Paul & Joe Cosmetics - Parasol - Spring 2011 Collection

It may only be December, but I am ready for Spring. Being from the great state of Minnesota, my color palette for Winter is white with various shades of gray muck in between which leaves a gigantic void in the middle of my colorful artistic heart. In my search today for happy things, I came across Paul & Joe cosmetics' new Spring 2011 collection which is full of the most gorgeous, mouthwatering, wearable shades for eyes, lips, face and nails.

New Color Powder in 3 shades:

1 - 070 Petticoat
2 - 071 Ribbon
3 - 072 Taffeta


Eye Color in 5 new shades:



1 - 001 Glisten
2 - 002 Woman With A Parasol
3 - 003 Sunbeam
4 - 004 Pique-Nique
5 - 005 En Plein Air


Lipstick in 3 new shades:



1 - 069 Alfresco
2 - 070 Chantilly
3 - 071 Afternoon Delight


Nail Color in 5 new shades:



1 - 007 Dapple
2 - 008 Sunshine
3 - 010 Splendour
4 - 011 Prism
5 - 009 Ray


Plus they have this super cute new pouch:




This collection couldn't yell "Spring!" any louder and I think I am in love. Some must-haves for me would include the new Color Powder in Taffeta, Eye Color in En Plein Air and Pique-Nique, lipstick in Afternoon Delight, and all 5 nail colors.

If you're local in Minneapolis, you can find Paul & Joe products at Cherie Boutique in Wayzata, otherwise, Urban Outfitters has a large selection online.

Even though it's just the beginning of Winter -- Happy Spring!

Russian Tea Cakes - The ULTIMATE Holiday Cookie #3

For a girl who hates dry, crumbly things, you'd expect me to definitely hate these little buggers because they are the epitome of dry and crumbly, but they are actually quite tasty and SUPER easy to make. Plus, in my household, it would not be Christmas without them! Enjoy!

Russian Tea Cakes

What You'll Need:
-1 c. butter
-1 tsp. vanilla extract
-6 tbsp. confectioner's sugar
-2 c. all-purpose flour
-1 c. chopped walnuts
-1/3 c. confectioner's sugar for decoration

What You'll Do:
1. Preheat over to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together butter and vanilla until smooth. Combine the 6 tbsp. of confectioner's sugar together with the flour then stir it into the butter mixture until just blended. Mix in the chopped walnuts. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place onto ungreased baking sheet 2 inches apart.
3. Bake for 12 minutes. When cool, roll them into the remaining confectioner's sugar until well coated. Roll again if desired.

I always roll mine in the confectioner's sugar twice. It gives them a nice coating that melt in your mouth when you take a bite and is a nice compliment to the drier cookie. Enjoy this Christmas staple!

Chewy and Soft Chocolate Chip - The ULTIMATE Holiday Cookie #2

Let's face it - the most popular cookie out there is chocolate chip, and due to it's everlasting presence in our homes, it seems like everyone and their brother has a different recipe on how to make them. I've tried them all and do consider myself a chocolate chip aficionado. I've made them crunchy, dense, thin, thick, small, big and consequently, I've hated almost every batch I've ever made because they've all ended up "just okay", and that's not good enough in my book. That is until I found this recipe. It's everything in a chocolate chip cookie I could ask for - they're chewy, they're soft, the edges are crispy. Every time I've made these they've turned out. Every time I've had them at events and gatherings people want the recipe. You'll never ever again need to search for the holy grail of chocolate chip cookie recipes because it's right here.


The Last Chocolate Chip Recipe You'll Ever Need

What You'll Need:
-2 c. all-purpose flour
-1/2 tsp. baking soda
-1/2 tsp. salt
-3/4 c. unsalted butter, melted
-1 c. packed brown sugar
-1/2 c. white sugar
-1 tbsp. vanilla extract
-1 egg
-1 egg yolk
-1 1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips (more or less, depending on your tastes)

What You'll Do:
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended.
3. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended.
4. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1 tablespoon at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets, leaving a couple inches in between.
5. Bake 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

The key to these cookies is to not over bake. Usually when I first take them out of the oven, the centers still look a little undercooked but it's just because they're so hot. Once they cool, they are perfection and everything is cooked through nicely.

The original recipe does yield a good amount of cookies, but I like to double it because these go fast - especially among the chocolate fiends. So go make some, and if you're like me and have no self-control, you might want to dig out your bigger-sized jeans while you're at it!

Rocks - The ULTIMATE Holiday Cookie

Every year at Christmas time I make about 472 batches of cookies. And every year, this is the one that I have to triple because these puppies go FAST! They're everything a holiday cookie should be - sweet, spicy, chewy and yummy! So if you're looking for a new cookie to make - I urge you to try this one! Don't let the name fool you - it only refers to the chunky look they have when they're done baking. I assure you they are soft and wonderful!


Rocks

What You'll Need:
-1 c. butter
-1 1/2 c. packed brown sugar
-3 eggs
-3 c. all-purpose flour
-1 tsp. baking soda
-1/4 tsp. ground cloves
-1/4 tsp. ground allspice
-1 tsp. ground cinnamon
-Pinch of ground nutmeg
-2 c. raisins
-1 1/2 c. chopped walnuts

What You'll Do:

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each addition.
2. Sift and measure flour, and reserve two tablespoons to be used later. Mix remaining flour with baking soda and spices. Stir into the butter and sugar mixture.
3. Dredge raisins into the reserved flour then stir them into your batter along with the walnuts.
4. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.

This recipe is supposed to yield 6 dozen, but I'd say it ends up being more like 3 dozen...maybe I just make my cookies big!

Give these guys a go!