Christmas Tree, My Christmas Tree!
Christmas Cookies
Happy the Day Before the Day Before You Know What! It's a rainy one here in New York and the perfect kind of day for endless amounts of baking! My apartment smells like a gingerbread house - and it's perfectly delightful! It's the first time I've ever baked actual gingerbread cookies (shocker!), but I have to say it was really easy! And the best part? The decorating of course!
Christmas Gingerbread Cookies w/ Icing
Ingredients:
3 cups flour
½ cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg
½ cup molasses
2 teaspoons vanilla
Zest of 1 lemon
Directions:
1. In a large bowl or standing mixer, combine the dry ingredients: Flour, salt, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices.
2. To the same bowl, add your butter, egg, brown sugar, molasses, vanilla and lemon zest. Mix until your dough comes together. Just beyond the stage seen in this photo, it'll become shiny and more like play dough.
3. Shape your dough into a log, wrap it in plastic wrap and let the whole thing rest at room temperature for 1 hour (or you can leave it out for up to 8 hours if needed.)
4. Working in two batches, roll out your dough with a rolling pin. It should be about 1/4 inch thick. If the dough sticks to your rolling pin, use just a little extra flour on the pin.
Using a cookie cutter, cut out your gingerbread men from the rolled dough. Place the cookies about an inch apart on a baking sheet lined with either silicone, parchment paper or greased. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes (depending on the size of your cookies) at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
5. Whatever shape you choose, cool the cookies completely on a wire rack before frosting.
6. Use a small tipped pastry bag to make lines, polka dots, or any other finely detailed pattern. I use 3 large egg whites mixed with 14 oz. of confectioner's sugar. Whisk until it begins to form peaks and voila!
The shapes I used were Christmas trees, German Shepherds, dog bones, stars, and cute little gingerbread men. Of course I had to write MaQ's name on one of them!
I went with green, red, and white colors, though you can use whatever you want! Next time I would definitely like to add in some more sparkle, with a touch of silver and/or gold.
This is a great activity to do with the kids. It's not only fun but the time spent with the ones you love is what's priceless. Enjoy and be Merry! We can't wait to show you our annual Christmas photo! Stay tuned!
Love & xx's,
Diana Broussard Interview
Last month I had the honor of interviewing Diana Broussard for Prestige International Magazine! Born in West Palm Beach, Florida, but with Cajun-French (both from Louisianan and Parisian) roots, Diana grew up in Dallas, Texas. The youngest in her family of four children, Diana Broussard had initially planned to attend Julliard to become a flute soloist, however, her dreams drastically changed when her father had a bad stroke when she was 16. Growing up she always sewn her own clothes and read Vogue, and also always been surrounded by the technology world being her father was a physicist, had immediately committed to her new ambition in becoming a designer.
Holding a B.S. in textile chemistry from LSU with further education at FIT, Diana has become one of the most successful New York designers specializing in accessories. She's worked for luxury goods companies such as Gucci, Dior, Calvin Klein, Armani, Carolina Herrera, and JP Tods - her experience is impressive. From one idea she does many things, with her exquisite jewelry to her impeccably chic shoe line, each concept is clear and her work speaks for itself. Luxury at its finest, it is also yet personal, taken with great care, and is full of heart.
I went to her boutique here in New York City, to get to know her and of course, to see her collection. I picked out a few of my favorites (ahem, gentlemen... your lady friend would love any of Diana's pieces!), keeping the theme green with Christmas Spirit!
Take a look at my chosen pieces below. Provided links will take you directly to her online store! To read my full interview with Diana, please click here. Pages 58-61.
MONKEY CURVED WITH CRYSTAL RING: GOLD & EMERALD
NATE NECKLACE: BOTTLE GREEN
EAMES SAFARI with LION and MONKEY: DARK GREEN VELVET
Aren't her pieces just darling? I'm in love with all her accessories! Such an amazingly talented designer! To see more from Diana's collection, please go here.
All photos, including the portrait of Diana are by me. And don't forget to go and check out my full interview with Diana here! Pages 58-61. :)
Love & xx's,
Matcha Matcha Matcha
I'm a coffeeholic. I get my daily fix of Joe every morning with sugar and cream (hazelnut flavor in particular as of most recently), which is not exactly the healthiest but it's absolutely delicious! I've always enjoyed tea, but not as much as coffee.
Since my favorite kind of tea is green tea, I was delighted when Matchanna sent me their own line of Matcha tea! Made from hand-picked green tea leaves in Japan, then finely grained into green tea powder, their Matcha tea is the finest quality I've come across in a long time! What exactly is all the fuss about Matcha tea?
Matcha tea has several excellent health benefits.
- Improves digestive health.
- Increases focus without the spike and crash in energy often caused by coffee.
- Does not affect sleep as much as coffee.
- Acts as an anti-microbial in the body.
- Fights cancer.
- Improves immunity.
- Alkalizes the body.
- Boosts metabolism.
- Supports weight loss.
- Lowers cholesterol.
Why should you drink Matcha tea? One cup of Matchanna tea is the nutritional correspondent of 10 cups of regularly brewed green tea and has more antioxidant activity than all of the other popular antioxidant-rich foods (per gram basis). Whoa! Talk about packing a powerful punch!
And Matchanna's green tea powder is not only high in its quality, but the taste is supreme. It is fresh, smooth and vibrant in color. For more info on Matchanna's fabulous products and the awesome duo behind it, go to their website here! Save up to 20% off if you subscribe today!
I'm so happy to be drinking more green tea again. And I'm feeling the results after only one week! You should try it too! With the Holidays coming up, why not jumpstart early to healthier choices? No need to wait until New Year's! And it is Thirsty Thursday after all... ;)
Love & xx's,
maQ + Suz
SHOP THE PRODUCT
New Favorite Conditioner
Today I tried a new hair conditioner. "The Hair Growth Botanical Renovation Paraben-free Conditioner restores damaged frizz-prone hair and prevents hair breakage by coating and penetrating the hair shaft to create a protective barrier that restores hair and prevents further damage. By smoothing the hair surface it reduces hair knotting and breakage, so hair looks healthy, shiny and easy to manage because of improved elasticity. This Deep Conditioning Formula is based on the understanding of human hair structure and characteristics. It creates a protective barrier, increases mechanical strength of the hair fibers, detangles & restores elasticity, softens dry damages hair, returns shine and enhances thickness, nourishes and defrizzes, and improves color vibrancy with gentle treatment as it helps preserve the brilliance of hair without weighing it down. This deep treatment works to repair and to revitalize the surface of the hair for instant detangling, softness and shine. Designed for weak dull thinning hair, this conditioning treatment leaves hair smooth, healthy and strong with bounce, volume and shine. This ultimate hair conditioning treatment, specially formulated with essential oils and royal jelly extract, intensely replenishes vital moisture while reducing frizz and breakage, and leaves hair supple and free-flowing for ease of styling. The conditioning of this treatment forms a protective layer over the cortex where the cuticle cells have broken away, which provides a secure layer of coating over these rough edges."
I like to do a weekly deep conditioning earlier in the morning before I get the day going, rather than do it at night and getting it all over my pillow. This is going to come across rather strange, but I love the smell your pillow develops from the hair products you use, and call me a weirdo - I do not care, I just really enjoy the scent while sleeping! I do it before the day begins to give the products some time to wear in, so to speak.
This picture (they're all self-portrait by the way) cracks me up because this is how I typically look in the morning before coffee - makeup free and aloof. I'm that girl who NEEDS her first cup of coffee before having a conversation. I'm not a morning person! Sorry! Ha ha!
I literally jumped in the shower, shampooed my hair with my regular shampoo, then to the fun part, trying the new conditioner! Most conditioners will tell you to leave it in for no longer than 10-15 minutes, but my secret? 30 minutes for any deep conditioning. After snapping a few photos for you to see it in use, I ran to the kitchen, poured myself my first cup of coffee and sat on the couch checking my emails and responding to messages with CNN in the background. My Instagram addiction will also tend to get in. Those 30 minutes went by quick! ;)
The scent of Rose geranium and cinnamon are lovely. The touch of floral with the heavy accent from the spice are complementary to one another. The conditioner is light but coats well into the hair. I liked the fact that it wasn't goopy like some products I've tried in the past.
After 30 minutes, I rinsed the conditioner out before blow-drying my hair, and then finally straightening it. Check out the results! Even after all the heat, my hair still felt and looked hydrated and silky smooth. And with some volume! Mind you - I haven't gotten my hair cut or colored since June! I'm really happy with this product and would recommend it to anyone, but especially those who may be prone to weaker, thinner hair.
Interested in learning more about this conditioner? Click here to direct you to the product available on Amazon. And if you make a purchase, use my 20% Discount Code: 6FI8TI6V
Have a great rest of your Tuesday!
* Please note, I received this product for free in exchange for an honest review.
LOVE & XX'S,
#HairGrowthConditioner