The BIG day is almost here! That’s right, Thanksgiving is just a few days away.

Now if your family is anything like mine, Thanksgiving is really steeped in tradition. We all have those special things that remind us of childhood, family, and home. Most of them center around food and specific dishes. Well at least in this family it does! This day is based around stuffing our faces and being around those we love. I’m sure your family is not that much different. 

Thanksgiving is all about being grateful and all I can say how grateful I am to all of you following me in this journey over the last year! 

In this post I want to share my turkey recipe with all of you to ensure your day goes as smoothly as possible! I have spent years perfecting my technique and I have definitely mastered it. My recipe is easy to follow and very simplistic, so here we go...
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​We all have stories of things that can go wrong on Turkey Day! Recipes that didn’t turn out the way we expected. We all have a great stories that become family lore over the years.

For instance, this could look like a turkey sliding across the kitchen floor. That was my Mom and yes we still ate the turkey that year. This is the other fun part about Thanksgiving, remembering the fiascos!

​I’ve had more than my share of stories over the years. Just last year I put the turkey in the oven to cook but forgot to turn the oven on! It wasn't until two hours later I even realized it! Or back to the first time I cooked our family's Thanksgiving meal when I didn’t know to take out the giblet bag and cooked the turkey with a plastic bag inside of it.
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So to take some of the stress off all of you who have to cook this important meal, I thought I would share my incredibly easy recipe for the main attraction - the turkey. So many people stress out on this but I have a foolproof way of making the most amazing, juicy tasting turkey you’ve ever had. Well, at least that’s what my family says. So here’s the simple recipe I’ve used for the last 15 years to add to our family memories.

Before I get into the actual method, there are a few small things that are so important to get the best results.
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​OK, so here’s my recipe. Trust me, you’re going to love it!
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This method is so easy it takes the stress out of cooking such a big meal along with cutting down the cooking time.

Because you are blasting the turkey on high heat along with brining it, all the juices will be held inside the bird and the crispy skin that everyone loves will be consistent over the entire turkey.

So trust me on this one, try it this year! Enjoy your family and make those memories that will be talked about in years to come.
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With the holiday season upon us, once we know it we will be celebrating the New Year! I wanted to write a follow-up post to “Best New Products (So Far) of 2019!” I posted way back in May! My, how the times flies!! Since then there have been a few stand out new products that I had to share with you all, so here we go…
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​The first product that I want to cover is the Pat McGrath Skin Fetish Foundation. My love for Pat McGrath products is deep! I own way too many of her lipsticks. Her eyeshadow palettes are the most beautiful on the market, and I’m obsessed with her mascara.

So when word came out that she was releasing a foundation I was on the waitlist immediately. The beauty community as a whole was very excited about this launch and people were itching to try it first!

I purchased The System, which consisted of the foundation, primer and setting powder. I love the entire kit but I’ll focus on the foundation for now.

This is more of a serum in consistency, which means it is much more fluid and silky than a normal liquid foundation. Why I love this so much is the weightless feel on the skin and the ability to build easily to medium coverage. This foundation is perfect especially for fine lines because it doesn’t cake into creases. I will say if you have a lot of blemishes or skin imperfections to cover this may not be the foundation for you. It is like I said a buildable foundation to medium coverage at the most. 

What you will see in your application is a beautiful radiance and luminosity to the skin. This is a result of the polymers, amino acid-treated pigments and what is listed as Diamond Core Powder. This is what gives you that beautiful glow.

This is a luxury foundation and the price of $68.00 reflects that. With that being said a little goes a very long way with this foundation. There are also 34 shades to choose from, which is very inclusive to all skin tones.

I have been using this foundation exclusively since August and I love the way it looks on my skin. I constantly change my foundation, always switching up with how my skin looks on a particular day or the type of coverage I’m after. For me, it says something that I’ve used this foundation every day. It’s covered gym days to more date night glam makeup. The weightless feeling is incredible and my skin looks radiant as soon as I apply. 
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I’ve written about how much I love KUSH Mascara and I still do. It’s incredible!

I now have started using the Milk Makeup, KUSH Lash Primer and together with the KUSH mascara, my lashes are killer! I wear this under all my mascaras now which helps my lashes look more full and thick.

Just like the mascara, the primer has the benefits of Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil. This helps condition your lashes to add volume and thickness.

Now just one thing when using a lash primer. Normally lash primers are white when you apply as is this one. So when you layer your mascara over the primer you must make sure that you cover all your lashes, you don’t want that white primer showing through!

Whether you use the KUSH mascara or your own choice of mascara, this primer will help nourish and condition your lashes to make them more full & lush. And who doesn’t need that! This is by far the best primer I've ever used!
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​Ok, so the Lucas Pawpaw Ointment is one of those Amazon finds that I’m always amazed by. It has a cult following which comes as no surprise. This ointment which sells for $6.94. Yes, you read that right, it costs only $6.94! It is an incredible night time treatment for your lips.

Now on their Amazon site, they list all the things this Australian made product will help with. The only thing I have used it for is my lips. I apply the ointment when I go to bed at night and when I wake up in the morning my lips are no longer chapped and flakey. It took one night for this to work for me. I mean really for basically $7 how can you go wrong! This will be my go-to for my dry, chapped lips the winter months.

I purchased this in June and I still have a fair amount left in the tube. Incredible!
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Using a facial razor is something new that I have been doing in my skin routine. I know it sounds weird, but even for someone like me who barely has any peach fuzz, it makes a difference! Applying my makeup is so much easier and it goes on so smooth.

I purchased my first pack of these razors in June. I use the smaller razor to trim underneath my brow and the larger one to rid my skin face of peach fuzz and help exfoliate my skin.

Now you’re probably saying “Are you, nuts lady!” But this really does help my makeup apply better and rids my skin of any flakiness. 

I have very sensitive skin so this is how I go about using the razor on my face:

First, I spray my face with a rosewater spray, my favorite is the Mario Badescu Facial Spray. Then very gently, on an angle, take the larger of the blades and do each side of my face and upper lip area. I then spray my face once more. You cannot believe how smooth your skin will feel afterward. I suggest using this method in the evening. Your nighttime routine will absorb so much better into your skin too.

I use the smaller razor under my brows. Now if you follow my blog you know I have almost no eyebrows. But lucky me, hair grows under the brow like a weed! Why??!!?? So I apply a cream, then run the razor, which fits well into that very small area, to clean up any stray hairs. I then apply cream after shaving.

The cost of $7.00 for a pack of 6 allows you to toss the razors after a few uses. I always will wipe the razor with alcohol after using it if I am going to use the razor again. 

Try it and let me know what you think!
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I am always looking for an easy way to clean my makeup brushes. Since I have WAY too many brushes, I tend to use all of them until every one of my brushes needs cleaning. The pile of dirty brushes takes forever to clean and then of course to dry.

I saw this product I believe on Refinery 29 and thought why not try it. So glad I did.

Here’s how you use it. You pour a bit of the product into a bowl. Just slightly dip your brush (do not submerge as I did the first time I used it) into the liquid. Just touch the very end of your brush with the liquid. Then take the brush and run over a paper towel to clean. No water involved! Makeup is left on the paper towel and not only is your brush clean but it’s also conditioned. They also dry almost immediately.

This works for both natural and synthetic brushes. It cleaned liquid foundation (which can be tough to clean), eyeshadow, powders, and cream eyeliner products extremely well. 

I still dislike the pile of brushes but at least now the process is so much faster and way simpler.
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​Okay, these pimple patches are a godsend! Breakouts are never fun, but we have all been there. This usually happens during the worst time possible. Especially, during the holiday season, there is so much to do plus the extreme temperatures don’t help our skin. You might wake up one morning with a big red pimple on the tip of your nose looking like Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer. Well, we now have a solution!

Put on one of these acne patches and you will see that blemish deflate overnight! When you remove it the next morning you get to see all that junk that was pulled out. 

Wash your wash as you normally would before applying any patches. I would suggest putting on your patches before applying your moisturizer, so they stay on throughout the night. You don’t have to mess with your blemish before putting one on to get it started. Just leave it as is. These patches even work for cystic acne, which is very impressive. If you deal with cystic acne you will have to use it a few nights in a row, but it will still take care of the problem area without leaving any scarring. 

The Mighty Patch comes in two sizes, one is the small pimple spot dot good for covering just one blemish. If you have a larger breakout area you want to tackle there is the large acne pimple patch available. 

I suggest to keep these patches handy during this time of year, you’ll be happy you did.