By now I'm sure that you have read somewhere on this blog that I have a plethora of wine corks sitting around in apothecary jars and vases in hopes of finding a more permanent home. I collect them from everywhere, and continue to add to it everyday.  Originally, I wanted to create a fun cork board, but while trolling Pinterest, I came across a different rendition of your typical wine cork board - a cork board made of wine corks mounted on a meter stick! This was just the decoration that I needed to fill one of the bare spots on our wall.    I don't have a designated home for all of our beautiful Christmas cards that we receive, so I figured with holiday cheer in full swing, this would be a great project to use to display all of our incoming cards! The supplies are simple. All you will need is a meter stick, wine corks (43), glue, and some ribbon!  

I started gluing the corks from the top of the meter stick, which I later decided was a bad idea. So I would suggest that you start from the bottom and work your way up that way you don't run into any awkward "I have leftover centimeters sticking out from the bottom" problems.

Don't you just LOVE Irony Chardonnay? They're so witty!

I used Gorilla Glue because I had no other strong glue, or a hot glue gun on hand. If you do use gorilla glue, make sure you apply it right in the middle of the cork and not all over it because it expands and becomes a foam that will drip off the sides. What I have applied to this Raymond cork is too much.

Apply each cork one after another and try to make sure they fit well with the corks that they are laying next to. No need to look at any meter stick business that is showing through.

  I let my cork board stick dry for a couple hours and then anxiously decorated it with tree trimmings and cards! I love the natural colors that it brings to our very neutral living room palette.  

 
 And of course we can't forget our own holiday card that we ordered from Tiny Prints this year! Even Macy Cat made the cut! Lucky cat!

We went ahead and framed it for added Christmas decor around the place. We both love how it encapsulates our lives all in one picture!

FRIday!

Boston apparently doesn't know how to produce SNOW anymore because we have been getting rained out everyday this week! It's nasty rain too. Wind and everything. I can't go from point A to point B without having to build an arc first!    In other news, we sent all of our Christmas cards out last week! LOVE them! Will be sharing a fun Christmas card display with you on Monday!  

   If I had a spare $635 dollars I might consider investing in these 5050 boots! But like I said... only if I had the pennies to spare. Why do they have to be so gosh darn expensive and so cute at the same time!? I guess that's why stars like Angelina Jolie get to wear them.... someday...  

      I ate an entire bag of Cape Code Chips (the best) during the VS fashion show. I don't feel bad about it at all. I deserve it. I've been itching to go to the factory... guess I'll just eat a bag a day until I go. They're the BEST kettle cooked chips on the planet.

Speaking of the fashion show, I hadn't heard the song "Take me to Church" until Hozier sang it, and I must say... it's been on repeat for a couple hours now, he's got a voice! The music video is very moving.  
How about a cheesy Christmas photo op with my best fur pal!? She lives for this kind of stuff.  

 Cheers to your weekend, enjoy all of the fun Christmas festivities!

Hot cocoa gifts

 I kept seeing a different rendition of this cute hot cocoa getup plastered all over Pinterest, so I thought I'd give it a whirl!

  If you're looking for an easy, affordable gift idea for a friend or coworker this is the PERfect project for you to start right now!
Easy as 1, 2, 3... all you need are the basics.    For mine, I used mini Baileys, baby mason jars, mini marshmallows, chocolate chips, crushed candy canes and hot cocoa powder.
Realistically, you're only going to get 1 or 2 rounds out of this jar of fun... but imagine dumping it all in one big HUGE mug, adding some milk and boiling it away. Oh my goodness.. delicious!

  I put the cocoa powder in first, followed by the crushed candy canes and then the chocolate chips and marshmallows. The most difficult part was securing the Baileys bottles to the jar. Once strapped down, I added a fun Christmas tag to dress it up a little!

Too. much. fun!

Buffalo Check for EVERYONE

I wanted to drop in real quick and share my favorite December pattern!   December to me means one pattern... buffalo plaid... and apparently J. Crew has the same mindset! Here's a handful of my favorites!
Pajamas

Puffer Vest

Peacoat

Scarf

...and from Hello Apparel, we have this super comfy sweatshirt!

 Any other December fashion favorites out there?

Cherry Chocolate Kisses

Cookie baking has begun in our humble abode! The first contender for the season was a cherry chocolate kiss! While this recipe is extremely easy to make with cherries.. you can use this same recipe to make "peppermint chocolate kisses" by substituting peppermint kisses, peppermint extract, and crushed candy canes for the cherry kisses, cherries, and cherry juice! However, with this month being everything peppermint, and L not being much of a peppermint person, I opted for the the cherry version!

When all of the ingredients were mixed, and I was eating the raw dough (which you can, there's no egg), I found that is was basically just a shortbread cookie with cherry flavoring and bits. Yum! So just so you know, if you are planning to bake these keep in mind that they are a shortbread cookie meaning that they are not SUPER, EXTREME sweet, but more of a lighter cookie with cherry flavoring. 

Cherry Chocolate Cookies Adapted Servings: Approximately 24 cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened - but still cool!

1 cup powdered sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons maraschino cherry juice

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

2 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup maraschino cherries, chopped

Granulated sugar, for sprinkling the cookies

Milk chocolate cherry kisses, unwrapped

 

Directions:

 

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

2. In a bowl, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy.

3. Reduce the speed to the lowest speed and slowly add the powdered sugar and salt.

4. Add the cherry juice and almond extract until combined.

5. Slowly add the flour - mixture should start to become more doughy.

6. Increase the mixture speed, and add the cherries.

7. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls and place on a baking sheet every 2-inches apart.

8. Using your thumb, gently press each cookie in its center until the cookies is about 1/2-inch thick.

9. Sprinkle each cookies with a little granulated sugar.

10. Bake the cookies approximately 14 minutes, or until the cookies are slightly brown on the bottom.

11. Once removed from the oven, immediately press a chocolate kiss in the middle of each cookie.

12. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

  Enjoy!

Fabulous Friday

Can you tell that it is my favorite month of the year? Everything I do has Christmas incorporated into it... I have a problem, I'm tellin' ya!
Last night was my first Christmas party of the season and it was quite the success! Located at my office, over a thousand dollars worth of unwrapped, nonviolent toys were dropped off for the annual Toys for Tots drive/party that the office holds! I couldn't believe how many gifts there were. We stuffed ourselves full with amazing food and loaded up on tons of wine. What a wonderful start to the holiday season! You can read more about it here!  

 

...and we can't forget the booze...     This past week L and I celebrated both of our birthdays! Again, lots of Italian food and big, delicious homemade cakes were had!  

    We also picked up our BEAUTIFUL Christmas tree from Prince Postale! Our Christmas shopping/wrapping is about 70% there!  

    I read this cute article of Christmas traditions to start with your spouse/significant other. I really want to do matching buffalo check PJs this year... we'll see if L's onboard.  

    Our Christmas cards arrived today, and I am anxious to share with you within the next week or two a project that I've been working on! I'll give you a hint... it involves my unending collection of wine corks! 

 
Stay tuned!   Also on the blog this week: December Goals  Gift Ideas for Family & Friends  O' Christmas Tree  Birthday Business   

Birthday Business

Hip, hip hooray! Another year under our belts... welcome to the 22 club! L and I both celebrated our birthdays yet again these past couple of days (Mine on the first and L's on the 3rd), and in true L&K fashion, we filled our days with Christmas tree shopping, Italian dinners, and a big fat homemade cake! Get in my belly!  

  Monday, we scooped up our Christmas tree, and then pranced over to Carmelina's in the North End for a delectable feast. Delicious! Might I reccommend the Penne Capricciose and Stuffed Pork Chop for any of you guys looking to dine in the North End. Wednesday, we picked up some pizza, and crashed on the couch watching a Christmas movie, and making unhealthy eating decisions. Nothing... and I mean NOTHING beats sitting on your royal arse watching Christmas movies!  

  The cake that I made for Landon was nothing short of Christmassy. Covered in red and green everything.  

And let's not forget the 22 birthday kisses I got from my fur child! Muah!   Tonight is our first official Christmas party! It's a Toys for Tots event at my office! If you're in the area, feel free to bring an unwrapped, nonviolent toy to Elite Boston Landmark Realty between 6-9, and we'll spoil you with food and dranks!