Archives | December 2010

This afternoon, I hosted the second (and hopefully forever annual) holiday party for our PEPS playgroup.  Last year, we had barely-crawling babies, and this year we had walking, talking toddlers. Much to the dismay of our husbands, we decided to forego the cookie swap tradition in place of a “favorite things” party.  Each mom brought 3 (of the same) of their favorite thing (under $10) to exchange, so that at the end, everyone would go home with 3 different gifts.  Each toddler brought one $10 gift to exchange.  Favorite mom gifts included travel mugs with hot cocoa mix, homemade applesauce...

In honor of the blizzard conditions in my beloved hometown of Chicago, today’s homemade gift idea is a “Snow Day” warm drinks and sweet treats gift set.  It features three yummy drink and treat pairs, all tucked into a cute, reusable basket: cinnamon vanilla ground coffee & vanilla almond biscotti orange spice instant tea & winter spice tea cookies fireside hot cocoa mix & cherry-vanilla marshmallows OR “midnight mint craving” hot cocoa mix & candy cane marshmallows After blending up the drink mixes and baking up the sweet treats (recipes below), package them up in festive...

This month, I had the pleasure of throwing baby showers for two wonderful women, expecting their second babies in late December and early January.  This morning, our PEPS group celebrated Liz and her arriving-any-moment-now baby with a sweet mid-morning brunch. One mom set up a yogurt parfait station, complete with homemade granola and sweet berries.  Another brought freshly baked pastries from The French Bakery, in Kirkland.  I baked up some individual raspberry dutch baby “babies” - super quick, super easy, and super yummy.  (recipe below.) A week ago, Liz sent me an email with...

This month, I have the pleasure of throwing baby showers for two wonderful women, expecting their second babies in late December and early January. This afternoon, we celebrated the upcoming arrival of Ali’s little girl with a warm and cozy fireside lunch:  bruschetta paninis, personal mac ‘n’ cheese, candy apple punch, hot cocoa with cherry vanilla marshmallows (pink, of course!), and chocolate candy cane cupcakes from Trophy Cupcakes. Instead of routine baby shower games (don’t we moms end up eating enough mashed peas as it is?), we made salt dough ornaments for Ali’s baby’s...