My Favorite Granola

While living in Los Angeles I grew to love granola...ok maybe became obsessed. Over the years it has continued to grow and I love when I have the time to make it for myself at home.  I have tried different variations but found this to be my favorite. Modify the ingredients to your liking, the base for the oats and sweetness is dead on to compliment any flavor combination.

2 cups of rolled quick oats

1/2 cup of honey

1/4 cup of maple syrup

1 tbsp almond extract

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp coconut oil

Canola Oil to Spray

2 cups of mixed dried fruits and nuts. I used dried cherries, cranberries and shredder coconut (all unsweetened).  For nuts, hazelnuts, almonds and pumpkin seeds.

Preheat oven to 275º.  Combine, honey, maple syrup, almond extract, coconut oil, salt and cinnamon.  Toss oats into wet mixture and spread evenly on a piece of parchment paper. Spray oats with canola oil. Place in oven and bake for 15 minutes. Combine nuts into a food processor and pulse a couple of times to break up or rough chop with a knife. Add shredded coconut and dried fruit.  

Remove oats from oven and stir again, spread evenly and bake for 15 more minutes.  Remove from oven and add nuts, fruits and stir.  Spread evenly again and bake for ten more minutes.  Be careful to watch the mixture so the nuts don't burn. Remove from oven and let cool for one hour. break into pieces and store in airtight containers.

Dewy Face

With Spring in the air and Summer around the corner I like to keep my face light and reflective.  A dewy skin look is one of my favorite makeup looks in warm weather.  This is a minimal coverage look that leaves your skin feeling bright.

What you will need;

A setting spray-We used MAC Fix+

An illuminating foundation with primer built in-We used Laura Mercier Base Preparatoire De Maquillage

For added glow we added a drop of strobe cream by MAC which is an illuminating moisturizer, you can skip this step

Spray your face with setting spray. Take a quarter sized amount of the foundation and a pea sized amount of the illuminating moisturizer (if using) and blend together in the palm of your hand with a foundation brush. Apply all over your face, blending with your brush.   

Once you have blended evenly all over your skin, it is time to go back over and do direct spot coverage very lightly on any blemishes that are too pronounced with your concealer.  We also took some nude pigment dust by MAC to use as a shimmery contour.  

Take the nude pigment with an eyeshadow brush and run it along your cheeks bones, inner eye and the bridge of your nose.  

To compliment my glowing skin, I used an orange lip which you may remember.  Let your skin shine!

My Perfect Brew

I look forward to the mornings when I can make my own delicious cup of coffee at home. With my schedule getting busier and busier these days it is happening less and less. Everyone has their preferred way to brew, this has been my standby for years. I love to use my Italian Espresso brewer, a Bialetti. My favorite grounds are from 9th street espresso and I top my brew with warmed almond milk.  

Everyday there seems to be a new way people are brewing, what's your favorite?


Brows Matter

Your hair frames your face and your brows frame your eyes, the windows to your soul.  I am firm believer in your brows matter.  There isn't a day that goes by where I don't run a brush through my brows, like I do my hair.   Even on days where I am only wearing moisturizer, a simple brush of my brows adds a little freshness. Don't be intimidated by this task, just like anything you practice you will begin to master what works for you. There are lots of different methods and tricks.  Go to a trusted makeup counter and ask someone to help you find what works best for you or treat yourself to a brow bar visit where someone takes the time to truly shape your brows to your most desired look.  For me, I want to enhance what I naturally have and help them to look as even as possible.  Remember, brows are sisters not twins so don't worry if they don't perfectly match.  

What you will need;

  • A Brow Brush
  • A brow brush gel in a shade darker than your natural brown color-We used brow set by MAC in Beguile
  • A Highlighter Pencil-We used Chella Ivory Lace Highlighter
  • An angled eyeliner brush

Start by brushing your bare brows, start with the wand near the inner eye and brush up and over.

Take your brow gel wand and wipe off any excess product/clumps onto a tissue. In the same motion you brushed them bare, brush with the product, going up and over the brow line. Go back over and adjust any areas you may have missed.  The gel should help fill in and set your brows.  

Next, take your highlighter and add it under your brow, be careful and choose a highlighter that blends naturally into your brow line to enhance that isn't too obvious.  Blend the highlighter into your brows to achieve a natural and light look.

It is amazing how a subtle defined brow shapes, brightens and enhances your face. 

Monday Blues

I have a way to beat those Monday blues, pop a blue lid and watch your day transform.  Blue eyeshadow is one the biggest Spring trends  Choose a shade you love and play with how much you want to amp up your look. 

We started by prepping the eyes with a white shadow cream or eyeliner.  This helps enhance the blue even more once applied. We then took the color Electric Eel by MAC and applied it to the lash line.  Go heavy on the application at the lash line and blend the color up the lid. We liked how there was a strong line around the lash line and then it becomes more subtle as the color is blended over the lid.  We then applied the same blue shadow around the lower lash line, dip your brush in water first to intensify the color.  To finish the look we added a deeper blue along the water line in Atlantic Blue by MAC.  Again, dip your brush in water to intensify the color. Add a few coats of mascara and you're finished. Keep the rest of your face simple with a little gloss or matte lip and let your eyes shine.  

Bye Bye Monday Blues......

Strawberry Pancakes

TGIF! This weekend you should make these pancakes.  They are dairy-free, low in regular flour and have a nutty flavor.  I drizzled them with honey instead of maple syrup and feel like I uncovered one of the greatest combinations ever! Happy weekend everyone!

Yields about 8 pancakes

3/4 cup of a.p. flour

3/4 cup of almond flour

1 tbsp of sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

1 cup of almond milk

1 tbsp of honey

1/2 tsp almond extract

1 tbsp canola oil

1 1/2 cups of sliced strawberries

Heat a large griddle or pan with canola oil/spray over medium heat. Sift together flours, sugar and salt. Combine the egg, almond milk, honey, almond extract and oil in a separate bowl. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry. The batter should have a thick and smooth consistency.

Spoon the mixture a 1/4 cup at a time onto the griddle.  Once bubbles start to appear, place a few sliced strawberries onto the pancake rounds and flip over till cooked through. I would say about 2-3 minutes on the first side and 1-2 minutes on the second.  *Adjust heat temperature on how fast the pancakes start to cook. 

Serve with honey or maple syrup if you prefer.