Nail Polish Swatches

Like the recipe of the month, this will be a new feature of whatever beauty product I am totally into this month. I think, more often than not, it will be nail polish, but I do have other products that I would love to share with you guys, so, who knows.

Anyways, I have a couple of swatches for today. I figure there's no point in only doing one per post, since this isn't a nail blog. If you guys want only one per post, send me a note about it, and I can do that, or set up another side blog for polishes. I dunno. I'm not particular, I just want to share rad things.

The first swatch is one that I made trying to re-create one by China Glaze called Cha Cha Cha, which I got done when I went for a mani/pedi in Ontario with my mom and sister. This is the China Glaze colour. I didn't get a picture from the actual mani/pedi, because it got destroyed in my parents hot tub after only a few days. It was tragic.

But, I ADORED the colour. I went out on a hung to find this actual colour, but I couldn't find it in any of theb beauty supply shops I checked, and I didn't want to wait for an Ebay order. So, instead I went and got two other greens, and layered them to this effect.

I used 2 layers of Maybelline in Go Go Green, with 1 layer of Hard Candy Teeny Greeny on top. I think it turned out pretty well, all in all considered. The China Glaze has more of a holographic look to it, rather than the sparkles that I got with the Teeny Greeny, but, I knew that it wouldn't be perfect. Both polishes were super smooth to use, and no fuss at all.

I was all for the layered greens, so, after the above manicure, I tried another layered green, but changed up the base to one called Green Blush by Divided by H&M. It was a dollar on sale, and the bottle was super cute, so I had to get it. I used 1 later of Green Blush and 1 layer of the sparked Teeny Greeny again.

This one had more of a holographic effect, but lacked the colour consistency that I wanted. It was nice, and the colour was subtle. My big problem was that the Green Blush was super streaky, so I feel it requires a top colour of sorts.

Finally, I got a new polish from a friend, and had to try it out. I have never used gold polish before, since I am more of a silver kind of girl (seriously, even all my jewelry is silver, or titanium.). Its a colour by Julep called Margot. I used 2 layers on the 4 fingers, and some random black that I had kicking around on the 5th. I would tell you the brand, but I don't remember which of my 5 blacks I used. Seriously, I have a thing for black.

 I actually really liked how it turned out, and found the Jupep super easy to use. The first coat was a little streaky, but the second was super smooth. Its a really nice holographic colour, that shines beautifully.
Along with the polish, I also got Julep TaDa! quick dry drops, which is the real reason I bought the package of goods. I have a tendency to ruin polish within the hour of putting it on, and this stuff really helps with that.

So, that is it for this months beauty day. I hope you guys don't mind me sharing all my fun beauty goodies. Next month will be all about thermal polishes that I ordered from an independent maker, and they are just gorgeous!

Aging, and things you should know

Firstly, here is the video that all the rest of the blog will be focused on

I would also like to add that changing the diet is also a great way to keep the body healthy for a long time. Like, giving up all that fatty crap that you don't need (ie. bacon, chips) or at least lowering your intake to a moderate amount is super good for you.

Anyways, here are some links to some of the various things I suggested, in no particular order.
I should also mention that I am obsessed with Korean body care products. I find them better quality, longer lasting, and more potent than many North American brands. I HIGHLY recommend the following Korean brands: Lioele, Skin Food, Face Shop, Holika Holia, Innisfree, Missha, It's Skin, Too Cool for School (makeup only) and Etude House.

Face Creams
**First, some tips. If you don't know your skin type, use combination type. It is much easier than trying normal, and then wondering what the fuck happened to parts of your skin. Combination is also great for year round, because it focuses on both excess oil and dryness, so is a nice balance for different seasons. Also? Know your allergies!

Creams with SPF
SPF Fresh Essentials*
Ultra Calming SPF*
*the non spf creams are great for night as well
Skin Food BB cream (My absolute favourite!)

Body Creams!
Skin Food Shea butter
Innisfree Cheery Blossom Lotion 
St Ives Body Lotion 

Tanning
Million Dollar Tan
Jergens Natural Glow

I'll add, and repost this as I find more things I love, and will gladly take others suggestions as well!

Recipe of the Month-Vegetarian mini lasagnas

This is going to be a new feature of the blog-a fun, healthy*, vegetarian recipe, complete with pictures, how to, and all that. I enjoy cooking, and sometimes I make some really awesome stuff. So, if you aren't into food, just skip this section. Otherwise, sit down, make a grocery list, and join in!

So, for this first edition of my recipe of the month, I made vegetarian mini lasagnas. This is where the * comes in, in terms of healthy. There is very little in the way of carbs, but the cheese is quite fattening. But, provided you shop accordingly (light options are good) and don't eat too many (like, I ate 5, they were so good!) then there should be no problems. I was a little concerned about how these would turn out, but I have to say that they were insanely delicious. Like, lets serve these at a wedding party delicious. And, it may seem like a lot of work, it wasn't that bad. I think the biggest problem was how fast they went!

Ingredients. 
1 1lb package veggie ground (I used Yves, but Tofurkey has a nice option as well)
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
salt pepper to taste
2-4 leaves fresh basil, chopped (or dried, whatever)
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce (whatever flavour floats your boat for lasagna)
1 1/2 cup light ricotta
1 tsp oregano
1 package spring roll wrappers
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese ( I used marble, because I like marble. Use whatever you like/have)

Preparation
Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a muffin tin, and tuck the wrappers in, taking care to get all the sides/edges. Bake for 3-5 minutes, and take out, and put aside.

While that's doing its thing, cook the onions in a skillet, and, as they start to brown, add the veggie ground, and the garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and the spices, and let simmer 5 minutes.

While it's simmering, mix the ricotta and the oregano together.

To assemble
Layer a small amount of the ricotta mix in the muffin tin, on top of the wrappers. Add a small layer of the veggie meat mixture on top of the ricotta. Cut one of the spring roll wrappers into 4's, and use of one of the smaller squares to create a boundary layer on top of the veggie meat layer. And repeat however many times necessary (I got 2 layers, and ran out of vertical space). Once you get close to the top of the tin, be sure to END with a meat mix. Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top of that layer.

Cooking
Cook for 10-15 minutes, until the edges of the wrappers are golden brown, and the cheese is nice and melted. Serve immediately. They can be tricky to get out of their metal containers, but I found using a spoon helped a lot.

Serve with salad, or, whatever. Enjoy!

Ontario-Final post!

There won't be much text in this post, since its mostly selfies, and some pictures of my parents cute dog. Her name is Abby and she is a Shilo Sheppard. She's a super sweet dog, but terrified of, like, the world. Seriously, a scaredy dog. Afraid of loud noises, the outside, other dogs, everything. Its cute, but, also not very awesome in some regards. I think she just turned 4, so she still has a number of years left in her. I hope she mellows out, fear wise, as she gets older. It would be nice to take her for a walk without her freaking out.

And now the selfies. Some of these are fashion related, or makeup related, and if you guys have any questions as to where/how/when/how much I got anything in the pictures, feel free to comment, or send me an email, and I will happily give you all the details I can!

Ontario playground

Hey guys, this SHOULD be my last post about the holidays in Ontario, but there may be a photo post sometime later, if I decide to throw in some filler when I get swamped with school work (which I'm actively fighting against).

I'll start with some of the fun things I got either from shopping trips around Ontario and Toronto, and some of the stuff I got from Christmas. I should also mention, again, that I am a pretty big nerd, and I am not ashamed at all. And, for any internet trolls who feel the need to refer to me as some 'fake gamer girl', I freely admit that I don't game anymore. So, sure. Bring it.

I also got a fun Tardis mug, that I have a really hard time drinking out of ( is there a trick to drinking out of something square?) as well as a lightsaber that was hella fun to get on the plane. The flight guy that checked us in loved it though.

So, clearly, I got some pretty badass stuff while I was there. I got a bunch more stuff, including a camera, clothing, The Last Unicorn DVD (which I'm sure stoked about) and a charitable donation to a child in Africa. Apparently, the hubs and I got her a piglet, which is really cool. When I finally make it to Africa, my mom wants us to see if we can find the girl they "adopted", but I think it might be hard, since World Vision only gives an approximate area in which to find her village. We'll see though. It would be hella cool to find my so called adopted sister. Or, that's what my mom calls her.

Speaking of my mom...she has a tendency to collect random knick-nacks. And, sometimes, I like looking at them. Actually, they are all pretty neat. My family has some pretty weird things they like, and then blend them together into some weird Buddhist-African-pop culture thing. It's just as weird as it sounds, but it works.

Okay, so I'm looking through my pictures, and, yea, there will be another Ontario post, but it will be mostly selfies, and pictures of my parents dog. So, still awesome?

Holidays!

If you guys are all up on my vlogs, then you know that I am safely back in the west coast, where the weather is better, and school has started up again. I'm trying to have a really good semester (grade and stress wise) so I'm actually organizing my time a bit, and figuring out a semi-schedule to follow so I can get everything I want to do done.

But, that is neither here nor there, in terms of this post.

I actually wanted to talk about the holidays a bit, and actually include some photos from my actual camera (and new camera) rather than using pics from my phone. 

Now, my mother is ALL about traditions. I think the hubs and I counted a dozen traditions that she is all about, and that didn't include things like meal times, presents, family attendance, and all that. I won't get into them all, but it was interesting. I've been around them my entire life, so it isn't a big deal to me, but, the hubs, while not his first time holidaying at my parents house,  it is the longest we've ever spent in Ontario for the christmas break. Anyways, it was funny to see his reactions to my mother demanding something because it was tradition. Next year will be right funny, as we have all decided to say bugger the winter, and we're going somewhere warm instead (details later).

Actually, this year, we didn't even get to do as many traditions as we normally do, as we had the big ice storm and couldn't get out to see the extended family. Which was fine, I guess. Weird, of course, but sometimes avoiding near death situations is worth not seeing extended family.The ice storm was super pretty though.

We also made some gingerbread men-some of which are inappropriate, but funny as hell, and spent a lot of time in the new awesome gym in Guelph, (called Evolution, and it was AMAZING. They had everything I could need, and some great classes, and it was 24 hours. 10/10, would recommend) and in the hot tub, which I did not get pictures of. Unfortunate, but I wasn't about to ruin my camera in the steam/snow.

OH, and a picture of the christmas tree with all the presents underneath! I can't forget that one! This is most of the stuff that we had all bought-so, 6 people's worth. We didn't have things for the extended family, or the husbands family underneath either. So, yea. We are kinda spoiled ^^