Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Easy Chocolate and Coffee Fudge with Vanilla Salt

This recipe by Citrus and Candy looks divine!

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Baci by Perugina: Finest Italian Chocolates

I got a box of Baci! They are so good! And each chocolate comes with a little love note in Italian, English, Spanish, French and German.

Adorable.

I've eaten 4 so far...here are my love quotes

"Love has made me live love ardently." - G. Stampa

"Oh truly love me! Oh murmur words of fire!" - J. keats

"Lovers can live on kisses and water." - Proverbio

"You will always be beautiful to me and I will always be true to you." - Cira de Pers

Baci – A kiss from the heart of Italy. Silky dark chocolate enrobes a heart of gianduia (a luscious creamy blend of milk chocolate and ground hazelnuts) dotted with chopped hazelnuts and crowned with a whole hazelnut. Each confection is hugged with a love note and is wrapped in Baci’s signature silver and blue foil.

Such a cute idea to give to your sweetie.

Monday, December 26, 2011

Butter London Nail Lacquer

Yummy Mummy and Toff

Shanny got me some beautiful Butter London nail lacquers. I just love these colors! They are so pretty and the best thing it that Butter London is a 3 free company-- meaning no formaldehyde, toluene or DBP. "They believe in color, not carcinogens" I like that!

Yummy Mummy: Our ‘magic’ lacquer. This medium beige colour is simply stunning on EVERY skin colour. If you can’t decide on a lacquer, then we will for you. It’s this.

Toff: A darker, dustier, brownish variation on a rose pink. Stop to smell them. The roses, not the toffs.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

DIY: Reindeer Gift Bags

I made these cute little reindeer bags for my nanny girls school Christmas parties. We filled each reindeer with peppermints, chocolates and other fun candies! These were fun to make and less than $1 per bag including all the candy! The girls told me that the gift bags were a big hit with their classmates. I found this cute idea from Family Fun.

Instructions

1. Use a pencil to mark a brown paper bag as shown, then cut along the solid lines to create a rounded top and 2 separate teardrop ear shapes.

2. Fold the bag along the dotted line, then hot glue an antler (cut from brown card stock) and an ear inside the fold on each side of the bag.

3. For the eyes, (I bought googly eyes from Micheal's craft store -- much easier than cutting out your own) glue them to the bag with a hot glue gun.

4. Glue on a red pom-pom for a nose. Let all of the glue dry before placing a small gift inside.

***If your kids are under 10 yrs. old I'd suggest doing all the gluing yourself. You can have little one help with separating and stuffing the bags with candy.***

Homemade Gingerbread Cookies

I made these gingerbread cookies last week with my nanny kids. I love this recipe, it comes out perfectly every time.
Recipe comes from Annie's Eats.

Ingredients:
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1½ tsp. ground cloves
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
16 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup molasses
1 large egg

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and spices to combine; set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in the molasses and egg until combined. Add in the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Cover the bowl and chill the dough for at least one hour.
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured work surface to about ¼-inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place the cookie shapes onto the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and let cool completely. Decorate as desired.