Beauty, Fashion, Recipes, DIY Projects, and More: All for the Busy and Budgeted.

Monday, April 21, 2014

A Little More S'more...

All righty, folks. We've officially hit that season where, in the Midwest, it will snow one day and be hot as Hades the next. SO, if you're a giant sweet-tooth like myself, I have the perfect recipe for you this time of year. Why is it perfect? You ask... WELL:
  • For your crazy hot days: it's a take on a classic summer recipe.
  • For your snowy days: it's a warm, cozy treat.
  • MOREOVER: it's a delicious combination of flavors.
  • Plus: you can make it over a campfire, in an oven, or even in a microwave. I chose oven. 
Here are the ingredients you will need:

  • Rollos/Rollo Minis. (One bag of Rollo Minis should make about two s'mores... based on how many you use per s'more.)
  • Marshmallows. (I went mini-marshmallow since I'm making oven-baked s'mores. If you're doing traditional fireside, you'll want to go for a bigger marshmallow.)
  • Graham Crackers. (Don't be weird. Use traditional/honey.)
  • Peanut Butter. (Again, don't be weird. Use creamy.)
Okay, so I'm going to show you what I did with the oven-baked version. If you're using a different means--microwave, fireside, stovetop, sheer will power, whatever--you'll have to intuitively make adjustments. 

Step 1: Get a graham cracker and put it on an oven-safe plate.

Step 2: Cover it in Rollos. 

Step 3: Cover it in marshmallows. 

Step 4: Put it in the oven on low-ish heat until the chocolate gets melty and the marshmallows get toasty.


Step 5: Slather some peanut butter on another graham cracker.

Step 6: Smush the two pieces of graham cracker together. Then wait a bit for it to cool down.

Step 7: Now, prepare to make one delicious mess, eat, and enjoy.


Sunday, April 20, 2014

Braid of Braids

A few weeks ago, I posted a "Rapunzel Inspired" hair tutorial video on my youtube channel. It was basically a really intense braid of braids. If you're interested, you can watch that here.

I'm a big fan of braiding braids into braids. Part of this is because I have really thick hair and it makes it a little more manageable. Also, it's the summer. I need to get that hot mess up and off of my neck.

So, here's another time that I went a little braid-crazy...


I have a skinny braid on the right side of my head that I've flipped over like a headband and pinned into place. I have another braid on the right side of my face that is braided into the braid composed of three braids that's draped over my left shoulder. The braids on the left bit of my face are braided into a skinny braid and pinned to the side.


In case you wanted a little closer look...

As you can see, one thing I have difficulty with is, generally, keeping the back of my head looking neat and tidy. So, I don't really bother. 

Also, just in case you think my braid of braids isn't excessive enough...


I tossed on a gold braided headband. 


Thursday, April 17, 2014

Character Makeup: Rae

So. You may know this if you watched my February Favorites Video from, like, forever ago... But: I am obsessed with My Mad Fat Diary. It is a fantastic show. If you're not watching it, you really gotta get on it. Seriously, it's fantastic.

Now, if you watch my beautythekat youtube channel at all, you may know that I really enjoy emulating characters' looks.

SO! This is my Rae-look Makeup! We'll start off with a reference picture:


(Aww, Rae and Finn. So cute.) I'm going to use this look from S2E1 as my inspiration. Most of the time, Rae rocks the not-actually-wearing makeup look. So, I'm going for a mostly-natural look as well.

Let's get started!


I started off with moisturizer, foundation, and coverup. I used my Clindamycin Phosphate Lotion as my moisturizer. Then, I used the very last of my Dr. Brandt "pores no more" Pore Refiner primer. (Sigh, that stuff was amazing.) Then, I hid away my acne and discolorations with ALMAY Clear Complexion Concealer. As you can see, that Pore Refiner and Concealer combination is amazing


In lieu of liquid foundation, I used Aveeno Clear Complexion BB Cream. This stuff is nice, but I'm not CRAZY about it. I'm really on the lookout for a BB Cream/CC Cream/Liquid Foundation that I really like (the way I really like ALMAY's Clear Complexion Concealer) but I just haven't found it yet. Anyway, I set my face with ALMAY Smart Shade Loose Finishing Powder. (A brief note about this stuff, I started off liking it a lot, but I'm starting to get disenchanted. So...)

Anyway, I didn't use bronzer, shimmer, or blush for this look because Rae doesn't usually wear makeup. So, I didn't want to go too big with the makeup. 


For my eyes, I used the pale shadow from my ULTA Jewel Palette on my lids. I also used the copper color to line under my bottom lash line--this was kind of "pushing it" for Rae. You know, 'cause she doesn't really wear eyeshadow. But, I just did it to brighten my eyes and I chose a fairly neutral color. So, I figure it can slide this one time. Then I used my absolute-favorite Rimmel London Volume Accelerator Mascara to lengthen and darken my lashes. 


Finally, for my lips, I used my Nivea Milk & Honey chapstick and Revlon Lip Butter in "Sweet Tart"

So my final look looked a little something like...

This! 
Now I just gotta snag myself a Finn. 

Just in case you're interested, I also did a Character Look video on my beautythekat youtube channel. Also, I did a fashion blog post on my tumblr. Both, of course, go along with this tutorial. 


Sunday, April 13, 2014

Poached Egg Breakfast Sandwich

You know how sometimes you're pretty near broke? But you have to eat food? And you would like that food to be filling and nutritious? (I'm serious here, it's a genuine issue. You can buy a box of eight PopTarts for less than four bucks and a salt-packed can of soup costs a dollar. Then, those things last for ages. But if you buy some fruits and vegetables, you'll completely break your bank. Plus, if you don't eat everything super quickly most everything ro--I've gotten off topic, haven't I?)

Well! Have I got the thing for you. It crosses off three of your five food groups (protein, dairy, and bread), it's relatively quick to make, and all the ingredients are fairly cheap. Also, it's a sandwich. You can totally add a ton of veggies, too, if you want. 

Ingredients:
  • 2 Eggs
  • 2 Slices Whole Wheat Bread
  • 1 Slice Cheese
  • Seasoning
  • Butter (optional)

My first step, is always to crack two eggs into a container. So, this might be a "not so advisable" piece of advice. Technically you maybe shouldn't poach two eggs simultaneously in the same pan. But I always do. Because ain't nobody got time to poach eggs one at a time.


Bring a pan of water to a boil. I always heat it at, like, somewhere in the 6-8 heat range. I think technically with poached eggs you should bring it to a boil on high and then move it to mid-heat range once you add the eggs. But, I don't usually do that. 


I only ever use the hurricane poached eggs method, where you take a spoon, stir up the boiling water, probably splash some on your forearm, cuss like crazy and say a silent "thank you" that your parents weren't there to hear you, and dump the eggs into the middle of the swirl, which immediately disappears and most of your egg whites wind up going everywhere anyway. Then, you rush to run your forearm under cold water with a dreaded, though admittedly overdramatic, worry that you'll have third degree Bend-It-Like-Beckham burns that eventually scar.

I hear that vinegar works, too. Also, there are apparently little plastic poached egg cozies. Renee had some. So, there are probably easier, less dramatic, methods of doing this, is the point.


This is my chosen method, though. If it's not a little dramatic and overly complicated, it's not the beautythekat way.


Let your eggs boil for ten minutes. Maybe you should tend to them during this time. I usually don't, though, and only once have I had a yolk-entirely-separated-from-the-whites problem. So...


When you only have two or three minutes left on your timer, toast your toast. Actually, that's how long it takes my toaster to toast. The big issue is, really, that you don't your toast to finish waaaay before your eggs, but you also don't want your eggs to finish before the toast. So, timing is key.


Good. Now your toast is toasted.


I don't always butter one slice of toast. But sometimes I do. I would prefer, though, to use an avocado spread. Or just slices of avocado. Avocado's delicious.

But, I usually, when I'm avocado-less, butter one slice of toast and set a slice of cheese on the other. I prefer aged white cheddar or provolone, but swiss is good, too. Just don't use any of that orange crap. Why would cheese be orange, anyway? Cream is... cream colored. Off white. Whatever. Just don't use the looks-like-it's-been-radiated cheese on my sandwich recipe, okay? (Or do, I really don't care what you do. I eat orange cheese too sometimes. I'm just a grouchy hypocrite.)


Now, add your poached eggs. Try and drain as much of the water that's on them off, though. I like to use one of those spoons with the cut-outs in hopes of preventing the super-soggy-sandwich-situation. 


Season that sandwich. I like to use garlic salt and pepper. But you can use whatever you want. Just not, like, crack cocaine or cinnamon. 


Then, uh, fold it up into a proper sandwich. And eat it. 'Cause it's delicious, and you should be rewarded for all of that work that you just did. 

Anyway, I think the whole thing should only take you about 20-30 minutes. But I'm not positive because I've never timed myself. It's super good, though. So I really recommend you making it. Also, what's up with that title? I don't think I've ever made this for breakfast.