Celestial Candy Cane Lane Tea review

I will start off by saying I am not much of a tea drinker. I have some black tea from England that I kind of like, but besides that, I don't really care for it. I would much rather have a cup of coffee! But anyways, back to the tea...

There were two tea bags in this packet, so I made a cup for my sister and I.

Hannah and I did not like the tea. The peppermint flavor was way too strong. (Obviously it would be since it is candy cane lane!) Hannah usually really likes peppermint flavored things, but she agreed that the flavor in the tea was too strong and we both thought it had an odd aftertaste. Had there not been so much peppermint, I think we might have liked it. So, it was a miss instead of a hit this time.

On the positive note, I did like that it had all natural ingredients. Such as vanilla bean and orange peel.

I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes in exchange for an honest review. All reviews and opinions are my own.

Five for Friday

Hello! How was your week? Mine wasn't too bad. I'll quickly highlight a few things from the past week in this edition of Five for Friday. I'm also linking up with Coffee With Caitlin, Cup of Tea, and Della Devoted!

1. I got this coat I ordered from Modcloth. It's cute but the hood is HUGE! Fortunately it comes off so I will probably be taking it off!

2. Have you tried these? We were at Trader Joe's earlier this week and picked up a bag. They're SO good!

3. I think I'm over our Keurig. I took out our regular old drip coffee maker today and I decided it makes better coffee than the Keurig. I was never a fan of K-cups anyways (I mean, pre-ground coffee? Ew. But, I am from Western Washington, so that's my excuse for being a bit of a coffee snob ;) ) I did always grind my own coffee and use the reusable K-cup. Has anyone else done away with their Keurig?

4. I got some slippers last weekend and I can't believe how comfortable they are! I have never really worn slippers before, and I feel like I was missing out. Haha! 

5. I just realized I have 813 pictures on my phone! I will now be spending the weekend deleting some of those! I already printed most of them, I just need to get them deleted!
Anyways, Have a great weekend!

The best chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe

I love chocolate chip cookies. Who doesn't? After trying so many recipes over the years, I came up with this one and it's definitely my favorite! They're soft, chewy, and chocolatey. What's not to love?

 The ingredients.

Cream the butter, shortening, and sugars. 

Then add the eggs and vanilla.

 Add your flour and baking soda.

Mix together.

 The best part...the chocolate!

Stir all those right in! 

Voilà!

3/4 cup shortening

3/4 cup butter (softened)

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 1/4 brown sugar

3 eggs

2 1/2 tsp. vanilla

3 3/4 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. salt*

1-2 cups of chocolate chips

*I always bake with salted butter, because that's just what we always have, so I omit the salt. If you are baking with unsalted butter, add the salt.

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. Cream together shortening, butter, and sugars.

3. Mix in eggs and vanilla and mix.

4. Add flour, baking soda, and salt (if using.) and mix well. 

Consistency is something I always watch for when I make cookies. If there's too much moisture in the dough, the cookies will melt and turn out flat and crispy. And if there isn't enough moisture in the dough, the cookies will be dry and crumble. Sometimes I have to add a little water (about a tablespoon) to the dough (I live in a really dry climate.) The dough needs to be able to pull away from the sides and hold together when mixing and not be sticky. 

5. Add chocolate chips and stir together. I usually use a mix of semi sweet and milk chocolate. I use about 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips. I know some people like really chocolatey, and others don't like too many chocolate chips. Use what you prefer.

6. Drop rounded balls of dough onto the cookie sheets and bake for 9-12 minutes. You want to pull them out of the oven when they are just done because they will finish baking on the sheet. 

This recipe will make about 5 dozen if using a medium sized cookie scoop.

Enjoy!

Rimmel London product review

I had been wanting to try a kohl eyeliner, so I was happy to receive one in my Frosty Voxbox.

The color (black) is really bold and it glides on really easily, which is nice. (Isn't so great if you happen to mess up as it's hard to get off!) The only thing I didn't like about the Rimmel London Scandaleyes kohl liner is that it is hard to remove! 

I definitely wouldn't consider this makeup remover anything special. It did an okay job removing the makeup I typically wear everyday (none of which is waterproof.) but when I tried to use it to remove the waterproof kohl liner (above) I had a really hard time getting it off! It says it is a 'gentle makeup remover', but I was scrubbing and scrubbing trying to get the waterproof eyeliner off. I got a little in my eyes and it was burning. I finally used my natural face cleanser and that worked much better. I thought it was kind of dumb that this makeup remover couldn't even remove makeup made by the same brand. I definitely don't think I would recommend or buy this makeup remover. 

I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes in exchange for an honest review. All reviews and opinions are my own.

Top 10 places I want to travel to

I love to travel. I love exploring and trying new things. I love taking pictures and experiencing different places and foods. The only other country I have been to is Canada (which is a given considering I grew up in a border town.) but I really, really want to travel the world someday! The top ten places I want to travel to (in no particular order) are:

1. France

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2. England

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3. Germany

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4. Austria

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5. Ireland

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6. Scotland

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7. Iceland

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8. Switzerland

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9. Poland

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10. Sweden

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So basically, I just want to travel to every country in Europe! Hopefully someday I will be able to see all of these places! 
Where would you like to travel to?

Frosty Voxbox review

Hello! Today I will be sharing my first Voxbox! I was excited to be picked for the Frosty Voxbox and was happy to see it was filled with some fun items!

 

 I already use McCormick brand spices and am pleased with them. I have used the thyme in several recipes already (calzones, herb blend for my Christmas turkey, and chicken pot pie.). The thyme has a good, strong flavor and I would definitely recommend this!

 I was happy to find a hairbrush in my Voxbox because I really needed a new hairbrush! I had never heard of the Ecotools brand before, so this was my first experience trying one of their products. I actually really like the brush! The shape of the brush and the spacing of the bristles help it to not snag or pull my hair. I would definitely recommend this brush!

I have tried the Rimmel London makeup remover and it's okay. I will have the full review next week.

Review coming soon!

I'm not sure if I will try this, since I really do not have a need for any anti-aging products.

 Full review coming next week.

This NYC lip color isn't a color I would have typically picked out for myself; but I like it. It's pretty close to my natural lip color, so it isn't too bold. I would definitely buy lipstick from this brand. 

I really did not like these Fruit Vines. I like the traditional Red Vines, but these fruit ones were terrible. They were so sticky and stick to your teeth really bad! I shared them with my family (without saying if I liked them or not) and no one cared for them. I definitely would not purchase these myself.

Overall, I am pretty happy with my first Voxbox, and I hope I am picked for another one again soon!

I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes in exchange for an honest review. All reviews and opinions are my own.

Five for Friday

Hello again! I'm going to do things a little differently today, I'm going to post 5 things I hope to change/start/do differently this year. Since it's the beginning of a new year and all!

1. I really want to branch out more in my photography. I want to try new things and take more pictures!

2. I hope to do some more traveling this year. There are so many places I want to go and things I want to see, I hope I will be able to see some new places this year!

3. I really hope to grow my blog more this year! 

4. I also want to be better about planning and scheduling posts. I always start posts and then end up finishing them late the night before I need to post it.

5. Lastly, I would like to get better at French. I have been taking it for a little while now, and I would like to be able to have an actual conversation in French! Luckily I have a brother who speaks French fluently, so I have someone to help me with it.

And for the record, I don't think you have to wait until the beginning of the year to do new/different things, I have already been working on most of these, I just thought I would post them to share what I want to do.

So, do you have any goals or resolutions for the new year?