My Forever Faves

I love trying new products and experimenting with what works best for my skin, face, hair, etc. etc. etc. But I have a few go to's, my tried & true products, the ones I always come back to...my forever faves.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six.

1. Nars Blush-Orgasm. Apologies for the picture that barely shows what this product even is-but does an excellent job at showing how much I love it! (and how cheap I am in that I won't buy a new one until I get every last bit of it).  I discovered this blush in high school and never looked back.  It's the perfect pink/peach, with a little shimmer...but not that "look my cheeks have glitter all over them!" shimmer. 

2. Maybelline Great Lash-Very Black. This. Mascara. Probably one of the first makeup purchases I ever made and what a great one it was! I've tried others (ahem, a much more expensive brand, that shall remain nameless, but rhymes with Pancome) well this is so much better than that! (catch that Legally Blonde quote??)

3. Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Stress Control Toner.  I use this after I wash my face at night and before I put my makeup on in the morning (by the way, I wash my face with Dial Antibacterial Gold Bar Soap once a day-really helps if you have skin that tends to break out.) But I digress, I've seen a noticeable difference in my skin & pores since starting to use this toner, so it's a keeper.

4. & 5. Bare Minerals Warmth & Foundation.  I started using Bare Minerals when I was in college after my BFF recommended it to me.  I was very skeptical at first and didn't think I'd like using a powder foundation.  But I was wrong. I love it.  And the warmth gives your face the perfect glow. (Side note: I don't like/use the Bare Minerals brushes, I use these.)

6. Tresemme Tres Two Extra Firm Control Hairspray.  "Extra Firm Control" might sound a little intimidating but don't be scurred, it will not give your hair that crunchy look/feel but it will keep every hair in place all day. And it smells good too!

Happy Saturday!

What's For Dinner?

This Crispy Baked Chicken is quickly becoming one of our favorites.  It's simple, quick, delicious and BONUS! doesn't cost much to make.  

WHAT YA NEED:

For the chicken...

1 sleeve Ritz Crackers

Dried parsley (I use this a couple times in the recipe, and don't measure how much I use each time,

sooooooo)

2 eggs

1/4 cup milk

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

3-4 chicken breast cutlets

For the sauce...

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 tbsp. butter

2 tbsp. Greek yogurt

Parsley (you know the drill)

WHAT YA NEED TO DO:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

In a food processor, add the sleeve of Ritz Crackers & parsley.  Blend until it looks like breadcrumbs.

Next, you'll need 3 bowls.

Bowl #1: Whisk together eggs & milk

Bowl #2: CHEEEEEESE!

Bowl #3: "Ritz & Parsley breadcrumbs"

Season your chicken with salt & pepper then...

Dip into egg & milk mixture...

...cheese &

breadcrumbs!

Don't fret if you feel like the cheese & breadcrumbs aren't melding with the chicken perfectly, when it bakes, the cheese will melt & the magic will happen.

Place chicken into a casserole dish sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.

Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover & bake for an 10 additional minutes.

While your chicken is baking, make your sides & sauce.  Last night I made sautéed green beans.

In a pan, over medium heat, add olive oil, green beans, salt, pepper & panko breadcrumbs.  Cook until the panko breadcrumbs start to brown.

To make the sauce, add cream of chicken soup, butter, Greek yogurt, and parsley to a pot.  Cook over low heat until chicken is ready.

Top chicken with sauce & enjoy!

A Work in Progress

I wanted to post a picture of my classroom before I did anything to it.  Okay, that's kiiiiiiiiinda a lie, I moved stuff into this classroom from my old classroom (or box as my BFF liked to call it).  Yes, my current classroom (the one pictured below) might not look like the biggest room ever (it's not) but compared to my old classroom-it's a freakin MANSION!! And I couldn't be happier to call it my own.  Although, I will miss my close & comfy old classroom (I said goodbye to it several times) I can't wait to jazz this one up and make new mems with my kiddos!  

I have big plans for this space. BIG. PLANS.  Including paisley, pennants, polka dots, and owls.  UGH, alliteration fail. 

Stay tuned! :)

Goodbye Summer

Some title, huh? Especially for those of you who are still enjoying summer.  Tomorrow I go back to work.  No students until August 5th, but we'll have teacher trainings, professional development, classroom setup, etc. etc. etc. etc. until then.  So I thought I'd take some time to reminisce...

What seems like YESTERDAY, my little kinders graduated to big first graders.

The day after school got out, Erik & I took a trip to beautiful Montana to visit his parents.  It was the perfect way to transition into summer.  After the hustle & bustle of the end of the school year, a relaxing long weekend is just what I needed. (spoiled much?)

...annnnnd then we enjoyed a staycation at a resort in Scottsdale. (again, spoiled much?) Staycations are so underrated! And living in AZ, you get the added bonus of hotels heavily discounting rooms because summer is when everyone else is trying to get out of the heat.

I bought a car! (oh. my. gosh. talk about stressful! I needed a glass or 3 of wine after that)  But I love Yari! (the Yaris)

We celebrated Father's Day...

...and National Martini Day (June 19, in case you missed it this year)

Moved into our new home!

There was 4th of July festiveness 

And obviously we made some time for wine tasting!

Then there was the night we discovered Giant Jenga (this is important, if not only for the obvious-it's AWESOME but I love am obsessed with games)

And of course, San Diego :) (I realized in my SD post there were no pics of my dad, sister, or her boyfriend, but they exist! And here they are!)

**And drumroll please** We cannot forget the birth of the Royal Baby! 

(Exhibit A: Why need to go back to work-sometimes I have entirely too much time on my hands)

It's been real. It's been fun. It's been real fun, Summer 2013. xoxo.

California Lovin'

I just got home yesterday from a San Diego vaca and for the past week this was my view...

My parents rented a beach house (literally right on the beach) and our days were spent from the time the sun came up until the sun went down on the beach or patio with an icy cold beverage in hand.  Very sadly, Erik wasn't able to come this year (work sucks) but my BFF Sarah was there and I don't think we stopped laughing for more than 30 seconds at a time.

She also let me make funny pictures of her...

One of my good friends from college, Kate, who lives in San Diego now, came to visit us for a couple days too.

More patio sitting and wining

Of course, no vacation is complete without some low & slow eggs...

...or Mom's homemade spaghetti & meatballs

....or a cartwheel on the beach :)

Although I would like to relive this moment over & over & over again, I'm happy to be home with Erik and Kobe.  Erik and I went out for dinner last night and he ordered his first bowl of Pho and loved it (about damn time!)

Saturday Scramble

There is only one way to cook/eat/enjoy scrambled eggs and that's low & slow.  I seriously didn't even like scrambled eggs until I discovered this newfangled way to make them. (just kidding, I'm sure people have been doing this since the stone age. maybe.)

OKAY. Back to the eggs. This takes some time and patience and focus, but oh, it is so worth it.

Set your burner on low and add more butter than you think necessary to the pan and let it melt.

I'm realizing now melted butter isn't captured well on camera......

Whisk your eggs up with some cream.

Okay, a lot of cream.......

Add your eggs to the pan and watch the magic happen

Remember. This takes time. When the eggs have almost reached perfection (i.e. when they're almost done) you'll need to tend to them often. Move them around constantly with a spatula or they'll get too "done" and dry and all your hard work will fly right out the window. (Oh & yeah, if drier scrambled eggs are your thing, low & slow probably isn't for you).

Serve with some bacon

And bloody marys

And BAM! That's Saturday morning.

Wine Tasting

Did you know I love wine? And wine tasting? ;)

At the very beginning of summer, Erik & I went to visit his parents in Montana. While we were there, we went to this cute restaurant that sold wine (and had wine tasting!) upstairs. So after lunch we made our way up there, naturally. I came across this wine tasting sign and thought I have to have this. Erik & I would be moving into a new place at the end of June and it would look perfect in our new kitchen (I also hung it up in the kitchen of our old place, even though we were only there for a few weeks after we got back from Montana because I loved it so much!)

I wasn't sure where I was gonna put it in our new home, but as I was unpacking the kitchen I thought, "Why not make my own wine tasting station?!" (I don't think anyone calls them "wine tasting stations" - but it's the best I could come up with)

So I added this

And this

And got this! "The Wine Tasting Station"

Did you know I also love Target?

Pasta With Lemon Butter Sauce & Italian Sausage

As promised, here is our favorite pasta from this post. Erik & I first discovered this savory sauce at one of our favorite Italian restaurants here in Tucson. It was unlike anything we had ever tasted before. I mean, so good that I was inspired to try to make it myself. I scoured the internet looking for what I thought would be a similar recipe and found one here & adapted it to make it more like the one we had at our fave spot.

WHAT YA NEED:
1 cup white wine (I used Barefoot sauvignon blanc)
Juice of 3 lemons
2 (or 3 if you're like me & a garlic fanatic) tablespoons minced garlic
3 shallots, finely chopped
Pinch of salt & pepper
1 dash hot pepper sauce (I used Tabasco)
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 sticks butter, cut into pats
1 tablespoon fresh or dried parsley

1 lb. mild Italian sausage
1 lb. pasta (sometimes I break up lasagna noodles, Sunday I used campanelle)

At the same time I start making the sauce, I also start boiling the water for the pasta and cooking the Italian sausage on the stove over medium heat.

Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add the wine, lemon juice, garlic and shallots. Lower heat to medium-high & cook for 3-5 minutes. Lower heat to medium and stir in salt, pepper and hot sauce and cook mixture for about 3 minutes. Stir in the cream and cook for 1 minute. Over low heat, whisk in a few pats of butter at a time. When you have added all the butter, remove from heat & continue whisking until all the butter is melted. Pour sauce over pasta and add sausage. Sprinkle with parsley & enjoy!

Weekend Update

What a fun weekend! But I guess that's to be expected if your weekend is kickstarted with fireworks.

Friday morning meant another red, white & blue breakfast for me!

After Erik got home from work, we decided to try out a new restaurant for dinner.  I had this fabulous Pho.

And I made sure my leftovers got home safely ;)

Erik took on the task of mounting the TV in our bedroom.

Kobe & I supervised

Saturday we partook in my favorite activity, wine tasting!!!

We redecorated our bathroom.

Easy like Sunday morning ... blueberry & banana pancakes

Kobe got a new bone...

...and we got the Playstation Move. SO fun!

Sunday night we ended our weekend with our favorite pasta (recipe here) & current favorite shows (Dexter & Ray Donovan)

The first 5 days after the weekend are always the hardest.