I'm cautiously saying...

That we're going to be homeowners! and it's all moved along incredibly quick I might add. We were really wanting to wait until July/August to buy but we were still looking in case anything popped up that we loved and we saw this home once and made an offer.

It almost didn't work out for us. I called our realtor to accept the seller's counteroffer (which we were very happy with) and the seller's realtor beeped in to say that another offer had just come in on the home. Apparently the home was priced very well to begin with but they decided to drop the price of the home $5k to move along the process. When they dropped the price it fell into our search criteria and people started showing a lot of interest in the home (including us).

We formally put in an offer on Tuesday night and we had to wait until Wednesday to find out if the seller's accepted our offer or the other offer. We got the call at one o'clock on Wednesday telling us that we got the home! We're both so excited but we know that we still have a few hoops to jump through. We have the inspection on Tuesday and we'll feel a lot better after we get that over with.

There are a few things we'd like to do, but the home is relatively new so it's definitely move in ready. We've had a really positive experience so far with the sellers, our realtor, and lender so I hope it continues to go well. I told Casey this all feels surprisingly non-stressful haha. We're set to close on June 30th but I know that's subject to change. Here are some pictures I was able to pull from the listing.

I love when people can vouch for beauty products. I know everyone is different, but I'm more likely to try something if someone else has had luck with it. So I'm going to go through a list of products that I really like and maybe some things that I'm still searching for. So maybe that's where you guys can help out!

Speak of helping out, why oh why are my blogger columns all wonky? Any ideas, anyone, anyone??

Anyway, on to the fun stuff.

Face Wash- I've been using Philosphy's Purity Made Simple for the past year and I really like it and my face has only gotten better since I've used it. I know the price tag at $32 can be a little scary, but I bought an 8 oz container (for $20) last April and I just went to see how much I have left and I've only used 1/3 of the bottle since then and I wash my face every night. It may not last you that long, but it surely goes a long way and I think it's b/c the wash isn't thick in consistency.



Moisturizer- Another Philosophy product here and it's Hope in a Jar. They now have Hope in a Jar with SPF 20 which I plan to get next, but I put this on day and night and it makes my skin so smooth and it has a nice clean smell.



Spot Treatment: I have tried everything to clear my face up. I've been on antibiotics, prescription face cream, Proactiv, etc.. You name it, I've tried it. A couple of years ago I just happened to switch my foundation and add a spot gel at night and miraculously my face has been clear since then. The spot gel that I still love and use is Neutrogena Rapid Clear Acne Defense Lotion and I've had a lot of luck with this in the past and I still use it as needed.



Foundation- Bare Minerals. I know there are a lot of people that don't have luck with Bare Escentuals, but I don't think I could ever go back to liquid now that I've gotten used to the light feeling of this makeup. As I said earlier, I really attribute my face clearing up to the switch over to the mineral makeup and I really encourage people to try it. I do wear a little bit of liquid concealer underneath if I feel like I need it in a specific area so I feel like I have plenty of coverage. Don't let the $25 price tag scare you away. I would think that for good liquid foundation you may pay the same amount, except that this large jar can last me almost a year and I use a decent amount each day.



Concealer- The concealer that I use underneath the powder if I feel too naked or if I just have a day where I need a little more coverage is Almay's Clear Complexion Concealer. It has a little bit of salicyclic acid in it as well which helps combat your face breaking out so that you don't feel so heavy from the liquid aspect. If I don't use this then I use Bare Mineral's Well Rested powder to tone down anything that I need to. It says that it's for eyes, but it's great for blemishes or redness as well.



Blush- I'm not entirely sold on any blush right now. I love a Stila blush that I have that is in a ready made pallette but I have no clue what the actual color is. I also have a MAC blush (Plum Foolery) that gives me good color, but not the shimmer that the Stila blush has.

Eyeshadow- I like MAC's colors. Grand Entrance, Flip, and 100 Strokes are all great together or you can wear Grand Entrance or Flip on their own. I do love Bareminerals (although the loose powder takes longer to apply), Stila's colors, and Smashbox (especially the trios). I don't have a must have color, but I would love any recommendations that people are drawn to. Eyeshadows are one of my most favorite things to play with.

Eyeliner- This is a cheap one. I've always loved Cover Girl's Perfect Point eyeliner. I have tried more expensive brands and I still come back to this one. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Mascara- This is another one that I'm not entirely sold on. I'm using MAC's Zoom Lash right now in combination with Maybeline's Lash Discovery (Love it!). I like this mascara ok, but I still feel a little clumpy.

Lipgloss: I love love love Poof by Bare Escentuals. You can put a dot in the middle of your lips and it makes your lips looks so much bigger or you can just wear it as a regular gloss the way I do, but I think it's the perfect color.

Eyelash Curler- I have a cheap one that is insanely gross and needs replacing, anyone have suggestions?

I may add some more products that I like in another post or add some colors as I find things that work but maybe some of you guys will be encouraged to try some of this stuff if you were on the fence. I also hope you'll have some suggestions for me. I'm truly a girly girl at heart. I love this stuff.

Bananas + Chocolate = Yum!

Jenny posted a recipe for Roasted Banana Brownie bites over on Picky Palate the other day and I've just been eyeing a bunch of bananas that I've had waiting for them to ripen. They finally seemed good to go on Friday so I took off to Bed Bath and Beyond and got some mini muffin tins. If you've never used a mini muffin tin, they are so stinkin cute that I want to make everything into mini versions now.

Anyway back to the actual recipe. These are absolutely amazing. I had plans to give these away and they've been very well received and gobbled down =) Go make these!

Roasted Banana Bread Brownie Bites
(Source: Picky Palate)

3 large ripe bananas, sliced into 1/2 inch slices
3 Tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
3 Tablespoons packed light brown sugar

1 brownie mix, 9x13 inch size
1/4 Cup water
3 eggs

1/2 Cup chocolate chips
2-3 Tablespoons heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place sliced bananas into a baking dish. Place butter evenly over bananas and sprinkle brown sugar on top. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes.

2. Reduce oven to 350 degrees F. Place brownie mix, water, eggs and bananas into a large mixing bowl. Mix until just combined. Scoop mixture into mini cupcake pan or mini cheesecake pan about 3/4 way full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from center.

3. Melt chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl. Stir to smooth then add heavy cream until glossy and smooth. Dip brownie bites into chocolate and place an M&M in the center. Serve warm or room temperature.

Puppy Love

This is what I see when I'm laying in the floor and I look up onto the couch above me. This makes me smile.

I really love this dog.

I'm so sorry if you're tired of pictures of my dog, but this is what I do on the weekends. I blog about what I do. I apologize I'm not more interesting.

On another note we did decide to redo the wall behind our couch. We've had these shelves up since we moved in, but I wanted to do something a little more updated.

I framed one of my FIL's photographs and ordered some sconces from Etsy to frame the outside. I love the way this turned out and I love the mix of the modern against the colonial look of the sconces. What do you guys think? My only worry is that the picture is too small for the wall. We'll have color on the wall when we get a home so I'm hoping that it won't make everything feel so blank and wide open.

I hope you're all having a good weekend. I took off on Monday, which gives me a nice 3 day weekend w/ Case =) I think as long as we're saving for a home we probably won't be able to go on a vacation this summer, so I think we'll have a lot of long weekends or weekend trips in our future this summer. In a way it'll be nice to take some time off here and there instead of using it all up at once. Vacations can be stressful when you're trying to finish everything up before you leave and the days coming back are not pleasant. Thinking about checking my e-mail after 2.5 weeks off for my wedding makes me break it out hives. Not FUN.

Hope you're all having a good weekend =)

Sesame Chicken

Um, YUM! I automatically added this to my recipe rotation. I served it over brown rice and had every intention of adding some sliced peppers and onions, but I ran out of time and got very flustered in the kitchen (that NEVER happens, hah). This isn't one of my light recipes by any means, but it was worth it.

I got this recipe from clstar over at Cook Like a Champion.

Sesame Chicken

(Source: Cook Like a Champion)

1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. toasted sesame seeds, divided
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. Chinese five-spice powder
1.5 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 package chicken breast strips, cut into chunks
8 tbsp. teriyaki sauce
6 tbsp. honey

oil for frying

In a large Ziplock bag, combine flour, 1/4 c. sesame seeds, black pepper, red pepper and Chinese spice. Place chicken in bag and shake to coat.

Heat oil in large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Place chicken into skillet and brown on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Remove chicken from skillet and empty excess oil from pan.

Reduce heat to low and return chicken to skillet. Mix in teriyaki sauce, honey and 1/4 c. sesame seeds, and stir until sauce thickens. Serve over rice.

Grilled Ham Slices

I found this recipe on Allrecipes and it's quick to make and it doesn't involve many ingredients at all. I used ham steaks, but you can use whatever pieces of ham you would like. I also usually halve the sauce and it's more than enough. I threw together some twiced baked potatoes as a side and it was a great meal. I also used my grill pan due to the lack of our outdoor space. Soon we will have our outdoor space. Soon!



Grilled Ham Slices
(Source: Allrecipes)

1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup prepared horseradish
2 slices ham

Preheat grill and lightly oil grate or grill pan.

In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, lemon juice, and horseradish

Heat the brown sugar mixture in the microwave on high heat 1 minute, or until warm.

Score both sides of the ham. Place on prepared grill and baste continuously with brown sugar mixture while grilling. Grill each side for around 6 minutes per side or until desired doneness.

Baked Oatmeal

I found this recipe on Chelle's blog over on Brown Eyed Baker. She got the recipe originally from Cooking Light. I subscribed to Cooking Light last week b/c I'm really trying to incorporate more light recipes into my rotation. My biggest challenge is finding something that I can take to work that will fill me up that is somewhat good for me. Casey and I both usually grab something processed, whether it be granola bars, pop tarts, or breakfast bars. I saw that Chelle would use this oatmeal throughout the week for breakfast every morning.

Once this is finished cooling, I'm going to portion it out into enough little containers to last Casey and I for the week and all we'll have to do when we get to work is reheat the oatmeal. I already snuck a taste and it was really good! I think the oats will do a good job of keeping me full and you should see more light recipes on my blog in the future and I'll start tagging these recipes as light so that it will be easier to find. I hope I get a lot of new recipe ideas when my magazine starts to come.

Baked Oatmeal
(Source: Cooking Light)

2 cups uncooked oats
½ cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup raisins (or dried fruit of your choice)
1 tablespoon chopped walnuts (or nut of your choice, I used pecans)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1½ cups milk
½ cup applesauce
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 large egg, beaten
Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Combine the milk, applesauce, butter, and egg in a separate bowl. Add milk mixture to oat mixture; stir well. Pour oat mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve warm.