OOTD: Feeling Kind of Blue

Hello Everyone,

Is it strange to be in the mood to wear everything jeans? I think I caught jean-itis if that is even a word. It's hard to explain, but sometimes you are just in the mood.....

Outfit: Alloy.com

Now, here is a jean on jean concept. It's ok to wear jeans that are made with different fabrics. For instance, pattern with a solid color.

Shirt: Khol's- Lauren Conrad

Jean pants: Old Navy

Boots: Banana Republic

Necklace: Pandora

Until next time, 

stay healthy, beautiful, and inspired. 

Have a great evening!

<3 <3 <3

Cooking with Sugarcookie #18: Taiwanese Spicy Beef Stew

Hello Everyone,

Here is how to make the infamous Taiwanese beef stew. It is a very popular Taiwanese Street Food and is usually served with thick noodles. How I made it may not be exactly the same as the traditional style, but this is how my mom makes it and what I grew up eating.

The time to make this takes about 3-4 hours because you want to make sure you have a really good flavored broth... but since I don't have the patience I added some beef broth to give it more flavor.

Let's get to it! Don't let all these items scare you because it is very simple to make. I had a really good sous chef that helped me out with this dish. ;o)

Start with a bag of beef bones. Wash them and then put them into a pressure cooker to boil. Once it comes to a boil, turn the fire down and let it cook for a minimal of 45 mins to an hour. 

While that's cooking, start prepping the other ingredients such as ginger, onion, garlic, and star anise to add flavor to the base. Don't worry about cutting it nice and neat because we will not be serving this. Again, it will only be for flavor.

1-2 thumbs of ginger, 4-6 cloves of garlic, 1 onion, and a handful of star anise.

After adding the ingredients above to the broth, let it cook for a good 15-20 minutes before adding small chunks of beef and then some tomato paste. Feel free to add chunks of tomatoes if you like because that is the traditional way. 

2 cans of tomato soup and 1 can of beef broth

Also, add 2-3 tablespoons of soy sauce and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar.

Close the pressure cooker for a good 1-1.5 hours until the meat gets soft. Other ingredients to add once the dish is ready to be served are: 

Green onions, cilantro, and spinach 

**Add chili pepper into the broth for it to be spicy.

For the noodles, boil some water on the side and add a few sprinkles of salt. Once the water starts to boil add the noodles. This should only take 10-15 minutes. Use the thick noodles to make this dish.

Here is the final product:

Bon Appetit!

Until next time,

stay healthy, beautiful, and inspired.

Have a great night!

<3 <3 <3

Herstyler serum review and my free headphone from Victoria's Secret

Hello Everyone,

Happy Thursday! I am excited for this weekend where I can just relax and share it with someone special! Sometimes its good to slow down which I don't do often and I know I need to. I hope all of you have a great weekend because tomorrow is freakin' Friday!

Alright, back to my blog.... I don't know why I have never heard of this product before, but I am glad that one of my friend introduced me to it. I am now OBSESSED with a capital O! I kid you not, it smells soooooo good. I just want to rub this scent all over. This product that I am talking about is called Herstyler.

It's a hair serum that contains vitamin E. It helps prevent split ends and makes your hair look healthier. With my hair, I dyed the ends and it looks dry so with this product, it helps revitalize the tips and makes my hair smell good.
Ok, why did I buy three bottles? Because I am crazy OBSESSED. Each bottle contained 60ml and cost $75 at the mall. I would never spend $75 for a bottle of hair product.... are you kidding me? I went on to amazon.com and found a great deal. These three bottles cost me a total of $45. Yeah, beat that! I saw cheaper ones on ebay too.

A little goes a long way with this product. Only use 2 pumps and rub your hands together until they get warm. Then run your hands through the ends of your hair. Repeat this process twice (4 pumps total). You get better results when your hair is damp, but I would just put some on when my hair is dry also because I just like the smell.

My friend has used this product for over a year and noticed a difference of having less split ends. This is favorite product for the month so far!

Guys, I just received my FREE headphones from Victoria's Secret!
I love my Dr Dre Beats headphone, but this is actually pretty good. I think because it is free, it just sounds that much better.

It's bright pink so I know I wont lose it and I can find it easily.

Until next time,

stay healthy, beautiful, and inspired.

Have a great night!

<3 <3 <3

Project-FEED

Hello Everyone,

I wish I can support all the charities..... one day when I win the lotto. =)
In the past, I blogged about a charity site called Sevenly. They make shirts to support different charities. For every shirt that they sell, they would donate $7 to that charity for the week.

One of the shirts that I bought was to support LIVE and LOVE and FIND THE CURE- CURE CHILDHOOD CANCER.

Make sure to check out their site at: http://www.sevenly.org/
People Matter.

This time, I saw some shirts that support Project FeedUSA at Target and I just had to buy one. There are so many families that are just getting by with very little or nothing at all. If I am going to buy a shirt, I would like to buy something that also gives back. Basically, for every shirt, bag, water bottle you buy they provide meals to children and families all across America. See below.

Just do it!

Also, check out their site: http://www.feedprojects.com/

Thank you!

Until next time, 

stay healthy, beautiful, and inspired

Have a great day!

<3 <3 <3

Maybelline Color Tattoo Pure Pigments Shadow Review

Hello Everyone,

Maybelline did really well on their Color Tattoo 24hr cream gel shadows and now they have came out with the pigments which aren't bad. Loose pigments are not my first choice to use because they can get messy, but they have intense color payoff. Great to use for building up colors and can be use in a variety of ways (wet or dry).

There are a total of twelve shades. I will only be showing you eight. Each of these pot is retailed for about $6-7.99 for a 0.05oz and of course, don't forget about signing up for a CVS card (sometimes you can get 20-30% off in addition to $1 off coupon). Hey, it works for me!

The colors that caught my eyes are the ones I have below:

Starting from top left to right (first row): Wild Gold, Brash Blue, Black Mystery, Never Fade Jade

Bottom left to right (second row): Pink Rebel, Forest Fatale, Breaking Bronze, Buff & Tuff

I do have my favorites out of this collection because not all the pigments blend smoothly. Some are patchy and are more dry than others. I also experienced a little creasing after 11-12 hours of wear. Make sure to use an eye primer when applying these pigments to have them last longer. The ones that are harder to blend are Wild Gold, Pink Rebel, Brash Blue, and Black Mystery

The ones that I do like are Breaking Bronze, Never Fade Jade, and Forest Fatale 

Sorry about the sloppy swatches.

They come in different finishes such as matte, shimmer, and satin

I do think they are worth exploring if you are a makeup addict like me. 

Until next time, 

stay healthy, beautiful, and inspired.

Have a great night!

<3 <3 <3

OOTD: Silk blouse with a loose bow tie. Just bringing it back!

Hello Everyone,

I have always find wearing a feminine silk blouse with a loose bow tie very sexy and stylish on its own.  I want the main focus to be on the shirt so I kept everything else simple. I did a blog on this type of look in the past and to see it coming back is exciting. Keeping it classic!

Blouse: H&M (can be purchased here: http://www.hm.com/us/product/15105?article=15105-A)

Pants: Banana Republic

Boots: Banana Republic

Peace!

Until next time,

stay healthy, beautiful, and inspired.

Have a great night!

<3 <3 <3

OOTD: Fifty Shades of Dark

Harro Everyone,

So, I have been watching videos by Peter Chao on Youtube and he is hilarious. I do think he over advertise himself, but other than that, I do enjoy his videos. Some people may think he is a bit racist, I wouldn't take it too personal, just watch it for pure entertainment.

As most of you know, I like to dress comfortable but polish if that makes any sense. In other words, simple but put together. I know it is still summer and most of  you are probably thinking, why is she wearing so many layers..... well, let me tell you.... SF is just so darn foggy anytime of the year.

Ok, no drum rolls needed, this is just a pure simple outfit.
Black sweatshirt: Victoria's Secret
Scarf: Old Navy (I think- sorry, no tags)
White Shirt: Forever 21
Jeans: Old Navy
Boots: Just Fab

Until next time,

stay healthy, beautiful, and inspired.

Have a great day!

<3 <3 <3