Another first @ 30: My Baking Experience Blogged

Yes! Yes! Yes! I was able to bake cookies! :) Another milestone in my cooking "career". Lol! Ever since I got engaged I suddenly have this interest in exploring my talent to cook. For the longest time I've been wanting to bake, but my will power isn't strong enough to do it. After many weeks of bugging my colleague in asking for tips on how to bake I finally mustered the courage to whip and mix.

 

My friend gave me this cookie recipe, which I think she got from allrecipes.com- though she tweaked some of the ingredients to adjust the sweetness, saltiness, etc. Here's the recipe:

 

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup white sugar minus 1 tsp

1 cup packed brown sugar minus 1tsp

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons hot water

1/2 teaspoon salt (Remove this ingredient if you have salted butter)

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

 

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2.Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour, chocolate chips, and nuts. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans.

3.Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.

 

 

And here's my finished product. (Drumroll please! Lol)

 

 

A few tips for first time bakers like me:

 

1. Prepare ingredients ahead of time. Our kitchen ended up like a disaster because I didn't do this. :)

 

2. You may adjust the time of baking depending on how chewy/crunchy you want your cookie to be.

 

3. For this recipe, use ice cream scoop to equally distribute the cookie dough before baking them.

 

4. Don't panic if you think that your cookie is too soft after pulling it out of the oven. Allow the cookie to cool and check the texture. If it's too soft, you can put it in the oven again for about 2-3 minutes.

 

That's all! I hope you enjoyed reading my post. Munch away!!! :)

 

XoXo,

 

Chinitangmorena

Shop for accessories below Php100 =)

Hi everyone!

 

If you want accessories which fit your budget, go visit Shop 316. This new online shop sells earrings, bracelets, rings and necklace below Php100! Yes you read it right. :) The first batch is out, and here are some of the items being sold online.

 

 



This online shop is managed by yours truly. :) If it's not too much to ask, I hope you can like my page. Click HERE. 

 

 

How I Counted My Blessings Over Breakfast...

Credits: http://www.pics22.com/blessings-quote-for-friendster-count-your-blessings/

 

While eating my breakfast (my ever favorite pan de sal and coffee) I looked back on how my 2012 has been so far. I recalled all the things that I have prayed for to have and to happen in my life. As I mentally create a checklist I noticed that I never got the material things that I wanted to have when I reach 30 and they are the following:

1. A brand new spanking Louis Vuitton bag
2. A new MAC book laptop to replace my 2 year old lappy
3. A new mobile phone (just because I want a new one)
4. A new SLR
5. A brand new car

Yes, those are the things that I asked from Him. He didn't give me the opportunity but instead he gave me these:

1. A reunion with my family early this year. (They live in US and UAE and this is the first time we reunited after my father died.)
2. I finally got the chance to be with my cutie patootie niece! :)
3. No major health issues for my loved ones.
4. Our first ever out of the country trip as a family.
5. My sister graduated from college.
6. My ex-boyfriend, now fiance proposed and now we're currently engaged. :) (Yihee!)
7. I reached the age of 30. haha
8. I was able to have the courage to eat vegetable salad (Yes, this is already a feat for me)
9. Two of my closest friends safely delivered a baby boy and girl. :)
10. I learned how to apply make up on my face.
11. I learned how to cook -- A LITTLE. :)
12. My fiance and I reconnected with old college friends. Plus I gained new friends. My old friends are still my friends. :-)
13. A U.S. visa - finally I have one after being denied in 2010.
14. A Christmas with my whole family (minus my dad+) this year.

He may not have given me the material things I wanted but instead He gave me more, more than I can ever wish for. I know there's a lot to add but here's what I can remember so far. I must say that 2012, so far has been a great year for me. Yes, I will not lie and tell you that I still want that bag and that car (who wouldn't? Hehe), but may be God said I'll have it in due time.

 

Still, my life is not perfect, I still have those occasional problems, petty fights and I still get stressed out over other things. And that's the reality of life. However, we must always remember to take the time and pause, reflect and look back on all the great things that have happened in our life. And I call that counting our blessings. And yes, my friend this happened over breakfast. :)

 

Have a great weekend everyone!

 

XoXo,

 

Chinitang Morena

 
 
 
 
 

Tomorrow's Beauty Blowout! Maven's Beyond the Blush Event

Tomorrow's going to be a blushing beautiful day for all registered beauty mavens! I'm one of the privileged attendees tomorrow. Excited to be part of this big event. Hope to see you there! :) 

Visit Maven Magazine's Facebook page Here.

Product review: ELF Studio Stipple brush

Here's another E.L.F. product review, the  E.L.F. Studio Stipple brush. I opted to buy this brush mainly out of curiosity. I've been getting mixed reviews, so might as well try and experience it for myself. 

Again, E.L.F. never fails to give reasonably priced items for its consumers. For Php249.75 I think the price is just right. (although it's cheaper online) This is how the brush looks like:

The brush felt smooth but it's not that dense. When I first washed it I didn't experience any fallout and there was no bleeding. I also didn't experience any fallout when I first used it on my face. (Great job for this one!)

I first tried this using my liquid foundation but unfortunately, I was not satisfied with its performance. Since the brush is not that dense it took me a long time  stippling to achieve the so called "airbrush" look. I was about to give up on this brush until I tried using it for my NYX rouge cream blush. I love how this brush gave me a soft blended and very natural look on my cheeks. Sorry this is the best shot I got. I hope you can see the blush. :)

At times, the saying "You get what you pay for" really holds true. At a cheap price I don't think I can really complain that much. :) However, this brush can be very useful in applying cream blushes since you only need to cover a small area to use the brush. I really love how it worked on my blush. Will I recommend this brush? Yes, I will, but only for cream blushes. You can save your denser stippling brush for your liquid foundation. 

Do you have your own ELF Stippling brush? I would love to hear your thoughts! :)

Product Review: NYX Lip Smacking Color Lipstick

Hello ladies! It's been a busy week at work so I didn't get the chance to blog but now I'm back. :)

I will be reviewing 2 NYX round lipsticks: Tea Rose and Chic Red. These are pretty affordable lipsticks, I bought them for Php149.75 from Stuff in Style at eBay.

Tea Rose

Chic Red

NYX is a good brand, especially for beginners who practice a lot like me. Since it's not expensive, you wouldn't really feel guilty in using it often. Here are pictures of the lipstick when applied:

Tea Rose

Chic Red

I like them both but personally, I prefer the Chic Red on me. It complemented my morena skin better and I love the coverage. The Chic red gave me a semi-matte finish while Tea rose gave me a bit glossy finish. In terms of lasting effect, Chic Red stayed on my lips longer than Tea Rose. By the way, I applied Chapstick plain lip balm to prevent my lips from drying/chapping.

I guess I will be sticking with these until I get myself MAC lipsticks! :) 

I have other NYX purchases from Stuff In Style which I will be reviewing later on. 

P.S. Seller is really nice and was quick to respond to queries. Turn around time for shipping is quick. :)

Do you Fancy Flats? :-)

Back in college I never really love wearing flat shoes. I'm 5 feet flat, and I always wear heels or wedges to cover up for my lack of height. I've always wished I was taller, but I guess I was asleep when God gave the gift of height. Lol! Now that I'm all good with my height, I've come to love flat shoes. :-) Actually, I find it more comfortable wearing flats, especially that my work requires walking from one site to another.

I've known Fancy flats for a while, but I haven't bought one not until I tried on their black Giada flats at The Ramp, Glorietta. I instantly loved it. It's plain and classy, not plain boring. :) I love how Giada makes my wide feet look slimmer. I bought one pair at Php645 ($15). Well, unfortunately for me, size 6 didn't fit me well. It fits me but I can't wear it for too long. (I don't have the most perfect feet so I don't blame them. Hehe) But since I love how classy it looks I decided to pre-order online, but this time I bought one size bigger. I paid on Tuesday afternoon and got the shoes on Thursday. 

This is the package I got:

Though the shoes are a bit big this time, (I told you I have irregular feet. Lol!) buying a shoe cork did the trick. :) My toes fit better and feels more comfortable. Haha! Though I was able to walk with my black Giada but this one feels a lot better. I'm so excited to wear them this week! 

Thank you Fancy Flats for this cute shoe pouch and my Php100 GC! I'm looking forward to buy another pair online to avail of the discount. :)

So, do you "Fancy Flats"? I do, from now on. :)