Make This Recipe + Scenes From Our Christmas!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.  I know we sure did!  I am stuffed full of delicious food and booze and need to diet/detox but that ain't happening til after the New Year.  I had to share this recipe that I made Christmas morning for breakfast.  You will never want to buy the canned cinnamon rolls again.  These are the tastiest cinnamon rolls I have ever had.  Best part is you can add as much icing as you like.  The icing is always my favorite part and the packaged kind never gives you enough.  The amount they put in there is only enough for one roll in my mind.  These tasty treats are bite size so you can eat several without feeling too bad.  Pretty sure it will be made again for New Years!  I promise these will be devoured if you make them!

{MINI CINNAMON ROLLS WITH MAPLE ICING}

Ingredients:

1-8oz tube crescent roll dough

2 Tablespoons butter

cinnamon

brown sugar

For the maple icing:

1 teaspoon maple syrup

1 Tablespoon skim milk

3/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

1.Preheat oven according to crescent roll dough package directions. Layout half the dough (4 triangles) and pinch all the seams together. Flip over and pinch the seams on the back side together too.

2.Using a rolling pin, smooth the seams and roll the dough into a square about 1/4″ thick. Brush with half the butter, and sprinkle with as much cinnamon and brown sugar as you want. Roll into a log and cut into 8 pieces.

3.Place mini cinnamon rolls into a non-stick sprayed mini muffin tin. Repeat steps 1 and 2 with the other half of the crescent roll dough. Bake according to package directions.

4.Meanwhile whisk together maple syrup and milk in a bowl. Add in powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached. Drizzle over warm cinnamon rolls.

**One 8oz tube makes 16 pieces.  We doubled the recipe**

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Here are a few snapshots from our Christmas.  Such a great time!  Get ready for picture overload:)

 

The craziest lights I have ever seen and there was a man dressed as Santa who came out to each car with a candy cane for the kids- Thanks Bethenny for the fabulous suggestion!

And Sterling's two favorite gifts!  His umbrella and bike!  Who knew a kid would love an umbrella so much??  It was quite fitting it rained the day after Christmas so he got to use it all day!  The problem is now teaching him we don't open umbrellas in cars or inside:)

 

Have a wonderful weekend friends!  I am gearing up for our annual New Years Eve party.  Lots of undecorating and cleaning to be done this weekend!

xoxo

Holiday Wishes

I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas (or whatever holiday you celebrate)!   The past few weeks have been crazy busy and I need some downtime with my loved ones!  I want to truly enjoy the rest of this holiday because Sterling is so darn excited this year.  I want to savour every moment.  It is such a joy to see your child's eyes light up with excitement over all the decorations, presents, and food!  Each year it just gets better and more fun!  I am so thankful for my sweet boy.

  To all my friends I could not send a Christmas card to here is what ours looked like this year!  I think I may be the only person who still sends old school cards with actual pictures taped to them instead of the mass printed kind.  I am a freak about cards and I love the beauty of handwriting them.  

I hope everyone has a fabulous Holiday (and here's to hoping the world doesn't actually end today). I will be back sometime next week!


xoxo
Natalie

A-Thread Giveaway!

Happy Thursday Friends! I have one more treat for my amazing readers before the holidays. A-Thread has graciously offered one of my readers a $75 gift card to use on their website.

Their website is filled with some really fabulous items.  Their prices are super affordable and they always donate 5% of sales to a non-profit Charity of your choice.  Shopping = Giving!  I own several pieces from A-Thread but my newest find is this amazing Peplum dress.  The royal blue is even more stunning in person.  Such a flattering versatile dress!

{Perfect Peplum Dress}

A few other gorgeous finds from the website.

one| two| three | four| five| six| seven| eight

$75 will go a long way on the A-Thread site because their prices are so reasonable!  Here's how to enter Make sure to leave a separate comment for each and your email:

1) Be a follower of Designer Bags and Dirty Diapers

2) Like Designer Bags and Dirty Diapers FB page

3) Visit A-Thread and tell me your favorite item

4) Pin your favorite A-Thread item

You have til Christmas Eve to enter!  Good luck!

xoxo

Roasted Golden Beet Salad

I have been majorly addicted to beets lately.  Random, yes,  but I sure do love them.  For awhile I added them in my juice daily now I am into roasting them.  They are so tasty and really good for you.  They cleanse the liver and for wine lovers like me this is muy importante. 

This is a great fall salad.  The colors are just gorgeous.  You could easily roast the beets + corn and make the dressing ahead of time and then just toss everything together when ready.  I used golden beets because they were on special and looked so fresh at Earhfare but you could def substitute red beets if that is all you can find.  Goat cheese and beets always pair together so well.  This salad is a great combo of salty, creamy, crunchy, and slightly sweet.  Get ready for new your favorite salad!

{ROASTED GOLDEN BEET SALAD}

- 3 medium golden beets (peeled and diced)

-1 ear corn

-half a red onion, thinly sliced

-1/4 cup dried cranberries

- sliced almonds

-crumbled goat cheese

- arugula

Vinaigrette

- 1/4 cup good olive oil

-3-4 tablespoons red wine vinegar

-1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

- salt and pepper
*I always save and clean my old small jelly jars and use them for making dressings.  You can just put everything in and shake and then it is easy to store in your fridge.  The dressing should save up to two weeks.  Just bring to room temperature before using if you pre-make it.*

Toss beets and peeled ear of corn with olive oil and salt and pepper.   Do not dice the beets too small as they will shrink while cooking.   Roast at 350 degrees about 30 minutes or until beets are tender.  Place all ingredients in bowl and toss.  Mix vinaigrette and drizzle over salad.  Less is more with dressing.  Don't add too much or lettuce will get soggy.

Obsessions

{Agate Gold Leaf Coasters}

I found a fabulous new website (at least to me) called High Street Market.  They have some great house stuff for cheap.  I am obsessed with these agate coasters.  A great gift for anyone.  Only $38 such a steal.  They come in several different colors but I love the natural brown.

{Equipment Brett New Love Blouse}

I have yet to own an Equipment Blouse and I really want one to add to my collection.  Loving this hearts version.  So classy yet fun at the same time.

{Cheese Knives Set}

As most of you know I am big into cheese trays when entertaining.  I recently realized I have only one cheese knife so I have been on the lookout for a great set.  I found both of these sets at Target (online only, not in stores).  They are a great price and so cute to put out when entertaining.

Stainless Steel Cheese Knives/ Home Oxford Cheese Knives

{Kova & T Oxy Leggings}

Been on the lookout for a pair of leather looking pants/leggings for awhile.  These are the best I have come across and best part they are under $100.  How great would the Equipment blouse look with these leggings?

{Sam Edleman Penny Riding Boots}

I recently realized I have so many brown boots but no great black boots.  Love these Sam Edleman ones.  Would be so cute over jeans or leggings.  I have several pairs of Sam Edleman shoes and they always hold up really real and are a great price.

{Bath Room Tile}

Beyond obsessed with this bathroom tile.  Just gorgeous.

{Foiled Dot Napkins}

How awesome are these napkins?  They would be so fun to put out when entertaining.  Love them and I want a set of both colors.

Holiday Sparkle +Gingerbread Houses + First Kisses

Something about the Holidays makes me want to bust out some sequins.  Sequins are just so festive and fun!!  We had Matt's office party Saturday night and I immediately knew I wanted to wear sequins.  I bought this Tibi dress a few years ago and still love it.  I knew I needed to rock it for the JLF party.  The perfect amount of shine.  Sorry no full length picture we were running late and I had no time for self poses.

Matt's co-worker,  Melissa,  who I adore rocked the cutest sequined Badgley Mischka dress that she got from Rent The Runway.  I always forgot about Rent The Runway, Melissa's dress was gorgeous and she said the service was awesome.  I must remember for the next swanky event I have!

The two of us letting our sequins shine!

After my post Friday my mom and I decided to hit up Forever 21 and see if we could find any goodies. Guess what I scored?  This amazing sequined jacket.  $32, the perfect amount to spend on a trendy item. I swear in person this jacket seriously looks way more expensive.   I am going to wear it to a Holiday party next weekend over a black dress.

{F21 Sequined Jacket}

 It also comes in a black version online that is equally as fab!

Not that I need two sequined jackets but my favorite Parker jacket just went on sale.  I have lusted after this beauty forever!!  Reminds me of Rachel Zoe.

If you are looking for a sparkly dress my two favorite Rachel Zoe dresses are also on sale,  love them both.  They would be perfect for NYE. 

{Dolman Dress, Selita Dress}

 

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We attempted our first and last Gingerbread House this year.  Wow, what a major mess and pain in the arse.  Our house fell apart like 5 minutes after we made it, the icing was so hard to get out,  and Sterling just wanted to eat all the candy:)  Glad we tried but probably not buying a gingerbread house kit again.

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Sterling scored his very first kiss this Sunday after church.  And was no mild kiss, my little man went in for the real deal with his friend Maggie.  I captured the moment right before they locked lips and after- how adorable?  Pretty sure this means trouble for us in 12-15 years! 

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I will leave you with these funny cocktail napkins I spied at a local store here.  My mom and I were dying laughing when we read them.

Perfect Hostess gift during the Holidays!

 Happy Monday!

xoxo

Love 21

I am huge fan of Forever 21, yes the majority of it is cheap looking and made for 13 year old girls but if you dig you can really find some great stuff in there.  There is an art to shopping in there and I consider myself a pretty savvy F21 shopper. 
Lately I have started to really notice the line Love21, it is a line within Forever 21,  dubbed their more contemporary line.  The stuff is usually a little more expensive like say $27 compared to $15.  I really love the line and think the clothes are even better quality than the regular stuff.   The last three things I bought from Forever 21 came from the Love21 line.

I couldn't find either online- but don't they look nice?  Not quite as cheap looking.

If you live in Charleston the Love21 collection is at the back of the store to the left near the dressing rooms.  Try some of it on or order online I think you will be pleasantly surprised.   I rounded up some of my favorites from online.  Best part is if you are sick of the top or dress in a year you probably only spent $20 anyways!