Valentine's Dinner...In a Snap!

With Valentine's Day rapidly approaching, Lauren and I made it our mission to create the perfect dinner to cook for your valentine, without it being too complicated, too fancy or too heavy.  (I mean, who wants to be feeling the food coma when you should be feeling your date...if you know what we mean!!)

This meal looks like it would be a difficult meal to put together...in other words, it looks fancy schmancy. However, it is easy, delicious, and mostly healthy!

For our dinner, we decided on making roasted chicken caprese for our main course with roasted mixed vegetables as a side.

Veggies for Roasting

For the roasted vegetables, we decided to use a mix of red peppers, green peppers, red onion, eggplant and zucchini. Feel free to adapt your vegetable choices to your and your guests' unique tastes-- Lauren hates mushrooms, thus why we didn't include them, but Stacy loves them!  We just cut the veggies into chunks/strips (all roughly about the same size so they cooked at the same rate) then drizzled them with olive oil, garlic, oregano and pepper and roasted them in the oven for about 60 minutes at 375/350 degrees. In fact--we roasted the veggies at the same time as we made the chicken and the roasted tomatoes (see--this meal is EASY PEASY!!)

Sauce for our Chicken

The roasted chicken caprese is easy to make. All you need to be able to do is measure a few ingredients, cut up tomatoes into quarters, cut up mozzarella cheese into cubes, squeeze a lemon, chop some basil, put it all together and throw it in the oven. So. Easy. Now, Lauren and I are all about making our lives super, duper simple. So, we bought the thin sliced chicken breasts--they are more expensive, but they are such a time saver. If you want to save money, or if you like your chicken breasts a little thicker, get the family pack or the regular chicken breasts--you can cut them into thinner breasts, or cook them as is. Your choice.  For the mozzarella, we used the packaged kind you can find in your grocer's dairy case.  We find that it tastes delicious and is a little lighter on your wallets.

Dessert is Assembled!

And, what good is a romantic meal without a special dessert? We made indoor s'more sundaes. Yes, they were as amazing as they sound. They look so fancy and like they'd be such a difficult thing to make, but, they were the complete opposite.  All you need to be able to do is crush a few graham crackers, melt some butter, scoop some ice cream, put it in the freezer and then under the broiler. The recipe says you should melt semi-sweet chocolate morsels to make a chocolate sauce. But, as the evening went on, we found making the chocolate sauce right after dinner, because we wanted it to be fresh, would take too much time, so we went with Hershey's chocolate syrup instead. This dessert wowed our guests!  Once dessert hit the table the talking was at a standstill and everyone became way more interested in the cupcake style desserts than catching up on their daily activities.  (We can't wait to make these again for a dinner party or a girls' night in or any other special occasion like, you know, next Tuesday, a snowy Saturday...)

The dinner? Deceptively simple, filling without being heavy, delicious and a huge hit.

When you have the best Valentine's Day dinner ever, you can thank us. We accept cash, checks, jewelry, cookies... Just kidding (mostly). Hope you have the best Valentine's Day!

Our Completed Dinner

The Best Dessert Ever

Love,

The recipes are as follows:

Roasted Chicken Caprese -- Serves 4

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (1lb)
6 medium roma tomatoes (or whatever's in season)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup olive oil
8 oz. mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/4" pieces
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/2 tsp black pepper

Lemon Vinaigrette:
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Place chicken in 1 gallon zipper bag. Add lemon vinaigrette, seal and marinate in fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Cut each tomato into quarters, lengthwise. Place them in a medium bowl and gently toss with sugar, salt and olive oil. Spoon tomato mixture onto a rimmed cookie sheet so tomato pieces don't touch. Roast for 30 minutes. Spoon tomatoes and all accumulated juices into a small bowl. Add the cheese, basil leaves and pepper, tossing gently. Let this mixture sit at room temperature while the chicken cooks.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Remove the chicken from the marinade and discard the marinade. Place the chicken on the same cookie sheet. Roast for about 30 minutes, turning once, or until cooked.

Spoon the tomato and mozzarella mixture over the chicken and serve.

Indoor S'more Sundae -- Serves 4

Graham Cracker Crust:
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 5 whole graham crackers)
3 tbsp butter, melted
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Salt (just a pinch)

4 scoops vanilla ice cream
1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows

Quick Chocolate Sauce:
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp whole milk

For the graham cracker crust: Mix the graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugar, cinnamon and a sprinkle of salt together in a bowl. Firmly press the crust into muffin tins to make individual crusts. Top each crust with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Press the mini marshmallows into the ice cream, covering the scoop completely. You will have 4 s'more "domes." Freeze at least 1 hour.

For the quick chocolate sauce: Immediately before serving, heat the broiler to low. Toss the chocolate chips with the milk in a ramekin or small bowl and microwave 30 seconds. Stir until smooth and set aside. Place the s'more domes under the broiler until marshmallows brown, about 30 seconds. Watch them constantly as they burn easily. Place each s'more on a plate and drizzle with the chocolate sauce.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at theaccessorizedlife@gmail.com

Paying it Forward -- Preemie Cap Style

As I mentioned previously, my twins were born 7 weeks early. As a result, they were in the NICU for nearly 4 weeks. My husband and I became very close with the NICU nurses, and we think of them, and our time there, often.

While my kids were in the NICU, they received some adorable knitted caps that had been donated. Since I am an avid knitter, I made preemie caps for my kids while they were there. The pattern was super easy--each cap takes about 2 hours from beginning to end--and I promised myself that one day, I would pay it forward and make preemie caps to donate to the NICU as a stashbuster, and as a good deed. (For all you non-knitters out there, stashbuster is when you do a project just to use up your leftover yarn from other projects!)

In October, I started thinking about the fact that my kids were turning 1 fairly soon. I wanted to do something bigger than a birthday party to commemorate the day. I felt that it was important to acknowledge and thank the NICU nurses who selflessly gave of themselves to nurse my babies to health. I decided it was time to cash in that promise to pay it forward, so I put out a call on facebook to all of my friends and family who knit and crochet that I was doing a preemie cap drive for the NICU and wanted to collect as many caps as I could before the kids' birthday. I wanted to drop them off at the NICU on their birthday, with a thank you note for the nurses and a recent picture of the kids.

I put all of my other projects on hold, dug out all of my non-allergenic stash yarns, and embarked on this project. I would have been happy to create 5 on my own, and maybe donate 10-15 total. Well, once I got on a roll, I got obsessed (like I do with many of my projects) and got more and more creative as the project went on. I ended up knitting 15 hats myself (photos of each one below), and received another 19 from friends and family. In total, I was able to donate 34 preemie caps to the NICU.

All of the preemie caps I made

I enjoyed this project so much, that I decided that I want to do it every year. I will knit a cap every now and again, whenever I have a few hours to spare and feel like I just want to knit something quick and easy. I hope that my friends and family will once again be generous with their time and yarn and help donate to this project. I hope to donate twice as many to the NICU this year as I did last year, and I hope that other friends and family members who knit or crochet will join in the project.

All of the caps I donated

Hopefully the parents who are going through the same difficult journey that we did will get an ounce of comfort from the lovingly crafted handknit caps that their babies will receive. Hopefully, when their healthy child comes home, they will put the cap in a special place--just like I did with the caps my twins received--to take out once in a while to remember how far they've come and how lucky they were to have the most amazing, caring, attentive NICU nurses.

Click me for the preemie cap pattern if you knit and want to donate some to your local NICU!

Close ups of all of the caps I made:


        

    

    

    

      

Love,

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at theaccessorizedlife@gmail.com

Ten Minute Makeup

Let's face, it, if you are like me, you like your sleep.  Therefore, my morning routine usually involves me sleeping as late as possible, then running around trying to jam a million things into my morning so that I can get everything done before I run out the door to get to work.  Over the years I've fine tuned my makeup time down to the second so that I know how much time I need each morning to make myself presentable during my sprint out the door.  I need about 10 minutes each morning to accomplish this. During the weekdays I use the same basic products, I usually just switch out what eyeshadow I use depending on what I am wearing that day.  So here's how I do it!

My Daily Go To Products

The first step for me after I've moisturized my face is to put on foundation. I have a brush that I use to help me with that that's great for getting into all the little angles of my face. For foundation, I've been using a BB Cream from Smashbox, which also helps me in the winter with my dry skin because it has a moisturizer with SPF built in!  (Ladies, we cannot skimp on the SPF, even in the winter!!).

Blending in my foundation

Concealer is my next item I use.  I've been using the same concealer for years; it's from MAC. I use this under my eyes to hide those lovely dark circles! On top of the concealer I just placed under my eyes, I've started using Benefit's Watt's Up. It's a highlighter, and I love how it blends nicely and makes my eyes look awake, even if I'm dead tired.

After making sure all my concealer is blended I move onto my eyes. I like to put on some creme eyeshadow first. The one I use every single day is from MAC Cosmetics.  I usually put the creme shadow on before I have put on my foundation so that I know it's nice and dry and is all set for the powder shadows I'll be using. I find that putting down a creme shadow first helps to hold the eyeshadow on for the entire day.

 
The first color I put on my lid is a darker color (not too dark), and this goes all over my eyelid.  I know this is different from what most people do, but I blend my eyeshadow a lot, which gives the effect of a smoky eye. (Also, I am by no means an expert in this, I just find this works well for me!) Then I put a lighter color, usually with some shimmer all over the darker one and then take my trusty blending brush!

I then finish off the eye look with curling my lashes and applying mascara! I love love love mascara and I never leave the house without it on!

Oh and don't forget about your eyebrows. During the week, I use clear Mascara from CoverGirl Cosmetics to run over the brows so that they stay in place!

Before I'm done, I usually add some sort of blush and/or bronzer just to give my skin a nice healthy glow for the day.

Adding some bronzer on this day 

Finishing up! 

And Voila! I'm done and out the door. Weekdays are not days to experiment with new products. These are days you need to throw some makeup on and get out the door!  Once you figure out the products that work best for you, you too can whip your look together in 10 minutes or less!

Ready to take on the day! 

Hopefully I've inspired you to streamline your morning makeup routine, or I've helped you learn that simple morning makeup is possible! If you want more information on the products I love, click on the links below! 

Naked Palette
MAC Concealer
MAC Paint Pot
L'Oreal Million Lashes
Benefit's Watt's Up!
Covergirl Mascara
Sephora's Eyelash Curler

Love, 

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at theaccessorizedlife@gmail.com

My Big Dilemma...

There is an issue I have been grappling with for months now. It has weighed on my mind day and night--and on any given minute in any given day, I will probably have a different answer to this ever present and impossible question.

I still remember the moment I decided that teaching might just be the best career path for me. I graduated from college with a history degree. Everyone asked me, "What are you going to do now? Teach?" My answer, every single time, was, "No f-ing (with the actual expletive used) way." I wanted to go into advertising--but ended up in public relations at a small firm in New York City (as I was told they were similar...they're like opposite ends of the same spectrum). I hated every minute of it. It was while I was there that I thought that I would want to teach...but I was only considering it because I missed having summers off. I decided that wasn't a good enough reason. So, I got another job. This time in executive recruiting. Hated it, too. In the beginning of September 2001, a few weeks prior to 9/11, I decided it was time for me to go back to grad school for teaching. I figured that even if I hated teaching, I would have an advanced degree and could find something I loved. 9/11 happened. I lost my job. It was perfect timing...I went to Columbia University Teachers College and got my masters in Social Studies Education. While there I learned that I not only loved teaching, I am pretty darn good at it (if I do say so myself...and I do!). I found what I loved...and the summers off were a bonus.

Fast forward 11 years...I am still teaching. For the past 9 years, I've been teaching 10th and 11th grade American History at a suburban New Jersey high school. For 11 years, I have loved going to work. I would look forward to the exciting information I would be teaching about each day. I bonded with my students, and I still keep in touch with a great many of them.

Then...something changed. I had my twins, and went back to school after maternity leave for just one month at the end of last school year. The morale in my building was different--the staff had been training all year for a new observation model--one that seemed very difficult to understand and even more difficult in which to find success. As well, as a result of Superstorm Sandy, my school was closed for two full weeks, meaning that we lost many, many vacation days. The staff had gone for several months with no break--leaving the students restless and the teachers exhausted. By the time I came back, everyone was burnt out and longing for summer vacation. Since I had missed most of the drama, I was happy to be back and I enjoyed my last month. I felt, "Ok! I can do this. I can be a working mom!" Did I miss my kids during the day? Yup. But, my job left me so busy that I didn't have time to think about missing them.

Cue September...

I came back to work this year realizing that it was going to be more difficult. First, my kids were older and they knew when mommy wasn't home. After a summer home with them, having fun and enjoying every minute with them, it killed me to leave them on that first day of September. Second, it wasn't just one month that I was back at work...it was ten straight months of being a working mom. Ten straight months of missing my babies, and wondering what milestones I'd be missing. Third, the new observation system, which I knew very little about, was being implemented, and I felt way behind the eight ball. But, I never saw myself as being cut out to be a stay at home mom. I felt like I would miss the adult interaction, I would feel like I was wasting my education and I would feel like I was trapped in the house with two very demanding little bosses with little "me" time. So, despite my reservations, I went back. I mustered up enthusiasm for the new school year and I jumped in, ready to hit the ground running.

It's now January and this school year has been, by far, the most difficult, most exhausting, most stressful, most demoralizing school year I've ever experienced. It's not even about being away from my kids. Yes, I miss them. Yes, every Monday I wish it were a snow day for just one more day home with them. But, it's way more than that. It's about the atmosphere in my industry. Teachers are under fire. We are the enemy--ask any politician, they'll tell you we are the reason our schools "don't measure up," or why our students are "falling behind." As a result, teachers are now subject to so many new rules, regulations and requirements that teaching has become our lowest priority--and the thing we have the least amount of time for. We keep being told that our new observation system is not a "gotcha," but, ask any one of us...it sure as hell feels like it is. Therefore, we are all always walking on eggshells--if we sit down at our desks for too long (or at all, ever), if we aren't constantly circling the classroom, if we aren't constantly monitoring for understanding, if we are missing "teachable moments", we are found to be "beginning" teachers and ineffective--even if our tried and true methods have consistently produced excellent results. The stress level in my profession has become so high that anyone you talk to will tell you that even though it's only January, we're done.

I used to go into school every day looking forward to teaching. This year, I feel like I am drowning in work. I feel like I haven't been able to really connect with my classes--which is something I've always been very good at--because, quite frankly, I don't have time. I miss that aspect of my career. I feel like I am going at 100mph every minute of every day. And that's just my paid job.

I come home and start my second job. From the minute I walk in the door, my little mama's boy cries if I walk out of the room, or even out of arm's reach of him. But, that's ok. Because each day, I only get a few short hours to play with my kids. Unfortunately, that coincides with their cranky hours. If I happen to have a meeting after school, I get one hour with my kids. One. I fear that I am missing their babyhood...their toddlerhood...their childhood. Am I leaving them in someone else's hands to raise them? Am I doing my kids a disservice by being a working mom or am I setting a good example by showing my kids a good work ethic? I just don't know.

My mom was a stay at home mom and I appreciate that she was there for every second of my childhood. I want to be a mom that is there for my kids. Can I do that and still keep my profession?

Every minute of every day, this is my dilemma. Do I resign from my position, leave my profession and become a stay at home mom, or do I stick it out for these few stressful years and continue on my path?

Honestly, I hadn't even considered it until a few family members decided to give me their 2 cents about my life and said that they all thought I should give up my job and be a stay at home mom. I simply told them, "I can't." and "Enough." I thought they were crazy...but since that point, I haven't stopped thinking about it. And, I still haven't come to a resolution.

The reality is that I fear that once my kids are in school themselves, I'll be bored. I'll be lonely. And, most of all, I'll be sorry that I didn't keep my job. Because, let's face it, Social Studies teachers are a dime a dozen. A lot of districts may not hire the more experienced teacher because we come with a higher salary requirement and are set in our ways. I have already learned that office work is not for me, and, honestly, there is no other profession that I would want to do. Just thinking about starting on a new career path stresses me out to no end. So, if I resign, that might be it for me in terms of working.

I also fear that I'll give up my job and I'll hate being a stay at home mom. Am I cut out to play peek-a-boo, watch Sesame Street, do art projects, make meals, change diapers, give naps, and schedule my showers, bathroom breaks and any "down time" or "me time" around my ever changing kids' schedules? Honestly, I am not so sure that I am.

Also, education is cyclical. This too shall pass...this new observation system, the new methods of "monitoring" and of "tracking progress" will go the way of the cassette tape and VHS, and at some point, likely in the not too distant future, teaching will be fun again. I just hope that I'm not too burnt out by that time to enjoy it.

But, these years when they're small...they go so fast. Am I sacrificing them for something that I don't know I want anymore? I certainly know that I'm not enjoying it right now.

Quite frankly, I'm exhausted. Emotionally, physically, mentally...just plain exhausted.

And so, this is my dilemma. To stay at home or not to stay at home?

What is the answer?

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at theaccessorizedlife@gmail.com

Thanks, Hubs

I'm very lucky. My husband is super supportive of this blog. He reads every post--whether they appeal to his interests or not (and posts comments where and when he can), he offers to watch the kids so Lauren and I can get our posts done, he even makes suggestions for posts he'd like to see.

In that vein...today, while I was changing my son's soiled diaper, my husband suggested that we do a post about baby poop. Yup, you read that right. Baby poop. When Lauren and I told him that we didn't think that a post called "What's in My Diaper?" really had a place on this blog, he told us that we needed to "Look outside of the box and inside the diaper." Thanks for the laugh, hubs!

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at theaccessorizedlife@gmail.com

Pinterest Experiment : Take 1

We are Pinterest junkies. But, we pin a lot of stuff and then...it gets lost out there in the land of "I would love to try this one day." We decided that we would challenge ourselves. Each month we are going to try to make one of the items we've pinned on Pinterest.

This month? Nautical Knot Bracelets.

Nautical Knot Bracelet on Pinterest (*click on the image to go to the Pinterest post)

We found the directions here and thought that this would be a manageable project--something we could do and something that we would wear. So, we went on Amazon and ordered all of the parts to make this project.

We gathered at Stacy's house on a snowy Sunday afternoon, put Stacy's husband on baby duty, laid out all of our materials and got started...

STEP 1:

Cut the cord to 22" long.

First cut...we forgot to put tape on the ends, so it started to unravel. We put tape on the ends and cut again. Easy enough. So far so good. We did that 4 times to make enough cord for two bracelets. (Two grey, two midnight blue)

STEP 2:

Fold cord in half and make a loop. 

Still easy enough! We are still feeling pretty good about now. (We had the pliers there just to hold the cord down for the picture.)

STEP 3:

Begin to make the knot.

Still easy enough. Just put one loop under the other. Now, make the knot...

STEP 4:

Make the knot

This is where the directions started to get dicey...they tried to explain how to make the knot, but then said it was easier to follow the pictures. Stacy couldn't do it. She thought she made a whole knot...but Lauren laughed at her. She made a half a knot. Lauren, on the other hand, was a champ. She made a whole knot....and then made a knot for Stacy.

Our knots (with directions in the background)

The completed knot

STEP 5:

Measure and cut

At this point, you take masking tape, mark off where you want the length to be and then cut. The masking tape is there to make sure that your cord doesn't unravel.

STEP 6:

Mix the epoxy

Mixing the epoxy? Check. Easy peasy pumpkin pie. At this point, we feel great. We are going to make lots of these...for friends, family members, ourselves...after all, they look like they're going to be super cute and it's been really, really simple so far (except for that knot thing...for Stacy...but who's counting?).

STEP 7:
This is where it all goes downhill...fast.

Put the epoxy on the cut ends

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA. Oh boy, were we in trouble now!! At first we thought we were rockstars. We had this epoxy thing down. Then...we got it on our hands. And read that it was an irritant and caustic. Oops. (Stacy rushes to sink to quickly wash hands.) So, we got out the latex gloves and continued on.

Then we tried to move onto the next step...placing the cord inside the ribbon clamp. Oy...just oy. The website warns that it will try to wriggle out. That's an understatement. The epoxy is supposed to help keep it in. We got one side in, but that was an ordeal. We had to cut the cord because it was starting to unravel, despite the epoxy. Then, after we got it in, we realized we had epoxy all over our gloves and had to throw out our first pair and put on a second pair. We also realized there was some epoxy on the bracelet. It would dry, right?  We then moved to side two...feeling like experts. Double oy. Then we realized our original epoxy had hardened and we had to make more. We did and then started to get the cord into the clamp...Stacy started to use the pliers to get the clamp down. Lauren kept warning her not to get her fingers, so Stacy gave Lauren the clamp. What did she do? Clamped her fingers. We got the clamp on and then realized...one of the pieces of cord had escaped. And the clamp was epoxied shut. Triple oy.

Then, Lauren realized the toothpick we were using to mix the epoxy and stuff the cord into the clamp was stuck to her finger.

We didn't need that toothpick, right?

It was at this point that we declared the project a PINTEREST FAIL.

Pinterest: 1; Stacy & Lauren: 0.

Pinterest Fail!!!

You may have won this round, Pinterest...but we'll be back!

Love,

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at theaccessorizedlife@gmail.com

Book of the Month: January

For those of you who are new to the blog, Lauren and I are both avid readers. Whenever we find good books, we love to share them with each other. That being said, I'd love to share all of my great book finds with you...that is why we are reviving the Book of the Month on TAL.

While TAL was on its hiatus, I read a plethora of books...some good, some not so good and some absolutely, unbelievably great. It's those absolutely, unbelievably great that I want to share with you. However, since this post is "book" of the month, not "books" of the month, I'll have to just tease you by only sharing one at a time. (Ooooh...the suspense!)

The first one I want to share is 11/22/63, by Stephen King. It is titled thusly because it has to do with the Kennedy assassination. Since it has to do with the Kennedy assassination and I teach American history, this book had been recommended to me several times. Repeatedly, I was told that this book is amazing, however it took me a while to decide to read it...mostly because it's by Stephen King. I am not a big fan of horror books and, well, horror is kind of King's thing. After many months of being told to read the book, and being assured that it wasn't, in fact, a horror book, I finally decided to read it. I downloaded it to my Kindle and read it on a family road trip to Chattanooga in the summer of 2012. And I am VERY glad that I did. It started slowly for me, but once I got into it, I couldn't put it down. I was hooked. I am recommending this book first because not only did I love, love, love, love, love this book, my recommendation is timely--the 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination just passed in November.

Here's the basic premise (and I promise I won't give anything away!) a high school English teacher named Jake Epping is shown a wormhole, where he can travel back in time. He is tasked with stopping the assassination of JFK (thus, the book is titled 11/22/63). Along the way, he vows to change other injustices...and finds out that changing history is a lot more difficult than he ever expected. As he travels on the path to his assigned task, his life is fundamentally altered, and he has to decide between living the life that he finds in the wormhole or going back to a life that, quite frankly, doesn't much appeal to him anymore.

This book has everything...mystery, history, romance, intrigue, action and comedy. The book is long--880 pages--but, worth every page. I'll be honest--there are some moments where you think, "Ok, King...get to the point...why are we drawing this out?" And then he does get to the point...and you're left saying, "Ohhh...now I get it. Totally makes sense why you took a while to get here." But, even in those moments when you're wondering why he's drawing something out, you're still enjoying the read.

It's just incredibly well written and incredibly compelling, with a cast of characters that are all incredibly thought out, three-dimensional, interesting and essential to the story. If I had more time to read, I would, without a doubt, read it again. And, one day, I might. Now, as a history lover and an American History teacher, I was compelled to read 11/22/63, however, the Kennedy assassination is merely the undercurrent of the book. The majority of the book is not about the assassination, or even about Epping's task. It's more about the life that Jake Epping finds while traveling in time and what he has to gain and give up to accomplish what is best for the world--which may or may not be what is best for himself.

This is one of those books that sticks with you long after you've read the final word. This is one of those books that you will, undoubtedly, recommend to anyone and everyone you meet. Read it...I promise you'll enjoy it.

* If you click anywhere the post says 11/22/63, you will be taken to the Amazon page for the book.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at theaccessorizedlife@gmail.com

Winter Skincare

Ladies, as we get older, taking care of our skin should be a top priority for everyone.  In the last couple of years, I've realized how important this is and I've started looking for the best creams/moisturizers/scrubs, etc. for my skin type.  It also means I've developed a skin routine that I stick to no matter how tired I am at night, or how much time I truly have during the morning.

I have normal to dry skin.  My normal skin becomes very dry in the winter.  This following post is about my skin and how I handle it; if your skin is different, do not follow this routine.

When the temps drop outside, my skin starts to feel like the Sahara Desert by the end of the day, no matter how much moisturizer I've used!  I've spent a lot of time combating this, and it feels like as I get older, my skin gets dryer.  It also means that during the winter I go through moisturizer like it's my job.

The first thing I do is try to drink plenty of water throughout the day. I'll admit, I'm not always great at this.  But I try really hard.

Recently, I read in a magazine article that some well known celebrity only washes her face at night.  For someone with normal to dry skin, it made a lot of sense to me.  So in the morning, when I shower, I just rinse my face with warm (not hot) water.  After my shower, I use 4 drops of the Josie Maran 100% Aragan Oil first, slathering it all over my face and neck, really massaging it in. It soaks in pretty fast usually 2-3 minutes.  Then I put on my go-to daily moisturizer, Aveeno Positively Radiant.  I do the combination of the oil and moisturizer twice a day, morning and night, which has helped my skin to no longer feel tight and dry skin by the end of the day.  After about 5 minutes, I then use my Sephora eye cream for under my eyes (dark circles and laugh lines).  I looked long and hard for an eye cream that soaks in quickly but is effective on those fine lines, and I was so happy when I received this Sephora eye cream as a tester in one of my many Sephora purchases.  This eye cream has really done wonders for me.  Now, during this time, I'm usually picking out my outfit, accessories, moisturizing the rest of my body (I use Aveeno body lotion), doing my hair, etc. it's definitely about making the best use of my time in the morning, so I take care of my skin and don't run late.  After everything has soaked in, that's when I put on my makeup (that is for another time, another post!!)

The Products I use Daily (Links below) *

At night, the first thing I do is take my makeup off.  To do that, I use Neutrogena Makeup removal wipes, which I find to be the best at getting off all my makeup, including mascara. Then once the makeup is off, I wash my face with a gentle daily scrub, Aveeno Positively Radiant Scrub.  Usually, about once a week, I use my Olay Pro-X Advanced Cleansing Brush, which helps to really exfoliate my skin.  I find for my skin type I only need to use it once a week. After my skin is nice and clean I go through the same steps as the morning for moisturizing.

The adding of the oil twice a day has helped tremendously in keeping my skin soft and dewy all day long.  I'm left with the softest skin and I love the healthy glow my skin has during the winter.

So that's it... That's how I make sure that even in the winter months and freezing temps, my skin looks radiant!  I hope this helps those out there looking for products that will work for your skin type.

Josie Maran

Aveeno Moisturizer

Sephora Eye Cream

Neutrogena Makeup Remover

Aveeno Daily Scrub

Olay Pro-X

*Neither TAL or I receive anything from these companies, I'm just sharing with all of our loyal and beautiful readers the products that I love and use.  

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