Saturday, December 29, 2012

HBCooks: Green Bean Casserole

In this recipe I take the standard green bean casserole recipe and add some fresh ingredients to make it even better! This is enough to to serve about 5-10 people.

Ingredients:

2lbs. Fresh Green Beans
2 cans of Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 regular size can of French Fried Onions
1 1/2 cups of Milk
1-2 cups of Shredded Cheese
1-2 cups Fresh Mushrooms diced
1 cup Onion (any color) diced
5-7 strips of Bacon cooked and diced
Salt and Pepper

Watch the video below to see how it's cooked





Variation:

If you like your green beans less crunching blanch them before adding them to the casserole. (Blanching is cooking the beans and then cooling them off fast with really cold water.)


Let me know what you think and if you try this recipe tweet me a picture!

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Holiday Memories: Christmas Day

Yesterday I told you about my favorite Christmas Eve memory and today since it's Christmas I thought I would share my favorite Christmas memory. =)

I think every kid has written a letter to Santa Claus but how many have had Santa write them a letter back? Well, in my house Santa always did and I loved it! I recently found some of the letters and posted one on Twitter and Instagram and I will post it below. 




What is your favorite Christmas Memory?

P.S. Santa also wrote letters to my parents too! ;-)

Monday, December 24, 2012

Holiday Memories: Christmas Eve

Yesterday, I told you what I traditionally do on Christmas Eve and today I thought I would share one of my favorite Christmas Eve memories.

When I was really young (5 or 6) my grandpa (Papa) would take my cousins and I out to look for Santa Claus. We would walk around for about 10 minutes and we always found him in the sky (or so we thought). Then we would race back to my grandparent's house to try and catch him. You see Santa would drop off some presents to us on Christmas Eve and then he would stop by our individual houses later. When we walked in we would always have just missed him but there would be tons of presents under the tree! I loved this and this year my cousin and I are going to carry on the tradition with her children. 

What is your favorite Christmas Eve memory?

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Holiday Traditions: Christmas Eve

Every Christmas Eve my family gets together for dinner at my grandma's house. We have always gotten together on Christmas Eve because it was also his birthday, and even though he has passed away we still get together. This year we are having ham, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole (I will be filming a video about that), brussel sprouts, rolls, cupcakes, apple pie, and I'm sure more. ;-) I will be posting pictures tomorrow so make sure to follow me on Twitter and Instagram.

After dinner we will exchange gifts and enjoy each others company. Then I will go to church at 11pm. It is my favorite service of the year. It's the candlelight service and we sing lots of Christmas carols. It really gets you into the spirit of things. Plus, it's usually actually Christmas Day when you walk out of the church and it just seems like the most fitting place to be. =)




What are your traditions on Christmas Eve?

*Star picture from here.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Holidays: Giving Back


I think it is important to give back all year round but I feel like it is especially important to remember those in need during the holidays. I donate all my old clothes to the Salvation Army year round because when my grandfather was a little boy they use to help out his family. 
Since I was a little girl I have always donated toys (new and used) to the needy kids during Christmas time. My parents would tell me that if I wanted Santa to bring me new toys that I would have to help out other children too. We would go through my toys and donate them to the Salvation Army and then we would go to the toy store and pick out a new toy for a boy and a girl. (These would go to Toys for Tots.) 
As an adult I still do this. I feel it is really important to give to children because they do not understand why their parents may not be able to buy something. They are innocent and it literally brings me to tears thinking about a child with nothing to open on Christmas day.
I usually give to Toys for Tots but the last couple of years my church has teamed up with a local group, the Sandpipers. They collect toys for children in foster care. Children in foster care are not allowed to keep anything that their foster parents may give them. Everything a foster care child gets is through social services, including presents. What the Sandpipers do is collect toys for each child. The child makes a decoration and puts what they want for Christmas on the back. Then they set up a tree and decorate it with the ornaments. You get to choose which child you are going to buy for and you get to keep the ornament as a memory. I really like this because it feels more personal than just dropping a toy in a box.


This year I choose a 1 year old girl who wanted Disney Princess dolls.




 I bought her a couple of the dolls and decided that they needed a house to play in too, so I bought one of those too. ;-) I just wish I could see her face when she opens it. 

How do you give back?




Wednesday, December 19, 2012

My 100th Video: Holiday Glam

Check out my latest tutorial that'll help you get all glammed up for the holidays. It includes a hair and makeup tutorial. =) I hope you like it! Tweet me pictures of your holiday looks!



Friday, December 14, 2012

Beauty QT: Dealing with a Flaky Nose


It is winter now (well close enough!), which means that it is getting much colder and our skin is starting to dry out. What do you do if you notice that the skin on your nose is all flaky and you are not at home? Putting more foundation or powder on it will only make it look worse. If you have non-scented lotion then you can dab some of that on your nose, but most of us have scented hand lotions which irritate your facial skin. 

To get rid of that flaky skin try putting some lip balm on it. I know it sounds weird but it is meant for dry chapped areas. It will instantly sooth your skin and diminish the appearance of the flakes. You will probably have to reapply a couple times throughout the day but it is a great trick. Just make sure your lip balm is clear and doesn’t have any sparkle to it. You don’t want to have Rudolph’s nose. ;-)

My favorite lip balms are EOS, Smooth lips  and Nivea.

What are your favorite lip balms? Will you try this?

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Initial Thoughts: Bioderma



A couple of weeks ago I decided to see what all the hype is about Bioderma. I have heard so many beauty bloggers and vloggers say that it is such a great product and I wanted to try it myself. You can only buy it online in the U.S. and I was able to find the 500ml bottle for $36 on Amazon. It's expensive, but I decided that if it's as good as everyone says it is then it'll be worth it. 
                       


I am not completely sure if I am using it properly because the instructions are in French. In the evening I use it after I wash my face to get the remaining dirt/makeup off my face. I use it in place of my toner (witch hazel). In the morning I use it to cleanse my face instead of washing/using toner.

I love the way Bioderma makes your skin feel! You can definitely feel it get deep into your pores. Unlike toners it doesn't dry out your skin. In fact I think it helps keep the moisture in. Plus, it smells great! ;-) 

I have only been using it for a couple of weeks, and when I started using it I was having serious acne issues. I think it works well and it gets dirt that my toner doesn't get. I will do a full review after I use it a little longer and get a better idea of how well it works. So far though I am with everyone else. I love it! Even my dad likes it! 

*Picture from here.

Monday, December 10, 2012

Gym Update: Week 1

Monday: I wanted to start out easy so I did 20 minutes walking on the treadmill at a 4.5% incline. Then I did 10 minutes on the elliptical machine. According to the calorie counters on the machines I burned about 160 calories. A good start.

Friday: Super busy week and I was too tired to workout after work. I told myself that I had to go Friday night and I did! =) I did 40 minutes on the treadmill at a 5% incline. I burned 235 calories. 

I didn't make my 4 times this week goal but I am happy that I made it to the gym at all. I hopefully will be able to keep this up. =)

Monday, December 3, 2012

Having a Healthy Holiday Season

As you guys know the Fall and Winter are a busy time of year for me and many others too. With the busyness comes laziness. Especially, when it comes to eating and working out. I have not been to the gym in 6 weeks. It's horrible and I am really mad at myself. Luckily though I haven't gained any weight. Instead of waiting to gain weight or until the holidays are over I am going to challenge myself to get back into the habit of working out and you are going to help me stay accountable! Starting today I am going to head back to the gym! My goal this week is to go at least 4 times this week and spend at least 30 minutes doing cardio. (I want to ease myself back into my 3 times a week for an hour.) Once a week I'll write about how successful I have been, and I hope that you'll help me with words of encouragement. =)

I am also challenging you to be healthier this Holiday season! I know you can do it! I'd love to hear your plan.
 
Images by Freepik