Fun Mocktails for New Year's Eve

Stay smart with these fun virgin cocktails!

Safe Sex on the Beach
3 oz cranberry juice
3 oz grapefruit juice
2 oz peach nectar
1 maraschino cherry
Pour over ice in a chilled glass and stir. Garnish with a cherry and serve!

Virgin Bellini
2 oz peach juice
1 tsp grenadine syrup
2 oz soda water
Pour into wine glass and serve!

Virgin Raspberry Daiquiri
3 oz raspberry puree
2 oz pineapple juice
1/2 oz lemon juice
1 tsp caster sugar
1/2 oz raspberry syrup

Blend briefly with half a glassful of crushed ice in a wine goblet. Garnish with raspberries and serve!

Holiday Cookies: Decor and Design

Step away from chocolate chips and jelly beans, and try a new way of cookie design! Buy royal icing in holiday colors like green, red, periwinkle, and white. Decorate with simple designs and add silver sugar balls for a festive touch. A fun idea is to poke holes at the tops of the cookies loop a piece of string through to hang them on the Xmas tree! Before gobbling up these Christmas creations, be sure to leave a couple for Santa!

(Cookie Cutters from  fancyflours.com)

Classy and Classic: Holiday Dresses

It's important to look classy for your holiday parties this season! Try finding styles similar to these- keeping it elegant and fun. For shoes, go with simple and sheek heels, nothing too blinged-out or strappy. And for jewelry, simple diamond earrings go great with most outfits, or should I say cubic zurconia!

Splurge/Steal

We all want the looks that appear in the glossy magazines we read but, honestly, who can afford them? Even when they try to offer cheaper alternatives they're still a little out of my budget (but maybe that's just because I'm a cheapskate). Here's a look you can recreate on a real budget without sacrificing your style!

"Steal" items
Robe sans marche ($30) Forever 21
Vintage style jewelery flower necklace ($30) modcloth.com
CoverGirl Continuous Color Lipstick ($7) Any local drugstore

Candy Cupcakes

Try this delicious twist on traditional cupcakes! I baked these after Halloween, using the extra mini candy bars I had left over.

classic chocolate cupcake with vanilla.... but it has a sweet surprise inside!

First, mix the cake batter by following the directions on the back of the box. I used chocolate cake mix, but if you want your candy bars to really stand out, use vanilla or white cake mix. Then, when the batter is done, fill the cupcakes tins 3/4 full of batter.

Next, take your mini candy bars and cut them in half (if you want to use the whole piece, fill the cupcake tin with a little less batter). I used Hershey's bars, 3 Musketeers bars, and Crunch bars, but any of your favorite chocolate minis will do!

mini candy bars... mmMmm

 Place the mini candy bar pieces on the batter, one for each cupcake. As the cupcakes bake, the bar will sink to the middle of the cupcake!

one piece per cupcake!

Finally, bake the cupcakes normally, frost with any flavor you'd like, and take a bite for a gooey surprise!

frosting away...

The finished product- this one has a Hershey's bar inside!

A Forever 21 Holiday

Let's talk brass tacks: most young women are poor. But we still want to look good. So where do we go? The motherland: Forever 21. (Mostly) fashionable clothes at affordable price. The quality is questionable, but we're not looking for lasting power. So here's some inspiration for a holiday outfit that doesn't break the bank. For a list of the articles and their prices in the set above, go to http://www.polyvore.com/forever_21_holiday/set?id=25916052.

Winter Trend: Over the Knee Boots

Over the Knee Boots by kyfrazier featuring black boots

Seamed Over The Knee Boot, $100
SteveMadden - OVERRPAS BLACK SUEDE women's boot flat over knee, $130
TATE - Over The Knee Boots - Bakers Footwear, $100
Charles Albert Women's New 2463 Over-The-Knee Boot, $60
Jessica Simpson Katyia, $169

 When I first saw over the knee boots popping up I thought them a little too daring for my taste and in a little too much danger of turning an outfit into something Julia Robert's character in "Pretty Woman" would be inclined to wear. And that's pre-Richard Gere induced makeover. 


But now taking a second look and seeing that the trend did not fizzle out in a couple weeks we seem to be left with something that might have a bit of staying power and warrant a trip downtown to the mall. I don't know about the rest of you out there but I refuse to invest money in trends that aren't going to last me more than a month. I am, like many other college girls, perpetually short on cash and can't afford to live that much in the moment (or at least not until I start to make a real salary).

But in this time of the year, a new pair of boots are always practical, especially when your fighting the chilly Northern California winters (because yes, it is cold here). So what do you think of this new development afoot--please pardon the pun.

Hats and Scarves

Going off of "Gloves and Mittens," here's a way to spruce up your coat with some color and flair! I know I have a practical coat to last me for years to come and the way I add some attitude is with the accessories.

Gloves & Mittens

Winter means it's time for cosy hats, scarves, boots, and, of course, mittens! Rather than play it safe with boring, fleece gloves, warm up your hands while adding a little bit of fashionable flair. The choice between mittens and gloves is really up to you!