Celebrating Southern: Food (namely dessert!)

Today's I'm linking up with Leslie from A Blonde Ambition to tell you what I think makes a Southern girl. I think it's pretty important around these parts to have an excellent Southern dessert in your repertoire.

Neiman Marcus Bars

Absolutely, hands-down the best thing I have ever tasted. I am somewhat famous for this dessert with friends and family, and am asked to make it often for gatherings. We've talked about this recipe before here at Sasha Says, and it seems in other parts of the country it has some other names: Chesscake, Butter Puffs and of course Paula Deen calls it Gooey Butter Cake.

Neiman Marcus Bars

• 1 box Duncan Hines Deluxe yellow cake mix
• 1 stick butter (I use Parkay)
• 3 eggs
• 8 oz block of cream cheese (I use Philly 1/3 less fat)
• 1 box (16 oz) powdered sugar
• glass pan (this is very important- must be a glass pan)

Combine: 1 egg beaten, 1 stick melted butter, and cake mix. Pat stiff dough in 9X13 pan that has been sprayed w/ Pam.

Combine: cream cheese, 2 eggs, and entire box of powdered sugar. Pour this over dough.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes, until top is golden brown. I let them cool and then store them in the fridge.

For a pineapple version, I use a Pineapple Supreme cake mix, and add a drained 20 oz can of crushed pineapple to the topping along with an extra egg.

Do you have a dessert your are known for?

Celebrating Southern: Nails!

Today's I'm linking up with Leslie from A Blonde Ambition to tell you what I think makes a southern girl.

Nail polish!

I don't think I've ever seen my mom's nails without polish on them. Granted, it's been the same shade for as long as I can remember (Revlon Geranium followed by Mango Mango, and when both were discontinued, she found a dupe by Petites at Walmart), but they are ALWAYS painted and chic.

And if you know me, you know mine are always painted too. Well, except during VBS.... last week it killed me that I didn't have time to do my every-other-night manis since we were getting home so late from church every night.

If keeping your nails painted sounds like too much time and effort, let me share my nail routine with you.

As a working mom of two, I understand how hard it can be to find the time to pamper yourself with things like manicures. But over the years, I've developed a method that allows me to do a home mani in a short amount of time right before I go to bed. The secret is the fast-dry topcoat- my nails are completely dry by the time I hit the sack, and I don't get sheet marks at all! Start to finish, a mani takes me less than 20 minutes. Who doesn't have 20 minutes to pamper themselves?

So without further ado, here are my favorite nail products, shown in order of use for the perfect salon-quality mani. For all products, I start with the pinkie of one hand and continue on to the other hand before I move to the next step. And there's no need to let the coats dry in between steps- just start with the same nail each step.

1. Sally Hanson Instant Cuticle Remover. I apply this all around my cuticles, wait a bit (you can wait longer that it says), then use the thumbnail of my opposite hand to push back/scrape the cuticles. I typically do this twice.

2. Wash your hands and dry them well.

3. Orly Bonder. Apply one coat. This rubberized basecoat overrides any oily residue on your nails and gives your polish something to stick to. Key to a long-lasting mani.

4. Sally Hanson Nailgrowth Miracle in the gold bottle. Love this as a basecoat. Watch for CVS/Walgreens to have their BOGO or BOGO half off on Sally Hanson products and stock up.

5. 2 coats of color. OPI polish is one of my favorite brands. Tip for newbies: Try a sheer or light color as you are practicing your painting skills. They are certainly more forgiving than a vampy dark shade!

6. Seche Vite top coat. I won't use any other top coat. This is a super-fast dry topcoat with a fab shine. Expensive, but worth it!

7. Creative Nail Design Cuticle Eraser. Keeping your cuticles neat and clean is one of the keys to making your manicure last longer. This product is fabulous and I massage this into my cuticles a few times a day to prevent hangnails and prevent cuticle buildup.

Did you know I love nail polish so much that I've got a separate blog just for my nail polish review and pictures? Visit me at http://www.manicuremommas.com/ if you like nail polish as much as I do!