Spa Day Sunday

When you start your week out right, Monday isn't so scary! I'm so glad I got back to my Sunday spa routine because I gotta tell ya...I jumped out of bed this morning. 
This of course was partly due to the fact that I was so relaxed yesterday that I was ready for bed by 930p lol
The boyfriend was pretty relaxed as well- he always thinks my beauty things are silly...until he tries them. If you don't already have a sleep mask...get one asap. They are amazing- especially if you travel a lot or get headaches. 

I love love love getting new beauty goodies so I made a trip over to Sally's Beauty yesterday and picked up a new clay mask, hair product and always have to get one new nail polish =)

FACE:
Occasionally, I'm embarrassed to say...I fall asleep with my makeup on. Even one night completely clogs my pores and you know it's bad when your man mentions something about it to you! Eeeeek! I was in DESPERATE need of a pore cleansing! My pick of the week- Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque.
It was about $6-7 at Sally's

It says it absorbs excess oil, rinses away blackheads and minimizes the appearance of pores. I left it on for about 20 minutes until it was dry but I read reviews about people leaving it on overnight and having amazing results. It had an amazing smell and a nice cooling sensation. It was a little tingly- it was like a could feel my pores being cleaned out.

The Result: Loved it! My skin felt great and the BF commented on what a difference it made. You KNOW it's good when your man wants you to put it on him next lol

UPDATE: Jay let me put the mask on him!! Check it out!

HAIR:
Next on my list- Repair my dry/damaged hair. I thought I'd give Aphogee's Keratin 2 minute Re-constructor a whirl
Wash hair and then work 1/2 ounce evenly through hair. Leave on for 2-5 minutes. If you want maximum penetration, you can cover your hair with a warm towel or shower cap. I opted not to...just because.
The Result: To be determined. I felt like my hair was silky, softer and it air dried straight! That never happens. I can't really tell if it made that much of a difference. It says to use Weekly so I'm going to try again next week. It does smell pretty yummy as well.

BODY: Baking Soda Body Scrub. My sister has been telling me about this for awhile...and I just never got around to trying it until now...
Baking Soda as an exfloliant/body scrub

So I looked up a ton a "recipes" for this online. You can add scents, essential oils, olive oil, coconut, etc...but for simplicity's sake I went with the good ole fashioned Baking Soda plus water. 3 parts baking soda, one part water = body scrub.

Rub this all over your body, rinse. Doesn't get much simpler than that!

The Result: I like. It's cheap, green, and easy. You miss out on sudsy fun, but that's a small price to pay. 
I waited until I was completely dry before putting on any lotion because I wanted to see if it actually made my skin any softer, and I think it did! 
I'll prob be more careful next time because I got Baking Soda everywhere when I was rinsing it off lol Good thing it's also a great bathroom cleaner.
Is there anything Baking Soda can't do?


Onto Breakfast! Cinnamon Banana Oatmeal and Eggs!
I'm not exactly sure when my love affair with cinnamon started but I lovee it so much. It makes the whole house smell warm and cozy!

Why I love this recipe:

it's super easy, it's healthy, it's a great alternative to cereal and boring breakfast options

Ingredients:

1 cup Almond Milk
1 cup Old-Fashioned Oats
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 banana, thinly sliced

Directions:

Heat Almond Milk (or water) in a small saucepan. Add thinly sliced banana and cinnamon. Keep pan over heat and stir for approximately five minutes until the bananas dissolve. I like my oats to be hearty and a little dry so I add them last. Stir, pour oatmeal into a bowl and if you're feeling frisky, add almond and banana slices.

Reading on a Sunday is a MUST! My Top recommendation right now- The Greatest Miracle in the World.
Wow, wow, wow is all I am gonna say. Make sure this book makes it on your list!  One of my ultimate joys in life- curl up in a good reading chair by the window with a super comfy throw blanket, a great book, and a delicious smelling house. Thank you to my gorgeous friend Donna for the most amazing candle ever!!

The Sunday night festivities didn't end there... I was sooooo excited to make popcorn! We opted for the over the stove popper thingy. So exciting! It was like a mini adventure. We settled in on the couch with our popcorn to cuddle. Perfection <3

So here we are...Monday again! Time to get my booty into gear! But first...I must decide which color?! Orange or blue!
Along with Body Beast, we've been running through the beautiful Santa Monica neighborhood. I need some new kicks because sadly, mine are getting worn out! They recommend using them for only 500 miles (typically about 6 months or less!!) Booo!!

Spinach and Egg Breakfast Sandwich

I am always drawn to things that will make my life a little bit easier and I think I found the mother of all easy/delicious breakfast options! Prep on Sunday or before you start your week and you have something nutritious to grab for almost 2 whole weeks!
This WONDERFUL recipe came from http://www.macheesmo.com/ 

Spinach and Egg Breakfast Sandwiches

Yield: 12 sandwiches

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

12 eggs, scrambled
2 cups baby spinach
2 tablespoons butter
6-8 ounces cheese, grated
12 whole wheat English muffins

Helpful Equipment:
Muffin tins

Cooking the Eggs

Artsy.

Scramble the eggs before cooking them which makes sure that they cook evenly.

I like to add a few tablespoons of water to my 12 eggs and then I just lightly scramble them with a fork.

New technique!

A number of commenters said that the eggs were sticking in their muffin tins when they made these.

There’s only one way to avoid this consistently: butter. If you use nonstick spray or whatever, don’t come yelling at me if it doesn’t work. I use butter and it works like a charm.

You just need a light layer of it coating the whole muffin tin.

Butter is better.

While you can just do the eggs, I’ve started adding in things to my eggs while they cook.

I generally don’t eat a lot of meat in the mornings, but you could definitely add some crumbled sausage or ham to the tins. I went with spinach though on this occasion.

Almost anything that you could put in an omelet would work here.

Just a few leaves.

Then just evenly divide the eggs in the tins. Obviously it should be about an egg per tin and the tins will be about 3/4 full.

Evenly divided...

Baking the Eggs

Bake these guys at 350 degrees for about 20-22 minutes and they should be perfectly cooked. Be sure to check them to make sure the very centers are cooked through. If they aren’t, then cook them for a few extra minutes.

Once they cool for a few minutes, the egg cups should easily slide out of the tins.

Awesome.

Making/storing the Sandwiches

There are basically three ways to deal with storing these bad boys.

Eat them immediately

You just made some delicious sandwiches so plan on eating one or two of them right away. I like to toast my muffin and then add some cheese to it. Then I just toss on one of the egg cups and press it down a bit so the egg squashes out to the edges of the muffin.

Then I bake it for a few minutes to melt the cheese and eat it. Delicious!

Whole wheat muffins.

Make the Sandwiches – Freeze the Sandwiches

This is my preferred method of storing the sandwiches. I just cut a muffin in half, add some cheese to it, and toss on the egg cup.

Then I wrap the whole thing in foil and store all the individually wrapped sandwiches in a large freezer-safe bag.

Once they are frozen they keep fine for months.

Making and wrapping.

Freeze Just the Eggs

A number of commenters mentioned that this is their preferred way to store these and it works great.

Basically, once you pop all the egg cups out, let them cool briefly and then wrap each egg cup in plastic wrap (or foil) and store the individually wrapped eggs in a freezer safe bag.

This method cuts down on the freezer space you’ll need and some people think that the egg by itself reheats better than the whole sandwich.

Reheating the Sandwiches

If you just froze the eggs, reheating is very easy. Just unwrap the egg and microwave it on high for about 90-120 seconds. Then toast the muffin and add some cheese if you want.

Sandwich done!

If you froze the whole sandwiches, which is my preferred method, you can also unwrap them and heat them in the microwave.

The best way to reheat them though is in the oven. Just toss the frozen sandwich (still wrapped in foil) in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes and the finished sandwich will be as good as on day one.

30 minutes? You’re crazy!

About 20% of the hundreds of comments on the original post say that my reheating method doesn’t make sense. After all, it takes 30 minutes for the sandwich to cook!

Here’s the thing though… when it comes to prep time in the morning, there is no active time needed for the oven method. You don’t need to stand over your oven while the sandwich reheats.

The idea is that you wake up, toss the sandwich in the oven, take a shower, get ready to go, and then as you are leaving… BAM… your sandwich is done.

I don’t know anyone who gets out of the door faster than 30 minutes after waking up so you just let the sandwich cook while you are doing other stuff.

It works like a charm and you’re left with a really delicious breakfast any day of the week.

Pretty hard to beat!

I still make these sandwiches pretty regularly and they are a great way to start the day.