Photos from my birthday weekend/week. (The big 3-0). These are all Instagram & cell phone photos.


 
 

I have a bit of an obsession with nail polish. My collection has grown quite a bit in the past few months. I got a few new colors for my birthday. (Which is today! But, more on that in another post!)

I wanted to post a picture of my current nail polish collection. You can click on all the photos to make them full size. (My flash didn't go off in a few photos, sorry for that.)

The entire collection! At least it still fits in a small plastic shoe bin! :-p

I favor Sally Hansen, can you tell?

Layla Hologram Effect, love these so much!

Essie!

China Glaze and OPI

Butter London

So, here's my opinion on Butter London nail polish-  it's not worth $15. They have gorgeous colors, but the darker colors stain your nails & your skin horribly when you take it off. (For days! And yes I've used a base coat). They also take a really long time to dry. I'm lucky I just bought Seche Vite fast dry top coat, because I hate waiting for my polish to dry. Also Disco Biscuit drys with a gritty finish. You need a topcoat to make it look shiny. I don't think I'll be getting any more Butter London, unless I find them for a super cheap price.

Layla Hologram Effect: Cloudy Violet

Layla Hologram Effect: Red Taboo

Butter London: Disco Biscuit

Nail art with a dotting tool. China Glaze: For Audrey & Sally Hansen: Insta-Dri White.

This is the 2nd time I've made this. It's super yummy!

PRE-STEP: You'll want to prep your dough at least 1 or 2 days before. You can follow my Dad's homemade pizza crust tutorial here.

You can also prep the meat filling the day before. This saves time. You can store the meat mixture in the fridge in an airtight container. Then heat for 2-3 minutes in the microwave when you're ready to assemble your Stromboli.

Things you'll need for this recipe:

• Already prepared pizza dough
• 1/2 Pound of Ground Beef (or Ground Turkey)
• 1 Jar Ragu Double Cheddar Sauce.
• 6-8 slices of bacon cooked & crumpled. (I used Gwaltney brand bacon)
• 1 medium onion   
• Goya Adobo All Purpose Seasoning- Red Lid (It tastes good on everything!) 
• Salt 
• Pepper 
• Ketchup 
• Mozzarella Cheese (Optional) 
• 1 Egg (To egg wash the Stromboli crust with) 

(These are the deep cookie sheets I use, I love them! I got them from Walmart. They are $5.97 a piece. Better Homes and Gardens Non-Stick Bakeware 15" x 10" Baking Pan)

STEP ONE: Brown ground beef in a frying pan. Add about 1 teaspoon of Goya Adobe Seasoning to the meat. Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt and a few shakes of pepper. (Drain out fat).


STEP TWO: Cut up your onion into small slices and fry until caramelized with a little bit of Olive Oil.

You want these nice and caramelized!

STEP THREE: Cook your bacon. What I do is line a deep pan with foil (makes clean up easier,) and then I cook my bacon in the oven 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. You want the bacon to be nice & crisp. After the bacon comes out of the oven, drain the slices on a plate with paper towels. Crumble when cool.

Before the oven.

After the oven.

STEP FOUR: Once cool, combine your ground beef, crumbled bacon and fried onions in a bowl together. Add 3/4 cup of Ketchup and mix well.


STEP FIVE: Roll out your dough on a square cookie sheet, then pour some of the Ragu cheese sauce on the dough close to the edges. Place your meat mixture next, squirt a little more ketchup and drizzle some more cheesy sauce on top. You can also place a few slices of mozzarella cheese (Optional). 

I took the handles off my rolling pin, lol. I find it easier to use that way.

STEP SIX: Slowly fold and pinch your Stromboli closed- be gentle when doing this so the dough doesn't tear. (I fold one side & then the other- towards each other- meeting in the middle). If your seam isn't perfect- don't worry, it won't show when it's on the bottom! Clean up any sauce leaks or extra flour with a paper towel. To flip- gently place another cookie sheet over your Stromboli. Pick up and gently turn so your Stromboli is now on the clean cookie sheet!

Mozzarella on mine too! (Optional)

STEP SEVEN: Slice three air holes in the top of the Stromboli. Brush with egg wash (1 egg mixed together in a bowl), sprinkle some garlic salt or Goya adobo seasoning on top. Cook in the oven on 350 for about 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Let cool before slicing!

Time for an egg wash & then into the oven!

Just out of the oven!

Time to eat!!! Yum! :-)

*Krazy Candle is no longer open* 

My friend Brittney has started a company called Krazy Candle. They make homemade all natural soy tarts for warmers. (Think Scentsy). They also sell soy candles and warmers. I ordered 4 soy tarts in different scents. I ordered: Birthday Cake, Apples and Maple Bourbon, Beach Linen & Lilac Mist. (There are 26 scents to choose from!)


I am burning the Apples & Maple Bourbon scent. It smells like fall! Apples, and cinnamon, etc. The tarts don't smell very strong in the package, but when you burn them the scents are much stronger. They make the whole house smell good! I can't wait to try the other scents I ordered.

Since the tarts are not wax, to remove them easily from your warmer if you want to change scents- just stick your warmer or warming plate in the freezer for about 5-10 minutes. The hardened soy tart will pop right out! Easy clean up! :-)

(Apples & Maple Bourbon was already in my warmer!)

*Note: I purchased these 4 tarts on my own. I was not asked to review, this is my honest opinion. 

 

From reading nail blogs, I know there's all sorts of indie brand nail polish out there. So one Saturday I started looking up nail polish on Etsy and stumbled upon Enkelini Nails Shop. What caught my eye were her hologram polishes. They are gorgeous and I really wanted some! I have a bit of a nail polish obsession. ;-)

I like how her shop offers mini bottles & full size. You can sample more colors with the mini bottles and if you like something enough, you can purchase a full size. The holo's I did 3 coats with. The polish is nice and thick and coats just right. Removing them was also breeze- with no staining. I'm definitely eye-ing some other colors I want to buy!

Ultra Violet

Mercury Twilight- ignore the gash on my index finger :(

 

I can't say I created this, because I've seen this idea on Pinterest before. (My Pin). Most of the recipes I've seen on Pinterest, the muffins are always made from scratch. Mine is a little bit easier and just as delicious!

All you need is one box of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix and four hot dogs. (I used Ball Park beef hot dogs). 1st, spray your muffin tray with Pam or another non-stick spray. Then follow the directions on the back of the Jiffy corn muffin box. Cut up your 4 hot dogs into little pieces and mix the hot dogs into the batter. Ladle mixture into a muffin tray. (Cupcake tray in my case). Cook muffins according to the back of the Jiffy Package. It should make about 9 muffins. Serve with ketchup or mustard! This is a yummy comfort food! :-)