My Three Favorite Things Today

I went by Sephora today and grabbed a new liquid liner, which I am currently testing and will review tomorrow, but in the meantime, here are my two favorite things from today.


See by Chloe Embellished Velvet Sandals, $315 at net-a-porter.com, Philosophy Vanilla Birthday Cake Shower Gel, $16 at sephora.com: I love velvet.  I love glitter.  I love platform heels.  These shoes are the trifecta of happy for me.  They're cute and slightly retro, with the ankle strap, they're a little opulent with the velvet and a little glam with the crystal, and the price is decent.  Me want.  Since it's my birthday month, I got this free little gift at Sephora.  It's Vanilla Birthday Cake scented shower gel from Philosophy, and I got a six ounce one for free (the picture is 16 oz).  It smells like cake.  Like it actually smells like the birthday cake I got when I was little.  It's making me very happy.  It's also making me crave cake.  Really badly.  Kind of a problem.  It's actually a combo shower gel-shampoo-bubble bath, but since I have color treated hair I'm not using it as shampoo, and I don't really take baths, so it's a shower gel.  As for as being a shower gel, I really like it.  It lathers up really nicely, it moisturizes pretty well, and it leaves just enough of a yummy cake smell behind to make me happy.  All in all, I would buy a Philosophy shower gel if I liked it enough.  Maybe not this scent, since it's kind of sweet and not that exciting, but another scent definitely.

This is a little on the random side, but I made cookies the other day and I'm eating one now, and they're just so good that I had to share the recipe with y'all.  I know you're rolling your eyes at me, but SERIOUSLY.  MAKE THE COOKIES.

Recipe for the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER:
-cream 1 stick softened butter with 2/3 cup packed brown sugar and 1/2 granulated sugar until light and fluffy
-stir in 1 egg and 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
-in another bowl sift together 1-1/3 cups flour (I like whole wheat or unbleached), 1/2 tsp. baking soda, and 1 tsp. sea salt
-stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined
-stir in 1-1/3 dark/semi-sweet chocolate chips (and optional, 1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped)
-chill (in the freezer is fastest) for at least 1 hour.  This prevents spreading and keeps the cookies fluffy.
-bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes, or until slightly golden brown (take them out right before you think they're done, since they'll still keep cooking for a minute or two).


No joke, these cookies are magical.  They will turn out perfectly every time, and they will make you new friends and make people fall in love with you.  You thin