Christmas Snowball Cookies

Last night was my dad's birthday and I wanted to bake some treats (and I'm not any good at making cakes yet) so I combined his birthday with the holiday season and made snowball cookies. They were delicious and a huge hit with everyone!

Here are the ingredients:
(makes about 4 dozen cookies)

1 1/2 cups of butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
3 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp. salt
3 cups roughly toasted almonds

Mix butter and sugar on low. Then add 2 eggs and vanilla extract on low.  Sift the salt with the flour and slowly add to mixture on low.  (To chop the almonds, I used a food processor). Lastly add the chopped almonds and mix well, then cover in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for an hour.

Preheat oven to 350.  Remove dough from the fridge and roll about a tablespoon of dough into a ball. Bake from 18-22 min (depends on how your oven cooks).  Remove, let cool for 5 minutes and roll in powdered sugar.

Then eat and ENJOY! 

Girl Crush: Miroslava Duma

Miroslava Duma, daughter of Russian Senator Vasilay Duma, is the former fashion editor for Harper's Bazaar (Russia).  She is now a mommy and freelance fashion writer for numerous publications.  She has been often spotted on The Sartorialist and Garance Dore, which is where I first saw her.  She is beautiful and is this weeks girl crush.

Handsome Coffee Roasters

There is a new coffee shop in LA and now one of my favorite stops on weekday mornings.  Handsome Coffee is opening later this month in the Arts District in Downtown LA.  While it is not officially open yet, they brew espresso drinks     M-F 7:30-12 as a preview of what is to come.  You enter through the back way in the alley and they have an old car bench seat (couch) and other fun decor.  Their barista Jesse pulled me a shot of their espresso blend (which is not at all bitter), made me a great cappuccino, and the best macchiato I have had.  Handsome was founded last year by World Barista Champion Michael Phillips, Tyler Wells and Chris Owens--all of whom left Intelligentsia to pursue their own ideal of roasting and brewing.  Stop in, say hello and enjoy a great coffee experience.

Looks I Love: Pullovers and Buttondowns

The new Free People December catalog came out and I was very pleased with the theme of pullovers and buttondowns. Here are a few of my favorite looks!

Mason Jar Snow Scene {DIY}

I have mentioned before that Anthropologie is one of my favorite stores.  Even if I don't love their clothes in a certain season, I always get inspired by their home section and their decor.  They had a salt shaker snow scene that I had on my Anthropologie Wishlist seen here. After seeing them in the store, I decided to make my own for myself and as gifts for a fraction of the price.

Materials needed:

Mason jar or empty sauce jar

epoxy glue

figurines/Christmas decor

white sparkling sugar 

glitter

Nail polish OPI "Cuckoo for this Color"

Here is one I gifted to my sister in law with an
Anthro g/c on the bottom tied with yarn.
(Again, sorry about the lighting-iPhone)

It was so easy to make and I love the way they looked in person. Try one!

LAWind

If you live in Los Angeles, chances are you were affected in some way by the windstorms that hit last Wednesday night/Thursday morning.  We were personally affected in that at 4:10 in the morning, a 70 foot Eucalyptus tree fell on our house.  Luckily we (and our things) were not injured, but it was the scariest thing we have ever experienced.  So now we are back in Orange County for a bit living with my parents until we can find a new place to live.  It could have been so much worse and we are both thankful to the Lord we are okay.  Click here and here to see more images/read about the worst Santa Ana winds to hit Northeast LA.

This is my instagram of the side of our house
under the top of the tree. 

Buy Local{+Global}

This week is National Buy Local Week (Nov. 25-Dec. 4).  It falls right after Thanksgiving and while most people are doing their Christmas shopping, this is the perfect opportunity to support independent locally owned businesses within your community.  Here in Los Angeles, there are so many small communities and so many local buisnesses that this is not difficult for us Angelenos.  It can be as simple as shopping at a neighborhood boutique, dining at a small restaurant within your community, or even going to your local farmers market.

During this week, take time to reflect on your purchases and keep in mind that you can shop local while supporting the larger global economy as well.   Use this market bag by LA based company Apolis while shopping at your farmers market.  The bag was made in Bangladesh and supports giving opportunities to people to work.  Check out Apolis and their Local+Global campaign.