January 26, 2012 by jenniferhazard
Thanks to a friend’s recommendation, MP and CP#2 decided to check out Pitter Patter, Inc. — a children’s specialty shop in Bath.
The inviting store window on Front Street.
Shop owner Colleen Whitaker made us feel right at home. CP#2 was hot on the toy trail, so Colleen invited him to play with a building set while MP browsed.
There’s a lot to love at Pitter Patter, but MP was especially impressed with the Maine made items, like the vintage, silver-plated baby spoons from Tunkables in Freeport.
Tunkables baby spoons are engraved with terms of endearment like sweet pea or pumpkin.
MP also loved the pretty pillowcase dresses from Hampden’s Mermaid Girl Stitchery.
MP adores this gorgeous green dress... such great fabric!
Pitter Patter also carries Gambies—soft, cotton baby buntings with silk-screened designs. By simply pulling out the drawstring, the bunting coverts into a cozy child-size coverup.
A preppy, 80's inspired whale print from Gambies.
During all of this shopping, CP#2 continued to play happily on the rug nearby (where Colleen keeps a basket of creative toys). MP can’t wait to return again soon.
PS: Pitter Patter also offers complimentary gift wrap. Love that!
Pitter Patter, Inc.
129 Front Street
Bath
207.443.9870
FMI: Visit the web site or find Pitter Patter on Facebook.
Posted in Shopping | Tagged baby bunting, bath maine, colleen whitaker, convertible baby bunting, freeport maine, front street bath, gambies, hampden maine, kids cover-up, mermaid girl stitchery, pillowcase dress, pitter patter, preppy whales design, tunkables, vintage baby spoons | Leave a Comment »
January 21, 2012 by jenniferhazard
Wow! Thanks to all of you who entered our Valentine’s Day giveaway. We’re so glad that everyone is as excited about The Bakers Confections Etsy shop as we are. Now for the drum roll…
…. congrats to Ashley! She wins a cake pop kit or cookie pop kit of her choice, plus some super cute decorative straws. Hope she sends us the delicious results!
Chances are, if you entered the contest, you have Valentine’s Day on your mind. Look at these handmade gifts MP discovered just this morning from Eastport’s Lindy Weston of Lindy by the Sea.
These whimsical, knit hearts would look great on the family table.
A festive banner for Valentine's Day or all February long.
A soft, Babushka Doll ornament makes for a sweet surprise on the kids' bedroom door.
For more from Lindy by the Sea, visit her Etsy shop.
Posted in giveaways, Shopping | Tagged cute potato, cute potato valentine's day giveaway 2012, kids valentine's day gifts, knit hearts, lindy by the sea etsy, lindy weston, soft babushka doll, the bakers confections, valentine's day banner, valentine's day gifts from maine | Leave a Comment »
January 19, 2012 by jenniferhazard
Every once and awhile, MP comes across a local Etsy shop, and wonders how she never knew about it. The Bakers Confections is one such place. The shop offers everything a parent could want for a party, including colorful cupcake liners, sprinkles, favor bags, and more festive supplies.
The Bakers Confections is the brainchild of Scarborough’s Shauna Osteen and Esther Holden. While working at Le Roux Kitchen in Portland, the two ladies bonded over their love of baking, and decided to start a bakers supply shop of their own.
MP has been searching for a local source for bakers twine. So cute for wrapping gifts!
MP is particularly fond of The Bakers Confections cupcake liners and sprinkle sets for Valentine’s Day.
What cupcake wouldn't look better with these festive sprinkles?
These cute cupcake liners have a fun, retro appeal.
Like what you see? Leave us a comment below and you could win decorative paper straws plus a cake pop or cookie kit of your choice from The Bakers Confections.
Create super cute cake pops and wrap them for school valentines with this handy kit.
One winner will be chosen at random. Contest ends Friday, January 20 at midnight EST. Good luck!
To learn more about The Bakers Confections, visit their site, Etsy shop, or Facebook page. And special thanks to Shauna and Esther for the lovely photos!
Posted in giveaways, Shopping | Tagged bakers twine, cake pop kit, cookie pop kit, cupcake liners, cute baking supplies, cute potato giveaway, decorative paper straws, Esther Holden, le roux kitchen portland, maine and party supplies, maine baking supplies, scarborough maine, Shauna Osteen, sprinkle sets, the bakers confections, valentines day cupcake liners, valentines day party supplies, valentines day sprinkles | 38 Comments »
January 12, 2012 by jenniferhazard
True confession: MP has never made Rice Krispie treats. Ever. Marshmallows, butter, and rice cereal never excited her (even with the snap, crackle, pop). However, when MP spotted this recipe for Peanut Butter Pretzel Krispie treats, she suddenly felt inspired. All she need was an excuse. Today’s snow day was it.
The addition of creamy peanut butter, dark chocolate & pretzels make an everyday dessert extra special.
This is one of the simplest desserts MP and the kids have ever made. CP#2 enjoyed breaking up pretzel sticks in a zip lock bag using his might, and later, a rolling pin. CP#1 mixed the butter, marshmallows, and peanut butter in hopes of licking the bowl clean. However, once this sticky concoction comes together, there is no time to waste. The pretzels and cereal need to be mixed in quickly. Then the kids can place the mixture in the pan.
CP#1 is an expert at scraping every last bit of melted chocolate from the bowl.
MP drizzled melted dark chocolate to the top of the dessert and placed the pan in the fridge to allow the chocolate time to cool. Before long, the team sat around the table with tall glasses of milk and dessert in hand.
It's fair to say CP#2 knows how to enjoy a good dessert.
Rice Krispie treats will never be the same.
Posted in Food | Tagged a twist on rice krispie treats, easy desserts, no bake desserts, peanut butter pretzel rice krispie treats, rice krispies, snow day dessert, snow day desserts, sweet and salty desserts | 1 Comment »
January 3, 2012 by jenniferhazard
Without fail, MP feels a little disorganized after the holidays. There are decorations to put away, bags to unpack, and new toys to find space for around the house. This Christmas, the Cute Potato kids were especially blessed with art supplies. The influx of crafty goods inspired MP to reorganize the team’s arts and crafts cabinet. Enter Nykki Grindle from Seal Harbor, who makes fabric and crocheted organizers that are perfect for markers, paint brushes, beads, stickers, and ribbon.
Nykki uses sturdy, outdoor fabric for her eye-catching organizers.
MP loves this sweet, crocheted basket for buttons and beads.
Another fabric organizer from Nykki's Etsy shop.
These nifty little organizers would also be great for barrettes, game pieces, and all of the tiny accessories that come with CP#1′s dolls and CP#2′s action figures.
Feeling the need to organize your family’s new things? You can find Nykki’s storage organizers on Etsy or Facebook. Happy 2012, everyone!
Posted in Shopping | Tagged children's storage, crocheted organizers, cute kids organizers, cute kids storage, fabric flower pots, handmade by nykki, kids storage, kids storage maine, nykki grindle, nykki grindle etsy, nykkii grindle facebook, organizers for crafts, organizers for small toys, seal harbor maine, smart storage, stylish organizer, stylish storage | 2 Comments »
December 23, 2011 by jenniferhazard
The Cute Potato family has been busy cooking, wrapping, baking, and preparing the house for guests this week. One of our favorite projects was baking these chocolate chip letter cookies for friends.
Last year, Santa brought the kids a fun, Wilton alphabet cookie cutter set. CP#1 loved the idea of giving classmates a personalized letter cookie. She chose Nestle’s dark chocolate and mint chips for the recipe. The dough is easy to work with, and the cookies turned out great.
One proud Potato
We wrapped each cookie in clear, cellophane bags. CP#1 made gift tags using festive cardstock paper.
For CP#1, the highlight of this project was giving the cookies to her school mates. There’s nothing better than a gift made with love.
Posted in Craft Projects, Food, holidays | Tagged alphabet letter cookies, chocolate mini chip holiday cookies, cookies for friends, easy kids cookies, holiday cookies, homemade gift tags, kids and homemade gifts, nestle dark chocolate and mint chips, Wilton alphabet cookie cutters | Leave a Comment »
December 15, 2011 by jenniferhazard
Every year, Grandma Cookie Potato organizes a festive gingerbread house party for family and friends. Grandma is a whiz when it comes to making, baking, and assembling these houses. She gave MP this gingerbread house bake set years ago, and MP still hasn’t mastered the patient art of rolling out gingerbread dough (or maybe she just needs to work on her upper arm strength).
Grandma and CP#1 begin work on their house.
Grandma and her friends collect all kinds of candy for the houses throughout the year, which makes for some creative decorating.
It’s hard to compete with these ladies, who have years of experience under their belts, but MP and CP#2 are proud of what we accomplished together.
What we enjoy most about the party? Spending time around the table with friends and loved ones.
Posted in Craft Projects, holidays | Tagged candy for gingerbread houses, festive family gatherings, fox run brands, gingerbread house bake set, gingerbread house party, gingerbread houses, holiday party themes | Leave a Comment »
December 8, 2011 by jenniferhazard
DP celebrated his 40th birthday yesterday. To surprise him, MP thought it would be fun to make t-shirts to commemorate the big day. She had this silly idea of creating a whoopie pie shirt that reads, “Whoopie! You’re 40.” Surprisingly, the shirts were so easy to make.
CP#2 modeling (sort of) his whoopie pie shirt.
Here’s what you need:
• Plain cotton tees in varying colors
• Brown felt (we used two 9″x12″ squares for six shirts)
• White chalk
• Fabric glue
• White fabric paint
• Raised black fabric paint
• Circular craft sponges
• Cardboard square or old magazine
Steps:
- Using white chalk, trace the base of a round glass on the felt.
- Cut the circle in half. This makes the top and bottom halves of the whoopie pie.
- Place a magazine or cardboard square inside of the shirt. The added layer keeps glue and paint from seeping through to the other side of your shirt.
- Glue the top and bottom half of the circle to the T-shirt, leaving a little room for the white paint at the center.
- Gently dab the white paint between the two halves of the whoopie pie. It’s okay to get a little on the felt.
- Once your whoopie pie is complete, write your birthday message using the raised fabric paint.
- Lay the T-shirt flat on a drying rack for 24 hours.
MP and the kids had a great time with this project! Plus, our friend Cathy Ducey of Mom Made it Cakes in Scarborough made DP an incredible whoopie pie cake to go with the theme.
Who says 40 can’t be fun?
Posted in Craft Projects, Food | Tagged 40 birthday party, cathy ducey, easy craft projects, easy kids craft projects, homemade t-shirts, mom made it cakes, scarborough maine, whoopie pie cake, whoopie pie party, whoopie pie t-shirt | 1 Comment »
December 1, 2011 by jenniferhazard
MP loves the art fairs and craft shows that pop up during this time of year. There are so many talented people to discover. Case in point: while shopping Brunswick’s Artsy Affair, she came across these collectible dolls from talented mom and crafter, Erin Vazdauskas.
Each doll is made out of washable linen, felt and cotton.
Her sweet creations, which she calls Thimbleberry dolls, are vintage-inspired with modern appeal (thanks to the fun, graphic prints). Erin does all of the work by hand, from stitching to stuffing. When she’s finished, she names each doll, too. Cute.
MP has her eye on these for CP#2. The hard part is choosing.
Seriously. Wouldn’t one of these characters look so sweet peeking out of a Christmas stocking?
To learn more, contact Erin at erincv@msn.com. You can also find Thimbleberry Dolls on Etsy and Facebook.
Posted in Shopping | Tagged artsy affair, brunswick maine, dolls for boys and girls, Erin Vazdauskas, soft dolls for kids, stocking stuffer ideas, thimbleberry dolls | 1 Comment »
November 21, 2011 by jenniferhazard
Our friend, photographer Cathy Davis, guest posts today about her family’s recent visit to Acadia National Park:
My husband and I have always wanted to visit Acadia National Park. We’ve heard of the area’s beauty and peacefulness, but wondered if it was possible to enjoy the scenery with three children under 5. This fall, we traveled to Bar Harbor for an overnight trip to find out.
To our surprise, the whole family was able to enjoy Acadia’s serene and amazing views on our hike up Gorham Mountain.The parking lot and start to the trail is on the right after Thunder Hole on Park Loop Road. The trail is .9 miles to the summit.
This trail was so great for my five-year old because he was able to hike independently. The trail was exciting for him — there were so many rocks he had to climb. He also had to figure out which path to take, using Cairn markers throughout the trail (the markers are rock sculptures that are placed at junctions along the trail to lead the way).
My three-year old enjoyed the trail as well – she did need some help climbing up and down steeper rocks. She is the one that always says, “Are we there yet?” but that was rarely said on the journey up. Although it was a different story going down.
As for my husband? He is a tough one! He carried our one-year old (now 2), all the way up in a Kelty backpack carrier. We were surprised again when our little one didn’t complain and enjoyed the ride.
The views on this hike were spectacular! Throughout the hike, we’d get glimpses of the Atlantic Ocean. Here, we reached the “false” summit.
My oldest son was able to tell us that the trail went on because of the stone markers.
Here we are at the summit! We made it to the top after many breaks, bathroom stops in the woods, and waiting around for my three-year old to catch up! Gorham Mountain is 525 feet high, which might be small compared to nearby Cadillac Mountain, but to my kids and I, this was a great journey on a very big mountain.
I look back and realize that hiking Gorham Mountain was such a great way to spend the morning. I wasn’t distracted by my daily list of things to do. I simply enjoyed my family!
Our total journey took about 2 hours (my three-year old definitely took her time and enjoyed the scenery). If you are not sure about taking young children to Acadia, this hike is perfect. The hike reminded my daughter that she can’t do everything herself… yet. And the adventure provided my five-year old with lots of new discoveries. Just today, he said, “I want to go back to Bar Harbor, it was prutty!”
Posted in On the Road, Trails | Tagged acadia national park and kids, bar harbor and kids, cathy clicks, cathy davis, favorite family hikes maine, gorham mountain, guest blogger Cute Potato, scarborough maine | Leave a Comment »
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