Wednesday, December 31, 2014

My Financial (major) Duty


While I was in undergrad, my major was Accounting. I chose this as my major, because in high school, I took an Intro. to Accounting class, and found it to be my passion. As I reflected on my life today, I even noticed that I write more of numbers then letters, (after analyzing my handwriting).

In the past, I had participating in the Stock Market, and purchased a couple of stocks with a friend, and was able to make a nice profit. After some odd circumstances, we had to sell our shares at a loss, resulting in a little more then a $1,000 loss. Some may think that a $1,000 is not a lot of money, but to me, losing any amount of money grater then $50 is a heartache for me.

This past month of December, I decided to purchase some more shares, this time on my own. The first, metal company; the second in an energy company. Currently I am in the red, so much for diversification. (side note: I don't like the theory of diversification, I feel it just decreases the amount of loss, but you still lose.)

To summarize things up, it took me a while to make such an independent move towards adulthood. I am very proud of myself for taking on this experience by myself. Although it happen at the very last moment of 2014, I feel that purchasing stocks on my own, is one of the top five most proudest moments of 2014. I also felt that since I went to school for accounting and finance, I should put my education to practice.

Hopefully I will keep you guys updated about my portfolio and maybe bring some financial advice/enlightenment for you.

Monday, December 29, 2014

New Christmas Mixer

This Christmas, I received my first KitchenAid Mixer, and I was super excited to use this bad boy. I have always been eyeing for one, but could never justify the purchase. I love baking, but often find myself ruining a simple batch of cookies. Whenever I am board, I will look up different types of recipes on Pinterest.
( http://www.pinterest.com/gwennguyen/yum/ ) Since receiving this new mixer, I have tired this new Brookies, half brownie and half chocolate chip cookie, recipe. I only made the brownie cookie batter, because I couldn't deal with messing up another chocolate chip cookie recipe, it would be too soon.

Link for the recipe: http://www.melskitchencafe.com/brookies/

I had to prop my mixer on a chair because 
I ran out of room in the kitchen. 

Some things that I changed from the recipe:
  • I only used one egg
  • Didn't use 1/2 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder, instead used hot chocolate mix and some Hershey chocolate syrup
  • Only used half a teaspoon of baking soda
The sugar and butter

The final product

I used a small ice cream scoop to make small dough balls and I kept the dough in the refrigerator in between batches. The cookies flattened out into a beautiful (perfect) circle! Some things I would change, maybe less sugar, because all of the sugar did not dissolve away. Possibly more flour to make it a little thicker and chewier? Also the hot chocolate mix was a great substitute if you don't have any cocoa powered on hand. 

2nd recipe
Waffle Doughnuts (http://deliciouslyyum.com/real-deal-waffle-donuts/)
Great Christmas morning treat, you can also make a waffle buffet with different fixings like chocolate, fruit, or sprinkles.

Some things I changed: 

  • substituted about 2 teaspoons of white sugar for brown sugar
  • check the consistency of the batter, I had to add an extra spoonful of flour
Other than that, the waffles where wonderful and no need for extra syrup. 

Sorry I didn't have any pictures, it was a last minute addition to the post. 

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Rounding out 2014

If you saw my pervious post #2014, and you are waiting for the follow up video, here it is.

This is my quick year in review.



I hope everyone had a wonderful and merry Christmas & a fabulous New Year!

Friday, December 19, 2014

Top Finds: Dec. 19, 2014


  • Youtube: Buzzfeed



Never would of though, that my name would be mentioned.




  • Baker


  • Minidrones



  • Rambler


  • R2-D who?








Thursday, December 18, 2014

App Review: Viggle & M-GO


I have been using the Viggle app for a couple of years now. The purpose of the app, is to reward you for watching tv, and you collect points based of the amount of time that you watch a certain program. The app offers a wide range of rewards, from sweepstakes to deals to gift cards. When I started using the app, I really liked the variety of gift card choices they offered. I would redeem my points for Starbucks, Groupon, and Sephora gift cards. But as time passed, the gift card choices where poor and scarce.  

I then noticed that Viggle started offering movies, tv shows and music as rewards. So this past weekend, I was wanting to watch a new movie, and decided to trade in my points for The Maze Runner. When you use your points, the media content is connected with the M-GO app. Over all I was quite pleased with my experience of the transition. 

I was going to stream the movie from my computer, a Mac. I didn't want to download another program to my computer so I decided to download the app to my Android. It was pretty easy and the buffering was pretty spot on. Now you may be thinking, how painful it is to watch a move on your cell phone. I was able to stream the app with my Google Chromecast device and it was so seamless. 
Image result for chromecast image

I had purchased my Chromecast around the Thanksgiving holiday on a whim. I had seen it on the side of a shelf all lonely and misplaced. It was on sale for $25 dollars and I decided to try it out. I can say, this is one of the top purchase of 2014, hands down. This device allows you to stream almost anything to your tv. 

In conclusion, all items mentioned above are absolutely amazing. I am still so shocked and surprised how easy it is to purchase a movie and have it available within seconds to view. I do wish that the movie could have been linked with other services, such as Amazon or VUDU. That way I can keep up with less programs, user names and passwords. I was born in 1988, and I remember the struggles of life before the Internet and high tech technology. Every day the world of technology just amazes me and I can only wonder with life for my children will be like.


*disclaimer, this post is not sponsored.
The product mentioned and reviewed above was bought and paid for by me, Gwen (the author of this blog). I am not affiliated with any companies or brands–therefore the opinions expressed in this blog are solely my own.


Friday, December 12, 2014

Top Finds: Dec. 12, 2014

I hope everyone is having an awesome day. Here are some cute little things I found throughout the week. 

  • Cuteness factor

The first dream I remember from childhood was of a fawn and her mother in a misty forest. This just brought back that memory clear as when I was four years old. Beautiful. -- CB
How Cute is this baby deer?


  • Yummy

Softbatch Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies - Move over butter, cream cheese makes these cookies thick and super soft!
Chocolate Chip Cookie (click pic for link)

  • Music



Taylor Swift 1989 Mashup


  • Companion

Thisisground - leather customize pouch


  • Cooking


Lid Lifters
Lid Lifters - Keeps your pots from boiling over

Friday, December 5, 2014

#2014


As 2014 comes to an end, what better way to summarize it then with some music mash-ups!

This little gem, created by DJ Earworm, has been featured on Buzzfeed. DJ Earworm, also know as Jordan Roseman, currently resides as a San Francisco DJ. He crates annual "United States of Pop" mash-up, which features the top 25 Billboard hits. This year, after listening to this amazing creation, it has inspired me...stay tune to see what I will post in the upcoming weeks.



Monday, December 1, 2014

Travel

Check out the travel tab for updates on my latest adventures.--> TRAVEL