Raspberry Cheesecake

Don't be surprised by the amount of cream cheese used in this dessert. It may seem like a lot, but it works. You'll end up with a tall, very creamy cheesecake.
CRUST
12 lemon-nut cookies (such as Pepperidge Farms)
1/2 cup toasted chopped walnuts*
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons sugar

FILLING
7 (8-oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons raspberry-flavored liqueur or berry juice
concentrate
4 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream1 cup fresh raspberries

GLAZE
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons water, divided
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut up
1 cup fresh raspberries
2 tablespoons cornstarch

GARNISH
1 cup heavy whipping cream1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup fresh raspberries

1. Heat oven to 300°F. In food processor, process cookies and walnuts until finely chopped. Add melted butter and 3 tablespoons sugar; pulse to mix.
2. Wrap outside of 9 1/2-inch springform pan with heavy-duty foil. Line bottom of pan with parchment. Press crumb mixture in bottom and 1 inch up sides of springform pan.

3. In large bowl, beat cream cheese and 1 cup sugar at medium speed until smooth and creamy. Beat in liqueur until well blended. Add eggs one at a time, beating just until combined. Beat in sour cream, scraping down bowl occasionally. Carefully fold in 1 cup raspberries. Pour into springform pan. (Filling will come up almost to top of pan.)

4. Place springform pan in large shallow roasting pan or broiler pan. Fill with enough hot tap water to come halfway up sides of springform pan.

5. Bake cake in water bath 1 hour 40 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes or until edges are puffed and top is dry to the touch. Center should be less set than edges and will move when pan is tapped. It should not ripple as if liquid.

6. Remove from oven. Remove cake from water bath; cool completely on wire rack. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. (Cake can be made to this point up to 2 days ahead. Store in refrigerator.)

7. After cake has cooled, make glaze. In medium saucepan, combine 1/2 cup of the water, 1/2 cup sugar and 3 tablespoons butter. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Add 1 cup raspberries; cook 1 minute or until raspberries are soft, stirring constantly.

8. Remove from heat; strain through sieve. Return to medium-high heat. In small bowl, combine remaining 2 tablespoons water and cornstarch; stir into raspberry mixture. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook 1 minute; pour into small bowl. Cool until no longer warm but still pourable. Spoon over cheesecake; tap cheesecake on counter to eliminate any air bubbles. Refrigerate 15 to 20 minutes or until glaze has set. Remove sides of pan.

9. In medium bowl, beat cream and 1 tablespoon sugar at medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Using pastry bag with star tip, pipe cream around edge of cake. Top with fresh raspberries. Refrigerate until ready to serve. (Cake can be made to this point up to 6 hours ahead.)

TIP *To toast walnuts, spread on baking sheet; bake at 375°F. for 7 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool.

16 servings

PER SERVING: 620 calories, 50.5 g total fat (29.5 g saturated fat), 10.5 g protein, 34 g carbohydrate, 200 mg cholesterol, 345 mg sodium, 2 g fiber

Forever21 Dissapointment

I'm real dissapointed in forever21. I ordered a bunch of jewelry from forever21 for the first time and I think it will be my last. Most all the stuff I ordered was broken or missing something. I asked them to replace it and they told me to take it to a store, (I was expecting them to just send me replacements because I have recieved such great service from other places,) but forever21 kinda sucks!

Elf Order #3

So here is my third order from eyeslipsface.com , it came today in the mail. I was pretty happy with the order but one item was missing again, (lipstick in classy.) Again, for the third time, for my free gift for giving up three persons email addresses, my free gift was the $1.00 drama eyeshadow quad. So I now have three of them. I was hoping they would send me something different this time but free is free.

The kabuki brush is wonderful. It is the softest make-up brush I have ever used. Overall I am happy with my order and most of the things that came. Some of the colors of the eyeshadows look much different in person than online.

Please leave a comment, take part in my polls and please, please become a follower. It would mean allot to me. Thanks so much! :)

Beauty Tip #1

I recently discovered a great way to make your own chap stick that is great at making your lips super soft. All you need is Honey and Vaseline petroleum jelly. I bought this tiny little travel size jar of Vaseline and mixed some honey in the jar with it. That's it.
Rub a little on your lips at night when your going to bed and you'll wake up with super soft lips. You can also used it throughout the day, it leave a yummy taste because of the honey and it will make your lips kissable soft.

Vote For Your Favorite Handbag

So I am in the market for a new handbag. I usually carry larger bags because that's the style that I enjoy. I will most likely be buying from amazon.com but if you can recommend a good place to buy handbags that don't have crazy high prices go ahead. I never pay more than $50.00 for a bag and I tend to shop online. I will sometimes buy from Ross because their bags are a great price for great bags.
Here we go.

Extra Large ''Kudreau'' Satchel By Vitalio Vera

"So far this is my favorite bag and will most likely buy this one on the 12th when I get paid again."

''Natie'' Hobo with Matching Cell Pouch

"This bag looks great for the Summer. I don't know it just screams summer time to me."

Belted Satchel Handbag

"I do like this as well, it looks really roomy."

Please vote on your favorite bag. You can leave your vote in the comment area. Thanks so much for participating and don't forget to become a follower. Thanks so much.:)

New Wet Seal Order

This wet seal order is a smaller order. I have already bought so much this pay check, with all the make-up from www.eyeslipsface.com and jewelry from www.forever21.com I also already have another order from Wet Seal coming in the mail in a few days that was $30.00 something. I need to stop and wait until we get paid again. lol I just loved the shoes and I have a code for free shipping if you buy at least $15.00 worth so I added the tank because I loved it too.

Crochet Trim Racer Tank  for $6.99

And Braided Chain Sandal for $9.99.

For free shipping and more codes for wet seal.... go here  http://www.retailmenot.com/view/wetseal.com

Futurama is back!

Check out a short preview for Futurama's new season coming June 23. I can't wait for it to start.

http://ccinsider.comedycentral.com/tag/countdown-to-futurama/

Elf Studio Brushes

I am a huge fan of the Elf studio brushes. I recently ordered the Stipple and Powder brushes.
The stipple is a taklon brush and can be used with either wet or dry products, but I recommend it for just powders. The bristles are not together enough to support liquid foundation. It's perfect for adding definition to your cheekbones or highlighting with soft layers.
The Powder Brush is also taklon and can also be used with wet or dry products. This brush is fantastic for either, it's good and firm. The bristles don't spread apart crazy and make it impossible to use liquid foundation with. These brushes are definitely worth the couple of dollars that I paid for them and I would recommend that if you love make-up buy these brushes.
http://www.eyeslipsface.com/

Elf Order Times Two

My eyes, lips, face orders are finally here. Well two of them have shown up but I am still waiting for the last one which should be here in a few days. My first order came about a week ago.

 The five different lips glosses were not that great. For the most part there isn't really any color but it does gloss up so I guess I will still use them. The three different all over color sticks smell wonderful. They seem do work well too, for a dollar their great. The nail polish isn't so good. You have to do at least three coats. And the colors are more for Easter, not Summer. I have used the zit zapper thing for a few days and it doesn't seem to do anything and it smells bad. For the rest of the stuff it's pretty good for the price but nothing special.

 My second eyes, lips, face order came Monday. I love, love the Powder brush (studio). It's a great powder brush, I can't believe it's so cheap.

The elf complete cover concealer was a little dark for my skin and when it got here it looked all sweaty and oily. Yuck!  I like the eyeliner marker things. They go on really smooth but they do kind of look like you used a marker on your eyes. My cuticle pen came with a broken lid so its all dried up. Overall I would recommend most of the products.

Cinco de Mayo-Quick and Easy Green Chile Chicken Enchilada

Ingredients4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
garlic salt to taste
18 (6 inch) corn tortillas, torn in half
1 (28 ounce) can green chile enchilada sauce
1 (16 ounce) package shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 (8 ounce) container reduced fat sour cream

DirectionsPreheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a medium baking dish.
Season chicken with garlic salt. Arrange in the prepared baking dish. Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until no longer pink and juices run clear. Cool, shred, and set aside.
With metal tongs, char each tortilla half over the open flame of a gas stove burner for about 1 minute, until lightly puffed.
Pour about 1/2 inch enchilada sauce in the bottom of a medium baking dish, and arrange 6 tortillas in a single layer. Top with 1/2 the chicken, 1/3 cheese, 1/2 the sour cream, and 1/3 of the remaining enchilada sauce. Repeat. Coat remaining tortillas thoroughly with remaining enchilada sauce, and arrange on top of the layers. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, and top with any remaining enchilada sauce
Cover, and bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool slightly before serving.

Cinco de Mayo-Guacamole

Ingredients
2 avocados
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 ripe tomato, chopped
1 lime, juiced
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Peel and mash avocados in a medium serving bowl. Stir in onion, garlic, tomato, lime juice, salt and pepper. Season with remaining lime juice and salt and pepper to taste. Chill for half an hour to blend flavors.

Cinco de Mayo- Salsa

Ingredients
2 (14.5 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
1/2 onion, finely diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 lime, juiced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup canned sliced green chiles, or to taste
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
DirectionsPlace the tomatoes, onion, garlic, lime juice, salt, green chiles, and cilantro in a blender or food processor. Blend on low to desired consistency.

CVS Essence of Beauty Review

First off I want to say that everyone that I have tried has had a very strong smell. It can be overwhelming when you first put any of them on but after a few minutes the smells even out and are very lovely.

The Sun blossom Body Mist has some beneficial ingredients, conditioning and protective aloe vera. It smell really nice once it settles. It's very spring smelling, like a sunflower really. lol It's nice, great for spring, great for summer.

The Japanese Garden body and hand cream smell wonderful. Yum I love it. But again it's a very strong smell and needs time to kind of soak in. It smells of a little musk and soft powder, pear and white clementine.

The Pomegranate apple body and hand cream is very strong but pleasant. The name says everything, it smells of apples and pomegranate. These lotions last all day. I wash my hands like 50 times a day and at the end of the day it still smells like these lotions. Okay maybe not after 50 washes but it lasts a long time. You don't have to use as much either because the lotion goes a long way. So basically I recommend you buying some of these. I found them on a deal at my local CVS , buy 2 for $4.99 each and get 1 free. Or something like that.

Please follow my blog, leave a comment and take part in my polls. Thanks so much.

Virgo & Pisces Romantic Compatibility

I found this on a yahoo horoscope website and amazingly it seems to fit us perfectly. It's almost scary how right this is. You can find it here and see what it says about you and your hubby/boyfriend.
 http://shine.yahoo.com/astrology/compatibility/love/;_ylt=Ah7GKVHWTuOkXt4xmg.dSvCqb6U5


What's the best aspect of the Virgo-Pisces relationship? It's their shared love of structure and art. Aesthetics are important to both partners, and they share a love of the finer things in life. Their similar tastes and loves make theirs a relationship of great balance.

Both Signs dote on and adore one another. They strive for a harmonious relationship and are very accepting and sympathetic people. Virgo can help Pisces fulfill dreams and ambitions and give them the tools they need to turn ideas into reality. Virgo will provide a solid, steady base for the more emotional and intuitive Fish. On the other hand, Pisces offers a gentle touch, kindness and an emotional depth that Virgo appreciates. Virgo is interested in material comforts and at times cannot understand the simplistic attitude of Pisces. Their life's aspirations can be very different. Once they can accept and overcome this difference, and learn to combine their energies, theirs will be a very rewarding relationship.

Virgo is ruled by Mercury and Pisces is ruled by Jupiter and Neptune. When Mercury and Neptune come together a beautiful spiritual connection is made. Together, they represent an idealistic partnership. Pisces is also ruled by Jupiter. This adds a yang energy to the combination and represents philosophy, expansion and excesses. This trio brings excellent communication, empathy, imagination and creativity to the relationship.

Virgo is an Earth Sign and Pisces is a Water Sign. Generally the two are very compatible, as both Water and Earth are real, tangible things. Pisces, as a Water Sign, is born to connect humankind, and when they come together with Earth there is not a stronger natural bond. Virgo may have a more stable view of life than their partner. They can help their lover ground that poetic Pisces nature. But too much of a good thing can turn to mud if both partners aren't careful. Pisces's flightiness may annoy Virgo, and Pisces may in turn feel that Virgo is too scientific. But it will be easy for them to find a way to work around these disparities.

Virgo and Pisces are both Mutable Signs. Both like to move from one arena to another as the feeling takes them. They each are continuously inspired and assisted by one another, forming a cyclical ring of new ideas and a steady stream of excitement. Conflict rarely arises between them, and when it does it quickly resolves itself. Both partners have learned the fine art of compromise.

What's the best aspect of the Virgo-Pisces relationship? It's their complementary and harmonious attitude toward one another. The overall empathy and commitment these two Signs value in a relationship is what will keep the ties strong and long lasting. Everyone will be envious of their devotion to one another, as well as to their friends and the community.

Delicious Egg Salad for Sandwiches

Ingredients
8 eggs
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
1/4 cup chopped green onion
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon paprika

DirectionsPlace egg in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil and immediately remove from heat. Cover and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from hot water, cool, peel and chop.

Place the chopped eggs in a bowl, and stir in the mayonnaise, mustard and green onion. Season with salt, pepper and paprika. Stir and serve on your favorite bread or crackers.

OMG Another E.L.F Order

OMG everyone, I ordered more make-up from eyeslipsface.com. This is my third order since I discovered them for myself. I don't think I have ever bought so much make-up in my whole life. This orders total was $26.95. I used a great code that got me ten free $1.00 items for free when you buy at least $20.00 or $25.00 something like that. (ECD1) (SAVE50) gets you half off. Gee I wish I had see the half off one earlier. (SHIP25) gets you free shipping if you spend $25.00. So anyway here is what I bought this time.

Berry Mix Duo eye shadow Cream                                    $1.00 - free
Berry Mix Duo Eyeshadow                                                $1.00 - free (I don't know why I got two in the same color.)
Blending Eye Brush                                                            $1.00 - free
blushed/bronzed Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder - $3.00
Classy Lipstick                                                                    $1.00 - free
Complexion Perfection                                                        $3.00
Eye Lash Curler                                                                   $1.00 -free
Eye Shadow Brush                                                              $1.00 - free
Eyelid Primer                                                                      $1.00 - free
Ivory Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15                                        $1.00 - free
Kabuki Face Brush                                                             $5.00
Light Complete Coverage Concealer                                 $3.00
Mocha Swirl Duo Eyeshadow                                            $1.00 - free
Mocha Swirl Duo Eye Shadow Cream                              $1.00  - free ( again I bought the same colors.)
Pink Lemonade '06 Luscious Liquid Lipstick                   $1.00
Think Pink Glossy Collections Limited Edition                $5.00

Forever21 Order

I just got done ordering a few things at forever21.com. There jewelry is super cheap but super cute. I love, love, love these earrings. When I saw these earrings I knew I would be wearing them one day soon. I couldn't pass these up. I'm in love. I can't believe these were just $4.80.

I've never worn feathers before but I thought I would give them a try with these beautiful earrings. I can't believe these were only $3.80.

I also purchased a few other jewelry items that I will upload pictures of when I actually receive them.

Bee's Knees

Bee's Knees

Ingredients1 (46 fluid ounce) can pineapple juice
1 (46 fluid ounce) can grapefruit juice
1 (8 ounce) jar honey
2 cups gin

DirectionsIn a blender combine pineapple juice, grapefruit juice, honey and gin. Blend until frothy. Pour into a pitcher and serve.

Daiquiri Times Two

Best Strawberry Daiquiri

Ingredients6 cups ice
1/2 cup white sugar
4 ounces frozen strawberries
1/8 cup lime juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
3/4 cup rum
1/4 cup lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage

DirectionsIn a blender, combine ice, sugar and strawberries. Pour in lime juice, lemon juice, rum and lemon-lime soda. Blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve.
　
Virgin Strawberry Daiquiri

Ingredients2 large strawberries, hulled
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 cup chilled lemon-lime soda
4 cubes ice

DirectionsIn the container of a blender, combine the strawberries, sugar, lemon juice and lemon-lime soda. Add the ice and blend until smooth. Pour into a fancy glass to serve.

Small Haul April 2011

All of these tops came from www.wetseal.com . I don't really care for the first one and the last one. But the tanks are great. I bought them on sale and in the clearance area, buy one get one for a penny. I managed to leave one of the tops out but I will take a picture of it and add it in the next haul.

There's my small haul for April. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about the stuff or anything and become a follower. Please!!:)