Year: 2015

Chocolate Loving + The Month Of Thanksgiving

Chocolate Loving and The Month Of Thanksgiving

Are you chocolate bingeing right now?  I’m not judging, I just want to know who else is sitting in their fat pants today.  Because I’m definitely wearing elastic waistbands all week while I sweat off all the delicious Halloween candy / chocolate I can’t stop double fisting eating.   Was Halloween as fun for you as it was for us?  I love having a teenager on Halloween so much, I can’t even tell you.   My girl is a riot.  Part…
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Our Halloween Costumes This Year

Our Halloween Costumes

This year our Halloween costumes were straight up D.I.Y. and both kids decided they wanted to make their own costumes without any help from me thankyouverymuch, (hallelujah for this stage of life!).  This year was double fun because our friend and photographer Justin Hackworth shot Halloween photos of the kids last week ahead of the holiday so you get a sneak peek into how they’re headed out tonight.  I absolutely love how the pictures turned out! He’s a magician, that…
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Passion Fruit Mousse Recipe

Someday I’m going to Brazil. It is on my travel bucket list, after all. We used to plan Summer holidays with friends in that beautiful South American country. Sadly, they have yet to come to fruition. However, no matter where I reside, I seem to always have a Brazilian living in close proximity. That’s how I learned that sweetened condensed milk is actually the sixth food group in this land, pretty handy for what I’m about to introduce you to….
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Last Minute Halloween Ideas

last minute halloween title

Alright, so maybe you’ve got your costumes all worked out. But what about those pumpkin contests and class parties happening this week? Do not despair. Here are 3 easy last minute solutions for Halloween festivities. Solutions you can probably create with whatever is lying around the house right this minute. For reals. This is called winning at Halloween. Let’s start with throwing together some halloween decorations for those class parties. I vote for anything printable, anything reusable, and anything idiot…
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How To Make Dried Oven Tomatoes

How To Make Dried Oven Tomatoes

Have you ever made oven dried / roasted tomatoes?  Ohmyheavens, it’s time to talk about how to make your own.   I have a huge bounty of ripe garden tomatoes and not enough time to make my favorite salsa recipe, so I’m doing the next best thing: I’m making oven dried tomatoes with olive oil and sea salt. It’s the easiest possible way to utilize your fresh garden stock while pimping your pantry for the Winter.  And the dividends are…
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Non-Candy Halloween Treats

Halloween Candy Alternatives

Halloween time is practically overflowing with fun occasions. Class parties, halloween parades, parties with friends, trunk or treat activities and of course trick-or-treat night on October 31st. All that fun seems also to come with candy. Lots of candy. So much candy. Not to mention popcorn balls and cupcakes and caramel apples. Whoa. That is a lot of sweets. With families  trying to make more health conscious and wholesome choices, it’s nice to have some inexpensive alternatives to candy when…
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Favorite Halloween Books

Halloween Books

  I’m happy to say that Halloween is in full swing at our house. We’ve placed a few decorations here and there, arranged our pumpkins on the front porch, planned out the costumes, and baked our favorite pumpkin recipes. Come evening, you’ll find us curled up with our favorite scary and not-so-scary Halloween books. It’s the best, really. Picture books, search-and-find books, chapter books and poems all feature in our family story time. Here are a few recommendations to add…
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This Week Quote Of The Week

nick hornby quote

It’s time for the Petit Elefant Quote of the Week!  I love this part of the week, don’t you?  I think a good quote, some really brilliant writing, has the ability to turn things around when life is tricky.  So this week I’m sharing some words from the extremely talented contemporary writer, Nick Hornby.   Petit Elefant Quote of the Week Hard is trying to rebuild yourself, piece by piece, with no instruction book, and no clue as to where…
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New Movie To See: He Named Me Malala

interview with malala

My life has been wall-to-wall Malala Yousafzai over the last few weeks, and I couldn’t be more grateful.  Do you  know about Malala?  Certainly you saw media coverage of her in 2012 when she was shot in the head by the Taliban in her home country of Pakistan on her way to school, for speaking out in favor of girls being educated, in direct defiance to the Taliban.  She was 15 years old.  Malala made a phenomenal recovery and now…
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