Saturday, December 28, 2013

Merry Christmas!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! I had a great day and I can't believe it's over! I love the whole Christmas season and I'm always so sad when it's over! 
On Christmas Eve my family and I did some baking, went to church in the evening, and watched our favorite Christmas movie, A Christmas Story. 
Then on Christmas day we had amazing eggnog pancakes and Christmas coffee for breakfast, opened our presents, and then all my grandparents came over for dinner. I always make the dessert for all of our family's holiday meals. This Christmas I made a chocolate mousse pie, which turned out amazing. It was probably one of my favorite things I have made. It was really easy to make (you don't have to bake the filling!), and it was so creamy and light! 


Here is my recipe: 

8 oz softened cream cheese
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup cocoa powder 
1 cup powdered sugar 
a pinch of salt
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla

Beat the cream cheese, a 1/2 cup of the heavy cream, and the cocoa powder in a large bowl until it's smooth. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt to the bowl and again beat until it's smooth. In a medium bowl, beath the other 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream until it becomes fluffy like whipped cream. This takes several minutes but keep going until it's fluffy (you don't want it to be too liquidy or the pie won't be the right consistency). Fold the cream into the chocolate cream cheese mixture in the large bowl.

You can buy a pie crust from the grocery store, but I like to make it myself. 

Here is my pie crust recipe I like to use:

1 1/4 cups cold all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar 
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
About 1/4-1/2 cup cold water

Mix the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Then, using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until it is the size of peas. Combine the water and white vinegar and drizzle about a teaspoon at a time over the mixture. Fold the dough together until it sticks together. Make the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for at least 45 minutes. Roll it out to about 12 inches wide and place it in a 9 or 9 1/2 inch greased pie dish. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 425 degrees or until golden and flaky.  

Allow the crust to cool completely before putting the mousse in it. Then put the pie in the refrigerator for at least a couple hours before serving it so it will all be cool. 

I served the pie with a dollop of whipped cream and raspberries. I really liked how the chocolate and raspberries complemented each other. Strawberries would be good too! 




Got my chocolate mousse pie recipe from busycooks.com and my pie crust recipe from Virginia's DISTINCTION magazine vol. 20.   


Some of my favorite things I got for Christmas this year...



Stella & Dot Getaway tote in the orange and purple elephant print from my grandmother,

a few J.Crew sweaters, some pretty new earrings, and pajama pants! 

What did y'all get for Christmas?


HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
xoxoxo
Katie


Thursday, November 28, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey everyone! This is just a quick post to wish you all a happy Thanksgiving.

I hope y'all had a great day today. I love Thanksgiving. To me Thanksgiving is like Christmas but without the presents - I love getting together with my family for dinner, and I like that the day doesn't focus so much on presents. But I love that when Thanksgiving is over, it's Christmastime. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade gets me so ready for Christmas - I always watch the entire parade - and Christmastime is (of course) the most wonderful time of the year! I love all the food, decorations, Christmas music, and Christmas movies (I just watched one of my favorites, Miracle on 34th Street)!
I hope everyone's Thanksgiving was great, and I hope you all enjoy this Christmas season!

I am so thankful for...
My true friends who I know will always be there,
my loving family,
being able to go to my school and having so many great oppportunities,
never having to worry about whether or not I will have enough food, and being able to stay warm at home,
my family and I staying safe and healthy.

"God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say thank you?" -William A. Ward


OOTD: Thanksgiving

OOTD: Thanksgiving


Banana Republic boatneck tee
bananarepublic.gap.com


Jack wills jacket
jackwills.com


J Crew mini skirt
jcrew.com



Round gold earrings
jcpenney.com


J Crew tube scarf
jcrew.com



Essie gold mirror nail polish
nordstrom.com




I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Gold tights

Gold tights


Wrap dress
lagarconne.com


Accessorize opaque tight
accessorize.com


Tory Burch slip on shoes
net-a-porter.com


Beach purse
lillypulitzer.com



Gold jewelry
jcpenney.com





I love this outfit for any dressy occasion in the fall/winter! And I LOVE the envelop dress - it's so unique!