Archives for November 2015

$250 Minted holiday giveaway!

November 12, 2015 / By Courtney / 18 Comments

It’s that time of year! Time to partner up with the beloved company, Minted, to bring you the chance to win $250 for your holiday card shopping. How fun. Minted has some of the most beautiful and unique cards on the market. Here are a few of my favorites for the 2015 holiday season!

The perfect way to incorporate your stripe obsession into a holiday card. A total classic.
This was our card two years ago and I still chuckle at it from time to time. Super clever. You can move the halos around to sit perfectly above your little angel(s) head.
This is a stunning card and it has real letterpress texture! Wow.
A photo on the front isn’t always required. This one keeps it so simple and festive.
Love love love the real gold foil. This is a perfect card to use when you don’t have that perfect photo of both kids together. Just use individual ones.
Ah, this floral print is oh so beautiful.
Another stunning gold foil option.
I find this card so darling. My parents sent it out last year and it’s still hanging in our living room. Super charming!

I kind of want them all. How about you? So to enter…simply follow the instructions to enter your email below. As a little bonus, leave me a comment telling me which card you’ve had your eye on. I’d so love to hear!

Winner will be announced on the A Life From Scratch Facebook page on Saturday, November 21st so be sure you’re following us along there. Good luck to you all my friends!

Giveaway rules: No purchase necessary. Must be 18 years old to enter. Giveaway is open to US residents only, except where prohibited by law. Giveaway will run from November 13th through November 20th, 2015 at 11:59 pm EST. A single winner will be randomly selected by Woobox and notified via email. Winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize; failure to do so will result in forfeiture of the prize. Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest do not sponsor, administer, or endorse this promotion. Participants must read and agree to Woobox Privacy Policy before entering and participating in this promotion. By entering this giveaway, entrants give their consent for their email address to be added to the ALFS newsletter list.

Holiday gift guide: for the grandparents.

November 11, 2015 / By Courtney / 2 Comments

Another week – another gift guide! We started last week off with ideas for the lovely hostess. Let’s turn our attention this week to the oh so wonderful grandparents in our lives! Here are some fun and unique ideas.

For the grandpa that loves to play golf and grill.
Perfecting for cozying up to together and reading books.
You know grandma is oh so hip. These Alex and Ani bracelets make a wonderful gift from the little ones!
Because she’d never buy something like this for herself. Pure luxury!
A wonderful memory for both of them to enjoy. I gifted one of these custom art heart art pieces full of photos from a big family vacation together and I could not have loved how it turned out more.
What grandparents don’t love a good bloody mary? How FUN are these glasses.
For the grandpa that always seems to be on the go.
A puzzle full of nostalgia. Perfect for the lazy days post Christmas.
And last but not least, I can so see this as a go to toy for all to enjoy sitting right on grandpas desk.

I hope this helped with some fun ideas for your holiday shopping!

And hey, something just for you! Add some festive color to your holiday gifts with these free, printable gift tags. So cute, right?

Ho ho ho!
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.

Homemade Pecan Bars.

November 9, 2015 / By Courtney / 6 Comments

Yippee! It’s now totally acceptable to discuss holiday baking and what better way to start than with good ol pecans. Thanksgiving wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without them I do know that. Currently being highlighted in store displays, pecans are totally having their moment.

So let’s take advantage. Of course there is the traditional pecan pie. And you can go that route, totally delicious. Or, you can shake things up a bit this year and make these lovely pecan bars.

I love them so much for so many reasons. They make a ton which is oh so perfect for company, especially when you don’t know exactly who will be dropping by. The crust is magical and heck yeah, no dough rolling. The sweetened pecans are slightly caramelized and have a hint of zip from the lemon and orange zest.

Oh and well, there is some butter in these. And by some I mean kind of a heart attack inducing amount but that’s OK. Because even pecan bars, in moderation, are 100% okay in my book. Especially in November.

Homemade Pecan Bars

2015-11-04 15:14:08

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Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

45 min

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

45 min

Ingredients for Crust

1 1/4 pounds unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 extra-large eggs
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Ingredients for Topping

1 pound unsalted butter
1 cup good honey
3 cups light brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 pounds pecans, chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
For the crust, beat the butter and granulated sugar in the bowl until light, approximately 3 minutes. Add the eggs and the vanilla and mix well. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix the dry ingredients into the batter with the mixer on low speed until just combined. Press the dough evenly into an ungreased 18 by 12 by 1-inch baking sheet, making an edge around the outside. The dough will be super sticky, flour your hands to help. Bake for 15 minutes, until the crust is set but not browned and allow to cool while you work on the topping.
For the topping, combine the butter, honey, brown sugar, and zests in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over low heat until the butter is melted, using a wooden spoon to stir. Increase the heat and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the heavy cream and chopped up pecans. Gently pour over the crust, trying not to get the filling between the crust and the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the filling is set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. I typically refrigerate or stick outside to help this process. Cut into bars and serve.

By Ina Garten

A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

C’s picks – week of November 8th!

November 8, 2015 / By Courtney / 4 Comments

A brand new look for C’s picks – what do you think? I hope it makes it even easier to follow and, perhaps, help you plan as well! Alright, let’s break this week down. Sounds pretty tasty already…

Sunday night sounds like a great night to stay in with a fire and some homemade chicken and dumplings. I’ll be trying out Martha’s recipe found here.

We devoured this one tray autumn roast last week, need a better photograph so I can write all about it this week! Unreal.

Tostadas on Tuesday night. Always works.

Once in awhile we go with a super adult dinner and this one is perfection. Always feel so fancy making it even though it is the most simple of recipes.

Trying out another Martha recipe! These stuffed poblanos look heavenly. A meatless cozy and comforting meal – yippee!

And that brings us to Friday and to our lovely friends home in Lake Geneva. So fun! I’ve been assigned dessert and I’m thinking this is totally happening.

And that’s a wrap! Anything sound good? I’d love to hear what you’re making this week!

Time change thoughts & happy Friday!

November 6, 2015 / By Courtney / 8 Comments

If there were ever a cartoon to depict me more the first ~~week~~ month or so of November it would be this one.

I literally can’t deal you guys.

I check my iphone constantly hoping the little icon showing the sun sets at 4:45PM somehow magically moves forward two hours, at least.

4:45. 4:45??? Hey, I’m not the only one that is a mess. We had to wake B from his nap the other day around 5:00PM and the poor kid woke up to a dark home and pitch black outside. He then proceeded to scream and cry random thoughts such as ‘WHY DID YOU WAKE ME AT NIGHT‘ ‘ (wail) ‘where is the nice sunny day‘ (wail) and finally, ‘are we going to the airport?‘ Ha. (We tend to leave for airports quite early.)

Poor B. And poor me. Do you know what this means? This means that for the next whatever months (I can’t even process the number right now) my boys will be…..gasp….inside my home. Wail.

See, we don’t do inside.

We are an outside family. And by we I mean my boys. Out they go. Go play. I will tend to you at dinner.

But now what? I can’t send them outside. Can I? It’s literally like midnight death out there. And it’s not like I want to go out there and watch them. There are coyotes!

Monday I contemplated running to Target and buying the biggest coolest brightest flashlights there are. They could play outside then, right? Maybe?

Then I thought about installing new lighting around our home. People do that with landscaping, right? We could like, light up our trees or something and B could still play baseball?

Then I thought about moving. Somewhere has to be light and warm always past 4:10PM.

These are all actual legitimate thoughts that went through my head and were spoken out loud to M this week who, clearly, thought I had lost my mind. ‘Why are you making such a big deal out of this?‘ he asks.

Well, let’s see, I don’t know…..perhaps because I have to be trapped inside with two outdoor boys. You know that fear people have of leaving their home? Goro something? I think I have that, but the exact opposite. I have a fear of being stuck inside.

So fellow moms of other outdoor children unite! Here is what is keeping me sane during the hour of ‘it’s too dark to play outside but it’s not yet dinner time (which, let’s be honest means dinner, bath, bed) and we’ve already colored and completed all homework and are starting to throw random things at the walls’ hour.

Actually cooking dinner again and including the kids. It’s not always relaxing but it’s a project that moves time forward. This cookbook is a go to.
This candle is typically always lit right around 4:00 in my house and brightens up the room.
Let’s be honest, a glass of this is happening. (After 5:00, of course).
Happy socks make things happier.
So do homemade chocolate chip cookies.
These tend to come out to play when the days get short and the weather gets cold. All my boys, husband included, are obsessed.
How absolutely hilarious is the cartoon sketch above? I got a kick out of it so much I spent way too much time laughing at the artist’s blog. I hope it gives you a chuckle too!
And when all else fails, this is pretty much what goes down. Happy Friday everyone!