Wednesday, December 28, 2011

lovely little recipe

Hugs or Reindeer Noses

I honestly feel like I can't even title this post a lovely little recipe because it doesn't really seem like a recipe to me. It is quite literally the easiest thing you could ever make. I got this recipe from my now sister-in-law 3 years ago. As some of you may know my first "official" date with my boyfriend was on Christmas Day. I felt strange not bringing him a small gift, but I could not for the life of me think of something low key but awesome too. I remembered the year prior my brothers girlfriend had made these as a Christmas gift for our family. So I quickly called her up and got the instructions.

Every year since I have made these for my boyfriend. If this was the only thing he got for Christmas he would be more than happy. He talks about them all year. Of course you can make these all year long! I prefer to make them with the little waffle pretzels (like THESE) but sometimes they are seriously hard to find. I hit up 3 different Giant Eagle's, a drug mart, a Target, and even WAL-MART and had no luck. So I finally settled on the classic shape.

These little treats have many names, but I've always stuck with Hugs when made with waffle pretzels and Reindeer Noses when made with the classic shape.

You Will Need:
Hershey Kisses
M&M's
Pretzels of your choosing


If you are planning on making a large amount (as you can see the jar I give him every year is quite large), and you happen to have a membership to Sams Club or BJ's or know someone who can get you I highly recommend picking up at least your kisses here. The bag they sell is like 3 pounds and only $9. I also pick up my M&M's here but I usually have a ridiculous amount left over.


The most tedious step is unwrapping all the kisses. 


Preheat the oven to 170*.
Next lay out all your pretzels on a un-greased baking sheet. 


Plop a kiss in the middle of each pretzel.


Put your baking sheet in the oven from 5-7 minutes. If you leave them in too long they will begin to crack so I usually test them by trying to push a M&M in one of the kisses in the middle of the sheet. If you can push it down then they are good to go, if not just leave it there and try again in another minute.


I usually only put in one sheet at a time because unless you have a helper its hard to get all the M&M's onto more than one sheet before the kisses harden. 


Once you get all your M&M's in place, put your baking sheet in the fridge and let them cool for about 30 minutes to an hour. 


If you don't put them in the fridge they will crack as they cool. Obviously not as pretty.


Toss them in a pretty glass jar from Target or World Market, tie with some festive ribbon and give away!


Hope you lovelies enjoyed!











Monday, December 26, 2011

little loves

First and foremost I hope you lovelies had a wonderful holiday week!! Thank you for being patient with my lack of posts this week, I enjoyed my impromptu blogger break. This week was pretty low key for me, just a lot of getting gifts together, and other preparations for this weekend. My mom traveled to Florida this week to visit my brother and my boyfriend stayed with me here. It was especially nice since our 3 year anniversary was this week too!

Before my mom left we celebrated with Sushi, Champagne, and gifts. She got me this awesome Kate Spade iPhone case and earrings! She's always out doing herself :)

Fresh cinnamon rolls and mimosas on Christmas morning. The perfect way to start the day.

3 years ago on Christmas day me and my boyfriend went on our first date for chinese. He is my best friend and the greatest boyfriend I could ask for. Ok I'm done being all mushy :)

I got a lot of great gifts but I'm super excited about these books and my new bloggie video camera!! 

Photo: Anne Ziegler
I thought I had my New Years outfit all planned out but this look Glamour posted has me rethinking all of it. How amazing would this be with black skinny pants, black top, this jacket, and some amazing pumps?



Saturday, December 24, 2011

mother lovely feature


Hey There Lovelies!
I know I have MIA this week due to the holidays, 
but it will be worth it because I have some awesome posts coming your way!

Meanwhile check out this lovely little feature that my friend and 
fellow blogger Shannon from Mother Lovely did on me.


Read full post HERE.

And you might just want to bookmark her blog because yours truly will 
have a monthly "beauty basics" post there starting next month!

Thanks again to Mother Lovely to such a lovely post!


Sunday, December 18, 2011

little loves

I'm going to be honest, it was quite a boring week for me. A bunch of work and last minute holiday shopping. I haven't been back to kickboxing in 2 weeks because my schedule is a bit crazy right now. Though I will be back on board after the new year! (Can't wait!) I did score my readers another awesome giveaway coming soon, found a few awesome new blogs, and met with my graphic designer and friend to discuss the one year blog birthday make-over. Get excited, because it is going to be just lovely!

I have been hunting the infamous Lux Effects line from Essie for a while now. FINALLY scored some at Walgreen's, though it was quite picked over and I only scored one out of three I was after. Pictured is Essie "a cut above" over black, I'm also after "set in stones" the silver version of this, and "as gold as it gets" a very fine gold glitter. If you locals see them please let me know :)

Got a pedi this week, courtesy of my momma. (Thanks Mom!) If "A Ruby for Rudolph" on your toes doesn't put you in the holiday spirit I'm not sure what would.


Started doing my research on how to score cheap beauty products and stumbled across this blog. Nouveau Cheap is a beauty blogger and junkie who shares her secrets on how to get more beauty for your buck. So excited to put some of the ideas into practice! Its like Extreme Couponing Beauty Edition!


First heard about this blog though fellow blogger Charlotte and quickly became obsessed!! This woman takes old peices of furniture and completely transforms them into Pottery Barn-esque pieces. And even better she shares all her secrets on how to do it yourself!! So completely amazing!



This kid also made my week. If you are a Gleek like me I know you'll enjoy this. 


And last but definitely not least is a big congratulations to my best friend Vidya who graduated this weekend!! Love you!



Saturday, December 17, 2011

lovely little make-up storage


I recently got this lovely little Helmer from Ikea to organize my ever growing make-up and polish collection. I first got the idea from fellow blogger Charlotte who got one for the same thing. Her collection of polish and make-up puts mine to shame but mine was growing too big for its current home so this little Helmer has plenty of room for growth. (It also might be encouraging me to add more, though don't tell my boyfriend that.)

The silver handles weren't really "me" so they were quickly painted gold. They match the storage baskets too! You find these storage trays at your local dollar store, and I love Valspar Metallic Spray Paint. Charlotte suggested adding contact paper in the drawers for extra flair and I have definitely kept my eye's out for the right pattern.

So far the drawers are as follows (though I already thought of a better way to organize them). 
Top drawer holds my travel case, primers, sponges, and extra brushes. 

The next drawer holds my foundations, powders, blushes, bronzers, concealers, and other face products.

Third is the eye drawer with shadows, lashes, mascaras, liners, and eye brow products.

The lip drawer is a little under whelming so I left that one out. I'm still trying to figure out how to organize the polish drawer and nail tools. And need to pick up some more of these baskets. Especially the long skinny ones. I will keep you lovelies updated on the process!

Have any recommendations for new products to stock up on?



Thursday, December 15, 2011

50 little black dresses for $50


Finally had a chance to add on to the 20 little black dresses for $20 post that you lovelies enjoyed so much! If you missed the first 20 check them out HERE and learn why every girl should own a LBD, if not multiples!

20 of these dresses are under $29.99, and 30 more of them stay under $59.99! 



And a few more just for fun! They were too cute to leave out!





Would you lovelies like to see a 100 LBD'S for $100? Let me know in the comments!!

Sunday, December 11, 2011

little loves

Another week has come and gone. During the holidays time just seems to fly. I am rounding up Christmas gifts and filling up my iCal with holiday parties and get togethers. Besides the normal work and date nights, I had a good friends birthday party to attend and I had an amazing response to my second give-away!! (Thanks Lovelies, and don't worry there are plenty more in store!)

My wonderful sister (in-law) sent me this charming clock compact this week. I adore it!! 



I finally splurged and bought a Clarisonic MIA this week. While I will do a video review after about a month I just have to say in less than a week my results are out of this world!! 


I have been dying to get one of these storage units since my friend and fellow blogger Charlotte mentioned she got one for her make-up and polish (brilliant right?). My friends picked one up for me on their trip to Ikea last weekend. I will of course show you the completed organization but first to paint the handles gold!


I have been patiently (ok not so patiently) waiting for Sally Hansen to come out with new Polish Strip designs and finally found some at Target this week!! (they 24+ NEW ones!) I picked up this red + black plaid pair of the limited edition Holiday collection. Haven't found the mother-load of the new ones yet including a love letter design and a black + white tribal pattern.


The wonderful company Nip + Fab (which just launched at Target recently) sent me these goodies to review. There really is nothing I love more than trying new beauty products, and can't wait to share my reviews with you lovelies! Have you tried any of the Nip + Fab line from Target yet?


Saturday, December 10, 2011

declaration boutique giveaway winner


Thank you to everyone who entered to win this lovely little bag (and the surprise goodies inside too) from sponsor Declaration Boutique and Events.

I had an overwhelming response to this giveaway! Once again the winner had 3 entries (one for her initial comment and one each for liking both a lovely little blog and DBE on Facebook )

And the winner is...


Congratulations Abbey!

Please e-mail me at alovelylittleblog@gmail.com

And don't forget about the 15 different shops offering my readers exclusive discounts! 
But hurry, some of the discounts are ending!




Thursday, December 8, 2011

e.l.f. cosmetics haul



E.L.F. Cosmetics Haul

Remember when I posted about the awesome Living Social deal for E.L.F. Cosmetics? Well this is the result of that little shopping spree. I am so happy I got 2 of the deals and spent a total of $30 for $60 worth of products!

Have you tried any E.L.F. products? Would love to hear your suggestions and thoughts!

Products Featured:
♥ = my favorites













And the lipstick I discussed a little, that has been found since I filmed this...