Easy Peasy Pasta

John and I had fun hosting our last Dinner Party so we decided to have another one. We even picked up some new chairs so more people could fit at our tiny kitchen table. My best friend Tammy made her famous "Gravy" with meatballs while I made with my favorite, Broccoli Aflredo. Garlic Bread in the oven and wine in our glasses. We were ready to talk about Barilla Ready Pasta.

 Ready Pasta is available in 4 cuts: penne, elbows, rotini and gemelli. I used Elbows for the meat sauce and Gemelli for the alfredo. We made Penne the week before with a yummy tomato basil sauce. They are all so good. 

Barilla Ready Pasta is a delicious, fully cooked pasta that is ready in just 60 seconds. Simply heat the pouch in the microwave then top with your favorite ingredients for a delicious dish in minutes. Each packages contains 2 servings, so they are perfect for a couple, kids or as a side. Great for people who have there hands full or are busy, because you don't have to wait around for water to boil.

I am not a fan of microwaves, so if you are like me, you can easily heat up Ready Pasta without the microwave. Just toss it in a skillet with some olive oil and heat it up for 2-4 minutes. Perfect! Not as convenient as the microwave, but still much faster and using a skillet keeps my pots free for cooking other things on the stove top. 

Barilla Ready Pasta has no preservatives and is made with 3 simple ingredients. A dash of extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of sea salt & authentic Barilla pasta. Simple, Fast and Yummy. Everyone loved it. 

You can pick up Barilla Ready Pasta in Grocery Stores and Walmart.

It is even available on Amazon.

I love having Ready Pasta on hand in my pantry. It's the perfect way to whip up something quick and easy.

~Crystal Vicious

Follow Barilla on Facebook.

Swap Out Your Pasta For Something Better

My sister refers to me as a health nut, but I'm really not one. I just try to make better choices when it comes to food. I try to limit my gluten intake to help manage my autoimmune diseases. Sadly, I just discovered a love of a bunch of sauces other than the tomato sauce my mother made growing up, but I'm trying to avoid wheat noodles. Then I discovered Banza Pasta. It is made from chickpeas! 

I had never heard of a chickpea until I met my boyfriend's mother, who can basically make anything out of chickpeas. This legume is a secret super food, gluten free, low on the glycemic index and Banza's chickpeas are certified non-GMO. Just replace regular pasta in any recipe with Banza and you get double the protein, four times the fiber, and half the net carbs. 

This past weekend I did just that. Three Days, Three Recipes and Three Pastas.

Day One: Linguine

We invited a few friends over for a Pasta Game Night.

We made some turkey meatballs with a tomato and basil red sauce. The Banza Linguine cooked just like regular pasta.

Dinner was delicious.

Day Two: Shells

We visited my sister and brother-in-law with ingredients in tow. We whipped up some Chicken Alfredo and added Banza Shells. This one was also a hit.

Day Three: Rotini

This recipe was my favorite! Butternut Squash Alfredo! A perfect fall dish. The Banza Rotini cooked perfectly and held the sauce well. In this sauce, I couldn't even taste that the pasta was not wheat pasta. 

I wasn't the only one fooled by this dish. Even the kids loved it! That's a big deal. Totally a hit, I will be making this one again.

Banza is such a great alternative for those that are health conscious, have dietary restrictions or just want to add a great superfood to their repertoire.

You can find several varieties of Banza Pastas or their boxed Mac & Cheese at Target, Whole Foods or Wegmans.

Find Banza near you.

~Crystal Vicious

I Finally Signed Up With Birchbox!

Birchbox is a New York City-based online monthly subscription service that sends its subscribers a box of four to five selected samples of makeup, or other beauty related products. 

It's one of the least expensive beauty subscription boxes at only $10 a month. I've heard good things so I signed up. It's not a huge investment and you can cancel at anytime.

I love trying out new products, so I'm really excited about recieving my first box! Plus, getting a package of surprises in the mail is always fun! 

Use this link and get 50% OFF your first Birchbox!!!!

That's only $5 for a box full of awesome products! 

Stay gorgeous! 

~Crystal Vicious

The Knock Ups - Dionysius

InstaNatural Vitamin C Moisturizer

I've used InstaNatural in the past, the Acne Cleaser. It was amazing! It was gentle on my skin, worked perfectly and smelled of oranges. I couldn't wait to try out another product.

Unfortunately this product was a total miss for me. It comes in a nice pump bottle, but the moisturizer is so thick it makes a bit of a mess. The lotion also goes on your face very thick. It takes a long time to absorb and leaves a filmy feeling on my face hours after application. My face is left oily and tight feeling. I haven't even attempted to apply makeup over it. 

It also burns my skin. I sit here now, an hour after applying and my face still stings. I've tried this for several days to see if I could get used to not only the sting, but the very unpleasant scent of the moisturizer. Neither of these things are getting better, so I am probably just going to toss this product. 

I would only give InstaNatural Vitamin C Moisturizer 1 out of 5 stars. I'm not going to be able to use it long enough to see if there are any true benefits. The greasy feeling, the burning and the odor are all too much for me to continue using this twice a day.

I'm pretty bummed because their cleanser was fantastic. I'm going to go wash my face.

I received this product at a discount. This review is 100% honest, unbiased, and my own.

~Crystal Vicious

Keeping Up The Flame with Maybelline SuperStay 24 Lip Color

I've never really been a big fan of liquid lip color. I've always preferred a stick, a gloss or a balm. This 2-in-1 lip color comes with it's own balm, so I was willing to give it a chance and now I am hooked!

I have never had a lip color last as long as this one, especially "Keep Up The Flame". Red just doesn't like to stay on my lips. 

Application is simple and takes little time and effort, so these are easily an every day beauty staple.
Step 1. Apply liquid color to clean, bare lips. Allow two minutes to dry. 
Step 2. Apply conditioning balm to seal in moisture. Easy peasy!

I tried two colors. "Constant Toast" a pretty, shimmery nude color. I NEVER wear nudes, but I loved it and enjoyed wearing it for daytime activities. It looked nice with my pale skin and lasted all day...even while sipping coffee and eating meals. You can easily reapply the balm on top and it helps boost shine and moisturize your lips. 

"Keep Up The Flame" is perfect for night time. I love Reds and really liked how this looked on me. I've never had a red last an entire night out. Zero mirror checks needed. Just reapply the balm once or twice after eating and drinking and it looks great.

The color is a tad sticky while you wait for it to dry, so try to keep your lips parted. Once the balm is on, they will feel soft and smooth. My lips did feel a bit dry throughout the day, but reapplying the balm fixed that issue.

Maybelline suggests using oil based makeup remover, but my Micellar Water did the trick when it was time to clean up. 

I am extremely happy with this lipcolor and will be grabbing some more shades in the future! I would totally recommend!

Many thanks to Maybelline and Influenster for giving me complimentary samples of Maybelline SuperStay 24 Longwear Lip Color. All opinions expressed are 100% honest, unbiased and my own.

~Crystal Vicious

Skin2Spirit Lipstick

After trying Skin2Spirit's lipgloss, I couldn't wait to get my hands on one of their lipsticks.

Since it's Autumn I grabbed one in "Pomegranate"...

This is a matte lipstick in a medium, berry pink tone, perfect for Fall.

This lipstick came packaged like their glosses, in a cute green giftbag. 

These lipsticks are new, so the containers do not have logos yet, and the ingredients are printed on a sticker at the moment. The company says these things will be updated soon, so I will not comment on that, even though I'm not bothered by the current packaging.

What I do have a complaint about is the taste and smell of this lipstick. Skin2Spirit claims they use all natural and non-toxic ingredients, and for the pricetag, that's what I would expect. Their lipgloss was absoultely brillant, don't get me wrong, but the lipstick was gross. 

The scent and taste is exactly like the $1.00 lipsticks you would get at the Dollar Store as a pre-teen. The nostalgia it brought was not the good kind. I'm not sure what ingredient is causing this. Maybe it's something that is specific to the color I chose. There isn't even a hint of the vanilla that is advertised on the product listing. The vanilla is the BEST part of their lipgloss, so I was extrememly disappointed by this. 

I really loved the color, which bums me out more. The longevity was really good too. A bit came off on my coffee cup, but most of the color stayed throughout my morning. I retouched after lunch time. I didn't notice much moisturizing action, but it wasn't drying either. I ended up putting a layer of Skin2Spirit's lipgloss on top to cover the unpleasant taste and smell. 

I give this lipstick 3 out of 5 stars. It would be amazing if it didn't bother my senses so much. Having to mask it with a strong scented lipgloss everytime will end up being a hassle, and an extra expense for something that already has a pretty high price tag. 

I'm hoping it's just because of the shade I picked, or maybe I just recieved a bad stick. I want to love this company. I don't think I would recommend this, at least not in "Pomegranate"... or if they adjust the formula.

***Update 11/15/16: Kathi from Skin2Spirit sent me a replacement lipstick in "Berry Red". It was fabulous! No funky scent or taste. I'm thrilled. It went on smooth and lasted a long time, just like the Pomegranate. I would give this one 5 stars. Much better! Also, many thanks to the company for being awesome to work with!***

If you would like to try one, they are available here.

I received this product at a discount. This review is 100% honest, unbiased, and my own.

~Crystal Vicious