Holidays

The holiday season is upon us, and with it comes a whirlwind of festivities and celebrations. Whether you’re attending a glamorous New Year’s Eve soiree or a festive holiday gathering, finding the perfect outfit is essential.

Do you have people in your life who don’t quite make the gift giving list, but you still want to do something nice for them? Or are you heading to a holiday party and you don’t want to show up empty-handed? I have the perfect solution for you. This super quick, easy and totally thoughtful cookie gift box is your answer.

In the U.S. the Super Bowl is practically a national holiday, and food takes center stage. Nothing reminds me more of watching the ‘big game’ than some peanuts and beer. I’ve never seasoned my own nuts before, so I thought it was something worth trying. I didn’t realize just how easy it is and I love that there are almost endless combinations of flavors I could create.

School’s out for the summer! With graduation ceremonies wrapping up, it officially feels like summer is here. Let’s celebrate the start of summer with these must-try summer sangria recipes.

We started thinking about what would be a nice alternative to the margarita because Cinco De Mayo is around the corner. It’s a relatively big deal here in Arizona.

About a year ago, my hubby decided to make grilled sweet potato wedges with cilantro and lime dressing as one of our side dishes for a family party. I love grilled vegetables. Actually, I like all grilled food, but especially grilled veggies. His mom and sister were visiting from California so he created a mini family BBQ for them. Although he made a bunch of yummy food, the grilled sweet potatoes are the stand-out dish that his mom is still talking about.

What are you making for the holidays this year? Tired of regular mashed potatoes? I think you should try garlic smashed potatoes as one of your holiday side dishes this year. Why – you ask? Well, these are so easy to make and taste so much better than your standard mashed potatoes.

Are you into sweet potato recipes for your holiday meals? What are your go-to side dishes? We almost always make cornbread stuffing, mac and cheese, and roasted Brussels sprouts. Every now and then, we’ll also make a sweet potato casserole.

The holiday season beckons with festive gatherings, and nothing captures the spirit quite like a meticulously crafted cheese board. Whether you’re hosting an intimate family get-together or a grand holiday soiree, a thoughtfully curated cheese board can stand as the centerpiece of your table, impressing guests with its charm and delicious variety. In this guide, we’ll delve into the art of building the perfect holiday cheese board, exploring the types of cheeses to include, the artful selection of complementary accompaniments, various styles of cheese boards, and inventive presentations to elevate your holiday celebrations.

St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner, so I made these adorable Pot of Gold Oreo Dipped Cookies. My kids love a festive treat, and they were so excited to see these adorable dipped Oreos. If you’re looking for a fun and festive treat this St. Patrick’s day, these pot of gold cookies are easy to make and so darn cute.

Happy Halloween everyone! I hope you enjoy some time trick-or-treating with your kids, get dressed up yourself, or make room for a few extra pieces of candy today. This is Rocco’s second Halloween, but the first time he’ll be in a costume. I can’t wait to see how he reacts to his giant pumpkin costume. Everyone should be a pumpkin once in their lives.

Starting traditions for my own little family is my favorite part of the holiday season. One tradition that unwittingly started a few years ago is baking these tasty glazed pumpkin cookies every fall.

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you enjoy a long weekend with your family, friends and good food.

Shopping for the men in my life always seems harder, somehow, than shopping for women. With that in mind, I’ve rounded up 12 unique Christmas gift ideas under $25 that should satisfy a broad range of men in your life.

A quintessential Christmas cookie is the peanut butter kiss cookie. This year, I wanted to try something new, so when I found this crinkle recipe, I thought it might make a good base for chocolate peppermint kiss cookies.

I love the idea of DIY Christmas gifts, which I previously mentioned in a DIY Christmas ornaments post. Homemade gifts have the allure of being personal and are more thoughtful than a store-bought gift. There is just something sentimental and intimate about a homemade gift. Below are nine unique and creative DIY Christmas gift ideas. They all seem doable, even for the not-so-crafty girl like me.

Ginger is one of those flavors that immediately conjure images of Christmas Trees and sitting by the fireplace. I’m definitely a proponent of homemade cookies, but I have been known to buy a tube of that gingerbread cookie dough at the store, roll them in sugar, and make quick and easy ginger snaps.

If money were no object, what gift would you want to receive for Christmas? With that question in mind, I compiled 10 outrageously expensive Christmas gifts. Many of the items I found left me puzzled or laughing, but I wouldn’t mind owning a few of these. It’s hard for me to fathom receiving such an opulent gift, but I could definitely imagine these items elegantly wrapped underneath someone’s gold-plated, diamond-encrusted Christmas tree.

I love chocolate in almost anything, but not that many Christmas cookies are chocolate-based. I’m always on the hunt for a Christmas cookie recipe I haven’t tried, so I was excited to find these Chocolate Snowcap cookies that combine chocolate and a wintry look.

Did you ever mail a Christmas list for Santa? I sure did. I see no good reason why I should give up hope that he’ll bring me cool stuff now that I’m an adult. So, even though I could be on the naughty list, what do I have to lose? Santa, if you read chick blogs, feel free to place any of these items under my tree. My closet and I thank you.

I’m not really much for resolutions, but I do like thinking about the year that has been and the year to come, reminiscing about the highlights from 2013 and looking forward to the adventures that 2014 will bring.

I wanted to share these wonderful Cinco De Mayo margarita recipes because, during my coming of age in Green Bay, this wonderful holiday passed us by, which is a darn shame.

This Fourth of July weekend, I’ll be chasing this little guy around, spending some time at the pool with friends, grilling out, and playing with sparklers. I hope you have a safe and happy holiday weekend. Happy 4th of July!

Halloween is just a week away. I searched Pinterest to find totally fun Halloween desserts that I think both kids and adults would love. There are so many cute desserts out there. I’m always so impressed with other bloggers’ creativity and craftsmanship when it comes to fun desserts.

With Thanksgiving only a little over a week away, most of us are planning what dish we’re going to bring or who’s going to host this year. I’m sure the last thing on your mind is what you’re going to wear to your Thanksgiving dinner. Rightly, you are thinking about the food and the people.

As a kid, my Thanksgiving plate was basically white — turkey breast, mashed potatoes, and a dinner roll. It’s not that my family didn’t have more choices on the table, it’s that my midwestern palate just never got very developed. I never ate the cranberries, the gravy or the stuffing. Being the baby of the family, my parents never forced me to try things I didn’t want to try, so my experience with food was limited, at best.

Last week, our friends at Toyota invited us to the Phoenix Zoo to get a preview of ZooLights, and also check out a few of their new cars for 2015. During the day, Jade put a ton of miles on a sporty 2015 Camry. The kids and I joined him later to see ZooLights, pretty much by ourselves.

For me, the day after Thanksgiving isn’t just about scoring deals at the mall, it’s about getting out the Christmas decorations. I tend to put up the tree first because it just makes me happy. There’s just something about staring at the white lights and back-lit ornaments that gives me pure joy. So much joy in fact, that as a kid, I begged my mom to keep the tree up until my birthday in early January.

My daughter turns one next month. So, I’ve been digging around on Pinterest, looking for cute first birthday ideas. I found so many cute baby girl birthday themes, it was hard to narrow them down.

How are you celebrating this 4th of July? We’re planning a pretty low-key long weekend at home with trips to the local splash pads and a few dips in our pool. We will definitely throw some burgers or brats on the grill and make some yummy side dishes, but I want to make some fun and festive.

My husband and I don’t eat very much candy. Our kids don’t eat much candy either — not just because we limit it, but mostly because they don’t like it. Crazy, right? This lack of candy-eating means that trick-or-treating yields a ton of leftover Halloween candy that we don’t really want around the house.

For me, Thanksgiving dinner is really about the sides. The turkey gets all the hype, but I could not care less about the bird (even though my hubby has a magical ability to make it really tasty). I’m a side dish gal all the way. As a kid, I would fill my plate with mashed potatoes (extra butter) and the fresh from the oven, still warm, dinner rolls. Yes, quite the healthy dinner plate.

During the holidays, I always search for Italian-inspired recipes to try, as a way to connect to my heritage. Last year, it was Italian wedding cookies and Florentine lace cookies. This year, it’s homemade chocolate peppermint biscotti.

I’m really looking forward to 2016 and my 36th year on this planet (my birthday is this week). The next 360-ish days will definitely include a lot of travel, thanks to my awesome day job. I also look forward to the end of diapers! Rocco learned to potty train in 2015, and I am sure Gigi will be quick behind him this year.

Gigi loves animals. She consistently asks us to read her the same animal book over and over. When we were deciding on a theme for her 2nd birthday, it was a pretty easy decision to choose a zoo birthday party as the theme.

Are you ready for Easter? I’m not. I just realized this past weekend that I need to get organized! I haven’t even started thinking what Gigi’s going to wear. So, I’m on the hunt for toddler girls spring dresses, preferably under $25.

I love to bake. It is so therapeutic and a really great stress-reliever. The holidays can be so stressful and finding gifts for everyone can feel like such a challenge. That’s why I love to give baked goods as gifts. This year, I created these little Christmas tree brownies and found cute little white boxes, perfect for gift-giving.

I decided to try my artistic skills with royal icing to make gingerbread emoji cookies. After making these irreverent and funny gingerbread men, I had a bunch of leftover gingerbread dough and royal icing. I racked my brain to think of another recipe that could use the ingredients.

I wish I could take your unconditional love and box it up. The way you look at me, the way you adore me, I want to sear it into my memory – the memory of your innocence, your perfect self, before the world gets in the way. This unconditional love is something I never knew existed, not truly, until I had you.

What do you give someone who invites you to their house for a holiday party, or to the person who is hosting you for a holiday trip? It can be really tricky to decide what is appropriate, so I’ve come up with 12 hostess gift ideas to help you get ready for the holiday season.

Despite my love of the holidays, I have a problem. My husband is a Grinch. He hates the holidays, for a variety of reasons. We’ve been together for almost 15 years, so I’m used to his grouchiness around the holidays. However, I still want my kids to love the holidays just as much as I do. My husband keeps his grumpiness to himself, most of the time, so I want to start some fun holiday traditions this year that are simple to accomplish with preschoolers.

Even before we had kids, we decided Santa wasn’t going to be a thing in our house, not in a traditional way. We both didn’t like the idea of lying to our kids, but I personally also hated how hurt I felt when I found out Santa wasn’t real. I can still remember the exact day, the entire scenario that played out, and how crushed I was.

On Veterans Day, my kids and I attended the first night of Disney Merriest Nites. This is a special after-hours event featuring 6 separate holiday parties. Tickets for this year are sold out, but if you were lucky enough to snag a ticket, here is what you can expect!

Are you looking for a fun and easy Halloween project? Your kids (and family) will love these adorable skeleton shoes. Using my Cricut Maker 3 (gifted from my friends at Cricut), I created these cute shoes for both of my kids in less than an hour. I never thought to create Cricut shoes, but it was so much easier than you might imagine. Read on to see how I made these perfect-for-Halloween black skeleton shoes.

It’s holiday entertaining time, so I wanted to try some new cocktail recipes. Next Monday, I will be on KTLA sharing some of my favorite holiday drinks, appetizers, and dessert recipes. (In case you missed my other KTLA appearances 1; 2). One of the recipes I’m going to share is this cranberry and pomegranate margarita.

If you’re a fan of Starbucks, you’ve probably tried their delicious Cranberry Bliss Bars. These sweet and festive treats are the perfect addition to your holiday menu. But with this copycat cranberry bliss bar recipe, you can enjoy them year-round.

This delightful project not only adds a sweet touch to your festive decor but also connects you with the rich history of peppermint candies and the reason they are so readily available during the holidays. In this comprehensive guide, I’ll discuss the history of peppermint candies and why they are so universally available during the holidays. Then, I’ll share a really cute DIY Christmas candy dish by melting peppermint candies.

The joyous holiday season is here, and what better way to celebrate the spirit of togetherness than with matching Christmas pajamas! This heartwarming trend has taken the world by storm, transforming bedtime into a festive family affair.

Fudge, with its creamy texture and rich flavor, has been a beloved treat for generations. Traditionally, making fudge involves a complex process with multiple ingredients and precise measurements. However, what if I told you that you could whip up a delicious batch of fudge with just two ingredients? Yes, you read that right – two ingredients!

How do you celebrate Easter? Last year was the first time that my kids really ‘got’ Easter. I coordinated a small little Easter egg hunt in the backyard and filled their eggs with little toys. Now that they’re another year older, I figured it was time to up my decorating game. I created this simple bunny candy jar that’s a quick and easy DIY Easter decor idea anyone can create at home.

As the holiday season approaches, there’s no better way to get into the Christmas spirit than with a cozy cup of coffee or hot chocolate in a festive mug. Christmas mugs aren’t just containers for your warm drinks; they’re expressions of joy and warmth, often serving as seasonal decorations and personal keepsakes.

The holiday season is a time for creative decorations, and nothing says festive and unique quite like Christmas tree succulents. These trendy arrangements combine the natural beauty of succulents with the charm of a Christmas tree, making them the perfect decorative addition to your holiday décor.