Big Boy Room

I am trying to come up with some ideas for a big boy room for Hudson, and my friend Alex sent me a link to the Land of Nod's site. The top three pictures are some of their boy bedding items. I am leaning towards doing Hudson's room in a music theme since he really loves music, dancing, drums, and guitars. I really love the colors used in these pictures and would like to include some of these color combos in his new room. Alexis spotted these guitar hooks for me at bed bath and beyond for $19.99 for the set of 3.

Amy's Baby Shower

We had Amy's baby shower this afternoon to celebrate baby Payton. Can't wait to meet this little girl! I made the same cupcakes that I made for Hudson's birthday party, because they've become a favorite. They are vanilla cupcakes filled with lemon mousse, and topped with vanilla butter cream frosting. I made a marshmallow fondant to cover the small cake and topped in with a letter "P" for Payton. Crystal and I found a variety of green and chocolate candy for the candy buffet. We had bags with ribbons to tie for the favors for the guests as they left the shower. We also made some tissue paper pom poms, which I had never made before, but are very easy to make. We hung the pom poms over all the yummy food that Susan and Danielle made for everyone. It was a fun afternoon with the girls. Congratulations Amy!!!

TuTu

Most of my friends have all boys... so now that my friend Amy is pregnant with a little girl, I had to jump on the opportunity to make something fun and extra girlie! What's more girlie then a little pink tutu? This tutu was really easy to make and requires no sewing. A lot of people use elastic to tie the tull to, however I used a ribbon that ties in the back. All you need for this project is tulling and elastic or ribbon. It was really easy and convenient to buy the 6" spools of tulling, which I found at Hobby Lobby for $4.99 for 25 yards. I have plenty leftover to make another one. All you need to do is cut the tulling to the desired length, (but know that it will actually be tied to only half the total length) and tie it onto the elastic or ribbon with the knots all lined at the bottom.

Salted Toffee Chocolate Squares

I have not made these yet, but have heard that they are delicious!  What's not to love? Toffee, chocolate, nuts...yumm!

Ingredients:

• 13 graham crackers
• 1 bag (8 ounces) toffee bits
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped toasted natural almonds
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup (4 ounces) bittersweet chocolate, chopped, or chocolate chips
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place graham crackers in a single layer on sheet, edges touching. Sprinkle toffee bits and almonds over graham crackers.
2. In a small saucepan, bring sugar and butter to a boil over medium-high. Reduce heat and cook at a rapid simmer, swirling pan occasionally, until mixture is syrupy, 2 minutes. Immediately pour over graham crackers. Bake until sugar topping is bubbling, 12 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle chocolate and salt over graham crackers. With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut into 2-inch squares. Let cool completely on sheet on a wire rack. (Store in an airtight container, up to 1 week.)

• Recipe from Everyday Food Magazine, May 2010