Willow Tree Minerals and Mad Lab - natural and cruelty free cosmetics.

I bought samples from Willow Tree Minerals about a year ago and never made swatches. This is a great little company that makes beautiful mineral makeup in so many shades. Here's what I got.

Top to bottom: Passion Fruit, Pumpkin, Sunkissed Ginger, Tangy Tangerine, Praline, Cider, Antique Copper

Cider, Antique Copper, Chocolate Truffle, Boysenberry Tea, Bright Blueberry, and Rainforest. 

A few more: Olive Tree, Berries, Cinnamon Silk

Really beautiful duochrome happening with Cinnamon Silk. 

Go check out their Etsy shop. The photos are beautiful. 

http://etsy.com/shop/WillowTreeMinerals

I also got a few samples from Mad Lab, also on Etsy.

Top to bottom: Pearl, Palladium Gold, Gold 2.0, Not Amused, Cinnamon Challenge, Dark God. Very nice neutrals.

http://etsy.com/shop/madlabcosmetics

Tacos.

Was in the mood for what I call "crappy tacos" which just means that they are not authentic in any way. Think "taco supreme" from Taco Bell. 

Picked up this package of vegan crumbles which I had never tried before. I sautéed a chopped onion, added the crumbles and cooked until heated through.

So here we have the veggie crumbles, refried beans, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, sour cream and taco shells.

Came out very good and satisfied my craving. The taco sauce is by Ortega. The package of crumbles makes a lot so I'll be having tacos for a few days.

Sunday lunch and dinner.

I made a pot of Manestra today from my Olive And The Caper Greek cookbook. Just a simple tomato based soup, heavy on garlic, onions and oregano. I ran out of orzo pasta do I used little rings and stars.

What do you pair a tomato soup with except grilled cheese? I've been eating a lot of these. A lot.

I sprinkled Galaxy vegan Parmesan on top. Mm!

For dinner, a huge spinach and iceberg salad with onions, baked tofu and tempeh bacon, French dressing and Bacos! I also had a bagel after this (not pictured).

I made Isa's chocolate chip cookies for my moms birthday today. 

Now I'm lying in bed totally full and listening to one of my fave albums. Obsessed with 70s Bowie!

More swatches from Aromaleigh, Darling Girl and Ili Cosmetics!

Hey guys I've got more makeup to swatch. Haven't had a chance to do this until today. Lots of fun for me before baby arrives. I'll doubt I'll be wearing any makeup in the first three months after he's born! So here we go!

First the items themselves. These are 5 beautiful eyeshadows and 2 highlighting powders from Aromaleigh Cosmetics. The large highlight with the beautiful artwork is called Amaterasu.

Darling Girl Cosmetics! My first time trying their stuff. Very affordable at around $3 per mini jar. I got 2 and received one free plus a sample blush.

Ili Cosmetics at Etsy had a sale in the new year. I got 3 mini jars around $3.50 each and got a sample size free.

On to the swatches! These can get messy and if you are not careful, a jar of eyeshadow that doesn't have a sifter can fly out of your hand and land dark brown powder all over the carpet. Boo. My loss. It was Aromaleigh Gandareva. I still have a tiny bit that I salvaged.

Top to bottom: Aromaleigh's Nemesis and Europa / Aromaleigh's Leiriope and Lucid / Aromaleigh's Gandareva and Darling Girl's Black Hole Sun.

Top to bottom: Darling Girl's You're My Bitch and London Calling / Ili's Bedouin and Wicked / Ili's Bakhoor and Heartbreak.

Left to right: Splendora blush by Darling Girl, Amaterasu highlight by Aromaleigh and Stelliferous Era highlight by Aromaleigh.

Food pics and one of Baby Mouse.

Gooey grilled cheese that I made yesterday with Daiya Cheddar.

Chickpea melt that I made a while ago. So good.

Lunch at Zankou one weekend. I always get falafel sandwich with a cabbage salad and muttabal. 

This was artichoke dip I made a few weekends ago. Good with chips or crackers.

Another baby face pic of Hank Bowie from 35 weeks. His nose is squished in probably because he's against the uterus. From what I can see he's got a nice big forehead, deep eye sockets and chubby cheeks! He looks like my husband here, but we shall see. 4 more weeks to go!

Shiro Cosmetics Samples and Swatches.

Got a few samples for $1 each, well actually less than that because I took advantage of their recent 25% off sale. These are gorgeous! The bottom right Triforce and I Loved A Maid were free.

Indirect soft light from a window. Top to bottom: A Regular Bears Meeting, Lingered in Twilight / Constant Vigilance, A Bit of Light Reading / I Choose Sandwich, Sometimes Words Are Not Enough / It's a Misnomer, I Loved A Maid / Triforce.

Shiro has never disappointed me. They are great quality, cruelty free, affordable and vegan. Stop paying big bucks at MAC!   

Look how much product you get in a little baggie. Plenty of uses!

Super kale salad with tahini maple dressing

So good!

Recipe:

1 bunch kale torn into small pieces

Cut the following into small pieces: Carrots, Red onion, Red bell pepper.

Put all into a big bowl and add 1Tb olive oil and a squeeze or two of lemon juice. Massage kale and veggies with your hands. This will soften the kale leaves. Add Dried cranberries and Toasted nuts (walnuts or pecans are good). Then toss with dressing. Refrigerate an hour or more.

Tahini dressing:

1/3 cup tahini

1/2 lemon, juiced (or more to taste)

2-3 tablespoons water

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tsp maple syrup

1 tsp dried dill

pinch of cayenne

fresh chopped chives

salt and pepper

Whisk all ingredients until smooth. Add more water if too thick.

Simmered Meatballs in Pineapple BBQ Sauce

These are Gardein meatballs. They held up very well in sauce. I sautéed them in oil first for about 10 minutes. I set them aside and made the sauce in the same pan: I sautéed onion, then added 1/2 a can of crushed pineapple and about a cup of BBQ sauce and a pinch of crushed pepper flakes. Once it all started simmering, I added the meatballs and simmered for about 15 minutes over medium low heat. 

Came out delicious!

Sandwich and Scalloped Potatoes.

Baked tofu and tempeh bacon recipe from You Won't Believe It's Vegan! Cookbook. Made a delicious sandwich!

With Daiya cheddar, crisp lettuce, tomato, Tabasco, a sprinkle of Maldon salt and black pepper. Yummy.

Same cookbook. Creamy, oniony, dilly scalloped potatoes. 

Hoppy Birdy Bowie.

Wish you were still here with us. 

I'm still celebrating with more cookies. These are also from a retro recipe from a great 60's cookie book that I own. I subbed applesauce (4 oz) for the egg. I also left out the nuts.

Secret Ingredient Two Chip Cookies

Got this recipe from a nifty cookbook and veganized it by using ener-g egg replacer for the egg. Didn't spread out very much but I loved the flavor. Mine came out crisp on the outside with a nice chewy and slightly crunchy texture due to the secret ingredient: potato chips!

Not a vegan book at all but fun to look through. I think I'll be able to veganize a few more recipes.

And since it's Bowie's birthday weekend, why not celebrate with cookies? (Maybe not toss them in the air though!) 

Comfort food dinner.

Lazy is what I am today. I wanted something comforting and quick to prepare. 

Grilled Daiya cheese sandwich. 

With a bowl of healthy boxed tomato soup.

Made by Progresso believe it or not. Was ok. A little too smoky for my tastes.