Birth By Sleep ~ Kingdom Hearts

I am a big fan of the Kingdom Hearts series.They are a lot of fun to play and have soundtracks, characters, story, and gameplay to brag about. I never would have thought that Disney and Final Fantasy could blend so well together.

Birth By Sleep takes place before the original story, leading up to the first game and giving everyone a chance to experience the story of the Keyblade Masters. You play as three different characters; Terra, Aqua, and Ventus, who each have their own story to play. It is a unique design as each character makes choices along the way individual to their personality as well as each fighting with different strengths and weaknesses.

There are many similarities to Kingdom Hearts I & II in Birth By Sleep, as well as several notable differences. You play on many different worlds, meeting familiar and new characters as you progress, as it is with the previous games. However, the battle system and abilities have changed. At first I was a little intimidated by them, but I quickly became accustomed and actually quite fond of playing with different magics and skills, and learning new abilities as a result. The other noteworthy new feature was the Multiplayer mode. I found it a fun pastime with friends, not much more than that, but still enjoyable.

I played through the game on the Proud difficulty, which I would recommend for two reasons. First, it is a much better challenge than the Standard difficulty. And second, on Proud mode all you need to do is beat the game and get all of Xehanort's Reports to achieve the secret ending. Yes, you want the secret ending. I do not suggest Standard mode because, lack of challenge aside, the requirements to get the secret ending are much more difficult and time consuming. Also, take note that trying the game in Critical mode is just crazy. That sort of difficulty is far beyond reasonable limits...

If you own a PSP, I would definitely recommend this game. And if you have, for some strange and bizarre reason, never played the Kindgom Hearts games, best you get started!

Kaylee's Super-Awesome Oatmeal M&M Cookies!

Looking for something truly scrumptious? These cookies are what you need! Although the recipe makes about three dozen, they are always gone within a week! Bring some to work, give some to friends, and, of course, keep some for yourself!


Oatmeal M&M Cookies ~ Makes three dozen


1 cup softened butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract *
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups oats **
1 cup M&M's


* I LOVE vanilla, 3 teaspoons is not necessary, feel free to use less if you prefer
** Quick oats or old fashioned oats will both work in this recipe, just use whichever you have on hand


Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar and brown sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Then whisk in the cinnamon, flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Stir in oats and M&M's.

Use ungreased baking sheets, placing rounded balls of dough about two inches apart.

Bake for 11 minutes, be sure to keep an eye on them. Cool on pan for five minutes, then transfer to cooling racks.


You can get much more or less out of this recipe depending on your preference for larger or smaller cookies. Just remember to keep checking on them while in the oven. Nobody likes a burned cookie. Enjoy!

The Paper Bag Princess

Every girl dreams of being a princess, and it just so happens that this princess bested a dragon! So, when the opportunity came to become the Paper Bag Princess, I grabbed it.

It took a lot of work from a talented group of individuals, but together we pulled off one of my favourite shoots to date!

Thirteen Shots Photography ~ It was my first time working with this photographer and he was a blast! I am extremely happy with the results. If I am lucky, I'll have many more shoots with him in the future.

www.thirteenshotsphoto.com


Bisque ~ Make-up Artist and Costume Designer. I absolutely love this girl! She is so creative and always fun to work with. Also, we are both Gamer Girls, so that's a bonus ;)

www.facebook.com/xBisque

You can also check out some of her designs at:

www.etsy.com/shop/foxtaledesigns


Emily Van Roggen ~ It was my first time working with Emily as well, she is a fantastic Hair stylist and I'm sure I will be seeing more of her as my shoots continue!

To see more photos from this shoot, go to:

www.facebook.com/pages/Kaylee-Marie/148262868567353

Splendid Pumpkin Muffins

Cold, damp autumn days got you down? These muffins are a perfect pick-me-up for this dreary fall season ;)


Pumpkin Muffins ~ Makes one dozen


1 cup canned pumpkin (from a 15 ounce can)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pumpkin-pie spice
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon of sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon


Preheat oven to 350°F and put oven rack in the middle position. Grease muffin tray.

Whisk together pumpkin, baking powder, baking soda, oil, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, and 1 cup of sugar in a large bowl until smooth, then whisk in flour mixture until just combined.

Mix cinnamon and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in a separate bowl.

Divide batter evenly into muffin cups, then sprinkle tops with cinnamon-sugar mixture (my favourite part). Bake for about 28 minutes, until puffed and golden brown.

Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. I found these muffins were actually at their best after settling for a few hours. Try making them during the night for an awesome breakfast snack!


Hope you enjoy these muffins as much as I have been!

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever

Just last week I finished Stephen R. Donaldson's "Against All Things Ending", his ninth book in the Thomas Covenant Series. This series has, by far, been one of my favourite reads! There are not many books that can create so much emotion and outright despair in the reader.

Now, admittedly this will not be everybody's cup of tea. It is not a happy story. It will never be a happy story. But it is, nonetheless, a great story.

These books are separated into two trilogies and a tetralogy ~

The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant: Covenant, a writer with leprosy who has been abandoned by his family and town, is summoned to a mysterious land where he is found to resemble an ancient hero and unwillingly becomes a part of the Land's fate.

The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant: Covenant, along with a new character, Linden Avery, is once again called back to The Land to save the people he has come to love from the hands of Despite.

The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant: Unlikely events have brought Linden Avery back to The Land in the final and heart-wrenching end to this amazing series.

Now, if you decide to read these books be warned, Thomas Covenant and Linden Avery are not your usual protagonists. They have a darker side that most fantasy novels wouldn't dare give the heroes of their story. And no amount of warning can prepare you for what you will experience whilst reading these books. They are filled with tragedy and tears, but there is always hope :)

The last books seem to have been the most intense, as it is all coming together in one catastrophic conclusion. I have a friend who is reading these book along with me, and I couldn't seem to go more than an hour into reading without texting him and freaking out about some insane event that just took place, or something so unexpected happening I nearly threw the book away to save my heart the trouble of enduring any more of what Donaldson might have in store. I find that people either love or hate Thomas Covenant, and it is easy to understand why.

Take note that the first book gets off to a slow start, you may also come across some slower bits throughout, but stick it out and you won't regret it! They are there for a reason.

I am greatly anticipating his final book, "The Last Dark", set to be released sometime in 2013.

Ultimate Hero ~ Final Fantasy XIII

My first post will be in regards to one of my proudest achievements in my gaming career. Aquiring the Platinum Trophy in Final Fantasy XIII. It took over 100 hours and a LOT of patience, but I prevailed!

When I picked up the game on it's release date I was so excited that I actually had butterflies in my stomach! And when I got home and picked up the controller, I was stunned by how attractive and colorful everything was. I was not, however, entirely swayed by the story and didn't feel that the soundtrack left as much of an impression as previous titles in the Final Fantasy series have done. In fact, I am embarassed to say, I did not actually beat the game! I made it to the final dungeon and found myself dismayed by the effort needed to achieve my trophies. With so many other exciting titles being released, I put the game down, waiting over a year before picking it up again.

But just this past summer I had a change of heart. While watching my roommate play the game for her first time, I found myself immediately pulled back into the story. So I picked up from where I had left off and started pursuing my marks with a renewed passion. My second time around was much different, the music really started to attract me and I was eager to find out how the story would conclude. After several intense hours of level grinding, I continued to the end boss and beat the game.

That was not, however, when I stopped playing. I was now determined to acquire as many trophies as I had the heart to attempt. It took over 100 hours of gameplay, but I completed something I never thought I could do. And I am proud :P

Now, in the case that you might be wanting to play the game, or even try for a Platinum Trophy yourself, I offer some advice: First off, if you are considering playing the game ... Do it! It is very good. Secondly, if you are considering playing for Platinum, do your research first! I don't usually recommend for somebody to scout the internet for tips and cheats, but this trophy is not a casual goal. It will require many hours of grinding for levels and treasures. You will not succeed if you are not prepared. Now, I am sad to say that there is no one site that will have all the answers you need. PS3trophies.org had some good forums that I found quite helpful, but altogether you will need to look around and read up on several sites.

My personal advise would be to get the Growth Egg as soon as possible (for this and for farming Adamantoises, research Vanille's Death Spam strategy. It will save you more agony than you can imagine), max out your characters BEFORE defeating the final boss (if you wait until after you will need significantly more experience to max each role) and most importantly, keep track of all weapons and accessories you find! You need every single one to acquire the most difficult trophy in the game, "Treasure Hunter". You might think that "L'Cie Paragon" or "Master's Seal" would be more difficult, but you would be wrong. Collecting every weapon and accessory in the game takes more money than you will collect over the course of obtaining both those trophies and more. I would advise making yourself a checklist for each in order to keep track of which you have, and of which you still need. You also must create many more weapons and accessories on top of the ones you have to find. So be prepared. Despite warnings, even I was surprised at how much money it took.

But despite my struggles, Final Fantasy XIII is a fantastic game. It's captivating visuals, unique battle system, and one-of-a-kind story make it a true and welcome addition to the Final Fantasy Series. Whether you are playing for fun, or for a Platinum Trophy and ultimate bragging rights, I would recommend it to anyone. I eagerly await its sequel :D



PSN ID: SuperKaylee