Yesterday was my new Father-in-law's 60th birthday! As a new member (officially) of the fam I had to come out with guns blazing! Had to work it out and make some cheesecake lollipops. Afterall, cheesecake lollipops are the new cupcakes. Cupcakes are so out. So, the other night I undertook the task of making cheesecake lollipops for the festivities. Here's the deal with those little guys. Let me explain to you. They are a lot more work than they seem. So here's what you have to do.

What you'll need: Parchment paper, Cheesecake (baked), lollipop sticks, melting chocolate and assorted toppings. 

You need to make your favorite cheesecake recipe. I'll leave that to y'all. It has to be a baked recipe though because the non-bake cheesecakes will not stay together enough for what you put these little balls through. So what you do after you have the cheesecake is to let it cool, natch, and then use a cookie dough scoop (or your fingers) and make balls. You can choose the size, it really depends on the size of your (lollipop) stick. haha. Okay, growing up now. So once you roll the balls you place your lollipop stick into them and put them on parchment paper. Then you'll have to re-freeze them so they get hard enough that they won't fall apart or fall off the stick when you dip them into the melting chocolate. So after at least 2 hours in the freezer, you take a double boiler and throw that chocolate in and melt it. While it's melting you can prep the toppings, anything you like, sprinkles, coconut, crushed nuts, toffee, etc. So you dip the cheesecake in the melted chocolate then you sprinkle your toppings all the way around. You don't want to roll it in the toppings or the chocolate will fall off and make a huge mess. Trust me. Then here's the deal, you may want to get a piece of styrofoam to stick the pops in upright, or if you don't care then you can just lay them down on the parchment paper. That's what I had to do and they turned out fine but if you're a perfectionist.

Here is me cleaning the rest of the unused chocolate. I seriously ate 2 spoonfulls this size of chocolate. Yum!!!!!!!

Can't take credit for the delicious "60" icebox cake that my mother in law made! Yum!

And now here is where I shined, peeps! I used fake grass ( I guess that's what it is, I actually had to throw away the first grass I got because it smelled so awful. I don't know what possibly could have been in it but it stunk). Anyway, I made half of the cheesecake lollipops white and golf-ball size since my father in law is obsessed with golf. Cute, right?!? I was pretty proud of myself. 

Happy Six-TEE-eth Birthday, have a ball! Get it!?!? Pretty awesome idea if I do say so myself!

And here were the dark ones, it's hard to see but the plate says "In the Rough." Get it? 

Anyway, my mother-in-law made an amazing party and everyone had a great time! And my husband (and his bro) gave such nice speeches! Happy 60th Birthday, Scott! Wahooooooooo!

Look at the cute centerpieces!! Loved 'em!!

What a wonderful month for moi! Next weekend is my sister's wedding!!!! Can't wait to go to Cleveland and see my fam! 

Fast on the heels of Mother’s Day, Father’s Day is almost here and it’s time to select the perfect gift for the favorite guy in your life. Whether he is a sport-loving adventurer or a stately gentleman, L’Occitane has the perfect gift to suit any dad’s personality!

Gifts for the Active Adventurer – Verdon Adventurer Set ($55)

The L’Occitane Verdon range is inspired by the refreshing waters and rocky gorges of the Verdon Valley in Haute Provence. This bold set includes the Verdon Pure Face Wash, Outdoor Moisturizer SPF 30, Energy Roll-On and Fresh Shower Water – it’s sure to inspire your dad’s dynamic disposition.

Gifts for the Woodsy Outdoorsman – Cade Outdoorsman Set ($45)

Created specifically for men’s skincare and shaving needs, the Cade range offers antiseptic & strengthening properties – ideal for the man who loves the open-air. This set includes the best-selling Cade Shaving Cream and After Shave Balm.

Gifts for the Provencal Gentleman – L’Occitane Gentleman of Provence Set ($45)

For the travelling man in your life, the L’Occitane products offer a rich fragrance full of the rugged and mysterious scents of Provence. This set includes the L’Occitan Shaving Gel, After Shave Balm and Shea Milk Soap.

Gifts for the Chivalrous Man – Baux Chivalrous Set ($55)

This sensuous and mysterious blend of cypress and incense pays homage to the courageous knights from the village of Les Baux – perfect for the dapper dad who will always be your knight in shining armor. This set includes the Baux Shower Gel and Baux Eau de Toilette.

Happy Chocolate day, ladies! Hope you have a blast enjoying good wine and good chocolate!

I love you so much Kiddo! I can't believe we're getting married so soon! How was I lucky enough to find you? I was going to write you a card but I thought I'd share my love for you with everyone I know (and even my readers who I have yet to meet!) You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, you make every day a fun adventure. You are my best friend and my favorite. Thank you for being the most wonderful person on the planet and thinking the same about me. 

Enjoy a few of my of my favorite romantic movie clips that remind me of you!

Beth what can I do?

Du Du Du Du DuDuDuDuDuDu

Enjoy your sweetie this Valentine's Day and get some added health benefits getting naughty has to offer!

This is the 3^rd year Macy’s is launching this holiday effort and I thought you might be interested.

Once again Macy’s invites believers of all ages to drop off letters to Santa at their local Macy’s. For each letter received, Macy’s will donate $1 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, up to $1 million.  However, building off the great spirit of Believe, Macy’s is also giving Facebook fans the chance to earn an additional $250K for the Make-A-Wish Foundation!  Based on the Yes, Virginia Christmas special, fans who play and win the Believe Challenge game on Facebook will earn another $1 donation.

That’s just the beginning of this great holiday program. You can find some familiar favorites and new additions this year – including the re-airing of the animated special “Yes, Virginia”, the National Santa Tour and the Believe Sitelet complete with letter making tools and activity kits.

We are hosting a giveaway for one lucky reader!!  We are giving away a Yes, Virginia Book, DVD and Believe Teddy Bear! Leave a comment below, telling me who you'd want to give this to for Christmas and why. Then Like Smartypanties on Facebook or Follow MsSmartypanties on Twitter and tweet: "@MsSmartypanties, Thanks for the Christmas Cheer, Macy's Believe campaign is awesome.

One winner will be chosen AT RANDOM Today, December 20 at 4pm EST.  Giveaway is open to US residents only.

After a perfectly wonderful Hanukkah party this past weekend with my fiancé’s half of the family I am an expert in awesome grab bag gifts for holiday parties this season. His family is so creative there are always such fun gifts. Here are some awesome gift ideas for anyone, whether it be co-workers, friends or family!

Movie Themed Bag. Get movie tickets and when you pick them up get a small bag of popcorn. Who doesn’t love movie theater popcorn. Or you can also buy a DVD and some microwave popcorn and even buy a popcorn bowl depending on how much you want to spend.

Wine Themed Bag. Bottle of wine and coasters or a nice wine opener. This year someone bought a cordless, electric wine opener. Pretty nifty. It was a hit.

Cookbooks. This was super popular too. And depending on how much you want to spend you could get like potholders or an ingredient to go with it. Like if you buy a cupcake cookbook, buy some pretty sprinkles.

Hats and gloves are always popular.

Makeup or Beauty Products. Sephora has great gift sets this time of year. For my gift I bought a lipstick set. Usually each lipstick individually is like $12 and it came with 7 for only $29. You can get great deals.

Humor. You can always go humorous and get the Shake Weight, which seems to be this year’s Snuggie.

Gift Cards. This is kind of boring but at least you know your recipient can get what they want.

Games. Board games, especially travel games are always a great idea. Who doesn’t love travel Scrabble!

Candles and scented crap. Not my favorite gift but very popular with most ladies.

Accessories. Someone got an adorable headband from J-Crew. You know it’ll fit anyone! The same could be said for a cute bracelet.

Take your Halloween costume to the next level with Kiss Nails. Whether you're a witch a goblin or a Jersey Shore cast-member Kiss Halloween Nails are the perfect way to accessorize. Each nail kit comes with 24 press-on tabs that are easily removed by running hands under hot water. They stay on for just the perfect amount of time. I really am a Kiss fan when you want to wear something crazy. They'll stick on too.

Nails are $3.99 a set and the body art is $1.99 a pack. The nails are available at Walgreens, Kmart, CVS, Rite Aid and other drugstores nationwide!. Pick up the body art at Walgreens. 

Happy Haunting, dolls!

*Nails were given to me for purposes of review by Kiss