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Real Girl Review- Tarte Tartelette in Bloom

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Hey Guys! Time for another Real Girl Review! This time I’ll be taking a look at the Tarte Tartelette In Bloom palette. My sister recently got me this palette as a gift as a thank you for helping her out when Sylvie was very newly home and wanted to do nothing more than howl and cry. All night long. Fun fact about me: I can sleep through pretty much anything. I can also fall asleep in some pretty ridiculous conditions. A howling dog? No biggie. My sister is a light sleeper, so when Sylvie first came home, so did I as her puppy au pair. Nobody can live on zero sleep! The fact that she had a sweet puppy to snuggle and love had a lot to do with it too. I’m obsessed with this dog, guys. So, back to the point of this: my sister got me the…

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In cheap eats

Vegan White Bean Stew with Saffron Rice

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Hey guys! With my love of bacon, we all know I’m no vegan. With that being said, I’m a total “pantry” cook, eating a lot of canned/tinned tomato products, frozen veggies, and beans to keep costs down and food healthy. Sometimes that results in vegan meals. One day in early June, my friend Kirsten was coming over and I realized the meal I made was completely vegan, so she could eat with me! This Spanish inspired white bean stew used literally no fresh vegetables except garlic and onions- that was it! Everything else came from a tin or the freezer and it was amazing. If you wanted to add meat, I’d recommend poaching chicken thighs in the stew or slices of cured chorizo sausage. White Bean Stew with Saffron Rice Serves 6 for $10.87 or $1.81 per serving For the stew: One white onion – $1.61 2 tins cannellini bean – $1.76…

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In cheap eats

No-Buy Update

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Well, I made it around a month. Not my best but… there were 3$ pints of strawberries that I just couldn’t deny myself. I also really wanted fresh dairy. So after thirty days of not buying groceries, I bought a few things. This no-buy isn’t firmly over, I’m still trying to work out of the meals and proteins I have frozen and my shelf stable items, but I’m running out of things like eggs and in my house… that just won’t do. March was a pretty easy month to not be buying groceries. I had a hospitality suite at work for three days and lots of invites out to my family’s place. I also did a cooking class that sent me home with three+ days’ worth of food. I think as I go forward my “no buy” will just be modified- if I need eggs or a fresh item,…

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In cheap eats

How to Prep for a No-Buy

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This post is probably well overdue. If you’ve been following me for a while then you probably remember that I did a 35 day no-buy stint from May-July last year and truth be told, I am on a food no-buy right now as well. Yep. It’s been seven days since I last bought food, and no signs of buying anything soon. I actually had started about five days before that, but there was a wiiiiicked sale on sirloin beef that I just couldn’t pass up. I bought them using Airmiles, but I believe in transparency. I bought the beef (and potatoes!). I’m planning on not buying any food for at least another month and here’s why: a. Life is expensive b. I owe tax money (damnit) c. It’s a great way to make sure you’re investigating what’s lurking in your freezer and cupboards and not wasting through expiration or freezer burn (food…

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In cheap eats

Black Bean Enchiladas

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Hey guys! I have to start this post apologizing for the shoddy quality of these pictures- I try to only post things if the pictures are at least decent, and these were taken when my phone was on its last legs. That being said, I REALLY wanted to share this post because it is such an easy way to stretch a buck and make amazing comfort food at the same time. Great idea+bad pictures= kindof ok to post, right? These enchiladas are far from traditional, but they are yummy and perfect to tuck into after freezing outside for the day. Even better, there’s only 1/4 cup of taco beef (yes, seriously) in this recipe, with the rest of the filling being black beans and rice! That keeps this recipe nice and affordable. This is also my new favorite way to use up slightly dry wraps, because you can’t tell when…

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In cheap eats

Vegan Veggie Curry

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Hey guys! Since one of my very best friends is now vegan, I’ve been hanging out with her and doing food prep days periodically and ending up with some vegan freezer meals! Curries are not something I typically make vegan since I like to use jarred curry paste, but believe it or not you can get vegan curry paste in a jar! Who knew?! We used Patak’s Mild Curry Paste. I didn’t grow up in a family that ate a lot of Indian food, not even westernized Indian food (I’m looking at you, most butter chicken). Any, really, except for samosas! Indian food was something I really realized I liked on a food tour in college, as well as through friend’s mum’s cooking it! When I was finishing my BBA, I remember vividly one of my colleague’s mum bringing in chicken biryani and nearly dying of happiness it was so…

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In cheap eats

How to Make Corn Stock

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Hey Guys! In my quest to share how to make more out of nothing, I’m continuing the “almost free” stock series with this post- how to make corn stock. Everything in this stock is literally a kitchen scrap that was either carefully saved by myself or my mom and frozen until I had a day where I could make corn stock. Believe it or not, I have 12 cups of stock still from this batch that I made in December and I have enough fixings for another big batch of stock. Go me, right? I love to make stock in my giant crock pot (#lazy, just keeping it real), but you could easily do this in a stock pot, too! I’ve linked some suggestions in the Shop the Post section below, from a fancier crock pot that’s programmable to a more affordable option that is manual, some awesome stock pots…

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In Gift Guides

Affordable Christmas: Gifts from the Kitchen

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Hey Guys! I hope this last week before Christmas is treating you well and that you’re ready (or almost ready) for the big day on Sunday. I have been super busy given that I started a new job on Monday (part time currently, but loving it!) and came home to a house raining inside of itself on Monday as well. I could go alllll into that situation but I will save it, as it’s not yet resolved. Suffice it to say, I’ve had my zen turned on to not go all whacky about it. Does anyone else feel that way about their homes, like God help anyone who doesn’t take me seriously about this, they’re going to have their ear talked off? Probably more people feel that way about their kids I’m guessing! Anywho, back to the point of this- if you’re like me, Christmas can be one of the biggest…

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In Lifestyle

Favorite Fall Nail Colors

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Hello! Today I wanted to talk about how I update my manicure for fall. Generally, I just can’t do seasonal dressing because I find it incredibly expensive, so my clothes are just varying weights of the same things. I wear mostly neutrals, a ton of black and the occasional hit of blush pink (is this officially a neutral yet?). This helps me keep my wardrobe classic and easy to mix and match, which helps when you don’t have a ton of money to create specific “outfits” with individual pieces. Plus, I can basically get dressed in the dark, which for about 10 months of the year it is dark as dark can get outside when I’m getting ready for work. Because of this extremely neutral, somewhat basic (but in a good way!) wardrobe I have, I like to add seasonality with accessories, outerwear and my mani-pedi! I love dark, dark…

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