Make-Up Tips - HAC yourself flawless

Okay, so you're going somewhere that is guaranteed to be swarming with potential dates and you have just GOT to look your best.

Here is what you need to know.

Highlight and Contour your face. They're calling it 'HAC' in Pinterest land. If you aren't on Pinterest, get on there. Stat.

Anyway, so the idea is that you use your ordinary makeup items (you can use the specific products she suggests or just use what you have) to contour your face so that you have a much more flattering look. And it's simple! I can do it, therefore, simple :) It's perfect for dates, photo shoots, or just going to work when you want to look hotter. And who doesn't want to spend five minutes making themselves look hotter.

This girl is already gorgeous on the left, but look how with a few simple make up tips her face looks so much better:

Click the picture above to follow the link to her website where you can see a few pictures and at the bottom there is a video where you can do it step by step with her. Get ready to change your life :)

He stole your heart? Arrest him!

So, I wouldn't usually direct you to someone else's blog... BUT! I loved this.

It's a fun date where you arrest your partner or date because he Stole Your Heart.

Click on this link and check it out. Comes with printables and everything you need to pull this date off! Might take a little prep, but what good things don't!

ENJOY!!

Dating is just as easy at home!

I love a good dinner at home. I say it all the time, but I think a vase of flowers and a nice tablecloth change the whole feel of dinner. Or set up a cute picnic blanket in the living room and use your picnic and create some casual romance in your 'date at home'. Plastic wine glasses are still wine glasses.

But what should you cook that's delicious, simple and not going to give you a heart attack?

Drinks:
Your choice, but use wine glasses for whatever it is!
Non-alcoholic wine is usually my go to. Or Sparkling Apple Juice.

 

Entree:
Cheese, grapes and crackers.
I just can't go past it. It's easy, delicious, and you can get whatever type of cheeses you like. Mmm. Why grapes work so well in there, I have no idea.

Main:
Chicken Enchiladas
Maybe it doesn't sound that exciting, but these are really yum and easy to prepare ahead of time. You can even freeze the whole thing, defrost when ready and then put in the oven for 20 mins for a perfect, easy and delicious meal sure to satisfy.
To make it look cute, serve it on top of sliced lettuce and tomato pieces. Makes it look cute, rather than having a salad beside it. You'll find the recipe at the bottom of this post.

Dessert:
Lemon Brownies
These are amazing. I'm doing a chocolate free year so I am always looking for something delicious and rich without it being chocolate. This is it. Add ice cream or cream if you like. I also realllly like mini pavlovas for their cute factor on a date night. So you can choose. The recipe for the lemon brownies is also at the bottom of the post.

Enjoy your date night!!

Recipes:

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

Ingredients

Meat of ½ BBQ chicken, shredded.

1 x taco seasoning sachets

1 tin diced tomatoes

1 jar passata

1 small tub sour cream

1 small tub cottage cheese

Spray oil (or small amount of oil)

Grated cheese

Tortillas

Optional grated vegetables

Directions1.     Preheat oven to 180 degrees.2.     Fry chicken in oil with taco seasoning. Add diced tomatoes, pasta sauce, sour cream and cottage cheese and cook until combined.3.     Pour a large scoop of the mix into a tortilla and roll up. Place in a large baking dish. Repeat until you have a layer of rolled up tortillas. 4.     Scoop some mixture and pour on top of the layer of rolled tortillas.5.     Begin a second layer, with the tortillas facing the opposite direction. Continue until layer is complete. 6.     Scoop some more mixture and pour on top of the rolled tortillas.7.     Top with grated cheese.8.     Bake til cheese is melted and tortillas look slightly crispy.9.     Best served with salad and sour cream.

LEMON BROWNIES

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup flour
2 eggs, large
2 tbsps lemon zest
2 tbsps lemon juice
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

For the tart lemon glaze:
4 tbsps lemon juice
8 tsps lemon zest
1 cup icing sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease an 8×8 inch baking dish with butter and set aside.
3. Zest and juice two lemons and set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixture fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the flour, sugar, salt, and softened butter until combined.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice until combined.
6. Pour it into the flour mixture and beat for 2 mins at medium speed until smooth and creamy.
7. Pour into baking dish and bake for 23-25 mins, should turn golden around the edges.
8. Allow to cool completely before glazing. Do not overbake, or the bars will dry.
9. Filter the powdered sugar and whisk with lemon zest and juice.
10. Spread the glaze over the brownies with a rubber spatula and let glaze set.
11. Cut into bars and serve.

Love at first sight

When I first saw my husband, I knew there was something special about him. I knew I wanted to get to know him, I knew I wanted to see more of him, I knew those little flutters in my tummy were not from something I had eaten earlier. It was love at first sight.

I didn't know then that it was love. But I soon learned that it was.

First meetings are important. Every one. We learn something about who we're meeting and we learn about what we think and feel for them. This is no matter who we are meeting, but particularly in the 'dating prime of life' when we meet a member of the opposite sex.

What makes this funny is that my husband remembers a completely different first meeting than I do. He remembers being accosted by a crazy choir director inviting people to come to choir. He remembers thinking I was forward, confident and maybe just a little kooky. Perhaps not the best first impression, but at least he remembers it. I, on the other hand, have no recollection of this encounter. I was probably just doing the rounds of the room inviting everyone I saw.

My first memory is seeing him from across the room and instantly wanting to know him. I remember saying to my sister Anna, 'I'm going to go meet that guy'. I walked up, sparked up a conversation, and ended the conversation by putting my number in his phone under the title 'Katrina is hot'. Yeah, I was awesome. I wanted him to remember me.

I remember all the feelings, all the flutterings, all the thoughts. This was our beginning. The point the sparked a year of friendship, a year of dating, and a marriage for eternity.

Never ignore those flutterings. They're there remind you to go for what is in the end, yours. True love.

Getting through the dull patches

Every relationship has them. Spots where the grass isn’t growing as lush as it should, waterfalls where the wall has ceased flowing, dull patches where the fire is more comfortable warmth than a burning fire. I’m not suggesting these relationships are bad or in a downward spiral, with fighting, depression or difficulties. I’m just talking about times when things are a little ‘flat’.

So I have a few suggestions of little things I’ve done to ensure dull patches last a day, not a lifetime.

1.       Be excited. When you see your man at the end of a day, be excited. Go to him, hug him, kiss him. Gross your kids out with affection. He will love it.

 2.       Dress up. As sexy as you look in track pants with your hair matted up into a bun, it is really fun and surprising occasionally dress up for dinner (or any other day's event). If you’re married, put flowers on the table. I’m not talking massive effort. Just a little vase, flowers, and drink your water out of wine glasses instead of plastic baby cups. If you’re not, dress up for your date to McDonalds and make it fun.

3.       Laugh. Watch a comedy together. Tease each other. Play a board game. Do an exercise video together (I must tell you, this was a crack up. Especially yoga/pilates. Try it!)

 

4.       Hold hands. I’m such a holding hands advocate. A fun idea is to hold hands together and not let go while you cook dinner. So you’ll have to share the jobs together. He’ll have to hold the carrot while you cut it, you’ll have to hold the pot while he stirs etc. It’s bound to be fun! We actually progressed from holding to hands to putting a hand in each other’s back pocket. Butt grab. Woo!

5.       Say I love you. All the time. In fun ways. Flirty text messages are always fun. Just do it!

Dull patches don’t have to stay dull for long. Maybe you’re busy and not seeing much of each other, maybe you are just bored, maybe children are getting in the way of the two of you. It’s ok. Little simple acts will really make a difference to your day.