Happy New Year!

2012 is around the corner!

The Ex-cessories.com gals wish you and yours a very happy and healthy new year!

Our NYE drink tip - drink Brut champagne to save on the calories and avoid the overly sweet taste of other champagnes.

While the average glass of champagne contains about 91 calories, brut contains about 65 and has a lower sugar content.

Ring in the new year right and stay safe!

Baked Latkes

Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah! So of course we need to enjoy latkes and apple sauce tonight. This year we will be trying baked latkes instead of fried latkes.

Ingredients for Baked Latkes:
4-6 tsp. canola or vegetable oil, divided
4-5 medium Idaho, russet, Yukon Gold or red new potatoes (2 lb./1 kg.)
1 medium onion
1 clove garlic, if desired (or 1/8 tsp. garlic powder)
1 tbsp. fresh dill (or 1 tsp. dried dill), if desired
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Click here to learn how to prepare.

We are all about saving time, so for the apple sauce, warm unsweetened plain apple sauce in a sauce pan and add cinnamon to taste.

Happy Hanukkah!

Jewelry Gift Recommendations

What gal doesn't love some fab jewelry for the holiday? Buying jewelry doesn't mean you have to break the bank. You just need to know where to look. To save yourself time, check out our list of recommendations below.

BCBG Double Panther Ring - $28. Who needs the Cartier version when you can get something just as great for $28? Click here to view.

Shashi nugget bracelets - $18-$22. Layer, mix and match these fun bracelets. We love the hot pink for summer and purple for right now. Click here to view.

Alexis Bittar Skinny Tapered Bangle - $55-$65. We love Alexis Bittar! Spruce up any outfit with this bangle. Click here to view.

Check back tomorrow for our favorite jewelry picks from Ex-cessories.com!

Makeup Day to Night

If you are like us and running from work to holiday parties you want to change up your look from day to night but have limited time. The solution? The Beauty Department's quick and easy video breakdown of how to bump up your makeup from the morning without starting over (5 minutes max)!

Click here to learn what products where used and where to purchase them.

On repeat...

It has been a little over a week since the sectionals episode of Glee, but we cannot stop listening to their version of "we are young". If you missed the performance last week, check it out below.

Gel Manicure

If you are like we are, the holidays become a very hectic time. Between work, family, friends and holiday travel, our to-do lists become longer and our free time becomes shorter. This makes it hard to squeeze in a manicure and with all of the running around we do the fear of chipping that fresh manicure before a holiday party is great.

So this year we decided to give a gel manicure a try. A gel manicure lasts 2 weeks and doesn't chip, smudge or crack. Sounds like heaven! We know this is nothing new, but this is our first try.

We love that the OPI gel polishes come in our favorite colors! We choose lincoln park after dark and are loving the results so far.

So if you are limited in time, but would like your nails to look freshly polished, give a gel manicure a try! Let us know what you think of the gel manicures under "comments".

Lululemon Lovenotes

We love the email lovenotes on Lululemon.com! They are clever, adorable and a great way to quickly send someone a funny note or a sweet hello.

Our favorites:

Hydrated - "Let's get hydrated together"

Downward dog - "You, me, downward dog, 8am"

Latte - "Let's get extra hot triple grande soy gingerbread lattes together"

Groove pant - "All I want for Christmas is..."

Click here to view them all. According to their site, more lovenotes to come! Go ahead, don't be shy... send a lovenote!

Girls Just Want to Have Fun - Glee Version

We cannot stop listening to Glee's version of Girl Just Want to Have Fun.

If you haven't heard their version, listen below. It gives us chills!

Starbucks Skinny Peppermint Mocha

We have found our new go-to warm holiday drink - Starbucks' Skinny Peppermint Mocha. Yum!

What it is: Espresso, steamed non-fat milk, sugar-free bittersweet mocha sauce and sugar-free peppermint syrup.

How it tastes: Absolutely delicious!

The skinny: A tall (12 oz) is only 100 calories.

Sweet Hanukkah Treats

Dylan's Candy Bar is one of our favorite sweet places and when we saw what they had to offer for Hanukkah, we couldn't resist sharing the news.

Our budget friendly favorites:

Hanukkah Tackle Box - $24 (click here).

Hanukkah Dose of Good Fortune - $25 (click here).

Hanukkah Jar Filled Jelly Beans - $14 (click here.)

Menorah Cookie - $4.50 (click here).

There are lots of deals online at Dylan's Candy Bar, so make sure to check out all of the sweet treats!

Quote of the day

"If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything."

$2.99 Three Wishes Bottles of Wine

Budget Friday Tip:

For all of us that aren't lucky enough to live near a Trader Joe's and have access to their $2 Charles Shaw there is now another option. Whole Foods offers a variety of Three Wishes wines for $2.99.

The winery, which is based out of Livermore and Ripon, CA produces three nonvintage bottlings of Chardonnay, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Our favorite is the Cabernet!

For $2.99 a bottle, you can't go wrong!