Category / Food

by Lexine

Christmas Gifts To Myself

As much as I adore friends and family gifting me during this time, even during the holidays, you just gotta spoil yourself. Judging by all the stuff I bought the past month, I can safely say I spoiled myself way too much this Christmas. In my defense, it’s hard to turn down a good sale, and almost all the things you see in that left pic were bought for its original retail price. The luxe makeup and Diptyque set included. Those Adrienne Vittadini heels, which originally go for $100, were bought for $7 at Macy’s Backstage. Not even Goodwill would sell those heels for that cheap. And since shopping–which includes lots of walking, some driving, and occasional stressing–burns calories, I made myself a low-carb pecan pie to refuel! (I’m also aware of this pie and the chocolate advent calendar I bought, which conflicts with my low-carb ways. Don’t worry–it’s only 5 grams of carbs per chocolate bitty, and I’m only having one piece a day.) The recipe for the pie and crust can be found here.

Hope you all are having a joyous Christmas/holidays/Sunday/Monday!

ETA: if you’re wondering what I gifted myself…(clockwise from top left) Tom Ford Lip Discovery Set (bought during Bloomingdale’s sale two weeks ago), Diptyque L’Art Du Parfum set (bought new & sealed at a bargain on eBay and it is legit), Aqua holographic puffer (also bought during Bloomie’s sale, and a true holographic jacket has long been a coveted item of mine), Charter Club CZ ring (bought during Macy’s Black Friday sale), cheap but sweet holiday bracelets I got from Savers, Compartes Chocolate Advent Calendar (originally retails for $110+ but got it for $32 (!!) at Nordstrom a week ago), the Adrienne Vittadini heels, Welcome To Dunder Mifflin book (bought during Target’s Buy 2 Get 1 Free books/DVDs/CDs sale), and *takes a breath* Pat McGrath’s Moonlit Seduction palette (bought during her Black Friday sale).

by Lexine

Tea Fiend

tea & cup

I haven’t been much of a writing fiend as of late (work and life got in the way), but if I’m unable to write my future New York Times bestseller (yeah, sure), one thing that stays constant in my life is enjoying a hot cuppa. If you saw my tea collection, you’d go guuuurrrl because yes I own that much tea. Not enough to open my own tea bar, but I’m pretty stocked, to say the least. (It’s also hard to turn down a BOGO Free sale on Yogi Tea at Sprouts.) What am I about to brew on this cold, rainy night is one of my all-time faves you see in the pic above, about to be paired with my Evil Queen mug. Trader Joe’s better not discontinue that tea!

by Lexine

Pumpkin Cravings

Who isn’t craving pumpkin this time of year? It may sound easy to fulfill my pumpkin cravings by snatching up one of those large pumpkin pies Costco sells, devour them, and call it a day. But as a low-carb eater (have been for a while), I got a few extra hurdles to jump over. And I’m aware that pumpkin isn’t low-carb, but some of it for a day (OK, probably this whole holiday weekend) won’t totally wreck me. Plus, it’s the holidays and there’s nothing wrong with a little indulgence!

You can thank Bath & Body Works’ Pumpkin Pecan Waffles body spray (which is what I’m currently wearing, don’t judge) for influencing my breakfast: Pumpkin Pecan Chaffles. (For extra oomph, invest in some pumpkin spice extract and add a teaspoon of it to the recipe.) I also wanted to get a head start on my Thanksgiving cooking, so I whipped up some pumpkin pie sans sugar and excess carbs. The crust is also low-carb, and shoutout to Wholesome Yum for being a gold mine for my low-carb needs. I’m holding out till Thanksgiving morning to have some pie (I’m not making any promises, though, and I still got dinner to eat), but the chaffles–paired with some sugar-free maple syrup and whipped cream–were *chef’s kiss* delectable.