Oh Joy!

monogrammed cookies... 4 Jan 2013

My friend Mari is a baking genius. For the holidays, she made a custom cookie and treats sampler boxes for her closest friends and family. We were lucky enough to be some of the recipients, and I had to share a few of her amazing creations. Two of my favorites were the coconut macaroons and the stained-glass ornament cookies. I think the idea of monogrammed cookies is so fun and would be great for a gift at any time of the year. You could turn the ornaments into simple circle shapes and make them for a birthday party (or as a birthday gift!) in a variety of candy colors. Thanks, Mari!

{Photos by Oh Joy}

how to be wrap star... 10 Dec 2012

My favorite thing about giving gifts is wrapping them. I don't know why, but I've always loved figuring out fun ways to adorn a gift other than with the usual bow. For example, I got these mini-LED lights to wrap around this gift. Nothing's more festive then a lit-up, glowing package, right?

I also love using materials that can be used again...either for wrapping another gift or for something else altogether. For example, these stretchy headbands can be used to hold your wrap job together for a colorful, clean, no-tape option. Then just tie on a pretty ornament!

Or top off a simple ribbon with something unexpected, like these animal chip clips. They add a sculptural quality to the present, and offer a little extra function for your recipient's everyday snacking.

Throughout this holiday season, I'll be sharing some of my favorite ideas for gift-giving and gift-wrapping over on this Pinterest board in collaboration with Target. Every day, I'll be pinning a new idea that I'm loving or that I've come up with, so I hope you'll follow along for some last-minute ideas and inspiration!

P.S. And a little bonus gift wrap DIY I created over at Refinery29 about how to use all those leftover scraps of wrapping paper!

*This post is brought to you in collaboration with Target. All content, ideas, and words are my own. Thanks for supporting these sponsors that allow me to create new and special content like this for Oh Joy.

{Photos by Oh Joy}

wise words at the dinner table... 5 Dec 2012

As a kid, I loved Roald Dahl books. They were always whimsical, yet smart, with lessons to be learned from each. And I love that those lessons are ones that we, as adults, can also live by—especially in our busy day-to-day lives when we can sometimes get a little stuck in our routines or our ways of thinking. So, I thought it would be fun to turn a few of my favorite Roald Dahl quotes into paper placemats to use at the dinner table this holiday season as a conversation starter...or just a little daily reminder.

You can even hang them up as prints!

They're super easy to make. Here's how...

chocolate chip nutella candy cane cookies... 4 Dec 2012

Say that three times fast! With the holidays approaching, I've been wanting to make a twist on my favorite year-round cookie—the chocolate chip cookie. Peppermint is the flavor of the season, and I'm not ashamed to say that I'll gladly get a peppermint latte or pick up those Peppermint Joe Joe's from Trader Joe's during their limited time run. So, I've decided to add some of that candy cane action to some delicious chocolate chip cookies, with a little extra something—Nutella!—for a super rich and chocolately taste.

Here's the recipe for my newest cookie concoction...

pop-up place cards... 28 Nov 2012

Ever since I was a kid, I've loved pop-up books. Maybe it's because I was always meant to be a graphic designer, or maybe it's because I just love seeing something flat go from two dimensions to three dimensions with a couple cuts and folds. As we head into the holiday season, I've got some fun posts coming up with ideas for bringing cheer to your dinner table this holiday and year-round, and for the first one, I wanted to apply my love of pop-ups to some fun placecards for your holiday table.

Here's how to make them...

currently snacking on... 21 Nov 2012

A couple weeks ago while at a work dinner, I had the delight of trying eton mess for the first time. I had heard of it, but never really knew what it was. Ever since then, it's become my newest dessert obsession. It's so light, delicious, and easy to make with a mixture of creamy, fruity, crunchy, sweet, and tart textures and flavors. So, if you need a last-minute Thanksgiving dessert, eton mess to the rescue!

Eton mess is simply a mix of whipped cream, crushed meringues, and berries. There are various alternatives recipes to the standard, but here's what I did...

i'm stuck on you... 6 Nov 2012

I love simple things that just make you smile like these Stickygrams that turn your Instagram photos into magnets. Such a fun idea and kind of the perfect, inexpensive gift idea for that person who has everything.

the tastiest brussels sprouts... 15 Oct 2012

A couple weeks ago, I share my favorite brussels sprouts recipe over at A Cup of Jo and wanted to share it with you here as well.

Growing up, I never actually had brussels sprouts because my parents only knew how to cook Thai food. But I had heard friends at school talk about them as this terrible vegetable that their moms made them eat. Brussels sprouts get a bad reputation for being bitter and boring, but when roasted, they're pretty amazing. Ironically enough, in the last few years, brussels sprouts seems to have made a resurgence on restaurant menus as chefs are redefining this vegetable into something that's seriously delicious. My husband and I enjoy these at least once a week, and I love adding a touch of my Thai heritage to the mix. We're huge garlic fans too and always throw in some extra cloves to roast which is an amazing extra touch of flavor and texture. Here's my go-to recipe....

sweet & savory indulgences... 2 Oct 2012

You guys know that food is probably my favorite pastime. So when I get a chance to take a break from work and schedules and baby duties, snacking on something delicious (usually in chocolate form) is my instant heaven. While I have a huge sweet tooth, as I've gotten older I can't eat things that are crazy sweet anymore. I used to cringe at dark chocolate and now often crave dark chocolate over previous love, milk chocolate, from sweet tooth's past.

I love the idea of bringing a bit of sweetness to savory foods, so I asked my friends over at Heirloom LA to help me come up with a couple indulgent, yet super easy, recipes to share with you guys that provide instant comfort. We paired Ghirardelli Intense Dark Chocolate with savory ingredients for a twist on the always classic (and always comforting) grilled cheese and tomato soup. Our version is a Brioche and Dark Chocolate Grilled Cheese Sandwich paired with a Hazelnut Dark Chocolate Soup. And, the best part is they both take less than 20 minutes to make.

I apologize in advance if I'm about to make you REAL hungry...

wrap star... 6 Jul 2012

Ever since my trip to Japan a couple years ago, I fell in love with Furoshiki cloths, and these new ones by Link Collective feel especially modern and graphic. And, how cool is this kit that turns a cloth into a shoulder bag? — Joy