LAST MINUTE CHRISTMAS GIFTS – UNDER $25!

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For all you procrastinators out there, myself included, this post will save you a trip to the mall of madness the night before Christmas! Here is a peek into my favorite last minute Christmas gifts under $25! Yes under 25 bucks and great for your boyfriend, girlfriend, best friend, co-workers, and in laws!

These make for perfect stocking stuffers but also they’re nice enough to wrap up and place under the tree. If you’re participating in a Secret Santa or White Elephant gift exchange, these fall right under that $25 limit!


I had to unwrap these to take photos for you, so here’s to hoping my family doesn’t read this post until after Christmas 😉 I bought these gifts this weekend, the weekend before Christmas and it’s already mayhem. I also purchased the PTR masks for myself because they’re the best deal you’ll find all season! Go get ’em now, trust me, they’re just now back in stock!

Peter Thomas Roth (PTR) mask sampler kit – hands down my favorite masks this year! Yes that’s a pretty bold statement but let me tell ya why! After China my skin developed these little bumps and I found out were hydration bumps. My skin wasn’t receiving enough moisture so I needed to up my exfoliation and hydration game. This sampler kit comes with PTR’s most popular masks designed to brighten dullness, hydrate dryness, and detoxify clogged pores. It polishes, it smoothes, it soothes! I’m a walking billboard for these I swear! I love all 6 of them so I purchased 3 of these just for myself. $25 at Sephora when they’re usually $44, go buy them up! Best investment all year, I promise!


Wooden snowman ornament – my mother in law loves snowmen, they’re so festive and jolly! Each year I try to find a cute snowman item to gift her and since she puts up the most beautiful Christmas tree, I thought a personal addition to it would be perfect!

Nest holiday scented candle – a go to for any gift, who doesn’t love candles?! They’re thoughtful, they’re warming, and this particular one smells exactly like Christmas! A legit pine, fresh, snowy kind of scent.



Duke Cannon working man’s face wash – if your man is like my man who is like most men, than they probably use your shampoo to wash their hair, body, and face! LOL I try and leave products in and around the shower in the hopes that Joe will be enticed enough to start using them. I think most men get sexier as they age, and I think it’s because they start to look more rugged. But I definitely want Joe to take care of his skin, so I got him this Duke Cannon face wash. It’s frothy, smells like “productivity” (that is just hilarious to me), and has vitamin C to brighten up the skin. A big reason why I adore this company is because a portion of each sale benefits US Veterans. As an Army Brat I love this so much and it’ll help Joe take better care of his skin so I love it even more!

So just a quick guide on last minute Christmas gift ideas, I think a pretty card with a thoughtful handwritten note works just as nicely. But you’d better get started now, the malls are already giving me anxiety 😉

Are you ready for Christmas? Did you do all of your holiday shopping months ago, or are you like me and you wait until the night before?! 

Happy Holidays from my family to yours, I wish you a beautiful one!

 

 

 

 

 

DRUNKEN LEPRECHAUN BALLS – A ST. PADDY’S DAY STORY

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Today’s the day of green pancakes, green beer, pinching, and Irish kisses! In honor of my partial heritage … I’m half Irish ya know … I decided I’d make some shortbread yumminess with a twist of holiday, and a festive mason jar that you can give away or keep for yourself!

If ever you needed a reason to drench everything in whiskey, here’s your chance.


Notice the bottle of Jameson, it’s drunk and should go home, but before I get into the debauchery of our dessert dish, I’ll share with your my St. Patrick’s day munchie filled mason jar! I got this festive jar at Target for $0.99, yes under a dollar for this cuteness and I filled it with the world’s softest and most sugary sprinkled cookies I could find because, time saver.


Keep it for yourself or take it in to work or school and give it to someone as a gift, a sort of Valentine’s Day-esque kind of exchange and it’ll be sure to make them smile … I mean, it’s a sugar cookie! 😀

Moving on to the drunken story part of it all, these are Drunken Leprechaun Balls, I got the recipe from Pinterest and it’s rich like a fudge and creamy … like a shortbread dipped in powdered sugar and drenched in whiskey would be. Side note, these cookies are not minor friendly, you don’t cook the alcohol out at all, in fact you can really taste the whiskey in them which is awesome for adult whiskey lovers, not so awesome for 21<ers.


The taste of these reminded me of Italian wedding cookies except less crunchy and more tipsy! I’m sure you can make these without the alcohol, perhaps a sugary substitute or milk would work? Turn to Google if you want to recreate these for your family or the work place and let me know how they turn out! P.S. yes that would be a light up four leaf clover necklace, because why be at a bar if you can’t glow in the dark.

To see me make these live and in action, here is the video on my YouTube channel! Please Subscribe if you haven’t, more recipes to come on our Pinterest DIY-not series 😀

I hope you have a happy and safe holiday, as a mom it’s my duty to tell you not to drink and drive and to not let your friends do it either, so I’ll step off my soap box now and give you a half Irish green hug. Green like the color not green like the clean.

What are you doing today or this weekend to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Do you have a tradition like green pancakes or green beer? Let me know xx