goodbye 2013, hello 2014!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday and rang in the new year with friends and family. I have been soaking up time with my husband and family over the past couple weeks but I'm excited to get back to a more regular blog posting schedule.
To kick things off, here are my top 10 posts from 2013. I want to thank you guys for stopping by to check out my projects & posts. I look forward to lots of fun in 2014 (click on the pictures below to visit the original post).

Also, I have so exciting news! Starting in January, I will be a monthly contributor at Remodelaholic! I am what they're calling their "Home Decor Q&A" girl - if you have a question about design, color schemes, paint, furniture, etc. you can submit a question & picture to me using this form and your question could be featured in my monthly post. I want to thank you ahead of time for supporting me in this fun new endeavor. My first post goes live on January 16th! You can check out more info and scout out who else will be contributing over at Remodelaholic this year in this post.

So... on that note: I hope everyone is excited for a fun & crafty 2014! I know I am :)

yummy holiday treats

The whole point of Treat Week was to show you some cute, yet super simple, ideas for holiday gifts. My friend Lindsay, my mom and I made all of these treats last Sunday when we were assembling baskets for some of our clients at work. We figured the marshmallow pops, chai latte, pistachio & cranberry bark & christmas chow would please a variety of people and would also look pretty assembled into a gift basket.

On top of all those goodies, we made reindeer cookies! Want to make your own?

Reindeer Cookie Directions

Simply bake or buy sugar cookies (we bought pre-made dough) and decorate by piping antlers using melted chocolate. Use a little chocolate to secure an M&M nose and 2 mini chocolate chip eyes. You can't go wrong with sugar cookies and the extra decorations make them very festive.

Here is my largest basket with all of the goodies assembled. I threw in some napkins, a few other store bought & homemade treats and a granite cutting board with cheese knife (we are in the flooring & granite business) and my basket was complete.

What kind of goodies do you like to receive around the holidays? Will any of the goodies from Treat Week end up in your rotation of yummy gifts this year?

[p.s. this post may be linked to any number of these blogs]

christmas chow

This is probably my FAVORITE treat that I've shared so far for Treat Week... Christmas Chow! Yes, It is your standard and beloved Puppy Chow recipe (AKA Muddy Buddies) with a cute name spin for the holidays. This stuff is like crack. Seriously. Once you start eating it it's hard to stop. Chocolate...peanut butter...powdered sugar...yum!

Chex "Christmas Chow" Ingredients

9 cups rice chex cereal

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions

Measure out Chex cereal and put into large bowl. Set aside.

In microwave, melt together the chocolate chips, peanut butter & margarine until smooth and well combined (30 second increments). Stir in vanilla.

Pour chocolately peanut buttery mixture over cereal and coat well. Move Chex into a large ziplock bag. Add powdered sugar and shake until well coated and dispersed.  Spread on waxed paper to cool.

Now that your Christmas Chow is made, what are you going to put it in? I was giving this chow as a gift so I wrapped some left over Slim Fast containers I had saved with some Faux Bois wrapping paper that I've been hoarding. I also created this fun little printable! The printable is for the Avery 2.5" round labels.

Check out the original "Chex Muddy Buddies" recipe here.

Download my personalized printable here.

[p.s. this post may be linked to any number of these blogs]

white chocolate pistachio & dried cranberry bark

So far for Treat week, I've shared my Marshmallow pops & Homemade Chai Tea Mix. Treat week continues today with another fun & festive goodie... White Chocolate Pistachio & Dried Cranberry Bark! 

This delicious recipe was one that was recommended to me by my cousin Erin. She saw it last year around the holidays and thought it was so pretty. Neither one of us got around to make it last year so it was on my list of treats to make this year. The concept & ingredients are super simple.
Ingredients: 1 lb. of white chocolate 1/2 cup shelled pistachios 1/2 cup dried cranberries How to make: Over a double boiler, melt your chocolate until it is nice and smooth. Set a side for a few minutes to cool. Once slightly cooled, mix in the pistachios & cranberries. Spread chocolate mixture onto a pan prepared with parchment paper. Smooth chocolate mixture into a thin, even layer. The recipe I saw didn't call for this but I sprinkled a few extra pistachios & cranberries onto the top of my chocolate to add more color. Allow the bark to cool for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator before breaking into pieces.

Another easy & pretty holiday treat completed! Are you getting into the Christmas spirit? [p.s. this post may be linked to any number of these blogs]