Root Haircare – A Review

Root has been coming out with some fantastic products over the last few months and one of them is their new haircare line. I’ve been testing them out and I’m ready to introduce you to my two favorite products!My absolute favorite product from Root’s haircare line has to be their Hair Mask. It is incredibly moisturizing and will leave your hair silky smooth. I had moved away from using conditioner about a year ago because I couldn’t find one with really clean ingredients. However, this changed the moment Root came out with their Hair Mask. I will never go back to not using conditioner again!This was also the only conditioner I took with me on my recent European adventure. It helped keep my hair soft and conditioned while traveling. The other awesome thing is that you can not only use it as a conditioner in the shower, you can also use it as a leave-in conditioner to help give your hair more moisture during the day. While I prefer my Ko & Humble Argan Oil for this, the Root Hair Mask is perfect for traveling or if you don’t have the oil close at hand.My second favorite product would have to be the Hairspray. This is my holy grail of green beauty hairsprays. I had tried several before Root released theirs and nothing was working for me. The hold was either way too flexible or it made my hair sticky and gross. Root’s spray is perfect though. It gives you a fantastic hold while not being sticky at all. It is also very flexible in the first few minutes so I've found it makes an excellent styling spray too! I’ve really never used such a fantastic hairspray. If you’ve been searching for a non-toxic hairspray or styling spray this is definitely the one for you.While I have tried all four of the products in this line, I don’t really love the shampoo and the conditioner is good, but not as good as their Hair Mask. I highly suggest trying the Hair Mask and the Hairspray. The best part is you can purchase small trial sizes of any of the hair products to see if you like them first.

Sandwich Chili – aka Spicy Sloppy Joes

A couple of years ago I tried making Sloppy Joes for Alex and he absolutely hated them. I decided to try and come up with a Sloppy Joe recipe that Alex would actually like. When I served this to Alex he said “These aren’t sloppy joes. I don’t know what they are, it’s more like chili. Yeah! Chili you can put on a sandwich. Sandwich chili! That’s what you have to call it.”This dish received high marks from Alex. It is really on the spicy side so if you’re not a spicy person you’ll want to make a couple of substitutions. I would suggest using whatever salsa you have on hand that is your favorite. We have several flavors on hand so I’ve combined two different heat levels in order to get the best flavor combination for our tastes.You can serve this dish on either bread or tortillas. You could also spread it over tortilla chips for a different type of dish. I would suggest pairing it with some cheddar cheese if you’d really like a treat.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:174]

February Favorites

I honestly can’t believe it’s time for another monthly favorites post. The month of February has just flown by! Here are a few things I’ve loved over the last month.BrijaSkin – Eye BalmI typically have horrible dark under eye circles. I have tried lots of different products to try and help alleviate the darkness, those products work, but not nearly as well as this new eye balm from Brija Skin. This balm is absolutely incredible! I’ve been using it every night with fantastic results. I’ve even noticed I don’t need to use as much or even any dark circle correcting makeup some days.LilyLolo – MascaraI’ve been trying to find the perfect green/nontoxic mascara over the last few months. I’ve read about LilyLolo across several green beauty sites and every time it comes highly recommended. I decided to take the plunge and I’ll never go back! This is one of the best mascaras I’ve ever used. It is incredibly volumizing and will give you great definition. It was the only mascara I took with me to Europe and I’ve been absolutely loving it over the last month.100% Pure – Mattifying PrimerI’ve been curious to try a primer underneath my makeup, but most of them contain silicone and other nasty ingredients that I avoid in my makeup. However, when I saw 100% Pure had a couple different primers I knew I had to try them! I’ve tried both the luminizing and the mattifying primers and I have to say the mattifying primer is amazing. I can tell a difference in how long my makeup lasts when I wear it and when I don’t.  It also keeps my skin even and dry the entire day. I can’t wait to see how it helps my makeup hold up during the summer.Root – Casey Pretty GlossThis is such a pretty color! It goes on very sheer but still provides you with a great amount of coverage. I’ve really been loving wearing it over different types of lipstick. It is really a perfect color for any occasion.Cadbury Dairy Milk: CaramelThis is one thing Alex and I discovered while we were in Europe. The Cadbury chocolate over there is amazing and the Caramel filled one is to die for! If you visit over there you NEED to try this chocolate.PrimarkSadly there are only two Primark’s in the US and they don’t sell online. But when we were on our trip we visited several different Primark locations and I fell in love. Their clothes/accessories are very stylish and have a good quality for the price you are paying. I purchased a bag while I was there and it has been absolutely amazing. If you ever have a chance you should totally visit a Primark.

Chocolate and Caramel Cookies

I wanted to make a special treat for my Mother in Law so knowing how much she loves a caramel and chocolate combination I decided a chocolate caramel cookie was in order. I had found some Kraft Caramel bits at Aldi around Christmas and I thought this would be the ideal recipe to use them in.I created this chocolate cookie recipe a few years back and make it whenever I need an easy recipe. I decided to use it as a base, along with the Caramel bits in order to create a new, very yummy cookie. White you certainly do not have to include chocolate chips in this recipe I suggest you do so. It gives the cookies more substance than just using caramel. I would also suggest using white chocolate chips instead, I just didn’t have any of those on hand when I was making these.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:173]

Egg Substitute

Tell me if this has ever happened to you: your husband has made a wonderful breakfast, he’s made cinnamon rolls, scrambled eggs and bacon. He even goes so far as to ask you before he uses all the eggs if you’ll need any of them since it’s a giant snow storm outside and everything is closed.  You tell him you don’t need any eggs and its fine if he uses all of them.However, later that night you just need a nice pan of brownies to finish off the amazing snow day you’ve had. You put everything in the bowl and go to add an egg…there’s nothing there. All the eggs were used that morning! Yeah, that happened to us the other day. So I went online and tried to figure out a solution to my problem.This worked incredibly well. I personally couldn’t notice a difference in texture, Alex said he could, but I think he was just imagining things. As a disclaimer, I did use this substitute in a gluten free box mix of brownies. From the outcome I had though, I assume it will work in just about any recipe. If you’re baking gluten free though, you’re going to need to add a few additional tablespoons of liquid to the recipe in order to get the right consistency.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:172]

RL Linden & Co – A Review

I found this company when I was looking for additional natural deodorant options. I decided to try them because they have some fantastic reviews and I absolutely love trying products from new companies. I mostly ordered sample sizes from this company because they are very expensive. I’m very glad I only ordered samples because there weren’t many products I really loved for the price.Close to Me – Uplifting Deodorant SprayI found this to be a fine deodorant. It moderately deodorized my underarms and it did have a very nice and pleasant scent. I used this for part of my trip in Dallas last summer so it was definitely heat and sweat tested. However, I found myself having to reapply several times during the day when wearing this. The full size of this product is extremely expensive so I won’t be purchasing it and I probably won’t ever repurchase the sample size. I don’t really suggest you try this product unless you’ve tried just about every other natural deodorant and nothing has worked.Denver Inspired Perfume OilsAgain I purchased several of the sample sizes of these perfume oils. While they smelled extremely pleasant when first applied the scent hardly lasted any time at all. I don’t recommend these since I would have to reapply almost every hour in order to have any perfume on at all.La Bamba RosaI purchased the tube of this and I really think that was a good idea. Even though this didn’t really work for my lips, they seemed to be drier after continued use of this product, I did like the application from a tube rather than a tub. If you’re in the market for a new hydrating lip balm I suggest one of Root’s Pretty Balms or Red Apple Lipstick’s Ralley Balm. They will hydrate much better than this product.Thousand Petals Beautifying MistThis was the only product I really loved in my entire order and it was the free sample they sent with the order! I absolutely LOVED this hydrating toner mist. While the full size is quite expensive, I do plan on purchasing it once I’ve used up a couple of the open toner mists I already have on hand. This product smelled absolutely incredible, like walking through a rose garden. It also gave my face such an amazing refresh. I highly suggest you order a sample size of this to see if it works for you.

Ham Soup

I made a giant ham back over Christmas and Alex decided to use the leftover ham bone to make a soup. He told me that his parents would make this all the time when he was younger and he really enjoyed their recipe. So he decided to look up a recipe and make a few changes of his own, and this is the result.You do need to prep this soup ahead of time since it sits in the crock pot for a while. I would suggest prepping the ingredients the night before so you can easily assemble everything the next day. This soup is best when served with a nice loaf of crusty bread with butter.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:171]Source: Adapted from DamnDelicous

Spicy Salmon

I’ve been trying to clean out the freezer and get rid of or eat anything we’ve had in there for a while. I still had two salmon fillets from the last time I made salmon so I decided to try another recipe. As I’m sure you’ve gathered by now if you follow the blog, Alex really loves spicy foods, so I decided a spicy salmon was in order.The blend of spices I tried in this recipe is definitely pretty spicy. If you’re not a huge fan of spicy dishes you’ll want to adapt it to what your taste buds enjoy. This recipe also cooks very easily with very little clean up since the foil you just toss away. If you’re looking for a quick dinner this is definitely one.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:170]Source: Adapted from FoodNetwork

Crockpot Taco Soup

I love making new soups for Alex to try. He really enjoys a good hearty soup in the winter so I try and make one every week. I’ve been looking for new recipes and came across this one. I thought Alex would absolutely love it since it contains ground beef, beans and spices.This is a VERY easy recipe to make. You simply put everything in a crockpot and let it stew for several hours. I suggest cooking this soup on low so the flavors have more time to blend together. However, if you’re pressed for time you can cut the cook time in half by cooking it on high.Alex absolutely loved this soup. He said it was like a taco in a bowl. He chose to have it with crushed tortilla chips and shredded cheddar on top. You could also include a little sour cream on top if you’d like to add a little bit of creaminess. Overall, if you like tacos and soup you should totally try this recipe. You won’t regret it![amd-yrecipe-recipe:169]Source: Adapted from AllRecipes

Italian Manicotti

I had an open jar of ricotta cheese in my fridge from the Pizza Phyllo Bites and I wanted to find a new way to use it up. So I went to the grocery store looking for some sort of noodle to put it in and I realized I’d never actually made manicotti before. Since I really love a cooking challenge I decided it was time to change that.Filling the manicotti was the most challenging part of this recipe. I tried using a spoon but I couldn’t seem to get them packed full enough for my liking. I then turned to a ziplock baggie with the corner cut off. This worked ok, it was very messy. I would probably use a piping bag and tip in the future but I didn’t want to have to clean it all up so I tried to find a disposable way to fill them. If you don’t have a piping bag on hand I would definitely suggest using a ziplock to fill. It works well except for the mess factor.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:168]

Root Skincare – A Review pt. 2

Root has come out with so many new skincare items in the last few months that have been completely amazing. I did a review on their skincare products back in July so I thought it was time to review some of their newer products. Here are three of my favorites that they’ve released over the last six months.Pomegranate SerumWhen this Serum came out I had no idea how much I needed it in my life. It is the perfect combination of anti-aging and moisturizing ingredients. I use this every morning under my moisturizer. I think in the summer it will be the perfect consistency for a moisturizer on its own. I gave my Mother a bottle of this and she’s hooked now too!Micellar WaterI had been searching for a natural/green beauty Micellar Water when Root released theirs. I fell in love pretty much instantly. I use this on a daily basis to cleanse and remove my makeup. I use it both in the morning and evening. In the morning I use it as a general cleanser before I use toner, the serum and moisturizer. In the evening I use it to remove my makeup before I wash my face with cleanser. It is definitely a staple in my skincare routine and will be for the foreseeable future.Eye Love You! Eye CreamThis is a fantastic product! It moisturizes the eye area while depuffing and helping with dark under-eye circles. I’ve noticed a huge difference in the darkness of my under-eye circles since I began using this product. If you’re in the market for an eye cream this is definitely one to try. You can even get it in a trial size if you’d like just a little at first.

Wilton Sugar Sheets - A Review

Yesterday I posted some School Spirit cupcakes I had made. I thought I would give you my thoughts on working with the Wilton Sugar Sheets. I wanted to be able to create fully edible cupcake decorations and I thought these sugar sheets would be the perfect way to this.However, I found these sheets incredibly difficult to work with. Alex had to get me his X-Acto knife to cut them. After doing additional research, it seems you need to have a specific Wilton cutter in order to slice them nicely.I also found that they had gone slightly soft a few hours after I had put them on the cupcakes. I didn’t really feel like they should have done that so quickly after I had put them on. Overall I probably won’t use these again in the future unless I have a lot of time to spare to create the toppers and I can put them on right before they are served.Overall I probably won't use these again since I can probably make better decorations from hand. I also prefer to use fruit, candied and fresh or other natural cupcake toppers instead. I would probably try to make something out of fondant before I used these sheets again.

School Spirit Cupcakes

I thought you might enjoy some photos of some school spirit cupcakes I made the other week. I used Wilton Sugar Sheets for the toppers along with an icing pen. I’ve also topped some of them with edible glitter. The cupcakes themselves are Vanilla with a red Vanilla Buttercream on top

Green Beauty – Top 5 Green Beauty Products

I figured a great way to end this Green Beauty week would be to talk about my five absolute favorite products.  If you try any of the product I’ve suggested over the last week, in my opinion, these are the stars of the show.Lilylolo Mascara: Best mascara I’ve found yet. It adds length to my lashes while increasing their dramatic look. While I love my Root mascara, this one is absolutely my favorite. If you’re looking for a less toxic mascara this would be one of the first I would suggest to you.Antonym Cosmetics Blush: These blushes are well worth the money. They are incredibly buildable and come in several different shades so they fit any skin color. While the Rose blush will look good on absolutely any skin color the Peach and Copper shades are also very complimentary.Root Micellar Water: You need this product in your life. It is the best makeup remover I’ve ever tried. It is great for nights when you’re just too tired to wash your face. It is also an amazing remover to use before you cleanse your entire face.Root Pomegranate Serum: Moisture and anti-aging components all in one fantastic serum. I cannot tell you how much I love this product! It has seriously improved my skin since I’ve started using it on a daily basis. I won’t be caught without this again.Herbivore Botanicals Lapis Oil: If you have trouble with acne or spots this is the best oil I’ve found to date. While I don’t typically deal with spots, this is the best rescue treatment. I like to take it with me when I travel since that’s when I seem to have the most trouble with spots.I wish you the best of luck with your Green Beauty journey. Personally I find it great knowing that I’ve lessened my toxic exposure by switching to better products. I’m constantly on the lookout for new products to try so always feel free to suggest products you think I might enjoy trying.

Green Beauty – Getting Started: Skincare and Haircare

So you’ve started your green beauty journey by switching out your toxic makeup for nontoxic options. Next up is haircare and skincare! I’ve compiled a short list of my favorite companies and products to give you a starting point to go off of.Root: This is one of my absolute favorite makeup companies and they’ve started offering great skincare and haircare options in the last year. They have incredibly clean products that do wonders for your skin and hair. My favorites include their Hair Mask, Hairspray, Micellar Water, Pomegranate Serum, Beauty Sleep Oil, Peppermint Toner and Lavender Moisturizer.Ko & Humble: They have some amazing moisturizing oils available. All of their oils are sourced from their natural habitat and are cold pressed to maintain integrity. I use their Virgin Argan Oil on my hands, face and the ends of my hair on a regular basis. It has especially helped protect my hair during the winter when I use heat tools to style.Herbivore Botanicals: I posted a review on this company last week so I don’t have much more to say about them. Check out my review here for a more in depth look at their products. My favorites from this brand include their Phoenix Oil, Lapis Oil and Rose Hibiscus Face Mist.Kosmatology: The formulation of their body washes and hand soap is amazing. I’ve tried a lot of clean soaps over the last year and Kosmatology is one of the best brands I’ve found. The wide range of scents they have available makes them perfect for anyone. My favorite scents are Herbal Fresh and Botanical Bliss.Acure Organics: The best thing about this brand is that it is available at Target! While they don’t have their entire line available they have enough you can try several different things to see what you like. I’ve really come to love their Clarifying Shampoo, Unscented Coconut Face Wipes and their Day Cream.Now you are well on your way to switching out your toxic products for nontoxic options! Let me know if you find any that you really enjoy that I should try. I’m constantly on the lookout for new products to try.

Green Beauty – Getting Started: Makeup

So you’ve checked out your makeup and realized how many toxins are in them, but where do you go from here? You won’t find many non-toxic or green beauty brands at Sephora so where do you look? Well, armed with your new found knowledge and a little bit of leg work you can find some absolutely incredible makeup products!One fantastic place to start is actually on Instagram. You can find a lot of great companies by searching #greenbeauty or #nontoxicbeauty . However, if you’re not on Instagram you can find companies by googling green or nontoxic makeup.  If you don’t want to spend a lot of time searching for companies you’re just interested in a couple places to start, I have several companies that I’ve absolutely fallen in love with that I highly suggest you try.Root: This was one of the first green beauty companies that I found on my search. I fell in love with all their amazing products and they just seem to be getting better with each product they bring out. Some of the best makeup products I’ve found from them are their pressed products, Lipgloss and Setting Silk.Brija Cosmetics: This is a newer company to me, but they have a few products that have quickly become daily favorites in my makeup routine. All of their products are very clean and have great wear time. My favorite products include their Eye Wax, You Know Who highlight and Finland lip jelly.Lilylolo: This is a European brand that is now available here in the US. They are EcoCert certified and therefore has very clean ingredients. Since the EU regulates cosmetic ingredients far more strictly than the US there are far fewer nasty ingredients contained in the products. One thing to watch for though, is they do use Carmine as an ingredient in some of their products. My favorites from this brand include their Vegan Mascara, Contour Duo and their Setting Mist.Antonym: I fell in love with their blush the instant I tried it. It applies beautifully and is super buildable for great coverage. While their foundation powder contains Talc, I find it applies beautifully and if I don’t use it too often it doesn’t dry out my skin. My favorites from this brand include the Rose Blush, Peach Blush and Foundation in Light.100% Pure: This again is a relatively new brand to me but there are several of its products I like to use on a regular basis now. The products are fruit pigmented which means there are no dyes used, it makes for a very clean product. One thing to be aware of, is they use Japanese Honeysuckle Extract in a lot of their products. My favorites include the Mattifying Primer, Cocoa Bronzer and the Luminizer.These are just a few of the many green beauty companies that are out there. I post reviews on different companies and products every Wednesday. So if you’re interested in seeing what new companies I’ve come across check back every Wednesday. Or you can also follow me on Instagram for green beauty inspiration!

Green Beauty – What is the EWG?

One way to remove toxins from your beauty products is simply to research and avoid certain ingredients. I get it though, “Ain’t nobody got time for that!”. So today I’m going to teach you about a little shortcut you’re going to love!The Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Database is an excellent resource for learning how toxic your products are. They already have a huge database of popular skincare and makeup products. (They also have other databases if you’re looking to limit toxins around the house.) There is even a Build Your Own Report option if you’re trying to find information on a product not contained in their database.The EWG rates products on a 1-7 scale, with 1 being the least toxic and 7 being very toxic. If you go into the record you see the exact type of toxins and their individual ratings. They also have a scale of the effects of the different toxins contained in the product.I absolutely love using this website to research products. While they still list some products as low toxin that I avoid due to ingredients, this is a very handy resource. If you’re looking to decrease your toxic exposure this is a fantastic place to start!

Green Beauty - Basics: Why Switch?

If you’ve followed the blog for a while you’ll know that I am a huge fan of green products. I’m constantly on the hunt for new companies and products to use. I thought I’d give you all a little overview on why I decided to switch to green products and some of the ingredients I try to avoid.To begin with, I have SUPER sensitive skin. I’ve always struggled with finding products that don’t irritate and that I can use consistently. I’ve struggled with this in all areas from makeup to hair/skincare and cleaners to laundry detergent. This week I’m going to be discussing green beauty with you. I have found several companies and products that I absolutely love and I can’t wait to share them with you!I have tried pretty much every different sort of makeup, and with my sensitive skin it always ends up irritating me. I just ended up assuming that I wasn’t ever going to be able to wear makeup, and that I would have to rotate my skincare for the rest of my life. I started reading ingredients to try and identify what I was allergic to. Have you ever read the ingredients on your skincare or makeup? Well if you want to open Pandora’s box go ahead and stop right here and do so…See! Do you know what half those ingredients are? I certainly didn’t! I decided it was high time to switch from ingredients I can’t pronounce to things healthy for my skin. Here is a short list of things I try to avoid:Silicone – this is a common ingredient in haircare or makeup products. Silicone sits on the top layer of the skin impeding its ability to let the skin breathe. It keeps the moisture contained within the skin and will often cause breakouts or acne flare ups if used with sensitive skin. I’ve found my skin to be much clearer when I don’t use products that contain this ingredient. If you’re checking labels you need to keep an eye out for –cone –conol –siloxane, Dimethicone is the most common ingredient you will see.Parabens – studies have linked parabens to increased occurrences of breast cancer. It disrupts the reproductive and endocrine systems. They are used as preservatives in makeup and skincare items.SLS – Sodium Laurel Sulfate, it is a product commonly found in skincare, toothpaste, bodywash, and haircare. It is a detergent and surfactant that give the product lather. Some studies have indicated that SLS is a possible carcinogen and can disrupt hormone levels.Phthalates – this helps other ingredients dissolve into a consistent solution. However, studies have shown that it disrupts the reproductive and endocrine systems. It will often show up in a product under “fragrance” since that is so vague.Carmine – this is actually an ingredient used by many “natural” makeup companies to get a vibrant, true red color. It is made from crushed up beetle shells. It can cause allergic reactions in people with sensitive skin.These are just a few of the MANY ingredients I try to avoid. I have made it a habit to read the ingredients list on any new product I’m interested in and research anything I don’t recognize. I would suggest you get in the habit of doing this too. It will help you decided what it right for your family and what you want to keep them from using. In addition to avoiding these chemicals listed above, I also try to make certain my beauty products are gluten free, cruelty free and vegan. This just helps me narrow down products when I am searching since I know they have a higher probability of not containing anything I avoid.Tomorrow we’ll be discussing getting started on switching over to green beauty products, ie which are the most important and what you should switch first. Our bodies are exposed to so many harmful chemicals every day, the more of these chemicals we can take out of our regimen the healthier and happier our skin will be. You will also find that when you begin taking the irritants out of what you apply to your skin, the happier your skin will be.Is this something you’re passionate about? Let me know below!

Easy Crockpot Roast

Sometimes you just need an easy dinner you can put in the crockpot and let sit and cook all day long. This is a great recipe you can do that with. Depending on how many people you need to feed you can change amounts you include. I personally make about 1lb of roast with two or three potatoes and lots of carrots. This can easily be changed depending on the amount you are feeding.The combination of herbs is what we prefer on a roast, however, you can change or substitute things depending on your personal preference. Alex loves it when I include some ground cayenne pepper and chili pepper. This makes for a spicier version rather than the savory version below.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:167]

Gluten Free Baked Potato Soup

This soup was a surprise hit at my house! I had been searching for some new soups to broaden our horizons and came across this one. Baked potatoes are one of my favorite things to eat so I thought a soup version of it would be worth trying. I thoroughly enjoyed this soup. It tastes like the middle of a baked potato.Alex liked the base of this recipe too but he had a few suggestions for making this better. He thought adding ham chunks would make the soup a little more hearty. He also thought adding more pepper, both black and white would give the soup a bigger flavor. These suggestions are completely optional. I really loved the basic recipe below and don’t think it needs many changes.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:166]Source: Adapted from MyRecipes