dylbug giveaway winner!

The winner of the Dylbug onesies 3-pack is:

joolee,

love these! i just found out i'm expecting my 3rd, so baby stuff is on the brain...count me in!

Congratulations Joolee! Email giveaways@petitelefant.com asap and we'll get you in touch with Dylbug.

heritage

aren't these family trees lovely? I think so. the company, my tree and me, offers custom family history art and do-it-yourself options (think fill-in-the-blank) for $45 to $100. What wonderful heirlooms and artwork to display in your home, or gift to parents, newlyweds, or even for a nursery. I'm eyeing that colorful tree for myself.

{found via ohdeedo}

laundry room nook {for the Kinder}.

Our laundry room is much like a galley kitchen in a Manhattan apartment: long and narrow without much space to work with. I've been brainstorming over the last few years about how to make it a little more user friendly, a little more family friendly.

The solution went thussly:

Step A}: Buy a coat rack from IKEA in the As-Is section for $3.99. Bring it home and screw it into the laundry room wall.

Stand back and admire your work.

Step B}: Buy an old, old bench from D.I. for $5. Take it home and paint it red.

Do a little happy dance because not only is the color of the paint perfect, it's oil so it's shiny and the red paint compliments the shabby apple green paint of the walls.

Step C}: Let it dry overnight and shimmy it into place under the coat rack on the wall.

Smile, because the bench fits perfectly and is short enough for your little people to sit on while they remove muddy/snowy/dripping boots.






Step D}: Go pour yourself a cold drink. You've just completed the easiest transformation of a laundry room in the history of laundry rooms.

Enjoy. I know I will.

shoe problem {it's called addiction}.

I have a problem. And the problem is the shoes.





You see? It would have taken two laundry baskets to hold all the shoe love you see here. I stopped at one, it seemed excessive enough.


I laid them all out on the dining room table for you to see. It's a problem. I just can't figure out which ones to part with, I love them all. I need your help sorting them out. Which ones do I donate, give to a friend, or keep? Seriously, it's time to give my closet a break.






I'm not parting with these. They serve the purpose of being cute with every outfit and adorning my feet when I hang out with my father's side of the family.





Besides, haven't you always wanted a pair of shoes that say this?





Me too.





These are my go-to foxy, tall, black high heels. They go with everything, especially fancy things like black dresses. I love them and will wear them to my own funeral, so they're not on the chopping block.





These are hideous, and delicious all at the same time. I wear them almost every day from October-May because it's cold in Utah. Really cold.

These are my comfy shoes. Vans, Converse, and running shoes. I wear all of them on a regular basis {some more than others, *cough, cough* running shoes}.





Flip flops.

I have Croc high heels {don't knock 'em}, Tevas {I live in UTAH}, Reef sandals {go buy a pair today, you can thank me later}, more Crocs {saved my feet at BlogHer}, pink Crocs {for mowing the lawn}, flip flops for painting projects, and my Birkenstocks. I adore my Birkenstocks. They will be my alternate pair of shoes when my feet start hurting at my funeral.





Then we have flats.

I'm obsessed with flats. I wear heels to fancy places and come home to wear flat shoes. I don't want to part with any of them. Especially that pair in the center on top. PONY. Oh, how they hug my feet. I walked all over New York in those things last year and never felt a thing. *sigh* Those can't go either.





Last, but certainly not least, are my high heels. The superstars of any girl's closet.

The ones in the bottom middle row? I've had them for 12 years. They're a pair of Nine West {my favorite shoe designer} blue leather heels, and they're comfortable in a way most high heels aren't. But they're scuffed. And they're not really that hot anymore.

Mercy, I need help. That's 27 pair of shoes, not counting the ones I was wearing while taking the photos {slippers. we all need a pair}.

Help me eliminate shoes so I can make room for more. Because I think Viktor's outer limit of shoe closet takeover might be closer to 35 pair than 27 and I want to see him sweat.

the cost of having children.

{from the archives}

Pregnancy for me is not a beautiful, ripe, created by God for the wonder of the earth situation. For me it looks something like this:

four of these a day
{pumped into my body like this}

+

central line dressing kit
{to be changed by an in-home nurse, or my husband. weekly}

+

and lots and lots and lots of this

It's literally survival-of-the-fittest, and if mother nature had her way, I would be long gone by now. I try to keep it pretty light on Petit Elefant, but I've been thinking about the cost of parenthood recently, and I think it's a topic worth exploring a little. I'm not sure why I've been thinking about it, although it might have something to do with the fact that my four-year-old C {who caused all the trouble in the first place} is fascinated by the scarring all over my arms and wants to know where it came from. I have no qualms about telling him

"it came from you baby, all the scarring came from you."

The crazy thing is that even though I spent a year of my life in bed, on the verge of meeting my maker, I would do it again in a heartbeat if I could get another little C out of the deal.

I'm curious, to what lengths do the rest of you go to have babies? Was it accidental and you're still trying to find your way out of it? Are you one of those beautiful, glowing pregnant women? Or did you, like me, have to fight tooth and nail for each baby you have?

{I made this test multiple choice; you know, to make it a little easier on you}

baby shower: details part 2

Do you love party favors? I do. I love to send guests home with a sweet little memento of the evening, to thank them for joining the celebration. The trick this time was coming up with something that was a) semi-useful, b) semi-thematic), and c) very very budget friendly for our large guest list. Also, I wanted to avoid candy and anything labor intensive like fancy sugar cookies. The final product: little bundles of mulling spices with cinnamon, cloves, allspice, orange zest. Not exactly pumpkin-y, but still seasonal and packaged to tie in with the invites, buntings, etc.

I purchased whole spices in bulk from a local grocer, tied them up in tiny kraft bags with ribbons and tags complete with instructions. A cinch, very affordable (approx. 60 sticks of cinnamon= approx. $1.50), and they made my living room smell delicious.  I did have some difficulty finding small packaging, so I settled on the last 2 packages of small kraft sacks I could find anywhere in town.

The spices can be added to your favorite hot cider or wassail and steeped for about 30 minutes. I recommend placing them in a tea ball first, but if you don't have one, just strain the bits before serving. To fragrance your home, add the spices to water and heat on the stove on very low heat for couple of hours.

baby shower: details part 1

It's the little touches that make a special occasion feel, well, special. Don't you think? I really wanted to play up our theme without investing a lot of money on one-time-use decor. So we made use of a pumpkin surplus at the pumpkin patch for polka dot lanterns on the doorstep, a few candles in the serving area, a few flourishes of leaves and berries, and of course the paper buntings I've been enjoying since the onset of autumn. Observe:

At least I think I pulled it all off. You'd have to ask my guests to be certain, but the guest of honor certainly looks happy! She looks radiant actually, which probably has nothing to do with the shower at all!

baby shower: fun & games

So we've all played the games with the candy bars in the diapers, the mystery baby food jars, alphabet letters and so on. I wanted an activity that was optional to guests, but that might also get people talking and mingling. I saw the idea for a custom-made ABC Book for baby (somewhere, on another blog, I just can't remember) and went with it. I provided a mini chipboard photo album and card-stock cut to size, placed alphabet stickers on each page (some pages got 2 letters, since there weren't quite 26 pages in the album) and offered a bucket full of markers, crayons, colored pencils, etc. Guests chose a letter, then drew a picture for that page, as in the example below. The finished book was embellished with ribbons that coordinated with the shower invites and decor.

Now I for one happen to enjoy word games, but not everyone is comfortable with those, so I wanted to include something along the lines of mad-libs, but less time consuming and, um, grammatical. Hence, the birth-story-candy-gram. Guests placed and re-arranged candy bars strategically within the story strips to fill in the blanks. For example: They had no idea the MOUNDS of diapers they would be changing. The candy bar of course, being a Mounds bar. When completed, our guest of honor took the sweet story home to her husband as an arsenal of snacks for long hours in the hospital. Silly, but something, at least.

Nothing fancy or complicated with these activities, and guests could participate at their leisure. The mommy and daddy-to-be seemed happy. And, I had fun putting them together.  If you are interested in the story I put together for the candy gram, let me know in the comments and I'll post it.

pioneer woman book signing.

I only have a few things to say about last night. One of them is that I'm sorry I dragged my poor children to SLC on a school night to wait out in the cold in vain.

Another is that Ree remembered me and called me by name as she walked out the door. Life lesson: it's likely someone of her caliber will know who you are if you make a big enough fool of yourself on first impression.




I won't lie, there was bad behavior that made me feel a little sad, especially that Precocious was there to witness some of it firsthand.




The upside? Ree is fabulous, lovely, and of good report. She didn't issue a restraining order so I think we're still besties. And her beautiful, wonderful, gracious mother-in-law hung out in the back alley with me, Marie, Melissa, Carina, and my family for quite a while. She took my cold hands between her own and warmed them like only a mother would. Also? Missy is as beautiful and lovely in real life as she is onscreen.





Did I mention we hung out with Dooce for a little while? She's so darn thin and pretty in real life, and she just had a baby for Pete's Sake. Her assistant Katy was rocking the most foxy urban outfit I've seen in quite some time and I'll pick it apart for resources later. She was also delightful to chat with, can't wait to do it again.




All in all? It's always a winning night when you get to hang out with girlfriends, especially if it's in a cold and dark alleyway with Ree Drummond's family.

p.s. The book is beautiful. Buy one for everyone you know for the holidays.

Nutrition tip..........November

Fall is here and it is apple time!!




Here’s an easy guide to help choose the best apples for your needs, whether baking, cooking, or just simply eating.

• For eating straight from the basket, crisp, juicy, and tangy varieties are best. Red Delicious is the most popular eating apple, but if you prefer a denser, tarter snack, try a Granny Smith, or a softer-fleshed McIntosh. Or check out the distinctive tastes of local farm varieties like Newton, Pippin, Macoun, honey crisp, pink lady or Sweet Sixteen.
• To make applesauce, McIntosh is moist and flavorful. Cortlands and Braeburns also make good choices.
• When baking, Rome apples are recommended because they hold their shape well. You can also try Fuijis, which are sweeter, wetter, and have a spicy flavor.
• In pies, a mix of apples is best. Include Golden Delicious for sweetness and good shape, a tart apple like Granny Smith, and some flavorful varieties like Pippin, Winesap, Crispin and Jonagold.

When selecting apples look for a shiny skin. Dull appearing apples will not be as crisp or as tasty. Your apples should be firm and free of bruises and punctures. Once you bring them home, keep your apples refrigerated. Fruit bowls are beautiful, but your apples will not stay crispy for long on the countertop. In fact, they will last 10 times longer when refrigerated.

Quick and Easy Apple Crisp

1 cube margarine or butter- softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup regular oats
1 tsp cinnamon
5-6 apples- I like the sweet ones best. Just wash and core, and cut into small slices.

Place about 3/4 of mixture into a 9 X 13 pan and press in to make a crust. Then layer the apple slices on the top and then sprinkle the rest of the crumble mixture on top of the apples. Bake 350 for about 20-25 minutes or until apples look soft. Serve warm with a dollop of vanilla yogurt! Delicious and your house will smell so yummy!

baby shower: eat!

As much as I love (read: swoon, gush, ooh and ahh over) a gorgeous elaborate baby shower or bridal shower, and as much as I love to throw them, it just sometimes isn't in the cards. In fact, I welcome the challenge of doing it up nice on a small budget. For tonight's a little pumpkin soiree we agreed upon an open house, serving sweets only. Grown up kinds of sweets that could be made ahead of time.

And so I share with you: Aunt Jan's Pumpkin Cake, which I've adapted for cupcakes because I think they are tad more festive than a sheet-cake. I made them ahead of time and will be frosting them today. They are really good.

4 eggs

1 cup oil

1 2/3 cup sugar

2 cups pumpkin

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/4 tsp. salt

Blend together until smooth. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes (rectangular cake pan) or 20 minutes (cupcakes). Top with your favorite cream cheese frosting. I like to add a pinch of cinnamon to the frosting, and also found it sorta cute to dollop the frosting on top a la a slice of pumpkin pie.

A most popular treat this evening was my Toffee Apple Dip. I've shared it on several occasions and it's always the first to go, and garners the most requests. Alas, mine was devoured before I could snap a pretty photo. Use your imagination.

1 8oz pkg cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

dash of vanilla

1/3 cup toffee chips

Blend with an electric mixer til well combined. serve with sliced tart apples. Take it to your next party, play-group, church social, office luncheon. you will be adored. you will be begged for the recipe. you will hestiat to share it because you want all the glory for yourself. share anyway.

More details to follow. It's been so fun to pull this together; I hope the mommy-to-be will be pleased.

***UPDATE: at least one guest was quoted as saying "these cupcakes are freakin' awesome." Just sayin.

embarrassing pioneer woman story {starring me}.

Pioneer Woman is coming to town. Yes, that Pioneer Woman. I'm very excited to go with a gaggle of girlfriends {and Precocious} to her book signing tonight in S.L.C. I don't own the cookbook yet but I hear it's phenomenal and I'm dying to get my hands on it, and to hang out with Ree again.

I met/accosted her at BlogHer this year. I'm sure she doesn't remember, unless she talks about it in therapy every week.

Remember how I went to BlogHer this year and threw a super fun, swanky party? I really got out of my box and it was scary and awesome, all at the same time. It made me stretch beyond my normal social capacities, which are glaringly limited.


I had a great time at BlogHer. I did things I don't normally do at home.




I draped myself all over a cardboard cutout of Edward and danced like it was 1989 at MamaPop's party.








I jumped off banquettes {completely sober} at BowlHer.





I harassed Carson Kressley at the amazing Nikon party.


Me: Carson I adore you! And I just cry every time I watch How to Look Good Naked! You make me want to get naked! I mean, uh, not with you. Just uh, I feel great when I watch your show about women getting naked. For confidence! It's about the confidence!

Carson: Uhhhhhh. Ummmmm. Your business card is adorable, who's your designer?

Me: *I love you!*

You see what I mean.

Remember the incident of introducing myself to Nie Nie at Costco? You'd think with my sordid history I'd avoid people altogether but somehow it emboldens me.

{{sigh}}


By the time I spotted Ree in the lobby of the Sheraton I was beside myself with fatigue and in full-on blogebrity crush mode. And I had an idea! I was going to introduce myself to Ree!

dictionary.com: INSANE: utterly senseless: an insane plan.


Marie and I were headed out, on our way to catch a ride to the Nikon party when I saw Ree in the lobby. And she was flanked Marlboro Man and her two adorable, and I do mean adorable, little boys.

Me: Marie, we have to go meet her.

Marie: Um okay, sure let's go get in line.

Me: She has to know us! We just thew a party and she won a BlogLuxe award! And I emailed her one time! She totally knows who I am and I'm going to go say hi and I want you to take my picture!

Marie: Sure, uh, yeah let's go say hi.

So I proceeded to nervous nudge my way over and shove myself in front of Ree.

Me: Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! I love you! You make my life happy and fuzzy and warm and even if I'm having a bad day I come to Pioneer Woman and it makes all the bad things good and all the sad things happy and I looooooooooooooooooove you!

Ree: Um, okay hi. It's nice to meet you.

Me: And there's Marlboro Man, and he's so handsome! And your little boys! Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Ree: Oh that's so nice of you to say. I think you emailed me one time.

Me: I did! I did, I did, I did! I emailed you. Because I love you!

Ree: That's so nice thank you.

{{backing away slowly}}

Me: Can I get a picture with you? You're so pretty! Is that your camera? My camera is small and ghetto but I sure love your camera! Is that the one that takes all those amazing pictures? Is it a Nikon? I sure love Nikon! Are you going to the Nikon party later? Maybe I'll see you there! Maybe we can exchange friendship rings!

Ree: ummmmmmmmm......

Me: Do you mind if I put my arm around you? My you're pretty! And tall! I love standing next to tall women because I'm tall! Do you see? I'm tall too!

Ree: *smiling politely*

Me: So, you won an award for this super awesome party I threw and I want to give it to you!

Ree: I'm so sorry I didn't come, I didn't know about it until after it happened.

Me: That's okay, maybe we can hang out later and I can give it to you!

Ree: {{looking around nervously}}

But it gets worse. I gave Ree the swag bag and award from SocialLuxe after her panel on Saturday. I sat 2nd row from the front and made awkward eye contact with her while she was speaking. Because we were besties by then, and surely she remembered me! Afterwords I met her in the hallway to hand over the loot.

Ree: Walk with me.

Me: {dying a little inside} Of course I'll walk with you! Is that Marlboro Man waiting for you? And your two sweet little boys? I have a little boy the age of your baby! It sure makes me miss my son. We have boys the same age!

Ree: Is this the swag bag? My heavens it's heavy.

Me: I'll carry it!

Ree: Wow, that's some award. I'm not sure where I'll put it.

Marlboro Man: I know just where you can put it. Right on your desk on your.......

{That's when it all got fuzzy. Marlboro Man is much taller than he looks on your small computer screen. And he's rather, *ahem* handsome.}

Me: Uhhhh. Ummm. Buuuuuhhhhh. Just wait till you see what's inside the bag Ree, it's amazing! There's a video camera from Kodak! And there's candy for the boys!

I then proceeded to dig through the bag and started handing stuff out to the boys. Like it was my bag now and I was Santa Claus. Because? I'll never know.

Ree: Yeah, I usually hold off on the candy for bribery, but thanks.

Me: Ooooh I'm so sorry! I can't believe I just handed your boys each a bag of gummy confectiony goodness. My bad. I usually wait to hand out candy too. Because I'm a good mom, just like you.

The boys had run ahead, trying to get Marlboro Man to open the bags. Because it was dinnertime.

I win.

Here's to hoping tonight goes well. Wish me luck, I'll need it.

Go Ree, I LOVE YOU!

voting day.

Are you voting today? No matter where you live you need to do it. I don't care if you have kids hanging on your legs, it's a basic right and you have to maintain it.

Viktor always makes me vote. Even if it's 6:00 P.M. and dinner isn't on the table and the house is crazy. It's an essential right that not everyone has, so make the most of it!

p.s. You can't complain about politics unless you're actively involved in making the choices.

p.p.s. Stephanie's dad is running for mayor and I sure hope he wins.

Thanksgiving Point Halloween 2009

Viktor here again.



Ever since I moved north from the temperate climate of Southern California I have really enjoyed fall.  It is by far my most favorite season.  After a long, hot, and dry summer, cool crisp air is a very welcome change.  With fall being one of my favorite seasons it is natural that Halloween would be one of my favorite holidays.  Now I am not a fan of witches, zombies, and monsters, but I am a fan of little kids dressing up as such.

About 15 years ago, a very prominent local family from the Word Prefect fame purchased a centrally located farm and started converting it into what is now Thanksgiving Point. Thanksgiving Point is a quality-of-life, education-based charity with a "mission to to inspire the minds and renew the spirits of young and old by providing unique learning experiences, family-friendly entertainment, and opportunities for discovery in a safe and beautiful environment. "

This last weekend as a whole family we went to Thanksgiving Point to take part in their Halloween festivities.  Each year Thanksgiving Point puts on Halloween thingy called Cornbelly's.  Cornbelly's has a giant corn maze, rides, bouncy thingies, basically all of the fall festivity thingies that we all love.

Giant rocking chairs,




Cereal Killers,



and of course a cardboard robot and Harry Potter's Hermione.



For his preschool party, the little one decided that he wanted to come dressed as a mummy. This seemed like a simple costume to make happen for a 5 year old so we agreed. This simple agreement was the cause of two unintended consequences:

1. Once you wrap your mummy up in two rolls of toilet paper, bathroom breaks become a problem.  Make sure that you drain before you wrap.  It's kind of ironic that you are wrapped in 1000' of single ply but you have to hold it in.  It was the 5 year old that pointed this irony out to me as he was ripping layers off.
2. When you go to the dollar store to buy some cheap white face paint for your mummy (for a dollar), remember that just because you think that Halloween is celebrated on one day only, to a 5 year old, Halloween is a season.  Expect him to paint his face white each and every day that there is any paint left.  Everything that he will touch from now on turned white.

Yup, that's him with his face. We had that going for almost a week straight.

cozy cuteness

I'm wishing I even had the first inkling of knowing how to knit (crochet? do I even know the difference?) after admiring these colorful cozy accessories. Sadly, I've never picked up a needle (hook? which is it?)

it's featured on a little girl, but I would totally wear this hat every day, all winter long.

really, could keeping warm get any cuter than this?

found via the Purl Bee

anybody wanna make me one? or all?

halloween feast

photo from food network

Ok, so not exactly a feast, and not a clever assortment of gory concoctions, but this is the meal we frequently enjoy on Halloween. It's not exactly super healthy, but it's wholesome, simple, savory, and as festive as you'd like to make it. I don't believe in cutting calories on holidays.

Count of Monte Cristo Sandwiches

8 slices good quality white bread

dijon mustard

3 ounces sliced swiss cheese

3 ounces sliced sharp cheddar

6 ounces sliced cooked turkey

6 ounces sliced cooked ham

salt and pepper

3 eggs

1/3 cup milk

dash nutmeg or cayenne (optional)

unsalted butter

olive oil

Preheat oven to 350.

Spread each slice of bread with mustard. Top 4 slices of bread with half the cheese, then half the turkey, half the ham, salt & pepper. Repeat a layer of meat, then cheese and top with the remaining slices of bread, mustard side down. Press gently.

In a shallow dish, whisk together the eggs and milk, season with salt and pepper and nutmeg or cayenne

Heat a large skillet over medium heat, add a bit of butter, a bit of oil. Dip and coat each sandwich in egg/milk mixture and lay in the skillet. Cook until just brown, a couple minutes per side. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake until cheese is nice and melty, about 5-10 minutes.

We like to serve with applesauce or a tossed salad winter greens, diced apples, chopped nuts. Dessert probably comes from the trick-or-treat bag. Enjoy!

shade clothing celebrates 5 years.

Can you believe it's been five years since Shade Clothing opened its doors? Neither can I. What did I do before all those cap sleeved, extra long tees filled my closet? I'm not sure. They kind of rule the roost around here, I must have at least 15-20 {no lie}.

Here's a look at what's hot at Shade right now, and some peeks back at me wearing Shade over the last few years. Remember my Mom 2.0 Summit Wardrobe Crisis? Do you have awesome photos of yourself wearing Shade? They want to hear about it if you do.

Turquoise Scoop Neck 3/4 Sleeve Tee {feels like buttah}
layered underneath a 3/4 Sleeve V Neck Cardigan
{jewelry from Stella & Dot}

Long Sleeve Oxford

Same 3/4 sleeve tee as above, layered underneath
my new favorite Drape Front Cardigan.
This top makes any outfit chic, I'm in love.

mummy halloween costume {on the cheap}.

Mummy Halloween Costume:

+

=

Just for the record, next time I might splurge and spend a couple of dollars on toilet paper instead of the .79 cent super save you see above.

And there's a fatal flaw in the preschool mummy costume: your kid can't go to the bathroom while wearing it. The TP sure comes in handy when said kid breaks down halfway through preschool and runs for the john.

Just warning all you would be mummy makers out there; this was a Beta run. C will be something else entirely on Halloween.

how to: make caramel apples.

You can't have Halloween without caramel apples, it's unconstitutional. And they're easier, way easier, to make than they look.





Here's what you need to get started:

Apples
Caramels
Popsicle Sticks
Milk

We made 10 caramel apples with the amount of caramel you see in the photo above {4 cups, or 2 lbs.}. It was a lot of caramel too, they were big apples.


Step 1:

Unwrap caramel and place in a double boiler pan on the stove-top. It's possible to melt the caramel in the microwave with a little bit of water but I prefer the stove-top, it's more fun for the kids to see it melt. Don't put all the caramel in at the same time, just put in enough to cover the bottom of the pan.




Step 2:

Stir the caramel around as the water heats up to keep the caramel from burning, and when it starts to get a little melty, add some milk. A tablespoon or so for each cup of caramel.




Once your caramel is pretty much liquid you want to add more caramel, like so.




Keep stirring that around for a while until it's all one big pool of caramel yumminess. Mmmmmm caramel. If you need to add a little bit of milk as you go, that's cool. You want it to be more liquid and less super viscous, so milk is good. Do that until you get this:




Step 3:

Once you're here it's time to start dipping apples! Keep the stove on so the caramel will stay warm, and keep stirring so you don't burn anything. Get a cookie tray & spray it with Pam or somesuch cooking spray so you'll have a place to put those delicious apples once they're all dipped and ready to dry.


Step 4:

Dip.




Be sure to coat the apple completely, using the wooden spoon if needed to *bathe* it, if you will. Until it looks like this:





Let the extra caramel drip off, put it on the greased cookie sheet to cool, and you end up with this:




Yum-O.

We actually dipped two of the apples in red sprinkles but weren't uber successful. You can roll them around in a whole variety of things: dry cereal, raisins, coconut, you name it. Just make sure to dip them in the dry goods immediately out of the pot because that caramel hardens fast.

Wasn't that fun? Too bad I didn't stick to my no-sugar diet for long and ate three, yes three, caramel apples all in one day. But they were delicious; does that count for anything?

Ichabod and Mr. Toad

If you're looking for a Halloween flick that's not super scary, we are rather fond of this oldie, narrated by Bing Crosby--one of my favorite old-school crooners. It's animated, it's short, and a great introduction to the Legend of Sleepy Hollow as written by Washington Irving. Note: The book is a great read this time of year, for older kids and grown ups.

On the same disc is The Adventures of Mr. Toad, of Wind in the Willows fame. My little boy hasn't been as interested in this one yet (he likes the Bing Crosby songs in the Ichabod Crane story) but it's a nice one, too. Perfect for a lazy blustery afternoon with hot cocoa.

You can probably find it at your local library and maybe even at your favorite movie rental establishment. Or at my house. Find a copy now to enjoy this weekend.