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A Little Bit About a Lot of Things

“A lifestyle blog with a focus on my food adventures”

December 13, 2024 Holiday Pretzel Wreath

Looking for a fun and easy craft for the kids? Try making these cute holiday pretzel wreaths with the kids? They are no bake, and take less than 5 minutes to assemble! Cover your work surface with parchment paper and line up your circle of pretzels. Melt your melting chocolate in a microwave safe bowl at 30 second intervals. Mix together until smooth. When completely melted and smooth you can transfer to a pastry bag or even a Ziplock bag, cut off the tip with a scissor, and squeeze a ring of chocolate around the top of the pretzel ring. Sprinkle with any kind of sprinkles you desire, I topped mine with Cadbury mini eggs too! Viola! fun and festive wreaths! Make one plain layer without sprinkles and add a second layer on top if you want a heartier wreath, as shown above. These would also be fun with edible glitter or sanding sugars!

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December 11, 2024 Ice Castles and Omni Mount Washington Hotel

With the holiday season fast approaching, I thought I would recap some fun winter activities, including a trip to the Ice Castles in New Hampshire. While the trip could definitely be done in a day, we decided to go overnight and stay at the Omni Mount Washington Hotel to make a fun girls weekend of it! Located in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, a popular ski destination, the Omni Mount Washington is a luxury hotel, constructed in the early 1900’s. Once thought to be the inspiration for the hotel in the popular Stephen King novel and movie, The Shining, both King and the hotel have denied such rumors.

The hotel is quite charming. You can choose to stay in the historic hotel or the Omni Bretton Arms Inn (and use all of the hotel amenities). In the winter, guests can ski, tube, snowshoe, take a scenic gondola ride or even take a sleigh ride. We took a private, 30 minute sleigh ride, for a little over $100, plus tip. Worth every penny.

After the sleigh ride we grabbed a pizza in town at Celli’s, at the recommendation of our sleigh driver actually, but make sure to call ahead if you’re planning on dropping in on a weekend, it gets busy. Good pizza, family friendly for sure!

The ice castles were fun! I can see why people like going at night, but with littles, we wanted to go during the day. It was crowded, and with all the people, I wanted to be able to see and keep track of everyone. There were lots of people there taking photos for Instagram and plenty of places to make it look like you were there without the crowds.

I’m sure when it got dark and they lit up with fun colored lights, it would have been beautiful! A good idea to wear boots and snow pants.

Tickets are timed entry, and adults are around $31 for 12+ and $23 for children 4-11. Group tickets and off peak hours are cheaper. Make sure to leave enough time to get from the parking lot to the gate. There is a quarter mile walking path through the forest that is lit up by colorful globes, crawl tunnels and ice slides for the young (and young at heart), and sleigh rides (additional cost and tickets needed). The line for the sleigh rides was long, we were glad that we had booked a private one at the hotel.

After a day out in the cold, we were happy to get back to our room and order some dessert room service!

Such a special treat to sit in a hotel robe and eat sweets in bed!

The next morning we woke up and took the hotel shuttle to the mountain to take the scenic gondola ride. Highly recommend. The gondola is open from 9am – 3:30pm, and tickets are around $30. After returning to the hotel, we spent the morning relaxing at the pool and playing at the arcade before heading home.

Omni Mount Washington Hotel

310 Mount Washington Hotel Road, Bretton Woods, New Hampshire

https://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/bretton-woods-mount-washington/

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December 4, 2024 Gingerbread Houses with the Neighborhood

We decided to have all the kids from our neighborhood over to decorate gingerbread houses for the holidays.

We have a LOT of kids in our neighborhood, so, in the interest of keeping things simple and stress free, I picked up pre-made gingerbread houses from Target. If you didn’t want to spend this much money, another easy option would be to hot glue the houses together ahead of time. Let’s be honest, most kids aren’t going to eat the actual houses anyway, so trying to assemble the houses with frosting is just going to frustrate you!

I like to pick up disposable muffin tins and put candy in them and spread all around the table. This way, the kids can grab them easily, and there is enough to go around. I pick up candy everywhere – but the dollar store is generally a good option – rainbow belts, gumdrops, smarties, peppermints, candy canes, etc. I picked up frosting from the market for the kids to spread on with plastic utensils and places like Wilson Farm sells fun premade colored frosting in piping bags! Market Basket has sugar candy novelties and colored icing as well, along with bulk sprinkles in the bakery.

Check out how fun these houses turned out! A good time was had by all!

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December 2, 2024 Holidays

Now that Thanksgiving is over, I am in FULL holiday mode. Tree is up, shopping has already begun, and, let’s be honest, is almost done, and we are in baking M.O.D.E!

Chex mix is a go to in this house, you can make it big batch and is super fun to package up and give to friends and neighbors. I’ve put it on here before, but here is the recipe in case you’ve missed it:

  • 1c butter
  • 1 1/2c brown sugar
  • 1/2c light corn syrup
  • 1 (14oz) box of Rice Chex
  • 1tsp baking soda
  • 1tsp vanilla
  • 1c m&ms

In a small saucepan, heat butter, brown sugar and corn syrup to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla.

In a brown paper bag, add caramel mixture over cereal and shake. Place in microwave for 2 minutes and shake again. Repeat. Pour mix onto wax paper to cool and add in m&ms.

If you wan to get those cute Utz pretzels in holiday shapes, you should probably have bought them already, or they are gone….but there are so many other cute choices and variations that you can make here.

Cookie swaps and edible gifts are my go to as well. I usually make sprinkle cookies, a chocolate chip of some sort, and a few cut and bake varieties or no bake choices, just to keep things simple. What are your favorite cookies?

My least favorite to make are cutout cookies, they are time consuming – but they are so cute! And chocolate covered Oreos are also a fun treat to make, and oh so easy when you have a silicone mold.

One of my favorite things to do is decorate my outdoor planters. Red berries add just the right pop of color, and I love the different textures the greens give. I chose these with the help of my friends over at Trombetta’s in Marlborough. They have something for everyone, at all price points, whether you want to design something yourself, or if you want to get a predesigned pop to drop into your planters.

While you’re there don’t forget about wreaths and trees!

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November 27, 2024 Gingerbread Houses at The Langham Hotel

Last year, we had so much fun making gingerbread houses at the Langham Hotel in Boston. Led by pastry chef Kerry Levesque, children design their own houses while also indulging in a candy and hot chocolate bar and maybe even get a chance to see the big man himself!

When you walk in you are greeted by a table filled with candy, but don’t worry, all the candy that you will need to decorate is already at your station inside the ballroom!

I love that the houses are assembled for you before you get to the event, so when you get there, all you have to worry about is decorating! Pastry chefs are walking around the entire time to help you with piping or float some design ideas your way! Need extra licorice, just ask! At $170 per house, this is not an inexpensive ticket, but the service is top notch, and it includes admission for two children as well as a limited edition Paddington diner set as a token of your special day. They have two seatings, one at 11am and one at 3pm. Children under the age of 2 are complimentary. If you are looking for a VIP experience, this is your best bet. We highly recommend! Tickets can be found on Eventbrite. More information can be found on the Langham Hotels website.

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November 25, 2024 4 Places to Eat in Salem

We have been driving past Ziggy and Sons Donuts for years now and the timing has never been right to stop in. So one day we figured we would make the trip to Salem just to try out the food. Salem might be a place harder to find parking than the city of Boston! We circled the block a few times before we grabbed a spot of the street and ran in just before they closed. They are a no frills, old school kind of place, which I kind of love. They are the longest running bakery/donut shop in Salem, a family run business, operating for the last 59 years!

Ziggy and Sons has donuts and a variety of other baked goods – we had to try out their turnovers, apple and raspberry. You can find them at 2 Essex St in Salem. Check out their Facebook page.

Next stop on our list, A&J King Artisan Bakers. This carb lovers dream serves the best breads in town along with sandwiches, handcrafted drinks and the most beautiful pastries you’ve ever seen. Brownie, pinwheel danish, sticky bun, sweet and savory, they have you covered. Just as a side note, try their Kouign Amann. There are very few bakeries that make these, so I try them where ever I see them. Pronounced “Queen Amahn”, it is dough, and butter with sugar…similar to a puff pastry. The sugar gets caramelized…it’s delicious. Sandwiches and drinks can be picked up from their cafe, located at 48 Central Street in downtown Salem. They have another location located at 139 Boston Street, but they do not serve sandwiches and drinks there. Check out their website here.

My next pick is Dairy Witch for ice cream sundaes. Open seasonally, they have drool worthy weekly sundae specials. You can get hard or soft ice cream, sherbet or sorbet. They’re open 7 days a week during the peak season – check them out at 117 Boston Street in Salem.

With multiple locations to choose from, Holy Cow ice cream gives you plenty of chances to try their award winning ice cream. They have catchy names like Corner Piece (Brown butter chocolate ice cream mixed with homemade crispy brownie corner pieces) and Easy Peazy (Lemon curd ice cream loaded with house made lemon bars, and fun flavors like cereal milk or brown butter cornbread. They even have vegan flavors such as vegan cookie butter or vegan pumpkin oreo. Check their website for the most current flavors. Check them out next to Salem Willows, 181 Fort Ave or just over the line in Peabody at 86 Andover Street.

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November 20, 2024 Basketball Team Mom – Fleece Around and Find Out

This fall we started on a new basketball team and had loads of fun! The season went by quickly, and winter basketball is already in pre season, but to end the season, we picked up these cute sports fleece blankets on clearance at Target (can you believe they were only $3!!). A quick customization at midnight before the last game, we just threw in the kid’s name and numbers and passed them out at the tournament. They were a big hit! The boys used them right away on the ride home during their well deserved naps!

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November 18, 2024 Pumpkin Bread – Spice, Spice Baby!

It’s getting to be that time of year, pumpkin spiced everything! Well, I think we actually may have just skipped right over that season actually, and we are now actually in the 40 something days until Christmas season…. but I do love making pumpkin bread. I love this recipe from Once Upon a Chef and the best part is that you can open the recipe and keep it in “cook mode”, which keeps your screen from going dark. Nothing worse than being elbow deep in mixing and having to swipe up your phone. I also love that this recipe makes two loaves, because I actually make one plain, and mix chocolate chips in the other one, because of course, my kids can never like the same things!

What is your favorite pumpkin recipe?

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November 15, 2024 Classroom Birthday Party

We decided not to do a big classroom birthday party this year. We opted for the big kids to come and read a story to the class and to give out these cute “party favors” instead. There is a small class, so we opted fot these Sun Squad chalk boxes with a cute home made tag saying “Thanks for making my birthday “chalk”-ful of fun! Big hit with the class, and something that the kids would go home and use! What are some of your go to goody bag ideas?

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November 14, 2024 How to Make Pumpkin Stacks Last All Season

If you are anything like me, you like to get out there and pick out your pumpkin stacks early – but you want to make those pumpkin stacks last all season because man, can they be expensive.

First, when you are picking out pumpkins, rotate to see if they will stack the way you want them to. Second, look and make sure that there are no soft spots or punctures in the skin.

I like to use this Rust-oleum clear coat, top coat. I put the pumpkins on some cardboard and give them a good even coating, stem and all, letting them dry completely between coats. Two or three coats usually does the trick, and they last all season long. It gives them a glossy finish, you can use a matte finish top coat if that is more your style. It protects your pumpkins and manages to keep the pests away as well (although some people swear by the hot chili oil for a more environmentally friendly route). Another option to keep those pumpkins from rotting is making sure that they are not sitting directly on the ground. Some people choose to put them up on grape leaf wreaths, but I find that that can get costly if you have a lot of pumpkins. How do you keep your pumpkins fresh and looking good all season long?

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