Best speedy nail polish

This isn't a trick so much as advice. If you want to have nice nails for cheap in zero time, get Sally Hanson Insta-Dry polish. I have it in Pewter and a pink. It is extremely smooth so it requires only one coat to not look streaky. I found mine on sale for like $3.50 at Target, therefore it is inexpensive (think how many manicures you are getting for only $3!). It also dries in literally 3 minutes.

ps: the dink in my index finger nail is the nail itself, not the polish.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Mug Cake

So sadly for you I devoured this cake before I thought to take a picture of it. But on the bright side, that means I have a definite winner of a recipe for you. Plus I can upload the picture next time. Which will be very soon.

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine, softened
• chocolate chips

Supplies

• microwaveable mug (and a microwave)
• tablespoon
• 1/3 cup 

 Directions:

1. Crack egg into mug.
2. Add brown sugar, flour, and butter. Mix into a smooth dough.
3. Mix in chocolate chips to taste.
4. Microwave 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on high. Center should be just springy.

Optional brilliant ideas: Top with vanilla ice cream. Serve with glass of milk.

Roasted Chickpeas

I found this recipe for sweet and salted roasted chickpeas (garbanzo beans) on a blog and was immediately drawn to it because I love using chickpeas and crunchy healthy snacks are just great. I don't know that I would qualify it as a success, however. The flavor was good, but my chickpeas were still a bit gooey inside. I would try this again though. Next time I'd try patting the beans very dry before baking.

Ingredients:

• 1 (14 oz) can of garbanzo beans, drained
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Supplies:

• cookie sheet
• parchment paper
• teaspoon
• bowl

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Cover cookie sheet with parchment. Lay out garbanzo beans on parchment and bake 30 minutes (yes, dry).
3. Mix the other ingredients in a bowl. Add the chickpeas when they are done roasting. 

These were recommended to be eaten hot and crunchy like popcorn. Flavor-wise, eaten hot was best. Many of mine were gooey in the center though, which diminished as they cooled. Still, very few were as crunchy as popcorn. I will update this post if I have any more success when I try it again.

Thank you to Cupcake Project blog for the original recipe.

Caramel Apple Cookies

So I haven't posted the past few days because it was the end of finals, I had to pack, then travel home. But since I'm home, things are going to be getting fancier. These cinnamon apple-flavored cookies with gooey caramel centers were slightly tricky at the very end but both my mom and I enjoyed the end result a lot (read: ate several straight from the oven, almost burning our mouths). This is high praise for a non-chocolate dessert in my house. My experience made 35 cookies.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)- softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 box Alpine Spiced Apple Cider Instant Original drink mix (10 packets near hot chocolate mix)
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (14 oz) bag of Kraft chewy caramels

Supplies:

• small bowl
• regular eating spoon
• 1-cup cup
• 1 teaspoon spoon
• 1/2 teaspoon spoon
• parchment paper
• baking sheet
• electric mixer or large bowl/spoon/endurance

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon.
3. In mixer bowl, cream butter, sugar, salt, and all 10 drink mix packs. Beat in eggs, one at a time.
4. Add vanilla, then gradually add the flour mixture. Mix until just combined.
5. Scoop out cookie dough and roll into a ball about the size of a walnut. I thought this seemed rather large but be generous. It works better to contain the caramel.
6. Take an unwrapped caramel and press it into the dough ball. Wrap the dough around until the caramel is covered. Place about three inches apart on cookie sheet lined with parchment. Note: make sure there is plenty of dough under the caramel so it doesn't leak out all over the parchment.
7. Bake 11-14 minutes or until very lightly browned. The cookie should start to feel crispy on the outside but the center may not look done. This is okay. Just let them cool until the edges have stabilized. Then here comes the tricky part.
8. Place a second sheet of parchment on top of the cookies, large enough that you can hold the ends while holding the pan. In one swift motion, flip the pan so the cookies land face down on the new parchment. Remove the pan and slowly peel away the old parchment. The caramel will stick in some places, but just be careful and try to disturb the cookies as little as possible. It will harden back together anyway so don't worry too much.
9. Let cool the rest of the way upside down. This prevents all the caramel from escaping while they cool. Alternatively eat them before the caramel can escape, but warning, gooey caramel is extremely hot. I warned you. No suing me like McDonalds. 

Safer eating: at room temperature or microwaved briefly. Once they are totally cool, you can flip them back over and put them on a plate to store or serve.

Cookies just from the oven. Note that they don't really look browned on the edges like cookies traditionally do:

 These are the cookies cooling after I flipped them. I had to slide them together to make room for the next pan, they weren't this close on the pan. I usually only fit 7-8 per pan:

 Before I tried the flip technique, I followed the recipe and tried flipping each cookie over by hand. This was not as successful, as you can see by the mess below:

 Thank you to The Girl Who Ate Everything blog for the original recipe.

Slanted French Braid

Please ignore the epic amount of mess in the background of this picture. Suffice to say it was a busy day, and I had to get ready for a formal in no time flat. Accordingly, no time to blow out my hair all smooth or curl it nicely. Hence I created an elegant take on a traditional french braid.

• To start, I parted my (one day dirty) hair on the side and brushed out all the tangles.
• I took a decent section of hair from the front of my head. Imagine looking at the top of your head and draw a triangle along your part a couple inches back, along your front hairline to about opposite where the part is, and connected on a slant. That's what you want to start with.

• Begin french braiding that side as if you were going to do two braids, but when you get across the top of your head, start aiming the braid to end on the opposite side of the nape of your neck.
• When you get to the back of your head, begin incorporating hair from the other side of your part. This will help the braid travel and make the style more cohesive.
• Once you get to the nape of your neck, all your hair should be incorporated. Secure with an elastic. I added a ribbon for some added interest and elegance.
• If you have shorter pieces in your hair or fine hair, spray the front and top lightly with hair spray. If your ends are frizzy, you can add a smidge of taming cream. I used Dove Frizz Control Therapy taming cream.

Tip: if your ponytail is just static-filled, not frizzy, run a fresh dryer sheet down your ponytail. It will take away all the static.

Also, this only looks better as the night goes on and it gets a little messier and relaxed!

Coconut Brownies

I have to bring a dessert to a party this afternoon, and of course I do not have sugar and flour and all the essentials for baking. However, I did not want to just bring a plain dessert (or heaven forbid, a store-bought one!). Instead, I decided to recycle my coconut obsession from this past summer and create coconut brownies.

Ingredients:

• box brownie mix (I used Betty Crocker simply because that's what is carried on campus)
• oil and eggs according to brownie mix
• sweetened coconut flakes (which I had my suitemate get from the grocery when she went last weekend)

Supplies:

• measuring cups (you can estimate with a Solo cup if you are brave. I have finally invested in legit measuring cups)
• brownie or cake pan
• largish container
• plastic knife (tip: plastic knives cut brownies better. I even use a plastic knife at home)
• plastic spoon
• 10,000 paper towels- approximately (:  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven according to brownie box (if using a school oven, check for sketchiness in the oven first)
2. Pour mix into whatever container you have found. I washed out an old container of veggie chips. Stab mix with spoon to make sure there are no big clumps.
3. Add water, eggs, and oil according to box. Stir until you stop finding powder clumps. (Make sure to check the bottom and any strange corners your container may have)
4. Stir in coconut flakes to taste. I just added and eyeballed this part until it seemed sufficiently coconutty.
5. Spray pan if you have spray. I poured a bit of oil in and wiped it around with a paper towel. 
6. Pour brownie mix into pan. Smooth it out to cover bottom.
7. Add additional coconut on top. Ideally this will toast and make it look pretty. Mine sank in some parts and added more coconut to the rest of the brownies. Not that that's a problem or anything.
8. Bake according to box but keep an eye on the brownies. School ovens are notoriously unreliable. I had to add an extra 6 minutes to mine. Best way to test is to stab it with a toothpick if you have one, or the plastic knife. If it comes out pretty clean, you're good.
9. To remove without burning off your fingertips (hopefully!) have a clear place close and ready. Wad up excessive amounts of paper towels as an oven mit and remove. I have also seen friends use a spare pair of blue jeans folded several times. 

Here's a picture of the finished product:

(Ignore the piece I stole for my suitemate)

Starbucks Christmas Tree

Okay, this one I cheated and did over Fall Break. Accordingly, it did require a trip to Wal-Mart. In my town, a local charity has people decorate trees which they then auction off. With my love of Starbucks, glitter, and Christmas, my tree idea was a match made in heaven.

All summer I had been saving the metal caps to the Starbucks bottled frappuccinos. Those things are sturdy and just have too much potential to throw away. I washed them up, sprayed them with silver glitter, drilled a hole in the top (thanks Dad for letting me borrow your drill!). Using green floral wire (which yes, is just lying around my house) I strung them from the tree.

I also added lights, a little cheap ribbon and some ball ornaments from Michaels, and a star I found online for the top.

Note: My mom had to bring it to the event because I was back at school. She added the napkins tree skirt and the two gifts. Btw the tree made a couple hundred dollars. Not bad for a couple bucks and some frappuccino caps!