Valentine Bean Bag

Remember this Guest Post at No Biggie last Monday? While I was making my garland, my little 5 year old wanted a bean bag. He was so cute. The minute he looked at the hearts he exclaimed: "Lets make a bean bag!" I would show you the original, but it was sacrificed during a game of catch in the kitchen because it landed in a puddle of syrup from breakfast. Alas it went straight into the garbage. I never would have guessed a little bean bag would bring so many hours of fun.

Want to make your own Valentine Bean Bag?

Cut (2) heart shapes. Sew right sides together 1/4 inch around entire heart, minus a 1" opening.

Flip heart inside out. Iron. Fill with rice or small beads. Hand stitch heart closed. To withstand hours of tossing and catching, repeat hand stitching sveral times.

My boys have come up with several fun games to play with our valentine bean bags. After the first landed in syrup I have made several more!! With the cold weather, playing outside is not much of an option. Getting out my boys extra energy now has an outlet with our bean bag games.Here are a few ideas:

• Catch (obviously)  
• Hot Potato
• Juggling
• One Hand Catch
• Hide -n- Seek

Don't forget to enter My Valentine Giveaway for {2} $25 gift cards to La Caille in SLC!

Disneyland Wrap-Up

For my Disneyland Wrap-Up I just wanted to point out a few other great things about Christmas. Disney's Believe...in Holiday Magic night time show is so worth the trip. Camp out and get a great spot. Sleeping Beauty Castle is stunning: the snow, the icicles, the lights! At night when the fireworks are blasting off,  the castle is all a glow, the streets are sprinkling snow and as the finale they play "White Christmas". It is beautiful.

Here is a great video showing Sleeping Beauty's Castle. Better than anything we recorded.

Here are a few other bloggers with great Disney Tips:

Marie: Make and Takes
Kelly: Just Spotted
Lisa: Babes in Disneyland
Ride Max

Have a great weekend everyone!

La Caille Giveaway ~ Mid Week Munchies

*** This giveaway is now closed. Thank you.***

Happy February!! After Christmas and the whirlwind that is, I like tothink of January as a nice break  from all the hullabaloo. Here in Utah, January is full of snowy days, freezing temps and constant winter gear. That is why I love February! Right smack in the middle of winter you have this fantastic holiday where everyone say "I Love You!"  Valentine's Day is my favorite holiday (yes, more than Christmas) so why not celebrate Valentine's Day properly and have a GiVeAwAy!!

I am giving away {2} $25.00 gift certificates to La Caille.

Whether you want to take your sweetheart out for a romantic dinner or get some dessert with girlfriends or even give your GC as a gift. This is one giveaway you won't want to pass up.

I am insane over La Caille. It is one of the most beautiful restaurants in Utah. Located in Salt Lake City, situated on 22 acres La Caille's french grounds and chateau is an experience. The food is delicous and the desserts are to die for, can I just recommend when you go the Beignet Francaise

Details:

2 Lucky Winners, selected at Random.org, will each win a $25.00 gift certificate to La Caille. All you have to do is comment, on this post, telling me your plans for Valentine's Day. Giveaway Ends 2/9/11 @midnight.

Additional Entries:

• Tweet about this Giveaway, include me @artshoppeutah in your tweet {1 extra}
• Facebook this Giveaway {1 extra}
• Become a follower or are a follower {3 extra!}

*make sure and leave separate comments telling all about it*

Good Luck and Happy Valentine's Day
*La Caille has not sponsored this giveaway and has not dontated these gift certificates.

Setting Goals for the New Year

Last year I was all about getting ORGANIZED. I spent most of January de-cluttering our house, getting rid of excess and making rooms work effectively. Only to find out the end of January I was PREGNANT. Unfortunately, I had (literally) just gotten rid of all our "baby stuff", we thought a baby wasn't in our future. Even though I got organized I spend 9-ish months compiling a large amount of "new stuff" for the baby.

So, this year I am staying away from organizing and focusing on GOALS. In January,  we set family and personal goals. I typed the goals out on the computer and now we have them in a 3-ring binder.

Each Sunday, we have (about) a 15 minutes family meeting. In the meeting we review our family goals, and each person reviews their personal goals. We also go over the upcoming week and fill in what each family member has going on: soccer, parent teacher conferences, date night etc. After we fill in the week, we put it on our fridge for an easy reminder.

It keeps everyone on the same page and I am hoping (fingers crossed) I can instill a level of stick-to-it-tiveness (yes, I actually say this word) and a certain amount of follow through with my kids. 

As a family one of our goals is to complete 12 hours of community service. Once the snow thaws.... we will sit down (at our family meeting) and pick a service project. I am really excited to see my kids out of their comfort zones and giving back in some way.

I also jotted down some goals for 2011. Just a few: I want to learn how to make my favorite cake - just like my Mom - German Chocolate Cake. I want to learn to Ski. Quilt more. Read 3 financial books. I really tried to pick things I am passionate about and won't want to abandon after 2 weeks....hopefully reading them once a week is going to help.

What new goals have you set? Abandon them yet?

Twill Heart Garland

Happy Monday! Today, I am guest posting this adorable Twill Heart Garland at No Biggie. If you've never been to No Biggie ~ you must. Kami is amazing at crafts, cooking and thrifting.

You'll never guess where I found with the twill fabric?!?  So, you must hop on over to No Biggie and find out.

Midway Mania ~ Field Trip Fridays

Toy Story 3

My favorite ride at California is Midway Mania. It is the interactive 3-DToy Story Ride. We waited in line 1 1/2 hrs to take our turn. We waited so long in line, I actually got out of line, picked up dinner, brought it back, and ate dinner in line: Burritos, Hot Dogs, and Popcorn.

Midway Mania is a great family ride. My five year old and nine year loved it, but lets be honest, I loved it the most. One reason is: they let me ride and play the games while I carried the baby in his sling/carrier. As soon as we were off the ride, everyone was talking, comparing games and scores. Second reason I loved this ride: I won! best score in the family.

For more Disney Info on Midway Mania click here. Without question, we would have ridden over and over again, if not for the 1 1/2 hour long line. Next time we go; Midway Mania is our first stop.

You get to wear these fun 3-D glasses while riding/playing. Once you have your glasses you know you are almost there. To help pass the time here are three games we played to keep the kids busy:

I-Spy. With so much to do and see at Disneyland. I-Spy was a great game to keep the kids excited.

Line Competition. We played little competitions with the kids. ex. who can stand on one foot, the longest. Who can hold their breathe, the longest. Who can balance on the rail without their hands. Last man standing won. The line moves every couple minutes, even though it is almost a half a mile long! We played simple, small, physical activities that could be played and finished every couple minutes kept them entertained.

Roshambo. Thumb Wars, Arm Wrestling, Getting to Know other families in Line and Back Rubs. Ahhhh!

The funs not over yet! After riding, take a photo opp in the toy box!

Fast Pass

Upon entering the park it is critical to start your fast passes. Our family rule is Mom or Dad keep track/hold of the park tickets and fast passes. The sooner you start getting your fast passes, the sooner you'll get more. For more info on Fast Passes and which rides offer fast passes click here. We always get on-line before visiting and check which rides offer fast passes.

Lots of rides run out of fast passes before the day is over, so make sure you get fast passes early for the rides you can't leave the park without riding. Cross your fingers the other rides will still have passes available later in the day. We missed out on Tower of Terror, they said they ran out of fast passes by 2 p.m.. Also, even though a ride says you have to come back between this time and this time, you don't. As long as you use your pass after the time stated they will accept the fast pass, even if it is hours after the time you were suppose to return.

Questions, Questions, Question! Disney's Website is great at answering anything and everything.

Roast Red Pepper and Butternut Squash Soup ~ Mid Week Munchies

On New Years Eve, it was freezing...like 17 degrees freezing. So we decided to stay in. We had dinner about 9:30 p.m. played a few games and then the kids went out and braved the cold to do a little car sledding.

The menu for New Years was a-ma-zing-ly delicious. My sister and I made a variation on Red Pepper Soup {we added butternut squash} parmesan rolls, cold roast beef, chips and dip, sweets, treats and candy galore. The soup turned out so out of this world, I had to share. Disclaimer: I was originally given this recipe from my dear friend Ella, the squash, cream, cheese and a few proportions changes are my personal variations.

Roasted Red Pepper and Butternut Squash Soup

2-3 Red Peppers
1 medium Butternut Squash
2 cloves of garlic
1 medium onion
2 tablespoons flour
4 cans of chicken broth
3/4 cup of cream
1/2 cup of parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper

#1 Roast Peppers and Squash

Set oven to 450 degrees. Line your cookie sheet with tin foil. The pepper juice for some reason is really tricky to scrub off your pan. Lining with tin foil eliminates that problem.

Clean, cut, scrap and place. I roast the peppers and squash together. The peppers roast at 500 degrees and take about 15-20 minutes. After roasting, immediately place peppers in a paper bag, seal top and set aside. (For wonderful step-by-step directions visit Tammy's blog) The peppers steam in the paper bag and the skins are easy to remove. Turn the oven down to 400 degrees and cook the squash for another 20 minutes or until tender, check with a toothpick. While squash is roasting add a dollop of butter and salt and pepper.

#2 In your Stock Pot

In your stock pot, saute 2 cloves of garlic and half an onion chopped/minced with 1/2 cube of butter. Add 2 tablespoons flour to make a paste. Add 4 cans (14.5 oz.) of chicken broth. Allow broth to come to a simmer and allow flour paste to dissolve.

#3 Peppers and Blending

Remove skins from peppers. Peppers should be flimsy, slippery and soft when skins are removed. Cut skinny lengthwise slices and add to broth. Pour entire soup into blender and blend until smooth. About 2 minutes. 

#4 Finishing Touches

Pour soup back into stock pot and simmer. Add 3/4 cup of cream and 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese. Add cubed chunks of squash to soup by hand (approx. 2 cups), Simmer for 30 minutes on low heat and allow soup to thicken.

Add a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and Enjoy. The perfect soup on a cold winters day!