what a girl wants

So this is more of a "what I want" list than a gift guide. What can I say, a girls gotta dream, and I may be a little on the selfish side.

1. Frye boots 2. Lucky bag 3. Trapper hat 4. Final Cut Express 5. Cowl neck scarf 6. Bamboo Craft Pen Tablet 7. Geek Glasses

*More holiday and gift ideas on the way.

cool toys I want... um, for my kids

Shopping for toys is so much fun. Sometimes I think I am worse than my kids when it comes to having a case of the 'gimmes.' I fall in love with so many toys I want them to have. I am done Christmas shopping for my little guys, but because I love shopping (and more importantly love toy shopping) I couldn't help myself from looking a little more. SO, I thought I would share some of the great things I found that I wish I had looked into before my Christmas budget had been spent:)

1. Deluxe Wooden Construction Kit

2. Schylling Silver Metal Race Car Speedster

3. Eggspressions

4. Build It Construction Set

5. Creative Peg Puzzle

6. Magneatos

7. Jungle Marble Maze

8. Plan Toys Doll House and Accessories

9. Construction Plate & Utensils

10. Stormy Seas Balancing Game

More gift guides to come:)

pummmpkin

I may be obsessed. It seems these days I cannot get enough of pumpkin baked goods. The funny thing is that I am not a big fan of the ever-so-popular (especially this time of year) pumpkin pie. I don't really dislike pumpkin pie, I just would prefer a lot of other pies over pumpkin.

So when I came across pumpkin chocolate chip bread a few years ago I was a little surprised with just how much I loved it. I craved it. Last year my love for pumpkin became official when I had a pumpkin chocolate chip bar with cream cheese frosting. I knew I had to find me some good pumpkin recipes to try to replicate these delectable treats in my own home.

As my thanksgiving treat to you, I am sharing my favorite pumpkin recipes. I hesitated to at first because I didn't want to look like a copycat of one of my hero's Dana, as she has had a great line-up of pumpkin recipes to share recently. But she hasn't shared two of my favorite yet, so without further ado... enjoy!!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread


2 C. sugar
2 C. canned pumpkin (A regular sized can of pumpkin is just under 2C. and works just fine)
1/2 C. canola oil
1/2 C. vanilla pudding
4 eggs
3 C. all purpose flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 C. semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture, stirring just until moist. Stir in chocolate chips.

Spoon batter into 2 (8 x 4-inch) loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans on a wire rack, and remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.

*Recipe adapted from here.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon*
1/2 teaspoon ginger*
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves*
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg*
1 1/2 - 2 C. semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine first four ingredients in a large bowl. Using a wire whisk, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices; add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Fold chocolate chips in. Pour into greased and floured jelly roll pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool.

* May substitute all these ingredients with 1 tablespoon and 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice.


Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
5 cups powdered sugar

Beat together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla extract, gradually add powdered sugar. Frost cooled cake. Cut into bars.

*Recipe adapted from here.
*Image borrowed from here.

father's day round up

Do you have any Father's Day traditions? In my opinion the perfect Father's Day consists of as much yummy food as possible, a good Father's Day card and/or gift, and just laying back... man style:)

I used to think guys were hard to shop for. I now think that I was just making things too complicated for myself. I used to go from store to store looking for things I thought they would like- a new grooming kit, a nice pen and notepad, etc. etc. But as time went on I noticed that they really didn't end up using much of the stuff I got them.

Maybe your man, or your father appreciates small sentimental things, but I've given up on the never-ending hunts for the perfect little man gift. Even when I went out of my way to get a tool he wanted or something he had mentioned he wanted a while back I got the wrong brand or he had changed his mind.

The one thing I never seem to go wrong with though when it comes to gifts for my husband or dad is... CASH. So simple. So boring. Yet, so effective.

Anyway, here are some ideas for the men in your life this father's day. I even threw in a few fun ideas for any of you that may have one of those rare gem's in your life that appreciate small sentimental things:)

Cards:

Martha's cute crafted cards:

Gotta love letterpress:

Gifts:

My go to guy gift list:

1. Gift Cards to his favorite store or restaurant

2. Magazine subscription

3. Money, money, money

Click here to see the Daily Digi's awesome idea list.

Food:

The perfect day foodwise for my husband would probably include the following-

Breakfast-

Huevos Rancheros

Image here.

This is our favorite way to make it-

1. Warm corn tortillas on a skillet with a little oil.

2. Blend small can of green chiles, can of your favorite salsa (we like Herdez), a can of tomatoes, and a can of green enchilada sauce (we like Hatch). Then warm it in a small saucepan.

3. Poach some eggs.

4. Layer it all up- First the tortilla, then the egg, then some cheese, then the red sauce, then a little sour cream and green onion. Soooo yummy!!!

Big Lunch/Dinner-

BBQ

Image here.

Ribs, a chicken, a turkey, a roast, etc. My husband loves to BBQ or smoke big hunks of meat. And the best BBQ sauce is Sweet Baby Rays. I take care of the sides and the dessert.

(Dessert)

Mississippi Mud

Image here.

Find our favorite recipe to use here.

Evening Snack-

Popcorn & Apple Beer.

I like air popped popcorn with a little butter and salt. My husband likes theatre popcorn and recently discovered how to make it from home. The key to making theatre popcorn at home? The Whirly Pop. Make as directed and add a little extra melted (real) butter.

Other:

Did you see Jordan's cutest ever Father's Day Hero kit?

Or Bakerella's Fast Food Fun?

Of course, Martha has tons of oh-so-cute ideas.

etsy finds for your valentine

1. block party press
2. KAT house design
3. sudlow
4. jc jewelry design
5. flying rhymes
6. smashing
7. urban fusions
8. lmke
9. bd designs
10. KAT house design
11. silver garden
12. nicholas landon
13. lotus jewelry studio
14. lotus jewelry studio
15. lotus jewelry studio
16. lotus jewelry studio

holiday gift tags: free downloads

I'm sure there are lots of cute free downloadable gift tags out there that I have missed, but I have tried to bookmark as many as I have run across to share with you. Here are some of the greats I have seen (click on the words to be linked to the associated tags):

1. Domestica:


2. Sugarloop:



3. A Little Hut:


4. HGTV:


5. A Print a Day:


6. Seussville: (these would be extra fun for kids to use and color)


7. The Black Apple:


8. Papercrave:


9. Fog & Thistle:


10. Lolly Chops:


11. Sew Mama Sew:


12. Sew Mama Sew:

wrapping gifts: inspiration

Of course Martha would be the best source for inspiration when it comes to beautifully wrapped gifts. Here are some of my favorites to inspire you when deciding on just how you want the gifts under your tree to look this year.





Such cute tags, gift card, and money holders!

View more and see "how-to's"here.

I also love this tip on beautiful ribbon for a great price from Jordan of Oh Happy Day. I think the real stuff always looks the best, but budget constraints have prevented me from using much of it in the past.

christmas neighbor gifts

I recently heard that neighbor gifts was a "Utah thing," but upon reflection I beg to differ. I grew up in Oregon and Washington and we always gave and enjoyed neighbor gifts. Do a google search on Christmas neighbor gifts however, and a lot of Utah websites seem to reach the top of that list:)

At any rate, I think they are a great tradition. After all, the best part of the holiday season really is the joy of giving. I must say also, that I think it is important to only do what you can. Get creative if you are low on time and/or money, and don't feel bad if you simply can't find the time to do it.

Here are some of my favorites, including some of the most memorable ones my family received growing up, and some I just have seen around on the internet that I thought were clever...


1. Two words. Treat. Plates. I am pretty sure these rank number one as the most common gift given. I think they may rank number one in my books too, just because I am such a sucker for sugar, chocolate, and homemade baked goods. I think my top three treats are 1) fudge 2) almond roca(I make it without almonds) and 3) dipped pretzels.... but really I love it all!


2. The gift of service. Babysitting vouchers are always appreciated. Maybe shovel their sidewalk. Or some future freezer dinners. Make some coupons up to put in a card and make sure you follow through as they may be likely to feel hesitant to take you up on it.

3. Punny, fast and easy ideas found here.


4. I'll never forget when we were given a beautiful basket filled with stuff to make warm winter drinks along with a mini homemade Santa Bag with the True Meaning of Christmas Poem inside with little miniature representations for each symbol. Santa's bag was one of our favorite things to pull out of our Christmas decorations each year.


5. That same family, the following year, gave us one of our other favorite gifts- 25 Christmas stories photocopied and bound. We would read (or try to) a story a day and loved each one. Christmas stories can be found all over the internet and now are easier than ever to copy, paste, and print off:)


6. A personalized cd of your family's favorite Christmas songs. (Get cute fee 'scrapbook-look' cd templates here.)


7. An ornament.


8. An amaryllis or poinsettia plant. We were given an amaryllis to grow two years ago an honestly, I was a little nervous to plant it because (shamefully) my track record isn't that great with indoor plants. But amaryllis' are amazing! They grow so fast and are so beautiful and resilient. We loved our little amaryllis!!


9. Christmas craft kit. Craft or school supplies make great teacher gifts as well as teachers never seem to have enough funds for school supplies. {The craft kit pictured above, though not necesarily Christmas, but photographed beautifully is from Martha Stewart and is on sale here}


10. Design mom, as always, has some fabulous ideas here and here(scroll way down). {Wish I were her neighbor:) }

holiday gift guide: catch all

Okay, so this gift guide is kind of random but has a lot of fun things in it. Some of them are kind of gag-gifty, some of them are more like stocking stuffers. But at any rate, there are lots of good ideas and sources. So, without further ado....

For the Gardner in Your Life:

1. Talking Bean Plant! $15
2. Grow a Wish Kit $19

For Grandparents:

Help the grandparents in your life show that not only do they have the cutest grandkids, but they are technologically savvy with these gifts!
1. Digital Photo Key Chain $18
2. Digital Photo Watch $60
3. Digital Photo Display with Touch Screen$99

For Men:

1. Guide for New Dads$13 (I think I am going to get this for my man before we have another baby!!)
2. Tie Tack $9
3. Tie $30
4. Cuff LInks $10
5. Wrist Cuff/Wallet $45

For Moms:

1. Mama's Little Book of Tricks $13
2. Supermom Necklace $23

For Parents:

1. Airfork One $10
2. Wheel of Responsibility $13
3. Kid Remote $9

More for the Ladies (of all ages!):

1. Funny Earrings $40 (the second pair would be funny to give your teen, although, they probably, like, totally wouldn't wear them)
2. Mini Chi Travel Set $99
3. Decorative Hair Elastics $5
4. Feather Headband $34
5. Poppy Pins $5
6. Reversible Headband$8
7. Feather Hair Clip $18
8. Headband Set $10
9. Travel Jewelry Wallet $25
10. Jewelry Tree $49
11. More Cute Bobbie Pins $10
12. This one isn't pictured above but ANY Bare Escentuals kit I'm sure would be well received!

More Random Stuff:

1. For Your Resident Thespian $7 (This guy has lots of cool Shakespearian illustration stuff)
2. For the Writer in Your Life $8
3. For Animal Lovers $20


1. For the Brownie Edge Lover $36
2. For ANYONE $5 (This etsy store has lots of cute cheap downloadables)
3. For a Reader $4

{Prices are rounded to the nearest dollar}

Oh, and did I forget to mention? Of course, anything from any of my two etsy shops would be a wonderful gift also:) Ha!

holiday gift guide: babies and kids

Here are some adorable and educational gift ideas for babies and kids for reasonable prices! Wish I could get them all!!


1. Etsy $27.50
2. Etsy $11.99
3. Etsy $24
4. Etsy $24.99
5. Uncommon Goods $18


1. Uncommon Goods $34
2. Liapela $50
3. Uncommon Goods $40- This was one of my favorite stories when I was little
4. Modern Nursery (set of three) $25
5. Uncommon Goods $36- Kaden loves monsters and I know he would love this book and little monster friend.
6. Uncommon Goods $50
7. Etsy $36
8. Moolka $22.49
9. Oompa $13.49

Can you tell I love books? I would have put the whole Oompa website on here if I could have. Visit their site for hours of fun!! Stay tuned for more gift guides!

Here's a link to some great etsy gift guides also!

gift for Kaden, gift for me

I went into Old Navy yesterday and fell in love with the toys that they are carrying right now. They feature puzzles, games, and books from Charley Harper! Both fun and visually stunning for Kaden and me! Find them here.