Out of this World Valentine's Day

The Perfect Photo Valentine

My cute friend, Ellen, just opened an etsy shop to sell her photocards. Aren't these Valentine cards the cutest? Ellen has a camera with her at all times (or so it seems to me!) and captures the spirit of New England like nobody else. Now I just need to recommend that she take a shot of some conversation hearts that are made right here in Boston at the New England Confectionery Company (NECCO!)

Wishes Come True

This morning when I arrived home from an event, Little Mr. greeted me with his grand idea--to make a lion out of candy. He described in detail what it would look like and how he would make it. After the Mr. and girls left for ballet, I agreed that we could try to make his wish come true. So, I girded my loins and we walked down the hill to the neighborhood store and collected the goodies to make the lion he imagined. While making the lion, he said, "Don't you think we could make a monkey too?" So we did. Although he loved the final product, I loved helping him through the process of making his dream a reality! Oh, and Little Debbie's oatmeal cookies worked so well for this project--the creamy filling worked wonders as the "glue!"

The Nativity

Happy New Year Cookies

A few years ago friends invited us to a family New Year's Eve party and asked us to bring a dessert. I wanted to bring something both entertaining and festive, and so the idea for our Happy New Year cookies was born. I brought the sugar cookies pre-baked and let the kids decorate their own set with frosting and sprinkles. They were a hit and have been requested by my kids every year since. I made a pattern for the numbers on pieces of a recycled cereal box and just traced around them in the dough with a sharp knife. I just free-handed these numbers, but you could make a pattern on Word and just enlarge the font to your liking. (The numbers here are about 6" high and 4" wide.) This little guy was especially interested in the numbers this year and how the combination of them indicated our new year. Oh, and eating his creations was pretty interesting too!

This year we ran out of time to make our gingerbread houses before Christmas. I felt guilty about that for a moment, and then said to myself, "Why not do that after Christmas?" So, when doing all my Christmas dinner shopping I picked up supplies for the houses and promptly packed them away. A few days after Christmas when all stocking treats were long consumed and boredom was just about to set in, I pulled out the supplies and created instant excitement! It was so nice to just relax, spend half the day and enjoy the process instead of worrying about the mess or other Christmas activities to rush off to. I highly recommend gingerbread house-making as the perfect after Christmas activity. Oh, and a cheap activity too. My grocery store was practically giving away the candy (everything pictured) on Christmas Eve for 25 cents a bag. Love it.

R & R in Vermont

We were lucky to spend Christmas through New Year's at our good friends' lovely home in Vermont. Our friends traveled to Canada for Christmas and generously offered to let us enjoy their home while they were gone. Despite schlepping our entire Christmas up and back, we had a great time! Sledding, baking, crafting, sewing, movie-watching, etc. made for a truly relaxing break. Oh, and here are my cuties with the stockings I made a few years ago. Did I ever mention that I love monograms?!!