DIY Tinted Lip Balm, and also Food

I have a CoverGirl lipstick in a shade called "burn" that I liked quite well but was just a little dark and dry. So I decided to cut it with a lighter shade of lipstick and some chapstick. It's super easy to do so I thought I'd shout out a quick tutorial! It's great if you have a lipstick that's too drying (though keep in mind the lipstick to balm ratio will affect the opacity of color) or if you have a favorite lipstick that is down to a nub. You would be amazed at how much lipstick is left over when you think it's gone - just scoop it out, melt it down, pour into a tin or other holder and let it set.

Ok, here goes: First I scoop out the whole entire chapstick and put it in a small oven proof dish

A free one from some swag bag I got a while ago.

 then added the CoverGirl lipstick

and a little bit of the lighter pink.

Preheat the oven to its lowest setting, mine is 175 degrees. You'll stick the lipsticks in there until melted, for me that was about 7 minutes. It doesn't take long at all. Look how mine came out! So pretty!

Ohmigosh it's a yin yang of lipstick!

Now you dump it into your container of choice. I'm using the chapstick container I emptied to start this project, but you could also use an emptied lipstick container or a shallow tin. Pour carefully, once it dries it's a pain in the butt to clean up - you know, like lipstick.

Now you let it set. You can let it sit at room temperature for about half an hour, but I actually like to stick mine in the freezer for about ten minutes. Be careful not to knock it over though, I've done that before and then it comes out a hoggledy poggledy mess.

Swatch time!

On Mah Lips

On Mah Arm

ONTO FOOD!!

Tonight's dinner was roasted chicken legs, whipped butternut squash, and salad. If you haven't tried whipped butternut squash then your world is sad. Make it happy!! 

Start by cutting the squash in half lengthwise which is no small feat. Scoop out the seeds and save them for roasting.

Poke the squash with a fork then place in a roasting pan (skin side down) with about an inch of water and roast for 30-45 minutes at 425.  I usually cook an hour at 350 but was cooking the chicken at the same time and needed the higher temp.

While this is roasting prep the chicken; start simple by just sprinkling with salt and pepper. Put this in the oven at 425 for 30 minutes. When it's close to time to pull out the chicken make the emulsion.

In a small bowl squeeze two lemons. Then slowly, slowly, SLOWLY whisk in a tablespoon of olive oil. Now add one tsp red wine vinegar, 3 minced garlic cloves, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, 1 tsp oregano. Whisk for a bit then pull the chicken and the butternut. Drain some of the excess chicken juice and then pour the lemon sauce on top of the legs. Return chicken to the oven and cook for 20 minutes or until done. 

Now it's time to check on kitty because she's being too quiet...

No worries. She's just snuggling next to Leroy.

When the squash is cool enough to handle use a spoon to scoop the flesh out of the butternut skin and plop it in a big bowl. Throw in a couple small pats of butter and stir to melt.

Sprinkle a little brown sugar and cinnamon in the butternut, or season however you wish! Remember that this squash is naturally very sweet so start light and taste before adding more. Now get out your hand mixer and whip that baby! Unfortunately the next step I messed up. This is where I normally add a couple spoonfuls of sour cream. But I didn't have any! NO SOUR CREAM! WHAT WORLD IS THIS??? So needless to say I skipped that step. It didn't come out as creamy as it usually does but was definitely still delicious. 

Once the chicken is done let it sit for about five minutes before serving.

In this time you can put the squash back in the oven if it needs to warm up or to melt the brown sugar. 

YUM YUM NOMZZZZZZ

This is an incredibly healthy meal if you go light on the butter and sugar! Squash is amazingly good for you. Speaking of squash related things that are amazingly good for you, let's roast those seeds we saved!

Wash and dry the seeds and spread in a thin layer on a cookie sheet. Season as preferred, I like to sprinkle mine with some salt and that's it. Roast for about 15 minutes or until they're golden and poppin'!