shepherdspie

Shepherd’s Pie and Irish Guinness Geniuses!

by with No Comment DIYfitnessfoodlifestyle

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I’m half Irish so this is my day to go around telling people that, whilst wearing green, dawning “Kiss Me I’m Irish” buttons, and consuming all things corned beef and green on this day! Oh and Irish jager bombs, must not forget those! So happy St. Patrick’s Day to you, cheers if you’re Irish, kiss kiss to you all, and today I give you the yummiest Irish Shepherd’s pie recipe. Paired with traditional Irish jagerbomb beverages but of course! I changed the name to Irish Guinness Genius because it has Guinness which is well genius duh.


So for the traditional St. Patrick’s Day festivities we made Shepherd’s Pie and had a few Irish Jagerbombs, but since we knew we’d be hardy-ing the night away, we started the weekend off with friends at Angeles National Forest.After hiking a good 6 miles and working up an appetite, we came home to make this scrumptious meal you see pictured above. 

Angeles National Forest adventure pictures and stories coming tomorrow, but for today, onward with the feast! Thanks to my great friend and fellow Irish girl, Sarah, we whipped up this yummy meal for everyone to dig in to. We made a 13×9 tray full of this goodness, so here’s what you’ll need: 

SHEPHERD’S PIE
– 1 lb ground beef (or ground turkey meat like we used)
– 1 TBL olive oil
– 3-4 medium carrots finely diced (or 2 big ones)
– 1 large yellow onion finely diced
– 1 1/2 cup peas (frozen or canned, but I love peas so I added in that extra 1/2 cup)
– 3 sprigs finely chopped fresh thyme
– 2 sprigs finely chopped rosemary
– sprinkle of kosher salt
– 2 teaspoon basil 
-1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
– 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
– 1 TBL butter
– 1 Guinness beer
– 1 large bowl of mashed potatoes (made to your liking, I used butter, milk, garlic, and sour cream)

  • Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
  • Saute the onion, celery, and carrots in the oil and then add in the ground beef and cook until browned
  • Add in your thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper, and basil
  • Then add in the butter and peas
  • Stir in the Guinness beer and let this simmer for 5-7 minutes 
  • Remove from heat and spread the meat portion into a 13×9 pan and top it with the mashed potatoes
  • Bake for about 20-25 minutes until the top is crispy to your liking and serve
*cheese on top is optional and super yummy!*

Irish Jagerbombs which we’ll so aptly refer to as Irish Guinness Genius bombs- super bomb and delicious (I can’t even believe I just said super bomb, but they are so delicious dot com). You cannot go a St. Patrick’s Day without consuming one of these bad boys. But remember you have to drink it up before it starts to curdle.

What you’ll need: 

– 3/4 pint Guinness stout in glass large enough to hold the shot glass also
– 1/2 shot Bailey’s Irish Cream
– 1/2 shot Jameson Irish Whiskey


  • Add  the Jameson and Bailey’s to a shot glass layering the Bailey’s on bottom
  • Pour the Guinness into a pint glass only about 3/4 full and let it settle as you will dropping the shot glass in (very carefully of course)
  • Drop the shot glass into the Guinness and chugarooo! 

Such a yummy traditional Irish meal and beverage! Thank you to my Sarah bear who came over with her hubs and shared the weekend with us, this recipe was so fun and easy and YUMMY to make! 

Hope you enjoy your St. Patrick’s Day, have fun, be safe, and of course drink responsibly 😀

Love, your mom

xoxoxo
coconutoil

How to make your hair more healthy

by with No Comment beautyDIYfashionlifestyle

Hair can be such a beautiful thing! It can also be an over processed, fried, dried out, stringy situation that you cover up with a hat or better yet, do what I do and when in doubt, BUN. IT. UP! 

So here are some things I do to keep  my locks feeling and looking healthy, shiny, and bouncy! Vavavoom!






As you know, I am obsessssssed with coconut oil. I have color treated hair that I curl and kill all the time and then spray with a million products. So coconut oil saves my hair, it has so many benefits and uses, so of course I use it in my hair too. Just take about 1 TBSP of coconut oil into the palm of your hands and warm it up, then work it into your hair, massage it through, tie it up and go to sleep (lay a towel on your pillow for the oil since it will transfer). In the morning wash it out (it takes a few washes, coconut oil is a thick mask buuuut great for moisture buuuut thick) and your hair will be soft and bouncy again. 

 
For when I’m traveling or I don’t have time for an all night ‘leave coconut oil in my head’ kind of routine, than I grab for one of my weekly to-go treatments. You can do any of these in the shower, just work them through your hair after you shampoo, and then wash them out after you’ve shaved your legs! 

My favorites are shown above. Palmers deep conditioner packs – this is such a great brand because apparently they make everything I need in these convenient little ‘to go’ packs. Perfect for traveling, perfect for shower treatments, and hell – perfect for gifts! I put a few different packets into a basket with bath salts and they make the perfect ‘at home spa’ gift for someone 😀 These packs last me a few deep conditioning treatments, they wash out easily, and smell uh-mazing! I’m alll about the smelllll! 

The Olive Oil one is very rich, the consistency is similar to what you’d find in an avocado mask or banana mask you’d make at home. The Argan Oil mask has more of the same consistency to the coconut oil mask, less creamy, but just as hydrating to your hair. These two are my favorite to-go packs. 
Something I’ve always loved and it seems so simple yet I don’t know a lot of people who use it, but good ol’ VO5 Hot Oil works like a charm! You’re supposed to warm it up for a minute, but when I’m in the shower and don’t have access to boiling water I just put the oil into a cup with really hot water from the bath and let it sit for a minute while I wash my face. Then I put it all in my hair for another minute and rinse it out. My hair is always so soft and shiny after a hot oil treatment. 

The way that it works is, the heat from the oil opens the hair shaft and infuses your hair with moisture and shine. I mean….woooo! 


And keeping with the theme of deep treatments, beyond doing weekly night time leave in treatments with the coconut oil, I will alternate that with this deep treatment masque from Shea Moisture. It’s super rich and thick, smells like heaven, with argan oil and shea butter, and after this treatment your hair will look and smell angelic. This is a thicker treatment so you’ll have to wash it out a few times, but it’s my second favorite deep conditioner, my first being the coconut oil. 

Soooo if you want healthy hair, you don’t have to do the 80284759 things I do to my hair I promise. I do a lot to my hair because I do a lot to it to have to. But I do suggest a leave in conditioner and maybe a coconut oil mask every week to lock in moisture and repair any damage. 

I made a video about all of this a while ago, if you’re more of a watcher than a reader, have a looksie!

I’m doing a video soon about a mask for hair also, a DIY hot oil treatment, oh and that skin care scrub 😉 I haven’t forgotten. Soon my pretties!!!


xoxo














colorsecrets

Vegan nail polish?!

by with No Comment beautyDIYfashionlifestyle

When I heard ‘Vegan’ nail polish I was like ‘oh man, nail polish just went all hipster on us!’ <—- true thought, is this an LA state of mind? But I really loved the colors so I gave it a go and hey, try before you buy right…or is that you break you buy? Whatever the case, this is my review of the Color Secrets Vegan nail polish and their lip gloss…pssst I’ll tell you if things suck when they suck, so here goes my thoughts.

I love the colors, I have to say that first because it’s the first thing I thought when I set them up in this circle. I love how vibrant they are from pastels to neons. 

Let me preface by saying that when I review things, my opinions are real and when things suck I will tell you they suck and why. These did not suck. So my first thought was that the color won’t stick. I could visibly see that the formula is a thinner formula than that of lets say an Essie or an OPI polish. 

I polished my nails with “The Proposal” which is the coral-ly pinkish color, and did a few accent nails in “Titanic”, the sea foam color you see above. I personally always prep my nails with a base coat, also I had a feeling that if I didn’t use one that these colors might stain my nails. We’ll see next time I’ll try it without the base coat. The first coat as I suspected went on pretty thin, spotty in areas, and it seemed a lil watery. But then I applied a second coat and it stuck, it was nice and vibrant and thick enough where I didn’t have to apply a third coat wahooo! 


I finished off my nails with a top coat, and tadaaaa, here are my nails! And my face. I was channeling my inner Twiggy here with my daughter’s rad sunnies and the Color Secrets lip gloss in “Coral Punch”. Also, I’m not really into highly pigmented lip glosses or lipsticks for that matter, I have big lips so I end up looking like a mail order bride! I usually go with more sheer colors but this lip gloss wasn’t too opaque for me at all, nice! 

So these nail polishes are Vegan in that there aren’t any animal parts used to create the metallic or pearlescent finishes. Instead, they use mica powder to achieve those sparkles, and just like the lip gloss, the polishes are cruelty free and made in the US. But seriously they had me at $3.99. Yes you can get the polish or the lip gloss, or both, for under 5 bucks each! 


Considering I spend a boat load of money on cosmetics, this is a nice change. Annnnd it’s good for me, and the Earth so boom!!!! P.S. don’t mind my cuticles in this photo, I’m barelyyyy good at polishing my own nails, yet alone taking care of cuticles. But this is the lip gloss I’m wearing in the photo, a lot more sheer on my lips than I thought it would be, which is a good thing. I think. For me anyway. 

So I hope you enjoyed this review, that’s my honest experience with what I tried, thanks for reading my words! 

Have a groovy day! 

xo- 

Jess
















outfitblog

Spring into bold prints and splashes of blush

by with No Comment beautyDIYlifestyle
Spring time means a change in fashion for the ladies, and a change in time for the fellas! I put together this photo set for you of some of my favorite things to pair together at the moment. Gotta love this California weather!




I have always been and always will be in love with kimonos. I think they’re versatile, I love the flow of them, and they can be layered with anything. This is a True Decadence Velvet Baroque Kimono top, beneath it a Dolce and Gabbana brightly printed crop top, and I paired it with high waisted denim shorts. 


I’m obsessed with these Forever21 combat boots! I love the color, I love the length of them, I love that they are sweetness meets badassness. 

For the accessories I chose these Wildfox sunglasses, this blush pink Guess chunky necklace, and then stacked a few of these Dezso cuffs which I just love because they’re so dainty yet have some edge to them.

Finish off this casual chic look with a bold red lip and you’re set! This is perfect for a day out with the girls, a lunch date, or simply to run around town causing a ruckus!  
Follow me on Polyvore for more fashion, inspiration, and outfit obsessions http://jesslizama.polyvore.com/


Sunny springtime wishes to you, and I’ll meet ya back here later for more! Off I go to put some more outfits together, see you on Polyvore! 


xoxo


soycleanser

Naturally longer, thicker eyelashes

by with 2 Comments beautyDIYlifestyle

Yes you read that correctly, naturally!!!! So I get asked all the time if my eyelashes are real and yes there are real, butttt, there’s a but. While I naturally have long lashes, they are very fine, and there are things I do to make them more better. No we don’t use proper grammar here.

Well about a month and a half ago for like a good solid 2 weeks, I was just being lazy and not washing my makeup off before bed. Basically just leaving the tar that we call mascara on my lashes for beyond the amount of time you should have tar on your lashes. AND THEY STARTED TO FALL OUT! Ahhhhhhhh! (insert home alone scene here) 

Well now they are back, and in full force, I feel like I have Snuffleupagus lashes actually, and the following regime is what I did to get them back, and I did this religiously for a solid month! Seems like a lil over kill, and a shit ton of work but this is the trick! Also, I don’t know about you, but to have your eyelashes fall out is just not a hot look to sport and I hate falsies, so onward we go.





So one, I made it a point to wash my makeup off before bed every night and I used Fresh Soy Cleanser as an eye makeup remover, because it’s uber gentle and the formula in the cleanser conditions your lashes. WIN!

Then I put a drop of DHC’s Olive Oil onto a clean mascara wand and brush it onto my lashes both top and bottom. I like DHC’s oil because it’s much thinner than a regular cooking olive oil (though that would probably work for you also) as it’s super filtered and gets absorbed quickly. 



Brushing your lashes is like brushing your hair and it could all be in my head but I’m pretty sure it helped them grow quicker. Sounds a lil crazy I know, but I swear, comb those suckers!



I also started using a more moisturizing mascara. Rimmel’s lash accelerator is comparable to Tarte’s Lash Camera Flashes, except it’s a more hydrating formula. My lashes don’t feel super dry and brittle with it and it comes off easily. Ladies stay away from waterproof mascaras if you can, they are double the tar.

Lastly, I started taking Keratin for my hair and skin, and noticed a difference in my hair AND in my lashes. I already take spirulina shots in the morning, along with fish oil and vitamin E daily, for all of the reasons you should take these vitamins, and I’m telling ya, my hair, skin, nails, and eyelashes look and feel more healthy. 



If you know me than you know I’m all about coconut everything. And for as long as I can remember, I’ve been using it as a hydrating mask for my face, a body moisturizer, hair conditioner, and an eye lash conditioner. I swear by the stuff and I still swipe this onto my eyes before bed as an eye cream and eye lash conditioner. If nothing else, use some coconut oil on your lashes, hell, on your whole body, and you’ll notice a difference. 

Natural means no chemicals, so no quick fix, this takes some time. Do this daily, be gentle with your skin and your lashes, and if you can go a few days giving your face a break from cosmetics, do it. 

The great part is you know the ingredients in what you’re putting on your face now because there’s only one ingredient. And there are a lot of products out there with crazy chemicals promising to make your lashes longer and thicker – MD lash factor, Latisse, Peter Thomas Roth Lashes To Die For, knock off brands, there’s a lot out there. And while these products probably work, I don’t want to have to use a chemical on my lashes forever for it to work. 

So try this route first, I seriously noticed my lashes longer, thicker, and the sparse ones grew back. I hope this helps, I think lashes make your eyes look bigger, brighter, more awake, and more youthful. Give it a go why dontcha!

Bat those eyelashes girl!




foundation

Drugstore Dupes!

by with One Comment beautyDIYfashionlifestyle
Drugstore products comparable to their high end twinsie products!

Soooo unless you just really love spending money on a ton of beauty products or just really love a particular name brand makeup item, I think there is a cheaper AND just as fabulous dupe out there. To prove it, here are my picks for best bank friendly dupes!


Foundation. Foundation is well- the foundation of your makeup, the base of your face – I realize I’m turning into a rapper here, but you’re pickin up what I’m layin down.





Makeup Forever’s High Definition Foundation ($42):
  • creamy
  • goes on smooth
  • has build able coverage
  • will last you five-ever (that’s longer than forever)
Maybelline’s FIT me shine free foundation stick ($8) 
  • anti- shine core
  • fraction of the cost
I decided to give it a go. Ladies it’s the same as the HD foundation. Yes it requires a bit more in the application, but it too is build able and gives amazing coverage. I applied it over a primer and it was smooth as silk AND blended like a peach.
Hourglass Hidden Corrective Concealer ($32):
  • one of my all time favorite concealer
  • super creamy, rich, and smooth
  • doesn’t settle into fine lines
  • the kicker – it’s $32 for a small stinking tube
Time Balm ($13)
  • you can get for half the cost and it is totally comparable to the Hourglass
  • totally the same experience in my experience
  • nice and creamy, nice AND cheap-errrrr

Mascara! Ya know, if they banished me to a deserted island and they said I could only bring one beauty product, it would be mascara. And sunscreen. Ok and lipbalm. That’s 3 but who’s counting. 

I live for eyelashes. I have a video coming soon for the best at home eye lash serum! Stay tuned! In the mean time, if you love Tarte’s Lights Camera Flashes ($23), than you’ll love Rimmel’s Accelerator mascara ($8). 

Similar bristles, great formula, didn’t leave fall out, AND it’s a lash accelerator. Put down the Latisse and walk toward the dollar isle ladies! I will always be in favor of Loreal Voluminous because it’s the best that ever was, BUT if you’re asking for a dupe, the Rimmel is.just.like.the.Tarte.

Annnnnd body care. Because we care about our body, but more importantly, about the scent! That’s me anyway! And I LOVE anything coconut!!!! 

So naturally I’m obsessed with The Body Shop’s Coconut Body Butter ($20), but honestly, Trader Joe’s Coconut body butter ($10) is everything. 

Scent is the same, same consistency, same hydration, same same same. But price. Price is different. And price is everything for certain things in life.

So go ahead, give these a try and tell me your favorite drugstore dupes! I dooooo have a video coming out about this topic for you watchers out there! But for my readers, I’m glad my words can land here and you enjoy reading them. I enjoy writing them 😀 And remember……….



Stay calm and buy a dupe. 

xoxo


Jess





















silk2

Silk Peel – youthful and glowing skin

by with No Comment beautyDIYfashionlifestyle



Why yes, that IS me in the photo above! Phhhh I wish! No, really, I have aging skin. Boom, there I said it. I’ll admit it dammit, I’m no spring chicken. I’m raising a sixteen year old, and I have student loan debt, AND the California sun to age me and drain suck the collagen right out of my skin!

Luckily, I do about umteen trillion things to my skin daily and I will share my secrets with you here because lets face it, we are all going to age. We are all going to get old but I’ll be damned if I don’t slow the process as much as I can until I wake up as Freddy Krueger one day! 


So the silk peel…. first let me tell ya, I’ve done all the peels. Salicylic acid peels, at home peels, pineapple enzyme, dermadoctor, blah blah, all of them. 

Then I saw on Instagram some glowing bomb shell on the popular page with her skin just oozing youth and glow and I was like okay what is she doing to her skin because she looks young – hey if you’re young, you’re like a fetus and have plump beautiful skin! 

She was holding up a bottle that looked like coconut water with pulp in it, then proceeded to explain that it was her skin! IN the bottle, after a silk peel. Ewwwww! I mean wow! So naturally I googled it! haha. NO really I did and then I took it a step further and called my nearest dermatology skin center to make an appointment to try this sucker out. Yes, it sounds crazy I know.

Apparently, the skin peel works with microdermabrasion so that it exfoliates your skin and at the same time infuses it with a serum. 


The serum stimulates new cell growth guys! Aka collagen, aka plumper younger looking skin, aka omgyes! I didn’t know about any of this until I researched it a bit and then when I went in for my peel I asked a bazillion questions. 


I was given the hydrating serum since my skin is like the Sahara desert and refuses to even create oil. The whole facial / peel, took about 30 minutes and it was relaxing and not painful at all. I never get professional facials or skin care treatments done because 1) they’re expensive and 2) I’m afraid it’ll be painful or cause more damage. 

But honestly I would do this again, I bought two more peels (you can find steal on Groupon or Living Social otherwise they run about $150 a pop and no thank you for that price!) and I’ll go again in about 3 weeks, maybe this time I’ll add an oxygen treatment or collagen booster because what the hell. 

I don’t have horrible skin, but it’s definitely dry, it’s definitely aging, and the peel made my skin softer and made it visibly more hydrated and plump. I had a lil glow going on and the pores on my cheeks were smaller, not that it was even a big deal to me, I just want my raisins for skin cells to become full blown grapes again. Also, according to the sites I’ve been reading, this peel is great for acne, wrinkles, sun spots, and dryness. My goal is to prevent gravity from taking me down so that’s why I did it.

But hell, if someone told me to put manure on my face to keep it young, I’m pretty sure I would. Secretly. And then blog about it. 

So this is my face below from earlier today. I had the silk peel done yesterday. No filters in this photo, to my dismay, just the light from my big ass window, and some mascara. Because I’m human and had to do human things today that made me not want to go for a 3rd day without makeup on. But other than that it’s bare, and as you can see I have some discoloration going on but that’s what all this skin care stuff is supposed to fix, so we’ll see what I look like in 12 years. For now I feel glowy and girly and I like that. I did this for me and there should be no other reason you do anything. Tell everyone to suck it if they think you’re getting old. 





That’s it for today, good night world <3 

xoxo – Jess





frenchtoastpicjess

Recipe to end all other French toast recipes

by with 3 Comments DIYfitnessfoodlifestyle

Ahoy! I have a blog now! Yes I am on Tumblr also, but here will be my words, my rants, my thoughts, my videos my blah blah blah. 

My first blog will be a secret recipe that my mom used to make and this recipe will beat  end all other French toast recipes. I mean it! And if you’re not into the baking of it all, click on the linkies above and it’ll take you to your desired destination. Disclaimer this whole code html updating stuffs is pretty new to me so my apologies if it takes you to a blank page, I’m workin on it 😉

Now please keep all hands and feet within in your box and lets start cooking! ps they may not look like the game changer to all breakfast plates…..but it is. 








What you’ll need: 

1 loaf of a Hawaiian sweet loaf ( I mean, I can’t even )
2 cups milk
4 eggs
juice of 1 orange
2 tsp vanilla
2 TBSP coconut sugar
1 TBSP cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
4 TBSP butter
maple syrup
powdered sugar -optional
unsweetened coconut flakes -optional but highly suggested
chocolate chips – optional but really a must


-Slice your loaf into big ol’ chunky rectangles 
-Place your skillet on medium high heat
-Combine all of your ingredients in a big ol’ bowl
-Dunk your bread into the mixture
-Put a slice of butter onto the skillet and melt
-Place dunked bread into the skillet and brown on both sides (about 2 -2 1/2 minutes or to desired golden-ness)

– Put the French toast onto a plate and sprinkle with coconut flakes and drizzle with maple syrup

ENJOY! 

this is my most favorite breakfast to make and to indulge in <3 My most favorite.