A Side of Sweet

2022 Holiday Gift Guide

It’s my favorite time of year! Time to share my holiday gift guide with all of my favorite things that I’m giving this year – or purchased for myself!

I have spent weeks testing each of these gifts rigorously to ensure they deserve my seal of approval! That means I’ve used the microwave cookware, made myself a hot toddy, and worn the necklace! The things I do in the name of research. 🙂

I hope you’ll find someone for everyone on your list. If I missed someone, let me know in the comments and we’ll brainstorm together until we find the perfect gift!

Read on for the gift guide…

Review of the Hestan Campania Pizza Oven

A review of the Hestan Campania Pizza Oven, and whether it’s really worth it! Spoiler, it just might be the best pizza oven out there.

This summer we upgraded our backyard with our very own 33″ Hestan Campania Pizza Oven. It was a game-changer! It has been so much fun perfecting our pizza technique and experimenting with new topping combinations.

Read on for my full review of the Hestan Pizza Oven!

Candy Corn Halloween Dessert Pizza

Nut Free Vegetarian

Real candy corn is the WORST. Upgrade with this Candy Corn Halloween Dessert Pizza made with sugar cookies! It’s the perfect Halloween party recipe.

Let’s face it. Real candy corn is the worst. Does anyone actually enjoy eating this saccharine-sweet mushy candy? Still, it’s in candy bowls everywhere now. The upside, I suppose, is that it’s basically petrified. You can put it away in your Halloween decoration box and bring it out again next year and it will taste Exactly. the. same. Heck, you could take a hiatus from Halloween for ten years and your candy corn would still be there waiting for you in mint condition.

This Halloween, enjoy your candy corn in the best way possible – in dessert pizza form made from sugar cookie dough in this fun recipe! I’ve put it all together in a fun and easy video on my YouTube channel, and it’s also below, along with my favorite ever sugar cookie recipe. This recipe will give you perfectly soft sugar cookies every day without the fuss and muss of needing to chill the dough or sift the ingredients.

Get the recipe and see the accompanying video after the jump!… Read More »

Spooky Stuffed Halloween Cupcakes

Nut Free Vegetarian

What’s more fun than these stuffed halloween cupcakes with a hidden spooky surprise? This recipe is sure to please kids and adults alike.

Now that Labor Day and summer are officially behind us, it’s time to start thinking forward to Halloween! Are you planning a Halloween party this year? I feel like every year I end up working at the children’s hospital and I wouldn’t have it any other way! Halloween at the hospital is a joyous day, filled with costumes, trick-or-treating, and decorations.

Get the recipe and watch the video after the jump…… Read More »

Pretty Conscious Skincare Review

As you know, I’m always looking for skincare products that will make my skin look and feel the best. It’s also important that these products are cruelty-free, all natural and eco-friendly. That’s why I’ve been loving Pretty Conscious skincare. They are a small Latin-x owned business that makes botanical beauty products that are perfect for sensitive and problematic skin. The founder, Charlene, actually started the company because nothing she could find worked for her son’s severe eczema.

They craft all-natural, luxurious, vegan & cruelty free products that smell great and make my skin happy.

Here are my favorites:

Where to Buy Marble Countertop Slabs in the Bay Area

Everything you need to know about choosing stone and marble slabs for your kitchen countertops in the San Francisco Bay Area. What places sell stone countertop slabs and what to consider when shopping for stone.

Where to Buy Marble Stone Countertop Slabs in San Francisco Bay Area

Our marble countertops were one of the biggest purchases in our kitchen remodel and also one of the most stressful. To say I worried about choosing the right stone for our countertops is an understatement! I like to joke that I have a Master’s degree in agonizing about what stone countertops to pick. I just didn’t have a clear vision for what I wanted when we started out and that made everything harder.

I’m going to spill the tea about everything I learned during this process to hopefully help you too! We went to four different places in the San Francisco Bay Area and ended up finding stone slabs for both our fireplace and kitchen at Integrated Resouces Group (IRG) in Brisbane, California (15 minutes south of San Francisco). The cliff notes version of this post is that IRG has the best and largest stone selection in the Bay Area and the best service.

Want more? Read on for everything you need to know about where to find stone countertops in the Bay Area.