Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

Wishing you and your family a wonderful holiday seasons!

Love, Then NG's

Magical Christmas

I LOVE Christmas! It's so important to remember the reason for the season, which is Jesus's birth! Now, that I have a precious baby boy, I love to make it a magical time as well! For so many reasons, Christmas is magical! The joy, laughter, fun, trees, lights, decor and spending time with family! Here's some pictures of our magical Christmas Eve and Christmas morning.

Enjoy!

~T

Tepee / Table & Chairs / Baby Jammies 

DIY Press for Champagne Gift Box

For Christmas, I gave some of these "Press for Champagne" gift boxes. I'm obsessed with anything white, gold and glitter! I knew I wanted to give a personalized fun gift and these were exactly that! These would make great NYE hostess gifts as well! 

Here's what they included:

DIY "Press for Champagne" frame (DIY tutorial here)

Glitter champagne bottles (DIY tutorial here)

Champagne glasses (Ikea)

Monogram mugs (Anthropologie) filled with homemade gold glitter marshmallows (recipe here)

Monogram Hangers

Paper polka-dot straws (Target)

Enjoy!
~T

DIY Press for Champagne

I came across an adorable press for champagne button that was framed out! I instantly knew I wanted one, but found the price at $70. I decided to DIY it. In the end, it only ended up costing $4.47! The DIY version does not come with champagne delivered by a butler. Sorry! I love pairing it with a bottle of champagne that is covered in glitter! Here's my blog post on DIY Glittered Champagne Bottles. 

   

The original "Press for Champagne" botton came from the Montage Bevery Hills Hotel. 

At Montage Beverly Hills, Designer Nina Petronzio of Plush Home delved into the 1940s with Deco flair. It features a button labeled “Press for Champagne” that dispatches a waiter dressed in a tuxedo to deliver your bubbly. 

Inspiration:

                                                       

                                                      Montage Beverly Hills Luxury Hotel   

                                              

                                                         Photo from Etsy: Lisa Golightly 

Here's my DIY:

Ornate Frame: Urban Outfitters (already owned)

 Sharpie: gold

Paper: shimmer pink and velum

Door Bell: Home Depot

Instructions:

Print out "Press for Champagne" on velum paper. I used a deep gold color (comes through on photos as pink). I backed the velum with a light pink shimmer paper. Place the papers in the frame. 

For the door bell, I used metal cutting scissors to cut the tiny screws down and then hot glued them to the door bell. Hot glue (low heat) the door bell to the paper. You can hot glue cardboard to the back of the door bell and then hot glue that to the paper. 

If you want the distressed gold look on the frame, just take a gold sharpie and run it over the ornate edges. You can also take sand paper to the edges. 

That's it!! 

Oh....make sure you don't run out of champagne when you have guests over! ;)

DIY Glitter Champagne Bottles

I love anything that sparkles!! 

It just brings some glamour to your life! Glittered champagne bottles....well that just brings more fun to the party! 

These make great gifts and decor and are so easy to make!! 

Here's my DIY Glitter Champagne Bottle:

Supplies:

Champagne Bottle: Large or mini bottles

Glitter: I used gold glitter, but you can use any color!

Mod Podge

Small Paint Brush

Directions:

Use the small paint brush to cover the bottle in Mod Podge. You can cover the label or leave it visible. After the bottle is covered in Mod Podge, pour the glitter over the glue. Make sure to have some paper underneath to collect the glitter that falls, so you can put it back in the container. Let the champagne bottle dry. 

Enjoy! ~T

Stuffed Pumpkin with Cheese, Bacon and Chipotle Chiles

Someone told me about this recipe from the Homesick Texan and I immediately knew I HAD to make it! Not only is the presentation cute and festive, but it tastes AMAZING! You can never go wrong with chipotle chiles in adobe sauce. 

Enjoy! ~t

Ingredients:
One 3-to-4 pound pumpkin
Salt and black pepper to taste
4 ounces French bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 pound Gruyere, shredded (1 cup)
1/4 pound white cheddar, shredded (1 cup)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 or 2 chipotle chiles en adobo, diced (depending on how fiery you want it)
1/4 pound cooked bacon, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Small pinch of nutmeg
1/2 cup heavy cream or half-and-half

Method:
Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 casserole pan or baking pan with foil or parchment paper.

With a sharp knife, cut a circle around the pumpkin stem about 1 inch away from the stem. Remove the top and clean out the seeds and stringy bits from inside the pumpkin. (You can save the seeds for roasting, if you like.) Lightly salt and pepper the inside of the pumpkin.

Toss together the bread cubes, shredded Gruyere, shredded cheddar, garlic, diced chipotle chiles and cooked bacon, and stuff into the pumpkin. Stir the cumin and nutmeg into the cream, adding a bit of salt and black pepper to taste. Pour cream mixture into pumpkin over bread and cheese.

Place the top back on the pumpkin, and place the pumpkin into the baking pan. Bake for 1 1/2 hour to 2 hours or until filling is brown and bubbling. To serve, remove the top and spoon out portions of the filling along with bits of the cooked pumpkin. You can either leave it in the pan, or by using the foil or parchment paper, you can carefully lift it out of the pan and place it on a platter. Serve warm.

Yield: 4 servings

Boy & Girl Holiday Outfits 2014

I LOVE Christmas and the holiday season and it's almost here. I've started thinking about outfits for family photos, Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Here are some of my top picks for both baby/toddler boys and girls. 

~t

Outfit #1: Sweater / Pants / Shoes

Outfit #2: Hat / Sweater / Pants / Shoes

Outfit #3: Sweater / Pants / Shoes

Outfit #4: Sweater / Pants / Shoes

Top left to right:

Sweater / Ruffle Dress / Nude Star Dress / Gold Button Cardigan 

Heart Sweater / Fur Booties / Moccasins / Tis The Seasons to Sparkle! /  Heart Sweater

Heart Skirt / Fur Cape / Gold Sequin Skirt  

Gluten Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I came across Trader Joes Gluten Free Oats that are $3.99 for a big 32oz bag! Much more affordable than the other brand I was buying. Even better, on the back of the package is a delicious gluten free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe! Here it is: 

Ingredients

• Recipe found on the back of my Trader Joes Rolled Oats
• 1/4 cup butter (Earth Balance for dairy free)
• 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 3 cups Trader Joes Rolled Oats (Just a hunch, but I bet other rolled oats would work)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 6 oz chocolate chips (Enjoy Life Chocolate Chunks for dairy free)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup sunflower or chopped walnuts
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup peanut butter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine sugar, brown sugar and butter and beat until creamy. Add eggs, vanilla and baking soda and mix well. Add peanut butter and mix. Stir in oats, chocolate chips and nuts. Place teaspoon full of dough on a lightly greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake 10-12 minutes until lightly brown around the edges.

Enjoy! 

~t

Homemade Butterfingers - Gluten & Dairy Free Option

It's the day after Halloween and you might have some extra candy corn laying around! What better way to use it up than to make Homemade Butterfingers? 

I came across this amazing recipe and I knew I had to give it a try but gluten and dairy free! I have to say...they're soooo yummy!

Ingredients:

1. 9 oz of candy corn 
2. (the ones I bought from Whole Foods are picture pictured below. You can also purchase them here.)
3. 1/2  heaping cup of organic peanut butter, smooth
4. 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life available at Whole Foods or Target)
5. 
6. 
7. Directions:
1.  Line an loaf baking pan with parchment paper; set a side.
2.  In a microwave safe bowl, add candy corn. Cook for 1 minute, stir, cook for 30 seconds, stir, then cook in 15 second intervals until creamy. Add peanut butter, mix until combined. If the candy starts to get hard while mixing, place in the microwave for 10 seconds.
3. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish. Smooth out with a back of a spoon. Place in the refrigerator for one hour to cool.
4. Take candy out of the refrigerator, and place on a cutting board. This part gets tricky. Using a sharp knife cut into pieces. You can make any shape and size you like.
5. Make a double boiler, by placing water in a medium pot, about a 1/3 of the way, place a large glass bowl over the pot and add chocolate. Stir the chocolate until melted. With two forks dip candy mixture into chocolate. Place the candy onto parchment paper and let it set.
6. Store candy in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a crispy bar or leave on the counter for a chewy bar.
8.  

ENJOY!! 

~T

Zara's Summer Sale!

I love it when Zara has their seasonal sales! Here are just a handful of my favorite baby boy items, at a fraction of a price!

Outfit 1: Shirt / Shorts / Shoes 

Outfit 2: Shirt / Shorts / Shoes

Outfit 3: Shirt / Shorts / Shoes

Outfit 4: Shirt / Shorts / Shoes

DIY Ikea Build-Ins for under $500

With our baby boy growing so fast and  needing more storage for toys, we needed to come up with a solution! I wanted to utilize the space in his nursery better and doing built-ins along an utilized wall, was the perfect solution. However, hiring someone to come in and do custom built-ins would have cost thousand of dollars. With a little DIY and everyone's favorite go-to store, IKEA, we made our own for under $500.

Before....

After....

Ikea List:

We framed everything in molding from Home Depot and added in a return vent. We also added in some molding along the side to hide some spacing. You may not need to do this.

What you will need:

Base Molding and crown molding and the following from Ikea: 

1. Billy Bookcase - White (2) 2. Billy Bookcase Extension Unite - White  (2) 3. Besta T.V. Unit - White  (2) 4. Besta Vassbo Door - White (4) 5. Besta Leg Square - Chrome (5)