More Boutique Info...

Just a Reminder...

On December 5th, at Heritage Gardens from 9:00-2:00, there will be an amazing boutique going on.

Some of the things you can look forward to are: Artist Sandra Rast and Elizabeth Stanley, soldered pendants, beaded watches, skirts and aprons, hair accessories, children's books, jewelry, paper art, memory boards, digital Christmas card design, Scentsy, baby clothes and blankets, custom bags, designer jeans, workout clothes, baby quilts and sooooo much more!

Also, Heritage Gardens will have a cafe open selling delicious quiche, pastries, salads, hot chocolate... yummmmm! Please spread the word and come and enjoy!

Holiday Heritage Boutique

I am so EXCITED!!! I have been invited to be part of the Holiday Heritage Boutique taking place at Heritage Gardens on December 5th. My sister and I will be selling onesies, burp cloths, blankets, kids tees, etc. There will be many vendors there to choose from, so there should be something that will suit your needs. The people who have put this together have tried really hard to have one vendor in each "category". It will be A LOT of fun, so come and take care of your Christmas shopping. I should have a list of vendors soon, when I do, I'll post them here. I'll also post some of the items that my sister and I will be selling so you can have a sneak peek. :) SEE YOU THERE!!

Almond Butter Chocolate Green Smoothie

In my never-ending quest to get Monkey to eat fruits and vegetables, I have relied on green smoothies. I love them, my kids love them. We found a recipe this week that is so delicious it shouldn't be good for you. It is from simple.healthy.tasty. I have changed the recipe to fit my family. I don't like to use a lot of peanut butter and prefer almond butter.

Almond Butter Chocolate Green Smoothie

2 cups Almond Milk (I have used half almond milk and half water and it still tastes great.)

2 LARGE handfuls of spinach

2 heaping tablespoons of Almond Butter

1 tablespoon honey

2 or 3 frozen bananas

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

Place almond milk and spinach in blender and blend until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and blend to desired consistency.

Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

My kids love these granola bars. I'm glad, because I can't stand the store-bought kind. Too many ingredients, not very healthy, more like a candy bar. I hope you enjoy them too. I found the recipe original recipe at a life less sweet.

Chewy Granola Bars

3 cups rolled oats

2/3 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup honey

3 tbsp, plus 1 3/4 tsp packed brown sugar

1/2 cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

3 tbsp flaxseed meal (I don't have flaxseed, but I have added wheat germ and it still tastes great.)

Preheat oven to 325. Lightly grease 9x13 pan.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, flour, baking soda, vanilla extract, butter, honey, brown sugar, and flaxseed (if adding). Stir in the chocolate chips and any other additions.

Firmly press into prepared pan. Bake at 325 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes and cut into bars.

H. Family

My sister is in town and I was able to take her family pictures over the weekend.

My niece, H, was a good sport. It was CoooooLD!

Not the best picture in the bunch, but I love H's face. It says it all.

Mini Chocolate Cupcakes

My younger brother returned home from serving an LDS mission in Hungary late last night. I thought maybe he needed some "Hungarian" cupcakes. Okay, so the only thing Hungarian about them is the colors. I did try to make them look like a flag. These cupcakes are dee-lish!!

I found the recipe at www.bakingbites.com.

Mini Chocolate Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup milk (I used skim and it worked just fine)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line mini muffin tin with muffin liners. In a large bowl combine flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl whisk together milk, oil, vanilla and vinegar. Pour into dry ingredients and stir until just combined. (The batter is thick.) Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 full with batter. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Turn cupcakes onto wire rack to cool completely. Makes 48 cupcakes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

6 oz cream cheese, room temp

6 tbsp butter, room temp

1 tsp vanilla

1/2-2 tbsp milk or cream

2-3 cups powdered sugar

In a large mixing bowl, cream together cream cheese and butter. Beat in vanilla and milk. Start with 1/2 tbsp of milk. Add more if you wish to thin the frosting. Add powdered sugar gradually until desired consistency is reached.

Wedding

I went to Austin, Texas over the weekend for my brother-in-law's wedding. The celebrations took place over the whole weekend. It was so much fun. I love, love, love A & O's wedding costumes. A's friend, W, made them. Isn't she talented? One clever thing that they did for their wedding book was to have a friend take polaroids of all the guests and then sign the guest book on the corresponding page. Now they have a picture of all of their loved ones, instead of a boring book with names in it.