Friday Favorite Finds

 Happy Friday Folks! It is with an empty stomach that I post this week's favorites. I have to get an endoscopy this afternoon to check out my stomach - nothing major, the doctor just needs to look around, and all will be well around 5pm, but I can't eat until then. So, without further ado, here are some Pinterest finds that are making my tummy growl.

Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas from How Sweet It Is via My Pinterest 

I love Buffalo anything. I really can't wait to make these.

Cheesy Garlic Bread from Savory Sweet Life via My Pinterest

This was so delicious and easy. After we didn't [totally] read the directions and had to scrape the cheese off before baking, it came out great. I used all 6 cloves of garlic.

 

Mini Corn Dog Muffins from Iowa Girl Eats via My Pinterest

I'm making these for our annual Oscar Party. We assign Best Picture nominees to the guests, and each person has to make a dish that corresponds with the theme of that film. Corey has Moneyball and I gave myself  

The Help. It has really become one of my favorite movies. I think Minnie Jackson might have made these, but they also seem baseball inspired. What do you think?

Restaurant Style Salsa from The Pioneer Woman via My Pinterest

This makes a monster-sized batch, so 1/2 it, or make for a party. I must say this is a yummy salsa, and to me needed a little extra salt, and even with taking out the ribs and seeds of the jalapeno, it still had a kick to it. If you like an easy-to-make, spicy salsa, this one is for you.

Now for dessert...

Two Ingredient Lemon Bars  from Practically Living via My Pinterest

Two. Ingredients. Mix and bake. Sign me up.

Hope you enjoyed today's Favorites. I'm linked up with Finding Joy In My Kitchen this week for

 Friday Favorite Finds - check it out.

What's For Dinner Tonight? Spontaneous Meals

Well, Pinterest is at its best again. I'm headed to Wegmans (our local grocery store) for the ingredients for Six Sisters' Slow Cooker Parmesan Pork Roast. Sounds involved (the recipe title is a mouthful), but really isn't. All I need from the store are the pork roast and the cornstarch.

Stay tuned for the step-by-step, and the finished product!

What's cooking at your house today?

Beauty Tuesday: Hair Ruts

Today's post is inspired by The Nate Berkus Show; he gave two women hair makeovers this morning. You might be thinking, "Chelsea, you are not in a hair rut." That may be true, but since joining Pinterest, I have seen countless hair cuts, styles, and colors that I think, "Wow I need that/want to try that/I wonder if that would look good on me..." So here are some photos of what I'm loving right now. Feel free to talk me in or out of any of these looks. My current hairstyle is long, layered, and a color halfway between dirty blonde and light brown. It's almost always blonde, though.

This is the result of hair chalking; using art pastels on wet strands of hair, then using heat (like a curling iron) to dry the colored pieces of hair. This lasts through 2-3 shampoos, so I would be more willing to try this rather than permanent bleaching of some strands before coloring them a bold color.

This next product is called The Color Bug, and is by Kevin Murphy. From what I researched, this is similar to hair chalking, but is technically more like eye shadow. It comes in Pink, Purple, and Orange, and reportedly comes out in one washing. I looked on a few websites for purchasing, but being an Australian product, you can get in on eBay or Adore Beauty.

 Now onto styles: I wear my hair messy like this a lot, but much higher on my head. I like this style that Vanessa Hudgens has; the bump in front, with the curly pieces all over, and lower on the head. I think this might look great with the dress I rented for Valentine's Day. Yes, rented. We'll get to that next Tuesday.

 This style is gorgeous! I think these type of curls would be best achieved with rollers; I use sponge rollers always, I really don't know how to use hot rollers very well, although my hair was hot rolled for the wedding and I liked the result. I will be trying this style soon!

Last one! If I had to compare my actual hair type to anyone, it would be Taylor Swift. Crazy, long, and curly hair, and I love it. Since the headband-across-the-forehead trend came about, I've been wanting to try it. It doesn't look so great on me when my hair is down and curly, but I love this with the big flower on the side and the pieces of hair in front. I may also try this with long straight hair, too.

What are you loving lately with hair trends? Would you try any of these styles/colors? Let's hear it!

First Friday Favorite Finds

Thanks to Rachel for the inspiration for today's post; she links up to SnoWhite's Blog every week for Friday Favorite Finds, and I have so many recipes saved on my Pinterest account that I thought it would be a great time to share some of those and others with you.

Diary of a Recipe Addict  

(via Pinterest) 

Sweet and Spicy Bacon Chicken

 Recipe Diaries

(via Pinterest)

WW Crock Pot Potato Soup

We made this last week and it was really delicious! 

Betty Crocker

(via Pinterest)

Kentucky Bourbon Bacon Chex Mix

I still might make this for Super Bowl Sunday (but I will probably hold off until Oscar Night)!

 Family Kitchen

(via Pinterest)

15 Minute Macaroni and Cheese

I love this because it looks SO easy.

Umami Girl

(via Pinterest)

Salt and Vinegar Broiled Fingerling Potatoes

I am the biggest fan of Salt and Vinegar-flavored anything.

In fact, there is now Salt and Vinegar Popcorn. (99 cents a bag)! Anyway, Corey took one bite and made a funny, and unforgettable "that's gross" face, so I get that to myself, but generally, he likes salt and vinegar, so these would be a great addition to grilled chicken I think.

That's all folks for Friday Favorite Finds. Check out SnoWhite's Blog to link to FFF. Happy Weekend!

-Chelsea

First Beauty Tuesday - All About Bronzer

Hi friends and family; I thought once a week would be a great time to post about beauty products and tips/tricks - you know, a few minutes without the guys? (Unless Corey gets on here to let you all know how much he despises loves my 100-bottle nail polish collection). Yes, 100 bottles. I needed 3 Swivel-Store contraptions to hold them all. I started this post Tuesday, but I am preparing for a job interview, so this week's Beauty Tuesday will be posted on Wednesday, and next week we will be back on track.

Let's talk Bronzers today - since I have to buy a new one after mine shattered and turned our upstairs bathroom tile grout a nice shade of...well, bronze. By bronzer, first of all, I don't mean the Jersey Shore spray tan that the girls call bronzer. I mean the face powder (or cream) meant to contour your face; this is similar to blush. Got it? Good.

 This was the bronzer I was using; Mary-Kate and Ashley (yes, Olsen) bronzer. Nice and cheap from Wal-Mart, though I don't really like the brush so I was using a different one.

Since that one broke, I've been using Pur Minerals 'Mineral Glow/Mineral Light' that you can find at Ulta.

The left side is the bronzer, and you can highlight under the brow or above the bronzer near the eye for a nice glow. I am just not in love with the bronze color, so my next beauty store trip will be to get a new shade of bronzer.


So what are my options? There are a thousand (if not more) choices, shades, brands, and consistencies for you to choose from when it comes to picking a nice brown-ish powder for your face. Bronzers range from tan to chocolate, shimmery, not shimmery, creamy, powdery, loose powder, gel, cream stick, you name it, you can get it.

This is Too Faced brand 'Snow Bunny.' For $29, it's up there in price, compared to any drug store brand, but with the four shimmery colors, this bronzer is my all-time favorite. All you have to do is swirl your brush in all of the colors, and do the "3 and E" method.

Wait, I'm guessing you don't know what that is. This website explains said technique: "On the right side of your face make a "3" from your hairline, across your cheek to your nose, and down to your chin. Repeat the same process on your left side making an "E". When you are done both sides go back across your nose and down your neck and chest. There is no need to put the brush back into the bronzer. Again, dipping multiple times will create an uneven or artificial look. "

Works every time!

Below is a list of bronzers I've tried and would recommend/not recommend. Happy bronzing!

1. Bare Escentuals Faux Tan - LOVE! Loose powder with a nice brown color. I'm pretty fair and it is not too dark, so don't be scared that it looks a little like dirt.
2. Bare Escentuals Warmth - Nice, natural color that is a loose powder.
3. Cargo Waterproof Bronzer - nice color, and would recommend if you're going to be in humid weather.
4. Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer - a creamy bronzer that smells like chocolate. Delish!
5. Smashbox O Bronze - liquid/gel. You have to work quickly to put the bronzer where you want it to avoid spotty stains. I would not recommend for first-time bronzer use.
6. My favorite cosmetics Brand, Urban Decay, unfortunately hasn't sold me on their bronzers. The color is too light for me, even with fair skin, so I just don't love it.

I don't have the experience with many drugstore brands (Minus the Mary Kate and Ashley brand) - totally love love love, by the way.  What bronzer are you wearing, or don't you? Remember that blush looks most natural on skin that sunburns, and bronzer looks best on skin that tans. I wear both, to accentuate my cheekbones and overall, I can't stand looking too pale.

Tell me about your bronzers, friends!

-Chelsea

Happy New Year!

We hope everyone's 2011 was fantastic, and you're all enjoying the first week in 2012. We rang in the New Year with our families at dinner, celebrated and watched the ball drop with friends, and held a nice lunch at our house New Year's Day. We promised a review of Pioneer Woman's pizza crust; the pictures didn't turn out so well, since the Kitchen-Aid was shaking during dough production. (Good thing Corey had a screwdriver and the manual)! Once the mixer was fixed, and not bucking like a bronco, the dough magically turned into a nice ball just like PW said. After being covered in a little EVOO, the dough was left to do its magic in the fridge overnight. The dough is supposed to make two thin crust pizzas; since we were using a cookie sheet and not a pizza stone like we had planned (not enough time to rinse, dry, and season), we used the whole dough ball for one, deliciously thick pizza. After some jarred sauce, shredded mozzarella, and turkey pepperoni, in to the oven the pizza went. OMG friends, this pizza was delish! Next time we make it, I'll be sure to snap a few pics; one dough ball that we used for one pizza was enough for lunch for 8. Now this would feed more for sure if you had two stones, and made thin crust pizzas.

So with a great start to the New Year, we are doing better with meal planning; I have all the meals planned until Saturday (Miss America night), and we'll be eating healthier, too. Tomorrow is Crock Pot Italian Chicken (found on Pinterest), with chicken, Italian dressing mix, light cream cheese, and a can of 98% fat free cream of chicken soup. Also on the menu for this week are homemade chicken nuggets from Paula Deen (pictures to come for sure) - and the crust on them is crushed Baked Lays. I know, right? Yum!

On TV right now is a show called The Big Waste. Food Network chefs have 48 hours to find ingredients for a dinner for 100 guests. The catch is that the food has to come from grocery stores, distributors, or farms that are going to throw out the food. Some farms have 40% waste because people are so concerned about what the food looks like on the outside. 50 lbs of chicken was going to be wasted at a poultry distributor because if one leg is broken, the whole chicken is deemed "no good" by a supermarket. We're sitting here in awe; and are definitely thinking of ways we can not waste our own food, and also thinking twice about what we pick out of the grocery store and public market. If you happen to catch a rerun of this special, I would definitely check it out.

Have a great week, we can't wait to share the chicken nugget recipe with you, and whatever else we've got going on this week!

C&C

Introduction and The End of 2011.

Welcome to Life and Love in New York. We are The Cashers, recently married on October 1st, 2011 in Upstate New York. You may remember the old blog, or you may have just stumbled upon the site, but we hope you stay awhile and follow our stories, recipes, home improvements, Holiday fun, and more. 

Since our wedding was the most recent large event in our lives (besides our first married Christmas!), our first post will recap the best day we've both had. Ever.

 

 

Our Church. Lovely, isn't it? Father Kennedy performed a beautiful ceremony; lots of friends and family, purple argyle socks, one crying maid of honor, and tons of happiness.

 The bridal party, and Corey and I (Chelsea) in the center. My cousins, sister, and BFF forever, Emily look beautiful. Corey's friend, brother, and my cousin, also look very handsome. This photo was taken in a bar next to the Church; a place we visit from time to time and we had some great photos taken here!

 After a lovely wedding and fun reception, Disney World was our honeymoon destination. This is us ecstatic, in line for a Monsters Inc. show after days of no sleep, a plane ride to Florida, and me telling Corey we had to go on as many rides as we could the minute we arrived. : )

I also celebrated my 25th birthday! This lovely dessert is from Le Cellier steakhouse in the Canada section of Epcot. Yum!
 

 This was in front of the Boardwalk Hotel, our favorite place to visit. There was an ESPN-themed restaurant with giant TVs with NFL and MLB on each one, and I won a t-shirt for knowing a random fact about Jim Kelly, even though we're not Bills fans.

 Cinderella. We loved Downtown Disney!

We gave both of our grandmothers this photo. They loved it.

Stay tuned friends, family, and visitors! We can't wait to share all of our happenings with you! Coming this week: homemade pizza crust from The Pioneer Woman, and what we're looking forward to in 2012.

Chelsea