Perfect Sweet Tea.

Well, I am officially a high school graduate. I graduated on the sunny day of May 18th. May was a month of joy and tears. I truly enjoyed my time in high school. However, I am ready to move on. I know that what comes ahead will require hard work and focus, but that doesn't deter me. My family and friends believe that I can succeed, and with hard work, focus, and their support, I know I can. 

April and May were both so busy. As soon as I was done with this huge event that I was coordinating with a friend was over with (which was a huge success), my friend and I had to plan our graduation party. We had about 3 weeks to plan and coordinate our graduation party. It was really tough to get invitations printed, addressed and sent out in time, but we managed. We made all our decorations, which were so cute (I'll have to find some pictures). As soon as that was over, I had all this graduation things to attend to, and, of course, FINALS. That part of the May was relatively stressful, but it's over and I have graduated.

Now it's summer. I can sit back and enjoy the breeze and let my skin soak up some sun-- that is if I put on sunscreen SPF 100. While soaking up the sun and enjoying the breeze, I will take a nice cooling sip of iced sweet tea. Just thinking of iced tea is refreshing. 
Ever take a drink of a tea, and it just isn't all that smooth? Well, I have found the secret ingredient to solve this very serious problem-- baking soda. A pinch of baking soda will give this sweet tea an extra smooth finish, making everyone come back for more. Baking soda really makes all the difference.

Sweet Tea 
adapted from No. 2 Pencil 

Ingredients:

3 family-sized teas bags or 10 regular sized tea bags
4 cups boiling water
12 cups cool water (such as tap water or filtered)
1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar (I add 1 1/4 cups)
1/4 tsp. baking soda

Directions:

1. Sprinkle baking soda into bottom of pitcher. Add tea bags to pitcher. 
2. Pour boiling water into pitcher. If there is a lid for the pitcher place it on the pitcher. Allow to steep for 10-12 minutes (I do 11 minutes). 
3. After steeping, add sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved completely. 
4. Pour in remaining 12 cups of water and stir one last time. 
5. Serve in cups with ice. Enjoy. 

*Tips: Store tea in refrigerator. After a few days sometimes the tea becomes dark and has a harsh after taste. I have found that to refresh the tea, I just add a couple cups of water.

Please enjoy this recipe! It really does make really amazing tea. My sister hates sweet unless I make it. This secret really does make all the difference. But it's called a secret ingredient for a reason, so SSSHHHH! It's a secret. Anyway sit back and take a sip of the perfect sweet tea. Happy summer. 

Peace, love, bake on.

                                          Andrea 

Life is like a cupcake.

           I love cupcakes, and really that is an understatement. What I really love about cupcakes is the frosting. And really that's what makes a cupcake a cupcake. Without the scrumptious frosting, it'd be like a muffin or what ever a piece of cake is without frosting. But you, of course, can't have a cupcake without the cake. It wouldn't be a cupcake unless it had cake under the layer of yummy frosting. 

          The cake and frosting go hand in hand. The cake and frosting work together. To truly enjoy a cupcake, there must be a balance. There shouldn't be to much cake or to much frosting in each bite. 

          Then there are those people that like more frosting and less cake, or those who like more cake and less frosting. How do you find your balance? You must test the waters. Or in this case, test and eat some cupcakes. It's really a piece of cake. 

          Cupcakes are like life. One must have a balance. You don't what to much of the frosting or to much of the cake. Each person has his or her own balance; each person is different. Some people are more cupcake compatible with each other than they are with others. 

          The cake is the part of life that is stable, rational,  & logical. It is necessary to life, so that a person may survive a day longer. The frosting is the of part of life that is irrational, fun, and it gives life it's spice. It allows you, through reason, to live and have fun. 

         A cupcake isn't as good when there is to much of one part and not enough of the other. This should be kept in mind when living one's life. A person's life could become toxic or become unbalanced with to much of one element. Life wouldn't be as good if there wasn't a balance, and we all what to enjoy life just like we all strive to enjoy the perfect cupcake. 

           Make sense? It at least makes sense in my head. I wish life could always be explained through food, it'd be much easier. Plus everyone on the planet has that one thing in common: food. That's another post all together. 

           Thanks for reading my ramblings on life and cupcakes, and how they are intertwined. Remember: Life is like a cupcake. 

                                                   Peace, love, bake on.

                                                                                

                                                                                 Andrea 

Prom: Dress shopping on a budget.

Prom season is around yet again. Prom is the time when every girl is looking for the perfect dress at the hopefully perfect price. Prom is the time when I am shopping for hard bargains; I'm scouring the internet for a beautiful dress with a price tag to match. Last year, I found several good (trustworthy) sites that you can purchase nice dresses for prom and other formal occasions. You can find my post about them here. This year I did some more researching. The site that I found this year was really hidden. It is truly a hidden treasure. The website is called UWDress.com. It's really a great site. 

There were so many beautiful dresses for affordable deals. I purchased my prom dress from UWDress,com. It's beautiful, and my signature style; I think. Every time I showed a picture of my dress that I ordered to my friends, they were all like "that dress is so you" and "that dress is so pretty" or "you should get that in emerald green." Several of my friends were very adamant that I should get an emerald green dress. Guess why? My RED hair, of course. Red heads look amazing in green; the funny thing is I never wear green. I wear a lot of blue or peach colors. I don't know why, but I do. Maybe I should wear green more often. 

Anyway, ya'll should definitely check out UWDress.com. You won't regret it, and even if you don't find or buy your prom dress from them, you can now recommend them to others or for yourself for future reference. 

This is my dress. It's simple, which is what I like. It isn't over the top extravagant, but it's classy. It also comes in other colors.

This dress is pretty and it can be found in many other colors. It can be found here. 

This dress was my second or third choice. I like how it has some sparkle, but not to much. It is strapless, which I am not a huge fan of, but it is sill a most gorgeous dress. This dress can also be found in other colors.

This dress is really nice also. It is all silver sparkles. But this dress is really nice. If you want something classy and modest, this dress is right up your alley.

What can I say, a girl loves her sparkles . I think it reminds us of diamonds, which are sparkly too.


UWDress.com has so many dresses that come in different shapes, sizes, colors, and styles. These examples were just a few of the many, many dresses that they have. Anyway, good prom shopping!

                                                       Andrea, The Fiery Redhead.