purple & coral

tan, navy, & green

classy grey & scarlet

tan & cream

camel & black

coral & tan

purple & grey for fall

grey for fall

Monday's Meal - Mac-n-Cheese & Baked Beans

Today you get two-for one!! On July 4th, I made mac-n-cheese and baked beans. They were both pretty tasty, so I thought I'd share the recipes with you. The baked beans are probably the best I've ever eaten - of course, it's a Paula Deen recipe, so I'm not surprised. The mac-n-cheese recipe is courtesy of my sister, Rocky (not her real name, but a nickname our dad gave her).

I did modify Paula's recipe a little, so I'll post my version and also a link to her original recipe:

Southern Baked Beans
(click here for original recipe)

• 1/2 medium onion, diced into teeny, tiny pieces
• 1 (20-ounce) and 1 (10 oz.) can pork and beans
• 2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 pound bacon strips, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Directions:

• Brown bacon in skillet, remove, drain excess grease, cool, then cut into 1/2 " strips.
• Dice onion (whatever size pieces you like - we like them tiny), then brown in bacon grease. Drain excess grease.
• Add beans, mustard, syrup, brown sugar, ketchup, lemon juice, bacon, and onions to crockpot.
• Cook on high for 3-4 hours, then reduce heat to low for an additional 3-4 hours.
• Remove from crockpot and place in baking dish (I used a disposable aluminum baking pan). 
• If making the same day, you can serve the beans directly from the crockpot.
• If making a day ahead of time, allow to cool a little, then cover with foil, and place in refrigerator. The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees, then reheat beans for 45-60 minutes.

Southern Baked Beans

Rocky's Mac-n-Cheese

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1/2 cup flour

salt to taste (I used about 2 tsp.)

pepper to taste (I didn't use pepper)

5 cups milk (I used skim)

4 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I used sharp cheddar, mild cheddar, colby, & Monterey Jack)

1 (16 oz.) box elbow macaroni

• Cook macaroni according to package instructions.
• In large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter/margarine, remove from heat. 
• Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. 
• Return to medium heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly.
• Add milk, one cup at a time.
• Stir frequently until sauce thickens and mixture begins to boil.
• Add cheese, one cup at a time; stir until cheese is melted.
• Add cheese sauce to macaroni, mix thoroughly.
• Place in baking dish & bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes. 
• If you like your mac-n-cheese "sloppy", you don't have to bake it in the oven.

Rocky's Mac-n-Cheese

Yummy!!

pink & brown

white shirt & jeans

purple polka dots

light pink

casual olive & white

red & white

Monday's Meal - Crockpot Chicken

This is an easy crockpot chicken recipe that is great for summer (Gus gets moody when I turn the oven on in 100 degree weather) - and it's really yummy!!

Crockpot Chicken

• 2-3 lbs. boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
• 4 oz. reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
• 1 can golden mushroom soup
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese
• seasoned salt
• garlic powder
• rice or pasta (to serve with the chicken)

Directions:

• Combine both cans of soup, cream cheese, and cheese in crockpot. Stir until thoroughly combined. Remove about half of mixture, and reserve in a bowl.
• Sprinkle seasoned salt and garlic powder (to taste) on both sides of chicken breasts, then slice chicken lengthwise into 1" strips. You could also use chicken tenderloins instead, but my family thinks tenderloins aren't as good as breasts. *rolls eyes*
• Place chicken in crockpot over the soup mixture, then carefully spoon remaining soup mixture over the chicken.
• Cook on high for 4-6 hours.
• Serve over rice or pasta. Gus & I had ours over basmati & wild rice, but Lulu & her boyfriend had theirs over penne pasta.

soup, cream cheese, and cheese mixture

seasoned chicken

chicken added to crockpot mixture

crockpot chicken over basmati & wild rice

Enjoy!!

light peach & grey

casual blue w/ leopard

light blue & taupe

one dress, two ways

classy green

summer lovin' floral

dressy blue ruffles

casual grey, tangerine, & yellow

Maybelline Dream Fresh Beauty Balm

Continuing on with my tinted moisturizer adventure, I bought Maybelline's Dream Fresh BB 8-in-1 Beauty Balm Skin Perfector. Is BB Cream a tinted moisturizer? Sort of - but it does a little more than the typical tinted moisturizer.

Beauty Balm (sometimes referred to as Blemish Balm) is a single product that perfects the skin's appearance while also protecting it from the sun and environmental factors. Some also offer other benefits - but it varies from product to product.

Here's the "8" in Maybelline's 8-in-1:

• Blurs imperfections
• Brightens
• Evens skin-tone
• Smoothes
• Hydrates
• Enhances
• Protects with SPF 30
• 0% Oils and heavy ingredients

I purchased mine at the local Ulta store - it was $8.99, plus the Maybelline products were buy one, get one 50% off - and I was able to use a $3.50 off $10 coupon. So I got the BB Cream & a lipstick for $9 and change - great deal!!

The store had a display set up in the center aisle, and they had little tester bottles of all the colors. I really appreciate it when a store does that! This product comes in five different shades (most BB creams come in one or two): light, light/medium, medium, medium/deep, and deep. After trying both the medium and medium-deep, I picked the medium-deep. I almost never need anything this shade, so I think the colors tend to run a little light.

In the above picture, you can see that the sunless tan on my hand is a little uneven - and the lighting is a bit off, so the BB cream looks a little on the orange side (it's not).

As you can see, once the product was blended, the color on my hand looks more natural, and the uneven areas of color are not noticeable. This picture is a more accurate indication of the color.

This product is really nice - especially for the price. It has a creamy consistency, no fragrance (that I noticed), it's easy to apply and blend, and you can layer it for more coverage. It is a little on the sheer side, but as I said, you can layer it - and you can also use concealer (I use Amazing Cosmetics' Amazing Concealer in medium beige), and powder (I use a mix of Meow Cosmetics' Pampered Puss Naughty Chartreux & Flawless Feline Fierce Chartreux). For me, it lasted all day with a light dusting of powder, and I didn't notice any more oiliness than usual - as a matter of fact, there may have been less oil. Plus, it did seem to make my skin look a little more smooth - I like that!

Bottom line - I still like Cover Girl NatureLuxe foundation best, but this is a close second. It's a nice product, and I would buy it again.

fun & flirty coral & yellow

formal black w/ a touch of pink

teal & coral w/ jeans

grey, black, & coral

all that glitters...

grey, tan, & burgundy

dressy grey & navy

Fishtail braids

Have you noticed how braids are the "in" thing this summer? That's all you see on Pinterest, YouTube, and the fashion/beauty site/magazines. Since I really like fishtail braids, but had no idea how to do it, I went on a search and find mission.

This video is really easy to understand and explains it very well. Who knew it was so simple??

Dress up at work

Riley

Riley took a little trip to the groomer the other day...

BEFORE:

This is what a typical Miniature Australian Shepherd looks like (well, he's a little shaggy here, but you get the idea)...

AFTER:

And this is what a shaved Miniature Australian Shepherd looks like. There was a little miscommunication about how much hair was supposed to be trimmed. At least he'll be cooler in the 100 degree weather. And we thought he was fat, when in fact he's not! He was very distressed at first - he cried all the way home. But we all made a big deal over him and now he's working it.

But I still think he looks like a waif. :-)

green & neutrals

Aveeno Tinted Moisturizer

If you read my review on the Cover Girl products the other day, then you saw that I mentioned also purchasing an Aveeno product. I'm going to review that product now - it's called Positively Ageless Correcting Tinted Moisturizer SPF 30. I bought this at ulta.com, and the price was $19.99.

I love that this product is in an airless pump bottle! Less mess, the product doesn't get contaminated or exposed to air - it's great. Unfortunately, that's where the greatness ends. I will say that the consistency of the product isn't bad. It's creamy and smooth - there's no separation like you sometimes see in products that have a higher SPF. However, it's too thick and is difficult to blend. It also has a pretty strong fragrance - both a sunscreen smell and a perfume smell - and it's not pleasant. Another drawback is that the color is really orange-y.

Lulu has a different Aveeno tinted moisturizer - hers is called Positively Radiant Tinted Moisturizer SPF 30. She doesn't really like hers either. It's in a different type of pump bottle, and the product is not smooth at all. It appears to be separated and when you try to smoosh it around to mix it, it's a little lumpy. Ick. The color is better, but she has the lightest shade, which would never work for me while I have a sunless tan.

My plan is to return this product to Ulta - and buy something else. :-)

coral & cream

casual navy & coral

casual burgundy & black