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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

LEGO/ Side Dishes

LEGO Hocus Pocus Cottage

October 11, 2023

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…

October 11, 2023 By Brian

DIY/ Side Dishes

DIY Halloween Suncatchers

October 10, 2023

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…

October 10, 2023 By Brian

DIY/ Family Fun/ Parenting/ Side Dishes

Ghost Handprint Halloween Cards

October 4, 2023

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…

October 4, 2023 By Brian

Celebrations/ DIY/ Halloween/ Side Dishes

DIY Floating Candles like in Hogwarts Great Hall

October 3, 2023

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…

October 3, 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

France/ Side Dishes/ Travel

Sixteen Things to do in Nice, France

September 29, 2023

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…

September 29, 2023 By Brian

France/ Side Dishes/ Travel

Paris in Thirty Six Hours

September 27, 2023

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…

September 27, 2023 By Brian

All Recipes/ Cooking Through Cravings/ Lunch and Dinner/ Side Dishes

Orange Chicken Fried Chicken Sandwich: Cooking Through Cravings

August 16, 2023

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…

August 16, 2023 By Brian

All Recipes/ Comfort Food/ Side Dishes

Food to Eat After Oral Surgery

April 26, 2023

I just had my wisdom teeth removed. On the oral surgery scale, it’s like the least troublesome. But any small disruption in my daily routine is like the end of the world haha. I knew that I’d be limited to certain foods in recovery, so I planned my surgery in an off time of the year; between holidays and right before summer. Once I got through the first few days,…

April 26, 2023 By Brian

Millennial and Parents/ Parenting/ Side Dishes

Black Maternal Health Week 2023

April 12, 2023

Yesterday kicked off Black Maternal Health Week. Black women in America are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women. This is on top of the fact that women in America are dying at a higher rate from pregnancy-related causes than in any other developed nation. Black Maternal Health Week is a reminder that so many families experience pain, neglect, and loss during what should be…

April 12, 2023 By Fatima

DIY/ Side Dishes

DIY Food Photography Boards

March 29, 2023

As we grew the blog, I needed to elevate our photography mis en scene. Since you eat with all your other senses before you taste food, our photos needed to look good. Eventually, we bought some backgrounds. I love them, but I could not justify their cost when I wanted to change them out. So I made these DIY food photography boards; some with wallpaper and some with paint. I…

March 29, 2023 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

Celebrations/ Christmas/ DIY/ Side Dishes

Chalkboard Ornament

December 5, 2022

A previous version of this post for DIY Chalkboard Ornament was published in December 2013. We took new photos and updated some of the written content. Here’s a thought, let’s make a chalkboard ornament! Take all that chalkboard paint you bought earlier this year and spray your ornaments. We got these ceramic ornaments from Michaels for about $1. Let them dry and write a message or draw a picture! This…

December 5, 2022 By Brian

Celebrations/ Christmas/ DIY/ Side Dishes

DIY Faux Gingerbread Houses

November 30, 2022

A few weeks ago, an Etsy ad jumped into my Pinterest feed pushing a faux gingerbread house to me. These weren’t just any old gingerbread houses. These were dollhouse-sized replicas of historical homes. They were gorgeous and way out of my price range. But they gave me an idea. Can I make these in real life? And then I saw a video of someone making faux gingerbread houses on Pinterest.…

November 30, 2022 By Brian

Celebrations/ Family Fun/ Halloween/ Parenting/ Side Dishes

Halloween Decorations and Costumes 2022

October 31, 2022

I cannot believe this is our fifth year celebrating Halloween as a family…and it’s Blair’s first Halloween! We (I) got so many new Halloween decorations to display around the house. This year, Liam was adamant about being Spider-Man. I did not put up a fight because that meant we could reuse his birthday costume. Lilies and Loafers has affiliate relationships, so we may get a small share of revenue from…

October 31, 2022 By Brian

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