rants and raves: January 2012

rant: skin care & technology

as i've gotten older, i've become more diligent about taking care of my skin. okay, diligent isn't the right word...obsessed? militant? indulgent? as a teen i had acne and my mommy was awesome enough to send me to a dermatologist. treatment ranged from using dial soap to wash my face to antibiotics to salicylic acid gels. the best thing that came out of all that was the habit of washing my face twice daily no matter how tired or late i was.

over the years, i have tried many products, from grocery store products to doctor prescribed. I'm a believer in switching around and trying different products. i'm lucky to have a sister who is also obsessed with facial care so we're always sharing info and products.

in the past i have used some full systems and some times i mix and match. some systems/products i have tried are:

patricia wexler m.d.

acnescription
mmpi 20 skin regenerating serum
fastscription instant de-puff eye gel
dual action foaming cleanser
intensive night reversal & repair cream
intensive 3-in-1 eye cream: lifting, firming, anti-wrinkle formula

obagi nu-derm system

tri-luma

mioggi hex magic ultimate whitening resurfacer

cetaphil gentle face cleanser

cerava pm lotion

avene rétrinal+ 0.1 cream

avene cicalfate restorative skin cream

vichy aqualia thermal light fortifying & soothing 24hr hydrating care

philosophy miracle worker miraculous anti-aging eye cream
neostrata foaming glycolic wash

strivectin instant facial sculpting cream

strivectin overnight facial resurfacing serum

(at some point i will write about these products too. if you want my opinion about any of them let me know.)

the last system i finished was the obagi nu-derm and it was good. according to their website, "the obagi nu-derm system is an anti-aging therapy that penetrates below the skin’s surface to transform skin cell functions at the cellular level and correct the damage within... revealing healthy, younger-looking skin." my skin did look and feel healthier. the main reason i wanted to use obagi was to lighten/eliminate some of my freckles. don't get me wrong...i love my freckles. i just didn't like that more were appearing and some were joining forces to look more like age/sun spots. being a regular runner, not being outside was not an option. and even with spf 70+, the freckles were gaining. obagi did help with the freckles but my skin felt a little thinned out.

so most recently i've been using a glycolic face wash, cerava lotion and avene retrinal. and it's been great. but my skin has been acting wonky for whatever reason. so at my last visit to costco, i walked by all the beauty/skin care stuff and i see a line of products and noticed they have all be marked for clearance (when things end in $.97 at costco, that means they are marking them down to move the item.) so i used my trusty iphone to google what's up with this stuff and if it was a good price. and this is what i found.

the skin care line is somme institute. a couple basics about the company:

founded on a simple premise: "skin care companies should deliver the claims they promise."
there's over 7 years of testing, development and tracking
they developed a proprietary technology called MDT5 - molecular dispersion technology 5

so i googled and researched reviews and results and people have raved about it. so i've decided to try it out. usually, there's 5 steps, but most people did not like or were ambivalent about step 5 so i've decided to stick to my own sunscreen. if you are a fan of the product/line, check your local costco. here in austin, the prices are amazing:

step 1: nourishing cleanser - website $40, amazon $23.99, costco $9.97

step 2: transport - website $58, amazon $37.19, costco $19.97

step 3: serum - website $82, amazon $55.97, costco $27.97

step 4: a-bomb - website $70, amazon $31.99, costco $16.97

step 5: double defense - website $48, amazon $22.99, costco $9.97

Total kit: website $298, amazon $172.13, costco $91.85 (including 8.24% texas sales tax)

i've also invested in a sonic face brush. i wasn't willing to pay the $$$ for the clarisonic, nor did i think the battery operated ones, like olay, were worth while for me. i was lucky enough see a groupon goods deal for one priced at $59 including shipping. reviews from one user said they liked it better than their clarisonic. the main reason this won over the olay one was that it is rechargeable and it has a body brush head.

so here's goes nothing. i'll let you know how this all goes. wish me luck!

rave: jeffrey's

b and i had date night yesterday. i had a groupon that was going to expire in a couple days so it was the perfect time to go to jeffrey's, especially since he's never been there even though he's lived in austin for almost 20 years.

jeffery's beginnings go back to 1975. founders ron & peggy weiss and jeffrey weinberger pooled their interests, talents and enthusiasm to open a neighborhood austin bistro. they were part of the first wave of new american cuisine. knowledgeable, friendly service is a hallmark of the restaurant. Some of the waitstaff have been there for more than 25 years!

for a sunday night, the restaurant was buzzing! the lovely hostess and our waitress both mentioned that business today and next two days are expected to be busier than usual since the groupon was expiring. (side note: it was very smart of them to offer two pricing when the groupon deal came up: $30 for $60 for friday & saturday or $35 for $75 for sunday-thursday. for $5 more customers got $15 more and the restaurant got a boost of diners on slower non-weekend nights.)

i made reservations for dinner at 8:30 but we arrived a little early, so we grabbed a seat at the bar and had some cocktails. they make great classic. the bartenders are fun, friendly and knowledgable...and make fabulous and tasty drinks.

french 81

junipero gin, lemon, prosecco, fernet

about 45 minuets later we were seated at our table and our lovely waitress, lisa (i think), came by and asked if we needed anything to drink. b ordered a glass of famaey malbec. it was a great malbec and apparently about $10 a bottle. she gave us some time to look over the menu. i already knew what i wanted to eat, so i enjoyed the view and people watching. soon some fresh rye bread was presented for us to enjoy. i've forgotten how much like rye bread...time to pick up some. we started with a salad to share. lisa even offered to split the salad without us asking! my favorite part was the roasted fennel...yum!

pear and arugula salad

for entrees i had to braised lamb with house-made paperdelle. the lamb was perfectly tender and the pasta...amazingly light and fluffy. only minor thing...a little salty for me and i would have like more meyer lemon. b had the porcini-rubbed filet mignon and it was cooked perfectly. he had no complaints. plate was clear.

braised lamb papardelle

braised lamb shoulder, house-made papardelle, boggy creek

farm kale, roasted yellow cherry tomatoes with meyer lemon

gremolata & lamb jus

porcini-rubbed filet mignon

pecan-grilled prime tenderloin on black trumpet mushroom

& sweet potato hash with grilled brussel sprout leaves &

roasted garlic sauce

for dessert, we ordered lychee-blueberry sorbet and b ordered vanilla crème brûlée. i did not get a photo of the brûlée since it was devoured immediately.

lychee & blueberry sorbet served with almond cookies

not pictured: vanilla bean crème brûlée

served with fresh berries & gingersnaps

to say the least, the meal was great. the service was amazing as always. i even got a great recipe for cooking rabbit from lisa our waitress!

i read back in november that jeffrey's had been sold to larry mcguire. eater austin interviewed him a little while back about his new project elizabeth st. cafe and they discussed a little about the renovation that will take place in march and how the place will change. in the interview, mcguire mentioned the name will stay jeffrey's and that they are planning to make it their flagship restaurant (he along with partner tom moorman also own lambert's, perla's and elizabeth st. cafe) and he will be the chef!

i'm happy i got to have a meal at jeffrey's before the changes and i'm looking forward to coming back once the place gets renovated. jeffrey's was one of the first *fancy* restaurants i ate at in austin when i was a poor college students. it was a big deal and i remember that the staff made it feel like a special occasion. i hope the tradition of spectacular customer service continues on when the new reincarnation opens.

rave: sriracha & lime kale chips

I was out and about Austin today and was on the hunt for locally made pâté. That led me to the farmers market at the triangle. Unfortunatly, no pâté was found but I did get some lovely kale and rainbow chard from johnson's backyard garden.

So I decided to make some kale chips with the beautiful veggies. Luckily for me I found an exciting recipe from I breath...I'm hungry... They were addictive! And really yummy! Try it now since it is kale season!

Sriracha & Lime Kale Chips
1 bunch of kale, well washed
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon of sriracha
1 teaspoon low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce

Preheat oven to 350.
Remove kale stems and tear clean and dried leaves into chip size pieces. Place in a large bowl.
Take all wet ingredients and whisk together.
Pour sauce over kale.
Toss with hands (or tongs) and coat thoroughly.
Arrange kale on baking sheets in a single layer. I baked two trays at a time and it worked fine.
Bake for 10 minutes.
Once you are done baking all the kale turn the oven off and let it cool for 15 minutes.
Place all the kale chips on to one pan and return to cooling oven so the chips can dry out totally.
Once totally cooled, place chips in an air tight container or ziplock bag to store...that is if they are not all completely devoured.

rave: 70 degree weather = outdoor DIY

austin has been blessed with some lovely spring-like weather the last couple days. today was no different...70 and clear blue skies. I've been meaning to do this for a while but just haven't gotten around to it. We had a scorcher of a summer. Who wants to paint outdoor furniture in the 100+ degree weather?!? well the beautiful weather has inspired me to get the outdoor furniture ready for using.

I inherited this set of furniture from my big sister. She purchased this for her condo when she lived in SoCal about 8 years ago. To say the least, they needed some tlc. So one chair down, a chair, bench and table left to go!

rave: pao de queijo

last april, I had the privilege to spend a couple days in south beach, miami with some lovely ladies. while we were there we enjoyed lots of fun in the sun and the sights south beach had to offer. We also got to eat some super yummy food. The one thing we all raved about was the pao de queijo (brazilian cheese bread) that was served with one of our meals. It was so good we started looking for recipes right then.

When I got back I had every intention to make some. But some thing always came up and I never got around to it till now. I have to say it is a really simple recipe and I have no idea why I didn't make them sooner and more frequently.

For next time I will make then smaller and try to "roll" them rounder for appearance sake.

Pao de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Bread)
Recipe from allrecipe.com
Ingredients
1/2 cup olive oil or butter (I used butter)
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup milk or soy milk
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups tapioca flour
2 teaspoons minced garlic (I used granulated garlic)
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 beaten eggs

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Pour olive oil, water, milk, and salt into a large saucepan, and place over high heat. When the mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat immediately, and stir in tapioca flour and garlic until smooth. Set aside to rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
Stir the cheese and egg into the tapioca mixture until well combined, the mixture will be chunky like cottage cheese. Drop rounded, 1/4 cup-sized balls of the mixture onto an ungreased baking sheet.
Bake in preheated oven until the tops are lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes.

rave: bhldn

if you're getting married or just love to look at wedding eye candy, you need to check out BHLDN.

BHLDN is a fairly new wedding/event/speciality line that is brought to you by the lovely people of anthropologie. everything has a one-of-a-kind feel, very much the traditional look with a slight twist to make items heirloom worthy.

it is also a wonderful place for diy-ers to get ideas if you are crafty. many of the items (especially in decor) provide a great springboard for those of us who do not have unlimited wedding budgets.

so take a poke around their website.

or if you are lucky enough to live in houston, tx you can visit their only brick and mortar location.

below are just some of my favorite things i've seen over the last couple months.