Hello Again

Sorry again for no posts. I wanted to post this summer but I just didn't have time. Between work, crew, and violin, I have been busy. Not to mention I had nothing to post. I bought no beauty products, I didn't wear make-up or nail polish at all. I hope now that I can post more, but I will be doing things differently. I want to post pictures of my hair, nails, and  any outfits I like more as an update at the end of the week instead of how-to and reviews. I will do my best to add recipies, but I can't make any promises. It's now Junior year of high school, and I'm already swamped with homework. Thanks for understanding and look forward to posting more.

Bastille Day OOTD

Hey guys,

Happy Bastille Day! My family has been going to a Bastille Day party hosted by friends of the family for over the past ten years. We get amazing French food, an ocean breeze, and the chance to talk to so many friends. I thought I would just do a quick post about what I wore there, as I really liked my outfit. This is pretty much my signature outfit. Jeans, black t-shirt, scarf. I'm a pretty boring dresser, so this is well within my comfort zone. Hope you guys like it.

Please excuse my floor. That's where I throw all of my shoes usually because of lack of room elsewhere.

Shirt: Marshalls

Scarf: Marshalls

Jeans: Delias (they are about 5 years old)

Belt: Aeropostale

Boots: A local western outfitter

Catching the Bloom

Hey everyone,

We have a bouquet of flowers in my house, and the lilies and roses are so beautiful. I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to play around with all the features on the camera. Up to this point, I really only used the automatic setting and just let it do what it wanted. This was both good and bad. It was a whole lot faster, but it did not do everything that I wanted it to. For example, I would not use the close up button to get details. For these photos I was experimenting with colors, the amount of light, and what the flash would to. I hope you enjoy these as much as I enjoyed taking them.

This is one of my favorites, because it reminds me of Beauty and the Beast. To me it captures the flower just as it is going away.

I love this feature. It gives the flowers an antique appearance and makes me think of the old west.

This flower reminds me of old black and white movies I watch.

This is another one of my favorites. I really liked how the flash turned some of the flower yellow.

Easy Breakfast Frittata

Sorry for the photo being sideways. I tried uploading it 5 times to make it right, but it just would not cooperate. This tends to always happen to my photos and I just don't know why.

With summer comes many of my favorite fruits, herbs, and vegetables. I have always loved experimenting with different things to do with eggs for breakfast. They are just so versitile. I have been making this for the past few days because we have herbs in our garden. The tomatoes are just starting to get red, so I can start to use good tomatoes in a few days. There is no comparison between fresh off the vine tomatoes and the ones purchased in stores. The fresh tomatoes have amazing flavor. This is my spin on a frittata for breakfast. It's easy, fast, and delicious!

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 3 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese
• 1 Tbsp. Half & Half
• 1 small tomato
• Herbs (about 2 Tbsp.)
• You can use any herbs you want. I used basil, parsley, oregano, rosemary, and tarragon.
• Salt
• Pepper
• Olive oil for pan

Slice the tomatoes into slices about 1/4 in. or 1 cm.

Crack the egg into a bowl and beat with a fork. Then add 2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese, the half & half, salt, and pepper. Beat with a fork until well combined.

Heat a little oil in the pan. I used a 6 inch frying pan. Then add the tomato slices.

While the tomatoes are cooking, chop the herbs an add them to the egg mixture. Beat to combine.

After the tomatoes have just started to brown and are cooked, flip them over.

Add the egg mixture and allow it to cook until the egg is set around the edges but wiggles in the middle.

Then flip the frittata. I find the best way to flip it is to slide it out of the pan and onto a plate.

Then put the pan over the plate and flip everything over. I suggest doing this over a sink in case anything bad happens. Put the pan back on the heat.

Sprinkle with cheese and allow the bottom to cook. Slide onto a plate and enjoy!

Easy Breakfast Frittata

Ingredients:

1 egg

3 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese

1 Tbsp. Half & Half

1 small tomato

Herbs (about 2 Tbsp.)

• You can use any herbs you want. I used basil, parsley, oregano, rosemary, and tarragon.

Salt

Pepper

Olive oil for pan

Instructions:

1. Slice the tomatoes into slices about 1/4 in. or 1 cm.
2.  Crack the egg into a bowl and beat with a fork. Then add 2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese, the half & half, salt, and pepper. Beat with a fork until well combined.
3. Heat a little oil in the pan. I used a 6 inch frying pan. Then add the tomato slices.
4. While the tomatoes are cooking, chop the herbs an add them to the egg mixture. Beat to combine.
5. After the tomatoes have just started to brown and are cooked, flip them over.
6. Add the egg mixture and allow it to cook until the egg is set around the edges but wiggles in the middle.
7. Then flip the frittata. I find the best way to flip it is to slide it out of the pan and onto a plate.
8. Then put the pan over the plate and flip everything over. I suggest doing this over a sink in case anything bad happens. Put the pan back on the heat.
9. Sprinkle with cheese and allow the bottom to cook. Slide onto a plate and enjoy!

Where I've Been

Sorry for being gone so long. I had wanted to to do a couple of posts this weekend, but Mother Nature just didn't have that in mind. Let me explain what happened. On Friday night into Saturday morning we got hit with a very bad storm. No warning, just waking up and 1:30 in the morning hearing wind tearing at the house from all directions. Little did we know, but this was no ordinary storm. We got hit with what is called a Derecho. I have never heard that term before, so I'll explain it a little. Derechos are extremely fast moving, dangerous storms. They consist of downburst which are 4-6 miles. There are downburst clusters which can take up 50-60 miles. Inside downbursts, there are microbursts which are about 2.5 miles. Inside these microbursts there are burst swaths. These burth swaths range from 50-150 yards, and mimic the effects of a tornado. FUN. My county got hit the hardest in our state, and my town got hit the hardest in my county. Trees down, lines down. No electricity. We lost our electricity for 5 days, but it was actually nice not having power. We had a generator to keep our food, but apart from that, it was nice and quiet. I spent Saturday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at my grandparents picking up all the trees that had fallen. Sorry for no posts, but there will be more very soon.

This is what a derecho looks like. I don't know about you, but I saw this coming at me I'd be scared. I think it looks very The Wizard of Oz.

We had some trouble getting around, but for the most part it was fine.

Again one of the trees that made us go around Robin Hood's barn.

Poor fence, at least it is in segments so it can be fixed.

And this is why we are the only street in my neighborhood that got power on Wednesday. We are on a different grid from the other streets, so we didn't have to deal with this.

This tree was about a 150 feet tall and just blown over. They say that there were only wind gusts of 70 mph, but I don't believe that.

 Well, this storm was different to say the least. There was blue, green, and purple lightning along with the winds. They would hit one side of the house and then the other. My uncle lives in Flordia and in West Virginia. He was in V.A. when the storm hit him,  and he says that he has never heard anything like this before, and he has had hurricanes sit on top of his house. They tracked this storm, but didn't give a warning. Thanks. The storm started in Ohio, and they thought it was going to go South. Then it went north and they thought the Appalachians would stop it. Bad guess, after it hit the Appalachians, it got bigger. Then it continued up hit us and eventually stopped over the Atlantic Ocean. I do thank all of the electric workers who got out and worked their buts off all day and night in the heat.

I'll have more posts soon, I promise.

xx Mandy

Liebster Blog Award

I got nominated for the Liebster Blog Award, and I was surprised just as much this time as I was when I was nominated for an award last time. I was nominated by Katie from The Light in the Attic. Be sure to go to her blog, it's amazing.

For those of you who don't know what the Liebster award is, this is a little description. Liebster is German for sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome. Pretty much, it means nice things. This award is given to bloggers with less than 200 followers


Alright, so lets get down to the nitty gritty. The rules are....insert dramatic pause here...

1. Each person must post 11 random facts about themselves to get to know the blogger.
2. Answer the 11 question that the person who awarded you posted to be answered.
3. Choose 11 people to whom you want to award this.
4. Tell them that you nominated them.
5. And last, make up 11 question for the next person to answer.

I don't know why 11 is such a popular number. Can anyone let me know...please?

11 Random Facts about Me.

1. All my fingers are double jointed.
2. I play the violin, and have been playing for the past 8 years.
3. I row, on a club because my school doesn't have a crew team.
4. I work on a Christmas tree farm.
5. I want to be a Veterinarian, but for large farm animals.
6. I want to move to England. I love the weather and it's easier to travel everywhere.
7. I have never been on a plane. Car, boat, train, subway, trolley...but no plane.
8. I have a brother, and he's 6 years older than I am.
9. I live 20 minutes away from the beach, but I don't like swimming in the ocean. The last time I swam in the ocean was 3 years ago. I love walking on the beach, but being near so many people is not my thing.
10. I love to sew, paint, and crochet; it clears my mind.
11. I'd rather make something than buy it, within reason.

11 Questions from Katie
1. Do you like to eat raw cookie dough?
Yes, all the time.

2. How do you eat oreos?
 I peel off the filling, eat it, and eat the cookies last. Or I dip them in grapefruit juice. Weird, but the really sweet cookie and tangy juice taste so good together. Don't judge, try it for yourself.

3. Do you snore?
No, thank God.

4. What song best describes your life right now?
People are Crazy by Billy Currington. Not so much being left money by a guy I hardly know, don't get me wrong, if they want to leave me money please do so now; but God is great, beer is good, and people are crazy.

5. Are you a morning person or a night owl?
I can be either, it depends on the time of year.

6. Where would you go on your dream vacation?
Alaska or out West.

7. What's your worst fear?
Walking on rope bridges and them breaking, I watch too much Indiana Jones.

8. Would you rather be deaf or blind?
Blind. I would get a seeing eye dog and I would be able to hear better.

9. What's your favorite Disney movie you watched as a kid?
The Aristocats, such a good movie.

10. Where were you on September 11, 2001 at 9am
In kindgergarten.

11. Would you shave your head for $500
No, maybe a million, but not 500.

My 11 Questions.

1. What is your favorite food?
2. What is the food that you hate the most?
3. If you could do anything in the world, what would it be?
4. What is your favorite talent that you have?
5. Do you play weird games in cars on long rides, if so, what?
6. Do you have pets?
7. What are your nicknames?
8. Have you ever been lost, where?
9. What's your favorite song?
10. What are your pet peeves?
11. If you only had one thing, what would it be?

The Bloggers I Nominate

1.  Niamh-makes-things
2.  Miss Tiffany Darling
3.  Baking Myself Happy
4.  Freckles Are Cute
5.  The Girl Who Dreams
6.  Sofia Loves Reading
7.  From Needles to Nails 
8.  Little Ella Lu
9. Viva La Shoes
10. Scarves and Leather
11. Glittered Feathers

Thanks again to Katie for the award, and thanks to everyone who reads my blog!

40 Beauty Questions Tag

Hey everyone!

Sorry so long without a post, but I just got done with school and exams. Yuck! But now I have to whole summer to blog and not have to worry about school. I always love reading tags, so I decided to do one. Right now it's hotter than blazes outside (108 Farenheit !!!), and this is why I hate hot weater. Dry heat I don't really mind, but it is so humid outside. Anyway, I ranted long enough about the weather, so lets get into the questions.


SKINCARE
-How many times do you wash your face daily?
Once, at night. I use a liquid cleanser in the morning.

-What skin type do you have? (dry,oily,combo)

Oily to normal combination skin.

-What is your current facial wash?

Noxzema

-Do you exfoliate?

Yes

-What brand do you use?

Noxzema or St. Ives

-What moisturizer do you use?

Gold Bond lotion with aloe. Weird, but it is the only thing that works.

-Do you have freckles?

Yes

-Do you use eye cream?

No

-Do you or did you have acne prone skin?

Not really, but I get random break-outs sometimes.

-Did you ever have to use Pro-activ?

No

 

MAKE-UP

-What foundation do you use?

Bare Minerals if I wear foundation, but I really want to get the Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation

-How about concealer?

Bare Minerals

-Do you know your undertone color?

No, but I want to find out

-What do you think of fake eyelashes?

I don't need them

-Did you know that you are suppose to change your mascara every 3 months?

Yes I know, but I don't follow that

-What brand of mascara do you use?

Too Faced or any drug store

-Sephora or MAC?

Sephora

-Do you have a MAC Pro-card?

No

-What makeup tools do you use in make up application?

My hands and brushes

-Do you use make-up base/primer for the eyes?

Yes

-For the face?

Sometimes

-What is your favorite eyeshadow (color or shade)?

Neutrals

-Do you use pencil or liquid eyeliner?

Pencil

-How often do you poke your eyes with an eyeliner pencil?

Once

-What do you think of pigment eyeshadows?

Love them

-Do you use mineral makeup?

Love it!

-What is your favorite lipstick?

I can't wear lipstick.

-How about lipgloss?

Don't wear it either.

-What is your favorite blush to use?

Bare Minerals

-Do you buy your makeup on ebay?

No

-Do you like drugstore makeup?

Yes, but some breaks me out

-Do you go to CCO's? (cosmetic company outlets)

No

-Did you ever consider taking make-up classes?

No

-Are you clumsy in putting on makeup?

No

-Name a makeup crime that you hate.

Looking orange and not blending foundation into the neck

-Do you like colorful shades of makeup (lipstick,eyeshadow) or neutral ones?

Depends on my mood

-Which celebrity always has great make up?

Emma Watson

-If you could leave the house using just ONE make up item,what would you use?

Eyeliner

-Could you ever leave the house without any makeup on?

I usually don't wear makeup. I like it because I enjoy using it, but I don't think that wearing makeup makes you beautiful. Makeup can only do so much, you have to be beautiful on the inside too.

-Do you think you look good even without any makeup on?

I look pretty similar with and without makeup, soooo

-In your opinion, what is the BEST makeup line?

I have not tried enough brands to say which one I think is best, but Too Faced is my current favorite.

-What do you think of Makeup?

As I said earlier, I don't think that makeup makes you beautiful. It can make your face pretty, but natural beauty is what really matters.

 

 

I hope you all enjoyed this post. I tag everyone who reads this to do the questions. Hope you had fun reading, and what do you think about makeup. Have a wonderful day!

Versatile Blogger Award

Hey everyone,

As you can probably tell by the title of the post, I was nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award by niamh-makes-things. Thanks so much for the nomination. I was really suprised by it.

When nominated you need to do several things:

• Thank the person who nominated you
• Include a link to their blog
• Select 15 bloggers that you have recently followed/read regularly
• Nominate those 15 bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award-you might include a link to their site
• And tell everyone 7 random facts about you

My nominations are:

• http://www.flirting-with-fashion.blogspot.com/
• http://schoee.blogspot.com/
• http://misstiffanydarling.blogspot.co.uk/
• http://fleurdeforce.blogspot.com/
• http://sprinkleofglitter.blogspot.com/
• http://colormekatie.blogspot.co.uk/
• http://www.fishtankfashion.com/
• http://somehow-someday.blogspot.com/
• http://citygirlsfashionbox.blogspot.co.uk/
• http://carriemariemakeup.blogspot.ca/
• http://basketmasterweavings.blogspot.com/
• http://tattyboots.blogspot.co.uk/
• http://teacupsandlife.blogspot.co.uk/
• http://www.pinkwonderland.com/
• http://styleinfirstgear.blogspot.co.uk/

My 7 random facts:

• I'm really flexible
• I love public speaking
• I'm allergic to lip balm, but only on my lips
• I'll eat, or try, almost every type of food
• I love country music
• I have a dog named Sasha
• I'm in 4-H

Thanks again to Nimah-makes-things for the nomination. Check out her blog, she's amazing. Have a great day.

Mandy

My Paintings

I have always loved art, but I have never had the opportunity to learn. I can do some basic stuff, but apart from that, I am not very good. These are a few of my paintings, all of which I did for school projects. Hope you guys like this. I am by no means an artist, I just paint because it is something I love to do.

My most recent painting. I did this for an English project we had to do. We had to make a Holocaust Memorial, so I ended up doing this.

Sorry this picture is sideways. I could not do anything to make it stand up straight, and I tried aboout a dozen different things. Anyway, this is a project I did for French. I liked the picture and it is in France, so I painted it because it fit the requirements.

We had to do paintings for French class.  I don't know who painted the origional, but this is my rendition of the fruit bowl.

This is from forever ago. I think I drew this, in charcol, in 7th grade. Anyway, it is now framed in my room. You can see me in the glass, sorry. This picture was just on my computer so I decided to include it.

Thanks for reading. Have a wonderful day!

Would You Buy?

I am doing this post to see if anyone would like to purchase things that I am planning on making. I want to see if anyone would want to buy them before I create the page. I would be selling crocheted flowers, crocheted make-up bags, brush rolls (for both make-up and painting brushes), and cloth bags which I use for decoys. Please leave your feedback in the comments. Thanks!

Crocheted flower. I use them for coasters, on the table to put pots on, and doilies.

Russel the Turtle

When my family was eating dinner tonight, I heard a really loud rustling noise in the bushes.  We eat on our porch when the weather is nice, and we have bushes and other plants surrounding it.  I went to investigate, and this is who I found.  I named him, yes he is a he, Russel because he was rustling around in the leaves.  Cheesy, I know, but I like quirky names.  Anyway, this is our resident turtle.  We have been seeing him around in the garden and landscaping for about the past two months. He is an old turtle, with the most beautiful eyes.  You can't really tell in the pictures, but they are bright red.  Hope you liked this little bit of randomness that I had to photograph because I'm just weird that way.

Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque

I got this mask at around Easter, and I just started using it again.  I forgot how amazing it is. This masque is light green and smells like mint (no shock there).  It is a really creamy consistancy and applies very easily.  As it dries, you can see it pulling the impurities out of your skin.  It removes black heads, dries up acne, reduces pore size, and generally just makes your skin better. I love what this masque does to my skin, and it's really simple to use.  Just apply a thin layer to your face, let it dry completely, and wipe off with warm water and a washcloth.  I buy mine from ULTA, and for $3.99 a bottle, it's a steal.  It also does not test on animals, which is always good.

Peach Cake

My mom loves to buy fruit in bulk, and the rest of my family hates it.  She gets so much, there is no way we can eat it all without some of it going bad.  Because of this, I have a long list of recipes that call for fruit that is a little over ripe.  I decided to bake something to give to a friend of the family for all his help with our duck carvings, and we had peaches that needed to be used.  What a perfect combination for a peach cake.  This cake is very easy and will send any hungry male in your house searching for the source of the cinnamon and peaches baking.  My brother is calling me cruel because I won't let him eat any.  I can always tell if something is good when my brother a.) starts searching the house for what is being baked and b.) tries to pluck the peaches off the top when I'm not looking. There are always benefits to having eyes in the back of your head. 

This recipe works best when the peaches are soft, but normal or even frozen peaches work fine. 

Ingredients:
1/4 pound room temperature butter
1 cup sugar
2 extra-large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup yogurt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
3 large or 5 small ripe peaches

Cream the butter and sugar for 3 minutes or until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs, one at a time, on low speed.

Add the sour cream, yogurt, and vanilla extract and mix until smooth.

The mixture should look like this when done mixing.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a seperate bowl.

Add the flour mixture slowly to the butter, sugar, egg mixture until just combined.

Place half the batter and layer half the sliced peaches ontop into a greased 8-inch baking pan.

Layer the other half of batter and other half of peaches ontop.  Sprinkle with the cinnamon and nutmeg.

Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out of the center clean, at 350F and let cool on a cooling rack. 

Ingredients:
1/4 pound room temperature butter
1 cup sugar
2 extra-large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup yogurt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
3 large or 5 small ripe peaches

Instructions:

1.) Preheat oven to 350 F. and grease an 8-inch baking pan.
2.) Cream butter and sugar together for 3 minutes or until light and fluffy.
3.) Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat on low speed.
4.) Add the sour cream, yogurt, and vanilla.  Mix on low speed until smooth.
5.) Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a seperate bowl.
6.) Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients slowly on low speed.  Mix until just combined.
7.) Peel, pit, and slice the peaches.
8.) Add half the batter to the pan and smooth the top. Add half the sliced peaches. Repeat with the other half of the batter and peaches.
9.) Sprinkle the top with cinnamon and nutmeg.
10.) Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out of the center clean.
11.) Let cool on a cooling rack. 

Enjoy warm or room temperature.