I wanted to share some of my favorite recipes that I've been using quite a lot lately. I've become obsessed with LexisCleanKitchen's recipes, especially now that Jay has found out all of his food allergies. I like Lexi because she has delicious recipes, that are easy to follow for someone who doesn't really like to cook :) Here's my very favorite recipes that I've tried so far.
This is probably my most made dish. We eat this about two times a week and we love it. It's hearty with the turkey ground and big kale leaves but it's still light enough not to make you feel bloated when you're finished eating. This recipe makes enough for us to eat dinner and then lunch the next day.
This is the best salad you will ever eat in your entire life. The bacon gives it so much flavor. The sweet potato makes it heart and the dressing is so delicious. I just make the dressing in the vitamix and it is perfect. We don't put egg in ours, as we are both allergic to eggs but it tastes amazing without it too. I highly recommend making this guys. It's seriously addicting. I want one as I type this hahaha!
This chili is so yummy. It's not like your normal chili, however it's a very nice change. I love the bell peppers in it because they add a sweetness, so that you don't crave honey and corn bread quite as much! (Who am I kidding... I still want the cornbread!) But it is a delicious chili and it's perfect for those chill days, when you're at home and you can just let it simmer for a while. Ours made dinner, lunch for the next day, and dinner the next day. What a bargain!
These stuffed peppers are really delicious. I don't put cheese on mine because I try to stay from dairy as much as possible (except when I crave ice cream haha) because of my acne. These taste great without cheese as well though. Zucchini Boats
These are so delicious guys! We really love these. I actually made this for Jay another time, when we had everyone over and I made spaghetti and he didn't mind it at all, not having the pasta. So they really are very filling and delicious. The scooping of the zucchini boats was a challenge since I didn't have a scooper but I made it work with a spoon haha!
Those are my top 5. Be sure to check out LexisCleanKitchen if you are looking for healthy, delicious and easy recipes. She really is talented and I'm so glad I found her! She also has a new cookbook coming out, which I will be ordering.
Today I'll be reviewing the No7 Stay Perfect Foundation. This is available at your local Target store or at Target.com for $15.99. There are 13 shades to choose from all together and I'll be swatching most of the shades for you today. If you're not familiar with No7, it's originally from the UK. It's currently the UK's #1 beauty brand and is known for their anti-aging serums. I actually grew up with my Mom and Aunt using it (during my early teens) and so I've always been pretty familiar with it but never really used their foundation until now. They are launching their new expanded range of skin-true shades in the US at Target stores, as well as lots of other gorgeous makeup. From eyebrow pencils to lip pencils, they have a range of beautiful colors and products to choose from. Today though, we are focusing on the foundation.
Let's talk a little bit about the technology of No7 Match Made first. Have you ever bought foundation only to get home and it's way too cool, or way too warm for you? The struggle of trying to find the perfect shade can be frustrating, so No7 scientists spent 4 years measuring the skin color of almost 3,000 women around the world. Once they got all of the data, they developed a range of skin-true foundation shades. You can find these in their No7 Stay Perfect Foundation, No7 Airbrush Away Foundation, No7 Lift & Luminate Foundation and the No7 Beautifully Matte Foundation.
Here's what the foundation claims:
The UK’s No.1 foundation delivers amazing long-lasting wear that will not smear or
fade; make-up stays fresh from day to night
Fragrance free and non-pore clogging, provides prolonged moisturization while
restoring the surface of the skin
Offers light to medium coverage that won’t dry the skin and fights shine, perfect for
all skin types
Skin is protected from future damage with SPF 15, Vitamin E, Pro-vitamin B5,
ceramides, and antioxidants
For a flawless finish that lasts up to 17 hours, this lightweight yet durable foundation won’t let you
down— whatever life throws at you.
These pictures were taken right after application with flash.
Onto the foundation review:
Packaging:
I think the packaging is very sleek. It's a glass bottle, so it is heavy. Keep that in mind when traveling. I love the pump top. It makes it stay very clean and it's so convenient to use. It's 1oz of product, so pretty standard as far as the size goes.
Coverage:
This is a sheer to medium coverage. Applied with your fingers, you can get a nice sheer coverage. If you want a little bit more, you can use a damp beauty blender. It is buildable as far as it not getting cakey, however it won't build coverage. If you are looking for a full coverage, this is not going to be the foundation for you. But if you want something that evens out your skin but doesn't look or feel heavy, you will love this.
Finish:
This is a very skin like, glowy finish. It's not oily or greasy feeling, but it does leave your skin with a soft dew/glow. It's very lightweight and feels great on the skin. I would say it's closest to satin.
Texture:
It's a medium thickness. Not super runny but not super thick.
Application:
It's easy to blend with fingers or a beauty blender and feels silky when
you apply it. This is great for someone who doesn't have a whole lot of
time to worry about blending your foundation perfectly, as it's quite
effortless. I prefer it with a beauty blender for more coverage.
Wrinkle Friendliness:
I think this is friendly on the wrinkles once it has worn for an hour or so and your natural oils have come through. I notice it's great before you apply powder but then with this foundation, once you apply powder to set, at first it doesn't look it's best. It's a gorgeous foundation with no powder. It still looks nice with powder on, but I think it's meant to be worn alone. But if you are oily like me and need a little powder to set, it will be gorgeous in about an hour and that dew peeks thorough. And that's when the wrinkles really blur.
Lasting Power:
I'm actually really impressed with the lasting power. I was concerned it wasn't going to control my oil but it really does a great job and keeping your skin looking healthy and skin like, without looking overly oily. It doesn't oxidize and it doesn't break down as the day goes on. The coverage of it could be a little fuller, because I can still see my blemishes, but it really does last really well and looks better as you wear it.
This
picture was taken at 8pm at night, with flash after wearing it for 9
hours of wear. As you can see it photographs beautifully. I haven't
added a filter or anything like that, so you can see my delightful acne
scars, but I wanted to show how nicely this foundation does photograph.
It really does look nice in the wrinkles. I prefer the way it looks, as I
wear it longer. Once a little bit of the dew comes through (I powder
mine when I first apply, as I'm oily), it looks really skin like and
very fresh on the skin.
Calico, Cool Vanilla, Warm Ivory (this is what I wear), Warm Beige, Deeply Beige, Cool Beige, Honey & Wheat.
Photo Friendly:
See photo above. I think it photographs gorgeously! No white cast, even though there is sunscreen and it blurs the wrinkles really well in pictures.
Easy to Remove?
I just use my Liz Earle Cleansing polish and it removes easily.
My Color: Warm Beige
SPF: 15
Scent:
Typical foundation scent. It's not strong or overwhelming.
Skin Type:
It claims to be for all skin types. I'd say if you are SUPER oily, make sure you powder first. If you are super dry, make sure you moisturize really well because it could cling to dry patches. But I do think most skin types will be fine with this.
This will work best for someone who has decent skin already but wants to even out their skin and make it look really fresh and healthy. It's not going to be for someone who is used to a full coverage foundation. This is medium coverage at it's fullest but it is gorgeous on the skin, looks really natural and fresh and I think it's a perfect foundation for Summer. If you are someone who doesn't want to be completely bare faced at the beach but still wants to look very natural and dewy, buy this foundation because it's perfect for that. It also feels very comfortable on, wears really well and is very easy to apply. Plus the price is great. Honestly if the coverage of this was just a little fuller, this would be my go to foundation. But unfortunately for me, my skin is breaking out like crazy lately and needs a little more coverage than this gives. I can still make it work but I feel more comfortable with a little fuller coverage. The only con to this foundation is the coverage. Other than that it is great.
Would I repurchase?
I probably wouldn't just because of my skin situation at the moment. If my skin was in better condition, I absolutely would, just because I love the finish so much. But as of now and these darn break outs, I just need a little more coverage. I have been wearing it this last week though, and my makeup looks really pretty. I honestly would only need a little extra coverage on my neck area where I'm breakout out.
For more information on this product please click HERE!
Watch my full review & demo here!
Ok guys. I hope that helps make your decision! Thanks for reading!
Hi Guys! I wanted to share this video with you guys that shows 3 different green smoothie recipes. You guys know I love smoothies. Currently my green smoothie of choice, has banana, spinach, almond milk, ice and raw almonds in it. I really want to expand my green smoothie options and these three look and sound amazing!
Let me know what you're favorite smoothie is below!
So I recently just weighed myself after a very long time of not weighing myself. I was not happy when I looked down. Let's just put it that way. I could feel myself over the last couple of years feeling a little softer but I wasn't aware of what I actually gained, until my sister brought that blasted scale into our home. It's all her fault! HAHA!!
Anyway, luckily since I weighed I'm down 6 pounds. It's probably water weight, but who cares. It makes me feel better about myself lol. So I've just been trying to be more conscious of what I'm eating. I was really good at the beginning of the year and then it all went to crap.
I was searching for Paleo recipes to try and stumbled across Lexi's Clean Kitchen. I've used her Turkey & Kale soup recipe in the past and it's actually our favorite soup ever. I make it all the time. But I never really looked for more recipes until this week. She has so many amazing recipes guys! They are paleo friendly and so far the soup is amazing, and the zucchini boats (I made them tonight) were so delicious as well. What I like about her recipes, is that they are easy to follow, don't use too many ingredients and they are pretty basic foods. Nothing super fancy that I can't figure out.
Tonight we had the Zucchini Boats which were delicious.
If you guys are trying to go Paleo or just looking for some healthier options to eat, I highly recommend her blog. She has a great variety and they are yummy!
Hope that helps guys :)
Sam
xx
P.S. My computer made me mad tonight while I was editing and I totally ate Chocolate Digestives. :/
Today we went to Virginia City. We went to this awesome restaurant called Cafe Del Rio. The food there is AMAZING! You guys have to go the net time you go to Virginia City. It's Mexican food and it was so good.
They have a chess table in front while you wait. We waited about 15 minutes for a table, but the kids were kept busy the whole time by the chess.
Lily's face! :)
The chips and salsa were delicious. Even Phoenix and I liked them and we are picky! Jay ordered the steak tacos which he said were so delicious and tender and I ordered the BBQ Chicken quesadilla, which was so yummy! It had fresh corn off of the cob in the quesadilla!
Phoenix ordered a salad with ranch (surprise, surprise) and Lily ordered Mac n Cheese which was actually really good. It's always tough getting mac n cheese at restaurants because they always compare it to mine and it usually doesn't taste homemade, but this one did!
The walk to the stores isn't far from the restaurant, parking can be a pain in the booty though. Especially when you go and lunch time. Look at these two cuties holding hands!
There is also a really cook candy store there, which has the yummiest ice cream. We didn't actually get any this time around because we were super full. Who remembers these giant jawbreakers? I used to be obsessed with these. I had one that I worked on all Summer and it actually made my tongue raw!! LOL!
We had a really nice time. There's lot of antique shops and even the kids had fun looking at all of the different rocks and bits and bobs.
