A Sweet Ending

    Hi everyone, for today I have a tasty cookie recipe to share for the holidays. Not sure what to bring to the New Year's party? These red velvet cookies will be a great addition to the holiday spread.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons of red food coloring (I added 4 to make them darker)
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (imitation vanilla extract works as well)
• 1 pkg (12oz) white chocolate chips (I used 6oz of white and milk chocolate)
• wax paper
• food safe container (I found this cute from Wal-Mart)

*Makes about 4 dozen depending on the size you make the cookies*

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (if your oven cooks fast, lower it to 225)

2. Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

3. Beat butter and sugars in a mixer -or a large bowl with a hand mixer- on medium speed until fluffy and light.

4. Next add your eggs, food coloring, and vanilla extract. Mix well.

5. Gradually add the flour mixture.

6. Then add the chocolate chips.

7. Cover your cookie dough with saran wrap and leave it in the freezer for around 20 mins. This will make it easier to shape the cookies.

8. Next, scoop out your cookie dough  (an ice cream scooper works well) and form balls in the palm of your hand. Spray the wax paper with cooking spray and place the cookies two inches apart.

 9. Place the cookies in the oven for 15-20 mins until they are firm around the edges but soft in the center. Then let them cool for 3 mins.

10. While your cookies cool, place wax paper inside the container.

11. Once the cookies have been well rested, stack them in the container.

                                                                           Voilà!

Details

Cardigan: Charlotte Russe

Cami: Marshall's

Jeans: Old Navy

Combat Boots: Nordstrom Rack

Devotional Corner

"Take Flight" Deuteronomy 32:11-12 NLT

11.Like an eagle that rouses her chicks and hovers over her young, so he spread his wings to take them up and carried them safely on his pinions. 12.The Lord guided them;they followed no foreign gods.

     This past Sunday, my pastor spoke from this subject. It's time for us to reach new levels just as an eagle. After a certain time, an eagle forces its children out of the nest, whether they are ready or not. The mother pushes them from the very edge of the nest and lets them go. Just as an eagle, God is trying to push us to the next level. It may be uncomfortable and you may feel that you're not ready, but God knows what's best. All we need to do is trust in Him and praise Him in our transition. Reflect on 2014 and think about the changes/goals you want to set (and carry out) for 2015. Have courage and take flight, because God will be right there to guide you out the nest.

Energetic

Altitude

Graceful

Liberating

Elevation

Stay Chic and Have a Happy New Year!

-Xoxo Deleon

Back In Action

        Hello everyone, I'm back and with straight hair. Finals week was been quite hectic and I didn't want to deal with my curls. Winter break is finally here, so you can expect more posts. I'm happy to relax and dedicate more time to my blog. Now that it's getting colder, what's winter without fur(faux)? It took a while for me to find a reasonably priced fur vest, but I eventually came across this grayish/brownish one. To showcase the fur, I went with jeans, a plain shirt, and simple accessories.

Details

Faux Fur Vest: Forever 21

Top: Aerpostale

Jeans: Old Navy

Booties: DSW

Purse: H&M

Necklace: Gifted

Devotional Corner

"Evidence" Acts 17:11 NLT

 "And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul's message. They searched the scriptures day after day to check up on Paul and Silas, to see if they were really teaching the truth."

Church is a great environment to worship with other believers and reverence The Lord. However, our relationship with God is a daily interaction. It's important to build a connection with God so that we won't be easily lead by false assumptions. The bible is at our finger tips, whether it be hard copy or an app. This tool helps us understand God's commandments for our lives and His purpose. Don't just take man's word for it, use your bible and find out for yourself. Studying the word not only helps ourselves, but we'll able to help others and lead them in the right direction.

Stay Chic!

-Xoxo Deleon

Finally Fall

Hi everyone. It's slowly but surely getting cooler down south and I'm can't wait to pull out my leather jacket. Until then, I put together a transitional outfit.

Details

Jacket: Dillard's

Maxi Dress: H&M

Shoes: Dillard's

Earrings: Local shop

Devotional Corner

"Humble Pie" 1 Thessalonians 5:11 NLT

"So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing."

No matter how big and successful we get, we can't let it make us prideful. With wisdom comes humility and appreciation. God won't continue to bless us if we don't recognize and give thanks to Him. Remember that our success isn't based off of our own-doing and intellect, but its from God's grace. We must give honor to whom it's do. When success comes, we mustn't forget about the ones that aren't as fortunate. Encourage others, share your advice/testimony, and give any help that you can.

Stay Chic!

-Xoxo Deleon

The Early Bird

                           "Fashion is a trend style is within a person"- The Late Oscar de la Renta

            I know its been way too long since I've chatted with you last. There's only one explanation, school. I'm planning to post on Friday's to get a consistent schedule going.For today's post it's all about Nordstrom. A few weeks ago Nordstrom finally opened in my city, so I had to be there for the grand opening. I'm usually not a morning person at all (the reason why I scheduled late classes), but I couldn't pass up the big event. To my surprise, I woke up at six in the morning to make it to the mall right at eight. Before the doors opened  at ten, there was a big white tent set up in the parking lot with food, music,gift bags (got to love the freebies),a photo booth and beauty consultants to cater to our needs. The crowd was massive but I had the opportunity to try out some products and get dolled up. By the time ten o'clock came around everyone was crowed by the door while security tried to contain them. The countdown began "3-2-1", and everyone rushed in greeted by news station cameras and cheering staff. My first impressions were "wow this is lux". The size was smaller than  I expected but the quality and design was beautiful. If you're not familiar with Nordstrom its a very on-trend , lavish department store. As a result, my spending was limited to two makeup items. I purchased the Anastasia of Beverly Hills dip brow and a fall inspired matte lipstick by MAC. My overall experience was awesome and I wouldn't mind interning there some day. There are plenty of photos to scroll through to make up for my absence, so enjoy! 

After all it is Nordstrom so a plaid hounds-tooth shirt was a step above a t-shirt.I didn't want to be too dressy, so I went with a simple chic look.

Top:Old Navy

Jeans:Old Navy

Flats: Burlington Coat Factory

Necklace: H&M

Sunglasses: freebie from school

Shoulder bag: Ross

So far I like this pomade because it has a good consistency that keeps my eyebrows in place. This product is super pigmented so a little bit really goes a long way. I feel like it was worth the price since it will last me a long time and I don't use it everyday.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow- $18
http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/anastasia-beverly

My very first MAC lipstick and I love it. Its a very dark plum color perfect for fall with a matte finish (and it smells so good). I did some shopping around and tried different lipsticks, but I feel that matte lipsticks look better on me and this one made a bold statement.

MAC "Living Legend" Matte- $16
http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/mac-the-matte-lip

Devotional Corner

"Champion" 1 Samuel 17:49 NIV

"Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone,he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead.The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground."

Let's talk about failure. Its not a good feeling when you reflect about it, but failure doesn't make you a loser. We can't change the past,so there's no point  in dwelling in it.The key is to have a winning spirit. Learn from your mistakes and make a new strategy. No matter how big the problem take it on with courage just like David. Fight back your Goliath with confidence and faith. I've recently learned this lesson myself. As a business major I have to take financial accounting. Its was a real struggle in the beginning and I was a little discouraged. Building up my faith, praying, and getting extra help has boosted my grade. We already have the victory,we just need to walk in it.

Stay Chic!

-Xoxo Deleon

The Last Pair

     

              Hi everyone. I know its been a while since I've posted something new, but school has been occupying my time. It's funny how I was so excited to start school and now I'm ready to finish. Even though school is my main priority,I'm trying to balance it with free time as well.This past weekend I used some of my free time to go "browse" in the mall and get some dinner. I wasn't planning on getting anything honestly, but my mom wanted to look in Dillard's for a few things. Keep in mind the mall closes at 9 pm but we didn't get to Dillard's until about 8:30. This didn't stop us because you'd be surprised at what you can find under pressure (my dad was ready to go). The store was having a forty percent off sale from the lowest ticketed price, so we couldn't miss out. We made our way to the shoe department (after a few stops) and I wasn't expecting to find anything. However, I spotted a gorgeous pair of BCBG heels on the sale rack and even though they were a size 6, I was going to"make it work".Further down the row tucked in the back was a size 5 1/2. Now I definitely had to get them because they were the only pair left.When there's a sale like this you can't leave anything behind. Not only were these good quality shoes, but they were marked down significantly. The original price was $139 (no thanks), marked down to about $48 plus forty percent off. So, I only paid about $30 for these amazing heels.The dark olive is a great color to transition into the fall. Keep scrolling and check out the whole outfit.

Dress: Old Navy

Shoulder purse: H&M

Bracelets: H&M

Shoes: BCBGeneration (Dillard's)

Devotional Corner

"Speak Miracles" Romans 10:8-10

8 "But what does it say?'The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9 If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved."

Do you have dreams and goals? Everyone does and everyone wants them to become a reality. The key to making realities is to speak them into existence.With God,we must have confidence and most importantly, faith in order to make these dreams happen. He never said the process would be a breeze , but it's worth while to persevere. All God wants is for us too be obedient to Him and trust the path that He has for our lives.We have to filter out the ones that aren't supportive of our goals and don't want to see us succeed. These people shouldn't be apart of the support system because they will only hold us back from the plans God has for us. Remember we can do all things with Him and we must speak/think positively.

Stay Chic!

-Xoxo Deleon