TIP: Stripes

Even though I am currently 5 months pregnant, I still love looking at what is coming out in stores.  One thing that I love for spring is stripes!

Lush "Harper" Chiffon Dress from Nordstrom, $46

Striped Double Knit Dress from Forever 21, $19.80

Suzi Chin for Maggy Boutique Striped Jersey Blouson Dress from Nordstrom, $148

BCBG Catarina Ruffled Skirt from BCBG, $138

There is a cute maxi dress that is reasonably priced at Macy's, but it will not allow me to copy the image.  Check it out here: INC Sleeveless Surplice Tie Dye Maxi from Macys, $59.99

TIP: Great Skincare

For anybody who has oily/combination skin, I highly recommend Ole Henriksen.  ESPECIALLY if you are pregnant because there are none of the forbidden acids.  I went to Sephora when pregnancy hormones were making me break out (and I was in the in-between stage of my pregnant belly looking more like a beer belly, so needless to say I wanted to at least fix my skin problems).  The person who helped me at Sephora highly recommended this line and I am so glad that he did!  


I am pretty picky with how creams feel on my face - I hate it when they are too thick, too greasy or if they do not leave my skin feeling hydrated.  This cream is perfect & I am now hooked.  Your skin feels soft and it does not cause breakouts.  

The cream can be purchased at Sephora or Beauty Bar (Beauty Bar has no tax in most states and free shipping).  It is $35, which I know can be considered a lot for a cream but this one jar lasted me for 3 months & I use it every morning and evening.  And it is worth it!

TREAT: Stuffed Bell Peppers

This is super easy, something you can play around with and it's really flavorful. To make this for two people:


Ingredients: 
- 2 red bell peppers 
- 1/2 of a white onion 
- 1/4 cup of chopped carrots 
- 2 cloves of garlic 
- 1 tomato 
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Parmesan Cheese 
- Salt/Pepper
- Marinara spaghetti sauce (or other favorite spaghetti sauce, such as arabiatta) 
- Brown rice or cous cous (I really like Near East Roasted Garlic & Olive Oil, which can be found at Whole Foods and most larger grocery stores) 

Directions: 
- Heat oven to 350 degrees
- Prepare brown rice or cous cous according to instructions on package 
- Finely chop the garlic, tomato, onion and carrots & sauté everything except the tomato them until the onion is soft (about 5 minutes) in approximately 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  About one minute before you are finished sautéing everything, add in the tomato.    




- Cut open and clean the red peppers.  
- Boil water and steam the red peppers for approximately 5 minutes (covered) or until a knife easily goes into a pepper.  If you do not have a steamer, you can place the peppers in the oven at 350 degrees for approximately 7 minutes to soften them.  Again, check the peppers with a knife.  






- While the peppers are cooking, add the cooked cous cous or rice to the vegetable mix.  Continue cooking on low and add 2 tablespoons of spaghetti sauce (or your desired amount for flavor) and mix all of the flavors together. 





- Stuff the peppers with the rice (or cous cous) vegetable mix & incorporate as much parmesan cheese sas you would like. 
- Cook the stuffed pepper in the oven (at 350 degrees) for 5 minutes.  


If you are a meat eater, you could add ground beef to the recipe. 


Enjoy & apologies for the pictures - they were taken with my phone and do not do the food justice - it is actually really good!

Great Video

If you have not seen this video already, I highly recommend it.  This is a video prepared by a teenager, Ben Breedlove, who passed away from heart problems on Christmas.  Shortly before he passed away, he made this video about his condition and near-death experiences.  It is interesting and inspiring & I can imagine it has given his family a lot of hope.  Check it out! 

Happy 2012!

I have been horrible at posting and received an update today with different stats, etc. and realized that this is something that is fun for me & I should start back up again!  Life got busy and then I found out I am pregnant and so I let this fall to the side.  I am having quite a few complications with my pregnancy and am largely bed bound, so this will be a fun outlet to try different recipes, do some focused Internet searches & give me something to do!  On that note, I wish everybody a happy and health New Years and 2012!