DIY Holidays: Grocery Bag Wrapping Paper

We're 24 hours away from Christmas Eve! And we're putting the last minute touches to all of our holiday accents: presents, decor, goodies. With all the planning (and let's face it, a little bit of stress), you might have found yourself a little overwhelmed. Tonight and tomorrow, we're going to share a few  totally last minute, easy-to-do, holiday ideas that hopefully come in handy!

First up is such a quick idea it might not even be an official "DIY": grocery bag wrapping paper! For a quick, customizable, and eco-friendly way to wrap your presents, just grab your left over Trader Joe paper bags. We made three different kinds: a polka dot (with white acrylic paint and a foam circle brush), a doodle (just a sharpie!), and a doily+ twine.

DIY Holidays: Homemade Ugly Sweater

Hello, Darlings! How are your holiday plans going? Our's are filled with peppermint, bows, glitter and a lot of shopping (but who's complaining about that?)! We are our first Ugly Sweater Party this year and we made our own outfits. With supplies from the dollar store and $5 sweatshirts (turned upside down) from H&M, we played our favorite holiday romances and got to work creating the most festive, most gaudy, most FUN sweaters we could. And we had a blast!

DIY Healthy: Carrot Cake Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting

Is anyone thinking about their New Year's resolutions yet? And how many of yours are to eat healthier? That one is definitely at the top of our list. But don't wait until January 1st- start ASAP! There are so many ways to substitute ingredients into your favorite dishes, snacks, and treats to make them healthier. Today's "clean" carrot cake muffin in for our dad (who LOVES carrot cake!)- so he can join in on the healthy train while still satisfying his taste buds. We're using a mixture of spelt and whole wheat flours and non-refined sugar sweeteners for this recipe, but feel free to pick and choose what you like.

DIY Holidays: Homemade Cards

Darlings, why hello! One of our favorite DIYs to do are homemade greeting cards. The holiday season is all about the cards, the feeling, the cheer, so send your loved ones customized holiday cards this year.  This is one of the easiest crafts that you'll do and is an amazing bonding activity for your family. Just gather up your supplies and go crazy!

***Warning: Your surface, your clothes, your fingers and probably your hair will be covered in glue, glitter, and fake snow by the end of this craft.

DIY Eats: Butter Pecan Cheesecake

The holidays get a little crazy and hectic, so you need all the help you can get. This quick and easy, no bake dessert is perfect to whip up and your guests will have NO idea that it's so simple. We just discovered the pretty ingenious use of coffee creamer to add almost any flavor to your cheesecake. It's pretty concentrated, so your dessert will be so flavorful. We can't wait to try a peppermint mocha or pumpkin spice! These cute little pedestal dessert cups are the perfect size and style to amp up the presentation of your treat.

But the best part of this recipe? The bowl you get you lick at the end! :-)

DIY Home: Lavender Eye Pillows

Hello, Darlings! Is everyone getting excited and ready for the holidays? We sure are! Here are some of our favorite thing about the holiday season. 

Sonali: Christmas carols, cozily watching movies on the couch while it snows (and not feeling guilty, because Baby, it's cold outside!), and wrapping up in a big old scarf to head to Starbucks for a hot coffee! 

Anika: All things peppermint (lattes, hot chocolate, truffles and even ice cream- YUM!), the Hallmark Channel's 24/7 broadcast of cheesy (in the best way possible) holiday romance movies, and our family's annual trip to Longwood Gardens to see the beautiful lights. 

We're 20 days away from Christmas and that means that gift shopping is sure to be underway for everyone. Why not DIY some of your gifts this season? We're going to be bringing you some easy and fun gifts that you can whip up in your own house with easily found supplies. 

Today we're sharing a quick DIY that is perfect for ANYONE on your list. These lavender-scented eye pillows are just what that workaholic or busy bee in your life needs. Lavender is most known for relieving stress and improving sleep (it lowers anxiety and even your pulse)- so your lucky recipient is in for a treat. And while you're sewing away, make a couple for yourself. 

DIY Holidays: Thanksgiving Burlap Bunting

We're less than 24 hours away from the big day! Have you been planning and cooking like crazy for a past few days? We have a fun vegetarian (and cheese-filled) meal planned for our family (we'll share it with you tomorrow). We wanted to share this super quick and easy thanksgiving bunting, perfect for your wall or mantel. All you need is some burlap, stencils and paint! 

DIY Holidays: Thankfulness Jar

We're a week away from Thanksgiving, and sometimes among all the family and friends reunions, meal planning (and eating) and shopping, we forget what the holiday is all about. It's about recognizing all the things in your life that you're thankful about. When you take time to do that, you'll realize that your list is so much longer than you thought- that's a pretty good feeling! Especially if you've been having a tough week or month, or even year, you'll find it's just what you need. Thanksgiving is also the perfect time to start new family traditions that allow your loved ones to come together and truly bond.

This is a super simple DIY, but it carries a lot of meaning! Decorate your favorite mason jar with fabric, ribbons, paint, anything. Then set it down in a place that everyone will see everyday along with post-its and a pen. The Thankfulness Jar then should be filled with one thing that each member in your family is thankful for every day for the rest of the week. On Thanksgiving Day, when everyone is together, you open the jar and read all the things that were written. The result will be joy, magic and maybe even some tears. We're lucky that everyone in our family is together- but if you have members of your family do not live with you, have each person make a jar in their own home and then bring it to your family dinner.

We can't wait to share some of our favorites with you on Thanksgiving!

DIY Eats: Wheat-free Cranberry-Orange Scones + Cranberry-infused butter

Hello Darlings! We made our first fall flavor recipe today with one of our favorite ingredients: cranberries! With it sweet smell and tangy taste, it makes your dishes so flavorful as well as festive. We recently discovered a new flavor combination: cranberry and orange. We don't know what about this combo is so delicious, but trust us, it is. You'll just have to try for yourself! As you know, Darling Disposition loves tea! And nothing goes better with tea than scones. But these are not your ordinary buttermilk scones, they are completely grain free! Using a mixture of coconut and almond flours, you can get the perfect moist scone texture without the carbs.

DIY Halloween: Pumpkin Spice Truffles

Today's DIY kind of gives us the heebie jeebies, but in the best possible way-- bloody pumpkin spice truffles! They're the perfect treat for your guests to finish off a festive Halloween night: a blend of spicy, sweet, and shocking! Can we just talk about how eerie the red looks against the white candy coating? It's like something straight out of Hitchcock! And, the best part, they're deceptively easy to make! 

Have fun, darlings, and enjoy! These truffles are bloody delicious! (We couldn't resist!)

Tomorrow... drumroll, please... we reveal our Halloween costumes! (There's a hint in this post-- can you figure it out?)

DIY Halloween:Spider Ice Cubes

We're only two days away from Halloween! Is everywhere getting excited? Day 5 of our Halloween Week is this super simple but creepy-crawly DIY spider ice cubes. Just pick up a pack of plastic spiders from from your local Halloween store and you have the perfect addition to your party. Add a couple drops of red food coloring to your drink of choice for an extra dose of scary- the first few seconds of the food coloring diffusing is quite the sight.

DIY Halloween: Bed Sheet Ghosts

Since we missed yesterday, we're posting twoHalloween Week DIYs today! The first one is these spooky bed sheet ghosts. You only need three things: a flat, white bed sheet, some balloons, and black ribbon, but when you tie these on to the trees outside and they sway in the wind, these ghosts come to life! The shape and weight of the balloon causes the "head" of the ghost to tilt downward, giving them a super eerie feel. Kids on your block with definitely be wary of your house with these hanging outside.

DIY Halloween: Bloody Mason Jar Votives

We're adding some good ol' fashioned blood to Day 3 of  Halloween week! These mason jar candles have just the right amount of cringe-worthiness for you and your guests. The bright red of the paint makes the blood seem so fresh that you can't help but think that the person (or thing!) who caused the mess is still close by. We're not going to lie, we got a a little scared while making these (but the episode of Criminal Minds that was on during our DIY-session didn't help much). 

*If you're having little kids over, make sure they're not too scared! As you can see, they're a little graphic. 

DIY Halloween: Spooky Bottles

It's Day 2 of Halloween Week! We hope you're getting your homes and costumes ready for Halloween night. We've always done celebrated our Halloween with fun, girly, and happy decor and costumes, but this year the girls of DD are going dark. We've been watching a lot of old-school scary movies (we just finished our Hitchcock binge. Look out for hints of our costumes this year!) and are embracing the  twisted side of the holiday this time.

We're bringing you a really easy but REALLY effective DIY today with these spooky bottles! This is perfect for Halloween decor, while giving out candy or even for a party. All you need is: glass bottles (water bottles, wine bottles- anything you can find), spray paint and a printer. 

DIY Eats: Maple Pumpkin Spice Latte

We're one week away from Halloween and we're so excited! We are going to be posting one Halloween-themed DIY every day until the 31st, so follow along! Check us out on Instagram with #DDloveshalloween, too. 

We're starting with a fall favorite! Can you believe that neither one of us had tried Starbucks' famous Pumpkin Spice Latte up until a few weeks ago? Crazy! But then on that fateful day, we became PSL converts. It's full of such rich fall flavor that the hot drink just puts you in the perfect mood. We experimented at home and came up with this great recipe that cuts the price and calories of the Sbux version but adds freshness and hint of maple. This is our new GO-TO drink and we're expecting to be whipping this latte up way into the winter. 

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Hello, Darlings! 

We're finally on Facebook! Check out our page for new posts and updates!

Stay darling, 

Sonali & Anika 

DIY Healthy: Sunshine Lemon Muffins

 We're quite the chocoholics here at DD, but sometimes you need something other than the rich, decadent taste of chocolate. You need something light and fresh. Lemon-flavored sweets are becoming our go-to when we need a break from chocolate. These super simple sunshine muffins are filled with fresh lemony goodness that will make your lips pucker in the most delightful way. These are perfect for the mornings when you need a little kick start to your day but are also great mid-day snacks or even dessert.

DIY Eats: Jalapeno Cheddar Cheese Ball

We just adore anything that has cheese as the main ingredient. Or any ingredient. And our love extends to all kinds of cheese. Our current faves are aged cheddar, brie, and pepper jack. Yum!  During the holidays last year, we discovered cheese balls! They are so easy to whip up and taste inexplicably gourmet. Totally perfect for that last minute get-together. 

We made our cream cheese based cheese ball with cheddar and jalapeno (since our parents LOVE spicy food)- and these flavors mixed just delightfully! 

DIY Healthy: Basic Smoothie Base

Here at DD, we absolutely love smoothies! It's a great way to get all those healthy nutrients but in a tasty and refreshing way. Our smoothies have no refined sugar, healthy fat, and a good amount of protein. Once you have your base, you can add in your favorites fruits for a boost of flavor, sweetness and vitamins. These smoothies make a great breakfast or post-workout snack!

Announcing "DIY Healthy"!

Hello, darlings! 

We're so excited to share a new section on Darling Disposition with you! Over the last year, we've been making some major lifestyle changes. We've been gettin' healthy! We've added some great workouts, cut out bad food- started living better in every way we can. 

Both of us have different health goals- both inside and out- but we're starting this journey together, and we'd love for you to join in! But, we're doing it in our DD way: making each healthy addition FUN! We learned (the hard way) that you need to make long-lasting changes to really improve yourself and do to that you need to love what you're doing. 

In our "DIY Healthy" section, look out for yummy recipes, fun workouts, and some of the most inspiring resources. 

DIY Eats: Lightened-Up PB Frosting

Our first experiment in frosting was surprisingly delicious! Most frosting, though delicious, are  filled with things that are really not good for you. But not this one! With simple ingredients from your pantry, you can whip up this frosting/icing/dessert all by itself in just a few minutes. The cream cheese gives it a very rich quality with almost no harm to your beautiful figure. We ate our batch right up- on our fave low-guilt brownies from Trader Joe's, our favorite healthy oatmeal cookies, and then with a spoon right out of the bowl. 

We can't wait to make it again! 

Let us know how you like it!

(Semi)DIY Home: Stocked Bar Cart

We just LOVE coffee and tea! We drink it when we're happy, we drink it when we're sad, we drink it when we're having a rom-com marathon. When we saw the bar cart trend hit the Internet, we just had to jump on board. We wanted to show you the fun goodies that adorn our bar cart (ours is a little more function and filled our our favorite things)- which is currently livin' it up and seeing a lot of action in our kitchen. It's absolutely perfect for entertaining- your own little coffee shop!

Reflections on summer

Hello, darlings! You may have noticed our absence on Darling Disposition for the last few months because we spent a fun and busy summer in New York City. We both were working, but we saved a lot of time to make memories in this fabulous city. Though we still have some things left on our NYC Bucket List, we experienced some pretty incredible things and we want to share them with you (at least the photographed ones!)/ Also check out #ddtakesmanhattan on Instagram to see what else we've been up to!

DIY Eats: Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's Friday afternoon and we're planning a quiet sisters evening in!  So, we whipped up a batch of these health-ified chocolate chip cookies. They're made with only healthy ingredients that all clean eaters have in their kitchens and my, my, they taste just divine! With flavors that we all love, like chocolate and peanut butter, these oatmeal based cookie is just what any Friday night needs. The recipe is taken from the fabulous Watching What I Eat blog, and she says this is a breakfast cookie- so we say, GO FOR IT!

NYC Bucket List 2014!

Hi, everyone! We've been a little busy for a while since we've been in NYC for the summer. We have some great summer-y DIYs lined up for you in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, we wanted to share our New York City Bucket List with you! 

This is such an unbelievable city and us suburban girls want to take full advantage of the time we have here. We've complied a (working!) list of all the things we want to see, eat, and experience here, and we want to share it with you.

Check it out!

DIY Home: Paper Flower Teapots on Hellogiggles

We made these adorable paper flower teapots! 

Head over to HelloGiggles to see the full tutorial! 

Favorite Healthier Dressings

Here at Darling Disposition, we love our salads. But what we love even more is our salad dressing. Summer is here and we want to look fab in our summer dresses and cut-off shorts. And that means a little extra eating healthy. We shared our favorite salad recipe here. 

One unfortunate revelation that we had to have was that most of the creamy, yummy dressings are pretty catastrophically unhealthy. And do not mesh well with rocking that new crop top this season. Most of the really good ones have over 20 grams of fat and 300 mg of sodium! No thanks! We'd rather take the crop top. We've been on the hunt for satisfying alternatives all summer and we want to share them with you! This is a growing list, so check back as we find new dressings! For now, this is what we have:

Trader Joes' Cranberry, Walnut, Gorgonzola Dressing

We've been Ranch girls all our lives, but this more gourmet dressing has an amazing flavor! It's tangy and sweet, but with just the right amount of of richness from the cheese. It will liven up any lunch salad and is also might fancy for your dinner parties. And look at that color! 

Nutrition: 4.5 g of fat, 140 mg sodium, 7 g carbs

Pick it up at TJ's for $3.49 a bottle. 

Wegmans' Caesar Yogurt Dressing

This is absolutely the best vegetarian caesar dressing out there! It has a light but bold flavor and is so so creamy. The yogurt gives it a great and satisfying thickness but without feeling all the fat and oils. This is a perfect match for any salad green. It turns any leaf into a delicious caesar- even spinach and kale!

Nutrition: 5 g fat, 210 mg sodium, 3 g carbs 

Pick it up at Wegmans (Shout out to all those PA residents!) for less than $4 a bottle. 

Back in New York City

These Philly-natives are back in New York City for the summer! And we are SO excited to be back. Our summer is going to be filled with a lot of exciting experiences- and we want to share them with you! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @TheAnikaMehta and #ddtakesmanhattan all summer long. Tweet us your thoughts and ideas of what we should include on ourr NYC summer bucket list. 

~Our first trip ( and shot) of Central Park of the season!~

Our Favorite Things

~A gorgeous girls afternoon spent at one of our favorite local gardens, Chanticleer Garden! If you are ever in southeastern PA, we really recommend it. Beautiful blooms, exotic plants, and lovely picnicking spots!~ 

~This shredded coconut from Trader Joe's is a must-have in your kitchen! We weren't fans of coconut until we started adding it to our baked goods and smoothies. And oh, my- what a delicious difference it made!~

~We re-watched one of our favorite movies this weekend, How to Steal a Million (1966) with Audrey Hepburn  and Peter O'Toole. It is the perfect movie; it has comedy, romance, a clever heist, Audrey's sophisticated sass and to-die-for Givenchy wardrobe and Peter's gorgeous blue eyes. You'll be swooning, laughing, and holding your breath throughout.

~We're kind of hoarders of gift wrapping supplies, and we normally cannot contain ourselves when we come across a good sale. Our last trip to Target was no different! We got all of these fun supplies for under $10. We especially love the pastel florals! We have quite the collection going, but when your friend throws an impromptu get-together, you'll have gorgeous wrapping for the hostess gift. Perfect!~

~These are at the top of our LUST LIST this season! Every girl needs a killer pair of wedges that can be dressed up or down. Wedges are super comfortable, but the heel height gives your legs that bombshell shape. The ankle strap and bow detail are just the cherry on top!~

DIY Eats: Healthy three-ingreient cookies (great workout snack!)

It's almost summer, and we're getting ready for beach season! And that includes some crazy workouts to get ready to show off that beach bunny body. We're relatively new to the concept of working out (this summer marks our first anniversary :-)), but we are loving it. We're the kind of girls who can't stick to one thing- so we try out EVERYTHING. Our recent workout faves have been rebounding (that insane trampoline workout where you will be stuck in giggle fits as you're sweating bullets) and pilates (the "Hollywood" workout that promises to transform your body and for us, is doing just that). We'll tell you more about that soon (We have a ton of online workout recommendations to share as well, so look out for those).

But no workout is complete without a pre or post-workout snack! We have been seeing  versions of this recipe floating around the Internet for a while, and after a couple of failed attempts, we think we've got it! These healthy cookies are fabulous! They're made with three simple and healthy ingredients that will keep you full during the day and fuel you though your most intense workout sessions. The best part is that the base stays they same, but you can get as creative as you want with the mix-ins. 

Ingredients (makes about 10 small cookies)

1. Old-fashioned oats (1 cup) 

2. Ripe bananas, mashed (2)

3. One scoop protein powder (We LOVE Trader Joe's Designer Whey protein in French Vanilla- it is so easy to add a scoop to almost any breakfast and smoothie!) *For us the protein  powder made the difference between our success and failure batches. 

4. Mix-ins! (We added shredded coconut, walnuts, chia seeds and a little granola to the tops for this batch, about 1/4 cup each), but you can get really creative here: raisins, cranberries, almonds, peanuts, peanut butter, cinnamon, honey, vanilla-- you get the idea)

Steps:

1. Preheat your over to 350 degrees

2. Mash up bananas really well (you can do this with a fork, but if you dont' mind getting a little down and dirty, there's nothing better than your hands)

3. Add in protein powder. Mix banana and powder together. 

4. Mix in the oats and your other goodies! 

5. Make for 15-20 minutes and ENJOY! 

DIY Eats: Berry Lemon Water

For us, summertime and warm weather means ice-cold, refreshing drinks. Who else loves loves loves Starbucks Passion Iced Tea? It's delicious! This is a great caffeine-free version that is made with the best ingredients and also works as a great detox. It's extremely light in flavor and has a gorgeous color! 

We're loving infused waters this season and can't wait to try more! If you haven't already, check out our  citrus detox water here. 

Ingredients:

1. 1-2 liters water

2. 1 cup mixed frozen berries

3. 2 lemons

4. Sweetener to taste (we used 3 teaspoons of Stevia) 

5. Handful of ice

Steps:

1. Cut one lemon into slices and squeeze juice out of the second lemon

2. Mix everything together 

3. Let sit overnight in the fridge

4. Drink up and enjoy!

Sister Style: Outfit of the Day

The weather is finally getting warmer and we, here at Darling Disposition, are so excited to store away our bulky winter coats and show off those cute outfits! For our first Sister Style: OOTD we're put together an easy-breezy spring outfit that includes great trendy staple pieces! We love finding those trends that aren't too trendy but more classic! That way you can mix and match them season after season. 

This is a perfect "day at the park" outfit! It's all about comfort, but as our mom always taught us, you never have to compromise style (it's a principle we live by!). Start with an amazing pair of boyfriend crops; we jumped on this trend right away. They are so effortless and can be dressed up or down (and anything and everything in between). We love this cute nautical striped sweater- and what makes it even better is the graphic french phrase! Tres chic! Complete your outfit with a great statement flat: These black scalloped flats are the perfect combination of comfort and style (Mom, aren't you proud!). 

Outfit details: Sweater (girls section of Forever 21), Boyfriend jeans in Glacier (Old Navy), flats (6pm.com and they're 65% off right now!) 

Regency Tea Party Picnic on HelloGiggles

A few weeks ago, we had an amazing DIY tea party picnic inspired by Jane Austen and the Regency period. And yes, we did take a full tea set to the park!  Head over to HelloGiggles to get the full article! 

Here's a little glimpse: 

DIY Eats: Citrus Detox Water

We found this fantastic recipe on our new favorite workout web site! This is totally natural detox water that is perfect for getting that bikini-ready body in just a couple months. We are replacing half of our daily intake of water with this detox water, and we've actually already seen results. 

Head over here to see why it works (the recipe is adapted from there)! 

Mix up your own and enjoy a delicious way to that gorgeous body! 

Ingredients

1. 2 liters water

2. 1/2 cucumber

3. 1 orange

4. 1 lemon

5. about 10 mint leaves

6. Ice

Slice up the fruit and veggies and put into the water! You can refill the water three times before you should cut up a new batch of fruit and veggies.