Happy New Year! 2023 was filled with so many family adventures, milestones, and delicious food. 2024 will have a lot more of that, and we are looking forward to celebrating everything, including our youngest’s second birthday (his first). But first, here’s a round up of our top posts and videos in 2023. 2023 Round Up: Best of the Blog Favorite Glow Up Post We like to go back to our…
It’s been a few years since I started decorating sugar cookies for fun. From finding the best sugar cookie recipe to the best royal icing coloring gels, all my tips are scattered over a bunch of posts spanning different holidays. I’m always coming back to my own posts for recipes and tips, so I thought, “Why not put this all in one place?” So here’s my ultimate guide to cookie…
A previous version of this post for red velvet waffles was published in November 2012. We overhauled the post with new photos, formatting, and text. If you don’t eat something red velvet on Valentine’s Day, is it even Valentine’s Day? We love our red velvet desserts (truffles, whoopie pies, icebox cake), and the perfect thing to wake up to on February 14th, besides cinnamon rolls, is red velvet waffles. This…
With Fatima’s due date around the corner, we’re celebrating Christmas closer to home. One of the things I loved about last year’s Christmas, was the hot chocolate bombs I brought up to my parents’ house. This year I decided to try to make them from scratch so I could gift them to everyone in our family. Our first cup of hot chocolate this season was the Friday right after Thanksgiving.…
This Christmas cookie charcuterie board is meat-free. A classic charcuterie board, however, may display meat, cheese, and/or fruit. Today, charcuterie boards have evolved into themed presentations: donuts, pies, Christmas cookies, muffins, and candy. TBH is this even a charcuterie board? The perfect cookie charcuterie board is filled with all of your favorite cookies: gingerbread, peanut butter blossoms, decorated sugar cookies, and even store-bought cut and bake ones! A cookie board…
Merry Christmas from our family to yours! Santa didn’t take all of his cookies!…
If you want to put a smile on my face there are two guaranteed ways: feed me or give me flowers. There is nothing like having a fresh arrangement to brighten any room. When I was a little girl, I remember there were these Robinson crabapple or magnolia trees, which would bloom pink flowers every summer. Those trees lined the block and I would pick flowers to give to my…
One of the easiest brunch cocktails to serve your guests is a mimosa. It’s classic, everyone loves them, and there are limitless possibilities to mix in other juices. And it only needs juice and champagne. When we were in Hawaii, I had a pineapple mimosa at the best breakfast spot in Lahaina. It was a dash of fresh pineapple juice and a lot of champagne. That’s where we went wrong…
It snowed last weekend so we didn’t leave the apartment. We did, however, blast Christmas music on repeat. Fatima was about to kill me. We did go outside for a few hours to run errands, go to the gym, and pickup a package at the post office. Never again, do I want to go back to the post office. With the holiday season in full swing, we put together this…
We’re ending our scheduled trip through Cravings with this French Toast Casserole with Salted Frosted Flakes. Lilies and Loafers has affiliate relationships, so we may get a small share of revenue from your purchases. Items are sold by the retailer, not by Lilies and Loafers. If you’re interested in making this dish or any of our others, you need to buy Chrissy Teigen’s cookbook! When Fatima and I visit my parents, we…
When I think about this pistachio cake, I immediately flashback to my childhood. My mom would make this cake for various family parties and for ‘just because’. This cake is delicious and so (heads up, I’m sorry) moist. What I didn’t know is that she was making a recipe that belonged to her mom, Grammy Pat. My grandmother was the first female foreman at Pratt & Whitney. I was very…
Last night, was my family’s annual Toys for Tots collection party! Our community collected 5,579 toys for kids in New Haven County! We were joined by the New Haven Marines. For those of you not familiar with Toys for Tots, the foundation is a U.S. Marine Corps Reserve program. The last few years, the collection party has been held at Gaetano’s Tavern on Main. Great food, great drinks, and music from Arlene! Santa…
While were setting up our apartment with decorations for Christmas, Harvey said wanted to help. We instructed him to go get the Christmas lights. After about 10 minutes, we turn around to find this. He was trying to untangle the lights, but got tangled up in the process! He just laid there and tried to blend into the lights.…
For over 25 years my best friend Jim and I have hosted an annual Toys for Tots party for the US Marine Corps in Wallingford, CT. In the past several years, we have averaged over 5000 toys per collection. Jim and I share the same birthday, December 18th. Instead of celebrating our birthday, we throw this toy collection party to benefit the kids in New Haven County. We are very lucky that…
When the weather outside gets frightful and the temperature inside is delightful, since there’s no place to go, let us drink, let us drink, let us drink. The Bourbon Blizzard is yummy concoction full of cranberry and minty flavors. This is a great cocktail to serve at any party you’re hosting. For the original recipe head here. To make it easy to measure, we put everything in terms of “shot…
Harvey let Santa know how good we were all year long and lounged on top of the wrapping paper all Christmas morning.…