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We had a great Easter this year – Ruby was old enough to actually “hunt” for eggs in the front yard, and she got to wear an adorable dress! Of course, she was spoiled by her grandparents with multiple baskets, and mommy + daddy might have gotten a few things for her, too… :)
After seeing this recipe for Easter Candy Bark, I just knew I’d have to make it this Easter. I can’t help it, Easter candy is just so pretty, and this stuff looked divine. The best part? It was SUPER EASY to make. (I’m not kidding, either!)
I loved how simple it was to make the marble effect with the white chocolate. After the dark chocolate is melted and spread on wax paper, all you have to do is put dollops of white chocolate on top and use a knife to swirl it around to get the effect. I think that’s what makes it look so fancy!
After you marble it up, just sprinkle your Easter candy on top (I used chopped mini Cadbury eggs and M&M’s) and let it dry for atleast 2 hours. The final step is to break it up when its all set.
I kept the packaging simple and made my own little tags, and then folded the top of a ziploc baggie down, and hid it under a folded piece of scrapbook paper. I punched holes and secured it with white wraphia. If I really wanted to make it perfect, I would’ve bought some clear plastic square treat boxes and wrapped it up like a present. Guess I’ll just have to be sure to do that next year!
Our friend Amber had a great idea to try out some natural food dyes on Easter Eggs for the kiddos this year. We were lucky enough to be on her egg dying invite list, and we had a great time!
The ingredients used to make the dyes were turmeric, paprika, beets, blueberries, coffee, chai tea, spinach + raspberries!
We also let the kids color on the eggs with crayons prior to dying. Had I known the crayon would show up so well after being dyed, think I would have drawn on them more! Here’s Ruby doing a little work of her own on one of the eggs before coloring …
I think the end result was so cool! They look so rustic and sophisticated. I could see them in a basket at an Easter brunch with breads, spreads and wine.
Disclaimer: these take a long time! They sat in the dye from about 9:30am to 4:30pm.
We’re so grateful to Amber + Nora for hosting such a fun day!
This year, Ruby hosted her very own Valentine’s Day Party! Well, maybe I helped a little. I just couldn’t think of anything cuter than a bunch of toddlers at a Valentine’s Day party … and, it was an excuse for me to make some treats. There were 5 girls and 5 boys invited, along with 10 of my very favorite mommas!
I wanted to keep things very old school and homemade looking, so I bought a heart-shaped craft punch and went to town with it. I punched hearts in all the different red/white/pink papers I had and taped them to thin red ribbon for garlands, and punched smaller ones to tape to toothpicks for the cupcake toppers. I even taped hearts to the water bottles – I admit, I’m fully into hearts!
I made goodie bags for all the kids that were filled with Carrot Zucchini Cookies. I tried to be considerate and not get everybody’s kid all hopped up on sugar, and thought any chance at sneaking in some veggies would be welcome. My mom had the great idea to try baking them in a heart shaped pan, and even though they don’t look so appetizing here, I swear – Ruby loved them! Of course, I saved my Heart-shaped Red Wine Lollipops as a party favor for all of the moms!
And finally – the most important part, our little guests!
Kim + Olive
Grace + Charlotte, with Kathy (Shane’s mom)
Shane + Nora
Zack gone wild!, Ruby + I
Zack + Justin
We had so much fun that we may need to make this an annual event. What can I say, I love the day of love!
I’m feeling a little defeated tonight. I’ve had my heart set on making these red wine lollipops as soon as I stumbled across the recipe. I thought they’d be a perfect treat to surprise all my grown-up friends with for Valentine’s Day (treats for the little people are coming soon!). Well, my mom told me that her grandmother used to curse candy making, and now I know why …
Gathering all the ingredients was simple enough. Making the red wine reduction was a piece of cake. But when it gets to getting the candy mixture up to 300 degrees without burning it, that’s hard. I tried over and over, making 4 batches total, and I could only salvage 8 lollipops.
The good news is, the 8 I did successfully make look really cute. I kept the packaging simple and went with plastic lollipop bags, red + white baker’s twine, and a little gold tag. I’m pretty happy with how they look, I just wish I had more!
I am determined to master it … I’ve got one last pot of red wine on the stove top, and I’m hoping for the best!