Back-to-School Baking

It’s hard to believe its back-to-school time already! In fact, we’ve already been in school for almost three weeks here in Arizona and boy has it been a busy three weeks. Not only did my husband return to work from summer vacation and resume his duties as an assistant principal at a high school … my baby boy (and first born) started kindergarten. How did I cope? By baking of course! 
Back-to-School  can often be a shock to the system after summer break, so I decided to make some goodies for my husband’s staff to help them get through their first day of school. Afterall, chocolate makes everything better and I was super stoked to test out my new Brookie Pan that I had ordered from Avon. What makes for a better treat than a chocolate chip cookie baked inside a moist, chewy brownie? 
This pan was so easy to to use and made a great dessert within a dessert that can be used for gifts, potlucks and other special (or really any) occasions. Since it was the night before the first day of school I made it even simpler by using pre-packaged brownie mix and ready to bake cookie dough.
After spraying the pan with some baking spray to prevent sticking I began by filling the bottom of the six molds with brownie mix. 
After the molds were half full I placed the chocolate chip cookie dough in the middle and then topped off the molds with the rest of the brownie batter. Off to the oven they went!
Oh my gosh! They turned out so great. While baking, they made my house smell delicious and once they came out of the oven, it was all I could do to keep my husband and my kids away from them. I have to admit they were pretty hard to resist – especially in my current pregnant, sweet tooth state. They fell right out of the pan and cooled pretty quickly. Because I just plopped the pre-made in the middle as they came packaged, the cookies maintained the square shape they came in. If you would rather have round cookies within the brownies, you can bake the cookies before placing them in the Brookie pan with the brownie batter.
After the Brookies had cooled, it was time for the final touches. I wanted these to be a cute little back-to-school gift for the staff, so I printed out some festive gift tags and packaged them in treat backs. My husband got home that night and said his staff thoroughly enjoyed the Brookies. Mission Accomplished! 
If you like to bake and are looking for something new and inventive, I would highly recommend adding the Brookie Pan to your kitchen. Interested in learning more about the Brookie Pan or getting your hands on one for your own baking pleasure, visit www.azmakeupmaven.com

Please note: I am not paid by Avon to promote their products. I am independent representative with Avon and always give an honest review of how I feel about products from our company, good or bad. Any reviews written are my personal opinions only. I purchase all my own products unless earned through a special representative incentive through Avon.

Back in the Face of the Day Game

I haven’t been feeling very well lately and it’s been a while since I’ve put on a full face of makeup. However, today I did and it’s amazing how much it improved my attitude. I actually feel put together and ready to face the day. So of course, I had to document my Face of the Day and share it with you. CHEESE!

 
Being that I haven’t worn makeup in a while, I figured I would ease in with a fairly natural look with some added color on my lips. Here’s what I used to achieve today’s look.

Listed clockwise from left to right I used the mark. chic frills powder blush, Avon ultra color absolute lipstick in tea rose, mark. neutrals on the dot eye color compact and Avon mega effects mascara.

You can learn more about and purchase all of these products by visiting www.azmakeupmaven.com.

Please note: I am not paid by Avon to promote these products. I am independent representative with Avon and always give an honest review of how I feel about products from our company, good or bad. Any reviews written are my personal opinions only. I purchase all my own products unless earned through a special representative incentive through Avon.

Impromptu Beauty Day

I love unplanned beauty days! One of my BFF’s came over this morning to enjoy breakfast and some girl time. Really I invited her over to provide a distraction as it was the second day she would drive home to an empty house after dropping her twins off at kindergarten. My kids are both still at home with me, but I can only imagine the emotional wreck I will be next year when I have to take my son to his first week of kindergarten.

After enjoying coffee and blueberry pancakes we decided to have some fun and pamper ourselves. First up? A new mineral mask from Avon that I had been dying to try. Both of us loved the mask and I love my friend even more after she let me take, and post, these silly pictures of us during the beautifying process. Avon’s Clearskin Pore Penetrating Black Mineral Mask (available at www.azmakeupmaven.com) is designed to draw pore-clogging dirt and oil like a magnet, leaving your skin smooth and clean. A special feature of this mask is the ability to “see” it working. The mask goes one black, but dries to white to let you know when it’s time to wash it off.  My skin did feel soft and clean after rinsing and I am looking forward to trying this again.


Next up …. A Little Bit of Nail Art Fun! It’s back to school week here in Arizona and what better way to celebrate than with a fun nail look that students can relate to. Here’s my version of the notebook doodle manicure. I even incorporated my husband’s and my initials. 

Happy Hour Look of the Day

TGIF! I’m off to meet the hubby for happy hour with his coworkers. For the evening out I thought I would spice up my look with an understated, but colorful cat eye. To achieve this look I used an Avon Extralasting eyeshadow pencil in shimmering sand as a base on my lid. I then lined the upper lash line with Avon Glimmersticks Chromes in Ultra Violet to create the cat eye effect and following that up with my Avon Extralasting Eyeshadow Pencil in Aquamarine on the inner half of the upper lash line. I finished the eye look off with Avon’s innovative new Mega Effects Mascara. Cheers! 

Want to get this look? You can learn more about the products listed above by visiting www.azmakeupmaven.com