Sara's Halloween Party Tricks and Treats

I love Halloween. Every year, we plan a trip to Wonderland's Fear Fest and celebrate Halloween by going through all the haunted houses and rides. This year, we decided to do something a little different. We didn't visit Wonderland but had Halloween party here at the new house. I made a few tasty tricks and treats and here they are. 

Fingers and Toes via Martha Stewart

I gotta give credit to Martha. I love cooking and baking but at times I just don't understand what the recipe is telling me to do. This particular recipe (link above) has a video to accompany all the steps. It's great!

Fingers & toes ingredients

Working that dough

Rolling the dough to form those fingers

Gotta poach them before tossing them in the oven

Getting them ready for the oven

The finished product
I named these 'Deadly Nose Pickers'

 Glasscakes

I loved these so much. And it was terribly easy. I bought the add eggs and water cupcake mix along with the pre made Betty Crocker vanilla icing. I used food colouring to change the colour of the icing.

Making the glass was very simple.
In a non stick pan put 2 cups of sugar on low heat and wait till it all melts. Don't forget to stir and add some food colouring to make it fun. Once it's a liquid put it on a non stick baking sheet and put it in the fridge or freezer. I put mine in the freezer. You'll know it's ready once you touch it and the sugar has returned to a solid.

Sugar

Almost all the way melted

Fresh out of the freezer

Finished shards of glass

Simple and delicious glasscake

I bought the cupcake paper at Bulk Barn and Dollarama

The stand is from Bulk Barn $9

One Sick Pumpkin

I loved this idea so much and couldn't wait to show it off. I bought a small pumpkin and carved a face of a pumpkin being sick which was pretty easy. Then I cleaned the front and inside of the mouth real well. I bought some salsa and spinach dip and placed it under the mouth. Can't forget to put some in the pumpkin's mouth to make it look like it's being sick.

Before 

The Return of Last Night's Party

 Labels

This was the easiest out of them all. I bought the drink labels at Dollarama and with the help of my mum, we put them on everything we could. It really didn't take that long either.

Inside the fridge

Beer labels

Drink table ready for business

I bought this skull bowl at Shoppers Drugmart $15

I gotta say, Dollarama really has a great selection of fun decorations for your home. I got a lot of my party supplies from that store and I didn't even have to hurt my wallet.

Please feel free to use these ideas next year.

Send us your favourite Halloween recipes and ideas. We'd love to try them next year.

Email us at forevertickledpink@live.ca

- Sara


Oh I almost forgot. This was my Halloween costume this year.

This is my Toddlers & Tiaras costume. My dog Frank is a little spider.

Happy Halloween

We wish you a safe and happy Halloween!

Halloween Dog Costume

This might be the best dog costume I've seen in a long time. - Sara

Wish this was me...

Some Assembly Required

Who doesn't love Ikea?
There's something for just about everyone and it's budget friendly.
I remember walking through the winding real life catalogue for the first time. My older cousin kept telling everyone it's her ultimate favourite place and we'll be in heaven. And right before we walked though the giant blue and yellow sliding doors, she asked us if we were ready. For what I wasn't sure until I too fell in love with this do it yourself home store. I just loved the whole experience. I mean we're walking through 'real' decorated homes and getting inspired the entire time.
Tonight was a good Ikea night. There's been a handful of times that I've gone there looking for the perfect piece for my place and couldn't find what I was looking for. But today... today was a good Ikea day.
My mum helped me find the perfect piece for my office/closet/guest room. (Photos to follow after assembly.) I spent the majority of my night putting together the drawers to a dresser. Tomorrow I will tackle the rest and start the long process of organizing. My stuff is pretty much all over the place right now. I just don't have any place for them. And so they pile up to the point where I can't find anything. So I'm hoping this will be the end of the never ending mess on my desk.
I can't wait to get started organizing this room. I even bought drawer organizers! Call me crazy but I love the organization process but maybe not so much putting my new furniture together.

- Sara

Royal News

Hip hop royals, Beyonce and Jay Z have recently announced that they are expecting and have now revealed the sex of their baby! I can't be more excited about the news that it is a girl! This is very exciting. It got me thinking... I wonder what they will name her. Will they give her one of Hollywood's unique baby names, such as Apple, Coco and Milo? Or will they go with a more traditional name? I did some research and found what most Americans/Canadians have been naming their baby girls lately.

Here are the most popular baby names for girls for 2011

1 .Emma

2. Olivia

3. Sophia

4. Isabella

5. Ava

6. Madison

7. Abigail

8. Ella

9. Emily

10. Lily

A lot of these names have a nice ring to them when you add Jay Z or Beyonce's last name. Sophia Carter (Jay Z's last name) or Lily Knowles?

Sasha Fierce Jr is due in February of 2012. Only 3+ months till new member of the royal hip hop family is born. Plenty of time to pick a perfect name for what will be the most talked about baby of the year.

-Michelle

The Next Trend?

Tiny ways to boost happiness today!

This gloomy weather sure makes it hard to stay positive and be happy. But remember, there are always small ways to bring sunshine into your life and others. Take a look at these tiny ways to boost happiness today.

• *Log into facebook, chat with 3 people who are online whom you haven't spoke   to in a long time, reconnect!
• *Send a note of encouragement in your child's lunch box
• *Call your mother, just because
• *Hold a door open for someone (which you should already be doing)
• *Buy your co workers their coffee today (and a cookie?)
• *Compliment your man or woman on their physique (they love to hear it)
• *Remind your best friend why you love them
• *Make a donation to a local charity, even if it's only $10 or less. Every bit counts.
• *Declutter that closet, prepare a bag of clothing to give to goodwill
• *Stop by the pet food store on your way home and pick up one of those cute dog pastries for your fur baby.
• *Skip the cooking tonight, throw a frozen pizza in the oven and hang with your family while you wait.
• *Put on your comfiest sweater and take the gang for a walk, bring your doggies too!
• *Kiss your babies good night.

-Michelle 

Halloween Light Show

I wonder what the neighbours think?

5 Tips to Beating the "Homework Battle"

If you have or had a school aged child, you've obviously had the "homework battle" once or twice. My 7 year old boy's homework routine has been challenging for both of us this year. The constant battle to get started, finished has really had me thinking. I have come up with a few strategies to help the busy mom conquer the homework feud.

1. Designate a work station

The workstation should be the one and only spot your child does homework. Choose somewhere with no distractions. The dining room table, desk in the hallway or at the breakfast nook. Somewhere where your child can really concentrate and not be distracted by other family members or television. Have all supplies available. These supplies should be used only for homework, this way they will always be there when you need them. Extra things to add to the work station could be a dry erase board, extra paper, pencils cases with extra supplies, good lighting and maybe gentle music.

2. Start with an itinerary

Sit down with your child at the beginning of their homework session. Go through what needs to be done. This way the child's brain will be organized and they will know what is expected. If he has 3 separate activities to complete put them in order and go over the directions with him.

3. The timer

The timer, this is a new technique I am trying. I am doing this to teach my son that he does not have all the time in the world to stare up into space. There is a task at hand, and he has a certain amount of time to do it. I don't make it race by any means, but I do stress the fact that work needs to be done in a timely manner. How long to set the timer? That is up to you. You may even want to discuss this with your child's teacher. I go for 20 minutes. Once we go over the itinerary, and he understands what needs to be done, the timer is set and I walk away. At this point he knows what needs to be done.

4. Let the child focus on their own

As much as we'd all like to hover over our child and give them every answer, it is not helping them at all. The child needs to focus and use their own thought process. School work won't always be easy but the challenge will help them excel.

5. Review and discuss

After the timer has gone off, this is a good time to take any questions he has. Discuss what he did today. Go over all the work. Don't forget to encourage and be involved. Give compliments "This paragraph has lots of details", "Your sentence is great". Constructive criticism is good too "Tomorrow lets see you add more to this", "Lets remember 5 more words tomorrow". Make it a positive experience, because remember, they will come home tomorrow with homework again. (and for years after that :) )

These simple steps will create a nice routine for your child. It will also show your child that you care about what he does at school and that you are always there to help. Most importantly it teaches your child how to be independent and finish his work effectively. I'd love to hear more tips and tricks. Please share if you have any.

-Michelle

This Is Frank

I'm the proud owner of this little ankle bitter.

 

Her name is Francesca Lipton (Frank). She's a very loveable, easy going, busy, little Yorkie/Poodle puppy. She's extremely curious as well. As soon as the front door is opened enough for her to run past, she's off looking, smelling, barking at everything and anything. She knows there's something out there to see but she has no idea what she's looking for. She just needs to see something. It makes me laugh but only for a little while because if I wait too long she's off across the street to see what is going on over there. Which is usually the same as the day before and well the day before that.

I never saw myself as someone who's going to 'decorate' their animal. And well after taking her to the groomers, I realized I was right. When I picked her up from getting her hair did, she was sporting very fashionable bows on her head. I loved it but I don't think she did. 

Well, we all need to step outside the box and put bows on our pet's head, at least once, to figure out if you're one of those people who do that sorta thing. I, for one, am not. (for now...)

- Sara

Welcome To Forever Tickled Pink

This ain't just any old blog.

This is a blog dedicated to those who are looking to raise their happiness meter. Gentlemen, don't be turned off by the lovely 'pink' title or the pink *ahem* theme. It's all about happiness. :)

It's a blog about food, crafts and personal life stories. A blog about travelling and ways to change the world. A blog about book and movie reviews. A blog about positive news from around the world. A blog about what we (the bloggers) see and do that warms our hearts with happiness.

We appreciate your comments and feedback. So don't be shy! Let us know you're reading our blog!

Sara & Michelle