new years eve nails

i'm getting my nails done tomorrow in preporation of nye ! which one do you think i'll pick ?

splurge :

deborah lipmann's happy birthday nail glitter

save :

nicole by opi's rainbow in the s-kylie ( from the kardashian collection )



post christmas blues

the day after christmas, my sister & I had no idea what to do. after the excitement and anticipation of christmas day, the day after can be a tad depressing.

so, what else do we do than go shopping ?

[ jacket: forever 21, jeans: jcrew, booties:zara, purse: fendi, sequin top: elizabeth & james, sweater: jcrew ]

[ watch: timex, bracelets: banana republic, jcrew ]

raspberry linzer cookies

christmas has somehow become synonymous with cookies.  I spent christmas eve and the time I had off thereafter baking away with my family & one of my favorites out of the variety we had baked were these jam filled sugar cookies.

I added lemon zest to the recipe to add a little kick of flavor. I also dusted the finished cookies with confectioners sugar, which always makes anything baked looked better.  

delish !

arts & crafts with the fam !

such an easy craft & so much fun .

my family loves making these ornaments every year for friends & family,

and I love having sand from my favorite beach with me wherever I am on the holidays .



happiness is ...

sorry for the brief hiatus ! I hope everyone is having a great holiday filled with family, food, & many festivities .

bloody marys on christmas morning

holiday nails [ opi's happy halli-grays & sephora for opi's only gold for me ]

my aunt's delicious candy called white trash .. dangerously addictive

the faux mink throw I recieved from restoration hardware for christmas

christmas tree sugar cookies with royal icing

have a safe & healthy holiday everyone ! xox *s

home for the holidays !

chocolate mousse filled chocolate covered strawberries !

try saying that 5 times fast !

by request from joey & my mom, I made chocolate mousse last night.  I decided to do something a bit creative & hollowed out strawberries - filling the middle with the creamy mousse. after letting them settle in the refrigerator, I dipped them in dark chocolate.

this is a chocolate lover's ( a.k.a. me ) dream. absolutely amazing.

beautiful !

make the chocolate mousse with this recipe

happiness is ...

bottled flowers from here

antler chandelier in macy's ...  I need

finding the cat's we're babysitting cuddling in my hamper

festive nails - opi's ali's big break with sephora by opi's only gold for me top coat

homemade philly cheesesteak & pear / goat cheese salad on sunday instead of greasy wings / takeout 

happy sunday !

thrift store finds

yesterday, I went to second hand stores throughout my neighborhood in search of random odds & ends I could restore.  when going to thrift stores, it is always good to have a project in mind beforehand - if not you could get lost in the endless possibilities of how one man's junk can become your treasures ! 

this time, I had mason jars on my mind. I told you all of my love of the handy jars, and I had an idea of spray-painting them either a sea-foam green or a quaint yellow as a flower vase. 

of course, in my search for mason jars, I happened to pick up a few things along the way. 

in addition to mason jars, I found a large & beautiful starfish & votive holders. I also decided to spray paint clam shells from my hometown I had spread throughout my apartment.  

I first primed all my findings in a white coat so the spray paint was ensured to stick.

sea life in silver

so pretty !

finished project - cute right ? 

the perfect brownies

last night I made the perfect brownies for company I had over.  they really were perfect - soft on the inside and just the right hardness around the edges. the next day they were even better ( if that's possible ) after being in the refrigerator overnight. they tasted like fudge. mmm mm ! 

you would be surprised at the simplicity of the ingredients, just as the cinnamon buns I had all the necessary supplies in my cabinet ! i'll definitely be making these again for those nights when I'm craving a warm brownie, a glass of milk, & a good movie : )

simple as this !

oh. my. gosh. 

find the recipe here !

cinnamon buns

as I was unwrapping the can of pillsbury cinnamon buns in preparation for breakfast this morning, I was thinking of all the ingredients that go into the swirled biscuits. realizing that I have all the ingredients, I ditched the can and decided to make them from scratch. 

making these cinnamon buns took the same amount of time as the pre-made ones do, & took minimal effort on my part.  I love how the smell of cinnamon quickly spread throughout my apartment & the warm, gooey buns were scrumptious !

try them for yourself here !