WHAT THE MAMA WORE: MY 5 MINUTE EYE MAKEUP ROUTINE

Pictured above is my Maybelline eye shadow.  I honestly purchased these shadows because of their packaging, the fact that they stated they last 24 hours as tattoos and the colours are shimmery and metallic.   

Today I thought I would share my morning Eye Makeup routine.  I love to add a little pop to my eyes.  Being a tired Mama of 4 babes leaves me looking worn most days.  Adding brightness to my eyes makes me feel like I don't appear as a roaming aimlessly zombie.

I am working towards veganizing my make up, so please if you have any eye makeup suggestions.  Send them my way.  Environmentally, I do not like to part with something just to get a vegan substitute.  So these will remain in my collection until completely used or expire.

My Medusa Makeup brush and shimmery concealer was included in a Vegan Cuts Beauty Essentials Kit.  It is awesome.  Well worth purchasing the entire kit to get this baby.

This is my vegan contour brush that I use.  I purchased it through Vegan Cuts.  A while ago I purchased the Beauty Box Essentials kit.  It was amazing.  I am working towards veganizing my entire makeup go to kit.  This contour brush is amazing, applies well and is smooth on the skin.  

My cat eye look.

This is my liquid liner.  It is also a Maybelline product.  It is fine tip and makes achieving a cat eye super easy.  Also pictured is my fat pencil liner.  I use it to fill in and for blending purposes.  (It is also of the Maybelline Master line).

More of the cat eye.

My Wake Me Up Foundation.  It really wakes me up.  I apply this to my entire face to reduce the dark circles.  It works wonders.

To achieve the cat eye look I have a few simple steps.

1.  First apply concealer to all parts of the eye, blending well and applying even over the eyelid.  Allow it to set for about a minute before applying the Metallic eye shadow.

2.  Using your finger, apply to the lid gold Mettalic Maybelline eye shadow to the eye lid.  Put a little of the silver eye shadow in the corner of the eye for brightness.

3.  Using the think pencil apply along the lower lid line and from the middle of the pupil outwards towards the edge of the eye on the line of the upper lid.

4.  Using your vegan contour brush blend from the outside of the lid towards the centre the black liner and gold.

5.  Finish with a cute cat eye.  I make it so the liquid liner comes out as far as the farthest point of my brow.

6.  Dust, using the Medusa brush and shimmer over the entire face and lid to conceal the look.

VOILA!

This is me all dolled up!  P

Please feel free to suggest any vegan options that would work for a winter, dry and oily summer face. I am willing to try new brands and vegan is always the best option for your face.

WHAT THE MAMA WORE: BLACK NAILS

I have a deep obsession with the colour black.  It stems from simplicity and I find it exceptionally chic.  Black hair, black clothes, black chalkboard walls.  I have become a little daring in the past year and have ventured into the realm of gold.  I think it is the deepest I will venture into colour.  Sometimes you will see me wearing red plaid, or even a hint of royal blue.   I thought today I would share my favourite nail routine.

 Basically, when I have time, I clean my nails.  I find it best not to apply polish right after a bath or shower.  With a file, I file straight across.  For this particular manicure, I used whatever black I had.  I am not sure which brand because I usually rip off the label because I am obsessive compulsive and I like a clean looking bottle.  To apply the polish, put a thin coat.  One dip of the brush should do one nail.  Once dry, I apply a second thin coat.

 Pictured above is the other colour I eventually applied.  I personally didn't like the gold tips I applied so I redid everything from scratch.  But Sally Hansen is a go-to polish for us in this house.  Sally Hansen has never let me down:  cheap, good coverage, amazing colour selection.

Ta-Da!  The finished look.  Good for all types of events.  Especially covering up the fact that you have mega dirt under your nails from not showering consistently due to the caring of 4 little babes and still making you appear that you have things together.

 The Eldest Babe got in on the action.  Doing our nails is a ritual we share.  It is in those moments of choosing our colours and applying them to their little hands that we share thoughts in our minds and hearts.  I know it is mega-girly mama cliche but we love it.

 (This is the look I didn't go with.  What do you think?)  Also, I am really interested if anyone knows of any amazing vegan cosmetic brands (specifically nails).  I am looking to update my look and would love to be cruelty free.  Vegan Cuts is amazing in terms of sampling various beauty brands.  Limecrime looks awesome.  Any thoughts?

CHOPPED CHALLENGE: MEXICAN HOT LIPS CAKE

Vegan Mofo set forth a challenge for this weekend.  Using four ingredients that seem completely not connected in a recipe that will blow your mind.  Our ingredients were:  OOLONG black tea, plums, radishes and jalapeño peppers. My initial instinct was to create a spicy bean burger with pickled radishes and beets, with a plum ketchup.  I, in fact, did make this creation.  However, I went to go post my idea and realized someone had the same / similar idea.  Wah.  Wah.  So instead I got thinking Mexican.  I was going to then do a taco very similar to the burger.  But that was just me replacing the bun with a tortilla.  So I got thinking about Mexican desserts and decided to make a Mexican cake.  A chocolate cake with a hint of toasted jalapeño pepper seeds with a sweet and sour plum compote and sweet pickled radish for pretty factor.

THE CAKE

Ingredients:

10 -12 seeds of a jalapeño pepper toasted (over medium heat) 

1 cup of all purpose flour

2/3 cup of sugar

1/2 chopped walnuts

2 tbsp of cocoa powder

1 tsp of baking powder

1/2 tsp of salt

1 cup of water

2 tbsp of oil

vanilla to taste

Method

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 and butter an 8 inch square cake pan.

2.  In a skillet, toast the jalapeño seeds on medium heat.  You may decide to toast all the seeds and save what you don't use for a later time in a mason jar.

3.  Mix all the dry ingredients with the toasted seeds until well incorporated.

4.  Add the oil and water and vanilla and mix until "just mixed".

5.  Place in the oven and cook for 35-40 minutes.

THE PLUM, RADISH COMPOTE

Ingredients:

1 bag of oolong tea infused in boiling water

4 tbsp of earth balance

1 plum chopped

2 peaches chopped

1/4 cup of cranberries

1/4 tsp of minced radish

1/2 cup of apple sauce (mine was homemade from my apple tree)

1 chopped apple

1-2 tbsp of sugar to taste

Method

1.  Infuse one bag of oolong tea in boiling water and set aside.  

2.  Heat a pan on medium heat and melt the butter.

3.  Place all ingredients in the skillet and bring to a boil.

4.  Keep the boil for 5 minutes and then reduce to a low simmer.

5.  The compote should thicken after 15 minutes.

6.  Serve warm or chilled.

PICKLED RADISH GARNISH

Ingredients:

1 radish sliced thinly

1 small mason jar

2 tbsp of rice vinegar or omeboshi vinegar

2 tsp of sugar

Method

1.  Mix the vinegar and sugar.

2.  Place sliced radish in the jar and infuse for 1-2 hours.

3.  Place on dessert as desired.

---------------------------------------

To assemble the dish I placed the mexican cake on the dish and covered it with a melted mix of chocolate chips and earth balance with a few jalapeño pepper seeds.  To the side I placed the compote with a generous amount of cookie dough ice cream (because I'm pregnant and I want to).  I garnished with a piece of dark chocolate, cacao dust and the pickled radish.  

Hope you enjoy!

( Proof that I purchased the ingredients )

(proof that Vegan MoFo makes the pregnancy pain go away) 

VEGAN MOFO 2014: BABY BUMP CRAVINGS THEME

TODAY'S DISH:  Buffalo Cauliflower Wings with Ranch Sauce from Hot For Food

For the past 5 years I have participated in Vegan Mofo.  It is a month where bloggers write about everything vegan.  You don't have to be vegan but you blog vegan.  This year, being the preggo that I am, I decided to have the Baby Bump Cravings theme.  It is a great way for me to meet my cravings and participate.  I plan on making some recipes up and just wingy it.  I also plan on using inspiration from other vegan bloggers, recipe books and good old pinterest.

First up, I have been dying to try cauliflower wings.  Recently I came upon the Hot For Food blog.  It is run by Lauren Toyota, a Canadian MuchMusic VJ and her partner.  Her photos are stellar and just make me salivate.  When I saw this recipe I just had to try.  

I really did love the taste but I also made a few minor mistakes which I will improve upon next time.  First, I coated the cauliflower bites too much with the batter.  It didn't crisp as I would have liked.  Parchment paper is also a must.  I had a lot of burned spots on my baking dish.  

Lastly, with regards to the ranch sauce, I suggest soaking your cashews overnight rather than the minimum 3 hours for a creamy taste.  

All in all, it tasted amazing!

If you are interested in saying hello or have any questions please comment in my comments section.  I really enjoy talking about veganism and meeting new people in the online community.  

Happy MoFoing!

  

REVIEW: MAD FAUX CHEESE

 

This year my favourite craft show announced that they were doing a food show and I of course wondered if there were vegan vendors.  Yes!  Mad Faux Cheese.  I was destined to meet Madison Conlin and her artisanal vegan cheeses but alas, timing and life made my meeting impossible.  So in the meantime, I added Madison as an instagram friend and drooled over her amazing vegan recipe results and cheeses from afar.  

I just had to try them.  A nut cheese sounded awesome.  This past week the lovely posted an offer for a trio of cheeses for thanksgiving.  Here came my opportunity.  I placed my order and drove into ottawa at 6 in the morning to arrive at vegan bakery extraordinaire, auntie loos to pick up this deliciousness.

Yesterday evening I set out all the "cheeses" with some plain old crackers and prepared to have my mind blown.

Little backstory regarding the taste testers.  I use to love chèvre...until we became vegan and you find out how bad cheese is for your body and for les animeaux.  My babes are picky eaters.  Dips are usually a no go.  It is terrible trying to get them to eat my homemade hummus and vegan cheese brands.  My hubby cannot stand cheese and has not had cheese in a decade.

I put the board down and these guys just devoured it.  My eldest babe avoids all vegan packaged products but she just went for it.  The beautiful colours of the cheeses were so enticing.  Cranberries in the lemon cranberry chèvre.  Real basil and sundried tomats in a beautifully coloured cheese.  A smoked Gouda.  A creamy Brie.  She dove in.  The papa could not help himself and the taste reminded him of that real cheese taste but oh so cruelty free.  There were not enough crackers to go around.

We were amazed.  I vowed never to eat any other packaged faux cheese again.  The papa agreed and a decision was made to make this a staple in our home.

Why is this faux cheese really so great?

1.  You can pronounce every ingredient and it isn't soy based.  

2.  The presentation is awesome.  I even cut out the labels and stuck them in the cheeses for a great display.

3.  All picky eaters in my house jumped at the chance to eat this amazingness.

4.  The cheese tastes similarly but better than real cheese... No joke.

As for the cheese favourites.  We each had our own.  We all loved all but I personally love the lemon cranberry for a bagel, as a dessert or on Melba toast.  The eldest was all over the Brie.  The papa loved the smoke Gouda, sharp but not overwhelming and the littlest big loved the sundried tomato.

Go on ahead and order this loveliness. Unfortunately only ottawans are lucky enough to taste this magic but please like Madison on Facebook at Mad Faux Cheese and on instagram with profile @madisonconlin.  She had mega #veganfoodporn.

(Note:  this is not a sponsored post.  I have asked Madison about her cheeses and I paid for the amazingness and told her that I would do an honest review.  I was lucky enough to get to sample all her choices as she added in one extra cheese as an added bonus, so not only does it taste amazing, she is a sweet mama too!)

 

 
 

Hallow's Eve Plans

The Babes and I have been working hard to bring together a truly haunting Hallow's Eve.  Our lesson books are full of pumpkin stickers and the house covered with the macabre.  We spent the better part of a morning cutting cardstock bats via Dana Made It.

This Mama plans to complete several of her tutorials (as pictured below - all sourced images from the above link):

Halloween also happens to be the 2nd year Wedding Anniversary for the Papa and I.  I have been searching for some interesting vegan dinner ideas for such an occasion.

These lovely vegan ladies have some recipes I am dying (hehehe) to try:

Mama et de bebe Hawk and her Butternut Squash Spiced Doughnuts
Fork & Beans is dishing up a Halloween themed Vegan Mofo!  Frightfully delicious.

xoxo  The Mama

VEGGIE DOGS AT THE COTTAGE

We went to visit the cottage for a little veggie dog roast. It was an emotional one for it was the first time being back since saying good-bye to Alley and emotional for tired toddlers who were cold. But it was a good day none-the-less. It was our first real camping experience as a fam.

MILESTONE: Harriet Eats for The First Time

Let's just say:

I do not like them,

Sam-I-am.