Come to the party with a lovely gift from our Pretty Prudent Wishlist: For the Host. A new set of handmade tea towels, the prettiest bundle of sweet smelling supplies for the family, or perhaps a little something extra just for the bubbly! Here are a few of our favorite things just for the host.
This post is sponsored and inspired by Marzetti® Simply Dressed® Dressing. With all of the fanciful sweets and rich indulgent dishes presented during the holidays, it’s nearly impossible for the young (and old) to remember their fresh fruits and veggies. Here’s an idea for bringing good-for-you foods front and center and fabulous in your holiday meals.
Little people will appreciate their favorite fruits and veggies within reach and go for the good stuff. Add Marzetti® Simply Dressed® salad dressing in delicious, clean flavors like Ranch and Pomegranate and they will be taste-testing and experimenting with new healthy foods all on their own. Marzetti® Simply Dressed® refrigerated salad dressings are made with a minimal number of simple ingredients, such as extra virgin olive oil, canola oil (source of Omega-3 ALA) and sea salt.
Read on for all of the tips and tricks needed to create this simply stunning platter for your upcoming party or a quick weeknight dinner.
The other day I was trying to come up with a last-minute holiday crown I could wear to a party. It needed to be inexpensive and literally take five minutes to make – and thus these Three 5-Minute Holiday Crowns were born. One is made with glitter gold leaf branches, the other is made from holly wire garland, and the final one is made with pipe cleaners.
Here’s a glimpse of each starting with the gold leaf crown…
the holly crown,
and the pipe cleaner crown (I think I’ll probably call it the princess crown or something sweeter).
Find out how to make these Three 5-Minute Holiday Crown DIYs after the jump…
This week we are going to be sharing all sorts of holiday gift inspiration. I wish I could share them all with you now, but that would just spoil the surprise. Let’s get started with an especially fun topic – toys, toys, toys!
The Mahalo Ukulele was a great introduction instrument. It’s just the right size for little ones to hold and has held up through many, many rock concerts. It also comes in a variety of different colors.
For Ringo Starr in the making, you might want to go with these eco-friendly cork drums. Kids can hit them as hard as they want and you can still hear yourself think.
One of Scarlet’s favorites, especially now that she’s learning to spell, is the Alpha Bots Box Set from Lakeshore. Pretty much the coolest alphabet transformers.
Watch out, Gordon is on the move! Jacinda wants to get him on a balance bike in the spring, but for now he is crazy for his Joovy 4 X 4. I think the 4×4 might be on Jacinda’s wishlist too now with this torrential ice storm.
You can also check out the Joovy race car that comes in red too. Start your engines, this race car hits top speeds of 5 MPH.
The show wouldn’t be complete without the stellar cast. Lakeshore has an incredible selection of puppets to choose from. They have ones from popular stories, like Goldilocks, but I’m especially fond of the boys and girls community helpers puppets.
Another one of Scarlet’s favorite toys is her giant box of Clics. The possibilities are endless and when you think you’ve done it all, you can head to their site to see Building Plans for other Clics projects.
Scarlet loves her Fisher Price Changeable Picture Disk Camera. It’s a great first toy camera and comes with different disks you can change out. Now that she’s older I can’t wait to give her the real deal with the Bonzart Mini LIT Digital Camera from AC Gears. Since it’s mini it’s just the right size for her hands, while still being durable. It comes with three different white balance settings and a selection of different filters. It can also be used as a webcam on a PC.
How gorgeous are these pretty pink bottle brush trees? Rebekah from A Bit of Sunshine came up with this adorable tutorial for how to bleach and dye them any color you’d like. Her only warning is that they are highly addicting to make. That’s a warning I’m totally okay with. You could turn your mantel into a lush fuschia forest in an afternoon.
Keep up to date on Rebekah’s holiday crafting by liking A Bit of Sunshine on Facebook and following her on Instagram – Rebgough. She has some great photos to get you into the holiday spirit.
Learn how to bleach and dye bottle brush trees after the jump…
In the past week I’ve had turkey dinner multiple times, turkey sandwiches galore, and even turkey soup. If I see another piece of turkey I don’t know what I’m going to do. So I went scavenging thought the kitchen today in search of something, anything, that doesn’t even remotely resemble Thanksgiving leftovers. Bacon came to mind, of course, so I set out to make an amazing BLT only to discover that all the bread was used to make the million turkey sandwiches we’ve all eaten. I was not about to give up on my quest so I searched the freezer. No bread there either, but I did find some Eggo waffles. Could these Eggo morning delights replace bread? Why yes, they can, in fact they are so perfectly paired with bacon and avocado and lettuce and tomato, that I will keep my freezer stocked.
You can find the most tasty recipes in the Cook Book Bundle from Mama & Baby Love. Included are recipes for the slow cooker, back-to-school recipes, as well as gluten and grain free baking recipes.
The Mr. Coffee Café Barista Espresso Maker gives my boyfriend, the DeLonghi Lattissima Plus Nespresso Capsule System, a run for his money at half the price. I’m a slave to the ease of the Nespresso capsules but the Mr. Coffee version saves the planet and the wallet by using regular grounds, combined with a wonderful milk frothing system similar to the Nespresso. If you hit up the coffee shop regularly, finding one of these under the tree will be saving you lots of beans.
Nothing says cozy Winter lunch like a batch of Panini on the Oster DuraCeramic Panini Maker and Grill. The other day I made a delicious pesto panini in minutes with this bad boy.
Last year Colleen adopted an olive tree for both Jaime and I from Italy, and in the spring we got our own Nudo olive oil sent directly from Italy! I have tried to ration mine out because it’s so good.
What have you put on your wishlist for the kitchen this year?
For the traveling man, check out the Herschel Supply Co and their classic duffle bags. What I love about these, besides their timeless look, is that they are the perfect size for a weekend away, and strong enough to hold up for the frequent traveler.
Slip a travel size MALIN+GOETZ kit into his stocking that comes complete with conditioner, shampoo, body wash, and more.
Carleton has his eye on the Cali Tribe Chukka Boot CA from Vans this year. They have a hip design and break in great.
The Bixby Bike from Filson has a wonderfully classic look to it. This American-made bicycle was built by Filson and Shinola in Detroit. To say they pay close attention to detail would be an understatement.
Thomas Pynchon’s newest book is out – Bleeding Edge. If he’s a fan of Inherent Vice: A Novel this is a great one to add to the collection before the Inherent Vice movie comes out next year.
The Stanmore Black stereo speaker from Marshall comes with a 1 year warranty and compatible with your phone, record player, and can connect wirelessly via bluetooth.
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With all of the fanciful sweets and rich indulgent dishes presented during the holidays, it’s nearly impossible for the young (and old) to remember their fresh fruits and veggies. Here’s an idea for bringing good-for-you foods front and center and fabulous in your holiday meals.
