The Best Thing I've Ever Made

There’s one weird thing about me when it comes to baking.

I usually don’t eat the things that I bake.

I usually eat the things that I cook, but rarely the things that I bake. It’s not that I think my baking is terrible. I was known in high school for making amazing baked goods! I’m proud of what I bake!! It’s just that I, in general, try to not eat a lot of sweets.

There came one Christmas day, however, when I tried out a recipe for banana cream pie. It wasn’t just a recipe for banana cream pie, though. It was Emeril Lagasse’s recipe for banana cream pie.

It took me pretty much the entire day to make that banana cream pie. I had to use a pot, hand mixer, numerous bowls, multiple mixing spoons, etc. When I assembled it, it was absolutely MASSIVE. I mean 6 inches tall massive.

Like I said previously, I don’t eat the things I bake most of the time. When I took a bite of this pie…..

My life changed!!

I ate half of the pie by myself…. Not proud of that, but I don’t care because it’s freaking delicious!!!!

It’s not too sweet and perfectly creamy. The best dessert I’ve ever made and ate. As much as I would like to credit myself for baking it, I can’t because it’s all about the recipe.  If you follow the recipe correctly, you will get the perfect pie every single time!

Here’s the link to the recipe. Take my word and make this pie for your next occasion! You’re guests will think you are an absolute genius!!

http://www.emerils.com/recipe/5022/Banana-Cream-Pie-with-Caramel-Drizzles-and-Chocolate-Sauce

Enjoy your pie!!!

Lisa xx

Prom: The Best Night of Our Teen Lives?

With prom coming up for a lot of people, I decided to write a blog about my prom experience and what to expect at prom.

A lot of people have incredibly high expectations for their prom. Besides your wedding, it’s the date that you look forward to since you are a little kid! I remember being a young girl and watching the prom episode of “Sister, Sister”. It looked so glamorous with big puffy 1990s dresses and limos!! I couldn’t wait to experience prom!!

Girls have higher expectations for prom than boys. We’ve been picturing it as the night of our teenage lives in our heads for YEARS! We imagine wearing the most beautiful dress that makes all of the other girls jealous, our hair and makeup done to make us look like a celebrity, the guy of our dreams as our date, dancing the night away with all of our friends. I can’t deny my high expectations for my prom! I was hoping to have Justin Bieber as my date!!! 

There is nothing wrong with high expectations. It shows that you have hope, and hope is a wonderful thing to have. But if your expectations become so high that it goes beyond reality, you may be setting yourself up for possible disappointment.

Let me tell you a story about my prom.

I am a naturally optimistic person who believes in having hopes and dreams that can become real with some hard work. Because of these traits, like many girls, I envisioned the absolute perfect prom. The day of the prom, I didn’t really like my dress. I bought it online, and it just didn’t look very flattering on me.

Nope. I didn’t like my dress very much. I wanted “BAMMM!!” but for me, it was more like “bam”, if that makes any sense at all x) So expectations on looking great were out the window….

One of my guy friends was my prom date. Let’s just say, he was no Prince Charming… or Justin Bieber for that matter. I was ditched during the last slow dance. (This is the part where you all collectively say “Awwwwww!!!”) I would go into further juicy detail, but I might get in trouble. Hehehehe. Maybe another time ;D Well, there went my dream for the perfect prom date….

Prom for me wasn’t all that bad, though. Below the banquet area was an arcade that we had all to ourselves. They had laser tag, and because of the ultraviolet lights and me wearing a white dress, I was like a running target because I was literally GLOWING. My closest friend and I also played one of those Terminator shooting games, and I have to add that we looked like bad mama jamas in our elegant dresses shooting zombies with huge machine guns!

Overall, it was a bittersweet night. If it wasn’t for my girl friends, it would have been worse than what it was. BUT life goes on, and we can’t fixate on the bad parts in life for long or else they can hinder us.

The Lesson:

You can go into prom with hopes of what it will turn out to be like, but just be cautious of those expectations. Think “Here is what I want my prom to be like, but I know that it may not end up being that way and if so, it will be alright in the end.”

Prom is a night to celebrate with your friends before you all depart your separate ways. Have fun and stay safe!

Lisa xx

What to Bring to College

When you are packing for college, you are constantly thinking “Should I bring this? What about that? No, I should probably leave that behind, but then again, I might really need it!” You go back and forth because you don’t want to forget about bringing something and you don’t want to bring too many things that you will never use.

Though what each person brings to college depends on them, here is a list of often overlooked items that, from my experience, I think everyone should bring.

1. Earplugs

You will not believe how much earplugs come in handy, especially if you are the type of person who cannot sleep when they hear even the slightest noise. Whether you are living in a dorm or an apartment, these are fantastic when the people living next door to you are being noisy whether their talking or….. doing something else……

With long days full of going to class and studying, you really need as much sleep as possible, and you can’t sleep if you hear a whole bunch of noise.

2. Old High School Notes

Whatever notes from high school you have that you think you will need in college, bring them. If you know you will be taking math classes, bring along your math notes. They are great to reference to look back at if you have any trouble. Notes are only useful if you still have them, which brings us to a very important point…

Don’t throw away your notes from high school!!!

I threw away all of my material from high school every year because I don’t like clutter. The only notes I kept were my calculus notes because I had an amazing teacher and I just couldn’t throw them away because it would be like throwing away my bibles! I did, however, throw away my accounting notes from high school. Guess what? I didn’t have to take math in college, but I did take accounting and am planning to pursue a career in accounting … I wish I had saved those notes…..

3. Comfy Slippers

If you are like me, you like to walk around in your house barefooted. When living in a dorm, you can’t really do that because the floors of a dorm hall are not as clean as the floor in your home. I didn’t want to wear proper shoes everywhere, so I opted for some fluffy pink slippers. They are great for walking around in your room and around your hall. Plus, they are incredibly comfortable and make me feel at home!

4. Air Freshener

Because in a hall, you live with many other people, there may be times when the hall just doesn’t smell right. The smells can be of eclectic food cooking in the kitchen or random mystery smells that no one knows where they are coming from. Air freshener is, therefore, much needed!

20 Facts About Me

1. I love cold and cloudy weather! Strange, since I live in a place where it's sunny 90% of the time.
2. When I come across an inspirational quote that I love, I copy it into a page in Notes on my iPhone. "Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I'm possible'" - Audrey Hepburn
3. One time, I ate an entire watermelon in two sittings.
4. I love watermelon. 
5. I am currently a first-year in college studying business economics.
6. I've been a vegetarian for 3 years.
7. Taking off is still the scariest part of being on an airplane for me, even though I've been on numerous airplanes since I was 3-months-old. 
8. When eating, I always make sure the first and last bites are the best.
9. My first ever cheek kiss was from Harry Styles. ;)
10. On the wall next to my bed, I have post-it notes of all of my short-term and long-term goals.

11. My fantasy dream job is to have my own vegetarian cooking show on Food Network.
12. Sunscreen is my best friend.
13. I can appear shy when I first meet people, but I warm up afterwards and show my true self. 
14. The best thing I ever ate was the spaghetti at Scarpetta in LA. That was over 3 years ago and I've been craving it everyday since.

15. I love taking on leadership positions because it highlights the person who I really am on the inside. I absolutely recommend everyone to take on leadership roles.
16. When I go home during breaks, I spend hours watching the Turner Classic Movies channel.
17. I take very colorful notes. 

18. Popcorn is my kryptonite. 
19. The best thing I've experienced was helping low-income children and families in my community by creating a Christmas party and organizing an event called the "Bookshelves in Every Home Project". 
20. I'm a naturally optimistic person.

February Personal Favorites

Here are a few non-beauty products I have loved in the month of February.

Fiber One bars

These are a MUST in college!!! I always make sure I have one in my school bag at all times. The reason why Fiber One bars are so great is in its name: fiber. Not only does fiber have so many health benefits, it controls your appetite; therefore, you won’t find your tummy grumbling during class or while studying in a quiet library. Some foods high in fiber are apples, bananas, greens, and whole grain bread. I prefer Fiber One bars because some of them are covered in chocolate!!!

Very Berry Hibiscus

My life has been changed by the Very Berry Hibiscus drink at Starbucks. I can’t believe it took me months to try it! It has just the right amount of sweetness and tartness to it, and it has BLACKBERRIES!! I wished they would use fresh blackberries though….

I went through an entire Trenta size (30 fl oz) because I loved it so much! Now that it is getting warmer, this drink is great to cool you off and give you enough energy to power through a 3 hours study session.

The Nanny

The Nanny is by far my favorite television show of all time. It is an extremely witty 1990s comedy that I’ve actually been watching for the past couple of years on and off. In February, I started watching it again from the very beginning. I’ve seen all of the episodes probably 3 times each! They just don’t make shows with that type of humor anymore. I promise that it will make you laugh like never before!

Mirrors by Justin Timberlake

My song of the month has to be Mirrors by Justin Timberlake. You can feel all of the love he has for his wife while listening to that song. The artistry of the track and the beats are simply incredible, too. Enough said. You have to listen to it if you haven’t. 

Hello!

Welcome to my personal blog! 

For those of you who came from my beauty blog (Chief Beauty Officer), here is an inside look of the person who writes it. For those of you who didn't come from CBO, you should check it out by clicking on the link on the menu bar above!

I will try to make this blog as interactive as possible so it would be like we are friends getting to know each other because I would love to be a friend to each one of you :)

Lots of love,

Lisa xx