Spaghetti Squash
March 31, 2009 by Vanessa · 16 Comments
Want to trick your whole family into eating a huge plate of vegetables for dinner? I do it every week and my family cannot get enough of my Spaghetti Squash recipe. I feel wonderful serving it to them because it’s about as healthy as it can get and they have fun eating it because it looks just like pasta!
Ingredients:
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Salt & Pepper
- 1 whole Spaghetti Squash
- 3 Fresh Tomatoes
- 2 Vegetables of Your Choice
- Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Slice your Spaghetti Squash in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds and season with olive oil, salt and pepper on all sides. Place the squash flesh sides down on cooking tray with foil covering all of the exposed skin. Roast for 45 minutes - 1 hour, (until tender).
- Meanwhile, saute with oil, salt and pepper two of your favorite chopped vegetables. I like to use zucchini and yellow squash but you can use whatever you have on hand!
- When the spaghetti squash is done simply pull your fork through the flesh and it will come out like spaghetti noodles!
- Combine the “noodles”, sauteed vegetables and serve with chopped fresh tomatoes and sprinkles of fresh Parmesan cheese.
Hope your family enjoys this healthy recipe too!
Written by Vanessa of I Never Grew Up
Cupcake Party
March 30, 2009 by Michelle · 13 Comments
A cupcake birthday party is a fun and fabulous theme for girls of any age, especially when you combine your daughter’s love of cupcakes with her favorite color as the inspiration behind the party planning. In our house, pink is the color of choice!
If you enjoy planning parties like I do, then you definitely want to go all out with your decorating. The invitations are the first step. Invitations set the tone for the party. Here is an adorable Cupcake Invitation that you can customize in your color of choice. You can also purchase address labels, thank you stationery and party favor stickers that all coordinate. Don’t you love that?!
For the party, your daughter would look so sweet wearing this Cupcake Dress or the matching Cupcake Aprons shown below. You could serve pink lemonade and small sandwiches cut out with a Cupcake Cookie Cutter served on these Cupcake Carousel Plates. Your daughter will also love seeing her birthday cake when you present her with a large cupcake using the Wilton Cupcake Pan.
If you wanted to do individual cupcakes instead, this book, Crazy about Cupcakes, has a lot of cute decorating ideas to help you to get started. You could set up a decorating station and have several different bowls of sprinkles and tiny bits of candy for your guests to add their own toppings. Your guests could also decorate cupcake shaped cookies to package up and take home with them.
In addition to cookies as a favor, Etsy has a great collection of Cupcake Soaps that any girl is sure to love. Place the cookies, soap and maybe a few cupcake stickers into a little bag topped off with the cupcake favor tag and ribbon and you have the perfect goody bag! Of course if you really want to go all out with your cupcake themed party, what little girl wouldn’t love this fun table made by Imaginative Play Toys.
Written by Michelle of Sweet Mady’s Paper and Sweet Mady’s Notes
Creative Art Storage
March 27, 2009 by Emily · 14 Comments
Today’s guest writer is Candy from Sobella Creations. A little while ago, she and I were admiring a variety of charming storage/organizer boxes and she just put an article together with some of her creative finds that I think you’ll really like!
Do you have a little artist in your life? What about piles of art work that you just can’t bear to throw away? Well that is the story of my life. I have been searching for the perfect way to store my girls’ art work. I have two girls who love to draw, color and paint, and if you’re like me, you may often be on the lookout for ways to organize your child’s precious art work.
My first solution is the Li’l Davinci Art Cabinet. This frame comes in various sizes and stores up to 50 sheets of paper! This frame is great because you can easily display, store and switch your children’s art work as often as you want.
My second solution would be a pretty fabric-covered box. Here are a few examples of some I have found online:
Hullabaloo Home Decor offers textile and gift boxes covered in Sandi Henderson Fabrics. I love Sandi Henderson fabrics so I ordered a Textile Box and a Gift Box. They are both super nice, and afforadable too.
The Container Store has every storage idea you can imagine! These whimsical Yumiko Gift Boxes are technically for gift-giving, but they are also quite sturdy and can be used over and over for some of your favorite items and special memories. The Container Store also has a great selection of storage boxes too.
And finally, you can also turn your child’s art work into Stamps, Placemats, a Memory Quilt, Note Cards, and Calendar. My favorite is Snap Fish where I love to compile my children’s art work into Flip Books and Photo Books.
I Like You
March 26, 2009 by Cassie · 4 Comments
I wanted to revisit Little Shop of Shavs since the newest addition to Shauna’s shop is one I couldn’t resist sharing with you. Personalized gifts are often the best and this gift idea is definitely priceless as it’s perfect for someone you “like.”
Shauna has made it possible for you to create your own personalized version of the classic children’s book “I like you.” All you have to do is send her a list of things you like (or you can send a list of things you like about someone else), and she will design custom pages with her drawings that will be inserted into the real text.
All the custom pages are bound together with the real book, which creates a totally personalized book for the recipient.
Little Shop of Shavs is offering $10 off the original price for Little Window Shoppe Readers (making it only $15!) until April 1st.
Written by Cassie of Madison Envy
ManiMina
March 25, 2009 by Lauren · 8 Comments
I know it’s a little early, but I can’t help it - I’m packing away the turtlenecks! The lovely warm days we’ve been enjoying have me a bit over-enthused to shed our winter warms and welcome in spring. Which also means it’s time to shop, and top on my list is Easter attire!
Ties for the boys, a new skirt for me, and an “oh-my-she’s-stunning” dress for my daughter. I head straight to my favorite Etsy find, Manimina. As usual, her collection has me drooling.
Who says exquisite style has to be expensive? Everything she sells is under $25, including this “Mango” dress which woos me with it’s colors. The soft neckline, flowing fabric, and simple bow place this dress firmly on my wishlist.
I also love finding girly frocks that incorporate the blooms of spring, without being overly floral. The “Pink Bloom” dress is perfect – blooming with style!
It’s also fun to think outside the box a little when it comes to traditional dress-up holidays. I’m tempted to pair this Whimsical Kimono with a simple white skirt and some fabulous sandals. The Japanese designer fabric down the middle has just enough Easter flower-power, yet remains tres chic!
Written by Lauren of Supermom Central
Lily Haven
March 24, 2009 by Emily · 5 Comments
With twirly skirts, patchwork aprons and Spring dresses, Lily Haven is the perfect place to find beautiful, unique clothes for your little girl.
Celebrating the essence of childhood, Lily Haven’s handmade clothing collection showcases vintage details, timeless designs and vibrant colors. I love this double layered skirt. It is made with loads of ruffled fabric, so it’s super twirly and bouncy. Wasn’t that the best part of dressing up when you were little?
Blue Lemon
March 24, 2009 by Vanessa · 4 Comments
For a little local Utah browsing today…I wanted to introduce you to Blue Lemon. My husband and I are huge “foodies” and we’re always on the lookout for a new spot to go out for dinner as a family. When Blue Lemon finally opened it’s doors we were ecstatic! They use only the freshest all natural ingredients, never fried, with no extra preservatives added and offer many vegetarian dishes.
Our family really believes in being eco-friendly and reducing our carbon footprint so we were even more thrilled when we found out all of their supplies are eco-friendly. The restaurant is very family friendly and the best part is that their menu is surprisingly very affordable for how nice it is. The kids meals are only $5 and that includes the drink.
My husband and I are always looking for something new and fun to do on our date nights too. Blue Lemon offers monthly Iron Chef Date Nights and monthly cooking classes with top chefs from around the world.
Their first cooking class is this Thursday, March 26th from 6:30-8pm with their Executive Chef, Todd Leonart and the theme is “Anyone Can Cook.” You can visit their website to sign yourself up!
11073 north alpine hwy, Highland Utah 84003
Written by Vanessa of I Never Grew Up
The Purple Pear Giveaway
March 23, 2009 by Emily · 284 Comments
Contest Update:
*We have a winner!! The randomly chosen winner for this contest is: #6 Kathy - Congratulations! Thank you to everyone who participated - please stop by again as we have a new contest each week.*
Both delightful and stylish, The Purple Pear is a cute little accessory boutique that you simply cannot miss! With eye-catching glass magnet sets and pretty pendants, this Etsy shoppe is a fun place to visit when you are window shopping.
Plus, this boutique has an extra special place in my heart since the owner, Catherine, is one of my friends and she is the awesome person who helped me as I set up my Lindee Shoppe. So, if you kind of miss my Lindee Shoppe, you can still find similar cute items at The Purple Pear.
Discount: Free shipping on your orders at The Purple Pear and her 2nd shoppe Daisy Bows until March 31st with code: LWS *mention this code in the notes to seller at checkout*
Win It:
One Window Shoppe Reader is in for a treat and will win a set of glass magnets, a pendant, and a clear view tin of your choice!
To Enter:
Simply visit the shoppe and leave a quick comment letting me know which of these items you would want if you win. This giveaway ends on Tuesday, March 31st at midnight PST. The winner will be chosen randomly and will be announced at this post Wednesday, April 1st. Good luck, everyone!! (Please feel free to read our contest rules for additional details)
(Optional) For an extra entry:
- Are you a Subscriber? Just let us know you’re subscribed to Little Window Shoppe in an additional comment.
Monkey’s Momma and Creations By Chara
March 20, 2009 by Michaelle · 12 Comments
Hi Window Shoppe Readers! I just wanted to introduce you to Michaelle - she is one of our new contributors and I think that she is a fantastic writer. She is going to share her ideas with us a few times each month. If you want to get to know her a little better, you can read more about her on our writer’s page or you can visit her blog: Monkey’s Momma. This monkey comes straight from her blog, isn’t it just the cutest little monkey illustration you have ever seen?
Now onto Michaelle’s post…
Looking for custom hand-stamped, hand-crafted jewelry? Find it at a sweet little shoppe called Creations By Chara. The artist behind these creations is Joy Hopkins. Chara means “Joy” in Greek, hence the name, Creations By Chara.
If hand-stamped is not really your style, she also has a shoppe called Chara’s Creations which showcases her beautiful non-stamped jewelry. Joy is a sentimental and spiritual person and specializes in customizing jewelry for women who have suffered loss, whether it be a baby or child, a parent or otherwise.
The jewelry, in both shoppes, is made with quality materials and hand-crafted by Joy. She puts a lot of time and effort into making certain that each piece is just right. Joy especially enjoys designing custom orders. If you have something you want stamped, she can make it for you.
Finally, meet Beckett. This cool little kitty is showcasing one of Joy’s customized pet tags - perfect for your beloved furry friends.
Discount: Take 15% off of anything in either store. Just mention you are from Little Window Shoppe!
Joy is also a stay-at-home mom with two little princesses. If you would like to get to know her a little better, please feel free to visit her blog: When Does Daddy Come Home?!
Written by Michaelle of Monkey’s Momma
Make Your Own Matchbox Announcements
March 19, 2009 by Emily · 33 Comments
I love the originality of this matchbox announcement and how easily you can match the theme and colors to your preference. Good things really do come in small packages.
The tutorial and picture are from one of my very favorite books “B is for Baby” written by Suzonne Stirling. This Matchbox Announcement is one of 26 baby-themed projects from the book that help you to create memorable, classic keepsakes for your little loved ones.
Supplies
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Patterned paper
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Solid colored paper
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Cardstock (for the Announcement)
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Ruler
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Scissors or rotary blade
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Decorative edged scissors (optional)
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Craft glue (optional)
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Plain matchbox
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Double-sided tape
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Diaper pin
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Padded envelope (for mailing)
Steps
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Cover the matchbox: Cut a piece of patterned paper to 2 1/4 in. wide by 4 1/2 in. long. Adhere one of the short edges of the paper to the bottom of the matchbox cover with double-sided tape. Be sure to align the edges of the paper with the top and bottom edges of the matchbox cover. Wrap the paper around the matchbox cover, overlap the ends, and secure them with more double-sided tape.
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Embellish: To embellish your box a little bit, cut a piece of solid colored paper into a strip 1/2 in. wide by 4 1/2 in. long. Trim one long edge of the paper strip with decorative scissors, and layer it over the base paper on the bottom of the matchbox cover. Use craft glue, to adhere small buttons or other embellishments.
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Create announcement cards: To create the announcement card for the interior of the matchbox, use a small font size (approximately 10 points) to print the baby’s birth information onto the cardstock. Repeat the information approximately 12 times on each 8-1/2 by 11 inch sheet of paper. Cut the sheet into cards, each measuring 2-1/8 inches long by 1-1/8 inch wide, with the text centered in each card. Secure the card to the bottom of the matchbox with a small strip of double-sided tape. Enclose a diaper pin in the matchbox as a finishing touch.
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Mail: Finally, enclose the announcement in a padded envelope to mail it to your friends and family.
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