Family Adventures ~ Caledonia

We are really fortunate to live in an area surrounded by beautiful mountains, state forests, and parks.  After our stop at Mister Ed's on Sunday, we headed to nearby Caledonia State Park.  This was actually a first visit and I think we all really enjoyed ourselves.  Oscar especially had fun making fire truck siren noises while walking on the trail, because he needed to warn people that it was an emergency and he was there to rescue people.  Luckily no one actually needed to be rescued and we were able to have a fun day in the woods!

Mister Ed's

My husband had a rare weekend off, so we spent lots of time together with our boys.  On Saturday, we visited my grandparents.  Then on Sunday, we took our annual trip to Mister Ed's Elephant Museum and Candy Emporium.  It's a neat little place, if you live in the area, and worth a visit!

Musical Monday

It seems like October is shaping up to be a busy month, so today's playlist is full of songs that help me relax and slow down a bit.  They also all remind me of the fall weather that I hope will return soon.  Enjoy!

Collections ~ Children's Mugs

Yummy Stuffed Pockets

Whenever I'm really feeling bored with dinners, I go to Pinterest.  I've been looking for food ideas there a lot lately and found a recipe I had pinned awhile ago for avocado, cream cheese, and salsa stuffed puff pastries.  You can find the original recipe here, as well as way better food photos than you will ever find on this blog, but I sort of did my own thing and wasn't too careful with measurements.  The result was pretty tasty, so I thought I'd share my version which I have renamed to yummy stuffed pockets.  Catchy, right?  Okay, I promise these taste better than my silly title sounds!

Here's what you need-

• 1 sheet of puff pastry 
• 1 ripe avocado, mashed
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1/2 cup cream cheese, softened
• 1 egg, beaten
• sour cream and extra salsa for topping, optional

The original instructions call for the puff pastry to be cut into enough pieces to make several small pockets.  I simply cut mine into four squares to make two big pockets, one for me and one for Don.  Mix the avocado, salsa, and cream cheese together in a bowl.  Split the mixture between two of the squares of puff pastry.  Top with the other two squares.  Press around the sides with a fork to seal the pockets.  Brush each pocket with the egg and bake on a cookie sheet sprayed with oil for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.  Top with sour cream and salsa and enjoy!  I think next time I will add some vegetarian chicken strips and black beans!

Wishlist ~ Crafty Bastards Artists

I spent the weekend helping Heidi out at Crafty Bastards.  It's a great show and we usually go every year to shop, although last year I helped Jessee.  I wonder if "art and craft show helper" is an official job title.  If so, I have some experience now and my salary is negotiable.  (Disclaimer- Kelly, I am totally joking.  I promise not to leave my job as your faithful legal advocate!)  Anyway, I had a great weekend in DC with my favorite gal and I did a tiny bit of shopping, but mostly I just briefly browsed the vendors and made mental notes of some possible future purchases.  Really there were too many amazing items to include on one list, but here are a few things I hope to eventually snag!

1/2/3/4/5

Happy October!

One plastic Jack O' Lantern bucket has quickly turned into a growing collection.  I started the Halloween decorating a few weeks ago with these guys, but I may leave them year round!