$10 or Less

This is the first of a 3-part post dedicated to accessorizing your holiday wardrobe. Buying a new outfit for every occasion is oh-so-chic, but accessorizing the outfits you already own is a great way to save money. A bib necklace here, a fab scarf there...and voila! People will never know you're wearing the same dress you debuted last year ;).

What's with the 3-part post? Well, let me tell you... I'm accessorizing for the gal on any budget. The FIRST set is for my ladies on the Ramen Noodle plan. All of these accessories are $10 or LESS! Where can you find these little gems? Leave a comment (include accessory "number"), and I'll let you know! Enjoy!

Christmas Cake Pops

Edie is hosting her second link party of the week, and we're moving from appetizers to desserts. I chose my new, favorite recipes of the year - - Red Velvet Cake Pops. These cute little things can be made in any flavor you'd like, but red velvet is fun and festive (not to mention scrumptious). My dear friend Haley introduced me to these bad boys...and I've been addicted ever since.

Ingredients
1 box red velvet cake mix (yields approx 20 cake pops) Yes, I use a box mix...don't judge me 
Indredients included in cake mix (eggs, water, vegetable oil)
Lollipop sticks (Michael's, JoAnn's, other craft stores)
12 oz white or dark melting chocolate (fondue chocolate works best)

1/2 container cream cheese frosting

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F
Follow cake mix instructions and bake cake as you normally would 
Remove cake from oven and let cool
Transfer cake into large mixing bowl and add frosting (it's OK if cake breaks -- see next step)
Kneed cake and frosting until mixture appears "doughy"
Roll dough into balls
Melt chocolate on stove or in microwave (careful not to overheat)
Dip sticks into melted chocolate and place into center of cake ball (chocolate will help cake form to stick)

Place cake pops in freezer to cool for 30 minutes

Dip cake pops into melted chocolate (making sure entire "pop" is covered)
Twirl off excess chocolate and top with cake crumbs (or sprinkles, chocolate chips, etc.)
Place cake pop stick into styrofoam and allow to harden


Enjoy!

The Reason for the Season

I  l - o - v - e Christmas! Guilt-free shopping, twinkling lights, and glittering gifts are just a few reasons this is the most wonderful time of the year. It's easy to get caught up in all of the gift wrapping, decorating, hot chocolate guzzling, and caroling out in the snow, but it's also an important time to think about those less fortunate than ourselves.

This year, our church made it easier for us - we "adopted" a 17-year-old boy who wouldn't otherwise have gifts under his tree.

Christmas List

Hats and Beanies

Hats and beanies. Hats and beanies?! Can you imagine if that is all you wanted for Christmas? We have so many things to be thankful for, and his Christmas list helped me remember how blessed many of us really are. I will admit, it pained me only shopping for hats and beanies; I wanted to throw in some headphones, a skateboard, and video games, but our church put a $ limit on the gifts to keep it fair (for compulsive shoppers like myself). As we placed our gift bag in the "Bin O' Gifts," I couldn't help but smile.

In the spirit of giving, here are some gifts that give back this holiday season. 

1. / 2. / 3. / 4. / 5. / 6. / 7. / 8. / 9. / 10. / 11.

Holiday Appetizer

Edie is hosting an appetizer link party this week and I am so excited! Lots of yummy new recipes to add to the book before Christmas. Today, I am sharing one of my favorite apps of all time - bacon wrapped dates...Holy.Deliciousness. The first time I experienced this appetizer party in my mouth was at Cafe Ba Ba Reeba in Chicago. My recipe is a slightly different, but equally delicious version found below.

Ingredients
12 Pitted dates
1/2 Cup cream cheese (or any cheese you choose - goat cheese is delicious, too)
1/2 Cup brown sugar
4 - 5 slices of bacon 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F

Slice dates in half, and open them up

Pinch off pieces of cream cheese, and place them into the center of the dates

Close the halves of the dates, roll them in brown sugar, and wrap with a half-slice of bacon

Secure each date with a toothpick

Place in baking dish 

Bake for 20 minutes, or until bacon is crisp

Turn dates over after first 10 minutes for even cooking

Serve over bed of spinach drizzled with balsamic for a lovely holiday display

ENJOY! 

Holiday Gift Guide (Man Edition)

My second gift guide is for the charming chap(s) in your life. Guys can be so hard to shop for, so I've gathered some gifts that are sure to please this holiday season.

1./ 2./ 3./ 4. / 5./ 6./ 7./ 8./ 9./ 10./ 11.

No Sew Ruffles

As promised, I finished my "No Sew Ruffled Tree Skirt" tonight. It took me all of 4 hours, and my back is going to be very sore tomorrow...but it was worth it. I modified the HGTV tutorial found here. Enjoy!

Materials I Used: 

• 1 yard canvas for the base
• 2 yards linen or cotton 
• hot glue gun and glue sticks
• fabric scissors

Deck The Halls

Moving across the country meant leaving many of my decorations behind - including my entire Christmas collection. You name it, I had it - wreathes, ornaments, Santas, trees, ribbons, lights, snow, candles...etc. While this is only temporary (my mom is storing it all for me - thank you Mom!), tis the season, so I had to pick up a few things to deck these halls! Here is a look at the beginning my Christmas Vignette.

Please excuse my tree...she looks prettier at night

PS - I will be adding a few more items AND making my own tree skirt ... more to come!