crop into christmas

I'm learning that fundraising is definitely a big part of playing rep hockey - without it parents end up paying so much more for their kids to play.  We like to be as involved as we can with the teams Justin coaches but don't often participate in a lot of the fundraisers.  I had heard of the idea of doing a scrapbooking retreat as a fundraiser and our fundraising coordinator was such an awesome sport about it and said "Why not!"  So she let my brain run wild with ideas and let me look after a lot of the planning - most of which included the food!

We are hosting the team Christmas party - parents and all the kids - in a few weeks so some of what I made was a "dry run" for that night... I had so much fun!  And even though we didn't end up with as many people as we had hoped, those of us who were there had a wonderful day :)  We created all day and I think we were all pleased with what we accomplished by the end of the day!  Some scrapbooked, some made cards and two of us lugged over our sewing machines to work on a few quilting projects!

A big thank you to Robyn for helping organize and for letting us turn her library upside down with all our "toys"!  And another big thank you to Andrea for the great make and take project and creative ideas!

There was lots of talk about maybe doing another this spring... keep your eyes open for those details :)

Our morning "snack":

What's a girls day without a little chocolate.. and cheesecake!? :)

And a healthy supper to finish off the day!

Saltine Toffee...and a disclaimer

I've taken on a Christmas project at work that perhaps will have me admitted... lol not quite but I'm excited to see how it all comes together!  More details will follow in the coming weeks :)

As I've been doing my "research" for this project, I've tried out a few new recipes...some have been "meh" and I won't likely use them, but I've stumbled across a couple via Pinterest that I think are just deadly and will be permanent additions to my recipe book.  I love how easy this one was to whip up, it didn't take much time at all, and it was all ingredients I already had in my kitchen.  I should say that, at least for me, this Saltine Toffee recipe should have come with a disclaimer lol!  For those of us who have diminishing self control when something sweet is close by, these goodies are rather addictive...

                                                              Saltine Toffee

Source Photo

Ingredients:
40 saltine crackers (or however many you need to make a single layer on your cookie sheet, I think my pan fit 35 crackers)
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped pecans/walnuts, if desired (I like it without)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line cookie sheet with foil (I used parchment paper) and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Line cookie sheet with saltine crackers in single layer.

In a saucepan combine the sugar and the butter. Bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes. Immediately pour over saltines and spread t cover crackers completely.

Bake at 400 degrees for 5 to 6 minutes, or until toffee is bubbly. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Let sit for 5 minutes. (I actually spread the chocolate chips and put it back in the over for two minutes or so, just to speed things up a bit) Spread melted chocolate and top with chopped nuts, if desired. Cool completely and break into pieces (I cut it with a pizza roller, worked fabulous!)

The Perfect Excuse...

Yesterday afternoon I got a call from my sister.  She doesn't normally call in the middle of the afternoon so I was a little curious what was up.  The reason for her call was nothing short of absolutely fabulous.  My sister is an uberly talented hair stylist.  She started down this path 7 years ago and with some twists and turns in the road she was finally able to write her journeyman's exam a few weeks ago.  So the reason for her call - she had just gotten her mark back and SHE PASSED!!!  I'm so incredibly proud of her :) She has worked long and hard to get to this point and I'm excited for her!  She is now waiting for a date for her practical exam, but at least the written exam is now behind her!

As soon as I hung up the phone I knew I wanted to do something special for her.  I also knew that I wanted it to be something I could take to the salon for her and her staff to share as one of her other stylists also wrote the same exam and passed.

Last week I came across an uber cool idea for packaging cookies (I'm OK with Unconventional...) and couldn't wait for a chance to create these myself... and this was the perfect occasion to get creative!

For me, the "punch" of this idea comes from the tag... and I love how this one turned out :)

It took me a few tries to get the cookies the right size for the CD envelope, but eventually it worked lol!

Because most of the envelopes didn't "close" flat, I used some adhesive on the front and back of of the tag to help it stay on.

And the finished product!  I LOVE these!  I will most definitely be making them again :)

She loved them when I dropped them off at lunch!  Her reaction made my day :)