Spinach Bacon Tortellini Bake

After Thanksgiving, I was not up for cooking much for awhile. But I saw this recipe on Pinterest and knew I had to try it.

My Dr. Suess Apron means I'm ready to throw it down!

So I pulled out my Dr. Suess apron and got to work!

First I pressed the spinach into the bottom of a 9x9 pan.

I then cooked the tortellini according to the package.

Tortellini is my true love. 

Using the oven method explained here, I cooked bacon.

Glorious.

I put the tortellini in a bowl and mixed in alfraedo sauce.

I chopped the bacon into smaller pieces and added that to the mix.

It's getting there!

The mixture was then messily piled into the pan.

I topped it with some more bacon, parmesan cheese and parsley.

Oh baby!

After cooking, here is the final product.

Sweet baby Jesus that's good!

This was pretty easy and so yummy! Bacon, cheese and noodles just belong together!
My only complaint was the layer of canned spinach on the bottom. It was pretty gross, and I LOVE spinach. Next time I might add fresh spinach and stir it into the mix. But otherwise, this dish was delicious, filling, and fulfilled my cheesy-bacon-ey fantasies.

Hope you enjoy trying this dish as well!

Love and Blessings,

Annmarie Faye

The Rockstar Jean

I struggle when it comes to finding jeans that fit me. Like most women, it had always been an ordeal to find a new pair: scouring the store through a billion different pairs of jeans, figuring out what size, style, and color work, and not trying to break the bank. It's exhausting to be a women most days ;)

Skinny jeans are definitely my nemesis. I LOVE how they look on people, but I can never find a pair that works for me. To me, skinny jeans look best if they fit tightly. But I don't want them to be so tight that my tummy blobs over the waist of my pants; a muffin top is never cute.

So I either find a pair that fits me perfectly, but is too tight in the tummy, or a pair that fits well everywhere but stretches out to give me a saggy Grandma butt.

But I read a few review online for Old Navy's Mid-Rise Rockstar Jeans. Most of the reviews came from other thick girls, so I figured I had nothing to lose.

I grabbed a few pairs, jumped and wiggled to get them up over my butt, and buttoned them. And once I did, I was in love! They fit me well, but I didn't have a muffin top. I finally had cute jeans to tuck into my boots this winter.

The fabric is super soft and feels stretchy, but did not stretch out after my date wearing them. Finally the best of all worlds!

So I give the Rockstar Jeans a A+! And if I could convince the man, I'd be back to Old Navy tomorrow to get a few more pairs...

The Rockstar Jeans...and rock them I did.
Sweater: Old Navy
Scarf: Old Navy
Boots: DSW

Love and Blessings,

Annmarie Faye

Ipsy November 2013 Bag

Last month I signed up for Ipsy. For those of you who don't know, it is a subscription service. First you take a quiz about your skin and eye colors, make-up taste, and beauty needs. Then you pay $10 a month, and receive 4-5 beauty and make-up products every month. Each box comes with a cute little make-up bag as well. 

For this make-up junkie, Ipsy is the perfect way to get my fix on without blowing through a ton of money. 

In my November bag (which was cute, cold, and shiny!), I received 6 items! In the future I will take pictures of each item separately, as well as pictures of the items being used. But for now, this lazy girl will just tell you what she thinks about each product. 

BH Cosmetics Galaxy Chic Baked Eyeshadow Sample

This was a gorgeous golden color that went on smooth and was very pigmented. It was the only sample sized product I got, and even so, it was a much bigger sample than I was expecting. Although I have a few other gold colors that are similar, it will be a nice color to take if I have little space for my whole make-up collection.

Starlooks Gem Eye Pencil

This purple pencil is a dream! I love purple anything, and it went on very smoothly. It was a little lighter than I prefer, but a nice way to add a subtle purple to your eyes. 

Pixi Beauty Bronzer

I am in love with this bronzer! It is a little dark for some people with my skin tone, but since I love a dramatic contour under my cheek bones, it was perfect! I might actually buy this next time I run out of bronzer (which should be awhile because this was a full sized bronzer!)

Nailtini Straight Up Color Nail Lacquer

This light champagne pink was a gorgeous color for my nails! And I am proud to say that I have had it on for 5 days with little chipping. I usually have awful chipping after a few days, so almost a week with minimal chipping is a success for me!

Be a Bombshell Lip Crayon

I so badly wanted to like this product. And I do like how it goes on. But I do not like the shade. It is a medium wine color, which I do not think is very flattering on me. It might just be a preference thing. I think I would have liked this a lot more if it was more red or pink as it was very moisturizing and pigmented. 

Em Michelle Phan Lash Gallery Mascara

This was my most disappointing product. The mascara was fine, but nothing special. I will keep using my drugstore mascara for sure. 

Most of the products I adored! And for only $10 a month, it's a pretty cheap way to get my make-up fix. I get to try new products and feel much better not liking one or two if I have a few others that work great for me!

If anyone is interested in signing up, click here. It does take a little bit to receive a bag after you sign up as there is a waiting list (you are only charged once you are off the waiting list and receiving your monthly bag). It makes a nice little treat to look forward to. Why not get yourself a little Christmas gift? 

Love and Blessings, 

Annmarie Jordan

I'm a Black Friday Crazy

You know how we spend Thanksgiving being thankful for all we have, and then some crazies go out the next day (or that same night) and barge through hoards to other crazies to get a good deal?

I'm one of those crazies.

I know how lame it is, but not only do you get some great deals, but it is kind of a high from the excitement of these late night/early morning extreme shopping events!

So here are the deals that I got and the low-down on each store.

Old Navy
The entire store was 50% off! Enough said.

I got this sweater in a lighter pink

My new cute sparkly polka dot cardigan

Red sweater dress that I died over!

You can never have too many comfy cardigans. 

I went in wearing a zip-up hoodie and tank top so that I could take the hoodie off and easily try on clothes without waiting for a dressing room. This girl don't play on Black Friday! You have to have a game plan :)

Brad also got a few pairs of jeans, socks, a sweatshirt and a long sleeve shirt. All for 50% off! We made out good at Old Navy.

Bon-Ton
It wasn't too crowded, but it took awhile to check out. They did let us in about 10 minutes before they were supposed to open, so that was kind. Although we did grab the wrong product and the cashier nicely pointed it out and helped us find the correct one on sale, so this store was very pleasant.

We now own more than one cooking knife! We got this J.A. Henkels International Everedge cutillary set, originally $245.00, for $40! And they work great! I sliced my finger yesterday while cooking with them...so they are sharp!

My new knives! Much better than using one lone chef's knife and steak knives for cooking.

Target
Crazy.
Crazy.
Crazy.

Target is an intense store on Black Friday. It was well organize, but there are a ton of people! The crowds were crazy, the line to checkout took forever, there were two ambulances and cop cars parked outside (precautionary), and we ended up not buying anything there that was on sale! We browsed DVDs and BluRays, but nothing great jumped out at us. For what we were looking for, Target was not worth the trouble.

PetSmart
This store gets my top rating for Black Friday. Firstly, they opened at 7 AM ON BLACK FRIDAY. Secondly, pet owners tend to be nicer people, so the people in line were very friendly and were all over our dog (whom we brought along). And even in the store, people were polite and kind.
The first deal at PetSmart was the first 100 people received a stocking filled with over $100 worth of coupons and items. That was a little misleading, because a third of the coupons were for cats, a third for dogs, and a third for small pets. So we couldn't use most of them. But it was still nice. They also threw in dog treats and cat treats, which we traded with a couple who had cats, so between Brad and I, we ended up with four bags of dog treats free!

A Christmas dress i bought for Maisy! Don't judge me too hard...

A red sweater and Christmas bell collar for the season!

All of those items were 50% off. We also bought a few treats and other dog items we usually buy that were on sale.

Black Friday was a success for us. We bought a lot and saved a lot. And come on, scroll back up and drool over my cute dog in the red sweater ;)

Love and Blessings,

Annmarie Faye

Wisdom Teeth and Turkey

This was mere hours after the wisdom teeth surgery...two were impacted...don't judge.

The Thursday before Thanksgiving, this was me:

Yeah, that was a cute look...

I got the wisdom teeth yanked. Besides a little swelling, lots of sleeping, itchy skin from the pain meds, and crying right after surgery when I learned that I couldn't get a frosty because Wendy's was closed, I recovered pretty well. They are still a little sore sometimes, but the gums are healing and I look a lot better than the swollen, ice-pack-age-bandage-wrapped hot mess above.

On to what I really care about:

I SUCCESSFULLY COOKED MY FIRST TURKEY!!!

Mmmm look at that browned skin!

I did learn that it takes hours among hours to thaw a turkey, so we had our Thanksgiving dinner a decent amount later than I planned...but it turned out delicious!

I made buttery cream cheese mashed potatoes, cornbread muffins, turkey, buttery green beans, corn, and my auntie's homeade stuffing.

The dinner plate of glory...sorry, I'm just super proud I made such a big dinner and didn't burn anything!

Oh my gosh this food was so good! Not to toot my own horn, but wow, I was impressed with my first Thanksgiving dinner made by me was a success.

And I also made a homeade pumpkin pie.

I LOVE pumpkin pie!

And you see the big 'ol glob of whipped cream? Also homeade. Side note: it's super easy to make. Throw some heavy cream in a Kitchenaid mixer, put it on as high as it will go without the cream flying out, and as it solidifies, add a dash of vanilla and sugar to taste. Done.

It was strange to be away from the extended family for this holiday, but it was so much fun cuddling with my own little family.I so enjoyed watching the parade, the game, snippets of the dog show, all while cuddled up with my man and pooch. Oh, and cooking of course.

I am so thankful for my family, my friends, that I am able to further my education, and have so many blessings that I don't even realize. While the food was great, being able to spend time relaxing with the man and the pooch was what made this day so amazing :)

Love and Blessings,

Annmarie Faye

P.S. Only a few hours left in the extended Black Friday Sale for Lilla Rose! Check out my site by Sunday at Midnight for 20%-50% off all items and free shipping for orders over $50! A great way to find some hair accessories at a great price for that girl on your Christmas gift list who has everything!

Chop the Mop

I've had long and thick hair for a very long time. I loved how it flowed and waved. I loved how feminine it made me feel. It was part of my identity.

But after the wedding and settling down in PA, I've gotten so lazy with my hair. With being so busy with school, plus the 40+ minute commute to and from school, I don't feel like taking the time to fuss with my hair. So up in a messy bun it goes.

Trying to make my messy bun cute with a bandanna...still not as cute as a hair cut!

Long hair is gorgeous, but it takes a lot of time, shampoo, and money to look attractive.

So I suddenly got the urge to chop it off. I had it long for my wedding, and now I do not have a reason to keep it long besides my attachment to it.

I called the best friend, Erin, who has donated her hair in the past. She encouraged me to do it, and I knew I needed to get it cut ASAP or else I would wuss out.

I did my research to see where I would donate my hair. Locks of Love, the default donation organization, will not take processed or dyed hair. Plus during the research I did, I found that they often sell the donated hair they get to make money for their organization instead of putting it directly into wigs.

Children and Hair Loss is a organization that takes processed hair. I did my research and felt confident in donating to them.

So off I went to the salon with this hot mess of hair:

Yeah, it was getting bad. 

I walked in when they opened and asked if they had an appointment available. Luckily they had a rare last minute opening. The stylist told me Saturday morning openings are rare and that it was "meant to be."

We talked about how much hair I wanted off. She put a pink cape on me (only those donating get to wear the pink cape. I felt special haha), braided my hair, and before I got a chance to chicken out, she snipped! It was very freeing.

My hair was so thick, she had to make two braids!

No going back now.

She washed, snipped, and styled my much shorter hair. And this was the end result.

It's so short!

I LOVE IT! My face looks so much less round, I look older, and it is SO much easier to care for!

I donated 11 inches of braided hair.
I felt like I lost 10 pounds from my head.
I helped give a child with hair loss a chance to feel confident.
I also gave myself more confidence with this hair cut.

Overall, I am so glad I did this. It took a lot of guts for me, but it was an amazing feeling and I am so happy I had the guts to chop the mop.

Love and Blessings,

Annmarie Faye

P.S. I can't write a post without a picture of my pooch!

My obsession, Maisy

I Once Was A Racist

I have a confession to make: I used to be a racist.

Now if anyone knows me, this might be shocking to you. It was to me. But it also might be shocking to say I was not the average racist.

I was a "color blind" racist.

To me, this is ignoring race completely. This is separating the person from their color.

Wait? Isn't that a good thing Annmarie?

Well, it is a great thing! It is truly a wonderful idea. At least in the perfect world.

But we live in a broken world. A world where race affects a person so deeply, that ignoring their race is ignoring a core part of their personality.

I am a white woman. I will never have to wonder if I'm being pulled over by a cop for "driving while black." I will never wonder if a "random search" on me at an airport is due to my olive skin.. I will never have to wonder if I was denied a job because my name reflects my non-European culture.

Yet so many people have these struggles each and every day.

I will never truly understand what it is like to live as a racial minority. But I can acknowledge that. I can ask questions of people to try and understand more. And I can see that race does matter. Race is a huge part of who we are, and by not only acknowledging it, but celebrating it, we can ease the tensions and enjoy this complex tapestry of differences in our world.

Because lets be honest, a quilt would be very boring with only one color and texture.

Love and Blessings,

Annmarie Faye