Celebrations Archives | Lilies and Loafers

Birthday/ DIY/ Family Fun/ Parenting/ Side Dishes

Blair’s Second Birthday: Disney Pixar Cars

January 24, 2024

Our youngest is now two years old and we are still recovering. We asked Blair how he wanted to celebrate his birthday, and he replied, “cars.” And that’s how we ended up with a 2 Fast 2 Furious Pixar Cars theme. Blair loves cars. Hot Wheels, Jeeps, Hess trucks, pretty much any vehicle. But above all else, he loves Pixar’s Cars. He loves the movies, he loves the merch, he…

January 24, 2024 By Brian

All Recipes/ Beverages/ Celebrations/ Christmas/ Comfort Food

Starbucks Medicine Ball Tea

January 20, 2024

January is Hot Tea Month! What a fitting time of year to celebrate a mug of coziness. I have a favorite tea for you. Otherwise known as Honey Citrus Mint Tea on the menu, Starbucks’ Medicine Ball Tea will warm you from the inside out. Throat feeling a little soar? Not feeling your best self? You can also make this legendary tea at home! My mom filled our Christmas stockings…

January 20, 2024 By Brian

Celebrations/ New Year/ Side Dishes

2023 Round Up: Best of the Blog

January 8, 2024

Happy New Year! 2023 was filled with so many family adventures, milestones, and delicious food. 2024 will have a lot more of that, and we are looking forward to celebrating everything, including our youngest’s second birthday (his first). But first, here’s a round up of our top posts and videos in 2023. 2023 Round Up: Best of the Blog Favorite Glow Up Post We like to go back to our…

January 8, 2024 By Brian

Birthday/ DIY/ Family Fun/ Parenting/ Side Dishes

Liam’s Subway Themed Birthday

November 25, 2023

We have a five year old. When Liam was born, I couldn’t imagine him at a year old, let alone five years old. It’s bonkers, but here we are. When talking to Liam about what he wanted to do for his birthday, the first thing that came to mind was the subway: he wanted a subway themed birthday. So how do we pull this off? He also wanted to go…

November 25, 2023 By Brian

All Recipes/ Autumn/ Celebrations/ Dad Bakes Cookies/ Dessert/ Thanksgiving

How We Make the Best Apple Pie

October 28, 2023

A previous version of this post for How We Make The Best Apple Pie was published in October 2012. We took new photos, reworded the written content, included our YouTube video, and adjusted the recipe. AKA we gave this post a major facelift. Apple Pie is one of my favorite desserts to make in autumn. The warm spices, soft and slightly crunchy baked apples, and a flaky pie crust is just…

October 28, 2023 By Brian

DIY/ Family Fun/ Halloween/ Parenting/ Side Dishes

Super Mario Costumes: Halloween 2023

October 27, 2023

Another Halloween is upon us! When brainstorming for our Halloween costumes this year, Fatima and I looked to our kids. What did they do this year, what did they watch, what were they obsessed with? We had short list: Cars, Paw Patrol, Super Mario. Spoiler alert, we went with Super Mario costumes. Cars was easy to remove from the list. Too involved. We seriously considered Paw Patrol. We looked at…

October 27, 2023 By Brian

Celebrations/ DIY/ Halloween

Frankenstein Handprints Halloween Cards

October 25, 2023

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…

October 25, 2023 By Brian

DIY/ Family Fun/ Halloween/ Parenting/ Side Dishes

DIY Puffy Ghosts and Puffy Bats

October 24, 2023

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…

October 24, 2023 By Brian

Celebrations/ DIY/ Halloween/ Side Dishes

Paper Bats: Halloween DIY

October 1, 2023

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…

October 1, 2023 By Brian

All Recipes/ Autumn/ Breakfast and Brunch/ Celebrations/ Dessert

Farmhouse Buttermilk Cake

September 20, 2023

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 20, 2023 By Brian

All Recipes/ Autumn/ Breakfast and Brunch

Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Brioche French Toast

September 13, 2023

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…

September 13, 2023 By Brian

All Recipes/ Autumn/ Celebrations/ Dessert/ Halloween

New England Apple Cider Donuts

August 23, 2023

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…

August 23, 2023 By Brian

All Recipes/ Birthday

Blair’s First Birthday

March 1, 2023

We cannot believe Blair is now a toddler! It truly feels like yesterday we were just bringing him home from the hospital. Alas, here we are; newborn-less and two kids chasing each other around the house. Here’s a look at Blair’s First Birthday! It is so unlike me to not take photos. I was so busy setting up and then having fun, I forgot to capture our decorations in the…

March 1, 2023 By Brian

All Recipes/ Celebrations/ Christmas/ Dad Bakes Cookies/ Dessert

Christmas Cookies

December 21, 2022

Around Christmas every year, we’d have my Nana bring her box of handwritten recipes to our house and we’d bake all sorts of things for everyone in my family. Christmas cookies, fudgy bars, pies; if sugar was the first ingredient, we baked it. I had my parents over a few weekends ago to do the same. It brought back so many fun memories. I am happy to continue this tradition…

December 21, 2022 By Brian

All Recipes/ Celebrations/ Christmas/ Dad Bakes Cookies/ Dessert/ DIY/ Gift Guides/ Side Dishes/ Valentine's Day

DIY Gift: Cookie Jar

December 21, 2022

A previous version of this post for DIY Cookie Jar was published in February 2013. We took new photos and adjusted the recipe. Valentine’s Day (and the week leading up to it) gives us a sweet excuse to make delicious treats. This DIY cookie jar is a perfect gift to hand out to your friends and loved ones. Although Fatima and I would love to hand out jars of MarquisRitas, we…

December 21, 2022 By Brian

All Recipes/ Celebrations/ Christmas/ Dad Bakes Cookies/ Dessert

Peanut Butter Blossoms

December 12, 2022

A previous version of this post for Peanut Butter Blossoms was published in December 2012. We took new photos and adjusted the recipe. One of my favorite flavors, as you are well aware, is peanut butter. What better way to celebrate the holidays than to mix peanut butter and chocolate? These peanut butter blossoms are really easy to make *cue eye rolls* trust me, they are! Remember when I tried…

December 12, 2022 By Brian

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