Makeup Brush Cleanup

Who out there loves makeup?!!?

"OOH OOH pick me, pick me!" [can you name the movie]?

I've always loved makeup!
I find it fun to mix up 

eye shadows and liners to achieve new looks

all the time. 

My love of makeup has REALLY grown the past year,

due to ALL of you wonderful blog ladies. 

Seriously, I've learned about more products than I even

knew existed, and while my wallet isn't too happy,

my face and my self esteem is very happy. 

However, all of my makeup loving does come 

with some new responsibility.

GONE are the days of using my fingers as brushes

and since I constantly want to change my look,

my brushes tend to get dirty faster. 

I've always known the importance of brush maintenance,

but never really had a regiment for cleaning them. 

I did know I was not going to shell out 

bookoo bucks for some 'makeup brush cleaner' scam.

[not hating if you use a special cleaner, I just won't]

About six months back, I came across a post on the Bargain Blonde

specifically about makeup brush cleaning.

And I've never looked back
when it comes to makeup brush maintenance.

Cleaning this way is super easy and takes very little time.

I don't clean my brushes every week as recommended, 

but I do carve out time to clean them every other week.

You, my lovely friends, should be doing the same. 

And now, you don't have an
"I DON'T KNOW HOW"
excuse anymore. 

Here are MY tips for cleaning your makeup brushes,

please enjoy.

Make Up Brush CLEAN UP Directions

Baby Shampoo; sink; make up brushes; dry towel.

*****IMPORTANT******

ALWAYS DOWN, NEVER UP!

Four easy steps

1] Wet your brush[s] under the faucet, using warm water.

2] Squeeze a quarter to 50 cent piece amount of baby shampoo into your hand.

3] Take your make up brushes one at a time and gently swirl them around to make suds. I tend to do 3-5 brushes at a time before I need to re-supply my baby shampoo. Once they are 'sudsy' lay them back down on the sink. [remember, keep the brush facing down]!

4]One at a time, take a brush and run under warm water then 'swirl' the brush in the palm of you hand, using the same motion you used to suds. You should notice the suds turning different color. Once the suds start changing color, put the brush under warm water and rinse until the water runs clear. Sometimes you need to re-swirl them once or twice and rinse again. 

 [I also choose to suds all my brushes in one round and then go back and rinse them one by one. If you choose to do the process all the way through with each brush one at a time, that works just fine too.]

5] Lay each brush flat on a towel or wash cloth to dry. I like to find a sunny place to lay them down.

6] Pat yourself on the back for being a clean makeup girl. 

 Does that make sense? Need some more tips?

Well, good thing I also made a VLOG on this topic huh?

Let me know if you have any questions!

Currently

[source]

I published my first currently list back in August and 

since I've seen a few floating around recently,

 I thought, why not update?!

Reading Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales and  

Women Heroes of World War II by Kathryn J. Atwood

Both  are extremely informative and great reads.

Trying to save money.

Anticipating my future. I believe some wonderful things are in store.

Buying lots of farmer's market food. Expensive, but worth every penny.

Lusting over a big vacation. Now that I have my Speedy,

I don't have a THING I am lusting over.

Enjoying snuggles with my honey on the couch.

Cursing the temperatures in the DC/Metro area. Bring back the heat.

Listening to Florida Georgia Line. LOVE them!

Favorite jam is "Tell Me How You Like It".

Annoyed with little things.

Watching the Big Bang Theory. I always enjoyed episodes when they were on,

but now C and I are turning to BBT reruns instead of NCIS reruns.

Wishing money grew on trees.

Devouring the dark chocolate M&M's in my trail mix.

Waking up at 5am for morning workouts. A few weeks ago I was
sleeping in, but I'm SO much more productive
after my morning workout. 

Hating my self doubt.

Wanting more sleep.

Hoping the transition at work won't be to miserable or crazy.

It is a step in the right direction for our team, but

we all know how much fun CHANGE is.

Feeling a tad behind in life. I'm not married, I rent and 

I don't have a kid. I know I'm where I'm supposed to be,

but with the big THREE-OH so close, I think 

a state of OH EM GOODNESS is appropriate.

Portobello Mushroom Pizza {Recipe Files}

I'm not the greatest planner in the world.

I mean, I can plan with the best of them, but sometimes

the action part, doesn't really happen.

One of the BIGGEST problems with clean eating is the

amount of planning involved.

Gone are the days of spaghetti, take out, pizza, hamburger helper and

all the REST of the super processed, but easy foods.

C is pretty good about planning for the day,

but he doesn't have to leave the house as early as I do

and often will be able to

peruse the fridge and plan.

When the "what's for dinner?" text arrives,

he's usually the one that has a plan

and food ready.

So, his "New Years" resolution for me was

 "Pinky needs to get better at meal planning".

[Mine for him was "C needs to get better

at being on time and not LATE"]

I embraced his 'challenge' and claimed I would

plan the meals for a week.

I must say, I'm pretty proud of myself.

Almost all of my dishes turned out well,

save for one.

[ingredients went bad, so C had to cook, but I planned].

One of the recipes I chose to make was

Portobello Mushroom Pizza

and since it's one of my favorites,

I thought I would share it with you today.

*****This recipe is an adaptation from multiple

different recipes I found in books and online.*****

What you'll need:

Pizza toppings [onions, peppers, mozzarella cheese] whatever you
want on your pizza will work.
Tomato sauce, Salt&Pepper,
EVOO

The STAR of the SHOW:

Portobello Mushrooms.
[Already wiped down, gills removed and broiled]
You'll want at least 2 per person, if not 3.

Directions:

*Preheat oven to Broil or 500 degrees

*Clean and wipe down mushroom caps. DO NOT run under water. Use a damp towel and gently wipe down the caps and gills to remove dirt. Adding water with change the consistency of the mushroom and it will retain water making the 'crust' taste gross.

*Use a spoon and gently scrape out the gills, then remove the stem.

*Place mushroom caps on baking sheet. Cover liberally with EVOO, salt and pepper, then flip over and the repeat.

* Broil in oven for 5-7 minutes then flip the mushrooms over and broil and additional 5-7 minutes. I found this trick from Rachael Ray's recipe. Broiling makes the mushrooms extremely tender and gets rid of any extra liquid.

* While the mushrooms are broiling, chop up onions, peppers or any other fixings you want on your pizza. Sometimes I will brown some ground turkey or bison to include in the sauce, to make the dish a lil more hearty.

* When the mushrooms have broiled long enough,
carefully remove from the oven.

*Spoon tomato sauce [with or without meat] into the mushroom caps.

*Top the sauce with your fixings and then add a thick layer of cheese.

*Put the pan back in the oven to brown the cheese.

[I knock the heat back down to 350 and cook for 10 minutes,

then kick it back up to 500 to broil/brown the cheese]

*This is where preference comes into play. I like my cheese
a bit crispy with a tad bit of browning, so I leave my pizza in
longer than stated on different recipes.

*Once your pizza is good and heated and the cheese
delicious and melty, remove from the oven,
plate and ENJOY!

Healthy pizza and glass of red wine,

sounds like my kind of a dinner.

If you're trying to eat clean

and can operate an oven,

this is a healthy, easy and

delicious option.

Let me know what you think

mkkkay?!

Baby Step Weekend Recap

Wow what an amazing and whirlwind weekend.

[via]

Le Beau and I headed out of town to Nashville this weekend. 

We were visiting his best friend, his wife and their baby. 

The boys played college and pro baseball together back in the day.

I've only met the couple once, at their wedding, and they were super fun then 

so I was excited to get to know them better. 

Their lil five month old is one of the cutest kids on the block, 

I loved him immediately.

We left on Friday morning and arrived in Nashville in the early afternoon.

 Our flights were pretty easy, with very few delays. 

That evening, after a delicious meal of of homemade ribs and mac&cheese, 

the four of us went out into downtown Nashville and had a blast.

 Funny moments of the night: we stole a hockey sign

 from one bar and the wife told me 

"I'm so glad you talk a lot, I thought you were 

very shy after we met at the wedding"! 

Me quiet, what?!?!

Saturday morning was a lazy day of baby cuddles, cooking and tv. 

That afternoon we walked around their indoor outlet mall and then ate a late lunch at Opryland. 

I scored some major looks from BCBG! 

Check out this amazing $440 hot pink jacket I snatched for $89! Holla!

After a fun afternoon, the ladies had to get all gussied up

 for a birthday dinner downtown. I was excited because we were 

going to a fun sushi place, but majorly bummed because 

I didn't pack anything trendy to wear.

 This bday was not on the agenda and all I packed were comfy clothes, 

nothing fashionable for a trendy dinner or club/bar after. 

What I would have given for one of my fun dresses or new tunics, WAH!

Luckily, the wife is super kind and lent me one of her shirts

which helped jazz up my pink skinny jeans. 

Dinner was super delicious and a lot of fun, but man, 

did I feel out of my league. 

The girls were super welcoming of me, and very very kind 

but they were glamerzons. 

All of the girls were beautiful and dressed up for the party, 

and there I was in pink jeans. 

But, since they were are super kind, I was able to forget 

about my outfit soon into the dinner. 

Once we had our fill of food and wine, we headed over

 to this downtown club called Citizen. 

Apparently, it's a very high end bar where members have to pay dues. 

You either have to be a member, friend of a member or 

know someone on the inside to get in and hang out. 

There EVEN is a no picture rule at the bar. 

I've partied at some pretty exclusive clubs in DC and 

have never heard of a no picture rule.

 Apparently, Nashville royalty aka Toby Keith 

and other country singers will frequent Citizen because 

they don't have to worry about people bothering them. 

Sadly, the only famous person we saw 

was an old Alabama quarterback McElroy, 

but that was still cool.

 Since we were out late the night before, 

the two of us decided around midnight to leave. 

On the drive home, we bonded and

 it was really neat to get to know her better.

All of a sudden, it was Sunday and we were leaving. 

WHAT!?!?!? SO not fair, we did NOT want to leave. 

Before we left for the airport, we drove around different areas,

looking at houses for sale.

Yep, this vacation wasn't JUST a vacation,

but could be a 

VERY VERY baby step for the future. 

 

Who knows right!?!?!

Our first flight from Nashville to ATL was only 

35 minutes, but y'all 

it was one of THE most anxious flights

of my life. 

Ever since high school, I've been a nervous flier.

I hate not being in control and the thought

of something horrible happening while I'm in the air

stays with me the entire flight.

Any change in engine noise or any turbulence

sends me into an eyes closed, praying frozen state. 

Usually, when I fly with C, he lets me grab his hand at takeoff

or any time I get nervous with turbulence. 

Well, we were seated seperately this flight

and I was all the way in the back,

near the back engines.

OH MY WORD!

Every few minutes the engines were changing noise levels

and I started to get more and more anxious.

I probably spent the entire flight with my eyes closed.

All I wanted to do was get on the ground

and off the plane.

When we finally landed it took us forever to depart

and I counted to 100 slowly three times,

just to keep my heart rate down. 

C immedialty asked me what was wrong when we 

started walking to the next gate,

and I really couldn't tell him. 

I've never felt that anxious before in my life. 

I honestly thought I was going to have a panic attack. 

Once we arrived  at our next gate,

I folded into a little ball

and just tried to breathe.

C bought me a Sprite and sat next to me,

rubbing my back trying to help me out. 

Such a sweet guy.

After about ten minutes, I started to feel normal,

which was good because we were starting to 

board our next flight.

The second flight was much smoother,

and I had no issues. 

I think C is my safety blanket, haha.

We were home around 9:30pm and I 

unpacked quickly and passed out in bed 

before 10:30pm.

Today, I'm mourning the weekend being over

but I'm excited for the future. 

Hope y'all had a fabulous weekend!

Linkupkitcats!

Friday Funnies

Sooooooooooooooooooo I'm out of town today,

heading to a very fun place.

I'll fill you in on Monday,

but for now enjoy

these super awesome

Friday Funnies!

Source: imgur.com via Pinky on Pinterest

Source: vineyardvinesandpreppyguys.tumblr.com via Pinky on Pinterest

Source: 9gag.com via Pinky on Pinterest

Source: jackthreads.com via Pinky on Pinterest

Source: stop-procrastinating.tumblr.com via Pinky on Pinterest

Source: photos.ellen.warnerbros.com via Pinky on Pinterest

Source: tumblr.com via Pinky on Pinterest

Have a fabulous Friday friends!

Saw it, Pinned it, Did it [Linkup]

Hello and happy Thursday friends!

I have a fun DIY baking project for you today

inspired by Pinterest.

This is my FIRST ever Pin turned project

and I'm pretty excited to be sharing

it today with y'all.

Here is the Pin I found online used as inspiration.

Source: shewearsmanyhats.com via Pinky on Pinterest

Wait WHAT!?!?! That's a Christmas Pin!

Yes, smartypants, you are correct.

I made these in December for a work party,

 but with all the Christmas fun and recaps

never had time to post.

So now in January, I bring you:

Peppermint Rice Krispies®
Treats Snowballs! 

Ingredients:

• 1/4 Cup Butter
• 1 10 Oz. Package Marshmallows
• 1/3 Cup Crushed Candy Canes
• 6 Cups Rice Krispies® Cereal
• 2 14 Oz. Bags White Candy Melts 
• [I just used white chocolate chips, easier to find and cheaper]
• 2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil

 Directions

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium low heat.
2. Add in the marshmallows and allow them to melt completely.
3. Add in the crushed candy canes.
4. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the Rice Krispies®.
5. If making balls, pull out heaping tablespoons from the pan and roll into balls. Add a candy cane into the center of each ball, crook on top.

6. Place your finished treats into the fridge for about 15 minutes to cool down. 

[I did my balls {hahaimmature} throughout the day, so they cooled on their own]

7. Melt the candy melts according to package directions and add in the vegetable oil to thin the mixture. 

8. This was the hardest part of the whole project. I had issues getting all of the white chocolate evenly on the balls. I would suggest melting ALL of your white chocolate at once in a big bowl, so you can actually DIP the balls into the mixture instead of spooning/spreading it around. 

9. Set the white chocolate covered treat on wax paper and sprinkle with or decorate however you wish.

[Wouldn't you know that ALL of my Christmas colored sprinkles disappeared from my pantry the DAY I decided to make these treats? I improvised with what I had, so they are more PARTY than Christmas].

10. Make sure to decorate as soon as you set the ball on the wax paper, otherwise the white chocolate will cool and the sprinkles won't stick.

11. Once the treats have hardened, place in airtight container to store until bring them out to amaze people with your mad ball skillz {Yes, I'm a nerd}

Linking up for my first SPD!

Let me know if you try this pin!

Day 5: Debarkation Day and NOLA

 My last recap post is here. 

CAN YOU FLIPPIN' BELIEVE IT!?!

Only two months late

and only spanning three months

and two years.

SHIZZAH!

If you need to get caught up,

check out the rest of my posts below:

NOLA Night and Day One

Ghost Tour and Night Two

New Orleans Day Three: Sissys Arrive

New Orleans Day Four: GAME DAY

New Orleans Day Five: Cruise Night One

Cruise Day One: Day At Sea

Cruise Day Two: Excursion Progreso, Mexico

Cruise Day Three: Excursion Cozumel, Mexico

Cruise Day Four: Day at Sea

Holy guacamole, that's a lot of recaps

and that's a lot of fun memories to read. 

If you've made it through them all,

thank you for reading,

I truly applaud you! :)

Now, on to the last day on the boat 

and our last day in New Orleans. 

We were up around 7ish to get dressed,

and clear out our room.

Since we packed up everything the night before,

packing the rest was easy peasy

and we were at the buffet around 8:00am.

Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh, our last morning at the buffet.

Our last morning stuffing our faces :(!

We were able to eat leisurely since our 

debarkation group was number 12 

and they were only at two when we 

arrived at the buffet.

While we were waiting I coerced

C into filming some recap videos.

I wish I could post them,

but I need to respect his privacy.

Once our group was called we debarked 

found our luggage, patiently waiting in a neat pile

and then went to find transportation. 

C and I decided to stay an extra night in NOLA,

because there was a $200 airline difference

to fly out Saturday versus waiting until Sunday.

Our hotel was outside of the French Quarter

and since we didn't want to lug around our luggage

we found a service that would take the luggage to our hotel

and then charter a van to pick us up downtown.

The only thing either of us wanted to do in NOLA 

on Saturday, was tour the WW2 museum.

Many of our teammates toured the museum 

earlier in the week and they said it was amazing. 

We hopped a trolley to the museum 

and promptly walked into the wrong building.

Fate was on my side, because C bought 2 

of my Christmas presents there and I LOVE THEM.

An old fashioned beautiful pink flowery apron

AND

a vintage 1940s style dress

Ignore the socks and the hair please.

IN LOVE!

I can't wait to wear it on a date with my man.

Once we found the ACTUAL museum,

we began our adventure. 

I wish we could have taken pictures,

because this museum was hands down

one of the best I've ever been too.

AND I LIVE RIGHT OUTSIDE 

WASHINGTON DC!

Y'all we spent

FOUR HOURS in the museum.

FOUR!

And neither of us were wanting to leave,

while the other wanted to stay.

We walked in tandem almost

the whole time.  

Our countries history is amazing,

and the Greatest Generation

is nothing short of 

the GREATEST GENERATION.

We ate lunch in the diner 

and then walked back to 

the trolley station.

The ride on the trolley was just 

what we needed after being on our

feet for so long. 

Our van ended up being in the area

and hour early which was perfect timing. 

We were in a van with two other cruise couples

and it was fun chatting about all

of our cruise experiences. 

One couple did a Royal Caribbean cruise

to Europe and I've decided

THAT IS WHAT I want to save for one day.

 

The hotel was about 20 minutes away,

right next to the airport

and even though the outside looked sketchy

it was very well run and super clean. 

The concierge was extremely helpful

and guided us to a fabulous 

restaurant establishment a few miles away. 

A free shuttle service was provided,

so C, myself and another couple

rode over to this amazing BBQ place. 

After we ate our fill, we arrived back at the hotel,

repacked our stuff for the airport,

watched some football and passed out.

Our flight was at 6am the next morning

so we had to be up really early. 

The flight was overbooked

and we ALMOST took the later flight,

with vouchers, but we wouldn't

have arrived home until 5pm

and we both wanted to make it hope

with time to actually unpack.

 

After two seeminly easy flights,

we were back home in DC.

VACATION OVAH!

 

This vacation was one of the most wonderful

experiences of my life.

I was with friends, family and the love of my life.

 

Cruises are amazing if you do them right.

I can't wait to cruise on a bigger boat,

with more selections,

and a warmer climate :)!

 

Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh,

I wanna go back.

Day 4: Cruisin' at Sea

So it was finally here.

Our last day on the cruise ship.

WOMP WOMP, sad trombone.

It was so crazy realizing that 

our vacation was almost over. 

C and I were not very happy campers.

However, we tried to make the best of 

our last day and really soaked up

the sun and our down time.

We laid on the back deck for awhile

trying to catch a few rays,

but they were few and far between.

So, what do you do when you can't tan?

YOU EAT OF COURSE!

We spent a lot of time snacking at the buffet,

drinking hot chocolate

and reading. 

There was also a lot of napping.

I guess we were trying to save up sleep

for when we got back home ;)!

Before dinner,

we took in one of the most 

BEAUTIFUL sunsets

I have ever seen. 

It was incredible watching the sky 

change color

and the sun dip below the ocean. 

I know the picture of us isn't very good,

and we both look very sleepy

and frumpy,

but I really wanted to capture

that exact moment.

I was so happy to be there with C,

so in love with him

and so happy about my life. 

Truly hard to put into words,

but I was soooooo content

and googly eyed happy.

 Dinner that night was bitter sweet. 

We both enjoyed the food,

but were definitely feeling the effects

of not eating clean 

and indulging too much. 

But, it was sad to say goodbye

to are sweet servers

and to being treated like a princess

at the dinner table. :)!

All of the servers sang 

"Leaving on Jet Plane"

to the dining room and it

was so cute. 

Immediately after dinner, we went

back to our room to pack up 

our luggage and room. 

We decided that when we debarked 

the ship, we wanted to do

"the easy way"

and let the cruise workers

worry about our luggage.

That meant that we needed to 

have everything packed up

and waiting outside our room

by midnight that evening. 

Surprisingly, we packed up rather quickly

and were able to truly enjoy

our last evening.

We had a few drinks on deck, 

walked around

and then spent most of the evening

hanging out in the piano bar.

The pianist was hilarious,

and really talented. 

He had a very dry sense of humor

and added a LOT 

of adult language to normally

very clean songs.

This promted a lot of sing-a-longs

and wouldn't you know,

YOURS TRULY

won an award aka

a 'TUG ON A STICK'

for knowing ALL the words to

BABY GOT BACK!

Classic right?!?

We stayed in the bar until 1ish

and then decided to turn in.

We had to be up around 7am

to eat breakfast and then

debark the ship. 

Our cruise adventure was finally at an end,

and even though I was super bummed,

I was happy and contnet

with all the wonderful memories

made with the love of my life. 

TOMORROW,

Debarkation Day

and our last day in NOLA.

Bowling and Click-Clack

'Ello Monday.

Not trying to be rude or anything,

but today I'm talking about

Friday, Saturday and Sunday,

hokay?!

Hokay!

Friday the fam and Le Beau

went to dinner together at

Maggianos

to celebrate Mama B's belated

and C's Birthday.

We stuffed ourselves silly,

and enjoyed a fun night together.

After dinner the sissys and Le Beau

hit up the bowling alley

for his 'Birthday Party'.

Yes, my low key man

just wanted to go bowling for

his birthday celebration.

Do I have a keeper or what?!

We all had a blasty bowling,

and I played really well.

I even beat the birthday boy on game!

#SorryI'mNOTSorry!

Saturday morning was filled with

errands and brunch with

friends and their 2 month old.

She slept most of the time,

but was super cute.

Once they left, C and I just CHILLED OUT

for the first time in forever.

WE even took a NAP!

SHOCKING!

For dinner, we cooked an amazing

and delicious meal,

which I'll post later.

What, you want a preview?

Okay, waddaya think?

While eating, we watched the CAPS lose.

WAAAAAY bummer but thank FLIPPIN' PUCKS

hockey is back! Love me some hockey!

Sunday morning we both woke up

under the weather,

so nurse Pinky came out to play.

I loaded us both up on echinachia,

garlic pills, Airborn, fluids and drugs.

Luckily everything combined together

seemed to help which was important,

because we had a date we

COULDN'T RESCHEDULED.

Sunday afternoon was spent

in GUN SAFETY CLASS!

Yup, I'm a proud supporter of our

2nd amendment right.

I've been around guns many times in my life,

and have a deep respect for what

carelessness and guns can cause.

Whenever we head to Tennessee

the family hits up the gun range

for fun shooting time.

C purchased a gun a few months back,
and I told him we HAD to take a safety course
before the gun is allowed to be used.

We found a class online and booked it
for this past Sunday.

THIS CLASS ROCKED SOCKS!

The instructor was incredibly informative,
diligent in safety information,
awesome at answering all questions
and very engaging.

The class was four hours long,
but it FLEW by.

We covered ammunition, caliber,
safety, styles, loading and reloading,
 semi autos, revolvers,
SAFETY, grips, shooting stance
and did I mention safety?!!

The last hour was spend on the gun range,
and there were ten different types
of guns to shoot.

Our instructor walked us through two shots
as a group, and then we were
given the go ahead to shoot
whatever gun we wanted.

I had fun shooting bopping from station to station,
trying to improve my aim each time.

BOOOOOOM! BULLSEYE!

I enjoyed the revolvers a lot,
but my heart was with the
Sig Sauer P238 .380.

It's a small semi-automatic
and perfect for me.
I'm not sure when I'll purchase,
I need to do a lot more research first.

I'm really glad we took this class,
and look forward to taking the
intermediate later on in the year.

I want to learn how to take a gun apart,
clean it and then put it back together.

Hopefully I'll get my act together
and get the necessary things done
before this administration tries to take away
my rights.

Making guns illegal won't help the problem.
The gang bangers in my community
obviously don't care about laws,
so why should I be penalized
for their dumb@$$ness?!?!

Agree or disagree that's fine,
but you can't argue that
a gun isn't an intimate object
and therefore CAN'T do anything wrong.

Humans, and dumb humans
are the problem,
not guns.

Okay, soapbox over!

I hope y'alls weekend was wonderful.
I'm jealous of all of those off today,
I'm sitting at my cold cubicle at work.

Take a nap for me kay?!

LINKUPNOW!