Black Tie NYE Outfit

Dress / Old prom dress

Heels / Schutz

This is actually an old prom dress. Well, not my prom dress. Because I didn't go.

It was someone's old prom dress given to me. Family friends assumed I would go to prom, but I chose not to in the end. I didn't see the reason to pay so much money, and stress so much over a simple dinner. I still remember friends complaining or getting hurt over being excluded from a certain table or being kicked out of a limo. It sounded like they were paying someone to stress them out!

So I decided to stay at home, and enjoyed a relaxing evening with family. I did go down the shore over the weekend to spend time with friends (and go paintballing!), but that was the extent of my "high school prom" experience.

Even though I didn't go to prom, I still love this velvety dress. The luxurious feel of velvet just instantly says glamorous to me. It's not an everyday fabric, and I love it for that. The beaded fringe at the waist adds to the glamour of such a simple dress. If my office party hadn't been cancelled, this dress would have been a big contender. I'm not too heartbroken about it though, because now I have the chance to wear this out for NYE :)

Linking up Shanna, Lauren, Lindsey, Jen, Zarouhi, & Sarah :)

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A few of my favorite things..

Top | Asos

Skirt | No label (gifted)

Heels | Schutz

Pillbox Hat | Catarzi

♪ These are a few of my favorite things ♪

But they actually are. I loved this pillbox hat the moment I laid eyes on it. It's romantic, it's vintage inspired, and it's of high quality. I waited for a good month to snatch it up for 1/3 of its price. This skirt embodies those three traits as well so I decided to bring them together to create a romantic, vintage inspired, winter outfit.

Just a close up of the beautiful wool pillbox hat.

After every photoshoot, I go through the photos and find a ton of candids along the lines of the photo below. I think my manfriend entertains himself during our photoshoots with these type of photos. It's..definitely..not the aesthetic I go for, but he must see something in them, so here I am posting them haha

Linking up Shanna, Lauren, Lindsey, Jen, Zarouhi, & Sarah :)

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Recipe | Hot Chocolate DIY Gift

Disproportionate amount of marshamallows? I think not!

I love Smitten Kitchen.
I think I've said this many times. Deb Perelman is amazing. She started her blog, because she DIDN'T know anything about cooking or baking. It was a way for her to teach herself. Most of all, I love that she steers clear of one-time use ingredients, because she thinks you can yield the same results with what you already have in your pantry.

She recently posted this recipe, and I hesitated.

I love hot chocolate, but always saw cocoa from a box or packet clump. If I wanted clumps, I'd rewatch Nutty Professor II: The Klumps! But I trust Deb. Every recipe I've tried of hers, I've loved, and it's never let down (that woman is freakishly amazing) so I gave it a go. It also seemed like an ideal gift to send to friends and family through the mail so win-win :)

Unlike others, I don't own a food processor so I had to grate the chocolate to ensure it would disperse evenly and get that powdery texture. Unfortunately, in the winter, the grating made the chocolate have a negative charge and attach to me instead of going into the bowl. I used the sugar's weight to hold down the chocolate gratings.

To top it off, I whipped up a simple way to gift wrap this delicious hot chocolate mix to give to friends and coworkers this season! It's a great gift to give as it is rich, but not overly sweet.

Just get any type of glass jar (mason jar, milk bottle) and fill it to the top. After you cap it, take some paper and jute and wrap the top. I handmade a little tag with "instructions" to go with the hot chocolate not pictured here. Now who wouldn't want to curl up with a cup of hot chocolate on a cold wintery day?

The Ingredients        (source: Smitten Kitchen)         3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate,             grated if you don't have a food processor             roughly chopped if you do         ½ cup granulated sugar         ½ cup cocoa powder         1 tablespoon cornstarch         ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract         ¼ teaspoon salt

The Instructions If you have a food processor: Rough chop chocolate. Combine all ingredients in food processor and blend until powdery. No food processor? No problem. Grate chocolate as fine as you can get it. Stir in remaining ingredients.

To use:

1. Heat one cup of milk (almond, soy, whatever tickles your fancy) in a saucepan over medium heat until steamy.
2. Add 3 tablespoons (or more!) of hot cocoa mix.
3. Whisk over heat for another minute or two until it begins to simmer and mix has completely dissolved.
4. Pour into mug, top with marshmallows, and enjoy :)

Linking up with Miz Helen & Lamberts Lately.

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