Peeps Bunny Rice Krispie Treats

I have a habit of making really difficult desserts for holidays and exhausting myself in the process, but I didn't do that for this Easter. This year I kept things simple. So simple in fact that my husband kept saying "a 4 year old could make these" while he was helping me. All I did was make the Rice Krispie Treat recipe that is on the back of the Kraft Marshmallow bag and used a Peeps bunny shaped cookie cutter to cut the Rice Krispie treats. I melted white chocolate to use as icing and sprinkled pink sugar over the icing. I used mini chocolate chips for the eyes and nose. Easy.

I'm looking forward to Easter dinner tomorrow!

xo Lizzie

Oh Deer, Tony is 60!

Last weekend we celebrated a huge birthday! Tony is an avid hunter and we have an inside joke about taking a deer to the casino - that's where the theme came from. I decided to make everything seem more special I would mix gold in with the camouflage. When I was done with everything I thought all my party really needed was the men of Duck Dynasty in their camouflage tuxes to show up!

Levi celebrating his Poppa's birthday - he's worried he won't get any cake.

Samardzija Puppy partying it up!

I made both the gold candle holder and the birthday banner cake topper. I love the shadow on the wall! :)

The awesome camouflage cake was made by The Village Bake Shoppe.

Yes... camouflage forks! (you can buy them here)

Gold deer paper drink straws.

I found camo paper straws... had to have them. (you can find them here)

I made the gold deer cocktail stir sticks!

To make the gold deer candle holder (and the gold deer cocktail stir sticks), all I did was take a $2.00 kids toy and spray paint the deer gold and then drill a hole in it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TONY!

xo Lizzie

Hotty Pink

Lots of proposals over the holidays = a very busy me! And Valentine's Day is just around the corner too (more proposals!). Happy to make something for you to help you celebrate... just message me! These hotty pink drink tags were made for Kristin who was proposed to on New Year's Eve! Need bright pink diamonds for your bachelorette party? Click here :)

Cheers!

Lizzie

Scratch

JT & I had a date night at Scratch DJ Academy last night in NYC. Sratch DJ Academy was founded Rob Principe and Jam Master Jay as a way to make learning to DJ more accessible to those who are interested. 

We had so so so much fun! We learned the baby scratch, the scribble scratch and the transformer scratch. JT was a natural, I was not nearly as good as him but I still learned a lot and had a blast doing it!

I loved the art there too! This piece is by vinyl record artist Walter Lobyn Hamilton.

I have a new respect for (real) DJs! 

xo Lizzie

Jay-Z; Magna Carter World Tour

Last night I crossed something off my bucket list... I went to a Jay-Z concert! In Brooklyn! 

JT and I went to the show, we got a great deal on tickets, but they were way up top. Waaay up top. I didn't care I was happy just to be in the building! 

I think Jay-Z is one of the only rappers whose live performances are even better than his studio cuts. Most rappers just don't sound as good live. Not naming any names... but that is why you see them lip syncing on TV.

The ticket said the start time was 8 pm but Jay-Z didn't take the stage until 10 pm and nobody was opening for him. Not going to hold back here, that bothered me. But once he did finally come on stage, he did not disappoint and performed every one of his hits! I thought he would mostly do songs off his newest album but that was not the case at all. I don't know if he usually does the new stuff in other cities but it was obvious he wanted to reminisce a little in his hometown. He would lead into a song off his first album with "remember this?". 

The show didn't have a fancy set design, ornate lighting, laser light shows, hip-hop dancers or blinged out costumes. It was obvious Jay-Z was there to do a pure rap performance, and let his his ability to effortlessly deliver flawless rhymes shine. He was fast and perfect and often went a capella as if he wanted to make sure that you knew that he's still got it.

He kept it old school, which I actually found refreshing. It was just him, his band and Timbaland. Yep, Timbaland was there to give Jay-Z a little break in his set. 

On the train home I tried to think of a song that he didn't sing that I wished he would have done.... I couldn't think of one. He covered them all!

Jay-Z performed Forever Young for his very last song of the show and paid tribute to Nelson Mandela. 

This back-to-basics show, definitely grew on me. I can see where others might be quick to criticize it. Rap & hip hop shows now include so much fluff and filler that we have come to expect the fancy distractions. Critics might think something was missing... but nothing was missed. He sang every hit and hit every beat. 

When I was leaving the show, I was on a packed escalator behind two teenage boys. I overheard one excitedly say to the other "That was the greatest thing I have ever been to in my whole life!" His friend nodded at him wide-eyed as if he couldn't believe he just experienced a Jay-Z concert. It made me smile :)

Jay-Z, you still got it, don't worry about the crusty critics.

xo Lizzie 

Fatty Sundays On A Sunday

The East coast was hit with a wintry mix this weekend. It started on Friday with snow, turned bitter cold on Saturday and then warmed up just enough to bring us sleet and ice today. I wasn't leaving the house.

I decided it was the perfect time to use this pretzel kit we got from Fatty Sundays. Chocolate covered pretzels are super easy to make on your own but there is something really great about not having to buy the supplies. Ok maybe two things... One, you get to see what it's like to be like Martha Stewart... you know where she just walks into the studio and her craft of the day supplies are all picked out for her and ready to go (but the kit doesn't come with a clean up crew to pick up after your'e done- so it's just halfway to the Martha experience.)... and Two, they give you just enough to make a few pretzels so you don't overindulge. Because if it were up to me I would buy the big bag of chocolate chips, melt the entire bag and dip everything in our pantry in it until all of the chocolate was used up. Yeah, I have issues.

You can order the kit online and choose your chocolate and even your sprinkles. I went with white chocolate and the winter sprinkles.

The already made pretzel samples are a nice touch. Gives you something to snack on while you wait for your own pretzels to harden!

In a nice coincidence my silver Winter Knit nails matched the gleaming ice outside and the sliver sprinkles in the winter mix. 

I melted the chips in a mug instead of a bowl,  to give me more depth for pretzel dipping. My pretzels need maximum coverage!

All melted :)

SPRINKLES!

This was a fun and super easy little project for this icy afternoon Mother Nature decided to give us! 

Hope you are having a great Sunday!

xo Lizzie

A NYC Walk With My Husband On New Year's Eve

JT & I decided to head into the city for New Year's Eve with no real plan. Sounds crazy I know, but the city is pretty awesome on New Year's Eve... awesomely empty. Everyone who is out is either at Times Square or out at a private party leaving the usually overcrowded attractions blissfully desolate.

My New Year's Eve nails from Incoco

We stopped by Rockefeller Center to see the tree.

Said hello to Fortitude, the lion that guards the New York Public Library.  He was looking dapper, decked out in wreath.

We visited the Plaza hotel to grab a bite to eat and see their Christmas tree.

Took a walk down 5th Ave to look at the elaborate window displays. As usual Bergdorf's windows were my favorite.

The Empire State Building was lit up in a brightly colored tie dye effect!

We left the city around 9 and made it back home in time to pop the bubbly!

Happy New Year!

xo Lizzie