China Glaze - Opitcal Illusion

China Glaze - Opitcal Illusion

Taking a break from the European polish chronicles to bring you one of China Glaze's latest and greatest! This color, Optical Illusion, is from CG's new Prismatic Chroma Glitters collection. From the moment I saw swatches, I knew that I just had to own some, after all I do love glitter polish! It also helped that Ulta is running a buy 2 get 1 free and CG is included in that deal! Anyway, I didn't really need an excuse to swap some up - but once seeing them in person I was really in awe - the colors are truly gorgeous! This one was my fave, a shimmery bluish green with tons of multi-colored glitter in it! It's almost like a holo polish in that it looks more blue or green depending upon the angle/light. After two coats I had pretty near perfect color payoff even one coat would do but I do love to pack on the glitter! The only downside to the polish is that even after a topcoat it's not super shiny, glittery, yes, shiny not really.. With that extra shine factor this collection would definitely be one of my favorites, but I do still love it. Look for a swatch of Full Spectrum, also from the Prismatic Chroma Glitters collection coming soon!

Lip Smacker - Happy Chick & Fuzzy Bunny Easter 2012 Collections

Lip Smacker - Happy Chick & Fuzzy Bunny Easter Collections

 Lip Smacker collection for Easter 2012! Pictured here are two trio canes, Happy Chick and Fuzzy Bunny! Each cane is complete with a super cute and coordinated topper and I think the packaging on the tubes is adorable - I love the little characters!!! The formula here is shiny and smooth like a regular Lip Smacker. Not much creativity with the flavors here, the formulas are similar, if not the same, as Smackers past. However, the only dupe here is Marshmallow Chick. Overall really cute packaging and flavor names were the kicker here for me, and the fact that I'm a total Smackers junkie and had to have these! The flavors/names (which are also super cute!) are as follows;

Happy Chick Collection:

"Enjoy a sweet treat from the Easter Chick with this trio of Lip Smackers. Festive flavors and decorative designs make it perfect for Easter basket stuffing!" Collection includes: 

Marshmallow Chick 

Purrfect Strawberry Creme 

Baanilla Cake 

Fuzzy Bunny Collection:

 "Hop down the bunny trail with this amazing trio of Lip Smackers. Unique spring flavors and designs make this collection a very special Easter treat!" Collection includes:

Pink Bunny Cake

Jelly Bean Buzz

Yummy Gummy

Gnocchi Recipe

Gnocchi Recipe

Ingredients:

2 cups boiling water

2 cups potato flakes

2 teaspoons salt

3 cups flour

Directions: 

Boil water

Place potato flakes in medium bowl

Add boiling water to potato flakes, stirring until combined. Let cool.

Add salt. 

Gradually combine flour with mashed potatoes, making a fairly stiff dough. (Add more or less flour to reach desired consistency)

Turn dough onto floured working surface and lightly knead

Roll dough flat sprinkling with flour/adding more as needed (again, dough should be easy to work with and not sticky)

Dip knife in flour and cut dough into strips about 3/8in. 

Cut each strip into bite sized pieces about 1in long

Roll each piece of dough on fork with a downward motion

Marvel at your first perfect gnocchi 

Line cookie sheet with flour and aluminum foil for each layer of gnocchi and freeze for storage

You can cook these immediately, instead of freezing. They are AWESOME fresh but have the tendency to get doughy quickly so stir often when cooking so that they don't stick together. You will know the gnocchi are done when they rise to the top of the boiling water. Once done, drain water. Top with your favorite sauce and you've got a super delicious meal!

China Glaze - Full Spectrum

China Glaze - Full Spectrum

As promised - Full Spectrum!! Another great color from China Glaze's Prismatic Chroma Glitters collection! This is a gorgeous pinkish silverish color with tons of multi-colored glitter. This color really looks different depending on the way the light is hitting it which is super cool. Again, like Optical Illusion I found this formula to be not all that shiny, which is a total bummer because with the added shine factor this color would be truly stunning. Overall I really like this collection it's unique and fun and sparkly. 

Double Cookie Brownies

Double Cookie Brownies

Ingredients:

1 pkg bake and break chocolate chip cookies

1 pkg Oreo cookies

1 box brownie mix

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup oil (or applesauce)

2 eggs (or 1/2 cup soy milk)

~1/4 cup caramel topping

~1/4 cup fudge topping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray bottom of baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Evenly spread out chocolate chip cookie dough on bottom layer of pan, covering entirely. 

Place Oreo cookies on top of chocolate chip cookie layer (I used double stuffed Oreos because they're my favorite!)

Prepare brownie mix as directed on package, or by making healthy substitutions (replace oil with applesauce and eggs with soy milk)

Cover cookie layers with brownie mixture

Bake in oven for around 40 minutes or until done. (I timed mine for about 35 but kept them in for much longer than that. Keep in mind these will have to bake longer than normal brownies due to the bottom layers.)

Once brownies have fully cooked (toothpick inserted in center comes out clean) set them out to cool.

Once cooled, top brownies with caramel and fudge toppings, cut, serve and enjoy the layered goodness.

Mmmm! Take a bite!

deBBY - 109

deBBY - 109

There's not much I love more than a brand new pink or red nail polish and deBBY's Color Play nail polish in 109 is no exception! This is a continuation of the European nail collection, chronicling the new nail colors/brands I bought while abroad! I picked this one up in Rome at OVS Industries. To be honest I couldn't decide on a color from this brand, so I went up going with this delightful pink. It's totally similar to a few other pinks I have but this one is soo shiny! Another bonus is that it's super pigmented. I only needed one coat, honest! I did end up putting on a topcoat just to speed up the dry time, but it really didn't need it (still can't get over the shine factor). The staying power with this polish is amazing too! It only started chipping after about 4 days in and a crazy work week to boot! That's awesome compared to my usual manicure lasting about 2 days.. I wish this brand was sold in the US! The color selection at OVS wasn't that vast, but I checked out the deBBY brand's website and boy oh boy I might have to just order myself some more! Love!

Garlic Butter Knots Recipe (inspired by C & O Trattoria)

Garlic Butter Knots Recipe (inspired by C & O Trattoria)

Foreword:

If you've ever been to Marina Del Rey's C & O Trattoria you will know what I'm talking about when I speak of an insatiable craving for their killer garlic rolls. I've tried re-creating them here, and while they must have some super secret ingredient in theirs (crack, maybe?) this is my (pretty delicious) take on their amazing garlic rolls! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 bag of fresh pizza dough

4 tbsp. olive oil

4 tbsp. butter or margarine

2 tbsp. chopped or minced garlic

2 tbsp. oregano

2 tsp. salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350

Cut off strips from your pizza dough about 4' long to create knots

Take the strip of dough and literally tie it in a knot

 

Place knots on greased cookie sheet 

Pop in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden

While knots are baking, prepare your garlic butter topping.

Combine olive oil and melted butter in a small bowl. Add garlic, oregano, and salt.

 

After knots are done baking, set aside to cool momentarily (you still want to serve these hot, just not 350 degrees hot).

Generously cover knots with garlic butter mixture. Add more oregano on top if desired. 

Try not to eat just one!