Five Pictures : 5000 words?

     I used to keep an art journal religiously... Almost everyday!  Not lately.  I scanned my five most recent pages, and they begin in July!  Oh dear, oh dear... ach sin agad e!  There you have it :)

Red Lobster & thorny beautiful goodness...

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had a beloved/hated minor holiday this week!  Yes, Friday was Valentine's Day, and Mr. Brown and I placed ourselves at the center of the madness.  We hadn't planned on it...at least, I hadn't planned on it.  But to the madness we went...  Red Lobster, 5:00pm.

It may sound strange, but I actually enjoyed being in the middle of the Valentine's Day busy-ness!  In the lobby of a classic date restaurant with a bunch of other couples...I really felt part of something ;)

In other news, the cold weather seems to have subsided for the time being which is cause to C-E-L-E-B-R-A-T-E!  I look forward to an entire week of above freezing temps.  It should be a lot more productive than this past week because honestly, I didn't get much done.  Not much to report.  Feel let down?

The Perks of being a Beauty Insider

After almost a year of being a Sephora Beauty Insider, I have made my first purchase!  I signed up in August of last year to take advantage of the free Benefit birthday gift, and didn't intend to take so long to respond to the countless promotional emails I have received (one of the perks of being a beauty insider...and I mean that!)  But it's been difficult to shell out the $$$ that most of Sephora products require.  I love looking, and even bought a couple things...only to take them back both times.  Very sad...

But enough history, here's what I bought!

Bare Minerals Original Foundation in Fairly Light

That's it.  No really, that's all I bought!  Thanks to my Beauty Insider status, I was able to choose 3 free samples:

- Balenciaga Florabotanica Eau de Parfum Spray
- Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Dollface
- Sunday Riley Good Genes Treatment

AND...  I could choose between 3 perfume sampler bags!

I chose the Day Date:

Fresh Fresh Life Eau de Parfum
Juicy Couture Malibu Eau de Toilette 
Philosopy Loveswept Eau de Toilette 
Armani Acqua di Gioia Eau de Parfum 
Narciso Rodriguez for her Eau de Toilette 
Hanae Mori Butterfly Eau de Toilette 
Prada Luna Rossa Eau de Toilette

If it wasn't already apparent...  I really just wanted all the samples :)  Let the perfume sampling begin!

p.s. Not sure if the Bare Minerals Foundation is quite the right shade...  Might have to make an exchange, but definitely not another return!  Enough of that.

Sewing Sunday!

I did a bit of weekend sewing Sunday!  My first real sewing project actually…that is, the first one following a pattern.  Prior to this project, I had sewn 1 1/2 quilts, pillows, and the inside of a couple crochet purses.  Essentially, I'd only sewn squares.

After flipping through the pages of this book, 4 years ago….  I found this apron.  I thought it was cute, practical, and looked fairly simple.  I believe it was fairly simple, but a tad too complicated for me to pull off without a hitch.  

I had several problems along the way, and the end result isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination (the whole gathering principle is way beyond me at the moment).  However; it's just an apron, and my first time trying, so I'm actually quite pleased with the result.  Considering that before now I had no apron (thinking that I shouldn't buy something that I was planning on making...for 4 years), I'm happy with my new apron.  I also have more respect for all of the apron makers out there.

It also matches my kitchen curtain!  Which I won't be showing today…  Like I said, the gathering principle is way beyond me at the moment.

A New Toy….oooohhhh…..ahhhhh!!!!

Look what came in the mail this week!!!

Despite the the fact that I had indeed ordered this, I was super surprised to receive a text on Wednesday informing me that it had been delivered.  I hadn't expected it until Friday at the earliest, especially after the snow-megeddon on Tuesday.  Hurrah for Apple!  They continue to amaze me with their shipping speed.

I've been wanting one of these since my lil sister let me "borrow" hers…for about 4 months!  That'll do it.  For all of you that are thinking how unnecessary an iPad mini is…  DO NOT LET SOMEONE LET YOU BORROW ONE.  For ANY length of time.  That is all.  

My Skincare Secrets

1. Neutrogena Naturals Purifying Facial Cleanser/Neutrogena Naturals Purifying Pore Scrub  2. Michael Todd Blue Green Algae Toner  3. Yes to Cucumbers Soothing Eye Gel  4. Yes to Cucumbers Daily Calming Moisturizer  5. St. Ives Timeless Skin Moisturizer

My skin has been so unusually clear for the past month, that I've decided to share what I'd like to term "My Skincare Secrets."  Excitement!  Obviously, everyone's skin is unique, and what I'm presenting will not work for everyone, but at the moment, it's working for me!

To give a little background:

     I had fairly clear skin all the way through high school and college.  Yes, I was that girl that would admit that she only used make-up wipes to clean her skin...when she thought about it...  Yuck.

     Anyway...  

     However, as a college graduate, high school (or the stress of post-college reality) caught up with me, and I started breaking out on a regular basis.  Although not as severe as many people have, it seemed as if I was either in the middle of a breakout, or covering up what one left behind.  It wasn't until I started using a bit of benzoyl peroxide every night that things seemed to be in control.  I still had issues on a regular basis, but much smaller in scale.  That is, until about 2 months ago!  I went to an Arbonne make-over party, and haven't had an "issue" since!  I'm not sure exactly why, but about that time I started using the Say Yes to Cucumber line, so that's possibly the game changer.  That's the theory!  Huzzah! 

A Baking Victory!!!

     So I've been wanting to try out this bread baking method called Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day for quite some time, and finally bit the bullet.  Bread baking has always been something that sounds more appealing than it actually is once you get into it.  I mean, once you decide you want fresh baked bread, you have to wait literally hours before it's done!  This is a problem…

     Not only am I not so patient when it comes to food prep, but spending that much time on something that might not turn out right seems like a terrible plan.  And my bread never seems to turn out quite right…  Until now!

     Now, this particular loaf took longer than 5 minutes, but the idea is that you mix up enough dough (no kneading!) to last you for 2 weeks, and keep it in the fridge to pull it out as you need it.  You still have to wait a bit, 40 minutes of rising time before baking, and 30 minutes in the oven, but the idea is that you spend 5 minutes of hands-on time.  Considering the usual 2+ hours of invested time, I'm good with an hour and a half.  Did I mention the no kneading bit?!  

     Here's the recipe I used!  Courtesy of Food.com 

5 Minute Artisan Bread

Ingredients:

Yield:
4 1lb loaves

• 3 cups lukewarm water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast (2 packets)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt or 1 1/2 tablespoons othercoarse salt
• 6 1/2 cups flour , unsifted, unbleached, all-purpose (not strong)

Directions:

1. Preparing Dough for Storage:.
2. Warm the water slightly. It should feel just a little warmer than body temperature. Warm water will rise the dough to the right point for storage in about 2 hours. With cold water it will need 3-4 hours.
3. Add the yeast to the water in a 5 quart bowl or, preferably, in a resealable, lidded (not airtight) plastic food container or food-grade bucket. Don't worry about getting it all to dissolve.
4. Mix in the flour and salt - kneading is unnecessary. Add all of the flour at once, measuring it in with dry-ingredient measuring cups, by gently scooping up the flour, then sweeping the top level with a knife or spatula. Don't press down into the flour as you scoop or you'll throw off the measurement. Mix with a wooden spoon, a high-capacity food processor (14 cups or larger) fitted with the dough attachment, or a heavy duty stand mixer fitted with the dough hook until the mixture is uniform. If you're hand mixing and it becomes too difficult to incorporate all the flour with the spoon, you can reach into your mixing vessel with very wet hands and press the mixture together. Don't knead, it isn't necessary. You're finished when everything is uniformly moist, without dry patches. It takes a few minutes, and will yield a dough that is wet and loose enough to conform to the shape of its container.
5. Allow to rise. Cover with lid (not airtight or it could explode the lid off). Allow the mixture to rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse (or at least flattens on the top), approx 2 hours, depending on room temperature, and initial water temperature Longer rising times, up to 5 hours, won't harm the result.
6. You can use a portion of the dough any time after this period.  Fully refrigerated dough is less sticky and easier to work with than dough at room temperature.
7. On Baking Day:.
8. prepare your loaf tin, tray, or whatever you're baking it in/on. Sprinkle the surface of your refrigerated dough with four. Pull up and cut of a grapefruit-size piece of dough (c 1 lb), using a serrated knife.
9. Hold the mass of dough in your hands and add a little more flour as needed so it won't stick to your hands. Gently stretch the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all 4 sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. Most of the dusting flour will fall off - that's fine, it isn't meant to be incorporated. The bottom of the loaf may appear to be a collection of bunched ends, but it will sort itself out during resting and baking.
10. The correctly shaped final product will be smooth and cohesive. The entire process should take no more than 30 - 60 seconds.
11. Rest the loaf and let it rise in the form, on the tray/pizza peel, for about 40 minutes Depending on the age of the dough, you may not see much rise during this period. That's fine, more rising will occur during baking.
12. Twenty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 450°F Place an empty broiler tray for holding water on any other shelf that won't interfere with the rising bread.
13. Dust and Slash. Dust the top of the loaf liberally with flour, which will allow the slashing knife to pass without sticking. Slash a quarter inch deep cross, diagonal lines, or tic-tac-toe pattern on top using a serrated knife.
14. After a 20 min preheat you're ready to bake, even though the oven thermometer won't be at full temperature yet. Put your loaf in the oven. Pour about 1 cup of hot water (from the tap) into the broiler tray and close the oven to trap the steam.
15. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is nicely browned and firm to the touch.
16. Store the rest of the dough in the fridge in your lidded (not airtight) container and use it over the next 14 days. The flavour and texture improves, becoming like sourdough. Even 24 hours of storage improves the flavour.
17. This is the standard bread. There are loads of variations - both savory and sweet - in the book.