It's a Christmas Miracle- I baked!

Hello my lovelies! I hope all of you had a splendid Christmas and holiday! Mine was fantastic and filled with lots of family and food. On Friday, my sister K and I baked some cookies while listening to Christmas music and watching Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.


We made S'mores Chocolate Chip Cookies using a recipe I found from Southern in the City.

Here's what you need:

-Chocolate chip cookie dough

-Mini-marshmallows

-Graham Crackers

-Chocolate

Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Break cookie dough onto a greased baking pan, then gently press chocolate bar squares, graham cracker pieces and marshmallows on top of cookie dough.


Here are some helpful hints from our experience:
-My sister and I thought we would be good and used low-fat graham crackers, I would advise against this because when we broke them up to put in the cookies they flaked really badly.
-SITC used two mini-marshmallows on each cookie, and we did that with the first batch but it definitely needs at least three!
-We tried to bake them first in a cupcake pan, but we couldn't get them to cook all the way through without being overcooked on the top so we ditched the pans after the first batch and switched to a regular cookie sheet that worked just fine.
-If you use the cookie sheet, the mArshmallows may roll off while baking so it's best to kind of "fence" them in using the chocolate and graham crackers.
-Using the cookie sheet, I found it was easiest to roll the square cookie dough into a ball and use the bottom part of my palm to flatten and create a bowl shape for the marshmallows to sit.


Here's some fab pictures of my sister and I with our first batch. Please be advised that I'm completely and totally without any make-up on whatsoever. I usually wouldn't publish pictures like this, but as you can tell I must still be on a sugar high from the cookies and not thinking clearly.

The cookies turned out fantastic and we don't have a single cookie left from the holiday! All of our families said it was some of the best cookies they had ever had. Including my Stepdad who is a cookie monster- it was a great compliment. I'll definitely be making these more in the future!


Also, a few weekends ago I made chocolate covered gummi-bears with some of my favorite kiddos, they're absolutely delicious and one of my favorite treats. I used some chocolate dip I found in the grocery aisle in the produce section and dipped the bottom half of each gummi bear and let them set on a waxed cookie sheet. Yummy!!!

 

Here's a few pictures from the Holiday:

Hot Man Parade

Happy Friday gorgeouses!! I don't know if that's a word or not, but it is today. Hope you all have a spectacular weekend! Let me know if I've been missing any hotties on my Hot Man Parades.

Merry Christmas!!!

This picture cracks me up! Memo to R.Crowe- You're not fooling anyone mister!!

Product Review: Benefit High Beam

I've heard a lot about this highlighter from friends, magazines, and other blogs like Coley's Closet Cravings (see her review here) and Jenny's Beauty Blog (see her review here). A few months ago, I picked up Benefit High Beam To Go from Sephora and thought it was my perfect opportunity to test it out. The original Benefit High Beam is .45 oz for $24 and the To Go size is .13 oz for $10 so I saw this as my opportunity to try it without committing to the full size or price. The To Go version has an easy-to-use applicator with a sponge tip and the regular bottle is a brush tip (very similar to nail polish applicator). According to it's description, it's "supermodel in a bottle"- total selling point right??

So there's a couple way to use this product. You can put it under your make-up for more of an inner glow vibe, over your make-up for a dewy look, and as a highlighter on your browbone.

Here I have it on in a C-shape from my outer eye corner swooping to the tops of my cheeks, under my bronzer and blush. Not much of a glow though huh? You can really see the highlighter on the inner top portion of my cheeks close to my nose, but I definitely don't look like a supermodel.

Here I have it on top of my make-up as the finishing touch to my overall look. You definitely see more of the highlighter on my cheeks. It's really pretty and is more prominent in real life than the pictures do it justice.

Overall, I don't really care for this product. Let me tell you why, the pink hue looks really white with pink hint and I prefer more of a golden highlighter on my face. After Googling some reviews I found that Benefit has a gold highlighter call Moon Beam on Makeup and Beauty Blog (plus an even more awesome review than mine. I mean you got to give credit where it's due right?).

This is my first rodeo with a liquid highlighter, but I much more prefer a powder highlighter instead. My favorite highlighters still remain MAC Irridescent Powder (see my review here) and Victoria Secret Beauty Rush Eyeshadow in Gold Rush (see my review here). I know the VS one is an eyeshadow, but it really makes the best highlighter! I use it nearly every single day.

Do you use a highlighter? Have you tried High Beam before? What was your experience?

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!! The Fiance and I are wishing you all the merriest holiday this week!

Here's our cards from Shutterfly's 50 Free Holiday Cards Promotion, I was unable to save a copy of our card from their website, so here's a picture of them. They've been signed, sealed and delivered! Shutterfly was so easy to use and I received the cards in 3 days, great service!

Hot Man Parade