This is my very first time making gluten free brownies and it was stressful due to my own errors and the fact that brownies can burn very easily. I hope you enjoy my review / walk through of how I made them! 

My friend gave me the Krusteaz Gluten Free Brownie Mix. This brownie mix came with little chocolate chips in the mix already which was amazing but they were so small you didn't really notice them. That can be fixed if you add your own into the mix as well, give a bit extra chocolaty goodness. The mix itself looks like a basic brownie mix. You add your water, oil, and egg. Or your egg substitute. It mixes very easily and it's quite a lot of fun to do. I love watching it turn dark and as I mix it feeling the chocolate chips brush against the fork, that just makes me sound weird, I know. Anyways I had no parchment paper so I just oiled it up with vegetable oil I had, which worked just fine, though I could have used a bit more oil. I had messed up with the pan since all I had was a 9x11 but the recipe called for an 8x8. That isn't a big thing other than it means the cooking time would not be what the box says. I watched it like a hawk and didn't leave the kitchen. Towards the end I kept checking it to see if it was as done as it should be. Apparently brownies are suppose to be slightly underdone, which made me so nervous. 

As you can see from the picture below I poked it to see how hard it was at the top, didn't turn out very well since my finger sunk in pretty quickly. So I kept cooking it in intervals of two to five minutes and kept checking it because I was so nervous. That's why there are so many tiny toothpick holes, trying to see how done it was. I was really determined not to mess this up since I don't have the best of luck with baking things with chocolate in them. 

Once I deemed them done enough I let them cool and let the underdone parts cook on their own without the added heat of the oven. It took a bit but they became less squishy and more soft. But i like my brownies a bit gooey and soft so it was perfect for myself. Since my stove is at an angle apparently one side was a little thinner and it ended up turning a bit hard.

They tasted amazing though! My fiance who is nervous about trying gluten free foods and isn't really a fan of chocolate loved them, so I call that a sucess. My friend had given these to me to bake so I can have gluten free sweets. I would most definitely by this box of brownie mix again or try another gluten free kind. You cannot taste any difference between a normal brownie and the gluten free version. At least to my taste buds. These retail for about 5 or so dollars in most places. Not gonna lie the end picture is not that great but I realized it so late, I'm sorry for the blurry picture. I hope you found my review helpful and honestly you should go try this gluten free brownie mix. 

I purchased the Fairy Garden Sugar Scrub on Black Friday but never got around to fully reviewing it. I wanted to use it a bit to get a good feel of it instead of just always giving a first impression review. After using it for a bit I can attest that it does it's job and it works perfectly for people with sensitive skin. 

To start off this review I just want to state that this product is coconut oil free which is sort of hard to find these days. Tarabusi Creek offers a wide variety of scrubs but not all are coconut free. This one is and quite honestly it makes me feel like a fairy queen. It has a strong floral scent that makes you feel like you're walking through flowers taller than yourself. It remains on your skin for a long time after washing it off. You aren't into strong scents then perhaps this isn't quite for you but if you are into strong floral scents you'll love it. 

I myself personally love floral scents but never found any as strong as this. It was something to get used to since at first it almost assaults your nose. However, it may be strong but the scent is lovely, heavenly even. Once you get passed that initial shock you will love it. The scrub itself is a beautiful pink color that I absolutely love. It was the main reason I wanted to purchase it, that and it was floral and said fairy on it. Don't mind the product smudges on the outside lid, it just shows how much I've used it and it can be a very messy product. 

This scrub is a sugar scrub with very fine sugars inside. It's perfect for people who don't need to scrub off a lot of dead skin and have sensitive skin. My skin gets very dry so sometimes it doesn't work the best for me personally but other times it's just right. It's a very gentle scrub depending on how hard you push it into your skin. Just because the sugars are small does not mean they won't hurt you if you apply too much pressure. I accidentally did this one time and it left a bad patch on my chin that was a bit raw for a day or two, so please use with a gentle hand. 

When using the scrub you have to apply quite a bit to your face since it's a bit denser than the other scrub I tried. Once you have it on your skin you can wet your hands a bit as you rub it in. I found that very helpful when trying to scrub all that dead skin away. Just always be gentle. Once you rub it in it starts to soap up a bit but not a lot, not enough to make it feel as if you're actually washing it off with a cleanser or some sort of soap. That isn't a bad thing since it is a scrub after all, not your cleanser. Also the sugars dissolve pretty quickly so make sure you rub it in as much as you can. 

It's easy to clean off and once it's done your skin won't feel just a bit tight but that's normal. I like to let water fill my hands and splash it all over my face and rub my face with my hands to make sure all of it is off. Also make sure it is out of your hair if you accidentally get some in there. It will make your edges super stiff if you don't make sure. 

This product is perfect for those with extremely sensitive skin and those who don't need to exfoliate as much. I myself personally prefer the bigger sugars since I tend to get very dry skin and need the extra bit of exfoliation I can get but this scrub is one I would buy again since the larger sugars aren't exactly healthy for your skin. 

Overall this product is lovely, aesthetic, and does it's job. I would buy again if I wasn't trying out every product I can from them. I would suggest adding Tarabusi Creek Scrubs or any products into your daily skincare routine. Your skin will thank you. 

photo credits from Steve Buissinne  at pixabay.com

I hope you are all ready for some gluten free snacks! i know I am! These are my favorite five that I adore and each item will have their own little review so you know what you're getting as well as the average prices at stores, and which stores usually have them. If you are like me you have to limit how much gluten you eat or you can't eat it at all. I can only eat small amounts per day and snacks can take up all of them if you're not careful. Or maybe you just love being gluten free, it makes you feel more awake and better, either way these gluten free snacks are ones I enjoy and maybe you'll enjoy them too. Just be cautious that just because it's gluten free does not mean it's healthy, I noticed that is a common misconception to people who don't usually eat gluten free foods. Sure a lot are healthier for you but at the same time there are other bad things than gluten. 

ANNIE'S COCOA & VANILLA RABBITS

These are on the list simply because I love the chocolate ones. I am not really a fan of the vanilla ones since for some odd reason you can feel the texture more. It's not that they are bad but if you aren't used to eating rice flour and such it'll be strange. It's not a bad thing at all and it's something you can get used to. But I ate them when I first started out and couldn't get the hang of it. The flavor though is quite lovely and honestly everything that Annie's makes is wonderful. These can sell for around 3 - 4USD depending on where you look for them. They can be found at Walmart, Target, and even some grocery stores.  

SNACK FACTORY PRETZEL CRISPS

These are one of the most recent ones I found and honestly I love them. I am a HUGE pretzel eater and never second guessed why sometimes they would hurt my stomach. I just loved them too much I ignored it. Sometimes I still do eat them but that is only if I know I haven't already eaten too much gluten that day. However, with these I don't have to worry and it makes me so very happy. They are thin, crunchy, salty, and there is a lot in the package. I got mine at the 99 cent store which was rare and I pray next time I go they are there again. However, you can also get them at Walmart for around 3 - 6 USD or Target and perhaps some grocery stores.