Moving!

Hey guys, I’ve moved over to blogger, where things seem to be easier.

Check out the blog, it’s not yet completely done yet but will be soon.  I’ll also keep posting as usual.

Subscribe if you like 🙂

http://theprettyhouseofy.blogspot.com

you gotta be kidding me…

So, I was looking around, wondering if I should be moving my blog to Blogger.

See, I used to be a Blogger subscriber, but when I decided to start a blog I did some research and everybody was saying how much better WordPress is.

The thing is, no one told me how freaking fussy it is to follow and read other blogs on WordPress.  While on Blogger all I have to do is press “Follow”, on WordPress you have to go to “Manage my subscriptions” which takes aaages to load, and then copy and paste whatever link it is you want.  And then “Read my subsciptions” also takes ages to load.

I much preferred Blogger because there are so many wonderful blogs out there I want to keep up with, in an easy comfortable manner!

So I log on to Blogger, trying to see if I’ll do this thing, and I find out that both “thehouseofy” or “houseofy” are not available!!!  Actually, both seem to be taken up by some lovely ladies with ..male children.  I kid you not, one of them has 2 boys and the other has 3, or something like that.  Maybe it’s the same one who in the meantime had another male child, because the posts seem sort of apart, time-wise.  Weird.  Anyway.

So yeah.  I’m frustrated!  What do you think I should do?  Stick with WordPress?  Move on to Blogger and find another name?  What kind of name?!  Help!!!

 

Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops & Tabouleh

This is an easy, light and healthy meal, especially good in the summertime!

Tabouleh

1 cup of couscous & 2 cups of hot water

1 cup of finely diced tomato, 1 cup of cucumber

1 cup of finely chopped parsley, 1 cup of mint

1/4 cup olive oil & the juice of 1 lemon

Salt & Pepper

Put the couscous and the water in a bowl, and cover until the water is absorbed.  Taste the couscous, if it’s still too hard, add some more hot water.

Couscous & Water

Water absorbed

Let it cool.

Chop the vegetables and herbs.  I used 1 medium sized tomato, 1 medium sized cucumber, and ½ of a big red onion.  I used all of the parsley shown in the picture, and half the package of mint.

Clockwise from top right: Olive oil, Salt&Pepper, MInt, Onion, Tomato, Cucumber, Lemon, Parsley

When the couscous has cooled down, mix all the ingredients together. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Add more lemon, salt, or pepper if you feel like it.  Voila! Ready!

You can prepare ahead if you want, it tastes even better in a couple of hours.

Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops

5 pork chops

1 cup of balsamic vinegar

Salt & Pepper & 1 teaspoon of sugar

1 garlic clove & 1 tablespoon of olive oil

In a bowl, mix the vinegar, salt, pepper and sugar.  Put the pork chops in, and let them marinate for at least ½ an hour.

Chops in Marinade

In a pan, over medium heat, add the garlic finely chopped and the olive oil.  Cook for about a minute and don’t let the garlic burn.

I love the aroma of garlic!

Add the chops and cook for a few minutes on each side until nicely browned.

Lower the heat, and add the marinade.  Cook over low heat until the marinate has thickened a bit, so that the vinegar has caramelized.

Caramelized balsamic, yum..

Enjoy!

Done! So easy! (ignore the fact that my marinade was still a little runny, you cook it longer now young ladies, mmm 'k?)

Do you like cooking?  What is your favorite summertime meal?

Hair Removal Vol.5: My choices

I have to say, I do not like hair, unless it’s on my head, or on my eyebrows.  I know no one does, but since I am a Mediterranean girl, and not a blonde hairless Scandinavian, I’ve become pretty much the expert on hair removal!

–          Arms, armpits:  I always use my epilator for these.  I‘ve gotten used to it, so no pain for me. Leaves my skin nice and smooth for a good amount of time.

–          Belly:  I only do this sometimes in the summer.  I either wax or epilate.  Both are just as fast for me.

–          Bikini area:  I wax the area once a month.  I used to visit a salon for this, but after watching the procedure so many times, I decided to do it myself.  Is was time consuming at the beginning, now I’m a Brazilian wax pro!

–          Legs:  I usually shave, using a Gilette Mens Razor.  It’s a vibrating one, but the vibration serves for nothing but to scare the shit out of me when I accidentally push the “on” button on the handle.  If I have more time on my hands I will also epilate, but it does cause ingrown hair on my skin.

–          Face: I tweeze or shave my own eyebrows.  I find shaving very fast, easy, and precise.  I can also experiment with different shapes, knowing that it will grow back fast.  I thread my upper lip & I bleach the fine hair around the chin area and on the cheeks.

 

So ladies!  How do you deal with your hairy parts?  Any advice or tips?  Please share your hair removal experiences and stories!!!

Hair Removal Vol.4: Facial Hair

1. Waxing: Nice, smooth, long lasting results. Damages the skin if done too often. Can aggravate acne! Best used only for eyebrows and upper lip. Not a good choice for beginners, you can burn yourself or rip off your eyebrows.
2. Epilating: Same as above, but won’t damage skin. I would not let this anywhere near my eyebrows!
3. Tweezing: A good choice for keeping up with the shape of your eyebrows. If doing your own shaping, be careful not to over-tweeze! Wouldn’t recommend it for any other kind of facial hair.
4. Bleaching: Very good method for fine hair on the cheeks, chin, etc.  Use on your upper lip ONLY if you have extremely fine hair, otherwise you will still have a mustache, just a blond one.  Yikes!  Also, also do the allergy test beforehand!
5. Shaving: Either with creams, small shapers, or electrical trimmers, it’s a fast choice.  Fast, but be careful not to shave off an eyebrow or something. If you have very dark hair, this will leave a grayish shadow under the skin. Hair grows back quickly, but easy to remove again!

Hair Removal Vol.3: Shaving

Pros

–          Fast.

–          Easy.

–          Cheap.

–          Causes the least amount of ingrown hair (excluding laser hair removal).

 

Cons

–          You can cut yourself if you’re not careful.  No problem with the right razor though.

–          Razor burns, again fixed with the right razor.

–          Needs to be repeated every 2-3 days maximum if you want smooth legs.

 

 

 

Tips

–          Remember that shaving also includes methods other than razors, such as epilating creams, mousses, sprays etc.  These also cut the hairs at their base, not removing it.  They tend to have an awful smell, and be a bit pricey, but they won’t give you any cuts etc! Please do an allergy test first.

–          The BEST razors are razors for MEN.  Trust me.  They are sturdy and last long so are a good value for money.   They are fast, really comfortable and rarely cause cuts of the skin or razor burns.  Ditch your pink girlie ones and go for the men section ladies.  You won’t be disappointed!

–          If you run out of shaving cream, the next best thing is your hair conditioner!!!  It softens the hair, conditions the skin, and makes the razor glide on smoothly.

Hair Removal Vol.2: Epilating

Pros

–          Same smooth results as waxing.

–          Equally long lasting.

–          Inexpensive (I’ve had my epilator for over six years now, it has saved me a ton of money! It’s a one from Braun, my mother has a Remington one but I prefer mine.)

–          Not messy.

–          Doesn’t touch the skin, so won’t strip off your tan.

 

Cons

–          The mere sound of it scares the heck out of people.

–          Painful, but I got used to it with time.

–          If you have a problem with ingrown hair, this will definitely aggravate it.

–          Time consuming if you want to get every little hair, and most of us do.

 

 

 

Tips

 

–          If ingrown hair are a problem for you, then regular exfoliating and moisturizing of the skin will reduce them.

–         Some epilators come with little massage heads or ice packs attached to them to reduce the pain.

–         Others can be used in the shower but I wouldn’t recommend them, as being in the shower doesn’t let you be thorough and remove every little hair.

Hair Removal Vol.1: Waxing

Pros

–          Leaves skin silky smooth.

–          Lasts up to 4 weeks (which is an urban myth for most women, I give it 2 weeks tops, but it’s still long enough compared to other methods).

–          Exfoliates by removing dead cells.

 

Cons

–          The hairs need to be quite long to be successfully removed.  This means that you are stuck with hairy body parts in between waxes.  Not the best thing if you have a boyfriend.

–          Can strip off your tan faster.

–          Ingrown hair.

–          Messy if done at home, expensive if done at a salon.

–           Painful.

 

 

Tips

–          Powder the skin beforehand with baby powder, it makes everything so much easier.

–          Use sugar wax, it’s the easiest to handle.

–          Use the cloth strips, not the paper ones.  They grab hairs a lot better.

–          Be patient!!!  Frustration is your worst enemy when handling hot wax!  Practice makes perfect.

Poll of the Week

This poll was inspired by the tutorial of the lovely Lilit at Makeup and Macaroons.  Personally, I always like a smokey eye, and I often wear something simple but pretty, like Lilit’s look, during the daytime.

Vote below or leave your comment and make my day 🙂

 

YouTubers: I tube, YouTube, We all tube

Today, for the first post of the “YouTubers” series, allow me to introduce you to the Queen of YouTubers regarding the make up community.

Lisa Eldridge : classy, professional, gorgeous, a temple of makeup knowledge.

 

 

Incidentally, in her last vid, she talked about one of my favorite brands, Korres.

If (which I doubt) you have yet to meet this lovely lady, then rush over to her site www.lisaeldridge.com  or her YouTube channel!