Vintage Board Games

A few weekends ago we went to an estate auction. We had never been before. Wow, what an experience! It's like a different world in there with the auctioneer talking a mile a minute, people bidding on boxes of the most random stuff, and things going for really cheap!

We went because the ad for the auction listed "tons of vintage Christmas decorations" and we would like to find some old Christmas lights. We are sick of the new lights that burn out after 1 season and new strands of lights are needed to be bought every freakin year!!! Did you know that strands of Christmas lights are only expected to last for 90 days? We actually read this on a stand of lights last Christmas. And then they are just trash and then everyone is just frustrated!

So anyways, we didn't come away with any Christmas lights but we did score a box of board games for $5! Most of them were from the 60s and really cool. They are in great shape and all the pieces are accounted for. We were all excited about our little treasure and many many games of Battleship, Sorry and Hi-Q have been played. Can't wait for marathon sessions of Monopoly when the kids are older. What is your favorite board game? Does your family play together often enough?

Homemade Fruit Snacks

We have a new favorite snack. They are easy to make, taste great, are virtually mess free, and are REALLY healthy! I'm really excited about these because they fit perfectly into our family's eating habits and health conscienceness. My cousin, Michelle, tried this recipe and told me how much her kids liked them and that I had to try them. So glad I did! I tweaked the recipe to make them a little less tart.

Only 4 ingredients:

1 cup Berries (strawberries, blueberries, or cherries), frozen or fresh
1/3 cup lemon juice
A generous squeeze from the honey jar
5 Tbsp. Gelatin

Measure the berries, lemon juice, and honey in a pot and heat until the berries are nice and soft. Pour into a blender (I use a magic bullet) and blend until smooth. Stop the blender and add the gelatin. Blend again and pour into a 8x8 or 9x9 pan. Put into the refrigerator to set and then cut into cubes. I store them in the fridge just because they taste good cold, but are very portable and do well out of the refrigerator too.

**A note about the gelatin. First be sure to use all 5 Tablespoons or the fruit snacks won't be the right texture. Also I use pure beef gelatin that I buy in bulk. It is a very healthy addition to your diet and your local health food store should carry a pound of it by the brand NOW. It can be ordered online too through Amazon. Beef gelatin is tasteless, odorless, and has lots of great health benefits.

This recipe could also probably be made using raspberries and blackberries. I will try that this summer when those berries are in season. A berry blend would probably also be great. How will you make yours? Be sure to let me know if you try a new combination that turns out extra yummy!

Happy Vday

First of all Happy Valentines Day to all you love birds out there. Secondly I completely unknowingly dressed all 3 of my kids in coordinating clothing. Third I didn't even notice it until much later in the day. I must have had a deeply suppressed attraction to navy and yellow this morning that I was unaware of. I got Magnolia dressed, fed and out the door for school. She had her Valentines party with her classmates today. Once Magnolia was gone, I pulled out clothes for Boothe and Henry, not even noticing that they matched. Later that morning I saw that they matched and told Boothe. Then after picking Magnolia up, feeding everyone lunch, and heading downstairs to play I realized that they all were dressed for a family picture. So there's my weird story of the day. It would have made a little more sense, since it is Valentines, if they had been coordinating in shades of pink and red, but instead it was all just a random aligning of the cosmos. How are you dressed today? Are you festive in pink and red?