Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts

Friday, December 19, 2014

Five on Friday: Memories Made

beautiful things.: time time time
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Since backing off of social media I have found myself happier, my time spent with my family more meaningful and the memories more precious and full. I haven't participated in a Friday Five link up in quite a while, and like my time, I want my posts to hold a little more meaning and value. Here are a few of my favorite things from the last week or so...

Just a side note: our precious gem turned 20 months old today! How did that happen?!



[Chasing Moonbeams]

Our little one has been infatuated with the moon as of late. I'm not sure what has spurred it but she looks for it every evening we're outside. The other night I got her out of the car and stood her in the driveway. She immediately began searching the sky. She found the moon and pointed at the beautiful round orb hanging in the starlit sky. Suddenly she began running towards it yelling "moon" down the driveway. I snatched her up and we both just stood there and stared at one of God's most spectacular views. She stayed focused on it until the opening of the front door broke her concentration.

To the moon and back free printable
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[Christmas Traditions]

We have several family traditions that I hope to share soon. One of my favorites is the 12 Books of Christmas that we began with G last year for her first Christmas. While you'll find tons of ideas regarding 25 books, we decided to scale it down a bit. We start on December 13th and she gets to open a new book each evening. We read it together and add it to her "library". She'll open the last one on Christmas Eve and then we'll read the scripture of Jesus' birth on Christmas morning. She really enjoys opening the books this year. Christmas will be so fun!


[Pajamas and Gingerbread]

Our dear friends (although I'd say they are more like family) hosted a Pajamas and Gingerbread House party. They did an amazing job! They invested so much heart and soul, not to mention time, into the evening. Each child had their own (homemade) gingerbread house. The rest of us brought items to decorate the houses with. G really enjoyed herself...even more so when she realized that what she was making was edible. I now know what my child is like on a sugar high!



Courtesy of Ashley

[Diapers]

Lately G has become aware of when her diaper is wet/dirty and informs us of when she needs changed. While she's not interested in potty training, she does like a clean bottom. She also feels her "babies" should have the same experience. We've caught her several times trying to diaper her moose and giraffe with one of her diapers. While we get a good giggle out of it, she gets frustrated, especially considering that the diapers are bigger than her toys. I decided to make her some felt diapers for her babies. She loved them and is gradually becoming more independent at putting them on Bella and Mo-Mo herself.




[Just Say "No" to Santa]

While we're not brining up G to believe that Santa Clause is "real" (please don't boo and hiss, we have our reasons) we do share him with her as a fun storybook character. She has seen Santa in various places and media and had her picture taken with him several times last year. This year however, thanks to her age appropriate stranger anxiety, she was having none of that. She kept her distance at first but then was enticed by his offering of a candy cane. That's where the interest ended. We could barely get her to stand next to him, let alone sit in his lap. No good pictures have been gotten this year. We have one more chance to try this weekend and I'm hoping it goes smoother...but will not be surprised if things go South quickly.




Linking up with Darci from the good life blog and Amy from The Farmer's Wife

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Inside Out German Chocolate Cake

NEW POST: Celebrate in Style this Christmas
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Oh how I love holiday baking. The kitchen gains a whole new scent from Thanksgiving to Christmas. The house is always filled with some type of sweet or savory smell this time of year. We had a short notice family gathering this past weekend and with some other fantastic activities we had planned, I didn't have time to do a lot of additional baking for the family event. That's when this semi-homemade dessert came to mind.

I have to give credit to one of my fellow teachers who first introduced me to the basic concept. Her recipe calls for a Butter Pecan cake base (A.MAZ.ING!) which was the only cake mix that was not available at our local Wal-Mart. What are the chances?

Time to improvise. What else goes well with coconut and pecans? Well chocolate of course! I call this cake simple (almost embarrassingly so) and you'll soon see why...


Inside Out German Chocolate Cake
Ingredients:
1 box of German Chocolate cake mix
1 can of coconut pecan frosting
Eggs
Oil
Water
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350.
Generously spray a bunt pan (I could not find my "pretty pan" so my angel food cake pan had to suffice) with cooking spray.
Prepare the cake mix according to directions on the box. Before pouring the batter into the pan, remove the foil seal from the frosting and microwave it for about 35 seconds. Scoop the frosting into the cake batter and mix well.
Pour the batter evenly into pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Cool for 10 minutes and then remove from the pan by flipping it out onto a plate or platter.

 This cake is heavenly served warm but is also perfect the next day with a cup of coffee. You can't go wrong! I hope you'll find this recipe just as tasty and easy as I have. I continue to receive compliments on the taste and I never come home with leftovers (which could be a good or bad thing, depending how you look at it.)
Happy Baking!
Martinis & Bikinis
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Friday, September 5, 2014

OHF: Labor Day Weekend Highlights

We had a busy but wonderful Labor Day weekend. I was a bit worried since G got sick at the sitter first thing Friday morning.  By the end of the day she was feeling better and I got to start my long weekend early.

Here are a few of my favorite things from the weekend...

[The Zoo]
My friend and I took our girls to the Natural Bridge Zoo. It's not very big and can easily be done in 1-2 hours, which was perfect for her three year old and my one year old.






[Local Eats]
We stopped in Lexington for lunch. We ran across this cute eatery. The food was delicious and the service was great.




[Redo]
Operation "Ready to Sell" is underway as we begin some odds and ends that will get our house ready to be put on the market. I started repainting the bathroom this weekend. My goal is to have it finished by the end of the week.


[In the Box]
Our new Co - worker's birthday was Tuesday so I put together a little box of goodies over the weekend. It was a mix of teacher survival and birthday fun. It included chocolate,  aspirin, antibacterial wipes,   decorative duct tape, chapstick and birthday glasses. The other 1st grade teacher picked up a gift card and the box was complete.

[That Face]
Every moment with this little one is so precious to me...oh how I wish I could slow down time.


Linking up with The Farmer's Wife