Blog Posts by Amanda

I'll admit it. I absolutely love packing. Freak that I am, I actually look forward to it before trips. Because of my obsession I've read a lot of packing books and articles and I've noticed a common theme in most of them. I don't want to wear what they tell me to. Often its boring, utilitarian clothing or a sarong that can be worn for all occasions. Sorry, but I can think of many, many times it is not cool to wear a sarong and tevas. I'm no fashionista, but I still want to look cute on my trips. So here are some of my tips for looking stylish while keeping luggage to a minimum.

1. Choose a color scheme and stick to solid colors
If you limit yourself to no more than 4 colors that all coordinate, all of your tops and bottoms will match and you will be able to make multiple outfits out of the same clothing. Yes, that means you will probably be re-wearing some of your clothes during the course of your trip. And thats really okay. Unless clothes get really sweaty or dirty they can be worn

Here is a trick for making your breakfast festive without any added time or effort. When making pancakes or waffles, mix colored holiday sprinkles into the batter before cooking. This will give them a fun confetti look. Top with whipped cream or powdered sugar for an extra sweet touch.

Count down to Christmas with South Pole style! Filled with candy or small toys, each penguin marks one day in December. And they are easy to make. I made mine with leftover Easter eggs, and left them their original colors, but you can make your penguins any color you want. Just spray with a spray paint designed for plastics.

For each penguin you will need:
Easter egg
Craft foam in matching color
Orange craft foam
Small google eyes
White felt
Stick on numbers
Glue or Glue Dots (makes it super easy!)

1. Make a hole in the top of each egg with a small drill bit or hammer and nail. This is so you can hang your penguins.

2. Cut belly area out of white felt. This will look like an egg shape, but smaller. Cut in half so that your egg can still open. Attach to penguin body.

3. Cut 2 wing shapes out of your matching craft foam. Embellish with glitter pen if desired. Glue to penguin body.

4. Cut 2 flipper feet shapes and 1 beak shape

It's almost that time again. Black Friday. The day to shake off our turkey induced food comas, wake up at 3:00 am, wait in freezing cold lines outside stores for hours and body check anyone who gets in between us and that $100 TV. Even the tamest of Black Friday warriors is sure to work up an appetite, so reward yourself (and your equally hard-shopping friends) with a post Black Friday brunch.

The key to a super easy Black Friday brunch is slow cooker oatmeal. Before you go to bed on Thursday night, put 1 cup old-fashioned or steel cut oats and 4 cups of water in your slow cooker and set on low. This serves 4 so multiply for your desired number of servings. Use a liner to make cleanup easy. The slow cooker keeps the oatmeal warm all morning so friends can drop in whenever they finish their shopping. Serve with a variety of fresh and dried fruit mix-ins.

Another nice touch is to set up a gift wrap station so friends can wrap up their recently purchased gifts before taking

Pilgrim Hat Brownies

1 box brownie mix

Water, eggs and oil called for in mix

1 container chocolate frosting

Mini Reece's Peanut Butter Cups

Twizzlers Nibs Black Licorice Bits

Chocolate Glaze (recipe follows)

Follow directions on brownie mix box. Spoon brownie batter into muffin tins (makes 24). Bake brownies and let cool. Turn brownies upside down. Spoon about a teaspoon of frosting onto the center of each brownie and top with a peanut butter cup. Make chocolate glaze. Place brownies on a cooling rack and place waxed paper or foil underneath to catch drips. Spoon glaze over each brownie to cover completely. Place a licorice bit flat side out to look like a hat buckle. Let set up for several hours.

Chocolate Glaze

Half a 12 oz bag of Semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup cream

Place chips in a bowl. Heat cream until hot, but not boiling. Pour hot cream over chocolate chips and whisk to combine.

Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

1 box spice cake

Specialty wine glasses can make a holiday table look extra special, but they can also be very expensive. Add holiday flair without breaking the bank by dressing up your plain wine glasses with these easy and inexpensive ideas

These paper turkeys are an easy and versatile craft that will add some handmade fun to your Thanksgiving. To make the turkeys you will just need various colors of paper. I used scrapbook paper, but construction paper will work too and is especially easy to work with if kids are helping with this project.

1. Cut patterned paper into 12x5 pieces.
2. Fold paper accordion style into 1 inch folds and staple in the middle.
3. Fan out folds to make a circle shape. Glue or staple to make the tail.
4. Make turkey body by cutting a bowling pin shape from brown paper.
5. Cut turkey beak from yellow paper.
6. Cut waddle from red paper.
7. Use hole punch to punch 2 circles from white paper for eyes. Draw pupils with black marker.
8. Cut 2 wing shapes from patterned paper.
9. Glue face and wings on turkey and then glue turkey body to tail.

Here are some ways to use your turkeys.

To make a garland you will need 3-7 turkeys

It's the time of year when appetites and thoughts turn to comfort foods like meatloaf and roast turkey and gravy. As the weather gets cooler, we want our foods to be hearty and rich. But vegetarians want warm and comforting dinners too and sometimes salads just don't cut it. Here are 2 recipes that take advantage of affordable and delicious fall vegetables like potatoes and squash. Even if you are not a vegetarian, you will appreciate how inexpensive and filling these dinners are.

Gnocchi with Roasted Butternut Squash and Sage Pesto (serves 4-6)
Gnocchi or little potato dumplings provide
the base for this easy dish. The classic Fall pairing of
squash and sage gets updated with a tasty sage pesto sauce.

2 packages gnocchi

1 medium butternut squash

1 container refrigerated pesto

1 tablespoon fresh sage chopped fine

parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons olive oil

o Peel squash and chop into 1 inch chunks

o Toss squash with oilive oil, salt