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)

BYE BYE 2019 ... HELLO 2020

Goodbye 2019

What an amazing year we had! Here's a quick recap...

We found out we were pregnant with our sweet rainbow baby! We couldn't have been happier!

Maddie turned 6! We had an ice skating party on the snowiest day of the year. 

Spring break we stuck around home and went to a few local tourist spots. We went to Van Dusen Gardens and the Aquarium. We also did a fun trip to Great Wolf Lodge and the kids had such a fun time there. The girls loved the waterpark and Ben loved the wizard quests. Such a fun place for kids.

Ben turned 8! We had a party at clip n climb for his little friend.

For Easter, we did our anual egg hunting at our local Apple farm. Picking those eggs seem so much more fun out in nature. 

Ellie turned 4! She had her most favorite mermaid party ever, complete with a surprise visit from Ariel. What a sweet birthday memory for our darlin girl.

We said Goodbye to Maddie's amazing Kindy teacher. It was a sad day for us and our school as she was so wonderful. She made Maddie's first year in school SO fun. Maddie also got to share her favorite part of school at the last Chapel of the year. She's so brave and mustered up the courage to share wth the whole school.

Started the summer off with some trips to the berry farms, beach and local playgrounds. 

Took our yearly trip to Calgary to visit the kids cousins. We have the best time there spending time with their Calgary family. Many trips to the park, zoo and heritage park were the highlights. We discovered a reading room where the kids each got to take a book home with them. Ben got a Harry Potter, Ellie got an Ariel book, and Maddie got a shark book. I took home Charlottes Web (which was a favorite for Maddie!)

Took a fun camping trip with our church friends to Washington and it was SO fun! We had 11 little ones (and one on the go) running around and it was a blast. The kids loved having so many ltitle friends to play with. There was a beach and lake a few minutes away, and we roasted marshmallows every night. Camping with friends is so fun!

My sister and her family came to visi for more cousins time. And my cousin from Hong Kong moved here! We love having more family around.

School starts again. Ben started Grade 4 with two of the most amazing teachers ever. Maddie started Grade 1 with the kindest and sweetest teacher. Ellie started her last year of Pre School! 

Ben started a few extra-curricular activities - Jiu Jitsu, Chess club, Running club and Basketball. Ellie continued with Princess Dance and Ballet. She has been improving so much and has such a love for dance and performing. She loves getting into her outfits each week and I love seeing all that joy in her eyes!

Took our last little outing of 5 to the pumpkin patch and corn field. We did it on a pro-d day and had the whole farm to ourselves. So much fun.

Baby Annie arrived! She was induced a week early on a Monday night and came early Tuesday morning. Our biggest baby who just filled out hearts with so much joy. Seeing the kids meet her for the first time was so so special. They loved her so much right from the start.

Two weeks after Annie's birth, we had to rush to the nicu for extreme high levels of biliruben (jaundice). It was so scary seeing how serious the doctors were taking her levels. She was put under the special blue lights immediately and her levels started to slowly drop. We were there for a week and watching her was just so heartbreaking. She was so well taken care of though. Being away from the big kids was the hardest part. There were so many tears! But after a week we were cleared to come home. Best news ever!

Halloween was extra fun this year when we had my cousin and her daughters over. We had a star wars storm trooper, princess and kangaroo.

Hosted our anual Cookie Exchange (don't ask me how I managed to do it with a newborn!) and it was such a success. Love seeing my sweet friends and chatting/snacking/trading cookies. Such a fun time.

This Christmas felt extra special as a family of 6. We had so much family in town and it was filled with so much cousin goodness. Favorite part was our extended family snack exchange!

Our traditional hot pot New Year with our friends. We both have new babies...so the party started at 4 (we've never eaten so early before!)  and we were ready to say bye around 8. Obviously, the babies are in charge! 

Hello 2020.

Cant wait to see what we have in store for the upcoming year!

3rd ANNUAL COOKIE EXCHANGE

I can't believe its that time again! Cookie Exchange weekend!

This is the third year I've been hosting a cookie exchange and I look forward to it all holiday season long. Its such a fun way to get together with some girlfriends. It is alot of work getting ready to bake dozens and dozens of cookies, but you leave with such a fun variety of cookies. Its truly a labour of love!

Here's a few pics from the party!

I try to serve a few savory items like mini sandwiches, veggies and dip, fruit and chips n dip.

Our Sprinkle Confetti Cookies

Eggnog Cookies

I served the little kids up with these red flower plates with a cute little reindeer napkins. Its simple, but adds a cute decorative touch!

Spearmint cookies

Mint Shortbread cookies

Classic Shortbread

I always try to have some prizes to give out. Everyone works so hard on baking cookies and it's something fun we get to talk about during the party. I usually do: Prettiest cookie, Fan favorite and Most Creative. This year I had cookie cutters, sprinkles and mugs as prizes. 

And of course I had to have something to give the kids too. I wrapped up cookie cutters and little sparkly bracelets for the to take home. Simple, but festive!

If you're looking for any tips on how to host a cookie exchange and past parties, feel free to take a look at these posts here!

Hosting a Cookie Exchange

Planning a Cookie Exchange

Hope this gives you a bit of inspiration on hosting your own cookie exchange!