Jessica Merchant's Blog, page 385

12 Days of Christmas! Day 6: Our Day in 90 Seconds and Giveaway! {CLOSED}

Today Max and I finished some Christmas shopping, had a little date at Nordstrom Cafe, then had a homemade pizza night with some friends! We finished it off with some of the best hot chocolate and these adorable marshmallows from Williams Sonoma.

Yesterday’s giveaway winners for the signed copy of my cookbook are:

Jenna who said “Pizza all the way!! Also subscribed on insta and youtube as well :)”

Courtney Montague who said “mac and cheese.  homemade style.”

Robyn Stearns who said “Mac and cheese or popcorn with m&m’s. I have your cookbook on my amazon Christmas wishlist but I’d love to win a copy!!”

Congrats guys! Please email me at howsweeteats (at) gmail (dot) com with your mailing address!

GIVEAWAY!

Today is for my beauty lovers – I’m giving away this Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit palette. I bought it last month and have been in LOVE with it ever since! If you’re not a makeup person, it can always be a gift. xoxo

To enter: leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite color. 

For a second entry: follow howsweeteats on instagram and leave a comment telling me you did so.

For a third entry: SUBSCRIBE to the howsweeteats youtube channel. There is a red button on the right side and you will only be notified when I upload a new video. This is the best way to be notified of a new video/giveaway in these 12 days too! Leave a comment telling me you did so.

The giveaway will only be open for 24 hours (!!), ending on 12/18/16 at 12 noon, at so be sure to enter and share! A winner will be picked at random. Come back for a new video and giveaway tomorrow. xoxo

The post 12 Days of Christmas! Day 6: Our Day in 90 Seconds and Giveaway! {CLOSED} appeared first on How Sweet It Is.

12 Days of Christmas! Our Day in 90 Seconds and Giveaway!

Today Max and I finished some Christmas shopping, had a little date at Nordstrom Cafe, then had a homemade pizza night with some friends! We finished it off with some of the best hot chocolate and these adorable marshmallows from Williams Sonoma.

Yesterday’s giveaway winners for the signed copy of my cookbook are:

Jenna who said “Pizza all the way!! Also subscribed on insta and youtube as well :)”

Courtney Montague who said “mac and cheese.  homemade style.”

Robyn Stearns who said “Mac and cheese or popcorn with m&m’s. I have your cookbook on my amazon Christmas wishlist but I’d love to win a copy!!”

Congrats guys! Please email me at howsweeteats (at) gmail (dot) com with your mailing address!

GIVEAWAY!

Today is for my beauty lovers – I’m giving away this Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit palette. I bought it last month and have been in LOVE with it ever since! If you’re not a makeup person, it can always be a gift. xoxo

To enter: leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite color. 

For a second entry: follow howsweeteats on instagram and leave a comment telling me you did so.

For a third entry: SUBSCRIBE to the howsweeteats youtube channel. There is a red button on the right side and you will only be notified when I upload a new video. This is the best way to be notified of a new video/giveaway in these 12 days too! Leave a comment telling me you did so.

The giveaway will only be open for 24 hours (!!), ending on 12/18/16 at 12 noon, at so be sure to enter and share! A winner will be picked at random. Come back for a new video and giveaway tomorrow. xoxo

The post 12 Days of Christmas! Our Day in 90 Seconds and Giveaway! appeared first on How Sweet It Is.

Currently Crushing On.

{via}

As we cruise through December, I won’t even bother complaining how fast it’s going. I am loving this month so, so much! It’s super fun to do holiday things with Max at this age and I can’t get over his excitement. Today we are going to breakfast with santa and I can’t wait.

Have you guys been following along with my 12 days of Christmas vlogs and giveaways?! I’m just putting it all out there and it feels crazy but it’s also fun. I have some amazzzzing giveaways coming up this week, so be sure to pop in once a day! Even if I’m showing you the most boring day in a life video ever.

In case you missed it and are into this sort of thing: Max’s 2 year update!

P.S. if you still have some shopping to do, my gift guides are HERE! We have one for under $25, for her, for him, for toddler/baby, for my favorite cookbooks and for beauty lovers. xo

favorite links of the week!

oh my: lavender and vanilla milk hot chocolate. stunning.

whoa! sun dried tomato pesto pizza.

CAKE TOAST! angel food cake loaf. i can’t.

these beef and butternut squash enchiladas look like perfect comfort food.

chocolate peppermint bundt cake! super gorgeous.

yes i’ll take a grapefruit cardamom gin fizz!

gnocchi with preserved lemon alfredo. incredible.

how awesome is this gingerbread slab pie?

harissa fried chicken wings with slushies! okay twist my arm.

screaming my name: technicolor christmas tree bars.

loving this wild rice and mushroom soup.

triple chocolate peppermint parfaits! i’m a little into peppermint right now.

craving black pepper and white cheddar mac and cheese.

you deserve a spiced cider hot toddy. xo

The post Currently Crushing On. appeared first on How Sweet It Is.

12 Days of Christmas! a Day in the Life, Photo Shoot Setup and Giveaway. {CLOSED}

Another day in the life of finishing up photos and recipes for work! My goal was to be finished shooting completely earlier this week, but I finished today with the exception of one recipe I’ll make this weekend. Woohoo! 18+ minutes of my very boring life.

Yesterday’s giveaway winner for the Nourished Planner is Kelly Joseph who said “I want to start nourishing my family better! I’ve got 3 girls under 6 and since having the third in July I’ve been so unorganized and lazy with cooking and having any sort of plan!

Followed them on instagram and oh my word gorgeous pictures!

Subscribed on YouTube (don’t know why it’s taken me this long)!!”

Thanks Kelly! Email me at howsweeteats (at) gmail (dot) com with your mailing address and phone number!

Items mentioned:

Canon 5D Mark IV

Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens

Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens

Erickson Woodworks

Marble Pastry Slab

Small Beer Glasses

GIVEAWAY!

Today I’m giving away three (!!!) SIGNED copies of my cookbook, Seriously Delish! If you already have one, it can always be a gift! xo

To enter: leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite comfort food. Like the food you eat when you’ve had the worst day ever. Mine is probably breakfast for dinner! 

For a second entry: follow howsweeteats on instagram and leave a comment telling me you did so.

For a third entry: SUBSCRIBE to the howsweeteats youtube channel. There is a red button on the right side and you will only be notified when I upload a new video. This is the best way to be notified of a new video/giveaway in these 12 days too! Leave a comment telling me you did so.

The giveaway will only be open for 24 hours (!!), ending on 12/17/16 at 12 noon, at so be sure to enter and share! A winner will be picked at random. Come back for a new video and giveaway tomorrow. xoxo

The post 12 Days of Christmas! a Day in the Life, Photo Shoot Setup and Giveaway. {CLOSED} appeared first on How Sweet It Is.

12 Days of Christmas! a Day in the Life, Photo Shoot Setup and Giveaway.

Another day in the life of finishing up photos and recipes for work! My goal was to be finished shooting completely earlier this week, but I finished today with the exception of one recipe I’ll make this weekend. Woohoo! 18+ minutes of my very boring life.

Yesterday’s giveaway winner for the Nourished Planner is Kelly Joseph who said “I want to start nourishing my family better! I’ve got 3 girls under 6 and since having the third in July I’ve been so unorganized and lazy with cooking and having any sort of plan!

Followed them on instagram and oh my word gorgeous pictures!

Subscribed on YouTube (don’t know why it’s taken me this long)!!”

Thanks Kelly! Email me at howsweeteats (at) gmail (dot) com with your mailing address and phone number!

Items mentioned:

Canon 5D Mark IV

Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens

Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens

Erickson Woodworks

Marble Pastry Slab

Small Beer Glasses

GIVEAWAY!

Today I’m giving away three (!!!) SIGNED copies of my cookbook, Seriously Delish! If you already have one, it can always be a gift! xo

To enter: leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite comfort food. Like the food you eat when you’ve had the worst day ever. Mine is probably breakfast for dinner! 

For a second entry: follow howsweeteats on instagram and leave a comment telling me you did so.

For a third entry: SUBSCRIBE to the howsweeteats youtube channel. There is a red button on the right side and you will only be notified when I upload a new video. This is the best way to be notified of a new video/giveaway in these 12 days too! Leave a comment telling me you did so.

The giveaway will only be open for 24 hours (!!), ending on 12/17/16 at 12 noon, at so be sure to enter and share! A winner will be picked at random. Come back for a new video and giveaway tomorrow. xoxo

The post 12 Days of Christmas! a Day in the Life, Photo Shoot Setup and Giveaway. appeared first on How Sweet It Is.

Smoky Vanilla Bourbon Pretzels.

[this post is brought to you by Rodelle, who I’m partnering with in 2016 to make all sorts of delicious recipes! as always, I only work with products that I 100% love and use in my own kitchen. thank you for your support!]

Today we are solving all of your holiday snacking needs.

I realize that these pretzels don’t look like much. In fact, they look like… pretzels. Plain old pretzels.

But they totally are NOT plain old pretzels.

Let me back up a minute. Confession time.

I don’t really… care about pretzels at all. I don’t NOT like them, but I have no desire to snack on pretzels, ever. They are way too boring and I’d rather choose something more delicious, like tortilla chips and guac. It cracks me up because right now, Max would do anything for a pretzel. He snacks on them daily and they are one of his favorite things. He constantly runs around screaming for pretzels.

HOWEVER.

There is a certain kind of pretzel that makes ME lose all self-control.

If you follow my holiday baking posts, they you know that every year, Lacy and I make whiskey pretzels. A friend gave them to her a few years ago and we have made them ever since… and it’s a miracle that anyone else even gets any because they are completely addictive.

After baking, we can barely keep our hands off the sheet. They are RIDIC.

My mom freaks out over these every year. Everyone who tries them thinks they are about to eat a plain old pretzel and look at me like… WHAT IS THIS DELICIOUS THING?!

So.

I changed them up just a leeeettle bit!

You stir together melted butter, brown sugar, an array of spices and since I can’t let anything be, vanilla.

Yep, I added vanilla to this crunchy little snack. My favorite Rodelle vanilla bean paste, to be exact. I can’t even tell you guys how many bottles of this stuff I have gone through this year. It might be my favorite ingredient in the spice cabinet. I use it constantly!

The vanilla paste gives just a little hint of sweetness but also a little warmth. The combination is SO delicious. Sweet, salty, smoky and warm. Put these on a cheese plate with some roasted red peppers and you’re good to go.

They also make the loveliest homemade gift! Especially for the hostess, because you can take them to the party and everyone can eat them right away. Perfect for cocktails! They pair so well with beer.

And wine.

And whiskey! Obviously.

Smoky Vanilla Bourbon Pretzels

Yield: makes a ton!

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) bag mini pretzel twists
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup bourbon
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon Rodelle vanilla bean paste
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
pinch crushed red pepper flakes



Directions:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Spread the pretzels all over both sheets. You don't want to layer them.

In a bowl, whisk together the melted butter, bourbon, sugar, vanilla paste, paprika, garlic and pepper flakes. Pour it over the pretzels and use your hands to toss everything together really well. Place the pretzels in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Toss and bake for 10 minutes more. Remove and let cool completely on the sheets. I like to store these in mason jars or even resealable containers or bags. You can dress them up cute for gifting!

Be sure to follow howsweeteats on instagram and tag your recipes with #howsweeteats! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the howsweeteats facebook page. I appreciate you so much!

When you want to have pretzels for dinner…

The post Smoky Vanilla Bourbon Pretzels. appeared first on How Sweet It Is.

12 Days of Christmas! Unboxing the Nourished Planner and Giveaway. {CLOSED}

Hi guys!

In today’s video, you can hear me absolutely FREAK OUT over the Nourished Planner, created by Heidi and Alexa. It was my first time seeing it and I lost my mind. Somebody get me a thesaurus please.

Yesterday’s giveaway winner for the DeLallo Best of Italy collection is Melody Niesen who said DUH — cheese. All the cheeses. And maybe some fresh tomatoes.

Thanks Melody! Email me at howsweeteats (at) gmail (dot) com with your mailing address and phone number!

GIVEAWAY!

Today I’m giving away a copy of the Nourished Planner! So super excited about this. If you didn’t watch the video, I am in LOVE with this planner and think it would be perfect for 2017.

To enter: leave a comment on this post telling me one thing you want to do in 2017.

For a second entry: follow nourished planner on instagram and leave a comment telling me you did so.

For a third entry: SUBSCRIBE to the howsweeteats youtube channel. There is a red button on the right side and you will only be notified when I upload a new video. This is the best way to be notified of a new video/giveaway in these 12 days too! Leave a comment telling me you did so.

The giveaway will only be open for 24 hours (!!), ending on 12/16/16 at 12 noon, at so be sure to enter and share! A winner will be picked at random. Come back for a new video and giveaway tomorrow. xoxo

The post 12 Days of Christmas! Unboxing the Nourished Planner and Giveaway. {CLOSED} appeared first on How Sweet It Is.

12 Days of Christmas! Unboxing the Nourished Planner and Giveaway.

Hi guys!

In today’s video, you can hear me absolutely FREAK OUT over the Nourished Planner, created by Heidi and Alexa. It was my first time seeing it and I lost my mind. Somebody get me a thesaurus please.

Yesterday’s giveaway winner for the DeLallo Best of Italy collection is Melody Niesen who said DUH — cheese. All the cheeses. And maybe some fresh tomatoes.

Thanks Melody! Email me at howsweeteats (at) gmail (dot) com with your mailing address and phone number!

GIVEAWAY!

Today I’m giving away a copy of the Nourished Planner! So super excited about this. If you didn’t watch the video, I am in LOVE with this planner and think it would be perfect for 2017.

To enter: leave a comment on this post telling me one thing you want to do in 2017.

For a second entry: follow nourished planner on instagram and leave a comment telling me you did so.

For a third entry: SUBSCRIBE to the howsweeteats youtube channel. There is a red button on the right side and you will only be notified when I upload a new video. This is the best way to be notified of a new video/giveaway in these 12 days too! Leave a comment telling me you did so.

The giveaway will only be open for 24 hours (!!), ending on 12/16/16 at 12 noon, at so be sure to enter and share! A winner will be picked at random. Come back for a new video and giveaway tomorrow. xoxo

The post 12 Days of Christmas! Unboxing the Nourished Planner and Giveaway. appeared first on How Sweet It Is.

3 Ingredient Espresso Martinis.

Say hello to my current obsession.

I mean, it’s only the third coffee drink recipe I’ve posted in three weeks, so it’s safe to say that I have a problem.

I’ve been in LOVE with espresso martinis since this past May. We had them at my friend Natalie’s bachelorette party before heading out for the night, and it was like my world was opened up to the deliciousness of this coffee cocktail.

I never order espresso martinis when out because they almost always contain chocolate or something super sweet, like maybe a fudge drizzle. Shockingly, sweet dranks aren’t really my thing, unless it’s a hot fudge milkshake from Dairy Queen, circa 1994.

Cocktails though? I don’t want it super sweet.

Take this past weekend for example. I made a sangria for Max’s birthday party (yes, Max… my two year old… didn’t you know that one and two year old birthdays are an excuse for the adults to get together?!) and used a dry champagne. I was SO excited about it.

So excited about it that I dumped an entire bag of frozen strawberries into said sangria, not even thinking that it *might* turn my sangria super sweet.

That it did. Bah.

I mean, I KNEW that it could, but I just wasn’t thinking. Thankfully, the entire pitcher was consumed (maybe in record time?) but I didn’t want to touch the stuff because of how sweet I was. Who even am I?

My taste buds must be having a mid-life crisis.

So espresso martini. This is it!

It’s a shot (or three) of espresso. No decaf! The reeeeal deal here. As in, the real deal that came out of my wildly authentic Italian Nespresso machine. You know.

A splash of Kahlua or coffee liqueur. This is where you will get a leeeeeettle bit of sweetness, without adding a ton of sugar or syrup.

A splash of vanilla vodka. Just for booziness.

Even though we first had these in May, I’ve been waiting for months to share them because they just seem so… cozy. They are so warming and lovely, and not warm as in the temperature. Warm as in soul warming. Like you just want to sit by the fire and sip one of these with your best friend.

Also, yes, let’s take notice of how my last two thirsty Thursday recipes have been the three ingredient caffeinated kind. Give me all the energy! This holiday season is knocking me out.

Espresso Martinis

Yield: makes 1 drink, is easily multiplied

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

1, 2 or 3 shots espresso
2 ounces coffee liqueur, like Kahlua
1 ounce vanilla vodka
coffee beans, for garnish if desired

 

Directions:

Add the espresso, liqueur and vodka to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake for 30 seconds. Pour in a glass and top with coffee beans.

Be sure to follow howsweeteats on instagram and tag your recipes with #howsweeteats! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the howsweeteats facebook page. I appreciate you so much!

Also called gift wrapping fuel.

The post 3 Ingredient Espresso Martinis. appeared first on How Sweet It Is.

12 Days of Christmas! a Day in the Life and Giveaway. {CLOSED}

Welcome to a day in the life! Things are getting REAL. This is super long and if you can hang with it, I adore you.

In this video you’ll see some snippets from a filming day, my video setup, equipment I use and what a work day looks like in December when it gets dark at 4pm. No editing in this one!

P.S. the autofocus on my camera was terrrrrible! sorry about that.

Yesterday’s giveaway winner is Laurie Clark who said: To be honest? Nutella & toast! Healthier? Chicken &  salsa in crock pot all day. Both delicious! Following on insta