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Showing posts with label Drinks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Drinks. Show all posts

Thursday, April 13, 2017

Things I'm Diggin' Part 3

Sharing some of my current favorite things...


My cousin-in-law gifted this to me shortly after Liam was born. Her friend owns the Wisconsin-born company and hand crafts each product in small batches with pure ingredients. I've had this oil for 5 years and it still hasn't run out! It's made with 100% pure rice bran oil, ylang ylang, geranium, lavender, grapefruit, clary sage, fennel, palmarosa and wild orange. It smells amazing and I use it whenever I feel STRESSED or want a little scent on my wrists.



Anyone who knows me well knows that I'm a huge fan of local store Olivu 426. I've tried out MANY of their products and love a lot of them. But this one is my go-to when I just need a pick-me-up. If I'm feeling stressed or tired I spritz this on my face and neck and I get an instant refresh. And it has a pleasant rose water scent. 



I bought this one on a whim on my way to the checkout counter at Ulta one day. I'm a sucker for anything coconut or vanilla. And this one, when I smelled it, took me right to the beach! Some coconut scents smell fake to me, but this one smells just like fresh coconut-milk-out-of-a-coconut. It's not thick like a lotion, it just glides on more like water and leaves a light coconut scent and soft skin.



I'm convinced that EVERY mom, dad, grandparent, daycare teacher and caregiver should own one of these! I found it at a local kitchen store and have loved it since. You just pop the grape or olive or tomato into the hole, push the green stick down and BOOM you have a quartered grape, etc. It's pretty safe too - I let Liam use it with my observation. 



I bought these at a local kitchen store as well and love them. The package comes with four different sizes. I store them in a cupboard above our microwave for easy use. They lie flat and don't warp or curve or stain and they're dishwasher safe. Also important - they're BPA free and FDA approved.



Ceramic Berry Baskets
I'm a ceramic berry basket dork! I love them. Because they're PRETTY and I can display an ordinary thing (fruit) in a pretty way. I got mine as a Christmas gift a couple of years ago and have since gifted them to other people. They can be hard to find at actual stores (although I have seen/bought them at Pier 1, Crate & Barrel and HomeGoods). Online is your best bet.



Fizzy Chill Red wine-in-a-can 
I love a glass of wine or champagne after the kids are in bed. But I do not want to open an entire bottle of champ or wine and let the rest go to waste (I'm not a fan of corking wine or champagne). So these work out perfectly for me! I found this Fizzy Chill Red, which I drink cold. It's a sweeter, fizzy wine that's a nice little treat at the end of the day.




Mini Korbel Brut champagne bottles
I pour myself one of these on occasion too. And no wasted champagne afterwards!




Calling all parents/grandparents: you need to let your kids try these. Completely mess-free coloring, other than a few water drips here and there. Perfect for the CAR, for restaurants, in the church pew, on an airplane. And it keeps them occupied for a while.




My kids love this thing. We've had it a couple of years and we play with it at least once a week. We got this one at Target. A great gift idea as well.




Love, love, love these. They get played with EVERY day in our house by both kids. They're expensive but some things in life are just worth it! My kids will spend a good hour at a time playing with these. The only downside is that they end up everywhere! 




A friend suggested that I use this after I told her I have thousands of emails in my inbox (eek). I signed up and it significantly helped lighten my inbox. This is FREE to use and really easy to sign up. If you're someone that gets lots of emails, I highly suggest you try this out!





I'm a granola snob. I'm picky about the texture and flavor. I've never eaten a granola like this one before and I LOVE it. Chloe loves it too! It's not giant, chunky, hard bites (not a fan) - instead it's these light, crunchy bean crisps that pair so good with the almonds and cranberries and seeds and yum-o maple syrup tossed in with it all. We like to eat it dry as a healthy snack. Heading to my cupboard now....




To see other things I love, click here:





Please let me know what YOUR current faves are in the Comments below!

Monday, November 23, 2015

Bags and tags

I'm proud to say that Crafty Club has been going strong for over two years now! I had the duty of hosting this month's club. This was the 4th time I've hosted.

I must admit, I wasn't super excited or happy about the craft that I picked out this month, but I think the drinks and snacks and great conversation between us ladies made up for the just-okay craft :)

Since the month of December is rapidly approaching, I thought it'd be nice to do a craft that could help us ladies be a teensy bit 'ahead of the game' with something in preparation for Christmas. It was too early to make cutout cookies or gingerbread houses, but it wasn't too early to decorate some crafty little gift bags. 

We decorated three plain brown paper bags each. Ones that you can just throw a gift into quickly, for a teacher or neighbor or friend. And the tag and tissue paper are ready to go too.

Some photos from the evening:



100% true



I made home-made cranberry orange margaritas -- recipe taken from here  -- and they were a big hit!


I also made apple nachos -- recipe adapted from here
Step 1 - slice up 2-3 apples and display them on a tray
Step 2 - drizzle with caramel sauce
Step 3 - drizzle with melted white chocolate candy coating

Step 4 - sprinkle with Heath candy bar bits
Step 5 - sprinkle with mini milk chocolate chips

I set up three bag-decorating stations


We used paint to stamp little deer and attached red fussy noses...


used daubers to apply gold paint dots on these...


and washi tape trees on these.


Snacking and crafting.



Joy's accidental 'blob deer'


And the next morning Liam loved decorating some bags of his own :)

Have a nice week,
Erin

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Yippee! I am three!

This past Saturday was Liam's third birthday. We tried to make the weekend as special as we could for him.

On Friday afternoon we took the kids to our local children's museum Above & Beyond. We went there for his birthday last year too, so I guess it's become his annual birthday tradition :)

Then on Saturday we invited family over for Liam's birthday party. The theme he chose was "blocks" which is fitting because he is currently obsessed with building blocks.

I will let these photos do the talking:

Birthday breakfast - pancakes and fruit


Helping put up some last-minute party decorations.


Little party bags for Liam's cousins.


We let him open a gift from us after breakfast (something to keep him busy
while we ran around finishing prep for the party).


These poles and fish are for the bathtub. A unique find from our favorite
local toy store Movers & Shakers Kids Toys.


The streamers and balloons are up...


Blocks all over...



I made a vase out of Mega Blocks (I placed an actual vase inside).


Liam watching a little boob tube prior to his party...


I bought the cake, but I decorated it myself :) It was cheap to decorate - I used blocks
and Legos that we already had (which were thoroughly sanitized beforehand!).



Lemon-Strawberry punch. Recipe here



Me and my three year old!


Rolling around on the floor with cousin Tim.


My aunts and grandma gushing over my nephew Hudson.


Food. Family.


Crazy kid corner.


Lucky little boy.


Bella, Rylan and Liam hanging out with Aunt Shelley.


Sweet little Hudson - 6 1/2 months


Chloe with Aunt Tracy


It's gift-ripping-open time!!


Intrigued by the soccer ball.




"Mmnnnn I wonder if wrapping paper tastes good....?"


Cake time.



(The 4th yellow candle is in memory of my dad's birthday, which is 4 days earlier)



Happy 3rd birthday little Liam!
You are the sweetest, feistiest, coolest, funniest little dude!

We love you.