The Best Of A Very Sweet Blog 2013

I thought I would share my favorite blog posts from 2013 with you. It was fun looking back! 2013 was a VERY good year.

You can click on the pictures to view the actual posts. Tomorrow will be 2014! Happy New Year's Eve Everybody!

Oh, Bring Us A Figgy Pudding...And A Mince Pie (Oh My!)

I sang about them (We Wish You A Merry Christmas) and colored them in coloring books, when I was a little girl. I read about them (A Christmas Carol), as a teen. Now I get to taste them, as an adult. This is truly a wish come true! I can't thank Carole of Mademoiselle Poirot blog enough for the beautifully wrapped parcel of Christmas Pudding and Mince Pies. Carole mentioned in a blog post that she didn't care for mince pies or Christmas pudding. She was making Christmas tiramisu instead. In my comment to her, I mentioned I didn't think I would like them either, but if ever I traveled to London I would definitely want to try them. I've always been curious as to how they would taste. Well, she sent me some to taste (I was so ecstatic to receive her parcel). Carole wrapped each box in beautiful snowflake wrapping paper. She even used tissue paper underneath. I swear she's the best wrapper. She wrote a beautiful message to me in her card. I was so touched! So would I like Christmas Pudding and Mince Pies? Let's see.

Sainsbury's Mince Pies

I use to wince, at the word "mincemeat", so I didn't think I would like mince pie. I don't know why I would think such a thing, I never tasted it before. I just always put mincemeat in the same category as American spam...yuk! LOL Well, this is different! It didn't taste like MEAT at all! I heated one of these pies in the oven for a couple of minutes before eating. It was really, really good! The pie crust was tasty and the filling was delicious. It had raisins and fruit in it. It was like a fruit filling (an apple taste). It was sweet, but not overly sweet. I loved it. One pie filled me up. I really liked them.  

Sainsbury's Christmas Pudding (also known as Figgy or Plum Pudding)

I'm not going to lie. When I first saw this Christmas pudding (The word "pudding" is different here in the States. The British term for pudding is synonymous with dessert.), I was like there is NO WAY I'm going to like this. It looked like a ball of (fill-in-the-blank). Well you guys, NEVER judge a book by it's cover! Never!!! I constantly have to remind myself of that at times. I heated the Christmas pudding in the microwave as the directions stated. I sliced it and scooped a tiny bit on my fork. When you've never tasted something, you can't prepare your taste buds. I was praying. HaHaHa It was excellent!!! It's rich too! I could only eat half. It's like cake (consistency), with fruit and nuts in it! I was pleasantly surprised. I really liked it!

Carole, thank you so much for sending these. You fulfilled a wish of mine, without even knowing it. I would've never asked on my own for you or anyone to send these to me. So this was truly a gift, that I will always cherish and touched my heart!

I ask everyone to pay a visit to Carole's blog (London blogger). She is superior in interior design, decor, baking, cooking and photography. There's such a grace about her. She's very humble too. Her blog will blow you away. It's truly a treat to visit everyday. Have a great day everybody!

A Snowman And A Salad

These snowman doughnuts from Krispy Kreme have been on my "holiday-to-eat-list" since the beginning of December. Aren't they cute? I only eat doughnuts twice a year (I'm down one pant & shirt size from last year), so I didn't feel bad getting them. The problem was, I was suppose to get ONE and leave. Well, my doughnut plan failed. I ended up getting a dozen doughnuts!!! LMAO The manager handed my mom & I a free hot doughnut and before I knew it I was picking out a dozen doughnuts. HaHaHa What's worse is, I fell in love with their Christmas tree! It had cute little doughnut & snowman ornaments on it. My inner Veruca Salt voice said...I want a doughnut tree! I want a doughnut tree NOW! Don't care how, I want it nowwwwwwwww! LOL I eventually pried myself away from their doughnut tree and completed my errands. We then had lunch at La Madeleine New Orleans (I showed you the one in Harahan HERE). I ordered a grilled chicken caesar salad. Go figure! So that was my diet! Snowman doughnuts and a salad! What a combination! How's your holiday diet going?

Talbots Cozy Fair Isle Colorblock Sweater // Black Turtleneck // Talbots Black Velveteen Ankle Pants

Nordstrom Isola Britt Ballet Flats (similar) // Marc Jacobs Neo Noir Lip Gel

my personal wreath. red apples, pine cones, twigs and berries. (michaels arts & craft store)

la madeleine. new orleans. chicken pesto pasta. chicken caesar salad.

A Practically Perfect & Pink Christmas

Merry Christmas Gents & Dolls! I hope you're having an awesome holiday. This is my 3' Christmas tree. I went with a Shabby Chic, Victorian theme this year. Shabby Chic is something old, something new that "looks old", Victorian & very PINK. Shabby Chic started in Great Britain. I thought about Victorian dollhouses & miniatures when choosing ornaments. I chose frilly lace dresses, pink roses, frosted cupcakes, victorian mirrors, eyelet gowns, ballet slippers, glitzy snowman & such. All decorations were purchased second hand from eBay except for the Anthropologie mouse & frosted cupcakes from Macy's. I ordered a "baby" pink ballet tutu for the tree skirt. I've never had a pink Christmas. It turned out quite charming. :)

I'm having cornish hens, wild rice and asparagus for dinner. We had a really big Thanksgiving so I'm keeping it simple for Christmas. Plus, I've been going out to eat. I baked chocolate cupcakes w/ vanilla frosting and dressed them up with pink tutus & embellished wreaths. I found these in a shop called The Polka Dot Shop on Etsy. She makes really pretty things. I thought they were festive and added a touch of elegance to an ordinary cupcake.

Keeping with the pink theme, my Christmas pajamas are from Talbots. I immediately fell in love with the prancing reindeer, Christmas trees, ornaments and partridges in this set. They're very silky & soft. They're "grown-up" Christmas PJs. HaHaHa They're sold out though :(.

I purchased this sassy holiday mug from Miss Fluff on Society 6. She has the cutest designs. This particular mug is called Candy Cane Martini Pin Up Girl! I thought it would be fun to drink hot chocolate out of. Those are pink peppermint marshmallows. You can get those from Sucre.

I made a quick GIF of some of my Christmas gifts. Lots of BEAUTY-ful cosmetics and things to wear! I must've been a good girl! HaHaHa I'll share them with you later on the blog. Still on holiday schedule, my next post will be Friday. Just wanted to quickly stop in and say Merry Christmas. I'll be catching up on your posts the next two days.