Its that time of the month!

The other day I was in my “once a month” mood and decided that I wanted a chocolate snack. What greatness could get me out of the “TUDE” I was about to unleash on everyone that I saw? And that certainly included my dear, sweet, precious, fussy, whiny, irritable, needy, innocent daughter G.E.   Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies!  I could reward her for her lovely behavior, send her into a sugar comma and finally get some peace to myself for a moment until someone else (loving, sweet, understanding, annoying, messy, clueless, father of my child) came home.  I walked into my kitchen and a voice called to me from another cabinet. I decided to answer. I opened the cabinet and as if I was at the pearly gates of Heaven, music began to play and two Betty Crocker Moist Chocolate Cake boxes called out for me.  Why not try the Chocolate icing recipe that my neighbor Janice had been raving of since I met her about a year ago. The recipe had been handed down to her from her mother.  So I called her and of course the main ingredient I did not have ...Coco.  Everything seemed to be falling in place because Janice had plenty to spare.  When I went to gather the Coco, Janice stressed that I add coffee grinds for added kick.  I thought cool why not. I am down to try just about anything at this point.  Did I have coffee? Of course not! I had espresso but no coffee. So of course she found some to give me. While caught up in the excitement of finally trying one of her childhood favorites the lovely man in my life, who earlier got a small taste of the storm to come, called for details on what he calls “the thing” I needed from the store. While I was picking up my cell Janice asked, “How much do you want?” and I replied, “Oh whatever you have is fine” and went on with “No not regular. I said I needed super… No 18 will not be enough... They have to have a bigger box”.  And sometime while talking to my sweetheart I told her to just add the coffee to the coco she had already put into a container for me. I grabbed the goods and headed back home.  Well everything went well with the cake, but apparently after consulting with Janice the icing had a little too much coffee.  “Oh No! You shouldn’t taste the actual coffee grinds. Maybe you used too much”... “Oh why thank you Janice “I” think I may have”.  All that for a little fix.

As I have said before, I will share the good and the downright bad recipes that I come across. While this wasn’t BAD... It was a little screwed up.

Other than that small error the recipe is very good. The cake is almost entirely gone after 1 day.  I do encourage you to try it, but only after making the necessary adjustments. 

Mommas Famous Chocolate Icing calls for: 1 box of powdered sugar, 4 heaping spoons of coco, 2 tsp. of coffee ( I NOW recommend sprinkling in last until you reach your desired taste), ¾ c. butter, 1 tsp. of vanilla or more, and 2 tbs. of hot water or more. 

Blow the dust off those make up brushes!

Never spend a dime on a makeup brush cleaner again!!!

Answer: Baby Shampoo!

Now I know that there are people who:  A. spend tons on brush cleaner, B. don’t even think twice about cleaning their brushes or C. Never use makeup because they have been blessed by the beauty goddess and should ignore this post. :)

I was looking in the mirror the other morning with disgust at how much I had let myself go. I decided I was going to get back into the swing of things and that started with putting just a little effort into myself.

I wanted to start fresh and clean. To get motivated I decided to first blow the dust off all my makeup brushes and thoroughly clean them. I had heard that baby shampoo works 10 xs better than actual brush cleaner and is sensitive enough to not damage them, but I had no IDEA how WELL it works!!! I have spent tons on solutions used by professional makeup artists and they don’t seem to work as well as this. I have found that I use a lot more of the solution than I do the baby shampoo and I have plenty of baby shampoo on hand (as most of us moms do) at a much cheaper cost.

Good make up brushes are costly! You want to of course get the best use of them, but also know they harbor lots of dirt and bacteria. Washing them frequently will not only prevent this, but will also keep your face clean and healthy. 

While many of us moms barely have enough time to even put makeup on (for those of us who need it…ME), this money saver tip just might lite the spark for you to find that time again.

1. Wet the brush with warm water.

2. Apply a small amount of shampoo to the bristles and work into a lather.

3. Rinse thoroughly and repeat step 2 if necessarily until no color leaves the brush.

4. Allow to air dry.

Another important tip is to “shape” bristles back to its original shape then lay them flat on a paper towel. 

DO NOT place them upright in a container. This will cause water to run back into brush/handle creating a home for bacteria and could also create rust depending on the type of brush. I like to place something like a pencil perpendicular to and under the brush handle to further decrease the chance of this happening. 

Now get cleaning and get to put some time into yourselves mommies!!