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Moisturizing With Clarins Multi Active Jour and Nuit Creams

 Disclaimer: I received the following product(s) in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own. 

   Trying out Clarins Multi Active Jour and Nuit moisturizing creams for day and night, thanks to @influenster and @clarinsusa 💕 These products are said to help target the first signs of aging, refine pores, and smooth out the skin and wrinkles. You will get a nice glow with these lotions, as they help strengthen the skins moisture barrier. 

   I have enjoyed trying these samples, as my skin absorbed them well and felt hydrated and supple after each use. The scent of each is pleasant, like a bouquet of flowers, although it doesn’t linger or overpower for you to smell all day, which is good if you’re more sensitive to smells. I have enjoyed using these products and could see keeping them in my future face care rotation!   

Visit clarinsusa.com to find their Multi Active Jour and Nuit Moisturizing Creams available for purchase, as well as many other Clarins products and information. 

I received a complimentary product in exchange for an honest review. All opinions my own.

Easy Homemade Hot Cross Buns Without Yeast

    Happy Easter!! I wanted to try my hand at making Homemade Hot Cross Buns, and found this recipe by The Gardening Foodie, I decided to give a try! 

   This recipe is simple, quick, and doesn’t require yeast. To make these buns, you mix the dry ingredients separate from the wet ingredients, and then whip them all together into a beautiful dough. Split into six separate balls and drizzle the X’s with a flour paste, bake in the oven and enjoy with butter or jelly. 

First mix together dry ingredients: 

2 1/3 Cup of Flour

2 tsps Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

2 1/2 tsp Cinnamon 

2 1/2 tsp Allspice (I didn’t use)

1/2 tsp Nutmeg (optional) (I didn’t use)

In a separate bowl, mix together wet ingredients: 

2 Large Eggs

1/4 Cup of Sugar (I used Maple Syrup)

2 TBS Melted Butter

8 oz Cream Cheese (I used Yogurt)

Combine Wet and Dry ingredients together, then add in your choice of Dried Fruit. I use Raisins for ours. 

Make a paste of 3/4 Cup of Flour and 1/3 Cup of Warm Water, add to a piping bag and apply across dough balls to make the X’s. Bake in the oven at 350° for 35 minutes, brush butter across the tops, allow buns to slightly cool, then enjoy with butter and/or jelly. 

These Hot Cross Buns were so easy to make and my ingredient adjustments above didn’t cause me any problems, just less sweet than usual. The buns look so festive and cute, I will definitely be making them again! 

   

The Best Cup of Coffee With The Braun MultiServe Plus Coffee Pot

 Disclaimer: I received the following product(s) in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own. 

   The Braun MultiServe Plus is such a beautiful Coffee Pot!! I love the design and ease of use. Add coffee grounds and water, then choose the setting you want and you can have hot or cold coffee within minutes! You can choose from four different settings to customize the perfect cup. Have your coffee over ice, cold brew, gold, or bold, with your option of a pod-free single cup, traveler cup, or carafe. You can even keep your coffee hot, for up to four hours, with the programmable built in hot plate! 

   There are so many great things about this coffee pot. It makes me want to have a Coffee Party to have all my friends and family try it out! I like everything about this piece, although the beeping the machine does, to signify that the brewing is complete. It’s so loud and goes on for too long, I wish that it could be turned off. It is a nice thing to have, to let you know when your coffee is done, but if you’re trying to make coffee on a sleepy early morning, that’s not really something you want to be hearing :) Other than that, this coffee pot is amazing, easy to use, and brews an excellent cup of coffee!!

   You can find the Braun MultiServe Plus Coffee Pot available for purchase on Amazon or in a store near you. It comes with paper filters, a measuring scoop, and a charcoal filter. 

I received a complimentary product in exchange for an honest review. All opinions my own.

Dissolve Away Daily Cleansing Balm by Hero.

Disclaimer: I received the following product(s) in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own. 

   Dissolve Away Daily Cleansing Balm by Hero. is made to remove makeup and cleanse your face from any dirt or oil buildup, without clogging pores. This balm is very soft on the skin, rubbing on easily and washing off while leaving a hint of oiliness to it. 

   The balm doesn’t really have a scent, so it shouldn’t be bothersome but I don’t think it’s good for acne prone skin, due to the oily residue. It does say to use your regular face cleansing product after using this, but it kind of just feels like this product is an unneeded step in your routine. I really wanted to love it, as it washed my eye makeup off nicely, but it was a bit too greasy for my skin, that it seemed to encourage blemishes. 

   You can find Dissolve Away Daily Cleansing Balm by Hero. available for purchase on herocosmetics.us as well as more Hero. Products and information. 

I received a complimentary product in exchange for an honest review. All opinions my own.

Watch 'Forty-Seven Days With Jesus' Movie

 

   Just in time for Easter, a new movie “Forty-Seven Days With Jesus” directed by David M. Gutel and Emilio Palame, is a family drama based around a workaholic father and the disconnect in his relationships. The family goes on their pre planned trip to vacation with the grandparents, but the father is spending all of his time working, that he’s missing out on being with his family. His wife and children feel the pain of his choices, and drama spreads causing a chain reaction to come to head. Along this journey, the children are being told the story of Jesus and His last 47 days on Earth. This leads them to self reflect and really see what matters most in their life.

   I was looking forward to watching this film, as I expected it to be much different than it was. It has a very slow process and I didn’t realize it was going to be basically a musical!! Every time the story of Jesus was being told, the characters in the Biblical theme would be singing. If I would have known this, I would have been less apt to want to see this film lol. I’m sure the family in this movie is very relatable to some, so it is nice to see everything come together in a positive way in the end, but I’m just not fond of musicals…if you love a musical, and are looking for a new movie to watch this Easter, then check it out and be sure to enter the giveaway below!! 

   You can see “Forty-Seven Days With Jesus” in Theaters only March 11, 12, and 14! Get your Tickets HERE * You can also check it out on Instagram and Facebook.

Now time for the Giveaway! One person (US only) has the chance to WIN a $10 Amazon Gift Card. Enter through Rafflecopter below. Good Luck! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

Many thanks to Roadside Attractions for providing a sample of the product for this re- view. Opinions are 100% my own.

Love Coffee? Here's Why You Need to Upgrade Your Machine

If you have a coffee machine in your kitchen and it's not currently broken, you may not even be considering an upgrade. If it's not broken and it's still producing an excellent espresso, then don't upgrade the machine just for the sake of it. It's very easy to upgrade your coffee machine once you know the 10 reasons you should go for it, but if you're happy with what you've got, then hold on for now. 

Of course, you can still learn the reasons you should be upgrading your machine for when the time does come around, but there are so many amazing coffee machines out there today that it can become confusing as to which one you should really choose. However, if your drinks are not whether you want them to be. And you are not hitting that cafe quality that you've been hitting before, then upgrading your coffee machine can be the best thing that you do for yourself this year. 

Everybody wants just at least One Cup of coffee in the morning to get them started on the day, but not everybody wants to spend $6 a time to do that. You don't have to do that when you invest in the right coffee machine for your house instead. The best espresso machine out there is the one that gives you the coffee that you enjoy the taste of, is easy to clean and is easy to use. If your espresso drinks right now are exactly what you want, then you're in good company. If not, then let's take a look at the reasons you should upgrade your current machine.

Image source: Pexels

• The temperature sucks. Let's be honest, Nobody wants a tepid morning coffee. You want your coffee to be hot so that if you're walking to work with it, or you're driving with it, or if you just want to have a leisurely morning with it, it will last you for longer.Nobody wants to have to pop it in the microwave to warm up again, especially if you can buy one that has a PID controller. This is a Proportional Integral derivative, which means that you can employ a PID algorithm to manage the heating and cooling process of your coffee effectively.It maintains a steady brew temperature, which is exactly what you want for your coffee in the morning. Some coffee bean concoctions do not brew well as others, and you want to make sure that you have a decent roast for your coffee in the morning. The brew temperature can work for some brews, but not for others.

• The shots are not as consistent as you would like. You want to brew the perfect coffee in the morning, which means that you need to make sure that you have the right shot and it has to be controlled over time, temperature and the right recipe. Espresso brewing is not as easy as you think it is. When you add control over pressure, the pre infusion length and volume can be helpful, but it's not really the most important thing. You don't want inconsistent coffees every day, so if your shot is not coming out the way that it should, then it's time to upgrade.

• It’s running too slowly. A coffee machine is supposed to make your coffee quickly. That's the whole point. Even the word espresso should tell you something about how fast it should be. If you only make one espresso drink a day, it can still be quite frustrating to have a slow coffee machine, but the biggest issue is when you have back-to-back drinks. You might not be somebody who's slamming down espresso after espresso or latte after latte, but you might still want to have more than one coffee made for yourself everyday. You want to have a machine that is designed to do more than One Cup of coffee, because otherwise you may as well just go to the cafe and buy one. Most of the espresso machines that you buy for the home only have one single boiler. This means you won't have a brewed coffee and a steamed milk at the same time. A single boiler espresso machine has one boiler for both functions, so you don't have to just have espressos. Of course you can have lattes, but upscale single boiler espresso machines have a temperature controller to maintain that stable brewing temperature.

• Your Porter filter and basket cannot fit enough coffee grounds. Most of the cheaper single boiler home espresso machines don't have particularly big baskets and can only hold really a tablespoon or two of espresso at a time. You don't want to overstuff the coffee machine basket because that will produce that poor quality drinker trying to get away from. You want that truly cafe quality taste and to make that modern milk based espresso drink, you'll need to have a basket that can adequately hold up to 20 grams of ground at a time.

• You want a machine that will last. If you're currently in the market to upgrade your coffee machine, then clearly it's not lasting you as long as you'd hope it would be. If your current machine is broken beyond repair, or it's going to cost just as much as the machine itself to repair it, then you should consider a machine that's a bit more cafe quality than it is home quality. You need to know what your machine is built off both inside and out, and try to find commercial grade internal copper and stainless steel for your component. High grade machines don't have much in the way of plastic on them. Have you ever seen a plastic coffee machine in Starbucks? Absolutely not. You should also look to make sure that you are finding home coffee machines that have great product reviews. You don't want to buy something and find out that once you've got it home and plugged in that it's a dud.

Image source: Pexels

• It's not making the type of coffee you want it to make. Have you seen those gadgets that make different types of coffee in the stores and feel jealous of the fact that yours only makes black coffee? If that's the case for you, then it may be worth shopping around and looking for a new machine that gives you different types of coffee, such as lattes or mochas in the morning. Dark roasted coffees, for example, always come out a little too bitter, and lighter roasted coffees are not hitting that brightness you expect. Controlling the brew temperature can help here, but you also want to have the option to make something that's more delicious, such as a vanilla coffee or Chai latte. You may even want your coffee machine to make tea - but let’s stick to kettles with that one!

• You can’t fit any accessories in your portafilter. Some coffee machines don't need any specific upgraded accessories but if you want to add aftermarket accessories like paper filters, baskets and more, then you need to shop around. You want to have a machine that fits those aftermarket accessories as it could really enhance your experience with your morning brew.

• You want to be a coffee-making pro. Do you ever watch your baristas in awe and wish you could do the same thing? Grinding and brewing and steaming? There are plenty of double-boiler coffee machines that allow you to do that and you can do it well with espresso pressure profiling. This is the ability to adjust the brew pressure of the espresso from the standard 9 bar to a pattern that both gradually increases and then decreases. With this change, you can enhance your coffee making AND tasting experience.

• There’s no direct plumbing option in your current machine. Have you got a refrigerator plumbed directly into the wall? If so, you know how convenient it can be. If you choose to have a coffee machine plumbed into the house, you’re going to always get the hottest coffee with the freshest water. Of course, not every home has this option but it’s worth it if you want to have that additional extra of water filtration.

The grinder no longer cuts it the way it used to. Quite literally, your grinder is there to ensure that your coffee beans are cut and ground correctly. If the blades aren't doing their job, then there’s a problem and you need to make a point of replacing them. You might also not want to upgrade just the blades and that’s the point we’re making with this article - upgrading your coffee machine as a whole is going to be a better option. You can end up breaking the entire machine with broken blades, so start shopping for a machine that does what you need it to do. You want a grinder that actually grinds the beans rather than fall apart when you just want your morning coffee.