VALENTINES TOFFEE TREAT

One of my favorite holidays to celebrate is Valentines Day. It's so fun! I loved it growing up, and now that I have my own family, I love celebrating it even more.

I have the quickest and yummiest recipe to share with you which would be perfect for Valentines Day.  I could see it working perfectly for a simple teachers gift, party snack, favors or for a movie night in.

VALENTINES TOFFEE

40 Saltine Crackers

1 cup butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 teasp vanilla

2 1/2 cup chocolate chips

toppings (I used sprinkles, but you could use m&ms, toffee chips, chocolate drizzle...)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread crackers out in an even layer.

2. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar. When the mixture starts to boil, stop stirring and let it boil for 3 minutes. 

3. Turn off heat and stir in vanilla. Pour mixture evenly over crackers and spread out evenly. Bake for 5-6 minutes.

4. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over top. Return to oven for one minute. Take out of pan and spread chocolate with a spatula in an even layer. Add toppings as you wish!

5. Let pan cool and then freeze for 15-20 minutes. Break or cut into pieces and enjoy!

I think these would make the cutest favors or gifts for someone special! Just add some bakers twine to tie them together and then place into a box or clear bag.

Hope this gives you an easy treat idea for something yummy!

VALENTINES SUGAR COOKIES

One of our favorite seasonal activities is baking sugar cookies! They do take more time than a drop cookie (like chocolate chip) but the kids have so much fun decorating them...and they are so yummy.

Here's the recipe we use...and I always use buttercream icing. Its super easy to make and alot easier to decorate with if you're not experienced. My kids love adding the little googly eyes!

BEST SUGAR COOKIES

3/4 cup softened butter

1/2 cup softened cream cheese

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking powder

3 cup flour

1. In a large bowl, cream butter and cream cheese. Add in sugar and egg. 

2. Once combined, add salt, baking powder, and vanilla.

3. Slowly add in flour and mix until combined.

4. Using your hands roll the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters.

5. Bake between 7-9 minutes. 

6. Transfer to a drying rack and let the cookies cool.

7. Ice and decorate cookies. Enjoy!

PUPPY PARTY!

This past weekend we got to celebrate Maddie's 7th birthday with a puppy party! She has always been a big animal lover (and wants to be a vet when shes older!) and this was her special request. How could I say no?

I was inspired by neutral tones, with some pops of pink and mint. After finding the sweetest dress I planned the rest of the party decor around it. We used gold foil woof balloons to make a statement. And I made a balloon garland with peach, white and bronze balloons which took about one evening to complete. But its been holding up really well and I love that I could reuse the balloon holder again for a different party.

The tabletop decor was really easy. I got peach and pink confetti (I feel like this really made the table pop!) and sprinkled it over a kraft paper runner. I got the prettiest  pink iridescent plates and napkins.

My favorite cake hack is buying a store bought cake and then adding cute sprinkles and a nice cake topper. It makes all the difference if you're looking for a cake that looks homemade and unique.

For the party favors I decided on sugar cookies and customized hair elastics. I love using things that match the theme of the party - and they also double as decor. The favors ended up being SO cute that I had to display them. I put them on each plate setting for decor and once the kids started doing their craft, I quickly put them into their bags. The bags were really simple - I used my stamps on plain white tags to spell out 'woof'. They ended up looking so cute!

During the party the kids got to do the cutest craft! Each little guest got a puppy stuffy and they got to add their own stuffing into it. I also got them pipe cleaners and they added beads to make a puppy collar. Once they were done, they decorated individual boxes which were there puppy homes. It was SO fun and kept the kids entertained for such a long time.

Maddie felt so loved and special at her birthday party. So thankful we have such sweet friends to make her day so special!

 
TeenyWish Balloon Garland  /  Woof Balloons  / Coral and Cloud Garland  /  Girls Bow  /  Mila and Rose Puppy Dress  /  Irridescent plates Real Canadian Superstore  /  TeenyWish 7 Sparkler Candle  /  Maddie  Cake Topper  /  Pink Polka Dot Gift bags  /  Pastel Confetti  /  Shea's Sweet Shoppe  Puppy Cookies  /  Plum PolkaDot  Puppy Hair tie sets  /  Par-t-Pets Puppy Crafts (pups, carrier boxes)