NYE Style

1.  Embellished Party Dress - Bebe // 2.Fun Garland // 3.Dark Lip - YSL in Prune Avenue // 4. Metallic Clutch - Milly via Nordstrom // 5. Party Pumps - Steve Madden // 6. Statement ring - Kate Spade // 7. Champagne // 8. Cuff - Hermes via The Real Real // 9. Festive Dessert // 10. Sparkley nail palette - Jin Soon via Net-A-Porter

New Years Eve has quickly been becoming one of my favorite holidays simply because it is by far the funnest holiday to dress for.  I love all the sequence and metallic pieces that the night brings on. This is the opportunity of the year to bring out the best - and I wouldn't have it any other way.  I always seem to gravitate towards a form fitting LBD paired with some fun and festive accent pieces made of feathers and sequence; this year is no exception. 

This year I am going with the fringe skirt in my Holiday Party post.  I always love the black and gold look - it's just so classy!  I still have yet to find my accessories, but I am using the above collage as inspiration for the big day.  What are you wearing for New Years Eve?  Do you like to use this opportunity to wear fun items that you can't wear every day? 

Merry Christmas

I just wanted to take the time to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.  Enjoy the time with family and friends!  I have really enjoyed reading everyone's holiday posts over the past few weeks.  I loved seeing how the blogging community has really come together during this holiday season.  This has been my first Christmas as a blogger, and I can't wait to see what the next year of blogging brings!

Safe travels to anyone who may be on the road... I know I will be!

Red Velvet Thumbprint Cookies with Cream Cheese Filling

So this week at work I was invited to participate in a holiday cookie exchange!  I was so excited because this was my time to show off my "mad baking skills" - haha!  I scoured Pinterest for something different that I knew no one else would be baking.  I found this recipe for Red Velvet Thumbprint cookies, which I thought would be perfect!  I decided to recreate this recipe and put my own spin on it. 

These cookies turned out fabulously!  They are so festive and bright; perfect for the holiday.  I cannot wait to share them with the rest of my coworkers. They also work great as a small gift for neighbors or friends. 

This recipe yields about 2 dozen cookies - which was just perfect for my cookie exchange!

Ingredients:

Red Velvet Cookies
1 1/8 cup of butter (softened)
1/2 cup of light brown sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp of vanilla extract
2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 tsp of cocoa powder
a pinch of salt
Red food coloring (I used about 10-15 drops)

Cream Cheese Icing
4 oz of softened cream cheese
1/4 cup of granulated sugar
1/4 cup of powdered sugar
1 egg yolk
1/4 tsp of vanilla extract

Garnish
Melted white chocolate

Directions

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Whip you butter, brown sugar, egg yolk and vanilla in a mixing bowl using the paddle attachment of your mixer.  Then, slowly add in your flour followed by the cocoa and salt.  Lastly, add in your desired amount of food coloring.

Roll your dough into balls using about a tablespoon of dough for each one, and set about two inches apart on your cookie sheet.  Press down into the center of each ball with the back of a spoon or your thumb. Bake for about 10 minutes. 

While the cookies are baking, mix all your icing ingredients into a bowl until it becomes a thick, milky texture.  Pull your cookies out of the oven and make a deeper indent in the center of the cookies.  Spoon in your icing, just slightly over flowing your indent in the center of the cookie.  Pop back in the overn and bake again for about 12-14 minutes.  Take out of the oven and let cool.

After the cookies have cooled, melt your white chocolate into a small bowl.  Once it has melted, let it sit for a few minutes so that it is a nice texture for drizzling.  Pour the chocolate into a small plastic bag and cut the tip of a corner just slightly so that you can drizzle a thin line over the cookies.  Lastly, chill the cookies for a couple hours before serving.  Enjoy!

Slow-Roasted Cinnamon Pecans

 

Every Christmas I make a batch of slow-roasted cinnamon pecans to give to co-workers, friends and neighbors.  They are so easy to make and super yummy.  I will make a batch of them and bag them up in cute, little Christmas bags with bows.  I'll keep some in my purse throughout the whole season so I can just hand them off as I go.  Another bonus of these little guys - they make your house smell amazing while making them!   They give off that nostalgic smell of walking though the mall at Christmas time.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups of pecans (you can also use almonds)
1 egg white
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
a few dashes of cinnamon
a few dashes of pumpkin pie spice
a dash of cayenne powder (optional)
pinch of salt

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees.  In a small bowl, whisk together your egg white and vanilla extract.  In a medium bowl, mix together the sugars, spices and salt.  Next, in a large freezer zip-lock bag, add in your pecans and pour the egg mixture over top.  Close your bag and shake well until all your pecans are coated in the mixture.  Next add in the cinnamon-sugar mixture and shake well until your pecans are evenly coated in the cinnamon sugar.  Spread your pecans onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and pop in the oven.  Bake for about an hour, turning over every 15-20 minutes.  Let cool and enjoy!

Holiday Party Look

 

Holiday parties are right around the corner.  I only have a couple this year, but of course I want to look my best for each one.  One of the best parts of shopping for a fancy holiday look is that you get to load up on sparkles, metallics and fringe, and I did just that for my holiday look.  I purchased this fringe skirt from Express a few weeks ago, and I have been dying to wear it ever since!  I thought it would go great with this metallic top I had in my closet.  I wanted to pair it with a blazer so that the outfit would be sophisticated enough for my holiday work party, so I paired it with this fabulous Loft, leather sleeve blazer.  Lastly, I topped off the look with some fun, sparkly accessories and fun, animal print pumps.  This was by far one of my favorite looks to put together!

Top - Express (similar, similar) // Blazer - Loft (similar) // Skirt - Express (sold out but similar) // Pumps - Moda via DSW // Earrings - Charming Charlie (similar) // Bracelet - Express (similar) // Clutch - DSW

Winter Accessories Edit

Well winter has definitely arrived here in Philadelphia.  It has been so cold lately, and all I want to do it curl up in some comfy clothes with a warm cup of coffee.  One thing I do like about winter is all the cute, chunky accessories.  I like to add in some bright colors, like MAC's Candy Yum Yum lipstick, to liven up the normal dull color pallet of my winter wardrobe.  Jeweled accents always help to top off a great winter look.

1. Top Shop Stole // 2. Forever 21 Beanie // 3. Top Shop Faux Fur headband // 4. Forever 21 Leopard print slippers // 5. Nails Inc. 'Snowflake' nail polish via Nordstrom // 6. 'But first, Coffee' tumbler // 7. Infinity scarf via Nordstrom // 8. Mac 'Candy Yum Yum' lipstick via Nordstrom // 9. H&M Socks // 10. Kate Spade mittons via Lord and Taylor

Top DIY Gifts for Everyone On Your LIst

I love making homemade Christmas gifts.  It makes the gift a little more personal knowing you put time and effort into something that you know they will love and enjoy.  Also, as an added bonus, sometimes you even save some money!  I decided to compile a list of some of my favorite DIY gifts and a link to show you how to make them.  Most of these I have made before and I think they would all make great gifts for someone on your list! 

Your co-workers

 

Cinnamon Pecans - I never want to spend a lot of money on my coworkers, but I do want to give them a little something special. Every year I make a batch of these cinnamon pecans, and they are amazing.  Everyone loves them!  They also make your house smell extra Christmas-y while you are making them! 

Your Dad

 

BBQ Rub - If your Dad is like mine, he is a BBQ master!  He will love this BBQ rub for summer barbeques.  Best part: it lasts forever!

BBQ Sauce -  This tutorial shows you how to make 3 kinds of sauces, make one or all 3!  Accompany them with the BBQ Rub! 
 
Your BFF

Infinity Blanket Scarf - Everyone loves a good blanked scarf.  Your BFF is sure to love your homemade version.  This one looks so easy to make and I definitely plan on making several for my friends and maybe even one for myself!

Statement Necklace - Your BFF will love this necklace.  What I love most about this project is you can change up the beads and colors to match her style! 

Your Mom
  

Patterned coasters - I made these for my mom a couple of years ago and they were so cheap and so easy to make.  All you need are basic square tiles, fun scrapbook paper, modge podge and some felt!

Sugar Scrub - One of my own DIY projects!  I made a bunch of these for Christmas gifts a couple years back and again: super cheap and easy!  Moms love this stuff!
  
The Newleyweds

Mr. & Mrs. mugs -  These are perfect for the newlyweds in your life.  Something small to say you still appreciate them

Your prego friends

Body Butter - With shea butter as the main ingredient in this moisturizing body butter, you can help your pregnant friends prevent stretch marks!
 
Your Boyfriend

Beer basket - Almost all men love beer.  He will love you for putting all his favorite beers in one spot.