Coming Up Roses

Coming Up Roses

Apr 30, 2017

I recently moved into a new apartment that has huge built in shelves in the bathroom. I thought about using them just for my linens but decided to make them a bit more girly by making use of some of the items I've purchased for shoots. The first theme I decided to do was roses because I secretly adore the color pink. I also received an amazing Chloe perfume set for Christmas and their bottles designs are meant to be displayed.

After a trying year I've been focused on finding ways to calm my mind, create a sense of peace and have feel good vibes so while I always liked the scent of roses, I started to like it even more when I read about how great it was for the senses. It aids in depression by boosting self esteem and help relieve anxiety and i's a great aphrodisiac--trust me, I know. Wearing my Chloe perfume drove my last boyfriend nuts!

With all of that it's only natural that I want at least one room in my apartment to be dedicated to subconsciously making me feel good even though I'm never there for more than 30 minutes at a time. And not only does the essence of roses make my mind feel great but I absolutely adore walking into my bathroom and looking at my perfect little shelf. Here's what I was able to get in order to put this shelf together. I received a lucite tray a few months ago and thought it was just what I needed to take great photos and I was right. I was finally able to get the perfect white, or any color background that I wanted for my shoots. But once I got my light box I didn't need it anymore and thought it would be a great way to display my favorite products.

1. Chloe Perfume Box Set- This is one of my favorite Christmas presents from this past year. This has been my signature scent since 2014 and I had finally ran out of my original bottle. I love this set because it came with the lotion, a small travel size and it a cute tin box. I was going to use the box to hold arts and craft items but having it on display is so much better


2. Artificial Rose Petals- Over the summer I had a great idea for a post on scents and bought rose petals for a video that has yet to be properly edited-whoops! Anyway, I'm not sure if I will ever use these again so I didn't know what to do with them but I know that I can't have these tucked away because I'll forget about them.

3. Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap- I've touted this brand before and I will do it again. I'm in love with this companies products, especially the ones that are rose scented. These bar soaps are great for the shower or on a bathroom sink in a cute tray.

4. Bracelets- I love bracelets but I can't wear them because I work on a computer all day and end up putting them off to the side. They're cute when I want to hang out with my friends but wearing one of them everyday is a no-no. When I saw these at ban.do I kinda lost it though and needed to have them. I was also in my breakup shopping binge so I had to have them even more. I'm glad I snagged these when I did because they're no longer being sold on the site. While the colors aren't all pink or rosy I think they add a nice touch.

5. Peter Thomas Roth Rose Stem Cell Face Mask- I had this for almost six months before I actually used it because it was an impulse buy. Once I got into the scent of roses I decided to give this a try. Not only do I love how hydrated my skin is the scent is heavenly. I like wearing it overnight sometimes in lieu of my retinol cream just to change things up a bit.

There you have it! I've already started on my lavender shelf but I'm still searching for more products in order to consider it complete. I also have others that I want to create themes for because I think only having two out of four isn't going to work so keep an eye out for the rest!

                 

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Two Ways Are Better Than One

Two Ways Are Better Than One

Apr 29, 2017

Here we go again! Another side dish with the same three ingredients: tomatoes, basil and mozzarella cheese. But seriously there are so many great ways to make a caprese salad that there's no reason why I shouldn't constantly make (and write about) them!

Because I love to make use of my oven and cut down the amount of time that I'm actually standing and preparing something half of the time I decided to make my baked caprese salad in two ways: one with the cheese melted on the tomato and another with it being cooked different, like a chip. Guess which one I liked better?

Do I even need to go over the ingredients list for a caprese salad?

Baking the cheese, tomatoes and basil was a no brainer. There's a phantom food particle somewhere in my oven that makes my apt smell like it's going to burn down if I have it over 300 degrees so I have to keep mine at 275. After I marinated the tomatoes in salt, pepper and balsamic vinaigrette I topped it with some chopped basil and the cheese on top. I always make sure to top anything off with cheese because it's a great way to keep all of my ingredients together once the cheese starts to melt.

And this is it. This is the amazing side dish that you're left with once the cheese is melted to your satisfaction. How great does this look? I always top it off with pepper and serve it on my cutting board because I think it makes the colors stand out more than if it were on a black or white plate.

Now on to my favorite way to eat this. When I go carb free I tend to still want (read: NEED) something salty and crunchy but I of course stay away from the dreaded potato. Once I open up a bag of chips it is game over for me.

When I made my cheese shell tacos I noticed that if I leave the cheese in the oven for a really long time they get super crunchy so that's when I went on Pinterest to find out which cheeses would make the best chips. Mozzarella and Parmesan were the top ones that I saw so I used both just to see what it was all about.

Look at this. Tell me you don't want to devour this right now? Just writing this has me salivating! Unlike withe the baked caprese I chose to bake the mozzarella cheese solo this time and waited until it was starting to brown before topping it off with freshly grated Parmesan. This let the crisp get some great texture as well as flavor by having the Parmesan flakes melt into it.

This gets put on top of a drained tomato slice, topped off with chopped basil and a balsamic glaze and voila! You end up with the great flavor of a caprese salad with a nice crunch.

So tell me, which one of these is your favorite and what would you pair them with?

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Keeping Yourself Hydrated From Head to Toe!

Keeping Yourself Hydrated From Head to Toe!

Apr 25, 2017

This is a sponsored post

Just like almost everyone else that I know, I can easily suffer from dry skin and rough patches, especially when I am moving around between cities and when the weather changes. Being that I grew up in NYC with, in my opinion, the best water ever, my skin was in a bit of shock when I moved out to Los Angeles. And let's add the fact that I suffer from Keratosis Pilaris (KP) so the back of my arms and calves are always in need of extra TLC during my skincare routine.

I've tried lots of different moisturizers that promise to help keep my skin moisturized and less bumpy, and I think I've finally found one that's going to work for me. AmLactin has a range of products that are meant to help with skin care issues that mostly everyone deals with. They have their body lotion that has alpha-hydroxy in it which not only keeps skin smooth and moisturized but acts as a gentle exfoliator. There's their Alpha-Hydroxy body cream that has their patented ULTRAPLEX formula that is great for people that need an extra boost because it helps smooth out rough and bumpy skin, commonly seen with KP. Their restoring body lotion includes essential ingredients to help uncover youthful-looking skin and hydrates for 24 hours, and finally their star product in my eyes: their foot cream. Because I live in a place where it's still in the 90s in the middle of November, I'm a lot less covered up than I normally used to be and own more pairs of sandals than I know what to do with so finding a foot cream that works amazing is a dream come true!

When it came to AmLactin's Foot Cream I was really excited to start using it. I have to admit that I sometimes have a teeny bit of anxiety when I know I'm going to be out for a long time and will be wearing sandals because my feet just love to get dry! It doesn't matter how many pedicures I get or how much I scrub and scrape, they always start to show signs of cracking and dryness within hours. I also always bring socks with me when I plan on staying at a friends' place because I'm embarrassed of the dryness.

Fast forward to a week of using my AmLactin Foot Cream and that fear is gone! My initial impression of it was that it was thick in a really great way. The consistency of it made me feel like it was going to be soft enough to massage on my feet without feeling greasy and I was right. I first used it at night and my feet were still soft by the morning. After using it nightly for about a week I noticed that my feet weren't feeling rough when I didn't put anything on them after I air dried them post shower and that's given me a lot more confidence when I step out in flip flops or sandals.

My second favorite product of theirs is the AmLactin Cerapeutic Restoring Body Lotion. It contains their patented ULTRAPLEX technology that does a great job of helping to heal rough, flaky, and dry skin while lightly exfoliating it behind the scenes with their alpha-hydroxy Therapy.  The dryness disappears the second that you put it on and lasts the entire day. Best of all, just like the rest of their product line it's fragrance-free so it won't interfere with any of your favorite perfumes or body sprays.

Last but not at all least is the AmLactin Ultra Hydrating Body Cream. Aside from their foot cream, this is my saving grace. Going sleeves and not wearing tights as much as I'm used to means that my arms and calves are exposed more than ever and I need to keep my KP at bay! This body cream is a great addition in my fight against KP because of how hydrating it is. I usually exfoliate those areas of my skin like a mad woman and then constantly rub lotion on my arms and legs throughout the day but this cream makes me not feel like I have to as much. It does an amazing job at keeping those areas from drying up and while it's not a cure for my KP, it helps the need to scrub my body so much itstarts to dissipate.

I for one am super happy with the results that I've had using AmLactin products and am excited to continue to use them. Once I started sharing my thoughts on it with friends, I learned that I had a few that are already fans of the brand and were happy to hear that I started to use them as well.

If you want to check their amazing products out for yourself and are an avid Amazon shopper like I am you should totally add some of these to your cart ASAP! Or if you'd rather get them in person and not wait those pesky two days for shipping they're available at drugstores like CVS and Rite Aid. And keep in mind that due to the Alpha-Hydroxy in this product, be smart when you're out in the sun and always use sunscreen. After all, we want to keep this #1 Dermatologists recommended product working exactly the way it's supposed to on your beautiful skin!

Would you like to try AmLactin Skin Care for FREE? Follow these steps to enter my Soft Skin Giveaway*:

1. Visit amlactin.com and look at each of their products.

2. In the comments section below, tell me about your dry skin problem areas AND provide a link to the product you'd most like to try by December 1st to enter.

3. On December 2nd, I will randomly pick 1 commenter to win $100 worth of Amlactin products!

         



**Although AmLactin Skin Care provided me with the products and compensation for this post, as always, all opinions are 100% my own

Uncover smooth, radiant skin with AmLactin Alpha-Hydroxy Skin Care. Its unique exfoliating and hydrating alpha-hydroxy therapy gently removes dead skin cells to reveal soft, hydrated skin. It’s the difference between skin care and skin therapy. AmLactin moisturizers are available on Amazon.com and at your local Target, CVS, Walgreens, Costco, Walmart and Rite Aid.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of AmLactin Skin Care. The opinions and text are all mine.

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Keeping My Kitchen Cute & Uncluttered

Keeping My Kitchen Cute & Uncluttered

Apr 20, 2017

Thank you Hefty for sponsoring this post. Check out the new Hefty Ultra Strong trash bags, available for a low price at Walmart and Target

Growing up in NYC was awesome. I had the world at my fingertips and lived in the most coveted Island in the world but sadly I didn't appreciate it as much as I should have. Now that I'm older and live in Los Angeles I see exactly how awesome it is to be from there. But one thing that LA has over NYC is space! The kitchen in my NYC apt growing up was small and cramped, as was the one I had when I moved out to Queens but here in LA not only is my apartment spacious (and affordable) but my kitchen is probably the most beautiful one I've ever seen! The appliances are new, it's an open kitchen so I can watch TV or speak to people in the living room while cooking and I have a massive amount of space.

Regardless of this though old habits die hard and I'm glad I was taught not to be wasteful growing up. Even with more space and access to things I like to reuse as many items as I can as a way of being thrifty and not help kill the environment. Here are some tips that I picked up living in NYC that I still do here in LA in order to keep my kitchen tidy and make it cute as well no matter the fact that my money goes farther here:

Use Scented Trash Bags

     Like I said, I have an open kitchen and being a blogger I tend to cook a lot. Which means the trash is usually always filling up with left over pieces of food.  It's great to know that Hefty Ultra Strong trash bags have exactly what I need. Because I don't intend on being wasteful and taking out the trash every single day it's great to have the sweet scent of lavender & vanilla help keep my kitchen smelling fresh. These Hefty bags use Arm & Hammer odor neutralizers and new, invigorating scents to help keep odors at bay. Plus, a scent-free option if you just want your trash bin to be neutralized.

I like that these bags don't have an overwhelming scent but when I do go by my trash bin, or leave it open, it does release a sweet scent that I love. If you want to try these out and get some money back while doing so click here for a $10 coupon to Walmart after purchasing two or more Hefty trash bags.

Re-Use Jars

Instead of buying kitchen tool holders, re-use a jar that was filled with fruit or grains. I don't like having to buy things to store my utensils when I purchase so many things that come in glass or really good plastic containers. I like to keep my big utensils within arms reach of my stove and displaying them in something see through lets me keep my kitchen keep its modern and sleek theme without having too many colors.

Make Use of All Spaces

I use one of my kitchen drawers to store my tea and tea cups. I do think because even though I have tons of cabinet space, I don't like having to constantly move things around to find one thing. Using drawers is a great alternative to this. It fills up a drawer with things that are easy to find and isn't cluttered. I'm not very tall so I really don't use all of my cabinets because I refuse to constantly use my step ladder, especially if it's for something I use on a daily basis. 

But Don't Overuse Space

I'm blessed with a closet for my washer and dryer as well as a pantry so I don't need to store all of my cleaning supplies under my sink. I keep that space free of clutter and only with things that that I can grab without moving things around. This lets me have easy access to my supplies as well as lets me see what I have/don't have, so that I don't overbuy products because I didn't see them.

These are just a few of the ways I keep my kitchen tidy and totally useable all year round. As the seasons change, I'll be writing about my favorite ways to keep my kitchen updated with my favorite tools and gadgets!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

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