Oh so spooky! I had two predictions for the Halloween and Christmas seasons: 1. Bats and Spiders would be trendy for Halloween and 2. Gingerbread would be trendy for Christmas. I see bat and spider decorations and pajamas everywhere! Even Dunkin Donuts made a blowup of their spider donut. Let’s see where Christmas takes us. I already see Pottery Barn’s collection filled with all things gingerbread. In an effort to…
Last year, we did a lot of pumpkin crafts for Halloween. This year, I am trying to diversify with monsters, bats, and other creepy things. The ghost handprints were a huge hit with the kids, so we made these Frankenstein handprints in more Halloween cards. We had another rainy weekend, so we spent the day building LEGOs, reading, and crafting. Liam and I were doing some Halloween crafts while Blair…
We’ve done a lot of crafting this season, and here’s another one for you to do with the kids in your life. Liam and I had a ton of fun making these puffy ghosts and puffy bats. We used a lot of craft supplies we already had in stock. There were a ton of cotton balls and black pompoms left over from our summer of crafts. Making the Puffy Ghosts…
In the enchanting world of childhood play, few things capture the imagination quite like toy trains. For generations, miniature locomotives, inspired by iconic figures like Thomas and Friends, and the timeless craftsmanship of Brio wooden trains, have whisked young minds away on captivating journeys through their wildest dreams. For Halloween, we had a spooky train time building session! Join us through these series of videos as we embark on a…
What did I buy on July 1st? This LEGO Hocus Pocus Cottage. I had been waiting a little over a year for this set. When I saw it was teased/leaked I hoped it would be chosen. When I saw it was officially chosen as one of the Ideas sets, I was thrilled. LEGO gave insiders early access to buy this set, and I ordered it bright and early. It’s been…
I love that my kids love the fun and cooky crafts I give them. We try to do crafts all year, but spooky season gives us a special opportunity to get crafty. This weekend, we made these Halloween suncatchers. Growing up, I lived for the holiday window stickers. When Autumn began, I loved going to the store to pick out a new Halloween-themed sticker sheet. When we would take out…
Growing up, I made so many crafts for the holidays. Tissue ghosts for Halloween, cards for Valentine’s Day, and ornaments for Christmas. And thirty-something years later, I’m still crafting! Parents love handmade gifts. And you know what? Grandparents absolutely love handmade gifts from their grandkids. I will shower my parents with handmade gifts from my kids for as long as they’ll agree to make them. The first thing we’re making…
The last time we had floating candles in our house, we were throwing a Harry Potter-themed Halloween party. That was one of my favorite parties to-date. For spooky season, we’re trying some out of the box floating candles and having a lot of fun along the way. This year, we bought this set of floating candles on Amazon. Lilies and Loafers has affiliate relationships, so we may get a small…
A previous version of this post for Paper Bats: DIY Halloween was published in October 2013. We took new photos and updated some of the written content. Bats are everywhere! Need a quick idea to set up your Halloween entertainment space? Make some paper bats to adorn your walls and ceilings. I can’t take the credit on this one. Our friend, and Lilies and Loafers blogger, Ashley, did this last…
Our weekend in Paris kicked off our week-long adventure through France. Our next stop is where we would be spending the rest of our week basking in the sun (and heat!) of Nice. We had an amazing time. Like our Paris itinerary, I filled our days with tourist attractions, but made sure to take it at a slower pace and throw in relaxation all around. Here are some things to…
We recently traveled to France and spent a short time in Paris before heading to Nice for the remainder of our week. While we wished we had some more time in Paris, I built a just-right itinerary to hit all the spots in the short time we had available to us. This is how we saw a piece of Paris in thirty six hours. The idea of this trip has…
Once again, I found myself trying to get rid of extra buttermilk. I went back to my list of buttermilk recipes, but I didn’t feel inspired. I wanted to try something new. I perused Pinterest and stumbled on this farmhouse buttermilk cake recipe and knew I needed to try it! Just stop reading and click the previous link to look at the recipe! I was stressing about something and this…
September 5, 2023 has arrived! Trader Joe’s around the country have released all of their pumpkin products. Using one of those pumpkin products, we made this delicious pumpkin brioche french toast. Last year, we used our go-to french toast recipe (thanks Martha!) with Trader Joe’s brioche bread. It was fantastic. By the time we made that, we missed the opportunity to try their pumpkin brioche bread with this recipe. Once…
Every fall, I am on the lookout for an apple cider donut. One of my favorite things to do when we pick pumpkins is to grab a dozen apple cider donuts, sit in the pumpkin patch, and share them with the kids. It’s a whole vibe. Between the whole family, you must empty the box. I’ve tried baked apple cider donuts, Bon Appetit’s apple cider donuts, a loaf cake, and…
Oh my gosh. This orange chicken fried chicken sandwich was so good. There are notes, but overall, this was a really good sandwich. I love anything Fatima fries. Chicken, shrimp, fish tacos; there’s really nothing she can’t fry. Lilies and Loafers has affiliate relationships, so we may get a small share of revenue from your purchases. Items are sold by the retailer, not by Lilies and Loafers. This recipe can…
We took our first big, family vacation to Disney World! Everyone had such a great time and it really was an amazing trip. This is our Ultimate Disney Vacation Recap where I will share all the things about our trip. My goal for this recap is to share the tips I found along the way, helpful things to pack, and our general experience staying at a Disney World Resort. What…