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Tag: holidays

  • Happy Independence Day

    Happy Independence Day

    Happy Independence Day America. Land of the Free, Home of the Brave.
    As I pulled out my patriotic decorations, I decided I need a few more. I’d really like an Uncle Sam to grace our house. Maybe next year.
    I for one, am glad to live in such an amazing country. Thank you to all the men who continue to fight for our country.  

  • Happy Mothers Day from Disney

    In Theaters June 22
  • Mothers day Giveaway

    Mothers day Giveaway

    Mothers Day is fast approaching, and I wanted to give you guys a little present. Mothers are the heart of the home, wouldn’t you agree?  We teach our kids, we kiss their booboo’s, we support our childrens fathers and stand by them through thick and thin. We don’t get sick days, and we have to hold it all together when things start falling apart.  So to help you mothers out there, I have for one lucky reader the following:

    – Love Notes to Our Moms (gently used).  Full of stories and recipes from moms and daughters.
    – GUD from Burts Bees, Vanilla Flame Body Mist
    – ROC Deep Wrinkly Night Cream

    *Some of these items I received through Klout Perks.  I was not obligated to give them away or even write about them.

    Giveaway is open to US residents.
    Fill out the rafflecopter below to Enter


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  • Plush Puffs Gourmet Marshmallows Review

    Plush Puffs Gourmet Marshmallows Review

    This year instead of trying to have our own Christmas, and spend time with extended family all in one day, we decided to change our plans up a bit. We invited my parents and siblings to our home for Christmas Eve. We had planned games, and socializing, but the boys ended up working on our kitchen remodel most of the morning and afternoon.
    One thing that was on the list to do, and we made sure to do, was have a Hot Chocolate Bar. We set a pan of water on the stove to warm.  As people wanted they could grab a cup, and make some warm cocoa!  The part that really made our Hot Chocolate Bar perfect were the Plush Puffs Gourmet Marshmallows.
    I had never heard of gourmet marshmallows until Plush Puffs.  Plush Puffs makes many different varieties, and we were lucky enough to try some of my favorite flavors!
    Peppi-mint, Simply Smores, Toasty Coconut, and one of the limited edition flavors Gingerbread Spice.
    Peppi-mint was by far my favorite for our hot chocolate. One marshmallow added just a touch of peppermint flavor to my cocoa. I’d imagine these would be pretty good in rice crispies as well!
    Simple Smores was wonderful just on it’s own! With a mixture of chocolate and graham crackers inside the marshmallow, it was like eating a smore without needing a fire. In the very near future though I plan on tossing one of these on a graham cracker. I can only imagine the taste enhancing every bite of those delicious camping treats we all love.
    Toasty Coconut was not one I particular liked. I’ve never been a big fan of coconuts though. My mom on the other hand, enjoys coconut. So at the end of our Christmas Eve festivities, I sent the leftover Toasty Coconuts with her. Definitely a treat for her!
    Gingerbread Spice also tasted very good in the hot cocoa.  The scent it gave off though, really made it more like the holidays. Instead of smelling sawdust from our remodeling, it smelled like I had been baking all day like most people were. I could’ve held my cup of hot cocoa with the Gingerbread Spice the rest of the evening just sniffing it.
    One other thing I noticed about the majority of Plush Puffs is that they are Gluten Free. They’re labeled well for anyone that needs this information quickly.  With some of my cousins recently being diagnosed with Celiac’s I was thrilled to see these labels easily visable.  These marshmallows will be accompanying me to any more parties we may go to this year. I know for sure I’ll be adding them to my New Years Eve cup of cocoa!  You can purchase Plush Puffs Gourmet Marshmallows on their website PlushPuffs.com  or see their list by state of where you can buy these locally. 
    *I was provided with a sampling of Plush Puffs for my honest review. All opinions here are my own, and were not influenced by any compensation.
  • Get to Know Me Better 12/15

    Get to Know Me Better 12/15

    Weekly meme hosted by I am a Reader Not a Writer. 
    This week is a Holiday Edition!
    1. Red or Green?  I like red better. Possibly because I grew up with a ton of green. My maiden name is Greene, and my parents really took it far. We never had to wear green on St Patricks day because it was our last name (warped I know). My parents considered naming all their kids things like Fern and Sea. I am so thankful they didn’t!  Their most recent green idea is their house. There is green trim, a green front door, and green carpeting. It doesn’t look bad, but I think I got overloaded with green growing up.  To me red is just a nicer color.
    2. Favorite Christmas Carol?  Here we go a Wassailing.  Probably stems from the fact that Wassail is a really good drink, and my favorite during the holidays as well.  Check out this awesome recipe I concocted.
    3. What do you want for Christmas?  A floor to ceiling pantry. And it looks like I’ll be getting it too! I can’t wait to share the before and after pics with you all!
    4. Favorite Holiday treat?  Oh gosh, I love treats. I have no favorite. I really love baking Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies. I also just made this Apple Cheesecake Streusel the other day and it is divine!!

     
    5. Favorite Holiday Tradition?  We haven’t established any yet. But growing up my favorite was our Penny Auction. My dad dressed as Santa, one of the kids got to be his elf helper. Then we had a huge bag of things that we had bought at yard sales throughout the year.  They were all wrapped up. Everyone got 10 pennies and the bidding was on!  Oh it was so much fun! 
     
    I’d love to know more about you my readers!! Go ahead and answer the questions in the comments, or on your blog!
  • Wooden Snowmen

    Wooden Snowmen

    Way back in June, I got inspired by Krystal at Sassy Sanctuary (she always inspires me really), to make this adorable Uncle Sam porch decor.

    Mark had bought some wood to make dice for his class, and had a little extra. So I decided to improvise my own version of Uncle Sam, making it much simpler, with items I had on hand. Well, June turned into July, which turned into August and September, October, November and finally December.  I still had the wood block Mark cut me, but they hadn’t even been sanded yet!
    Well Saturday, Mark was outside fixing our fence from a crazy hurricane level windstorm we had last week. Since he already had his tools out, I asked if he would sand my blocks (cause face it, using a big electric sander got the job done a lot faster than by hand!)  Finally I was ready to use these blocks, but I decided it was too cold for Uncle Sam. Instead they turned into some cute Snowmen!
    Aren’t they just adorable?! It was so easy to make too!
    A fun little fact, I made these today while my friend Krystal was over doing some crafty stuff as well. This Krystal is not however the same Krystal from Sassy Sanctuary. But I sure appreciate both of them for inspiring me, and helping me create some really fun winter decorations! I bounced a lot of the little details off Krystal, because sometimes I just guess, and what I picture in my head, does not come out how I would’ve liked!
  • Advent Activities

    Advent Activities

    Growing up we had this really fun advent calendar. It was an embroidered Christmas Tree Wall hanging. Days 1-25 were on the tree, with a place to tie a candy cane. Each day we took turns untieing a candy cane and counting down the days to Christmas.
    The past few years, we have done something similar. We have a wooden calendar with doors that open, for each day from December 1st until the 25th. In the past we have put little candies, or toys inside for the Princesses to enjoy.  This year, we decided to change it up.  Instead of items, each day has an activity inside. We want to get back to the Spirit of Christmas, to remember why we celebrate, and to make some family memories. Already this year, I have seen a difference in everyone’s attitude’s. We are less concerned about when we can go shopping, and are smiling and laughing more as we spend time together.
    I know it’s already December 3rd, so here’s a quick picture catchup of our first 2 activities.
    December 1st – Put up the Christmas Tree, and decorate.

    December 2nd – Ward Christmas Party (a ward is what we call each small area of our church, you can visit LDS.org to learn more about what we believe).

    We don’t have every day set yet, but we do have many ideas of what we’d like to do. So here’s a little run down for anyone interested in some fun family activities this Christmas season.
    -Attend concerts. For us this is easy with Mark being the band director of two local bands. We’ll be enjoying some Christmas music from the community band on the 8th, and from the High School band on the 15th.
    – Bake.  We plan on doing a lot of baking this month. But we will have one specific night set aside to bake things for our neighbors, and one night to make cookies for Santa.  I also found these really cute “cookies” to make for Santa’s elfs – mini donuts out of cheerios!
    – Sinterklaas.  This is a tradition from my childhood.  My dad served an LDS mission to The Netherlands, and incorporated this into one of our celebrations.  It is the Dutch equivalent to Christmas. Sinterklaas comes on the night of December 4th, and leaves a gift in the children’s shoes. Instead of cookies, the kids put carrots or hay in their shoes and a bowl of water for Sinterklaas’ horse. This will be the first year our family will celebrate, and I am so excited for it!!
    – Look at lights.  We’ll be heading down to Salt Lake City one night to walk around Temple Square and see the lights there.  Another night we’ll be going up to Ogden’s Christmas Village. 
    – Tonight we are having a pizza party and watching The Polar Express. We’ll probably do something similar a couple more nights, but with different Christmas movies.
    – Read Christmas stories. There are so many children’s books you can read with your kids that have a focus on Christmas. Check out your library, or bookstore to add some to your collection!
    – Christmas Caroling. We’ve been teaching the Princesses “We wish you a merry Christmas”, and they are very excited to go caroling to our neighbors.
    – Find a yule log. I’ve never done this before, but a friend of mine does! This is our first year with a fireplace, so I want to take the family out to the mountains one day and search for a yule log. It sounds like so much fun!
    These are just some of my ideas. I’d love to hear some of the things your family does to celebrate the Christmas Season.
  • Flirty Aprons Cyber Monday

    Flirty Aprons Cyber Monday

    www.FlirtyAprons.com
    Don’t miss Flirty Aprons Cyber Monday Sale!  40% off all purchases, plus FREE Shipping!!!
    Aprons are great to have especially during the holiday season, but Flirty Aprons make wearing them as much fun as the baking (my personal opinion here!)
    So don’t miss out on this one day only sale!
    Use code CYBERFLIRTY at checkout to receive the 40% off discount and Free Shipping!
  • Happy Thanksgiving

    Happy Thanksgiving

    Now that I’m home, I can share some pictures from our Thanksgiving! Sadly my parents computer felt the need to crash anytime I tried to upload a photo, so I gave up and enjoyed the many days with family and friends this week.
    I hope you all had a wonderful week.
    I am so thankful for my beautiful and fun children! We spent Wednesday at Gardener Village looking for elves.
    I am thankful for a wonderful husband, who is a great dad! He held Princess R for quite some time to help her get a nap in Thanksgiving. Aww!
    I am thankful for my parents. Without them and the example they set, I wouldn’t know what I was doing.
    I am thankful for my extended family, and that many of us were able to get together during this holiday season.  Again, for my mom, as she helped the Princesses make these fun turkey table settings.
    I am thankful for good food, and great cousins. Yes my cousins aren’t much older than my girls, about twice the age of Princess C. Princess V and Princess C felt so special getting to sit at an all girls table with these fabulous girls.
    Most importantly though, as we go into this Holiday Season, I am thankful for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. For the restored gospel that has taught my family, and continues to teach me about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  To Him I am thankful for everything in my life, for I know without Him, none of it would matter.
    Birth of Christ
    mormon jesus christ Second Coming

  • Snowflakes

    Looks like Get to know me Better Thursday is being put on hold while I am a Reader not a Writer hosts the Gratitude Giveaways (sorry I’m not participating this year).  So make sure you head over to her blog and follow the linky for tons of book related Giveaways!!

    Instead of answering questions about me, I thought I’d show you a fun “craft” the family did this week. Do you remember this awesome window decoration I showed you?

    We changed it up a bit, and made paper snowflakes instead.  It was a lot of fun, good scissor skills for the Princesses, and a wonderful activity to spend family time together.
    So not quite as pretty and colorful as the ornament balls, but the Princesses love it. We also hung them around the heater vent, so when that turns on it blows the snowflakes around. 
    (and in case you’re wondering, this breakfast nook is still up for sale. let me know if you’re interested!)