Sass and Sippy Cups

Makeup 101: Choosing Shades for Eye Color  DISCLAIMER: Makeup is a form of self expression. If you don't like what I suggest, do your own thing! Be your own kind of beautiful, and own it! Welcome to the first in a mini-series I’m calling Makeup 101. Most makeup novices want to know which shades to choose to suit their skintone, eye color, hair color, etc. For me, makeup is about highlighting the best, not disguising what we don’t like. In this series of posts I’m going to help you show off what you love about your individual beauty! Most people will say that their eyes are their favorite facial feature, so let’s start there. There are a million blog/website posts about “how to make eye color pop,” but I’ve learned from experience that those suggestions are not always accurate. The only thing that I do agree with is the fact that you should always COMPLEMENT your eye color, not match it.  Also, fun tidbit: did you know that your eye look isn’t the only thing that can...

The Secret Are you like me and love a good treasure/scavenger hunt?   Just to give you an idea, Indiana Jones has always been one of my favorite characters. I’m a history nerd, so anything that involves traveling and uncovering a mystery is absolutely my cup of tea. I was watching the Travel Channel the other day, which is where I get most of the inspiration for these Fun Fact Friday posts.   I was watching Expedition Unknown and living vicariously through my hero, Josh Gates (Go set your DVR to Travel Channel on Wednesday night at 9. I’m not kidding. Do it now. If you are interested in this kind of thing, you won’t regret it) and was intrigued by the topic of the episode. How would you feel if I told you there is a real-life treasure hunt you’ve never heard of, and it’s been around since 1982?   One where you could claim a small treasure as your own?   Enter Byron Preiss and his book The Secret (no, not self-help book).   The Man Byro...

Sweet Potato Turkey Shepherd’s Pie                 While it hasn’t been as cold lately as in years past, it’s still winter, and winter means comfort food.   Now just because I use the phrase “comfort food” doesn’t mean we need to end up in a food coma.   By adding some extra veggies and making some ingredient swaps- ground beef for ground turkey, white potatoes for sweet- a traditionally heavy winter staple becomes a lighter but still familiar and comforting dish. I make ours in individual oven safe stoneware bowls so I can customize the veggies for each of us, but it can totally be made in a regular casserole dish. 1 lb ground turkey 1 tbsp olive oil ½ tbsp. dried minced onions 1 clove garlic, minced 2 sweet potatoes, cubed ½ tsp all spice 1 tbsp butter ¼ cup milk or half and half ½ cup frozen vegetables of your choice  Salt and pepper for seasoning Gr...

Don't Raise Your Voice, Improve Your Argument Today we're going to play a little game of "truth or dare," but with a little twist: we're going to make it "truth THEN dare."  For the "truth" portion I'm going to ask a few questions and you have to answer them (to yourself, of course) being completely honest.  Then we'll do "dare" and let's see if we can change the answers we gave in the "truth" part... Ready? LET'S GO! Truth Do you yell a lot?  Now I don't mean in the "I'm-Portuguese-so-I always-speak-so-loudly-you'd-think-I-wear-headphones-24/7" kind of way (shout out to my beloved familia!). I mean, when you have a fight with your significant other/mom/coworker/kids, does the volume in the room escalate quickly?  Do you find yourself yelling the same things OVER AND OVER again because the other person seemed to have ignored you the last time? When we are exp...

“When is my baby ready for solids?” It’s a question asked by most first time parents, and every pediatrician has a different answer.   Some say six months, while others give a list of criteria that includes: Shows interest in what others are eating Sits up without support Has lost tongue-thrust reflex (they don’t push their tongue out to get something out of their mouth) Is ready and willing to chew Well, if we went by either of these opinions, we would have had one P.O.d baby.   By the time she was two months old, she would stare intently at anyone eating in her presence.   I even have a photo of her flashing the puppy dog eyes, watching her daddy eat at her grandpa’s birthday dinner on her two month birthday.   By the time she was four months, she was throwing full on temper tantrums when we would eat in front of her (she is still quite the hangry child).   So I decided “what the hell, let’s try it.” So we picked up some pureed baby f...

Gilded Goddess Hello, loves! Since tomorrow is Valentine's Day I thought I'd bring you a gorgeous date night look. This look is perfect for when you know you’re headed somewhere with candlelight or dim lighting.   It makes the shimmery metallic finish of the eyeshadows glow ever so slightly without being too bright and glittery.  1. I first used Avon’s Skinvincible Day Cream to moisturize my skin. I very rarely need a primer, especially at this time of year. 2. I then used Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in Classic Ivory to even out my skin tone. 3. I covered my under eye circles with NYX Dark Circle Concealer in Light.   I also had a tiny breakout which I covered with Revlon’s PhotoReady Concealer in Light. 4. I used Avon’s True Color Blush in Earthen Rose on my cheekbones to give my face a little lift. I also used a tiny bit on my temples (like you would use bronzer). It’s a perfect color for me to use because it’s a little on the pinker s...

The Winchester Mystery House I f you’ve been watching TV lately, you’ve no doubt seen the trailer for the recently released film Winchester: The House that Ghosts Built.   If you’re an avid fan of horror or the paranormal, you’re familiar with the legend.   Here’s the gist: rich widow builds a crazy mansion to appease the spirits that haunt her.   Building this mansion is a continuous project that lasts 38 years.   In honor of the movie’s release last week, we’re going to delve a little deeper into the fascinating story of a bizarre home and the woman responsible for its design. Sarah Pardee Winchester S arah Pardee was born and raised in Connecticut.   In her twenties she married William Wirt Winchester, the only son of firearms magnate Oliver Winchester.   They had one child- a daughter- who tragically died at 40 days old due to severe malnutrition because of an inability to process protein. They had no other children. Ol...