Monday, June 27, 2016

MOMMY BLOG: STAGE 2 HOMEMADE BABY FOOD RECIPES

I tried these yummy baby food recipes. I am surprised they were so easy to make! I had them all done in about an hour. They are super nutritious and my son tried a couple and he liked them all #winning.

Banana, Raspberry and Oats Baby Food

I have to admit, this recipe in particular was the reason why I made all the other ones. I found this recipe from the Happy Baby Organics website. I edited quantities based on what I know my son loves and what flavors he prefers. 

 Ingredients:
1 small package of raspberries

3 1/2 tsp of oats
2 bananas

*Add everything to a blender and blend until you reach the desired consistency.











Blueberry, Apples & Oats Baby Food


I taste all of these recipes before I give them to my son, and I have to say, this one is my favorite! Another Happy Baby Organics recipe.

Ingredients
1 cup of Blueberries
2 Apples
4 tsp oats

*Add everything to blender and blend until you reach desired consistency.












Broccoli, Pears and Peas Baby Food
 
 This is a nutrition punch! So much good stuff all together. This is the least favorite of my son, since he hates green veggies but I put extra pears to mask the taste of the peas and the broccoli. This is also a Happy Baby Organics recipe.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup peas
1 cup broccoli
2 pears

*Add everything to a blender with 2 tbsp of water and blend until you reach desired consistency.












Apples, Mint and Ricotta Cheese Baby Food


This recipe is from "Little Foodie" by Michelle Oliver cookbook. For this, if you plan to freeze. blend apples and mint together and freeze. Add ricotta before serving.

Ingredients:
I did not add cheese to this since I plan on freezing.
2 apples
3 mint leaves
2 tbsp ricotta cheese

*Add everything to blender and blend until you reach desired consistency. IF YOU PLAN TO FREEZE DO NOT ADD CHEESE. ADD IT BEFORE SERVING.












I hope you enjoy these recipes. If you have other yummy recipes, leave a comment below and let me know. I am always searching for new recipes for my very picky eater.

Friday, June 24, 2016

BEAUTY: GARNIER MICELLAR CLEANSING WATER REVIEW

Today I am reviewing the new Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water for waterproof makeup. I have been cursed with very watery eyes and because of that I tend to use waterproof mascara, which if you have ever used this type of mascara, takes forever and a day to remove. So many eyelashes have been lost due to the constant washing and rubbing to get all the product off. I am the last person to jump on the bandwagon of micellar water, so I decided to start with Garnier's.

 I've heard mixed reviews about this product in particular so I decided to give it a try. Let me tell you, I did not like this product at all! I will elaborate more about the reason why I do not like it but I will give you the pros first.

Pros - It has no smell. I actually like face products to be fragrance free because I have very sensitive skin and most of the time the perfumes used on many skincare products can irritate my skin. This for me was a huge plus as soon as I opened the bottle. Next thing on my pros list is that it actually removes all makeup, matte liquid lipstick? No problem. Waterproof mascara? I got you girl. It really does remove ALL makeup.

Cons - Holy guacamole this thing STINGS your eyes. Not only your eyeball but if you have very sensitive skin around your eyes it will also irritate that area. After I used it my eyes and the skin around it was red and irritated. After burning my eyeballs out I decided to look at the bottle again, and this is where the irony is. If you see the picture above it clearly states: "No rinse, no harsh rubbing Face, Lips, EYES".  Now if you turn the bottle and read the back label (picture below) you will find the following warning : "Avoid getting in eyes". Are you kidding me?!?! This claims to be an EYE MAKEUP remover but you have to avoid the eyes. It is not like I was trying to remove my eye makeup with my eyes open. They were closed, but it is inevitable to apply a water cleanser on your eyes and not have some liquid get on your eyeball. Seriously! This is the most deceiving product out there! They should remove the "for EYES" part from the label. 


So in my opinion, skip this product! It burns your eyes. Oh Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water, I had such high hopes for you and you've let me down!! 

Hope this was useful, until my next review, stay gorgeous.

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

BEAUTY: BOLD LIP & CAT EYE MAKEUP

This was today's makeup. Super glam, but so simple to do. I kept the face makeup simple. No contour, just highlight on my cheekbones, tip of the nose and cupid's bow. Kept eyebrows pretty natural. For the bold lips, I used ColourPop's Lippie Stix in the shade Wifey (satin finish). I used Maybeline Lasting Drama Eyestudio Gel Eyeliner in the shade Blackest Black for the wing. I also used false lashes, these are Ardel's 110 Black Lashes. 




I had to do a goofy face!
 I hope you enjoyed this makeup. See you soon! Until then, stay gorgeous!
 

Monday, June 20, 2016

JUNE IPSY BAG REVIEW

A new month and a new Ipsy bag. Every month I keep getting more and more disappointed with Ipsy bag! I follow them on Snapchat and they are always searching and trying a bunch of cool amazing products but what they actually send is just blah! I will be canceling my subscription soon, not next month because I am redeeming all the points I have but maybe after that. I think I will transition to FabFitFun now.  I will keep you posted.

This is what I got this month:


The products I got, although hit every category (skin, makeup, skincare and nails) the products themselves were not the best. 
This bag is very cute. One thing that I do not like is that they keep sending the same type of bag with different artwork. I have like 5 bags with this type of front zipper. Maybe it is time to change the design of the bag itself. Anyways, the theme of this bag is Rebel Rebel. 

Hey Honey 24Seven Honey Day & Night Moisturizing Cream.

I liked this moisturizer. It is not oily at all, smells pretty good and it does feel nourishing. Not, I don't think I will be purchasing it because I do have my holy grail moisturizer so I do not intend changing it ever. This product retails for $38.00 and you can purchase it here.

Seraphine Botanicals, Happy Hibiscus Blush
I was not impressed at all by this blush. Pigmentation is ok, not super pigmented though, color pretty, but to be quite honest, they claim this blush works for every skin tone and that is not true. I have very fair skin and this color looks odd on my skin. I will be using it as an eye shadow though. This product retails for $18.00 and you can purchase it here

Formula X Nail Color in the shade Wingwoman
I have received this nail polish before on an Ipsy Bag. The pros of this color, very rich color so you can get away with one layer (which is good if your nails tend to chip really quick). Color selections are amazing, and it dries very fast (if you are a mom, you appreciate this). The cons- my nails chipped the very first day I applied it. :( This product retails for $10.50 and you can purchase it here

Urban Decay Eye shadow in the shade fireball
Urban Decay never disappoints. This eye shadow is beautiful, perfect pigmentation and color payoff with very little fallout. Easy to blend and this color is so lovely. It looks like a shimmery rose gold on my skin. This product retails for $19.00 and you can purchase it here

Delectable by Cake Beauty Everything Balm
Ok, this is the worst product EVER!! I really just tossed this in the garbage. It is basically an oil. It is too oily for anything they claim it does. No smell and just bad! For lip gloss - too oily. Tame brows- too oily (brow product will rub off), cheeks - too oily, makes foundation run. Cuticles - too oily, you will want to wash your hands immediately. Dark circles - wth? Really, not good at all. This product retails for $16.00 and you can purchase it here.

*Disclaimer- I am not paid by Ipsy or any other brand to review these products. These are my true, honest opinions and what works and doesn't work for me might be different for you.

Friday, June 17, 2016

TRUST FUND NAIL POLISH REVIEW

Have you ever found a nail polish you apply and it is just perfect. Does not chip and lasts around a week? No? Me neither! 


For about about 15 years now I have searched planet earth for the nail polish that does not chip on my nails. It doesn't exist. We have sent people to the moon, but we cannot figure out how to make nail polish stay!! I struggle with every nail polish I own, they never stay long enough. A couple hours later, boom, there is a chip! I don't know what it is, but it is nearly impossible for me to keep a manicure looking good for more than a day. This nail polish is the closest I've come to something somewhat descent. It lasts on my nails about 3 days. After that it chips and it's the end of everything that is beautiful, but at least is something? Right? 

The color is called "I'm kind of a big deal" and it's a very pretty pink. It is not barbie pink but more of a dusty rose. The formula is pretty nice. Very pigmented, you can almost get away with one layer. It is pretty opaque and it does not streak. Dries pretty fast and stays shiny for a couple of days. Like I said before, on me, it chips around day 3. 

This is how it looks the day of application. Don't mind my stubby nails. Breastfeeding made my nails incredibly brittle.
I got this one on February's Ipsy bag, and I really like it. I also have a purple and they have become my favorite nail polishes. It retails for $15.00 which is pretty expensive for a nail polish, but because it is the best I've found I would say it is worth it. You can buy it here.

What's your favorite nail polish? I hope you find this useful, if you, like me, struggle with nail polish chipping right away!

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

CARTER'S HAUL FOR BOY (12 MONTHS)

I had to share these cute outfits I got for my son at Carter's two weeks ago. 

The main reason I went shopping was because I was in desperate need of some pajamas for my son. How cute are these. They are footsie pajamas with silicone grips on the bottom so babies can have more grip when they walk. We call our son "monkey" so I had to buy monkey pajamas!

 How cute is this little octopus?

 
 As my son gets older, it is getting harder to find footsie pajamas that do not have buttons, since my husband struggles every single time with them, so we like the zipper ones. Because it was so hard to find more zipper pajamas I got him big boy pajamas. Meaning it was a shirt and pant set. He looks so incredibly cute on these!

 For the summer I though two rompers would be great to add to his collection. Again, monkey themed and I didn't realize until I was writing this blog that the blue romper is very similar to the dump truck set I got him for his 9 month old haul. Still love it so much!

 I love this outfit! The chameleon and cargo pants look so cute on my son. He looks like a big boy. It is such a funky style and I feel like black really suits him.
I also got him the blue stripped shorts and a set of shorts and polo. With the weather starting to get so hot, these would be great for going out but keeping him cool! 

Again, Carter's is always running all kinds of promotions and sales, so you will always find great deals there. 

*Disclaimer- I bought everything on this haul. It is not a sponsored post and I do not get paid by anybody to talk nicely or badly about a brand or store. These are my opinions about things I buy for me and my family.

Monday, June 13, 2016

PEAR & CLOVES BABY FOOD RECIPE

I have been blessed with an extremely picky eater. What does that mean? I have to find very creative ways to hide foods my son will not eat with very flavorful foods that he loves. This is why I love this recipe. It is so good, I would eat it. The best thing, my son loves this baby food. I make this baby food puree every week because I use it to hide these foods: peas, spinach, cottage cheese and cauliflower. Now, let's just say I wouldn't mix this with those foods for myself, but for some reason, my son will eat those foods if they are drowned by this puree. I am currently trying to mask chicken with this...unsuccessfully... but I am thinking I might cook the chicken on pear glaze and see if he might eat it. I will let you know. Anyways, here is the recipe. I hope you (or your little one) enjoys it! 


Ingredients:
4 pears
1/8 ground cloves

Diretions:
Peel and core the pears. I use very ripe pears, since they are the sweetest. Cut pears in 1 in cubes. On a deep pot put pears and fill with about 1 inch of water. Boil them on medium high heat until they are tender and clear. Let them cool completely. Once completely cooled, add ground cloves and puree them to the desired consistency. You can freeze the puree on ice cube trays and keep frozen for about 3 months. 



*You can use a food processor for the puree. I use my KitchenAid Fruit and Vegetable Strainer since it makes a chunkier baby food. My son is 10 months old so he likes very chunky purees. It also helps with masking chunkier foods. 

I found this recipe on "Little Foodie: Baby Food Recipes for Babies and Toddlers with Taste" recipe book but updated the amount of ground cloves since it was too much in my opinion. If you want to get this book you can buy it here.

If you have a picky eater, like I do, please leave a comment and let me know what have you tried and what works for you. 


Friday, June 10, 2016

BATH & BODY WORKS HAUL

On Tuesday I went to the Bath and Body Works store near my house because they were running their Semi-Annual Sale which is always my chance to go crazy and buy some amazing candles and scents for my house. Here is what I got:

I am so excited to show you what I got this time. 

Lets start with the Three Wick Candles:
This is one of my favorite candles this year. I bought 5 before Easter and was super happy when I saw it in the sale bin for 50% off! It says it smells like cotton candy and marshmallow, but to be honest it smells just like marshmallow. It is like having a bonfire at home and roasting marshmallows. I LOVE THIS SMELL. In the winter there is a similar candle and last year it was called Marshmallow Fireside. It smells exactly like that candle. Bath and Body Works marshmallow candles are by far the best ones if you like sweet smells like I do. 

This is my favorite candle of all time from Bath and Body Works and probably any other brand of candles. One thing to know, they change the names of the candles constantly but the scent is usually pretty similar. I got this candle, which smells pretty much like Italy Espresso Cafe candle from their "World Cities" collection. I love to burn this candle and the Happy Easter candles together...hello Coffee and Marshmallow...who doesn't like that combo? Best thing, even my husband loves this candle. He says it smells like a coffee stout beer to him. Any candle that smells like stout to my husband is welcomed in my home, lol! 
This candle is a new one for me. When I went into the store, it was the first one that grabbed my attention, and I have to say, I love it. First thing that comes to my mind when I smell it is vacation. More specifically, our honeymoon. We went to Key West, where we consumed insane amounts of piña coladas and coconut flavored drinks. This candle smells like that.  It smells like coconuts and even though it doesn't say it has hints of it, I can smell pineapples. Its is fruity and oh so sweet. You know those smells that you can almost taste them, this candle does that. I feel like I could take a bite of it and it would taste like coconuts (PLEASE DON'T EAT CANDLES). 

I also purchased a couple of wall flowers, some where on clearance and bought them for $3.00 and others full price. 
These fragrances are so, so good. One I always repurchase is Cinnamon Stick. It smells like a cinnamon stick for sure. It is the definition of a fall scent for me and I always have this smell the second I see a yellow leaf, so this one will be used in the fall. The other three fragrances, I've never purchased. Coconut Sandalwood is to die for, and to tell you the truth it smells like a sexy, Hawaiian man. It is the best description I can give you. Sandalwood scents I always have on my bathrooms, I don't know why but I just love to get in the shower and smell it. Like I said, sexy man smell goes with shower and bathrooms in my opinion (maybe because my husband's body wash smells like sandalwood I associate it with showers). Indigo Sky smells like fresh linen and clean sheets. It is such a great scent to have year long. I always keep this type of fragrances on my bedroom since I associate them with freshly, soft sheets! Lastly Sunny Coconut is a very fruity sweet smell. I can't smell the coconut that much but I can smell some type of citrus fruit. It also smells like the beach and vacation time... I think I will have this scent on my living room. Maybe it will transport me to a beach villa somewhere sunny when my son is having a meltdown, haha, the life of a stay at home mom. 

Now for the body products:
 I love, love, love Bath and Body Works shea body creams. I have them all over my house and they go fast. I have travel size ones that go in my diaper bag, in my car and in my purse. This smell is the same as one of the candles I bought and I love it. It is very similar to Tahiti Island Dream but with coconut in it. This will be my favorite smell for summer for sure! 

Finally this body wash. I have never bought a body wash from Bath and Body Works so this will be my first experience. I haven't tried it yet, but from the smell I am looking forward to it. It really smells super flowery, fresh and clean. I really hope it foams well, since I love lots of bubbles when I lather. 

Let me know which are your favorite Bath and Body Works products!!! I love to try knew scents!

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

RECIPE: BERRY SMOOTHIE

I have always LOVED smoothies but never managed to make a smoothie that I liked enough to 1. share it with the world and 2. drink it more that just two or three times. But last week I made this smoothie and it was so delicious and simple. I feel like I have to share this little drip of heaven. 

 It literally takes 2 minutes to make this delicious concoction and seconds to devour it. 

Ingredients:
1 cup of your choice of frozen berries* (I used a Mixed Berry Blend that 
                                                                had blueberries, dark sweet cherries, 
                                                                blackberries and red raspberries)
1/2 cup vanilla fat free yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup fat free milk
1 tsp truvia*
 *because frozen berries sometimes can be picked and frozen before they are ripe they tend to be a bit sour. If you prefer to use fresh berries, and you know they are sweet enough then the sugar is not needed. Because I am lazy I use the frozen fruit and just add a bit of sweetener. If you use fresh berries, then add a couple of ice cubes to thicken the smoothie.

Instructions:
Add everything to a blender and voila! 
Drink your delicious smoothie.

It's than simple guys! Let me know on the comments down below how you like this recipe and what other yummy recipes you have that I can try!!!
 


Monday, June 6, 2016

BEAUTY: MAY IPSY BAG

Hi everyone! Wow, it has been a hot second since I blogged last! What a crazy couple of weeks I've had! Let me tell you, when you are a SAHM and your washer breaks, it is the end of the world! I feel like my whole schedule was thrown off because of this! So I apologize for not posting for a while, now that things are getting back to normal, I will be posting more content. Please leave me a comment below of things you wish I talk about or review, as it is my favorite thing to do!!! 

Now, let me get to business! Ipsy Bag!!
Seems like the theme for the month of May was world travel.

This is what I got on May 2016 bag! I really like the bag. I feel like it is so girly and "worldly". Also, I studied abroad in Italy and to see the Colosseum and the Leaning Tower of Pisa made me like it even more, and let's not forget it is PINK! Hello! So good job Ipsy!!! 

Here is a closer look at the cute bag:
 
 For the products I got I will say it I was pleased with them, and I do have one that I WILL purchase for sure! This time around I will leave the price of the full size products so you can know how much each product retails for. (Note to Ipsy, why don't you do that!! We would so appreciate it!)

INSPR 282 eye fluff  brush

I am a serious makeup brush hoarder so as usual I was happy when I got a brush. I like this brush. It is very small which will help with a precise application on the crease, inner corner and even maybe to blend eye shadows under the eyes when doing a smokey eye look. It is very soft and it picks product nicely. This brush retails for $12.00 and you can buy it here.

Mellow Matte Lipstick in the Shade Electro
The next product I got was the Mellow Matte Lipstick in the shade Electro. This lipstick is very pigmented. It looks like a very rich orange although on the stick it looks more bright red. Being a fan of orange lipsticks I like this product. It is creamy which I appreciate on a matte lipstick since I don't feel like my lips will fall off. Now, the staying power not so good. Also, you definitely need to use a lip liner or this will bleed outside your lips. This product retails for $13.00 and you can buy it here.

Formula 10.0.06 Pores Be Pure Skin-Clarifying mask
This was one of the meh products on the bag. I don't feel like I felt any real improvement on my skin after using it a couple of times. It claims to perfect troublesome young skin, so maybe my skin is just not that young. It might do better for 20 years old that do not have that much damage on their skin? The mask smells really good though, you can definitely smell the strawberry in it which I liked, and it applied nicely and didn't burn or made me break out. I just didn't see any results. This product retails for $6.99 and you can buy it here.

It Cosmetics No-Tug Waterproof Gel Eyeliner in the shade Black.

This eyeliner was good just not wow. It does what it claims to do, it slides pretty nicely, does not tug, nicely pigmented and it is waterproof. It is good for tight lining since it will not go anywhere. The reason I would not buy it is because for an eyeliner I would look for something with a skinnier tip. Other than that it is fine. This product retails for $22.00 and you can buy it here.

The Organic Pharmacy Antioxidant Lip Balm
For me, this product was the star of the Bag. I loved it and will most certainly purchase it. I love this balm. I have been wearing it non-stop. I apply some before going to bed and also during the day. I have very chapped lips and since using this my lips have not chapped at all. Before using it, they were in pretty bad shape, they were cracked and bleeding, so I really feel like this healed them! Big huge plus! This was the first time I've heard of this brand but will definitely check their products. Not to mention, they are all natural! This product retails for $21.50 and you can buy it here.

So there you have it. That's my two cents on the products I got from Ipsy in May. I have to say, I am not to sure if I will continue my subscription with Ipsy, I like the products but I feel like I am getting more of the same every month. I have been thinking about switching to Boxycharm or FabFitFun. Let me know what your opinions are about them, and if you wish me to keep doing Ipsy reviews. 

Until next time, stay gorgeous!