Holiday Hostess

As the holidays are fast-approaching, there's often times when you'll find yourself staying at a girlfriend's house, spending time couch-surfing at an aunt or uncle or perhaps even staying with your grandparents! Below are a list of great hostess gifts that will be perfect when you're staying with someone!

Is your hostess a wine-o? I love this Lilly Pulitzer wine tote. Add your hostess' favorite type of wine and you've got a festive gift she'll love!

Is your hostess a big foodie? Specialty olive oil is a great alternative to flowers or even wine. A brand new olive oil shop opened here in Columbia and it's too cute! It really opened my eyes to the thought of olive oil as a gift!

Is your hostess very overextended this holiday season? Treat her to a manicure or pedicure! Add in a bottle of your favorite nail polish to go with it for some inspiration. Make it a date and go with her too!

Unsure of where to even start for a hostess gift? A candle is always a great option! I've posted about Capri Blue Volcano candles in the past, and they're my favorite scent. These candles are sold all over and make an awesome treat!

xxKatie

Sweet Treats From Lady Antoinette's!

I had the special treat a few weeks ago of trying one of Columbia's newest bakeries, Lady Antoinette's!

They had TONS of fresh desserts, and y'all know that's right up my alley. For those of you who may not know, I have a HUGE sweet tooth! I also had never had a macaron before. I feel like they're the favorite food of most bloggers you talk to. Now I know why!

Lady Antoinette's is nestled inside a bridal salon actually. I got the grand tour by a friend of mine who works as a consultant in the bridal shop. It's beautiful, full of gold leaf wallpapered rooms and beautiful decor. There are marble floors, grand staircases and dresses galore! After making my way around Bella Vista, I made my way into Lady Antoinette's, the real reason for my visit.

I chatted with the friendly staff and they made their recommendations and told me what had been popular. Beignets and macarons were the hot ticket so I ordered a beignet and 2 vanilla and 2 lemon macarons. I couldn't help myself but to eat a vanilla macaron the MINUTE I got into my car!

These macarons are different than most because they're kinda big, but MAN OH MAN are they delicious. (As I type this, I'm thinking to myself about my next trip back...) I at the pink vanilla one first, naturally, and loved it! They're not too sweet and the cream inside is light and fluffy. I then ate the lemon one. To. Die. For. That was actually my favorite thing that I got! It was yellow, but not scary-highlighter-yellow. It was GREAT!

For those of you who are in Columbia, be sure to make your way down to Lady Antoinette's soon! 

xxKatie

Dessert to Impress: Pecan Pie Bars

I don't really like cooking from scratch. I cook from a box more often than not, and I enjoy recipes along the lines of "semi-homemade", like the show, instead of baking from scratch. This dessert recipe is one of those "semi-homemade" recipes, but not from the show, and I've been making it since Christmas!

If you like pecan pie, you will LOVE these! (And even if you don't really like pecan pie, or thought you didn't like me, you'll probably STILL like these too!)

This recipe sincerely couldn't be easier! This is what the finished product looks like!

Ingredients:

1 Tube of sugar cookie dough

1 cup light brown sugar

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

2 eggs

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Recipe:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

2. SPRAY YOUR PAN! THIS IS SO IMPORTANT!

3. Spread the cookie dough out in your pan:

(All the finger prints will bake away!)

4. Bake until it is BARELY golden brown, it will finish cooking with the filling! You want it very light still!

5. Mix all other ingredients to make filling. It will be gritty and a little runny, these are both good!

6. Put filling into hot crust. You can flatten the crust a little before you add the filling, but the weight of the filling will help flatten it too!

7. Bake until the middle doesn't jiggle anymore. You want it to be solid! That's usually about 15 minutes when I make it, give or take, depending on  your oven:

It will look like that! You can see the crust has like almost NO color on it, like I said, just barely golden brown!

8. Let it cool completely! This is the hardest part!! I've cut into it before it's cooled all the way and it's really not as good! Be patient, this can sometimes take up to 2 hours!

9. Cut into cookie bars and enjoy:

This recipe is seriously SO easy and SO yummy! It's fun to bring to potlucks or to impress the in-laws! Plus it won't last long wherever you take it!

xxKatie

Cookbooks

So I don't really cook often. That doesn't mean, however, that I don't like cookbooks! Here are a few of my favorites, and ones I'd like to try!

Greek Revival is written by USC's own first-lady, Mrs. Moore-Pastides! A portion of this cookbook goes to USC scholarships.

Of Tide and Thyme is the Annapolis Junior League's Cookbook--I've thumbed through this many times!

Cooking Rocks has some of the first recipes I ever tried on my own, including Honey Nut Chicken!

I would LOVE to try the Momofuku cookbook! All the desserts in here sound AMAZING!

100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know piqued my interest on Pinterest! I added it to my Books board, and I really want to buy this!

What cookbooks do you love? Anything you rely on?

xxKatie

Hoppy Easter!

I like to be corny so, yes, HOPPY EASTER! Today I'll be heading to Church early, and then getting the dinner ready for a big potluck I'll be going to later tonight. I am looking forward to celebrating with friends! I'm bringing a chocolate chip pie (recipe here) and a brussel sprouts and bacon dish that my mom made for Thanksgiving (example recipe here...I'm going to add garlic). Check out how good these look:

via Completely Delicious

via Food Network Kitchens (minus the nuts)

My mom sent me and my roommate a HUGE easter package! It was a fabulous box from the Easter Bunny and was so big that my apartment complex asked me to come pick it up because it was taking up too much space in the mailroom--I'm so lucky!! Thanks Momma! This is the first Easter that I haven't been home--yikes! Our little potluck will be a close stand in though!

Hoppy Easter y'all!