My favorites for this week are:
1. Ice Castle
Although I haven't (yet) in my life made it to the St. Paul Winter Carnival, they are hosting an ice castle at the Mall of America this winter -- through the middle of next week, or it might close early if temperatures are sustainably above 40 degrees (like *that's* going to happen this year). As part of my "embrace winter" philosophy this year, my mom, my daughter and I visited the Ice Castle last weekend. There were thrones, there were ice princesses, there were cool ice formations, and there was a little girl who spontaneously hugged me and thanked me for bringing her to the Ice Castle. It was fun.
2. Raspberry Chocolate Cheesecake
My husband and I (it was a joint effort; I made the crust, he assembled the rest of it) made the Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Pie posted on MoneySavingMom this week for our family Valentine's dinner dessert, from some of the many raspberries we picked last summer. It was delicious. It's possible I'm eating some of it while I'm writing this blog post.
3. The "good china."
For that Valentine's dinner, we ate off the good china -- the kind that people used to traditionally receive as a wedding present. While we've regretfully never had occasion to use our full set (I think it's 12settings; I kind of rotate the ones we use for our small family), I still remember the fun of picking it out, still like my Forest Glen patttern, and enjoy using it. (Especially now that the six-year-old is old enough to use it as well, and has also expressed her appreciation for it.)
4. Family Game Night
While my mom was visitng last weekend, we had some fun with old-fashioned board and card games. I enjoy playing these, but my husband doesn't, so it's nice when we have someone else in the house to add another player.
5. Reading "Farmer Boy"
We're on the third in the Laura Ingalls Wilder series for our read-alouds. It's been a while since I've read this one, and I'd kind of forgotten how food-obsessed it is. It's fun to read about all of those things, and it's got me thinking of a few things to add to the family menu in the next few weeks (like maybe apples and onions, or some oatmeal).
I've never lived where it is cold enough to sustain something like an Ice Castle. Looks fun to visit!
ReplyDeleteI don't have any good china, though I wish I did, and love the idea of bringing it out for special occasions.
I'm in the same situation with board games. I enjoy them, and my husband doesn't though he will join in occasionally. When all the kids are home we usually get in a few.
I happen to be hosting a Laura Ingalls Wilder reading challenge this month (her birthday and day of death were in February.) There is more info. about it here: http://barbarah.wordpress.com/2013/02/01/the-laura-ingalls-wilder-reading-challenge-2013/. Would love to have you join us!
I'll check out your blog and may be able to join the Laura Ingalls Wilder challenge wrap/up parts for the end of the month.
Deleteoh how fun!! a winter ice carnival! we don't have enough snow here in my eastern part of New York State to have one of those but we did have a winter carnival at one of the state parks last month. There was just 4 inches of the white stuff but my friend and I had a blast on a deep woods winter hike.
ReplyDeleteYay for reading Laura Ingalls Wilder....we read the entire set together when my daughters were young. In fact my 14 yr old still likes to pull them out every now and then! :)
enjoy your weekend!!
A winter deep woods hike sounds lovely. I enjoy walking in the woods when I can. I've read the Laura Ingalls Wilder books several times myself and am now having the fun of introducing my daughter to them.
DeleteI'm late popping over from FFF. We loved Laura Ingalls Wilder books in our family. Wait until you read The Long Winter where the family is starving. Then you will realize why she was always so obsessed with food. :) It's always fun to play games. Have you tried Bananagrams? It's like an expanded game of Speed Scrabble.
ReplyDeleteI love Laura Ingalls Wilder books, too, and have read the whole series countless times myself; right now, I'm introducing them to my six-year-old daughter. Farmer Boy seems more obsessed with food than the others, possibly because it's about Almanzo's childhood rather than Laura's -- and I'm kind of glad we won't get to The Long Winter until (hopefully!) our snow has melted and the temps aren't below zero around here. I haven't played Bananagrams; my usual game partner is six. :)
DeleteThe ice castle looks amazing. That would be so much fun!
ReplyDeletePulling out the good china for family makes any meal a special occasion. And your dessert would be all that much better!
The Ice Castle sounds like a lot of fun to visit. The Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake sounds very yummy! We enjoy Farmer Boy as well. Tonight is game night at our house - it is my turn to pick - probably I'll pick Settlers of Catan. We enjoy playing games around here!
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