Ten Tasty Holiday Recipes!

Thanks to all of you who linked up to our holiday recipe party this past Wednesday!  I wanted to highlight some of my favorite in hopes that it might inspire some last minute ideas before the holiday weekend!

Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate // Hello Little Home

Red Velvet Cookies with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting // Savor Home

 Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls // Nat Your Average Girl

 Rose"Merry" & Cranberry Cooler // Cup Half Full

Peppermint Bark Cookies // In the Pink and the Green

 Grandma Jo's Mound Bars // Ice Cream and French Fries

Gingerbread Cookies // This Woman Cooks

Peppermint Chocolate Mousse Trifle // Meet the Sullivans 

Peppermint Bark Popcorn // Sunshine of Mine

Cream Cheese Strawberry Shortcakeletts

There are so many other great recipes...you must check them all out here!

Thanks again and enjoy the LAST weekend before Christmas!!

xo natasha

Dark Chocolate Hot Cocoa Cookies + Recipe Link Party!

Today I am SO excited to be co-hosting our final party with Heather at The Lovely Cupboard!  Our party is all about holiday recipes...whether it be baked goods, cocktails, or savory dishes.  

Today I'm sharing the cookies that I made for our cookie party last weekend...they're dark chocolate hot cocoa cookies!

These yummy little morsels are super moist and the marshmallows give it a fun twist!  They have chocolate chips cookies in them as well, which gives them great texture!

Recipe adapted from A Few Short Cuts

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1.5 cups granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup dark cocoa powder

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 cups mini marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy.

Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the butter mixture until well blended.

Mix in the chocolate chips

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or just until set.

Immediately top with three mini marshmallows when you remove the cookies from the oven.

If more gooey marshmallow is desired place marshmallow topped cookies back in the oven for 1 mintute.

Cool slightly on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

***

We served our cookies as part of a Hot Cocoa Bar, which I totally recommend whipping up at your next party!

Oh and another great recipe to check out is these browned butter + sea salt chocolate chip cookies...they are DIVINE!

And just to give you a taste of all the other cookies that our guests brought by...

Someone was being a little piggy!!

Ok, now I am dying to see what you've whipped up!  Be sure to link up below and join in on the fun!!

If you're not sure how to link up, simply click the link at the bottom of this post that says "click here to enter" and paste the exact URL of your recipe post into the prompted field.  From there, it will allow you to enter your info and select your image and then voila!  You've linked up.  We appreciate a link back to either my site or A Lovely Cupboard!  Cheers!

Our Christmas Tree 2013

O Christmas Tree!  

The holiday season doesn't really begin to feel real until the tree is officially up and decorated!  I love coming home to the smell of the tree and seeing the twinkling lights.  Decorating the tree each year is a ritual I find so much joy in.  I just love unwrapping each ornament and thinking of each memory that accompanies it.

 This year, our main colors are white, silver and red.  I bought the red felt garland to help tie in the color scheme.

The mercury glass "S" is from C. Wonder.  They make great hostess gifts!

And the glow at night is really exceptional!

I mean, look at those twinkling lights!  ;)

Have you decorated your tree yet?  Be sure to hop on over to A Thoughtful Place and Honey We're Home to link up!

And you better get your baking on this weekend so you can link up your holiday recipes with me and The Lovely Cupboard next Wednesday!

xo natasha

DIY Yarn Pom Poms

I decided my mantel needed a little extra something and I've been eying those sweet yarn pom pom garlands online for quite some time!  I was surprised to find out that they are relatively easy {and fun!} to make. 

All you need is some yarn of your choice color, some sharp scissors, fishing line or thread {I used red in the above photo}, a needle to thread the pom poms and some agile fingers!

Start out by wrapping the yarn around your three fingers.

Continue wrapping until you have desired fullness.  I counted about 75 times to make sure my poms were "around" the same size.

From here, you want to cut a separate six inch piece of yarn and slide it in between your pointer and middle finger.  After a couple rounds, I found it's actually easier to insert the piece of yarn between your fingers BEFORE you start the winding process.  It makes it much easier!

Tie the yarn together in the middle and flip it over to tie again in a double knot.  Leave these two pieces long so you have something to hold while you snip the ends.  You'll then snip all the loops.

You'll get a pom on the left that is super shaggy {but cute!}.  Some people prefer this look, but I wanted something a bit more refined.  Go ahead and start clipping until you get the look and shape you desire.

You can honestly drive yourself crazy {and I did!} trying to get a perfectly round pom.  I give mad props to those that have figured out a way...and think they're well worth the price of paying a pro for a well-made pom pom garland!

But I had fun with this project and found there are several ways to use these darling poms...

As a cute accent on a gift...

or a cute garland!  I think I can reuse this for Valentine's Day too!  ;)

And just for fun...

I think our living room has officially been transformed to a winter wonderland!  ;)

Now it's time to link up your holiday craft!  Hop on over to Michaela Noelle Designs or Hi Sugarplum to show off your craft and check out some of the other festive ideas!

Don't forget to get your tree ready and link up your tree this Thursday!!

And before I sign off...CONGRATS to Alina Conn for winning the Southern Spruce printable!

xo natasha

Our Merry Mantel 2013

Welcome to our third Holiday Link Up Party!  Today the theme is all about showcasing your decorated mantel!

Last year, I decided that creating a theme around my decorating would allow me to have a focus and also keep my Christmas decor exciting each year.  I LOVE going through my Christmas boxes and opening the tissue to find a special ornament or decoration from past years.  In 2012, I used burlap and metallics...mostly gold for my decor.  I did not include any red, which was kind of fun have a natural look but I missed my red.  It's so festive for this time of year.

So this year, I decided on white, silver and red!

This is also the first year that I haven't hung a wreath from my mirror, but instead created a vignette of frosted trees, white pillar candles, silver pinecones and LOTS of mercury glass!

I grabbed some large pinecones from our side yard and spray painted them silver.  Easy and cheap!  I grabbed some candles from around the house and some vases to pull the look together.

I love that the centerpiece is my JOY sign...which is special to me because it's my middle name!  I'm a Christmas baby {born the day after Christmas} so I love celebrating all month long...naturally!

And for an extra touch of red, I hung my cable knit stockings with care.  We still need to order a third for Ethan...oops!

At first I thought the mantel was a little bare without having a wreath or other garland, but next to the tree it really compliments the look!

So there you have it...my 2013 mantel!

You can check out my 2011 and 2012 mantel as well.

Now it's time to head on over to Ten June and Our Fifth House to link up your mantel!

And don't forget to prep for our other upcoming parties!

xo natasha

Join us for Holiday Cheer in the Blogosphere!

Oh yes!  It's that time of year again...time to join us for our THIRD Holiday Cheer in the Blogosphere link up party!

{special thanks to Brittany for our festive graphic!}

Don't know what the heck I'm talking about?  Well no worries!  I'll break it down for you below.

On December 4th, we'll be showcasing our merry mantels by linking up with Michelle at Ten June and Carmel at Our Fifth House.

Get your holiday craft on with Michaela at Michaela Noelle Designs and Cassie at Hi Sugarplum! on December 10th.

Join us around the Christmas tree on December 12th over at Megan with Honey We're Home and Courtney at A Thoughtful Place.

Last, but not least!  Join me and Heather at The Lovely Cupboard for some festive recipes and cocktails on December 18th!

The link up parties are a great way to show off your holiday decor while also gathering inspiration from other blogs.  Have fun with it and see you all on the 4th!!  Oh and grab a button while you're at it! ;)

xo natasha

PS...wanna win $100 to Minted?  Click here!