Knitting Zeal

How to make a candy bouquet

For Valentine's Day this past February, I made my husband this candy bouquet, filled with his favorite candy, Reese's peanut butter cups!  We were all sick during February, so I never got around to posting this.  I think it would be a fun gift for anytime of year and would make a fun birthday gift or hostess gift.  

I started with a clear glass vase that I already owned.  I large drinking glass would even work.  I wanted the vessel to be clear so that the foil hearts would be seen, but a solid container with some floral foam inside would work as well to stabilize the skewers.

I bought different sizes of peanut butter cups...some singles, some double packs and peanut butter hearts.  I also picked up a multi pack of iTunes gift cards and some vitamin drink mixes since we were all battling colds that month! I used two sizes of wood skewers, the kind I use for the grill.  Thin wood dowels would work too.  I secured each of the wrapped PB cups and the gift cards on a skewer using clear packing tape.  This seem to work really well.  I slipped the end of the skewer into the inside of the candy wrapper to keep it from sliding down the skewer.  After filling the vase with the foil wrapped hearts, I arranged the skeweres into the vase, much like flower arranging.  I adding some red curling ribbon to jazz it up.  Since it was for my husband, I kept it minimal.  I added some foam heart stickers to the packaging to make it Valentine's themed.  

It was a hit!  And enjoyed!  Thankfully we are all healthier now that it's time for spring allergy season!  

 

Our fun afternoon with the Nutcracker

As one of our holiday festivities, my mom and I took my son to see the Balanchine's Nutcracker performed by the Pennsylvania Ballet.  It has been years since I last saw the Nutcracker, or any ballet performance for that matter, so I was especially excited to see a live performance again.  We were very fortunate to receive complimentary press tickets to the performance from the PA Ballet.  My son had never seen a ballet before, but he has experienced live theater and musicals, so I knew he would be able to handle the performance.  He looked so daper in his "dress" clothes, insisting on wearing a tie instead of the new sweater I knit for him!  

We had the chance to walk around the theatre for a bit before the show started.  We got to wave to the Mouse King and see the orchestra warm up.  Since I had last seen the Nutcracker the set has been redesigned and the costumes updated.  When the Overture began I had a moment of mom-pride when my son leaned over and started identifying the different instruments he was hearing.  (Those baby music classes paid off!) He was enthralled by the performance.  Everything was beautiful!  The Sugar Plum Fairy was performed by Lauren Fadeley, who was stunning.  The battle with the Mouse King and the Nutcracker was funny.  The only part he said he didn't like was the dancer who performed the "Tea" dance.  I love the second act of the Ballet, as it features such great dancing.  Tchiakovsky's score is still my all time favorite holiday music.  Hearing it live was amazing.  

The orchestra warming up

 

While I would have loved to have photographed the performance, it isn't allowed, so we will have to live by memories.  It was a magical performance and I'm so glad my son enjoyed it as well.  I figure I will have a few more years where he'll put up with going to it.  Then I'll have to wait until he is an adult and takes his old mom to the ballet!  

Waiting for the ballet to begin

 

There were many young children dancers in the ballet.  I asked my son if he would like to take dance lessons, but he quickly said no.  He loves to dance, but I think we will stick with soccer and swimming lessons for now!  

Thanks to the Pennsylvania Ballet for a wonderful experience and beautiful performance!

Related articles

The mouse king battles the Nutcracker

Homemade holiday gifts: Rosemary sea salt

Every year I have grand ideas for homemade gifts, but reality takes place and I don't get to make much.  This year I've made two kitchen gifts to give to friends who are cooks and bakers.  The first is Rosemary Sea Salt.  I first saw the recipe in the book Food in Jars, which I borrowed from the library.  It's a great book that I would love to own someday.  I then later found instructions online about how to make a batch on Dreadlock Girl's blog, who has some beautiful photos in her post.

I harvested some rosemary from my backyard herb garden just before the first frost was anticipated.  I decided to do a small batch, just to see how it turned out.  I used some little jars I bought at Ikea to package the salt for gift giving.  I still have to design some little labels for them.  I have used some when roasting a chicken.  I also think it would be a nice topping to rolls or bread.  

 The salt smells good and I think it turned out to be a nice little gift.  

Apple-cranberry pie

Hope you had a fun-filled Thanksgiving. We had a nice dinner with our family and the kiddo loved having all three of his grandparents here.  I tried two new pie recipes this year.  The pumpkin pie I usually make was from the back of the can of pumpkin.  It was a perfectly fine recipe, however, I really wanted to try a different version.  The one I made this year used cream instead of canned condensed milk.  I'm not sure if it made much of a taste difference, but it was great!

My husband requested an apple-cranberry pie.  Real Simple magazine had a really easy recipe in their November issue and the recipe is also online.  The only change I made to the recipe was the topping.  I made it more of a crumble topping, mixing the butter into the granola with a couple of spoonfuls of brown sugar.  The toping came out nice and crunchy.  The pie was a mess to serve, falling apart a bit, but was good anyway.  I was concerned that the cranberries would be too tart, which is why I changed the topping to include some sugar.  Luckily, they added a nice touch to the overall taste.  

This year I also made my own crusts using the basic pie crust recipe from Simply Recipes.  It is a really easy crust to make and has turned out great each time....much better than store bought!  

Now time to plan Christmas meals!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope you have a great Thanksgiving! The preschool art that decorates our house is just one of the things I'm thankful for this year!

Grooving with the Imagination Movers!

On Sunday we went to see the Imagination Movers in concert at Sesame Place.  This was the third Movers concert we saw this year!  The kiddo loves them, and quite frankly, so do his parents.  Being at Sesame Place means it was a really small venue and the guys were really nice and hung out after the show to meet all the kids and pose for photos.  My kiddo is still photo-reluctant, but thankfully Mover Rich didn't give him a choice about posing!  I tried to explain to the kiddo that when he is older and looks back at the photos he will realize just how cool it was to meet his favorite rock stars!  I was excited to hear that the Movers will be back at Sesame next May, so we could potentially see them again!  

 

Fun time at a Very Furry Christmas at Sesame Place!

 

We had fun playing at the park too.  They really outdid themselves with the holiday decorations.  What was pretty during the day became dazzling at night!  We had the chance to see the daytime parade and the nightime parade. It wasn't crowded, so the kid got to ride the roller coaster 6 times!  It was really nice not having to deal with the crazy crowds like the rest of the season, even though it was colder than expected.  Our season pass means we will get to go back a couple more times before the end of the year.  

The mouse king battles the Nutcracker

Before I had a kid, I had a lovely social life that included arts and culture events often.  One of my favorite subscriptions  I had was to the Pennsylvania Ballet.  Copelia was the first ballet I ever saw at the Academy of Music.  With my subscription I got to see Dracula as a ballet!  And almost every December I saw a performance of the Nutcracker.  To me, the music of the Nutcracker is my holiday soundtrack.  It's beautiful to listen to and to see the dancers interpret the music into dance is amazing.

When I had my son I knew my budget and lifestyle would be altered.  I made a mental note that when my son was five he would be old enough to see a performance of the Nutcracker.  Not only would he be able to handle the theatre atmosphere, but he would be young enough to not think ballet is only for girls.  To me, the Nutcracker was all about Marie, the young ballerina who received the Nutcracker as a gift and danced with the Sugar Plum Fairy.  I have changed my outlook on the Nutcracker and am focusing on the Mouse King's battle with the Nutcracker and his victory, in order to show my son that this ballet is for everyone, not just girls.  I think he will be mesmorized by the entire experience.  From the stage, the live orchestra, the Philadelphia Boys Choir singing, and that amazing growing Christmas tree, it will definitely be entertaining to him.

I am excited to have been invited to attend a performance of  George Ballachine's The Nutcracker by the Pennsylvania Ballet with my son in December.  This is the 25th year the PA Ballet has been perfoming this particular ballet and I know it will be just as magical as ever. I've learned that tickets to the Nutcracker start at $20, so it is possible to make this a special gift for a child to experience the Ballet and Theatre.  I can't wait to see his reaction and find out if this could be a new tradition for us, for at least a few years!

 

Artists of Pennsylvania Ballet in George Balanchine's The Nutcracker™, choreography by George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust. Photo: Alexander Iziliaev

 

A funny thing in the candy aisle....

In the holiday candy aisle at my local supermarket, next to the lifesaver storybooks we loved getting as kids, was this display of peppermint candy shot glasses. I'm so glad they put the age disclaimer on the box! Such an odd holiday item, in my opinion!

Getting ready for holiday shopping with the Mom Mixer

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had a fun time mingling with area mom bloggers last weekend at the Holiday Mom Mixer in Philadelphia.  It was held at the lovely Bellvue hotel in their top floor restaurant called XIX.  Look at that ceiling!  It was actually dripping with pearls!  It was such a pretty setting for a party.

The main sponsor was Hasbro and they had a large display of their latest toys available for holiday wish lists for the little ones.  I personally loved the new Flying Super Grover 2.0!  He is so cute!  (Of course I missed taking his picture!)  Unfortunatley their reps couldn't make the event because of the recent Hurricane.  I loved that the display toys were donated to area shelters for local kids of need.  

I had the chance to chat a representative from Kids Headquarters about the holiday line of boys clothing from Tommy Hilfiger available at Macy's.  I often see so many things for little girls, it was so nice to see a cute line of boys clothes!  I really thought this dog sweater was adorable.  

Cute Tommy Hilfiger sweater for boys

I had my first chance to check out some of the jewelry and scarves from Stella & Dot by Star Stylist Jen Thomas.  I had heard about this line of jewelry before, but never actually saw it in person.  I loved the leopard spotted scarf!   I received a current catalog of Stella & Dot jewelry from Jen and love some of the pieces in there!

Beautiful scarf from Stella & Dot 

The event was a lot of fun, gave me some holiday gift ideas, and I came home with a fun tote bag from Lands End filled with some great items.  I don't often go to blogger events, so I really enjoyed having the chance to meet other mom bloggers in person.  Thanks to Colleen and Whitney for hosting such a fun holiday Mom Mixer!

Christmas gift idea for kids: Little Passports

This past weekend I had the chance to to have a bit of fun with a bunch of area moms at the Social Media Mom Mixer hosted by Whitney of Mommies With Style and Colleen of Classy Mommy.  It was in a beautiful place with an opportunity to meet many local bloggers and learn about some great holiday products.  

One of the exibitors was Little Passports, a company offering an educational subscription service for kids to learn about the world or the United States via a cool monthly kit mailed home.  The original subscription service shows kids a global perspective, sending them a kit featuring Sam and Sophia who explore a different county each month and send kids info, postcards, little souvenirs and facts about the featured country.  Recommended ages are 5 to 10 years.

The newest subscription service features an exploration of the United States.  Each month kids receive in the mail a kit from Sam and Sophie about their visits to two differnt states.  Included in the kits are travel journals, stickers, postcards, and pop-out models, along with access to games and activities online to enhance the exploration.  Subscriptions start with a discovery kit that includes and personalized letter from Sam and Sopie, a field guide, a USA wall map, a USA scratch book, a disposable camera and a photo scavenger hunt.  Recommended ages are 7 to 12 years.

Little Passports USA Edition display at the Social Media Holiday Mom Mixer in Philadelphia

I have been trying to come up with an idea for a fun Christmas present for my five year old son and I think Little Passports is perfect for him.  He loves to "read" maps and travel.  While he is a bit young for the USA Edition kits, I think that would be the one I would subscribe to for him.  I had the chance to check out the travel journals and I think he would enjoy completing the activities with me as I read them to him.  He would have fun completing the photo scavenger hunt, as he loves taking picutres almost as much as I do.  He also loves getting mail, so this would be a gift that would extend through the year. He is curious about travel and has requested to go many places.  These monthly kits would be a way to learn more about our country and the places we cannot travel to at this time.  

I'll be sure to do a proper review from my son's perspecitive after I subscribe and he has a chance to use some of the kits.  

Disclosure:  I did not receive any form of compensation from Little Passports.  This post is my own opinion!