TWS: How to Save at Cinemark Theaters

Just thought I'd share a tip that I do to save some money when going to the movies. Cinemark theaters have been having a refillable popcorn bucket and drink cup deal for the past few years and I hope they continue it. Around the end of the year, they sell both cups & buckets for $6 each including the popcorn and drink of your choice. Then after that, it's only $3 each for a refill. Also, if you sign up at https://www.cinemark.com/weekly-email.aspx?status=subscribed for the weekly coupons, they can be used with the bucket and cup. For example, if you have a coupon for a free popcorn with a drink purchase (or vice versa)  you can use it with the cup and bucket and pay only $3 for both to be refilled! It's a great deal and I take advantage of it all the time. Enjoy!

TWS: 5 Faves

I did a guest blog last week and I thought I'd share it here too.

1.) Fall-inspired nails: I love the colors of fall and designing nail art with it. I have posted one idea on my blog so far with more to come!

Fall-inspired nail art

I wanted to do my nails this week with Fall colors so I chose orange and gray.
I also created a leaf decal to put on my accent nail. To create a decal, you can paint whatever you like free hand onto a plastic baggie. Make sure it's the right size for your nail. You should probably do at least 3 coats of polish to make sure it will peel off when it dries. Let it dry overnight and gently peel off :) You can then place it on your nail and gently press it down. Cover with top coat and that's it!

2.) Julep polish color "Meryl": a nice smoky gray that pairs well with many other colors. Julep makes great quality polishes in so many colors. They are great to experiment with.

3.) Fall: I am an aspiring photographer and I love to capture photos during the Fall with the leaves changing colors and the weather cooling down. It's an awesome time of year.

4.) Prisoners: I watched this movie and thought it was a great thriller. If you like those types of movies, you should definitely check it out. It has some twists that will keep you guessing and the actors do a great job in their roles as well.

 

5.) Tide with Febreze Sport: This detergent smells so great and the scent lasts a good while. I love washing my sheets with it. It's super relaxing at bedtime to help you sleep. It can be a little pricey so coupons and sales are a great time to buy.

TWS (Things Worth Sharing) : Top Coat

I thought I would share the best top coat I've found so far. It's Seche Vite top coat and you can find it at many stores like Walgreens and Sally Beauty and it's pretty cheap! People ask me a lot if I use gel polish because it makes your nails look really shiny. It helps your polish last much longer. I just love it!

Nail of the Week: Fun Nail Art with Halloween Colors

     This week I really wanted to use some Halloween colors, but I didn't want my nails to look too cartoon-y. Sort of a little more grown up version, but still with some fun. I may have overdone it a bit on the patterns, but I really got into designing these and I wanted to use a few colors while still tying them into one another. I used all Julep brand polishes.
      I started with Meryl gray as the base color for all but the accent nails. That one tends to be a bit thin, so two coats are best. Then, for the accent nail I used two coats of Tatiana which is a glittery orange color. For the stripes on the gray nails, I used Gabrielle (a deep purple color) with a shorter striping brush. I also used the same purple for the alternating dots on the accent nails along with Stevie gray. For the glitter shards I placed on the stripes, I used glitter from the Paris polish. To achieve that, simply dab a bit of the polish on a paper plate or zip-top plastic baggie and use a dotting tool to pick up the shards and then place them on the nail.

I also did my toes with Gabrielle as the base color with large polka dots in Zelda only on the big toe. I loved the contrast with these two (it's a bit hard to see in the picture). The dark purple goes well with the light metallic color. That combination came out great and I will be sure and use it again!

Baked Sweet Potato Fries Recipe

I made these the other night and they were great! I found this recipe on the Country Living website. The only thing I added was some garlic powder because I love garlic. I also garnished it with some flat leaf parsley just because I had some I wanted to use. They are so easy to make and pretty healthy too!

Ingredients:

1/2 teaspoon(s) Ground Cumin

1/2 teaspoon(s) Garlic Powder

1/2 teaspoon(s) Salt

1/4 teaspoon(s) Ground Red Pepper

1 tablespoon(s) Vegetable Oil

2 large (about 1 1/2 pounds) Sweet Potatoes

Directions:

1.) Prepare the sweet potatoes: In a small bowl, combine cumin, garlic, salt, and pepper. Set aside. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Peel potatoes, cut each in half lengthwise, and cut each half into 6 wedges. In a large bowl, combine the cut potatoes, oil, and spice mixture. Toss until potatoes are evenly coated.

2.) Bake the fries: On a baking sheet, arrange potatoes in a single layer and place on the middle shelf of the oven. Bake until edges are crisp and potatoes are cooked through -- about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Information
(per serving)

Calories	136
Total Fat	3.78g
Saturated Fat	--
Cholesterol	0
Sodium	295mg
Total Carbohydrate	24.1g
Dietary Fiber	0
Sugars	--
Protein	1.73g
Calcium	--

Baked Chicken and Eggplant recipe

This is a pretty simple recipe and it's baked which always helps. I guessed on some of the amounts of ingredients because I don't always measure everything. You can always make it how you like though :)

Ingredients:

4 small to medium chicken breasts (slightly pounded to even thickness)
1 8oz can plain tomato sauce
2 Italian eggplants, diced (the heartier rounded type)
1 med onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley fresh (more for garnish)
1 tbsp cornstarch in 2 tbsp cold water
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt to taste
1 tsp freshly ground pepper 
1 tsp dried basil
Crushed red pepper (optional)
Mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1.) Place chicken in a large baking dish (i.e. a lasagna pan)
2.) Sprinkle veggies and garlic around the chicken and then sprinkle parsley over everything
3.) In a medium bowl, stir together the tomato sauce, 4oz water (1/2 the tomato sauce can), olive oil, salt, pepper, basil, and red pepper. Pour mixture over chicken and veggies.
4.) Make a slurry with 2 tbsp of cold water and 1 tbsp cornstarch. Pour over everything.
5.) Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes until veggies and chicken are cooked through.
6.) Uncover and sprinkle chicken with mozzarella cheese. Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until cheese is slightly golden.

Garnish with parsley and enjoy!
You can serve it over pasta or rice too if you like.

Nail of the Week: Different Nail Art Ideas

This week I decided to try different designs on each nail using the same color theme. The colors I chose are from Julep and are "Kristy" (matte dark blue) and "Dahlia" (glittery yellow). I love choosing colors that create a lot of contrast and really pop together. The polka dots are a classic  and one of my favorite patterns (also pretty easy to do). You can also make homemade stencils using stickers etc. I made a stencil for my pointer finger and also my middle finger.

If you have any ideas to share, feel free! I am always looking for new designs to try out.

Have a great weekend!