Love and Lion

FAT KID FRIDAY: CHOCOLATE

This is why I can’t peruse Pinterest when I’m hungry (which is all the time)! I find oohey gooey chocolaty caramely peanutbuttery goodness that I just want to bake and gobble up immediately. Here’s what’s on my to-bake list (not Jenni’s, because she’s a freak and doesn’t like dark chocolate. Can’t believe we’re friends)… it’s Fat Kid Friday: Chocolate Edition.  
1. cookie dough billionaire bars
2. reese’s peanut butter cookie s’mores
3. chocolate covered pretzel peanut butter 
4. andes mint chip soft fudgy chocolate cookies
5. double chocolate banana bread
6. boozy thin mint milkshake
7. dark chocolate caramel bars
…and i just gained 5 lbs looking at these recipes. Anyone tried these? Lemme know!
-L

BUNNY TAILS AND CARROT STICKS

Easter is a very special holiday to my little family, not to mention all of the kids’ stuff that Target puts out every year is always so much fun to hang in Amara’s room. Amara has fun decorating her little tree (which we bought more decorations for this year) and hanging a wreath on her door. We just make a big deal out of it and she tells me how pretty it all is…. it is a win win really! I wasn’t super crazy about any of the garlands I came across, so I just decided to make my own. I wanted a more playful one since it was for a little girl’s room, ya know? I settled on bunny tails and carrot sticks. I simply used the items I already had on hand, which made it free… which makes it awesome!
Items you will need: I freehanded these little guys, so feel free to do the same or you can trace my kindergarten drawing HERE, one sheet of orange felt, 2 sheets of cream felt, two cotton balls, green yarn, and twine of some sort! Here is a great tutorial for making poms carrot tops if you don’t already know how to do it. Simply trace and cut, make your poms, break apart your little pieces of cotton and roll them into balls and go to town with your hot glue gun!
I bought this wreath and tree from Target! I probably could have saved some money and made this wreath by myself! Twine, yarn and a wreath form??? I went a little “crazy shopper lady” and snagged it off the shelf since it was the last one. I wasn’t thinking clearly people. 

I will certainly make my attempt to explain what Easter is really all about to Amara, and I anxiously await the day when she “gets it”. In the meantime, it is a lot of fun to just put up pretty things!!
What are some of your favorite Easter traditions / things to do with you kiddos? Any suggestions on how to teach a toddler?
-J

DONUT PARTY (FREE PRINTABLES)

My mom was in town this weekend for her birthday, so I threw her a brunch featuring her favorite food ever: donuts! Sweet friends that she’s gotten to know over the years when visiting us, great conversation, yummy donuts, and colorful decorations made the party a hit. 
Free printables for you at the end of the post!
DIY sprinkle confetti: just cut cut cut up your scraps of tissue paper and voila! Sprinkles!
DIY Sprinkle Forks: I used a letter “I” rubber stamp and just stamped it in different colors to look like sprinkles! For extra fun, I put the forks in a delicious glass of real sprinkles.
I didn’t have time to fully complete the donut balloons, nor did I supervise the lady at Kroger inflating these… half way. UGH! Much cuter HERE.

I left out treat boxes for guests to take home extras… I do NOT need donuts sitting around my house! 
The birthday girl, my beautiful mom, Marty! And little Max of course.
To make your life a lot easier… free printables:
Donuts HERE and HERE
Tags HERE and HERE
Menu (blank) HERE
-L
Oh… and the winner of the FRESHLY PICKED MOCCS GIVEAWAY is…
RACHEL ARNOLD!! (e-mail us mama!)
Yippee! Congrats!
We clearly have the best followers EVER!! Thank you ALL for your entries and sweet comments. Get hype for some more giveaways coming up! 

SAN FRAN & WHAT I WORE

We returned home from SF last week! We were out visiting my husband’s lovely grandparents, who are just SO very special. It was such a lovely trip filled with lots of memory making, good eats and absolutely breath taking scenery. I just don’t know if it ever gets old. I had a hard time coming home this time. I wanted to stay… possibly forever. On one of our days there, I got to stroll around the city with my two loves, drink coffee out of a bowl and just BE. TOGETHER. Truly, one of the best days of 2014!
^^ We went to Tartine for a morning bun ( Leah said it was a MUST) and an amazing ham, cheese and sun dried tomato concoction on homemade toasted bread…. HEAVEN! ^^
^^Days where I get to just wear a light jacket are my fav! Also, I am kind of IN LOVE with my new Nars lipstick ( in Schiap)! It is just fab, and ironically, I am so unafraid to wear it. Its just pretty darn it!! ^^
 ^^ I am such a fan of my Timi & Leslie bag. I don’t travel without it! ^^

Feel free to message us or leave a comments regarding what I wore. Most of it is stuff that I have had for a while, but I would be more than happy to point you to something similar!
Until next time San Fran….
Have a great weekend friends!
-J
Pssst…. 2 more days to enter the Freshly Picked giveaway! Enter HERE! Winner will be announced Monday!

A “WINTER WONDERLAND” BABY SPRINKLE

Our #TBT (Throwback Thursday) Party this week is a baby shower I put together for our sweet friend, Shara. Baby number two was on the way, and I wanted to do something simple, not over the top, but still oh so special. 
It was a “winter wonderland” theme with some confetti markings as well. My main focus was to have “snow” hanging from the ceiling and an amazing dessert table. It was January, so it just felt right. 
^^The invite (Rock Paper Scissors) ^^
I actually put confetti in the envelopes as well! That always a nice surprise for the recipient! yay! 
^^ I did simple mantel decor by using fake snow and cotton balls, flowers, candles, DIY anthro inspired letters and a handmade felt banner. I put modge podge on the bottom of the votive candle jars and sprinkled glitter on them to give them a little something extra. Also, the banner consists of felt flags and wooden beads from JoAnn’s that I painted an aqua blue…. shara’s favorite color.^^
^^ White flowers are just so classy to me. They ALWAYS work!! ^^

^^ The dessert bar was my favorite part! So many yummy treats, especially those Aunt Ellie’s Campfire Crispies! I mean…. seriously. ^^
^^ Hand-lettering on the chalkboard. Always fun! ^^
^^”To go treat bags” are always a good idea when you are serving lots of sweets. Guests took extras home to their kids. That is what they said at least. I am SURE that they probably had a treat or two in their car…. in private! ^^
^^ Anything you can do to make writing “thank-you” notes a little easier on a new mom really helps. I had each of the guests address their own envelope, and I had already written Shara’s address on the back as well. All she had to do was write the simple note, and put a stamp on it. Easy! ^^
My only tutorial I took pics of because I am the worst at stopping throughout my projects to take tutorial pics, as I get too excited favorite tutorial that I can share with you are the DIY color-blocked spoons I made. Pretty self-explanatory…. just tape your utensils down with painters’ tape while blocking off different sections. Paint your first color, allow drying time, move your tape and block off another section, and repeat until you get the desired look. It was time consuming, but man… I am such a sucker for little details! ^^

P.S. Tomorrow is Friday!!! WHOOP WHOOP!
-J

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