I was on my usual (possibly weekly) Sephora black out shopping spree. (Please note I began this post forever ago before setting my New Year's Resolutions.) I saw that Bite Beauty had come out with a new liquid lipstick and a discovery set so I obviously could not pass either one up. Who doesn't love a good liquid lipstick and a full size major discounted set!?

Let's start with the Amuse Bouche Liquid Lipstick.
I LOVE the color options. I picked up the color Whip which is a blushed beige color. I was excited to see that this liquid lipstick is different from the majority of liquid lipsticks that are currently out in the market. It is creamy, extra hydrating and does not get chalky or dry. The application tip is angled and pointed, overall it goes on so smooth and full coverage. I only had to swipe once! A++ for the full coverage and high pigmentation. I applied this before leaving for work, I grabbed my cup of coffee and headed out the door. When I got to work about 30 minutes later it was still on and creamy. About two hours later however I noticed it had completely disappeared. This could definitely have been sped up due to me drinking my coffee relentlessly so I will give it another shot. 

The ingredients are of course what make it so creamy and satin like. The main ingredients are Monoi Butter and Coconut Oil. This is why I  felt like it literally melted onto my lips the second it touched them. It was a very blissful experience applying this, as again, I haven't tried a liquid lipstick like this before. 

I gave it another shot a day or two later and realized it is only inevitable that I will be drinking coffee and or eating while wearing lipstick and that I def prefer a liquid lipstick that can withstand my coffee addiction. I am now on the hunt to find a liquid lipstick that is slightly creamy when applying but dries (is that an oxymoron?), is not sticky and stays put, oh and nothing too chalky. My lips are already super dry (this is a work in progress to drink more water to aid with that issue.) If anyone has found a liquid lipstick that fits this description, please HELP A GAL OUT. 

P.S if you do want to try this liquid lipstick out Bite Beauty's Amuse Bouche Liquified Lip Set is on sale at Sephora.com for $15! They also just came out with like 15 more earthy colors!

I am going to be honest, I am a HUGE fan of liquid lipstick, it just works better for me. But, I am a sucker for a good deal and for Bite Beauty in general so I couldn't pass on this lip set. Bite Beauty does not contain gluten, sulfates, parabens, phthalates or petrochemicals (not even silicone) and is a Leaping Bunny approved company. HOORAY!

First off, this lip pencil is SO easy to work with! It is creamy, light and maneuverable. It does not come in a twist up, which I like because yay less plastic use! Down side, make sure you have a pencil sharpener with you. 

Color 036 is a rose taupe color, so a warm nude. The main ingredient to this is whipped shea butter which creates the light weight creamy consistency. Please note this lip pencil is not vegan (sigh) it does have organic beeswax in it. **Now on the look to find a lip pencil just like this minus the beeswax. 

Before applying the gloss I gave the lipstick and liner duo a walk around, having coffee and just hanging around my apartment for awhile. It stayed in place but I got a feeling that in a few hours from now I would need to reapply. The beautiful thing about this multistick is that it is super easy to reapply and I think works well if you aren't trying to have the most cut style of lips like Insta lips. I think it is great for every day work wear. The other cool item about the mulstistick is that... IT'S A MULTISTICK. You can use this for eyes, cheeks, lips, honestly whatever you want. It is the perfect item to carry in a bag, especially if you are going out and possibly not staying at your place that night. Bam, you have half of your face done the next morning with just one product. 

Lastly, the Gloss. I am in love. I was not a gloss person for the longest time. This might be from the trauma my mother caused me in grade and middle school, always telling me to put on lip gloss while I was a total tomboy. LOOK AT THE CREATURE YOU HAVE NOW TURNED ME INTO MOM. 

So why is this gloss so great? First, the application wand is fantastic, it has a pointed angled tip and applies with precision. I was always a color out side of the lines kind of artist in like 3rd grade so lipstick, gloss, the whole nine yards can be tough for me. But with this applicator, it is so easy. Second, the formula is great, not too thick, not too thin, just right! It feels a little sticky from the get go but that vanishes and it stays on long. Third (lastly?) the color is AH-MAZING. The champagne pearl is a warm nude color and it has SO MANY flecks of very fine gold and nude glitter. Again, my 2000 self is screaming (to be clear I was no longer a tomboy in 2000.) I have now purchased three other crème lip glosses from them because I am so obsessed and the color options are amazing. Honestly they range from the Champagne Pearl which is a great color to wear during the day as an eye catching  accessory to warm up an outfit, all the way to a Gold, which is legit GOLD. One swipe and you'll have a leprechaun chasing you around.  Their Peacock Pearl is on the same level as the Gold, they are both on the more extreme side of the spectrum. I've worn the Peacock Pearl to a few concerts before. All in all they have a lip gloss color for any occasion. 

Amuse Bouche Liquid Lipstick Conclusion:
If you are looking for a creamy, hydrating liquid lipstick. The Amuse Bouche Liquid Lipstick is for you! Just make sure you pack it with you to re-apply throughout the day. 

Lip Pencil Conclusion:
Creamy, yet weightless, very precise and blendable. Everything you want in a lip pencil but not vegan. Sob.

Multistick Conclusion:
Great for everyday wear. Lightweight and hydrating. 

Prismatic Crème Lip Gloss Conclusion:
GET THEM ALL. These are my favorite lip glosses that I have ever tried besides the Huda Beauty Lip Gloss. Next will be Huda Beauty Lip Gloss vs Bite Beauty Lip Gloss review. 

PLZ let me know if you try any of these products and your thoughts on them!

I am so happy I randomly put this little quick bite together! I was starving after work but wanted to work out and cook a real meal. To keep my appetite in check I threw this quick bite lettuce wrap together and it has been my go to snack ever since.

Ingredients:
Hydroponic Bibb Lettuce
Bean Sprouts
Cauliflower Rice
Saracha or any go to Sauce of choice

Use any amount of the bean sprouts, cauliflower rice and sauce that your heart desires, wrap it up in Bibb lettuce and there you go! A super easy, satisfying light snack to keep you going on with your day!

The Passion Planner is a bewitching book of  balance for you personal and work life. It is a way to get organized and twrite down your ideas to be able to see the big and little picture. It was exactly what I needed to lay out my goals. The Passion Planner honestly opened up my mind and made the vastness and anxiety of setting goals go away.  Literally a miracle mind map for how to set Lifetime, Long Term and Short Term Goals. If you don't feel like purchasing a planner I urge you to at least take a pen (or pencil) to paper and jot down your goals and ideas. It is more definitive when on paper and is a way to unload all of the thoughts you have in your mind. Take a second paper to then organize those thoughts a little more and so on. It really is a beautiful thing. ​​

​While eagerly awaiting my planner to arrive I had time to look back on 2017 (this is also a huge part of why I love New Year's, I love to reminisce and review the year.)

2017: A Quick Review
​I applied to jobs that scared me
​I accepted a job and a move that terrified me and elated me at the same time
I therefore moved to Washington DC
I became a vegetarian
I started this blog
I lost my Grandmother
I celebrated 1 year around the sun with my human who does not live in DC
​I explored more FX makeup
I've rekindled friendships, kept old friendships alive and created new ones
​I stared speaking my mind
I began to live the vegan lifestyle
I got another tattoo
​I have learned not to say sorry for the person I am

​Something struck me before the bright shining horizon that is 2018.
Maybe it was the realization that I would be turning 25 this year. Maybe it was the realization that I would be turning 25 this year without it even being a full month into the year and that I would be working one of my hardest work weeks on my birthday and that my sister would be out of town on my birthday... my 25th birthday (I have always traveled or done rather extravagant things for my birthday.) Somehow 25 was coming full speed ahead and I had just let everything go, I forgot I had a birthday with all of the hustle and bustle, forgot to ask off, adulthood pretty much just hit me like a brick wall. And that’s when I said fuck it. It’s going to be a dry(ish) January and TADAH! The birth of one of my many New Years resolutions! If you don’t understand how my mind jumps from “woe is me I have to work on my birthday” to the fiercely aggressiveness of having a dry(ish) January, well welcome to the club, I have no idea how I get there either! I think with adulthood coming on so strong and the discovery of my Passion Planner my mind was ignited and here we are! ​

Looking at those Life Time Goals helped me figure out what my Long Term Goals were.

​A Long Term Goal as defined by the world wide web is: A goal that takes roughly 5 years to complete.
WOW 5 YEARS. That's a little aggressive for me. I am keeping my Long Term goals to a 1 to 3 year-ish time frame for now. 

Short Term Goal as widely defined on the internet is: A goal that will be achieved in a year or less. 

Most folks short term goals are usually set to be 3 to 6 months out. 

Why are short term goals so great!?
Setting yourself with a short time period to achieve said goal increases the likely hood that you will in fact achieve it! Short term goals are also meant to be more realistic and more attainable. 

The way I tend to use Short Term Goals: As a break down and map to how I will achieve my long term and eventually lifetime goals. BOOM YOU JUST GOT INCEPTIONED. Kind of. 

I know that was a lot to take in. Deep Breath.
​This all may look like heaps of information and goals but they all lead to achieving my Lifetime goal of living a balanced life full of enrichment. I hope putting myself out there helps you create your road map to achieving your own goals!

Here is literally the shortest recipe you will ever see for the quickest best tasting vegan queso EVER.

​The intro to this amazing queso will be longer than the actual recipe.

​My sister came home from a girls night get together the other day with this queso. It all started with a text from her saying "I have vegan goodies for you, stay up." Naturally I sat patiently awaiting my sisters arrival. When she arrived she revealed this vegan queso and a cashew butter cup (dessert, that recipe is coming next.) I dove into the queso because I am always down to eat. SO GOOD. It was cold and a little greenish looking but my taste buds were not disappointed! The next day our friend who had made this queso sent out the recipe and I obviously have to share it for the entire would because everyone needs a queso substitute because dairy is scary and this queso doesn't make you feel like crap after eating the entire bowl. (woah total run on sentence srry) WINS ALL AROUND.

​Ok, I think I have built this up enough, here you go!

​Actually while looking at the recipe she e-mailed out I just realized that I didn't follow it correctly. SHOCKING? No. SAD? Yes. It's literally two ingredients and I uh would like to say I unintentionally substituted one of them. 

​The OG recipe calls for raw almonds. I used raw cashews. Whateves, still good!

Vegan Queso:

Ingredients
​1 and 1/4 cups of Raw Cashews
8 oz. Tomatillo Salsa Verde (I used Medium Heat)

​Directions
1) Soak 1 and 1/4 cups of raw cashews in water for at least 30 minutes
2) In a blender or food processor, blend the soaked (do not include the water) cashews with about 8oz of any Tomatillo Salsa Verde, again, I used medium heat.
​3) If you so choose - I heated mine up in a bowl after for 30 seconds, stirred, 30 seconds more, stirred and then 45 seconds. Boom, done!

​You may say 30 minutes isn't quick but if you plan ahead and throw in those bad boys while you work out or do laundry or literally do anything in the world then the actually mixing of the two ingredients is super quick. It'll take you longer to clean ​your blender. 

​Side note, after I made this I thought of adding Nutritional Yeast to it to make it even more cheesy tasting. I am going to do this next time and edit if needed if it makes it extra good. Stand by for that. 

​Please see pretty pictures below of the quick process:

Crack open a beer or a nice white wine and you're all set! Or  sparkling water which is what I did, yay Dry January!

​Cheers!

I would not say that I necessarily miss cheese. My body certainty do not miss it., but on a drunken occasion I could certainly do with some indulging on food that feels like junk food. I give you: The Not So Mac N' Cheese, Mac N' "Cheese!"

What is this witchcraft you ask!? Well, it's a handy recipe for yummy goodness that I found via a  Tasty  video on Facebook. 100% all of the credit goes to the brilliant minds of Tasty. I made a few tweaks on my own because I am SO BAD at following directions. I also wanted to make it a little less starchy and a little more healthy (ish.) I also suck at watching videos that show measurements, it all goes by way too fast! See below for full ingredient list:

MY VERSION INGREDIENTS:
(1) Potato
(1) Large Carrots
(1) Onion (I had a large one so I only used half.)
1 Cup of Riced Cauliflower
1/2 Cup of Raw Cashews 
(1) Tsp of Garlic Powder
(1) Tsp of Onion Powder
(1) Pinch of Pink Himalayan Salt
(2) Tbsp of Nutritional Yeast 
(1) Tsp of Paprika
​(1) Tsp of Pepper 
1 Box of you're favorite noods (noodles) of choice. I used elbow noods. Cook those bad boys up and set aside.

Step 1: Boil Water
While your water is boiling  peel and cut your potato, carrot and onion into large pieces. 

Step 2: Once water is boiling, throw in the potato, carrot and onion into the water and let simmer for 10 minutes

Step 3: Once the potato, carrot and onion mix are done scoop them out and put them in a blender or food processor. DO NOT TOSS OUT THAT BOILED VEGGIE WATER YET. Take 1 and 1/2 cups and put it in the blender/food processor as well. 

Step 4: Add in 1/2 cup of raw cashews, 1 cup of riced cauliflower along with all of the spices (onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, paprika and nutritional yeast.

Step 5: Blend 

Step 6: Add in more spices to taste if you so desire (since going vegan I am huge on spicy flavor) 

Lastly pour over cooked noodles and boom! You have yourself some tasty and healthy Mac N' "Cheese"

Let me know if you try out this recipe and how you like it! Warning: please do  not expect that gooey blend of what Velveeta gives you, the texture is not like that nor is it as thick but you can rest assured that your stomach will thank you for making this instead! 

The test of time for me is getting Chris to try it and give his stamp of approval. Wish me  luck! 

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