Birthday Remnants

Andrew's birthday was last weekend and we did a whole bunch, I'm talking Friday-Sunday celebration, though not all of it was for him. A lot of food was involved and lots of cocktails, too. We managed to forget to take any proper photos amidst the fun, so phone and instagram photos (mostly of food) it is.


Friday night I took him to a great new-ish Greek restaurant called Taxim. The food and drinks were absolutely delicious; Andrew had their duck gýro with duck fat fries and I had their sea bream gýro with fried colocassia root. Afterward we went to Billy Sunday for... you guessed it! More drinks!


Andrew broke out his tux to race in his eighth race of the season Saturday afternoon. Muscles was there to show his support through every lap, of course.


Sunday's dinner with his sister and parents was lovely. We ate at Brasserie 54 by LM and the food was amazing. They offered a special prix fixe menu for Mother's Day with lobster bisque, grilled green onions and asparagus served with a coddled egg and béarnaise sauce, smoked salmon with pickled red beets and crème fraîche, and some other meaty things I didn't bother paying any attention to. The dessert was fabulous too; tarte au fromage blanc (or cheesecake) with preserves. I would eat there every day if I could afford to.

(Photo courtesy of Xtreme Xperience (lol))
And what's this? No, I didn't give Andrew a Lamborghini! However, I did get him a voucher to drive one around at a place called Autobahn Country Club. He freaked out and I think I'm just as excited about it as he is. Believe me when I say it took everything I had to keep this gift a secret.

P.S. Happy belated Mother's Day to any mamas who are reading this post! :)

French Onion Soup Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Did you read that title and immediately think “uh...?” while salivating a bit? Because that was basically my reaction when I found out about these sandwiches. We are very pro-grilled cheese in this house so any and all twists are welcomed! There are quite a number of recipes out there for this particular sandwich but it's so simple, you really don't need one.


Take just about everything you'd use to make french onion soup but rearrange things a bit. Caramelize two medium onions in butter and oil, sugar, thyme, and white wine or broth, grate some delicious Swiss gruyère, spread lots o' butter on thick slices of a baguette or, in my case, sourdough and boom, you're in business!


I went to town on these onions but that's because we love super-caramelized onions. Keep an eye on them if you're not too keen on them becoming too brown, you don't want to end up with burned onions!


After letting your bread soak up a good amount of butter, top with the onions and grated cheese. Grating the cheese will help with the melting process, so don't skip that step! It will result in an amazingly gooey sandwich.


I combined and modified these two recipes from Tasty Kitchen and Portuguese Girl Cooks to come up with the above. I strongly suggest you make these. STRONGLY!

Spring Face with Wet n Wild's Going in the Wild

You would think after lusting over Wet n Wild's Nude Awakening palette, that I'd be posting about that bad boy first. The truth is I haven't even cracked it open yet! I know! Instead, I reached for my Going in the Wild palette for a soft springy look.


I've read a number of negative reviews about this palette and I truthfully don't get it. I LOVE IT! I can only imagine how much more umph the colors will have with a higher-end primer and/or base – just look at that color with elf's $1 primer!

Products Used:
e.l.f. Eyelid Primer
Wet n Wild Color Icon Palette in Going in the Wild (available online here & here!)
Wet n Wild Color Icon Single in Penny
Wet n Wild Idol Eyes Crème Shadow in Pixie
Almay Liquid Line Eyeliner
Maybelline The Colossal Volum' Express Cat Eyes
Maybelline Lash Discovery Mascara
NYX Wonder Penicl in Light
e.l.f. Eyebrow Kit in Medium


I have vouched for Almay for Y-E-A-R-S as it's the only liquid liner I use. In fact, I've used it since freshman year of high school! Sadly, I think they may have changed the formula because the black just isn't very black anymore... I'm hoping it's just a fluke and it's time for a new bottle. Luckily there's no need for me to run to the drugstore because I have this many left:


Who am I kidding? Like I need a reason to go to the drugstore. I hope you enjoy this look! Let me know if you're interested in these kinds of posts, I'll gladly keep 'em up!