Merry Christmas! It's time for the annual Christmas look of Dollar Store Diva. I feel like every year, my Christmas look changes with my style. If you've been following my blog, you've seen my style change throughout the years. However, most people go through style changes. This year everything is darker, slimmer, and smokier.

Christmas 2014

Christmas 2013

Christmas 2012

My OOTD:

Tank: White House Black Market

Shoes: ALDO

Necklace: Forever 21

Joggers: Kohls

I could get away with a tank top because it's unseasonably warm. I'd like to thank the Heat Miser and my lack of self-restraint.  I got this tank from work (WHBM) after the first shift I worked this break, and loved its simple elegance.

My FOTD:

Eyeshadow: LORAC Pro 

Mascara: CoverGirl #Plumpify

Lips: MAC

Eyeliner: CoverGirl

Highlighter: Benefit "It Girl"

Blush: NYC Cinnamon 

I got the Influenster VoxBox, for free, with the CoverGirl #Plumpify Mascara.

The #plumpify mascara has a bilayer wand for extra plumpness of my eyelashes. Here's a before and after picture:

You can also see a closeup of my winged eyeliner, highlighter at the corner of my eyes, and revlon eyebrow filler. I love the shape and definition this gives my eyelashes. 

Here's a picture of our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day spread:

One of my favorite things to do is to make recipes "Nikki-fied", which usually means, add a healthier kick to it. I do this all the time. It may be me being stubborn and a perfectionist, it may be me being a health nut, it may be me wanting a reason to make a new blog post, the world may ever know. However, I do know that I love butternut squash and pasta.

On Christmas Eve, my family likes to make Italian-style food. Perhaps it's because the food we eat on Christmas day is so Americanized. Perhaps it's because pasta food is such a comfort food for a cold December night. Either way, it's a tradition I don't mind. I found this recipe on Pinterest, and it instantly stuck out to me. Pasta, gorgonzola, bacon, butternut squash, pasta... it's all heavenly to me.

The first step was to make the sauce. The sauce is a rich butternut squash sauce. The first step is to roast the butternut squash with garlic.

When it was almost done, I started sizzling the pasta toppings in a sautee pan. I replaced bacon with turkey bacon, and added sun dried tomatoes.

After the squash and garlic were tender, I took it out. I don't love too much garlic, so I minced it after roasting. Then, I added both to a food processor. 

In a bowl, I whisked light cream instead of heavy cream, nonfat greek yogurt, diced tomatoes, 3/4 cup gorgonzola cheese, and low sodium chicken stock.

 

I got the squash processing away while adding my dairy mixture in through the tube.

Then, according to the recipe, I cooked the pasta according to bag instructions. My replacement here was organic linguine for regular linguine. The instructions called the save some pasta water to loosen up the sauce. However, since I used nonfat greek yogurt and my diced tomatoes were more watery, I didn't need to. 

I combined the pasta, sauce, and topping, and boom!

Ingredients:

I got my tragus pierced! You can still see the blood drying here still, yikes! This picture was taken almost immediately after, so don't freak out. I've wanted this piercing for about a year now! I have my two holes and my cartilage. The friend that I went with has her tragus pierced, but not her cartilage. Now, we complete each other. We both have the same piercings: tragus and cartilage. I went on a whim. I feel like the best decisions, for me at least, are made on a whim!

This picture is from the first week of break for me. The girl on top is my good friend Alex (the one I got my piercing with), and the bottom picture is my friend from school and radio show co-host Dominique. Dominique lives about an hour and a half from the school we go to, and I only live about 45 minutes. She was still at school to take a final, while no one else was at school. I had her come and sleep at my house. We went out to the hookah bar in New Hampshire near my house where these pictures were taken!

This is a still from a video I posted last Saturday. I saw a christmas show of a few of my favorite bands in Worcester, MA. The bands that played were A Loss For Words, State Champs, and Four Year Strong. It had been soooo long song I've been to a good pop punk show and "threw down" in the pit, and I did! I still have the bruise on my leg to prove it. I may love cute and preppy things, but my taste in music is surprising, I know.

Ah, my first sight of home after driving back from school. I saw this tell-all sign that I knew I was back in Lowell right after I got off the highway. The city of Lowell lights up this tree every holiday season. I swear it can be seen in every spot in Lowell.

This is one of my favorite scenes in the woods near my house where I run. After a long, hard cross country season followed by the holiday break, sometimes I forget why I love to run. Then, I see this. #ShitRunnersSee, right? Now, I'm excited for the pre-season training for my next cross country season and training for my half marathon this summer.

I thought I'd end it with my favorite picture from NYE. I spent mine at Nick's friend's place right outside of Boston. I have to say, it was one of my favorite NYE's in a while. I'm so ready to kill it in 2015. I've made great improvements in 2014, but I'm ready to buckle down and get the ball rolling in 2015  - in my life, my blog, my school, my internships and jobs, etc. Time to get productive!

Christmas DAY might have passed, but I think it's still time to spread the cheer before we dive headfirst into NYE or even Valentines Day. Technically, the Christmas season has just begun in the church. I'm not only still dreaming of my outfits and the great food I have on Christmas, but I'm still excited about my gifts. It's good to be thankful for the gifts you received. That's why I made up this tag (my first tag)! It's called the "Thanks-A-Bunch" tag, and here are the rules:

Hre are my top three favorite gifts I received on Christmas morning:

2. My Husband Pillow

I am SO thankful for this pillow! I hate leaning over my computer and ruining my posture, so this is a comfy and fashionable way to save my back. It adds to my new zen vibe in my room. I can just imagine lounging in this, with a few candles going, my lamp, and my space heater warming up the place.  I'll use it to lounge and go on my computer. I hate doing work at my desk.

3. Sentimental Gifts

Sometimes the cheapest gifts are the ones that make the best impressions. This framed picture of Jackie, this calendar with pictures of my parents and I, and my mother and I's matching bracelets will keep them with me while I'm at school and in Greece this spring break. I love these gifts because they're so thoughtful. I'll use them to fill my dorm with my loving family. 

Now for YOUR TURN! I tag:

1. YOU

2. Jacquie of My Confessions

3. Wendy of A Day In The Life On The Farm

4. Paige of Paige by Paige

5. Sharon of Paleo Fondue 

6. Cassie of Packages, Boxes, and Bags 

7. Yadira of The Two Riveras

8. Jessica of Beyoutiful Beauty

9. Jessica of Stumbling Along Through Life

10. Hannah of By Hannah Joy

11. Ana of Figuring Out My Ever After

12. Alayna of The Girl Who Does Everything

13. Alana of Adventure Spices

14. Richa of Let's Doll Up

15. Laura from Cook, Wine, and Thinker  www.cookwineandthinker.com

It's your turn ladies! Can't wait to see your posts. Comment your post or tweet me @n_vergak. I hope you all had a wonderful year, and have high hopes for 2015.

Baby kale is so delicate - it looks like a flower or a head of lettuce when it's chopped. It also wilts just like spinach.

To keep with my theme of light, I chose some nutrient and protein dense fillers: kale and chicken sausage. I love the al fresco chicken sausages, I chose the flavor roasted pepper and asiago. P.S. I had a breakfast sandwich on an asiago bagel this morning at Shaw Farm with my friends in town and I'm still dreaming of how good it was. Anyway, chicken sausage is a play on a breakfast sausage and the kale will give you a nutrient boost to start the holiday morning off.

First, I beat 12 whole large eggs in a bowl and mixed in my magic (cheddar and parmesan cheese).

In a large skillet, I started simmering butter, chicken sausage, kale, scallions, and fresh ground pepper.

Next, I combined my egg mixture with the cooked kale and sausage. At first, I was skeptical of putting the pan in the oven, but that's how Alton Brown did it, so in Alton I must trust.

There they are! EGG PIZZAS! I think I'm just going to call them egg pizzas from now on, and get laughed at in the culinary circle. I think it sounds better than frittata anyway.

Have a wonderful holiday, everyone!