the cutest ideas for babies & toddlers

When my children were younger, they always enjoyed Eric Carle’s colorful and adventurous books, especially The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Very Busy Spider. 

We must have read those books a thousand times, and we always enjoyed the little adventure it took us on while turning those little pages.

And now Eric Carle’s brilliant illustrations are brought to life with a line of adorable and fun rugs that are perfect for any little boy or girls bedroom and would be a great inspiration piece for a playroom. In a collaboration with Home Dynamix, the Eric Carle Rug Collection features the timeless Eric Carle characters that’s we’ve all grown to love, with the bright graphic maps and alphabet images that are as cute as they are educational.

I’m expecting a couple of little visitors to my house very soon…

So, I've got this cute rug all set up

next to out basket of toys...

These would also be fun in a 

preschool classroom or Sunday school room.

Check out the whole selection here:

Elementary Kids by Eric Carle

And if a little one you love is having a birthday, 

I just found these adorable 

Very Hungry Caterpillar party favors too!

So sweet!

ciao! fabiana

Thank you to the Eric Carle Collection for sending me this product to review. 

The opinions expressed in this post are truly my own.

a fun christmas table for the kids

Christmas morning is one of the most special times of the year, especially for the kids, so why not treat them to a special little Christmas breakfast after they open their gifts? 

I've put together a fun little Santa-inspired table that will keep that Christmas feeling going throughout the day. Hot cocoa will be served in these adorable vintage-style Santa mugs. 

And what pairs perfectly with hot cocoa? Why gingerbread, of course! That’s why our centerpiece for the table is this cute little gingerbread house, easily made from a kit available at Trader Joe’s.

Each place setting also includes a little satin stocking to hold silverware and a keepsake diy ornament that doubles as a place card. Wooden alphabet tiles or extra scrabble tiles can be used to easily spell the names of the holiday guests. Just glue letters on to wide popsicle sticks and then strung with red and white baker’s twine. 

After breakfast, the kids can hang their new ornaments on the tree. I made sure to add the year on the back of the ornament too!

Burlap charger plates are the foundation of the place setting, and then I use my vintage clear glass dinner plates.

A pretty craft paper runner from Oriental Trading was exactly what I needed for cutting out the paper circles that I placed between my charger plates and my glass plates. The snowflake design is perfect for the table! Then each setting is personalized with a cut-out felt Christmas greeting. (I used a salad plate turned upside down as a template for paper circles.) 

Santa is waiting for all the good little boys and girls!

It's such a simple and festive way to set the table.

A fun tradition for us every year is assembling this little gingerbread chalet from Trader Joe’s. All the extras are included in the kit, so all you have to do is whip up some white frosting for the “glue”. Not only is it adorable, but it’s tasty and totally gets the kids’ taste approval!

And it all came together like this:

Burlap Chargers: Oriental Trading

Glass Dinner Plates: Vintage

Snowflake Craft Paper: Oriental Trading

Red Raffia Place Mat: Home Goods

Santa Mugs: Oriental Trading

Wooden Alphabet Tiles: Oriental Trading

Wooden Popsicle Sticks: Michael’s

Small Satin Stockings: Oriental Trading

Red Felt Christmas Greetings: Dollar Tree

Gingerbread House: Trader Joe’s

Water Goblet: Vintage

Red & Green Glitter Trees: Oriental Trading

Silver Lanterns: Oriental Trading

Red & White Paper Lanterns: Oriental Trading

Red & White Tissue Snowflakes: Oriental Trading

Nutcrackers: Vintage 
Tablecloth: Vintage

   

 ciao! fabiana

Thank you to Oriental Trading for sending me these products to review. 
The opinions expressed in this post are truly my own.  

halloween party drinks and more

Three fun (and adorable) Halloween party recipes from Martha Stewart:

Blood-Moon Punch

·    4 cups orange juice

·    4 cups water

·    8 cups Concord-grape juice

·    4 1/2 cups (3 cans) ginger soda

·    3 cups (2 cans) seltzer

·    1/4 cup fresh lime juice

·    Candy bats (optional)

DIRECTIONS

For the ice moon, freeze a mixture of orange juice and water in a bowl that's 8 inches in diameter. In a large punch bowl, gently stir together Concord-grape juice, ginger soda, seltzer, and fresh lime juice. 

To release the moon, dip the bottom of the frozen bowl in hot water until the ice starts to melt at the edges. Remove the bowl from the water and turn it onto a plate. Place the moon in the punch, flat-side up, and if desired, arrange candy bats on top. Makes 15 cups of punch.

Werewolf Paws

·    1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

·    1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water

·    1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

·    1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

·    Pinch of salt

·    1 pound best-quality semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled

·    Vanilla Madeleines

·    1/3 cup toasted almond slivers (5 per paw)

DIRECTIONS

1. Make the frosting: Combine cocoa and the boiling water, stirring until cocoa has dissolved. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter, confectioners sugar, and salt until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. 

Add melted and cooled chocolate, beating until combined and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in the cocoa mixture. 

If not using immediately, frosting can be refrigerated up to 5 days, or frozen up to 1 month, in an airtight container. Before using, bring to room temperature, and beat on low speed until smooth again.

2. Use a butter knife to spread 2 tablespoons of chocolate frosting over a madeleine cookie, leaving it a bit thicker at the back. Drag the knife forward and pull up at the end to create a "furry" texture, then press 5 toasted almond slivers ("claws") into the tip. Makes 32. 

Apple Pie Spiced Cider

1 1/4 quarts apple cider

3 tablespoons firmly packed light-brown sugar

7 whole cinnamon sticks, (6 sticks for garnish)

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Ground cloves

Freshly grated nutmeg

Salt

DIRECTIONS

In a medium saucepan, whisk together cider, sugar, spices, and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Remove from heat; pour in brandy, if desired. Strain into a pitcher; discard solids. Serve in mugs, garnished with cinnamon sticks.  Serves 6.

ciao! fabiana

fizzy fruity ice cream floats

To create Fizzy Fruity Floats for your next gathering, set out a variety of fruit sodas, like raspberry, orange and grape, and chilled glasses filled with scoops of vanilla ice cream. Garnish with festive straws.

ciao! fabiana

recipe via Good Housekeeping

fun coastal inspired accessories

With all the electronics in our lives, it just might take a good old-fashioned bulletin board to get us organized. After searching for a good-looking, functional board without success, Gina Donald designed her own.

She started by selling them locally and now she has gone nationwide, including selling on One Kings Lane and District 17, as well as in exclusive boutiques. Her company LG Designs also makes personalized linen and burlap pillows. 

These customized bulletin boards and pillows are works of art for your home and for your lifestyle. They also make personal and stylish gifts. I got a sneak peek at some of LG Designs' newest styles and they are perfect for getting in the mood for Summer! 

Of course, you can create your own designs to fit your style. Just pick the fabric, your monogram, name or coastal con and then choose a frame or pillow size. It's so much fun! I just ordered my own custom bulletin board, and I'll show it to you in a few weeks when I get it!  

ciao! fabiana

adorable Thanksgiving desserts

A few cute and adorable ways

to liven up Thanksgiving treats…

Scarecrow Cookies

Chocolate Pretzel Turkeys

Turkey Rice Krispie Treats

Pilgrim Hat Cookies

Chocolate Turkey Fondue

Sugar Cone Cornucopia

ciao! fabiana

💕

While I’m here today, I wanted to share some of my "Tablescaping Essentials" with you. I have a whole page on the Amazon website with my favorite picks for setting a beautiful table.

Quite often time is of the essence, and I have last minute projects or events to work on, so I turn to Amazon for one or two day delivery. You’d be surprised at how many amazing items they have to offer! And I'm constantly updating this page with my new favorites. 

You can check it out here, at “Tablescaping Essentials”.

recipe sources:

Skip to my Lou

The Crazy Coupon Lady

Gimme Some Oven

Handmade in the Heartland

Clean & Scentsible

Make Life Delicious

good old-fashioned turkey fun

cute and elegant turkey cupcakes

Oreo Turkey Cookies

A variety of apple slices with caramel dip

Rice krispie treat balls, and fudge striped cookies, all glued together by melting chocolate

Gobble Gobble Rice Krispies Treats

Totally Terrific Thanksgiving Turkeys

more candy corn, this time on a cookie

Sweet T.O.M. Turkeys

Turkey Veggie Cup

Fruit skewers, pepper slices, a pear and a butternut squash are transformed

Turkey Vegetable Tray

Turkey Veggie Platter

Little turkey place card holders (you can also use a cork)

easy to make googly-eyed turkey cups

this is fun and a great keepsake

Pilgrim photo napkin rings from Family Fun

ciao! fabiana