general / lately

What I read about:

• Alison Roman going after WOC (Chrissy Teigen, Marie Kondo). Here’s a recap and her apology. (Sorry, I’m a week behind on posting, not reading!)

What I made:

• Dominique Ansel Gâteau au Yaourt. I made it with strawberries and in a muffin tray. (Recipe here but also recommend watching his Instagram post.) I didn’t love it.
• DIY Meet Fresh grass jelly signature. I made grass jelly (grass jelly powder and Knox gelatin) and boiled frozen sweet potato and taro balls from 99 Ranch. Way cheaper and healthier (less sugar) than the real thing! If I had made grass jelly ice, it would’ve been more authentic.
• Trader Joe’s ube mochi waffles (as pictured above). Their new seasonal pancake and waffle mix has been so popular that it dragged me to a TJ after not going for months. If this is the only item you want, I recommend calling ahead and asking because I heard the Bay Area locations are sold out. My location was sold out of the ube ice cream. Tip: if you love the mochi texture, make the waffle even more ‘q’ by substituting half of the recommend ube mix for tapioca flour. I also added a pinch of baking soda, even though it’s in the mix.
  • Waffle maker recommendation: I love waffles but never made them before. I bought the Dash mini waffle maker in mint green. If you aren’t familiar with Dash, they have many super affordable kitchen electronics in a rainbow of colors. This is perfect for my household as I’m the only one into waffles and the machine is so tiny and easy to store. (Purchase at Target, Amazon. It’s been selling out!)

to shop / {deal alert} allure beauty box & dermstore spf

I haven’t done a beauty box in ages but rejoined Allure for the May box, which has a Skin Inc full size serum for ~$15. Skin Inc serums are small and expensive, so perfect at this price. I also want to try the other items — I think I’ve seen the AHC eye cream (also full size) on Instagram ads. I joined via Amazon so it’s easy to cancel.

to pamper / beauty box review (allure, birchbox, sephora play)

If you’re interested in a beauty box, the Allure Beauty Box has been impressive. I subscribed in December 2017 when I heard of the January spoilers (a full size $85 Sunday Riley serum). They have a good balance of prestige and non-prestige brands. Value-wise, it is easy to pick 1-2 products in the box that exceed the $15/monthly fee*. The box contains a booklet that explains each product and discounts for the full size. You can go month to month, which is what I do.

A sample of what’s been in my boxes:

• October 2018: 7 products. Sunday Riley x 2, Caudalie, Hourglass mascara, YSL lipgloss, etc. Valued at $86.

• September 2018: 5 products, 2 were full size. Drunk Elephant Babyfacial, full size MAC lipstick, Tarte x 2, IGK, etc. Valued at $66.

• August 2018: 6 products, 2 were full size. Laneige, Caudalie, Eyeko, etc. Valued at $69.
• July 2018: 8 products, 1 was full size. Olay, Ouai, Sunday Riley, etc. Valued at $110.
• June 2018: 5 products, 3 were full size. Kat Von D and Ole Henricksen. Valued at $69.