I'm a wife, stay-at-home mom, crafter, and blogger living in rural New England. As seen in Martha Stewart Living, Food Network Magazine, and more! | Tutorials, DIY, crafts, parenting tips, recipes, money saving tips, product reviews, local product features, New England living, intentional living, and more! |
We make this super easy Flag Cake every year on the Fourth of July - it’s a little cheesy but it’s fun, delicious, and a tradition our kids look forward to. It’s never picture-perfect but it doesn’t have to be, just enjoy and have a Happy Fourth :) | This post contains affiliate links |
Really this “recipe” couldn’t be any easier! You just need a few very basic ingredients/pre-made items and you’re good to go!
Ingredients:
box of lemon cake mix and whatever you need to make it according to package directions (eggs, oil, etc). If you don’t like lemon you can use white or yellow cake mix too.
Cool Whip or other whipped topping
blueberries
sliced strawberries
How To:
First bake your cake mix according to package directions in a rectangular baking dish/sheet pan.
Once it has cooled completely, add your whipped topping. We always use Cool Whip but you could use homemade or store bought whipped cream too.
Once the cake is covered in your whipped topping, it’s time to make the flag! In the upper left corner, lay out the blueberries in a square shape. Then arrange sliced strawberries in lines to make the stripes. We use a strawberry slicer to make the process go quickly (I confess when I first got this strawberry slicer as a gift I thought I would never use it, but it's actually super handy and I've used it more times than I can count! It especially came in handy with young toddlers for cutting their fruit up). Don’t worry about trying to fit in 13 stripes, we’re going for simplistic here - just fit in as many as you can that look nice.
And that’s it! Super simple, super easy, and a great dessert to make with the kids. We absolutely love that combination of lemon cake, whipped cream, and berries - yum! I hope you all have a wonderful, healthy and happy Fourth!
With the Covid Pandemic still unfortunately raging, we've been playing more board games the last few months while we’ve been home. To be honest, I had forgotten how enjoyable board games can be and our kids have also come to really love playing them too. I thought I would share some of our personal family favorites in case you’re looking for new ideas too. | This post contains affiliate links |
Our Favorite Board Games
Puzzles - Puzzles are always a family favorite here... they're just so relaxing! You can find them for just about every age and skill level which is great too.
Chutes and Ladders - This is a personal favorite from my childhood and our kids have come to love it too.
Battleship - Our six-year-old really loves this game. She gets so excited when she sinks a ship.
Candy Land - A cutesy game perfect for young kids who can't read or count dice yet, but still enjoyable for older kids and adults too.
Jenga - Our three-year-old has gotten surprising good at this game. She's beat me several times now.
Connect 4 - Like tic-tac-toe but more interesting and so easy to play.
Zingo Sight Words - A great educational game for kids just learning their sight words and how to read.
Apples to Apples - Great for adults and teenagers. I have so many great memories playing this game a lot in college with my roommates and friends.
These were just a few of our favorites and I’ll be sure to add to this list as we find more we love. Do you have a favorite family-friendly game we should try next?
I wanted to spread some Christmas Cheer and thought it would be fun to host a little Giveaway over on my Instagram and Facebook! One lucky winner will win a set of my Hand-Etched Birch Snowflake Ornaments to keep and dress up their tree - or give to family and friends and spread a little more cheer themselves.
To enter, find this photo on our Instagram or Facebook and tag a friend - it’s that easy! Enter on both Instagram and Facebook to increase your chances ;)
Happy Small Business Saturday! Just wanted to hop on here real quick and share just a few of my favorite small businesses and makers, most of which are based right here in New England. Quite a few are having sales today, so please go check them out and support them if you can!
Small Business Saturday Picks
Wiglesworth's Mercantile - Wiglesworth's Mercantile is one of the newest shops in Portsmouth, NH. The owner Anne is committed to only carrying items made right here in New England, and this week she is giving back to local charities with every purchase at her store (I love that so much!).
Mermaids & Madeleines - Heather from Mermaids & Madeleines makes the most beautiful, bright coastal-inspired jewelry around. She's also such a positive, happy soul and a joy to follow on Instagram.
Wolfeboro Candle Company - Carrie from Wolfeboro Candle Company makes wonderful candles, and this season is offering Gift Boxes too (our Hand-Etched Snowflake Ornament is included in the Large Gift Box).
Maine Rope Mats - Maine Rope Mats makes amazing recycled lobster rope mats and products. We personally have two of their mats and love the fun it brings to our doorways.
S.Lynch Knitwear - Samantha isn't actually from New England, but is a New Englander at heart and it shows in her beautifully made knitted items. I just love her chunky knit hats and her craftsmenship is beautiful!
Daytrip Society - Daytrip and Datyrip Jr., both in Kennebunkport Maine, are some of my favorite stores around. They are beautifully currated and have such thoughtful and unqiue gift ideas.
Watts in Maine - Watts in Maine is best known for their Perfect Catch Cuff, but also offers other jewelry and accessory items as well. They also have made donations to help with Shark Research.
Sewcialite - Roula of Sewcialite hustles so hard every day, working fulltime and creating the most amazing coastal-inspired rope creations and jewelry in her spare time.
I’ve had some inquiries about my Etsy Shop this season. Due to the uncertainties regarding Covid over the next few months likely affecting my ability to get materials and go to the post office regularly, I’ve decided to keep my Etsy shop closed for the time being.
However, some of my Stockists will still continue to carry my ornaments during this time, in particular Wiglesworth's Mercantile in Portsmouth and Wolfeboro Candle Company should be well stocked at the moment.
Like everyone else I’m looking forward to a hopefully healthier, more normal spring and will reopen my Etsy shop once it’s practical. Thank you so much for your understanding and stay well!
After trying Delicata Squash for the first time it quickly became a favorite - super easy to cook, no peeling (that’s a huge plus!), and a delicious maple-y taste without adding any sweetener. This squash is still an unknown to many people so I thought I would share the easy how-to of roasting them. | This post contains affiliate links |
First make sure to wash and scrub the delicata squash thoroughly since you’ll be roasting and eating the skin as well - you don’t want any gritty dirty from the field left on!
Once it’s clean, chop each end off and cut open the long way. Next scoop out all the seeds and strings with a spoon until it’s nice and clean (like the photo on the right).
Next chop up the squash into whatever size pieces you prefer. We like cutting them into “quarter smiles” about half an inch thick.
Toss with some olive oil to coat and then sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. We also love sprinkling on dehydrated kale flakes too - it adds a super subtle flavor and a tiny extra veggie boost too. (We add these kale flakes to most of our meals - love them!)
Now that it’s ready to cook, roast at 425 degrees in a preheated oven for approximately 20-30 mins, flipping halfway through. Cook until it’s soft and starts to caramelize and look burnt. Enjoy!
This squash has become a favorite in our house and I’m looking forward to trying to grow some in our garden next year.
Hey, hey it's PRIME DAY! Making a list of some of the deals I come across - check them out at the link below (I'll be updating the list throughout the day). Now’s a great time to get a jump start on Christmas and Holiday gifts.
Wolfeboro Candle Company has put together some wonderfully curated Gift Boxes for the holiday season. These are full of great New England-made products and I am so honored to have my Hand-Etched Birch Snowflake Ornaments included among them.
