Food

Our family food tradition for Christmas Eve is paella, an amazing Spanish dish that can be made with or without a ton of seafood.  I was first introduced to this tradition 10 years ago and fell in love.  Living in the desert southwest can present some logisitical issues in procuring the ingredients; this year I went to four different groceries in search of exactly what I needed.  In our house, we opt for seafood and that is the most difficult to find.  Last year was my first attempt at making the paella, to which I added lobster and it was fabulous. This year's addition was Moët & Chandon Imperial, making the entire paella experience more amazing!!

The preparation is not quick, nor it is easy, but the final paella is so worth the time. I usually start prepping 2 days ahead of time waiting until Christmas Eve morning to buy the mussels and clams. It takes no less than 3 different grocery stores (this year it was 4) to find the perfect ingredients for this dish. The seafood is the most difficult of all the ingredients to find, mainly because we live in the desert southwest.  Although I can not share our family paella (it is 3 pages long), we include chicken, chorizo (Goya, of course), mussels, clams, shrimp, lobster and a plethora of veggies.

As always, dinner was followed by a festive martini. This year we celebrated with the Christmas Cookie:

• 1 ounce of Bailey's Irish Cream
• 1 ounce of Kahlua
• 1 ounce of Goldschlagger
• Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker over ice, shake and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a cinnamon stick to be a bit more festive.

This year, I was fortunate to share our family tradition with my family and a very dear friend.  Here's to many more years of paellas together. Chink, chink!! 

~c~

Fun

I've always loved Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.  I remember being fascinated by the bottle labeled "Drink Me" and have always been drawn to little bottles ever since.

This past weekend, I found adorable little glass bottles in the jewelry department at Hobby Lobby. It cost $1.47 for two tiny glass bottles and cork tops. I thought these bottles would be the perfect, whimsical solution to the problem of loose gemstones and pearls from broken pieces of jewelry that I have accumulated through the years.

I placed several stones in the bottle, sealed it with craft glue, and in a matter of minutes I had my own little bottle to rival Alice's. On a silk cord, it was a sweet little necklace that made me smile. Later that day, I found a more expensive, less wonder(land)ful version at a store in the mall, filled with plastic rhinestones and crystals. It was bigger, clunkier, and much less muchier than mine (a Mad Hatter reference).

For someone who isn't particulary crafty, I have to admit I fell in love with this idea.

Now, if I could only find that rabbit hole... ~m~

               

Fabulous Finds

I'll admit it. I'm a total sucker for packaging. Slap a sticker that says "Rainbow Connection" on a bottle of overpriced nail polish, and I'm there. Well, apparently, the geniuses at OPI have done such a thing. A cross promotion with the new Muppets movie, OPI has released twelve bottles of nail polish bearing such awesome names as "Meep-Meep" and "Warm and Fozzie." Unbearable cuteness aside, a lot of these colors are really pretty for the holidays, which might be the only time I would wear glittery green nail polish.

A word of caution to all Muppet lovers/ makeup lovers/ OPI fanatics out there: many of these colors are selling out quickly (especially the glittery ones). Seems like I'm not the only one who's a sucker for packaging. ~m~

Fun

Chink, chink, it's time for another festive diva-tini.  This one is called Frosty's Going Down:

• 1 part vodka
• 1 part chocolate liqueur (it's a good excuse to buy some Godiva liqueur)
• 1 part Irish cream
• splash of cream
• chocolate shavings for garnish

Put all of the liquor into a cocktail shaker over ice and shake.  Strain into a chilled martini glass.  Gently drizzle the cream onto the drink and shave chocolate on the top.

I found the original recipe on the bottom of this adorable Lolita martini glass (since retired), but I had to tweak it a bit. 

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!
~c~

Fashion

Style Channel used to have a show, featuring Elisabeth Hasselbeck, called The Look For Less.  Seemingly normal women on a budget would choose one of two runway looks to duplicate in one hour for $100 or less.  I loved this show, and I loved the concept (other than the 60 minute part).
It started for me last Christmas, when I caught a glimpse of the Saks 5th Avenue Christmas catalog.  I fell in love with this top:  

It was paired with rather casual khaki pants rolled up a bit to reveal cute brown laced up ankle boots.  It doesn't look like much here, but I knew at that moment that I had to find a knock off version of this outfit, especially for the holidays!  One Saturday afternoon, I walked into a local consignment shop and found a similar gold and black shirt, not sequined, but still flashy, just waiting for me to try it on.  I was pretty excited about my find.  As I continued browsing, I saw a cute pair of gold cropped pants, a bit less casual than the khakis pictured, but perfect for my upcoming Christmas party.  Fortunately both were in my size.  I opted for a gold pair of slingbacks instead of the boots, again for a less casual look.  The best part??  I put together the entire outfit for $60, 10% of the Saks price.  The top alone was retailed at $295.

I am trying this approach again this Christmas season with this outfit:

This time, however, I didn't have time to go out to duplicate. I pulled from what I already have in my closet.  My dress isn't identical, but it has a similar feel, minus the sleeves. I have decided to layer it with a black long sleeved t shirt (thanks to Target) and steel gray ballet flats instead of solid black.  I always love a fashion challenge, especially on a budget!! ~c~