Decorating pumpkins and zucchini {mr potato head style}

Still want to decorate some pumpkins with your kids this fall? I finally tried out this idea I saw in a magazine a few years ago and my daughter loved it! We grew the pumpkins in our garden this year and also grabbed some way too big zucchini that was growing in there as well. We have a ton of Mr. Potato Head accessories so this worked out great. The project is pretty straight forward so I will let the pictures do the talking. As far as where to drill the holes... we just guessed. They are funky and kind of off but you can't really tell and the kids don't care :)

 

Last year we tried melting crayons on our pumpkins... it didn't go too well for us though (crayon wax splattered everywhere/burned!). But this post here makes it look easy and hers turned out super cute. What are some other ways you have decorated pumpkins with your littles? 

Fall Garland

If your looking for something fun and easy to "Fall" up the place a bit, try this festive garland!

First gather up some fun card stock, twine, a glue stick, and a circle die cut (found at any craft store).

 

 Next cut as many circles as you want (you will need two sides for each one)

Measure out your twine and begin gluing on each circle

place one on top without any glue and hold firm.

 

 And Ta Da you have a fun festive garland!

 

xoxo-Tara

Gift ideas for Father's Day

Wondering what in the world to get your hubby for Father's Day? Here are some ideas!

1.  Go inexpensive, buy some of his favorite beer. You could wrap it in a cool new cooler if you want to. When the kids go down for a nap, sit on the porch and enjoy one with him.

2. Go sporty. Does he play golf, racket ball, frisbee golf, or like to fish? Get him some new gear for his favorite sport. You could even make him a little gift card that that gives him time to go play without feeling guilty;)

3. Go sentimental. Is this his first Father's day or one you really want him to remember? Get him something that he will never forget. A nice watch or other piece of jewelry will do the trick! I really like Fossil watches they are great quality and aren't too expensive.

4. Not doing gifts this year? You can still make the day special. Make his favorite meal or a special dessert.

5. Go romantic. Does he have a favorite cologne? This one from YSL smells amazing. You can find a lot of great colognes at Sephora.

6. Go crafty. Have the kids make something for daddy. This website has a bunch of neat handmade gift ideas.

xoxo-Tara

Stocking Stuffers

I Thought I would share what Bentley is getting in his stocking this year, just in case you need some last minute ideas!

1&2: Now I know Bentley will not be needing these things for a few more months but they were just so cute I couldn't resist! What is so cool about this spoon is that it is made so that baby can hold it easier. Plus the part that goes into their mouth will never touch a dirty surface because of the bulb at the other end!

3: I got him some cute finger puppets from Carters.

4: I hear awesome things about Sophie the giraffe so we got him one. I figure teething is right around the Corner, plus it's super cute!

5: We love bath time and I'm always looking for fun toys. My husband picked these ones out at BabiesRus.

6: I am so in love with the Babylegs I think it's because it's a fun accessories that's not just for girls. Plus his chunky thighs look so adorable in them!

7: We also got him this teether that can go in the freezer.

8: I just love the wabbanub, we have the frog but when I saw the giraffe I had to buy it!

What are some of your stocking stuffers this year?

XOXO Tara

Home made nutella

I'm a big fan of nutella. I have always just eaten it spread on a piece of buttery toast but in pinterest land it is used to dress up cookies, cakes, bread, milk shakes, icing, cupcakes, and even martinis! Probably the most versatile spread around, here is a simple and delicious recipe for home made nutella. This would be the perfect home made holiday gift for a hostess or for family!

Nutella (original recipe from bon appetit)

Yeilds: 4 cups ( I doubled the recipe and got enough for about 10 jars)

Ingredients:

• 2 heaping cups hazelnuts
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 lb semisweet or bittersweet chocolate ( I used a mixture of both)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt ( I used fine sea salt)
• 4 -8oz jars

Method:

• preheat oven to 350 degrees and spread hazelnuts in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast nuts for 15 minutes, shaking a few times to evenly roast the nuts. To remove skins place nuts in a slightly damp kitchen towel and rub them together

• Place hazelnuts and sugar in the food processor and grind until a smooth nut butter forms

• place chocolate in a double boiler or a metal bowl over a simmering saucepan of water. Stir until melted and smooth. 

• Remove from heat and stir in butter until fully incorporated. Stir in cream and salt, whisk until combined. Stir in hazelnut paste

• Pour nutella into jars and let cool

Can stand at room temperature for up to 4 days, store in the refrigerator

Enjoy!

xoxo - Leah

Christmas craftiness

I like to think that I'm somewhat of a crafty person but only when I don't have any time constraints. The thought of having to get supplies and then making said craft so that it can be enjoyed in the weeks leading up to Christmas is just too much pressure! 4 weeks is just not enough time! Next year I will start early... June-ish.

 Here are a few fun ideas for those of you that like to craft it up for the holiday season!

Beautiful ruffled linen tree skirt

photo courtesy of my uber crafty sister-in-law

A fabric Christmas tree inspired by this blog

photo courtesy of sister-in-law

DIY advent calendar

source

Yarn wreaths

source

12 days of Christmas onesies

source

Christmas Advent Calendar 2012.

This year our little girl (almost 3.5 yo) is old enough to really get excited about the holidays. The past two years I did an advent calendar just with little treats inside for her. I wanted to do something more for her this time. She loves doing "activites" with me. Crafting, baking, experimenting, educational worksheets or games, creating, all that fun stuff. Sadly, with me trying to take care of the house and working and having a newborn in the house, she gets ignored too often. So in an attempt to be more intentional about spending one on one time with her, I am doing an activity advent calendar this year. Some of the days I planned something bigger (like ice skating or going to see the lights) but I have plenty of quick crafty things that I can pull out each day to satisfy her desire to do an "activity." A few of the things are scheduled on our calendar but most of these things I actually decide the night before what I feel like doing the next day and I put the little paper in the advent calendar for her to find the next morning.

So in no particular order, here are some of the activities I included in our advent this year:

Pick out christmas tree and decorate the house
Walk around and see the lights downtown
Bake and decorate sugar cookies
Candy cane hunt
Go to library and pick out Chrismas books and movies
Make Cinnamon ornaments with xmas cookie cutters
Watch Muppet Christmas Carol with daddy (family tradition he had as a kid)
Buy and drop off a present for Toys 4 Tots
Thumbprint Christmas lights craft
Make xmas pancakes for dinner (make green and red batter and do this)
Go snow ice skating
Gumdrop creations
Make peanut butter pinecone bird feeders
Play board game in our pj's by the Christmas tree
Build a snowman
Write some Christmas letters to family
Make peppermint playdoh
Cut paper snowflakes
Do mistle toes craft with both girls
Make mini gingerbread houses (except use hotglue to hold it together) or these Christmas trees
Simple paper strip xmas tree and santa crafts, here
Snowball target, building with colored ice, and hiding colored ice in the snow,  here
"Paint" the snow with spray bottles filled with colored water
Make and deliver presents to neighbors

Also, in addition to these activities, we read these verses each morning. So far she is loving it and I am too. It is fun to have something each day that is planned for us to do together this month. It helps me to slow down and really focus on her (and I try really hard not to think about all the other things I should be doing or cleaning and make her my top priority during this time).


After I did my advent, I found this post that I absolutely love! My husband has the car most of the time so almost all of our activities are things that can be done at home. But I think next year we will try to use a bunch of her ideas.

XOXO Hannah