Crockpot Chicken & Corn Chili

Hey beauties!

Here's another fall appropriate crock-pot meal that is ready when you get home from a long day at work! As you can probably tell from the couple of posts I've made lately, I love to use the crock-pot, and as the weather has finally started to break, creating an almost fall-like atmosphere for now, chili is a great seasonal meal. I love traditional chili, but I also like to try new recipes, so I thought I'd give this one a go. Once again, I just pulled a bunch of info from Pinterest and threw together what I thought sounded good. If you want to see any other recipes, just check out my random recipe blog posts here. I'm just getting started with the whole recipes thing here on my blog, so please bear with me and my short list for now. I try to make a real meal most nights and it usually ends up being 2-3 meals in the crock-pot weekly. And some days I get really tired of having what seems to be the same thing all the time, so here's a chili that's a little bit different.

This recipe is pretty similar to my Taco Chili Crockpot recipe, not gonna lie, but I do think the cream of chicken soup and the chicken itself gives it a distinct flavor compared to regular ground beef chili.

As for the chicken chili, let's get started here...

Ingredients:
1 frozen chicken breast
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cans of water (I just refill the cream of chicken soup can)
1 cup dry pinto beans
1/4 cup dry black beans (both beans soaked overnight)
1 small can green chilies
1 large jalapeno chopped (I only used half for fear of it being too hot, but looking back, I think a full one would be just fine)
1 large clove of garlic minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne 1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 can corn (added about 15 minutes before serving, so it stays crisp, but has enough time to warm up)

Shred up the chicken before serving. After 10+ hours in the crock-pot, it shouldn't take much effort. I just grabbed the chicken out with some tongs, shredded it up with two forks, and put it right back in the chili.

Cook in crock-pot on low 11 hours.
You probably don't need to let it cook that long, that's just how long we're out of the house during the day and so we are always looking for recipes that can be in the crock-pot for a long time. I find that simple chilies and soups are really easy to do in the crock-pot. My struggle lies in trying to find recipes that won't just turn to mush in 10+ hours on low. If you have any suggestions please let me know!

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina

Last Breath of Summer : Makeup of the Day : FOTD

While thinking about doing my makeup this morning as I paged through Pinterest for inspiration, I kept coming across tons of dark, smoky, vampy looks that I wanted to play around with. I wanted so badly to just throw on my darkest lipstick and create the perfect deep brown smoky eye. However, once I sat down at my vanity, I decided to give summer one last hurrah, to go out with a bang and do something very colorful and fun. It's Labor Day here in the US, the symbolic end of summer, so here is the "Last Breath of Summer" just for the occasion!

Products Used:

Face:

Bobby Brown Extra Face Oil

Covergirl Outlast All Day Primer

Revlon Colorstay Oily Skin Foundation - 150 Buff

Maybelline SuperStay Better Skin Foundation - 20 Classic Ivory

Benefit Boi-ing Concealer - Light

ELF Mineral Concealer - Fair

Physicians Formula Multi Color Pressed Powder - Creamy Natural

Loreal True Match Lum Powder Glow Illuminator

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush - Pampered (limited edition holiday 2014)

Benefit Hoola Bronzer

Milani Felt Tip Brow Tint Pen - Dark Brown

Eyes:

Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade - Dark Brown

Lorac Behind the Scenes Eye Primer

Sleek Makeup I-Divine Eyeshadow Palette - Acid

Kat Von D Chrysallis Eyeshadow Palette

Rimmel ScandalEyes Eye Pencil - Nude

Maybelline Lash Discovery Waterproof Mascara

Rimmel Lash Accelerator Mascara

ELF Studio Waterproof Mascara Top Coat

The eyes are totally matte, but so colorful. I originally wanted to make the main lid color a deep purple, but opted for white instead once it came down to it. The white makes the look even brighter, I think. 

Lips:

NYX Wonder Pencil - Light

Flower Beauty Luxury Lip Color - LS11 Morning Glory

Loreal True Match Lum Powder Glow Illuminator

It was impossible to get a good shot of the lips. They look so much cooler in person than I could possible get myself to capture on camera. They're super nude and washed out, but the center of my bottom lip and the cupid's bow on my top lip are highlighted with my face highlighter of the day. 

Thanks so much for reading!

Love,

Alaina

NEW Maybelline Baby Instant Cheek Flush - Pop of Peach and Pinking of You

I was drawn to pick these up when I first saw that they were coming out. I got both available colors from Target and I thought I'd share my thoughts on these new items so you can decide whether or not you need to run out and get them!

I got both shades. Even though I typically like blushes to be more on the orange/peach side of things rather than the pinky side, "Pinking of You" is not too bright of a pink and I do enjoy it, I think it's a great neutral blush color, it's muted enough for me to enjoy.

These are similar to an EOS lipbalm product format, but they have a handy little tail that allows you to hold onto it better than the EOS balms with their round shape. 

The two colors have different consistencies. "Pinking of You" is more creamy and pigmented, whereas "Pop of Peach" takes a few swipes to build up the color and it seems like the product itself is harder, not as soft as "Pinking of You."

They have a nice fruity scent that isn't overpowering.

They are very easy to blend. I use the bottom of my Beauty Blender and it works perfectly. Fingers work nicely too. 

They are quite creamy, but they don't set. They remain VERY tacky on the skin. With my oily skin, I am not a fan of that aspect. It makes my skin look oily already as soon as I apply them first thing in the morning.

Perhaps due to their very creamy consistency and non-drying down formula, they don't have great staying power. After about six hours, they have lost about half of their color. And that's on a day inside working in an office, I don't see them holding up at all out in the heat and humidity. By the end of the day (10 hours), there's really no color left to talk about.

Although, personally, I am not a fan, I can see how these could work for those with dry skin, those who really like the glowy skin look, or even those just starting out with makeup. They have a great amount of pigmentation, not too much or too little, so you shouldn't go overboard too easily with the color.

For the bottom line, I'd recommend you pass on these little newbies.

Thanks so much for reading!

Love,

Alaina

EyeBuyDirect.com & ZenniOptical.com Eyeglasses Review

I wear both contacts and glasses about equally (you just don't see me wearing glasses in videos as much because of the glare they reflect with my lighting), but if you follow me on Instagram, you'll probably see that I do wear glasses sometimes.

Today I thought I'd tell you about two different websites I have ordered my glasses from. EyeBuyDirect.com and ZenniOptical.com.

I have purchased from the website EyeBuyDirect.com in the past a couple of years ago and was super happy with the glasses I got. You can even see them in action in my Youtube mini series about makeup for glasses here...
My large black glasses
My pink frame glasses
(they're no longer in stock, so I can't give links to buy them, sorry!)

So when I started getting tired of the large black frame glasses that I typically wear, I headed back to EyeBuyDirect to see what I could find. As I was looking at glasses, I also remembered that I saw this pic of Shaaanxo awhile back and noticed how awesome she looked in those half-rim glasses, so I was checking out glasses of a similar style too. Of course Shannon looks great in anything, but I was pretty excited to get glasses like hers lol. I didn't want to pay a ton of money for them though, so the sales on EyeBuyDirect were perfect. I picked out a pair, but my package got lost in the mail and once I realized I hadn't received my package and contacted them for a replacement, those frames were out of stock. By no fault of EyeBuyDirect, I had to search another website my sister told me about called ZenniOptical.com. And I found these for $19 + shipping and a 10% coupon code for a total of $22.05.

Stainless Steel Half-Rim Frame with Acetate Temples 764921

$19.00

They feel like really nice quality glasses and they fit me perfectly! 

One thing I really enjoy about sites like this is that they have a pair of glasses for all price ranges! I love to shop their sale items because they are so stinking affordable!

All you need is your prescription. If you wear contacts like I do, you probably know the prescription or at least have a box in your bathroom that will tell you your prescription. The only other thing you need to know is the distance between your pupils. You can do this yourself or ask a friend to help you. I just held a ruler up and looked in the mirror and gave my best guess at how far apart mine were.

The only downside to using a website is the frame itself and particularly the parts that rest behind your ears. They do tell you a general size of the frames (large, medium), but it can be hard to tell what size you really need without trying them on in person. For example, my large black glasses frames can be a little big sometimes. I notice when my nose is a little sweaty (from working out or doing housework or what have you) and I look downward, they can start slipping. I've never had them fall completely off, but they don't stay super well because they are slightly big. You can always fix that by gently bending the behind the ear parts. I remember at the eye doctor they had like hot sand that they would dip them in and then form them with their hands. I think it would work the same with hot water perhaps. But I haven't tried it. Just be careful not to hurt yourself or break your new glasses!

Here are a couple other glasses I went back and purchased from Zenni. I am IN LOVE with the sunglasses! All three of the glasses I have purchased from Zenni feel like great quality and I really think Zenni is my preference over EyeBuyDirect right now!

Women’s Vintage Cat-Eye Eyeglasses 283621 

$12.95 + $7.95 tint = $20.90









Women’s Rectangular Eyeglasses 339615 
$6.95 + $3.95 tinted sunglass clip-ons = $10.90

These ones are handy because of the clip-on sunglasses; however, they are a little oversized for my head and I can see them slipping off more easily. They are similar to an old pair of glasses I used to have, purchased from the eye doctor, but they are brown instead of black, which I really like with my new red hair actually. 

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I hope you found this helpful in some way! I would definitely recommend checking sites like these out. You can start yourself a little collection of glasses and switch them up just like you do your outfits or your makeup. I love the options different glasses give me. You guys see me with contacts more often than not because it's easier to film with the lights not reflecting off the glasses, but some days my eyes are sensitive and just don't want to be bothered with contacts, so I like having the option to change up my look with glasses.

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina

Taco Chili Recipe : Using Leftover Taco Meat

While thinking of a way to use up our leftover taco meat from the weekend without having to have tacos twice in the coming week, I started thinking of ideas and remembered some recipes I found on Pinterest for taco chili. Once again, I just gathered some ideas from different recipes and threw this little dish together in the hopes that it would all work out.

I love crock pot recipes. It allows so much flavor to build up throughout the day, plus it's super easy and dinner is ready as soon as you walk in the door from a long day of work. Plus this sort of dish is perfect as we begin approaching the fall season! If you'd like to see another great autumn crockpot recipe, just click here.

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Ingredients:
Leftover beef taco meat (we probably had two cups worth)
1 large can of tomato sauce
1 large can of water (just filled up the empty tomato sauce can)
1 small can green chilies
2 cups dry beans assorted (we used 1 cup red kidney, 3/4 cup pinto, 1/4 cup black beans) (soaked overnight)

1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon of the following
paprika
cayenne pepper
salt
pepper
1/2 teaspoon of the following
taco seasoning
chili powder
onion powder
garlic powder

1 can of whole kernel corn, water drained (added to crockpot 15 minutes before serving)

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I soaked the beans overnight.
Cooked on low in crock pot for 12 hours.
When we came home, I just added the corn and let it warm up in the chili for about 15 minutes.

My husband was skeptical about the corn, but he actually liked it. I thought it was great because the corn added a little extra crunch of crispiness to the otherwise somewhat squishy chili.

I would definitely recommend soaking the beans overnight even if you are going to be cooking in the crock pot all day. We tried another chili recipe a couple of weekends ago and even though it was in the crock pot on high 3 hours and low 3 more hours, the beans were still not as soft as I would like.

We used leftover taco meat, but of course you could just make your own taco meat and add it fresh to the crockpot.

This recipe yields at least 8 generous servings. It's just the two of us, so we are going to have leftovers for awhile.

I hope you enjoy!
Love,
Alaina