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Halloween bark!

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Halloween Bark
If you follow me on Facebook (thank you!) you know my two little gremlins were up to some Halloween mischief yesterday. We put together a super fun and kid friendly recipe – Halloween bark! Adorable, right? 

This could not be easier. A graham cracker base with some melted semi sweet chocolate (2 cups) and then the opportunities are endless from there as far as toppings go. We went with pretzel sticks, crushed oreos, white chocolate chips, shelled pistachios, and reese pieces for a pop of orange. Into the fridge it goes to settle and then it’s all yours to break into large chunks and serve. Does it get any cuter? That would be no.

halloween bark collage

L had so much fun decorating and B had fun eating the scraps L would occasional throw him. I think we all enjoyed eating it!

You’ve got a few days to make this before the holiday passes you by! It’ll be over as fast as kids running door to door. Seriously, where is that speed on the field?

Boo!
C

Christmas playdate.

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holiday bark

Recipe for the best Christmas play date ever:

  1. Find some cute kids – if needed, I am happy to loan mine out from time to time. I highly recommend a 2:4 ratio in terms of adults to kids.
  2. Include a kid or two in the decorating shopping. Let’s be honest, that’s a huge part of the fun! 
  3. Prep this Holiday Bark recipe (with a Christmas twist of course) ahead of time. That means candy in bowls, baking sheets out, chocolate ready to melt.
  4. Wash hands.
  5. Christmas music? Of course!
  6. Snacks on hand, unless you want them eating what you’re making which I suppose will happen even if you have snacks on hand. (Ahem, Ryder).
  7. Give them creativity freedom – this is not supposed to look flawless. This is supposed to look like younger kids made it, which I believe just happens to look perfect.
  8. Wine for the adults never hurts!

Put all of the above together and you’ve got one festive and fun memory. See a glimpse into ours below! 

C’s picks – week of Dec 14th.

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Oh my, it’s officially the week before Christmas – eek! I hope you are busy making cookies and wrapping presents and dressing up and moving around the elf and opening Christmas cards and listening to this song and planning menus and all of that joy that Christmas and kids bring. It’s oh so busy, but oh so fun, right?

Alright, what to eat before the obscene amount of food begins. Let’s keep it lighter this week, shall we?

Sunday we are off to a friend’s for a little cheer. I’m in charge of a salad and could not be more thrilled for a reason to test this one out. I have my eye on it for Christmas Eve Eve.

Monday M is off to CT so I’m on my own with the boys. This recipe is a great way to boost metabolism before the great indulgence begins. Great to have on hand for lunches throughout the week.

We haven’t had this healthier spin on Chinese take out in awhile. It’s so good!

Wednesday sounds like a good day to have this Chipotle style beef simmering away in a crockpot all day. Love it served over brown rice with chopped up avocado and cilantro.

Thursday will be quick cooking t-ball tacos. Lately I’ve been enjoying mine over mixed greens.

And that brings us to Friday and to our little neighborhood party. Can’t see what the Carani crew has in store for apps. Our home is all about dessert.

What are you making this week? I’d love to hear!
C

December round up.

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Ho ho ho… things are getting pretty festive around here. And hey, did you see? It’s snowing on ALFS! So cute.

Anyway, from now until the end of the month it’s going to be Christmas GO mode around here. I hope you’ve been enjoying my holiday gift guides! They have been so fun to put together! Obviously, I love to shop.

As far as cookies go, I have some awesome ones from last year. Like these salted caramel thumbprint or these chocolate mint cookies. And let’s not forget the browned butter meltaways.  They literally melt in your mouth. Christmas bark is oh so fun with the kids and omg the video! See, this is why I blog. For memories such as those.

A fun update to the bus stop cookies? Swap out the rainbow colored sprinkles for holiday colors. See? Festive.

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I’ll also be posting lots of tips to holiday entertaining on Facebook and Instagram, so be sure you’re following along. I host Christmas Eve Eve every year and I could not be more excited to get to working on the menu. I mean, how gorgeous does this salad look? I also make mushrooms which, I’ve been told, are dream inducing. Stay tuned. 

This wine is perfection when paired with prime rib, or any red meat for that matter. As far as setting the table goes, I find these napkins oh so charming along with handmade name cards by L. I’ve saved them for a few years now!

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For our big holiday party I’m pretty sure I’ve decided on this dress although, yikes, it’s a bit outside my comfort zone. What do you think?

B will be rocking these Grinch pj’s (score! on sale!) Christmas Eve Eve and on and I’ve got my eye on these. Love that they come in tall.

 I can’t wait to share some of my favorite holiday recipes and traditions with you this month and would so love to hear about yours!

xoxo,
C

*The fine print: this post contains affiliate links which means that if you use these links to make a purchase, I may receive a small commission. Of course, you are not obligated to use these links to make your purchase but please know that when you do, it supports my blog and for that I thank you.

C’s Halloween Picks.

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Courtney Halloween Collection 3

With Halloween just around the corner, here are a few of my favorite tips, tricks, and treats to help make your holiday perfectly festive!

1. Spooky music is fun. Totally creeped out scary music is not, at least for the kiddos. This family friendly Halloween Hits CD will be playing on our front porch all night long.

2. Doesn’t it always seem to be raining (downpouring) on Halloween? Make sure you have your Hunter boots ready to go. Black because they are classic and witch like, obviously.

3. What a fun way to throw a little humor into your Halloween dinner. Swap out your regular salad tongs for these Halloween Claw Salad Servers.

4. Not only is this Bogle Phantom wine super spooky, but it’s also crazy good. Find it at Wine.com.

5. A big black pot of bubbling black bean soup will be sitting on my stove all day. I totally pretend it’s a cauldron.

6. Blood orange candle? Perfection.

7. Halloween bark. Super festive, super kid friendly.

8. Call me dull, but Essie’s “Devil’s Advocate” is about as dressed up as you’ll find me. Love this color.

So tell me – what are you favorite Halloween items?

 

*The fine print: this post contains affiliate links which means that if you use these links to make a purchase, I may receive a small commission. Of course, you are not obligated to use these links to make your purchase but please know that when you do, it supports my blog and for that I thank you.

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