{Easy} Gluten and Dairy Free Seven Layer Bars

Seven Layer Bars are one of my very favorite Christmas goodies. We spent Christmas this year at my Grandparents in Florida. With all holiday craziness and travel no one really found time to make many holiday treats. After a whole day of vacation without a single, safe Christmas cookie I had to do something.

The small town in Florida that my Grandparents live in have very little gluten or dairy free options so I had to get creative. I had seen this recipes for Seven Layer Bars and although they look absolutely delicious, I didn't have enough patience or appropriate ingredients to make them. Target was my only shopping option so I took to the aisles with the classic Eagle Brand Milk recipe to see what substitutions I could find.

For the crust, I found these Annie's Gluten and Dairy Free, Snickerdoodle bunnies. They were a bit sweeter than normal graham crackers so I when I mixed in the butter I added a some more cinnaman hoping to dull it down.

Luckily they had Enjoy Life chocolate chips! I honestly like these better than regular chocolate chips any way. I used the whole bag at various stages of layering so they bars were extra chocolatey!

The condensed milk was the hardest to step by far. I found this recipe for Vegan sweetened condensed milk. I used 1 can of  coconut milk and 1/4 cup of pure maple syrup. I simmered it at a low heat for about 30 minutes, I think it definitely could have cooked a bit longer but I was antsy. 

Full Recipe: 

1 1/2 cups (about 1 bag) of Annie's Snickerdoodle Cinnamon and Sugar, Gluten Free Bunny Cookies (crumbled)
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 cup of butter, melted
1 package of Enjoy Life, Dairy Free Chocolate Chips
1 1/3 cups of flaked coconut
1 cup of chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups of Vegan Sweetened Condensed Milk

Pre-Heat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x9 baking pan.

Mix together crumbled cookies, cinnamon and melted butter. Press mixture firmly into the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle in half the bag of chocolate chips and half the coconut.


Pour condensed milk over the bars. Sprinkle the rest of the chocolate chips, coconut and nuts evenly over the top.


Bake for 25 minutes. Let bars cool completely before cutting or refrigerate for firmer bars.

They went so fast (eaten by my non-Paleo/food allergy family) I almost didn't get a picture of the final product!

                                         

Friday Five: Allergy Safe Holiday Cookies

To be honest I used to be a bit uncomfortable with the idea of a cookie exchange. Swapping baked goods without a lot of detail on them (or the people made them) doesn't create the best picture in my head. Then I went to one. As a busy adult with work, shopping, holiday parties and general life errands  finding a weekend to bake dozens of cookies all of different varieties with quite difficult. Being able to combine cooking and socializing in one event is fantastic AND you can walk away with as many bake good varieties as you like!

With my own {and lots of others} food allergies I've been searching for a crowd pleaser for my upcoming Junior League cookie exchange. Here are 5 of the most delicious looking gluten and dairy free options!

Caramel Glazed Donuts from Against All Grain

Gingerbread Men from Deliciously Ella

Coconut Meringue Nests by Simply Gluten Free 

Gluten-Free Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies from Gluten Free on a Shoe String

The frosting has butter in it, but I found this Dairy-Free Recipe

Peppermint Chocolate Macaroons from Against All Grain

Beautiful Boxwood

Christmas decorating is in full swing in my apartment and I'm loving the chicness of boxwood. From wreaths to garland to present wrapping, the round leaves adds a classic but modern look to Christmas. I'm hoping the wreath will last me through spring (just changing out the ribbon to be seasonally appropriate).

Pantone's Pastels

Pantone just announced their 2016 color{s} of the year to be the dusty pink, Rose Quartz and soothing blue, Serenity.

I love pastels...especially in winter. I have been rocking my white jeans with cozy ivory and blue spring sweaters well past Labor Day. Add a little sparkle and they make the understated tones perfect for popping Holiday Parties. I'm obsessed with these 2 Miu Miu numbers. Top them off with a long, classic camel {or, even better, ivory} wool coat and you're ready to celebrate the end of 2015.

Metallic Jacquard Mini Skirt

Cotton Jacquard Mini Dress

Keeping up with the Joneses (or Jones')?

How cute is this stationery!?

If you're planning on spending your weekend signing and addressing  a {seemingly} endless pile of Christmas cards, be sure to check out this recent Town & Country article on the 5 Most Common Grammar Mistakes....and watch where you put your apostrophes!

Jewel Toned Holidays

I'm definitely a self-proclaimed neutral girl. When I wanted to "add color" to my bedroom in my old apartment I added Black. In my new apartment I went with a deep navy blue. I was able to acquire a gorgeous navy blue, velvet sofa and arm chair. I've been adding color with deep red and purple accenting floral arrangements. I've learned to love the elegance that jewel tones bring to the neutral palate and I've been dreaming of these jewel toned table settings for the upcoming holiday's. Now to acquire an apartment with a dining room....

Friday Five: Holiday Candles

My heart is 100% in Christmas/Holiday mode. I'm definitely on team "Thanksgiving can be Christmas-y!" Unfortunately, there is much debate in society on what is appropriate so I'm holding off decorating (really because the BF isn't around until this weekend to help carry the tree in). I have allowed myself to sneak in a little holiday scents via candle. It's so refreshing coming home to an apartment filled with a little winter-y, holiday spirit. These are my absolute favorites!

Ralph Lauren Holiday Classic

{instantly reminds me of childhood Christmases... although I think my mom had the potpourri #80skid}

 Voluspa Branche Vermeil

Nest Holiday Candle

Thymes Fraser Fir

{Whole Foods sells them in cute, gold jars but I can't find them anywhere else!)

 Jo Malone Roasted Chestnut

Sniffle Season

Like clockwork, right around Christmas {usually during} I get a bad case of the sniffles. With temps in the high 20's out here this weekend, I think they were brought on early, with a raging sore throat. I've been trying to stay warm and hydrated with lots and lots of tea. I'm straight tea drinker. No sugar, cream or honey ever.  My favorites are Bigelow Constant Comment, Peets Masala Chai and Winter Solstice and Numi Rooibos Chai. All very citrus-y, spicey and Christmas-y.

There is something in cough medicine and drops that makes me really nauseated, so last night, when I needed to up my game with this sore throat business I decided to give the mysterious Hot Toddy a try. I think it comes up every winter at holiday parties and general, what is a Hot Toddy? I was chatting with a co-worker at a party recently who told me even when she was a kid her mom would make her Hot Toddies for when she had a cold. If a mom swears by it enough to give alcohol to her child it has to do something right?

 

1 oz brandy, whiskey, or rum
1 Tbsp honey
1/4 lemon
1 cup hot water
1 tea bag

 

Directions:

Coat the bottom of your coziest mug in Honey

Add the shot of your favorite liquor

Add Juice of 2 lemon Slices

Heat Warm Water and Soak Tea bag

Add Tea, Slice of Lemon and Cinnemon Stick to Mug

Enjoy

To google I went and found a whiskey based recipe {I just can't stomach rum much any more and I'm not old enough for Brandy}. A little honey, whiskey, lemon and Constant Comment tea in my mug and it was suprisingly soothing! I don't know if it was the whiskey or the honey, but one of these before bed does things Nyquil wish it could. Also, it's Christmas-y and I support all things Christmas.

Thanksgiving Weekend {a.k.a Christmas Prep}

I chose to spend Thanksgiving in San Francisco again this year. The stress of 2 days of traveling for 2-3 days of Family and Friend chaos has just proven to be exhausting. Especially if I'm returning in a few weeks for Christmas.

Thanksgiving itself was pretty relaxed. The BF and I took a small hike through the Presidio, watched a little of the Cowboy's game {....I napped} and went to his former co-worker's house for the meal. His co-worker is Philipino so it was kind of fun to have some different food mixed in with the usual Thanksgiving fare.

The rest of the weekend was prepping for Christmas. With only 25 days to celebrate this year, I wanted to jump right in!

I got this gorgeous bay leaf wreath at Trader Joe's for only $10!  I 'fake' hung it with red grosgrain ribbon. I didn't trust the ribbon to hold it on it's own so I used a wreath hanger and then pulled the ribbon up from the top! I'm kind of obsessed with how perfectly it goes with our new Red Front Door!

I purchased gifts for my Grandma's a few months ago, and have since been looking for the perfect ribbon to go with my classic brown wrapping paper. I love how simple and elegant it looks! I ventured to Britex in Union Square {braving the crowds of out-of-towners}. I'd never been there before, but for having 3 stories filled with every button, ribbon, fabric, sequin you could ever want I of course found what I was looking for almost instantly. This dark evergreen ribbon, it's grosgrain with a little stretch for fitting around the packages.

Saturday night Emily and I went to Book of Mormon! First time seeing it and it was spectacular! Everything I hoped for and more. I'm going again Thursday with the BF and cannot wait. We tried to get a pic doing the exuberant jumping pose from the banner. Obviously #nailedit.

Operation Crafty Christmas

In between holiday parties, baking, work, shopping, Junior League and not blogging I some how found time to throw together my parent's Christmas present.

My mom is not really into pictures, or at least archiving them in something other than a shoe box or random drawer. They've lived in their current house for a little over a year and their walls are empty so I thought it'd be nice to spruce them up and document our family's growth and locations. We moved a TON growing up. 9 times for me and going on 11 for them.

When I saw this on Pinterest I thought it was the perfect gift idea.

I had my Grandma's scouring their collections for the pictures, but the scanners turned out to be too much of a challenge for them so I had to turn to my brother. He was able to snoop around my parent's house and find some gems. We found enough frame-ables, others didn't make the cut but were just plain hilarious.

My mom and I circa 1989

My brother and I circa 1997

My brother and I and our cousins circa 2001

Parents circa 2004

When I was planning to do this myself I bought an old school Rand McNally book and scanned in the states. My brother was actually able to take those and photoshop, tint and make perfectly proportioned "cut here dummy" lines for me to match up the maps with the Matting. With the help of an X-Acto knife (and the company printer) I cut them out and glued them to the mattes.

When it was all said and done I had 9 frames! In order from top left:

Huron, Ohio (1984-1985): Wedding Picture
Minneapolis, MN(1985-1988):  my parents and I in front of our house before my baptism
Hudson, WI (1988-1990): My parents, my sister and I & My brother, our dog (Reggie) and I
Grants Pass, OR (1990-1993): My parents, my brother and I on the Rogue River
Wausau, WI (1993-1997): My brother and I with the Wausau Woodchuck mascot
Walnut Creek, CA (1997-2001): The fam at Skipolini's Pizza
River Forest, IL (2001-2005): The fam & the dogs (Sparkles and Miss Mama) in front of our house
Oak Park, IL (2006-2009): The fam at the Capitol One Bowl in Orlando
Madison, WI (2010-2013): All of us at my cousin's wedding

Countdown to Christmas: Personalized Gifts

We've all been there, invited to a party hosted by an aquaintance, struggling to find a gift for the person who has everything or the person who has extremely specific tastes. In these situations I find it best to stick to the simplest gifts. Those things that everyone needs. Napkins, candle sticks, clutch, hors d'eorve tray, stationery...Maybe you use it everyday, maybe you use them once a year, but you cannot go wrong with a classic, functional gift. The problem with gifts like this is that they're usually pretty plain and come off as a little impersonal and that is the exact opposite of what a gift should be.

How do you spruce it up??? Well, with personalization of course!!  Here are some of my favorite personalized gift ideas!

The Everyday Leather Zip Pouch {mark&graham}
You can use it as a clutch, put your iPad in it, carry travel documents etc. Really it's an all purpose and unisex gift that anyone will appreciate! I love it in Porcelain Blue with a center monogram!

2013 Diary {Smythson}

For the more traditional calendar keepers you can't go wrong with a datebook. Smythson offers a variety of sizes, fun colors and personalization options! And the leather bound covers make sure they'll never wear out. Graphic Image offers some equally stylish, but less expensive options.

Letter or Zodiac Pillow {Jonathan Adler}

I have been pining for one of these letter pillows in black and white!!! Jonathan Adler also offers some  more whimsical personalization options with his Zodiac collection as well.

Silver Plated Julep Cup {Pottery Barn}
A GREAT hostess gift idea! It's a classic shape will fit in almost any room and she can use it as a candle holder, a vase or even a Julep!

Lilly Pulitzer Personalized Serving Tray {Lifeguard Press}

You can find these everywhere on etsy right now, but I like the fun designs that Lilly Pulitzer offers!

She has her classic 'ropes' print or you can go crazy with one of her more signature bright, palm beach designs. If you're looking for something a little simpler Design Darling has a adorable standard monogrammed tray too!

Lilly Pulitzer's 'Rope' Pattern

Cleaner look from Design Darling

Happy Shopping!!

November Goals {Follow Up}

So December is finally here!! We got our Christmas tree last night and I'm feeling especially Christmas-y now! That also means it's time to evaluate my progress on my November goals.....

#1) Be more Positive! - CHECK!...?
I don't really know if there is a way to evaluate this one, but I do feel like I made an effort to stop and remind myself that there is a silver lining to everything! I don't know if it is because I've been busier or actually just looking on the bright side but I feel pretty satisfied with my life last month. Looking forward to the craziness of December and keeping my November goal in mind!


#2) Finish 1 Book - eh?
.....well, I didn't exactly 'finish' a book, but I did make more of an effort to read!  I've gotten about 3/4ths of the way through The Great Gatsby. Which, considering I bought it LAST November and had only read the first chapter, is faster than I was averaging :) I love the book though! It is completely different than I remember from High School, but in a good way. I absolutely cannot wait for the movie to come out!!!

#3) Workout 3x a Week! - CHECK!
It took me a week and a half to get into it, but since November 11th I've been hitting up BurnSF at least 3x a week. I love it because it's close to my apartment, but also it incorporates cardio, strength and Pilates all in one!!! I've been reading more and more how you have to start strength training in your twenties to keep your muscles and your metabolism up. I am definitely not one to get up and go to the weight room on her own so I've experimented with a couple classes. I did a weight class at the gym, which wasn't that challenging for me and then I tried the Bar Method this summer. I liked the Bar Method, but if I went 3x a week I felt like I had put in my workouts and never did cardio, which is still necessary!! BurnSF brings it all together and adds Pilates to keep us short gals as long and lean as we can be!


#4) Be more Budget Conscious  - CHECK!...?
I haven't been sticking to my budget completely, but I have cut back on lazy cab rides and un-necessaries (which may or may not vary depending on the moment). I did set up a budget on my bank's website though so I got a start! And I also rejiggered my 401k accounts so hopefully I'll be rich when I retire! It's like when you're dieting.....baby steps right?

#5) Get Christmas Shopping Done! - CHECK!
I'm officially checking this off, because even though they haven't been created yet I've picked everything out.

Brother- I have purchased my brother's gift and mailed it home for X-Mas! I got a GREAT deal at J.Crew on cyber Monday.

Parents - For my parent's I've decided to make them this:

My family has moved A LOT; 10 houses and 6 states. So I thought it'd be cute to get a snapshot of our family at the time we lived in those places and frame them with the map.  I have my Grandma's on picture patrol, but if they can't come up with enough I have this as my backup. I think instead of hearts I'll just cut out the states and put little hearts on the cities we've lived in!

Grandparents - I bought one sets of Grandparents tickets to the Nutcracker in Chicago when I'm back, followed immediately, by my Dad's gift to them of a "delicious" Swedish Smorgasbourd dinner in Andersonville. If you sensed sarcasm you were right. Silver Lining (see goal #1) - no worring about Holiday weight gain that night!

Co-Workers and Acquaintances -I am going to attempt to make homemade Caramels next weekend for my co-workers!....stay tuned for a blogpost on that. Considering I lit the Thanksgiving Pecan Pie on fire, I'll probably be an interesting one.

Friends- Christmas Cards & appropriate gifts have been purchased! Addressing them next weekend!

Wrapping - I am pretty excited for wrapping this year. I LOVE the simple wrapping and fun ribbons. On Pinterest that someone suggested using left over paper bags. (of which we have a ton of in San Francisco since plastic are outlawed....seriously.) I 'm going to use those and get some cute ribbon at Michaels and tie them all up beautifully!

#6) Blog 2x a Week {at least} - CHECK!
Um...did you read them!??

Countdown to Christmas: The Nutcracker

I realize this is pre-mature (only 2 days, but whatever). I am just too excited! One of my favorite Christmas things is the Nutcracker. I don't know why, I just started going when I moved out on my own. Kingsley and I went to my first one in San Francisco and I've been going every year since.
Maybe it's because they make it snow outside as you walk in and actually feels like Christmas.

I just bought tickets to take my Grandma and Aunt to the Joffrey's Nutcracker while I'm in Chicago this year and I'm so excited! The sparkles, the dancing and maybe even some REAL snow!

This is my favorite part: The Grand Pas De Deux. The music is absolutely beautiful, I could listen to it all day.....and maybe I have been :)


P.S. 33 more days 'til Christmas!