Mandi Ehman's Blog, page 35
December 6, 2014
Weekend reading: December 6, 2014
It’s been a whirlwind week as we celebrated Thanksgiving, enjoyed 6 awesome days with my sister and her boyfriend (including not one, but two double dates!), and welcomed family from all over the country to my mom’s house to celebrate my grandmother’s 80th birthday.
We’re heading home tomorrow, but I’m not sure there’s any hope of regaining normalcy at this point, as our calendar is very quickly filling up with all of the things I love about Christmas. I wouldn’t have it any other way, but I am definitely going to need to carve out some quiet time for myself at some point!
What I’m thinking about:
In all honesty, my personal Facebook feed has been full of posts about Ferguson and Eric Garner and privilege and racism for the past two weeks. But I think I’ve contributed to the “noise” of the internet enough, so I want to wait to share some of those links with you until I can finish wrapping them in coherent thoughts to (hopefully) share my heart as well.
Since Christmas season is in full swing (and this one is shaping up to be more chaotic and busy than our normal Christmas celebrations), I thought some helpful links about taking control of Christmas would be appropriate instead!
Go for joy The show must go on. But at what cost? | Brené Brown The Fall of Christmas | Jamie the Very Worst Missionary Holiday Gifts You’ll Thank Yourself for Later | The Art of Simple Simple Celebrating IS Possible: Tips for a Sane Holiday Season | The Happiest Home For the HSP 5 tips for enjoying the holidays as a highly sensitive parent | Steady Mom How To Survive Holiday Shopping When You Are Highly Sensitive | SortaCrunchyHave a great weekend!
Mandi Ehman is the blogger behind Life Your Way. She and her husband have four beautiful girls plus one baby boy, and together they live, work and homeschool on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia. Mandi loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces. Meet the 101 Days of Christmas sponsors:
King Arthur Flour's Baker's Hotline: free professional help with any holiday baking challenge
World Vision Gift Catalog: share a full life with children in need by giving unique, life-changing gifts
Plant Therapy Essential Oils: 100% pure, undiluted oils you can trust at a price you can afford
Life Your Way Christmas Shop: get your 2014 Christmas planner today
Weekend reading: December 6, 2014
© 2010-2014 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved
December 5, 2014
Black & white peppermint layer brownies {101 Days of Christmas}
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Glad & M&M’S®. All opinions are 100% mine.
I love holiday baking and probably spend more time in the kitchen during the holidays (even outside of this crazy 101 Days of Christmas series!) than the rest of the year combined!
But packaging up those treats to share with others is never quite as simple. Sometimes I use treat bags or little take out boxes, but they don’t hold a lot of treats, which is a problem the years I go overboard with my baking.
Other times we’ll buy Christmas tins, but those are a little more pricey when you need a bunch of them, and I always feel like they’re going to end up in Christmas tin purgatory in the recipient’s basement.
This holiday season, Glad and M&M’S have partnered to offer containers with exclusive holiday designs and delicious White Chocolate Peppermint M&M’S. These are only available at Target, and you’ll also find delicious recipes on the back of every Glad package!
These containers are really cute, especially when filled with a yummy treat. They’re also big enough to hold quite a few cookies or treats, and they can be used again and again — even after the holidays — to hold leftovers or pack lunches!
The holiday prints are available exclusively at Target, and if you head here, you can print a coupon for $1 off two containers or two bags of candy.
Our package had this M&M’S Black & White Peppermint Layer Brownies recipe on the back, which are perfect for the sweet tooth in your family…with layers of sugar cookie, brownies and chocolate on top of chocolate!
Head to Target.com for the recipe, and tomorrow I’ll share the recipe we created from with White Chocolate Peppermint M&M’S as well!
Join us as we celebrate 101 Days of Christmas with new DIY projects, gift ideas, traditions and more every day from now through Christmas!
Mandi Ehman is the blogger behind Life Your Way. She and her husband have four beautiful girls plus one baby boy, and together they live, work and homeschool on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia. Mandi loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces. Meet the 101 Days of Christmas sponsors:
King Arthur Flour's Baker's Hotline: free professional help with any holiday baking challenge
World Vision Gift Catalog: share a full life with children in need by giving unique, life-changing gifts
Plant Therapy Essential Oils: 100% pure, undiluted oils you can trust at a price you can afford
Life Your Way Christmas Shop: get your 2014 Christmas planner today
Black & white peppermint layer brownies {101 Days of Christmas}
© 2010-2014 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved
December 4, 2014
“Thanks a latte” gift card envelope {101 Days of Christmas}
I think Starbucks gift cards make the perfect gift for a coffee lover (assuming they’re a Starbucks fan!), but these gift card envelopes are perfect no matter which one is your favorite coffee shop.
Just print and cut along the outside line of each template. Use a hobby knife to cut along the short line on the bottom flap.
Place your gift card in the center of the envelope and fold the side flaps in first. Then, fold the bottom flap up. Lastly, fold the top flap down and tuck the tab inside the opening on the bottom flap.
Sign your name on the front and you’re set!
Click here to download or print the “Thanks a latte!” gift card envelopes.
Projects from the archives:
Join us as we celebrate 101 Days of Christmas with new DIY projects, gift ideas, traditions and more every day from now through Christmas!
Mandi Ehman is the blogger behind Life Your Way. She and her husband have four beautiful girls plus one baby boy, and together they live, work and homeschool on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia. Mandi loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces. Meet the 101 Days of Christmas sponsors:
King Arthur Flour's Baker's Hotline: free professional help with any holiday baking challenge
World Vision Gift Catalog: share a full life with children in need by giving unique, life-changing gifts
Plant Therapy Essential Oils: 100% pure, undiluted oils you can trust at a price you can afford
Life Your Way Christmas Shop: get your 2014 Christmas planner today
“Thanks a latte” gift card envelope {101 Days of Christmas}
© 2010-2014 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved
Commentshahaha I love a good pun. Cute mug too! by Turner
December 3, 2014
Paula Deen’s caramel corn {101 Days of Christmas}
Friends of ours gave me a tin of this popcorn at our end-of-the-year celebration for our homeschool group, and I sent her a message just as soon as I took my first bite because it’s that good!
I wouldn’t even call myself a caramel popcorn fan, but I seriously could not stop eating this stuff.
It turns out to be Paula Deen’s recipe, which might explain why it’s so rich and delicious. But totally worth it for the holidays!
Ingredients:
1 cup butter 2 cups packed brown sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup light corn syrup 1 teaspoon baking soda 8 quarts popped cornDirections:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.
In a medium saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar, salt and corn syrup. Bring to a boil over medium heat and continue to boil for 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and immediately stir in the baking soda.
Slowly pour the hot caramel mixture over the popcorn, tossing to coat.
Transfer to two 9×13 pans and bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
Spread on wax paper until dry.
Projects from the archives:
Join us as we celebrate 101 Days of Christmas with new DIY projects, gift ideas, traditions and more every day from now through Christmas!
Mandi Ehman is the blogger behind Life Your Way. She and her husband have four beautiful girls plus one baby boy, and together they live, work and homeschool on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia. Mandi loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces. Meet the 101 Days of Christmas sponsors:
King Arthur Flour's Baker's Hotline: free professional help with any holiday baking challenge
World Vision Gift Catalog: share a full life with children in need by giving unique, life-changing gifts
Plant Therapy Essential Oils: 100% pure, undiluted oils you can trust at a price you can afford
Life Your Way Christmas Shop: get your 2014 Christmas planner today
Paula Deen’s caramel corn {101 Days of Christmas}
© 2010-2014 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved
December 2, 2014
Giving Tuesday offer: FREE Mrs. Meyer’s dish soap for you + $15 for World Vision!
Y’all. I really could not be more excited to share this offer with you today.
Remember I told you about ePantry a few weeks ago?
At that time, they offered a $10 coupon plus a FREE bottle of Mrs. Meyer’s Multi-Surface Cleaner for Life Your Way readers. And, as I said, our family also received $10 in store credit for each new customer that signed up through my link.
But this? This is even more exciting for me!For five days, ePantry is offering new customers free shipping, a free Mrs. Meyer’s dish soap and a $10 coupon. And instead of a credit to my account, they’re donating $15 to our World Vision “Provide Farm Animals” fundraiser.
I’m so very excited about this, not only because it means great prices on great products for you but because it will also help us meet our goal of providing 28 farm animals to help families around the world lift themselves out of poverty with a sustainable food source and business.
Now, if your family doesn’t use toilet paper or dish soap or surface cleaner, I’d love for you to donate directly to help us meet our goal! But if you do use those things, this is a great way to not only get products your family needs but to donate money to a great cause at the same time. In fact, you’ll spend about $20 total if you follow the instructions below (for almost twice that much in product!), and $15 will be donated on your behalf. It doesn’t get much better than that!
Note: ePantry will automatically make suggestions for future shipments, but you can change quantities, frequency or cancel your order at any time.
Our family really likes the full line of Mrs. Meyer’s products in lemon verbena. What’s your favorite scent?
Meet the 101 Days of Christmas sponsors:
King Arthur Flour's Baker's Hotline: free professional help with any holiday baking challenge
World Vision Gift Catalog: share a full life with children in need by giving unique, life-changing gifts
Plant Therapy Essential Oils: 100% pure, undiluted oils you can trust at a price you can afford
Life Your Way Christmas Shop: get your 2014 Christmas planner today
Giving Tuesday offer: FREE Mrs. Meyer’s dish soap for you + $15 for World Vision!
© 2010-2014 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved
Chocolate chunk & toasted pecan oatmeal cookies {101 Days of Christmas}
Looking for a “healthier” Christmas cookie that doesn’t sacrifice taste in the process? This is the one!
Made with white whole wheat flour, old-fashioned oats and coconut sugar, these oatmeal cookies meet my criteria for perfect oatmeal cookies — slightly crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. With toasted pecans and dark chocolate, they’re also delicious and addictive. (Next time, I think I’ll add unsweetened dried coconut too!)
Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened 1 cup packed coconut sugar 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 eggs 1-1/2 cups King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour 3 cups old-fashioned oats 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup chocolate chunks 1 cup pecans, toasted
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add vanilla extract and eggs and beat until well combined.
In a separate bowl, mix flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Gently mix in chocolate chunks and pecans.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoon onto a prepared cookie sheet or pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes until they begin to brown.
Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Click here to add this recipe to your Plan to Eat account.
Today I’m also excited to share with you a fun collection of Holiday Sweets & Savory Treats from some of my favorite bloggers. You are sure to find a few new favorite recipes here, so be sure to pin this post so you can find it later as well!
Holiday Sweets Cherry Snowball Christmas Cookies from I’m an Organizing Junkie Chocolate Peanut Brittle from The Happy Housewife Chocolate Peppermint Brownie Trifle from Mom Endeavors Double Chocolate Candy Bar Pretzel Bark from Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures Easy Black Currant Scones from Good Cheap Eats Frozen Inspired Vanilla Raspberry Bites from Bargain Briana Gumdrops from Hoosier Homemade Microwave Caramel Corn from Ashley Pichea Nutter Butter Snowman Cookies from Mom’s Tool Box Old Fashioned Christmas Cookies from Mommy Hates Cooking Snickerdoodle Puppy Chow from Smockity Frocks Sugar Cookies for Dummies from Happy Little Homemaker The World’s Easiest Christmas Candy Ever from Money Saving Mom Savory Treats Bacon and Spinach Frittata Bites from Life as MOM Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus from Jo-Lynne Shane Bacon-Wrapped Water Chestnuts from The Finer Things in Life Black Bean and Avocado Salad from Kitchen Stewardship Cheesy Pesto Crescent Bites from Andrea Dekker Easy Cheesy Vidalia Onion Dip from Balancing Beauty and Bedlam Homemade {Gluten-Free} Sausage Balls from The Humbled Homemaker Kale Spinach Bites from For the Love Of Spiced Nuts from Modern Mrs. Darcy Toasted Pecans from My Blessed Life Trio of Cream Cheese Appetizers from Eat at Home Cooks White Cheddar Cranberry Bites from Parenting MiraclesJoin us as we celebrate 101 Days of Christmas with new DIY projects, gift ideas, traditions and more every day from now through Christmas!
Mandi Ehman is the blogger behind Life Your Way. She and her husband have four beautiful girls plus one baby boy, and together they live, work and homeschool on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia. Mandi loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces. Meet the 101 Days of Christmas sponsors:
King Arthur Flour's Baker's Hotline: free professional help with any holiday baking challenge
World Vision Gift Catalog: share a full life with children in need by giving unique, life-changing gifts
Plant Therapy Essential Oils: 100% pure, undiluted oils you can trust at a price you can afford
Life Your Way Christmas Shop: get your 2014 Christmas planner today
Chocolate chunk & toasted pecan oatmeal cookies {101 Days of Christmas}
© 2010-2014 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved
CommentsYum! Looks good! by Hannah DianeThese look FANTASTIC! I've never used coconut sugar but it sure ... by Amy @ MomsToolbox
December 1, 2014
Kids linen spray {101 Days of Christmas}
I don’t know about your kids, but mine tend to get keyed up during the holidays…and that’s even without the sugar!
This kid-safe linen spray that Christina at Plant Therapy shared is perfect for helping your littles one calm down at bedtime throughout the holiday season.
Supplies:
vodka or witch hazel water Plant Therapy’s Kid Safe blends: Better Than Kisses, Calming the Child, Growing Pains, Nighty Night, Sweet Dreams, and more! a spray bottleDirections:
Fill spray bottle halfway with vodka or witch hazel.
Add essential oils at a dilution of about 20 drops per 1 ounce. For example, if you’re using a 2-ounce bottle, use 40 drops.
Let the mixture sit for an hour or more.
Then, fill the bottle the rest of the way with water.
Shake well before use and spray bed linens generously at bedtime.
P.S. This would also make a great “no more monsters” spray if you have a child dealing with fears at bedtime or waking up with bad dreams!
Projects from the archives:
Join us as we celebrate 101 Days of Christmas with new DIY projects, gift ideas, traditions and more every day from now through Christmas!
Mandi Ehman is the blogger behind Life Your Way. She and her husband have four beautiful girls plus one baby boy, and together they live, work and homeschool on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia. Mandi loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces. Meet the 101 Days of Christmas sponsors:
King Arthur Flour's Baker's Hotline: free professional help with any holiday baking challenge
World Vision Gift Catalog: share a full life with children in need by giving unique, life-changing gifts
Plant Therapy Essential Oils: 100% pure, undiluted oils you can trust at a price you can afford
Life Your Way Christmas Shop: get your 2014 Christmas planner today
Kids linen spray {101 Days of Christmas}
© 2010-2014 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved
CommentsI see you promoting Plant Therapy Essential oils a lot. My ... by RaD3321
November 30, 2014
Printable sparkle box cards {101 Days of Christmas}
We discovered Jill Hardie’s The Sparkle Box a couple of years ago, but last year was the first year that we really made it a big part of our holiday celebration. It’s one we all really enjoyed, though, and I’m excited to be doing it again this year.
The book tells the story of a little boy and his family and the ways they serve their neighbors and community throughout the holiday season. The boy notices a sparkly present that sits on the mantle, but it’s not until Christmas morning that he realizes his mom has been filling the box with all of the kind things they’ve done throughout the month. Before they dive into their own presents, they open the sparkle box and read through all the gifts they’ve given to Jesus through their acts of service and charity.
Last year we used scraps of Christmas paper for our sparkle box activities, but this year I put together a simple printable to use to write down each of those. And honestly, you could do this with or without the book (although the book is a great introduction to the concept) or an actual sparkle box, using a jar or cookie tin instead.
I’ll be writing down all of our Christmas activities — things like filling Operation Christmas Child boxes, ringing the Salvation Army bell and hosting our hot cocoa stand for World Vision — and we’ll open the sparkle box and read through the papers before we start opening our own presents on Christmas morning. It’s a fun reminder for all of us that each of those things does matter and that we’re doing them for God’s glory and not just because we’re good people.
Click here to print or download the sparkle box cards.
Projects from the archives:
Join us as we celebrate 101 Days of Christmas with new DIY projects, gift ideas, traditions and more every day from now through Christmas!
Mandi Ehman is the blogger behind Life Your Way. She and her husband have four beautiful girls plus one baby boy, and together they live, work and homeschool on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia. Mandi loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces. Meet the 101 Days of Christmas sponsors:
King Arthur Flour's Baker's Hotline: free professional help with any holiday baking challenge
World Vision Gift Catalog: share a full life with children in need by giving unique, life-changing gifts
Plant Therapy Essential Oils: 100% pure, undiluted oils you can trust at a price you can afford
Life Your Way Christmas Shop: get your 2014 Christmas planner today
Printable sparkle box cards {101 Days of Christmas}
© 2010-2014 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved
November 29, 2014
Printable cone angels {101 Days of Christmas}
The following post is from Jason & Jennifer Bruce of New Season Design :
One of my goals for the Christmas season is to set aside more time for craft projects. Some days’ schedules naturally allow for that more than others. For those days when things get busy, I love having a quick and easy craft project idea up my sleeve. This sweet cone angel is one of those projects.
To make the cone angel, print the outline on paper or cardstock. Cut out the angel shape. Be sure to cut the two slits, one on each side of the wings. Color the angel, and add stickers or glitter glue. To assemble the cone, hold the angel face forward, and wrap the wings behind the body. Interlock the two slits, which will hold the cone together. You can add a little Scotch tape for an extra secure hold. Bend the wings forward if needed.
Click here to print or download the cone angel template.
Projects from the archives:
Join us as we celebrate 101 Days of Christmas with new DIY projects, gift ideas, traditions and more every day from now through Christmas!
Jason & Jennifer Bruce are the husband-and-wife design team behind New Season Design, where they work together to help clients put their best foot forward online. Jason is a pastor-turned-graphic designer, and Jennifer is a teacher-turned-blog designer who also blogs at The Simple Pen about life, learning and the things she loves. Meet the 101 Days of Christmas sponsors:
King Arthur Flour's Baker's Hotline: free professional help with any holiday baking challenge
World Vision Gift Catalog: share a full life with children in need by giving unique, life-changing gifts
Plant Therapy Essential Oils: 100% pure, undiluted oils you can trust at a price you can afford
Life Your Way Christmas Shop: get your 2014 Christmas planner today
Printable cone angels {101 Days of Christmas}
© 2010-2014 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved
November 28, 2014
What is your #wishforothers this Christmas?
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Capital One for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.
I am so excited to be partnering with Capital One to spread awareness of the Wish For Others campaign! It’s easy (even for us adults!) to get caught up in our own wishes and plans during the holiday season, but this is a great reminder to stop and think about what you would wish for other people instead.
But the best part is that when you share your #WishForOthers this holiday season on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook, CapitalOne just might make it come true!
It could be a neighbor, a friend, or a family member, a soldier serving in Afghanistan, a teacher or a school, and those are just the ideas off the top of my head. Who do you wish you had the money to bless in a tangible way this Christmas? Share it with CapitalOne and it could happen!
A video posted by Mandi Ehman (@mandiehman) on Nov 11, 2014 at 5:52pm PST
My #WishForOthers this year is to be able to provide farm animals for families around the world as a source of food, income and livelihood.
Providing livestock not only gives a family eggs and milk for their own family but provides them with an income source as they sell those things to other people in the community. This is how you help someone climb out of poverty for good: by giving them tools to do it themselves!
Share your wish on Twitter, Instagram or on Capital One’s Facebook page between now and December 23. Be sure to tag @CapitalOne and use the hashtag #wishforothers. (You can also stop by a Capital One Cafe and make your wish in person if you live in Boston, Chicago, New York or San Francisco.)
And visit WishForOthers.com to see the inspiring photos and videos of other people’s wishes this Christmas as well!
Meet the 101 Days of Christmas sponsors:
King Arthur Flour's Baker's Hotline: free professional help with any holiday baking challenge
World Vision Gift Catalog: share a full life with children in need by giving unique, life-changing gifts
Plant Therapy Essential Oils: 100% pure, undiluted oils you can trust at a price you can afford
Life Your Way Christmas Shop: get your 2014 Christmas planner today
What is your #wishforothers this Christmas?
© 2010-2014 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved
