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diy holiday gift / bloody mary gift set
christmas is only three weeks away – so i’m going to show you guys some easy homemade gifts that hopefully won’t let your family or friends wishing they’d gotten an itunes gift card. with today’s gift — there’s absolutely no way!
the instructions are pretty simple for this project. get some pretty bottles and tins, print out my free printable labels and follow the recipes!
the recipes +
bloody mary mix
(doubled & adapted from emeril)ingredients
6 cups tomato juice
6 tablespoons lemon juice
6 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoon prepared horseradish
2 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
2 large cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoon tabasco sauce
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepperdirections
in a blender combine the tomato juice, lemon juice, lime juice, horseradish, worcestershire sauce, garlic, and hot sauce and process until smooth. transfer to a nonreactive container and add salt and black pepper, to taste. refrigerate overnight.* i prefer my bloodys on the spicy side — so i added extra everything spicy.
bloody mary rimming salt
(adapted from the seattle times)1 cup kosher salt
2 tb celery seed
2 1/2 tb granulated garlic
2 tb smoked paprika
1 tb black peppermix together the ingredients in a bowl. good for up to six months.
the packaging +
materials
empty bottles (i used these lovely 8oz french bottles from specialty bottle. each bottle holds about 2.5 bloodys)
empty tins (i used these flat 8oz tins which fit my glass rims perfectly)
round labels (the printable i designed specifically for this 2″ avery label)download and print out the labels i’ve provided below. you can print onto the same avery labels or you can just print onto paper, cut out and glue. half the labels are for the rimming salt and half for the mix. carefully apply labels to your bottles and tins (i recommend prior to filling because you can hold easier when empty)
after making the mix and salt, and letting the mix chill overnight, spoon the salt into tin and pour mix into bottles with a funnel. chill mix until ready to deliver to your lucky friends, family, or hostess. place in a gift bag and you’re a big hit this christmas.
these labels are for personal use only, and NOT for re-distribution.
if you’d like to post a link sharing them, you may not directly post the downloadable files.
please credit and link back to this post for downloading the labels.
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holiday gift guide / for the moms
my mom is a very tough person to buy for. if she doesn’t like her gift, it will be locked away in a closet never to see the light of day again. here are some simple and hopefully timeless items that have no reason to sit in a closet.
love you mom!
click through for sources
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diy makeshift christmas tree
did everyone have a good thanksgiving?! i ate and drank too much and our dinner was nice and relaxing. and now it’s december. whoa. we decided to hold off on buying a christmas tree for a few days, so for now – enjoy this one!
christmas trees are super expensive and super high maintenance. so for those of you who are deciding to skip a tree this year, here is a REALLY easy alternative!
last year, we moved right before thanksgiving and were going on a trip the day after xmas — so we never got a tree. but i woke up on christmas morning to a tree made of lights taped to the wall by my boyfriend and it was a christmas miracle. and i’ve been planning this easy diy ever since. true story.
all you need for this is a large scale engineer print. at 36×48, this print cost me only $9 at kinkos. luckily i was able to use this BEAUTIFUL photo by hermann platzer (he graciously allowed me to use it for the project – check out his work here).
rather than taping it straight on the wall, i decided to hang it like a tapestry. so using a wooden dowel, tape the top of the print directly on it. i’m sure there’s a better way to do this. but i didn’t do it. tie some string on other side and hang it on a nail. THAT’S IT.
for the minimalists, you’re all done. but i then decided to make an ornament garland using mini ornaments i bought for $5 at CVS and some silver thread. i simply strung ornaments a couple inches apart and knotted the thread to secure. but you could decorate your fake tree with lights, tinsel, whatever.
tape the garland on top of the print and you’ve got yourself a pretty decent substitute. light a christmas tree scented candle and you’ll forget all about your missing tree sorrows.
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happy thanksgiving
i’m taking off for the rest of the week to celebrate and eat. we’re having thanksgiving at my moms, who lives very close by, so firstly i’m thankful for almost never having to go on an airplane for the holiday. today we’re cooking some side dishes to bring over (my boyfriend makes the best stuffing ever).
and for the cheesy portion : i just wanted to also say that while i’m obviously very thankful for the people and cats in my life and all the love, support and laughs they provide me. but this year i’m also really thankful for this blog and you, the readers. having this space has done so much for me, developing my skills, challenging myself to the point of many a tantrum, being comfortable with who i am, and hopefully inspiring others. its the feedback that makes me feel like i do all this work for a reason. and if i can make people feel happy and motivated, i’m happy and motivated too.
ok ok enough. have a great holiday if you’re in the states, and if you’re elsewhere — sorry for all the boring thanksgiving posts.
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almost makes mixtape ⋅ vol. 5 thanksgiving
just in time for your thanksgiving dinner, i made a playlist that is mellow(ish) and slow(ish) for your sit down dinner time or cocktail hour or whatever. play it for the holidays or play it for whenever. also, i made it an hour and a half long so hopefully it could last through the whole meal OH WHAT!! enjoy!
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almost makes mixtape ⋅ vol. 5 thanksgiving
just in time for your thanksgiving dinner, i made a playlist that is mellow(ish) and slow(ish) for your sit down dinner time or cocktail hour or whatever. play it for the holidays or play it for whenever. also, i made it an hour and a half long so hopefully it could last through the whole meal OH WHAT!! enjoy!
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salted caramel pie
still looking for that perfect dessert to make for thanksgiving? good. you’re in luck. this pie is not only INSANELY easy but i can guarantee your guests will say “holy shit” or some other form of exclamation.
my good friend made this for our annual version of friendsgiving (we actually call ours regretsgiving), and the second i tried it i said gimme that recipe now. i doubled the crust amount because my boyfriend likes the crunchy. also, about the filling : it is caramel (hence the name of the pie), which is not the easiest thing to slice, but the taste trumps any difficulty with the gooey texture.
salted caramel pie
(from food and wine)ingredients
2 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
8 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup light brown sugar
two 14 ounce cans sweetened condensed milk
fleur de sel
2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons confectioners sugar
* again, i doubled the crust recipedirections
preheat the oven to 350°. in a food processor, pulse the graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter and light brown sugar until the crumbs are moistened. press the crumbs evenly into a 9-inch glass or metal pie plate. bake for about 10 minutes, just until lightly browned. let cool. increase the oven temperature to 425°.scrape the condensed milk into a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish and sprinkle with a scant 1/2 teaspoon of fleur de sel. cover the dish with foil and place it in a roasting pan. add enough hot water to the pan to reach one-third of the way up the side of the baking dish. bake, lifting the foil to stir 2 or 3 times, until the condensed milk is golden and thickened, about 2 hours; add more water to the roasting pan as necessary. the consistency of the caramel should be like dulce de leche. don’t worry if it is lumpy; it smooths out as it chills.
scrape the caramel filling into the pie crust, smoothing the top. spray a sheet of plastic wrap with vegetable oil spray and cover the pie. refrigerate until the filling is chilled and set, at least 4 hours.
in a mixer, beat the cream with the confectioners’ sugar until firm. remove the plastic. mound the whipped cream on top of the pie and sprinkle with fleur de sel. cut into wedges and serve.
make ahead : the recipe can be prepared through step 2 up to 5 days ahead. refrigerate the crust and filling separately.
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holiday gift guide / for the dads
is it just me or are dads the hardest to shop for? although lately all my dad wants is an ugly flag t-shirt of a country he’s visited. i guess it’s an age thing. but for those less specific dads, hopefully this guide helps!
click through for sourcesRead More
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holiday gift guide / for the dads
is it just me or are dads the hardest to shop for? although lately all my dad wants is an ugly flag t-shirt of a country he’s visited. i guess it’s an age thing. but for those less specific dads, hopefully this guide helps!
click through for sourcesRead More
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payday wishlist
hope you all have a great weekend! i have lots of tasks i want to accomplish before thanksgiving — starting with an eye exam. fun fun.
one . i am so into african mud cloth that i want to marry african mud cloth. these pillows would look good on my bed and on my couch and on my chair and on my everything.
two . overstock is selling their eames shell replica chairs now in this beige shade. i think i love it.
three . this geo wood wall shelf is just so good.
four . i would look like such a grownup with this leather tote — which is big enough to double as an overnighter!
five . i’m going to confess that i’m a bad jew. we celebrate christmas. but i still love a good menorah!
six . the nate berkus holiday collection is full of pretties like this hexagon wood tray.
