Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Food: Easy Chocolate Chip (+Mint!) Cookies

As midterm season has come to hit us, all I can think of is baking lately.

A housemate was studying all day and at one point, he just says "I want chocolate chip cookies."

So, a quick online search - we found a really simple recipe and we vamped it up to what we had around our house...and it was delicious!



Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup of margarine (I usually use unsalted butter, but we didn't have that around at the time!)
1/2 cup of sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cup of flour (we used all-purpose)
1 bar of Lindt Excellence Intense Mint
1 Bar of Hershey Milk Chocolate


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
 Chop up the two chocolate bars in tiny pieces.
Mix the margarine and sugar together.
Add the egg and mix until it is well incorporated.
Mix in the flour.
Add in the chocolate bits. Give it a quick stir.
Roll the cookie dough in balls and place onto your prepared cookie sheet.
Pop it in the oven for 10-12 minutes.

And here is another easy batch of cookies to enjoy!

<3 

Susan

P.S. Sorry I've been horrible at taking photos of the process - I promise to get back to doing those soon! :)

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Life: Something new - 5 things that made me happy this week.

I don't usually share a lot about my personal life on this blog with y'all. But, a little something has inspired me to make a new category of posts...including a more regular consistent basis for me to update this blog! 

As I started on some new meds, it completely turned me 180 degrees. I was literally depressed the last 5-6 weeks and I didn't realize till I finally hit rock bottom. At that point, I quickly stop taking the meds and went back to the doctor clinic for new ones. And now, the tears have dried up and I'm (almost!) back to the happy Susan that I've always been. 

The power of drugs really act fast and I'm so relieved that I'm no longer on those stupid ones! 

BUT...

To keep my progress of finding myself again, I am for sure updating weekly on the things that made me smile for that week. It really helps me remind myself of the person I was before that whole phase - the person who used to love to appreciate the small things and always find the bright side to situations.

So, back to the purpose of this blog post:




1. Old photos - I went home for a day and I came across old family photo albums. It's crazy to see baby/childhood photos and realize where you are now. My parents are not photographers and probably had a lot of difficulty taking good photos...but, that's the beauty of this - it was hilarious to find what they did actually catch as a memory forever.

2. Baking - I'm back! I'm back! I'm back at baking. I made two batches of cookies this weekend and the feeling of mixing, rolling, and watching the cookies turn golden have never felt this good before. I blogged about the super easy peanut butter cookies yesterday and the super easy chocolate chip cookies post are coming soon! 

3.  Tea...green tea to be specific! After moving back to university, I found myself not drinking tea as daily as I used to. But, this past week, I've been hooked onto green tea. It's really nice to find myself loving the things I used to love so much! There are three green teas that I've been steeping this week: Stash Organic Green Tea, David's Tea Silk Dragon Jasmine, and David's Tea Japanese Sencha. Mmmm.

4. Friends, friends, and more friends - For Canadian Thanksgiving, I was able to go home for the weekend and see all my friends back at home. It really made me feel better that these friends are always going to be by my side and we all enjoy each other's company over food, tea, and alcohol. I don't know how much I really came to appreciate all the friends that are still in my life - even after moving away from home. And of course, those who I met during residence - those who actually kept in touch and made an effort to do so. You gals and guys all warm my heart...really. I can't ever forgive myself for taking them all for granted the last month - and I promised myself to never let that happen again. The amount of smiles I got from all these individuals in my life this week have been one of the best feelings ever. (Thank you for those friends that are reading this blog!)

And last but not least,

5. My boyfriend - seriously the one guy who stuck by side even when I became a monster with my emotions and lost myself completely. Even after all that, he still makes me smile each and every day knowing that everything will go back to the way it was before...eventually.

Time will heal everything, but it's the wait that gets me impatient. Until then, I'm just grateful for all the amazing things and people that are in my life. 

<3

Susan

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Food: Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

Tonight was a baking night.

I haven't baked in a while and I felt the urge to make something the last few days...it's literally a natural high for me to put on oven mitts or something. But, putting my student laziness into the equation, I wasn't motivated to make something fancy.

That's when I came across a recipe from Kraft Foods for Super Easy Peanut Butter Cookies. No...it literally is the easiest recipe for cookies...ever!



Adapted from Kraft:

1 cup of peanut butter (I used Extra Smooth)
1/2 cup of Granulated Sugar
1 Egg

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Mix the ingredients together. 
Form balls and place on the baking sheet. 
Bake for 20 minutes. 
Let them cool.
Enjoy.

Optional: For an extra touch, sprinkle some cinnamon on top of the cookies right when you take them out of the oven. It gives it a unique touch to them.

As simple as that, you get a fresh batch of cookies.

<3

Susan

P.S. I know you are suppose to use parchment paper to bake, but I didn't have any with me - so aluminum foil will have to do the job!

Monday, October 7, 2013

Beauty: What I use Jojoba Oil for

A few years ago, I went to visit my cousin down in the sunny California. Been over 10 years since we seen each other and it was crazy to find out how similar we were. It must be in the family genes! 

She was a huge fan of jojoba oil and I was pretty confused with why someone would ever rub any type of oil all over their face. But, after her explanation and my own research, I picked up a bottle myself last winter and I'm happy I did. 

A little bottle can last a very long time. Completely multipurpose - it's definitely worth giving it a try.

I wanted to share with y'all what I usually use jojoba oil for!

1. Eyelashes - I probably cry every time an eyelash falls off my eye lids. Already, I have short, stubby, and sparse eyelashes. The jojoba is great at moisturizing them and help reduce the number of fallouts. 

2. Face - As a dry skin girl, sometimes your lotion and cream is just not enough. Adding a drop or two of jojoba oil with a pump of my lotion daily/nightly has given me the perfect balance for my skin. 

3. Lips - When I make a DIY lip scrub (let me know if any of you are interested in a post about this), I always have the need to add jojoba oil for extra moisture. Again, a drop or two is more than enough for your lips! 

4. Hair - This is something new that I've recently heard of. Putting jojoba oil on the ends of my hair will help tame the split ends. My hair is one of the most messiest and untameable hair possible - and these little things will help in the long run!

As of right now, I'm using 100% Pure Jojoba Oil by Desert Essence. It was easily found in my local organic store. I have my eyes on two other brands to try in the future - Aura Cacia Certified Organic Jojoba Skin Care Oil and Pure+Simple Jojoba Oil.

Jojoba oil has been a life saver in my life. 

-Susan