A Virtual Holiday Party!

Hello Lovely Friends!!!

So I have some exciting news, today I working with two awesome bloggers Liz From With Wonder And Whimsy and Hailey from Discourse of a Divine Diva and we are throwing a Virtual Holiday Party. We each reached out to different brands to create a Holiday look to present to you along with some recipes and Holiday inspiration for you. Liz is giving you Rustically Elegant party in SWAK, Hailey is having a Glitzy party with Kiyonna and I will be doing a Glam on a Budget party with Simply Be. Please Check out each girls party set up, I linked to their blogs above!

So I am reviewing Simply Be but unfortunately I wasn't able to receive my item in time for this post, so what I did was put an outfit together out of one of the 3 items I chose from simplyBe. I took inspiration from the layered jacquard dress which has a beautiful gold print on the inside of the dress and see through black layer on top. I was drawn to the dress because the gold and the black print is so pretty and the see through layer top on was so different. I originally thought it was a two piece item and then when I realized it was one dress, I knew it was going to be one of my top 3 picks. 

Look 1(here) ; Look 2(here) ; Look 3(here)

This is the outfit I came up with, my skirt is actually a dress but I turned it into a skirt because the top part doesn't fit me anymore. I bought the dress on clearance a few years back, but the top part doesn't fit so I asked my mom to turn it into a skirt for me. I think it goes really well with my inspiration. Then I used my see through black top to try to recreate the layer on top of the dress. My top has a print on it but it still works with the outfit. 

(top-Forever 21+) (dress/skirt-Target) (belt-City Chic) (shoes-Payless)

My style tip to you is to always feel comfortable in whatever you are wearing. I like going shopping with my friends and finding outfits for them because I never pick out something they wouldn't wear. I know we all have different tastes so I always try to pick something that is their style rather then something I think they should wear. Plus the one thing I always ask them when they are trying things on is, “Are you comfortable in it?” because if you aren't it will show on your face and you will not feel comfortable while you’re wearing it. So be comfortable and confident! 

This year I decided to decorate my tree classic colors with gold, red and white. Last year it was pink and gold and another year it was purple and gold. I love gold as an accent to any color you choose. I always buy my Christmas decorations the year before during after Christmas sales. I like to think what colors I'm going to do the tree the upcoming year and then buy them because they are usually 75% off by that time. But I actually had all the colors I wanted for this year, so I didn't buy any new decorations. 

If you have a painting that you don't really care for in your house you can wrap it in Christmas wrapping paper and create a sign. Last year I used the actual side of a simple wrapping paper and painted Merry Christmas on it and hung ornaments with a string to accent it. This year I kept it simple and turned my wrapping paper around so that the print isn't showing and I bought this sign on sale at Michael's for 50% off which made it around 2 dollars. So an easy and cheap way to decorate a wall in your house or it can be the background to a photo booth at your party! 

Above are some cheap ways to make centerpieces for your table or even around the house. The first one is a vase filled with some of pine cones and one bunch of poinsettias golden branches. The next is a vase filled with pine cones, I love the smell of them so I buy new ones every year and they are so inexpensive. I actually keep these on the table near my door, so when I come in the house you smell the pine cones and the Christmas tree. The last is my favorite and I have multiples around the house, it's a vase filled with Christmas ornaments. It's such an easy way to create some Holiday sparkle around your house. 

A cheap drink to make for a party is sangria and it taste really yummy too. I made this for Thanksgiving and my family really liked it.

Ingredients:

2 bottles of red wine (I get the cheap stuff, you wont notice the difference) 

2 Oranges (cut in wedges)

2 Lemons (cut in wedges)

2 Apples (cut in wedges)

1/2 bottle of Sprite or any lemon-lime soda

2 cups of lemon juice or Orange juice (I used something called Calamansi juice because we had some just squeezed from my back yard) 

Poor everything in a container except the soda and refrigerate overnight. The next day before serving poor in the soda. It's really sweet and you don't really taste the alcohol but that's how my family likes it. But if you want it stronger you can always add rum or brandy. 

Next recipe is something my family always asks me to make when we have a party and it's a fruit pizza, it's so easy to make and it doesn't cost much too. 

Ingredients: 

1 package of sugar cookie dough (I usually just buy it for time sake but you can make it home made too)

1 package of cream cheese (room temperature)

1/2 stick of butter

1/2 sugar

1/2 tsp of vanilla

1 tsp of lemon zest

Assorted fruits (whatever ones you like, I like using strawberries, kiwi and black berries) 

1. Spray your dish with cooking spray then take the sugar cookie dough and slice them into thin slices and arrange them in a single layer around your backing dish. After arranging the dough push them down into the pan so that the whole pan is covered with the dough and their isn't any open spots in the pan.(You can use any baking dish, I've used a rectangle one before but above I used a pizza pan) 

2. Bake the cookie dough as directed on the can

3. Prepare the frosting by mixing the cream cheese, butter, sugar, vanilla and lemon zest. 

4. After the cookie dough is baked and cooled top it with the frosting mixture. 

5. Decorate the top with the assorted fruits of your choice and the design you want. 

So that's an easy and cheap dessert that looks beautiful as well for any party! 

Thanks for reading and don't forget to check out the other girls and their posts. I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday season with your friends and family. 

Edit - Here are links to the actual blog post from the other ladies, so you can go straight to the post and not have to look for it. :)

With Wonder and Whimsy | Discourse of a Divine Diva

XOXO ~ Nina ~
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