Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Little bit country, little bit chic

Handmade Bracelet using vintage fabric, lace, and daisy bead - $12.95

Vintage! Curated by PrettyGonzo on artfire

Friday, October 5, 2012

Pumpkin Seeds

The season is here for children and the young at heart to start putting together their Halloween costumes, pick out the perfect pumpkins to carve, and to bake pumpkin seeds.  If you have never tried baking the seeds then make this year the year!





How to:
Start by separating the seeds from the pumpkin pulp.  Then rinse seeds under water in a colander.  Once the seeds are cleaned, cover them in salt water and let them rest in the fridge for 24 hours in a sealed container.

After 24 hours, drain the seeds (do not rinse) and put them in a roasting pan or cake pan.  Now at this point you can either bake them as is, or you can season them in a variety of different ways.  I like to coat them with a little (not too much!) olive oil and then sprinkle them with garlic salt.

Bake at 250 for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Then I turn the temperature up to 325 and bake until dry; stirring frequently and keeping an eye on them.

Once done, I spread them out onto paper towel until they are cool.  I then store them in a ziplock bag.  
I'm not sure how long they keep....I eat them within a few days as they are so addicting!

If you have a favorite way to season them, please share with me!

Ten Little Lady Bugs

This week's theme in my Daycare is Lady Bugs.  The book for today was Ten Little Ladybugs, by Melanie Gerth and Illustrated by Laura Huliska-Berth.  This book is about 10 ladybugs that disappear one by one.  It's a great way to teach little ones how to count backwards from ten to zero.

Do you have this book in your collection?  If so, how about making Ten Little Lady Bugs to go with it?  All you need is 10 wooden spoons, red and black paint, and googly eyes.  The children loved acting out the book with the ladybugs while I read it out loud to them.