Sultry Holiday Makeup Tutorial! by Casey Holmes

5 Amazingly Simple Cake Decorating Ideas - Kitchen Conundrums with Thomas Josheph

GRWM: Natural Glam Makeup Look

Absolutely LOVE this look! 

New Book - Under Progress!

Alright, so I've been hinting that I have a big announcement to make - and here it finally is!

Though I have yet to work on the sequel for Twisted, which will be titled Unstable, I've started a new project that I hope to have finished writing by the end of this summer, by the latest, September. I'm roughly 15,000 words in, my goal being at least 60,000, so I'm halfway to being halfway there!

This will be a much lighter, humorous, though of course with a major hint of angst, than Twisted. Much less action. Though it will be featuring a female protagonist. I have yet to come with a sticking title, but I am very hopeful with what I've got so far! I'm actually writing a lot of it, the majority actually, by hand, which is something far different for me, being accustomed to typing everything on a computer. It's a different method of working, but I'm enjoying it immensely so far, and I'll probably keep doing it, especially with me going on vacation and everything.

Anyhow, so the projected finish date will be sometime in September, or even before. I'm not sure if I'm going to choose the indie route with this project, but I'll contemplate that further as the story progresses. I wish I could tell ya'll more info concerning the book itself, but at this point, I'm still connecting the dots for the plot, not to mention the characterization, so I'll reveal more once it becomes more concrete.

Until then!
-Sarah

Colorado 2016

Two more days, and I'll be in Colorado for a much needed getaway!

Photos courtesy of Sarah Reeves (AKA me)

Mac Lipstick Dupes + Women Guess Cheap Va Expensive Makeup (Buzzfeed)

Some Writing Tips (From Lena)

Words that describe someone's voice

Beautiful Piano Cover! #BreakingBenjamin

Fudgy Avocado Brownies

So, I know this may sound weird - the idea of making brownies with avocados. But, think about this.

According to authoritynutrition.com, Avocados are full of nutrients.

 Avocados are very nutritious and contain a wide variety of nutrients, including 20 different vitamins and minerals.

Here are some of the most abundant nutrients, in a single 3.5 ounce (100 gram) serving (3):

Vitamin K: 26% of the RDA.
Folate: 20% of the RDA.
Vitamin C: 17% of the RDA.
Potassium: 14% of the RDA.
Vitamin B5: 14% of the RDA.
Vitamin B6: 13% of the RDA.
Vitamin E: 10% of the RDA.
Then it contains small amounts of Magnesium, Manganese, Copper, Iron, Zinc, Phosphorous, Vitamin A, B1 (Thiamine), B2 (Riboflavin) and B3 (Niacin).
This is coming with 160 calories, 2 grams of protein and 15 grams of healthy fats. Although it contains 9 grams of carbs, 7 of those are fiber so there are only 2 “net” carbs, making this a low-carb friendly plant food.

So, when I stumbled upon a brownie recipe with avocados being one of the chief ingredients, it certainly caught my attention. I for one love avocados, but even so, I've never made brownies before using them.

But nevertheless, I tried it.

And I just want to say that I love them! The dark chocolate does create a VERY chocolate-y flavor, along with the cocoa. I also added sweet and low along with the sugar-free maple syrup, for a sweeter flavor. All in all, I love this recipe, and I'll definitely be using it again!

Kudos to Elizabeth's recipe on her Frugal Mom eh blog!

FUDGY AVOCADO BROWNIES WITH AVOCADO FROSTING

Ingredients:

300 g dark chocolate (chopped or chips)
2 tbsp Coconut oil
2-4 hass avocados, pitted and peeled
1/2 cup honey or maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup less 1 Tbsp. coconut flour

For the Avocado Frosting:

One medium sized hass avocado, pitted and peeled
3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
3 Tbsp maple syrup

Healthy + Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookies!

So today I tried making a batch of these, except I ran into a couple issues. 

One, I couldn't find oat flour at my grocery store, so I went ahead and used Almond flour. 

Two, I just realized I didn't use the cinnamon, and I also used sugar-free maple syrup to enhance the taste. 

Three, I wasn't sure if they meant just regular salt, but I went ahead and used sea salt. 

And lastly, I added two egg whites for protein. All in all, this recipe is great - it results in very yummy cookies that are very healthy. I'm usually not a fan of dark chocolate, but I liked the rich taste of it with the overall cookie. I'll definitely be using this recipe again! 

I got this recipe from Chelsea's blog Chelsea's Messy Apron. And here's the recipe:

BEST EVER HEALTHY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

 

SAVE PRINT

PREP TIME

10 mins

COOK TIME

10 mins

TOTAL TIME

20 mins

 

Serves: 18 cookies

INGREDIENTS

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 4 tablespoons dark brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1 and 1/2 cups oat flour (regular oats blended)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
• Optional: coarse sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Take regular old fashioned oats or quick oats and blend them until they resemble a flour or powder in a blender or food processor.
2. Combine the vanilla extract, large egg, and brown sugar in a bowl. Melt the coconut oil and let it cool slightly before adding to the bowl. Beat everything together until just combined.
3. Stir in the oat flour (measured after blending NOT before), baking soda, cinnamon (scale this amount to taste preferences), and salt.
4. Stir until just combined and then fold in the dark chocolate chips.
5. Chill the dough for at least one hour.
6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
7. Using a cookie scoop (and pack these in the scoop very tightly or they may crumble), scoop out balls of the dough onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Press a few more chocolate chips in the tops if desired.
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges.
9. Remove and allow to stay on the baking sheet for another 2 minutes before removing to a wire cooling rack.
10. Enjoy!

Quick Tips:

1. Any substitutions NOT recommended. Although some "tried and true" substitutions may work in other recipes, I do not guarantee they work in this recipe. Especially substituting out the coconut oil (it is needed for stability in this recipe)
2. Scoop out the dough with a cookie scoop to avoid the coconut oil coming back to room temperature after the chilling. Don't have a cookie scoop? Use your hands, but then re-chill the dough for 15-30 minutes after the balls are rolled.
3. Pack in the cookies TIGHT in the cookie scoop (or your hands) to avoid crumbly cookies.
4. It is recommended you check your baking soda and make sure it is not expired. Old baking soda will cause an off taste in these cookies and may make them very flat.
5. Measure the ingredients exactly. As with most baked goods, loosely measuring may result in cookies that do not work out.
6. If your cookies are turning out a little dryer than you would like, check the following things: are you packing in the oat flour too tightly? Don't pack in the oat flour and perhaps try spooning and leveling the flour into the cup measurers. Are you measuring the coconut oil when solid? Make sure to measure it in a liquid form. What kind of egg are you using? The recipe calls for a large egg, not medium. I use and highly recommend organic eggs. They are always a little larger than "regular" large eggs and have a yellower yolk which tends to add more flavor and moistness to these cookies.
7. Allow the cookies to cool completely or they tend to be crumbly. They are DELICIOUS right out of the oven, but a bit crumbly until they have cooled all the way.

Teacher Who Slept With High School Student: 'I Didn't Think It Was Legally Wrong'

By far my favorite episode of his! XD "Am I in the Twilight Zone or something?" 

10 Easy Ways to Lose Weight

One thing I'd like to bring to focus that she mentioned in this video is eating five meals a day. The misconception is that the less you eat, the more weight you'll lose. But something I've learned is that it doesn't necessarily matter how much you eat, but what you eat. For instance, if you only eat one meal, and it's say, a piece of lasagna - bubbling with carbs and fat (from the pasta and cheese), that'll only slow your metabolism. And make you eat more, since you're probably starving. But if you eat nutritious, un-processed foods throughout the day, this'll support your metabolism as well as satisfy hunger cravings. Though I'm not professional nutritionist, this is just something I've learned from losing weight myself, and I'm glad she made that point in this video.