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    diy woven snowflake ornaments

    i made these a couple of years ago but i still love them so much and realized i never shared here on the blog! this is such an easy project and it’s super forgiving too!Read More

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    festive fruit salad

    if you follow on IG you probably know we’re a big fruit salad family because poppy gives us no other choice– but all poppy ever does is chop up his fruit and mix it together. this fruit salad is not only chopped up fruit mixed together– it has additional non fruit ingredients AS WELL!!!! 

    i’m calling it a festive fruit salad because 1. i used red and green colors to make it festive, 2. it would be perfect for xmas morning and it actually tastes even better if you let it marinate for a day and 3. because arlo ate it the other day and said “it tasted like christmas” –totally unprompted!!

    festive fruit salad

    this red and green festive fruit salad is perfect for xmas morning

    Ingredients  

    • apples
    • pear
    • grapes
    • strawberries
    • blueberries
    • and/or any fruits of your choice!
    • fresh mint leaves
    • dates

    Instructions 

    1. chop up your fruit to your liking. for some additional red color i only half peeled my pink lady apple. i also like to chop grapes in half and i prefer little petite pieces of strawberry in my bites! 
    2. mince up your dates and chop a few mint leaves and add to salad. if you want to make in advance, refrigerate for a day and all the minty datey fruityness gets even better!

    Notes

    i am not in the fruit salad dressing camp, but if you want to add some lemon or lime juice or honey i think they would all work fine!

    sources

    BOWL / CUTTING BOARD / 8″ KNIFE / PEELER

    * and use code PERFECT20 at checkout!! *

  • neutral hanukkah dinner ideas

    i’ve said before that i know there isn’t a lot of inspo out there for jewish holidays, so i wanted to share two little hanukkah dinners i threw last year and the year before in case you celebrate hanukkah too!Read More

  • fun + cute + pretty ornaments

    i loooove fun ornaments, way way more than the pretty ones even! so i rounded up some cute novelty ones, mostly food related but some animals too. there isn’t much time left, so hurry!

    and i thought i needed to round out the roundup with some pretty ones too.

    just click the ornaments to shop them directly (and turn off your adblocker if you can’t see them!)

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    gingersnaps

    i’m not a huge gingersnap person typically, but the chewy texture of these cookies is unreal. i sort of wish every single cookie i could ever bake would have this texture, please advise if you know how to achieve that.

    this recipe is not my own, but i loved it so much i thought you needed to have it too! 

    they also make the perfect cookies to leave out for santa 🙂

    RECIPE ADAPTED FROM THE PALATABLE LIFE

    gingersnaps

    the chewy texture of these gingersnap cookies is incredible and they're the perfect christmas cookie!

    Ingredients  

    • 2 cups granulated sugar
    • 1 cup shortening
    • 1/2 cup butter slightly softened
    • 2 eggs
    • 1/2 cup molasses
    • 4 cups flour
    • 1 tb baking soda
    • 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 1 tsp ground ginger
    • 1/4 cup granulated sugar to roll the dough balls in

    Instructions 

    1. preheat your oven to 350. add sugar, shortening, and butter to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. mix for 2-3 minutes until ingredients are fully mixed and fluffy.
    2. add eggs and molasses and mix until just combined.
    3. add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and ginger. mix until just combined.
    4. add the 1/4 cup of sugar to a shallow bowl or plate. using a 1/4 cup cookie scoop, scoop out dough and roll it into a smooth ball.
    5. drop the dough ball into the sugar and roll it around until it is completely coated.
    6. repeat with the remaining dough.
    7. bake at 350 for 8-11 minutes. let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.

    link for the letter to santa printable

    i might even try this recipe without the ginger and adding in chocolate chips, i’ll report back if i do!

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    printable advent calendar activities

    i’m so excited to do an advent calendar for our first time this year! i bought this cute one from target (and i cut the tassels off to simplify it a bit), but wasn’t sure what to fill the pockets with. i got a couple little things like elmo bandaids and was gonna put some little cars and chocolates and maybe some ornaments in them, but decided to also incorporate a lot of activities to do together instead of just material things!

    the pockets are really small on my advent calendar, so i had to cut the cards way down to fit, but i left them square on the printable version so you can use them as is or cut down if needed! i also only did one set of 12. it was hard to come up with 12 things to do, and you can supplement the rest with treats and things.


    Read More

  • cozy layers for “winter” (in la)

    this post is in partnership with walmart

    it’s been like AGES since we’ve gotten to wear layers in la, so i’m so excited to wear cozy sweaters and jackets again now that it’s cooling down here a little bit (i mean it was 78 the other day but still). Read More

  • my favorite black friday sales

    i can get so overwhelmed on these shopping holidays — like i love deals but then i’m like omg should i be buying something?! what should i buy?! i forget what things i need!!! and it’s a whole spiraling out.

    so for me, it’s easiest for me to think of what i already have and love that’s on sale in case you don’t have those things and want them! Read More

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    green goddess turkey (or chicken) salad

    i’ve been wanting to post this recipe for a while, but i thought this would be the perfect time for those of you who have leftover turkey from your thanksgiving dinners!! it’s my favorite way to spruce up turkey and make it totally different.

    tbh i prefer this with chicken, but that’s because i just prefer chicken to turkey! either works! i love to make a big batch of this and eat it for weekday lunches. we always end up going through it.

    green goddess turkey (or chicken) salad

    this green goddess turkey/chicken salad is a great use of thanksgiving leftovers but you can also make it year round. i love to make a big batch of it and eat it for weekday lunches.

    Ingredients  

    • turkey or chicken shredded*
    • celery finely diced
    • 1-2 ripe avocados depending on how much meat you use
    • ½ an apple finely diced
    • ½ cup mayo
    • ½ cup sour cream or greek yogurt
    • lemon juice
    • fresh herbs (up to you which to use, but i like tarragon, chives, thyme, cilantro)

    Instructions 

    1. shred your chicken or turkey into small pieces, i prefer to do it by hand or you can do it with two forks.
    2. mix with celery, apple and your herbs. add your avocado and mix well.
    3. add your yogurt and mayo and mix, pour some lemon juice in and season, continue to add whatever you need more of to taste!

    Notes

    *you can use leftover chicken/turkey, you could also use rotisserie chicken or cook two chicken breasts

    we love to eat it with some crispy toast and arugula with a splash of olive oil on top along with some more avocado — or sometimes we just eat it with potato chips! 

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    neutral holiday pajamas for kids

    i got lots of requests for a holiday pj roundup this year, and can’t remember ever doing them in the past so i guess everyone is feeling EXTRA festive right now!!

    you know i’ll usually lean towards the simple and minimal varieties of holiday pajamas (love me a simple pale red stripe haha), but i found some more fun ones that are still super cute and not bright red or green too!! aesthetic holiday pajamas for all!!!!! Read More