Fancy Candies

In my opinion, one of the most under-rated treats out there is the candy bar. People will spend top dollar at fancy bakeries and candy shops, but one of the yummiest confections one can find are available at any drug store or vending machine. My theory is that since candy bars are so inexpensive and so easy to find, people find them pedestrian.

Well.. let me tell you that *I* am not above indluging in a candy bar. And the only way a candy bar can be improved upon is if you can get your hands on a *foreign* candy bar.
That's right. You see, we Americans like our consumables cheap and plentiful. In Europe, for instance, there is more of a premium on quality, even if it costs more. That philosophy extends to many areas of life, and that includes candy bars.

This brings me to the point of today's blog post... You see, my local grocery store has a decent foreign foods section. And one day, while trolling for Galaxy bars for my bff who loves them and can't find them in her city, I encountered this:

What is this??!!! It says "Kit Kat" on it, but it has a different label! Upon further research, I discovered that while Hershey's manufactures Kit Kat bars in the US, Nestle makes then everywhere else. And they taste different. VERY different. Waaaaaaaaaaay better.

Why is this? It's because in America, we want everything to be cheap and we don't care as much about quality. So Hershey's loads up their chocolates with sugar (which is cheaper than the actual chocolate), and the taste is compromised. Not so with Nestle products.

If you ever have a chance to get your hands on some foreign candy bars, I would highly recommend it. You won't be disappointed.

Japanese Hair Straightening, The Final Frontier

I did it! I re-permed my hair. And I LOVED it. ...at first.

After my first washing, I realize that this process has totally fried the ends of my hair. I will probably have to cut off 6 inches. BUT that's okay. I still love it.

I'll take some pictures of the back of it soon and you'll see what I mean about the ends. :(

Japanese Hair Straightening: Part 1.5

I had my doubts, but my hairdresser actually introduced me to a lady whose hair she had permed after said lady stopped getting her Japanese hair treatment touched up. It looked fabulous. Apparently she can match the waves to look like the roots. And the cut is just what I'm looking for, so I won't have to explain what I want and hope she does it right... Just make it look like hers! I'm still not sure if I'm going to do it, but I'm leaning towards yes. I pulled my hair into a bun this morning and didn't straighten the roots, and I rather liked the curls/waves that framed my face.

Ohh.... I always do this! The grass is always greener on the other side!!

No More Raccoon Eyes

I have decided that I LOVE waterproof mascara. Is it easy to remove? Well... no. BUT. It also doesn't run in my eyes when my contacts are bothering me and make my eyes water, and when I take a shower after working out, my mascara isn't running down my face, and my eyes still look bright and shiny because my eyelashes are still long and dark. (how's that for a run-on sentence?) So there it is. Waterproof mascara.

Japanese Hair Straightening

Having been cursed with frizzy hair, about a year and a half ago I decided to undergo Japanese hair straightening. For those not familiar with it, Japanese hair straightening is a 6 hour process that transforms even the curliest hair into bone-straight, super-shiny hair. And it STAYS that way. Of course, your roots will come in curly, so you have to get it touched up 1-2 times per year. Here is a summary of my experience with this treatment:

• Right after I got it done, my hair was shockingly straight--a little too straight, actually. It had NO volume, and just hung there, limply.
• It was, however, VERY shiny and silky.
• But do not confuse this with healthy. Any treatment will damage your hair, and this is no exception. I found that my once-strong hair was now really easily breakable. For example, if I got a knot in my hair, and tried to run my fingers through it, it would often break off.
• Once the roots started to come in (about a month later), that gave my hair some volume, and that phase of hair growth was just wonderful. I could step out of the shower with dripping wet hair and do NOTHING to it, and it would dry on its own into this amazing, soft, silky, voluminous hairstyle. SO low-maintenance!
• When my roots started growing out even more, it looked really weird. I had to start flat-ironing the roots or get it re-touched.
• For me, it was a must to get a touch-up every 5 months.
• This treatment is expensive. Even touch-ups. Typically, it'll start at $500 per treatment, but I was able to find a place in Chinatown that did it for $200. But I was referred to this salon by a friend who had gotten this treatment done there. NEVER get this done by someone you haven't checked out. If done wrong, your hair could fall out!

Note that I have described all of this in the past tense. I have stopped getting touch-ups. I has been almost a year since my last one. And yeah, I have to flat-iron my roots now. And it SUCKS. I am considering getting the straight portion of my hair permed. I didn't think you could do that, because it seems like that would make your hair fall out for sure. But apparently there are methods.... My hairdresser has done it successfully (she says), so I am tempted. But we shall see. If I do end up doing it, I shall report my findings here. Wish me luck.

Salsa, Baby!

Years ago, when I'd just graduated from college and was living in a new city by myself, I took up Salsa dancing. The other day, I was on a discussion board where someone started a thread about their favorite Latin music. Lo and behold, I discovered a couple of old songs I liked that I used to hear in the clubs. I didn't know who the musicians were at the time, but thanks to youtube, now I do! Check 'em out:

Los Adolescentes - Hoy Aprendí

Chichi Peralta - Procura

Cookies with Whole Wheat Flour?

I really, REALLY love to bake. But with my PCOS, I'm actually not supposed to be eating a lot of refined carbs. So I started looking for recipes that use sugar substitutes and/or whole wheat flour. Finding baked goods that use whole wheat flour has been the hardest, since you can't just substitute wheat for white and expect it to taste good. It pretty much doesn't. So imagine the JOY I felt when I found this book: King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking. Yay!

When I started using the book, I noticed two things, however. Firstly, not all the recipes use 100% whole grain flours. Some of them-especially the cakes--will use 1/2 whole grain and 1/2 white flour. But this is okay. I mean, sometimes that's the best you can do when it comes to baked goods. Secondly, they are almost all loaded with tons of sugar and butter! This surprised me, especially after reading all the Amazon reviews gushing about how "healthy" these recipes were. But. That is okay also. Because I've found that if I replace 1/2 the sugar with splenda, it pretty much tastes the same, and I just took out half the sugar. I have no intention of taking out the butter. You gotta draw the line somewhere.

So far, I have made biscuits and banana coffee cake, and both were spec*TAC*ular!