Merry Christmas Y'all!

I hope you are all enjoying sweet time with family and friends as you celebrate the Christmas season! Noah has been sick the last couple of days and went to bed early on Christmas Eve (if you know this kid, him going to be early is rare, so it's a bummer that he was sick) but luckily he has a little sister who still believes in the magic of Christmas, and I absolutely loved helping her prepare for Santa last night. We mixed oats and glitter and put it on the back porch as food for the reindeer, wrote Santa a note, and set out milk and cookies. This is what a three year old writes in a note to Santa:

"Dear Santa, I love your reindeers and I like how your reindeers eat food. Santa, there are cookies for you. There is milk also. You're the sweetest. Love, Holley."

Isn't that adorable?! I just love her sweet little heart! Watching the kids open presents and seeing the excitement on their faces as the took it all in made for a wonderful morning! I've been meaning to post these for a while, so here are a few pics from a Christmas party my roommate and I hosted a couple weeks ago followed by a silly pic of my sweet niece and nephew. I'll try to get some good pictures of Christmas morning up soon!

The drink bar

Hot chocolate bar

My favorite cookies: chocolate with mint on top. My grandma used to send a huge package full of cookies to our house every year at Christmas time, and I always loved these the most!

Peanut butter blossoms

Gingerbread cupcakes with fluffy cream cheese filling

Love this tree!

Favors for the guests: chocolate covered pretzel rods rolled in ghiradelli peppermint bark!

For to us a child is born, a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. -Isaiah 9:6

Where Butch Meets Buttercream

Speaking of cupcakes, I was reading the other day about some creative entrepreneurs and one of them happened to be a new concept in cupcakes. It's called Butch Bakery and they specialize in cupcakes for men. Sounds a little crazy right? Crazy maybe, but also very cool. The motto at Butch Bakery is this: "We're men. Men who like cupcakes. Not the frilly pink-frosted sprinkles-and-unicorns kind of cupcakes. We make manly cupcakes. For manly men." Located in New York City, Butch Bakery offers 12 varieties of cupcakes I guarantee you haven't seen anywhere else. Take for example, the B-52: Kahlua-soaked madagascar vanilla cake with Bailey's bavarian filling, topped with a camouflage printed chocolate disk; or the Home Run: A peanut butter cake with banana baviarian cream and crumbled bacon. Cupcakes from Butch Bakery are currently only available for delivery in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens but they are working on making them available for delivery across the US. When that happens, what a cool gift with which to surprise your favorite guy...he definitely won't be embarrassed to serve these up after steaks in his man cave while watching the big game with his bros.

Gingerbread Cupcakes

So far my break has consisted of a lot of running errands and a little bit of down time. Today I got to hang out with some super cool girls, and we decided to forgo the usual frozen yogurt treat for a trip to a little place called Butter Cream Cupcakery. Cupcakes are definitely all the rage right now and are not just for kids birthday parties anymore. If you're looking for a cupcake recipe that is a little unconventional, I have just the site for you. It's called "Ming Makes Cupcakes" and it is a website with tons of amazing cupcake recipes, that go beyond your typical chocolate frosting on yellow cake mix combo. I recently whipped up "Cupcake 28" aka Gingerbread Cupcakes with Fluffy Cream Cheese Filling for a little holiday gathering. Although I'm not a huge gingerbread fan, my roommate insists that they were "really good". So if you're tired of baking cookies but still want a "Christmasy" treat, these cupcakes might be just your thing. I'm dying to try "Cupcake 12" next (Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting)...I'll let you know how that goes!

Gingerbread Cupcakes with Fluffly Cream Cheese Filling

Recipe from Ming Makes Cupcakes

Toppers from Hobby Lobby

Gift Guide: Guys

Oh my goodness, I just realized that it has been almost a month since I've posted anything on here, but the good news is that I now have two weeks (YES!! two whole weeks!) off from work, so...I'm gonna get with it and get writing again! Christmas is just around the corner, and it is a VERY busy time of year. This year Christmas came quicker than ever, and for me that means when it comes to Christmas shopping, I am more than a bit behind. So if you're in that boat this year and need some ideas, I have a little gift guide that might help. This is specifically geared toward hooking up the guys in your life with "gifts that don't suck". It's from a super cool blog called Uncrate.com, and it has ideas for every possible type of guy from the Weekend Warrior to the Grill Master to the Bacon Enthusiast. Check it out...you're sure to find something for every guy on your list!

Below: The Outdoorsman Gift Guide, The Minimalist Gift Guide, and The Gadget Guru Gift Guide

Uncrate gift guide