Do you like tea?

Pizza Bites

These pizza bites couldn't be any easier and were a big hit as an appetizer for a party.  You basically take pizza dough (I bought mine at the Italian grocery store) and divide it into 20-25 pieces.  Spread each piece out a bit, stuff with cheese and pepperoni, seal it up and put it in a pan sealed side down.  Then you brush with olive oil and sprinkle with Italian seasonings and parmesean cheese.  Finally you bake it in the oven at 400 for 20 min.  Then they pull apart very easily.  Yum!

Favorite Makeup

If you saw my makeup organization video, then you saw the amount of makeup I have.  





Guests will be staying in my guestroom though, so I had to clean out my makeup drawer, and will have to apply it in the bathroom or my bedroom.  I put everything that I don't think I will need for three weeks, and kept out my favorites.  This is what I have left and what I will be using for the next three weeks (plus two eyeshadow palettes):

Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation, Clinique Redness Solutions Foundation,
Urban Decay Face Primer, Clinique Pore Minimizer,
Maybeline Dream Mousse Concealer, Physicians Formula Correcting Face Powder,
Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush, Milani Blush in Luminous,
and a MAC highlighter, Nars Laguna Bronzer

Urban Decay Primer Potion, Prestige Black Eyeliner, Rimmel Green Eyeliner,
L'Oreal Hip Purple Eyeliner, Make Up For Ever Navy Aqua Eyes Eyeliner,
L'Oreal Telescopic Carbon Black Mascara, Urban Decay Eyelash Primer Potion

Buxom Lashliner in Dark Blue and Sequined Black, MAC Paint Pot in Rubinesque,
MAC Eyeshadow in Woodwinked, Smashbox Eyebrow Powder and Gel,
NYC Eyeshadow in My Favorite Color

Summer

Sorry I've been MIA since June 1st, I think I have summer on the brain!  It doesn't officially start until Tuesday, but it unofficially started Memorial weekend.  Especially when it was in the 90s that weekend and has been nice ever since.  Makes up for that rainy April and May.  What are you looking most forward to this summer?  Here's my list and I hope to enjoy every second of these precious months:

• sunsets at the beach
• walking at the beach path in the morning
• swimming!
• hanging out with my Mom at her pool
• reading books and magazines and more books! (my goodreads: 
• lazy hair and makeup
• flip-flops
• flower clips in my hair
• scary movie night on Monday nights with Tom, Mom, Aunt April and Uncle Mike
• going to the movies more often
• wineries
• making s'mores
• sitting around a fire at night
• picnics
• hikes
• pool parties
• Fourth of July
• our SEVENTH wedding anniversary (Holy Cow)
• Tom's parents coming from Scotland 
• getting a new job
• ice-cream
• strawberries
• TOMATOES 
• peaches
• watermelon
• grilled food
• girlie foo-foo drinks

Here's my beach-bag (got it at Forever 21), what's in yours?

Here's a great, EASY dessert to make for get-togethers/cookouts:

Recipe here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/down-home-with-the-neelys/strawberry-shortcut-cake-recipe/index.html

Pepperoni Bread How To

Pepperoni bread is pretty simple to make and a great appetizer for an outdoor party (can be eaten hot, room temp or cold).

Roll out your dough to a long rectangular shape.
I get my dough from a local pizza shop.

My secret is that I add a very thin layer of marinara sauce.

Add the pepperoni.

Add mozzarella and parmesan cheese and roll up.

If it's too long for your baking sheet, wrap it around.
Brush olive oil on the top, sprinkle with parmesan cheese
and add a few slits to vent.

Bake on 400 for 30 min with foil covering,
remove foil and bake for 5-10 more minutes.

Slice and enjoy!

Glazed Lemon Cookies and Chocolate Dipped Shortbread

I made these cookies for a Memorial Weekend party and they were a huge hit.

The glazed lemon cookies are a Martha Stewart recipe, and the chocolate dipped shortbread are an Ina Garten recipe.  The only thing I changed on the shortbread recipe was that I rolled it into a log and sliced them, vs. rolling them out and using cookie cutters.  Rolling pins, cookie cutters and myself do not get along.  My way was super easy.  They only took 12 minutes to cook, not 20.  I dipped them in dark Belgium chocolate from Trader Joes (1lb brick, I used half the brick).  
The lemon cookies also only took about 13 minutes to cook, not 15-20.
I will be making both again for sure!

Weekend Recap

We had a nice weekend!
Starting with homemade pizza Friday night and a walk at the beach:

First sunset we have seen this year!

Saturday morning we went to Cuyahoga Valley National Park and rewarded ourselves afterward with a cupcake and cannoli from a local Italian Bakery.  Yum!

Left over panini, it wasn't pressed down at all.

So I pressed it at home when I re grilled it.