Bodi

He came into my life on November 7th 2002. It was a Thursday, a very windy one too if I remember correctly. I woke up to the sound of the door of our mustang slamming shut and the gentle cooing voice of my mom. I got out of bed and in the window there he was. A little brown ball of fur in my mom's arms. I couldn't believe it, she actually did it. She got a dog. I raced downstairs to greet this creature at the door. My mom talking in hushed tones immediately led me to believe that this wasn't a family decision, this was a mom decision, and we were about to greet my dad in the living room. She plopped him down on my dad's chest, "here you go!" My dad trying his very best to be mad but this little puppy wasn't going to have that. It took one look at his face and we knew, we were his and he was ours.

We named him Bodhisattva. In Buddism, this is a person who waits to enter paradise in order to help others reach it first. Just to be clear, we're Christians but this felt perfect for us and for Bodi. He gave our life a special meaning. He taught us lessons we wouldn't have learned without him. He was the 5th piece to our puzzle. 

The next 12 years were the best of my life. Who knew that a dog could do that to you? I'm sure those of you who have owned or currently own any animals will share that same feeling. It truly changes your life. All in a flash, from the moment he climbed into my arms, I knew I would do anything for this creature. He was the love of my life. I was 10 years old and it was then that I finally knew what true love  meant. 

Bodi had a special relationship with all 4 of us. There were certain things he'd only do with me and not my parents or brother. The same went for the 3 of them as well. I've never seen that in any other dog I've come across. It's like he knew us, really knew who we were and connected with us. It was magical. 

On April 6th we said goodbye. 10 days prior Bodi had a lot of trouble walking, wouldn't eat. It happened overnight. Long story short, we think he may have had a brain tumor causing nerve damage.

I don't wish this feeling for my worst enemy. This is the worst pain I've ever been through. I feel like there is a hole in my heart. You don't realize how quiet the house gets either. It's gotten a little bit better each day but I'm having trouble getting Monday out of my head. We had an emergency vet come to the house. She was there for a total of 25min. Just like that. But we were with him in the comfort of home, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. He felt no pain, he was safe in our arms. 

It's been a little over a week but it feels like longer. We picked up his ashes on Monday, another surreal and weird experience that I don't wish for anyone to go through. This whole process has drained me and my family too. You just feel like you're floating through each day. Like you're not really present or have a purpose in each task of the day. I have to remind myself to eat, to shower. 

But everyday I get these little visual cues from Bodi letting me know that he'll always be with us. I'm finding some comfort in that. I'm sure that 3 years from now I'll still find his hair in my clothes and I'll say a little hello to him. And I know that he'll let us know if another puppy is right for us. Maybe tomorrow or next year. We'll know when the time is right for us. And I know this isn't a final goodbye. I'll see my little man again in heaven where he's 2 again, running around. Smell his forehead, my favorite spot. I love you, sweetheart. I wish we had 12 more years.

DIY "Burning Face" Mask.

As someone who has suffered from severe acne for most of her life, I know a thing or two about what works and what doesn't. In fact, my very first pimple came on my 5th grade graduation ceremony day right on the center of my chin. It was big and red and I should've known then that I was screwed.  

I've tried just about every topical you can think of, both drugstore and high end. The "all in one" face washes, the 3 step routines, spot treatments, prayer. Haha Plus, my skin doesn't fall into one catergory. I have sensitive skin, acne prone skin, oily in some areas, dry in other areas, and the seasonal changes in weather heavily affect my skin too. Again, I'm screwed. Because of this, there's no one product line that "works" for me. I have to switch up the products I use every few weeks to keep my skin guessing. Also, if I use exfoliants too much, I get a ton of excess oil coming through my skin. Same thing with "ultra moisterizing" stuff. Dry and patchy. Oh, and most of these things are too harsh for my "sensitive" skin. I can't win. 

More like I couldn't win. Through trial and error (and a dermatologist) I've learned that my skin needs natural ingredients sometimes. A break from chemicals. It worked for Cleopatra, it can work for me! So today I'm gonna share one of my go-to masks for when I have acne flare-ups or the texture of my skin starts to become uneven. 

4 ingredients in this mask that are all probably in your kitchen already:

-3 tbsp honey

-1 tbsp lemon juice 

-1 tsp cinnamon 

-1/2 tsp nutmeg

A quick overview of why these ingredients are fantastic for your skin. The honey, cinnamon, and nutmeg all have anti-inflammatory properties in them. A.K.A. It helps with swelling of the skin/tightening of your pores. They also have anti-bacterial properties in them as well which helps a great deal with the formation of acne/clogged pores. No more bumps! Now, the lemon juice is a natural bleaching agent. Very mild, don't worry. But this helps with redness and acne scarring. It helps so much to even out the overall tone in your skin. This mask is a miracle worker for you. 

Note: Of course, if you have allergies to any of these ingredients, don't use this mask. Haha Pretty simple but I felt like I needed to mention it. 

Now for how to put this stuff on your face! 

1. Mix the ingredients until smooth. 

2. Grab a washcloth and run in under warm water, wring it out and press it on your face for 5min. This opens up your pores to help the mask get right into your skin and work it's magic.

3. Dip your fingers into the mask mix and spread it out evenly onto your face, avoiding your eye area. This is a little messy so do a little at a time. You'll notice the cinnamon and nutmeg feel like little exfoliating beads. Take advantage of that and rub your face in small circles for a few min.

4. Let the mask sit on your skin for up to 20min. You should feel a warm tingling sensation from the cinnamon. That's ok. But if it becomes irritating, immediately take the mask off. But you should be fine. Butch up! Haha

5. After 20min, grab that wet washcloth and start wiping the mask off. I wouldn't advise anyone to just splash water on their face and rinse it off because it can get in your eyes. It's be like getting soap in yours eyes but like 10x worse. No good.

6. Once you've gotten all the mask off, grab a face wash and wash your face like normal. I use Biore Blemish Fighting Ice Cleanser.

7. Probably the most important part is to use a moisterizer afterwards to lock it all in! I use Clinique Dramatically Different Moisterizing Lotion. This is the best lotion I've tried. Ever. Works for every skin type.

I hope this helps anyone dealing with acne, scarring, uneven skin tone, etc. I use this mask 3-4 times per month. And, right now with the seasonal change, my skin needs it!

Here's to clear skin!

R.

Twitter: @maplebaconrae

Instagram: maplebaconrae

Cherry Blossoms in bloom.

Spring is finally here... maybe. Haha You never know with Oregon. The running joke here is that you can have all four seasons in one day. Hot desert in the east, torrential downpour in the valley, blizzards in the mountains. You get the idea. 

For me, when the trees start to come back to life, I let out a big sigh of relief. I hate winter. The temperature, the fact that everything outside is dead or hibernating, it's not ideal for someone like me. I, along with many North Westerners, have a touch of Seasonal Affective Disorder. That's right, I'm S.A.D. How fitting. Haha So each winter is harder for me because the way the clouds affect the lighting (which means a guaranteed headache for the day) and the lack of vitamin D from the sun. 

BUT! Spring is approaching and I can feel my skin soaking up that vitamin D! All is well in my world. Plus, with all the colors blooming outside, it got my creative makeup vibes going. So I sat down and grabbed every pastel I could find and this is what I came up with!

Super soft, pinky/peachy/lavendery eye. Pinks are tricky to pull off due to the fact that it can look like you're a little infected, maybe some conjunctivitis. No judgement here! Haha 

Undertones are key with pinks. You need to pull some oranges through to warm it up a little. But if you're feeling super 90s grunge like myself here, go for it. Haha  I tend to go for a very blended/blown out type smokey eye whenever I do one. On me, if I were to concentrate the color only on my lid and lashline, it would make my eyes appear smaller. No good for me. I like my eyes big and rounded.

I used a bunch of things for this look:

Eyes:

-Urban Decay Eye Potion Primer (Eden)

-Coastal Scents 88 Color Eye Shadow Plallete

-Neutrogena Healthy Volume Mascara (Black)

-Maybelline Master Shape Brow Pencil (Blonde & Soft Brown)

Lips:

-NYX Slim Lip Pencil (Pale Pink)

For my cheeks I used what was leftover on my eyeshadow brush to continue the pink a little. Just a quick sweep on the apples. Speaking of eye shadow brushes, I used one. About 6-7 shadows and one brush. Did I tell you guys that I'm a fan of blending? Haha This is just adding little by little and lots a sweeping back and forth. Very simple. I focused my peachy colors in the crease and on the lid, my pinks on the inner corner and lashline, and purples on the outter edge of the eye and the bridge of my nose. Blend blend blend. 

I know this choice of color isn't for most but, if anything, let this be an inspiration to those of you who are itching to break out of your makeup boxes! And, by the cruel joke that is Oregon, I'm looking out my window right now to a bunch of clouds forming. That means one thing. Rain. Hahaha

Happy Spring! (maybe)

R.

Twitter: @maplebaconrae

Instagram: maplebaconrae 

Caramelized Onion Dip.

If you're familiar with my Instagram (MapleBaconRae) then you know all too well the love I have for food and taking pretty pictures of it. I would even go to the lengths of considering myself a "foodie". With that said, I get recipe requests on a near daily basis from friends and fellow foodies via my Instagram and Facebook. Gotta love social networking! So, reason number 27 of starting this blog, I thought I'd embark on the lovely task of sharing a few of my favorites and most requested recipes!

Today is an old favorite! As the title suggests, I'm going to teach you fine readers how to make my delicious, mouth-watering Caramelized Onion Dip. I've been making this dip for... 3-4 years? Yeah, that sounds about right. This is great for parties, Sunday football or, in my case, when you're family begs you to make it. Haha It's loaded with onions (no duh, Rach), Parmesan and cream cheese, and mayo because... we live in America. But seriously, if you wanna switch out healthy options, plain Greek yogurt is a perfect substitute. Adds a little "tang" too it. But I come from a family of indulgence. Haha 

Let's get started shall we? Here's what you'll need:

4 med/large onions (sweet yellow)

1/2 cup cream cheese

1/2 cup mayo

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

2 tbsp butter

salt and pepper to taste

Optional: 1/4 cup white wine

Now I should say first and foremost that this recipe takes patience. Like, a lot of it. Onions take a while to caramelize and reduce down properly. Another thing I should mention is that I highly recommend using a cast iron skillet. They retain heat very well and will last you forever if you take care of them properly. It's life changing.

Ok! Ready to dice those onions?!?! You can take the easy way out and grab a food processor and pulse them a few times to get a medium sized dice. Or you can do it by hand! You want the pieces to be about as big as your thumb nail. Easy bite sized pieces.

After you're done chopping up your onions, you should check yourself in the mirror to see if you've aged at all. Haha Now grab your pan/skillet and heat it up to a low/med heat on the stove. We're slowly bringing our onions to caramelization. You do it too fast on a super high heat, you get uneven color, burnt pieces, and the onions aren't tender at all. Not good eats!

Toss in your diced onions, butter and salt/pepper. Mix around and let it be! I repeat, let it be. If you've got your heat low enough, you shouldn't have to worry about anything sticking to the bottom of the pan. Right now we're "sweating" our onions. Drawing the moisture out. This is where that patience of yours comes in handy! It's worth while in the end.

You should stir your mixture around every 5-10min or so. Once you start to see a translucence in your mix, turn up the heat a tiny bit. You're going to do this process a few times. Sweat it, stir it, turn up the heat. Remember that the hotter it gets, the more frequent your stirring should become! This is what mine looked like after about 25min:

Just a little bit of color peaking through but not nearly done yet. Haha 

Pro tip: Once you've got some golden colors in your mix, you can add a sprinkling of sugar. It helps the caramelization process. 

After about 40min, turn your heat up to med/high (like a 7/10) and keep a close eye on it. Stir every min or so, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan and pick up those delicious bits. Should kinda sorta look like this:

Now would be the time to preheat your oven to 350°. If you've decided to add the white wine, do so! Splash it in and stir it around, scrapping up every bit from the bottom. 

Pro tip: This is called "de-glazing" your pan.

Wine isn't necessary, but it elevates your cooking skills, adds great flavor, makes you look cool in front of your friends. Haha Once you've got your wine mixed in, turn off your heat and add your onions to your cheese mixture. But Rach! You never told us how to make the cheese mixture! Never fear...

Grab a big mixing bowl and combine your mayo, Parmesan cheese and cream cheese. It helps if your cream cheese is room temperature, makes it easier to mix. You can also add a little more pepper if you like. Mix those ingredients together. You wanna make sure everything is evenly incorporated because if you just add the onions and mayo/cheeses one at a time, mix it around a little and through it in the oven, each bite will be different. It's better to have everything pre-mixed so that when you stir in your onions, each bite has consistency/the same uniform taste. It should look like this:

Yes, that's a 9x13 pan. I probably should've mentioned that. Haha Pour your delicious mixture into your pan and spread it out evenly. Pop it into the oven for 30min or until the top is GBD. Golden, brown and delicious. You'll hear that term quite a lot from me. 

Let it cool for 5-10min and dig in! It's savory and warm and gooey and I should probably check to see if I have any left. My family is a bunch of heathens. Haha

Happy cooking!

R.

Twitter: @MapleBaconRae

Instagram: maplebaconrae

The introduction.

I'm never good at introductions. Always too much or not enough. Either way I leave thinking I could've made a better impression. Let's start with my name! I'm Rachel. This is one of many attempts to start a blog but I think this one will stick. I technically started this particular blog in 2013 and stopped after 5 posts. I just didn't feel like I had anything "good" to say and it's always a bummer when you see the single digit view count on each post. And half of them are you checking the post to make sure you didn't have any typos. But screw it this time! I'm writing for my own damn self. I deleted all my old posts and I'm starting fresh. So, this blog will be about anything and everything in my life. I don't want to label myself to a certain category. I want the freedom of posting a recipe or makeup review or just a rant. And not on a "I'll post every Monday" schedule either. I'll post when I feel like it in a semi-regular fashion. Haha

A quick "about me" to start with: I'm 23 and from Oregon. I'm currently a stay-at-home daughter. No, I don't just sit on the couch everyday freeloading off my parents. I had some private family dilemmas happen over this past year or so and it's worked out for my parents and I that I stay at home with them to help them out with various things. I'm extremely lucky in that regard. I constantly thank my parents for being so understanding and cool about me not having a 9-5. That's a huge reason I created this blog actually. Because I'm home... a lot. Haha And I'm not locked down to a 9-5 job so it frees up my time. This is basically a creative outlet for me.  

So that's it! Intro done. To anyone reading this and wants to continue with me on this little blogging journey, hello and thank you for reading! Let's make this fun!

R.

Do you tweet? I tweet!

www.twitter.com/MapleBaconRae 

Do you post hipster-y pictures of your dog? Me too!

Instagram: MapleBaconRae