Hard Boiled Eggs: EASIER THAN EVER!

Alright folks, hard boiling eggs on stove-top isn't rocket science, but it can be kind of a pain.  Sometimes their too done, sometimes their only medium boiled, sometimes your pot boils over and makes a huge mess because you get caught up watching something silly on youtube! 

If you're like me and aren't so good with stove tops - this will change your life!

You can hard-boil eggs in the OVEN!  Who knew!!!  It's so easy and my first batch turned out great!

What you'll need:

• Eggs
• A mini muffin pan (a regular sized one will do as well if you don't have a mini....and if you're totally against muffins...you can also use a baking sheet with a wire rack on top)
• Paper Muffin Liners or Parchment Paper

Directions:

1. Pre-Heat your oven to 325 degrees.
2. Line your mini muffin tray with paper liners or parchment squares and insert your eggs.  (If you're using a baking sheet with a wire rack, you might still want to put a sheet of parchment over the wire rack so the shell doesn't actually touch the surface).
3. Bake eggs for 30 minutes.
4. When they come out of the oven put them in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.  My eggs had little brown spots on the outside of the shell, but those washed right off when soaking in the ice water bath.  I let them sit in there for about 10-12 minutes. 
5. Boom, that's it...they're good to go - eat, pickle, or decorate away!!!

Best part - doing them in the oven makes them come out so PERFECTLY!  There's no weird greenish tint to the yolk!  The shell actually peels off really easily!

I just tried this out tonight for the first time!  I don't think I'll ever go back to the stovetop method again!  I get too distracted for that! ;-)

September 2013 Birchbox

I was pretty impressed with this month's Birchbox!  I've tested out almost everything I got...except the nail polish, which I'm planning to use as soon as I finish here!

 

Here's what came this month:

 

Benefit Cosmetics Sugarbomb Ultra Plush Lip Gloss

This lip gloss is great!  Not really sticky and has really nice pigmentation!  I typically love whatever Benefit has to offer, and this gloss is no exception!

 

COOLA Tinted Matte SPF 30 Face Cream

This mineral based face cream is lightly tinted and goes on really smooth.  It doesn't feel heavy on your skin and has a nice matte finish.  I can just imagine this would be the perfect thing to wear for a trip to the beach! 

 

Juice Beauty Green Apple Peel Sensitive

I just used this for the first time tonight - I liked it, but we'll have to see if I get any adverse side-effects in the morning!  I could feel the peel doing its thing right away with some slight tingles and after 10 minutes or so I washed it off.  My face felt a little tight, but not necessarily in a bad way.  I followed it up with some Juice Beauty moisturizer and now my face smells like lemons and fruity pebbles!  ;-) 

 

Racinne Ultimate Youth Power Eye Serum

This was my first eye serum experience.  It goes on with almost a water-esque texture (slightly thicker).  I really saw a decrease in my dark circles and my just-crawled-out-of-bed puffiness.  I only wish it did something for fine lines!  It did nicely pair with my eye cream though! (Clinique All About Eyes)

 

Ruffian Nail Lacquer - Color: Delirium

I am about to put this on my fingers now!  It's a really pretty dark purpley color with a little sheen!  I think it'll be a great fall color!

 

 

Info Cards

Lil Man Cake!

It's about the one year anniversary of when I made this cake, which means it's almost the Lil Man's 2nd Birthday, so I though it was fitting to share! 

I made this cake for my boyfriend's nephew's first birthday last year!  The party theme was "Lil Man" complete with little ties and mustaches!  It was a super cute party and I was really happy with the way the cake turned out!  Hope you like it and if you're planning a similar themed party for your own Lil Man that it gives you a little inspiration!  I covered the cake with buttercream frosting and used fondant and gum paste for the huge 1 on top and fondant for the ties and mustaches around the base!

The cake itself was made from three 9'' rounds, homemade white cake, all stacked and filled.  Between the bottom and middle layers I used a raspberry fruit filling and between the middle and top layer I used vanilla pudding for the filling.  The combination of the fruit and pudding offset the simplicity of the white cake perfectly! 

 

Influenster VoxBox: The Good Life Box

I was sooo excited to be chosen to receive The Good Life VoxBox!  It was my very first one!! 

I've been a member of Influenster for few months now just hoping and praying to get to try out a box full of goodies so I was ecstatic when this guy finally arrived in my mail box!  I've tried several of the items so far so this is going to be a combo-unboxing/review! 

Without further ado.....drumroll please!?.....Alright, I can't stand it anymore:  Here it is!

(Please don't judge my crappy photography skills - these were all taken with my phone!)



The Good Life VoxBox: 2013
 

The Products

ZonePerfect Greek Yogurt Bars

I received the Raspberry flavor in my box.  I'm usually pretty skeptical of these types of protein-esque bars, so I wasn't super looking forward to eating it, but I threw it in my purse for a "just in case" type situation.  And, I'm sure glad I did, because it definitely came in handy the other day at the office when I didn't have time to eat a real lunch!  When I first opened the wrapper, the heavenly scent of raspberry sorbet floated out into the open air....so my expectations skyrocketed!  I mean, who doesn't love a good raspberry sorbet!  Then, I bit into it - eh....noting too special.  It wasn't the worst thing I'd ever consumed in a fit of hunger, but it was far from the delicious raspberry sorbet flavor my nose misled my taste buds into thinking they'd soon be meeting!  The bar was alright - I'm not going to be rushing out to the store to purchase these, but then again - if gritty protein bars are your thing, maybe you'd feel differently.  I honestly didn't even finish the last bite because it was starting to leave an icky taste in my mouth.  But, it definitely filled me up and I didn't feel the pangs of hunger until the day was over and I was home looking forward to dinner.  But, I'll be sticking with my Nature Valley Chewy Granola Bars for a quick fix!

 

 

Nonni's THINaddictives

The lovely folks at Influenster sent me the Cranberry Almond Thins flavor of the Nonni's THINaddictives.  I had never heard of these before, but I toted my little package along for a car ride with my BestFriend, Allison, to the first MSU football game of the season - and I even shared them with her!  Sharing is caring afterall....at least that's what the Care Bears always said!

Anyway, we both really enjoyed them!  They kind of remind me of a weird cross breed between biscotti, a cookie, and health food.  Sounds a little out there, I know - but they were actually really good.  Crunchy, but not too crunchy, while being a little soft at the same time, but not too soft.  It's kind of hard to explain, but get yourself some and give it a go!  You won't be disappointed.  They come in several flavors and are packaged in convenient little 3 cookie packs - perfect for the desk drawer, purse, diaper bag, lunch, etc.   And, at only 100 calories a pouch, you don't even feel the tiniest bit guilty!  Also, saw the most amazing idea on their Facebook page - Nonni's a la mode! 

 

***Side note, just visited their website and OhmigoshYouGuys (sorry, Legally Blonde the Musical reference....super catchy songs!) - they have some biscotti that looks to die for!  Definitely going to grab me up some of these!  If you're around the Michigan or surrounding states area and are interested in trying these, I know I saw them at Meijer in the granola bar aisle!  If not, you can find out where to get them near you here.   

 

 

New-Skin Liquid Bandages

I work with a lot of paper, which means you don't get out without a good paper-cut here or there!  Funny enough, I actually got quite a doozie the other day - carbonless paper, in a HUGE stack sliced me up proper, and I was a little excited about it cause I figured it would be the perfect opportunity to try my New-Skin Liquid Bandage spray-on stuff!  All I can say is, "Ouch!"  This stuff really stings and feels kind of strange on your skin.  The spray nozzle makes it difficult to pin-point one area, so I naturally ended up with goop all over my hand - not exactly what I was going for!  As far as open wound cuts are concerned, I'll stick with an old fashioned bandage.  But, I did read another review of this and this brilliant gal used it on the backs of her ankles for protection from new stiff shoes while she broke them in!  Sheer genius!  I just got some new shoes for work, so I'll be giving that trick a try!

 UrgentRx Fast Powders

 I received the headache relief powder in my VoxBox.  I have not actually tried this yet so I don't have much to report!  But, I can't lie - I've been eagerly awaiting a good head ache to come on so I can test this product out!  I don't get headaches too often but there's just something about the idea of a powder you dissolve in water to rid yourself of random aliments that makes me instantly think to something my favorite boy wizard would whip up in potions class!  I know I'm a big dork, but I can't help what I like!  I also kind of hope it's orange like the label!  :)

 

 There's all sorts of different potions to cure whatever ailment you may have: from Upset Stomachs, to Heart Burn, to Allergy Attacks, or Aches and Pains!?  I like the packet idea though - makes it really easy to carry all your pharmaceutical needs in your purse without all the weight of several different pill cases!

 The Vitamin Shoppe Garcinia Cambogia

This came in my VoxBox just in time for my office's annual Biggest Loser Competition!  I haven't seen any results yet - but I'm not super good at remembering to take these a half hour before each meal!  So, hopefully I'll get better at that and then better at going to the gym again - and maybe these will give me a little edge going into this competition!  I'm really hoping so - there's cash money on the line for the top three losers!   After one week, I'm currently in 5th place out of approximately 16-20 contestants! 

 

Wish me luck! 

 

 

 

 

Disclaimer:  I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes!