Bananagrams

When my husband and I were first married we would play scrabble all the time and we would do a 1000 piece puzzle during the summertime. Doing little things like this was fun! Now we have two little kiddos who are not old enough yet to do things like this with us, and who would probably sabotage our game/puzzle if we tried to do it on our own.
Since we had our first kiddo I have wanted to try and continue our weekly dates but it has gotten a lot harder as time has gone on.



These things being said, I just found out about this game Bananagrams. It's like scrabble but looks much simpler! Our almost three year old could probably "help" us spell letters if we wanted to play as a family until he is old enough to play on his own. How simple would it be to take camping or to the park for a fun family outing! No board, no mess. Just throw the banana pouch in the picnic basket and go!

Also I think it would be more likely we could use it as a stay at home date night activity after our kiddos are in bed and it wouldn't take forever like Scrabble or a puzzle does but we'd still be doing something fun together. I would love to try this game!

Italian Soda Party

This has made me want to have a party just so I can do this! Doesn't it sound so fun? And delicious?

Building an Italian Soda Bar

Setting up an Italian soda bar is a fresh, fruity alternative to the traditional backyard barbeque.

Studio 5's Executive Producer, Michelle Torsak shows how easy it is to create this big impact idea.

The original inspiration for an Italian soda party came from Elizabeth Kartchner's blog. You can check out the Dear Lizzy blog here, but be warned you will fall in love! http://elizabethkartchner.blogspot.com/2011/05/party-time.html

I found a similar idea on this darling blog: http://www.yourhomebasedmom.com/italian-soda-bar/

What you need for an Italian soda bar:

· Lots of sparkling water or club soda

· A variety of flavored syrups, available at Italian import stores or restaurant supply stores. I love the Torani syrups available at Granato's:

1391 S. 300 West; Salt Lake City

4044 S. 2700 East; Holladay

1638 S. Redwood Road; Salt Lake City

www.granatos.com

The most popular flavors for sodas are the traditional fruit flavors like strawberry, cherry, peach, and raspberry.

· Ice

· Heavy cream or half and half (for cremosas)

· Whipped topping

· Soda glasses, available from Tai Pan Trading

· Striped straws, available from Orson Gygi located at 3500 South 300 West; Salt Lake City or online at The Bakers Confection Store:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/thebakersconfections

Making an Italian soda:

An Italian soda is a combination of club soda or sparkling water and flavored syrup. For a traditonal Italian cream soda or cremosa, you add half and half or heavy cream.

Italian Soda: 8 oz. sparkling water

2 -4 Tbsp. flavored syrup

Fill a 16 oz. glass with ice. Add water and favored syrup. Stir to combine and top with whipped cream.

Cremosa: 8 oz. sparkling water

4 Tbsp. flavored syrup

1 oz. half-and-half

Fill a 16 oz. glass with ice, add syrup, soda water and half-and-half or milk. Stir to combine flavors and top with whipped cream.

Ice Cream: 8 oz. sparkling water

4 Tbsp. flavored syrup

Ice Cream

Fill a 16 oz. glass with soda water and syrup. Stir to combine flavors and add 2 scoops of ice cream and top with whipped cream.

Free Favor Download:

Right now Martha Stewart has a free download for a fun favor tag. Click here to link to the download: http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/goodthings/sweeten-up-favor-tag

Summer Fun

Love the ideas in this Studio 5 clip! I can't wait to try them out next summer! Or maybe I still have time this summer?

Bubble Party

I saw this Bubble party photographed by Nicole Hill Gerulat and am so in love with it! If only I had seen it yesterday so I could have used it today for my birthday...

Dr. Seuss

Today is Dr. Seuss' birthday! We are going to have a Dr. Seuss night this weekend! Here are some of the fun ideas I've found.

I've seen a couple variations of these cupcakes, this one is my favorite! Here is another idea though.

Make Oobleck! One of my favorite Dr. Seuss books growing up was Bartholomew and the Oobleck! I love this idea!


Make a Cat in the Hat hat!! I'm excited about this one, since my little guy has loved Cat in the Hat for at least a year now. :)

Be Mine

If you're still looking for some ideas for Valentine's Day...here are some more great ones!


How fun would it be to make personalized snowglobes! I love this great idea! You can go here for full instructions, including a video.
Homemade Circus Animal cookies!! Of course for Valentine's day, I would probably do heart shapes instead of circus animals...

I love this envelope! How fun would it be to put a coupon for something special in each pocket?


I love this Valentine yahtzee game! How fun would that be for a family activity? Or even just something a little different for you and your sweetheart!

I love this as a garland! This is made of fabric--check it out here.

I have seen this idea in a few different places, including Martha Stewart, but this image and instructions come from here. I can't wait to make crayon hearts to hang in our windows!

Pumpkin Carving

Can you tell what I am excited about lately? I am so happy it is Halloween time (well...practically)!! You can find free printable stencils from Better Homes and Gardens for carving your pumpkin here!

Love

Oh how I love this boy. He has stolen my heart.

Backyard "Drive In" Movie

Sorry, I know I show a lot of videos from Studio 5...but this was such a fun idea! I had to share another one! I have only been to a drive in theater once and it was so much fun! I've always wanted to go back, but now we live in a different state...so that won't be happening anytime soon. However we do have a back yard! Maybe we could make our own drive in movie theater...after we figure out how to get rid of all the millions of bugs in our back yard.

Gourmet Smores

I love Smores. You have to make Smores for it to really be summer! Well here you can make your own Graham Crackers and find some fun recipes for very gourmet smore recipes! Here is another link for s'more ideas... :)

Simple Fun

I love simple ideas like this that are just so much fun! My honey loves bubbles, we are going to try this as soon as we come across a water bottle! :)

Cut off the bottom end of a water bottle, and secure a piece of an old washcloth in its place with rubber bands. Dip into dish soap, and blow through the mouth of the bottle. You'll get a big bubble snake coming out of the end!

Pageants

Have you ever been to the Manti Pageant in Manti, Utah? If not, you should go if you are anywhere close by. It is wonderful, a fun family event, and free! Here's to hoping we can go this year before we live a lot farther away from Manti. :( Check out the other LDS church pageants here!

Not Like I Imagined

I recently finished reading the "Percy Jackson" series by Rick Riordan. They were great, I really enjoyed reading them and had a hard time putting them down to be an good wife and mother...
So I read the 5 book series over the past month or two and was very surprised when last week while enjoying a free bowl of ice cream at Cold Stone, I glanced over at the movies playing at the dollar theater...and saw "Percy Jackson" listed as one of the movies there!
We went home, I looked it up online and watched the trailer...and sure enough it was the same Percy Jackson I had just finished reading about. 9:35 showing? No prob. We went. Just like that. Probably only because it was my birthday. :) It was my honey's first time in a movie theater...he did really well. He fell asleep half way through, and other than not liking how loud it was during a couple really loud monster parts...he didn't have any problems!
Anyway, the movie was fun...but nothing like the book. Books are always better. The worst part for me was how completely OFF all of the characters looked from how I had imagined them in my head. Every. Single. One. I didn't like how they changed the storyline either, but I guess it made the movie more interesting. Go read the book, and then if you want...watch the movie. :)

It's Summertime!

One of my favorite things about summertime is eating outside, grilling the food, ice cream sandwiches...and of course root beer floats! How fun would it be to whip up one of these fun root beer recipes for your Memorial Day dinner tonight? I'll just post one recipe, but you can find the rest here.

Root Beer Cookies
Ingredients:
•1 cup unsalted butter
•2 cups dark brown sugar
•2 eggs
•2 tsp. root beer extract
•3 1/2 cups flour
•1 tsp. baking soda
•1 tsp. salt
•1/4 cup water (optional-only use if dough is too dry)
•Root Beer frosting (recipe below)
Method:


Cream butter and dark brown sugar until very light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the root beer extract. Whisk dry ingredients together. Add a little at a time to the creamed mixture. The dough should be slightly sticky. Chill for at least an hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease several baking sheets, or line them with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Roll into small balls (about 1″ diameter).

Place them on the pan, leaving a bit of space between the cookies. Gently press the tops of the dough. (If you leave out the water, sometimes the cookies don't spread very much.) Bake for 6-8 minutes, rotating cookie sheet halfway through.

Let cookies cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet before placing them on a wire rack to cool completely.

Root Beer Frosting
Ingredients:
•1 cup butter
•3 cups powdered sugar
•2 tsp. root beer extract
•a few tablespoons hot water
Method:


Beat butter on high with an electric mixer until it is fluffy. Add a little powdered sugar and the root beer extract. Beat until smooth. Add remaining powdered sugar alternately with a little hot water until a nice spreading consistency has been reached.
Frost the cooled cookies and let stand for a few minutes to let the frosting set up. (It should dry a bit on the top.) You can leave out the root beer extract and you'll have a tasty, soft brown sugar cookie.

Go Bananas!!

I think these monkey cupcakes (and there's a cake idea too) would be so fun for the next birthday party I plan for my little honey! So easy, but so cute! Thanks to Our Best Bites for the great ideas and picture!

Gak

Did you ever play with Gak as a child? I never did, my mom thought it was too messy. She barely let us play with silly putty. But this looks like so much fun! My little honey and I would have so much fun with this! Find the "recipe" at Make It and Love it here.

Upcoming

My birthday is this month, and I love birthdays! I really get so excited! How fun would this wreath be to make and put up only on birthdays? I know I would feel special to have a special wreath up for my birthday. So easy to make, and so cute! Find it here!.

Art Prompt

I liked this little video about encouraging art in children! I want to do this when my honey is a little older! Find out more info here.

Earth Day Dinner

I know it's past and gone but I just found this adorable Earth Day dinner from Secrets of a Super Mommy. How creative/fun is this? I have never celebrated Earth Day before, but I might just have to next year so I can try this fun dinner!

Light the Mood

I am loving these lighting ideas! How fun for a romantic dinner for two, or even for a birthday dinner at home, or anything!