Chocolate Berry Protein Smoothie Recipe + Tracking Your Macronutrients (aka macros)

Hi friends!

After a week off due to a crazy, busy schedule, I’m back. If you’re a regular at Mallard and Magnolia, you know I really enjoy healthy, clean eating (and baked goods – it’s called balance). I’m a big advocate for Whole30 and recently completed the program for the second time. I love Whole30 and appreciate the fact that you do it as a “system reset” and not a weight loss program.

However, I’ve had a few lingering pounds from the holidays that I can’t seem to get rid of. This was especially frustrating because I eat pretty clean but realized that I had probably plateaued and my portions may be off. I’ve heard a lot about tracking your macro intake and decided to give it a try. For the past three weeks, I’ve been tracking my macronutrients – carbohydrates, protein and fat and am down four pounds. I definitely feel leaner and plan to calculate my current body fat percentage in the next week or two because the goal is to lose fat and not muscle mass.

I calculated my recommended macro goal using If It Fits Your Macros at iifym.com and use My Fitness Pal – app and website for tracking. I adjusted my macro ratio in the app according to the numbers I was given by IIFYM. The only downfall to the free app is that it won’t let you input your macros based on grams. You have to adjust the percentages which means that your macros may not be exact but you can get them pretty close. I was okay with this so I stuck with the free version. I’ve also found it’s a lot easier to view your nutritional intake for the day, create meals and meal plan on the website. The app is a great tool to use on the go though!

Here’s my log from yesterday. You can easily view your intake by clicking Nutrition which shows percentages under the macro tab and grams under the nutrients tab. I didn’t hit my goal dead on but was pretty close. You can see my goal and see what I actually consumed for the day.

I’ve been making protein smoothies for breakfast lately since they are an easy and quick way to enjoy a balanced meal. The key to making a smoothie that keeps you full until lunch is making sure it includes plenty of protein, carbs and healthy fat. Today, I’m sharing one of my go-to smoothie recipes with you. I try to avoid dairy on a daily basis (but do love it) so my liquid preference is either an unsweetened almond milk or coconut almond blend.

Chocolate Berry Protein Smoothie

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 cup strawberries, frozen
• 1/4 cup blackberries, frozen
• 2 TBSP unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
• 2 cups organic baby spinach
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 1/2 cup ice

Directions

Add all ingredients into a blender. Blend on crush ice mode to break up your frozen ingredients and ice for about 30 seconds. After frozen ingredients are broken up blend on the liquify setting until smooth.

Notes: I use Silk Unsweetened Almond Milk and Body Fortress Whey Protein Isolate. I prefer to use a whey isolate protein since it has less calories than a plain whey protein.

Calories: 318, Protein: 33 grams, Carbohydrates: 26, Fat: 9, Fiber: 9, Sugar: 11

Serves 1

I hope you enjoy this quick and easy breakfast. I plan to share some other recipes soon so stayed tuned! Do you have any favorite smoothie ingredients? I’d love to try them.

Cheers, 

Christa 

Heart Linzer Cookies For Valentine’s Day

Hi there!

It’s almost Valentine’s Day so today I’m deviating from the healthier recipes I’ve been making lately to share with you a delicious cookie recipe.

Over Christmas break, my daughter and I were watching the Food Network’s “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” Christmas episode and this cookie recipe reeled me in. Linzer cookies, made with toasted almonds and sweet raspberry jam, are a traditional Austrian Christmas cookie. This variation calls for nutmeg and cinnamon which bring flavor to the dough without overtly screaming Fa-la-la-la-la. Since the cookies are cut into heart shapes, I thought, why not make these for Valentine’s Day.

We’ll be sharing our big batch of cookies with my kids’ classmates instead of paper Valentine cards. I bought clear cellophane bags for the cookies which we plan to adorn with lots of festive ribbons. Dusted with powdered sugar, these cookies make a pretty enough presentation of themselves that they can be gifted sans fancy packaging to your galantines, kiddos or sweetheart!

On days that I bake, I usually split the recipe up over two days. A lot of times, I’ll make the dough and pop it in the refrigerator to roll out and bake later. However, for this recipe, I went ahead and baked the cookies on day one and assembled them with the jam and powdered sugar on day two. Doing it this way just seems to make the task less daunting. From there, I lined an airtight container with parchment and stuck the cookies in the freezer until they are ready to bag and give out at school.

The key to this recipe is cutting your dough into thirds, rolling it out and refrigerating the sheets. Whatever you do, do not pull all three sheets of dough out of the refrigerator at the same time. Work with one sheet at a time, pulling more dough from the refrigerator as you are ready to cut and bake. This cookie dough is full of butter and becomes a mushy mess at room temperature. If you don’t work fast, it will stick to your cookie cutter and you’ll have to start over with rolling and refrigerating again. When making the cookie tops, I went a step further and cut out a sheet full of hearts and refrigerated them for another couple before I cut out the inside heart of the top cookie. The dough is so delicate and will tear easily when soft. Refrigerating them again allowed the dough to become firm so the middle heart popped out easily without ripping or sticking to the cookie sheet.

With that being said, this recipe is straightforward and easy to make. Happy baking!

Linzer Heart Sandwich Cookies Courtesy of Alex Guarnaschelli

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 sticks lightly salted butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional flour for rolling the cookies
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds, ground
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup seedless raspberry jam
• Powdered sugar, optional

Directions:

Special equipment: 2 heart-shaped (or round) cookie cutters, one about 1 1/2 inches and one about 3/4 inches

For the cookie batter: In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and continue mixing until the mixture becomes light and fluffy, 5 to 8 minutes.

In another bowl, combine and mix the flour, almonds, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Mix and roll the cookies: Because this dough has a good amount of butter, it needs resting time and needs to be rolled fairly quickly. Lay 3 large pieces of wax paper in a single layer on a flat surface. Sprinkle each one with a light coating of flour. Remove the bowl from the mixer and, using a rubber spatula, blend the flour mixture in with the butter. When the ingredients are fully integrated, place one-third of the batter on each of the pieces of wax paper. Coat with another light layer of flour and top with another piece of wax paper of the same length to make 3 dough “sandwiches.” Press these wax paper and dough sandwiches down with your hands until the dough is fairly thin. This will save a lot of time on rolling later on. Place 2 of them in the refrigerator and work with them one at a time. Roll the first batch into as neat a shape as possible. What matters most is avoiding creases or cracks and getting it to about 1/8 inch in thickness. When the first is rolled, refrigerate it and repeat the same process for the other 2. Let them chill at least 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Make the cookie bottoms: Remove the first rolled sheet from the refrigerator and cut as many 1 1/2-inch hearts (or rounds) as you can. Reserve the scraps in the refrigerator. Arrange the hearts neatly in a single layer on a greased baking sheet. Repeat with the other 2 sheets, reserving any scraps.

Make the cookie tops: Cut a heart, with the smaller cutter, out of the center of half of all the cookies. Roll the scraps in between 2 of the pieces of wax paper and cut additional hearts, if desired.

Bake and assemble the cookie sandwiches: Bake the cookies until they are lightly brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the trays from the oven and allow them to cool slightly on the tray for a few minutes before gently transferring them to a flat surface.

Place the raspberry jam in a small pot and bring it to a light simmer. Remove from the heat to cool slightly as well. Spoon 1/4 to 1/2 a teaspoon raspberry jam on each bottom and place a top heart on squarely on each. Dust with powdered sugar if desired.

Yields 2 1/2 to 3 dozen 1 1/2 inch cookies

 

Party Food: Outrageous Football Brownies For Super Bowl Sunday

Who’s ready for Super Bowl Sunday?! Whether you’re heading to a big party this weekend or watching the game at home, I’ve got an easy and delicious dessert for you. Today, I’ll be sharing my favorite brownie recipe for Outrageous Brownies from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. And since I couldn’t resist the urge to make them festive, they are cut into the shape of footballs.

A few years ago, I made these brownies for a tailgate and had a hard time finding a football-shaped cookie cutter. I purchased a medium size circular cookie cutter and molded it into the shape of a football by bending it with my hands – no special tools required. I’m sure I could have ordered one online but I’m into instant gratification.

Second tip – resue the brownie scraps! You do not want to waste a morsel of this delicious chocolatey goodness. After I cut out all my footballs, I was left with A LOT of leftover brownie scraps. I gave them a rough chop and threw them into a ziplock bag and set them in the freezer. The bite-size pieces will be perfect for ice cream toppings or a chocolate brownie trifle.  Or you can just be savage and shovel them into your mouth off the pan. No judgment here!

If you’d like to get extra fancy, feel free to finish your brownies off with a store bought white icing and pipe out the laces and stripes. I made my brownies last weekend and froze them. I decided to hold off on the icing until the day of so they don’t get messed up in the freezer.

Outrageous Brownies courtesy of The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 1 pound unsalted butter
• 1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (the 12 ounces do not get melted with the rest of the chocolate)
• 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 6 extra-large eggs
• 3 tablespoons instant coffee granules
• 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• 2-1/4 cups sugar
• 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups chopped walnuts (I omitted these)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Butter and flour a 12 x 18 x 1-inch baking sheet.

Melt together the butter, 1 pound of chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.

In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with 1/4 cup of flour, then add them to the chocolate batter.

Pour into the baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake! Allow to cool thoroughly.

At this point, you can either cut your brownies into squares or use your cookie cutter and cut them into footballs – or your desired shape and refrigerate.

Note: These brownies freeze nicely. I layered parchment paper between the layers of brownie to keep them from freezing together and stored them in a Tupperware container.  To defrost, pull them out the day before you plan to serve. 

What are you cooking up for the big game?

Cheers, 

Christa

Herbed Breakfast Potatoes with Fried Eggs & Avocado: Whole 30 Approved

Happy Sunday!

I’ve had a lot of requests for the recipes of meals I’ve been featuring on my Instagram stories lately. For a sneak peek into my kitchen, you can follow me here.

Today, I’ll be sharing one of my favorite healthy breakfast recipes. As I’ve mentioned before, I follow Whole 30 and just finished another round this week. For those unfamiliar, Whole 30 is an elimination diet that focuses on changing your relationship with food. Essentially, you eat whole foods consisting of lean protein, tons of veggies and healthy fats. You cannot have added sugar, alcohol, dairy, soy, peanuts, refined starches, legumes, certain preservatives like MSG, or processed foods of any kind. Instead of weight loss, they focus on resetting your system and ridding your body of cravings so you have a healthier relationship with food. Many people, myself included, experience the added benefits of balanced hormones, better sleep, clearer skin (it was the dairy), more energy (after the first two weeks) and weight loss. Overall, I feel so much better on this program! If you want more information on Whole 30, you can download the PDF rules and guides here.

Disclaimer: The website has a ton of information on it but I definitely recommend reading the book, The Whole30: The 30 Day Guide To Total Health And Food Freedom as it gives more in-depth information about servings sizes, approved foods, advice and the science behind the program. The new cookbook just came out but I haven’t had a chance to check it out yet so let me know your thoughts!

Today’s recipe is herbed breakfast potatoes with fried eggs and avocado. I did my first Whole 30 last May/June and the program inspired me to change my lifestyle. After the 30 days, I stuck to clean eating for the most part (the holidays did me in though). So, for breakfast for the past seven months, I’ve had some form of eggs, potato and a healthy fat which can get pretty boring quick. In an attempt to jazz up my normal breakfast routine, I whipped up this bad boy sans recipe. This dish was serendipity – a flavor party was happening in my mouth. The heavens parted and beams of light shone down on my plate while angels ascended into my kitchen singing glorious music. Okay, that’s dramatic BUT there are only so many ways to make eggs and potatoes and this recipe was pretty legit.

This meal took about 30 minutes from start to finish, so it’s a great weekend go-to or occasional workday breakfast when you have some extra time in the morning.

Herbed Breakfast Potatoes with Fried Eggs and Avocado

Ingredients:

• 1 small russet potato
• 1 cup pepper and onion blend, frozen (you can obviously use freshly sliced but I keep always frozen pepper blend in my freezer )
• 2 large handfuls of kale, de-ribbed and chopped
• 1-2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 spring fresh rosemary
• Small handful of cilantro, for garnish
• 2 eggs
• 1 avocado, sliced
• Coconut oil (or your favorite high heat cooking oil)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions:

Start by washing produce and herbs. Dice your potato into one-inch cubes and place in a small mixing bowl. Destem the thyme and rosemary and give it a rough chop. Destem the cilantro and set aside for garnishing.

Next, drizzle your potato with olive oil. Sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper, add thyme and rosemary and toss together until evenly coated.

In a non-stick skillet heat a teaspoon or two of coconut oil on medium-high heat. Add your potato mix to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally for about 10-15 minutes or until your potatoes are soft and golden on all sides.

Next, add your pepper and onion mix. Saute until your veggies are translucent. Add the kale and cook for a minute or two until your kale is wilted. Season with more salt and pepper. Turn heat off and let sit on the warm eye while you cook your eggs.

In a small skillet, heat your cooking oil on medium heat. Crack your eggs into the skillet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Let the eggs fry slowly until the whites are completely set and the yoke begins to thicken. This should take about two to three minutes. If your egg cooks too quickly, turn heat down. Flip your eggs and let cook for another minute or two, depending on how you like your eggs (I prefer medium-well).

Place your potatoes on a plate with eggs on top. Garnish with sliced avocado and cilantro. Serve immediately. Note: This is also delicious with poached eggs or spinach in place of kale.

Serves 1 hungry person

I’d love to hear from you… be sure to comment or email with any recipes you’d like to see featured on the blog!

Cheers, 

Christa 

 

Blueberry oatmeal crumble muffin recipe

Hi friends!

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend! My kids were out of school for MLK Day so we headed up to Atlanta to see The Lion King at the Fox Theater. It was a great mini-getaway for the family which I plan to share with you soon.

Last week, my daughter’s grade was asked to bring in breakfast items for a PTA breakfast for the teachers at school. Now, I don’t think I have to convince anyone that muffins are the perfect make-ahead breakfast item. Since this was an obvious choice, I thought this would be a good opportunity to try out my mom’s delicious blueberry oatmeal crumble recipe that I’ve been dying to make. I’ve had a lot on my plate lately, so I decided I would double the recipe so we’d have some for weekday breakfasts at home too.

Except… I accidentally quadrupled the recipe – oops. I doubled the recipe forgetting it had already been doubled, so I ended up with enough for the PTA breakfast plus the rest of the school. I guess I could send my kids to set up shop at the end of the driveway and have a bake sale. It’s never to early too start saving for retirement kids.

Now for a little personal info. My love of cooking and good food was passed down to me by my parents. Some of my earliest memories involve being in the kitchen with them while they cooked (and I licked the spoon).  My mom loves to bake and my dad prefers cooking and cannot stand to follow a recipe. To this day, one of my favorite things to do when I go home is to throw on an apron and join them in the kitchen.

Back to the recipe… I called my mom to get her famous blueberry crumble muffin recipe. Okay, maybe it’s not famous but she used to sell these bad boys at her local farmers market and they were always a hit! Now, my beloved mother has always dreamed of publishing a cookbook featuring her muffins and all the other recipes she has tweaked and developed over the years. Anytime she gives me a recipe she prefaces it with, “Now don’t share this recipe with anyone because I’m saving it for my cookbook.” Last week I finally broached the topic – it’s been fifteen years of hearing this and no cookbook. So I convinced her it would be a service to her fellow countrymen (and women) to let me share this muffin recipe. Just think mom, you’re helping me make America great again with your recipes. #MAGAwithmuffins

I thought I’d share a few of my notes before we begin. This recipe calls for blueberries but I thought I’d infuse a little seasonal flair, so I did half cranberry and half blueberry. Also, the muffins are not inherently sweet. The crumbly sugar topping gives them their sweet yumminess so don’t skimp and pile it on!

Blueberry Oatmeal Crumble Muffin Recipe

Muffins

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tsp butter extract
• 4 eggs, extra large
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 5-1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1-1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 cups large blueberries, frozen

Streusel Topping

• 1-1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1-1/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 1-1/3 cup rolled oats
• 12 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

Instructions

Combined oats and buttermilk in a medium bowl. Stir and let soak for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Insert liners into muffin tin and lightly grease.  Add oil, butter extract, eggs and brown sugar to oat mixture. Beat with a spoon or with a mixer on medium low for one minute.

Now for the dry ingredients. Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Add to oat mixture and stir until just combined.

Next, gently fold the blueberries into your mixture.

In a separate bowl, place all your streusel ingredients. Use your fingers to cut the butter into the sugar and flour mixture until it resembles a coarse meal.

Next, scoop a small about a tablespoon of streusel topping into each muffin tin just covering the bottoms and pack down firmly.

Then, scoop your muffin batter into the tins using an ice cream scoop. Fill each tin 3/4 of the way full. You want to leave plenty of room for the topping!

Last, generously spoon the streusel mixture on top of your muffin batter.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until centers of muffin springs back when touched.

Serve and devour!

M&M Note: Check at 25 minutes before cooking any longer to prevent overcooking. My muffins were perfectly golden and “springy” within this time. 

Yields about 24 muffins

I hope you enjoy the recipe! Happy Baking 🙂

Cheers,

Christa

Recipes for an Easy & Impressive Dinner with Ina’s Perfect Roast Chicken & Winter Vegetables

We’re back today with the roasted chicken and vegetable recipes I mentioned in my last post. If you missed it, I talked about my effort to eat clean and eliminate processed foods from my diet. I prepped a winter detox salad and decided to roast my own chicken for dinner this past weekend. The chicken made for a simple and delicious weekend supper and gave me plenty of leftovers to pair with my salad for lunches.

I’m a big fan of Ina Garten and her Barefoot Contessa cookbooks and tv show. Her classic, no-fuss recipes are delicious and easy to follow which make entertaining a breeze. Side note – I recently learned that Ina started off in politics working in the White House on the nuclear budget prior to opening her store, Barefoot Contessa, and launching her culinary career. I guess it shows that it’s never too late to change paths and follow your dream.

Anyway, I decided to make Ina’s Perfect Roast Chicken recipe since it has minimal prep and has never let me down.

Look at that beauty!

It calls for very few ingredients and yields a moist, delicious perfectly roasted bird that pairs easily with the roasted veggies I was planning to make. You simply stuff the chicken with lemon, garlic and herbs, season the chicken and sprinkle your roasting pan with a thinly sliced onion.

I followed the recipe with a few variations. I omitted the gravy – only because my diet does not allow flour – and subbed the thyme for fresh rosemary I had on hand. I also got to try out my new and wonderful herb knife which has a built-in tool that also strips the herbs.

For my side dish, I roasted sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts and threw in some fresh cranberries which really livened up the dish.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts Garnished with Fresh Cranberries

Ingredients:

• 2-3 large sweet potatoes
• 12 oz brussels sprouts; halved
• 1/2 cup fresh cranberries
• Olive oil
• fresh rosemary; about 2 stems
• salt and pepper to taste

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. Start by washing all your veggies and herbs. Dice your sweet potatoes into one to two-inch cubes. Trim the end of your brussels sprouts, if needed, and slice them in half. Next, remove your rosemary from the stems, chop the leaves and set aside.

Toss your veggies into a medium-sized bowl and generously season with olive oil, salt and pepper and rosemary to taste. Pour your vegetable mix into a large sheet pan and spread into an even layer. I normally season again with a little more salt and pepper once they are on the pan. Next, sprinkle on the fresh cranberries. 

Roast in the oven for 30 minutes or until your potatoes are tender and can be pierced with a fork. Serve immediately.

Note: This mix is also very delicious if you omit the rosemary and season with paprika instead. I had rosemary on hand from the chicken and wanted to keep my meal cohesive by incorporating similar flavors.

 

 

 

 

Serve alongside your roasted chicken for an easy and elegant meal!

 

Cheers,

Christa

Favorite Things Party + Apple Cider Mimosas

While most of South Georgia was snowed in this week, I was working down in Orlando for an industry conference and tradeshow. After hustling all week, I sure am glad to be back at home and am happy it’s the weekend! I have big plans to finish taking my Christmas decorations down (gulp). This holiday season was full of the things the things I cherish – making memories with my kids, baking and spending time with family and friends. Despite the flu hitting our house for a week, it was a wonderful December and putting away the holiday decor signals an end to all the magic.

I kicked off the holidays at my house with a new tradition. Instead of exchanging gifts with my girlfriends, we decided to get together for a Favorite Things party. I will say, as far as holiday entertaining goes, this was a very easy party to host. The concept is simple – everyone purchases one of their favorite products at a set budget for all the guests at the party. At the end of the evening, you leave with a swag bag full of everyone’s favorite things!

We set our budget pretty low and decided to stick with a $5 item and had seven guests. Since you don’t purchase for yourself, we bought six of our favorite product at $5 (so only $30 overall). Your favorite thing can fall into any category – beauty, food, home, fashion, etc. I’ve seen budgets that run the gamut at $5, $10, $15 or $20 per person. Since our party was at Christmastime, we decided on a lesser dollar amount since the holidays tend to be a spending frenzy. Now I will admit, this posed a little bit of challenge. Five dollars does not go a long way but I was surprised that I ended up with several options and had a hard time deciding on just one favorite thing. Was final choice was a mini can of my favorite dry shampoo since that is something everyone could use and enjoy!

For the food, each guest brought an appetizer and a bottle of wine to share. As the host, this left me with little responsibility. I planned a game (who doesn’t love a good party game), picked up some prizes, lit some candles and hit play on one of my favorite Spotify Christmas playlist – Jazzy Christmas.

We started the party with Apple Cider Mimosas that one of my girlfriends prepared before everyone arrived. The champagne flutes were rimmed with melted caramel and cinnamon. I literally licked my glass clean. The apple cider mimosas were so yummy and festive so I recreated them at my family’s holiday celebration later in the month. I’ve shared the recipe at the bottom of the post.

To liven things up, I printed off several copies of Christmas Scattegories for us to play before we exchanged gifts. We played three rounds and I had small prizes for the winner of each – Christmas cocktail napkins and two sets of my favorite Rabbit silicone wine stopper to choose from.

You can get festive with my version of Christmas Scattergories. Simply play by normal Scattergories rules. Click the link to download the PDF: Christmas Scattergories Printout

Once it was time to swap gifts, we drew numbers to decide on the order in which we would reveal our favorite thing. Each of us took a turn explaining why we choose our item and then passed out our presents for everyone to open. We all laughed when three of us gifted the exact same dry shampoo – apparently great minds think alike! But really though, can a girl ever have enough dry shampoo?!

The cocktails flowed and the evening was full of cheer –  and a lot of cheese based appetizers (yum). We talked about inviting more friends next year and came up with an idea to keep the cost low by dividing the guests into two groups of 5-6 people and only exchange gifts within each group.

Hosting a Favorite Things Party was such a fun twist on exchanging Christmas gifts with friends this year. It also served as a great way to discover new products – some of which have quickly become personal faves.

Here’s a shot of everyone’s favorite things.

From left to right: Musee Bath “Tiny Dancer” Bath Bomb • Similar wooden coasters • Canewater Farms Southern Style Grits •Batise Dry Shampoo • Everyday Occasions Note Tablet • Essence Make Me Brow Gel • Blistex Bliss Flip Lip Balm • Nivea Soft Moisturizing Creme

I look forward to making this an annual Christmas event with my friends and encourage you to host your own Favorite Things Party sometime this year!

Apple Cider Mimosa Recipe

Ingredients: 

• Caramel Dipping Sauce (I found this in the ice cream section of my grocery store)
• Cinnamon
• Fresh Apple Cider
• Good quality Champagne or Prosecco

This recipe is extremely simple!

First, you start by rimming your glass with the yummy caramel-cinnamon deliciousness. You will need two small saucers. In the first, you will spoon some of your caramel sauce and spread into a thin layer. In the second dish, put a small spoonful or two of cinnamon and carefully shake into an even layer.

Next, grab your champagne flutes. Start by dipping the rim of the glass in the caramel and then into the cinnamon.

Now for the good stuff! Pour your cold apple cider into the champagne flute, filling it up about a quarter of the way full. Next, slowly pour your champagne into the glass. The champagne creates a lot of foam on the top, so I always slowly pour in increments to ensure it doesn’t bubble over the top of the glass and mess up the rim. Serve and enjoy immediately!

Cheers,

Christa