DIY Rose Water Facial

Here's a fun one for you all that I found trolling around the internet the other day.

Rose water facials are a great way to soften and tone your skin. You can make it a treat or a regular part of your beauty routine.

Here's what you do:

1) Get a dozen roses (preferably red or pink) and take all of the petals off. Here's the correct way:

2) Rinse the rose petals real good

3) Put the petals in a big 'ol pot and put enough water in it just to cover the petals

4) Simmer the petals for about 20 minutes and then scoop out the petals

5) Transfer the rose water to ice cube trays and put in the freezer!

When you're done you have a quick and easy way to spruce up your beauty routine. Just rub an ice cube on your face and feel refreshed!

If you feel like it you can save one of the roses, give it to someone you love.

xo

Simple garlic butter sauce

Hey everybody!

So today I went grocery shopping, well like half grocery shopping, all I bought was fresh produce... anyways.

I hadn't eaten anything come about 2 o'clock which is very abnormal for me. And since I'm going to try and start eating healthier I've been trying to use up some of our more "bad for you" food to get it out of the house.

Today I decided to make pasta because we have like 4 flipping boxes of pasta.

But I had no sauce.... so I decided to get creative and put together a simple garlic butter sauce to use on any type of pasta.

Here's what you'll need.

1/3 cup butter
1 clove of fresh garlic (smashed)
1/2 tablespoon dried basil
2 teaspoons dried oregano

Directions:

1) melt butter in sauté pan
2) add smashed garlic to butter and sauté until garlic is cooked
3) add your dried herbs and cook until heated through
4) put on pasta and enjoy :)

There you go, a simple, fast and delicious pasta sauce.
It only takes about the same time to cook as your pasta would.

Let me know if you try it.

xo

Guacamole Recipe

In honor of the unofficial start of summer being today (Memorial Day) I thought I'd share one of my families favorite summertime recipes.

We initially got this Guacamole recipe from a friend of the family but have since tweaked it a little and have perfected the art of avocado chip dips.

Here's what you'll need:

3 Ripe Avocado's
Juice of 1 lime
2/3 of a 8 oz. package cream cheese
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon flour
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup hot picante sauce

Start by putting your cream cheese in a 2 quart bowl that you can mix in. Then scoop out the innards of your avocados and squeeze the living daylights out of your lime.

After you've done that you want to add your salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, flour, and onion powder.

Now it's time to mix! Mix until it's a smooth creamy consistency and there aren't many chunks.

Next you want to add your picante sauce and red onion. No mixer is needed for this part, simply fold it into your dip with a spatula or spoon.

Now that you've mixed that in you should taste it.

Is it salty enough?
Enough spice?
More onion?

Decide how you like it and add certain things to taste. I usually add more picante and cayenne so it's spicier and a little more onion so there is more chunks in the dip.

Serve and enjoy on a hot summer day!

*Note: You probably don't want to make this dip until the day you are serving it as it doesn't keep for long and can take on a weird coloring. If you have dip left over you can keep it in a super airtight container for maybe 1 or 2 days afterwards in the refrigerator.

Now I still have my entire memorial day ahead of me, I'll keep in touch!

xo

Brownie in a mug ☕

Ladies we've all been there - laying in bed, watching chick flicks, and craving chocolate. Not just normal chocolate though. Hershey's isn't going to cut it. We want rich, warm, baked chocolate. Everyone has their itch and lately I've been craving brownies. However the fact that we have no brownie mix and I'm too lazy to go to the store to get any has put a big dent in my craving. Not to mention the fact that brownies take a long time to bake and the fact that I don't need a WHOLE PAN of left over brownies tempting me to eat them are also contributing factors.

That's why, shamelessly, I turned to the Internet to get my quick fix. And I found it.

Brownie in a mug!

I found the original recipe here, but I did tweak it a tiiiiiny bit.

What you need is:

Medium sized mug
Microwave
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 pinch of salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons water
Chocolate chips (amount to your liking)

Mix all your dry ingredients into the mug until blended. Then add your water and vegetable oil and blend until mixed. Make sure it's well blended so you don't get a clump while you're eating it. The batter may seem thick to you but don't add any more liquids or else you'll throw off the consistency. Once it's mixed, add your chocolate chips. The more you put in the gooey-er and richer it will be. Then after that's mixed, pop it in the microwave for about 1 minute. It might not look done but trust me, it is. You don't want a burnt brownie. You can top it with ice cream if you so choose or enjoy it with a big glass of milk.

(I also had an afterthought of swirling caramel into the mix before microwaving it)

By the way, you can thank me later all you university students with only a microwave to spare. I remember last year me and my roommate would buy those microwave desserts that are about $5 each. These taste so much better and will allow you to make hundreds of brownies for way less money.

Let me know if you try it please! Especially if you swirl in the caramel!

xo

Margarita recipe

It's no secret that Mexico makes the best margarita's. That's why after me and my family went to Cancun this summer we had to find out their secret. As we lingered by the bar waiting for them to make our drinks we casually asked what they put in it to make it taste so good. The magic little ticket is Grand Marnier. It's an orangey liquor and all you need is a spoon full to make the magic work. After we found this out we could no longer settle for plain jane margarita mix.

That's why me and my family tweaked a margarita recipe we found to make it into the magical margarita recipe. The original didn't involve Grand Marnier at all and also used beer instead of sprite. I personally wouldn't have minded that, but the ladies were convinced that putting beer in a margarita would ruin it. Here's what you'll need:

(By one can I mean the can that the limeaide comes in) Mix all the ingredients together except the Grand Marnier and pour over ice. Once in the glass, top it off with one spoon full of Grand Marnier, mix, and serve. This recipe should make about 4 servings. It's light, refreshing, and delicious. I promise you won't be disappointed. 

Let me know if you try it!

xo

Cookie Dough Dip

My entire life I've been obsessed with sweets. I love baking and making other, more adventurous things. Most recently I've made truffles from scratch, slutty brownies (you can see those in my birthday blog), and now today I made cookie dough dip!

For a while as I've been poking around Pinterest I see pins about cookie dough dip. Well today I finally thought "Oh what the hell." And I decided to check it out. Once I read the ingredients and saw how easy it is to make I couldn't help myself. I had all but two ingredients so I scurried off to the store so I could make this concoction!

Here's what you'll need...

One 8-ounce package cream cheese

1/2 cup butter (one stick)

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup toffee bits

Directions: In a mixing bowl, mix together your butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth.

Stop when it looks like that ^ . Next add your powdered sugar. Add a little bit of it at a time so it doesn't puff up in your face. Once that's all mixed in you add your brown sugar and vanilla. Mix it again until smooth and then add your chocolate chips and toffee bits. You can leave out the toffee bits if you'd like but I think it adds a little something to the dip.

Then voila, you're done! It's fine to serve right after you mix it, but if you refrigerate it first then it solidifies and becomes more of a cookie dough texture. I ate it with animal crackers but it can also be served with honey or chocolate graham crackers or even apple slices! 

This is such an easy dip to make for parties or even a girls night in with a chick flick. It's definitely comfort food and since it doesn't have eggs in it, it's safe to eat rather than cookie dough from the tube. Let me know if you try the recipe!

xo