Christmas Chronicles

Tweet this!
Christmas has come and gone without much activity in the blog world, and I'm actually pretty happy about it. I made a decision to leave my DLSR at home, but I did bring along my trusty Nikon Point-and-Shoot to chronicle my Christmastime adventures.

I am now up in Northern Michigan at my in-laws' ski condo, so stay tuned for some more holiday fun. For now, here is my Christmas!

We spent a few days around Christmas up at my parents' house, North of Chicago. We had all of the typical Christmas Eve ingredients: a roaring fire, lots of glitter, a brightly lit tree, and far too many presents underneath it. Hey, I'm not complaining.

We went to 7:00 Church with my family, and had to snap a picture when we got back. Please notice the ridiculous, contortionist pose my dog is in. She's scratching her ear, but it looks like she is trying to model.

We all pitched in to prepare a Christmas Eve meal. As my sister and I prepped a salad and set the table, apparently a few other family members broke into the Patron...

I started the meal with a pomegranate champagne toast. It was somewhat formal and a bit religious, but seemed fitting for Christmastime. As soon as we toasted and I sat down, my brother stood up to perform his toast... a rendition of the locker room speech from the movie Miracle. It was the yin to my yang.

After dinner, we sat around in the living room for a few hours to open gifts from my parents and gifts that we gave each other. The dogs enjoyed it.

We tried to get to bed early, but it ended up being 1 or 2 am, so we all slept in.

The next morning, we hung out in our Christmas jammies and drank some coffee. My mom made some delicious french toast using european bread, and we paired it with mimosas before getting to the presents from "Santa."

And there you have it! Christmas Chronicles. Hope yours were festive, too!

DIY Candy Cane Vodka - Christmas Gift

Tweet this!
The Christmas season is upon us! I am very into giving gifts and I put a lot of thought and time into getting the right gift for each person.

Recently, one of my girlfriends and her husband had a Christmas-themed housewarming party. I had already been over there for a wine night and gave her a one of a kind Japanese tea set, but I knew I wanted to bring a little something over to her house for her Christmas party. She and her husband are sort of wine aficionados, so I considered gifting her some nice wine, but ultimately decided to go a completely different - yet still boozy - route: homemade candy cane vodka.

To be honest, this started out as kind of a science experiment. I had no idea if the candy canes would fully dissolve, or if anything would even happen. I was truly surprised and loved the result. It is delicious, perfectly minty and sweet, and very bright red in color, which is fun!

This is a great treat to add to hot chocolate or coffee! As always, drink responsibly ;-)!

DIY Candy Cane Hot Chocolate

Ingredients:

• 1 mason jar
• 4 candy canes
• Vodka

Directions:

1. Break candy canes in half (you don't need tiny pieces, they just have to be small enough to fit in the mason jar). Place in mason jar.
2. Pour vodka into mason jar until it reaches the top. Put the cap on and give it a good shake.
3. Check on it the next day! It should be bright red and the candy cane should be entirely dissolved. 

Engagementaversary and Let the Christmas Parties Roll

Tweet this!

A few amazing things happened this weekend, including a blogger event, christmas party, and an engagementaversary celebration. 

Let me start at the beginning, though. Ann Taylor Loft had a 40% off sale and I gladly crashed the party on Saturday morning to stock up on winter essentials. I left with a few pairs of pants, a few sweaters, and yet another chambray shirt (they are all kind of different... right?).

I squeezed in a 6 mile run before heading to the Chicago Healthy Living Bloggers' monthly book club. Naturally, I did not read the book (I read a few others, but always manage to avoid the assigned book because I am a rebel like that). 

I loaded up my plate with plenty of "mostly healthy" goodies. Included: chocolate banana bread, sugar and cinnamon pretzels, a random salad I made, "special salad," frank's red hot hummus, some amazing fig jam and goat cheese, and some rice crispy peanut butter chocolate and marshmallow bars. Everything was amazing and I easily cleaned my plate.

We also had a white elephant-esque gift exchange. I brought a bottle of homemade candy cane vodka (recipe to come), and ended up with two snickerdoodle LaraBars, an iTrain gift card, and a box of farm fresh meal recipes, from Veggie Next Door. I am so pumped for this and I'm pretty sure I won the game.

After book club, I headed home to refresh myself (and change into some of my new wardrobe) for my girlfriend's Christmas - slash - housewarming party, affectionately titled "Holiday Mix and Mingle." 

As usual, everything about her loft party was perfectly styled. From her Merry Christmas sign to the Eiffel Tower tree topper, I was pretty much ready to move in for the holidays.

She had also made a very festive punch with cranberries floating on top, which was a huge hit.

There was also a lot of delicious food. Basically, she bought all the good stuff at Eataly and hosted her own mini Eataly party. Cheese, meat, crackers, and desserts. Delish.

In true form, I had to take a Christmas Party selfie in the bathroom. I tried to be festive with a red undershirt, but mostly I was just too excited to wear my new sweater and jeans, so I went with it.

The next day, we had a slow morning and a hearty recovery breakfast at The Breakfast Club. After a bit of cleaning and some consulting work I had to do, I headed out to Arch Apothecary to get ready for a very special date! It was the anniversary of the day my husband proposed, so I made us dinner reservations and scheduled a blow out and makeup application so I could meet my husband at the restaurant all glammed up for him.

We started with a blow out, and then I had my makeup done. I had a gift card to spend there, so I made sure to ask a whole lot of questions about the hair and makeup products they were using so that I knew which items would be most important to take home with me.

This was my haul at the end of my two hour appointment. I went with Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray, which is pretty much a triple threat of amazingness: (1) it works like dry shampoo but is clear, (2) it also works like hair spray that gives you great hold but maintains flexibility, and (3) it is a texturizer and helps give you that voluminous texture and body you desire. I also got Terry Mascara, which is a mascara serum that also promotes lash growth, and an RMS cream eye shadow.

I had brought an outfit to change into - it is actually the exact dress and heels I was wearing when my husband got down on one knee - and changed in the bathroom at Arch Apothecary. It was fun to have undergone a complete makeover there - from hair to face to outfit. 

Eventually, I found a cab and headed toward Two, where I met up with my husband. I had made us reservations there because, on the night we got engaged, my husband had orchestrated for the photographer, my parents, and his parents to all meet us at this restaurant. 

I made us a reservation for the chef's tasting menu and wine pairing, so we didn't have to make any decisions. We just sat back and enjoyed the bubbly.

This meal was amazing. We started with a deliciously fresh salad (top left), which included fried ricotta balls, jicama, and bacon. Next up were some delicious mussels in a port wine sauce (top right). I had never tried muscles before, and neither had my husband. I was worried he would be grossed out, but we both really enjoyed them. We also had some tasty skate fish (not pictured) and some bacon and cheese risotto (bottom left), which was my husband's favorite. Last, we had a bruleed banana bread with caramel sauce and ice cream for dessert.

We left properly stuffed, and walked home in the snow. My husband actually carried me at the end, because I was in heels and it was snowing heavily. I was impressed to see that my hair and makeup were still intact when I got home. 

DIY Cranberry Delight White Chocolate Bark

Tweet this!

Happy November, one and all! Now that Halloween is done and dusted, my mind is already focused on the holidays. I've done a number of healthy holiday recipes (which you really should try, just sayin'), but today I'm kicking off the first month of the holiday season with a not-so-healthy recipe!

I made these "Cranberry Delight" white chocolate bars to emulate Starbucks' even less healthy version. This recipe is extremely easy to make and is not very time consuming, and it keeps quite well in a glass jar, so it is a great gift idea for friends and family. Going to your in-laws for Thanksgiving? This will make a wonderful host gift!

Cranberry Delight White Chocolate Bark

Ingredients:

• 2 cups white chocolate chips (white chocolate bars or white almond bark will also work)
• 1 tsp olive oil (optional)
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries (this would also be delicious with dried cherries)
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds

Directions:

1. Line a pan (preferably a deeper pan, like a cake pan) with parchment paper. If possible, try to make sure the paper lines the sides as well. If you need to use multiple sheets to do this, go ahead.
2. Melt chocolate in a medium or large bowl. Put the bowl in the microwave for 90 seconds, then stir before putting it back in the microwave for 15 second intervals (only do one or two of these 15 second intervals, and be sure to stir well in between). Once most of the lumps are gone after stirring, stop microwave intervals and stir until the lumps dissolve.
3. Pour melted chocolate onto the parchment paper. Spread and even out the chocolate using a large spoon.
4. Sprinkle cranberries and almonds on top.
5. Place in the freezer to cool until hardened. Remove from the freezer and wait an hour before breaking into small pieces.

5 Tips For Alternative Christmas Decor

Tweet this!

When it comes to Christmas decorations, I'm non-traditional. So, some of you will hate this post because you swear by the red and green decor, the Santa figurines, the stuffed animal reindeer. Try not to hate me! We're all different.

When it comes to finding alternative, modern ways to decorate your home (or apartment) for a Christmas party without becoming swallowed up in the red and green, here are a few tips!

1. Globe Lights

First, purchasing interesting lights will help with the nontraditional vibe. Look for large globe lights, or the larger oval bulks. Consider stuffing a few of the lights into a mason jar (I found a blue mason jar a few months ago and it worked beautifully here).

(Large globe lights stuffed into a beautiful blue mason jar)

2. Homemade Signage

Then, to up the ante, make your own festive signage. I posted a tutorial over the past few weeks to show you how to make the sign pictured above. I'd suggest decorating with doilies, stamps, or anything you can glue on (I seriously considered Mod Podging glitter all over the place, but didn't want to end up with an obscene amount of glitter on my couch, because we all know glitter tends to spread like, well, let's go with the flu and keep it PG).

3. Framed Signage

For those of you who don't have the time to put together a homemade sign (or perhaps you can't find a good place to put it), there's also a much easier way to include special quotes or phrases. In particular, this works well for quotes that are too long to put on a sign, like lines from poems or music.

Justin and I love this line from a traditional Christian hymn, so I wrote it out and framed it. It's not exactly in the holiday spirit, but it's a good reminder to keep your thoughts on what the holiday is all about.

4. Ornament Display
Instead of displaying all of your ornaments on your tree, create a festive display on a countertop by placing a few ornaments in a small (or large!) bowl or glass. I suggest going with ornaments that are in a similar color scheme. You can work with your existing collection, or stop by Home Depot to pick up a package of ornaments in the same color family.

I put the ornaments in a thrift store bought, Kate Spade-esque bowl that was a gift from my Aunt Betsy and Unka Toby as at my housewarming party.

5. Unconventional Colors
You may have noticed as you browsed the images in this post that my color scheme for Christmas decor is somewhat unconventional. To replace the traditional red and green, I used blues, silvers, and other "cool" hues to keep things fresh. In picking these colors, I was inspired by snow and ice, by songs like "White Christmas" "Let It Snow."

I also played around with a new Christmas tree idea. For those of you who, like me, are renters and city dwellers, sometimes it's just a big hassle to get a live Christmas tree in the city, haul it to your place (or pay for it to be delivered), and then deal with disposing of it afterward. Instead, we went with a small, shiny white tree from my mother and decorated it with blue Christmas ornaments.

We also strung blue ornaments in front of the windows, to add a bit of festive flair without making things too cluttered.

DIY Vintage Chic "Let It Snow" Christmas Decor

Tweet this!

Christmastime is here, and I'm in good spirits because I love my apartment. I'm a bit biased against the traditional Christmas colors, though. I have a strong preference for cooler tones that mimic the weather outside -- no, not "frightful," but the colors of sky and snow. Blues and silvers, glitter and shine, those are the colors and textures that make Christmastime special for me.

So when it came to decorating my apartment, I was determined to do it in a way that fit for me. Which meant it had to fit my color scheme and, of course, it had to be a DIY project. Here's one of the projects I came up with:

I've got to say, I'm quite happy with it. The bright globe lights feel like shining stars, and the phrase is one of my favorites. I considered something like "The first Noel," and almost chose to go with "Emmanuel" (might make a second one that says that, actually). But, alas, I decided to go with the extremely catchy line, "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow."



Supplies:

• Brown paper (I used paper cut from brown paper grocery bags)
• Light paper to cut out letters (I used light blue paper that is lined, to add some extra detail. I would also suggest using light colored graph paper)
• Scissors
• Glue Stick
• Twine

Directions:

First, cut out rectangles for each letter, as well as one to place in between each word so that the letters don't run together. "Let It Snow" has 9 letters and 2 spaces, so I cut out 11 pieces. Make sure the pieces are roughly the same size.

Next, trace letters onto your lighter paper. I chose to do all uppercase letters. If you want things to look perfect, you could choose a font on the computer and type the word out (making sure the letters are large enough to fit nicely on your background sheets, of course) to use as stencils. Personally, I enjoy the handmade flair, so I drew my letters freehand. I went with all capitals, and added hand drawn serifs.

Once you've drawn or traced your letters, cut them out and glue them onto the brown background. 

Use scissors or a hole punch to poke two holes on each of the pieces. Keep the holes on the top left and right, but be sure not to get too close to the edges (because the closer you get with the hole, the higher likelihood there is that you'll accidentally rip through to the edge as you assemble the project).

Finally, string the twine or string through your pieces. I came in from the top on one side, threaded it around the back, and popped back out on the other side. If you want more string to show, begin at the back, then thread it through to the front so that the string spans the center top of the paper, then back out to the back. Whichever method you choose, keep it consistent on each piece.

When you're finished, hang your wonderful creation!

Healthy Holiday and Pumpkin Recipes

Tweet this!
Halloween is over. Over, I dare say! I know, some of you are already busting out your fuzzy green and red socks, watching Elf, and drinking hot chocolate. Which is fine. Because I'm totally planning to do that, too.

But... let's give Thanksgiving its due attention, my friends! With these healthy recipes, you can enjoy the Thanksgiving festivities without the guilt! Eat away, my friends!

Last year, I did a Pumpkin recipe series and a Healthy Holidays recipe series. That means we've got twice the amount of food to work with! Here's an overview of those delicious meals:

Pumpkin Recipe Series

[Click on each dish for the recipe and more photos!]

Healthy Holiday Series