Hi there! I'm Candace, a 35-year-old dog mom (I also have two cats who tolerate me) from Orange County, CA, where I enjoy the food, beaches, and education at my fingertips. When I have a spare moment, I enjoy trying new recipes.
You are not alone if you haven’t heard of exfoliating your lips. When it comes to your lips, we often give more importance to hydrating them. But when your lips get dry and chapped, they tend to flake and peel. A lip scrub helps to slough off dead, chapped skin and helps your lip balm penetrate deeper into the skin. The result? Supple, rosier and healthier lips.
Enter the world of an easy soup to make (Asparagus Soup). A almost, year round, favorite, of mine. What you’ll need: a knife for chopping, a sauté pan, spatula, Dutch oven, and blender. Use caution while chopping, touching hot items, and place hand, putting pressure over lid while using a blender.
Ingredients: half a sweet yellow onion, a bunch of asparagus, four sprigs of garlic, chicken stock, olive oil, salted or unsalted butter
Total Time: Give yourself a couple hours of stretch time because you will be prepping, sautéing, boiling, simmering, cooling, and blending.
Start by prepping the star of the show (asparagus). I tend to chop the ends off, discarding of them. Technically, you can use them. But it might add a touch of bitterness. Then, chop the rest, I do so, in thirds.
Next, chop the onion and try to do so with the same size pieces. This allows onion pieces to cook through, evenly.
The third step calls for, four sprigs of garlic.
Step 1: I heat up a sauté pan with about three tablespoons of olive oil and two tablespoons of unsalted or salted butter. Put the chopped yellow sweet onion in it, along with the four sprigs of garlic. Sauté until translucent and the garlic cloves are browned on the edges. The aroma is amazing. Transfer to a Dutch oven. Set aside.
Step 2: Repeat step one, using the asparagus pieces. There is no need to use more olive oil and/or butter. If you feel you need more olive oil, go ahead and add some. Sauté until the asparagus pieces are soft or flexible, with some browning action. Transfer to the Dutch oven with the onions and garlic already there, using your spatula or whatever works for you. Sometimes I opt for a soup ladle to do the job.
Step 3: Add 32 oz of chicken or vegetable broth to the Dutch oven. I prefer chicken stock (low sodium or regular). Stir and bring to a boil. Stirring occasionally.
Step 4: Once you have brought your ingredients to a boil, cover and simmer for fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally. This process softens the ingredients even more and prepares them for the blender.
Step 5: Let cool, catch up on daily tasks or relax.
Step 6: Once cooled, transfer the soup to a blender in batches. One at a time and blend until you have the right substance to your liking. I usually liquify. You can heat and serve using a pot, the quantity you desire. I tend to store mine in a container for later consumption. It’s part of my meal prepping process. Lasts up to four days in my fridge.
Since my chemotherapy treatment ended on February 22nd, I’ve started to feel better and be inspired. Also, I got my first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on Easter Sunday and will be ready to do more activities, early May. I’ve been in a compromised position for about five months because of chemotherapy, during a pandemic.
There is so much to look forward to. I have plans to go places and I’m in the process of getting back into self care. I also want to get my blog organized. When I started my blog last year, I didn’t realize there would be so many different things to write about. I’m into a lot of things. For example, cooking, baking, makeup, skincare, travel, animals, friendship, giving back and the list goes on.
Blogging is something I’d like to accomplish and I do enjoy reading other people’s blogs. I find myself reading Bloglovin’ and getting inspired from other people’s blogs, as well. Also, blog writers post on certain days or post certain topics on certain days. For example, “Throwback Thursday” or “Makeup Monday”. I hope to keep my followers engaged in doing something like that. And not be all over the place. I guess I’m still trying to find my niche. To sum it up, I’m working towards building a stronger WordPress site. It’s all very exciting. And if you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to reach out to me. Thank you
There is an extra step to my skincare routine. During my daytime skincare routine, I use a scrub on my lips and during my night time skincare routine, I use a lip mask. The two products that I use are the L’Occitane lip scrub (Using a lip exfoliator regularly helps to remove dead skin and encourage the skin regeneration process) and the Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask ( Lip masks have begun popping up in beauty stores all over the world. They are like face masks, except they are applied just to the lips). The products I mentioned do come in different scents of your choice.
Although, you can find similar products, elsewhere or make your own. Adding lip care to your anti-aging or beauty routine can help support fuller, softer lips for a more desirable appearance. If lip care wasn’t on your to-do list before today, it will be now!
Years ago, in my mid twenties, I attended beauty school to become an esthetician. Although, I soon realized I didn’t want to be an esthetician as a career, I took away a lot and am proud of myself for graduating. It became more of a hobby of mine. I even attended makeup artistry school, further down the road and am a certified makeup artist.
Next month (May), I’ll be turning 36. I had to take a break from my skincare routine due to chemotherapy. During chemotherapy I washed my face with a gentle facial cleanser and used a gentle facial lotion. Since chemotherapy ended on February 22nd, I’ve decided to get back into my old skincare routine. It has evolved from my beauty school days.
Usually, my skincare routine is basic: cleanse, tone, scrub 2x per week, lotion and go. Sometimes sunscreen. And when sunscreen was a must, I’d use a facial lotion with sunscreen already in the ingredients to make life easier. But there is still so much to learn about skincare. And I want to get back into it.
There are new words in the market of skincare. Words like retinol, collagen, clean beauty… There are problem areas and concerns certain products target. It can be overwhelming and expensive. The list goes on.
To ease into a new routine, I have decided to start with the basics. And I’m relieved I can use scrub, again. My go to scrub is Pore-Balance™ Facial Sauna Scrub. It’s been a staple of mine. I’m also implementing serums. For example the L’Occitane Perfect Reset Duo.
Dogs are beautiful. I love dogs and if I could, I would even have a farm full of them. I’ve had many dogs over the years. Currently, I have two. A Shepherd/Husky mix and a chihuahua. Recently, two people in my life, my friend and my brother mentioned they were looking for a dog. But I could go, on and on about dogs.
Due to my friend and my brother’s status, they are looking for a certain dog in mind. Through connections that I know, I gave them a few selections to choose from: cavaliers, frenchies, and standard poodles. But my friend has hopes for a pomskie and my brother has plans for a medium dog who he doesn’t have to walk every day. My brother mentioned a few breeds to me, as well. I hope I can assist in any way I can. After all, I love dogs.
In addition, I, as well am looking for a dog. I don’t know how much time my Shepherd/Husky has left. She has arthritis due to an accident she incurred before we met. I’m leaning towards a standard poodle but my boyfriend is leaning towards a labrador and we both suggested a bull terrier. But honestly, we won’t start really looking until after she passes.
I’m a firm believer you must always keep polishing what you are passionate about. Keep educating yourself around your passion. Overcome burnout surrounding your dreams by continuously educating yourself. You’ll never be bored.
I came across a great article that was right up my alley by Grammarly. An app I’ve been using to help me become a better writer. The article gives exercises on self-reflection. Giving me the opportunity to reflect on growth in the past year. Also, giving me my next blog topic.
Of course the cyber deals came and went. Oops, I wasn’t prepared and what I had my eye on slipped out of my hands when the product I wanted sold out online. I guess I have good tastes when it comes to glasses. I wanted the Chelsea DeBoer ones from Diff eyewear. My eye doc says I can bring any frames I choose by and he can put prescription lenses in, on site. I signed up for the restock alert.
Getting into Christmas spirit, it’s time to move on and purchase Christmas gifts and a belated house warming gift for loved ones. It’s that time of year. I’ve noticed Williams Sonoma seems to be my go to store, full of gourmet foods: gluten free bread mixes, olive oil, wine pairing chocolate… I can’t forget Papyrus greeting cards from Target. Ooh, the possibilities (homemade cookies, my famous reindeer beer/pop)… Maybe you are feeling the same way.
Why not, wake up on Thanksgiving morning and make a HUGE pot of soup! Actually, I think it was a crazy idea, since I’m the only one eating it. Luckily, my mom says she’ll take some when she sees me next (When she drops of a traditional Thanksgiving plate of food for me in the next couple of days).
It’s hard making these recipes from “mom” blogs, when it’s just the two of us at home (My partner and I). Also, I plan on never making one of The Pioneer Women’s recipes ever again. I could have fed my entire block. There has got to be a recipe book out there dedicated to feeding only two people. But really, it’s not the end of the world. I enjoy cooking.
