DIY - 3 HOLIDAY "IN-A-JAR" GIFTS

You guys, I'm such a sucker for "in-a-jar" gifts. Remember Christmas in a Jar? And Dreams in a Jar? Here are 3 more fun ideas for the holidays that you can make yourself...

• Party in a Jar
• Brownies in a Jar
• Gift Card in a Jar

They're the perfect gift for teachers, neighbors and hostesses, don't you think? Which one is your favorite?

Christmas Ice Cubes

 Freeze berries and rosemary sprigs into ice cubes and you added a festive touch to every drink!

I used little plastic cups, but any ice cube tray will do.

Add berries and rosemary to half-full plastic cups or ice cube trays and then top them off once they’re frozen. Ideally use filtered water, then you will get clear ice cubes! Serve in champagne or your favorite Christmas cocktail.

Crunch the candy, dip the rim of the glass in lemon juice, then dip it in the candy sprinkles.

For more holiday cheer, check out this awesome cranberry cake… and these marshmallow diamonds!

Not food but still awesome are these holiday greeting tags, a camera strap giveaway and a string art Christmas tree!

Be inspired and have a wonderful day!

Be Mine Party Time

As you all know, Valentines Day is coming... Wait! Before you roll your eyes at me for wasting time on an over-commercialized corporate pay-out... read on...

Whatever your thoughts are on this slightly obnoxious cheese-fest of a day, it's still a good excuse to get together with people you care about. Love is worthy of celebration, even if its only for your cats. But I'm going to assume you have some friends too... I'm all about positivity- and if you can dedicate a day to it, what's the harm? Perhaps you too can plan to get together with loved ones- even if it's just to complain about how silly the day is- just share it with people you care about. This year I'm helping my friends plan a Valentines party at their place and I'm not gonna lie- I'm pretty excited. Any excuse to decorate is a good excuse. I've been collecting images from all over to get inspired for their little shindig... And plan on getting creative enough to not have to give big corporate America my hard earned cash- because us crafty people get a kick out of throwing parties without throwing away our money on stuff we can make ourselves! Oh yaaaa.

 1. Photo Heart Collage | 2. Kissing Booth  | 3. Paper Bag Valentine  | 4. Oragami Hearts

5. Paper Book Heart Art  | 6. Paint Chip Valentines  | 7. Wooden heart Labels  | 8. Valentines Tree

1.  Pepperoni Pizza Heart | 2. Be Mine Cookies  | 3. Decorated Cookies 

4. Striped Cake  | 5.  Moustache Lollipops | 6. Lace Cookie Pattern

1. Lace Twinkle Lights  | 2. Colorful Ribbon  | 3.  Twine & Clothes Pins

| 4. Hanging hearts | 5.  Cupcake Wrap Garland | 6. Book Garland  | 7. Poms

8-9. Strungs Heart | 10.  Heart Doorway | 11.  Sewn Decor  | 12. Photo Hearts

1-2. Floral Heart Arrangments   | 3.  Whimsical Night Table

4. Colorful Outdoor Valentine  | 5-6. Pink Table Top

BAKED ROSEMARY AND BASIL ZUCCHINI CHIPS

How many times have you started on a bag of potato chips, promising yourself you will only eat the recommended serving size (ok maybe a little more) and before you know it the bottom of the bag contains only crumbs and your salty fingers searching for the last normal sized chip. Ok well this recipe will solve that guilty addiction. Baked rosemary and basil zucchini chips. Eat as many as you want–one zucchini, two zucchini, maybe even three. These crunchy morsels are packed with all the great vibes of potato chips but incomparable healthier for your bod. These flavorful chips will fool anyone into thinking you are a great cook. Easy prep, then throw them into the oven and out comes your new favorite snack.

INGREDIENTS:
5 Medium Zucchini’s
3 tbsp Olive Oil
2 1/2 tbsp Basil
3 tbsp Rosemary
1 1/2 tbsp Pepper
2 tbsp Sea Salt

Check out rue Daily for the directions.

LAVENDER HOT CHOCOLATE

While I wait for the snow to fall, I'll build a myself a fire and make a rich cup of lavender hot chocolate. Exactly how Jurgita makes it, Lithuanian style. With a sweater.

Despite the big resolutions list made mentally ofcourse this year - I fought every urge to wake up this morning from the cozy reins of our bed. It doesnt help that Kunal is a big Curl Ball when he sleeps... !! But eventually I did... Thank God for small mercies call WILL + CONVICTION... That is also on my resolutions. Despite all the sweat, it was still cool and all I wanted to do was sip on hot rich chocolate and go to sleep.. Except I might replace the heavy cream with almond milk. Is that sacrilege?


{Images by Bread And Games}

Creative Pie Crust Designs for the Holidays

Creative pie crust concepts to try now through Thanksgiving and on into the winter holidays.
Listed here are nine favorite crust concepts and our simple directions on how to achieve them. Oh, and don’t be afraid to make a pretty mess of things— the rustic imperfections of pie is one of the aspects that make them so incredibly alluring.

• The key to a good decorative crust is trimming your dough to a 1/2-inch overhang and rolling the overhang underneath itself to give yourself a thicker edge to work with. It’s always better to prepare too much pie dough rather than too little.

• Be sure to refrigerate your dough after you have crimped the edges for 30 minutes to an hour before baking. Doing this will help the dough keep its shape.

Crimping tips before you begin:

Cesar’s Crown Crust

Checkerboard Crust

Criss Cross Crust

Rainbow Crust

Sailor’s Rope Crust

Scallop Crust

Double Crust Crimps:

Braid Crust

Cut-out Top Crust

Lattice Top Crust

Ready to make your pie?

Tear-off a daily drink with the hälssen & lyon tea calendar

one of europe’s leading tea companies, hälssen & lyon has blended the oldest drink in the world with an age-old promotional medium in the conceptualization of ‘the tea calendar’, an agenda made from pressed leaves. together with hamburg-based creative agency kolle rebbe, they have created a daily chronological book that features individual pages crafted out of compressed tea. each of the 365 days in the year are represented by a unique flavor and should be torn from the booklet style folio one at time and dropped into hot water, where the small, dated piece dissolves and brews into a drinkable beverage. the singular layers were compacted into 1mm thin sheets and configured into printed pages. for now, the annual calendar has been developed as limited special editions for the company’s business partners. 

VEGGIE FOOD BLOGS

MY 3 NEW FAVORITE VEGGIE FOOD BLOGS

I like my food blogs sans meat with big juicy artfully styled photos. Here are 3 are my new current faves...

• Princess Tofu
• Vegetarian Ventures
• My New Roots

What food blogs have you been following lately?


{Images by 1-4. Princess Tofu; 2-8. Vegetarian Ventures; 9-12. My New Roots}

KEEPING FOOD FRESH WITHOUT A FRIDGE

With the idea of preserving food longer and more naturally, Jihyun Ryou has created these modern wall shelves to keep edibles fresh without refrigeration. He calls it his Save Food From The Fridge project.

I personally can't stand wasting food. Yet every month, I find myself throwing out spoiled items from the refrigerator. And ours isn't even full-sized! These smart and functional designs are absolutely brilliant, don't you think?

Now if only he can come up with a shelving unit that reminds us when our leftovers go bad!


{Images by Jihyun Ryou}