Red Velvet Cupcake Cookies

I finally made the red velvet cupcake mix cookies that Phyrra blogged about last December!

I love to bake. I used to love to bake, anyway. After John had a heart attack in April 2009, I cut way back on my baking. He didn't need to be tempted, even by the healthier options, and Ian wasn't big on sweets. I've baked a few things over the last month or two, pies for coworkers or Ian's classmates.

The recipe was easy.

1 box red velvet cake mix
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs

Mix it all together.

I wanted to add chocolate chips but didn't have any. I thought about adding in some M&M's from Ian's Halloween candy, but decided to chop up a Baker's German Chocolate bar instead. Chocolate chunks are always good in cookies!

I rolled little balls, wearing gloves, having read that the red velvet mix stains hands. I plopped the balls onto parchment covered baking sheets, and baked at 350 degrees. I set the timer for 8 minutes but kept them in the oven for 12 minutes. The time will vary based on your oven, and how big your cookies are. Keep an eye on them.

With the flash, eek, that's bright red!


Without the flash, they look more normal.


mmmm, chocolate chunks!


They're slightly crisp on the outside, but more cake like on the inside, soft and fluffy. I could've left them in the oven for another minute or two, but I tend to like my cookies slightly under rather than over.

Yes, your tongue will turn red if you eat them. Some icing would be good on top or sandwich like, or even a spoonful of vanilla ice cream to cut the sweetness.

Cat Tower

I ordered a cat tower from allpetfurniture.com Monday night.



Here's the scoop:

Color: Beige
Covering material : Faux Fur
Board material : MDF
Number of posts : 10
Number of levels : 15
Posts covered by natural sisal rope
Beautifully designed with fun activities for your cat to scratch, climb, jump, play, and even to sleep or lounge on
No damage to your home furniture, drapery and carpet
Easy to assemble with step by step instruction and tools included

Specifications:

Base board dimensions : 28" W x 24" D
Condo 1 dimensions : 11.5" H x 20" W x 15" D
Condo 2 dimensions: 10" H x 15" W x 12" D
Top 3 perches dimensions : 2.5" H x 13.5" W x 13.5" D
Overall dimensions : 72" H x 50" W x 26"D

It weighs 65 lbs. It was $104.95, free shipping. There were a few other places that had it, but with shipping it would've been more to order it elsewhere.

My Mom ordered a similar cat tower for her two new (adopted) kittens from allpetsfurniture last week and it arrived within a couple of days. My Dad put it together and said it was pretty easy, and he hates putting anything together.

Tuesday currently sleeps in a chair (with a moving blanket over it to keep cat hair off the chair) and Thursday sleeps under the chair. I hope they'll both decide that sleeping in this is a better option...especially since I'm getting rid of the chair!

Winter Break

Ian's on winter break, John's on vacation until Wednesday. My job doesn't require me to be there, I just stop by, pick up my paperwork, see if anyone needs me, and head home.

We are going to tackle the basement. I've attempted it a few times on my own but never really finished. I did paint the medium brown wood paneling a nice off white shade two summers ago, which really brightened it up.

There's lots of stuff that's accumulated that I want to get rid of. I want to put everything in the garage, then call a local charity and see if they want anything. If they can send a truck it'll be great, if not, I'll drive items over to the drop off center.

I'm determined to get this done once and for all!

My Everyday Makeup

I've simplified my makeup over the last couple of months, and am also using only a handful of shadow shades. When my rosacea isn't acting up I use the NARS foundation. When I need heavier coverage, I use my beloved Illamasqua cream. No finishing or other loose powders either under or over my foundation. My skin just doesn't want powder on it (except for shadow).

I use a small amount of blush to "connect" (for lack of a better word) the rosacea spots on the apples of my cheeks to the spots higher up near my hairline. Illamasqua's Sob is a nice light pink that really works well to make it look like it should be there, instead of a blotchy mess.

I do use my Finacea gel daily (for rosacea), followed by an intensive moisturizer, and LaVanila sunscreen.


Face
MUFE HD primer (either yellow or clear, one squirt)
Stila One Step Correct (one squirt mixed with the MUFE HD primer)
undereye concealer in pink
NARS Sheer Glow in Siberia
Illamasqua Cream blush in Sob


Eyes
Evil Shades Evileyes primer in Naked
(I also love Detrivore's primer in both original and white)
Aromaleigh Fall Tapestry in Miuccia on lid, browbone
Aromaleigh Holly Days Naughty or Nice in crease
gel liner in Black Out
L'oreal Voluminous False Fiber mascara in Blackest Black
deep grey shadow in brows to darken (I have a few, don't remember which I grabbed this morning)

Lips
Evil Shades Wicked Gloss in Guilty as Sin

I stick with a slightly darker lip. I've always been partial to darker lips, and have a bunch of Morgana, Fyrinnae, and Evil Shades lippies that are in heavy rotation. The darker lip isn't competing with the much lighter eye. I feel like I can't get away with some of the makeup I used to wear anymore, so I'll leave it to you young whippersnappers.



no flash


with flash


with flash


Sorry, no eye close ups. I was actually trying to take hair pics, but figured I ought to post a look now and then.

I use Miuccia all over my eye every day. For a crease shade, my favorite is Naughty or Nice, followed by Vera (Fall Tapestry), Carolina, or Just Be-Claus. I might throw a purple or pink crease color in there every couple of days, but am really happy with the very neutral shades listed.

Thanks for looking!

Cut & Recolor

Another trim and recolor. Sami cut my long layers a bit shorter to help remove some of the bulk. I'm happy that my hair seems to be growing at a decent rate. I plan on having her trim it every visit (5-6 weeks) and someday all the damage from my recent hair disaster will be gone.

I'd been thinking about the red the last couple of days. I do like the 6VR bits, but because of the damage underneath it slowly starts fading and turning a shade that's much warmer than I'd like. I kinda miss my purple highlights, but I try to remind myself to stay in a certain "normal" color range, for various reasons. I wasn't 100% sure what I wanted, definitely darker, but still vivid without being obnoxious. Does that make sense?

I asked Sami about a burgundy / cranberry shade, and she showed me a few swatches. We both liked 4VR, which is obviously darker than the 6, and while it's not in your face, it shows up nicely in the sun. I'm pleased with the results.

It's slept on so a tad messy, but still much nicer than my usual wreck. Someday I'll learn how to blow it out.

this is outside with no flash, you can see it but it's not overwhelming


with the flash it's much more obvious




Wow, about 30 seconds of sunlight! I used the flash anyway.




Someone remind me to stop trying to go a little lighter. I attempt it now and then and always end up going dark. It just doesn't feel right.

Thanks for looking!

Thursday

We adopted a kitten Saturday, from a cat rescue that was having adoption weekend. Ian named her Thursday. He said he couldn't name her Wednesday because that's Tuesday's middle name. I wasn't aware of this. I wonder if he'll tell me Thursday's middle name is Friday? It's definitely a challenge to make a vet appointment. "I'd like to make an appointment for Tuesday." "This Tuesday?" "No, my cat's name is Tuesday, the appointment can be any day!" Wait til I get to call and say "I'd like to make an appointment for Tuesday and Thursday!"



We searched the local rescue organizations on Petfinder and Ian really fell in love with another kitten, but she wasn't available when we went. I had explained to him that could happen, so he was happy to see who needed a home. There was a black 7 month old cat who we had looked at on Petfinder, but she was already larger than Tuesday. I figured Tuesday would be better with a kitten, someone smaller than she is.


Tuesday is scared of Thursday, which is kinda funny. Thursday has no problem with Tuesday, other than looking at her a little bewildered, with the "Why won't you play with me?" look.

They should settle down and become good friends very soon!

Tuesday

Here's Tuesday with a piece of a Cheerio (breakfast cereal) stuck on her tail. She sleeps in Ian's kid sized reclining chair during the late morning and early afternoon.



I've been swamped with a bunch of stuff and haven't had the time or motivation to post anything!

Sephora $20 Card

I used my $20 Sephora gift card thingy they emailed / mailed out a couple of weeks ago the night before it expired. I looked at a bunch of items on their website and really had no interest in anything.

I ordered two more LaVanila facial sunscreens, $28 each. I also traded in 100 points for a Stila Prime Pot in Taffy (pale pink).



I thought about ordering a couple of foundations but it makes much more sense to go to the store and try them first. That'll wait til after the holidays though, I avoid store shopping whenever possible this time of year.

Sourpuss Clothing Coupon Code

Sourpuss Clothing: enter code MEGASALE at checkout for 35% off! Code valid 12/16 through 12/25.

Go check them out, lots of good stuff.

Fyrinnae pressed shadows?

I missed this on Monday, but Fyrinnae posted an interesting picture on their blog.




photo courtesy Fyrinnae, of course.

Hmmmmm.....

Darling Girl Cosmetics Swatches

Some Darling Girl shadow swatches - I have a bunch so will do them according to the category DG puts them in. I will apologize in advance for the iffy pics - a few are globby, and none of them are nice and bright. My son's been sick, the weather's been terrible, and I just haven't had time to do swatches.

All photos taken inside near window, no flash unless otherwise noted.


"New Shades" category


Bronzes / Browns


Taupes


Purples




Red/Pinks




Blues/Greys/Silvers


uncategorized?


There are some really nice shades, the four in the first pic are my favorites. They're definitely worth checking out. Thanks for looking.

Jewelry Storage

My necklace collection has grown over the last two years, after being invited to several jewelry "demonstration" parties for both Silpada and Lia Sophia. The jewelry box I had didn't really work for the necklaces, and I didn't want to spend a lot for a new one. Plus I really couldn't find anything I liked, that had features I wanted.

I bought this 10 drawer black storage organizer from the Store Supply Warehouse. It was $49.50 plus shipping.



I ordered it Sunday around 10pm and it arrived today. Dimensions are 16 1/4" tall, 14 5/8" long and 8 1/2" wide, so it's tall. It has little metal handles and a clear plastic pocket so I can label the drawers if I want. The drawers are not lined, but inserts are available, price varies depending on the insert. I didn't order inserts with the item because I wasn't sure this would work. Now that I know it will, I ordered some plain black velvet inserts for $2 each, and an 8 compartment velvet insert for $1.50.

Using the inserts will prevent my necklaces from sliding around when I open the drawers. I could've used other things, a washcloth, piece of material, or even grippy shelf liner, but I figured since I didn't pay a lot for the organizer I'd treat myself to the inserts.

The ever lovely Blix gave me the idea, since she uses similar to store her makeup. I like that hers are wider (across the front) instead of taller, but I figure this will work fine for me. I'm not sure if I'm going to store my latex necklaces in this, if not, I will have an empty drawer. 5g mineral shadow jars fit quite nicely in these drawers, so I may store some duplicates in this organizer once I downsize my collection.

Gotta love organization.

Simplify

I've simplified my makeup over the last couple of months. Long story short, I just don't wear a lot of the colors I used to love.

I have a massive makeup stash, even though I go through it periodically and sell / give away items. The last big one was early in the year, maybe February / March? I can't remember. But I moved over a hundred full sized shadows, loads of stuff. I've been trying to order only samples, maybe a full size here and there if I think I really need it. Which brings me back to the problem that my collection is again ridiculous.

I did a quick clean out of non-eye products today. I tossed a bunch of foundations and blushes, finishing powders and stuff I haven't used in a long time. Here's what I kept:



Two MUFE HD primers, one clear and one yellow. Photo courtesy sephora.



One Stila one step correct primer. Photo courtesy sephora. I wasn't sure if this stuff really worked at first, but I definitely see a difference if I don't use it.




NARS Sheer Glow foundation in Siberia, which is a tiny bit too yellow but helps minimize redness. Photo courtesy sephora.



Illamasqua Cream Foundation in CF110 and CF115



Illamasqua Cream Blush in Sob and Laid



Sonia Kashuk sponges from Target (photo courtesy Target). I love these sponges for both the NARS foundation and Illamasqua blush. The Illamasqua cream foundation has its own little sponge applicators.

I also kept
three mascaras (two Rimmel and an unopened L'oreal)
gel liner in Black Out and liner brush
two Avon liners I just got and haven't tried yet

I tossed a few foundations I had only used a few times, two UD blushes and one other blush, I don't even remember who it was. Too Faced, I think.

I threw out three blush / powder brushes, since I don't use powder blush anymore. I don't use any finishing powder either, my skin just doesn't like it. I have a slew of shadow brushes and use two on a daily basis, and will keep two or three others for backup. I bought a set of brushes a couple of years ago and most of them I just don't use. I'll keep my brow comb and lash curler.

I'll need to go through my lippies. There's some I have that I really like but just never get around to wearing them, so they'll have to go.

I binned a bunch of misc shadows, some Wet n' Wild and NYX palettes, some MUFE shadow creams I never use, four Too Faced shadow singles, an Urban Decay liner I don't really like, a MUFE liner that irritates my eyes if I don't get every teeny bit off, a couple of mascaras.

My UD Naked palette and Tarte for True Blood shadow collection will both be offered to a coworker. I've used 5 of the colors on the Naked palette (one for my brows!) and 4 of the Tarte shades, so it's silly to hang on to them. I know this coworker will love them, even though I've used them.

I need to set aside some time to tackle my shadow collection. I still have over 100 duplicate unopened full sizes that I'll sell off. Then I'll go through my binder, which has both samples and full sizes that I've put into baggies to help save space.

My collection will likely never be small, but I don't like it to suffocate me. Last time I cleared out the shadows I was more attached, but now that I'm wearing only a handful of shades, it'll be easier to let them go.

The results of this clean out will follow, if and when I ever get it done!