Bloglovin'

Hi everyone! I decided to make an account on Bloglovin'. To those who don't know what Bloglovin' is, you can check it out by clicking here! 
I am claiming my blog on Bloglovin' via this post, and I would love if any of you would follow me on there! It's a great and easy way to keep track of all of your favourite blogs, in one place.

Enjoy, and Cheers!

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Sweet and Sour Chicken

Hi there beauties! So, today I'm doing my first cooking post, which is super exciting for me, because well.. I love to cook! I also love Chinese cuisine, so today I'm bringing to you am fabulous recipe for Sweet and Sour Chicken. Sadly, my father got to this dish before I could, so I have no pictures for you, but I can assure you that it's delicious.

The secret is cornstarch. You have to dip the chicken, first and then fry it to give you a beautiful crunch that perfectly compliments the sweet and sour sauce. So, without further ado!

Weapons:

Chicken Breading:

3 chicken breasts
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup cornstarch
1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup oil

Sauce:

4 tblsp ketchup
3/4 cups white sugar

1 tblsp soy sauce
1/2 cup white distilled vinegar
1 tsp garlic powder

Mission:

Breading:

1. Trim fat of of chicken and then cut into small cubes. 
2. Dunk chicken into cornstarch and coat all the way and then into egg/milk/salt and pepper mixture. 
3. Heat oil in a large skillet and cook chicken until browned. 
4. Place in baking dish.

Sauce:

1. Whisk until smooth, then pour evenly over chicken. 
2. Mix chicken so the sauce covers completely and then put in the oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. 
3. Mix chicken and then cook for another 15 minutes. 

"Brands That I Couldn't Live Without" Series

Hi everyone, Emma here! I hope your days are going swell, and you're all healthy and well. Today the post will be "beauty" related. I'm very excited for this, because I'm a girly-girl at heart. I love doing my nails, hair, and makeup! So today, will be the start of the beauty portion the blog.

Drugstore brands. Now, I know that some blogs you'll read only use high-end products that I frankly do not have the money to buy. I personally, don't have a problem with drugstore brands and think that they're really not all that bad. I use them 99% of the time, because I have a limited selection in my small little town. Now, don't get me wrong, I love expensive brands just as much as the next fella, (er.. girl, whatever) and therefore not every brand that is featured in this series will be a drugstore brand, but the majority will be.

I'm going to separate this into sections, and different sections (or topics) will have different posts. They will hopefully be posted every week, until I run out of products. But I'm always finding new ones that I like even more than the last, so I'm not worried about running out. However, if anyone has any products that they'd like me to try out, I would be thrilled to try them and see if I like them. I love finding new ones, and help is always appreciated.

Stay tuned and cheers!

When You're Dreaming with a Broken Heart, Waking Up is the Hardest Part

So, what's the deal with this "broken heart" shit? Honestly, like who in their right mind was the first person to decide that they were going to be "broken hearted". I pity that person. They must have been extremely upset and insecure.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that all people that are broken hearted are insecure, because they're not. And trust me, I've been there. I guess we all have, and if you haven't consider yourself lucky. That "lay on your bed, curled up in a ball, can't even cry because there's no tears left" feeling isn't something that i'd wish upon anyone.
I don't quite know what the point of this rant is, but I think it may develop into a beautifully written piece on how to overcome such an incident. But, on the other hand, it probably won't. Let's find out, shall we?

I'm going to start off with the absolute worst thing that you can do in such a circumstance. Seriously, don't do this. My mother (wonderful woman, really) told me not to do this, and you know what? I did what any other teenager would do, and i didn't listen to her. So listen to me when I say this: don't lay on your bed and sook about it. I know that it's the easiest thing to do, I know that you don't want to get up and pretend to be happy, and I sure as hell know that the last thing you want to do is listen to me. But trust me on this: the more you think about it, the worse it gets. It's true, really. If you can muster up the strength to get up and move on with your life, you're bound to be a lot happier than if you continue to lay on that god forsaken bed.
It sucks. I know it does, and I know you just wanna be alone to mope around and be upset. But that's not getting you anywhere. It really isn't.

Anyway, take my advice if you want, and if not, then don't. It's your choice, and your life.
But either way, remember that you are an excellent person, and deserve the best.
Cheers and best wishes!

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who doesn't love chocolate chip cookies? Crazy people, that's who. So for all those not-crazy readers out there, and even the ones that are crazy, here's an EXCELLENT recipe for these scrumptious little guys. 

Not my picture, by the way. I couldn't get my phone to connect to my laptop for a picture of these ones. 

These thick and chewy beauties are gonna take you about 12-15 minutes to bake, and serve about two dozen. This of course depends on the size that you make them, I made them a teensy bit too large, so they took longer to bake. 

  

Your weapons:

1 tsp baking soda

2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

1 tsp salt (only if using unsalted butter)

1/2 cup of butter

1 cup of packed brown sugar

1/2 cup of granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Your mission:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream your butter and sugar together until it gets light and fluffy. 
3. Add in the eggs and vanilla, mixing completely. 
4. Beat in your flour, baking soda and salt.
5. When that is done, add the two cups of chocolate chips (by hand), and put them on some cookie sheets.
6. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown and slightly underdone. 
7. Cool on the sheets completely.

And there you have it, cookies to make even the crazy ones sane! Pair with a glass of milk and you're all set.

Enjoy your cookies, and cheers! 

Summer Cliches

Summer is drawing soon to a close, and we are entering the fall months. Let me start off with saying that this Summer was about as good as any Summer. I mean, Summer's grand and all, but it's not all that fantastic. We wait all year for Summer, because we have these pre-conceived notion that this particular season includes things like "summer romances", "continuous beach days" and "beautiful tans".

This is false. Well. Not always false. But, in most circumstances it is. Let's break this down, shall we?

1. Summer romances. Ah, this is my favourite. Now, can someone please explain to me, why people (mostly teenage girls) think that in the Summer, you are more likely to "fall in love". Honestly, it doesn't make sense to me at all. A season has absolutely no effect on whether you fall in love or not. I assume that it's the movies that plant these silly ideas in most people's heads, but let me just state it here: if you are looking to fall in love, you wont. Love is something that has no schedule so therefore does not come about at any particular time. God, that sounded corny. But you get the idea.

2. Every day spent at the beach. Another good one. Who has the time to spend every single day at the beach. Not me, that's for sure. If you are one of these people, then good for you! I'm sure lots of people are envying you. I however, work for the majority of the Summer and "simply do not have the time" (That was an inside joke between me and a couple of my friends). Anyway, I love the beach. I'll be the first one to admit that, but there's definitely some better things that I can be spending my time doing than sitting on my ass, letting myself burn to a crisp, only to look like a lobster for the next week. And that leads into the next rant topic.

3. What is it with girls these days, (and some boys as well) being obsessed with "The Perfect Tan". I don't get it. What is so fancy about a tan? Some people look absolutely ridiculous with it. Yes, there's a mild bit on tension here because I do not tan, I burn. But, you know what? At least that keeps me out of the sun, and therefore far away from a thing I like to call the "lobster look". When a tan goes all wrong. Have any of you people heard of a thing called Melanoma? Skin Cancer. That's right, I dropped the "C" word. Now, Cancer is not something to fool around with. It's dangerous, and this particular type can be avoided by staying out of the sun. Sure, spray tans can make you look like a Dorito sometimes, but not if they're done right. And a simple thing like that could be the difference between being healthy, and landing in the hospital. Just put on some sunscreen, okay?

Aside from all of that, Summer is a beautiful season, really. But it's not something that you should revolve your life around. Make every season one to remember.
There's my rant for the evening, hope you enjoyed it.
Cheers!

Welcome Home.

Hi there readers, my name is Emma, and welcome to my blog. So if you don't already know, which I assume most of you don't, I used to run the blog "Nailed into you". Now, as much fun as that was, I found it hard to find the time to continuously be doing my nails and posting photos. It seemed far too repetitious, and after a while became boring and more of a chore. So, that's why I decided to start this blog. I'm not necessarily the best at opening up to people, so I hope that this will help with that.

This blog will be a collection of just about everything. From makeup, nail art, and hair posts, to recipes, to rants, to helpful advice, this blog will definitely cover a broad range of topics.

I want this blog to be a homestead. For all kinds of different people. Young and old, happy and sad. A place where people can come to read, and feel well.. at home.

So to all of you, welcome home and cheers!