that's a wrap

I was asked (at the last minute) to send in a snack for the teachers at my daughter's school during their teacher/parent conferences.  I decided to send in some clementines and peppermints in a pretty glass trifle bowl.  I even added a little extra touch with some special stickers!  This would be a thoughtful gift to bring for your colleagues at work or as a hostess gift during the holidays.  You can also skip the peppermints and include the ingredients and recipe for clementine cosmos!

thankful

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  We had a very relaxing day.  My family arrived around 2 and were greeted with a glass of cranberry champagne.  A perfect way to celebrate all that we have to be thankful for. Here are some pictures from our day.   Hope you enjoy them!

that's a wrap

On Monday it was my daughter's teacher's birthday.  Since I am the room parent I organized the gift and made a special treat to bring in for her and her class.  The first picture is of the gift,  a wreath with paper leaves tucked all around that told the teacher why each of her students are thankful for her.  The second picture is the wreath wrapped and ready to give her.  The last picture is of the treats I made.  The teacher's favorite candy bar is a kit kat so I made her some kit kat cupcakes.  I used a box mix and added some chopped up candy to the batter.  I also topped them with the candy and some leaf sprinkles.  My daughter's teacher was surprised and really touched by this gesture.

getting ready

Can you believe Thanksgiving is next week!  I am cleaning out the fridge, making my grocery list and decorating the dining room for our feast.  I put some bittersweet in an over sized vase on my new console and some autumn colored chocolate candies (which are almost gone) in a jar.  On the chalkboard I wrote a fitting quote.  Hope you are having fun getting ready for the big day and that you all have a wonderful weekend!

that's a wrap

Almost every time we return home from a vacation we find our fridge filled with the necessities.  My mom always makes sure we have milk, eggs, OJ, etc. so that we don't have to run out to the store first thing upon our return.  It is such a nice gesture and I wanted to do the same for some friends who returned late in the evening one day this week from their vacation.  When they left for their trip it was during the strange October Nor'easter that CT. experienced and they had NO power.  They gave us most of their food since no one was sure when the power would be restored.  I thought it only fitting to do the same thing for them that my mom does for us.  I stocked their fridge with milk, eggs, OJ, yogurt, fruit and made some homemade granola and pumpkin doughnut muffins for them too.  If you know someone coming back from a vacation or home after some time away, think about leaving a little something in the fridge for your friends and family too. I know they will appreciate it as much as we always do.

turkey talk

This is the first year that I will be hosting Thanksgiving.  I am having fun trying to figure out the table.  I have found some things that I thought I would share as some potential possibilities.  I first saw these plastic wishbones over at Busy Bee Lifestyle.  Aren't they fun!  They were inexpensive and arrived quickly.  I got one for each of the children, but I think adults would love them too.  I saw the feather lollipops while out on an errand and knew the children would love them.  They make cute favors and place cards for the kids table.  I also found these votive candles that have "give thanks" on them.  I put them on my mantle, but they would also make cute gifts or place cards.  The last thing I purchased were these fun individual turkey cookies.  Again a cute favor, place card or when boxed together like in the picture above, a wonderful hostess gift.  Let me know if you would like the sources for any of the items above.

that's a wrap

(photot courtesy of Pottery Barn)

  A few weeks ago I gave my daughter's teacher a little survey.  It just asked some simple questions about her favorite places to shop, hobbies, foods and the date of birthday.  I found out that her birthday is on the Monday before Thanksgiving.  Since I am the room parent I decided it would be a nice idea to celebrate her special day and let her know that we are thankful for everything that she does for our children.  I ordered this small leaf wreath from Pottery Barn.  It was on sale and they offered free shipping!   I traced a leaf shape onto some card stock kraft paper and tucked one inside an envelope for each child in my daughter's class.   I asked them to write why they are thankful for their teacher on the leaf and return it to me, along with $2 to cover the cost of supplies and the wreath.  I am going to tuck the paper leaves that the children made into the the wreath and present it to her on her birthday, along with a special snack.  I will take pictures of the final project and post them some time next week.
 I was thinking that this idea could also work as a thoughtful Christmas gift for a teacher or care giver.  You could purchase an evergreen wreath and have each child either purchase or make an ornament to attach to the wreath! 

wacky wednesday

This Halloween will be one that we will never forget.  We had a nor'easter here in Ct. and we lost power on Saturday night.  We just got it back today- Wednesday!  It has been crazy.  Since our whole town was 100% out for Halloween we could not trick or treat.  Instead we got together with some friends and made the most of the evening as best as we could WITHOUT POWER.  I didn't even have time to make the trick or treat bags to attach to the wreath like I did last year and wasn't even sure that anyone would stop by the house.  Instead, I quickly tucked some candy inside my Halloween wreath and put some LED lights into our pumpkins.  I am pretty sure no one came by  ;(  On a brighter note I discovered these over sized pumpkin marshmallows at the grocery store. I made them into a fun treat by dipping them in some chocolate and placing them into a cupcake liner filled with some cookie crumb dirt.  I twisted a piece of licorice into a stew and voila, a cute and easy treat.  I also used the marshmallows on the side of a mug of cocoa for my kids after they came in from playing in the first snow of the season.  I hope that you all had a wonderful Halloween and that you had the opportunity to eat, drink & be scary!