Cravings

Jennifer Aniston was the hair catalyst to my love affair with super straight-n-glossy hair. Over the years, her coveted locks have even rivaled her own celebrity status. Bu let’s get things straight, Friends. When it comes to flat irons, not all are created equal. I’ve owned my fair share, so I can say with certainty that recreated celebrity-inspired styles has not always been easy. Some have left my hair quasi-straight while others have left it looking dry and crispy. Luckily, flat irons and their results improved with time.

I was actually pretty content with my current flat iron, until I tried the ghd Limited Edition Silver Metallic 1″ inch Styler. While I was initially impressed with its eye-pleasing sleek shimmering metallic design, I sort of expected it to produce the same results as the one I had already been using for a couple of years. However, the ghd styler had a few stylish surprises in store for me:

• When turned on, the styler alerts you with a little start-up noise.
• It heats up super fast and beeps when ready. We’re talking under 10 seconds.
• Smooth black plates easily glide through hair, preventing snagging.
• It has contoured plates to easily create curls and waves
• Comes with a heat-resistant quilted storage case
• Rotating cord also easy styling
• Automatic sleep mode is activated if it isn’t used for 30 minutes – whew! One less thing to worry about.

Equally impressive were the celebrity-inspired results the light-weight hair tool produced. After having my naturally wavy hair up in a messy top knot, I was shockingly able to easily create straight tresses in minutes. Say what? It’s true. For me, that’s a big deal. My hair is super long and thick hair. So creating super straight hair usually takes a looooong time for me.

These days flat irons works overtime, not only creating sleek styles but waves and curls too. Up until the ghd, I was never really pleased with the curl technique a flat iron produced. I was happy when I was able to create soft bed head curls (a look I love when straightened hair starts to look a little limp and lifeless). Again, in 10 minutes I was able to transform my hair and easily create pretty curls:

• Take a 1-inch section of hair
• Clamp down about mid-length
• Rotate hair upward and around
• Slowly glide the styler downward (every 2-3 seconds)
• Use opposite hand to guide hair by holding the ends

Disclosure: A sample product was gifted from ghd. Opinions expressed here are my own.

Just like Tom Cruise had Renée Zellweger at “hello” in Jerry Maguire, AmorePacific had me at free sample. Friend, this girl l-i-v-e-s for a free sample. It’s the best way to date a product before you commit. A girl can act buy impulsively when the item is price tag friendly, but when it comes to shelling out the serious cash, I want to know a product and I are compatible before I profess my undying love. It’s so easy to fall head over heels for a beauty product that comes in a pretty package, but as the saying goes “it’s what’s on the inside that counts.” I’m sure many of us have gotten swept away in the moment and purchased something that we later very much regretted. That’s what’s so great about a free sample. You take it home. You try it for awhile and then you make a decision. No strings attached.

  I was absolutely delighted when I received a sample of AmorePacific Future Response Age Defense Creme, a cream that protects skin against pollution and free radicals, and also restores and reduces skin inflammation for younger-looking, healthy skin. From the moment we met, we had beauty chemistry. It’s golden-coral container was beautiful and its contents were equally lovely. The rich whipped cream and its pleasing perfumed scent felt completely luxurious from the moment I put it on my skin. The beautiful glow that it gave my skin (so noticeable that it caused a few people to inquire about what I was using) was just the sign I needed to know that AmorePacific and I were M.F.E.O. Needless to say, I said “I do” to a full size jar.

Available : Sephora    Nordstrom

I love hearts. So naturally Valentine’s Day is the perfect chance for me to embrace the warm-and-fuzzy feeling that comes with anything heart-shaped (like Mini Nutella Heart Pies and Brownie Heart Cupcakes). These pretty Ombré Sugar Hearts are a lovely way to celebrate in girly fashion. The easy to make hearts are a sweet way to make any dessert special. You can use them as cupcake toppers, simple sugar cubes for tea or coffee, or even to decorate the cake. Store these in an air-tight container and use at your convenience whenever you need to sprinkle on a little touch of Martha Stewart. Cupcakes made from a simple cake mix box can suddenly become pretty fancy.

Ingredients: 2 cups sugar, meringue powder, food coloring
Need: tiny cookie cutter, silpat/parchment paper

Start by adding ½ cup sugar in medium size bowl.

Add a small amount of food coloring to the bowl of sugar. I used Betty Crocker neon gel food coloring in pink and purple. Add a little bit of each to the bowl to achieve the color you desire. Tip: start with a little, you can always add more later.

To create meringue liquid : add 4 teaspoons of meringue and 4 tablespoons of warm water in a small bowl.

Now add 1 teaspoon of that liquid meringue to the medium bowl of sugar and food coloring. Mix thoroughly using a spatula, whisk, or even your hands, if necessary.

The sugar should now look like pretty sand.

Pour your bowl of sugar onto a silpat or piece of parchment paper. Use your hands or spatula to pat out the sugar so it’s nice and compact. You need it to be firm and compact so that it retains its shape when you use your cookie cutter. Use a rolling pin to make the sugar firm about 1/2 to 1/4″ and level (depending on how thick you want your hearts).

Now use a small cookie cutter to cut out hearts. You’ll need a patient hand when doing this part. If needed, use your fingertip or a toothpick to gently tap the heart out of the cutter. If the hearts aren’t holding their shape, you may need to add a tiny bit more meringue liquid and remix. Cut out the desired amount of hearts, but be sure to set aside some of the colored sugar if you plan on making additional shades.

Place hearts on lined baking sheet. Preheat oven to to 200 degrees. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove and store in container. Allow hearts to harden overnight before use.

To create a lighter shade of your original color: take the leftover colored sugar that you rolled out and place it back in your bowl.  Add a 1/2 cup of sugar to the bowl and mix. Then add 1 teaspoon of meringue liquid and mix. Repeat the process of rolling and cutting out hearts.

Continue to repeat the process of taking the leftover colored sugar from each batch and adding and mixing another 1/2 cup of sugar and teaspoon of meringue liquid, until you’ve created the desired number of shades (4-5 shades).

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Aren’t these delicate rings sweet? I heart them too.

(a) Jennifer Meyer I Heart U Ring Set (b) Jennifer Meyer Diamond Open Heart Ring

 Recipe adapted from ericaobrien

I’m not talkin’ the explosive sibling rivalry between brothers J.R. and Bobby Ewing, but rather the Dallas Cowboys. Football players move to the back of the line because this post is about the cheerleaders. I’ve seen more episodes than I cared to admit of the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders reality show. And while all the dynamic dance moves, kick lines, and pom-pom shaking are seriously impressive, it’s really all about those star-embellished uniforms and even more so those coveted white boots.

For some of us, the only splits performed are those done by our pants while kicking some sick dance moves around the homestead to Luke Bryan’s “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)”. You won’t make the team, but at least you can have have the Dallas fashion with these Giuseppe Zanotti white leather wedge boots with gold stars (available here). These Frye Deborah Star Short Boots are pretty skake-worthy too.

Sometimes a girl wants the best of both worlds – sweet and salty. I stumbled upon this recipe while drooling watching Trisha Yearwood’s cooking show on the Food Network. Though the satisfying combination of sweet and salty was enough to motivate me to make this recipe, it was the easy factor that made this recipe turn from a mere temptation to a reality. The final push came when Trisha shared that her family refers to them as crack since everyone can’t get enough of them. After sampling far too many, I must confess that it’s easy to go a little coo-coo for these crack-ers.

Ingredients: Cooking spray, 1 sleeve of saltine crackers, 2 sticks (1 cup) butter, 1 cup light brown sugar, 1 bag of semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Line a cookie sheet or jelly-roll pan with aluminum foil, and then give it a good spray with nonstick spray (I used a baking spray). Arrange the saltines so they’re salt-side down, in a single layer.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar together. Boil over medium heat until it turns a caramel color, about five minutes (don’t stir). Remove the caramel from the heat and pour over the crackers. Then stick them in the oven and bake for 3 to 5 minutes, or until just bubbly. Keep your eyes on it.

Remove from the oven and pour the bag of chocolate chips over the crackers. Let the chips sit for about a minute or two.

Once they start to melt, take an icing spatula or knife and spread the warm chocolate over the crackers. Pop the cookie sheet into the freezer for about 15-30 minutes, until they’re completely cold and form a solid sheet.

Once you take them out of the freezer, you can either break them into pieces by hand (Trisha’s way) or use a pizza cutter and slice them into perfect pieces (my way). I prefer the clean cut, which keeps them pretty and also ensures that each piece is perfectly layered with all the goodness.

Now life is all about choices and this treat is no exception. You can eat them cold as a refreshing little treat with a little snap.

 Or you can let them sit at room temperature so that the caramel gets ooey-gooey, the cracker crumbles, and the warm chocolate melts to the touch of your fingertips (which you can see is starting to happen in this photo) Basically it depends on what you’re in the mood for – neat or messy. I tried both way – no complaints.

Whichever you prefer, you have to make this recipe because it’s too good and super easy to make. This is the type of snack-dessert that you bring to a party and you have to take a bow because everyone loves it and assumes you spent hours in the kitchen making it. It’s also the perfect treat you can whip up for watching movies on the sofa.

Speaking of things to satisfy double cravings. Let’s chat about this Free People Cabletown Pullover. While I’ve never seen a  Free People I didn’t like (get in my closet now), I’m currently devouring this one with my eyes. The cable knit sweater features a yummy caramel combo color, subtly textured stripes, wide ribbing, and a semi-sheer style. Like so many of Free People’s sweaters, this one satisfies my appetite for comfort and cuteness on chilly days that require layers of sweet and stylish.

It’s on sale now.