Chocolate Fudge Brownies

Hello! It's December 30th here right now. Only 1 hour away from the last day in 2011. I'm not saying that is has been a tough year (even though it kinda is) but I'm just hoping 2012 is going to be better. Waaay better.

Anyway, last sunday, when some of you were celebrating christmas, me and my family celebrated my nephew's fifth birthday. It wasn't a big celebration, just a simple dinner with our close family at one of our favorite middle east cuisine restaurants. And since it was a birthday, it wouldn't be complete without any cakes. So my sister asked me to make a chocolate fudge brownies I've made a couple of times before. I found the recipe a couple months ago and since the first time I made it, many people had come to me and say 'please make that cake again!'. So then i made it.

It might not look pretty. After all I'm no pâtissier so pardon me if my food presentation is not good. But hey, at least it tastes super delicious. I just can't stop eating it. Here I'm gonna give you a warning. Don't you ever make it when you're on a diet. It would just ruin everything because a small slice of this brownies wouldn't be enough.

Dark Chocolate Fudge Brownies
(Adapted from The Flourishing Foodie)

Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, unsalted
2 1/4 cups white granulated sugar*
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups Dutch cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups white unbleached flour
2 cups 60% bittersweet chocolate chips**


* You can just make it on your own with caster sugar and a high speed blender, and maybe the other blenders would work just fine too.


** One for the dough and one for the topping. I used 100 grams of sweet choco chips for the dough (1 cup is about 175 grams) since I couldn't fine the 60% bittersweet one here anywhere, and it worked just fine.

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

2. Line a 9x13" baking pan with tin foil. Fold the tin foil over the edges of the pan, so it will be easier to remove the brownies. *

3. In a saucepan on low-medium heat, melt the butter and sugar until the sugar has melted and the mixture has become translucent. Continue to stir ensuring the sugar does not burn to the bottom of the pan.

4. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and vanilla with a hand mixer. Don't worry if the mixture becomes hard and pasty, this is normal. Add in the butter/sugar mixture and continue to beat for 2 -3 minutes until there are no lumps of cocoa powder and the mixture resembles a soupy liquid.

5. Add the flour and stir the mixture with a spatula until the flour has combined and there are no more white lumps. Add 1 cup of chocolate chips and stir.

6. Pour the batter into the baking pan and place in the oven on the middle rack. Bake for 30 minutes. If you prefer your brownies more dense and less gooey, bake for 35 - 40 minutes.

7. Remove the brownies from the oven and pour the remaining 1 cup of chocolate chips on top of the brownies. Let the chips melt and then spread them around with a knife. Let the brownies cool for 30 minutes and then serve warm with a glass of soy or regular milk.

Hound Fall Winter 2011

I just found out about this indie fashion label from Chicago called Hound. Call me late but now I'm totally in love with its Fall Winter 2011 collection. Here are some of the collection.

They look so simple yet magical and dreamy. Not to mention that I have a huge girl crush on that model. Too bad I can't find out who she is. I have to say that I adore the colors so much, especially the coral color of that stella dress (second picture). I just want it so bad that since I saw it earlier I've been daydreaming about wearing it to a few events. I might as well dream about it later tonight in my sleep. But why does it have to be so far away? And honestly even though it's here, I still don't have that much money to spend on a dress.

Anyway, this collection is lovely right? Are there any collection that you really like lately? Feel free to share!

Sleepless Nights

It's kinda hard to believe. Finally, after struggling for a couple weeks in this mean place people usually call school, here I am. You might think after being away so long now I'm gonna have a lot of stories to share with you. And yeah I do have a looot of stories and thoughts, but if pointless things about how tired I am of school things don't count, then I have nothing. Well almost nothing (since it's pretty obvious I'm gonna share something with you guys right now).

I just had my two-weeks-final-exams. I don't know how long it usually takes in your place, but in my hometown, two weeks is quite a long time. It has some benefits actually. While some other students in other schools take two until three tests per day, we only take two maximum so it basically gives us more time to study and focus. But still, some of us had sleepless nights. Or at least not sleeping until 2 in the morning and already has to get up at 4.30. This kind of days are the ones that make me feel thankful of all the songs in one of my playlists. And yep, that's the thing that I wanna talk about here. I'm calling it 'Sleepless Nights' playlist.

The songs in this playlist are the ones who've been my best friends during my crazy nights. They're slow enough to keep you relax and focus yet upbeat enough to keep you up at night. There are a lot of them. But here, I'm just gonna write 15 favorites of mine.

1. Bombay Bicycle Club - Always Like This

2. Blueboy - Always There

3. Remy Zero - Fair

4. Band of Horses - The Funeral

5. Phoenix - If I Ever Feel Better

6. The Weakerthans - Left and Leaving

7. Frou Frou - Let Go

8. The Summer Set - Old Mexico

9. Arctic Monkeys - Reckless Serenade

10. Andrew Bird - Sovay

11. Belle & Sebastian - Step Into My Office, Baby

12. Iron & Wine - Such Great Heights

13. The Summer Set - Where Are You Now

14. Tegan and Sara - Where Does The Good Go

15. Bonnie Somerville - Winding Road

Whether you're facing your final exams, finishing your projects, or just anything that makes you have to be awake until late night, listen to these songs. If you don't have this kind of playlist, then these 15 songs can be a good start. If you already have one, then they will be a great addition. It would be great too if you can share with me your favorite songs that's best listened at night or just simply anything - don't even have to be songs- that usually can keep you up at night.

I hope you enjoy this playlist.

Just A Little Something

Have you ever pushed yourself too hard to get something or to somewhere, that you ended up not caring about anything else? You forgot to have fun, did the things that you actually love, just because you thought you have to get to that somewhere. And by the time you got there, you realized it's not somewhere you need to be at nor want to. It was just somewhere you thought you should be at, because everyone else was telling you that. Have you ever gone through that? No? Well then, lucky you!

Happy National Blogger Day!

I know I'm such a bad blogger (if I still may use that word to describe myself - blogger) since I haven't posted anything for quite a long time, but today is National Blogger Day here in Indonesia and I feel the urge to write something here. So now I'm gonna write down some things (I think) only bloggers could ever get. If I'm a good blogger I wouldn't talk about anything but the topic I've chosen right? But since we all know I'm so good at being out to topic....... well, let's just see.

First of all, since I become a blogger, I've been getting some lovely new friends. It might sound cheesy and stuffs but you guys have been here through all these crazy things in my life that I share here. You've been giving me your support through the hard times, some advices when I get cluless, and hope when I feel like giving up. You make me feel strong, like I can conquer anything. Thank you so much.

Next, I've been watching some of you bloggers get better and better at blogging. The ones who used to only post pictures, now can finally express theirself through writing. The ones who used to post pointless things can now write a tremendous essay. The ones who knew nothing about HTML can now make a beautiful web design. And so on.

I might not be improving as much as some of you do, but I believe I've slightly changed. I didn't realize blogging has quite a big effect until I stopped. The longer time I spend without writing anything at all here, the harder it gets for me to start writing. Yes it's true that if we write often, even though we don't have any blogs, our writing skills would be improved. But the big question is, will you finish your writing when you don't even know what to do with it after you write it? Well the answers may vary but for me, it's a no.

After that, blogging has been helping me increase my knowledge. Reading the blogs of people who have the same interest with me does really broaden my horizon. For example, through blogs I now know some awesome songs I would never hear on the radio, recipes I'd been trying to find on my recipe books but I couldn't find, some tear dropping movies that would never be played on the cinemas, and so on.

When you get so many infos from other bloggers, it makes you feel like you have to give them something back. Sharing some infos with other bloggers has always been fun. That's what will make you a better researcher. That way you'll get more informations that you can share and once again, it will broaden your horizon.

And the most important thing is, you can just be yourself. No matter what, there's always someone out there who's just like you and will relate to your writings. You might have to try to fit in at school that you end up not being like yourself, but here you'll be appreciated for who you are.

There they are, some things people can get through blogging. I know there are a lot of other benefits from blogging, maybe you can share me your own thoughts here. Good bye people! Have a nice day!

Learn Something Everyday

I love to learn something new everyday. Not the kind of thing that everyone talks about, but the ones that most people have never heard before. The unique and maybe stupid ones. That's why I got very happy when I first discovered this website called Learn Something Everyday. You can find some of the most weird stuffs there. Here are some of them

 

What do you think? Like it? Come on hop on to Learn Something Everyday nooow!!

P.S : I know this isn't a post you'd expect to have from a blogger who hasn't posted anything for more than two weeks, but I'm very busy right now. I hope I can have a break from all these crazy things and be able to catch up with you guys soon.

20 People I'd Love To Marry

Today is the last day of Ramadhan Month. So I want to say Happy Ied Mubarak 1432 H to all of the moslems in the world!

Anyway, this morning when I opened twitter, some people on my timeline were tweeting about #2opeopleidmarry. And that is obviously one thing I often daydream about, so here is the list of names I'd like to marry if I could (not in particular order)

1. John Gomez

Because he's charming, cute, looks genuine and down to earth, wise, funny, he plays guitar in my favorite band (The Summer Set), and mmm... have I already said he's charming? I love his attitude. He can sometimes act like a kid, but then when you need him to be serious about something, he will. He's really bad at spelling but I always find it funny. The most important thing is, he's so inspirational and he can always make me smile.

2. Nick Jonas

He's also charming, cute, and looks genuine. Not to say that his band is the first pop rock band I've ever loved. Before that, I never liked anything that close to rock music. Then, he acts so mature and I love that. And ooh he wears a purity ring. He gained my respect because of that.

3. Tom Felton

Should I explain? I guess almost every girls in this world love him. No? Okay. He's just so charming with his accent and he plays his character really well in Harry Potter series.

4. Kris Allen

He started out as an underdog in American idol, but then when he started to play instruments in his performances, I fell in love. But too bad he seems to love his wife so much so.. there's no chance for me *sigh*

5. Cameron Mitchell

Once you watch The Glee Project, it's so hard not to fall in love with him. He stays true to himself, that's what matter the most.

6. Damian McGinty

His accent is so cute, his face is so cartoon-ish, he's Cameron's best friend, and he's one of the reasons why I watch The Glee Project.

7. Ashton Kutcher

It's hard not to fall in love with this kind of bad-boy-whose-smile-is-so-too-charming-to-be-true.

8. Andrew Richards

I started to love him the first time I saw him when I won a meet and greet session with his band (HelloGoodbye) last year. Since then, I couldn't stop admiring him. He's super nice, gorgeous, and looks kinda innocent. The only problem is, he loves cats so much that I think he'd rather marry a cat than marry me. Sad.

9. Riley McDonough

When I heard his song, I liked his band. When I watched his band's video, I had a crush on him. But by the time I read his tweets, I fell in love with him. He's a genius!

10. Joe Jonas

It might be not fair to put two brothers in this list but what can I do if the members of this family are just so gorgeous?

11. Logan Henderson

He plays a very cute, funny, and stupid character in Big Time Rush. It's hard not to laugh when you see him.

12. Matt Lanter

If there's no Matt Lanter in 90210, I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna watch it anymore. But since he plays this bad-on-the-outside-yet-so-sweet-on-the-inside role, it's hard to try to stop watching it.

13. Martin Johnson

He is so nice to his fans, he has a good style, and I just love him in general.

14. Rupert Grint

Other than the fact that he is cute, he is also funny. And he made me fall in love with Ron character in Harry Potter.

15. Stephen Gomez

If I can't get John Gomez, maybe I'll turn to his brother, Stephen. He's cute and all like his brother, but something that makes me them really different is, while John loves to smile and share his wise thoughts, Stephen hates life and tends to be sarcastic.

16. Skandar Keynes

Whenever I see him, I feel like I'm seeing this perfect fairy tale prince.

Okay I'm getting clueless right now so these last 4 people might not be the one I really want to marry but I'm gonna keep writing it down

17. Justin Bieber

Because he's rich and I want his money. Also because by dating him, I'm pretty sure I'll be famous. HA!

18. Bruno Mars

Because I want him to sing me love songs and make me feel like the most amazing girl in this world. I want him to catch a grenade for me and say that I'm amazing just the way I am.

19. Steve Jobs

Because I freaking want all of those apple products. But well he's retired...

20. Colonel Harland Sanders

Because I love KFC and I think he's a genius for creating something like that!

P.S : Spend 7 minutes of your day by watching this Q&A Video by John Gomez. This is probably my favorite Q&A video ever.

Tough Times Do Not Last. Tough People Do.

At the end of each day, good or bad, be thankful. If we never had bad days then the good days wouldn't stand out.

- Jonathan Cook

Sometimes my life doesn't go the way I want it to be. Sometimes it goes rough and messy. So bad that I feel like crying in my room alone while listening to sad emo songs. My heart falls into pieces. I breathe but I don't feel alive. But that's life.

In this life I've learned, that having a bad day is normal. That those tough times won't last forever. That even if we make a mistake and things go wrong, life still goes on. Even if we can't make it right this time, we've learned something. And I know with every mistakes I make, I get one step closer to the great person I want to be.

I know we all have heard 'life goes on!' so many times in our life before that sometimes it loses its meaning. But if George Carlin could write those lines after his wife died, why do we spend our whole day crying in our room when we gain 1 kg or we only get B in our final exam? Remember what Jonathan Cook once said, "tough times do not last. Tough people do." So be tough! I hope we can all keep that in mind.

PS : I know it's late but happy Ramadhan Month to all of the moslems in this world! May each moment of this holy month is filled with God's blessings. Amin!

First Week of Senior Year

Robin: Ted, the future is scary. But you can't just run back to the past because it's familiar. Yes, it's tempting...
Barney: But it's a mistake.

- How I Met Your Mother Season 6 Episode 24

Ok so this post is not really about my first week of senior year. It's more about something I have to figure out as soon as possible since I'm already a senior in high school.

I just deleted my old blog. I guess this is one of my ways of saying goodbye to the past. I didn't delete it before because it contains some posts I made back then when I was still in junior high, and some comments on that blog really made me smile, but I think it's time for me to make rooms for the new things. I don't use that blog again. Maybe there's someone who wants to use the url I used.

Sure all I did in the past made me who I really am today. But I don't wanna be trapped in the past anymore. Even though I had fun back then, I have to let it go. Even though I failed a couple times before, I have to move on and keep trying to write my own success story. The future is waiting for me.

The senior year had already started 6 days ago. I have to figure out what do I wanna be when I grow up in less than a 8 months. I have to work hard and pray harder. All I can do now is just trying my best and hope it will all work out later. All this time I've been saying that I want to be an architect, but I might need to say goodbye to that. Yes it's been my dream job for so long. But just because I've been willing to be an architect since I was a kid doesn't mean I may not change it right? Every time someone ask me why do I want to be an architect, my favorite thing to say is 'because I've been willing to be one since I was little'. And I realize it's not a reasonable answer. Yes being an architect sounds fun and I couldn't imagine to have another job, but maybe that's what make it all wrong. I've never thought about any other careers to pursue.

Honestly, I still haven't figured it out yet. All I know is, if I wanna be an architect, I have to find another reasons why I want to be one. Good reasons. As good and as many as possible. Wish me luck people! Hope I can find the answer soon.

Wednesday Wishes (3)

One. The ultimate package of The Summer Set's Everything's Fine album

If you are a fan of The Summer Set and you still haven't pre-ordered it yet, then I bet you have this on your wish list. This package includes Everything's Fine CD mailed by 7/19, collectible limited edition postcards of the band, Everything's Fine T-Shirt, and Everything's Fine lyric scrapbook. In case you haven't heard about them before, you can check out their music on their myspace profile.

Two. These bags

I'm such a big fan of bags, especially the leather ones (but not the real animal's leather of course). But unfortunately I don't have enough money to buy all of the bags I want. That's why I'd rather go to online stores than to go to their real stores because seeing the bags with my own eyes and touching them will only make me want them even more.

Three. The great escape

1.2.3.4

Yes. By escape I meant a vacation that makes me so happy and feel like I have nothing to worry about.

Four. Read more books

I want to read some classic or phenomenal novels such as Pride and Prejudice, To Kill a Mockingbird, Jane Eyre, and so on.

What are your wishes today? Don't forget to link up with Brooke on Bright Wishes :)

Friday's Fancies #3

Hello everyone!! Finally, no more tests! Woohoo!! I miss blogging so much.

Today let's make another Friday's Fancies post. I need to think about happy thoughts to refresh my brain, which in this case is I can purchase all the things I put on my set. And the theme I choose is SUMMER!! My favorite season. Not like I live in a country that has 4 seasons - Indonesia only has two seasons which are dry season and rainy season - but from what I watch in movies and read in books, it seems like a lot of fun. So here it is



1. This Topshop's Petite Embroidered Scallop Tunic really reminds me of summer. Maybe because of its bright color. I love it!

2. Topshop's Pink Suede Mini Purse Belt. I love the combination of yellow and pink, especially when they're worn together in a summer outfit.

3. What else do I need to say? This Large Flower Garland Headband from Topshop looks so cute.

4. Another thing that makes summer seems so wonderful is because people can show off their big sunglasses. I pick this Hot Pink Oversize Square Sunglasses from Topshop because it matches the belt I picked.

5. Yellow Colour Block Mini Cross Body Bag from Topshop. It matches my dress so yeah, and more importantly, it's a cross body bag. Perfect!

6. Topshop's FRANCINE Tubular Suede Sandals. It matches my dress' color and it's so summer!

7. I took this picture from here (on weheartit). Riding that bicycle on a summer day, especially with the one you love (in my case it means John Gomez from a band called The Summer Set) would make it perfect!

If you haven't realized it already, every items I put on this set are Topshop's (well except the bike picture). I just love that brand! Anyway, what do you think about this? Don't forget to link up with {av} on {long distance loving} this week!

Have a wonderful weekend! :D

Let's Just Say This Post is Untitled

Hello everyone! Another long gap between my last post and this. And again, it's because of school things. But now, here I am and I'm gonna tell you some of the things that's been going on in my life, or my brain. Here they are :

1. Final exams

Yes I've been having final exams since 3 weeks ago until next week. Yep, you got it right. It means 4 weeks of final exams. 4 weeks of reading big and heavy text books. 4 weeks of losing sleep. But don't worry, there are some days off between the tests, like today (that's why I can finally get in touch with you again).

2. Post-Concert Depression Syndrome

I've told you about the ARTTM-HM-TDF concert before. And yes it's been 16 days after that day and I still have PCDS. This is mostly because the band members are so nice to us, Indonesians. For example, David from TDF made his first tattoo here, why? He said, because he wanted to remember that night. A Rocket to The Moon also posted a video of their trip to Jakarta and it's just so sweet. You can check it out here. But the sweetest thing ever had come from Halvo, the bassist of ARTTM. Why? Last night my friend posted this link from tumblr. And when I opened it, it was this....

I mean, uyhwdbsjncjchkasjkhdsdsjdnsd that is just too sweet :")

3. The Yearbook

It has finally printed and distributed. I'm so proud to be a part of it. Well done my friends :)

4. The Way It Was

That's the title of Parachute's new album, and I'm soo in love with it. All the songs in it are just so addictive. Check out their Something to Believe In and You and Me music video if you haven't already!

I guess those are all the things you've missed. Yes, there are nothing important or interesting in my life so far since it has been so flat and boring lately. Oh yeah, I also need that cruel-yet-important-thing-called-money. ASAP!!!! There are so many things I want to buy, but I just don't have the money. Well, there are so much money in the world while there are so little in my pocket *sigh*

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Cenat Cenut? Oh Yeaah!

Check out my guest post at Scenic Glory here

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Hello everyone! I haven’t been blogging for so long since I’ve been kind of busy with school. That means I had no time for blogging and also, there was nothing worth blog about in my life. But you know what? There’s finally one thing to talk about here. And that is about...

THE DOWNTOWN FICTION, HEY MONDAY, AND A ROCKET TO THE MOON Live in Tennis Indoor Senayan, Jakarta, on May 14th 2011!

Yep, I was there. I went there with my friend, Daniya, and met some more friends there. We were so excited that we arrived there about 2.15 pm and guess what? There were already many people there. I was like ‘Gosh would we make it to the front row?’ and turned out, we didn’t. But the good thing is I still got the almost-center-of-the-stage spot on the fifth row. And at the end of the concert, I made it to the center-of-the-stage spot on the third row. Weird thing is, I wasn’t even trying to get there. The crowd was just so crazy that I was pushed and pushed until I got that better spot. Lucky me! :)

The first band who showed up on stage was The Downtown Fiction (TDF). I’ve heard about them since like 8 months ago or so, after I watched JakJam2010 concert. There were some admins of TDFIndonesia who gave pamflets about that band, then I downloaded their songs, and I liked it. Then a couple of months later I heard that they were going to come and I was like 'man how could it happen when some bands I've been longing to see since a couple years ago haven't come yet?!' Anyway, how was the concert, you ask? That was sick!! Not only because TDF rocked the stage (and the fact that their vocalist and guitarist, Cameron and David, looked soo cute and adorable), the crowd went super duper crazy and made me feel kinda sick. Well I guess that’s what happen at a concert of a band whose name of their newest album is ‘Let’s Be Animals!’. The crowd acted brutally just like animals. Lesson learned. Haha :p

Cameron Leahy <3

Their performance was great, but it got a lot better when Cameron said ‘Terima kasih Jakarta! Cenat-cenut? Oh yeaah!’ I laughed so hard haha. ‘Terima kasih Jakarta!’ means ‘Thank you Jakarta!’ and I can’t really tell what ‘Cenat cenut’ means, but it’s from the lyrics of an Indonesian band, SM*SH, which is currently famous here. So it really cracked Indonesians up. Also, he said ‘Unyuu!’ which is another word that I can’t explain to you, but believe me, if you’re an Indonesian and you heard them saying that word, you’ll go ‘WHAAT? HAHAHHA!’. Cameron also said ‘I guarantee you, we would never forget this night!’ Woohooo!

The second band who rocked the stage was Hey Monday. This might be the performance I enjoyed the most because the crowd acted normally. Sure we jumped on their upbeat songs but it’s totally normal, right? I really like it when the the atmosphere turned mellow when they played ‘Hangover’, then all of a sudden there was only Cassade, the vocalist, on the stage and she gave us some love tips. It was cute. And what’s best is, after the tips, she sang my favorite song of their band that I never thought they would sing, which is ‘6 Months’. Oooh I love that!

Cassade Pope

And one important thing you have to know is, the touring member of the band who played bass, Chris Gentile (yes he’s from the band Rumour Has It), is so freaking gorgeous!

Chris Gentile <3

Then it’s time for the last band to perform. This last band is the one I love the most so I was pretty excited. I guess most of the people who watched it agreed with me, cause by the time Hey Monday left the stage, the crowd went crazier than ever that me and a lot of other people on my row felt down just like cards. You get it, right? Thank God when the band, A Rocket to the Moon, showed up, the crowd seemed to agree that we were there to enjoy the show, so we acted normal again.

Their performance is the best of all. I stood there only two people away (if the gap between the first row and the stage isn't counted) from Nick Santino whose smile is so overwhelming. He seemed so pleased to be there.

Nick Santino <3

And Eric Halvorsen looked super cute. Oh my baby Halvoo! He said 'Aku cinta Jakartaa!' which means 'I love Jakarta!' and I just wanted to say 'we love you too!'

Eric Halvorsen <3

At the end, I feel so happy. I just watched three awesome bands performed and they were totally rocking it! It would have been a lot better if after the show I waited long enough so I can met them again when they greeted the fans, but it was still awesome. I didn't take any pictures there because I didn't bring a pocket camera and my phone was running out of battery. Yeah I know, silly. Another silly thing is, I don't have a converse so I always wear a flat shoes everytime I watch a concert (I speak like this as if I have been to a lot of concerts while actually this is only my third concert haha). What's sillier is, I wore my brand new soft pink shoes and after the show it looked like this

Well, it was worth the fun! :D

P.S : All of the concert photos were found at arditop's flickr, the man behind FotoKonser.com