Day 37 - Kidfest Louisville

This past weekend we attended a local event called Kidfest Louisville. It was the first time it was held and, all in all, it was a pretty good time.

What it was:

Kidfest Louisville was an event organized by local businesses and hosted Lil Cheezers and The Mommy's Nest for families and children. There was food, music and booths with a range of family friendly things. It was a nonprofit event, so any money they got after expenses were paid went to The Mommy's Nest. For those of you who don't know, The Mommy's Nest is a local nonprofit that helps mommies in the community.

What we thought:

We went to this not expecting too much since it was the first time Kidfest Louisville was held. It was set up a bit awkwardly but other than that it was a nice turn out. Unfortunately, it was really geared for kids ages 4 to 10. My toddler had a blast at the booth for Heartland Music Together but everything else was not really age appropriate for him. They had 4 bouncy houses that were a hit with the kids and there was also face painting and live kids music. The best thing about the event though was the food. This was the first time I had heard of Lil Cheezers and Grind Gourmet Burgers but they did not disappoint. Everyone ate the food and loved it. I can't wait to try Lil Cheezers' other grilled cheese sandwiches.

I know there are a lot of little festivals and family events in our area, especially in the fall. They are a great way to get out of the house and have some fun family time. It's also a great way to support your community and learn about local businesses.    

Day 32 - Nontraditional Shepherd's Pie

I know I promised more on the giveaway today but my children have prevented me from getting things done. Oh, and it is also a holiday for my family today. It's Dia de los Muertos so I have been busy with that. We did a Harry Potter themed celebration and dinner was a traditional British dish, Shepherd's Pie. However, I am anything but traditional so I changed it up a bit. Here's my recipe. I hope you try it out!

Nontraditional Shepherd's Pie:

What you need:

1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 lb ground beef (you could also use bison or lamb)
1 medium onion (diced)
2 large carrots (diced)
2 leeks (thinly sliced)
1 cup sliced button mushrooms
1 cup peas
1 c chicken broth
2 Tbsp ketchup
1 tsp rosemary
1 Tbsp parsley
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
About 3 to 4 c Mashed potatoes (you can use instant or homemade, fresh or leftover)
1/4 c shredded cheddar or parmesan cheese (optional)

What you do:

Make the mashed potatoes how ever you like them first and set them aside. If you are using leftover mashed potatoes you do not need to heat them up. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large saute pan, heat the veggie oil over medium high heat. Add beef, onion, carrots, leeks and mushrooms. Cook until meat is browned or about 10 minutes. Drain the fat and then add the chicken broth, ketchup and spices. Simmer until the sauces thickens or about 10 minutes. Add the peas. Pour into an 8x8 or larger baking dish. Cover  with your mashed potatoes. Sprinkle cheese over potatoes. Bake for about 30 minutes or until mashed potatoes look golden in color.

What I would change:

It was actually really tasty. My family all loved it too. Next time, I might go for a more traditional Shepherd's Pie with lamb instead of beef. In England a Shepherd's Pie made with beef is actually a Cottage Pie but lets not get technical. We loved it and I hope you do too!     

Day 23 - Winter Cupcakes

Today, I had my second cupcake decorating class. We focused on winter/holiday cupcakes: Christmas trees, ornaments, snowmen, and even hot chocolate (the ones with the candy cane bits). We also made two different cake pops: Santa hats & ornaments. My favorite cupcakes were the snowmen cupcakes that we made, but the hot chocolate cupcakes had the cutest idea. However, all of the cupcakes were very cute and I definitely would make them again. The cake pops, on the other hand, need a lot of work.

Here's the directions to make the snowman cupcake:

What you need per cupcake:

A cupcake
White frosting
Two chocolate chips
Five or six mini chocolate chips
One chocolate graham cracker
One orange slice gummy
Crystallized sugar to cover

What you do per cupcake:

Frost cupcake as smoothly as possible.
Press cupcake top into bowl of crystallized sugar.
Find the middle of the cupcake and place the large chocolate chips slightly above center line for eyes.
Cut out the nose from the orange gummy and insert slightly below eyes for nose. It can be any shape you want.
Using mini chocolate chips, make the snowman's smiling mouth.
Take half of a graham cracker (two of the little partitions), and cut out a rectangle shape and half of an oval very carefully and slowly with a serrated knife to avoid cracking.
To place graham on cupcake, take serrated knife and finding the line of the cupcake where the top of the cupcake and the liner meet. Very gently, slice at horizontal opening to the level of the snowman's eyes.
Insert rectangle into slot.
Using frosting, place frosting on flat edge of the half oval piece and place vertically on top of rectangle to complete to form the hat's brim.
Use any color frosting to decorate hat.

That is a snowman cupcake!

What I thought:

I really enjoyed this class and I'm sad that it's over. I'm looking forward to making some of these cupcakes for my family & friends. Hopefully, I will be taking another class in the spring.

Day 18 Monthly Subscription Boxes

A couple months ago I decided to try out a couple different monthly subscription boxes. I found the idea by seeing an ad for one on the side of my facebook main page. I can never decide on just one so I got a couple of them and thought I would share what I have found so far.

What it is:

For those of you who don't know what these are it's really easy to explain. It is a box of items that is sent to you monthly. What's great about them is the fact that you can find a subscription for just about anything. We have tried so far:

Picky Bunny (Gently loved clothes for Baby/Toddler)
Bluum (Items for Baby & Mom)
Ecocentric Mom (Items for Pregnancy, Baby, Mom)
Citrus Lane (Toys and must haves for Baby/Toddler)
Love With Food (Food Samples)
Birchbox Man (Grooming and lifestyle items for Guys)

What we thought:

Picky Bunny: We got two monthly subscription boxes from Picky Bunny (1 for each child) and used it for only two months. You can get one of four different plans: budget, basic, boutique, or bundle. We chose the budget bunny because it fit our lifestyle the best.  The clothes were in great condition and some even came with the tags still on. In the first boxes the sizes weren't right and they didn't do a great job matching the clothing items with what I requested. After sending them an email about it they quickly gave my a partial refund and made sure they had everything correct in their system. The second boxes we got from them were all the right sizes and better fit my preferences but still weren't great. We decided it was easier to go to a consignment sale or other secondhand shop and get what we really want rather than depending on someone else to basically read our minds.

Love With Food: I was really excited for this monthly box because it is food and because for every box you buy they donate a meal to a charity. However, when the box came the first time it was not all that thrilling. The sample sizes are small and the theme was not to our liking. The theme was "Getting back into skinny jeans". I don't know about you but when I want to try new food items as a splurge I don't want a bunch of healthy foods. The samples did taste ok but they also forgot one of the items for our box. I contacted customer service and they responded right away that they were sending me the missing item. I was rather shocked and pleasantly surprised to find about 12 of the sample item in the mail a week later. The second box was also not very thrilling though. The box was a back to school theme and had a bunch of snacks you could throw into a kid's lunch. My toddler ate the applesauce pouch right away but we haven't even looked at the other items again since it came. I guess I was hoping for something a little more adventurous and something with better themes. We cancelled this one after two months as well.

Birchbox Man: I got this one to see if my picky husband would branch out and try anything new for his pampering routine. Seriously, he takes more time getting ready than I do. Anyway, we have gotten 2 boxes and it is definitely a keeper. They send samples but they are nice size samples and if you like an item you can go on their site and get the full size product for a discount. The first box had shampoo, conditioner, face cleanser, body powder, cologne, and a pair of boxers. My hubby liked everything nut the shampoo and conditioner (then again all he will use is Herbal Essences). The second box came with some shaving oil, face/body cleanser, hair styling cream, cologne, a jigger and whiskey stones. There was also a gift card for $10 to an online whiskey store. My husband loves this box and looks forward to it now. I would highly recommend getting the men in your life a subscription to Birchbox Man as a gift.     

As to the Ecocentric Mom, Bluum and Citrus Lane boxes, I will have to let you know in another couple weeks. We have only gotten one box of each so far and I like to give most companies a couple chances to wow me before I decided if I like them or not.