The Self-Tanning Solution

CarrieLeave a comment

I have two weddings coming up in the next three months.  Due to my fair skin type, I am unable to tan by sitting underneath the sun’s bright rays.  It’s actually a blessing in disguise since skin cancer runs in my family to begin with.  Due to the fact that my sunburn will never turn into a tan, I have to resort to other means of tanning.

The Tan Spray Stall – In preparation for a wedding in the past, I went to a tanning salon with a friend.  Talk about comical.  The spray tan booth is simply intimidating.  I entered the booth completely naked which is always an uncomfortable situation for me even if there isn’t really anyone watching (although I always find myself seeking out the exact location of the hidden camera…I have yet to find one but I know it is somewhere!).  Then a little voice comes out of a speaker telling me which way to face and how to put your arms.  The 16 year old working there who tells me the positions before I go into the room is a pro so she glides right through it and I’m thinking “Where do I put my hands? Which way do I turn my body?”.  I basically know I’m screwed from the start.  The spray session takes about 8 minutes, which included the application of the bronzer.  There was so much liquid covering my body that I had to take paper towels and even the application out.  When I emerged from the room, my friend was laughing.  I looked like a raccoon in the dark.  The whites of my eyes were glowing.  They said not to take a shower until the next morning but I decided to nix that and I took my shower about 4 hours later.  I managed to get a pretty good tan without look too unnatural but I must say I was freaking out the whole time.  I thought I was going to have to scrub myself with a Brillo pad to remove an orange streaky tan.  Luckily, I was able to pull it off but I never want to experience that again.  You can tell I have a nice healthy glow in the pic below.

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St. Tropez Self-Tanner – My love of QVC comes in handy again.  Since I vowed never to go back to the spray tan booth, I decided I would have another go at the self-tanner.  I have tried Tarte’s version before but I don’t think it achieved the tan I was hoping for.  It just so happened that last week, one of the Today’s Special Values was St. Tropez Deluxe Self-Tanning Mousse.  I watched the presentation and saw instant results.  Needless to say it came yesterday and I made my first application this morning.  I made sure to exfoliate in the shower and then apply lotion to the areas I planned on applying the mousse.   I then applied the mousse evenly in a circular motion and saw instant results.  I am going to let it set for at least 8 hours before I take my next shower.  The results are amazing and I can’t wait to apply another round tomorrow to achieve an even darker richer color.  I don’t have any pics now, but I’ll be sure to post the wedding pics as soon as possible.  I can’t wait to go to this wedding in San Antonio with my beau (that’s for you, Karla).  Texas, here I come!

st. tropez

Back to Basics

Sadie2 Comments

Let’s talk cookies. Chocolate chip to be precise. While this may seem basic, it’s something I rarely make. I’ve tried various versions and none of them have really resonated with me as being good enough to add to my standard repertoire. Enter this recipe.

I have a friend at work who bakes from time to time and shares her goodies in the office. I really admire her because she’s such a stud in the office, and seems to be quite the baker as well. Anywho, she makes amazing chocolate chip cookies, so I begged her for the recipe. She forwarded me a link the recipe she uses, and said she thinks the key is recipe that has about twice as much brown sugar as white sugar. Very interesting. I’m always curious about how adjusting some of the baseline ingredients (flour, sugar, eggs, butter), will affect the texture and taste of the final product.

I was looking for an occasion to bake some cookies and lo and behold, it was another coworker’s birthday, and she happens to love cookies. Bingo!

So I made these, and they definitely lived up to the hype. I think I might have kept them in the oven a minute or two too long, so they were a little crispier than I remember, but still quite good. If you need some good old fashioned chocolate chip cookies, give this recipe a try for sure! To add a little extra “je ne said quois” I also made some oatmeal cookies and homemade marshmallows!

The birthday platter

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

from Savory Sweet Life, yields about 4 dozen

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, room temp
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1½ cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 eggs, room temp
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 2¾ cups (12 oz) AP flour
  • ¾ tsp. medium coarse sea salt
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1½ tsp. baking powder
  • 2¼ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (about a standard bag and a half)

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 360.
  2. Cream together butter and sugars until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix another couple minutes until well incorporated.
  3. Add the dry ingredients and mix until relatively uniform (try not to over mix). Fold in the chocolate chips last.Batter up
  4. Use a medium ice cream scoop to portion out the dough onto parchment lined baking sheets. Bake at 360 for 12-14 minutes or until light golden brown.ready for the oven
  5. Allow to cool and enjoy!out of the oven

party platter