EOTD: may lily, neon lights & hemlock . . .

I'm wearing a brightly-colored tie dye effect flowy tank top today so I decided to do my eyes to match. They're not quite as bright as the top but they "go."

*All makeup is by Aromaleigh

may lily (spring solstice LE) - inner 1/3
neon lights (hot in the city LE) - middle 1/3
hemlock (spring LE) - outer 1/3 and crease


Thanks for checking out my look!

Check out these great cosmetics sales!

Here are a few online sales I came across today that I thought might interest you. I'll add to the list if more sales come to my attention.

• Aromaleigh 25% off weekly sale. Click here to view featured items.
• Aromaleigh 20% off (even off regular weekly sale items) with code: virgo20 through 9/6.
• ULTA 20% off your entire purchase with promo code: 28671. Click here for more details.
• The She Space (aka About Face Cosmetics) 20% site wide. Click here to go to the sale page.

Happy shopping!

Martha Monday - "Roast Chicken with Plums" . . . better late than never!

The idea behind Martha Mondays is that anyone who would like to participate in the weekly challenge could do so either on Monday, Tuesday or really whenever they can get around to it and then they can post their results on their blog or on the Martha Monday web site. But the cool thing about actually doing it on Monday is that you get that warm fuzzy feeling knowing that you and a bunch of other fellow "Martha Monday-ers" are doing the same thing on the same day. Frankly, I was just grateful to get this week's challenge in before the week was over. Here's how my "Roast Chicken with Plums" turned out. . .

Here are the plums in their pre-cooked state covered in honey. I couldn't find small plums so I bought 6 regular sized plums and pitted and quartered them prior to roasting.

The finished dish. The dark striping across the skin is from the honey I drizzled over it prior to roasting.

All pretty and plated up next to a dried cranberry and candied pecan-garnished salad.

And the piste de résistance... the plums were the hit of the dinner!

"Friday Favorites" (a product review). . .

Today, I'm sharing my love of Clairol Herbal Essences "Long Term Relationship, " a leave-in split-end protector.

From the company:

"Prevent split ends and maintain your long locks—that's the secret of a long-term relationship. My luscious leave-in is like a velvety kiss of protective conditioning that strengthens your hair against split ends and breakage. Hey beautiful, let's stay together until the end."

"With a fusion of red raspberry & satin, our love grows longer."

On the website, it gets 4 out of 5 stars. Click here to read the customer reviews.

From me:

I'm always on the lookout for products that make my highlighted, long, wavy hair (which I blow dry straight and/or use a curling iron on every single day) more beautiful and less damaged looking without weighing it down or making it look greasy. This product does just that.

It has a thick lotion-like consistency, a pretty pink color, and a very light raspberry scent (the scent doesn't stay with you or complete with your perfume). I squirt a little bit less than a dime-sized amount into the palm of my hand and distribute it throughout the bottom 4 inches or so (and just the very ends of my bangs) of my freshly washed and towel-dried hair before blow drying. It leaves my hair very soft and manageable and protects those delicate ends from the wrath of my electric beauty tools.

I highly recommend this product and will definitely repurchase it again. If you have processed hair of any length, I suggest you give it a try!

"Shine a Light" on Aromaleigh and get a chance to win $3,000!!!

Click on the banner above for further details or click here to go directly to the "SHINEALIGHT on Aromaleigh" site and enter your endorsement* for Aromaleigh. If you're not familiar with Aromaleigh, please click here to learn more about this amazing independently-woman-owned internet mineral cosmetics company that I love sooo much.

*Once you get to the site, you will need to click on the "register" link in the upper right corner of the screen before your vote will be counted.

Wordless Wednesday...

Miss K says..."Iron is the new black for Fall 2009"

...and I couldn't agree more! Check out these gorgeous inspirational photos from the Fall 2009 runways. You can adapt the looks to your own personal style and pair them with these deliciously rich Aromaleigh eyeshadows.

Visit Miss K's blog post here to read more about it!

tapestry, fig, and lychee of the Aromaleigh "opulent lustre" collection

Photos courtesy of: Miss K and Aromaleigh

What's for breakfast . . . Pigs-in-a-Blanket Dippers!

I made this simple yummy breakfast for the kids this morning.

• 1 package (8 links) Farmer John original pork sausage links; cooked according to pkg directions
• 1 tube refrigerator reduced fat crescent rolls (no, this is not a low-fat recipe)
• Roll up 1 cooked sausage link inside 1 triangle of crescent dough
• Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes
• Serve with warm maple syrup or honey for dipping

HG mascara search and comparison . . .

As some of you may already know, I have been searching for my HG (holy grail) mascara for quite some time. I need a mascara than adds some volume and length but most importantly, I need one that lasts. I don't know if it's because I have combination skin or the fact that I have occasional eye allergies that cause me to blink a lot when they're acting up, but many mascaras I've tried (budget and high end) end up underneath my eyes by midday. Not the look I'm going for.

In the past, Covergirl Marathon waterproof mascara (green tube) was almost my HG mascara. It lasted all day and provided separation (no clumps), but that was about it. Nothing in the way of a dramatic false lash effect whatsoever. Then one day it disappeared from my local stores never to be seen again. Was it discontinued? I don't know. Perhaps so many new products came out (Lash Blast and the like) that the stores had to remove mascaras that weren't selling as well. So my search continued.

That's when I re-discovered Max Factor 2000 Calorie waterproof mascara. It has the "old school" bristles that I like and it provides volume, length and it lasts all day. The one drawback I see is that products tends to get thick fairly soon after opening for the first time compared to other mascaras.

Then a friend told me about Max Factor's Volume Couture mascara. She had used it in the past and then for some reason started trying several others in different price points. She went back to it and realized that it was her HG mascara all along. So I decided to give it a try in the waterproof formula. I also tried the Max Factor Lash Perfection at the same time. The ingredients are identical (and they both have those new plastic bristles) but the Volume Couture costs about $.60 more since it has more product in the bottle. Yay, no clumps, nice length, volume and separation and...it lasts all day! And I'm getting used to the newfangled bristles.

Sadly, I recently read that Max Factor isn't going to be sold in the U.S. starting in early 2010. What?!? I finally find my HG mascara and you're going to take it away from me? So I decided to do a google search of the ingredients and discovered that Proctor and Gamble (the manufacturer of both Max Factor and Covergirl), released Covergirl Lash Blast under the name Max Factor False Lash Effect in Europe. This got me curious so after digging a bit further, I found that Covergirl Lash Exact and Covergirl Last Blast have the identical ingredients that my beloved Max Factor mascara has. I'm going to purchase a tube of Last Exact (Lash Blast's brush is just too gargantuan for my taste) and give it a try. I'll post my results here in the future. Wish me luck!



Ingredients: Petroleum Distillates, Polyethylene, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Copernicia Cerifera Wax (Carnauba), Trihydroxystearin, Propylene Carbonate, Pentaerythrityl Hydrogenated Rosinate, Tall Oil Glycerides, Panthenol, Propylparaben, Tocopheryl Acetate, Phenoxyethanol, Tocopherol, May Contain (+/-): Iron Oxides, Ultramarines, Titanium Dioxide

5 FREE eyeshadow samples from Aromaleigh!

Send an old, used, or unwanted eyeshadow to Aromaleigh and they'll send you 5 FREE eyeshadow samples of your choice. Here's what Aromaleigh has to say...

"Send us an old eyeshadow and get 5 FREE eyeshadow samples of your choice!

Yep, you read that right! (Change is good, remember?)

We want you to mail us an eyeshadow that you don't like and in turn, we'll send you 5 FREE Aromaleigh mineral makeup eye samples of your choosing! (stock collections only- Limited Edition Collections not available for this offer).

The goal? To spread the Aromaleigh joy far and wide. To Tweet and share and post and blog so that others can mail in something they don't want and in turn receive something new and exciting to try from a brand they may never have heard about if it weren't for your sharing the love and the freebie goodness!" READ MORE...

BLOG SALE: Huge lot of mineral eye shadow samples!

Click on photo to enlarge detail

I'm holding my first ever blog sale. I have here for your consideration 34 (used 1 time) eye shadow samples from The She Space (aka About Face Cosmetics).

This lot of shadow samples consists mostly of neutrals (highlight shades, beiges, golds, browns, bronzes, and coppers), but there are a few non-neutrals (aquas, pinks and purples) as well. Some have a metallic sheen, some have sparkles and others have duo- or multi-color interference (more than one color appears in the same shadow). Most of these shadows are from the August Limited Edition collection but there are several from the Astrology collections. Here they are in alphabetical order:

Beyond elation

Blissful balance

Bohemian bonanza

Broke the mold

Center of the universe

Chasers of wind

Crystal wind

Dreamers and doers

Echoes of rumors

Evasive elegance

Fail to exhale

Far from famous

Here comes crazy

Heroes prevail

Leos and lovers

Little merry maidens

Monetary meltdown

Pearl world

Perceived indeed

Perish the pansies

Roaring metaphor

Royalty in training

Sassy sister

Should be tempted

Slightly insane

So sexy she sizzles

Something so magical

Starlit serendipity

Sunflowers and sugar

Thrill of the hunt

Too much thought

Twinkle dazzle delight

Webs we weave

Whirling golden devils

These samples retail for $.50 each with shipping charges of double what I'm offering here. I'm also posting this on my other social networking sites (twitter, facebook, etc.) so don't delay and miss out on this fabulous bargain!

FOR SALE: 34 The She Space eye shadow samples (tested 1x)

$14.60 via Paypal ($.40 per sample w/ $1.00 U.S. First Class Mail shipping - sorry no international shipping.) Email me at robynsnestblog@yahoo.com if you are interested in purchasing them.

Purple/Aqua FOTD...

I was inspired by a fellow Aromaleigh Aficionada's recent FOTD when I put this look together. I was going shopping with my daughter for school supplies (ugh) so I wanted something to make me look and feel cheerful. This color combo did it! I hope you like it.

*All makeup used in this look is from Aromaleigh.

Color Descriptions:

• ice (pure eyes matte) - A pure white matte eye shadow
• dollhouse (eye plush) - Dreamy plush finish purple with delicate beige and grey undertones
• penelope (eye lustre) - Lush, gemtone purple with a pink pearl highlight
• purple princess (gothic lolita) - A deep, satiny purple with rich rose tones and a russet shadow
• aqua nightmare (gothic lolita) - Technicolor bright aqua pearl sheen with divinely bright aqua sparks
• breathless (rocks! sonic rouge) - Lush, clear bright pink
• shortcake (gothic lolita nourishing color creme) - Sweet wearable pink pearl

Martha Mondays: Grilled Vanilla Peaches

This was the first assignment for Martha Mondays. I used white peaches (I thought I was buying yellow ones) for my recipe. They taste just as good but are not quite as pretty. I love the look of contrasting foods. But once the peaches were covered in ooey gooey cinnamon sauce, there was a good measure of color contrast there with the vanilla ice cream.

It was in the high 90's here today around dinner time so I decided to alter the recipe a bit and "grilled" my peaches in the oven instead of on the barbeque. They were so tastey. Cameron had two helpings. Sierra thought they were a little sweet for her taste. Jason hasn't tried them yet. He was at the mall getting an Orange Julius while I was making dessert. I'm sure he'll try a bowl before he goes to bed though.

I washed and peeled the peaches (I used 6)

Here are my peaches (in the lemon/oil liquid) in a 9x13 pan.

Again I veered from the recipe and quartered my peaches.

Yummy cinnamon/brown sugar sauce

Sauce drizzled all over the peaches

Covered with foil and ready to pop into a 425 oven for 15 minutes

De-lish!

Martha Monday Assignment for 8/17/09: Map Coasters!

Aromaleigh contest: Celebrate the start of this year's butterfly migration and find the hidden butterflies!

From Miss K..."The last few days, my front gardens have been full of butterflies. I plant Lantana (Butterfly Bush) on purpose... it not only grows amazingly well, but it's sweet smell attracts hundreds of butterflies to my garden from mid-August through the full height of the butterfly migration in October!

Every year, hundreds of thousands of Monarch and Cloudless Sulphur Butterflies pass through South Carolina, on the way to Florida, the Caribbean and Mexico. As the weather starts to get a little cooler, I love standing in my front window and seeing 20-30 butterflies in my garden at a time, from dusk till dawn!

This year, to celebrate the Butterfly migration, we are going to have a little fun at Aromaleigh. Not only will an upcoming limited edition eye collection be inspired entirely by gorgeous butterflies, but I will be hiding a butterfly on the site each day through September 10, and there will be prizes every day for those who find the butterfly and report in first!"

Click here to check Miss K's blog for the daily butterfly hunting contest! The complete rules are listed on each day's contest page. She usually announces each day's contest on Twitter first so click here to follow her.

*Limit of 3 wins per person.

I've already reached my limit of 3 wins. Here are my prizes: (1) a 10 gram jar of "Bluebell" Satin Petals Frost eye shadow, (2) a Limited Edition Hot in the City "Summer of Love" lip gloss; and (3) my choice of any Aromaleigh eye shadow (I chose "Lychee" Opulent Lustre).

Below are some of the beautiful butterflies we've been hunting for!

Happy hunting!

Robyn

Trader Joe's Annual Manager's Party 2009

For those of you who don't know, my husband Jason is a manager for Trader Joe's grocery store. Every year the company hosts a lavish party for all the managers in each region of the country. Our region is Northern California and the party is hosted in Sacramento.

This year, the party was held at The Citizen, the only downtown boutique Sacramento hotel offering 20th century grace redefined by 21st century urban luxury. Just moments from California’s State Capitol, the Sacramento Convention Center and the Sacramento Superior Court, The Citizen is where the elite come to meet. READ MORE ABOUT THE CITIZEN...

The Citizen Hotel

Front entrance

The lobby

Trader Joe's pays for one night's hotel stay for all guests who have to travel 30 or more miles to the event. My favorite part of the room was the cushy pillow top King size bed with fluffy down-filled pillows...aahhhh.

Our room

Cute velvet chair in our room

Our bathroom

The reception (hors d'oeuvres and an open wine/beer bar) and 3-course sit down dinner was held on the 3,000 square foot roof top tented terrace with a stunning, unobstructed view of the California State Capitol.

I took this photo of the Capital Building while standing next to our table. It was the first time I'd ever seen it in person.

Jason and me (you can just see the Capital Building over my shoulder)

The menu (I know it's difficult to read). Jason had the Grilled Beef Tenderloin and I had the Roasted Pacific Halibut.

After dinner, everyone adjourned to the Ballroom for dancing (and more drinks).

The band was great! We danced for hours.

Thanks for taking a tour of the party. It's a special night for us each year because it's held right around the time of our wedding anniversary so we use this night as our own personal celebration. This year is our 15th!!!

Robyn

Pink heart sugar cookies & a recipe...

These cookies aren't just cute and delicious, they have a good dose of fiber in them for you more health-conscious people out there. With the substitution of whole wheat flour for part of the white flour and almond extract instead of vanilla, it's a nice variation of a traditional sugar cookie recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unbleached all purpose white flour


• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour


• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda


• 1/2 cup butter at room temperature


• 1/2 cup granulated sugar


• 1 egg


• 1 teaspoon almond extract
  

Frosting (I never use exact measurements; I just eyeball it until the frosting is thick like peanut butter):

• 2 cups powdered sugar


• 3 tablespoons milk


• 2 tablespoons butter

What to do:

• Place 1 1/2 cups flour and baking soda in a small bowl and mix together until blended.


• Place 1/2 cup butter and granulated sugar in large bowl and beat with electric mixer until blended. Add egg and almond extract and beat until blended. Add flour mixture and beat until well blended. Gather dough into a ball with your hands, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm (1 to 2 hours).


• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


• Lightly flour a work surface. Unwrap dough, place on surface, and use a rolling pin to roll out to a thickness of approximately 1/4 inch. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters and place cookies about 1/2 inch apart on greased baking sheets. Bake for about 7 minutes, until cookies are golden brown. Cool cookies on a wire rack before frosting.


• Put frosting ingredients together in small bowl and mix with a wire whisk or fork. Spread frosting on cooled cookies.


• Makes approximately 18 cookies.

Enjoy!

The She Space announces the "Savvy Shoppers Club"

It's time for something fabulous!! A vast deal of our clients are always ready and waiting the moment we launch a new collection or product. You are always the first in line when you know that something exciting is coming, and I think that if you checked your inventory, you would find that you haven't missed a collection since you found us, right? Well, I believe that I it is high time for me to put together a program that actually enables you to SAVE money while you are shopping. The Savvy Shoppers Club is designed for any and all color junkies within the USA, that have ever wished for FREE SHIPPING, FREE SAMPLES, and a permanent discount on our products! You know who you are! Drawer after drawer lined with our products doesn't phase you one bit....you're always ready for a new and exciting color palette! So, after much contemplation, I think that I have finally come up with a way to say thank you!!! READ MORE...

I'm Playing "Martha Mondays"

I've decided to expand my culinary/crafting skills by joining Martha Mondays (hosted by Brette at Martha and Me). I found out about it from Belle over at Muse in the Kitchen, who signed up herself and her husband Ward (he's the cook in the family) for the challenge. Shhh...she hasn't told him yet.

From Martha and Me: "Martha Mondays is a group of bloggers, Martha fans, home cooks, crafters, and people who want to cook or craft more who have joined together to cook or craft the same Martha dish or project. To get things started, I’ll choose a Martha recipe or craft (which must be from a current issue of Living or Everyday Food, The Martha Stewart Show or available on her site) and post a link (or page number in the mag if it’s not up on her site yet — if you don’t have the recipe or instructions for that week, just email me and I’ll send them to you – posting them on the web is a violation of Martha’s copyright). Everyone will then make the the dish or craft on the next Monday and post photos, comments or blog it within the following week. The idea is we will all be doing one project together on the same day, so there will be a kind of solidarity in this – plus we’ll get to see how everyone’s dish or craft turned out."

This week's assignment (8/10/09): Grilled Vanilla Peaches!

The She Space unveils their latest limited edition collection "Utterly Fabulous Fall"

Here's a sampling from the collection of 45 eye shadows.

here comes crazy

gnomes who roam
bandits in bras

little merry maidens

dreamers and doers

From The She Space:

Raise your hand if Autumn is your favorite time of year! ME ME ME!! Granted, it has been a pretty pathetic Summer here in the Chi-town area and I could have used a few more warm days...but I know they might still be out there. However...I must confess that Fall, and all of her majestic, rich tones is my favorite time of year! Admittedly when the clock strikes midnight and August officially begins, something happens to my brain and I go into color mode. It's true!!! If you go back in color history, Fall is when I simply can not stop myself from launching all sorts of fabulous new shades, and this year is no different. READ MORE...

My latest haul from The She Space...

I was very pleased with the previous round of samples (as well as several full sizes) I received from The She Space. The full sizes I chose (which I had already sampled), were mostly from the "Sprinkle of Twinkles and Pearl" collection (STP). I also got a couple from the "Go Glam or Go Home" collection (GGGH), and one full size from the "Velvets" collection. The texture and color payoff of the eye shadows in the STP and GGGH collections is very good and the colors really last (I always use Aromaleigh’s shadow primer first). The one Velvet I purchased a full size of was Stopping Traffic and I absolutely love it. It's the perfect not too frosty or shimmery brow bone highlighter. I loved the texture of it so much that I ordered 30 more samples from the Velvets collection and they arrived today. Big disappointment!

If you’re a fan of matte shadows but find that most mattes have too much drag upon application, you might like this collection since the shadows do apply very smoothly even over primer. But if you’re a lover of rich saturated color with some oomph, this collection is not for you. I will continue to cherish my beloved Stopping Traffic but the rest of the Velvet collection is a big NO for me.

And for those of you who like velvety matte eye shadows, I did swatch some of the colors (the ones I liked the best) on my arm for you. But if you want a true velvety plush textured eye shadow in the light to mid-tone range, I highly recommend Aromaleigh's "Eye Plush" collection. I own and love every single eye shadow in that collection. However, my personal favorite is Sunny Disposition.

Indoors with natural light and no flash

Thanks for stopping by!

"Longing Desire" FOTD...

• Longing - on lid and into crease
• Desire - on outer corner, slightly into crease and wet lined on top and bottom lash lines
• Daphne - on brow bone
• Sinisterrouge - on cheeks w/ English Roses Ultra Resolution Finishing Powder over it
• Buzz gloss (discontinued) - on lips

*All makeup is Aromaleigh.

*I originally posted this look on the Aromaleigh forum's Makeup Challenge Week 15 back in 2008.

Don Allor 1933-2009...

Donald Allor was born on July 2, 1933, and passed away on Sunday, July 26, 2009, due to complications from his brain cancer. He was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado and moved to California in 1948. He graduated from Central High School in 1951 then immediately served in the Naval Air during the Korean War until 1954. Don worked at various jobs for 45 years retiring from Mid Valley Distributors. He had many hobbies and passions throughout the years from photography, building model airplanes, trains and cars, genealogy, car clubs and square dancing. Of course not just as a participant but often times as treasurer or president of the club. There didn't seem to be anything he couldn't fix and he was always generous with his time and ideas. Don is survived by his wife Marcia; daughters, Crystal Allor Pittman and her husband, Jim Carmody, and Lisa Allor Robles; granddaughters, Sara Allor-Fahmie and Lauren Robles; brothers, Rick Ensminger and his wife Jody, Chuck Allor and his wife Wendy, Jim Allor and his wife Regina, Robert Allor and his wife Cathy; sisters, Barbara Grace and her husband Al, Gail Boyd and her husband Steve; numerous nieces and nephews and other family members and friends.

Visitation will be held at Palm Memorial Chapel on Monday, August 3, 2009, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. A Funeral Service will be held at Riverpark Bible Church, 7500 N. Millbrook on Tuesday August 4, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. Interment will be at Fresno Memorial Gardens. In leiu of flowers remembrances may be made to the American Cancer Society , or donor's favorite charity. PALM MEMORIAL CHAPEL 2983 Tulare Street Fresno, Ca. (559) 233-7267.

******************************************

I knew Don for about 2 years and considered him part of the family. My heart breaks that my mom no longer has the love of her life with her, but I find comfort in knowing that the time they did have together was joyous beyond belief. I will miss Don so much. Thank you to all my friends who have sent their good thoughts, wishes and prayers to our family throughout Don's illness and since his passing. We appreciate it more than you will ever know.

Love,

Robyn