Omnivore loving vegan, gluten-free & beverage recipes
Sara is an architectural designer turned work-at-home Mom. She lives in New Jersey by way of New England and New York, with her husband and 3 kids under 8. She loves design, being creative, and spending time with family and friends. She loves checking out local businesses and eats and being apart of the local farm to table community. Continue Reading
One of my favorite things to do during the holiday season is to cook, bake and decorate. These are my top Food Themed Christmas Tree appetizer and snack ideas to bring to your next holiday party. With only a few simple ingredients and being able to make ahead of time, be sure to try out these delicious Christmas Tree ideas.
Slow Cooker Crock-Pot Butter Corn is the easiest side dish you could possibly have for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Holiday gatherings, or any dinner. All you need is frozen corn, unsalted butter, salt, pepper, and any optional seasonings. This side dish is also a kid-friendly favorite recipe! (gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan option)
This Parker House Rolls recipe has Maple Butter and Flakey Mediterranean Sea Salt sprinkled on top. These sweet-savory rolls are a solid yeast, bread roll recipe for any occasion or holiday.
(msg 21+) Try this fresh, colorful & festive, sweet & tart, icy-cold, effervescent very merry drink! It has ice, gin, cranberry cocktail box, cranberry or rosemary simple syrup, and lime juice, and it's topped with a lime wedge, fresh cranberries, and a rosemary sprig - all in a signature copper gin mule mug.
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DIY Imagination Box: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #InsideOutEmotions #CollectiveBias
When I heard Inside Out was available for purchase on November 3rd, we drove to Walmart to buy it, and you should too because it's an amazing movie for children and adults alike!
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
Hi Everyone, I first heard about the film Inside Out while listening to the NPR interview with Phyllis Smith (she played the character "Phyllis" in the hit TV show The Office of which I am a fan).
I am also a fan of the very talented and funny Amy Poehler who plays the voice of the character "Joy" in Inside Out.
After hearing so much positive media coverage of the film (see below for 'References and Further Reading'), I thought this is a film that I have to see.
Margo and I were in for such a treat when we sat down to watch this movie; Inside Out is entertaining for children and intellectually stimulating for adults too!
I do not want to give away any plot details but it vividly illustrates the emotions a child experiences as they mature.
As a parent, there were many points in the film that I connected with and found poignant.
A film that normalizes self-expression in a positive and constructive way in popular culture - like Inside Out does - is okay in my book!
My 18-month old, M, is at a stage where she is asserting her independence by doing things on her own, she says "No! I do it!" and/or "Bye, Mom, bye!"
That is my signal to give her some space and let her do her "thing."
She plays on her own, usually pretend play, occupying herself for a period of time, while I do something else nearby and then all of the sudden, she comes running, "Mommy! Ma-Mama!" - and then she's "glued" to my leg!
Right now, there is this constant push and pull of her finding the right balance of dependence and independence on the path to a balanced interdependence.
"Pretend play" is the game that M likes to play at her age.
She often pretends that she is cooking, feeding her toys/dolls, talking on the phone, cleaning, or driving a car.
She is just mirroring what she sees her parents do 🙂
My husband, Eric, M, and I built an "Imagination Box" for her to play in, decorate, and have a physical space of her own, scaled to her size, yet still be close to her parents nearby.
This is a fun, budget-friendly activity that you can do with your family right at home.
In our experience, when we make the imagination boxes, it really jumps starts our daughter's pretend play activity.
Check out our "Imagination Box" tutorial further down.
The Inside Out figures are adorable, just like the characters in the movie.
They are for ages 4 and up, so we will be gifting them to my 3 nieces who are older than Margo and I know they love Inside Out.
I will be keeping an eye out for a plush Inside Out toy that she can play with, after we watched the movie she kept saying "Bing Bong! Bing Bong!"
We can put that on the list for Christmas 🙂
Tape up the top flaps and all edges around the box.
Taping the flaps of the box together makes it taller and reduces the number of edges, and tapes the rest to reduce the chance of a paper cut.
Draw out where you want to cut a door, window(s) or a skylight(s).
The design can be kept fairly simple or be more complex.
Have an adult cut out the door or window, leaving a flap so that it can be opened or closed.
Tape up any exposed cardboard edges.
You can cut a little handle so that it's easier to open and close the flaps.
For the door, we used some twine which we knotted to make a short handle.
**Safety Tip: Make Sure your little one is not inside the box while cutting the door, window, etc. openings**
Our door measures 20.5 in. tall x 16 in. wide. Our window measures 7.5 in tall x 5.5 in. wide.
This is a fun part that can be done during the construction of the imagination box.
It can also be saved as an activity for later to stretch out the fun and amusement for your little ones.
Younger kids, like toddlers, may just draw anywhere and older kids might have fun elaborately decorating the box.
There are many other ways to decorate and add details to the imagination box, for example, we added a light on the inside, using a small flashlight connected to a string.
Use your creativity and imagination to make it unique!
If you make an "Imagination Box” and post a picture on social media, be sure to #lifeslittlesweets #InsideOutEmotions and link back to the post, thank you in advance!
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This is a fun, budget-friendly activity that you can do with your family right at home.
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Heather {Brie Brie Blooms} says
Margo is darling! What a simple way to keep her busy with imaginary play with a box! #client
Sara says
Hi Heather, yes at her age it's all about cultivating that big imagination! Thank you for visiting!