Beauty Splurge

Sephora Haul

It's been a while since I last visited Sephora because every time I bring the kids to the mall, I end up getting stuck at the toy's section and dash along the grocery aisle before heading back home. I really think Sephora should just open a stall on the same area as the Toy department for mommies like me!

It's been a while since I bought beauty stuff, the skincare products and makeups I've been using are still the stuff I bought from Seoul and sent to me by friends in Japan. When I was given a good reason to shop at Sephora, I grabbed the chance to buy my longtime wishlist: Clarisonic Mia, SK-II, Origins Intensive Overnight Mask and Benefit How To Look The Best At Everything.

I must say, this is the best beauty haul I've had! None of them will go to my beauty graveyard.

1. Clarisonic Mia - My pretty hair stylist/colorist told me a year ago that if I have to invest on only one thing on skincare, she strongly recommend the Clarisonic Mia. She swore it made a big difference on her skin. I've only used it 4 times but I already saw great improvement on my skin. It's smoother and clearer now, the small bumps and blackheads are getting less, my acne scars are becoming less visible too. I own a spa in Davao and I have the Ultrasonic facial machine that helped clear my acne-prone skin through sonic frequency the same way Clarisonic is working on our skin. The cheapest is $99 but with how it's working on my skin I don't think I will still need to spend $68/month on facials anymore. *to avoid over exfoliation, it's not recommended to pair this with other exfoliation system like Retinol, Glycolic peel cream, etc..
   
   
2. SK-II Facial Essence Set - It includes the Facial Essence Toner, Lotion and a facial mask. Well I don't need further explanation here, SK-II is SK-II. It's said that your moisturizer works better after you use the Clarisonic Mia and so I paired it with the best Japanese skincare. For mommies, I recommend you keep the bottle away from the kids, I tuck mine inside the bathroom cabinet after every use to secure the glass bottles and my heart from being broken! Que horror! 
   
   
3. Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask - I really didn't know about it until I googled for "overnight mask" and it came up with good reviews. I don't have time to do the facial mask process regularly (mask-wait-rinse) so I thought I needed something that can work while I sleep. The lovely fruity smell is a good bonus while you apply it but the best part is you wake up with that dewy, fresh look in the morning! No need to rinse it because it doesn't harden, it's like your skin just drink the moisture while you sleep! 

   

   Origins Drink Up Overnight Mask
4. Benefit How To Look The Best At Everything - YouTube beauty gurus rave about Benefit's the Pore fessional pore minimizer and I wanted to buy Benefit Hello Flawless Brightening Makeup too. Both are kinda pricey so I had to decide between the two fortunately, I stumbled upon this Sephora exclusive set. It has the sample size of both the Porefessional and Hello Flawless, with two shades of concealer and powder. I've tried many pore minimizers before but nothing worked for my large pores but this one from Benefit is an exception! True to its promise, my skin looked poreless (well I can't say flawless because nothing can be done with my acne scar pits anymore, but if you don't have deep scars like mine, it will surely make your skin look FLAWLESS!), I'm so glad I tried this one. I'm sure it would work better with a good foundation or concealer brush or the Beauty Blender but this is just how far my beauty budget could go. If you have extra moolah I highly recommend this set with the Beauty Blender! 
   
   

   

   Benefit Cosmetic: How To Look Best At Everything

I know I splurged this time but when I look at my beauty graveyard (that magic bin where you keep all your unused beauty products), I realized I was just wasting money on buying cheaper versions of what I really wanted. The key is to buy less frequently, and save up for the exact item you want. Make sure also that it's something you're going to use. In reality, I don't get to wear makeup at all, so even if it's tempting I just stay away from buying more eye shadows, blush-ons, and more face powder. As a result, I get more buck for the big purchases such as this and I'm happy.

Note: this is not a paid review.

FMBM: What To Do With Squash

It's Halloween once again and there are Pumpkins all over the place. Since this veggie is in season, you get plus healthy points in cooking them for the family. Last weekend I found a sliced Butternut Squash in the grocery that looked so pretty and yellow, it's like enticing me saying "take me, i'm seriously healthy!", my sons have been eating Broccoli all week long and I thought this will be a good alternative. 

Now what to do with it?

Two years ago my friends and I had dinner at White House Fusion Cuisine restaurant in Davao City but until now I can still remember how I loved their Pumpkin(or was that Squash?) soup with Nori. I was surprised then how Pumpkin and Nori tasted so well together, the chef is genius! 

I haven't tried replicating it until now for my son's lunch, he is still complaining a toothache and a lose front tooth that's why I had to prepare soft food.

Butternut Squash Soup

You can prepare this ahead of time, like slice, boil and mash the Squash the night before to make that five minute mark we're gunning for in the morning.

In the morning, saute diced onions, and chopped bacon, add in the mashed Squash and pour about a cup and a half of chicken broth or plain water. Let it boil and season with salt and pepper to taste.

When it's done add the shredded Nori in the Squash Soup.

Mix with rice and for the best option, put in an insulated food jar to keep it warm until lunch time.

Little boy had it for breakfast too.

Squash Sandwich

This morning I only had spaghetti(with instant spaghetti sauce in a bottle) for my son's bento and I needed to incorporate a fruit or veggie for his snack to get something healthier for the day. I decided to use the remaining Butternut Squash sitting in the fridge. I know Squash is an unusual player in the sandwich department but I tried this with Sweet Potato and it was a hit, so I thought Squash won't fail me. It shouldn't because I only had 20 minutes for this experiment.

Again this will be faster if you boil and mash it the night before. But since I just thought of it this morning, I had to do everything while boiling the spaghetti pasta. 

Slice, boil and mash Butternut Squash.

Add a little bit (1/2 tsp) of Mayonnaise, a lot of grated cheese, season with a bit of salt and pepper. Garnish with chopped Green Onions for the slight crunch.

I know it's not exactly healthy with the cheese and the Mayo but when it's for the kids, taste is a major concern especially if you're guilty of sneaking in veggies to their snacks.

You can keep the leftover Squash Spread in a tight bottle to serve the next day! Just add more Green Onions. (I'm not sure how long it will keep but to be sure, use it the next day).

Little boy gets to eat it for breakfast too. There was resistance at first, maybe because it's new for him but he finished it all. So I guess the experiment was a success!

FMBM: Easy Teriyaki Chicken Rice

My son has been suffering from toothache and sore throat for days now, because of that I have to prepare lunch for him that's soft and quick to eat. So no chance for nuggets and fried chicken this time. As a result, I discovered a delicious recipe that I can also serve to the whole family for dinner -- the Teriyaki Chicken Rice that I put in his food jar which he can easily eat with only a spork. I added minced Asparagus so that he won't have to eat his veggie separately.

Chicken Teriyaki Rice with Asparagus,
 topped with the crunchy fried chicken skin to
complement the sweetness of the teriyaki.
Mandarin Orange Slices are good soother for sore throat

Preparation:
For fresh chicken, rub it with salt and grated ginger or ginger powder and marinate for 30 minutes. Fry the chicken until fully cooked.

For leftover chicken, slice it to small pieces.

If you have leftover Asparagus, just slice it in small pieces or if you don't, boil or steam about 6 stalks and slice it in small pieces.

In a bowl, mix 1 tablespoon each of Mirin, Sake, Honey and Soy Sauce

fry the minced chicken and asparagus in a pan
with a bit of olive oil

 pour the sauce mix over the chicken and asparagus.
Boil in HIGH heat until the sauce caramelize

Mix the teriyaki chicken with freshly cooked or
leftover rice before putting it in the insulated food jar.

FMBM: Sprinkles Bread Roll

I woke up on a cold morning and for the first time I wished Derek can just buy his lunch from the cafeteria today so that I could curl back to bed. Good thing there's the phenomenal Aldub video to keep me awake while making lunch. It may be "jologs" or shallow but a laugh or two first thing in the morning is the best way to start the day. 

watching from Eat Bulaga's FB page

I wasn't able to prepare anything for this week because of our extra busy schedule, I actually woke up without any idea what to put in his lunch box. All I had was ground chicken meat and green beans, which I sauteed with onions and garlic, and a tablespoon of soy sauce and oyster sauce. 

sauteed ground chicken and green beans with cherry tomatoes as side dish

Derek liked the special sprinkles sandwich I made for his birthday yesterday so I decided to make it again for his snacks today. You just need cream cheese, honey, sprinkles and whole wheat or white bread. It looks better on white bread so the color of the sprinkles will pop up but since we only have whole wheat bread, that's what I used.

1. Cut the sides of the bread and flatten the bread with a baking pin.
Mix a drop of honey with cream cheese.

2. Spread the cream cheese and honey mix on the bread and cover it with sprinkles.

3. Roll the bread and cut it in small pieces.

I didn't have time to wash and slice fruits so I just packed this Sprinkles Bread Roll with some Cheddar Goldfish Crackers which I think its salty taste will balance the sweetness of the Sprinkles Bread Roll.

You have to start cooking the ground chicken before starting on the sandwich so that by the time you're finished with the snack box, the chicken is also done and ready to be packed in the food container. I started preparing at 7:10 am and by 7:35 am, I was done with everything including preparing for his breakfast.

Good enough time for a lazy morning like this. 

FMBM: Leftover Breaded Fish and Green Beans

Feel asleep on the couch last night so I didn't get to prepare anything for today's bento, make it two! because my youngest son is going to the daycare too today. Good thing we have a leftover breaded cod fish from dinner last night, I woke up at 7 am, reheated the fish in the oven while I prepared the steamed string beans and sandwiches for morning recess. Made pancakes too for their breakfast, by 7:30 am their lunch and snack boxes were packed and ready and their breakfast of pancakes, apples slices and milk were done! 

While I do all the cooking, the daddy was preparing our school kid by bathing and dressing him up. By the time they were done, school kid has a 15-minute window to eat his breakfast. I usually do all the food and kid preps every morning but since I had a handful today, Daddy had to help too.

for baby brother, minced and mixed the fish with the rice for easy eating

for big brother

Remember the Velveeta cheese that I cut into heart and star shapes in my previous bento boxes? I've kept the unused part back in the fridge and decided to use it today for the morning recess snack box. Nothing should go to waste!

cut the cheese in small pieces

prepare the snack box while steaming the Green Beans and
 reheating the leftover fish in the oven

place the cheese on top of a thin spread of Strawberry Jam for a salty and sweet taste.

press the sandwich and cut in shapes using
cookie cutters

Strawberry n Cheese sandwich with a side of Carrots Sticks

FMBM: Tapsilog Bento

My version of Japanese Tapsilog, well it's actually TapLog because I used plain steamed rice. Marinated the beef tapa two nights ago so I just needed to fry it this morning. It only took 2 minutes to fry this thinly sliced Tapa and a minute or two to make the rice sandwich with a nori smiley on it.

steamed broccoli, quail eggs(prepared the night before)

Used this hamburger rice maker I bought from Daiso.

place the hamburger maker on top of a nori sheet or a cling wrap (derek doesn't like nori)
then press to compact the rice, add the tapa on top

fold the sheet to place the other rice on top of the tapa

rice hamburger or sandwich! wrapped with a cling wrap

Limiting Toys to Encourage Creativity

A mommy friend asked me to answer a survey form for one of the children's museum here in the Bay Area and the theme is: as a parent how important creativity is for your kid. As much as I put importance to education and skills, I believe that creativity plays an important role on a kid's future because their creativity is the glue that puts their skills together to produce something that's their own. More than skills, Creativity is the key to thrive; to solve a problem, to create a tangible solution and to workaround whatever limitations and resources at hand. 

My boys love to buy play sets, those toys with all materials come in a box with instructions on how to put them together. Most of the time these sets work exclusively, meaning if one new character or version comes along it means we have to buy a new set. We keep buying until we didn't have space for them anymore in our tiny house. Husband and I didn't have a choice but to purge their old toys and stop buying play sets. I replaced them with wooden, and soft blocks, bought Legos and a big box of Duplos from a garage sale. I also made scotch tapes, markers, colors, papers, scissors accessible for them. Unlimited use and unlimited permission to mess the house. 

When they ask me to buy them a new play set that they've watched in Youtube, I just encourage them to make use of their blocks to build their own play set and they can make it as big as they want it to be. Until lately I noticed that they are becoming good in creating their own world for their robots and cars. They've made a race track, a science lab for their Rescue Bots, and many more. Husband and I just discovered a way to stimulate their creativity while keeping our pockets safe.

Kids nowadays don't get to play outside as much as we did before, but they can still use their imagination inside the home.