February | 2015 | Home Is Where The Haggis Is

Monthly Archives: February 2015
- What’s In Your Makeup Bag?
  
  Posted at 8:00 am by Lisa Cavallari
  
  Feb 28th
  Since winter refuses to release us from its icy grasp, take this opportunity to review what your makeup bag is lacking and stock up on some basics before spring arrives.
  
  Here are some of my personal favs:
  
  For a fraction of the price of Dior’s under eye brightener, I found Revlon’s Photo Ready eye primer. The liquid from this brush is light and doesn’t settle into wrinkles around the eyes. My under eye circles have been present since birth so this definitely helps, but it would take a miracle to get rid of them completely. For around $10, give this product a try.
  
  Dr Jart’s BB cream is almost perfection. I received a sample in my Birchbox one month and I loved the light, yet amazing coverage that it gave. My skin looked dewy and youthful. My only complaint is the color seems a little gray and, unless you are going to a zombiefest, this is not the look you want. I still love the product so I would suggest blending it with some yellow or pink-toned foundation. (Whichever works with your skin tone.)
  
  This one is nothing new for many of you. I have used Nars blush before I was a blushing bride close to 10 years ago. The pigment is concentrated and the colors are gorgeous. I use Orgasm for regular day-to-day activities -insert dirty joke here- and Torrid when I want more of a pop on my cheeks. The price is up there, but I’ve had Torrid since before my wedding (I know, that’s probably not something to boast about) and it’s still going strong. Worth the $30 in my opinion.
  
  Looking back on pictures from high school I noticed that my eyebrows were much more prominent. Today I look in the mirror and wonder where they went? As we age, our brows grow thinner from plucking and they also lighten. Powders and pens never did anything for me so recently I discovered Benefit Gimme Brow. I love this stuff! It’s easy to apply and the results are fantastic and not at all Elvira-ish.
  
  Moving on to lashes. L’Oreal Original Voluminous in Blackest Black is my all-time favorite. Supposedly, a cult fav among beauty junkies is Maybelline Great Lash, but the results are so weak compared to the va-va-voom you get from L’Oreal.
  
  What about you? What are some makeup essentials that you cannot live without?
  
  First Image:
  
  missnattybeautydiary
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  Posted in Shopping | Tagged Cult Favorite Beauty Products, Makeup Essentials
- W.O.W. Adored, Plus Cheese Club
  
  Posted at 7:00 am by Lisa Cavallari
  
  Feb 25th
  Last week I decided to forgo the post on wine because of Ash Wednesday, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t imbibe a little that night! Dinner consisted of wine, fruit and a few cheeses we received as a monthly subscription from my brother-in-law as a Christmas gift. We love it! This month we received a wonderful, salty feta, a smooth, spicy pepper cheese from Italy and a nutty Cheshire. The cheeses come with a monthly newsletter describing each cheese, how it is made and what kind of food and wine to pair with each. Of course, we didn’t have any of the wines they suggested so I opened a bottle of red called, Adored. Can’t say that I adored it. In fact, I can safely say that this wine should be stricken from our wine list. I had such high hopes from the description at Cost Plus World Market and the $9 price tag seemed about right. The red blend came from California and consisted of Cabernet, Syrah, Merlot and Zinfandel. The taste fell flat and there was nothing that made me want to keep drinking it so I poured it out. My husband felt the same, but he still finished his glass. 🙂
  
  On another wine-related note, I received a fun link from a fellow Girl Scout mom offering suggestions for what wines to pair with each cookie:
  
  http://juice.clubw.com/story/girl-scout-cookies-wine
  
  Thanks Michelle and cheers my dears!
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  Posted in Wine | Tagged Adored Wine, Gourmet Cheese Of The Month Club
- Best Ever Chocolate Frosting
  
  Posted at 7:00 am by Lisa Cavallari
  
  Feb 16th
  My husband’s birthday was last Friday. To celebrate I make him a yellow cake with chocolate frosting each year. There is usually a glitch whenever I make the actual cake. (Which comes from a box!) One year I didn’t mix the eggs well enough and when I cut into the cake an orange ball appeared…also known as a yolk. That produced some laughs. This year I was going to try and tint the cake batter blue, but 3 minutes after I popped the cake into the oven (insert explicative, I forgot to add the blue!), I pulled it out, squirted some drops of food coloring and used a toothpick to make it appear marbled. It didn’t look that pretty and there were a lot of bubbles in the cake. Oh well, at least he was a good sport and ate a huge piece without complaint.
  
  This recipe dates back to my mom who learned it while growing up on the farm. Her paperback cookbook containing this delicious frosting recipe was a free handout at a county fair one summer. This frosting is the perfect blend of chocolate, sugar, vanilla and light on the butter. There’s also an ingredient that you don’t see in every frosting recipe, but I believe it makes the frosting fluffier.
  
  Enjoy!
  Fluffy Chocolate Cream Frosting
  - Servings: 2 1/2 cups
  - Time: 10 minutes
  - Difficulty: easy
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  Ingredients:
  
  6 Tbl unsalted butter at room temperature
  1/8 tsp salt
  1 tsp vanilla extract
  1 pound (4 cups) confectioner’s sugar, sifted
  2 egg whites
  3 squares Baker’s Unsweetened Chocolate, melted and cooled
  2-3 Tbl skim milk (can use whole or 2% too, whatever you have on hand)
  
  Directions:
  
  Cream together butter, salt and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Add sugar alternately with egg whites, beat well after each addition. To melt the chocolate, I placed it in a microwave-safe dish and microwaved for 30 seconds at a time until melted. You could also melt over a double boiler over the stove. When chocolate has cooled blend into frosting. Add milk gradually until smooth and fluffy. Use immediately. There is enough to frost tops and sides of two 8-or 9 inch round cakes.
  To create the heart in the center, use any shape cookie cutter and press slightly into frosting. Sprinkle nonpareils inside shape and press down using a knife to ensure they don’t all roll away when you remove the cookie cutter.
  
  To smooth out the frosting, dip an offset spatula or knife into warm water and spread evenly along top and sides of cake.For the frosting, I used a Wilton rosette tip inside a pastry bag.
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  Posted in Baking | Tagged Fluffy Chocolate Cream Frosting, Fluffy Chocolate Frosting Recipe, General Foods Frosting Recipe, Old-fashioned Chocolate Frosting
- W.O.W. Far Niente Chardonnay
  
  Posted at 7:00 am by Lisa Cavallari
  
  Feb 11th
  If coffee is like a hug in a cup (which it very much is), then wine is love in a bottle. In terms of alcoholic beverages there is nothing more romantic than the story behind each wine, the different labels all carefully chosen, the cork which is so much more beautiful than a twist-top and the attention and devotion to the lovely little grapes that create these fantastic wines. Yes, I have more than just a crush (bad pun) on wine. I have truly fallen head over heels. (Not literally. Although maybe stumbled from its effects.)
  
  Thank you Allison for this recommendation. When we were planning our trip to Napa a year ago, she suggested this winery, and although we never made it there, it is definitely a place we will visit the next time we make it out there. Far Niente means, “sweet to do nothing” in Italian. This winery focuses solely on Chardonnay and Cabernet. Their 2013 Chardonnay tastes buttery and oakey with a hint of lemon. My husband and I shared a bottle down in Arizona with some sushi. You could also try it with roasted chicken. Check out my Valentine menu on Red Typewriter’s latest post for a romantic dinner for two.
  
  This wine is a tad more expensive than usual Wine On Wednesday selections, but with Valentine’s Day I thought I would toss out a special wine this time-and I was overdue for a white, don’t you think? You can find it at your local wine store for about $70, which is crazy because on the menu at Hillstone it sold for $60. Apparently Arizona has a connection to California that the Midwest is lacking.
  
  Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day this weekend. Cheers my dears!
  
  Photo above provided by thewineandcheeseplace.
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  Posted in Wine
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