Get Ready With Me: Holiday Glam

Earlier this season I was toying with a kind of festive "party" look that wouldn't be over the top (as so many are) and this is what I came up with!

All right, well, to start, I used Clindamycin Phosphate Lotion as a moisturizer (it's prescription, I recently broke out a bit and wanted to get that in check) and touched up some acne bits with benzoyl preoxide gel (there are really mixed reviews on whether or not you should use this for cystic acne, but a friend of mine suggested it, and I think it's really been helping me). For my primer, I used ALMAY Smart Shade Luminous Primer WHICH I think I like better than the ALMAY Smart Shade Perfect & Correct. It kind of reminds me of the Dr. Brandt "pores no more" Pore Refiner which, as you may remember, I was OBSESSED with (but way too poor to purchase). 

Then, I used NYX Above & Beyond Full Coverage Concealer to cover up any blemishes, discolorations, or complexion flaws haunting me. I REALLY like this stuff. It kind of reminds me of clay for some reason. For my liquid foundation, I mixed together NYX Stay Matte But Not Flat liquid foundation with Neutrogena SkinClearing Oil-Free liquid foundation. I don't know how people generally feel about the "mixing two foundations" thing, but the Neutrogena stuff is runny and too light and the NYX stuff is too heavy and dark, so mixed together they worked really well for me. 

Anyway, I topped that all off with Maybelline Shine Free Loose Powder. I think it's kind of underwhelming, but it works. Man, oh man, I just wish I still had that Tarte Amazonian Clay finishing powder. But alas. I used it all. And I don't have the funds for $30+ foundations. Siiiigh. Anyway!

For my eyes I used basically everything I own. Just kidding. But I usually JUST do one layer of mascara and skip on the eyeshadow (because ugh time right?) so this is WAAAY more than what I normally do. Okay, so I started off with LORAC eyelid primer. Then, I used bareMinerals "Ice Queen" all over my lids from my lashes to my brows. Then, I used 

Okay, so then, to really party it up, I used TWO blushes. "That's excessive," you say. Quietly, I agree. Okay, so first, I like to use NYC Cheek Glow Powder Blush by dusting it over my cheek bones in an upwards angle, true Deanna Troi fashion (though, admittedly, it's quite a bit more muted in color than Deanna Troi would rock.) Next, I used Physicians Formula Mineral Wear Mineral Blush by grinning and then swooping it around on the apples of my cheeks.

For my hair, I sometimes like to do the milkmaid braids paired with a golden, braided headband. It's a pretty simple hair style but looks really nice. So, I start by parting my hair in the middle (or middleish, my part just doesn't really like being in the middle. It does everything it can to avoid it) and then put it into two, low pigtails. Then, I did a simple, standard braid on each side. Then I just kind of twisted and flipped them upward, and held them in place with a TON of bobbypins. Then, I slipped on the gold braided headband and hairsprayed the crap out of my hair.

This is the finished hair product. There's still a BIT more I do for the entire look. Starting with...

Lips. (Okay, you can tell from the picture on the right that I actually changed before doing my lips. But, whatever. Okay, so, I've been using this Cake Batter ChapStick to moisturize my lips and I REALLY like it. It's so yummy. Then, for my lip color, I used NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Amsterdam!

Finally, clothes! As it turns out, you have to wear them. EVEN during the holiday season. I know, I know, Gasp. So, I picked my green tights (Target), this little black dress I've had for eons (no clue where it's from), this set of fake-diamond necklace and earrings (Macy's), and my new favorite tall black boots (Payless). The dress and earrings have a proper party feel to them, the green tights kick in a bit of holiday spirit, and the boots are my hands down favorite shoes for the time being so they throw in a bit of comfort. 

Film Fashion: Snow

Okay, so... It's kind of hokey, but one of my favorite Santa films is...

So, uh, here's what happened:

Snowmints!

Is it just me, or does Christmas make you REALLY nostalgic? Well, in honor of holiday-induced nostalgia, I thought I would share a recipe from my youth with you. I think this recipe originally came from an American Girl book/catalog/magazine thing and I remember always having a lot of fun making it...

Fair warning to parents: this recipe is a bit messy. So... I think this is a recipe that kids would probably SUPER enjoy and it's pretty simple and stuff... but they'll probably get really sticky and covered in powder and possibly turn blue in the process. I mean, I'm an adult and I managed to do all of those things. 

Okay! So, what we're going to be making is SNOWMINTS. They're like mints that look like snowmen. That's... it's... pun.

For this recipe, you will need:

• 1 tbsp softened butter
• 1 tbsp light corn syrup
• 1/2 tsp mint extract
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• food coloring

Mix everything (except the food coloring) together. I find it works best to add the cup of powdered sugar in 1/4th cup increments. You can stir with a spoon at the beginning, but it, erm, needs to get to the point where you knead it. 

With about 2/3s of the mint-dough, form little snowmen bodies. That's pretty simply just rolled up balls stacked on top of one another. 

Now, you're going to want to mix some food coloring into a little of the remaining dough (seriously, a very little of the remaining dough...) for noses. Preferably, you'll mix in both red and yellow to get a nice orange color so their noses look like snowman carrot noses and not remarkably like beaks. But, you know me: I never have all the right ingredients when I set off on one of these projects. 

Anyway, then you form little noses and stick them to your little snowmen. 

Then, add blue food coloring to remaining dough. Then, fashion little hats, scarves, earmuffs, capes, or whatever else you'd like out of the blue dough and fasten them to the snowmen. 

Thus making adorable little treats. But also super sugary/sweet treats, so I'd advise against popping an entire snowmint in your mouth in one go. 

Film Fashion: Christmas Kiss

Okay. So. To preface: I have a strange adoration for truly terrible holiday themed romantic comedies. I mean, I have a strange adoration for any truly terrible romantic comedy, but holiday themed? YES PLEASE. Anyway. That is to say... I AM going to write this whole fashion blog blogpost about the movie Christmas Kiss but I 110% don't recommend watching it unless you're looking for a cheese-tastic illogical flick that induces both giggles and extreme bouts of discomfort.

Right. Good. Let's get started.

The movie begins with this little scene in a theater and I can't remember what's actually discussed here, but I think it's included in the film to set up a few things. Like: That dude in the workshirt has lots of sage advice and compassion, the girl in the colorful layers and fur vest (kind of a Lizzie McGuire vibe, yeah?) is a costume designer for the theater, and the girl in blue with the button down was a set designer but now she has some non-theater related job with a thankless and horrible boss. I'm not sure why she's so happy, though, she has a thankless boss and her button down is doing that horrible bust button gape that makes you anxious about your otherwise adorable outfit for the entire day.

The Quest To Make The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

Okay! So, one big part of Christmas in my family is cookie baking. I mean, back in the day, we would have "Cookie Bake Weekends" at my house and my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins would all come down. And we'd bake SO MANY COOKIES. It was a lot of fun, and I have a ton of really fond memories from then.

Anyway, my favorite kind of cookie is, naturally, chocolate chip cookies. And unfortunately, I suck at baking chocolate chip cookies. So, I decided to pursue the perfect chocolate chip cookies. I am by no means claiming to have achieved chocolate chip cookie perfection. But! I made some changes to my baking process and it really seemed to help. So! I thought I would share those tips with you!

1. Start with softened butter. 
This piece of advice comes from my cousin Emily. She also recommends microwaving your butter if you want to get to your cookie-baking faster. I, however, do not own a microwave. So I just had to leave it out for a bit to get nice and room temperature.

2. Use a wooden spoon.
This piece of advice also comes from Emily. To reconfirm it, though, the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever had were made by a family friend who used to watch me on Wednesdays when my mom had meetings, and she also hand stirred everything. Seriously, it's laborious but I think there's something to the "don't use an electric mixer" tip. This is also why you should start with softened butter. I mean, can you imagine trying to hand stir rock hard butter? No thank you.

3. Add a little extra flour.
This tip came from one of my best friends, Laura. One of my big issues with chocolate chip cookie baking is that they get thin and flat when they're baking, and adding a little bit extra flour helps combat that. In the interest of full disclosure, Emily was appalled by the thought of adding extra flour. Anyway, I think it's a good idea if your problem is thin/flat cookies, but definitely be wary of how much extra flour you're adding.

4. Use dark chocolate chips.
Nobody really gave me this tip, but dark chocolate chips are the best chocolate chips. So I definitely would recommend it.

6. Use parchment paper.
Nobody gave me this advice, but my mother basically demanded it. So, parchment paper is great because it protects your pans and makes your cleanup process way easier. But! I was surprised to find that it also acted like some fantastic cookie saver. Actually I have no idea whether or not the success of this batch of cookies had anything to do with my use of parchment paper. But like a sports fan's unwashed red socks, I'll be using parchment paper while cookie baking from now on.

Seriously. This batch of cookies turned out amazing. Santa's going to be so stoked this year.

If you have any other advice to help me on my quest to make the perfect chocolate chip cookies, please leave it in the comments! I'm seriously eager to know!

Christmas Decorating!

Okay! So, to kick of this December, I decided to get into the Christmas spirit by decorating my room! Now, obviously, if you're going to put up decorations, you have to start by cleaning up a bit. Which also means packing up some of your nicknacks that might be strewn about. (Like... I personally have the ceramic statue collection of a 76 year old woman.)

Okay! So, you might be thinking, "Woah-ho, Katrina, you definitely still have a lot of nicknacks strewn about" and if you're thinking that, you'd be right. BUT it's significantly less than the before pictures (if I'd taken before pictures) would have shown.

Anyway. Since my space is kind of tight and cluttered to begin with, I tried to keep things simple when I was decorating. So, as you can see, I've added a festive touch but not... well, transformed it into a Macy's in mid-December.

Right, so, here are a few big room shots, but I'll also show you some of the little Christmas touches up close. I think your best bet for decorating a space like this is to keep the decorations simple understated. (Yeah, I don't really know what I'm talking about. Let me just show you some more pictures.)

Okay! First and foremost: Christmas Trees. If we're talking about decorating a more spacious area, I'm definitely ALL for real trees. But I was obviously pretty limited space-wise, so I just have two, small, plastic trees. I've had each of these for quite some time. The one on the left is small and you can switch it "on" so that the tips glow different colors. It's pretty nifty, and it is technically on in this picture, but I just don't think it was a feature that I could capture in a photograph. On the right, I have a bit larger of a tree. I decided to put it at the corner of my desk where there's this kind of elevated platform. It's in the corner of my room and really able to kind of be a focal point there. Anyway, it's decorated with a few decorations that I made when I was younger and some little ornaments that I bought in a pack. I have placed a winter themed candle from Bath and Body Works next to each one, giving them a nice warm glow and making my whole room smell like a winter wonderland. Also, I decided to place the ceramic cat next to the larger tree because she really looks like she belongs in that scene, you know?

Next: Christmas Lights! The lanterns hanging next to my winter are there all year round, but I've added a few strands of lights going around my window and then up and across one of my walls. I decided to go with the plain yellow lights because my room is already kind of chaotic. But I totally support the multi-colored lights, too. Along that wall I also hung a paper chain that I made out of red and green decorative paper. It looks really nice running parallel with the yellow lights.

Okay! So, the situational stuffed animal can totally look like a decoration. Unlike the mouse on the right, the sock bunny on the left isn't innately Christmas themed. But since he's setting next to a bobble head from Rudolph, some Christmas lights, and a Vanilla Cookie candle? He looks like a proper Christmas decoration. On the right, I have a Christmas mouse (he goes with a book that I think was actually titled Christmas Mouse...) and his red scarf makes him look kind of festive to begin with. But then since he's setting next to a "letters" boxed wrapped in Christmas paper he definitely looks festive. ...Right, so, by "situational stuffed animals" I mean: you can make your stuffed animals look Christmasy just by setting them in Christmasy situations.

Wreaths! This particular wreath I made with some styrofoam, yarn, and Christmas tree ornaments. I wanted to go with monochromatic color scheme, but a colorful one could be fun, too.

And finally: my favorite decoration. This is a Christmas Tree made out of baby food jars, some tinsel, and Christmas Tree lights. I've had it, well, since I was a baby. And I really really adore it. I remember when I was younger plugging it in around Christmas time, laying on the floor, and staring at it until I fell asleep.

Okay! So, that's it for this blogpost. Please let me know in the comments down below what YOUR favorite decoration is (for whatever you celebrate!). AND keep your eyes peeled because there will be a video coming up shortly that takes you through how I made some of these decorations.