Jennie Yuen
I've finally finished the 3D Woodcraft Puzzles we've bought last month. It did take awhile to assemble and it was time consuming. I took few hours each day, so one figure was about 5-6 hours total to finish.  The three figures I did are the angelfish, motorcycle, and owl. The most time-consuming was the owl because it had more pieces.  I started with the easiest to assemble which was the motorcycle.










Bookmark and Share
Jennie Yuen


Culinary artist Anotonia Lofaso – Top Chef contestant, private chef to a few lucky A-list celebs and cuisine consultant at the new Studio City restaurant and bar Black Market – knows a thing or two about whipping up a good meal.

The French Culinary Institute alum dishes out a savory recipe for a light and scrumptious meal perfect for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner: toasted garlic crostini topped with a fried egg drizzled in a rich parmesan cream sauce, and a mouth-watering romaine salad with homemade bacon vinaigrette.

Sounds divine, right? We tested out the easy-to-follow recipe at home.

Parmesan Egg & Garlic Crostini with Baby Romaine Salad and Bacon Vinaigrette by Antonia Lofaso

What You’ll Need

Bacon Vinaigrette & Romaine Salad:
1 pound bacon, sliced into ¼-inch cubes
½ cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
2 cups extra virgin olive oil
2 cups baby romaine lettuce
1 Fuji apple – peeled, cored and thinly sliced

Parmesan Cream
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups shredded parmesan cheese

Garlic Crostini
1 demi-baguette, sliced ¼-inch thick
Salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, halved
6 eggs
1 tablespoon almonds, crushed or sliced
½ cup cherry tomatoes, quartered

What You’ll Do

STEP 1: Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the bacon on a paper towel-lined plate and reserve the fat.



STEP 2: Make the vinaigrette – Whisk the balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard and honey together in a mixing bowl. Slowly drizzle in the bacon fat and olive oil while whisking rapidly until the salad dressing is thick and creamy.


STEP 3: Toss the baby romaine, apples, cherry tomatoes and bacon crisps with the vinaigrette.



STEP 4: Make the parmesan cream – Heat the milk in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until bubbles form at the edges. Reduce the temperature to low and stir constantly until the cream coats the back of a metal spoon.

STEP 5: Remove from heat and stir in the parmesan cheese.



STEP 6: Make the crostini – Lay bread slices on a foil-lined baking pan. Brush each baguette slice with extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

STEP 7: Toast the bread slices and rub each slice with the garlic.



STEP 8: Cook the egg – In a large skillet, melt butter over medium high heat. Crack eggs in pan and cook to desired firmness.



STEP 9: Assemble – Layer an egg, parmesan cream, crushed or sliced almonds on a toasted baguette slice. Garnish salad and crostini with tomatoes and serve.




Disclosure: I did not receive any products nor was paid for this post. I was provided info and access to images and recipe from the PR firm to share. Thanks to A Bullseye View. The expressed opinions are my own and personal thoughts. No other compensation was given.



Bookmark and Share
Jennie Yuen


Emmy Award winning Giada De Laurentiis is a beloved celebrity chef for her down-to-earth cooking style and charming personality in the kitchen.

Known for her easy to follow (and scrumptious!) dishes, the Italian-born Food Network star and Le Cordon Bleu alum shares her recipe for a decadent fruit dessert: soft, poached pears in a sweet wine syrup flavored with honey, ginger, real vanilla bean and spicy cinnamon.

Poached Pears in Honey, Ginger and Cinnamon Syrup
Makes six sweet servings

What You’ll Need
2 cups simple syrup, recipe follows
1 (750) ml bottle Moscato wine or other sweet dessert wine
2 cinnamon sticks
2 tablespoons honey
1 ( ¾ inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
6 small, firm, ripe Anjou or Bosc pears, peeled and cored
Vanilla ice cream or gelato

For the syrup
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ½ cups water




What You’ll Do

STEP 1: In a saucepan large enough to hold all the pears, combine the wine, simple syrup, cinnamon sticks, honey and ginger. Scrape in the seeds from the vanilla bean and add the bean to the saucepan.




STEP 2: Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the honey has melted. Add the pears and simmer over medium-low heat for fifteen to twenty minutes, turning occasionally, until the pears are tender.




STEP 3: Remove the pears from the liquid and allow to cool. Continue to simmer the liquid until it thickens and is reduced by half, about fifteen to twenty minutes. Cool to room temperature. Remove the cinnamon sticks and vanilla bean and discard, or keep to garnish!

STEP 4: Place each pear on a small serving plate with a hefty scoop of vanilla ice cream.




STEP 5: Drizzle on the syrup, serve immediately and devour!





For more of Giada’s delicious recipes, click here or pick up her cookbooks at Target!

Disclosure: I did not receive any products nor was paid for this post. I was provided info and access to images and recipe from the PR firm to share. Thanks to A Bullseye View. The expressed opinions are my own and personal thoughts. No other compensation was given.



Bookmark and Share
Jennie Yuen
Fall is finally upon us, and the official first day of autumn is on September 23rd, which means it’s time for warm, comforting meals straight from the stovetop! To celebrate the new season, we’re offering the The EVERYTHING Soup, Stew, and Chili Cookbook eBook by Belinda Hulin for FREE through September 24th!

http://www.adamsmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/Z2884-259x300.jpgTo download the full, FREE copy of  The EVERYTHING Soup, Stew, and Chili Cookbook please visit:

Amazon Kindle: http://amzn.to/qjYHlC
Barnes & Noble NOOK: http://bit.ly/pqJj80
Google eBookstore: http://bit.ly/q3vaIw



http://www.adamsmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Twitter-Logo-300x2934-150x150.jpgSpread the word! Your friends will thank you.
Tweet about it by copying & pasting this: Happy Autumn from @adamsmedia! FREE #eBook to celebrate: The EVERYTHING Soup, Stew & Chili Cookbook – over 300 recipes! http://www.adamsmedia.com/?p=53864

About The EVERYTHING Soup, Stew, and Chili Cookbook:

Creamy New England clam chowder. Hearty beef stew. Fresh vegetarian chili. Soups, stews, and chilies are comforting meals the whole family enjoys; and to top it off, they’re inexpensive to create! This cookbook includes information and cooking tips, as well as 300 mouthwatering recipes, including:

  • Smoked Duck and Squash Soup
  • Ginger Beef Soup with Dumplings
  • Creamy Asparagus Soup
  • Sirloin and Black Bean Chili
  • Mixed Bean Vegetarian Chili
  • Warm Apple-Cranberry Stew
  • Blackberry Stew with Sweet Biscuits

Whether you are in the mood for a chilled fruit soup on a warm summer day or a comforting meat-and-potato stew on a cold winter night, this book has everything! No matter what the season or occasion, you will find a choice that hits the spot.

Happy cooking!


Disclosure: I did not receive any products nor was paid for this post. I was provided info from the PR company to share. No other compensation was given.



Bookmark and Share
Jennie Yuen
Now that fall is approaching, we all are tempted by savory stews and baked pies to keep our tummies happy but how good are they for your heart?

As obesity continues to rise and heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death for both men and women, we need to be more aware of our heart health and try to nourish our bodies with foods that will make our hearts healthier.

Below is a variety of products to keep your heart in tip-top shape:


· Cardio 1st (FirstFitness Nutrition has created a exclusive, heart-healthy formulation to support cardiovascular health while assisting with removal of toxins from the body)







· Quaker Hearty Medleys (Quaker Oats has reinvented oatmeal by adding real fruit, nuts, and whole grains to help reduce your chance of developing heart disease)





· Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Full of heart-healthy fats, olive oil lowers bad cholesterol and reduces your risk of developing heart disease while helping you create delicious meals)





· Planter’s Mixed Nuts (With peanuts, almonds, walnuts and pecans, eating 1.5 ounces per day may reduce the risk of heart disease. And they work perfectly in pies!)






· Vital Green Plus (Another FirstFitness favorite! Jam-packed with over 50 fruits, vegetables and phytonutrients, two-and-a-half servings of vegetables each day have been shown to cut the risk of heart disease)







Disclosure: I did not receive any products nor was paid for this post. I was provided info from the PR company to share. No other compensation was given.



Bookmark and Share
Labels: , 0 comments | | edit post
Jennie Yuen





Get a little pampering for yourself before you go back to school or while your kids are at school. Montagne Jeunesse masques can help you have your Zen and relaxation as well as maintain the beauty of your skin altogether. I was given the opportunity to try out a few of the beauty masques and loved it. The three I received are the Peel-Off Masque, Crystal Masque, and Fruit Smoothie. I have sensitive skin, but none of them have given me irritations. I only felt some tingly sensations.




Cucumber Purifying Peel-Off Masque: Gently peel away dead skin. Find a fresher face when you peel away the purifying mask. The ideal gentle peel specially formulated for problem & T-zone skin. It removes impurities and dead skin cells while cleaning and reviving the skin.

Warm Exfoliating Honey Crystal Masque: Provides a warm sensation with honey and sugar cane crystals. It leaves skin smooth with soothing passion flower, invigorating dead sea salts, and conditioning argan oil.

Crushed Rasberry Fruit Smoothie Masque: Feel fresh, cleansed, and softer skin with this fruity treat of rasberry, mango, apricot, peach, and pomegranate.

Each masque comes individually packed for different skin types and various scents. My favorite out of the three is the peel-off masque with the cucumber extract. This one had a nice, cool feel and it peels off easily. It leaves my skin feeling soft and clean.

Features & Benefits:
- deep cleanse
- detoxifies
- unclogs pores
- gently exfoliates

Disclosure: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.


Bookmark and Share
Jennie Yuen


I want to share with you this amazing Los Angeles getaway package available until September 24, 2011. Book your accommodations at K Hotels’ Ambrose & be one of the first to experience the new show - IRIS, a Journey Through the World of Cinema from Cirque du Soleil. This large-scale production - created exclusively for its permanent home at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles - offers a new take on the art of cinema as only Cirque du Soleil could imagine it.

Package includes: Access to a special preview rate of 25% off regular performance ticket price and a gift certificate for (1) class of your choice at Trapeze School New York on the Santa Monica Pier (Choose from: Flying Trapeze, Silks, Trampoline and more!).



Click here for more details and hotel reservations.




Disclosure: I did not receive any products nor was paid for this post. I was provided info from the PR company to share. No other compensation was given.



Bookmark and Share
Jennie Yuen
Set-Your-Own-Combination Portable Safe by


This is a brand new product from Master Lock. When I received it, I noticed the fancy packaging and gave me an impression that it would be a nice quality product. The size was perfect as well. It is ideal for small electronic devices, identity protection and credit card storage.



The Master Lock 5900D SafeSpace is perfect for use while at the gym, school, park, camping, or anywhere. I can put small things and important stuff (like my wallet, cash, credit cards, car keys, house keys, and camera) that I always carry when I go out.



Occasionally, I carry my Sony PSP handheld game with me and found that it fits perfectly in the SafeSpace case. Because the PSP takes up most of the space, I usually just leave it at home.





This portable safe has an innovative design and is great for locking up valuables with the cable wrapped securely around a fixed object. The cable can also use as a carrying handle. I really like how it is lightweight, water-resistant, and very portable. There are four numeric dials where you can set your own combination.

Features & Benefits:

* Lightweight & Portable. Protects MP3 players, cell phones, cameras, gaming devices, cash, credit cards, jewelry, keys, passports, sunglasses or other small valuables

* Lock Up & Lock Down. Lock up valuables with the cable wrapped tightly to the safe or wrapped securely around a fixed object. Cable doubles as a carrying handle

* Durable Water-Resistant Construction

* Set-Your-Own-Combination for locking convenience

* Ear Bud/Charging Cable Access Port

* Shock absorbing foam lines the interior storage area

* Retail box packaging, master carton qty 2




BUY IT
The SafeSpace 5900D and other products are available for purchase directly on MasterLock's website or from listed retailers.  This is an excellent "back-to-school" product and makes a great gift.

WIN IT
One (1) lucky reader will have a chance to win their very own SafeSpace 5900D. Chosen winner will be selected via Random.org through Rafflecopter. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to claim their prize. Make sure you leave your email so I can contact you.

{Please wait while Rafflecopter entry form loads...}









Disclosure: I received the above mentioned product from the company/PR Company in exchange for my review. The opinions expressed in my review are my own personal and honest thoughts. No other compensation was given.


Bookmark and Share
Jennie Yuen


Energizer and Evergreen are working together to help raise donations to make your community a better place to be. Evergreen's mission is to bring communities and nature together for the benefit of both. And big thanks to Energizer, they have committed to contribute $100,000 to help out in this campaign.


Evergreen is a not-for-profit organization that makes cities more livable. By deepening the connection between people and nature, and empowering Canadians to take a hands-on approach to their urban environments, Evergreen is improving the health of our cities—now and for the future.

Head on over to the website and simply pledge to do five (or more) positive acts. For each pledge, Energizer will donate an additional $1 to Evergreen. Your positive acts will make a difference.



Disclosure: I am participating in the Energizer Canada & Evergreen “Do Something Little, Help Something Big” program by Mom Central Canada on behalf of Energizer Canada & Evergreen. The opinions on this blog are my own. No compensation was given.


Bookmark and Share