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4th of July Strawberries...Yummy!

The 4th of July is coming its such fun with barbecues, family and friends, and lots of parties. So creating great food for it is a blast!

I wanted to make a few goodies to have on hand while our house was full of hungry 20-somethings. I saw a photo of similar dipped strawberries and thought these would be about as fast and festive as it gets. It took me 10 minutes to dip all of these. A few minutes in the fridge, and they were ready to eat. T-Man pulled the platter from the fridge within 5 minutes of arriving home from the airport last night.
In an earlier post, I explained how to make chocolate covered strawberries with blue sugar..

Ingredients
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate or vanilla chips
24 strawberries, washed and dried
2 tablespoons canola oil
red,white/clear & blue decorating sprinkles
Directions
Put semi-sweet chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl with 1 tablespoon canola oil. Cook on full power, checking at 20-30 second intervals, stirring each time. Stop heating when most, but not all, of the chips are melted--there should be a few chunks left. Stir until it is smooth and chips are completely melted. Be careful not to overcook. Divide out half of strawberries and dip in melted chocolate, holding by the stem, turning until berry is coated almost to stem; let excess drip off. Immediately roll or dip in sprinkles. Place on parchment or waxed paper lined pan. Repeat with remaining half of strawberries using melted white chocolate chips. Chill until chocolate is set--approx. 30 minutes. Store, uncovered or loosely covered, in fridge or cool place for up to 8 hours.

NEW! Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge – New Colors and Re-Packaging…

I love dual duty, multi-tasking products. One of my all time faves is Bobbi Brown’s Pot Rouge. Inspired by Bobbi’s memories of her grandmother who used lipstick on her cheeks instead of blush (my Nana did this too!!), this creamy formula was created to use on lips and cheeks. Easy to blend, Pot Rouge leaves a sheer, stained finish……FAB-U-LOUS.

A best seller since its inception in 2006, Pot Rouge’s beloved formula is now available in four brand new shades for a variety of skin tones. There is a shade for everyone from the palest pink to the deepest rose, all housed inside a newly designed sleek compact with a mirror. AWESOME……

“Nothing makes a woman look prettier than a pop of blush. It’s an instant lift and the quickest way to add a healthy glow to the face.”–Bobbi Brown

The Rundown:
Powder PinkPale PinkBlushed RoseChocolate CherryMilk ChocolateRose (New)Uber Beige (New)Fresh Melon (New)Calypso CoralRaspberry (New)
Available now at all Bobbi Brown counters nationwide and on bobbibrown.com

Kissing – the most beautiful way of expressing your love. There are so many different ways to kiss, depending on who you’re kissing. But there are 7 things you Didn’t know about kissing that will make your mouth open inamazement. (Yes, I get the pun, there…) Learn these things and they’ll leave you wanting to kiss more and wanting to quit kissing altogether at the same time!

1. KISSING IS GOOD FOR YOU

The act of kissing is actually healthy for you! (Take that, those of you opposed of great kissing!) Kissing actually improves our skin, helps circulation, prevents tooth decay, and can even relieve headaches. So next time you have a headache and your hubby is wanting a little lovin’, don’t go for the Tylenol bottle, start kissing! (Bet you’ll make his night!)

2. KISSING IS A WORKOUT

While just a quick peck on the cheek uses only 2 muscles, a good french kiss is said to use 34 muscles in your face. (That’s almost all of your facial muscles if I’m not mistaken!) That being said, a romantic, but very short kiss will burn a couple calories, while a passionate french kiss can take care of 5 calories. Do this for one entire minute, and you’ll burn about 26 calories! Kiss for an hour and you can skip your trip to the gym since you will have burnt about 1,560 calories! Talk about a reason to make out!

3. ESKIMO KISSES ARE FAKE

According to a video strait from the mouth of an Alaskan, the act of rubbing noses in place of a kiss doesn’t exist. He claims Hollywood has played a part in making this myth seem real, when in fact, it’s a created story. He says he grew up in a very traditional family and has lived 67 years, and has never seen Eskimos rubbing noses. Their kisses are the same as ours. Save the nose rubbing for the dogs.

4. KISSING IS LIKE DRUGS

The endorphins you release when kissing are said to be 200 times more powerful than the drug effects of morphine! Hence, the reason you get that “giddy” weightless feeling after kissing for a while. Who knew that the best drug high they could have was both legal and sitting right beside them the entire time? Why sacrifice your health and well being over illegal drugs when you can just kiss all day?

5. KISSING IS GERM CITY

Did you know that one kiss can pass 278 types of bacteria? A long enough kiss could leave you with a transmission of 10 million bacterium! That’s reason enough to keep kissing to just one person that you know and trust and watch brush their teeth, huh?

6. SOME DISEASES CAN BE PASSED WITH A KISS

I’m sure you were aware that mononucleosis or the kissing disease could be passed with a kiss (obviously) but did you know that herpes can be shared with a kiss as well? Furthermore, in one instance in 1997, a woman was infected with HIV through a kiss. This was, however, because both kissers had gum diseases that opened up a whole band of germs passed through human blood. Still, it’s kind of gross to think about.

7. KISSING IS ILLEGAL SOME PLACES

Back in the 16th century, public kissing in Naples was punished by death! Still yet, in some places in our own United States, it’s technically illegal to kiss in some instances. Kissing strangers is forbidden in Ceder Rapids, Iowa, and in Hartford Connecticut, woman can’t kiss their husbands on a Sunday! Mustached men in Indiana may find it hard to “play the field” as it is illegal for men sporting mustaches to “habitually kiss human beings.” I wonder what happened that made those laws go into effect?

So, kissing can be great and absolutely disgusting at the same time. My advice is choose one person to kiss and never stray from that person. Oh, and keep up with how often they brush their teeth! One more thing, ladies, don’t kiss your husbands on Sunday…you may end up in jail!

There are a lot of nice ways to end a relationship, you just have to plan them out before you break up with your partner. Are you in a relationship that just isn’t making you happy? Are you trying to end it on good terms? Don’t worry, I know all of the ins and outs of nice Ways to end a relationship so that hopefully you two can stay friends! So ladies, take a look below at the top 10 nice ways to end a relationship.

1. BE HONEST

When you are breaking up with someone, you want to make sure that you are being completely honest with them. What that means is that you’ll want to tell them exactly what you are feeling and why you don’t think it is going to work. Make sure that you are being nice though! There is no reason to be blunt and honest, just be nice and honest with them.

2. PICK THE RIGHT TIME

So his dog just died and he is crying on your shoulder – that is probably not the best time to break it to him that you are breaking up with him. One of thenice ways to end a relationship all boils down to timing. You want to make sure that you are picking a time that he is stable and not upset about something else. After all, you don’t want to be seen as spiteful.

3. DO IT IN PERSON

With all of the new technology nowadays, it is really easy to shoot off a text or even an email with a breakup line. You might think that is one of the nice ways to end a relationship, but truthfully, doing it in person is better. That way, you’ll be able to promote your tone, your demeanor and your body language. Emails and texts can be taken completely out of context, remember that!

4. MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO DO IT

Just because you may be mad at him, doesn’t mean you want to break up with him. Whenever you are doing something like ending a relationship, you always want to make sure that you are ready to do it. So ladies, are you ready to really end your relationship with your man?

5. TAKE THE HIGH ROAD

When it comes to breaking up, you can’t always expect the best out of someone. Just because he might be calling you names and being mean, that doesn’t mean that you have to be. One of the nice ways to end a relationship is to take the high road. Tell him that you understand why he is upset, but that you aren’t going to resort to being mean.

6. DON’T MENTION ANOTHER PERSON

Even if you are dating someone else or have the intention of dating someone else right after you break up with your current boyfriend, don’t mention it. Just tell him the truth about the situation: you do not want to be with him. If he knew that you were going to be dating someone else right away, he would be heartbroken.

7. TAKE HIS FEELINGS INTO ACCOUNT

Whenever you are trying to figure out a nice way to end a relationship, remember to take his feelings into account. You want to consider how you would want to be broken up with and then do it that way. Remember, in person is always better!

8. DON’T BE WISHY-WASHY

One of the biggest mistakes that every girl makes when they are trying to end a relationship is being wishy-washy with doing it. If you are going to break up with your boyfriend, don’t be wishy washy about it. Just do it and allow him to start the healing process!

9. BE PREPARED FOR THE WORST

Breaking up is never, ever easy and so when you are going into it, you might want to just be prepared for the worst. What that means is, be prepared that he is going to throw a fit. Be prepared that he isn’t going to be happy. It just comes naturally ladies!