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Saturday, February 28, 2015

Snow Cream Recipe


I hope you're enjoying your weekend and staying warm!!
It was snowing here in North Texas yesterday and we got a lot. So, I decided to make snow cream with the kiddos. I actually googled a recipe and there were SOOOO many variations. I decided to go with one short and simple. I found 
Paula Deen's snow cream recipe, it was simple and rated 4.5 stars. So, I went for it and it was delicious. The kids wanted to add cherries and you could also add other toppings. I ate mine just the way we made it. Yum!

We gathered:
 8 cups of fresh-fallen snow
1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla

Pour the can of milk over the snow, mix together. Then, add in your vanilla and mix again. Enjoy! Simple & delicious.


The ingredients to pure deliciousness. 





Snow cream! Pure sweetness. 


The kids were so excited and we had so much fun making it. In our home, we love creating memories and having fun. If you got snow, I hope you got out or snuggled in and enjoyed time with the ones you love the most! 

XOXO

Snow Day 2015 with Snow Cream Recipe






Yesterday, we had falling snow all day long, I think we ended up getting 3-4 inches of real snow. While I am so ready for Spring's arrival, I loved seeing the snow falling out the window and having a fire going inside. We played outside off and on all day, lit a fire, cooked a warm, cozy meal and ended our day watching Up and eating popcorn and SNOW CREAM. This was a big hit with our family. I will include our method on how we made it below. Perfect day with my little family!!


We went to pickup our kiddos from my parent's house and this is what our street looked like when we got home! Love the white. 



This is our home covered in a blanket of white. 

We got out and had lots of fun and snowball fights. We built a snow girl and a snow boy. We went for a walk and had a perfect time outside. Yesterday, the snow was dry and powdery, not the perfect consistency to build a snowman, but today it was wet and perfect!


Witten does not like cold weather, I mean he cries the whole time and wants to go in. This boy wants NOTHING to do with snow.... But here he seemed to have fun helping Daddy. Sidenote: Yes, he has his sister's boots on. hehe... He's gonna hate me for this one day. But hey, they were warm and fuzzy. :)


My boy and his daddy.


Snowball Fight.


My nephew was here also. :)


My sweet boy. 



We decided to go for a cold, icy walk with the kids and dogs. Our neighbor was out all day yesterday and half the day today making this for his grandson to see. :) My kids have been SOOOO excited to see the finished product. They have spent lots of time watching from the window. So, today on our walk the man let the kiddos sit on him. Again, Witten wasn't impressed, but Kinsley LOVED it! :)






Buddy & Maggie had to get in on the fun. 


These kids are my world. 


He decided he wanted to watch from the chair and wrapped in a blanket. :)


Now he's inside, in his chair, snack in hand, watching us out the window. That boy!!! He's happy now. 


 Do you wanna build a snowman? The kids did, so we decided to make two small ones--a girl and a boy. They loved it. Witten watched from inside, but came out at the end to add the carrot and take a picture. hahaha


Sweet friends. Kinsley was invited to go play at their house. So, she went over for a few hours. They are also in our neighborhood, so that was convenient in the snow.


We finished out the night by the fire, watching Up. It was a fun day. This girl was out before the end of the movie. She had a fun-filled day. <3



And now for the method we used for our snow cream. I actually googled a recipe and there were SOOOO many variations. I decided to go with one short and simple. I found 
Paula Deen's snow cream recipe, it was simple and rated 4.5 stars. So, I went for it and it was delicious. The kids wanted to add cherries and you could also add other toppings. I ate mine just the way we made it. Yum!

We gathered:
 8 cups of fresh-fallen snow
1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla

Pour the can of milk over the snow, mix together. Then, add in your vanilla and mix again. Enjoy! Simple & delicious.


The ingredients to pure deliciousness. 





Snow cream! Pure sweetness. 


The kids were so excited and we had so much fun making it. In our home, we love creating memories and having fun. If you got snow, I hope you got out or snuggled in and enjoyed time with the ones you love the most! 

XOXO


















Friday, February 27, 2015

Friday Favorites


Happy Friday! We are expected to get more snow today! I am love snow, but I am ready for Spring. My kids will be over the moon excited for snow. :)

Today, I am linking up with Andrea, Erika, and Narci for Friday Favorites! I always read all the Friday Favorites, but have never actually linked up. 

I am going to start with some of my favorite products. I apologize for the picture, it was taken with my iphone. 


1. Bath & Body Kiss Shower Gel: I got some of this for Christmas and loved it so much that I went back and got quite a few more bottles of it. I am not sure if they still have it or if it was just a holiday scent. It's my new favorite at the moment. 

2. It's a 10 Leave In Product: I had a few people suggest this product to me. I used to use a leave in, a frizz tamer, and a smoothing gel. Now I only use this one product and let me tell you, it is AMAZING! It's a deep conditioner that you spritz on before you blow dry your hair. I normally use the one with Keratin, but they were out of that one. This one has been great, but I like the one with Keratin because it protects against heat. I love this stuff and it has done amazing things for my hair. I picked mine up at Target, but you can also get it on Amazon

3. Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover: I love this stuff! It takes off my waterproof mascara without all the tugging, pulling and stinging. It also doesn't leave any kind of residue. I highly recommend this to remove your eye makeup. 

4. Per-fekt Brow Perfection Gel (color: caramel): I was walking through a store in NYC and the lady working the cosmetic counter stopped me and asked if she could try something on my brows--so she did. I have been using this for about a year now and love it! It conditions, tames and tints your eyebrows, it's also smudge proof. I like how it frames the face and brings out my eyes. Try it, you'll love it!

I love trying new products! Please share your favorite beauty products, makeup, perfumes, anything! :)

Okay, so on to my other favorite things this week..... 

I went to Target tonight, by myself, no kids, just ME! Wooohooo! A mini vacay.... I got to look at EVERYTHING I wanted to look at without any distractions. As always, I ended up getting Kinsley some shoes that I just LOVE for Spring. The picture isn't great, they look much better in person. Everyone else must think so too because there was ONE pair left in the whole store. I am praying they fit her when I try them on. :) You can find them here


I found these super cute plates at Pottery Barn Kids (what's not cute there?). I think I am going to order them for my kiddos. They will love them! You can find them here.



To round out the favorites this week, I am closing with pictures of my loves from our winter weather day. :)

We had a few days of winter weather and the kiddos loved going outside to play in it. We had so much fun playing in the ice/snow, playing games, snuggling, watching movies and just having quality family time! 


This little guy has cried every time we go outside when we've had winter weather. This time he enjoyed it, but especially liked throwing snowballs at us! :) 


This little girl has always seemed to like the snow we've had! She told me playing in the snow, was the very best part of her day! 


Daddy & Witten



Blake (my nephew) was here on the snow day and the kids loved playing outside with him, as always!


The kiddos loved painting on the icy sidewalk. 


Daddy's girl :)











Wednesday, February 25, 2015

My Top 5 Disney Restaurant Recommendations




Okay, I have several friends and friends of friends going to Disney World! Ahh! Can't wait until we can plan a trip back!! After all the talks I've had with people recently about planning a trip to Disney World, I decided to do a post on our top 5 favorite Disney dining experiences. 

ONE

I am going to start with 1900 Park Fare for dinner (they also offer breakfast, but we had other plans). It is located in Disney's Grand Floridian Resort. We took a Disney bus to the resort and back to our hotel. Reservations can be made 180 days in advance and are hard to get. So START EARLY if this is one you want to do. It was our favorite because the characters played their parts EXCELLENT and each one comes to your table for pictures! Our Cinderella loving, daughter was in heaven!! The food was also good and was buffet style, so everyone can find something they like. The characters include: Cinderella, the stepmother, the stepsisters, & Prince Charming (but are subject to change).  We also made an appointment for our daughter at the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique in Downtown Disney before dinner. They made her feel like a true princess. She loved it and wore her Cinderella dress to dinner. OUR favorite for sure!


She LOVED meeting Cinderella and getting her hair and makeup done at Bibbity Bobbity Boutique!



Saying goodbye to Prince Charming after their dance. 


Witten wasn't sure what to think! haha


Kinsley's favorite princess!


Getting ready at Bibbity Bobbity Boutique!



TWO

Our next favorite was Cinderella's Royal Table. This restaurant is very pretty and located at the top of Cinderella's castle inside Magic Kingdom. Your dinner includes a meet and greet with Cinderella with a printed, professional photo of your family with Cinderella, herself. 

Once you are inside and seated in the dining room (shown above). Snow White, Princess Jasmine, Aurora and Ariel come to your table (one at a time) to sign autograph books and for you to take pictures. If you have a Disney dining plan, this restaurant does take 2 table credits. We would have liked to have done the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique before lunch, but there were zero openings and we booked months in advance. Such a neat experience!


Inside the castle/dining room.





He was blowing her a kiss!


She kissed him!




THREE

Chef Mickey's was fun, very family friendly, and had a good, buffet style breakfast. It is located in Disney's Contemporary Resort. You get to meet Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto (they come to your table), this restaurant makes the cut hands down. I would recommend breakfast over any other meal and it's one of those things you just have to do once! My kids LOVED this one. It's also good for boys and girls. 


Witten loved all the characters for the most part. 




Kinsley wouldn't take a picture with any of them unless they were princesses. :)

FOUR

Be Our Guest is located inside of Magic Kingdom so you will need to have a park ticket to visit it. It is the hardest reservation to get at the moment. It is nestled at the foot of the Beast's castle. The whole dining experience at Be Our Guest is unique and magical, and I thought the food was magnificent! 


If you're using the Disney dining plan, it will take 1 table service credit per person to eat here. The food is French/American. There are three different rooms to dine in. We dined in the grand 2-story ballroom and it was just like the movie. The other rooms are the West Wing and the Rose Gallery. We walked around after dinner and each room was simply amazing. Inside the West Wing, you get to get a glimpse of the enchanted rose. As you leave, you get to meet the beast and have a picture taken with him.The only disappointment was Belle is not there for a meet and greet. Bummer!


The Beast's castle in the distance. 


The menu was awesome. 


I loved all the intricate details. 


Ballroom



The dining room


So pretty!



The West Wing


The Enchanted Rose


When you leave you get to meet the Beast and get a picture with him. Witten wouldn't have anything to do with the Beast. :)


FIVE
Last on the list is T-REX, which you'll find at Downtown Disney. We made a reservation because in the past, it was always a long wait. We were able to call the restaurant directly and get ours booked. It was great because we had a 1 and 2 year old and the wait was long when we got there. We arrived and were seated within 10 minutes of our reservation time. 

The food is good but a bit expensive...it's much like a Rainforest Cafe (probably because it's owned by the same company). The atmosphere is great! Our son (1 at the time) got a bit frightened when the meteor showers took place. During the meteor showers, the ice cavern turns blue, red and purple.

The atmosphere is what really makes this restaurant!


Kinsley & Beau


The ice cavern.



Witten was finally all smiles, but during dinner he stuck to my side like glue. 


Other restaurants I want to try for our future trip are listed below. I have heard awesome things about each and everyone of them. 

1. 'Ohana (Lilo & Stitch) Located at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort
2. The Crystal Palace (Pooh characters) Located in Magic Kingdom
3. Hollywood and Vine (Doc McStuffins, Sofia the First, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Handy Manny)
4. Tusker House Restaurant (Donald Duck & friends in safari gear) Located in Animal Kingdom

I hope that these suggestions help you out if you're planning on going to Disney! If you have any questions, email or leave a comment!

I am itching to plan our next trip back and this time both kids will be old enough to remember!                    Have a magical day!!



















 
Images by Freepik