Boston Olive Oil Company and Chocolate Olive Oil Cake Recipe!

Do you all remember my friend Amy and her husband Zach?  They shared the Bacon & Oatmeal Dried Fruit cookie recipe in December.  Who can forget this picture!?

Anyway, we were lucky to have them visit us here in Boston a few weeks ago, and one of our activities was a trip to the Boston Olive Oil Company on Newbury Street.  Amy and Zach had been to similar shops before and suggested we go in and try different olive oil and balsamic combinations.  Never one to turn down any sort of fatty snack, I happily obliged!

The little shop on Newbury is filled with rows of gleaming stainless steel containers that hold gallons of unfiltered and settled olive oils and traditional Modena balsamic vinegars, all infused with a variety of flavors.  When you enter the store, you're invited to sample as you'd like after reading the tasting policy (which basically says to taste as much as you want if you're going to buy something, and to limit your tastes if you're not going to purchase anything so they can afford to continue to offer tastes.)  If you do decide to purchase, they bottle your choice right in front of you.

We tried some great flavors, like a dark chocolate balsamic vinegar (would be amazing on vanilla ice cream, I bet), and my favorite was dipping a piece of soft bread into a combo of mushroom olive oil with fig balsamic.  That would be an excellent mix to put on a salad, or as a sauce on a mushroom pizza.  Overall the shop was very cool and unique, and I think olive oil and vinegar sets would make a great gift. 

One of the more unique flavors I saw was a blood orange olive oil.  In the shop, they had a recipe for a flourless chocolate and blood orange olive oil cake made with this oil and I immediately thought of those orange chocolate balls people give out at Christmas.  I am not a huge fan of the blood orange flavor, so I didn't purchase the bottle, but wanted to share the recipe as it was so unique.

Enjoy, and have a great weekend, sweets!

Day of Beauty

Sometimes you just need a mid-week pick-me-up, especially in January.  Today, a pick-me-up is what I got when my very first Birchbox got delivered, so I decided to continue the beauty theme of the day with a little trip to Sephora and a stop at CVS on my way home.  These three little biddies turned this dreary Boston Wednesday into my day of beauty!

I only purchased a few items, and the rest of the goodies you see here were free samples I got.  I. Love. Samples.

Today's haul

Since I just got all this stuff tonight I haven't tried it all, but of course a DIY facial and hot shower was necessary to try out what I could.   Here's a rundown of what I got, what I have tested so far and where you could buy it all.  None of these brands asked me to use or review their products, they just happen to be what I picked up today.

Loreal Paris Total Repairs Restoring Shampoo & Conditioner - $7.99 ea for the big bottle at CVS.    (I love that the price tags that tell the price per ounce, the big bottle was $31 per ounce, small bottle $39 per ounce...so even though it would have been cheaper in the moment to purchase the smaller bottles for $4.99 each, it's a better value to purchase the larger bottle for a couple more dollars!)  I've never tried this brand before, but I love to switch up my shampoos and conditioners to keep it fresh.  I chose the Restoring option because I've been coloring my hair for the last 12+ months and need products that cater to super-processed hair.  Gotta keep the shine in check!  These both have a light, pretty scent and super creamy consistency.  Check out this site to sign up for a free sample. 

Sephora Dissolvant Express nail polish remover - $1.00 at Sephora.  I can't help myself when it comes to $1 bins, and I love to do my own nails so I figured why not.  Impulse buy!

Origins Out of Trouble 10-minute Mask - $23 at Sephora.  I went to Sephora today specifically to find a nice new mask product to try.  Work has been insanely stressful lately, and my face is showing it, so I wanted to find something to give my skin a little TLC.   The package description sounded like exactly what I needed:

When skin is too-slick or when more pressing problems start to pop up, it's Origins to the rescue to keep skin out of trouble. Nature's trouble-shooters, including super-absorbent Zinc Oxide and Sulfur, calming Camphor rapidly responds to problem skin's plight with a three-part plan - sop up oily-shine, slough off sticky, dead cells, and sweep away irksome debris. Together they steer skin clear of slippery situations, refine rough texture and pull the plug on troublemakers to oust potential outbursts. Best for combination oily skin.

I just tried this out tonight and so far, so good.  My skin is super sensitive so I was a little nervous, but Origins makes great products that I usually don't have any issues with.  This mask dries up on your face as expected, but doesn't become painfully tight like some do.  I washed it off with warm water in the shower and while I don't see any clearups yet (usually this takes overnight), I do find that my face feels noticeably smoother and less bumpy.  Happy with this purchase!

benefit for Sephora - Primping with the Stars kit - $32.00 at Sephora.  I picked this up to keep in my desk at work.  I always want to do a little touchup, but never have all of the makeup in my purse that I want to tidy up my face.  This kit seems to have everything except the powder to freshen up mid-day or before happy hour.  My beautiful friend Stef used to be a benefit makeup artist, and has shared the bene-tint and Some Kinda Gorgeous foundation with me in the past, the other products will all be new to me.  It includes:

- 0.08 oz Stay Don't Stray Stay-Put Primer for Concealers and Eyeshadows 

- 0.12 oz Some Kind-A-Gorgeous Foundation in Medium 

- 0.13 oz Benetint Rose-Tinted Lip & Cheek Stain 

- 0.25 oz The Porefessional Pro Balm 

- 0.25 oz Girl Meets Pearl Liquid Pearl for Face 

 - 0.1 oz They're Real! Beyond Mascara in Black

I think this will be a good kit of mini's to keep in my desk, and picked up a cheap eyelash curler from CVS to keep with it. 

Now, onto the free stuff!  Many of these came in my very first Birchbox, which is one of the gifts B-hubs gave me for Christmas.  Once a month for a year, I will get a pretty little box filled with luxury beauty samples picked just for me based off of a profile I filled out.  Very cool company, started by two Bostonians.  Check it out here!

Sampar Ultra Hydrating Fluid - free sample from Birchbox.  Ho-ly-mo-ly this is a gorgeous moisturizer.  It's light, SUPER hydrating, and has a beautiful scent.  I will not buy the full size at $71 for 1.7 oz seeing as that is very, very expensive, but I will cherish every drop of this sample and ask for it for a birthday or Christmas gift.  Love!!

12 Benefits Instant Healthy Hair Treatment - free sample from Birchbox.  I haven't tried this yet, but it is a leave-in treatment that is supposed to get a handle on frizz and freshen up colored or damaged hair.  Sounds pretty good, I will try it before my blow-dry tomorrow.  The full size product of this retails for $19, definitely doable if it's a great product.  I don't currently use a protecting spray pre-blowdry or style, so it is probably a good idea to get on that.  

Fresh brand samples!  Citron de Vigne Eau de Parfum - free sample from Birchbox, Lotus Youth Preserve Face Cream and Soy Face Cleanser - free samples from Sephora.  So far I've only tried the fragrance, and I love it.  The description reads:  pinot-infused, pairs a rich grape core with bright notes of citrus.  I got the citrus, and almost a woodsy undertone (though not manly, even though that sounds it), and find it to be a really beautiful, winter scent.  I may have to shell out the $80 for the full-size parfum spray for this if I still like it after wearing it for a few days.  So far, I love it, and have yet to find a really good winter scent.  

 

theBalm Hot Mama blush- this is a teeny tiny free sample from Birchbox, and while I haven't tried it yet, it looks very similar to my favorite blush - NARS Orgasm.  Excited to try this one!

Last, but not least, the Birchbox lifestyle extra for January was a dark chocolate peppermint holiday fortune cookie from Emily's Chocolates.  Haven't opened it yet, but certainly will soon!

And that wraps up my longest post every, I think.  Let me know if you have tried any of these products, or if you have other favorites to suggest.  Happy Wednesday, Sweets!

Ski Trip Haiku

Snowy Saturday
Coffee, couch, mimosa, fleece
Warm fire, pure bliss!

Skinny Funfetti Cake

Another Tuesday night with a couple of my best friends has come and gone and this week I was on dessert duty. With New Years Resolutions in mind and my Pinterest page exploding with sweet ideas, I decided to try out "skinny" cake.

It came out pretty good! The cake itself was a lot lighter than I was expecting and the frosting tasted great.. For most of the slice anyway! Near the end I started to get a plastic-y aftertaste which wasn't awful but definitely noticeable after eating a pretty big portion.  If you're going "skinny," you should eat less anyway, right?!

As a true "sweetie" I do need to call out that nothing beats real butter, sugar and eggs when it comes to cake.  But, this is a pretty decent alternative when you're trying to give those vices a break.  Lindsay and Shannon both seemed to like it as much as I did, and I will very likely make it again, maybe even try a different flavor combo.

Skinny Funfetti Cake

Need:

• 1 box of Funfetti cake mix
• 1 can of diet ginger ale
• 1 small container of light cool whip
• 1 box of instant white chocolate flavor pudding mix
• Sprinkles!

Do:
Empty cake mix into a large bowl and stir in ginger ale until batter is smooth. Bake according to directions on the box. Do not add any other ingredients, all you need is the mix and the soda.

For the frosting, simply mix all of the pudding powder into the cool whip until smooth. This needs to stay refrigerated, so make sure you have enough room in your fridge for the finished cake.

Enjoy!

Natural Wood & Concrete

Today I had the pleasure of going to NYC for the work day.  My boss and I had meetings at our client's lead agency, and it was my first time visiting their office.  I absolutely fell in love with their office look and feel, as it reminded me of an urban office version of Restoration Hardware.  The floors were raw, semi-polished concrete, lights were covered with modern and stylish grey drum shades, walls were stark white, and the desks and conference tables were beautiful, natural, reclaimed-looking wood atop black metal hardware.  It was comfortable and stylish and modern and sleek and professional and AWESOME.   I can't stop thinking about how much I would love to work in a space like that, so thought I'd share some Pinterest images that share that look and feel.  It's a little too cold for what I envision in a home, but I hope someday I can work in an office like this!