The Musings of a Working Mom

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Okay I know that this post might be a little late for you gift buyers or this post is exactly what you have been waiting for since you find it difficult to buy something nice for your beauty loving friends. Now since I have not purchased a lot of makeup this year (I made a resolution to to use up what I have but did buy products that were limited edition or felt like they would be a good addition to my collection), I did find some products that I think every beauty loving gal would love to have. The first item on my list was just released in stores this week (but online last week I think) so if this is something you want to get your hands on - do so quickly before it sells out.  It's the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette.  If you have the other 2 Naked palettes and don't think that you need another Naked palette, well this palette is quite different than the first 2.  The original Naked palette is described as "bronze-hued neutrals", the Naked 2 palette is described as &q

One of the most important things to have while working out to lose weight (or be healthy) is to have a workout buddy, someone who motivates you and pushes you when you feel like giving up.  For me, it's my husband.  A couple of years ago he committed himself to the P90X routines.  He did his workouts religiously (even while I was in the hospital after I had my 3rd child, he asked if he could leave my bedside to go to the gym and do his workout for the day - now thats commitment!).   So one day, my husband showed me a workout that his friend had sent him.  It was from the Jan/Feb 2012 Mens Health magazine called the 2012 Spartacus Workout (there is also a 2013 version which is different but not bad).  This workout is a HIIT type of workout - high intensity interval training.  Each exercise is performed for 40 seconds with 20 seconds rest.  You continue on to the next exercise until all 10 exercises are completed and then you rest for 2 minutes.  You perform each circuit for a total

I have to admit, even though we have 25+ pounds of apples from the orchard, I thought that we would have to bake some type of apple dessert every weekend but that hasn't been the case.  My kids and I have been loving the good ol' fashioned cut up apple with peanut butter as a snack every day.  But we did make a yummy dessert for a dinner party that we were having and OMG this was the best apple crisp that I've ever had!!  This was so good, especially with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  I used my trusty Food Network recipe collection and I found a Neely's Apple Crisp recipe that won my heart (and taste buds and tummy)!  This recipe was easy and made the house smell delish...the perfect scent for these cool fall days. I can't wait to make this again! Apple Crisp Ingredients Filling: 5 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, chopped small 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1/2 cup brown sugar 2 tablespoons maple syrup 1 tablespoon

This month's theme is "The Art of Beauty".  The bag for this month is super cute with the quote "Love of beauty is taste.  The creation of beauty is art." in a really cute font.  The bag is white with the quote in pink as well as the zipper and lining.  Super Cute!! This month's Ipsy bag contained: 1.   Zoya Nail Polish in Neve - a gorgeous metallic blue with silver, blue/teal, purple glitter in it.  So cute.. 2.   Nourish Organic Coconut & Argan Body Lotion with Hibiscus -  I like the scent of this lotion - it's very sweet and fresh.  This lotion is very moisturizing and it doesn't leave a sticky feeling behind. 3.   Coastal Scents Medium Shadow Brush (BR-C-NO2) - I haven't tried this yet but I think I might like this one as a lay down brush. 4.   Bella Terra Mineral Cosmetics - Mineral Shimmer in Emotion - this is a very pretty, shimmery purple shade.  Not sure that this is a everyday eye shadow color but this one could be fun

Tis the season for apple picking!  My family and I recently went apple picking and note to self: pay attention to how many apples the kids are putting into your basket!  Yikes - now what can I do with 25 pounds of apples?   The first recipe that came to my mind...Apple Crostata.  I have been making this extremely easy and delicious recipe for years.  It's a very rustic looking pie but what it lacks in aesthetics in delivers in flavor!   I found this recipe on the Pillsbury site about 8 years ago...and it doesn't require any speciality ingredients.  I always have boxed pie crust in my fridge for those random recipes like hand pies, quiches, desserts or pie!  And the rest of the ingredients are staples in my kitchen.  Top this will vanilla ice cream or whipped cream...MMMMMM.  Try this one out at your next dinner party...Enjoy! Cinnamon Apple Crostata Ingredients Crust 1 box Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box Filling 1

A few things that bring back many happy childhood memories: apple picking, vegetable gardens, the smell of fresh pine, cross country skiing, and the smell of warm cinnamon roasted almonds!  I remember getting so excited to go this particular mall with my parents because I knew there was a kiosk in the middle of the mall that sold these cinnamon gems.  My mom and I loved these...and boy were we disappointed when we our cone of almond yumminess was empty.  Everytime I come upon these warm goodies I get so excited and scoop them up...but I do limit myself to one cone of almonds and I have to share them with my kids so that I means that I only get about a 6 almonds but man do I cherish the taste of those almonds. Well I had a container of almonds that I purchased not too long ago but I tried to do the healthy thing and get the roasted, unsalted almonds. Well my husband and I did not care for these too much and hence they sat in their container for far too long.  Instead of tossing them

My family and I have been on a quinoa kick lately.  We've been trying quite a few variations on healthy quinoa salads.  Today's variation is Greek themed.  Note that I don't have exact measurements as I just "chop and drop" as I go...that's the kind of cook that I am - Sorry!   In any case, I added about 3 cups of cooked quinoa (1 cup quinoa cooked in 2 cups low sodium veg stock) to chopped red onion, chopped cucumber, chopped artichoke hearts, chopped baby spinach, rough chopped olives, marinated feta (from the Whole Foods olive bar), and chopped fresh mint.  I combined all of this (along with some salt and pepper to taste) and added a homemade Greek vinaigrette (from the Food Network, Ina Garten recipe: 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1/4 cup good red wine vinegar 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/2 cup good olive oil Directions For the vinaigrette, whisk together th

It's here - my September Ipsy bag!!  I am so excited about this month's bag.  I had seen sneak peeks of it last week and couldn't wait until I got mine. I absolutely love the bag this month...which goes with this month's theme "Classic Beauty". How gorge is this bag?? This month's goodies: 1.  Starlooks Kohl Eye Pencil in Obsidian 2.  Cailyn Tinted Lip Balm in Big Apple 3.  NYX Eye Shadow Single in Morocco 4.  Butter London Nail Lacquer Vernis in LA Moss (half size) 5.  It's So Big Volumizing Mascara in Black I am super excited about everything I got this month!!  I love NYX eye shadows - they are so pigmented and inexpensive to purchase.  And this color is just gorgeous -  perfect for this time of the year!! I love the Butter London polishes - with the exception of the price tag ($15 for the full size bottle).  So excited to have this one.  And I love this color for the fall. The liner is very pigmented and soft

I love the fall - wearing scarves, boots, sweaters and the sweet smell of pumpkin anything.  I love all things pumpkin!!  I really had a hankering for something pumpkin but I wanted to make "it" quick and easy...that's where Pinterest comes in!  I found an easy "2 ingredient recipe" for Pumpkin Muffins.   What are the 2 ingredients you ask?  Well I'm sure you can guess that one of the ingredients is canned pumpkin and the second is plain old Yellow Cake Mix (any brand will do).  And that's it...mix the two ingredients and place in muffin tin (spray the muffin tin with cooking spray to help with easy removal).  Place the muffins in a preheated oven at 350 F and bake for 20-25 minutes (or until toothpick comes out clean).  I also added a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg (to add some pumpkin pie flavor) while mixing and sprinkled a bit of organic turbinado sugar on the top to give it that lovely crunch that I love on my muffin tops.  These came out de

OK, now I know that it's been a very, very long time since I've posted anything beauty related but quite honestly, I haven't really purchased anything new and I've just been using up what I have.  Actually, that was one of my 2013 New Years resolution - 1) to not buy anymore makeup and 2) to use up the products that I already have.  After taking inventory of my makeup collection, I noticed that I purchased a lot, and I mean A LOT of makeup products in 2012.  And I came to the realization that I really need to use up what I have before I buy any more.  Ok I did buy a couple of new things;)  So anyway, sorry for the lack of beauty related articles. "Simple and Easy" has been my make-up motto for the past couple of months!  I haven't been in the mood for complicated and fussy make-up so I have resorted to finding products that are multi-purpose and pack a big punch.   I have really liked the effect of using a concealer (specifically the Tarte Maracuja Cre