Best Holiday Outfits at H&M

H&M just opened up a new store in my city and it’s created a newfound obsession with them. I think in the past all of the stores I have visited have been too big and busy, whereas this one is much smaller and easier to look around.

Last week I was in a mad rush to get some new party outfits and I knew that I wanted outfits that were 1) stylish, 2) well fitting, and 3) a decent price. I’m tired of spending hundreds on a dress that I literally only wear once. I hit the mall with no idea of where to go or what I was going to end up with, but I walked out with bags full of exactly what I was looking for, all thanks to H&M!

Below I have shared my five favorite looks from H&M for the holidays, all of which are under $100 (and most under $50). A huge bonus is all of the outfits below are also perfect for New Years Eve!

(all prices are in Canadian dollars)

Short Sequinned Skirt – $29.99

 
Fitted Lace Dress – $49.99 (color below is burgundy, it also comes in black)

 

Jumpsuit w/Tie Belt – $79.99

Sequinned Velour Dress – $59.99 – (color below is black, it also comes in dark green). This is my personal favorite! I wore it to a party this past weekend.

 
Pleated Dress – $49.99 (color below is black, it also comes in dark teal)

 

 

Does anyone else have any H&M favorites this holiday season?

-SS

 

 

 

 

 

 

Homemade Limoncello

I am not ashamed to admit that one of my favourite things to do a Sunday morning is watch Food Network and get some ideas for meals for the week ahead. I’m even further unashamed to tell you that one of my current fave shows is Valerie’s Home Cooking I have tried so many recipes from her show and every single one of them has been a home run! I’m especially excited about my most recent one and I can’t wait to share!

A recent episode showcased lemons and if you know anything about me, you know that  love lemons. Lemons in my water, in my tea, lemon slices, lemon pie, lemon cupcakes, lemon chicken… you get the picture. Lemon everything! So it’s no surprise that I was so excited when Valerie featured limoncello on her show. Because, shocker, I also love limoncello.

For those of you who have never tried limoncello, you’re in for a treat. Limoncello is an Italian liquer made out of lemon zest, simple syrup and alcohol. Although traditionally it’s made in Italy, it is an extremely popular homemade liquer and after trying Valerie’s recipe, I can see why! It’s incredibly easy to make and so, SO tasty!

The recipe that I used was Valerie’s recipe and it can also be found on the Food Network site here.

What You Need:

• Lemons! The recipe calls for 14 organic, I used 15 (I’m a rebel like that)
• 1 liter vodka. You don’t have to use a specific brand, but make sure it’s something that you would like to drink. I used Absolut
• 3 cups white sugar
• 3 1/2 cups water
• Glass bottles – I got the Korken bottles from IKEA (they’re also on sale right now!)

Directions: 

• Grate the lemons using a microplane grater, carefully avoiding the pith (white part)
• Place zest in a pitcher
• Pour vodka over zest
• Cover with plastic wrap and leave alone at room temperature for a week
• Make the simple syrup by combining the sugar and water in a large saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally.
• Let cool completely. This is important, if you add hot liquid to vodka, the alcohol could evaporate and that kind of defeats the entire purpose of making homemade liqueurs!
• Once cooled, pour the simple syrup into the pitcher with the vodka and lemon zest and stir
• Let stand for 24 hours
• Strain the mixture through an extra fine sieve or cheesecloth
• Discard the solids and funnel the rest into glass bottles
• Enjoy!

Notes:

• This would make for great homemade holiday gifts!
• Although limoncello is traditionally served after dinner as a digestif, you can also make so many delicious cocktails with it! A favourite of mine is adding ice, gin and some freshly squeezed lemon juice to a shaker and serve in a martini glass.

Does anyone else make homemade liqueurs? If so, I would love to hear about them!

-SS

Bailey’s Irish Cream & Cocoa Mousse

I know that it’s only November, but every year I promise myself that I will start prepping for the holiday season early to prevent stress later on and I never do it. I end up running around like a headless chicken the week before Christmas trying to get everything done, and then I end up disappointed by the 27th because I didn’t do half of the things that I wanted to do. Oh well, there’s always next year…

 

So this year I am determined to start early. For real this time! Last night was my first attempt at this by testing out my first Christmas recipe…. wait for it…. Bailey’s Irish Cream & Cocoa Mousse!! And, not only was it delicious, it was incredibly easy! (it’s also egg-free for anyone who isn’t fond of the idea of having raw egg in your desserts)

 

Bailey’s to me screams holidays, and as soon as December rolls around, I need a giant bottle of it in the house at all times. This recipe calls for the original Bailey’s, but you can use any of the new flavored ones too. You can also choose to skip the cocoa part if you just want some straight-up Bailey’s flavour… I would love to hear how you customized this recipe! You can also have a lot of fun with decorating too, imagine how decadent it would look with some chocolate curls and gold leaf.

Makes 2 generous size desserts, or 4 “regular” sized ones

Ingredients:
1 package of unflavored gelatin (around 2.5 tbsp)
2.5 tbsp cold water
1/4 cup boiling water
1/3 cup white sugar
2-3 tbsp (to taste) high quality cocoa powder
1 1/2 cup heavy cream/whipping cream
1/2 cup Bailey’s Irish Cream
1 tsp vanilla
Grated chocolate for garnish

Steps:
1. Stir gelatin and cold water and let stand approx. 1 minute
2. Add boiling water and stir until gelatin is dissolved. Put aside
3. Add cream, sugar and cocoa to stand mixer, and beat until stiff peaks form*
4. Add Bailey’s, vanilla and gelatin and keep mixing at high-speed until mousse like texture forms
5. Spoon into bowls (I love martini glasses for festive presentation!), sprinkle on grated chocolate and refrigerate until set, about 1-2 hours

*Make sure you place your mixing bowl and whisk attachment in the freezer for a few minutes beforehand

 

Please let me know if you try this, I’d love to hear what you think!

-SS

 

 

 

My Favorite Sephora Holiday 2018 Gift Sets

It’s November, and you know what that means?! I can officially start talking about Christmas! I feel as though I have to bite my tongue all October and then the second Halloween is over, it’s my time.

One of the things that I love to do each year is browse the holiday gift sets that stores put out, and which better store than to do this at than Sephora?! I’ve been keeping an eye on the Sephora holiday gift sets since September and I have rounded up my favorites below:

 

Sephora Favorites Best Hair Kit Ever – $32 ($80 value)

If you haven’t tried a Sephora Favorites kit yet, you have no idea what you’re missing out on. This kit comes with 8 products in a cute rose gold makeup bag. The products are suitable for all hair types and it’s a great way to try out new things.

 

Sol De Janeiro Bum Bum Carnaval Magic – $49

 

There’s a reason why this cream is a cult favorite! This set comes with two tubs of the infamous Bum Bum cream, the body mist and my personal favorite, the lip balm. You do not want to miss out on this!

L’Occitane Holiday Almond Ornament – $14

I love gifts that can actually be hung on the tree and Sephora never disappoints in bringing out a new one each year. This one contains some of my favorite products from L’Occitane and I can’t wait to put it on my tree! Bonus tip – the almond oil works great for shaving your legs!

 

Too Faced Under The Christmas Tree Breakaway Face & Eye Set – $52 ($250 value)

Run to Sephora to pick this one up because I guarantee it won’t last! It comes with two eyeshadow palettes (I adore Too Faced eyeshadows!), a face palette with highligher/bronzer/brush, and a Better Than Sex mascara. This is a “one for you, one for me” kind of purchase!

 

Peter Thomas Roth Mask Frenzy – $95

Peter Thomas Roth masks are amazing, but they can get pricey. This gift set is a great way to try out the brands best selling masks without the cost commitment of purchasing separately. It comes with Irish Moor Mud Purifying Black Mask, Hungarian Thermal Water Mineral-Rich Atomic Heat Mask, 24K Gold Mask Pure Luxury Lift & Firm Mask, Rose Stem Cell Bio-Repair Gel Mask, Pumpkin Enzyme Mask Enzymatic Dermal Resurfacer, Cucumber Gel Mask Extreme De-Tox™ Hydrator. I suspect this one won’t last long either!

Do you have any you would like to share?

-SS

Staying Sane in November & December

So…. did you guys know that Christmas is only 40 days away?! Did anyone else’s heart just stop or was just that mine?!

I remember when I was a kid, Christmas was SO exciting and the wait for December 25th was excruciating, it seriously felt as though Christmas would never get here. However, I’m finding that as an adult things can be quite the opposite and sometimes results in the holiday season losing its sparkle for me. With all of the shopping, buying presents, baking, cooking, parties, events, wrapping, decorating, donating, volunteering, appointments, outfits, lists, it just feels like it never ends! Did I mention that I still have a career, marriage, home, pets, and a social life to maintain? Sometimes I find that I end up feeling as though I have no time to get everything done, not enough money, and not enough of me to go around, which just makes me feel tired and stressed. I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels this way (especially those of you who are parents – you are all my heroes!) I can’t be the only one who just wants to hibernate and say that Christmas is cancelled this year, can I?!

In the event that I’m not alone, I have made a list below of my personal tried and true methods to survive the crazy time leading up to the holiday season.

Slow cooker/crock pot – Slow cooking can be a lifesaver during a busy period like the holiday season! Not only does it save you time by doing all of the hard work for you, it relieves stress from not having to rush to get dinner at the last minute, and it keeps you from binging on all of those delicious holiday treats that are sure to come your way! For slow cooker recipes, you can’t do any better than Pinterest

Notebook or planner – an absolute essential in every sense of the word. As soon as November rolls around, start to make a note of everything you need to accomplish during the holiday season and when it needs to be done by.

Lists – You will never find me without a few lists and the holiday season is absolutely no exception. I make lists of what I need to do, who I need to buy for, what I’m buying (or what I have bought), everything I need, menus, etc. It helps to keep me both organized and sane, both of which are so appreciated this time of year! To make things even easier, I use the Notes section in my iPhone so I can reference my lists no matter where I am.

Be ahead of the game – Don’t let yourself get caught up in the “I have lots of time” attitude, because you will quickly find out that you don’t! By being ahead of the game by starting to purchase gifts early means less stress later on. I mean, how good does it feel to not have to rush around the mall on December 24th?! Wrap everything early so by the time you put your tree up, you already have gifts to go underneath and you can just enjoy the view!

Also, make all of your holiday related appointments as early as you can to avoid disappointment later. By November 5th this year I already had all of my hair, eyebrow, eyelash and nail appointments scheduled and in my calendar, saving me the stress of having to do it later and possibly not getting in.

Time for yourself – I cannot stress how incredibly important this is! It’s so easy to get caught up in events and rushing around and trying to be superwoman (or man!) during the holidays that making time for yourself can sometimes be pushed to the bottom of the to-do list. Make sure that when you schedule in all of those parties that you schedule something for yourself. Whatever it is that keeps you sane and feeling relaxed, make sure you do it. It could be as simple as a coffee in front of the fireplace where you refuse to use your phone (doing this by Christmas tree light is even better!), a night where you binge on Netflix and pamper yourself, or a date night with your spouse.

Enjoy it all! Like everything in life, it all goes by way too fast so don’t let the stress of the holidays get in your way of enjoying it!

How do you guys keep yourselves sane and organized during this busy period?

-SS