Easter Idea: The Bunny Cake

Mr. No-No's birthday is right around Easter so I usually make him a bunny cake. This one is easy, fast, and fun for the little ones to help with. Improvise with your own favorite colors and watch eyes light up with delight!! (Don't hate because he is in his mid-40s! ...just kidding! Anyway, I heard 50 is the new 30 so he's still young!!)

Directions for the bunny cake:
Bake two round cakes as usual (one box mix, if you are using, will make two cakes)
Leave one cake whole (this will be the bunny's face)
Cut the second cake to form two bunny ears and the left over section (in the middle) will make the tie under his face
Assemble and frost
Decorate as desired

For the bunny ear "fur" I used sweetened coconut in a container with red decorating sugar and shook until the coconut turned pink; I used raisins for the eyes and tie buttons; and I used green icing for the mouth because it was what I had in the cabinet. You could also use jelly beans for the eyes, licorice strings for whiskers, and white coconut all over for "fur" - if your family likes that much coconut!!!

Happy Easter everyone!!! Hope your weekend is wonderful!!

Currently, my site is down for maintenance.

It should be a minor delay as I have already contacted my blog designer and she is working on it. (phew!)

That being said, while it looks messy, the search bar and side-links are still in working order, so please feel free to browse around...I hope you find something that inspires you!

Valentine's Day Fun Ideas

If you are having problems coming up with cute (and quick!) ideas for Valentine's Day - - here's some previous posts of mine that may help you out with that (:

Valentine's Day Kiss Search

A morning or evening of fun activities - the great kiss search - and some easy, but delicious recipe ideas.

Crayon hearts for kiddos

Valentine's Day Heart garlands are easy to make, display, and use as a quick surprise!

Heart shaped grape tomatoes can kick up lunch time

What ideas do you have for Valentine's Day fun?

More later! (:

Soup Ideas and Recipes

Since it is ridiculously cold right now, I am in the mood for SOUP!! (hahahaa, what's new?)

I love soup all year, but when it gets cold out, I CRAVE it!!!

Here are some awesome ideas and recipes that I found from the web - check them out. Which ones speak to you?

Creamy Split Pea from the Huffington Post

White Bean and Escarole Soup from the Huffington Post

Vegetarian Crock Pot Black Bean Soup from Food.com

Vegetarian Portugese Kale Soup from Food.com

What is your favorite kind of soup???

Quality Halloween Costumes on the Cheap by Kate Frankenberg

{Image from Google Images}

You guys KNOW I just LOVE Halloween.... Like I say each and every year, Halloween is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the holiday season and I am always ready to get the holidays started!

Just in time for Halloween (only about 20 days away!!), I am pleased to introduce you to Kate Frankenberg from MyCabbage and  Off the Grid Chicago. She is sharing some quick and easy tips for inexpensive costume ideas. This is perfect for everyone out there who is looking to save money (without looking like it!!) or for anyone who has procrastinated and (still!!!) isn't sure what the plan is - you know who you are (wink! wink!). Thanks  so much for stopping by, Kate!!

Read on for some of her great ideas....

Quality Halloween costumes on the cheap

If you are anything like me, on October 29 you are scrambling to pull a Halloween costume together at the last minute. This bad habit usually lands me at the local Halloween pop-up-shop shifting through $60-$100 dollar picked over costumes leaving me unsatisfied with both my costume and the dent made in my Halloween budget. With a little planning and budgeting, it doesn’t have to be this way!

Handmade

Nothing is cheaper than making your own costumes for you and the family with some cardboard, scissors, paint and a little creativity.  Felt iron on material is also a quick and easy way to make something out of nothing. If you have a creative idea and are a little bit crafty, using these materials will make it easy to execute. One year my friends and I got together and dressed up as “Rock, Paper, Scissors” (definitely not a costume you would find at the store!). If you don’t have a craft bone in your body, check out crafting websites like Etsy where you can buy other handmade costumes or pieces of costumes that you can assemble on your own.

Raid your friend’s closets

One man’s trash is truly another mans treasure. Bring your costume collection from previous years over to your friends’ houses and do a “costume swap”. Their kids probably have outgrown a few of their costumes and yours have too. This is a perfect way to feel like you have a “fresh” set of costumes without spending a dime.

Rent-a-costume

Sometimes you need a costume that is just out of this world. I, for one, am sick of owning a bunch of costumes that you can only wear once because they are so memorable. Instead of making big purchases on those costumes, find a your local costume rental shop. They have high quality costumes that you can rent for under $100 dollars. Get their quick though; the good costumes always are rented out the fastest.

Thrifting

Make sure you check out your local Goodwill for Halloween costumes on the cheap. The fun of going to the thrift store is that it is kind of like a crab shoot, you never know if you are going to find a hidden gem or just the costume you were looking for at the right price! Don’t be afraid to get creative and “edit” a few items if you find elements of your costume idea that might work. An added bonus: when you purchase from Goodwill you are providing jobs to those who are at a disadvantage!

Hopefully these few tips will help you have a very scary Halloween without breaking the bank.

Kate Frankenberg is a passionately curious writer, DePauw University graduate, and digital marketing professional. By day you can find Kate marketing all things MyCabbage, a simple way to keep all your daily deals, gift cards and coupons in one place and share with your friends so you can plan something together. By night you can find her working as a volunteer Marketing Chair for the Junior Council of Lurie Children’s Hospital and writing for her website, a blog about Chicago startups, nonprofits, and outstanding individuals.