I'm looking through you, you're not the same

I was, admittedly, gone from the blogging world for far too long. I'm back, and hopefully will stay back! I've had several different blogs (Taiwan-travel blog, makeup blog, general blog, funny story blog, etc.). But, this time I hopefully have found a format that I'll stick with.

I'm going to use this blog for all kinds of things: products, recipies, clothes, news, reflections on days (and nights). We'll see if it's even remotely interesting.

Coming up:

• Cute glasses
• What's in My Bag feature (I'll try to shoot for weekly)
• Irish Soda Bread recipie
• Fall Favorites (clothes, makeup, food, activities etc.)

My my my my my boogie shoes

Well, maybe not actually "boogie shoes", more like pretty Friday work shoes. I got these little babies on sale at Target (home of all things I love, almost), and hadn't worn them yet. So, with a cream shirt and dark jeans they make their debut today. I love the orange-red stiching, and am falling slowly in love with the two-tone brown colors.

I choose to ignore that the bronze-gold color of the buckle doesn't match my engagement ring or the silver jewelry I always wear. Who really cares about that anyway? It's a pretty casual Friday addition, and I'm loving them!



Coming up:
* Things for Men
* Some makeup favorites
* Pretty tote-alternatives

Kale Chips and a Double Duty Device

As promised, super easy "Kale Chips":

Cut the leafy part of as much kale as you have/want away from the center rib.

Cut into bite sized pieces, and sprinkle/spray with olive oil.

Sprinkle on some coarse sea salt.

Bake at 350 until crispy (maybe 30 minutes or more, just test them if you aren't sure).

Delicious! A little bitter, a little salty and hard to say no to. For some reason, these always remind me of salt/vinegar chips but without the nasty smell.

Next up, I adore my coffee maker. It's a Keurig, and I love how easy and simple everything is with it. Not that it's ever a burden to make coffee, but this little baby does it all for me. An

d you can try out so many different flavors and types of coffee during the same week with the sampler packs. Earlier this week my roommate and I were in Bed Bath and Beyond (home to all things Keurig it seems) and stumbled upon boxes of these babies:

Those are K-cups that make flavored ICED teas from the Keurig. Perhaps this isn't a revelation to anyone else, but they are incredibly delicious and super easy to make. Again, iced tea isn't exactly a time consuming burden, but in forty seconds I have a huge glass of chilly delicious tea!

Elegant Bathroom Cleaning: Method

I, like everyone probably, have a love/hate relationship with bathroom cleaning. I don't mind doing it really, and I certainly love a good clean bathroom. But, I always hated the smell of bathroom cleaning products. That bleach-y, sear your hands off, smell is awful! But, seemingly a necessary evil. Well, enter my savior! Method!

Method cleaning products are something we're probably all plenty familiar with. I love their lavendar all purpose wipes, and their Best in Glass glass cleaner, but had never tried their bathroom products until recently. I'll never go back! I got Lil' Bowl Blu, a toilet cleaner that works just as well as anything else, but smells a bit like mint. The website reports that it works with lactic acid to dissolve stains. My toilet is fairly new and not super dirty, so I'm not sure I can testify to it's stain lifting power, but I did love that it was simple, not smelly and in an adorable bottle.

I also got the Tub-N-Tile product for cleaning up showers. I sprayed this on the doors of my shower (it's one of those shower only, all doors outfits) and scrub them down to get all the grime and smudges off. It smells absolutely perfect, eucalyptus mint made my entire bathroom feel like a relaxing spa. I have a tiny bathroom, so that's quite the accomplishment.

I'm going back for the wipes and the scrub in this collection, both of which have that same pretty smell. The bottom of my shower and my sink could both use a helthy scrub and I like to wipe down my sink and bathroom at least once a day because I find it impossible to be anything but completely messy with my various products and toothpaste.

The only drawback to these products are that, generally, they'll run about a dollar or two more expensive than the non-natural versions that smell like ammonia hell dipped in bleach chocolate. I think some of the other brands have probably now come out with sweet smelling natural alternatives, but I'm a sucker for the Method packaging. Also, most of the products can be bought in bulk refills, so you only need to buy the bottles once!

Tousle Me Softly Review

For years I was a straightener girl. I wanted smooth, silky, straight locks and I would go up to 475 degrees to get it. I'd wash my hair and then frantically apply smoothing serums to fight off frizz and the dreaded waves that my hair naturally falls into. Not pretty waves, unpredictable waves all over.

I needed control, and I welded a hot straightener every morning to get it!

Then I entered grad school, moved to a new town, got a puppy, got a graduate assistantship and decided...well. Maybe it's not worth it. Maybe I don't need control over my hair...

Alright, snap out of it. Look, I basically decided I wanted to look different sometimes. So I picked up two products from the new Herbal Essences Tousle Me Softly line. I've been using the finishing cream and the hairspray lately and I think I've finally nailed down the combination that works best for easy, frizz-free waves.

I wash (or sometimes just wet down) my hair in the morning, and with it soaking wet I spray on Bumble and Bumble Tonic Lotion, just to give it a good bit of detangling and make it soft. Then I let it air dry for a few minutes (not exact science, I just pop in my contacts and feed/play with June-puppy while I wait). Then I run a good bit of the Finishing Cream through my hair, focusing on the ends. I have hair in the middle of my back, and I use two quarter size dollops.

I scrunch it up a bit (or use my new Remington Airwave attachment, more on this later), and then spritz a bit of the Hairpray on the waves (never on the top part of my hair) and away I go!

These products smell so nice, and I love that they never make my hair feel crunch or greasy. It's pretty simple to get nice, beachy waves with this line.

A Ruffle Monday

Lately I've been really into pretty feminine details (lace, ruffles, tulip skirts, delicate necklaces etc.) and this Ann Taylor Loft shirt tickles that fancy by being completely flexible but still adorable. I have it in a light purple, but might buy a nice white one and a green one as well. It's just simple cotton with pretty flower detailing on the neckline, and could easily pair with trousers, skirts, and jeans. I'm pretty sure it'll be perfect under a pretty cardigan for the fall.

Coming up soon:

*Review of two Herbal Essences styling products from the Tousle Me Softly

*Pretty eyeglasses

*Lovely bracelets

*Recipe for kale chips

How 'Bout a Little More Baklava...

Some of my grad school friends and I get together to eat Sunday Dinner, and we always divide up the work load. This week, I had dessert. I wanted to try out a recipie for Apple Purses, because I have a few Granny Smiths that are going to be too ripe in a few days. However, I decided on Baklava instead, after deciding that if I'm going to work with pastry dough, I might as well enter the big leagues of phyllo dough.

There are as many baklava recipies as there are Greek families, but here's a simple one:

*1 package of phyllo dough (mine was 8 oz.)

*2 cups chipped pecans (any favorite nut will work)

*1/2 cup butter (melted)

*1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

*1 cup water

*1 cup white sugar

*1 teaspoon vanilla extract

*1/2 cup honey

-Heat oven to 350, butter bottom of 9x13 baking dish

-Combine cinnamon and nuts and unroll phyllo dough

-Lay 3-5 sheets of phyllo dough on bottom of dish (guesstimate, lean more towards 5 sheets but don't worry about counting all those tiny sheets)

-Brush lightly with butter and sprinkle on some of the nuts. Cover the whole area but don't pile them on, because you don't want the layers to weigh too much.

-Layer about 2 sheets of dough over the nuts, brush with butter. Repeat until all the nuts are gone.

-Cover the top with roughly 5 sheets of dough. Brush top with butter.

-Cut baklava into pieces (diagonal is traditional but live on the edge!) Score the tops of each piece a bit.

-Bake for 50 minutes, or until top is fully golden brown.

-While that bakes, mix sugar and water and bring to a boil in a small saucepan.

-Mix in vanilla and honey and simmer for 20 minutes.

-Once the baking is done, spoon the sauce on top of the baklava.

-Let cool completely, until the dough hardens and enjoy!

I found it was best if I worked fast with the phyllo, but be careful when unrolling it. It breaks super easily, of course. The dessert was a hit!

Junebug, Jitterbug, Jive Talk and Journeys

This intro blog is just to say welcome to my tiny internet nook.

I'll use the blog for all kinds of things: new recipes (that I will have always taken from somewhere else), DIY projects (that I also took from someplace), makeup reviews, clothes, general neat lifestyle musings. I might even write about current events or news, but will hopefully avoid ranting.

I'm a 23 year old graduate student, born, raised and still living in the South. I like to cook, read, buy pretty things (and sometimes make them). So, welcome!