fancy gel top coat
• Cure for twice the recommended time for traditional application
• Use cleanser to remove the 'moisture layer' after curing

You know what?  Her results were great with short-cutting.  Her mani stayed flawless for well over a week and her pedi has been going strong for over 2 months.  To be fair, pedis, by nature, last longer than manis but STILL!

I tried her shortcuts and here are my own results:

• Amazing shine.
• Increased strength/durability
• No chips or peeling for a solid 7 days, some minor wear-and-tear and partial peeling starting beyond that (enough to annoy me and want to remove and start over but nothing tragic)
• Did I mention amazing shine?  I'm obsessed with it.  

When I went to remove the gel, it was IMPOSSIBLE.  Like, 100% acetone DID NOT EVEN MAKE A DENT.  I started freaking out at the thought of having to chip or peel or sand-off the product.  Then I remembered this little trick for stubborn nail product removal that perpetually shows up in my "What's Popular" feed on Pinterest.  I tried it immediately and it BLEW MY MIND.

#gross #effective #dryskin

#clean #tryforyourself

I mean, not every Pinterest trick is a home run but that tinfoil trick is GOLD.  So, if you take nothing else away from this post, take this: I endorse the tinfoil removal trick and it definitely is worth the extra few inches to set up.

Back to gellin, though.  Once I realized not only I could short-cut the gel process with similar benefits AND I could remove in less than 5 minutes AT HOME with NO HASSEL, well, I went out and bought one of these babies with my bonus Target gift cards that came with buying diapers, diapers, coffee, diapers, and more coffee.  I am about to be the mother of a toddler AND a newborn, after all.

Though short-cutting achieves an elevated look and makes my mani more durable, I have yet to find it goes the full 14 days that the traditional gel application process boasts.  And that is totally expected and not disappointing because I am half-assing it, afterall.  But the look and improved protection against chips has me sold.  I did get my kit at a deep discount but I'm pleased enough that I would pay the whole price to own it.  This particular kit is easy to use and offers a wide array of shades to choose from.  You can also interchange brands of gel polish that require an LED light and still works great.  One thing I do hate is that the top coat/primer is very small so if I use either the gel hack or the full-on application process, it's not going to last super long.

Short-cut gel mani

I do plan on doing a full-on, as-prescribed gel mani start to finish this week.  I am expecting to deliver a baby before the weekend.  I am also expecting to not have a lot of time to keep up my nail game.  So, might as well give the full-on gel a go, right?  Expect a full report on the full mani during an intermission in my soon-to-be gig as a milk truck.

cheap trick: foaming hand soap

I wash my hands A LOT. I was my hands so frequently that no amount of lotion after washing keeps my knucks from cracking and bleeding all the time.   I'm not a germaphobe though I did shutter at the doctor Monday when my kid set his sucker down on the magazine table in the hospital lobby.  I had the impulse of dunking it in Purell but building immunities, right? I fully realize that germs and illness are part of life. Sick happens. After a rough start to the cold and flu season while pregnant I'm just over having extra germs literally on hand 24/7. So I wash my hands, people.

I actually kinda hate washing my hands.  It's annoying to me. It's an annoying but necessary habit that I love to hate.  It's like taking my makeup off before bed. I always feel refreshed and like I really just 'did something with my life' on the occasion I do strip down the old facey-face before beddy-by.  But UGHHH. The monotony. The effort. Just UGHHH.

Sometimes I need more than general hygiene standards to motivate me to wash my hands which is why I am a freak for seasonal soaps, especially of the foaming variety.  This past December, Bath and Body Works had a moment in time where I could combine my coupons with an in store promotion that allowed me to stock up on foaming hand soaps for less than $2 a bottle.  I didn't exactly walk out with a crate of soaps because how embarrassing would that have been.  But after I gifted a good portion of my hoard around the holidays and put the 'wintery scent' soaps away for next year, I realized I should have set my pride aside and just bought ALL THE SOAPS.

I wondered if there was a way I could just make foaming soap using the bottle I cashed on Saturday (RIP Fresh Balsam.)  I thought, "It'd be pretty tight if I could just reuse this bottle and figure out how to turn cheaper soap into foaming soap."  And since there is not an original idea left in the world, several people on the interwebs had already thought the same thing and did all the leg work for me.

Turns out, all you need to make your own foaming hand soap is three things:

1. Empty foaming hand soap bottle (with pump, obvi.)
2. Any non-foaming liquid hand soap
3. Water
   (I used distilled water because I had a jug on hand but tap seems to be what most people use.)

The key to making the soap "foam" has nothing to do with the formula of the soap itself but rater the mechanics of the pump so start saving your empty foaming bottles if you want to try this cheap trick out.

Directions are pretty straightforward.  Pour about a half-inch to a little over an inch of regular liquid hand soap into your empty bottle.  I used an empty Bath and Body Works bottle but most foaming soaps are the standard ounces and base width.  Next, add water until you fill the bottle.  Leave some room at the top because when you screw on the pump, your solution will get displaced and if you are doing it over your counter top and not allowing for overflow like me, this fun little project will just start to get messy and annoy you.  It doesn't have to be that way!

I gave my bottle a vigorous shake because it just felt natural.  If you use warm water, the liquid soap will dissolve quicker into a homogeneous mixture that requires less shaking.  In my experience, neither scent or richness of later is compromised by diluting liquid soap with water.  If you want a more rich lather consistency, add more liquid soap and less water.  Boom.

My exact reaction when I washed my hands for the first time with my DIY foaming hand soap: "Well, I'll be damned.  Actually works."  It required about 40 seconds of actual hands-on time to make and it's going to stretch my liquid hand soaps a lot further and put extra cash in my budget for things like coffee, makeup and beer soon enough.  I'm currently like a million weeks pregnant and I'm not going to lie, I'm getting pretty stoked for a pint.

So start hoarding your foaming soap bottles/dispensers and give this cheap trick a try!  I give it two very clean, very lovely-smelling thumbs up, babes.

cheap/steep/chic: lip service

New feature alert!

This entry is a cheap/steep/chic entry where I review a higher-end product and compare it to recommended dupes.  I have some entries lined up for you all that I hope will either put some extra pennies in your pockets or give you that one last push of encouragement to just go ahead and spend the damn monies.  Treat yo self, honey.

I need to start by giving my little sister, Kate, a big shout out. KATE!!!  Science tells us that it's the elder sister's duty to teach the youngest sister everything about life and love and lipstick...except in my family.  We acknowledge that we have taught each other a lot about how to live life.  But when it comes to beauty products, my sister takes me to school constantly and I'm grateful.

I live in a drugstore bubble.  I like it there.  Drugstores are comfortable, familiar and 'affordable.'  My sister has no shame in her drugstore game but she also takes it up a notch and explores specialty, high-end stores and beauty products.  I used to shy away from stores like Sephora (aka HEAVEN) because I was certain that I'd be like a four-year-old in a pet store.  "OMG!!! SO MANY CUTE PUPPIES!!! I WANT THEM ALL!!! LET ME TAKE THEM ALL HOME!!" 

I'll be real with you and let you know that I was exactly like that my first time in Sephora (which was chaperoned by my sister.)  I was all like, "MARC JACOBS MAKES NAIL POLISH! THEY HAVE NARS ORGASM HERE! I'VE ONLY HEARD ABOUT THAT IN MAGAZINES! YOU'RE TELLING ME I CAN TRY ON YSL LIPSTICK?!" It was a lot to process.  I narrowly escaped without short-circuiting my brain.  I think my soul left my body for a minute and I looked down and just saw my body all aglow with euphoria. 

My heart also broke no less than 25 times while I was in there because even though everything looked special and amazing and life-changing, girl, you can't take every puppy home with you.  That adds up in a hurry.

Here's the thing, though.  My sister, in her quarter-century of wisdom once told me: "Girl, you can keep buying cheap makeup that you want to perform or look like the more expensive stuff.  But you're probably going to end up spending just as much on trail-and-erroring a ton of cheap stuff when you could just bite the bullet and get the 'good stuff' right off the bat." LEGIT. PREACH IT.

It makes sense, right?  You can spend time and energy trying to find a "dupe" for a higher-end product that you love or you can just cut out the middle man and get on with your life.  Personally, I think this makes the most sense EVER but I also can't leave my drugstore days behind and honestly a steeper price doesn't always equal a better quality product.  I'm going to need some extra change in my retirement fund later on in life for, like, clinical aesthetic treatments because at that point I don't think Cover Girl is going to cut it like she does now. 

The cheap/steep/chic feature on Amateur Life & Style has the express purpose of me sharing my triumphs and fails walking the fine line between the drugstore and the specialty stores.  Sometimes my verdict will be to go with the cheap.  Sometimes my verdict will be to go with the steep.  100% of the time my goal is to be chic and help you do the same if, you know, that's your thing. No judgement if it's not.  Though I have makeup on right now, I also am currently wearing the same pair of my husband's wool socks that I've been rocking for over two weeks.  So, yeah. I'm not going to define chic for you.  It's all relative.

First edition cheap/steep/chic product: Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment

Check out the Fresh website here to learn more about their products

Behold: my very own tube of Fresh Sugar Tinted Lip Treatment in Honey

Until about six months ago, I'd never heard of the Fresh line.  I have a lady friend (shout out to Wendy) whose makeup game is always on point, especially her pout.  Like any freak, I creeped her Pinterest after weeks of admiring her lip game and found a lot of Fresh Sugar products pinned.  I eventually acted like a normal person and chatted her up about the product line in person.  I knew I could trust her feedback because Wendy keeps it real and she appreciates value and, again, every time I run into her #flawlessface.  

The next time I went to Sephora, I did something I rarely do (because GERMS) and I applied a sample of Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment in Honey.  And all the angels rejoiced.  Any my lips felt like a hundred miniature puppies wearing cashmere sweaters were snuggling on them. And I felt ALIVE.  And then I spent the next 30 minutes debating purchase.  And then I spent the next four months stopping into Sephora and applying testers of Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment.  And then my mother-in-law gave me a Sephora gift card for my birthday.  AND THEN I CRIED HAPPY TEARS.  AND THEN I BOUGHT IT THE NEXT DAY.

A tube of Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment (tinted) will run you about $23.00.  A tube of the Advanced Lip Treatment or Serum from Fresh will run upwards of $25.  And I will tell you it is worth every penny.  This product delivers moisture, even color, smooth application, and it has a scent and flavor that is light and sweet with just a hint of lemon.  It doesn't make the back of your throat go "ARCHGKA."  If you know what I'm talking about, can I get an AMEN?  Kate, you see me.  I keep my tube in my bag.  I can just grab one product and my lips feel buttery-smooth with medium color coverage.  I love it.

I love it so much that I'm rationing it. And that's totally backwards.  Why even buy it if I'm going to be stingy with it, right?  Old habits die hard.  I went on the hunt for a dupe of Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment because I can't spend $100 a month on lip stuff...and Fresh is that good that it was a real concern of mine.

My research lead me to purchase a tube of Deep Renewal by Blistex.  At under $3, that's a purchase I can get a little "risky" with.  You know what I found out?  Blistex makes a really reliable dupe for Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment. Application is equally smooth.  Hydration is long-lasting.  Buttery sensation is in full effect.  Even the scent/flavor is pretty close (mild, slightly sweet, and a hint of sweetness without the ARCHGKA feeling.)  It does not come in a tinted color so that's an optional advantage that Fresh has.  

I now keep a tube of Deep Renewal at hand when I'm at home and don't need to be all "fancy" and also have access to my lipsticks and such to layer on top for color.  I throw on Deep Renewal before bed and throughout the day here and there.  I feel like I've found a good balance between cheap and steep.  Blistex allows me to increase the longevity of my tube of Fresh and my tube of Fresh increases the longevity of my life (well, not really.)

Verdict: Fresh is worth the steep price BUT if you want to achieve similar results, the cheap Blistex route is a great alternative.  

When I'm at home, I follow the below cheap equation I crafted to get the same chic results as the steep product

Homemade sugar lip scrub* + Blistex Deep Renewal + NYX Butter Lipstick in Pop = Fresh Lip Treatment in Honey

My top lip is covered in Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment in Honey; bottom with my cheap concoction

Little to no difference in look or feel, just application.

Valentine's Day is just around the corner. Whether you're going to spend it making out with a significant other or a rando or with a box of wine, why not have amazing lips? 

*find the recipe to the DIY lip scrub I love and use here on RosyChicc.com

Go Greek (Yogurt)

Everything around my house is perpetually covered in yogurt. Toys. Shoes. Walls. Floors. TV stand.  Banister. ME.  I find yogurt EVERYHWERE (even my bra, people.)

My two-year-old is not an adventurous eater but he does eat yogurt without a complaint.  Because he is so finicky when it comes to food that isn't in cookie form, I do what I can to sneak in extra nutrients and protein into foods he will actually eat.  We go through a lot of greek yogurt in our house.

Here's the thing about greek yogurt: you can go BROKE on it in a hurry especially when you have a voracious pregnant woman and a wild child wolfing it down every day.

I stumbled on a DIY greek yogurt recipe during one of my ins-MOM-nia episodes last week.  Having forgone a trip to Mc D's for a medium Coke and small fry earlier that day (still craving, BTW) because I had just restocked the yogurt supply and was feeling B-R-O-K-E, I was like, "Yeah, girl.  We pinning this recipe for sure."

This past Saturday I set out on my greek yogurt experiment, fully expecting it to be total failure because who makes yogurt at home that doesn't suck anyway?!  To my shock and delight, my forray into the world of yogurt making yielded ONE GALLON of edible if not incredible greek yogurt.  It was ridiculous easy and it cost under $6.00 to make.

I want to pass on this good thing to my fellow yogurt enthusiasts! 

I still kinda can't believe it worked.  I waited 3 days to try it because I was legitimately scared. Realness.

Because why wouldn't you SnapChat making yogurt?

The recipe I used was featured on this lovely little blog.  Jillee posted a recipe for "Foolproof Crockpot Greek Yogurt."  I was drawn to the recipe because it was simple, easy to follow, and though the process was time consuming, it requires so little hands-on effort.  Plus, I typically have all of the 3 ingredients (yes, only 3) this recipe calls for in my home on a regular basis.  So convenient.

To make Jillee's Foolproof Crockpot Greek Yogurt you will need the following things:

• Large crockpot
• Thermometer (I used a meat thermometer)
• 1 gallon of milk (I used whole milk)
• 2-3 cups powdered milk (I used 2)
• 1/2 cup of plain, greek yogurt (I used Chobani; once you make your own yogurt, you can use 1/2 of that for your active culture going forward)
• Storage containers for the yogurt

I followed Jillee's instructions exactly.  It took probably around 5-6 hours in the crockpot for my milk to reach 180 degrees and then about another, oh, 3 hours for it to cool down to about 115 degrees.  The longer the yogurt is in my fridge, the creamier it seems to get.  The consistency is thick and creamy.  It does get a tad runnier when you start stirring it and adding mix-ins.   I'd say at worst, the consistency breaks down to "regular" yogurt but it's certainly still satisfying.

I experimented with the yogurt this week to see how it stacks up to store bought by using it a few different ways in the kitchen.  It's AWESOME as a replacement for sour cream.  It's DELICIOUS as a veggie dip. It also performed ADMIRABLY in baking.

At left: Banana Chocolate Chip Greek Muffins; At right: Greek Yogurt Veggie Dip

My personal recommendations:

• Though I find this yogurt to be thick enough to pass as a greek, next time I make this I will up my powdered milk to 3 cups to fortify it further and make it even thicker.
  
• The next time I make this, I will attempt a half-batch.  The shelf-life of Jillee's recipe is approximately 10 days in the refrigerator.  Since my toddler is refusing this yogurt (such a bummer) I don't know that I can handle a solo gallon+ of greek in a week. I think I'll need to make and freeze more muffins as to not waste this batch. I'll let you know how my small batch turns out when I attempt!
  
• If you choose to use Mason jars to store your yogurt (like I did,) I recommend wide-mouth jars.  I used small-mouth jars and regret it.  It's just difficult to get the greek out...and frustrating.

Let me know how your yogurt turns out and if you like it, love it, or even loathe it.  I'm also looking for recommendations on how you jazz up your plain greek yogurt.  Share the goods, people!  Maybe we can all move to a hippie farm together and exchange ideas?  :)

Mani Monday

Even though the official start of fall isn't until tomorrow, I've been celebrating the season for weeks.  I switched out my summer wax warmer scents to decidedly more autumnal scents.  I hauled out my fall stash of decorative owl friends (which are different than my year-round decorative owl friends.)  I baked apple crisp (with bourbon) and had a Maple Spice Latte from Copper Rock Coffee. 

By the way, I really love Copper Rock's fall creations and if you like maple and you like coffee and you like warming your body from the inside out with tasty, delicious autumn in a mug, I recommend checking out their seasonal brews while they are still here. I suppose, also, "if you live in the Fox Valley."

Full-on immersing myself in fall is a head to toe process which, of course, involves autumnal manis and pedis.  I typically don't limit myself seasonally to mani/pedi colors.  I generally just go with what feels "right" at the time.  Sometimes that means brown in May and sometimes that means pink in December.  I mean, who cares?  There are no rules, really.  I do find myself gravitating towards darker, more brooding hues once the chilly air moves in.  Maybe subconsciously I think darker polish will keep me warmer?  

I was gifted the 2014 Essie Fall Collection Cube by a very sweet, very thoughtful, very wanting to be anonymous family member a few weeks ago.  A package arrived for me and I was worried my son had accidentally bought a Rolex or something when he last was screwing around on my Kindle.

I was very relieved and very, very genuinely surprised and touched when I opened it to find this little beauty!  

Still swooning.

I've always shyed away from getting the seasonal cubes from my favorite brands.  I always think, "Well, they are mini-sized so that's good for like, what, two applications?  I should just buy the big size in my favorite new color." I've been wrong, friends.  I've been very, very wrong.  In fact, cubes are now my new favorite thing.  You get to try four shades for the cost of two and honestly when is the last time you used an ENTIRE bottle of nail polish in a season or even used up half of it? I think these mini bottles will probably even get me through a year of use if not more.  I'm sold on these. 

Many brand make cubes and cube variations including OPI, Butter, and even Sally Hansen. 

However, we already know I'm partial to Essie.  I'm working on branching out.  Promise.

I couldn't pick what color to try first so I tried two!
Essie, Take it Outside/accent nail also Essie in Partners in Crime

Take it Outside is a warm neutral.  It's a taupe/grey polish with almost a hint of pewter to it.  It's a gorgeous neutral.  Partners in Crime is a rich espresso.  It may sound silly but I felt like my little accent nail was a friendly coffee bean and it made me smile. A lot.

I had an unfortunate run-in during work last week when a scissors razored off my mani on two nails so over the weekend I did a quick mani to get over my OCD about having chipped nails.

Essie, Sable Collar
This color is from a winter collection.
I was also gifted this rich, velvety crimson/blackberry hue (which just a hint of iridescence)

It's the Christmas 2013 gift that keeps on giving!

What nail statements are you making this fall?  Any recommendations? 

Chic Thrill: $5 2-for1 Infinity Scarves

People, fall is right around the corner.

I'll be real with you: I legit had a four-paragraph post drafted for this blog entry about how I love fall and how the weather in fall is hormonal in Wisconsin and how I hate summer and more about how I (again) love fall.  But, honestly, I don't want you to waste time reading when you could be using that time to GET IN YOUR CAR IMMEDIATELY, SUCK UP YOUR PRIDE, AND HEAD TO WAL*MART.  Because, girlfriend, where else can you find transitional, lightweight, fun and chic infinity scarves for FIVE DOLLARS.  FOR TWO SCARVES. WHERE?!?!  Apparently, Wal*Mart.

Infinity scarves have blown up over the past 4 years so much so that they aren't hard to find. What is hard to find is an attractive infinity scarf that costs you under $15 bucks.

So I was SUPER STOKED to find that Wal*Mart is selling 2-pack (YES, 2 PACK) infinity scarves for $4.96.  UNDER 5 BUCKS FOR TWO SCARVES. SHUT UP.

My current scarf arsenal.  Obsessed.

I'm obsessed with them and have already been asked by strangers a few times where I got my "great scarf."  It would be wrong not to share this find with my cyberspace friends!

Scarves are located by the accessories department.  I bought three packs (six scarves for the average cost of one) for the season.  I am thrilled with the selection and wear of these scarves by NoBoundaries.

These are so lightweight and breathable that they remain comfortable even on warm, humid days.  Yet, they still are able to keep the neck and chest chill away when the cool, evening air sets in.

Let's be honest, they probably aren't built to last.  I'd say they are on the same page as Forever 21 garment construction.  But for under $2.50 per scarf, WHO CARES?!  Life's short.  Have fun with it.

Check these chic (and cheap) little thrills out for yourself.  A fun, printed scarf is paired with a neutral which I feel makes your purchase even more versatile and conservatively cool. Buy a pack.  Buy more.  Keep one in your car for a last minute outfit "upgrade."

Chilly Packer game with my man

Hot day with my men at the Shawano County Fair.

Cute, right?!

Happy shopping, babes!

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Cauliflower pizza crust came into my life last summer.  I was fresh off reading the book, "Wheat Belly" by Dr. William Davis.  I committed to removing most wheat and grain from my diet in hopes I would have more energy, less tummy troubles, and maybe even a smaller booty.  Cutting out wheat and grain wasn't as painful as I expected (really, it wasn't.)  However, I was jarred out of my "no-carb" cockiness when I had an overwhelming craving for pizza.  Crap.

I frantically flipped to the recipe section of the book and found one for pizza crust made out of cauliflower. CAULIFLOWER.  I ran out immediately to gather ingredients.  I was so excited!  Everything looked promising in the oven but all I was left with was glorious, saucey, cheesy, meaty pizza toppings laying on a bed of cauliflower goo.  FAIL.  Been there?

I didn't give up on cauliflower crust as I continued to eat limited wheat and grains but also continued to love pizza.  A few months ago I was referred to Danielle Walker and her cookbook, "Against All Grain."  Danielle believes in nutritional healing and creates DELICIOUS recipes that are Paleo, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, but never taste-free. Learn more about Danielle HERE

Danielle's cauliflower pizza crust is my favorite crust thus far.  It is like the Holy Grail of cauliflower pizza crusts because it does crisp!

Follow this link to Danielle's website for the full recipe: Danielle Walker's Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Having tried several recipes in the past, nearly all resulting in mush, I found a common denominator that doesn't exist in Danielle's recipe: mozzarella cheese (and sometimes cream cheese.)  I feel what really sets Walker's recipe apart and helps make it crispier than others is that she uses "hard" cheese in the crust instead of "ooey, gooey" cheese.  Using a grated cheese like parmesan helps to "dry out" the crust.  She also incorporates coconut flour which is gluten-free and won't add more moisture to the dough like a traditional wheat flour.

Here's how I go about my cauliflower crust-making business.  If you want to know my tips read on!

Alison's Steps for executing Danielle Walker's Cauliflower Pizza Crust:

1. Wash cauliflower.  Remove florets. 

2. I opt not to grate cauliflower as that sounds like a lot of Band-Aids to me. If you have a powerful blender or a food processor, I recommend throwing your cauliflower florets in one of those and pulse and pulverize until you are left with cauliflower that looks as though you have riced it.

3. Recipe calls to steam cauliflower over water.  I threw my processed cauliflower into a microwavable steamer (like this one from Pampered Chef) and popped that into the microwave for 3 minutes. No water required.  We are trying to eliminate moisture, not add to it.  Drain out excess water.  Works like a charm!

4. Line a baking sheet with paper towel.  Thinly spread steamed cauliflower on top of the paper towel. Let sit for as long as you can let it sit.  Getting the most moisture out of the cauliflower as possible while still retaining some moisture is key to getting your crust to crisp.  I typically let it rest on the paper towel in the kitchen for a minimum of 20 minutes, at most, an hour. 

5.  Transfer the strained and drained cauliflower into your mixing bowl and add the rest of your ingredients.  I mix with my hands.  Give that dough a hearty massage.  Treat it right.  It will still have a damp feel to it, kind of like fresh, homemade Play Dough before it cools. 

6.  I do not use parchment paper but that's just because I rarely have it in my house.  I do use an aerated pizza pan which helps crisp up the crust.  I lightly mist it with olive oil or cooking spray and then use my hands and a greased rolling pin to delicately roll out the crust.  I would say I roll it out to about a little less than a quarter of an inch.  The thinner, the crispier.  However, the thinner it is, the less stable it is.  It's a fine balance you just need to sort of play with.

My pizza pan of choice from Air Bake

7.  Brush top of crust with olive oil.  Bake the crust at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes.  WATCH THE CRUST!  Depending on how thin you rolled it, the edges may start to burn and if the edges start to blacken, get that baby out of the oven stat.  There is such a thing as drying out the crust too much and it won't be able to bear the load of your toppings without breaking in half.  

 I've found that even when this crust doesn't get crisp-crisp (nothing is perfect,) it still has a nice, al-dente texture that you can cut with a fork which, in my book, is much preferred to spooning a pile of pizza mush into my mouth.  Gag.

8.  Let the crust cool about 10-15 minutes before loading up your toppings and finishing the pizza off under the broiler for a few.  

This crust has such a rich, cheesy flavor that I find the best toppings are classic like meat, tomato sauce, cheese, veggies, etc. I made one last night with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, chicken, zucchini, kalamata olives, basil and feta and it was damn delicious.

I baked this batch in a traditional baking pan to see how that worked.  

The crust did not get as crisp but was more al-dente and akin to a flat bread.  Still not mushy!

Let me know if these tips end up helping make your cauliflower pizza successful! 

Happy S'morth of July!

It's the 4th of July tomorrow, 'Merica.  Do you have plans?  My family is going to my parents' house for an afternoon of BBQ and backyard games.  I'm bringing these s'mores bars to the party. TO DIE FOR.

 I found the recipe on Pinterest when I was pregnant and wanted s'mores ALL OF THE TIME.  You lose your center of gravity when hauling around a human child so it makes roasting mallows rather cumbersome and a little bit dangerous.

These bars are such a fun, sweet treat year-round! They are all the ooey, gooey goodness of traditional s'mores but a lot less messier and a lot more portable. Plus, you don't have to scramble for sticks in the dark or deal with stale graham crackers or hard mallows or even worry about forgetting your Hershey bars in your car trunk and then have to spend hours the next day cleaning it out of your upholstery (I've been there.)

 I've followed the recipe from Creations by Kara dozens of times and it has never let me or those I'm sharing the bars with down.  So, in case you're still scrambling for something to bring to your festivities this weekend, I advise you to exercise your freedom to indulge and make these bars!!!!

Bonus tip:

*The recipe makes enough graham mixture to save a little for the freezer. I like to leave lots of "cracks" for the marshmellow fluff to expand and toast through.  If you freeze about 1/4 cup, the frozen bites of graham dough are AWESOME in a homemade s'mores sundae.  Add a few frozen bits, some chocolate chips, and a drizzle of fudge. YUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

Have a safe and happy Fourth of July, everyone!

Quickie: Mac hack!

I'm a mom of a toddler.  I perpetually have microwaveable mac & cheese in my house.  Microwaveable mac isn't an everyday food in our house (no judgement if it is in yours...I'm contemplating a Pop Tart with Nutella for breakfast right now.)

I like having it around for a couple of reasons:

• It's a quick meal in a bind and fool-proof to make (ie: it makes life easier for daddies and babysitters)
• My kid is guaranteed to eat it so on days when he refuses to eat, at least I can get some mac in him.

Here's the thing about microwaveable mac: it is molten-lava hot.  My kid gets so excited when he sees me making it and then there's about 7 minutes of tantrum-throwing because "NO YOU CAN'T EAT THE HOT MAC!"  It's cruel, really.

I usually sneak veggies in mac & cheese.  The veggies aren't fooling anyone.  In no way do they make the meal healthy.  BUT, I loves me an opportunity to get some extra veggies in my kid's diet by flying them in under the radar.

Here's a Mac Hack I thought of that will cut cooling time in half AND get some fiber all up in your kiddos:

Toss frozen veggies in the mac, straight out of the microwave and after you mixed in the cheese. That's it! 

The heat of the mac thaws out the veggies and at the same time the cold of the frozen veggies cool down the mac. Give the mac and veggies a few stirs and take a bite yourself so you can be sure it's safe for the little in your life.  And let's be real, you don't have to have kids to love microwaveable mac.  Try this hack yourself!  It's delicious and slightly more nutritious:)

This hack also works well using microwaveable oatmeal and frozen fruit, by the way!

Homemade, fresh ginger cooler

I'm obsessed with ginger root.  I love the peppery, floral taste.  I love the fresh, clean, energizing scent.  I also love that as an added bonus, ginger root has a long list of health bennys.

If you do a quick search on "Health Benefits of Ginger," you'll get a host of websites from different resources detailing the power of ginger.

 The common denominators of ginger benefits (I find) are as follows:

• Promotes good digestive health (ie: helps induce appetite, reduces intestinal gas, alleviates nausea, rids body of bloat)
• Serves as an anti-inflammatory agent
• Aids in clearing sinuses
• Helps the body absorb nutrients

I can vouch for all the above.  I have IBS and fibromyalgia.  Since incorporating ginger into my diet, I have seen marked improvements in the severity and frequency of both my IBS and fibromyalgia flare ups.  When I have tummy troubles (especially when I was pregnant with my son) chewing fresh ginger totally helps reduce the intensity of those nasty, symptoms.

I brew a lot of tea-like drinks at home in an effort to thwart cravings for sodas (I miss you, Diet Coke!)  One day I decided to try and make a ginger drink with some of the extra root I had on hand in my freezer. The experiment was successful by my standards and now I regularly make this ginger cooler and personally find it to be incredibly refreshing and dare I say, spa-worthy.

Try it for yourself!  It's stupid-easy to make.

What you need:

• 7.5 - 8 cups of water
• Pot to boil water in
• Fresh ginger root, peeled and sliced*
• Honey, Stevia, Truvia, or Sugar in the Raw (or regular sugar, if you like) I use about 1.5 tablespoons of honey in my cooler for a very mild sweetness.  Play around with amounts of sweetener to please your pallet.  

*Use as much or as little as you'd like depending on how strong you want the ginger taste to be in your cooler.  I generally use a root as big as my hand and about as wide as but my thumbs pressed together.  That translates into about 1.5 cups sliced. The thinner you slice the ginger, the stronger the flavor will be as well. I generally slice mine about .25-.50 inches thick

How you make it:

Put ginger and water in a pot.  Bring to a boil.  Boil for about 5 minutes, full roar.  Turn down the heat and let simmer anywhere from 10-15 minutes.  Add your desired sweetener and mix with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat.  Allow ginger to steep in the mixture as it cools.  The longer you simmer, the longer you steep, the stronger the ginger flavor will be.  

Hello, gorgeous.

Remove ginger from pot with a slotted spoon before allowing mixture to cool if you want a more subtle flavor.  I, personally, let the ginger slices steep upwards of 45 minutes sometimes as it cools.  Do remember, though, I'm a ginger freak.  The spicier the better!  

Once cool, transfer to a container that is easy to refrigerate.  I'm partial to large, Ball canning jars with their plastic, reusable caps.  Should yield about 5.5-6 cups of ginger cooler (depending on how long you boil.)

I mean, everyone will wonder what the big jar of
urine in your fridge is all about but that means
more ginger cooler for you, right?

One batch keeps about 2-5 days in the refrigerator.  Serve over ice.  Throw in some fresh-squeezed lemon or lime juice and a few wedges of your desired citrus for an extra element of refreshment.

Cheers to good health and sunny, summer days!