Week 21: New Nail Techniques

The New:

During the middle of a busy semester, I rarely find time to paint my nails, so when I don't have the burden of assignments, tests, and projects due each week, I like to keep my nails painted.

This week, I tried two new techniques for the very first time:

• Nail stickers
• Using a bobby pin to make polka dots

The Evidence:

 These are both pictures of the nail stickers I decided to use! I think I found these at Wet Seal, but I would be willing to bet that you can find these nifty little things just about anywhere that sells nail polish.

This is where I used the bobby pin trick! My mom and I paint watermelon slices on our toe nails every summer, and we've been doing this for as long as I can remember. However, this was the first time I had ever used a bobby pin to make the seeds, and it worked much better than just using the brush from the nail polish!

If you would like to do watermelon slices on your own toes, it's ridiculously simple! Just paint your entire nail a pinkish-red, and when its dry paint a green stripe at the base and add some black dots for seeds.

The Verdict:

So far, I am sufficiently pleased with both of these. The nail stickers were incredibly easy, and they gave my at-home manicure a little something extra. Like I said, I have been painting watermelon slices on my toes for as long as I can remember, but never have the seeds looked so good! Using a bobby pin was a great replacement for attempting to get the brush to make a small dot in just the right place. There was so much more control with the bobby pin.

In short, these are both techniques that I will return to in the future.

Have a wonderful Memorial Day everyone!

Week 20: New Pasta

Food again, I know. But this stuff was awesome! Check it out:


The New:
This week, I made a brand new pasta recipe that I found on Pinterest (of course!). Here is the original link to it, but I made my own variations.

Pasta with Tomato Basil Sauce:

• 2 cans (14.5 oz each) Italian style tomatoes
• 2-3 cloves minced garlic
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
• 1 Tbs. parsley flakes
• 1/4 cup oil (I used vegetable oil)
• 1 lb. pasta 

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to the directions on the box.

2. Meanwhile, combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and set to the side until pasta is done cooking.

3. When pasta is done, strain it. Pour the sauce over top and mix it into the pasta well.

That's it! I think chopping the ingredients took longer than anything else, but you could very easily put everything into a food processor or blender and pulse them until they were combined to your liking.

The Evidence:

This is my lovely boyfriend pulling his weight for this meal ;)

 This is what the tomatoes will come out of the can looking like. I was perfectly happy with this, but if you like your sauce to be less chunky, put them in the blender and pulse them until you're happy!

Yummy!!

The Verdict:

This recipe was simple, flavorful, and boyfriend-approved. If I were to do anything different next time, I would saute the garlic before adding it in. It was actually a little bit spicy, so I would like to try it without that kick next time. Other than that though, I can't imagine anything stopping me from making this recipe again.

Week 19: New Face Mask

Since this week marked the end of this semester for me, I decided that a relaxing face mask would be the most perfect thing to fit my "new" requirement for last week (I know I'm 2 days late with this post, but not to worry, I have more new stuff coming for you so I won't be behind). However, as I began to look through the loads of face masks that I have shamelessly pinned, I found that I didn't have ingredients for most of them, and didn't feel like going out to buy them. So rather than calling this "relaxing," I would use words like "painful but effective"... check it out!

The New:
So this face mask only requires 2 ingredients. I am all for using stuff I already have on hand, so this is the one I chose. All you need is a little bit of milk and a packet of gelatin (unflavored of course). It would also be useful to have a plastic cup to mix up this beauty, because I get the feeling that cleaning this concoction out of a real cup is not something that anyone would feel like spending time on. Also, a plastic spoon or a popsicle stick to spread it on your face is probably more desirable than using your hands.

Once you have everything you need, mix 1 packet (they usually come in a box of four, and the contents of 1 packet measure out to be slightly less than 1 Tablespoon) with 1-2 Tablespoons of milk until it is a thick, gloppy mixture. Then you just heat it up in the microwave for 10-15 seconds and smear it on your face where you have blackheads, dead skin, or peach fuzz that you want to get rid of. I did my whole face, but it's not necessary for everyone. When its all dry, just peel it off and be amazed at how soft your face is!

Just a few quick notes before I get to the evidence and the verdict:

• As soon as you heat it up, get to smearing!! It solidifies pretty quick, so the quicker you get it on there, the better.
• This stuff HURTS to peel off, so be prepared. It really gets everything, but I guess there is a price to paid for that kind of intensity
• That said, it could very easily pull out eyebrow hairs, so avoid them if you can. If needed, you can use water to wash it off hair that you don't feel like ripping out.

The Evidence:

I added just a tad more milk after taking this picture, so you have an idea of the consistency. Although, I'm pretty sure it's not an exact science. I get the feeling this stuff will get the job done, even if you use slightly different proportions.

The Verdict:

As I said above, this stuff is quite painful to pull off. Places like my upper lip and my temples were darn-near torture to get, but it wasn't terrible on my nose, chin, and forehead.

I did find it quite effective though! When/if I decide to use this again, I won't be doing my whole face. I feel like this method would work really well for back acne or arm acne, where there aren't so many nerves.

Week 18: New Craft

Well, yesterday was my first anniversary with my boyfriend, and it was lovely. Last year for my birthday (before we were even dating), he surprised me by driving 3 hours to visit (as he lived in a different city at the time) and then take me out to a really nice Italian place. He took me there again last night, and I don't know how this happened, but we ended up in the exact same booth as we were in on my birthday. Not to bore you with the rest of the mushy details, we had a fantastic time celebrating this last year we had together.

I promise this is relevant! You see, I'm about to share with you what I made for him on this special occasion :)


The New:
I am especially crafty, but I don't get a whole lot of opportunities to express that, so you can bet your bottom dollar that when I do get a chance, I capitalize on it. I made a booklet and titled it "The ABCs of my Love for you" and yes, it is exactly what it sounds like. I made 26 pages of sweet sayings, emphasizing one letter of the alphabet on each page.

This is how I did it:
I used water color paper, sharpies, and stickers to create this adorable little booklet. I bought a pad of water color paper that was 6" x 8" and cut them in half to be 6" x 4". I was two pages short, so I also bought blue card stock and used it for the front and back cover, and the 'C' and 'T' pages (for Claira and Travis). Then, I went through each page, placed a letter sticker on it, wrote my phrase, and decorated it with sharpies. For some pages, I even used water colors, just for fun :)

Here are the phrases that I used for each letter:

A: Together, I know we can get through anything

B: You are my very best friend

C: My heart loses all control when I’m around you

D: Every day that we are together is like a dream come true

E: I will love you endlessly

F: Our love is better than the best fairy tale

G: I am so grateful to have you in my life

H: Inside your hug is my favorite place to be

I: The intimacy between us is like nothing I have ever known

J: Simply being around you brings me so much joy

K: You know how to kiss me just right

L: You make me laugh like no one else can

M: I love you to the moon and back, twice

N: Loving you just comes so natural to me

O: I am obsessed with how perfectly our hands fit together

P: Without a doubt, you are my prince charming

Q: Spending quiet moments with you is so refreshing

R: Your love for me is relentless

S: You made me believe in soul mates by becoming mine

T: Because of you, I know what true love is

U: The way that you just get me is unbelievable

V: Just listening to your sweet voice is enough to make me smile

W: Our weirdness matches each other perfectly

X: Whenever I think about our future, I get so x-cited to see what’s coming our way

Y: I find myself yearning to be close to you

Z: We could spend the next zillion years together and I wouldn't feel like I've had long enough with you

The Evidence:

The Verdict:

Of course, there are several different ways you could modify this idea. Try saying something sweet by starting each sentence with a letter from the alphabet, or list 26 different things that you love about your honey that start with each letter. Really, the possibilities here are endless. I bet it would even work for kids (if you have them) on Valentine's Day or when they're having a rough week. 

I just really liked the idea of using the alphabet as a template for expressing my love for my wonderful man, and he really seemed to like it too :)