ZOMG its JINNA

Recipe/Tutorial: Chicken Parmesan Bake (No breading or deep frying)

2011-11-16T14:47:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! Yeah.. it's kind of been months since my last post... I came home from NY to LA and trying to straighten my life out. I get into my dream school, only to realize I can't afford it. I would have never believed money would be the reason to put my dreams at a halt. I was blessed since I was young and my family has always been financially stable, up until about 2 years ago. My father got laid off from work, and everything went downhill from there. Even the ridiculously large mansion sized home we had invested in ended up in nothing, because the of the house market crash here in southern California.

Oh man, this is rather depressing! T~T So as of right now, I'm re-applying to colleges for a transfer. My dream school ended up being not exactly what I'd imagined, and now that I can't afford it, I have to change up my plans a bit. Applications, supplemental items (transcripts from hs/college, statements, essays), and last but definitely not least.. my recorded repertoire. Just the thought of school makes me really nauseous and I can never finish an application LOL. I just stare into the screen and end up having to lay down. HAHA. Things are so stressful at home, and it baffles me to how stupid I was when I was in NY not knowing how bad things were at home--living carelessly sometimes skipping classes (which my parents were breaking their backs to pay for), going out with my friends all the time, going shopping.. it just absolutely disgusts me how childish I was.

Let's just say since May, i've finally become an adult. I thought I was grown up, but boy was I wrong.

----------------------end of babbling-------------------------

Now, onto our newest recipe! :) This recipe is NOT mine, and belong to Chef John from Foodwishes. I've made so many of his recipes and love every single one of them. He's hillarious, and a great cook!

Chicken Parmesan Bake Recipe:
Ingredients:
-2 tbsp Olive Oil
-2 cloves of Garlic, crushed (I used about 2 tsp)
-Hot red pepper flakes
-4-6 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
-2-4 cups Marinara sauce (I used Barilla Marinara)
-1/4 cup chopped Basil
-8oz. Mozzarella, shredded
-4oz. Parmesan, grated
-1 package of Garlic Croutons

Alright let's get started! :)

Gather your ingredients!

Take any sort of casserole dish, spread your oil (I used grapeseed), garlic, and red pepper! I added in a little bit of sea salt and black pepper just in case the chicken was going to be bland (since there's no seasoning for it).

Chop up that basil! :) my kitchen smelled divine afterwards.

I used a pre-packaged set of basil and I got much more than I thought..

Save some for later! I love pasta, so I'll use it up quick :P

Take your chicken, and make light knife marks/slices just to help the cooking process a bit... I forgot to let my chicken defrost before I started, so I threw the package into a large mixing bowl of hot water LOL.

Toss it in!

I used 4 breasts.

This one is my absolute favorite simple marinara sauces. Barilla makes the best!

Just pour it over! Chef John only asks for 2 cups, but I used the entire jar--due to the size of the dish/I wanted it covering the chicken.

Throw on your basil...

Your Mozzarella...

And your Parmesan! Chicken Parm isn't Chicken Parm without the Parm! LOL. A lot of people just use Mozzarella..

I didn't use nearly as much as the recipe called for.. I just grated some along the top!

I picked up two packages just in case :P

One package ended up being enough :)

This is to substitute the breading/frying! :) Def a much healthier option.. but I warn you, don't over-do the croutons! I did, and it dried out my dish a bit. Really soaks up the sauce!

And.. a final coating of Mozzarella!

Thow into your oven at 350 Degrees Fahrenheit. I just placed it in the middle of the racks.

I took it out after 35 minutes and it looked something like this.

But when I scooped one breast out and cut it, it was still pink inside, so I threw it in for another 10-15 min.

Much better :)

And we're finished! Enjoy :D

Tips:
-Don't over-do on the croutons! It soaks up a lot of the sauce and doesn't contribute much to the "crunchy" factor instead of the deep-frying.
-It doesn't hurt to season the chicken just a tad before putting it in the dish--some garlic powder/cayenne, & salt and pepper would do nice :)
-Me over-doing the garlic was rather nice! It was actually really feint lol.
-Don't go crazy with the Mozzarella on the last top layer--it doesn't melt very well and just becomes that stiff baked dish.

I know i've been gone for so long, and my crazy period of college applications (again) isn't over till Dec. 1st, I will try my best to update :) I really love blogging, and can't believe the support I get from all of you guys. Thankyou all so much! I have a ton of posts ready! I take soooo many pictures everyday--including this one; my Dad fell asleep in my room and asked me to take off his socks, so I put them on Seba :P

Oh, guess what? I've cured my acne. NBD or anything. :P I'll do a big post on that too! (partly why I was away for so long). I also never did a final results post from my lemonade diet.. should get on that..

Happy Hump Day! :D Get through the week y'all!

Love,
Jinna

MBC 위대한탄생 2 "Birth of a Star" LA Audition, Mini-Haul, and LDD Day 3-4

2011-07-18T13:15:00.000-07:00

Hiya everyone! :) Just in case anyone here doesn't follow my sister's blog.. I'll have a little intro for her: Her name is Eujean, age 20, bio major, hopes of going to med school and becoming a doctor! ayooooo. Strange enough.. she has a hidden talent! She can sing! She previously auditioned for JYP and had gotten accepted to the next round, but because it required her to travel to NY, [and Asian parents] her dreams were brought to a halt. SO! There's a show in Korea called 위대한탄생, which pretty much is an American Idol. They're doing auditions this year in Los Angeles! My sister signed up immediately, and on Saturday, we went over to the Sheraton Hotel in downtown in LA.

Here are some pics!

tis Eujean!

She may not exactly look like one of those stereotypical tall, skinny, HUGE eyes, TALL nose, SHARP V line neck, or LONG legs; but her talent will outshine it all!

Our order in line...

You can't really see, but the line was insane. It hugged the walls of Sheraton, and extended around and around wayyy past the building! X__X

After a few hours of the film crew trying to get shots of everyone "excited" in line.. we've finally made it in the building!

I taught my mom how to play Bejeweled on my phone! ...which died because she played so much -___-

Sitting in for the big introduction and orientation!

The three previous winners: David Oh, Taekwon Lee, and another girl.. can't remember her name;; came out and sang a short song to liven up the mood so people wouldn't be so nervous. They were all so sweet!

Mini-Haul:
So~ a couple weeks back, I saw this polka dotted dress from F21 when I was just browsing around with my BFFs :) I told myself I didn't need to spend money, but I gave in and went back a couple days ago with my sister to get it!

I really like the detailing! It's chiffon, light and airy, has ruffling detail on the chest area, an elastic waistband embedded into the dress and a ribbon tie that is connected to the collar!

I wore it out to church yesterday with the bold.. Morange by MAC!

I also picked up this really cute flannel shirt :)

tada! lashes! They were only about $2.50 each! scoreeee! They're both the same price, but one of them as two pairs! sneaky sneaky~ :p

On a side note.. I got a haircut! The first since last December! >< My hair was disgustingly long... so I cut about 5 inches. yeah.. it was a LOT but for some reason, it doesn't even feel like I got it cut! haha~ The trendy haircut right now in korea is: no bangs, long hair, no layers. So as much as I am going to miss hiding my acne with my bangs, I've decided to grow em out! ..it's going to take forever!!

I've also changed my hair to a center part.. but I don't think my fringe is long enough to be a center part!

Oh, and excuse the skin please.. this was at the end of the day, so my makeup had all melted off :p

LDD DAY 3:
Already my third day! :) I'm super psyched i'm almost halfway done! -____-; ..not. The hunger pulls today are by far the worst! I'm craving anything and everything possible! Everytime I feed my dog, I seriously start to drool. HAHA... I mix a bit of squash, and random leftover pieces of meat with his doggy food.. and when I'm cooking it? oh dear. I am soo tempted to eat it! Oh dear. How the lack of food has turned me into a monster!
My sister Eujean has decided to join me on the detox! puhahaha. Someone to share my pain with! She's constantly saying, "Oh man, I can't do this anymore, I really need to eat something.." But she hasn't pulled out of the game yet!
I realized something today... we spend so much time out of our day to eat! All day, I'm constantly asking myself, "so, what now? what should I do now?" I have so much free time now that I'm not eating! I've also realized that before I started, whenever I would get super hungry, I thought I'd die if I didn't eat right away. But looking back, I feel almost.. disgusted at myself for even thinking that way. There are unimaginable numbers of people in other countries living in poverty and famine.. at least I can eat when I want to! They want to eat, but have nothing to. I feel so blessed to be born into such a comfortable life.
It's night time. I'm craving so much food, I think I'm going to die!

LDD DAY 4:
"omg, I can't believe it's day 4 already!" Is what most people said... but; THE HELL, IT'S ONLY DAY FOUR?!--is what I want to say. I'm starving, but whenever I watch SNSD "Girls Generation" a Kpop group's music video, like their new one, "Hoot" I get all motivated looking at their legs! LOLLL.
And.. I have quite the surprise to share with you all.. I weighed myself for the first time today since I've started.. you guys will never believe it! I've lost more than 10lbs LOLOLOLOLOL I couldn't believe it I went on the scale over and over again laughing like a psychopath. My mom was so happy too we stood there high-fiving for literally 2 minutes straight. hahaha!
I've been avoiding the salt-water flush for awhile now.. because I didn't think I could do it... so I've been taking the detox tea in the mornings as well instead. Well, turns out that the un-iodized salt water is what irritates your stomach and creates diarrhea to empty out all the nasty stuff. Looks like I'm going to start on that first thing in the morning...T^T
I've so become a pro at making this "lemonade"! Not too much maple syrup.. just enough to make it not too sour--don't need all that sugar and carbs anyway! I was avoiding putting a lot of the cayenne pepper, but turns out that's what keeps your metabolism going and not stopping! The batch I'm making tonight for tomorrow, I'm going to be putting more that in now!

The best thing by far that has happened for me is my acne clearing up.. I can't believe this is happening. I always read and heard when people stressed the importance of what you eat is what you are, but I truly didn't understand it till now.

And as usual, ending it with a picture of Seba :)
Sorry for such a long post! Just have so many things to fill in..
-Jinna

Lemonade Detox Diet Start! :)

2011-07-16T22:39:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Sorry for the lack of the update -__-;; My mom and I switched computers this past week because mine is so crappy I can't play [brace yourself] World of Warcraft. Yes yes, I'm an asian nerd -.-

Besides that! If you remember, I posted the recipe for the Lemonade Detox Diet about a week ago. Now that I've finished all the perishable items in the fridge... I've started! If you want the recipe, refer to that post Here.

Gather your ingredients!

Roll the lemon and give it a few squeezes before cutting them. This breaks open some of the hard to reach pulp and more of the juice comes out.

Slice them in Half~

I'm using a juicer :) If you don't have one, you can always just use your hands or something cheaper.

If you give it a squeeze like this once no more juice comes out, you can check if there's any leftover.

This actually took longer than I thought..

tada!

For some reason, when I made this again the next day, I ended up with wayy more juice than I did this day.. I guess it really depends on the lemons..

I split the lemon juice evenly to 2 containers, and added 5 cups of water each. (total 10 cups for the day)

Add a couple pinches of Cayenne Pepper! I put wayyy too much (following someone else's recipe -___-;) Most people said just put a pinch everytime you pour yourself a cup.. but I thought that was a hassle and just put it in here.

Add the Maple Syrup.. as usual, as first timers, I put wayyyy too much -___- The recipe I found was a total dud! I had to accommodate it myself. Just add 2 Tbs per cup.

Wisk it all together..

And safely into the fridge it goes! As you can see.. it's rather dark! It's not supposed to be this concentrated!! X__X

Okay, so it was my first time making it... and I figured out what to put more in of, and less of. But because I made it, I ended up drinking it all just for this day, and kept telling myself it was only going to get easier from here since I'd make it better each time.

LDD DAY 1:
Okay. So I sort of underestimated this whole procedure. It didn't exactly start off the way I wanted to! I ended up making a super concentrated first batch and made serious faces every time I drank it. Oh well, it'll get better.. Anyway! So first thing was first. Because I can't bring myself to drink 1 quart of salt water every day, I decided to take the detox tea in the morning as well as night. People said this was an alternative since they initially did the same thing.
So let me say this.. I love to eat. I love food. I like all types: crunchy, mushy.. you name it. [unfortunately I really like starch foods like Ramen and pasta..] So to stop eating all the sudden is kind of hard! I totally pigged out the day before with so much food! hahaha :p Anyway, getting through the first day wasn't all that bad.. I had to avoid everyone who was eating, or hide in my room while my family ate dinner...T^T my room is next to the kitchen, so it was a bit painful! Anyways, the day finally ended, and I didn't have to try so hard to finish the entire mixture even though I made enough for 10 cups instead of 6-8. I just kept drinking it whenever I would crave foods, or feel I had an empty stomach.
At the end of the day, I had my cup of detox tea.. WHICH IS SOOOOOO GROSS!!!! uaghghsdfhsj!!!!! I thought this was going to the best part... but turns out it's the worst! I absolutely HATE HATE HATE HATE everything about this tea. It tastes like dirt brewed with random fallen twigs off the ground, and to top it off, has this certain spice that smells almost like cinnamon. X___X It's pretty much death in a tea form for me. Anyway, I managed to plug my nose and chug it down once it cooled a bit. It took me forever to fall asleep though. I couldn't get the cravings for food out of my head! It was utter torture for someone who loves food so much T^T

LDD DAY 2:
So it's already day 2.. Let me tell you, the first batch I made was such a torture, I'm starting get worried if this is how it's going to taste every day... ahh! But turns out my second batch actually tastes like freshly squeezed lemonade!! YES! Closer to a very very strong lemon water. I can't really taste the cayenne pepper much, only when I get to the bottom of the glass. Tastes great ^___^ But because I had such a long and tough day going to my sister's audition with her it was a bit harder today I have to admit. I did wayyy more physical activities than yesterday, when I was home all day on the computer.
My mom and sister even had lunch before going home, and I waited in the car!! It was torture. They were talking about what food they were going to eat, and it was just plain mean! Everyone is so not supportive! My dad keeps offering me food and candy convinced I'm going to die, and my sister just munches on chips with her mouth open!! aghh! The crunching sounds.. -.- I accidentally fell asleep around 5pm and woke up around 9:30pm, so I have so much of the lemonade to drink!! ahh! I'm soo not going to sleep early today -___-

I'm going to post how my LDD goes day by day attached along with other normal posts so you guys can stay updated with my torture.
But.. one thing I'm noticing right away, and it's only day 2--MY SKIN IS CLEARING UP! Nooooo way! :) I'm super psyched. I'm knocking on wood right now.

Thanks for stopping by!<3
Best,
Jinna

Review: MAC Lipsticks Morange and Chatterbox

2011-07-01T17:23:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone :) wayyy too soon for another update? I typed this up earlier today telling myself I was going to post it tomorrow.. but I couldn't wait :p

Yesterday, I my best friends came down to my house (because I moved away pretty far) and we had a hangout sesh :) We went to the shopping mall nearby, and while the boys were looking at their "man" stuff, I snuck out to MAC to eye the Morange lipstick I've wanted for SOOO long.

Well, I've got the lippy I wanted, and another one--Chatterbox!

Here are the two lipsticks :) (From the left: Chatterbox and Morange)

They're both very pigmented! Morange is a bit thicker though.

MORANGE:

I've wanted this for so long! T^T -tears of joy-

It's super pigmented, and not too drying, not too moisturizing. Closer to the moisturizing though. It's creamy, and easy to apply. One swipe gives a lot of color, so if you want a light wash, you have to dab! It's an orangy red color; I think orange lipsticks look absolutely fantastic on every single skin tone.

I've always wanted a "red" lipstick. Not because I like the color, but for the statement. But I could never find the perfect red that would go with my skin tone! This lipstick is a red mixed with a bright orange color. All the time when I try on red lipsticks, it looks like I just ate a whole jar of kimchee or something! hahaha But for some reason, this one seems acceptable to me. I think it's because I like orange lippies so much. I'm not wearing any lipliner for the picture, but I think it's needed desperately.

CHATTERBOX:

An unexpected find!

It's a plummy pink color, real purty. It's not as pigmented as the Morange, but it's still considered pigmented. Definitely easier to make a soft wash of color. It's creamier and softer than the Morange. But because I have such dark colored lips, I think I need some lip concealer before putting it on.

I picked this up and told the MUA that I was looking for a fuchsia/pink bold lipcolor, and they told me that this one was meant for warmer skin tones. I tried it, and it's still a bit awkward and new to me, since I don't own any fuchsia lipsticks, but I really like it!

I put this VS lip gloss called Lemondrops over it to see if it would tone it down just a bit.

Not really at all! haha. I guess there's no hiding this bold lip color! :p

Sadly, I only owned 2 MAC lippies, Blankety and Viva Glam V. I got the VGV from Fafinette's raving about it many years back, but I really don't like it at all. It's really dark and unflattering on me. It looked like a great nude lipstick on her though -___-;

My MAC lipstick collection has doubled! puahahha. I own so many lipsticks, but for some reason, MAC was never the place to go for lipsticks...

This is how Sebastian looks like when I'm blogging and not paying attention to him :p [he's in a desperate need of a haircut!]

Bye for now! I'm going job hunting!
Best,
Jinna

The Lemonade Detox Diet

2011-07-01T13:24:00.000-07:00

So.. how many of you have done the whole: "Man, I seriously need to loose weight/eat healthier/exercise/go to sleep early/drink lots of water/etc"--crap? Well, I certainly do it about every other day. -____-;; And I have finally decided over this summer, I will finally DO SOMETHING about it!!! +__+ *determined*

In the past, I saw my two sisters take this dietary supplement and loose a great amount of weight and fat... so I had bought the product, only to realize how terrible it was for my body. So I stopped taking it after about 3 days, and decided to do it the right way.

About a week ago, my sister and I were browsing Naver.com and came about a post of this girl who finally decided to "diet" aka eat right. Living in korea and being "fat" really SUCKS. Majority of the girls in Korea have absolutely beautiful porcelain skin, and THIN body parts. -___-;; The pressure!!! Anyways, I read her post and a couple other ones, and finally came up with a diet plan myself.

But before that...

I'm going to do the Lemonade Detox Diet!!

What it basically is.. is you drink nothing but this lemon-drink for 7-10 days. Yeah.. I know what you're thinking "WHAT?! NO FOOD? ARE YOU INSANE?!" Now now, hold them horses! I've done quite a bit of research of this process. I also have a friend of mine who did it only for 4 days and saw tremendous results.

This "Lemonade Detox Diet" is actually not a diet, but a detox. In other words, it's clearing out your body of all the nasty buildup in your intestinal lining. And depending on the amount of buildup in one's body, the weight-loss differs. (Ie. People who eat fatty foods more often will end up losing more.) And don't worry, it's not damaging to you or your tummy. With the correct ingredients, the mixture becomes the same consistency and substance as your blood, [apparently] therefore your body is unable to absorb it, and instead, it glides through your body, emptying it.

So how long are you supposed to do it? 7-10 days. But most people start seeing results after 4-5 days. If you absolutely think you're going to die, I suggest stopping there. Basically, once your body isn't producing fecal matter (aka you stop pooping), it means your body is cleansed.

Why am I doing this? To jump start my diet--err eating healthier :p I want to detox my body of all the nasty junk, and start over new.

Wouldn't you just start gaining again once you start to eat solid foods? Yes, as it is only natural that you loose weight when you don't eat for 7-10 days. But think of it this way.. if you go back to your eating lifestyle, you'll gain it right away. But if you take the opportunity to start eating healthier foods, and choosing to snack on veggies instead of a bag of potato chips, you will definitely see a gradual, but definite change in your body.

Can you be working/exercising during the process? I don't want to be too tired... Due to the lack of food during this detox, it's natural that your body will give out a bit earlier than it used to. But that doesn't mean you can't be working 6 hrs a day, or going to the gym regularly. If you're planning on starting exercising for the first time starting this diet, you'll most likely end up failing and want to eat. But if you already exercise on a regular basis, it shouldn't be a problem. Around 10-10:30pm, you'll start to become sleepy and tired. That's normal, and I actually prefer sleeping earlier to start off the next day earlier as well... Get productive!

I've never done a legit diet plan before, because I wasn't motivated enough. Being away from home for college--esp. in New York, I've gained quite a bit of weight. (yeah yeah, freshman 15) Because of the nature of my major, I can't exactly exercise regularly or have the time to eat right. So now that I'm home, I'm going to start over! Recently, when I take photos, my face looks absolutely.. huge. That is my motivation. LOLLLL Lucky me, my mom (who went through rectum cancer a couple years back and has trouble going to the bathroom now) has volunteered to do the detox as well. She hardly eats.. yet she gains so much weight (talk about dead metabolism;;)

ANYWAY! Sorry to bore you with my story -___-; But I wanted to make an official post so that I wouldn't back out of it.

The Recipe:

(The "lemonade")

-1 Cup of purified water
-2 Tablespoons of Lemon Juice (yes, it has to be freshly squeezed, not bottled lemon juice)
-a teeny bit of Cayenne Pepper about 1/10 of a teaspoon (you're probably making faces by now)
-2 Tablespoons of Organic Maple Syrup (yup, has to be organic)
[People make about a gallon of this at a time so they don't have to constantly be squeezing lemons]

(The salt water flush) [gagging]

-2 Tbs of UNiodized salt AKA Sea Salt
-1 quart of LUKEWARM water (so many people mention the importance in this step--apparently if it's cold, it doesn't breakdown properly for the body..)

(Detox tea)

-Just go to your local super market and buy Detox Tea/Herbal Laxative Tea. I got mine from Target, labeled Detox tea. Follow instructions on the box! You don't have to drink a ridiculous amount of this; just a normal serving of a cup of tea.

Directions:

-The first thing you do when you wake up in the morning is:
Drink the salt water flush mixture. Yep, ALL of it.. as in 1 quart.
-Drink 6-8 glasses of the "lemonade" a day. You basically drink it whenever you get hungry!
-Before going to bed, have some herbal laxative tea/detox tea.
-Repeat!
-Once you stop producing fecal matter, you're probably cleansed, and that'll happen around the 4-5th day. I say if you've made it that far, just stick it out and do it for 7-10 days.
-After the diet is over, slowly ease into solid foods; such as soups, porridge, & salad.

Yeah, sounds absolutely disgusting, right? Guess what? It is.
All for the sake of beauty, right? ..no? okay. Maybe that's just me :p

Positives/Expected Results:

-Thoroughly cleansed/detoxed body
-Ready and prepped body for a healthy eating/exercising lifestyle
-Clearer skin (OMG! surprisingly, majority of the nasty things we get on our faces are from what we eat.) Every single experience I've read/read of, everyone claimed that their skin improved.
-Average of 6-10lbs of lost weight. (it really depends on the person)

I'm going to start soon as my fridge is cleaned out of perishable food! haha! My mom and I realized we have so much fruit at home that would be such a waste if we started the diet now.. -___-; so I'll make the official starting post in a couple days when all the fruit is gone! haha.

...who's with me? ^______^;;
...no one?

well.... how's this.

Just a little motivation ;)

Let me ask again.... you in or out?

Best,
Jinna

Recipe/Tutorial: Chicken Salad with Grapes and Nuts

2011-06-28T18:01:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! As always, I apologize for my lack of posts -___-;; After my last post, (as was mentioned in the post) I was terribly sick for 2+ weeks after I made that post. Soon as I got better, I had finals, and juries for school. And 24 hrs after my last final, I had to completely move out of my school's dorm--back to California AKA halfway across the country!! -_____-^ I had to stuff everything into a storage before hanging out with my friend Ellen for a few days at her place and coming back.. NOW! I'm finally home, in my parents' new place :) after coming home, I had to unpack and unpack again. -____- unpack my stuff from NY, and unpack my stuff from my parents' old place. -sigh- As of now, I am happily settled in a new city, and just trying to get into a productive lifestyle!

What better way to start off that lifestyle than making regular posts on my blog again? hehe ;) (and a job lulz)

I haven't made a cooking tutorial in SO long! Well, here it is--Chicken Salad with Grapes and Nuts! It's really simple, and you can eat it without the sandwich part as well.

Ingredients:
-1 can of chicken (seasoned or non, it's okay. I used season)
-1/4 of a yellow/white onion
-1 stalk of celery
-handful of nuts (peanuts or almonds or walnuts) [I used peanuts just because it's what I had in the pantry]
-1 1/2 cups of Green grapes
-4 Sandwich bread of your choice [I used crescents]
-1-2 tbs of mayonaise
-1/2 of a lemon's juice
-1-2 stalks of green onion
-salt, pepper, and garlic powder to season

You can always use whatever you have lying around, and don't HAVE to follow every single ingredient. I've had it with walnuts before, and it tastes great. I made it once forgetting the celery, green onions, lemon juice and it still tasted fine.

Okay! let's get started...

1 can of chicken! This one is from costco, and it's seasoned (it's salty).

Crescents! These are from costco :{D You don't have to use these. You can use rolls, or sandwich bread.. whatever floats your boat! You can also eat the chicken salad with crackers as crowd pleasers for a gathering, or a snack. My mom likes to eat it just by itself.

1/4 of an onion, finely chopped! Trust me, you need the onion in here.

Celery! Chop em up, and cut them in half. They're a little too big unless cut in half again.

Green grapes! I just bought the smallest package of grapes from my local grocery store, and they were enough to make this recipe 4 times.

a juice of 1/2 a lemon!

...and 1-2 tbs of Mayo! You can just keep adding little by little to your liking.

Instructions:

Drain yo' chicken and break up the big clumps! If your leave them in big chunks, the water from the veggies and fruit and the mayo doesn't distribute evenly, leaving you with random chunks of dry meat.

Add the onions...

the celery...

the green onion...

And the mayo! Just start off with 1 tbs and continue to add in more little bit at a time. You can always add more, but can't take away.

I added in the grapes last because the mixture may get watery while waiting for the ingredients to be added. Halve them, and halve them again! (quarter them)

add the nuts! But if you choose to add peanuts like me, don't go too crazy, because they're a bit drying.. also, if using peanuts, break them in half!

Juice that lemon!

Add in black pepper, salt, and garlic powder.

mix mix mix mix mix mix

Now.. if using crescents like me, halve them, but don't cut all the way!

Stuff it! One batch made me 4 sandwiches.

Everytime I made it, I'd add more and more grapes... it's so yummy with them! Takes away from the dryness of the bread and nuts. yummm. Don't hold back from the grapes!

Finished! :)

This recipe is versatile, and don't have to eat it as a sandwich. You can serve it by itself or with some crackers. Go figure!

As a side note... I received flowers from my friend in Korea about a week ago. I know, it's been awhile, but I wanted to brag about it :p

I had a voicemail in the morning from this random guy saying he couldn't find my house... he left a number and an address to go to pick up my parcel. I was so confused, but went and found out it was a flower shop LOL. The delivery man failed, but I still managed to get them!

I was so excited lmfao. My bffls austin and humsheen were over taking pictures of me while I was busy taking pictures of the flowers hahaha

ayeeeee what a picture heavy post! >_< but honestly, I think all my posts are... hahaha pictures are worth a thousand words, feel me? ..no? ah ha ha ha...

Check back tomorrow for another update! :) Thankyou for reading!
I'll end this post with this picture... photo credits to Suely Kim! ..As if you couldn't tell from the picture... -__-;;;

Best,
Jinna <3

Short & Sweet

2011-04-14T13:47:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone! :) As I've mentioned, I'm sick as a dog, so I've finally given in to paying the doctor a visit. Ellen ended up skipping class to escort me :3 My appointment was at 9 and I was filling out papers till 9:45!! -____- I had a horrible headache and stomach ache. Ughhh!

Aside from all that pain, afterwards, we stopped by a small cafe behind Columbia university and had breakfast.. it wasn't anything out of the ordinary... but it was so good!!!!

I had a smoked salmon and scallion scrambled eggs with potatoes and salad +__+ yum.

yummm

ahwl gone! :D

Hope this wasn't TOO much of a pointless post .__.
Best,
Jinna

Brooklyn Shopping Date With Vivian :D

2011-04-13T16:40:00.000-07:00

Hello all~ ! I'm back with a new post~ :D Over the weekend on Saturday, one of my best friends here at MSM named Vivian and I decided that we would go flea market/thrift shopping! Unfortunately, turned out the flea market was only open on Sundays, so we ended up just thrifting and going into nice vintage stores :) Afterwards we ate at a really nice Japanese restaurant and went to a church revival after that! Talk about a NIGHT. I was SO pooped that I got sick the day after! haha i'm still sick, and I don't regret a single minute of it :p

So.. I've watched so much "What Not To Wear" on TLC with Stacey and Clinton last year before moving to NY. The one thing I learned from that show was.. SHOP FOR OUTFITS! NOT PIECES. Just because it's cute doesn't mean you should get it! If it doesn't go with anything you own, don't get it! (unless you pick up something else to complete the outfit..)

Here's the pictures from the day!

Waiting for the train to come..

HUUUUUUGE middle finger! hahaha

The Jap restaurant we ate at gave my favorite gum as dessert!!! :D

Moving on the things I bought.. Most of the stuff I bought this day was from this little boutique called Pema. I asked if they had an online store, but they told me they were far from setting it up. :(

A cute going out evening dress!

Owls! These earrings are handmade and they were on sale for $20!

Some nice and simple earrings.. perfect for that summer outfit :D

Saved the best for last!! My favorite piece of the day. I bought these specifically to wear them on stage for cello :)

Couldn't get them to stop shaking for the picture -___-;; they're absolutely gorgeous and REALLY sparkly/shiny.. the picture does no justice!

Moving on... These are some things I picked up at Forever21 with Ellen the day before:

Super simple, but super cute!

REALLY gorgeous chiffon chemise shirt.

I LOVE this! it's a dress, but its a little short--pair em up with mid-calf leggings!

Got this one for my Cello performance clothing, but it could come in handy for summer too :p

I actually got this from Brooklyn in a random open flea-market type of place. The designer and creator told me he did these all by hand! I really like this shirt.

Finally, a pearl necklace that goes with almost everything! I've been searching for something like this for SO long.

Taking Stacey and Clinton's advice.. I came up with quite a few outfits!

I forgot to take a picture of this skirt, but it's just a band waisted skirt.

Look at all these outfits I came up with JUST what I got today! So next time when shopping, take my advice, and SHOP FOR OUTFITS, NOT PIECES.

Oh man. Talk about a picture heavy post! Hopefully this helped out in some ideas for you guys, or just entertained you :) I'm dreadfully sick, and typing this post just wiped me out. Time to sleep!

See you on the next post!
Best,
Jinna

Review: Lancome Hypnose Drama + little haul ! :)

2011-04-11T21:52:00.000-07:00

Here's my review on Lancome's Hypnose Drama Mascara! :)

here's how the wand looks like; it's very interesting.. not your average curved brush! it's a very unique s-shape. The bristles are very.. spikey and prickly; for the separation most likely.

So here are my pathetic bare lashes...

Without any mascara.

Only one coat!

here's the other eye with one coat also.

side view :) Can you see the huge difference?! I put on the lightest coat.

Overall, I give this mascara 4 out of 5 stars, because I do get a bit of flaking sometimes. But not always. Another downside to this mascara is the price. It's about $25; I usually don't spend so much on mascara, and just settle for drugstore brands since I go through them so quickly. Oh, also, it has a really strange fragrance.. almost like roses?

The positives? Just one coat makes my lashes look 3x fuller and longer instantly :) I use the curvy part of the brush to coat the my lashes/curl them, and then use the u-shaped side to really separate them well. The brush is very unique! The formula is on the wetter side, which I like; but not so much to be clumpy. With the correct technique, you can get lush and voluminous lashes! I would repurchase this product. :) Super happy with it!

On a side note, I went over my friend Ellen's house over the past weekend; what better thing to do than cooking and shopping? hehehehe. We went into this random store that had pretty much shoes, accessories, makeup and other random cheap things :) here's what I got!

The place carried NYX products! I've always wanted things from this company :) these are the lashes I chose~ they were so cheap!

And a mini lash curler! Since im too much of a cheapo to buy the shu uemura one huhuhuhu~ :p

Well~ That's about it for this post :) I've been shopping too much lately and have a huuuuge haul to post! :p But as a result, i've caught a TERRIBLE cold... my throat swelling.. sneezing, running nose.. man. it ain't fun. but.. the things I got are! hehe :p Finals and juries are around the corner for me, so I really need to practice! >_< being sick seriously sucks. I took so much medicine yesterday that I slept all day, and woke up around 5am and layed in bed till 9am when Ellen got me breakfast and sleeping medicine. I've never taken sleeping medicine before, but it works! :p Hope everyone has a great week and see you on the next post!

Best,
Jinna

I'm finally back! (for good)

2011-03-27T22:22:00.000-07:00

HI EVERYONE!!! :) I missed the blogging world so much! the ever-so-silent-but-get-a-response-from-people-who-read-it-and-get-inspired-to-say-something-back world! hahaha

Well, basically, Ive been SERIOUSLY MIA because of school. I've been so busy! Competitions, auditions... juries! So I've been having to devote all my free time towards practice and sleep! (Sleep is definitely good..) Blogging actually really takes a lot of time out of my day, and I really dont like making half-assed quickie posts. I think it's a waste of time for both parties. So I'd rather only post when I have enough time to write up a real good quality post.

Anyway, just wanted to announce i'm back from the dead! Although I still have juries coming up--which is a thing at the end of the school year when students have to play for their entire department's faculty and get scored, whether or not they get to stay and return next year, or if they're slacking off. Thats also when they decide to award scholarships, so I have to do really well!!! Or I cant come back to school.. it's a really big deal for me..

But! regardless, I will be making posts regularly now :)

Looks forward to more cooking recipes, tutorials, and reviews! (or just random life posts.)
Hope everyone has a great week! I seriously should be sleeping.. Sunday night.. 2am oh dear. Have to wait for my laundry to finish too.. great.

With love,
-Jinna

Saying My Last Farewells

2010-09-12T13:11:00.000-07:00

Yoyo =D my final post of saying bye to my friends and family in Cali! :(
I went to NRB (karaoke) with my sister and her friend Nara, and had a final going-away dinner at the Cheesecake Factory with my friends from school. Sorry for the picture overload!

The last time driving!

My sister~

My bff Humsheen

And my other bff Austin!

I dropped by my Uncle's Sushi place for a final meal :) Lots of memories from this restaurant from back when my Dad owned the place too..

Look what my loving cousin Jungi Oppa bought me!

My aunt and my mom!

Then off to the airport..

I love everyone so much and I will miss every single one of you--fo' serious. I may not keep many people close to me, but those who are will eternally be my friend no matter how far we are apart from eachother. As for my family, I can't wait to go back home during xmas.

Sorry for the picture heavy post! My experience from leaving home has been a very hard separation for me. So many loving friends and family in LA, noone that I know in NY.. it really was a hard decision to chase my dreams.

Hope you enjoyed this post!
Have you guys ever left home completely? Once and for all? I was never really the type to want to be separated from my parents.

Best,
Jinna

Japan Town One Last Time :(

2010-09-05T09:42:00.000-07:00

Yo yo! =D So 2 days before I left to NY, my friends and I went to jtown to get some ramen one last time :( Here are some pictures! And stay tuned till the end for a review of the KissMe Cool Sunblock SPF 50!

pork ramen +_+

The place was so tiny we had to split up our group! This is Karen (left) and Veronica (right) :]

Here are the boys on the other side :) (in order) Austin, Humsheen, and Raynard~

HAHA Karen and I bought rice-farmer hats!

Me and Vpak~

Green tea icecream for me ^^

Mango for Karen!

...and ninja for Raynard (?)

Humsheen being an idiot :)

Off to Cafe Jack for more desert!

K.O. for Raynard :p

Ma gurlsss

Papbingsu! It's shaved ice with a bunch of sweet things on it :)

I know this is a long post.. but bear with me! I try my best to incorporate my personal life with beauty posts and cooking posts!

I picked this up when I was in Jtown as well~

Comes with a nozzle tip!

The consistency is like water; it's not greasy, sticky, or oily, but it does leave a shiny film-like look after. But it doesn't really matter for me because I would wear makeup over it :p It absorbs super fast! The cashier told me it was for both face and body, but I've been using it just for my face and neck :) There was the regular version (not the "Cool"), but since there was less of this one, I presumed that this one was better :p Honestly, I don't really like cool/minty smell to it, but for SPF 50? It's so hard to find high SPF products that aren't sticky and greasy!

See you on the next post! :)
Best,
Jinna

Moving into Manhattan =D

2010-09-03T16:17:00.000-07:00

hey everyone! =)FINALLY a post! I've made it safe and sound (and alive) to New York! It is SUPER hot here, and it's nothing like the west coast's definition of "hot". It is SOOO humid! x__x My hair frizzes, hairspray can't hold my hair, and i'm CONSTANTLY sweating all day! It's so gross! I've only been able to wear my hair down ONCE since I came here! This is SO not my weather. -___-

Anywho, moving on! Here are a couple pictures from my departure date and the day I arrived :) My school doesn't start till the 7th, but because of freshmen orientation, I had to go by the 25th :/

Me and my friend Hyejune at the LAX airport! She's an old friend of mine that's majoring in piano :) We were trying to cover up our bare faces! no makeup eek!
It was 110F degrees in LA when we left... and it was raining when we got to NY! LOL. Talk about werid.

Here are some strange signs I found, lol.

My first meal at school! (well, not counting when I went earlier this year for auditions :p)

MSM! =D

Check out this crazy view from a classroom I was in...

And for dinner that night, my roommate Zijun took me out to see Manhattan! (at like midnight LOL) She already had eaten, so we stopped by this cool pizzeria nearyby :)

All the workers were so funny and nice! They were showing off to us with towels LOL

Tada~ My first out-meal in Manhattan was a calzone :) ham and cheese!

It was soooo good! A little too much Ricotta cheese in it for my taste, but it was still so good!

Here is my room!

My desk! hehe pardon the messiness, I was still unpacking :p

Check out this KILLER view I have from my room!! o.o

And last, but definitely, but not least, my new friends! My roomie (on the left) Zijun; pronounced zeuuuuuuhhjjjuuuiiine LOL. I'm so bad at Chinese! On the right is Guining AKA Winnie :) They're so sweet!

Well folks, i've tried to keep this post as short as possible! I have sooo many pictures >< I wanted to put em up all at the same time, but I think it would be a little over-kill on the pictures--not that I don't on any other post LOL. I will update tomorrow! =) I'm going to watch Twilight with my friend Hyejune and sleep :) gnite~

Best,
Jinna

Moving to the opposite side of the country

2010-08-24T00:18:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Sorry for the lack of posts lately.. i've been really busy preparing myself for school! As you all may know, I currently live in Los Angeles, California. But my college is actually located in New York! Manhattan School of Music :) So tomorrow night, I depart on a new journey for my long-awaited independent life. I'm such a mommy's girl, so I have no idea how i'm going to cope with being so far away from her.

Not to mention, leaving my all of my best friends behind tears my heart into little bitty pieces. I just got back from the cheesecake factory with my friends as a going-away-dinner. I still have to pack the rest of my clothes and makeup/toiletries! It's going to take all night.. First thing in the morning, I have to go and get my bow re-haired! (I play a string instrument :p)

Thanks for being so patient with me! You all are so kind and always leave lovely comments that really cheer me up. So, come with me along my journey to the New York life! I will update as soon as i'm settled in the dorms :)

Once again, thankyou everyone for the lovely memories I've made here in LA. Jr high and high school has been so much fun with you all.

Love,
Jinna

Tutorial: Cinnamon Twists :3

2010-08-01T18:11:00.000-07:00

Hello beautiful people! =) I noticed I haven't put up a cooking tut in awhile, and don't worry! I WILL post up the tut for the kimchi fried rice :) But.. aside from that! Yesterday on the FoodNetwork (a cooking channel for those who don't know) Giada's "Everyday Italian" happened to be on [my fav show on the channel!] She made these Cinnamon Twists and they looked soooo good! +_+ I tried to roughly remember all the measurements and ingredients, so here it is! As for the dipping sauce that she made... I didn't have a lemon with me, so when I made it without, it was absolutely atrocious. So i'm just going to skip out the sauce! Also, the pictures may say one thing, but make sure to read my descriptions because I always write up the directions according to the mistakes I made/improvements that could be made!

Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 10 min
Baking time: 15 min

Ingredients:
-Brown sugar (dark or light, doesn't matter)
-Cinnamon
-zest of 1 Lemon
-1 Egg
-1 sheet of Puff Pastry
-Powder sugar (optional)
-OPTIONAL: Sesame seeds (preferably toasted) they look really pretty on it, but I don't really like the two tastes of sesame and cinnamon... they're just for garnish

Gather up your ingredients! Yes yes, I know there's honey in the picture, but it was used for the terrible sauce, which I don't think is worth making.

Go ahead and defrost your puff pastry; it's supposed to be kept frozen, so put out to thaw 10-15 minutes before you start! It's usually rolled up, so it's a bit tricky to unravel it! Try keeping a knife nearby for its straight edge

Cut the dough into 4 squares--cut down the center vertical line, and then one center horizontal to make a cross shape.

Cut each of the sections into 4 pieces!

Cut em all up, they should look like this :)

Now, prepare a large bowl, preferably flat and shallow; add in 2 tbs of cinnamon~

You can add your sesame seeds here, but I regret putting mine in raw, and they were just a bit overpowering the cinnamon...

and 4 tbs brown sugar :) If you want to make them more of a desert, add up to 6 tbs! You can add some powder (confectioner) sugar for more of a melt-in-your-mouth taste~

Mix up the dry ingredients! Add the lemon zest here :)

Line a baking try with some parchment paper--I ran out, so I just had to use foil :( If you use foil oil/butter/spam it up! I forgot to, so I had one hell of a time removing them when they were done -0-

This picture shows two, because the original shape I was going for was a bit different, but I liked my second idea better--just use one strip at a time!

I tried it in this shape first, but it was just too big and ugly! :/ so trust me on this one. Just use one :p

Crack your egg and beat it up real well till bubbly :) Prepare a pastry brush too! If you don't own one, you can use your hands :) Some people like to add water in their egg wash, but I think for this recipe, it's better thick.

So taking the egg wash, brush it on both sides of a strip!

Roll it around in the dry mixture and cover well :) it's okay to have missing spots! Now, taking the strip horizontally, grabbing each end of the strip, twist the ends in opposite directions~

When you're done, you should end up with a whole lot of these! 8)

The oven should be preheated by now, so pop em in for 15 minutes! Keep an eye on them after the 10 minute mark, since everyone's oven differs. Mine was a bit on the crispier side and mine was left in for 15. Maybe about 13 minutes? Go figure. (but be prepared to leave them in longer; my oven is strong enough to nuke a planet.)

Ah.. what a mess -___- this is the time to wash the dishes and clean up your work area!

They're done!

Pastries don't like to come off in one go when they're hot, so cool em just a bit!

And here we go!

Finished! =-) they're super yummy with some coffee~
I hope you enjoyed this cooking tutorial! :) Haven't made one in awhile, so i'm just a little rusty ._. Sorry for the picture overload! But I would much rather have pictures as reference, than read a huuuge paragraph and have no idea wth the author is saying. :p Just a couple things to keep in mind: 1) Don't be afraid to go a little crazy with the sugar! 2) Keep an eye on them! Once they pass a certain point, they burn quickly! 3) Stay away from sesame seeds, unless you really want em...

Sorry if this last picture scared you, because it sure scared the crap outta me while scrolling down. LOL. I've been having some problems with falling asleep lately, so I've been hella tired. I had work today, and drove home for 1.5 hrs due to a brush fire in my area.

Goodluck trying it out! :)
Best,
Jinna

Another Fun-Filled Week!

2010-07-20T19:42:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone =) Looks my blogging streak is yet to end! -evil laughter- sorry for those who have to read this. :p Anyway! For the past 3 days, I was in Irvine to visit the OC Fair that just started this week, then hanging out with my sister who attend UCI :) I went with my cousin Richard, and we had a blast. My post for the trip will be another day, because I still have a couple more posts to do before! I like to put up things in chronological order =D

So for THIS post, are just random things I've done for the past week :)

I think I seriously ate lunch with Richard every single day for the past week! haha!

Strawberry and cream crepe with Mirie, Richard, and Yuri!

ah~ it was so yummy +_+

awww! sleeping puppies :)

PUG!!

To finish this day with ANOTHER sweet, I had a frozen banana dipped in white chocolate, and covered in a coating full of walnuts, marshmallows, and semi-sweet chocolate morsels. :) I am seriously asking for it.

Last Sunday, my sister came home from Irvine so her, richard, and I went to the fashion district (Santee) in LA and had a great time :) I forgot to take pictures! But here is the lunch we had afterwards at Wako! :p

I had Katsudon =D

yumm asian mustard dressing with simple iceberg shavings!

Richard had Curry Chicken Tonkatsu :)

My my, this post is just jumping around on the days! Here's photos from last monday when I went out with my aunt (Richard's mom) and my mum to run some errands, shopping, eating, doctors office.. lol =D

Here's my aunt and me waiting in the doctor's office =D

And here's my mum with her! Eating lunch at Olive garden =D

Sorry this was such a random post! haha :p hope you guys have started off the week with a good start! Here comes hump-day tomorrow! Stay strong everyone :)
Best,
Jinna

Pasadena Phun Day :)

2010-07-16T22:52:00.000-07:00

hello all =D i've been awfully good with these posts lately! mwahaha 8)
-cocky-
i'm writing this post up as I watch the K-drama Dong-Yi :p it's getting so good! I'm so far behind :p Also, there's this stupid green bug that keeps bothering me... -.-
Anyway! A couple days ago, my cousin Richard (Jungi) and I went to go visit my sister who lives in Pasadena with her husband :) He's a professor at the famous Cal-Tech school! We had some great Chinese food, and left my sister to go shopping in old town Pasadena :) it was super fun and super hot!

Driving there :)

My oppa is such a dork. He bought the World Cup shirt in the year he was born in -.-;; it also happened to be the same year Korea even joined the World Cup series.

Chinese restaurant's menu! it was all in Chinese, and none of the workers could speak Engreesh!

Jungi being a nerd.

My sister! =) This is her just-got-out-of-bed look. haha~

She's much much older than I am, but we manage to get along pretty well :p

OMGGG this chicken was so tender and good!

Shrimp dim sum!

The yummiest fried rice ever! They put margarine in it.. it was so good!

And here's the shopping!

Just outside of Forever 21 :)

:p

Jungi trying to look cool in American Apparel with sweat bands lol..

anddddd his terrible farmer's tan from golfing. I call them his monkey feet :)

I leave you all with this picture of my favorite man in the world, Sebastian.
Have a fantastic weekend!

I just started off my weekend with some sushi with my friend Mirie :)
I'm going to the OC fair tomorrow! Super excited :)) time for fried twinkies, fried oreos, friend dingdongs, fried chicken, fried corn, fried zukini, fried artichoke.. fried fried fried.. LOL =D

Best,
Jinna

Tutorial: Home-made French Fries [shoe-string] + 100 followers :D

2010-07-15T22:20:00.000-07:00

HOORAY! I have finally reached 100 followers. I cannot stress how thankful I am for everyone's frequent visits and lovely comments. Thankyou so much! I'm considering doing a giveaway, but haven't thought of any products just yet! But i'm already getting some great ideas =))

Random enough, one of my FAVORITE Korean deserts is the Goldfish-shaped red-bean-filled bread :)) you can only get it in Korea for some reason, but there's actually a place in ktown in LA that makes it! I get a whole batch every Tues. when I'm there for cello stuff :)
She isn't the owner, but she's one of the main ladies that makes it :) She's super nice and always remembers me!
They first pour the batter in both sides of the pans, drop heaping spoon-fulls of sweet red bean filling, and stick both sides together! :)
5 for $3! hehe I usually eat 3 and save the 2 for my mum :p

Anywho! I haven't made a cooking tut in a long time, so here's a quickie! Home-made French Fries! They're much lower in calories home-made than buying them somewhere like McDonalds :) They're super easy to make, and all you need is a potato!

Ingredients:
-1 Russet Potato (any size)
-Any type of oil (veg. oil is rec., but anything you have is fine--I used canola oil)
-salt
-something to shape/cut the potatoes into fries with! (you could even just use your knife and free-hand it!)

I'm not sure what these are called! But they come with a little blade to slice your veggies through.
This is the thickest cutter I own, so it's fine :) work with whatever you have lying around! I honestly prefer shoe-string fries anyway :p
I peeled the potato, and ran it through till I couldn't anymore--be REALLY careful! it's super easy to just slice your finger through!!!!! I've done it before T^T A trick using these slicers is to push very lightly and not force it, or it'll get stuck, and you'll end up pushing it even harder--then BAM!! lots blood.
I'm going to use this mini deep-fryer I own, but you can always use a wide-set pan and fill it with 2 inches of oil.
Toss 'em in the rack!
Careful here! Water (from potato) and oil does NOT go together... hell, it'll explode! so make sure you don't put too much potato at once, or it'll overflow =)
Each batch for me takes around 4-7 minutes :) I like to use a wooden chopstick to swirl the potatoes around so they get cooked evenly.
Prepare a large plate with paper towels on the bottom to soak up the excess oils!
yum :3
Sprinkle them with salt, and you're done! This recipe is great with sweet potatoes too! :) I've tried, and really liked those too! (don't salt those though!)
Hope you enjoyed this cooking tut =) By popular demand, Kimchi Fried Rice will be the next tutorial, following up with a simple fudge tut too!

Have a Friday fun day~!
Best,
Jinna (;

July 4th Barbecue and a Quick Update :)

2010-07-14T19:34:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! It's been terribly long since my last post. You must forgive me, it's not that I haven't been inspired--trust me, I take my camera EVERYWHERE and take pictures daily--but just have been immensely LAZY. I am never a lazy person, but since summer break's started, i've just been lacking in every single way possible! I know I promise everytime I post again, but this time, for sure, I will make sure to upload every 1-3 days. PROMISE.
So for Independence Day (Jul. 4th), my cousin Richard had a barbecue with some friends :) I was so busy helping out that I forgot to take pictures of all the food and cooking!!! T^T sorry! But I did manage to get a couple shots in the entire day. We went bowling after; since everyone had a bit to drink, I was their taxi :p

The youngest in our entire family (well at least my generation!) This is Richard's younger brother, Justin :) he's going to be a senior in HS in the fall!

One of the attendees of the barbecue--Sera baked "hamburger and fries"! It consisted of sugar cookies and brownies :)) yumm~

At the bowling alley with Grace and Mirie<3 (and why do I look 300 lbs. in this picture? is it my t-shirt?)

Mirie's BF John, and Ryan!

Here's a glimpse of Richard's back! haha and Mirie too :p
On a side note, I never shared any pictures from my prom! I took a ghetto picture of the official picture that my date and I took :p Erik is my all time BFFL-nothing but legit friends :) I don't have that many girl friends!

Tada~ My dress is by Jessica McClintock :) I LOVE it.

Also, I know this is sooo random, but my passport expired a couple days ago, so I went to renew it with my sister who came down from Irvine and my mum :)

hehe, we were waiting to cross the street :p

Now here's the HORRIFYING part. JUST LOOK AT THIS!!!! It's SO TERRIBLE I want to pull out my hair!!!! UGHHH. I look like the frigging MOON in it's full phase!!!!! Turns out Korea has new rules for the passport picture--no jewelry, both ears must show, both eyebrows must show, no teeth, no smiling. WHAT THE CRAP? They're turning us into communists! >:( okay, maybe not :p but this is by far disgusting. I can't believe I have to look at this for the next 5 yrs or so. -sigh-
At lunch after the horrible experience!

My mum :))

My sister Eujean and I getting silly :p yey for Korean bbq!

Now, I leave you with a scary picture for you to ponder to. Yeah, we're totally weird.

My sister's blog!: http://euzeenee.blogspot.com/
Best,
Jinna
happy wednesday! :{D

Why I've been MIA for so long!

2010-05-28T21:56:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! =D Thankyou for all of your lovely comments and concerns :") I've been neglecting my beloved blog because life has been knocking on my door for awhile, and I thought it was about time to finally tend to it.

My trio had our first performance, so we'd been preparing for it very hard, since we had only met for about.. 1.5-2 months? (about 5-6 rehearsals) and other groups had met for many many months with multiple rehearsals throughout the week; man. It was hard, but we managed to pull it off somehow! hahaha. The only downfall was that we'd never played so HORRIBLY as we had at the concert;; lol... the room was so terribly dry and there was no echo! ugh. talk about gross. But regardless, my group has been announced to be the last group for the next concert on June 6th! (yes yes, that means we did the best, so we're labeled as the best group xD)

Here's the performance if you want to check it out :] :
Here's the video!

Here's the kickass Miwako Watanabe Trio! haha =D From left: Miwako Watanabe (violin), Esther Kim (Violin), Jinna Park (cello), David Rodgers (piano)

Me with my family :)) my mum, dad, oldest sister, and brother in law!

This is me, Jamie--another student of my teachers' who also was a part of the program and performed with another trio--and my cello teacher Sylvia :)

Me and my Jungi Oppa!

..and me and Ryan! =D

Okay, time for another TOTAL different change--I saw this picture a couple weeks back of boa:

It looked so pretty I tried to replicate it! :p
Here's the results:

Okay, while i'm at it, i'm going to make this a GINORMOUS post. HAHA.
So a couple weeks back, I was at my local Costco, and found some great beauty buys :p a full sized CHI silk infusion for only $10, and a nice Stila set for $20!

That's right, you heard me. $10.

Here's the Stila set! There were two diff sets (warm/cool), but I got the cool one :p It comes with a full size Stila brush, eyeshadow trio, a sample of their new one step makeup, a full sized mascara, and a sample size of stila's smudge pot in black. All this for $20! Talk about a STEAL! This brush normally costs $20 alone!

How I despise Costco's packaging... took FOREVER to take it all out.

Here's the trio!

Swatched only once! With no base!

Okay, the stupid mascara picture won't work for some reason. Basically, it really separates, but adds volume.

I was really impressed with this product! I would totally purchase the full sized product if I didn't use bb cream; this product is foundation, concealer, and powder all in one! It's crazy. For LAZY PEOPLE like me! haha xD

Tiny version! This was the first time i've ever used a Stila smudge pot--and let me tell you, it is NOT a smudge pot. It's pretty much a gel liner--it dries so damn quickly you can't even spread it out! Stay power is nice =)

Omg, this post is just never ending, isn't it?
My mum and I went to Wako and had Chicken Cutlets =D

My favorite person in the entire world! :))

Another reason why i've been gone, is because my birthday was May 6th :)) I'm legal now! 18! haha. But i'll make a separate post for that one and upload all the fun pictures i've taken with my friends =D

Oh man. My trio's first performance, school orchestra concerts and festivals, my little chamber group for my school's orchestra, my birthday, one of my bff's birthday (the day after mine), prom dress shopping.. oh man. I've just been so busy, it's crazy. I promise, the posts will start to come more regularly =)

Thanks for sticking it out with me everyone<3
Sincerely,
Jinna

Haul: Skincare Products for Acne Prone Skin!

2010-04-29T23:06:00.000-07:00

Hiya all~ =) So as you all must know, Sephora recently had a 15% off for Beauty Insiders. I received my package the other day (finally), so here's a couple pics from the unpacking and other random stuffs :)

Here are some samples I got to choose :)

AH~ aren't they just beautiful? hehe :p

Clarifying Cleanser: OH MY GOD! This product seriously deserves its own post. I've finally found my hg cleanser! It's a gel to foam formula, and it smells WONDERFUL. It smells like lemongrass, and feels minty on the skin. My skin feel extremely clean after this! It doesn't dry out my skin too!

Skin Perfecting Lotion: Okay, the consistency is definitely a lot thicker than I imagined--but it's definitely non-oily and hydrates the face. I feel like it's really fighting my acne throughout the day!

Because it is a bit on the thicker side, it does take a little longer for it to set--but once it does, it leaves no sticky residue!

I've been wanting to try Mario Badescu's products for such a long time! So many of their products have great reviews claiming they work! Also.. their PRICES. AMAZING! Products that work AND don't drain your wallet. Now, that's something that interests me. As you all know, I've always had acne in my teen years, but it's never been such a HUGE problem. I've always been able to cover it up with some makeup, but now i'm just tired of even covering it up! The texture of your skin is definitely something makeup CANT cover. I've been trying so many different types of acne treatments, and none have worked so far. IQQU's acne serum has helped me get a head-start, but hasn't treated anything.

Here's the stuff i've picked up!

Okay. The drying lotion lives up to its hype!!!! It's the most powerful and effective spot-treatment I've EVER used. It does sting a bit, but who cares about little things like that if it works! You use a cotton swab to dip it in the bottle to catch some of the pink powder that settles at the bottom; you dab it over any blemish, and overnight, it's dramatically GONE!
As for the Acne Serum, i've been looking for something to replace my IQQU Acne Serum, and this just may be it! I've definitely begun to see some improvement in the overall acne on my face :)

And here are some samples they gave me! :) I think i'm going to purchase the full-sized cellufirm drops! They're amazing.

On a side note, I've been looking for the perfect face primer, but have yet to find it... the local Sephora store I went to gave me some samples of MUFE's, Smashbox's, and Lancome's (this ones from nordstrom's :p)--I don't like any of them... is something just wrong with me? What face primers do you guys recommend?

I know this is random, but i've been wanting to replace my Le Crayon Khol in Chataine by Lancome for awhile, since it's discontinued... I picked up Bobbi Brown's Gel liner in No. 2 Sepia Ink; it looks brown in the jar, but when applied, is just an ashy grey color! :( Anyone know any BROWN liners that work?

And to close this post! I wanted to share this product with all of you guys and gals! :)) I've been using this face brush since elementary school. I've drifted from it just because i've forgotten about it! But recently, i've been looking into the Clarisonic, and wondered if there was a cheaper alternative.. and this is it! I got it for $3 at The Body Shop. The design of the brush has changed over the years (I know, because I've gone through 3 of them!), but I really love the shape of this one. You apply your cleanser as if you would normally, wet the brush, and swirl it all over your face! Once you use it, you won't be able to stop because manual cleansing will leave your face feeling un-clean! It leaves your face smooth everytime. You won't regret getting this! It does take a bit to get used to, because it can be rough sometimes on the skin. But once you do, you'll never let it go!

I've finally found some products that are going to stay within my skin-care regiment for the rest of my life! I'm glad to share these products to you guys :) If you have acne-prone skin, really check these products out!

I know this was a rushed post, but I'll make sure to do another one before the week ends! I've been so sick, i'm missing so much school and cello! ugh. Also, I think i'll do a giveaway once I hit 100 followers! What do you guys think? :)

Have a great Friday!
Best,
Jinna<3

A Mini Haul and a long awaited post! [pic heavy]

2010-04-21T22:11:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone :) I've been so busy recently, I haven't even had the time to stop by my own blog at all! AP (advanced placement) exams are coming up, and I have no idea what the hell is going on in my head with Microeconomics. -Sigh- besides that, I have a HUGE research paper thats due in a week and half, and mines not lookin so hott. I haven't finished any of the books that my author wrote, because I just don't have the time to read them! T^T

On a side note, for those of you who've read in my previous post(s), I had that concerto competition--turns out I didn't place... :( I was pretty happy with the way I played too! Talk about a big disappointment. The first place went to a pianist who played some Liszt, and the runner-up was a violinist who played a Sibelius piece (I think). There's always next time :/

anywho! I've been so busy, but whenever I drove by the mall, I took those chances and looked around for goodies :) It's not much, but a couple things I picked up!
I've been watching a little too much "What Not to Wear" on TLC recently... LOL. The most helpful advice that I picked up from the show was, go shopping for outfits, not pieces. It doesn't matter how many cute items you have, if they don't match, you can't wear anything with them! So this time, I went shopping for an outfit. :3

Here's what I picked up from Forever21:

Sorry for the crappy lighting!

A short pink cardigan with some accents

A simple white boho tank to match anything

And some headbands :) ..don't they look like underwear? LOL.

Here's what I picked up from Sephora:

The Smashbox primers were only $9 each! Great deals :) I picked up one for my mom too!

I also bought one of YSL's Rouge Volupte--talk about pricy!

Mines in #30, or in Peche Faubourg. All of them smell like candy o.o

A swatch in the nasty yellow lighting!

Taken in my bathroom :p under florescent lighting.

My bare lips--they're so pigmented, it's not even funny. It does lipsticks no justice! I usually use a lip erase, or lip concealer before :) This pic makes it look pretty neutral, but they're seriously red.

Here's with it on--no concealer under; not even moisturizer! As for the color, it's actually an orange-pink lipstick! The picture does not justice on the lovely color.

Also, within my busy and hectic week, one of my new and great friends, Jurang, came to sleep over! She's in one of the orchestras I do, but because she lives so far away, and her parents are out of the country, she stayed at my place for our concert :) We were super hungry after our rehearsal and decided to make some kimchi bocceumbap~

Here she is! She's going into a music major too :) she plays violin! we're the same age :p

yum yum yum. maybe I should put up a tutorial for this? what do you guys think? are you guys interested in korean food?

Here's a closeup! +_+ i'm getting hungry looking at this... we were so hungry we added the minimal amount of ingredients and chowed down ;D

Jurang fried the eggs :)

..and here she is!

camwhoring it in the kitchen X)

I'll miss her so much! She's going to Boston for school--I'm still deciding between Boston and and New York!

Oh man. This is a really long post... not to mention ultra pic heavy!
Anywho, might as well make it even longer :p Here's just some random pics I took with my friends~

My BFFL Erik! :) Who says only the same gender can be bffls?

And his stand partner Tiffany! :) or I like to call her... T CHI!

Here's a pic of them playing together at school :)

I realized I forgot to take a picture of my other bff (who is also in that class LOL)! So i'll just throw this one in here :) This is walking to orchestra at school!

And to close this post:
Recently, i've been so exhausted I can't make it through the day without at least 2 hrs of a nap... I go to sleep around midnight-1am, and wake up around 6 30. Is that lacking sleep? Everyone else seems to pull it off fine... I can't do anything during the day because I have to sleep! o.o any suggestions? I know once you get in the hang of sleeping, it's hard to come out.. but maybe I need some exercise or something(?).
On the other hand, besides the stresses from school, my relationships with my friends as well as my prince charming have been great :p Ah~ young love. Man, I sound like some old lady saying that. LOL.

Anywho, today was the hump of the week, so it'll only go down from here! :"))
Goodluck everyone, and stay strong! (easier said than done)

Love,
Jinna

Random Reviews of Foundations/Powder

2010-04-14T17:48:00.000-07:00

Hiya everyone :) I've been wanting to make this post for awhile now, but really wanted to wait until I used up most of the product to give a really good review. Here are my thoughts on Bobbi Brown's Oil Free Cream Foundation, Lancome's Teint Idole Ultra Foundation, and Laura Mercier's Translucent Loose Powder! ;) Enjoy~

Bobbi Brown Oil-Free Cream Foundation This is the first product that I purchased among these three! I had wanted to try this for SO long. This was my first experience with cream foundation. I love Bobbi Brown's Color Correctors, so why not try this? Okay, first off, the oil control is fantastic. I have super oily skin--nowhere near combination skin homies. This really does the job on controlling oil production! But now here's the huge downfall. The staying power is absolutely TERRIBLE! It disappears into my skin after only the second hour. I've tried setting it with translucent powder, pressed powder foundation, mineral foundation, using a brush, using a puff... you name it. I couldn't do ANYTHING to get it to stay on my face longer! But I really love the finish and everything about the texture... It's really a shame. I had to reapply this foundation everytime I had a chance! (So about 2-3 times a day) And let me tell you--the amount they give you is really unfair. The pan is ridiculously shallow and thin. I've hit pan on the product after 2 weeks of usage. This was $40 USD folks. That's damn expensive for 2 weeks of foundation. I'm never re-purchasing it again just because of the price and staying power. If you need minimal coverage, I say go for it! It's very buildable; it can be applied sheer, or built up to full coverage. If you want to try a cream foundation, and are willing to pay a decent amount for it, try it out! :p Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Powder This is the first translucent powder i've ever purchased. So many people swear by this product on Sephora's reviews, so I decided to give it a try. Well, the first thing I noticed is... It's staying power is not all that great. I've tried using it with both a puff and powder brush. But on the other hand, it really gives you that 'natural' powdered face! It doesn't look cakey if you use the correct method. The powder has to be evenly spread out on the face! Another thing I really like about this is that it really covers up the appearance of large pores. It doesn't settle into my pores all day. You do have re-touch on this powder throughout the day. This was $34 USD. I say it is worth it's price. But on those random days when foundation doesn't want to look natural and just sits on your skin, this powder can look REALLY chalky. This is definitely a product you have to get used to. I would repurchase this! Lancome Teint Idole Ultra Foundation This is.. an AMAZING liquid foundation. If you hate your current liquid foundation, go for this. This is seriously the bomb. It's oil-free, so it does control the oil production throughout the day. I LOVE it has a pump with a cap! It's really easy to control how much you want. If worn alone, it gives a dewy finish, and set with powder, is a super fine HD matte face for pictures. It claims it stays on for 14-hours, but I think that's a bit exaggerated. It does indeed stay on longer than most liquid foundations, but I can definitely see my blemishes on full show halfway through the day. I get the BEST results when using my MAC 187 stippling brush. I've been having some bad acne recently, and this seriously gives me full coverage. It doesn't cake no matter how much I put on. I purchased this for $42 USD. DEFINITELY worth it's price. This is my favorite out of these three products. I will definitely repurchase.

I hope this mini review of random things answered some people's questions! :))
Overall, I do really like all three of the products; it's just i'm a broke student, so I can't always purchase expensive high-end brands.

See you on the next one! :)
Off to rehearsal... -sigh- Beethoven 5....
Sincerely,
Jinna

A Quick FOTD and HOTD

2010-04-11T01:14:00.000-07:00

Hi all! :") so today, I had a concerto competition (yes yes, I play cello, if you haven't been able to figure that one out just yet...)! I played very well, but since I wasn't able to hear anyone else except the girl who went before me, I guess I'll never know what I was up against! :/ Winners are going to be announced on Tues! I'm so excited/nervous...! I really hope I win! >_<

Anywho! So today, I did have to dress up a bit, since it's an audition. I have to tie up my hair and pin back my bangs (which is NOT attractive whatsoever + the sweat from playing for 15 min straight -.-"). But because I have naturally straight hair, my hair always falls flat when I tie it up--which makes it even more horrendous. So to pizazz up my hair-do today, I just added a bit of texture by using a 1 1/4 inch (32 mm) curling iron without using the clamp. I'll have a detailed post next time about that! It creates waves instead of curls :)

As for make-up... people in the music industry most often tend to be on the older side, and not to mention traditional; so having a caked face and intense eyeliner is going to create the worst possible image of you for them (party animal?). But recently, my acne has been working up again!!!!! T^T so I HAD to wear a full coverage foundation today, and JUST enough eyemakeup to look polished :")
here's the results!

Quite natural lookin` for a caked-face, eh?

My bangs are getting so long!

Like the wavy hair? :3 I'm new to it... it's a completely diff feeling from curly!

Sadly, this is about the only picture I have of a close-up on my face! You can see the eye make-up decently :p
Here's what I have on:
Face-
-Lancome Teint Idole Oil-free Foundation
-Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Powder
-MAC Powder Blush in Peaches
Eyes-
-Too Faced Natural Eye Palette
-"Silk Teddy" in crease/inner tear-ducts, "Push-up" on lid, "Erotica" smudged on the lashlines, "Heaven" used as a highlight on browbone
-Lancome Le Crayon Khol in Chataine
-L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara in Black
-Shiseido Lash Curler
Lips-
-MAC Blankety (my fav lippy!)

I know this is COMPLETELY random... but I really wanted to share with everyone--If you're not familiar with him, Joshua Bell is an amazing (not to mention good looking!) world-class violinist. I have heard countless people play the same pieces as he does, but none resonates in my heart DAYS after listening to it but Bell's. This particular CD is my favorite one of his; they're the typical stereo-type classical songs, but this is... different. You have to give this a listen. I can have this CD looping ALL day without getting tired of it. Do you guys know what I mean?

And to close this post...
I want to thank Vanessa AKA Jhoy for awarding me with my first blog award! ^__^ Thank you so much for reading my blog! I hope you all enjoy your stay while here! I hope you all enjoy reading my posts as much as I love to write them!

Also, check out her amazing blog!
http://oh-jhoy.blogspot.com/

Hope you enjoyed this quick post! I've been so busy lately.. I have no many delayed posts! My desktop is just overcrowded with pictures for them!
See you on the next one! :")
Sincerely,
Jinna

Spring break + OOTD!

2010-04-03T12:13:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Sadly, today is pretty much my last day of Spring break T^T It was a great week of sleeping... eating.. and uhh, sleeping. 8D Yesterday, after my cello lessons, I got to hang out with my amazing friend Sophia! It was my first time meeting her in person, and we clicked so well--it was as if we've known eachother for YEARS. She is just the sweetest, craziest, VIOLENT (LOLL), girly girl you'll ever meet :)) I was introduced to her through a couple of my friends--who would've known she would end up being one of my best? ;) life throws you unexpected things! Here's a couple pics from yesterday :)

http://dahay1105.blogspot.com/
Check out Sophia's blog! She's new to blogging, but she'll be inspired to do more when more people read it! :)

Also, here's my first OOTD! :"3 I've never done one, so let's hope it isn't too terrible... this was my outfit to go to the grocery store LOL. It's supposed to be a zebra, but my hair is covering it -.-; F A I L.

Paired it up with some leggings!

... and my hair :p

Camwhoring 1

Camwhoring 2

The other day, I decided to put up a new cooking tutorial for FUDGE! :)) I was really excited; too excited that I put the ingredients in the wrong order, and put in the wrong measurements for them too. It was such a crash and burn type of fail. I ended up putting WAY too much sugar--so much that the fudge CRUNCHES with the sugar crystals. =_=;; i'll redo this one asap, so stick tight for another cooking tut!

And to close this post... Sophia and I took some sticker pix, but the machine glitched on us and didn't give us any time to deco them!! I couldn't believe it. The pictures still look nice without the deco :p Sophia managed to get one in!

Now.. i'm outta here! There's an open house in half an hour, and my room is still a mess! @_@

Thank you for reading! :")
Sincerely,
Jinna

FOTD Tutorial - Chillin` at home with a smokey eye :p

2010-03-29T18:23:00.000-07:00

Hiya lovlies! As always, thanks for stopping by :") I've actually started this blog thinking noone would read it, but I've got so many supporters and followers! Thanks once again! :))

Here's my FOTD. It's my first day of spring break, so I just wanted to relax and do nothing :B As a result, I woke up nearly at noon, ate some french bread with brie cheese spread, watched a bit of tv, got bored, and threw on some makeup :)

Here's what I used for my eyes!

-Kate Kanebo Eyeshadow in BR-1
-Lancome Le Crayon Khol in Rasin Noir
-MAC eyeshadow in Satin Taupe
-MAC paint pot in Soft Ochre
-Lancome Hypnose Mascara in Black
-Shiseido Lash Curler
-MAC 217 Brush
-Studio Tools Smudge Brush
-ELF Sponge Smudger

Here's a close-up of my eye:

Here's what I used for my face 8) :

-MAC Studio Fix Powder in NC 30
-MAC Fix Plus
-NARS Blush in Orgasm
-MAC 187 Brush

Here's what i'm wearing on my lips!

-MAC Lipstick in Blankety
-MAC Lipstick in Peachstock

Here's a closeup:

Directions:
1) Apply Soft Ochre PP (or any base) all over the lids; concentrate it on the brow bone and inner tear ducts--if using base instead, just use a light skin-tone shadow to highlight.
2) Place Satin Taupe ES (or any smokey chromatic color) strictly on the lid only--below the crease.
3) Using a clean blending brush, blend out the harsh line, and concentrate the color onto the outer corners of the eyes.
4) Using the lighter brown in the Kate palette (or a neutral brown shade), blend out the edges of the darker lid color into the crease.
5) Using a soft black eyeliner pencil (preferably a kohl liner), rim your top and bottom water lines. Line the top part of your lids closest to the lashline as possible, and apply on the lower lashlines as well.
6) Using a sponge, smudge out the liner to fill in any gaps.
7) Using a smudger brush, dip it into your lid color again, and smudge over the liner on your top and bottom lashlines.
8) Reline your lashlines with your pencil to intensify the black again.
9) Apply Mascara to both upper and lower lashes.
10) Curl lashes! - I do this afterwards because if I do before, it's harder for me to coat my lashes evenly with the mascara; also, if I do this after, it holds the curl longer. It's your preference!
11) Apply Peachstock Lipstick (nude lippy) to the outer edges of the lips very well. Apply Blankety Lipstick (light baby pink) on the inner part of the lips for more color.

I hope you enjoyed this post! :") Leave me comments with your suggestions and requests for the upcomming ones!
See you on the next one!

Sincerely,
Jinna<3

Tutorial: Mac & Cheese (with bacon!) :{D

2010-03-27T11:25:00.000-07:00

YO YO YO HOMESLICES! :)) I've FINALLY dealt with my uploading issues with photobucket, so now posts are going to come like no other! I have so many posts that have been pushed back constantly because I couldn't upload any pictures -.-

Here is my previous drugstore post with the pictures uploaded! It looks MUCH more friendly to the eyes... :
http://thejinna.blogspot.com/2010/03/terrific-finds-at-drugstores.html

This time, i've made the classic Mac & Cheese, and added bacon bits just for the hell of it. Whenever I eat Mac & Cheese, the one issue I always have is getting sick of the dish halfway through. It's rather bland! So I figured bacon would add more texture and more PIZAZZ to the taste :")

I'm pretty sure everyone's attempted at making Mac & Cheese, and failed at it-at least once. I've finally figured out the secret to making the best mac n cheese: You have to put in a LOT more milk than you think! As cheese cools down, it dries and sucks up all the moisture. Also, the most important tip for this recipe is--Your Mac & Cheese is only going to be good as the cheese you're using. Meaning, if you use packaged shredded cheese for $2, it's not going to be all that terrific. You want good quality cheddar cheese! Try going to a a delicatessen and personally taking time to pick out the cheese. In the US, most grocery markets like Ralphs, Vons, Albertsons have a deli in the store. If they can't shred it for you, just ask them to make you the thinnest slices possible.

ANYWHOO! Onto the cooking! Let's GOOOOO!!

Ingredients:
-2 cups Any type of pasta (ie. bow-tie, shells, rigatoni, penne... you name it)
-1 Cup of GOOD quality Cheddar cheese
-1 Cup Milk (whole, reduced, doesn't matter)
-1 Cup Cream (in the US, it's just the liquid version of whipping cream that you whip yourself--from the milk formula)--you can always substitute this with Half & Half--yes, the coffee creamer.
-Bacon (doesn't matter what kind)

Serves 2!

I took a picture of all the ingredients, but I accidentally deleted it ;__; Also, my pot picture won't work! -.-^
(The picture won't work, but it's just showing you my pot)
Use a deep body pot to boil the pasta in--lots of water!

While the water is boiling, heat up a pan to cook up the bacon! It's your choice how much you want to put into the dish--I used 3-4 strips.

I'm just using the classic bacon, but bacon without the rhines in it are preferred; like the circular canadian bacon; I can't get my hands on something like that in California! =.=

Cook that bacon!

A great trick to prevent the bacon blowing up in your face is to blot the excess oils with a paper towel! It's PAINFUL to cook bacon! LOL. We don't need to eat any more fat than we're already eating from the cheese~!

By now, the pasta water should be at a rolling boil.

You can use any pasta you want--think of this as a guideline; 1 cup = one serving.

Go ahead and add a pinch of salt into the water if you'd like.

By now, the bacon should be done! Remove from heat, blot excess oils!

And cut em up into itty bitty peices! I did mine with a scissor. Go figure on the size!

Make sure you're stirring the pasta so it doesn't stick!

Once that's ready, drain! Don't merge the pot into the water though! We still need it!

Pour back the pasta into the pot! I forgot to take a picture for this part, but add your milk!

Go ahead and start adding in the cheese too!

This part is all taste & preference; if you want it thicker, add more cheese, and if you want it a bit more watery, add less! You may not use all 1 cup, or you may use more!

Add in your cream...

Stir, and keep adding cheese until your desired ratio between the milk/cream and cheese!

Add in your bacon, along with salt & pepper for seasoning! Stir very well!

and.. WE'RE FINISHED! =) Yummy easy to make mac & cheese!

Hope you enjoyed the post! :") I'm starting to run out of cooking ideas, so throw me your input! The tutorials put out so far are the recipes I've always wanted to learn, but had noone to teach me in the past.
There's going to be an open house in an hour at MY house, so I've gotta jet it outta here! :p
See you later homefries!

Sincerely,
Jinna

The reason for my MIA

2010-03-23T00:03:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving such nice comments.. you people are so nice to me. :")
ANYWAY!!!
Recently, whenever i've tried uploading onto photobucket, I would keep getting errors, and couldn't. I've even tried making a new account, but got the same error message. So eventually, I contacted Photobucket and told them what was up; they told me just to delete all my java/flash, and just to reinstall all of them--they were even nice enough to send me the links! So as I commenced uninstalling all my items, I went to those links and downloaded the files.
NOW HERE COMES THE STRANGE PART.
Whenever I run the application to install it, I keep getting an error telling me that my internet settings are off! What the heck? I have NO IDEA what that even means. I've tried googling it, going to java's help page... oh man. I'm just out of options. I just cant upload any pictures onto photobucket from my computer anymore!!!! Which is REALLY bad, considering all my pictures are linked to that site. I have lots of new tutorials on food, beauty buys, hauls, and much more! But I can't upload any pictures along with those posts!! This is VERY frustrating for me.. I was planning on starting to get my YouTube channel going sometime next month, but this is just frustrating to deal with.

The laptop I use is an HP, and I got it back in 2001. Wow. Seriously. It was 9 years ago, and it SERIOUSLY cannot get any crappier than this. My parents offered to buy me a new one, but I think i'm going to hold out long as I can till I leave for college--technology seriously zooms by so frigging fast. sigh.
Any suggestions on what kind of laptop I should get? I really don't want/need a netbook for college; cello major, remember? Give me your ideas! And feel free to throw in suggestions and requests for my upcomming video channel :")

Thanks for all your love and support!
Love,
Jinna =)

Terrific Finds at Drugstores?! :))

2010-03-03T00:20:00.000-08:00

Hiya all! Sorry for being away so long! I was finishing up my last round of auditions for college :) Stopped by Chicago for Northwestern, and New York for Manhattan School of Music and NYU. The professor at Northwestern, Hans Jensen is super nice~ he even gave me a lesson after my audition! As for MSM, sadly, my first choice teacher, David Soyer, passed away on Thursday, 2/25/10--just the day after her turned 87. He was my teacher's teacher as well, and not to mention, a definite renowned cellist in the world. He will be terribly missed. NYU, everyone was so friendly! And... NO ONE is going to believe this, but... THE GREAT Itzhak Perlman was in my audition, and commented "brava" to me! :)) Too bad I didn't realize it was him till as I was walking out! I just kept thinking--"wow. that guy seriously looks like Perlman..." GG me.

ANYWHO!! Onto the long-awaited post! This post is dedicated to all those drugstore queens ;) Everyone loves a great deal. I've listed everything I could think of (at the moment) that I buy from the drugstore. All these items mentioned are terrific, and are department store worthy. Enjoy!

NOTE: Photobucket is being REALLY annoying atm, and won't let me upload any pics... so this post will looks a lot more friendlier once the pictures come up!

St. Ives Apricot Scrub in Blemish & Blackhead Control: This is supposed to be in random order... but this one is an exception. This has got to be my number one drugstore product. This is my HG daily cleanser. I use it 4-5 times a week, and use a foaming cleanser when my skin randomly gets sensitive. When I don't, I just use it everyday. Some people use it just as an exfoliator, but it's gentle enough to be a daily scrub. This seriously does what it claims to do! Keeps blackheads away, and skin blemish free. If I switch cleansers, but maintain the rest of my skincare routine, I'll still break out. This product is one of my key items for maintaining clear skin! I give this a 5/5. Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque: You've heard the reviews and raves about this product! I've written a detailed review and demo on a previous post. It's basically a clay mask that dries up hard as a rock. As it dries, it dries up your acne pimples along with it! Also, the product claims to remove blackheads--at first, I didn't think it'd happen; just one of those false flashy statements, ya noe? But boy, was I wrong! This seriously gets RID of blackheads so well, it's scary! I use this about twice a week, and it keeps me from breaking out :)) Revlon Colorstay Foundation SPF 6: If you have oily type skin, "Drugstore foundation? Gross!" is the most common thought that comes to mind. Drugstore foundations tend to have only one formula for "all skin types" how on earth does that even work out the slightest bit...? Well, Revlon has the solution for oily/combination skin types! Alright. Even for the dry/normal skin folks too. This foundation is part of their Colorstay line, and boy, it does what it says! Once you apply it, it really sticks to your skin! It's nearly impossible to blend because it sticks so quickly! The key is to stipple it on the face. If you wear it alone, it'll eventually slip and slide, but if you set it with some powder... I guarantee, your face will stay on the ENTIRE day, along with some occasional blotting/powdering. This truly is a department worthy product. L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara: This is, by far, the best volumizing mascara out there! (well, under $10) This mascara seriously gives you the effect of false-like lashes that fan out. With just the first coat, you can automatically see your lashes have become 4x thicker and fuller. It does have a tendency to clump a bit, but that's what makes your lashes even more voluminous! This mascara is the perfect compliment to smokey eyes. The one pictured is the original one, but it also comes in a Carbon Black shade, which is the ultimate black color for a seriously intense look. Go for the waterproof version since it has more wax. It'll flake less and hold a curl longer. Almay Moisturizing Eye Makeup Remover Pads: The only product that was ever able to remove ALL of my waterproof mascara + liner was Pond's Cold Cream (which is amazing, but a little messy/non portable to use!). I was introduced to this product by a fellow blogger! She used this on one of her posts, and I noticed how it seriously got ALL of her intense eye makeup off (I can't remember her name! =.=;;). This makeup remover is absolutely fantastic. It gets off ALL of my eye makeup (which consists of a TON of waterproof mascara that tends to run on my eyes for the next 2 days even after removing it). Inside the container, there are pre-moistened circular pads. I use one pad--each side for each eye. The version I use is the moisturizing one, but Almay also makes one oil free. It comes in a purple container. I recommend this, tons! I've heard fantastic reviews about the Boots No. 7 Botanics eye makeup remover as well, but that requires you to use your own cotton pads! :p [cheapo here] ROC Retinol Correction Deep Wrinkle Night Cream: This is my current night cream, and let me tell you... it actually works! In the morning, my skin seriously feels more tight and firm. I don't have wrinkles now, but I definitely want to prevent any from happening! It's non-greasy, but moisturizing. It smells nice too! ROC even guarantees that your skin will transform after the first week of use, and I can't agree more. A great night cream that suits anyone from beginners to mature skin! ROC Retinol Correction Deep Wrinkle Eye Cream: My current eye cream as well! Both the night cream and eye cream have been selected for Allure's Beauty Choice Award, and they deserve it! I never liked eye cream because they were always too oily and would clog up the pores right below my eye area, giving me blackheads. I'd been using Shiseido's Benefiance Eye Cream, and that SERIOUSLY clogs up the pores around my eye area! As for Clinique's All About Eyes, it does NOTHING. Don't even bother to purchase that. Anywho! This product is definitely oil-free, and glides on smoothly. It's really hydrating without that nasty greasy feeling. Definitely reduces puffiness! L'Oreal Elnette Hairspray: I have tried COUNTLESS amounts of hairsprays, and NONE can compare to this one. This hairspray comes from L'Oreal's professional line, and it's utterly magnificent. I have pin straight hair that NEVER wants to hold curls more than 10 minutes--after that mark, it becomes wavy. I've tried nearly all drugstore brands--Aussie, Tresseme, Pantene, Garnier Fructis, Bed Head, L'Oreal (their normal hairsprays), Finesse--and they all weigh my hair down, make it greasy, and don't do their jobs. I've even tried higher end brands, like Sebastian, and Redken. This hairspray is non-sticky, and ever so light. It holds hair very well, but still allows hair to look natural and remain flexible. You can purchase this hairspray in some CVS & Target (for sure), or other drugstores, if you're lucky. The full sized cans cost a bit over $20, but it's definitely worth it. Revlon Colorburst Lipsticks: This is Revlon's most recent line, and I have to say, it's fantastic so far. These lipsticks are super creamy and long lasting. I cannot believe how pretty and wearable the shades are! They're very well pigmented, and the colors are very simple. Revlon offers colors from light pinks to dark, to fuschia, a classic red, to a more modern red. They even offer the most perfect shade of nude (which is by far my fav). These lipsticks are very comparable to MAC's lipsticks. You seriously can't put on MAC lipsticks without moisturizing your lips before, or your lips with be flakey and gross. These lipsticks by Revlon are so moisturizing and creamy, you don't necessarily have to! LOVE the formula. The finishes are satiny, and have a glossy look to it. Revlon Matte Lipsticks: Finally, the last one! And surprise surprise, it's another Revlon product. Revlon launched their Matte collection last year, along with some matte eyeshadows and liners. The lipstick line brought to the market, the infamous shade, "Nude Attitude." These lipsticks are very pigmented, and are truly matte lipsticks. They're very similar to MAC's matte lipsticks. You have to moisturize your lips ahead of time, since after all, they are matte. The line offers fantastic shades of pink, nude, red, coral, and orange. Probably the only matte lipstick you can find at a drugstore!

At the drugstore, I also purchase my CVS cotton pads :)) which I use daily for my toner. I also use qtips! Besides those, i've named all the drugstore products I use. I don't usually like to buy eyeshadow from the drugstore because they're usually really big misses. But out of all the drugstore companies, Maybelline has the best pigmentation in their eyeshadows, hands down. Also, a lot of people like Revlon's Colorstay Retractable Liner, but that smears like no other on my eyes. Oh! I almost forgot to mention--L'Oreal's Carbon Black Lineur Intense (liquid liner) is amazing! The felt tip is long and very easy to use. It's a perfect dupe for Lancome's.

I have SOOO many pictures from my audition trips to San Fran, Cleveland, Chicago, and New York! I'll upload them as soon as I get them sorted and resized! :)) I've changed my skincare routine a bit, and my skin has been absolutely terrific. I'll share those as well! Also, i've been playing around with different foundations and powders, so i'll keep you guys posted on that too!

Stay tuned for all those updates! Now that my auditions are over, I have time to blog! :) <3
later homefries~

UPDATE: WHOO! PICTURES AGAIN!!

Best,
Jinna

Haul/Reviews :)) - Things I bought over this past month~

2010-02-07T20:42:00.000-08:00

Hiya all =) loooong time no blog! I've been SOOO busy with college, it's ridiculous. I had Oberlin, and Eastman auditions here in LA, and the next week, I flew out to Cleveland (Ohio) for CIM, came back the day after to LA, went to school to take early finals, and left that night to San Fransisco for SFC. Spent the night there, came back to LA after midnight, pulled an all-nighter studying for my finals, spent the next day making up all my finals and whatnot. And FINALLY, today, I had my USC audition here in LA. :) Now.. I HAVE TIME TO BLOG!!!!!!!!! Well, at least I have two weeks before the madness starts again... I still have to go to IL and NY! ;__; so tired...

Anywho! My lovely cousin Hye Kyoung and aunt came from Korea, so my family and I've been taking them shopping nearly everyday--nearly resulting in this unusually massive haul (at least for me!).

I asked my cousin to buy me a few things from Korea :) From the left: some lipsticks by MAC, CLIO, & Rimmel, Kate Kannebo Eyeshadow, Etude House Shadow in no.7, Bobbi Brown Gel Liner in Black, Victoria's Secret lipstick, lipgloss, and brown mascara, Maybelline Dream Matte Powder, MAC 217, and a sample of MAC's discontinued Lip Erase. On a side note, I got the Hello Kitty Card!

Etude House and Kate Kannebo shadows =)The Kaki color is SOO pretty, and the Kate pallete's light brown is the perfect tone!

Maybelline's Dream Matte Powder--is AMAZING! It's VERY VERY VERY comparable to my MAC Studio Fix powder. It's definitely great for oily/combination skin types like me. Definitely gives you that matte look. I don't use it for setting my foundation, but instead for touch-ups to blot my face with, because it's rather drying. If you're looking for a cheap compact, go for this one! I got mine under $10.

CLIO Lippy in Beige--it's very natural/orangy :)I LOVE orange lipsticks, so we match pretty well. Victoria's Secret Lippy in the nude color (can't remember-it's just the very nude/foundation color), Rimmel Lippy in Crush (SOO CUTE! it's orangy too), and Hue by MAC. I've been looking for the perfect nude lipstick lately, and went to MAC--the MUA matched me up with this color.. but I think i'm going to take it back. It's not a nude color!

Forgot to add it in the previous picture: This one is a discontinued one I bought off of Ebay. It's called Naturally Nude by Revlon. It's just a very natural color. It's a brownish/neutral color with little peachy undertones. It's alright, but ehh.. I was really expecting something great.

Moving on to another portion of the haul~ :P Some Lush products and samples, MAC brush cleanser, OPI Matte Nail Envy, and Lincoln Park, Studio Tools Smudge Brush(CHEAP and good @ Target!!), Urban Decay liner in Ransom--WHICH IS A COLOR I'VE BE EYEING FOR THE PAST 2 YEARS--NO JOKE! My cousin bought it for me :)) A milk bath packet, and the brand new Softlips in Pearl! It says it's a tint, but it's just an iridescent neural pink. It's SUPER pretty! :)) As for the brush cleanser, I haven't even opened it yet ;) and the OPI Matte Coating.. I purchased this for $16.95 at a Trade Secret in Ohio. It was VERY expensive compared to my other OPI top-coat... so I tested it out, and its long-run benefits may be great, but any other top/base coat will do just as great. I'm returning this. It's wayy too expensive!!

So, i've been running out my St. Ives Apricot Scrub for Blemish & Blackhead Control (WHICH IS MY HG CLEANSER!), and I just happened to run into a Lush (I don't have one near my neighborhood), so I picked up a scrub. It's called Dark Angels, for oily and acne prone skin. The man at the store told me it's black because of the charcoal/soot in it--which also has little chunks for exfoliation. It also contains grapefruit extracts and.. one more thing to cure acne/control breakouts. So far, I REALLY like it! But it's a little bit drying for me--which is really SCARY, because there is seriously noone oilier than I am. It's a bit on the harsher side, so I can't use it on a daily basis. So instead, I use it every other day, rotating it with a Clean and Clear Foaming cleanser--which is really nice :) [it wasn't working out for my cousin, so she gave it to me~]

It seriously just looks like coal!

Last but DEFINITELY not least, the L'Oreal Carbon Black Lineur Intense. People have been raving on about this for its fantastic felt-tip applicator, but I never paid much attention to it, because I suck with liquid liners anyway [go BB Gel Liner!]. And not to mention, I get an allergic reaction to most liquid liners, including the Revlon Colorstay Liquid Liner, and Maybelline's Ultra Liner (this one actually like.. flakes off, its so weird). Anywho, I saw it on the shelf and picked it up, because I actually really like the clean finish liquid liners give you. Oh my goodness, I cannot say.. it's FANTASTIC! It's a GREAT liner for starters with liquid liners like me :) The felt tip gives you absolute control, and gives a precise application. I LOVE it. It's stay power is fantastic, and comes right off with any cleanser or makeup remover. It also doesn't give me that itchy allergic reaction!

And, before I close, sorry if some of the picture qualities are terrible and unfocused. I don't really know how to use my camera--and about a couple months ago, I touched one of the settings, and my camera wouldn't focus on near objects. So just 2 days go, I finally figured out how to fix that problem! So from now on, all of my pictures will be crystal clear :))

Stay tuned for another update! <3
Best,
Jinna

Tutorial: Scottish Shortbread Cookies! =-)

2010-01-15T19:55:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone! :)) what the hell? someone is honking outside my house right now. wow, way to ruin my blogging mood. I swear, people in my neighborhood are rich, spoiled, RUDE people with tremendously nice cars =.=;; ANYWAY! ON WITH IT! >:l

This recipe is to make Scottish Shortbr--wait. I wrote it in the title--WHAT IN THE WORLD? MY SISTER JUST CAME HOME FROM COLLEGE! HOLD ON FOLKS, BRB.

~~~20 min later~~~

what's with all these distractions today?! hahahaha. Anywho, this is a simple shortbread cookie--just like the ones that have chocolate or jams melted on em. Does that make sense..? sorry for the bad explanations... anyways, this is REALLY simple, AND made with ingredients most people have in their house. Scottish shortbread cookies are traditionally baked in thin cake pans, and cut into wedges, and eaten plain, but this recipe is the TINIEST bit bland to eat alone--but I did anyway :) Feel free to add in more sugar, or if you want to put your own toppings on it, go ahead and just use the recipe written here! It's absolutely DELIGHTFUL with tea or coffee. Really simple and quick! Whip out a batch before your friends come over for a cup of tea or coffee! Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:
-1/4 cup powder sugar/confectioner sugar
-1/4 cup regular sugar--preferably superfine
-2 1/4 cup plain flour
-1 cup unsalted butter

OPTIONAL:
-Chocolate (white, dark, milk, anything) morsels to melt
-icing
-jam

I used Nutella as my topping on some of them... turned out a horrible idea. I don't know why I couldn't register in my head that Nutella was already melted LOL. So once I heated it up in a double boiler, it didn't melt much more, and on top of it, when I dipped the cookies in them, it wouldn't harden (duh). so it was ALWAYS moist, lol. Well, we learn from our mistakes ;)Plus, it wasn't that bad!

and...
WERE OFF!

Gather up your ingredients homefries!

Go ahead and melt your butter :) but that's the cheating way... go ahead and just leave it out overnight and use it room temp! You don't need it for this specific recipe, but normally when baking, save your butter wrappers since it has some of the residue left on it--and spread it on your baking pan!

But as I said, I cheated :)

Take a large bowl, measuring cup, whisk, and spatula.

Throw in the powder sugar...

Now time for the regular sugar!

Because I don't have superfine sugar, I used normal sugar, and just used my whisk to smash them inside the measuring cup. Better than nothing!

Add that in...

Add in your butter, and whisk away!

Now, sift some flour to cover it.

Go ahead and use your whisk, but soon enough, it won't be possible ;)

Getting thicker...

Do this many times as you need to! Use all of that flour!

Alright, It should be impossible to mix with the whisk now.

Take out the spatula and press it all down, mix it up, smash it, whatever!

Repeating the step one last time!

Finally finished :) If you're thinking, "what in the world? I put WAYY too much four in it.. now it's just crusty and falling apart..." That is absolutely correct!

Go ahead and preheat your oven to 270 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cover your cookie pan! You won't need to grease it up because there's so much butter in it LOl.

Cover an area with newspaper, magazines, w/e. Use a flat surface/large cutting board; as you see in the picture, I have neither covered my area, nor used a large board. Yeah. I learned my lesson LOL.

Dump out the mixture :)

Before you start smushing the dough together, just press the dough with your hands--the heat from your hands with melt the butter, and bind the mixture.

After you knead the dough for a bit, go ahead and shape/make your cookies. But work quickly! Touching the dough constantly will over melt the butter, and it will be a sticky dough, and hard to deal with.

I was in such a hurry I made mine ugly and super fast (I was taking too long, and the oven had already been preheated--and was yelling at me I was highering the gas bill..) Can you spot the one for puppy Sebastian? ;)

If you want more of a traditional styled cookie, go ahead and take a small fork, and poke holes in it :)

In they go for 35-40 minutes!

Pretty... I find immense pleasure in taking pictures of the food IN the oven. :)

DONE!

Let em cool off 8)

While they're cooling, bring out your double boiler, or that jar or jam! This part you can do anything you'd like. I decided to attempt at melting Nutella even more.

Covered some of em! DONE!

All this cookie smell and the sweet smell of nutella for over an hour was making me nauseated, so I made some instant Shin Ramyun Bowl :))

Hope you enjoyed this baking post! The cookies turned out really yummy with coffee! The only other thing I would not do the next time I make it would be: not dusting the board with flour (I ended up with too much, so the cookies were a bit powdery to the touch). Also, I wish I put in a liiiitle bit more sugar. ;) Next time, Ill increase the sugar level for powder sugar to 1/2 a cup instead of 1/4 ;)) This is all if you want to eat them plain, btw. If not, follow these steps (except that dusting flour on board part) and top it with w/e! Also, I wanted to thank everyone who is reading my blog and supporting me with such lovely and nice comments. Thank you! This was originally made for my own satisfaction of posting pictures of makeup and food, but somehow, others found out about it. :) Once again, thank you! If you guys have requests, go ahead!

Best,
Jinna =)

Tutorial: White Christmas <33=

2010-01-08T17:15:00.000-08:00

ROFL, I tried making an xmas tree in the title LOL. What a FAIL! Speaking of fails, I just got rejected from my dream schools Julliard and NEC. haha, what a way to start the post! -sigh- =.= REGARDLESS OF THAT, ONTO THE COOKING!!!!! Cooking always makes things better...
Alright, before I get started, I want to mention, this is NOT my recipe. I have followed Nicko's recipe, and although I had to change it a bit due to where I live, etc. But it's basically his recipe. I don't claim this one as mine whatsoever!

I was on a seriously tight budget this year for xmas. I have so many wonderful friends and people in my life that I want to pour my money over for. But unfortunately, I don't seem to have the money even to buy my best friends a decent gift. So! I compromised with cooking. I realized i'm constantly trying to impress people with xmas gifts--going out and spending hundreds of dollars! ..But now I realize, cooking little pastries is the answer :) It looks like you spent a LONG time making them, but in reality, it wasn't much work, and even the ingredients didn't cost you that much. So! Last xmas, I decided to make White Christmas for everyone. :) It was a TREMENDOUS success, and nearly everyone asked me for the recipe after they tried it. ;D

Let's get started!
These ingredients are enough for ONE batch only. I had to make several, but one batch made me... at the most 4-5 baggies. And guess what? you don't need an oven :) but.. you do need a fridge! ;D

INGREDIENTS:
-500g of White Chocolate Chips/Morsels (1 1/2 bags of a typical sized bag)
-1 1/2 cups of Rice Krispies Cereal (any rice puff brand will work)
-1 tsp of Vanilla Extract
-1/2 to 1 cups of Shredded Coconut (sweetened)
-Any shape baking pan (we're not baking them)

Optional: (not really :P you have to put in SOMETHING else than just the cereal and chocolate!)
-Nuts
-dried fruits
-Maraschino cherries (it's the ones used for cocktails)
-sprinkles
-whatever you want

I used a bag of sliced almonds, and coconut. The original recipe asks for alot more coconut than I wanted to put in--so that's what I gave you an option for the coconuts. I'm not a huge fan of coconut, but it's not TERRIBLE. Esp. in a pastry. I have to say, without the coconut, this recipe is just too bland. And trust me, this is coming from a non-coconut lover. Just eye the amounts of nuts of whatever you choose to put in. Nothing strict.

If you choose to use the cherries, halve them first! Take the stems off as well. And squeeze the excess juices as well.
and...

TAKEOFF!

GO ahead and line the bottom/sides of your pan. I used a bread pan. The shallower the easier it is to cut later!

Take a large bowl, and throw in your dry ingredients: cereal, nuts, fruits, etc.

Rice Krispies,

Coconut,

Here's a tip for the coconut--usually, the shredded coconut pieces are fairly long... and unpleasant to eat. So throw em into a cup, or w/e and just cut em up! Just stick a scissor in vertically and cut away! (I know, I'm so lazy :p) Let's save those dishes so you don't have to wash a million!

and Almonds!
*I know these bags are empty, but I didn't use all of them all in one go! I just forgot to take pics of them while they were still in the bags -.-

Now, taking a microwave safe bowl, throw in your chocolate chips, and into the microwave!

Take it 30 seconds at a time. My microwave is strong enough to nuke a planet, so it may take a bit longer for most peeps :p

Keep removing it every 30 seconds to stir--see? if you just look at it, it doesn't looks like it's melted at all... BUT!

If you smush them down, they're actually melted! They just hold their shapes as morsels. So make sure you mix them everytime you take it out! Or it'll burn!

Continue 'till they're completely melted. Yes yes, I know this is the cheating way to melt chocolate, but go ahead and use a double boiler if you wish. The key to melting chocolate, is to never let it touch water. Butter is okay, since it's oil based like itself, but water will just ruin everything. Just a drop can ruin it!

Pour it into your dry ingredients!

Mix it all up!

It should look like this now.

Take that pan we lined up earlier...

And pour it in! (The ONE picture I asked my sister to take, it's blurry -.- great.)

Push it down into the pan so they're aren't any gaps in between! If so, when the mixture hardens later, and you try to cut it, it'll just fall apart.

Go ahead and take the excess paper and wrap it over the top. Pop it in the fridge for about.. 3-4 hours. 4 Hours is standard, but it's just hardening the melted chocoalte; it won't take TOO long. If you're desperate, just keep checking!

So! I actually made mine after dinner, and I just took em out the next morning. Prepare a surface area--cover it in newspaper or whatever you need to! You're.. going to regret it. It's very difficult to cut, and it gets EVERYWHERE. Don't forget a large sharp knife!

It should slide right out.

I like to cut mine vertically like this first. I totally got carried away in cutting that I forgot to take more pictures cutting -.-;; sorry! But basically, taking the pieces we just cut, lay it on its flat side so its long ends are pointing right and left. From there, make more cuts; depending on the side, usually 2-4. I cut mine into cubes, but it's up to you.

Because I'm a cheapo, and I couldn't find any pretty clear baggies to put these goodies into, I went to the 99 cent store and found some cello wrap. It's just clear wrapping paper. I just made my own baggies. Very self explanatory, right?

TADA~ Finished! I just finished it off by using some cheap ribbon and curling the ends with my scissor :)

I hope you'll enjoy this! This is so yummy... my goodness, I only got to eat one! And of course, you get so much fly-away/pieces that break off; you'll get to eat a lot of crumbs :p Try this out next time for a tea-party, party favors, special occasions when you're in charge with desert, or just to eat! See you all next time :) I have so many posts i've prepared for, but no time to post all of them! College auditions are attacking me, and I'm going to be SO busy soon. Going to Ohio, NY, IL, and SF! whoo! :) Wish me luck! <3

Best,
Jinna

Oh, and Happy New Year :)

Haul: Coastal Scents!

2009-12-28T17:06:00.000-08:00

Hiya gals & guys :)
I bring you this treat of a haul! About 2 weeks ago, I received Coastal Scent's package that I ordered during Cyborg Monday--during the Black Friday weekend. I bought 2 Palettes, and 2 brushes.

Their service? uhh... I never had one of my inquiries replied, and the shipping took about 2 weeks alone. Before they even sent out my package, the order had to be processed, and the "process" took about a week as well -.- I'm pretty sure it was just this time, because I'm pretty sure they had an overwhelming amount of orders.

ANYWAY! Let's dive right in to the goodies :)

Tada! Here's the package!

It's crazy wrapped! Totally safe packaging. :)

The brushes came in this... tissue paper.

I got this synthetic buffer brush--I got this to use as a stippling brush, since my MAC 187 isn't exactly very dense. This brush is really packed in, and gives the ultimate coverage. It's flat topped, and REALLY soft. I love the finish it gives me.

The double-ended shadow brush! Looks like a dupe for Stila's. Okay. this is TERRIBLE. The shadow part is alright, but the blending portion? It's not much of a blending brush... it's more like a pencil brush. The blending part is REALLY stiff, and ouchy! When I was washing this brush, the blending part (which is black fibers) was shedding like no other, and DYE was running out of it! It took me about 3 washes of it to get it all out...

They were nice enough to send me a little sample of their loose eyeshadow!

Now.. let's get to the palettes!

Totally safe! Wrapped in jumbo bubble wrap like.. 3-4 times!

The infamous 88 Original palette!

Okay, this palette is SUPER pigmented! You SO do not need a base, or a primer!

And the 28 Neutral Palette.

I was so excited for this one, and it was the biggest disappointment. It's super chalky, the color payoff is terrible, and only 2-3 of the colors are pigmented enough to actually show. I'm so bummed about this one. I've tried it with my paintpot, but that didn't do much of anything.

And.. that's it! :)

Overall, I think this order was a hit and miss. I love the buffer brush and the 88 palette, but the double ended brush and 28 neutral palette sucked ass. I think i'm going to be ordering again, but not anytime soon. You can find these palettes not only at CS, but you can also search them on Ebay for much cheaper--but the shipping is from China, so beware! I'm pretty sure CS just buys it from manufacturers in China, and just put their logo on it... just like Manly. Anywho! Hope you enjoyed the post! I have a new recipe to post! +_+ It's the one I used for my xmas gifts.

See you all later!
-Jinna

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays! + Life

2009-12-24T22:05:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope everybody is having a great time whether with their family or friends. This is a time to share and spend time with people who you love, and love you. Of course it isn't mandatory, but it's always nice to get xmas gifts for eachother! :) If you're feeling a little broke like I am this year, try... making baking/pastry goodies. Go out to your local dollar store, grab some ribbon, and some clear cello gift wrap--or clear baggies, stuff 'em with your baked goods, and attach a small card along! It's totally inexpensive, and gets the job done. Trust me, everyone will appreciate it rather than to get absolutely nothing, and throwing them a lame excuse saying you're broke. So once again, have a safe and merry Christmas. Or if you don't celebrate xmas, Happy Holidays! <3
___________________________________________

Alright. Time for some actual blogging... I know this blog is dedicated to beauty/food tutorials and reviews, but you wouldn't mind me too much rambling on about my life would ya?
So, I'm not quite sure why, but this past week has just been extremely hard on me. I feel isolated from my friends, and I can't figure it out if it's either myself who is pushing me away, or someone else. Who knows, it may not even be a person... maybe a goal of mine? a dream of mine? It could be anything. I am so lost, and I feel like I'm blaming the wrong person for all my troubles--God. I yelled at him just yesterday asking why had he abandoned me. It didn't take long for me to realize that it was me who abandoned him, not him.
Have I done something wrong to hurt or offend someone? I wish someone would come up to me and tell me. I don't usually need things spelled out for me, but this time, I really do. I feel lost, helpless, and friendless. For some reason, I feel as though my relationships with my closest friends are... one sided. I love them so much--I wish they could comprehend the depth of my love for them. I occasionally ask my friends if I'm their so called "BFFL," just so I feel somewhat less-lost. Pathetic, I know. I feel so empty, hollow, and lonely inside, when I have so many great people around me.
I wish they could read this now and truly understand my love for them.
I'm still waiting for that Angel I asked for a couple nights ago from God--I hope she/he comes real soon... maybe he/she is already here? I can't help but feel like I'm going to break. Fall apart.
I've never felt like this ever in my life. I've had some horrible so-called "BFF"s in the past, and i've also experienced being backstabbed by tons of them. But I have indeed met some great, fantastic people as well. I hope to keep them as my friends, but I can't help but to feel pushed away by them.
________________________________________________

ALRIGHTIE. WELL! done with that! So over the summer when I went to Korea, I was desperately looking for a velcro-strip to hold up my fringe while doing my makeup. I searched and searched, but found none. I guess it isn't too popular in Korea, but in Japan and China... So last week, I knew what had to be done. I went on Ebay, searched velcro strip, and found tons from Hong Kong for just a dollar or so, with either very inexpensive shipping, or free. :)

TADAA!!! I guess the only way to get something you really want is to just buy it online LOL.

Thanks for reading my rambling!
Have a safe and Merry Christmas, or Happy Holidays! <3
-Jinna

Review: Kirkland 2009 Brush Set :D

2009-12-21T11:52:00.001-08:00

Yepp, that's right, KIRKLAND's brushes. Once again, yupp, the Costco brand. I was a bit surprised myself! I saw S2pandapple's video comparing this years to last years, and I didn't even know they sold brushes. I went ahead and remembered to pick it up the next time I went. It was only $20! ... let me tell you, that's ALOT of brushes it comes for $20. The quality is fantastic, sturdy, and hygienic.

All of the bristles are synthetic fibers, so go crazy with all of your different types of products! Cream, liquid, powder... you name it. All of the brushes are incredibly soft. They're all very sturdy--the handle is a rubberish material, and the barrel of the brush is very well intact onto the handle. I haven't seen a single hair shed when I washed them for first use. I guess this is what it means with consumer surplus! (LOL go ap economics?) I totally was expecting the quality to be crappy, considering it was from Kirkland, and its price. Boy, was I wrong! This brush set just blew me away.

It comes with Full sized brushes, a mini travel kit, brush bags for both of the brush kits, and a lash curler (and an extra rubber head).

This is the case for the full-sized brushes, travel kit, and lash curler. I was surprised how so many big brushes can fit into such a small bag... The lash curler... is sort of like the ELF one, but the metal part where your eyelashes are being pushed onto is a bit sharp, and I'm afraid it's going to chop off my eyelashes...

Here's the travel kit~! Isn't it CUTE?!!! It comes with a powder brush, crease/blending brush, shader brush, and a flat liner brush. Usually, travel size brushes suck, but this kit REALLY is the same exact brush, but shorter/smaller.

Fits real snug :)

Here's the full-sized brush case.

Comes with flaps to protect the bristles and prevent any leftover product from going everywhere.

Tada~

Flat-Top Bronzer Brush: ...is how it's labeled, but I actually tried using this as a stippling brush. It's super soft, and gives a pretty nice finish. The bristles are really tightly packed in there, so it gives a really good coverage. I've also tried using it as a bronzer brush, but it doesn't do so well picking up powder bronzer. I like to use it for contouring--it's pretty small to fit into the sunken areas on the face.

Large Powder Brush: I love this brush! It has got to be my favorite powder brush. This thing is softer than MAC's 150, and gives an excellent finish. It picks up a lot of product, and is just the ideal powder brush.

Angled Foundation Brush: I can't really figure out why anyone would want an angled foundation brush... anyway! The bristles on this brush are very soft, but are a bit tapered and stiff. Also, the width of the brush is a bit too small for my taste. It's a little streaky for liquid foundation, but may be fantastic for cream foundation.

Eye Shadow Brush: This is just a standard rounded shader brush. It picks up color pretty decently, but I just feel that the synthetic bristles don't do so well as an eyeshadow brush.

Eye Blending Brush: It's a rather small brush to be used as a blending brush, but it can be done. I think it's more of a crease bush. It's a tad bit too stiff for my taste. Doesn't pick up much color to be used as a crease brush. I'm not very impressed with this one.

Flat Eyeliner: This is a fantastic brush for cream/gel liner. It gives you a precise line, and work very well. It's very stiff, and gets the job done.

Eye Smudger: It's a tapered sponge tip. Do I need to say any more?

Brow Brush & Spooley Duo: Okay, this brush stinks. The brush part of it doesn't pick up ANY color whatsoever. I tried it out with my Anastasia Duo Brow Powder, and it sucked. The brush is super stiff, and it's like... a brush for a precise line... which is definitely not what I look for in a brow brush. The spooley side is okay, but again, I'm comparing this to my Anastasia spooley, so maybe that's what it is.

Here's how the handles look like on all of the brushes, including the mini sizes. Rubber handles, and very sturdy!

I hope you guys had a fantastic weekend and are having a good Monday! It's break now, so I don't have school. :)) I couldn't wait for break, but now that it's here, I have nothing to do! LOL. I like the sleeping in part. X) Hope you enjoyed this post! Later homefries C;

Best,
Jinna<3

Review: IQQU Skin Rejuvenator + Sunscreen

2009-12-20T23:15:00.000-08:00

Since the IQQU's Acne Serum was such a big hit for me, I thought hey, why not? I went ahead and purchased more items on the cyborg Monday/black Friday sale by IQQU! Everything was about $8 less than its usual price, so I bought the Skin Rejuvenator, and the famous sunscreen that everyone seems to just love. I was just finishing up my Moisture Surge by Clinique (which is totally bomb diggity), and was running out of my Super Defense SPF 25 by Clinique as well. I use Clinique products, because my skin really doesn't like to change products. Whenever I start using something new, I break out continuously till my skin gets accustomed to the new products. But Clinique's products never affect my skin, so that pretty much why I use it.

Starting with the Skin Rejuvenator! It's supposed to be a gel moisturizer, which is what I use, because other consistencies are just too moisturizing for my skin. I'm pretty oily :( It's the same packaging as the Acne Serum, and there isn't too much in it--just like the serum as well... It claims to moisturize your skin without leaving it feeling greasy. I have to say, this product really does what it claims to do. I only use 1 pump--which is a bit too little, but as I continue to use it, I think it's the perfect amount. After I put it on, I still feel too dry--but about 5-10 seconds later, it feels moisturized. Because this product has no spf in it, you have to wear a separate sunscreen--so it's perfect to have somewhat party dry skin~ which leads us to... The sunscreen! Okay, first thing's first. When I picked up the product for the first time... I seriously thought it was empty. There's hardly anything in the tube! I read some of the reviews on the site, and I noticed that this was the number one complaint. So I thought, this better be some holy grail sunscreen for its crazy-small-amount-for-a-big-price. And because MP herself mentioned that you need the tiniest amount, I decided to do a test run, and use the TINIEST amount. It's super concentrated, and as it melts in your fingers a bit, it turns into a quite a bit more product. Its consistency is like... whipped cream? I can't explain it! It's so fluffy, and airy. And another thing... it feels like spreading powder on your face! It's the most strangest feeling you can get from a sunscreen! It seriously does not leave the slightest hint of a nasty oily sunscreen feeling. For those of you who wear primer--it feels exactly like putting on a primer. Silky smooth. You can also put this sunscreen over your face makeup! It won't ruin what's underneath. But the only negative thing I have to say about this.. is that there seriously is like NO product in the tube. It's a great product, but it's very little. When I first took it out of the packaging, I held it up to my window light, and I saw it was not even halfway full. That was the only thing that was disappointing. Other than that, this is the king of all sunscreens!

Like I mentioned about Clinique's products not breaking out my skin at first use, IQQU's products are just like that as well. They haven't broken me out since I have started using their products. Natural ingredients are used in IQQU's products, and I think it has the gentle-factor in it.

Overall, I wish IQQU would be more generous in stuffing more of the product into their pretty packaging, since they're asking for a pretty high price for something so little. Little, but great.

I'll have another post up by tomorrow :)) I have so many things to post!
Best,
Jinna~

Cello Repertoire Recording for College! x_x

2009-12-13T14:33:00.000-08:00

So~ starting from mid-November till now, I've been absolutely busy due to college. Applications, recordings, supplemental forms... it's been absolutely chaotic this past month. I was BOOKED with extra lessons, and was constantly in and out of the recording studio. I even wasted some time recording because I had to change the studio I was going to! The sound quality was nice.. but their editing systems were not quite up to date. Also, their mike picked up so much of my breathing sounds, rather than my actual playing. So! I tried another place, and I absolutely loved the sound there.

So basically, the week before and during Thanksgiving, I was always in the studio. I only was able to record 3 pieces, due to time. The pre-screening recordings had to be received BY December 1st for many of the schools, so I couldn't take my chances at being a day late. Also.. I missed at least a week of school and fell behind on hw and such! x_x It was tough catching up with everything. I have no idea why, but I underestimated applications. JESUS CHRIST! USC's app alone took me around 4-5 hours! I hadn't written any of my essays, personal statements, and nonetheless, my resume. I had forgotten about my letters of recommendations, so I had to inform everyone late. It was insane. I was up all night everynight, never had the chance to eat, sleep, or even shower! It was a horrific time for me. -SIGH- But in the end, I ended up mailing out the cd's on time, and turning the apps on time as well. I still have about 3 schools to apply for, but their deadlines aren't till way later. I better get started on those...

So here are some pics of my last day of my recording. My eyes were tired, puffy, my body was bloated, I was in desperate need of showering... i'm telling you, it's not pretty.

This was the man behind the magic! He edited, recorded, and burned everything for me. He's INSANELY TALENTED! He is the ultimate Mix-Master. ahahah x) He was even able to edit some of my notes that FLEW by so quickly. He's amazing! And turns out he goes to my bff's church! hahaha~

Look at all these cds he burned for me! This is actually my job, but he went ahead and did it for me :)

My supportive and loving mom! Man, she's going to kill me if she sees this picture :P She was always there during my lessons and the entire time of my recording sessions.

We went out to celebrate by eating lunch! We ate shabu shabu :))
For those who don't know what this is, it's basically meat broth at boiling temperature; you add in veggies/meat and serve it with a special soy sauce.

This food was actually invented during the wars in Korea/Japan. Soldiers would be stranded out in the battlefield for days and would run out of food to eat. They boiled water, and threw in anything they had--plants, sea-critters, and anything else they could find. Surprisingly, this method has continued itself and it's quite popular in Korea/Japan.

We sat upstairs, so we had somewhat of a view :))

My mom and I decided to go to the bakery and buy the Mix-Master some pastries ;D

This place is called Tous Les Jours--everyday! :)YER, that's right, I took French! XD

As a closing note... I wanted to introduce you guys my friends. From the left: Derek (D-Mock), Eli, Daniel, and Humsheen (Neesmuh!).

Last, but CERTAINLY not least; my BFFS! This is Erik and Austin. They're my life! I wish they could understand the depth of my love for them. :)) <3 FWENDSFOEVA!

On the way home, I noticed I had a really good view of the Hollywood sign, so eh, what the hell. I went ahead and took a picture. I see it all the time.. but I had an amazing view of it this day :p

And with this, I bid you farewell! C;
Best,
Jinna<3

Tutorial: Strawberries 'n Creme Cake!

2009-12-12T12:22:00.000-08:00

Long time no baking tutorial! 8) With the holidays just around the corner, I think this one is a good time~ I actually did this one quite a ways back, but never had the patience and time to post it. :P Well, here it is! It's just a simple 2 layered cake with strawberries and creme. Instead of strawberries, you can always opt for other fruits. I usually add in blackberries or blueberries, but because this cake was made within an hour for my cousin's birthday dinner, I was in a HUGE hurry. I was about 20-30 min late, but oh well~ the desert was good! ;)

Gather up your ingredients!

Pre-heat the oven to 330 degrees. I ended up putting mine at 350 degrees because I was running REALLY late. I had to risk drying out the cake or burning it, but it turned out fine! Lucky me :P

I know... a LOT of eggs huh?

Wisk it with an electric mixer for about 5-10 min. It has to be really bubbly! Mine wasn't quite there, but because I was in a hurry, I was out of time. It's VERY important to have the eggs really fluffy and bubbly, because there is no yeast/baking powder involved in this cake. This is what's going to make this cake rise!

Measure up the sugar!

And add it in with the eggs. Continue to mix!

Go ahead and add in your vanilla extract...
and your honey! Mix it very well.

Measure up your flour and prepare a sifter with it.

You can stop mixing after the mixture is very opaque and thick. This picture is nowhere near thick enough, but once again, I was in a hurry.

Now, TURN OFF THE ELECTRIC WISK/MIXER. DON'T USE! This part, we will be mixing it by hand. So prepare a plastic glove. Go ahead and sift some of that flour we just prepared over the top of the mixture. Just enough to cover it. I couldn't take any pictures of this part, because I needed both hands to do this, and I don't really have a third arm to take pictures. Basically, using your hand, fold in the flour, but at the same time, make sure your rub your fingers together through the flour. It has to dissolve completely (this is very important--you can't leave any flour un-dissolved, or you'll have a powdery cake!) Repeat sifting and dissolving until you're completely done with the flour.

Go ahead and melt your butter. But remember, it CAN'T be hot, or it'll cook the eggs in the mixture! Room temperature is the best. Add in a bit of milk for a smoother texture. I like to pop my butter in the microwave (since I keep mine in the fridge) for a couple of seconds, and let it cool. Now, take a handful of the mixture, and put it directly into whatever bowl/cup you melted your butter in. Mix in the butter with the mixture. It'll be really gloppy. Now, take that handful of buttered up mixture and combine by hand back into the rest. We do this, because the oils from the butter will naturally deflate the mixture. If we take a smaller bit, it creates a base, or medium for the butter to stick onto.

Butter the pan. Taking a spatula, pour the mixture into a cake pan. Don't worry, you only need one cake pan.

Now pop it in the oven!

While it's baking, clean up the big mess you've made, and do the dishes! If you wait till the end, it'll be too much to handle! :P After you've done that, wash the strawberries.

And cut off the stems~

Cut them up like this! Chop chop chop...

When your cake is finished, leave it out to cool. To check if it's done, poke it with a skewer, or toothpick (chopsticks work ;D). If it comes out clean from the center of the cake, it's done.

While the cake is cooling, let's make the cream! Just take out your carton of whipping creme. It's in the form of milk--you just have to wisk it up.

You need your electric whisk/mixer for this part. Take the bowl and place it in the sink, since there's going to be a lot of fly-away.

Add in 3-4 tbsp of sugar, and mix it for about 5-8 minutes. Yes, it's going to feel like FOREVER, and you'll start to feel it in your arm... but it'll be all worth it for a great cake! You'll know when it's done when you flip the bowl upside down, and the mixture won't even fall out. Taste it once in awhile to see if you need more sugar. But make sure you don't over mix! If it passes the peak point of firming itself, you'll just turn it back to the milk form (which you can't mix up a second time!)

Your cake should be cooled by now... so go ahead and prepare a large surface. Take a knife, and gently go around the edges of the cake--CAREFUL NOT TO SCRATCH THE PAN!

Tap the botton of the pan a bit, and it should slide right out.

Taking some sort of bread knife, cut the cake into to layers. This is a great trick so that you don't bake two separate cakes to make a two story cake. Plus, you can never finish one! This way, it's more.. realistic? :p

Take another rounded edge knife to cream the cake. (the tools I'm using were specially made for this) Spread some of the cream onto the bottom layer of the cake. A good amount--but not too much! You need to save it for the rest of the cake.

Throw some of the strawberries onto the cream! yum... Put the majority of your fruit in the center, because that's where it tastes the best.

Take a little bit more of the cream, and spread it over the fruit. With whatever is leftover, spread it onto the inside of the top layer. Now, flip the top layer over back onto the cake (so that it looks like the way it did when it first came out of the pan--bottom up!). Completely cover the top and sides with the cream--finish it! Decorate the cake whatever way you'd like. Throw the rest of the fruits on top, or line them up anyway you'd like. Whole strawberries... or get a ziplock, cut a corner, fit your icing stencil, and cream out a cool pattern on it.

I decided to just cut the rest of my strawberries up, and throw 'em into a heart shape. I tried to make a floating trail.. but failed miserably.

Because this was for a party, and I needed to move the cake, I had prepared a cake box from Tous Les Jours (Korean bakery). But because the cake was too big, I had to cut it into a square shape!

I was sort of upset I had to cut off the cake, but... then I looked again--you can see the fruit from the inside layer! It looks absolutely stunning!

The cake was a huge success, from such a small amount of time. It's a great desert, and makes a terrific bday cake! ;) Hope you enjoyed it!

This cake is a secret my mother passed onto me--the cake recipe is actually a recipe for a custard. Normal cake mixture was just too bland for this extraordinary cake. Having the bread a custard adds tons more flavor, and makes it a bit more sweet. But don't worry, it's not the type of cake with frosting on it; it's cream. It won't be overly sweet for adults.

EDIT: Holy Moses, I didn't even write up the ingredients or anything! Jesus Christ. I'll do that asap.
This is my absolute favorite cake. I hope it will become yours too!
Best,
Jinna <3

EOTD + Santee Haul~

2009-12-12T11:53:00.000-08:00

Hi all! :)) I meant to post this last night, but after I uploaded my pictures onto Photobucket, I passed out. ahahah ;D Here's a quick EOTD/FOTD! I used my Miss Rose Palette and followed one of RiceBunny's tutorials :) Sunset Eyes. Sorry I couldn't take a close-up of my eye! My camera would just not focus. :( hope you like!

Also! 2 weekends ago, I went over to downtown LA with the oh so lovely Mirie and Leesen C: We went shopping at Santee, ate hotdogs--which were AMAZING, got yelled at by a Persian shop owner, and had tons of fun :)

I picked up a quite a few nail polishes; a lot of the stores carried L.A. Girl stuff--those are the polishes with the ultra fine brushes for deco-ing your nails! You can always opt to buy a nail art brush for about. $3-5, but I'm too lazy to clean them! ;D go laziness! I also ran into a shop which sold most of Burt Bees Products. I'm always looking for their clay mask, but it's only sold out of the country for some reason... They didn't carry it, but I did manage to spot their Garden Tomato Toner! So of course, I bought it. :) I also got some lashes by Red Cherry, and a NYX Round Lipstick in Sierra. It's a really pretty natural, everyday color. But since my lips are VERY pigmented, the color looks really reddish on me :P I still like it!

Hoped you enjoyed the post! :3
Best,
Jinna<3

EOTD + Mini Haul :)

2009-12-09T00:57:00.000-08:00

Hey homefries :)

After an early session of a cello lesson, it was fairly early--6PM~ish. The Amore store across the street was still open; oh what the hell, I ran out of masks recently anyway ;)) Just in case those who are wondering, Amore is a huge Korean cosmetics company. Amore is the company that owns the branches Hera, VOV, CLIO, Laneige, etc. Sort of like how Shiseido is the main branch for Cle De Peau.

Here's the cute bag :P

Only got three, but thought I'd share!

This is seaweed mask! Because the cover has a blue mask on it, I was expecting a blue mask XD but... turns out it just looks like goo. :p Like greenish Aloe (even aloe is green...). It's one of those masks you rinse off after letting it air dry for a couple of minutes. It doesn't feel like a mask! It actually feels like a heavy night cream. I didn't want to wash it off! Seaweed helps blood circulation, so I wanted to keep it on for long as possible :) I LOVE this!

This one's with Royal Jelly in it. I've always heard good things about Royal Jelly for your skin, but I've always been familiar with it because a lot of Asian vitamin supplements/health enhancers tend to contain Royal Jelly. I haven't used this one yet, but i'm guessing it'll serve close to a collagen mask, with anti-aging properites.

I also got a brightening/whitening mask! These things always work, and leave me face smelling wonderful :)) I've used this company before, but never the Whitening one. I hope it'll give me some great results... Amore makes excellent whitening masks as well! But they are a bit on the pricier side :P

The weather is starting to get cold, and the sun is hardly visible when i'm out. I hate the feeling of oily/greasy sunscreen, but wear it everyday anyway. Because I'm using more hydrating moisturizers due to the drier weather, (even I have oily skin) my skin just feels nasty with the SPF smothered on top. I have found a solution!

This is a popular product during the summer in Korea. It's by a branch called IOPE, also owned by Amore. It's basically sunscreen, but in a powder form! It's a loose powder, and it's transparent. Because it's so humid during the summer in Korea, this is a great option for women to turn to. It gives a matte finish, and it doesn't get oily at all. It serves like a blot powder! The picture is blurry, and I'm too lazy to get up and check... I believe it's SPF 45 PA+++, or something on those lines. ;)

It's finely milled, and there's a part where you can twist it, and it grinds out more powder. It also comes with a built-in powder puff for touch-ups throughout the day. It comes with extra replacements, of course. You can purchase this product at any Korean cosmetics counter that sells IOPE products. It won't be hard to find, since most counters carry IOPE.
EDIT: I don't know why, but I wasn't too happy with the powder today... It settled into my pores alot! I was rather oilier today, and I think that's what it was. I don't recommend this if you have extremely oily skin.

Till next time! :)
Best,
-Jinna

Review: IQQU Acne Serum

2009-12-05T11:30:00.000-08:00

Hiya all~ :)) long time no blog! This is my honest review on IQQU's Acne Serum. It costs $33 USD. I have had acne for a quite a long time, and I have tried many different companies--like Proactiv, Clean&Clear, Neutrogena, and other asian brands. After I went through all those different types of treatments, and found that none worked for me--or if they did, it would feel very harsh on my skin. So instead of finding my remedy through different companies, I tried the more natural approach. I used tea tree oil, witch hazel, aloe, grape-seed oil, vitamin E, and green tea. These did help me, but since they're natural ingredients, it did take a bit longer than I wanted it to.

I am a huge fan of Michelle Phan's videos, and I saw her use this product--it's from her own skincare line. Clearly, she has absolutely flawless, beautiful skin. I'm a sucker for advertising, and I went ahead and purchased this. I am so satisfied with this product, and recommend it for anyone who wishes for clear skin, or a brighter complexion. Ultimately, it only costs $33!

'Till next time!
~Jinna

Cooking Tutorial: Creamy Penne Pasta!

2009-11-14T17:49:00.000-08:00

So! I've been experimenting alot lately with food. Pasta is my absolute favorite thing to eat in this whole wide world (not to mention caramel apples!). This is a very quick and easy recipe for a fancy dinner without that fancy time wasted. C; Let's jump right into the tutorial!

Ingredients:
-2 slices of bacon
-2 tsp of minced garlic
-2 tbsp of butter
-1 onion
-1 green onion/spring onion
-1/3 cup of fresh basil (I used dry because I forgot to pick some up!)
-250g (8oz) of Ricotta
-325g (11oz) of Penne Pasta (or any other pasta)
-1 Cup of cherry tomatoes--halved
-half & half cream (the kind for your coffee!)
-Any grated cheese of your choice

Optional:
-Pico de Galo/Salsa
-Garlic Bread

*Sorry if you feel like i'm constantly going back and forth between the sauce, pasta, and chopping--I've put up the steps in the order which they happened to me.

Gather up your ingredients!

First, boil some water for the pasta!

Also prepare a pan with a semi-deep, wideset body for the sauce we're going to make.

Take those cherry/grape tomatoes, wash em, and half em!

By this point, your water should be at a nice rolling boil.

Well?! What're you waiting for! Put in how much you and your partner want to eat!

Now, since it's not boiling anymore, lets go back to the chopping!

Chop up them onions!

By now, the water should have come back to the boil--but this time, with foam that threatens to overflow C;

This is a secret I learned from my mom from boiling noodles--just throw over some cold water on top of the foam! It'll settle down, and come down to the slightest little boil.

Throw the lid on, and let it sit! This will speed up the process of cooking your pasta by a long run.

This is optional, but if you want to have some garlic bread with your pasta, this is the time to toast it! I'm lazy, so I went ahead and bought premade garlic bread.

It has butter, roasted galic, herbs.. oh man. i'm getting hungry.

And pop it in a little conventional oven! It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know when it's done...

Before your water wants to overflow again, take off the lid, and give your pasta a stir. Make sure you try it once in awhile to estimate how much long you need to cook it!

Now, take out your bacon slices!

Cook them in the saucepan that we're going to use for the sauce!

Cut up the bacon into little bits with a scissor. We do this after it's fully cooked, because raw-anything will refuse to be cut.

Take a paper towel and blot the excess oils!

When that's done, throw in your onions, tomatoes, minced garlic, basil, salt, pepper, and green onions.

Before you do anthing else, make sure you don't over cook your pasta and drain it--SAVE THE DRAINED WATER! We will use it for the sauce!

Add in your butter, and sautee your ingredients real good.

Finally, add in your ricotta, shredded cheese, and half & half. I won't say exactly how much--you'll know how much by looking at the consistency of it. Also, ladle in your drained water from your pasta to dilute it a bit. This way, the water isn't plain water, but still has the flavors from the pasta leftover. Finally, add in your penne! The more you mix, the better the sauce will become incorporated with the pasta!

Make sure you don't burn your bread!

Now, transfer the pasta into a serving bowl.

Serve it with your garlic bread C:

Finished!
This is a very quick and easy pasta recipe that you'll absolutely love. You can control how thick/watery your sauce will be by adding in more half & half to dilute, or more ricotta to thicken. Remember, you're unlimited to what you want to put in! If you're not a fan of bacon, throw in some chicken! Or if you're a fan of seafood, go ahead and throw in some shrimp, muscles, clams, or even tuna! As you've seen, i've included pico de galo in my optional list! Sometimes, pasta can get a bit dull for me, so I like to eat it with a bit of salsa. You have endless possibilities!

Bon appetit!
-Jinna

Stay tuned for some great desert recipes!

Review/Demo: Queen Helene's Mint Julep Masque

2009-11-14T17:23:00.000-08:00

Many of you are probably already aware of what this is, and just how amazing this is. =) This is my ALL-TIME FAVORITE mask! It's one of those very few masks where you can actually feel the difference as well as see the difference on your skin. The mask comes in either a tube or a jar.

CVS used to carry them in the tubes, but just recently, they've stopped. Just 2 weeks ago, I asked one of the stockers, and they say that they think it's either discontinued, or just not making it in the tubes anymore. HORRIFIED, I went directly to the closest Sally's Beauty Supply store. They carried it in the jar--which is larger than the tube. I bought it right away!

Mint is a natural remedy for many things. While mint oil is a good anti septic and anti pruritic, mint juice is also an excellent skin cleanser. It soothes skin, cures infections, itching etc., and is also good for pimples. Its anti pruritic properties can also be used for treating bites of insects like mosquitoes, honey-bees, hornets, wasps, gnats etc.

The texture of the mask is a clay. And guess what? It's betonite/kaolin clay! That's the stuff used in those ridiculously expensive volcanic clay masks you can get at a spa! But this stuff is only around $5!
The clay claims to dry up pimples and shrink enlarged pores. Does it actually do it? Yes! absolutely. This clay contains sulfur, which is used to treat acne. It also has Zinc Oxide in it, which is found in the Earth's deepest layers--which is used for mineral makeup. There are also no harmful chemicals, as well as artificial coloring. The mask is its natural color.

Now... after cleansing your face, apply the mask and spread it evenly. I concentrate the thickness on my t-zone. (especially my nose!)

Let it completely dry. It'll take about 10 minutes max.

When it's dry, you can see the oils and impurities that have been soaked up by the mask--even you just washed your face! (gross!) So all of your pores will be visible. I'm warning you, it doesn't look so pretty...

yeh yeh yeh, I know, it looks pretty nasty.

Wash it all off with luke-warm water. But after, I like to rinse off with icy water to re-tighten those pores. Use a washcloth if you have to! It takes a bit of effort to get it all off. Finish it off with some toner--to pick up any leftover residue, your treatments/serums, and your moisturizer! I wish beautiful skin for the both of us!
-Jinna

What's In My Purse: Travel Beauty Kit to Korea ;)

2009-10-21T13:20:00.000-07:00

Hey all C:
This is just a post on what skincare and make-up essentials I brought along with me on my trip to Seoul over the summer break. I didn't bring much of anything, since the weather is so hot and humid in Korea during the summer, I knew I wouldn't be wearing any make-up. Also, if I wore eye make-up, all the people would think I'm some rebellious daughter, since most girls my age there would be at a point in their lives where they have to study like no other to get into college :P

So here goes!

This is my travel beauty bag :) It fits EVERYTHING in here!

These are the only brushes that I bought with me--all face brushes! I did also bring liner brushes, but they aren't photographed. :) From the left: MAC 187, Anastasia Brows Mini Duo Brush #7, CVS Concealer/Foundation brush, Estee Lauder Blush Brush, & The Body Shop Kabuki Brush.

Here's the foundations I chose to bring along--MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural, Afterglow Cosmetic's Mineral Foundation, MAC Studio Fix Powder,& Sally Hanson's Spray Foundation (AMAZING!! review comming up!).

Blushes! Pur Minerals' Marble Blush Powder, NARS Orgasm/Laguna Duo, MAC Hello Kitty "Fun and Games".

And.. just a couple things for the eyes :) I went wayy overboard on bringing so many eye products, when I couldn't wear them half the time :p

Now.. for skincare!

I bought along...
From the left: Clinique's All "About the Eyes Rich" Eyecream, "Moisture Surge Extra" Gel Moisturizer, "Superdefense SPF 25" (yeah, it's spelled with an "s"!) for combination oily to oily Skin types (there's so many types for this same product!), EUMIA "Clarifying Serum with Vitamin A", MAC FIX+ Spray, T.N. Dickinson's Witch Hazel, Queen Helene's Mint Julep Masque, Neutrogena "Healthy Skin--Anti-wrinkle/Anti-blemish" clear skin cream, & my St. Ives Apricot Scrub "Blemish & Blackhead Control" (not pictured).

Here's all the rest of the junk I carry in my purse! My Ipod, make-up bag, book, wallet, cell, moisturizer, hair ties, oil blotting paper, sunglasses, and glasses! Yeah, I carry a LOT of things. If you look carefully, you can see both my sunglasses' and glasses' cases by Gucci are DESTROYED by my dog's teeth. Damn, he loves those leather cases...

And they all snuggly fit in my bag! I got this from American Apparel--you can buy it online or at their stores (http://www.americanapparel.net). Isn't it adorable?! They also have it in leather and in different colors, but I like this one alot. C;

On a side note, I managed to pick up Lancome's Virtuose Mascara at the Duty Free store in the airport! It's absolutely fantastic for volume, but not much of a lengthener! I have to use a legnthening mascara with it to produce my desired outcome. The brush is curved--the hollow side for volume, and rounded side for legnth!

Here's to those who love them beauty hauls!
Cheers!
~Jinna :))

Review: Miss Rose Palette

2009-10-20T17:37:00.000-07:00

So! I received this palette awhile back, but never had the chance to post about it! This palette is by Miss Rose, a Chinese brand manufactured in Hong Kong. I purchased it on Darline's blog sale site--http://whatever-darl.blogspot.com/ check it out! She has everything from clothes, shoes, leggings, to makeup!

I first ran into this palette in one of RoseBabe's videos. If you're not familiar with her, she's a guru that is highly underrated on Youtube. She is just fantastic. I saw a couple of her looks made with this palette, and it just sent me bonkers to find it. After MONTHS of searching, I was FINALLY able to get my hands on one of these. Miss Rose has other palettes, but I like this one alot. You can purchase them on ebay by searching "wet eyeshadow".

SO! This palette has a wide range of colors--from champagnes, pinks, golds, silvers, blues, greens, purples.. you name it! It has graduations from a highlight color to an intense liner color. The pigmentation of this is absolutely fantastic. You can either use it wet or dry, but using it dry already looks like it's wet when applied! The colors are SUPER vibrant even without a base.

All of the colors are shimmery. The texture of the shadows are very sponge-y. As in.. if you pressed down on the pans, your finger would leave an indent in it. There is a bit of fallout, but it's worth it, and doesn't waste product. You don't need much!

Here's some pictures!

Woot! Finally got it. (yeah yeah yeah, my mom's name is Hyeja. That's what you get for using her credit card!)

Here's the outside--the case is really sturdy!

Here are the colors! Aren't they vibrant?!

Selecting this blue/green color...

I BARELY ran my finger across the pan, and look how vibrant the color is!

Here's the swatch-- I have no primer/base on my wrist!

After all that, look how much there's left on my finger!

Overall:
Quality--9/10 (I really don't like the fallouts, it gets messy)
Texture--10/10
Pigmentation--10/10
Packaging--10/10 (for a palette!)

Comments:
I wish some of the colors weren't shimmery! Since they all are, you can't really wear an of these fantastic colors in broad daylight. Save em` for those clubbing nights or for a fun night out!

~Jinna

Cooking Tutorial: Soba/모밀 국수

2009-10-20T16:33:00.001-07:00

Hiya all~ C:
Yeah yeah yeah, I know, it's been awhile since i've been back from Korea, but I've been so busy with cello stuff I haven't been able to sit down and spend the time to upload/resize pictures. But.. now I do! I'll have my pictures from korea posted soon (most of the pictures were taken on my sister's dica, and she's at UCI, so I don't have alot of them :/ )! I also have this AMAZING new palette to share with you guys :)) Along with a new baking tutorial! whooo! keep em` comin`~ hahah :D I also have a DIY facial mask comming up, so stay tuned!!

Alright, enough with the chitchat. This is the EASIEST thing to make on a hot day! I know when the weather is unbearably hot outside, you don't really want to spend much time in a hot kitchen. This recipe is for Soba! Soba noodles are made from a type of root/buckwheat, and are not flour noodles. So even after you stuff yourself with it, you won't feel all groggy and gross :) It's healthy!

Here's what you'll need:

-Buckwheat Noodles
-Soba Soy Sauce (you can buy this at any asian stores C;)
-Radish (optional)
-Plain nori/seaweed/김 to garnish (and tastes good~)
-Green Onions

So let's get started!

These are the noodles that I'm using.

Boil a bit of water depending on how much of the noodles you're making. Remember, boiling more is always fine, but being short on water always makes things a hastle! (the opposite for making ramen/라면 X) )

The brand that i'm using actually already divided the serving portions, so I made 2. (since it's me and my mom!)

Now.. whip out those traditional soba dishes! (Of course, this isn't necessary.)

Now, once the noodles are done, prepare a drainer and large bowl.

Drain the noodles, and wash them in icy cold water!

Now.. prepare your dipping sauce! Try going 1/2 of the base and 1/2 of water mixed together. Here is where you would add your radish shavings--(it always tastes better with them, but I ran out!). Add ice if it's not icy cold.

And Serve! Seriously, how easy is this? What a lame post.

This is a perfect way to cool yourself down a really hot day. =) It's quick, and it's yummy!

Update later!
~Jinna

Baking Tutorial: Pound Cake! :3

2009-08-15T18:33:00.000-07:00

Hiya there =-) I haven't updated for a LOONG time due to some interference from my cello life, hehe. Well, I've come back with a new recipe: POUND CAKE! Pound Cake is absolutely one of my FAVORITE deserts/pastries. It literally tastes like sweet butter. Sounds ultra fattening, but it's good to indulge yourself once in awhile ;) Ya hear me?

Pound Cake originally got its name from the fact that all of the ingredients are a 'pound' (lbs) each. But to make it more realistic, I've put the measurements into cups so you don't have to go search your kitchen for a scale + an extra dish to wash afterwards :p
Enjoy!

Recipe:
-3/4 Cups Flour
-3/4 Cups Butter
-3/4 Cups Sugar
-2 Eggs
-1 Tsp Baking Powder

-Wax paper
-Bread pan
-Plastic/rubber spatula
-3 Bowls
-Sifter

Gather your ingredients...

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Place your 3/4 cups of butter, and soften it in the microwave (don't leave it!) You want it soft so we can cream it--not melted.

Once it looks like this, cream it with a plastic/rubber spatula.

Add the 3/4 sugar to the butter mixture.

Use the "folding" technique, until you can't see the white color of the sugar.

Crack two eggs in a separate bowl.

Whisk it with a spoon or fork till it becomes foamy.

Add a little bit at a time, and use the folding technique again.

When It turns creamy like this, you know you're finished.

Now...add 3/4 flour and 1 tsp of baking powder into a sifter.

Sift away~!

Add in the dry ingredients bit by bit, and fold it in again.

Your finished product with be on the thicker side, so don't freak out. (dough-y)

Now, get your baking pan, flip it over, cover it with wax paper, and cut out the shape of the bottom!

This way, it'll be a perfect fit.

Add the dough to the pan, smooth the surface of it, and pop it into the oven! (the oven should be done pre-heating now)

While it's cooking, set up a work place for the finishing touches: metal rack, knife, and oven mit(s).

Bake for 20 minutes. By now, there's no way its done--just golden over the top, but fresh dough on the inside.

Get the knife, and cut a line across the top, leaving out the edges.

Now, bake for another 20 minutes, and you're finished! =-)

Set it on the cooling rack, for about 10-15 minutes.

We're finally finished!

Serve it with your favorite tea, or black coffee. My favorite tea is Earl Grey Tea.

Hope you've enjoyed it, along with a great weekend! What better way to pass time while baking than to cam-whore it? =-) On a side note, I'm leaving for Seoul, South Korea tomorrow night! +_+ I'm SOO excited, but SOO not excited for the 14 hour plane ride, lol. Wish me luck!
Till next time~
-Jinna

Tutorial: Spicy Udon Stir-Fry :) + Update

2009-07-11T19:44:00.000-07:00

WOW. The day I made my last post, I wasn't feeling too well--I had left the windows open that night `cuz it was so damn hot! and the next day, I had a bit of a cough in the morning...but it went away after about 15 min. The next days, the cough kept coming back for about.. +10 min more a day!

Then finally, it took over. I was so sick, I've been literally in bed for a week+. I don't think i've ever experienced anything like that! I couldn't get any rest because I wouldn't stop caughing..! what the heck? I couldn't eat anything, because I just had loss of appetite; but I needed to eat to take medicine!

Overall, it was HELL. I've been getting better, and I can actually get up and sit at my computer desk without coughing continuously :p I have the SYMF competition on the 25th of this month, and I just lost a week of practice, including all of practice/technique i've improved on in the past month...I'm so frustrated. I better do well this competition! The stupid organization removed the Lalo Concerto in D Minor from the category I was going to go into, so now I have to play some ridiculous Hayden in C Major -.- to top it off, my teacher put me in the Bach Suites division w/o telling me! jee. thanks. Just another piece to work off my arse.

well, enough rambling--here's a cool recipe that my oldest sister taught my mom for a church gathering, but turned out to be so awesome that she made it for me as dinner once =) I managed to get the camera and take tons of pictures of her making it x)

I don't have a list of ingredients and supplies this time, but just follow along the pictures ;)
Cut up different types/colors of bell peppers; they all taste very different!

Also, cut up some jalapenos, and half an onion.

Get a potato peeler, and use it to peel and cut up some ginger! (this is an important ingredient--I hate ginger, so I didn't use it once, but I didn't get the same taste..!)

Don't forget the garlic cloves!

Here's our finished plate:

Now take some defrosted chicken breast--I got this at Costco :)

And cut it up into fine thin strips--about an inch wide.

And.. here's Sebastian getting all in the way :) <3
Put the chicken strips into a bowl, add salt/pepper as well as an egg.
Take some potato starch powder, and add it until it becomes a gooey blob of chicken--you'll know when.

Now, take some udon--I used 2 because it was for 2 people. And Remove it from the plastic rapping.

And stick it in the microwave for 5-7min (depending on your microwave); we're not only defrosting it, but cooking it as well in the microwave, so that's why it's going to take a bit.

Now, taking a wok/deep, wide-set body frying pan, fill it up with a cup of vegetable oil.

Now, add and fry that chicken!

Next, take some oyster sauce, and dilute it with regular soy sauce. The amount will differ on how much you're making, but basically, keep in mind, there will be twice as much soy sauce than the oyster sauce. (ie. 3 tbsp oyster sauce, 6 tbsp soy sauce)

Add some sugar--I added 1 1/2 tbsp since it's just me and my mom; remember, always add more as you go on, since it's always easier to add, but harder to dilute it.

Add 2 tsps of minced garlic.

Some chili/red pepper powder...

Using a sesame seed grinder, put a good amount it. (It's okay if you don't have one, just add the seeds in whole)

Also, add a couple whole ones in there.

Mix it all up~

Now, let's get started! ...Well, finish it! By now, the udon should be cooked and brought out.

Once the chicken is cooked, add in the garlic & ginger.

Add the onion...

And add in all of the other ingredients!

Once it's all cooked, create a small circle in the pan...

Add the udon in the center...

And add the sauce, mix it all in, and cook it.

Finished! yumm :)

And.. a special thanks to my mom for cutting up all the veggies and doing the boring parts! =)

ROFL, he was getting upset that we weren't giving him any goodies to eat while cooking :p He refused to get up from that spot, lol.

I did make some Tiramisu, an Italian desert, but I couldn't find my camera, and didn't take any pictures--but i'll make sure to find some substituting pictures and post a tutorial on that~
Also, I've been trying out a DIY egg mask for a couple weeks, and i'm liking it so far, so i'll post that up too!

Till next time!
~Jinna

Tutorial: Homemade Brownies C:

2009-07-04T00:11:00.000-07:00

Wooo! I'm on a roll today. 3 entries today so far :p
This is a tutorial: how to make homemade Brownies! This is definitely an easy recipe, and only takes about 20 min total. This is definitely a 'homemade' tutorial, because all of the ingredients can be found in your pantry and kitchen!

Ingredients:
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, melted
2 tbsp. water
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 baking cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil (optional: if you want a moist dewy taste)
You can also add 3/4 cup of chopped nuts or candies; and if you want to make it look a bit fancier, garnish it with a sifter with 2 tbsp. of powder sugar!

Supplies:
1 wisk (optional: electric)
2 large bowls
1 small bowl
measuring spoons
measuring cup
wooden spoon
sifter (optional for powder sugar)
square/rectangle baking pan(s)

This recipe makes 2 dozen brownies, so go figure on the pans! I used two 8x8 square pans.
Go ahead and butter/grease your pan(s), and preheat the oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit. The pictures are self explanatory, but if you have any questions, let me know.

Wisk the sugar and butter in one of the large bowls.

Add the eggs and vanilla extract.
Wisk all the ingredients together till they're completely blended; it'll still be a bit chunky from all the sugar, but you'll get it when its done.

Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and a pinch of salt.
Mix all of the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon.
You're finished mixing when you can't see the whites of the flour in the mixture.
Now, add the dry ingredients into the sugar mixture, bit by bit--don't do it all at once, or it'll be impossible to mix, and the dry ingredients will fly everywhere!

If you want more of a moist chewy taste, go ahead and add your olive oil now, as well as the nuts or candies!
Next, take spatula, and scoop the mixture into the baking pan(s); in my case, I'm just splitting half & half since I have 2 baking pans that are the same size.

...and the other pan!

By now, the oven should be already pre-heated, so just pop your pan(s) in the oven, for ...10-15min.
Now.. insert a clean toothpick or something pointy to check if it's done cooking; I used a chopstick :p if it comes out clean, your're done! Try to poke near the middle, since that's where it takes more time to cook.
Remove from heat... let it sit for about 5-10 min.

And cut into bars! I ended up with one pan having more of the mixture, and the other being alittle short; so I ended up taking out the pan that was short of the mixture a bit earlier than the other one. Just keep checking to see if each of the pans are done (if you're using multiple pans)!
I cut the pan that had more mixture into 4x3 squares, and the one that was a little low on the mixture into 3x3 squares. Tell you the truth, the 3x3 ones are flatter (due to the lack of mixture, lol), and are actually prettier!
Garnish them anyway you'd like--I ran of time, because my mom and I had to prepare dinner :p and finally, serve!
yumm.

Enjoy eating your butts off!
~Jinna

Hair Ideas: Lee Hyori

2009-07-03T23:24:00.000-07:00

Hyori Lee is definitely the sex icon of Korea. She's sexy, smart, pretty, natural (well, pretty much, up until not too long ago--just the eyes!), and has a killer hott body. She's a singer, diva, talent, as well as an aspiring actress. She is definitely someone to look up to if someone wants to go into what she's doing. Her family had never been wealthy as a child, so she has had hard times getting to where she is today--what a inspiration! =)

Anywho! I've been wanting to cut my hair like NO OTHER. I'm still in the process of growing out my bangs; i've realized how nice women who don't have bangs look! (Michelle Phan is my inspiration) I've ALWAYS had long hair, and let me tell you ladies, it's damn boring. So.. I've been brainstorming on different hairstyles to do at the end of summer before returning to school for my senior year--yeahh 2010 ;)

Now, let me get this straight. My hair is at a length where I can do absolutely ANYTHING with it. I could cut my bangs again, dye it, perm it, bob it, you name it. So I'm open to all sorts of sugesstions! Hyori Lee is definitely a model to go by... her hair styles change dramatically all the time, but they all seem to contain that mysterious, dark, sexy, appeal to them.

I want to dye my hair a reddish-orange color, and... then, i'm lost. I love long hair, so I guess I'll keep it that way. But as for the cut... no idea! Here's a couple photos of Hyori's beautiful hair styles that i'm going off from.

Isn't the color of her hair absolutely amazing in the sunlight?!

Her hair looks amazing dark as well..!

Not to mention, her skin is absolutely FLAWLESS! It looks like she doesn't wear any makeup most of the time--even on the red carpet! Her beauty definitely glows from within her. A perfect natural beauty glow... i'm absolutely jealous. She has a contract with Isa Nox, a Korean cosmetics line, and she has made several CMs for them. She's even had one with Jessica Alba! The two ladies looked absolutely gorgeous in that...! Here's a picture from that shoot.

What beautiful skin! She's not pale, like all the korean celeberties--I love that. Having pale skin is considered beautiful in Korea; that rule doesn't seem to defy her at all.

stay tuned for some cooking!
~Jinna

SNSD Sailors

2009-07-03T16:40:00.000-07:00

SNSD has come out with their new sailor concept for their new mini-albumn! :)

Heres their group and individual pictures for the release:

So, is it just me, or are most of their hair the same color? I really dont like that. Nothing against the hair color, but everyone looks practically identical to me, ehh. When I first heard of their new Sailor concept from my sister, I thought--'oh god, here comes the slut outfits.' But, nope! Looks like they didn't do overkill on it. It looks like the right style and everything for their age :p

till next time
~Jinna

RIP Michael Jackson :(

2009-06-27T22:03:00.000-07:00

How shocking... the Prince of Pop has finally met his end at the age of 50, on June 25, 2009. He's had problems with his health condition for some time now, so everyone knew this was coming; but who knew it was so soon? He has influenced millions of people, and will be terribly missed.

After his condition was informed by his stay-at-home doctor that was living with him at the time, he was rushed to the UCLA Medical Center--just 6 minutes away from his home. He was in a deep coma, and all of his family members rushed to his bedside at the hospital, including his three children: sons Prince Michael 7, and Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., 12, and daughter Paris Michael Katherine, 11 (how cute, all of them have 'Michael' in it). It must've been heartbreaking for them to have to deal with it at such an early age.

He was booked with his tour this year, and was even supposed to perform at the O2 Festival. So many of his fans that had bought tickets to see him are extremely shocked, and are currently mourning for him.

Outside his rented home in Bel-air.

I actually think he was pretty cute before his change. You can still see his original figures if you look closely. He was just another guy that was a slave to his own his destiny.

We love you Michael!
RIP

~Jinna

Transformers 2: Revenge Of The Fallen

2009-06-26T18:44:00.000-07:00

Alright, I have to admit, being based off of action figures, the first film didn't sound too inviting for me. I actually ended up watching it only because my cousins wanted to. But hey, it was great! I loved it. There just HAD to be another one, and now, it's finally come out!

I saw it yesterday at the Edwards Cinema in the Commons Mall in Calabasas :p I saw it with my trusty cousin Jungi!

haha. cool picture eh? C;

The movie poster really doesn't say much about the movie, lol.

And of course, our favorite, OPTIMUS PRIME! :)

Overall, it was alot of fun. It was long! It started at 10:50pm, and ended around 1: 30am!

~Jinna
Stay tuned for some Tiramisuuuuu~ =)

After a hard day's work...

2009-06-25T19:40:00.000-07:00

SO! Two nights ago, Sebastian was being a pain, so I decided to give him the silent treatment... C; frustrated, he decided to go ahead and tear out all of the stuffing in his doggy-bed. After about two hours or so, he finally gave up and fell asleep in the bed itself! Not knowing that he fell asleep, I turned around from my laptop sometime during the night to tell him something (yeah, I talk to my doggy ;3 ), and this is what I turned around to...

Isn't he so CUUUTE?! <3 love him dearly :) he's almost a year old now~
~Jinna♡

FIRST POST! <3

2009-06-24T17:25:00.001-07:00

Testing!

C: