Trick or (class)Treats

I decided that I wanted Madelyn to take some treats in for her class for Halloween. With all the food allergies, I decided to keep the treat simple, and candy-free. I hit up the Dollar Store and Dollar Buys section at Target for some cheap treats. This is what I came up with. 

Pencils, erasers, stickers, and spooky Halloween rings. I placed them all in a Trick or Treat bag, tied it shut with yarn and called it a treat! I did something extra for the teacher- a Halloween koozie, two Halloween post it notes, and a pencil. Then Madelyn and I wrote "Happy Halloween from Madelyn" on an orange pumpkin (made out of orange paper) colored with a green stem to finish up the treat. I think they turned out adorable! 

What do you have in store for your Halloween favorites? 

Counting Down... 4 more days... 🎃

Gigi

Halloween Costume Reveal

Have you been waiting to hear about my family Halloween costume? Because I'm finally posting my share! 

We followed the yellow brick road on this Halloween, Halloween 2014! While I may be slightly biased, my kids looked beyond adorable as Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion! 

Hope you enjoyed our costume!

Can't wait to hear from YOU about your favorite costumes! Leave a comment below. 

👻 Gigi

Halloween Camp Out 2014

We camped at Granite Hill campground in Gettysburg, PA for Halloween. It's a big campground, and it was packed! And fully decorated for Halloween! There were scheduled activities for Friday night and Saturday including karaoke, ghost tour, a horseshoe contest, pumpkin carving, costume parade, trick or treating, campsite decoration contest, evening dance and haunted barn tour. We participated in a lot and the kids, and us, had a great time! 

We decorated our campsite with purple and orange lights. We had pumpkin lights on the front of the awning. My homemade milk jug pumpkins were lit up as you walked up to our trailer. Here are some day and night pictures:

And here's my milk jug Jack-o-Lantern:

Here are some close ups of the decorations. 1. I made this cute spider craft from a kit from Oriental Trading. I also made a cat (not shown). 2. And check out these fall candle holders from Pier1. At night, I stuck a LED tea light in them and they were perfect for the picnic table. 3. The pumpkin lights added to the Halloween theme. 4. Our campsite wouldn't be complete without spiderwebs, which we hung from the awning and displayed all over the trees. 

Some people really went all out with decorating, and only for the weekend! Check out these campsites! 

And these costumes! 

The whole weekend was amazing! I was so impressed with all the effort that went into the weekend; by the campers, staff, and all the families! So.... If you are thinking about going camping for Halloween, if you're not thinking about going, or if you're not sure what you should be doing for Halloween, now you know! Enjoy this family friendly activity! Your kids will love you for it!! 

⛺️ Stay Calm & Camp On! 

Gigi

Low-Carb Pumpkin Pudding

Pumpkins, warmth, brown-yellow-red-orange colors. Those are all reminders to me that Fall is here! Fall is my favorite time of the year. I like the cool breeze, vibrant colors, and the scents of... well, Fall. While cool outside, my house is always warm with Fall scents. So I found a recipe for something yummy, something that tastes like fall...

Low-Carb Pumpkin Pudding 

Ingredients: 

For Pudding: 

1/2 c refridgerated coconut milk (actually becomes coconut cream) 

1/4 c canned pumpkin filling 

6 drops of liquid stevia (or a 1/4 tsp powered stevia or 1 tbsp maple syrup) 

1/2 tsp cinnamon 

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp salt 

For Whipped Topping: 

1 tbsp refridgerated coconut milk 

1 drop liquid stevia (a pinch of powered stevia or 1/2 tsp maple syrup)

1/8 tsp vanilla extract

1. Mix the pudding ingredients together. Pour into a glass. 

2. Wisk the whipped topping ingredients together. Pour on top of pudding. 

3. Refridgerate for at least 30 minutes for coolest results. 

4. Enjoy! 

Not only is this recipe Low-Carb, but it is also Gluten Free. One serving is 9 carbs. 

Low-Carb Butterscotch Frosty

Not being a cook, I was thrilled when I found a recipe on Pinterest for a low-carb chocolate frosty. I crave sweets and haven't had a milkshake in forever! So I jotted down the recipe, went shopping, and came home to make my own yummy creation!

Here's the easy recipe:

2 c ice

3/4 c water

1 tsp vanilla

3 tbsp dry sugar free pudding mix - I used SF jello brand butterscotch pudding

1/4 c cool whip 

Directions: 

1. Crush ice and water in blender - I use a smoothie maker because it has more settings. 

2. Add in the other ingredients. 

3. Blend to your preferred thickness. If you want a thin frosty, add more water. 

Disclaimer: the swirl of chocolate syrup on top is ONLY for the picture. That swirl alone is 12 carbs! 

I found SF puddings in chocolate, vanilla, butterscotch, and cheesecake flavors. You can use any of these flavors to make a frosty, or a combination of some too! Kids aren't suppose to have SF food, so I am sure you can use a sugar added pudding if you want to make this treat for kids. I know if my kids were awake, they would have wanted mine, so an alternative for them would be ideal. 

This recipe is so simple and really satisfying. I made a large mug of a frosty, which was plenty for me! Enjoy this sweet treat! 

Cheers! 🍦

Gigi 

Secrets of a Low-Carb Lifestyler

First, I want to thank everyone for the support and kind words about my new "look." Yes, I have lost weight since April 2014 and yes, I feel good about it. I'm not dieting, but I am going through a lifestyle change. Many people ask me what my secret is, how I do it, and for help, so I thought I could take this opportunity to blog about it. I like to refer to it as a Low-Carb Lifestyle. 

So, back in April I met with my doctor and a nutritionist who advised me to lose some weight. As many of you know, I had gestational diabetes with both of my kids, so I am at risk for type 2 diabetes in my later life. If I don't take care of myself now, I am at an even larger risk, so I knew it was time for a lifestyle change. 

My nutritionist put me on a Low-Carb diet, which consists of the following:

Breakfast 45 carbs

Snack 15 carbs

Lunch 45 carbs 

Snack 15 carbs

Dinner 45 carbs

Snack 15 carbs

* All meals/snacks must be 2 hours apart; 2 hours from the time of first bite. 

Now, I know that a lot of you look at this and say, how do you do it? How do you know what to eat? So I'll share a few secrets of mine with you. 

🎯 My best friend is the iPhone app: <CalorieKing.> You can type any food into the app or any restaurant, and the nutritional facts will be right there. While I only look at carbs, some people may use this app to count fat or calories, and they're there too. Also, cholesterol content is there if you need to keep an eye on yours. You can also change the portion size in the top drop down menu. 

🎯 Secondly, I track my daily meals. I use another iPhone app: <Diabetik,> which tracks what I ate, my blood sugar, exercise, and notes that you may want to add. This app is manual, so you have to put in your carb/calorie/fat, etc amounts and add them up, but it keeps you on track for every meal. 

🎯 I also weight myself weekly, not daily, weekly. A daily scale reading is not accurate and it makes you feel defeated when you don't get the results you want to see. I weigh myself every Friday, in the morning, before I eat breakfast or take a shower, in the nude. This gives me the most accurate read because it's consistent. I use an iPhone app to record my results: <WeightRecord.> 

🎯 Invest in a food scale and measuring cups. Most food packages have the exact amount of chips, pretzels, cookies, etc for each portion size, but some packages state portion size by ounces or cups. It's just a good idea to have these kitchen items in case you find yourself needing to weigh a food item before you eat it (like fruits and veggies). 

This lifestyle doesn't take anything away from you, and it's easy to follow once you're committed. You can eat whatever you want, but you have to follow the recommended portions. I personally stay away from foods that are very high in carbs, because, to me, they aren't worth it. These include: 

🍍 pineapple

🌽 corn

🍚 rice

🍜 pasta 

🍟 potatoes 

🍹 fruit juices

I tend to eat more meats 🍗 and cheese. I've always been a salad lover, so I eat plenty of that too. I eat out everyday for lunch and I am still able to eat my favorites like the Med Salad from Noodles & Co, Greek Salad with Chicken from Panera, and the Chopped Salad and Lemon Chicken Orzo soup from Corner Bakery just to name a few. Some of my favorite snacks include: Keebler 100 calorie packs- cookies, pretzels, etc which range from 14-17 carbs per bag, individual size bag of chips, raw veggies- green beans, peppers, and fruits- strawberries, blueberries, plums. 

I am on Pinterest, pinning away, searching for low-carb recipes. I am not a cook, but I have found some recipes that sound so delicious and are low-carb! I am dying to have a Frosty from Wendy's and now I have the low-carb recipe for it. I'll share that recipe and others on my blog, as I make them. 

What I want you to take away from this post is that a Low-Carb Lifestyle is nothing to be afraid of. Sometimes it's a choice and sometimes a necessity. Either way, if you're motivated to change, then it is easy to follow and adjust to. Of course, if you have ANY questions for me, feel free to post below or email me. I am so happy that I am changing my lifestyle for myself and my health and I think you will be too! 

A Happier and Healthier,

Gigi 😀

Homemade Halloween - BOO wreath

I like to blog and if I didn't craft, I wouldn't have anything to blog about. I think starting this blog has gotten me motivated to do more crafting, by myself and with my kids. After all, crafting is cheaper than therapy, and we all need therapy! Hope you enjoy my posts!

BOO Wreath 

My inspiration came when I found some medium-small sized, circular foam wreaths at the Dollar Store. I thought about how boring my front door was for the Halloween holiday. After all, Every door needs a little decor, whether it be inside or outside. 

I made my wreath using Halloween ribbon that I had bought at the Dollar Store for other projects. Some of the ribbon was thick and some were thin ribbons. I used three rolls and still didn't  cover the whole thing. I secured the ribbon with sewing pins, which are so easy to use and small enough that they go unnoticed. I then adhered self adhesive stickers and Halloween rings to the wreath as spooky embellishments. I paid $1 for this wreath since I already had the ribbon and embellishments. 

As you see, I stuck a pre-lit tea light in the center to add some light when the wreath goes outdoors. 

While I created this wreath, I thought about how I could make a larger, longer wreath to write BOO. I went back to the Dollar Store and bought another circular foam and two small circles of foam. I didn't like the size of the rectangular foam so I figured I could search my house for something that could suffice.

Here's my crafting stash:

I used the larger circular foams for the "O" in BOO and the two small circles of foam for the body of the "B." I cut the center out of the small circles of foam with scissors. I then found a paper towel roll that I trimmed slightly, to use at the line in the "B." (These foam pieces are "supposed" to be used to secure flowers into a vase - the green ones - and can be found in the craft section of the Dollar Store.) I individually decorated each piece and then secured them all together with yarn hanging from a hanger. Look how cute the project came out! 

Close-up. With pre-lit tea lights. 

This whole project cost me less than $10! It was so simple to make. I can reuse it Halloween after Halloween; It's not like it goes out of style! 

Crafting an original! 🎨

Gigi 

Repurposed Hangers

I have all these hangers in all these sizes from baby to kid to adult. I was thinking about giving a stack to my friend for her baby shower, but I thought that giving a bunch of store hangers to someone for their baby shower would look tacky. Instead, I thought of a creative way to repurpose the hangers and make them beautiful. 

It was really simple and cost me nothing. I used ribbon left over from a previous project, fabric from literally 12 years ago that hadn't been used, and sewing pins and beads I already had too. I wrapped the ribbon and fabric around the hangers and then added a decorative touch using the pins and beads. 

The brown hanger is ribbon, the blue hangers are made from denim fabric and the "I love you" is a lightweight fabric. The ribbon and lightweight fabric were easiest to maneuver and stick pins through. They also kept the shape of the hanger best since they could be pulled tightly around the hanger. 

I used a sewing needle and a very small bead to add the embellishment. 

I'm happy with the end result and I'm definintely adding them to my gift bag for my friends baby shower. It gives a little life to something that was so boring before. 

Gigi