October

Happy October! I hope that school is going well for all of you, and you're getting lots done! Did you teach your dolls anything new?  or maybe you made a batch of cookies? Whatever you did, I hope that you had fun!

The October calendar is full of fun fall things to do. As always, you can go to the web albums or right-click on the picture below and save. Set as your desktop background and enjoy!

Happy October!!

Apple and Peanut Butter Cookies

I don't know about you, but I love the combination of apples and peanut butter! There's just something about the sweet crunchy-ness of apples, and the salty creamy-ness of peanut butter that makes them go well together. This week on the calender is to make a batch of cookies. So what about having apple and peanut butter in a cookie? That's just what we did!

 

These apple and peanut butter cookies are super easy to make. I used my mom's peanut butter cookie recipe,  which is really just peanut butter and sugar (plus a few more things!), and store-bought apple pie filling. You could definitely make your own filling, but we just had some on hand, so I decided to use that.

 

After you roll the cookie dough in the sugar, you can press them down in the center, or make the classic criss-cross top with a fork. They will puff up a bit in the oven, but they'll go down when you take them out.

 

Top with a spoonful of apple pie filling and there you have it! A yummy batch of apple and peanut butter cookies.
Do you have any food combinations that you love? What about trying them in a different way, like cookies? Leave a comment and let us know!

 

 Enjoy your apple and peanut butter cookies!!

September Calendar

School time! Have you already started or are you starting soon? What are some of your favorite classes? Are you planning on making this your best year yet?

School is a lot of fun, and a great chance to learn, but it's good to take a break too! Have fun doing things that you love, and you just might find that learning comes along with it. :) 

This September calendar is full of fun things to do to get you back into school, but also to just have fun. You can either right-click the image and save to your desktop, or go to the web albums and download to your computer. Set as your background and enjoy! 

Due to school, I will only be posting once a week, but I should be back in full swing by October.

Happy September!!

 P.S. Don't forget to check out the new poll of the month!

November Calendar and...

Well, it's already time for November. Did you have a good doll-oween? Even though we didn't really dress up, we still had a lot of fun!
Here is this month's calendar! I will be posting some things from it, although I might not do all of them. Do you like to do any of it?

November 2012 Calendar

You can get it by using the link above it, then right click on the picture, save to your computer, then set as desktop. Have fun!

And now for the surprise that I've been hinting at. Any guesses? The answer is..... Freebies!! We have a new page set up just full of fun stuff to do. Each one is a doll-sized printable that's easy to make. Fill your doll's bookshelves with books, send a note to a friend, or celebrate a birthday. Some of the crafts are trickier then others, so make sure that there's an adult to watch. I'm always looking for more ideas, so if you have any, leave a comment, and might just be the next one I make! 

I hope that you have fun with the downloads, and have a great November!

Happy Doll-oween!

Autumn Photos

Are you all having a good autumn? I hope so! The leaves are mostly gone from our trees now, but I was able to find a few more to photograph. What's your favorite part about fall?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are you all enjoying the October Calendar as well? The days go by so fast! I'll have to start working on November's soon. :)
Have fun with the autumn days!

Mini Oatmeal Apple Crisps

Remember the mini caramel apples that we made last month?

 

We had so much fun cutting out the apples, dipping them in the caramel, and finally eating them. But when you're done cutting up the apples, you still have apples left over. Now, you could just eat them, or you could make mini oatmeal apple crisps!

 

They were really good, and the perfect treat to make with the left over apples. Here's the recipe!

Mini Oatmeal Apple Crisps

1 pkg instant oatmeal (if you have flavored ones, you could use those here too! I used cinnamon flavor)
1 1/2 tsp softened butter + 1/2 tsp
pinch each of cinnamon and nutmeg
Apple bits

Set aside 1 tbls of oatmeal for later. Then mix together the rest of that and the 1 1/2 tsp butter. Pat into mini muffin cups.

 

Slice up the apples into those.

 

Then mix together the rest of the oatmeal that you set aside, the 1/2 tsp butter and the spices. Crumble on top.

 

Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, or until the apples are soft. Then let cool and enjoy! We drizzled some caramel over some of ours, but you could use anything that you would like.

 

You can also mix it up a bit. Use different spices, try other toppings, or even use another filling. Be creative! You can make almost anything.

 

Have fun!

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Stale bread is really just another excuse to make another dessert. And in this case, bread pudding!

 

Because it's fall, I thought that it would be fitting to make a pumpkin one. Personally, I would have preferred more pumpkin spice, but you add yours to taste. And so without further ado, here is the...

Pumpkin Bread Pudding Recipe

5 cups cubed bread (I used bagels)
4 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (more or less)
pinch of salt
3 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup of pumpkin puree

1. Butter an 8x8 inch pan, then place the bread inside.

 

2. Whisk up the other ingredients in a bowl until smooth.

 

3. Pour the milk mixture over the bread. Let soak for about 20 minutes, mixing occasionally.

 

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes.

 

5. Serve. Yum!

 

A bit of milk or cream helps to cool it off, and a squirt of whipped cream on top adds the finishing touch! (That, and I added a pinch of pumpkin pie spice as well. :))

 

Have you made any autumnal treats lately? I hope that you enjoyed them!

October Calendar

Happy October! As the first day of the month, it's time for a new calendar! Did you like September's? I had lots of fun using it! As I said before, I won't be posting from this one, although I'll still continue posting regularly. You can get the calendar here, then just right-click and save!

Happy Autumn!

(Mini!) Caramel Apples

Fall is the time of year that brings crisp air, crunchy leaves, and apples! Apples are a fall favorite, and a favorite something to make with them are caramel apples. We made some yesterday, but as a small twist, we made them mini sized!

 

After washing the apples,

 

we used a melon baller to make small round bits of them.

 

Then we melted the caramel,

 

put the apples on sticks,

 

and dipped them in! It was lots of fun, a little bit messy, but all delicious!

 

We let them chill for a while before we ate them. They make great little treats!

 

Enjoy!

 

I was going to take pictures with my dolls to use for the apple orchard post, but the apples didn't last long enough. They were really good. :)
I will make a calendar for October, although I won't be posting from it. Did you enjoy using the calendar for this month?

Whatever you do with apples this fall, I hope that you enjoy them!

Summer's Last Days

Even though fall arrived on Saturday, here are a few last pictures from summer.
Here's to fall!

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Autumn!

Make a Fun Snack

The calendar activity for Wednesday is to make a fun snack. I'm a little bit ahead, but that makes up for the times I'm a little behind. ;)
So today I made a cake! Well, not quite, but it tasted yummy! I cut a slice of bread in half and spread cream cheese in the middle. Then I spread some more over the top, and sprinkled a bit of powdered sugar on top.

 

I used these cute stencils from my aunt for the polka-dots on top. Thanks, Aunty!

 

 

The cake cut in half.

 

 

It's hard to believe that September is halfway over! The summer is long gone, and fall is coming! If you would still like the calendar, you can get it here! Have you been doing anything from the calendar? I would love to hear about it!
I hope that you enjoy your snack!

Homemade Apple Pie

One of the great things about homeschooling is all of the fun activities you get to make! Last week we made an apple pie. We even went fancy with the crust. :)

 

You need:
Pie crust
About 6 apples
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbls flour
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
Pinch of nutmeg

1. Peel and thinly slice the apples. But remember that they do shrink when they bake, so don't cut them too small!

 

2. Add the rest of the ingredients (except the crust).

 

3. Pour into crust. Place the other crust on top. You can do the criss-cross top like we did, or you can just drape the crust on top and cut out slits or whatever else you can think of! Just remember to have openings in the top!

 

4. Bake at 425 for about 15-20 minutes, then place foil around the edges. This can be very tricky, so be sure to have help. The foil keeps the edges from over-browning, or burning, while the rest of the pie bakes.

 

5. Bake for another 20-25 minutes. Let cool.
6. Cut into slices and serve.

 

 

Enjoy!