DIY Cinnamon Sugar French Toast for Two

Hello everyone, happy Good Friday!

One of my favorite foods ever is french toast. French toast is a great Sunday morning brunch item, or a Saturday morning breakfast item. It's always been hard for me to make smaller portions of it though, and since Madison won't eat it, I learned how to downsize my portions and make Cinnamon Sugar French Toasts for two people at 3 slices each. Here's how I did it:

What you'll need:
- 6 slices of bread
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- cooking spray
- griddle or skillet

For the "batter":
- 2 tablespoons of flour
- 1/8 cup of granulated sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons of cinnamon
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup of milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp salt

What to do:
1) Heat your skillet or griddle to medium-high for about 3 minutes

2) Mix all "batter" ingredients together, whisking the flour and sugar well into the egg and milk combination, adding 1/2 the cinnamon last.

3) Dip three slices of bread and place them on your now warmed skillet. Let them cook about 2-5 minutes or until golden-brown, then flip them to the other side.

4) Add the other 1/2 of the cinnamon into your mix and stir well. You can also add about a tablespoon more of granulated sugar for best results. Dip your last three pieces of bread in the batter and repeat steps 2-3.

5) Using a sifter, sift the powdered sugar on top of the french toast.

There you have it! A super simple and tasty recipe for French Toast that serves two people. If you want to do it for more, just double the ingredients, but use caution on how much flour you put into your mixture. Also add the cinnamon and granulated in increments, otherwise the first few pieces of french toast will have lots while the rest have none.

Thanks for trying out my recipes!
- Olivia :)

#BookWorm: White Oleander

Hello fellow readers,

Last night I finished up the book White Oleander by Janet Finch. This book came highly recommended by colleagues at work and my mom. It also was a book on Oprah's Book Club list. So, I read it. The plot is about a young girl named Astrid whose mom kills her boyfriend after he leaves her to be with other women. She goes to prison, and Astrid is sent to live with foster families, none of which seem to work out well. To be honest at first I wasn't sure I was going to make it to the end. The first one hundred pages were very sexually graphic and it just wasn't my style. I mean I've read sexually graphic books, The Kite Runner to name one, but this to me was just a girl acting ridiculous. However after some encouragement from those who read it before saying 'it gets better', I pushed through and it did actually get better. About halfway through I breezed through the ending, which the ending was actually good considering the tragedies Astrid went through in her life. Overall rating? I would say an 8/10 due to the long take off. You definitely learn to appreciate your life and it gives you an insight into what some people have to go through!


There is a movie based on this book of the same title, and Michelle Pfeiffer plays the mom Ingrid. I have heard that it isn't amazingly awesome, but I do want to watch it now that I've read the book and heard that the full movie is actually on YouTube. The next book I will be reading is Me Before You by JoJo Moyes. The movie is coming out in June, and stars the guy who played Finnick in Hunger Games, Sam Claflin. I have already seen people reading this book and loving it, however my friend Ashley is the one who loaned it to me and she got to the middle and said it hit a more boring point that was hard to keep reading, so we will see how it goes!

So have you ever read or seen White Oleander? What did you think? Let me know via message or in the comments section!

Thanks for reading with me,
- Olivia :)

{Real Talk}: Rants on Rants on Rants: Pt 2

Hello fellow Americans,

It's election season! Boo. I HATE election season. You want to know why? Because it makes people crazy. Literally batsh** crazy. Like so crazy that it makes me get super annoyed with people I normally love. Why? Because people try to make other people look like idiots. For basically a straight year. And I have to say, some of them are truly idiots. However, it gets old. It's not even close to November and it's old already. I'm over it. Want to know why? (Probably not, but you clicked on the page already so bear with me here). Because I have people who have conversations with me on the daily, or at least once per week, as follows:

Random: "So who are you voting for?"
Olivia: "No idea, especially since final candidates haven't even been chosen."
R: "But you're a Christian right? So you're a Republican."
O: "Was that a statement? Or a question? I'm gonna pretend it was a question. The answer is no."
R: "Oh, really? Wow. So you're a Democrat"
O: "No, wrong again."
R: "You're one of those 'I vote independent so I'm not either' kind?"
O: "Nope."
R: "So... what are you?"
O: "Seriously, back up and hold on a minute"

This is the kind of conversation that makes me so annoyed. I am none of the above. I will base my vote off of who is going to do the most good for the world, or who will do the least harm. If it's Trump vs. Clinton, HELLO third party Independent candidate, let's look at what you've got to offer! Because I can't seriously vote for either one of those dipsh**ts. Or dipsticks as grandma would say. Why does the world have to work this way? You're one or the other. Black or white. Every group has a sterotype. Republicans: all love guns, hate immigrants, and are rich. False. Democrats: all love abortion, let everyone in the country, and are super liberal. False. Everyone is different.

Looking back at my post from the last election season in 2012, I have to say, dang I was blunt. But seriously guys why can you just vote for someone because you believe in what they believe in. And if 75% of the time their Republican, does that mean you agree with all Republican views? No. And same goes for vice versa. "So what do you believe in Olivia?" Well, since you're still reading at this point here's a few of my thoughts:

1) I don't believe in abortion. I get their are special scenarios. I don't hate people who have had them. I just don't agree. Just because you carry the baby, doesn't mean yours is the only life that matters. And I just love them and can't imagine intentionally killing one. Period.

2) I don't agree with guns for everyone. I understand that many people who have caused mass destruction or mass shootings obtained them illegally. But many people have not either. If someone breaks into my house and kills me, it's time for me to go! End of conversation.

3) Nothing is free. Education is not free. It shouldn't be, If it was, then what is the point of working so hard for it? Is it way too expensive right now? Yes. But NOTHING IN LIFE IS FREE. Sorry Bernie.

4) I don't smoke weed. I don't plan on ever trying it. It's not "good" for you. It doesn't "cure cancer". It does help stimulate appetite in cancer patients if you eat it in food. Yes. It does help with pain in palliative situations. Yes. But smoking anything isn't "good for you". But if alcohol is legal, cigarettes are legal. Let's tax it and make money off of it. I get that it's not that simple, but the basis of it is true. There obviously could be rules like don't smoke and drive, don't go to work high. Just like you don't do those things drunk. Yes I think drugs are bad. But people are going to do them!

5) The process of immigration into the United States is ridiculously hard. I can't even answer half the questions on the tests they have to take. Why should they take a test that is so hard? Isn't hard work and no trouble for a certain period of time enough? It's kind of crazy. And people are so racist it's ridiculous. Cue my favorite racist gif.

And that ends this version of Rants on Rants on Rants. You clicked on it, you read it, and I could care less if your opinions are the same as mine. Regardless of what people think, I try my best to care for all people equally, regardless of their political beliefs. If you're gung-ho about guns, awesome! If you are an abortion supporter, that's your choice! Does it mean I am going to treat you differently? Nope. Does it mean your endless Facebook rants during every debate and every hot topic are going to change my mind? Nope. We can agree to disagree. I am scared for the fate of our country though. It is a scary thought of the years to come. Praying for a miracle in this sad, sad world. (Literally can't stop lol'ing at the gif of this Villanova girl).

Thanks for reading my rants.
- Olivia :)