Create and Covet

May we all experience something like that this weekend… Catch you on Tuesday.

It’s ok to laugh. I did.

So after every system of my body was infected for a solid two weeks I figured I should probably replace the lipgloss that I had been using. I had to kill some time at the mall a few days ago (I was getting my car detailed nearby) and wandered into Sephora. While going from brand to brand I decided to give my old high school friend Clinique a visit (I know I’m not the only person who was addicted to getting their free gifts with purchase!).

The chubby stick has such an unfortunate name but it’s a pretty good little gloss/balm combo. The colors are all pretty and somewhat sheer in their impact. Probably the best part is that it is glossy without being sticky, super moisturizing and self “sharpening” since you just twist the silver part at the bottom to force more up on the top. I purchased the Woppin Watermelon for a pretty sheer pink flush but honestly I liked all of the colors. Make sure to check them out the next time you’re browsing the cosmetic counters.

So I’ve been eyeing everything mint lately but I’ve been too nervous to pull the trigger on any big jean purchases. I love the color though and wanted to find a way to get some mint in my life. Enter Revlon:

This color is perfect. It’s called “Minted” and it offers just a small touch of the mint color I’ve been pining after. It was $4.99 at CVS but I got a $3 CVS coupon at checkout so it was actually only $1.99. Score!

So I mentioned yesterday that I had purchased quite a few zucchinis lately. I was constantly seeing pictures of zucchini chips on Pinterest and decided to go ahead and try it. I always wondered if those recipes that you see looking delicious all over pinterest are really that easy or that good and this seemed like a pretty no fail first try at completing a Pinterest task.

The instructions on the original recipe went something like this:

Cut up Zucchini and lay the thin slices on a baking pan. Add salt and pepper:

Then add other spices if you’d like. I added Garlic and Red Pepper

Then comes the baking. They said 350 for 15-20 minutes:

As you can see, some look pretty crispy and others don’t. This was after 30 minutes. At the 15-20 minute point none of them were crispy. I think if you did this with a mandolin slicer then you might have better luck but since I cut them by hand I had some that were crunchy and some that were still mushy. They weren’t bad but they weren’t great either. They were less watery than pan sauteeing them so maybe this could be used as a cooking method for zucchini on a regular basis when you’re not looking for a real crunchy chip experience.

So while this one may be a Pinterest Fail for now, I think it could turn around if done correctly.

Well boys and girls, I am finally feeling better. This whole being sick for 2 weeks thing really sucked in a way I hadn’t really experienced since I had mono my freshman year of college. I can’t say I was terribly creative or that I managed to cook or bake much lately but I’ll try to do my best to come up with some interesting posts for you.

Before I turned into a giant gross blob of sick I had a few zucchini’s laying around and decided to take a couple of different approaches for how to use them. Today’s version was my favorite: Zucchini bread.

I used this recipe but left out the walnuts and substituted one cup of brown sugar in for one of the cups of white (because I ran out of white). It was pretty delicious and my coworkers loved it as well (I always bring my extras so that I don’t end up eating the whole thing myself when the Mr. isn’t around to eat his share).

dry ingredients

The wets

Into the mixer

batter

In goes bright green zucchini

It made a ton of batter

The beautiful finished products

How good does that look?!

I highly highly recommend this recipe. It was super simple and everyone loved it. This makes a really moist but light and fluffy zucchini bread. What else could you ask for?

So I’m officially still sick and I’m really incredibly tired (both in general and of being sick). I had strep and also managed to have a lingering issue from ending my medicine for a sinus infection after that allergic reaction that I mentioned. So I didn’t want to completely ignore you all and wanted to post a small update.

I know I mentioned that my cucumbers had seemed to not make it through the freakish freeze we experienced right after I planted them (which reviewing that in light of this week I would say my luck has been a little off lately!). Well I have good news. They appear to have made a comeback:

Yay! Growth! I’m pretty excited to see something growing. Here’s hoping everything speeds up and starts yielding some results soon and that I feel better in time to actually taste what will hopefully grow.

Sorry about last week folks. It was an absolutely crazy week for me filled with an allergic reaction to medicine, driving across the state and back in one afternoon and a ton of work. I just didn’t quite have time to post.

I intended on returning today and now find myself waiting at a walk in clinic to be tested for strep. We’re off to a great start for this week too lol.

In the meantime check out this fun mini fake pizza that I recently made:

That’s one whole wheat tortilla, some spaghetti sauce, sautéed mushrooms and a little cheese. All toasted up in the toaster oven. Took very little time and was a pretty delicious alternative to ordering a big fatty pizza (which I wouldn’t mind if I had someone to share it with).

Hopefully I’ll be back tomorrow with a regular non iPhone written post (and with a clear healthy head)!

This weekend I had a few things that I needed to pick up at Target. I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived and it was the launch of “The Shops at Target.” I took a look around and ended up adding a couple of things to my basket:

The Webster at Target:

A lot of the stuff in this line was very cute. A few of the dresses and tops seemed a little thin, but thats sort of what you expect in summer wear. There were a few things that were pretty high quality though:

The Webster at Target Fine Gauge Cardigan in Cream

This cardigan is adorable and really high quality. The sweater is nice and thick. Perfect for my chilly office.

The Webster at Target Tie Front Dress Plaid Navy

This dress is cute and is a work appropriate length. Unfortunately the sleeves were a little puffy and made me look a little wider on top than I’d like. It went back on the shelf but it appeared well made and seemed like a good purchase for anyone who it fits!

Privet House:

I loved everything in the kitchenwear portion of this shop. Literally everything was adorable. Unfortunately my current roommate has enough kitchen wears to fill every corner of our kitchen cabinets so I had no room to store any of these things. I was able to snag one little thing for myself:

Privet House at Target White Embossed Mug

I love a good coffee mug and these were adorable and machine washable (a must in my opinion).

Cos Bar had a few cute things but nothing that I particularly needed, and the Candy Bar was pretty much raided when I wandered by (at 9 am no less).

All in all, I was a fan of this little experiment by Target. The clothes appeared to be a higher quality than some of the designer collaborations, and I loved what I saw. Clearly they chose these shops well. Let’s hope they continue this in the future.

The transition to 9-5 led me to packing on a couple of pounds. Nothing drastic, but enough that I wasn’t thrilled with the trend. I also have been trying to work towards my savings goals, which means bringing my lunch and never fully taking my lunch break (because honestly, who can eat lunch in their office and really stop checking emails?).

I’ve recently started working out in the office gym during my lunch time where luckily I have a locker room with a shower to use. I’m not one to wash my hair twice a day everyday so I looked into dry shampoo to avoid lathering up during the afternoon showers. I decided to try two different drugstore versions and see which prevailed.

First I tried Suave:

This works pretty well. It soaked up the oil quickly. It also has quite a few downsides. There is a chemical smell to this one. It sticks with you through the rest of the day regardless of how well you brush it out. The biggest downside? It stopped spraying with about half of the product left inside! You can still hear it in there when you shake the can and yet nothing comes out.

The much better choice?

This stuff is SO much better! The smell is about 1000x better and it brushes out really well. I did a 45 minute run and managed to after some work with this stuff I was able to wear my hair down for the rest of the day. You couldn’t even tell that I had worked out! I am a BIG fan and will continue to use this product. At only about $4 a bottle (if you don’t have a coupon) it’s a pretty great buy!

Polaroids are back!

Did you know this existed?! It is a digital polaroid camera. I had no idea. I used to love our polaroid when I was a kid (before I fell in love with the world of disposable cameras and their lovely flash charging windup noises!). This seems like such a fun way to hold on to the past while still embracing new technology. Very cool.