The Lazy Girl's Method for Washing her Face

I have a confession to make: I hate washing my face at the sink. I always have. It's just so messy. Maybe it's because of my height, but I end up with water everywhere. Until my late 20's, I would often sleep in my makeup. Now, I take much better care of my skin, but I still dislike washing my face at night. So, I came up with a solution, and my skin is better than ever!

There's a lot of steps here, but don't worry, they're the easiest steps ever. You don't even have to tie your hair back. This method works best on sensitive, combination, or dry skin, but it does work on oily, acne-prone, or aging skin. Just use variations of the products to best suit your skin. I have sensitive combination skin.

First up, your products. You'll need:

Jojoba oil

Makeup remover wipes / pre-moistened face cleaning cloths 

(Optional) eye cream &/or spot treatment 

The method:

1. Apply a heavy layer of the jojoba oil to your whole dry face using your clean hands. (You can let it soak in a few minutes if you want.)

2. Use a face cloth to wipe off the oil and all of your makeup.

3. Rinse your face with water & dry gently (optional but recommended).

4. Apply eye cream or spot treatment (also optional).

5. Apply a final thin layer of jojoba oil.

Why this works:

Jojoba oil does not clog pores or cause breakouts. The initial oil dissolves dirt and grease on your skin. Your face wipe removes all of the loosened dirt and grime. A rinse with water helps too, although I skip this step most nights. I don't have much water pressure or any hot water to my bathroom sink (it's a rental house). Jojoba oil is also a great moisturizer, thus why I apply it a second time.

Let me know if you try it, and if it works for you.

King Cake

February is for Valentine's Day. No wait...it's Mardi Gras season. How about both in one dessert?

I love to bake, but before meeting my SO, I had never successfully worked with yeast. I had tried to make my own King Cake in the past & failed. Luckily my SO is a master at baking bread, and he taught me a few tricks. Now I'm confident to take on almost any baking challenge. Last year we made a traditional King Cake. That was my intention this year as well, but I ended up using blood orange in place of the lemon zest in my recipe. It turned out better than ever. I think this is the best thing I've ever baked. Plus the blood orange juice in the icing makes it pink, perfect for Valentine's Day, although it us definitely not going to last that long in this house!

Blood Orange King Cake

Recipe adapted from "Paula Deen Celebrates!"

Cake:

1 stick butter 

3/4 cup plus 1 tsp granulated sugar

1 tsp salt

2/3 cup half & half

2 envelopes or 4 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

3 eggs, whisked

Zest of 1 small blood orange

5 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup cake flour

1 egg white, for glazing

Filling:

1/2 stick butter, melted

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 cup granulated sugar

Icing:

2 cups confectioners' sugar

4 Tbsp blood orange juice

1. Melt 1 stick of butter in a microwave safe bowl. Mix in 3/4 cup sugar and salt, stir until sugar dissolves, reheating if needed. Allow to cool, then mix in half & half.

2. In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, mix together yeast, 1/4 cup lukewarm water, and 1 tsp sugar. Set aside for 10 minutes. If yeast does not foam up or bubble, discard and start over with new yeast.

3. If you have a cast iron pan or 2, place them on the lower rack in your oven. Place the second rack in the middle of the oven. Turn on your oven & allow to preheat no more than 5 minutes. Turn off. Leave door closed if oven is approximately 100F, vent to cool if needed.

4. Whisk cooled butter mixture into yeast mixture. Add in eggs and orange zest, whisk well.

5. Add flour 1 cup at a time. After 3 cups, switch out your whisk for a dough hook attachment. Occasionally scrape the sides & bottom of the mixing bowl. Continue alternating scraping the bowl and kneading the dough with the mixer just until a cohesive and elastic dough forms.

6. Remove dough ball from bowl, throughly grease bowl, return dough, and cover with greased plastic wrap.

7. Place dough in warm oven to rise for approximately 1 hour or until slightly less than doubled in size.

8. Prepare filling: mix cinnamon and sugar in small bowl, and melt butter. 

9. Prepare a large work surface for working with the dough. Get out a large cookie sheet.

10. Divide risen dough in half. Press dough into a 10"x15" rectangle.

11. Brush with half of the melted butter, and sprinkle on half of the cinnamon sugar.

12. Roll tightly into a 15" long roll, seal edge, set aside, and repeat with remaining dough and filling.

13. Twist together the dough rolls, then transfer to your cookie sheet, and form into a circle or oval, pressing ends together.

14. Cover with greased plastic wrap or parchment paper. Return dough to warm oven to rise again, 1 hour or until slightly less than doubled in size.

15. Carefully remove dough from oven. Set oven to 350F and allow to preheat. Whisk egg white and 1 Tbsp water together. Remove covering and brush egg wash onto dough.

16. Bake cake for 35 minutes, until golden brown. Cake should sound hollow when tapped.

17. Prepare icing: whisk together confectioners' sugar and 2-4 Tbsp orange juice. Icing should be smooth. Add more sugar or juice if the mixture is too thick or thin to drizzle.

18. Drizzle icing onto slightly cooled cake. Top with colored decorating sugar if you desire.

Enjoy!