Candy Cane Bark

Do you still have a bunch of candy canes laying around from Christmas? I finally tossed ours, but we usually have so many left over. Why not do something with them and make some candy cane bark? I would say peppermint (like I made here), but I bet some of the other flavors (like strawberry or blueberry) would be good, too. Start with some candy canes. Unwrap and break into a few pieces.

Normally I would have used a zipper bag, but we were out, so I improvised with wax paper. Place your candy canes inside the bag and seal.

Now let the kids help with this part - using a rolling pin or a can, pound the heck out of the candy canes until they are all broken up.

I used Wilton candy melts, but regular white chocolate chips will work just as well. Pour them into a microwave safe bowl and make sure it's totally dry.

Melt according to package directions until smooth.

Next, line a cookie sheet with wax or parchment paper.

And pour in your broken candy bits.

Stir until blended well!

This looks kind of weird, but pour the candy mixture out onto your paper lined pan.

Using a scraper, smooth the mixture out until it's somewhat uniform in thickness.

Now just let it dry. I like to put it in the fridge to speed it along.

Break apart and enjoy! Have you ever tried this with any flavor other than peppermint?

North Carolina Vacation - Day 2

This is what we woke up to Wednesday morning! COLD! But it's better than the 80° weather we had in Florida. To me at least!

When we were driving in to North Carolina Monday night, we noticed signs for Black Rock Mountain State Park in Georgia. So we decided to head back down to Georgia to do some exploring. Turns out the mountain was closed seasonally, but we decided to keep going anyway. As we were driving along, climbing higher, I looked down and noticed white! There was snow on the ground! Not much you can see, but still - snow! Our first time (mine & the kids anway) seeing snow! We were so excited.

We had also noticed a sign mentioning a museum called Foxfire, so we thought we'd give that a try. We started to question that idea as we went down the road. And climbed higher and higher.

But we finally found it! It's called the Foxfire Museum & Heritage Center. It's a self-guided walking tour with a collection of old homes, buildings, tools, wagons and more - all preserved and collected by students.

Here's just one of the old houses. They aren't in their original places, but I love that people cared enough about the past and these old buildings to save them and move them here. The kids really enjoyed getting to see them and go inside.

And they couldn't resist touching the snow when they found piles of it.

While on the mountain we passed the Eastern Continental Divide. Pretty cool!

After we came down the mountain, we decided to do a little more exploring in the area. We were driving along and saw a sign about an old mill. Unfortunately, the road was closed, but we pulled over to try and get a photo. This was the best we could do.

But some snow on the ground called for an impromptu snowball fight!

The kids loved it! I was too busy taking photos to make a snowball. Oops!

We finished our adventures in Georgia and spent the rest of the evening riding the four wheeler...

and doing some reading by the fire.

Purex UltraPacks Review

As I mentioned in my last post, we just got back from a vacation to North Carolina - which of course means we were coming back home to a mountain of laundry. So I was very happy to see a lovely box from Purex sitting on my kitchen table waiting for me. Inside was the new Purex UltraPacks! How cool are these?

They remind me of dishwashing packs. But these are for laundry! So quick and easy. No measuring, no spilling. Just pop one in and you are done. Our clothes came out smelling fresh and spotless. And while I don't have a front-loader, these ARE safe for them as well. I will definitely be buying more of these guys in the future!

Keep your eyes open at the stores, these should be available some time in February. And check back here because I will be giving away some coupons for them too!

I was provided with product to review, however, thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.

North Carolina Vacation - Day 1

I didn't mention it previously (something about announcing to the world we won't be in our house I guess), but we spent the last week of 2011 in North Carolina. We had been wanting to go for some time now and we finally got around to it. I think we were all ready for a vacation! This is really day two, it was pretty late when we got there Monday night. Here is Morgan, Layla and Blake on top of the hill behind where we stayed.

From the house looking down. Isn't it pretty?

There's a tiny little creek that runs between to two hills. I've always wanted a creek in my backyard!

Our first full day there was spent unpacking and getting groceries. Then we decided to go for a drive. Before long, this was our view. Holy cow! Notice how little space there is between the road and the rock wall and the road and the guard rail. At this point the ground was pretty far away.

Then suddenly, we saw a waterfall! We had no idea this was here. There were a few cars stopped in the tiny pull off area, so we kept going.

A little farther ahead there was a larger pull off, so we stopped here. It was a "good" spot to turn around, too.

Here's a shot of the view coming back down.

And a better shot of the falls. There is barely room to pull off here. This road was kind of scary for me. Lots of traffic and big trucks. They are used to this stuff - I am used to flat Florida! But it's gorgeous. I later found out this is Cullasaja Falls. The falls descend 250 feet. I'm not sure of our elevation here, but this is the last waterfall coming down and the town above is around 4,100 feet.

Heading back down the mountain. Note the sharp curve!

And again with the rock walls. Not much room for error here.

And another sharp curve! Kind of a scary drive, but it was so pretty! I wish we had known there were more falls if we had kept driving. Maybe next time! Check back for day two!

Top Posts of 2011

I can hardly believe 2011 is over. It went by so fast! I know my blogging has been hit or miss lately, and I'm hoping that 2012 will be more consistent. To get myself started, I thought I'd share some of my top posts of 2011.

My rainbow slush was definitely a huge hit! It has FAR more page views than any other post on my blog, EVER.

The rainbow wreath I created for Morgan's birthday party came in second. I still love this wreath and it hung on my door for most of the year.

Her rainbow birthday party came in third. This party was so much fun to plan and decorate! It almost makes me want to have another rainbow party.

The colorful rainbow bowl came in fourth. I loved the way it looked so much, I did not use it for Blake's party because I didn't want to change it!

And finally, Layla's art birthday party. Another fun party to plan! Very messy, but they had a lot of fun.

I'd love to see some of your top posts from 2011. Feel free to share in the comments below!