Review | Revlon ColorBurst Matte Balm

Before I start this review - I want to chat about the obvious. I am sorry. I have been on hiatus for a while now. So many things have been going on lately between work and day to day life. In less than a year and a half my husband has lost all 4 grandparents. Needless to say, it has been an incredibly difficult time for our family. This is why I disappeared for a while. Recently - the blog has been calling my name. I think it would be a healthy choice for me to come back...and do something that I am passionate about. :) So there.
I purchased a new lip product today! It's the little things guys.  It's from a relatively new line by Revlon - called ColorBurst Matte Balm. I picked up one of these bad boys in the shade "#225 Sultry." It's $6.49 at Target and is currently available in 10 shades. 

Let me start out by saying that I am in love with this color. (#225 Sultry) I have been wearing it all day - and I must say that it is a refreshing break from my normal classic red lip. (I said break...not replacement) It is super creamy and did not exacerbate my chapped lip problem at all. (Thank God) My poor lips have been in a horrible state lately...this Alabama weather has been the culprit. FYI - I have been treating my dry lips with this lip butter by PureLips on Etsy. ------>Lemon Butter Cake flavor. ;)

This "balm" has great staying power and is very pigmented. The color is just the bees knees. I would call it a vintage-rose-mauve? I intended on posting a photo of it actually on my lips - but my face is...just unfortunate right now. The stress finally got to me and my face decided it was going to literally break out all over. :( The following swatch will have to do for the moment. 

Don't worry - a photo of my lips sporting "Sultry" will pop up on here soon. I have a feeling that I'm going to be enjoying this product for quite some time. It's a great transitional shade for any time of the year. I hope everybody has a painless Monday hahaha. I hate having a case of the Mondays. 

Food Porn | Vegetarian Lasagna Soup

Oh lawd - I have been gone for a while now. :/ How embarrassing! I've been so busy working, taking care of kids, cleaning house, going to weddings (seriously - so many Fall weddings), and keeping a regular exercise routine lately. I'm going to make a special effort this weekend to come up with a weekly blogging schedule. (I promise this time) So...as Sir Elton John always says...the bitch is back. ;)

Earlier today - Mr. Cherry and I decided to invest in a nice crockpot. We found a Hamilton Beach crockpot at Target on sale for $24.99. It says $29.99 online...so I guess we got a good deal! We have decided to collect some good recipes from Pinterest and cook them in the crockpot during the day while we are at work. Crockpot + easy online recipes = saving time and money! (hopefully lol) The batch of food I made tonight will probably last us several days. Silas was not very pleased with it though - he says next time he doesn't want cheese on top. What kind of kid doesn't like cheese? Ugh.

Anywho! Here is the recipe y'all...

Vegetarian Crockpot Lasagna

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1 bag of vegetarian crumbles (We purchased the Quorn brand)

3 cups of vegetable broth (this ended up being 1.5 cans)

1 cup of water

1 tbsp of garlic paste (it's in the refrigerated produce section)

1 tbsp dried parsley

1 tbsp dried basil

1/2 cup chopped onion (this annoyed me - I hate chopping onions!)

1 - 28 oz can of diced tomatoes

1 - 6 oz can of tomato paste

1 cup of V8 juice

2 cups of uncooked shell pasta

pepper and salt to taste (I'm not a huge fan of salt, so I used it sparingly)

Directions:

First I dumped the can of tomatoes and the tomato paste into the crockpot. Then I poured in the broth, veggie crumbles, garlic paste, parsley, basil, chopped onion, V8, and salt & pepper. 

This meal can be cooked quickly (the method we chose tonight) or slower. (if you need more time)

So this means you can cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours...or on high for 4-5 hours. Our lasagna took 4 hours to cook tonight. 

Around the 3 hours and 30 minutes mark - we added in the water and uncooked pasta. I then covered it back up and let it simmer 30 more minutes.

Lastly, I sprinkled a healthy amount of cheese on top lol. Next time I will refrain from doing this to Silas' bowl. ;)

I hope everybody is having a wonderful weekend! We are finishing painting our bedroom tonight...so I'm off to paint! Oh...and happy Doctor Who day!

Snapshot | Monday

Snapshot | Sunday

We don't play around when it comes to making homemade guacamole. We went to two different grocery stores just to pick out the avocados lol. Massive quantities are where it's at folks. ;) 

Snapshot | Saturday

I thought that since this weekend is a fabulous (much needed) three day weekend - I would do a photo post each day. We slept till almost 1pm lol, so today's entry won't have too many pictures. (We were so tired) Our Saturday has been all about relaxing, homemade pizzas, corn hole, and various adult beverages. It has been glorious. How is your weekend going so far? :)