The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hey all,

I’m going to be MIA for awhile because of my move (no internet and cleaning!). But, in the mean time, I made some of the best traditional chocolate chip cookies that I have to tell you about!!

My “welcome back” gift!

The professor I’ve been house-sitting for finally came home from her trip abroad. I knew she’d be exhausted from her long trip, and I decided to bake her some “Welcome home!” chocolate chip cookies (her favorite!) and leave them in a decorated to-go container. (Who knew I’d be in my late 20s and still baking for my teacher??) Anyway, I had a sturdy black and white to-go container from a restaurant (that I kept for a day like this!). I soaked the container in hot, soapy water to clean and freshen, and I also had some pretty $1 orange ribbon and labels on hand.  I looked for a recipe online and saw the “Best Chocolate Chip Cookies” Recipe on Allrecipes.com. There were 4 thousand reviews of the recipe with a high 4 and 1/2 stars rating, which means this recipe HAS to be good. (Or, at least decent, right? ) I decided to give it a go.

I can honestly say this is the best standard cookie recipe I’ve ever found. My cookies came out crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. They even came out aesthetically pleasing! Perfectly round and thick. I really loved this recipe! I used the recipe without changes, although I added a tsp of cream of tartar as suggested in a few of the emails. I also cooked my cookies a bit larger than suggested, which means they took about 15-20 minutes to bake, as opposed to 8-12 minutes. Honestly, I recommend this recipe if you need to bake some crowd-pleasing traditional chocolate chip cookies. Here’s the recipe from Allrecipes with my addition!

DIY home: Citrus-infused Sugar

If life gives you lemons, you make lemon-infused sugar, right?

Because I’m on a citrus kick (and this California girl can’t wait for spring), I decided I wanted to include yet another DIY tip to use up the remaining citrus fruit and zest from your Grapefruit-Orange Scrub and Morning Glory Toner. (I swear this is the last one!) How about you take the peels from your grapefruit, orange, and lemon, and make something that looks pretty on your shelf and tastes just as sweet? Something like this…

DIY Beauty: Grapefruit-Orange Sugar Scrub

Rise and shine, all you post- St. Patrick’s Day celebrators!

Feeling a little blue (after one too many Green beers)? Here’s a scrub that will leave you feeling bright-eyed and bushy-tailed: the Grapefruit-Orange Scrub! Citrus is a nice dose of Vitamin C for your skin, honey is an anti-inflammatory, sugar will leave your skin soft and smooth, and sweet orange will balance the zesty scent of the tart grapefruit. Plus, all these ingredients are relatively inexpensive (and sitting in your pantry). This is a great scrub for in the shower, or you can leave it by the kitchen sink whenever your hands need a little TLC. You can also be a good neighbor and give this as an inexpensive gift!  Simply put this in a jar,  and tie it with a bow or twine. You could even make a printable for the jars and stick it on for decoration. How sweet!

Grapefruit-Orange Sugar Scrub 

Ingredients:

1 and 3/4 cups sugar

3/4 cup Almond Oil (or grapeseed oil)

1 tbsp honey

1 Grapefruit

1 Orange

1 empty mason jar with lid

Directions:

Mix together the sugar, oil, and honey. Juice the grapefruit and orange, making a total of 1/2 cup of juice  (1/4 cup juice of each fruit). This should be about one quarter to one half piece of each fruit. Add the juice to the mixture, and stir well until a thick paste forms. Hurray, you now have a zesty citrus scrub! Scoop out with your hands, a small spoon, or even a slice of citrus (even more Vitamin C.) And eat the remaining fruit–it’s good for you!

DIY Beauty: Coconut Oil as Moisturizer (coconut oil and rose essence)

Last night, I went on a limb and tried Coconut Oil as a moisturizer.

Coconut oil on your body? Sounds a bit weird, right? Coconuts are the new “craze” ingredient in the health industry, and I was skeptical of its hype and seemingly magical properties.  However, I have a friend who preaches the wonders of Coconut Oil: for hair, skin,  and overall beauty. (She has thick, unruly curly hair, and she uses Coconut Oil on her hair. )

Anyway, because I’ve become obsessed with creating new DIY projects, I decided to take a chance with the oil. I simply showered last night as usual, mixed a bit of cheap plain lotion in my hand along with some coconut oil, and spread this over my body as a night lotion. (I wasn’t prepared to make an official concoction til I saw results.)

I can honestly say–without any reservations—that I woke up with soft and smooth skin! The oil completely absorbed into my winter-weary skin, and I was really pleased with the results! Plus, Coconut Oil has a much more pleasant scent than, say, Olive Oil, and a little of it goes a long way. Inspired by my endeavor,  this weekend  I plan on making this more spreadable Coconut Beauty treatment, although I am altering the recipe by using Jojoba Oil and Rose essence. I also have made a Whipped Coconut Body Butter at home before, which I loved. If you don’t feel like making anything though, I suggest simply mixing in your hand a cheap, over-the-counter scented lotion with the Coconut Oil. Enjoy!

“Rosy Nights” Coconut Beauty treatment (Coconut Oil and rose essence) 

Ingredients:

1 jar of Coconut Oil

1 jar of Jojoba Oil (or Almond Oil,  Grapeseed Oil, etc.)

1/2 tbsp of Rose essential oil (you could also try Lavender, Orange, etc!)

1 jar for storage

Directions:

Place the Coconut Oil (which is hard at room temperature) in a warm water bath until it softens. Take the jar out of the water, dry, and then mix a scoop of the Coconut Oil with your choice of other oil (Almond, Jojoba, etc.) until it is thinned to your desired consistency. Add a drop of essential oil, blend, and then put into the jar for later usage. Happy nights are ahead!

DIY Beauty: Morning Glory Toner (Green Tea and Mint)

I was reading Tina Haupert’s Carrots ‘N’ Cake blog, and tonite Tina reviewed Amy Gyles McInerney, a Licensed Massachusetts Medical Aesthetician of 18 years who specializes in skin treatments and skincare. Along with getting her skin done, Tina asked Amy some questions about her everyday skin care. Amy recommended not only taking flaxseed, calcium, and Vitamin C supplements for healthy skin, but also suggested making your own Green Tea tonic for your face!

Inconceivable! Why isn’t this as a tonic more popular? I have heard of rose water and lemon, but never green tea. This does make alot of sense, though! Amy reports that green tea is an anti-imflammatory agent and high in anti-oxidants, which makes it the perfect solution for your skin.

After I read this post, I was inspired to do a little more research on homemade tonics, and I made the perfect recipe: Morning Glory Toner. Enjoy! And if you know of any good DIY recipes, please share!

Morning Glory Toner

Ingredients:

1/3 cup chopped fresh mint (or 2 tbsp dried)

3 green tea bags (substitute one chamomile, if you like!)

2 cups of water

1 plastic spray bottle (I found a blue mini spray bottle in the travel section at Target)

1 wedge of lemon (optional)

Directions:

Combine ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, and allow to steep for 2 more minutes. Once cooled, strain liquid into the spray bottle, and keep for one week as your daily toner. This would be especially refreshing for spring and summer!