Bento box lunch contents:
-Salisbury steak strips with the gravy sauce at the bottom
-baby spinach and arugala
-Chinese bamboo shoot strips in mild red chili oil
-radish, sweet corn kernals, carrot pieces in a medley of olive oil, Italian herbs, fresh garlic pieces and sea salt
-mozzarella balls in seasonings
-jasmine rice
-balsalmic vinegar, scallions, sesame oil
-red chili oil, sesame oil, sesame seeds
-minced garlic, chives, soy sauce, sesame oil, black pepper, honey
Current mani! Peach ‘n gold from Sally Hansen’s sorbet shade and this lovely matte OPI brushed gold. These would make cute summer wedding colors.Â
Absolutely love this chic floral hardback notebook I got via Amazon. It even has a little pocket in the back and an elastic bookmark.
Been dying to try this K-Beauty brand with their line of beautiful deodorant products. I got this jasmine scented deodorant cream at a heavy discount via 08Liter and am mostly happy with it. Love the simplistic tube design, script writing of “dirty salty passion” (LOL) and how easy it is to apply. It’s not chalky or streaky but smooth sailing. Scent is a feminine floral perfume and it’s great except for it doesn’t last that long. I do have to reapply throughout a hot day.Â
Those online ads–damn you! Been buying Fragrant Jewels expensiveass bath bombs during this quarantine BUT they’re mostly worth it. Shipping takes forever and is a $8 flat fee. The rings though…do you see this delicate, gorgeous little rose gold butterfly beauty? This is the bath bomb Her Wings Unfolded and it is giant. I would say their quality is definitely higher than that of Diamond Candles and Prize Candles (my past obsessions).Â
Homemade fried chicken because we don’t eat out anymore. Ya girl craves her fried chicken! Had to make this batter myself out of spices and panko crumbs. Turned out really well and crunchy enough!Â
Celebrated my mom’s birthday back in June with this unique cake that has a surprise strip of cheesecake inside! The rest of the frosting was way too sweet though…
Loved this set of bath bombs. Daphne calls this one her lucky tiger ;). The white cushiony part took forever to melt though.
Just wanted to show off this perfectly chilled mint lemonade I made.Â
Look at that little ham in her Madeline sunhat and sunglasses!Â
Being silly. And yes, I gave her that haircut myself.Â
Got this fun dessert cheese at Aldis. It does taste lemony and went well with buttery club crackers.Â
Cupcake bath bomb! If you’re wondering, yes, we totally still have baths during the summer. The temperature ratio is just 70% cold water.
Bought some pretty craft paper from Michaels to make my own greeting cards.
It’s not their year to bloom but nothing about 2020 has been typical. At least I get hydrangeas centerpieces this summer!Â
Just a simple sheer opalized coral and an opaque shell mani. I’m modeling on top of this disturbing book Room, by Emma Donahue. It’s narrated by a 5-year old boy who has been trapped in a small enclosed space all his life with his young mother. This is loosely based of the real life story of tragic Elisabeth Fritzl whose demented father held her in his sealed, sound proof basement for TWENTY FOUR years. She gave birth to 7 children of his, one of whom died shortly after. Truth is stranger than fiction, y’all. It’s hard for me to believe that there are many sickos out there in the world who would do this to another human being, let alone…more than one at a time! The one case that hits closest to home is the Cleveland abduction. Anyways, the book was good but it was fictional and too optimistic. All the real life cases are much worse and lasted longer.Â
Loved this bath bomb shortcake fizzler! That “topping” in the center is cute and was last to melt.
I decanted this other fancier glass jar of bubble bath into my tiny plastic wine glass for the perfect fit! Now it has a wider opening and looks like bubbly!
I made my own bath crystals! Months ago, I had the foresight to buy a large bag of Ahava mineral bath salts from Marshalls and this week, I mixed some with rose petals, crushed mint leaves, lemon essential oil, coconut oil, a sleep blend of essential oil and achieved this spa-smelling bath treat! I used a few scoops in my last bath and it was delightful!Â
I also took on a one-time decoupage project! Go me! I cut out these butterflies from a particularly pretty napkin and brushed on a few layers of Mod Podge onto this cleaned out empty glass candle jar. Viola, now I have a super cute pen holder!
I experimented with different colored wax pieces to achieve these cool lookin’ wax seals! I bought another set of 4 new stamp designs and can’t wait to try them out! I sent out 7 of these hand-written, completely customized and personalized cards and one person never got hers! Someone else got hers a whole month after I sent it so wow, the postal service has been dealing with a lot of delays.Â
I made grilled pork kabobs with herbs and a Peruvian spice mix. Gotta say, they turned out SO DANG YUMMY. Cooking with pork is more challenging than chicken or beef but this grilling method was bomb!
Yup, another impulse Amazon purchase that turned into my DIY win! I mixed honeydew powder, whole milk, ice cubes, some honey and premium hibiscus iced black tea to make this miracle! Turns out, I don’t need a bubble tea shop during quarantine!Â
I made this version of bibimbap that was healthy and good! Ground beef, fried egg (with a slightly runny yolk), sliced avocado, scallions, black beans, minced onions and baby portabello mushrooms over rice drizzled over with Sriracha sauce. Mmmhmmm!
For lunch today, I seared sea scallops in a pan with butter, minced garlic, lemon juice, sprinkled with some salt, black pepper and parsley. Simple and oh, so divine!Â
My background, ladies and gentlemen! So it doesn’t look like this right now but a few weeks back…damn, my whole backyard should have been featured in Better Homes & Gardens.
Just look at these perfectly pink blossoms!
Okay, now this is a separate photo entry to National Geographic. Right in our pond, people!Â
One of my favorite pictures of biddyboo in our backyard.
This mani has been lasting me a while and I’m kind of proud of it even though it looks pretty rough. I chose a faint lilac from Essie and a creamy lavender from Adesse. No topcoat yet I’m going on the second week with only a few chips.Â
The book I’m modeling on top of is Eat a Peach, by David Chang. It’s a really interesting, colloquially written memoir that is fascinating for fans of Momofuku, the various Netflix series he’s in or just for fans of Chang himself. See my full review on Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3228153296?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
Both Daphne and I are in love with this 6-pack of bath bombs! I got them from Amazon and they are literally da bomb. I’ve already ordered MANY boxes/sets of bath bombs/fizzies with surprise toys inside and while the element of surprise is exhilarating, my luck has been terrible and I keep getting repeats within the same package. Two unicorns, two whales, two penguins…enough already! Give me some variety! These aren’t cheap at all! So this particular set already had each toy showing in the packaging, which is great for people who want to see the goods! No repeats this way! The size of the bath bomb is large, the scent was nice and fruity and the coloring was STRONG. Just look at the hue of the water! No staining in the tub either afterwards! It did get quite slippery because of the essential oils. Here is the link I used:
Hahaha, this was such a random beauty product I bought in a bundle via Mercari back in February. You break apart the “spoon” like tool to mix the “yolk” part with the “white” to create this hydrating sleep mask. The scent was so nice and beautiful! This lasted me a week and half and while it did feel a bit thick upon application, you woke up with supple, smooth skin! Plus, it gets points for being super adorable.
Is this not the most perfect buttered brown toast you’ve ever seen? It’s French brioche toast that I browned on the skillet with a pat of butter and then topped it with my new obsession–clotted cream and an artisan blueberry champagne jam. Heaven!
I whipped my own cream with a pinch of sugar and it frothed beautifully when I put in fresh cut strawberries. Yummy dessert!
I baked drumsticks with a nice rub/glaze of: hoisin sauce, honey, cajun seasoning, black pepper, crushed mint, garlic salt, paprika. The broccoli was tossed in a similar spice mix albeit with drizzled garlic infused olive oil and parsley. The potatoes got a little more honey and olive oil. Yum.Â
I got sent a box of Lola ulta thin condoms for review and I loved the look of them! I was only aware of Lola’s feminine care products like tampons, wipes so was pleasantly surprised to see them come out with condoms. The little box was discreet, cute and totally can be mistaken for a box of mints or paper clips placed on your nightstand, ha! So yes, they were ultra thin but the verdict was that they are a bit too tight.Â
Amazon makes my wishes come true! I searched for tons of wax sealing kits and settled on this set with a hefty brass stamp. I am obsessed! I bought another set with pre-cut hexagonal wax pieces so that I could mix colors and go all out on this new hobby of mine!Â
Here is everything in action! I’m melting 2 differently colored wax pieces in the tiny spoon heated by a tealight candle. This is really going to amp up my stationery game!Â
April weather got me like…wuh? I’ve been enjoying our solarium a lot more and trying to catch some much-needed sun in there admist all the torrential rainstorms, freezing temperatures, snow or fierce winds!Â
This is a pretty accurate Hogwarts House test I took last week via Facebook. I self identify as Slytherin but usually get placed in Gryffindor. I do believe I’m way more Ravenclaw than Hufflepuff though…
I filled up all the plastic eggs we had with fruit snacks and cheddar penguin crackers (off brand Goldfish) and hid them all over the house on Easter. Daphne found 85% of them the first day! Then over the next two days, found the rest. My hubby ended up finding the very last one in her toy watering can almost a week later though. Ha!
Quarantine times has probably got a lot of going stir crazy but I want to explain my nerves and feelings because they’re not quite like those of my friends, family or coworkers.
Things I’m tired of hearing:
-If she’s hungry she’ll eat (a big NOPE! So my 2-yr old has sworn off food and hubby and I have tried the gamut of tricks. Pediatrician is worried, we had an appointment with a nutritionist. So she’s fallen completely off the growth chart but the issue isn’t physical. It’s 100% behavorial and it’s driving all 3 of us nuts. Meal times are WAR TIMES in our household)
-The apple doesn’t fall from the tree. She’s tiny because you’re tiny. There’s no other reason (wow, okay, completely disregard my husband’s very normal height and weight and taller genes from his family. Explain why literally every single child I know who has two short parents have crazily exceeded their height and weight?! No, Daphne is not tiny because I’m tiny. I’m tiny because I didn’t eat real food until the age of 12 and starved myself and didn’t sleep. Sounds familiar but it might have been a physical ailment for me because I just didn’t like the taste of anything edible until turning 12. It was like something finally clicked. Unfortunately, I missed my growth spurt and only ever grew horizontally after that. I always have to explain that genetically speaking, my future height was projected at a healthy 5’4″ by multiple doctors that my parents visited when I was a child)
-I’m so bored while quarantined or I don’t know what to do with all the free time I have now that I’m stuck at home (okay, I will trade with that person’s life in a heartbeat no matter where they are living because all I want everyday is to have a few moments of free time. Being under quarantine has drained away my energy, my sanity, my freaking time and my life force. The closure of daycare centers and the essential nature of my work has caused all hell to break loose in my household. Both my husband and I are expected to care for our crazily difficult toddler while working full time jobs at home and maintain whatever routine and health and wellness we have left. She doesn’t eat, which I have already stated but she also skips naps and goes to bed late everyday, giving us no moment of rest. She is a full time job and even with our eyes on her, she manages to get various scrapes, cuts, bruises, bumps from EVERYWHERE. Her screams and tirades fill the house and I don’t remember the last time I was able to go to the bathroom without her following me. It might have been in 2018 when she didn’t walk yet. However, even with all these difficulties, I’m not one of the people complaining about social distancing. I’ll do whatever it takes so that more people don’t have to die from this pandemic. Turn your boredom to hobbies or even online browsing and shopping. I just want a minute to look at my goddamn phone!)
I might have used these on New Year’s Day, but shortly afterwards, I bought and used my first holiday cracker! Found these fun snowman ones at Marshall’s and they still cost too much after clearance :(. These ones are from a brand that Popsugar introduced me to–Meri Meri. Daphne loved these but were a bit young for the toys that came out. Oh, well, more fun for mom!
My friend Michelle always make this dish for her annual holiday party that has become famous by now, and this is my own version of it. I also fried up radishes, herbs, pancetta and added it to olive oil drizzled grape tomatoes to make it a meal.
Ingredients:
Butter-toasted potato bread seared on a non-stick pan and NOT a toaster
Sliced brie
Dollops of fig jam
Raspberries
Bath time has become routine and necessary fancy affairs for my toddler. I kid you not, she gets a special bath item(s) at EVERY bath. Not including the cost of hot water, her baths averages to $4 – $8 PER bath! I mean, I enjoy them too but she’s totally going to grow up saying “Oh, you didn’t get a bath bomb or bath oils or bubble bath at every bath? Strange.” Guilty as charged for 150% indulging her but there are definitely worse things to indulge a kid in ;).
This bath bomb from 2 Sisters spa via Amazon was especially cool. You put it early on in the bath next to the running tap so that it activates all the bubbles. It turned this gorgeous cornflower blue from the pink and blue colors at the end that reminded me of my wedding color. Smelled great, looked great, felt great.
This pre-Christmas mani was done with a mini OPI nail kit from my MIL and some fun nail decals. I’m modeling on top of the book that I finished out 2019 with called The Unconsoled by Kazuro Ishiguro. Oy vey was this a crazily frustrating book! The point was to make you frustrated, anxious and stressed out as much as the protagonist but yeesh…it did too good of a job. The writing was great and I am convinced that the nondescript central European city that the story took place in was Budapest. Many clues pointed to it–repeated mentions of Old Towne, food that was vaguely Hungarian and some side characters with Hungarian accents.
My newest mani also consists of these butterfly nail decals and coral and gray Essence polish. I’m modeling the new ring I got from Simple Statement Jewelry. I only did the one box to try out new styles of jewelry and my favorite item turned out to be this ring (that I miraculously fit!).
Had to feature my Mimiboo as she had a crazy end to 2019. We went on a big 12-day trip all across PA, Finger Lakes, Hershey, White Mountains, NH and had to put her in a kitty hotel for the whole time. Then we took her to my parent’s house for 6 days during the Christmas break and now we’re going to leave her for another 3 days to head to Sandusky. Poor thing is a trooper!
This was taken on the warmest day ever in December with my dad’s new iPhone 10 at Legacy Village.
Look at our unconventional Christmas tree! My mom is so creative at decorating, lol! And look at that healthy pile of presents!
Our mall had some craft booths and this one caught our eye. Hubby ended up buying me a pair for Christmas. These are origami crane earrings dipped in resin!
2019 wasn’t my favorite year but many good things did happen! 2020 is off to a whirlwind start and my immediate wish is that we don’t go to war! To peace!
So many thanks to @Tryazon, @Meribeldesigns and @Jamcobrandzusa for this AMAZEBALLS prize pack! Let me break this down:
-2 Peek a Boo Palz doggie dolls. They have 2 modes: one plays peek a boo and lifts and closes ears with a baby laugh track. Other mode sings “Do Your Ears Hang Low” with a second verse of “Do Your Ears Hang High”
-1 Walkie Talkiez panda doll that records short phrases/words you say and repeats them back in 2x speed and higher pitch while walking very fast towards you! This is a hilarious toy that can be creepily fun as you say stuff like “boogers!” or “howdy doody poopyface” and have the doll repeat that back, lol.
-2 pairs of fuzzy slippers. I received the unicorn and narwhal varieties. They are one size and the opening should be tight enough to fit snug against your ankles. I was really hoping for the llama pair, but these are still great!
-1 flamingo mug. This is my new favorite mug! The handle is so cool and it’s microwavable and good quality.
Check out these goodies here!
https://meribeldesigns.com/ Use WELCOME30 for 30% off your order!
I hosted a hot chocolate party that needed a lot of prep. Here’s what I served:
-whipped up 2 different batches of hot chocolate (white chocolate with lemon peel and cinnamon, regular milk chocolate cocoa with a marshmallow melted in)
-English afternoon tea mixed with organic peppermint green tea (after the hot chocolate ran out!)
-cocktail weinies braised in a jalapeno pineapple jam, soy sauce, hoisin sauce
-cucumber tea sandwiches with cream cheese, crushed mint, dill weed, Italian bread
-s’mores station
-not pictured: homemade biscotti with dark chocolate brought over from my friends and a side of fig preserves brought over from another friend
Cheers!
Daphne is obsessed with Mimi-face these days. I take white eyeliner to draw her whiskers and a spot of pink lipstick on the nose!
I used bath oils for the first time last night and while it does not bubble or create any visual spectacle, it did make my skin kind of moisturized afterwards! The scent was also quite strong and lovely!
Check out this cool new product from Tazo! It’s a latte in a carton that you mix with milk! I tossed in some ice cubes but I think you can also have it hot if that’s your thang. I was worried if the turmeric was going to be overpowering but it’s not! This tastes milder than a chai drink (which I do NOT like) and easier to prepare than even tea or coffee! Win!
I got this set of 6 bath bombs from Amazon and for the relatively small size, I’m impressed with the fizz, color payoff and scent of these! I really like how they come with a mini brochure to know which ones smell like what!
I got this beauty at the Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival. It’s a waxed rose that’s been painted and glittered. The vendor said it should last past 10 yrs but after just one week, the stem snapped. I have it laying on its side now so the petals are eventually going to be crushed too…Oh well. I’ll always have this picture though!
Two weeks ago, my work hosted this fancy event at the new location where we’re eventually moving to. I just had to take a picture of this Liquid Nitrogen dessert bar. You pick a fruit or marshmallow dipper, then you can pick one or two dips and they flash freeze it for you! The other side of this had a mini doughnut tray and they were made RIGHT THERE. So fresh and so tiny and so crunchy…I had 3 in a row before I realized how thick they were! I’m not even a big doughnut fan but there ya go, these were hella good.
Daphne’s first pumpkin at Schramm’s Farm! It was like 85 degrees that day on the last week of September!
This was Daphne’s 4th pumpkin from the Solon Fall Festival, which was the coolest thing ever! Many Solon businesses sponsored the activities so it was FREE! Corn box? Free! Giant inflatable slide? Free! Pumpkin? Free! Petting zoo? Free! Hayride? Free!
The best part? Axe throwing!!! I got a score of 16 for doing this my very first time! My sister on the left got 2 points. Now I know that height has nothing to do with it ;). Thanks, aXetreme Sports!
We finally got this child a real toddler bed so we moved the teepee back to its spot in the solarium. My mom gave her a tiny Adirondack chair and now she is queen of the solarium! All hail! Perks of having the tiniest child–she still fits in the Ohio State onesie (thanks, Cindy!) from last year!
Homemade chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and raspberries! Not great-looking by a long shot but it was a fun treat to eat just between hubby and me!
The famed Hummingbird cake from Giant Eagle I bought for the surprise birthday party! It had a cream cheese frosting with pineapple, walnuts, toasted coconut and dusted with a delicate sprinkle of cinnamon. This was a big hit!
I steamed these blue shell Maryland crabs from our seafood market in the Strip and mmmmm, this brought me so much nostalgia from when my parents used to buy live ones and steam them. Yuuuuummmm! I did a good job with the steaming and making my own sauce. Looking forward to when I buy these the next time!
Influenster sent me the new bareMinerals bounce & blur blush and palette. The texture really is bouncy! The eyeshadow shade at the end was like jelly! It’s still powder but has absolutely no fallout and high pigmentation. I’ve never used bareMinerals eyeshadow and blush before and now I see why they are popular! The packaging is also sleek and stunning buuuut attracted to fingerprints, unfortunately.
My Pangur Ban is growing up and becoming less social these days. She used to mingle with our guests like they were her friends but nowadays, she will wander aimlessly outside until everyone leaves…
Yep, that’s right. It’s yet another birthday cake! We celebrated Daphne’s 2nd birthday on the day of on Long Island with my husband’s parents. It’s their tradition to get a little ice cream cake on birthdays. It still doesn’t quite compare to a Dairy Queen ice cream cake, but this one was cute in its own way. Perhaps due to the candle being lit and not being allowed to touch it, Daphne showed no interest in her own cake and refused even a bite!
Chinese shrimp chips! They are magical and colorful! Before pic.
After pic! Sticks to your tongue! Fluffy and crunchy! This was another one of my childhood nostalgia treats!
Gorgeous flowers from Frick and Highland park!
Cabin in the woods themed escape room success! Date night on Long Island!
Biddyboo in her birthday qipao fabulousness.
Baby’s first ocean trip! She was scared of the water at first but then was hooked at touching the waves and didn’t want to leave.
That’s a happy Daphne!
We also went to the Sunken Forest on Fire Island! We took a ferry ride and had a BLAST. Look at that nicely maintained boardwalk!
Fire Island also had its own beach and we briefly checked it out. Clean and not too crowded!
Four giant bucks not 20ft from us! Majestic and felt amazing.
Tiny Horse 