New Years Eve and a Bubbly Bar

Hello, hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! We had such a fun time visiting with all of our family and Sawyer got his first taste of opening presents. Christmas in California means...palm trees lit up, grinch sweaters, grandma making gingerbread reindeer pancakes, and high socks.

I love that the holiday isn't over yet. We always host New Years Eve and I'm really looking forward to the festivities this year. 2015 is looking to be a big year!

I got to work decorating for the New Year with this Bubbly Bar - Printable Party Kit. Our Bubbly Bar on Thanksgiving was so well received it's only natural to have it on New Years Eve. Of course, I had to restyle it for NYE!

What you need:

• Backdrop:  two poster boards (I used a crazy silver pattern, but black or white would work as well.)
• Printables:  Bubbly Bar and New Years Eve Printable Kits from my Etsy shop.
• Décor:  NYE Party Decorations from my local party store. Anything with black, gold, silver would work. I almost did all black.

The collection is a mix of glitter and chalkboard! It's so pretty in person.

I'm a total glitter girl. Having a little one makes me want to use actual glitter, much less. The printables are super sparkly and glittery without all the mess!

Chalkboard cutout cards give flexibility on adding personal touches. POP, FIZZ, Clink!

I decorated standard champagne glasses and wrapped them in washi tape. This metallic glitter washi tape set comes in the perfect colors to match the collection.

Pop, Fizz, Click!

What's New Years without a Midnight Kiss? I used to think if I got kissed on New Years it would naturally mean I would have an amazing new year. So if you don't have someone to kiss, but still want to have a great new year you can alway eat some chocolate. Same thing...right? Personally, I will be smooching the hubs and eating chocolate. Double whammy. Must mean it's going to be a great upcoming year!

The entire alphabet is included in the bubbly bar collection. Spell any word! I was limited on space so  C-H-E-E-R-S worked for me.

Time to Ring in the New Year! Any reason to have donuts and my husband is all over it. Personally, I prefer diamonds! I made these glitter diamond cut-outs to stick into ring-shaped appetizers or desserts.

Drinks for the kiddies. Happy MOO-Year Cocktails! I have a friend and fellow blogger Lauren from Minute for Mom who created appetizers, a dessert and these cute kid friendly cocktails for the big night.

Lauren handcrafted these Spinach Artichoke Bites. I popped them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes and they were delicious warmed up.

For a healthy spin on dip Lauren made Almond Butter Yogurt Dip. This recipe has a base of greek yogurt and almond butter, plus a little honey to sweeten things up. So you don't have to feel guilty when you eat half the bowl.

For desser...White Chocolate Oreo Truffles. Holy smokes are these good! I'm not going to even tell you how many of these I ate. For these and all the recipes from this post check out Minute for Mom for all the details!

RECIPES:  Minute for Mom I DECOR:  Etsy Store

Holiday Baking & Gift Making

When my mom invited me over to bake cookies with her I jumped all over it. Baking and the holidays go hand in hand. Feeding your friends and family is the ultimate way to say you care. Today I'm going to share 3 cookies that are guaranteed to satisfy.

First up, a pre made cookie mix from 3 Nutz Baking Co. These cookies are super addictive and the best part, they are healthier than your average. The Chocolate Chip Kookie Mix is Paleo friendly and gluten free. You just add eggs, vanilla extract and bake. How easy is that? You can also opt for an egg replacer to make the mix vegan.

I mixed together the prepackaged dry ingredients with 2 eggs and 4 tsps of vanilla extract. Mini chocolate chips (which distributed evenly in every bite) are packaged separately so they don't get broken up in the initial mixing of ingredients. This family run company seriously thought of everything.

The mix is pretty sticky and the final cookie shape is based on how you mold your raw dough. Too keep each cookie looking perfect I used a scoop. This was my first time with this gadget and it's life changing! No mess and a perfect cookie.

Since it is the holidays and that clearly means time to overindulge I dipped half the cookies in dark chocolate and sprinkles.

Use coupon code CURLYQ to get $1 off this cookie mix now until January 31st! These cookies are good anytime, but especially to help with new years resolutions. They are a great way to satisfy your sweet tooth without stretching your pants! Click here to shop.

Next up the easiest cookie you could ever "make", Reese's chocolate chip cookies. I put the word make in quotes because this cookie starts with pre made cookie dough. Buy the kind that comes in little square blocks. I used chocolate lovers cookie dough, but chocolate chip or peanut butter would also do the trick. Using a mini muffin pan stick each square in a hole. Bake according to the directions on the cookie package.

While the cookies bake, unwrap the same number of mini Reese's peanut butter cups. This is the hardest part of making this cookie, because it's real tough not to eat every opened candy.

When the cookies come out of the oven stick a Reese's in each one and let them cool. Pop out and eat package these babies up!

This cookie recipe is brought to you by my mother by way of my grandma. Audrey's Butterhorn Cookies are named after a lovely lady who used to live next to my grandma Lucy. These cookies are buttery, flaky and rolled in sugary goodness. I also happen to think they are the perfect accompaniment to a warm cup of coffee or tea!

A note for all the cookie dough eaters:  do not eat this dough. You will think to yourself OMG this is missing something and you would be right. The cookie does not come together until the outer layer of sugar is added. You have been warned, but just like me you will probably STILL sample a scoop.

Audrey's Butterhorn Cookies

Yields 100 cookies

Dough Ingredients:

• 3 cups Flour

• 3 sticks Unsalted butter

• 2/3 cup Granulated sugar (Place an additional 2 cups of sugar in a bowl to roll cookies in after baking)

• 1/2 cup Almonds (skin on, grind in food processor until a dust consistency)

Preparation Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Take a tablespoon of dough and roll it in your hands to form a crescent shape. Lay on parchment lined cookie trays. Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly golden. Let cool, but while the cookie is warm roll it in the 2 cups of sugar you set aside in a bowl.

Even Sawyer got in on the fun! Perhaps we have a future baker on our hands?

I wrapped up all the cookies in blue, silver, and chalkboard paper. Now all that's left is delivering my handmade treats.

Pancake Breakfast Gift Basket

This sweet little basket is going to one of our favorite neighbors. It's a little homemade mixed with a whole lot of pre-made.

It's all about the details, bakers twine, chalkboard cutouts, and hand lettered tags with instructions.

The breakfast breakdown:

Gingerbread Pancakes with Maple Syrup

Million Dollar Bacon

Mimosas

1 - Orange Juice // 2 - Maple Syrup // 3 - Champagne // 4 - Kitchen Towels // 5 - Mini Carafe // 6 - Million Dollar Bacon recipe here // 7 - Bakers Twine // 8 - Bacon // Gingerbread Pancake Mix

Sawyer's Style - Toddler Boy Fashion

I remember the day I found out I was having a boy I was overwhelmed with joy, but also slightly sad inside for all of the girly fashion moments I would not be having. Tutu's, headbands, and pink everything was not in my forecast. There are so many cute styles for girls, but boy's fashion never really stood out to me. That is until I had a little man of my own. When I started paying attention I realized just how many options there are for boys. You just have to think about it differently and it starts to be a lot of fun!

Fashion does not have to be crazy expensive. It's hard for me to justify spending a ton of money on clothes that Sawyer will grow out of in a short period of time. I hunt for deals Sublime shirt, take all the hand-me-downs I can get DC Shoes (score of the century similar found here), I hint around to grandma and grandpa's what "Sawyer" likes, and I embrace whatever comes his way. It's all another fashion moment. I also spend money here and there on statement pieces like these gray jeans (similar found here).

This boy changes everyday. One day he won't let me dare put a hat on his curly haired head, and now he points to his hats and insists to wear one. I secretly am dying inside with pure joy at his newfound fashion moment.

Leggings // Hat from Target (no longer available, but I'm all about this one!) // Shirt from Old Navy (no longer available, but this shirt is a great score! // Black low top chucks On sale with free shipping now!

The tighter the pant, the better! Well in our case this is true. Sawyer enjoys pulling on and off his prosthetic (about 5,000 times a day), but when I put skinny jeans, leggings, or jeggings on him it's much more difficult. With that said…Sawyer rocking girl jeggings (cause who is gonna know, but me and well now you). I still think it's a fashion must for boys of a certain age.

For more Sawyer Style click here or follow me on Instagram.

Girlfriends Brunch & Gift Exchange

Every year around Christmas I get together with my girlfriends for a holiday brunch and gift exchange. One friend hosts the party and we all bring food and a wrapped present. This year I brought Millon Dollar Bacon to the table. It's bacon and baked slathered in a mixture of brown sugar, cayenne pepper, red pepper, and ground black pepper. It's the perfect mix of salty, sweet, and a whole lotta heat! Think candied bacon.

Instead of getting each person a small gift we pool our money and buy one nice present and exchange them white elephant style. We always have a theme and this year was GIRLS NIGHT OUT! I felt so inspired and put together this package for one lucky lady.

This would also be the perfect gift at a bachelorette party, girlfriend's birthday, or just to brighten someone's day. It would also be fun to switch up the color. Paint the town purple, pink, or how about glitter! You could match wedding colors, or your friend's personality. Download your free "Paint the Town Red" tag here.

Winner of most steals of the day was this perfectly put together gift. It contained:  Corona Light (or add your favorite beer), Lime, Girl's Night Out Party Mix, Alka-Seltzer, ibuprofen (love my friends sense of humor), nail polish, and a travel size perfume. Not only was this clever, but it has mass appeal.

I always bring a small present for the hostess of the event. I gifted a marbled clay ring dish. The original blog post with DIY instructions can be found here. I am a sucker for a good craft. I had so much fun making these little dishes I created one for all the girls.

I wrapped each gift in black paper and hand-lettered with a chalkboard pen personalized gift tags. I love adding a handmade touch to my gifts. I also cut a small sprig of rosemary and attached it with some glittery tape to make my packages festive.

Do you and your friends have any holiday traditions? I would love to hear about them.