Five on Friday!

Happy last Friday before Christmas!

– ONE – I picked up OPI’s Red Fingers and Mistletoes nail polish over the weekend and am loving how festive my nails look! Right now Ulta is offering a Buy 2, Get 1 free on all OPI colors which is perfect timing to grab one for yourself and two for Christmas gifts!

– TWO – McKinsey’s Annual Girls Gift Exchange Party was last night! The gift limit was $35 and each year the dirty Santa style game gets more and more competitive. I brought a volcano candle to the party and actually ending up stealing my gift back during the last round of the game! Here are a few of some of the best, most stolen gifts at the party…

Left to Right: Charlotte Coffee Mug & The New York Times 36 Hours Book; Necklace; 100 Days of Real Food Book; Volcano Candle; Chick-fil-A calendar and Scarf; 2015 Kate Spade Planner; Tote; Polished Gift Card & OPI Nail Polish; C Wonder Wallet & Note Cards   

– THREE – For the party last night I needed a quick appetizer idea that I could literally throw together in a few minutes after getting home from work. Off I ran to the Teeter where there was a nice old lady offering samples next to the cheese counter which I of course stopped to check it out. The appetizer was crackers topped with pimento cheese and a dab of pepper jelly. Winner, winner. In less than 2 minutes I was out the door with a container of My Three Sons Pimento Cheese and a jar of Stonewall Kitchen Red Pepper Jelly. I had some mini fillo shells in the freezer which worked out perfect in lieu of crackers.

– FOUR – For the cookie exchange last week I baked Marbled Red Velvet Christmas Brownies! They were so yummy that Matt requested I make a separate batch to have at home (even though I brought home ~40 cookies.

Here’s the recipe I used:

Marbled Red Velvet Christmas Brownies

Adapted from Julie’s Eats and Treats

Ingredients
1 box (8 oz.) reduced fat cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/8 cup milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 package Red Velvet brownie mix (choose directions for the cake-style brownies)

Instructions
In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with the sugar. Add the egg, milk and vanilla extract. Set aside. Prepare the brownie mix according to the package directions. Spoon 2/3 of the brownie batter into a parchment-lined 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Spoon the reserved cream cheese mixture over the brownie batter. Now scrape the remaining brownie batter over the cream cheese mixture. Swirl the tip of a knife through the batter to make a marbled effect. Press M&M’S® Brand Chocolate Candies into the batter. Bake for 45-50 minutes in a preheated, 350-degree oven until slightly moist in the center. Cool completely before cutting 8×4 into 1½-inch squares.

– FIVE – I’ve seen a few versions of this “Holiday To-Do List” floating around Pinterest and Instagram {here} recently and thought it was such a powerful message that I wanted to pass it on! Can you imagine what it would be like if everyone’s holiday to do lists looked a little bit more like this?