Favorite Products

I love reading about the products that other bloggers use, so I thought I'd do a post of my own!  I don't really seek out new products or buy something based on advertisements alone, so the only way I hear about something is through word of mouth.

MAC Prep + Prime Skin Base Visage:

MAC

I love ALL things MAC - my make-up bag looks like an advertisement for the MAC store.  I especially love their lip glosses, eyeshadows and their recycling program!  How can you dislike a company that gives you free products for recycling?  Anyways, the Prep + Prime smoothes out your skin so your concealer, foundation or powder goes on smoothly.  You only need a tiny bit for your whole face, so it lasts for quite awhile - which is a quality I like in products, especially if they cost more than $10.00.

Clinique All About Eyes Serum:

Clinique

I love this little stick!  It's refreshing and rejuvenating, especially on early mornings.  I have genetic under eye circles and not much helps them, but I feel like this product makes my circles lighter.  This is another product that lasts FOREVER.  I've had my stick since October and I think it's still 3/4 full.  Another bonus - if you are military, they sell this product at the NEX.  It's cheaper than at Clinique or Sephora + no tax!

Clinique Redness Solutions:

Clinique

This is a product I became hooked on through advertising.  I randomly tore a sample out of my Glamour magazine and became hooked.  I used to use MAC concealer, but I honestly think this works ten times better.  I use it for concealer or foundation, depending on how much coverage I want!

Nars Blush in "Orgasm":

Sephora

Since moving to the Pacific NW, I've become a pasty white color that requires wearing blush everyday ... so I set off to find the perfect blush.  It wasn't easy, but I did it.  Actually, my sister recommended this blush, I went to Sephora and I bought it.  And I love it.  What a great story.  

Urban Decay Eye Shadow Primer:

I think I've blogged about this product before.  I love, love, love it.  Santa brought it to me in my stocking two Christmases ago and my eyes haven't been the same since.  You swipe a little bit of this on your eyelids before applying eyeshadow and your eye make-up looks perfect 10 hours later.  It's a miracle.  

Origins Ginger Rush Souffle:

Origins

I LOVE this stuff.  Well, actually, I love the Ginger Rush Souffle, but it only comes out in May for Mother's Day and December for Christmas.  Anyways, I love, love, love this lotion but it's expensive and I only get it on special occasions.  Back when I used to work (remember those days?!) I didn't think twice about spending $28 on a jar of lotion.  So reasonable, right?

Boscia Mask:

Sephora

I love masks.  If you look under my sink, I have a billion different masks just waiting to be used.  Okay, maybe not a billion, but you get the point.  I bought this mask from Sephora around Christmas (I had gift cards, can you tell??) and it's unlike any mask I've ever used.  You apply a thin layer to your face and let it dry.  And then you peel it off.  It is so cool and you can see all the dead skin that peels off your face.  (TMI?)  And while I don't usually buy into all the promises that these companies make, I truly believe your face looks luminous and radiant afterwards!  

St. Ive's Apricot Scrub:

St. Ive's

This is an oldie but a goodie.  I love this scrub and use it daily.  It's one of the cheapest products that I use (I think it's $5.00 at Wal-Mart) and also one of my favorites.  Evidence that good doesn't have to be expensive!

Whew, that took longer to write than I expected.  Are there any amazing products that you use that I should try?

Ten on Tuesday #8!

It's Tuesday again ... you know what that means!  Another edition of Ten on Tuesday.  Link up over at Roots and Rings if you want to play along.

1.  What is a food that you never thought you would try, but then tried and liked?
Tomatoes!  I don't love them now, but I really like fresh tomatoes on bruschetta or BLT's.

2.  Do you subscribe to any foodie publication?  If so, which ones?
I don't!  But maybe I will look through everyone's answers and find some that I like.  I am always looking for new recipes.

3.  What ingredient do you find yourself reaching for the most when you cook?
Garlic ... I think it's in just about every recipe that I cook.

4.  Are there any foods that you hated as a child, but then learned to like as an adult?
Spaghetti sauce, chili, tomato soup ... basically anything tomato based!

5.  What do you like to eat that others may consider weird?
I have an unhealthy obsession with Starburst jelly beans.  They aren't really that weird, but the amount I eat is!  I also love marshmallows.

6.  What is the weirdest ingredient you've ever cooked with?
Hmm, I don't know.  I'm not too creative when it comes to cooking so I don't think I've ever used any weird ingredients.

7.  Do you have any major food allergies?
Nope!

8.  Is there an ingredient you would like to cook with, but are intimidated to try?
Not an ingredient really ... there are plenty of things I am intimidated to cook/bake.  I 'd like to master creme brulee and fondant icing on the baking side and fondue would be fun on the cooking side.

9.  Do you bake?
Yes, I love to bake.  Cookies, bars, brownies, cupcakes, cakes ... anything really.  The only problem is that J. doesn't really eat sweets, so I try to only bake if we are having people over or I can pawn the goodies off on someone.

10.  If you could go an any "foodie" show to compete, which one would it be, and why?
I don't really watch any of the foodie shows, so I don't think I could even name one.  I think it would be fun to tag along with one of the foodies on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives or some type of cake or baking show.  Do they have baking shows?   If not, they should!

I hope you are having a fabulous Tuesday!  I am tired today ... but I get to sleep in tomorrow so I am looking forward to that!

Weekend Update

Happy Monday Friends!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  Mine was the perfect mix of fun, friends and productivity.  I love weekends like that!  I also managed to not take one single picture (this is becoming a bad trend!) so I hope I don't bore you to death with a wordy post.

Friday night - after a VERY long week, I spent the afternoon running errands and cleaning before heading out for some yummy Mexican with my friend Fouz and her hubs.  Everett does not have many restaurants that I'd rave about ... but El Paraiso gets 4 stars in my book.  When you walk in, there is a little old lady making fresh tortillas by hand.  She slathers some butter and salsa onto one, rolls it up and hands them out as you walk in.  Once you are seated, they bring you homemade chips, salsa and bean dip.  And their menu is extensive and delicious.  Their only pitfall is that they don't have queso dip.  Bad for my tastebuds, good for my waistline!

Saturday - after sleeping in, I did MORE cleaning.  My house was disgusting ... and I'm trying to do a deep cleaning and also fix smudges on the walls so when we move out it won't be so much work.  I also took the girls to the dog park (in the rain!) and then headed north to have dinner with Mr. and Mrs. S.  We went to one of our favorite places in La Conner - Seed's.  It was a beautiful drive north and I wish I would have brought my camera!

Sunday - I ventured into Seattle with Fouz and E (check out here blog here) for lunch and Taste Washington.  What a fun day!  Fouz wanted to try Le Pichet for lunch so we headed downtown (on the bus, we're responsible drinkers!).  What a fabulous find Le Pichet was - it's a tiny little cafe with a very European feel.  We sat European style with the table next to us - and wound up meeting a wonderful couple who had traveled all over the world.  They were such fun lunch companions and a great reminder to be more open-minded to meeting people in odd situations.  We enjoyed great conversation and great food.  I loved Le Pichet's logo with the pitcher:

From there, we headed to Taste Washington (with a quick stop in a shop across the street from Le Pichet).  What a fun event - I wish I would have taken pictures, but there was just no time.  It was held in the Qwest Field Event Center and had 200 wineries and 60+ local restaurants.  There was no way we could have visited every booth during the three hour event, but we sure tried!  Some highlights were the Halibut Tacos from Salty's Seafood Grills (I HAVE to find out where they are located in Seattle and visit immediately!) and Beef Sliders from Smash Wine Bar & Bistro.  YUM.  There was also a ton of smoked salmon and oysters, but I'm not a huge fan.  I'm sure they were delicious though.  Wines I loved were Tagaris Winery's Clonk de Ponk ... love the name and the blend!  I also loved Apex Cellar's Sparking Red Wine and Chardonnay.  I love the concept of sparkling red wine!  The event was so much fun and definitely something I look forward to attending next year ... or perhaps sooner.  They have a smaller Taste Washington event in Portland in May, so if I can convince someone to go with me, I may make the trek!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend too!    

Ten on Tuesday #7!

I'm jumping back on the Ten on Tuesday bandwagon this week!  We're foregoing any meal planning around our house this week because J. is off to "the boat" for 2 weeks and I'm going to work on cleaning out our freezer and pantry.  Whether or not we get a house, we will be moving when our current lease is up (our property management company SUCKS) and I'd like to move as little as possible.  Anyways, to join this week's Ten on Tuesday, visit Roots and Rings and link up!

1.  What condiments are always, always in your fridge?
Spicy mustard, ketchup, ranch dressing, mayo, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce ... those are the only ones I can think of off the top of my head!  

2.   How do you like your steak cooked?  Your burgers?
I'm not a huge red meat eater ... but I have been eating more steaks since I moved in with J.  I like my steaks medium and my burgers medium well.  I don't know how people eat rare meat.  Gross.  

3.  What’s your favorite use for fresh tomatoes?
I'm not a huge fan of tomatoes ... but I do love a good BLT and bruschetta. 

4.  What’s your go-to dinner when you haven’t planned anything in advance and you don’t feel like going out?
Ordering Pad Thai from our favorite Thai place.  Or having breakfast for dinner.  

5.  What’s your favorite snack food lately?
I try REALLY hard not to snack but I love cheese and crackers, goldfish and Starburst jelly beans.  I recently discovered that Starburst jelly beans are available year round and my life hasn't been the same since.  

6.  What’s your favorite weekend breakfast to make at home? 
J. makes really good egg sandwiches, omelets, and pancakes.  

7.  What’s your favorite thing to grill?  How do you do it? 
We don't have a grill right now ... hopefully we will get one if we get a house!  But I like flank steaks, hamburgers, salmon and kebabs.  Yumm ... I'm getting hungry just thinking about grilling.  

8.  What’s your favorite wine for under $10? If you’re not a wine person, what brand of beer is your favorite?
Red wine = Root 1 Cabernet Sauvignon.  White wine = Ryan Patrick Naked Chardonnay or Clean Slate Riesling.  

9.  Give us your most delicious cocktail recipe.
Hmm ... I'd rather have someone else make me a cocktail :)  I don't have any bartending skills.  

10.  How do you like your eggs?
Fried without a runny yolk.  Or scrambled.  Or hardboiled.  Or deviled.  I think eggs are the one food product I could live off of forever.  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

Whew, so many birthdays around here this week!  A.J. and K.J. will be celebrating together in Chicago this weekend ... wish I could be there to join them!

I love my mom for SO many reasons ... but this is a good example:

Over Christmas, while looking through a catalog, I stated "Why do I always like the most expensive thing on the page?"  And my mom replied, "Because I taught you well."

She's taught me everything ... especially to enjoy the finer things in life!

Happy Birthday Mom!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIE!

It's my little sister's big 2-3 ...  Happy Birthday Katie!

and Happy St. Patrick's Day to the rest of you!

I know you probably had TONS of fun celebrating in Chicago this past weekend, but I hope you get to do something special on your big day!  Wish I was there to celebrate with you! 

Updates

I haven't been in a blogging mood lately, but I think I'm back!  For now at least :)  I know that all of you are dying to know what I've been up to, so here's a little update:

1.  We've been house hunting!  It's a bit premature as we won't know what squadron J. will be in until mid-April, but he's getting ready to head out of state for more training and when he gets back we'll only have a month until we have to be out of our apartment.  So, if J. wanted any say in where we would be living we had to start hunting now.  Time flies!  We've found a house that we really like AND the owners dropped the price $15,000 this weekend (umm, AWESOME!).  We're going to make an offer this week contingent upon J. being stationed at Whidbey.  Kind thoughts, prayers, whatever would be much appreciated :)

2.  I started a small business!  I've been job hunting for months and had an "AHA" moment.  I'm lucky enough to be in a field where I don't HAVE to be employed by someone.  I can work on my own and it doesn't require a huge amount of start-up.  When I was approached by a friend for advice regarding a legal issue, I decided to start taking on my own cases.  It was definitely a slightly scary, giant step but I think it'll be a good thing.  If you, or anyone you know, has any landlord-tenant, condo/homeowners or family law issues ... send me an email!

3.  We've been knocking things off my Seattle Bucket List left and right.  I'll write a more thorough post on that later, but lately we've: gone wine tasting in Woodinville, tried two new restaurants and visited the Tulalip Casino.

The next two weeks are going to be super busy in my house ... and then it will be April!  I'm hoping that brings sunnier skies and less rain :)

Spring Shopping ...

I've got gift cards (from Christmas!) burning a hole in my pocket ... are there any spring must-haves that you recommend at the following places??

Don't forget I live in a cooler climate ... I need things that can be layered!

What to Do ... in Port Townsend!

Over the weekend, we took a day trip to Port Townsend.   It was kind of hard to get to but was well worth the trouble!  We took the ferry from Edmonds to Kingston:

Pulling away from the dock at Edmonds ... there's some blue sky peeking out!

We started our day at The Owl Sprit Cafe.  This was a last minute find and it was a great one.  It was the cutest little cafe - they made fresh squeezed juices that were amazing and they had a wide variety of things on the menu.  That spells success to me!

My sliders ... I had one with bacon and their "house" sauce and one with cucumber sauce, cucumbers and red onions.  The chips and fresh guacamole that came with the sliders was amazing.

After lunch, we strolled to the very end of the main street and got some great shots of the town from one of the piers:

We headed back down the main street and came upon the coolest underground bar/coffee shop called Undertown:

And then we headed to Fort Worden State Park:

You may recognize the buildings above from "An Officer and A Gentlemen."

We found a boat

We saw this lighthouse!  I love lighthouses.

Hi Mr. S.

J. and I.

We saw the old fort.  I think the fort was the coolest part of our trip.  You couldn't see it from the beach, but there was an entire fort built into the hill overlooking the water.  It was used by the Army to defend the Puget Sound area back in early 1900's.

Close-up of the fort.  There were tunnels under all these buildings that we explored ... 

it was slightly creepy!

My cell

G.S. and W. in a bunker.

We explored the fort until it started getting dark and then headed back into Port Townsend for dinner.  We ate at a wonderful Japanese restaurant and I finally had sushi!

Officially, this trip was a visit to the Olympic Peninsula which is on my Seattle Bucket List.  However, I'm not crossing it off yet because there's so much more to see on the peninsula and J. has a weekend peninsula trip planned for warmer weather.

Two on Tuesday

I don't like the questions for Ten on Tuesday this week (I know, I know, I'm the only one who doesn't), so here are two things on my mind today:

1.  HAPPY 40th BIRTHDAY STARBUCKS!!!  I love Starbucks and am very happy to be living in the Land of Starbucks ... where there is one on every corner, literally.  To celebrate their birthday, they unveiled a new logo.  What do you think?

A look at their logos over the past 40 years:

2.  I'm watching the Oprah Show where Tyler Perry revealed that he was physically and sexually abused as a child.  (I know that it aired in October, but it re-aired last week and I'm sick so I'm catching up on my DVR).  His childhood was so brutally horrific - he was severely beaten by his father for years and sexually abused by 3 men and 1 woman before the age of 10 - and he has managed to rise above it and become a successful, self-made man.  He was also able to not only forgive his father, but he built him a mansion and sends him a check every month.  And this is what his father had to say "If I had beaten you one more time, you would have been Barack Obama."  I cannot believe how horrible of a person his father must be.  Tyler Perry made it clear that while he has forgiven his father, he does not want a relationship with him and that the money and items that he has given his father are nothing compared to what he is not giving his father - a relationship with Perry.  I don't think I could be that good of a person ... what an extraordinary story.   

Happy Monday!

We've all heard this saying:

But what we didn't know, was that the Navy (or the military) has updated their saying for the 21st century:

I love it!  Thanks NavyGirl for keeping me informed!

Washington Sunset

These pictures are from the same night ... just looking in different directions:

Gorgeous!

Stylish Bloggers

E. over at Random Stupidness gave me my first blogger award!  Thanks E.!  And it's such a nice one too ... it's the Stylish Blogger Award!  I knew that blog-lift was going to bring good things!

Anyways, these are the rules:

1.  Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award.  Check.
2.  Share 7 things about yourself.  See below.
3.  Award 15 great bloggers.  This might be hard.  Not because I don't know 15 great bloggers, but because they don't know who I am!

Seven Things About Me:
1.  I was born in Chicago, Illinois.  Moved to Davenport, Iowa when I was 6 months old.  Moved to Edmond, Oklahoma when I was 5 years old.  Moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana when I was 15 years old.  Moved to Purdue University when I was 18 years old.  Moved to Indianapolis, Indiana when I was 22 years old.  And finally, moved to Everett, Washington when I was 25.  Whew.  I never know where to say I'm from when people ask.

2.  I had a horse when I was younger that I showed in horse shows.  I was totally one of those nerdy girls who spent all their time at the horse barn.  And I loved it!

3.  My sister and I were both born on holidays ... how'd you manage to do that Mom??  My birthday is on the Fourth of July and my sister's is on St. Patrick's Day.  They are two fun holiday birthdays to have!

4.  I like to watch Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy every night while I'm eating dinner.  And I've especially loved watching Jeopardy this week because it's The Teen Tournament and I actually know a lot of the answers (for once)!

5.  I love fashion and magazines and one of my dream jobs would be an editor at a fashion magazine.  My other dream jobs would be being the next Oprah and finding a way to get paid to travel.

6.  During law school I thought that perhaps the legal field was not for me.  And it worried me a lot because I'd spent three extra years and a TON of money getting a degree I thought I might not use.  Thankfully, my hiatus from working has given me time to volunteer at a legal aid clinic in Seattle and I'm happy to report that I've found a niche in the legal field that I absolutely love.  If you know anyone who needs help with a landlord-tenant issue, let me know!  

7.  I want to be a Real Housewife of Beverly Hills.

It was hard to come up with 7 things I don't talk about normally on the blog!  I hope you learned something new!

And the 15 (or 10 in my case) bloggers that I am nominating ...

1.  Cari @ Cari and Ryan
2.  Alana @ Life of a Military Wife
3.  Jessica @ Bleu Dress and Dress Blues
4.  NavyGirl @ Marrying the Navy
5.  Delishhh @ Delishhh
6.  Jeanna @ That's What Je Said
7.  Stevie @ Allow Myself to Introduce Myself
8.  Carolyn @ A Chocolate Covered To-Do List
9.  Megan @ Pretty in Pink Megan
10.  Kelsey @ The Seattle Smith's

I see two themes here: (1) Pacific Northwest and (2) MilSpouses!  And I know some of you were already nominated by E., but I love your blogs and think you are stylish too!

Ten on Tuesday - #6!

Happy Tuesday!  I'm proud that I'm keeping up with these Ten on Tuesdays, sometimes I have a hard time with commitment!  But, I'm on my 6th week and the weeks seem to be flying by ... link up over at Roots and Rings if you want to join in!

1. What type of cell phone do you have and how would you rate it?
I have an iPhone and I love it.  I used to have a Blackberry which I loved, but I hated it's internet.  When we moved to Washington I was kicked off my employer's plan (sad face) and got on a family plan with J.  He wasn't about to give up his iPhone so I jumped on the bandwagon.  I don't think I would have survived the move without it.  My games entertained me on the drive, I stayed in touch via email and Facebook until we had our internet installed and Google Maps has given me the freedom to explore without J. around (I may or may not be directionally challenged).  Saying I love the phone would be an understatement.  


2. What has been your most serious injury?
I broke my arm in the 5th grade ... I hope that's my last serious injury! 

3. What is one movie you hate and why?
All scary movies.  I can't handle them and I used to torture myself sitting through them.  I've finally wised up and I don't watch them anymore!  

4. How many email addresses do you have?
Three - a personal email, a business email, and an old law school email.  

5. What website do you waste the most time on?
Blogs and Facebook.  

6. Which mexican restaurant makes the best salsa?
Hmm, I don't know.  Salsa really isn't my thing, I'm more of a queso dip kind of girl.  Speaking of, I haven't found a single Mexican restaurant in Washington that has queso dip on their menu.  Is queso a Midwestern thing?

7. What is your dream car?
I'm lucky enough to own my realistic dream car -- or rather, J. owns it and lets me drive it :) -- a Jeep Commander!  I absolutely love it and will be driving it until it falls apart because Jeep quit making them in 2010.  I'm considering upgrading to the 2010 model in a few years so I can get a few more years with the car.  Isn't she beautiful??

Image

If I could have ANY car in the world, regardless of price, I would get the Mercedes G500.  Apparently I have a thing for square shaped SUV's:

Image

8. If you could spend up to $100 with no strings or restrictions or guilt, what would you buy?
Hmm, probably some new spring clothes.  I feel like I'm always wearing the same things!  

9. What is your favorite board game?
Scrabble! 

10. How often do you change your hairstyle?
Not very often.  It's between chin and shoulder length and I don't get it colored.  And I've lived in Washington for almost a year and I still get my hair cut in Indianapolis :)  I'm not big on change.  

What we're eating this week ...

Happy Monday friends!  Hope you all had a fabulous weekend.  It was super cold here and very snowy.  I am 100% over the winter weather and ready for spring.  Keeping my fingers crossed it comes sooner rather than later!

My report on last week's recipes:

Lasagna Skillet - great recipe.  This made a ton of food, was easier than lasagna and tasted great as leftovers.  I can't think of better qualities for a recipe!

Beer Can Chicken - very tasty.  It was so juicy and flavorful but it ruined my roasting pan.  I think next time I will line the pan with bags that you can get to cook turkey's in.

Chicken & Wild Rice soup - absolutely fabulous.  I used  leftover chicken from the beer can chicken that we made so I didn't poach the chicken as the recipe said.  I think I could have cooked the soup a little bit longer, but it was really good.  And it made great leftovers.

This week's recipes:

Monday night - leftovers.  We had a fridge full of leftovers so we worked on cleaning it out tonight.  I am happy to say that we succeeded.  There is just enough pasta leftover for J. to have lunch tomorrow.

Tuesday night - Chicken fried rice.  I don't have a recipe to post for this one, but our friends are apparently fried rice making experts and gave me some tips.  They say the key is to make your rice and then refrigerate it until it is cold.  Then you can fry it in a wok with whatever ingredients you want to add.  I think we will be adding eggs, onions, carrots and chicken.

Wednesday night - Creamy Scallops.  I am going to serve this over some angel hair pasta with a salad.

Thursday night - Asian Pork Tenderloin.  I think this recipe looks amazing.   I will let you know next week!