Hanukkah 2014

We lit the first candle of hanukkah during our winter getaway, and now that we are home,  the celebration continues. 

I always have so much fun decorating and wrapping gifts for the holiday.

I thought I would share some pictures, in case anyone is in need of some Hanukkah inspiration.

Hanukkah decor is actually really hard to find, and if it is available, a lot of times it is ugly and tacky. I have been collecting and making our Hanukkah decorations for the past 3 years, and still do not have more then one bin full.  

I keep all of my decorating really simple. I also put out a few winter decorations here and there, which will stay out until Feb-March, or until I start getting the itch to decorate for Spring. 

Traditionally the Hanukkah menorah is set in front of the window (which is not possible in our house with a curious little 11 month old)

So I set up the menorah in the living room on my refinished record player. 

 

Winter Wonderland (Bend Trip 2014)

We recently went on an amazing little winter getaway to Bend, OR. 

This was out first "winter" vacation ever. We usually go away in the summer to the beach for sand, swimming and hot sun. I never thought that a winter vacation would be just as fun, and maybe even more.  Bend (Mt Bachelor) is about a 4 hour drive for us, and I will admit that the drive was hard with a 10 month old baby and a 4 year old who get motion sickness. But we somehow managed and had a wonderful time and created beautiful memories.

We stayed in a large cabin with friends and family.

We went sledding, skiing, ice skating, played board games, watched movies with the fire place crackling, and unlimited bowls of popcorn. We watched the snow fall, made gingerbread houses, shared lots of laughs and cooked amazing meals. It was truly a winter wonderland. 

Here is a glimpse into our 5 day getaway. 

Woodland Birthday Party

We celebrated these two this weekend. I can not believe how fast another year has flown by and the kids are now one year older. Em is 7 and Nico is 4!

Here are the past birthdays I blogged about:

Carnival Birthday Party 2011

Crafting Birthday 2012

Prince and Princess Birthday 2013

The big kidos birthday is 3 days apart, which is why we throw them a shared birthday party, when you have a shared party (especially with a boy and girl) it can be hard to come up with a theme. 

This year we chose the woodland theme, which was perfect.

Now get ready for a major photo dump

Enjoy :)

Well that wraps it up. If you have any questions, please leave a comment. 

Thanks for visiting, 

Butternut Squash Turnovers

I love squash. No going around it. Love it in pasta, ravioli, caramelized with brown sugar, but most of all I love it in these puffs. 

I do not really know what to call them, I kind off came up with the recipe with my mom's pumpkin filled puffs in mind. Her recipe involves a complicated and time consuming dough, which tastes amazing, but with three kids, homeschooling and general life duties, I just do not have the time to make.  I started using store bought puff pastry and love how they turn out. 

Ingredients:

1 small butternut squash

1 large onion

salt/pepper

1/4 cup of salted butter (cubed)

Garlic salt (optional)

1 egg

Directions:

Take out your frozen puff pastry dough and lay out on the counter to thaw out. 

Peel and gut the squash. 

Grate the squash and onion. (This can be time consuming if you do not have a food processor. I use my food processor and am done in a minute or two)

Place your grated squash/onion mixture into a large bowl. Add salt and pepper to your taste and mix well.

Divide the puff pastry sheets into 9 equal pieces, place about a tablespoon of the shredded squash on each piece. Add a cube of butter on top of the squash  (place any extra  butter aside).

Fold each square into a triangle and pinch sides. 

Place onto a lightly oiled sheet. 

Whisk 1 egg and brush the tops of each triangle. 

Optional: Sprinkle with garlic salt, sesame seeds or leave as is. 

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until golden brown. 

Remove form oven. Melt the remaining butter and brush the tops of the triangles.

Enjoy!

TIP: I always have squash left over, so I freeze the unused shredded squash in a small freezer ziplock bag for next time! Just thaw out at the same time as the puff pastry dough when you want to use it. 

CLICK HERE for printable version

Thanks for visiting, 

Growing Up to Fast

What happened to my babies? Who are these big kids?

I find it hard to believe that next week Em will turn 7 and Nico will turn 4. What?! How?! And to top it off, in less then 2 months William will be one! I still remember being pregnant with him, waddling around, bringing him home, sleepless nights of rocking him, it is still very fresh in my head, like it was yesterday. 

It really hit me today as I sat down to breakfast with these cutie pies. They were talking amongst each other and sounding so grown up. They bring a smile to my face every morning, off course fighting and arguing continued shortly after I asked them to smile for the picture. But still, I am SO THANKFUL to be able to spend this time with them,  time truly flies by. 

Thanks for visiting,