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Author Archives: Lisa Cavallari
- Chilling Ideas For Frightening Fun
  
  Posted at 9:00 am by Lisa Cavallari
  
  Oct 3rd
  Halloween is less than a month away so here are a few ways to spark some inspiration and get into the scream of things.
  
  Fun activities for you and the little ghouls:
  - Watch Teeny Tiny and the Witch Woman. This short story is read aloud by an old woman whose scratchy voice lends to the spookiness of the tale. My girls watch this one over and over again. Of course, there’s always Hocus Pocus, The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, Spookley, The Square Pumpkin, and Hotel Transylvania.
  - Play Halloween Bingo. Crazy Little Projects created an adorable free printable Bingo game.
  - Take a stroll around your neighborhood to check out what people have done to decorate their homes for Halloween. A fun way to get some fresh air and gather up good ideas.
  - Decorate a gingerbread haunted house. Who says Christmas gets all the fun with gingerbread? Add a gnarled tree made from a brown paper bag and some black sugar sprinkles around the lawn to complete the look.
  - Check out some spooky stories at the library. Old Man Wind, Room On The Broom, The Runaway Pumpkin, Five Funny Frights and The Costume Copycat are some of the girls favorites.
  - Crank up some spooky tunes on Pandora. They have a kids Halloween station that you could play while decorating your haunted house.
  - Print off some pages from Activity Village. They have coloring pages, games and all sorts ideas to celebrate Halloween..as well as many other holidays celebrated around the world.
  Ideas to get yourself psyched:
  - Relive the 80s and watch Weird Science, Ghostbusters, or An American Werewolf In London. If the 90s was more your style, there’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Edward Scissorhands.
  - Read some Edgar Allen Poe. “The Raven,” “A Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Premature Burial,” and other creepy stories and poems are sure to give you the shivers.
  - Bake some pumpkin bread or pumpkin cake. These two recipes were my very first post from almost a year ago.
  - Make pumpkin soup. I have been dying to try this recipe.
  - See what Martha, the Queen of Halloween, is up to this year.
  - Try some salty caramel apple vodka by UV ($13/1 L). Another thing I have been meaning to try…with guests over of course. 😉
  Are you ready now?
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  Posted in Kids | Tagged Halloween Activities, Halloween Ideas for Kids
- How Do You Like Them Apples?
  
  Posted at 9:00 am by Lisa Cavallari
  
  Sep 29th
  If you are looking for an impressive way to use your abundant supply of apples this season, then look no further. These apple cupcakes will knock the socks off any food-savvy guest. I make these every fall for an annual apple tradition that started about six years ago. My friend hosts dinner at her home and each of us brings a menu item that has apples as an ingredient. I really don’t think I would be allowed in the door without them. 🙂
  Apple Cupcakes
  - Servings: 12 large and 12 mini cupcakes
  - Time: 1 hr 30 mins
  - Difficulty: moderate
  - Print
  Ingredients:
  
  Cake batter:
  
  3 cups all-purpose flour
  
  1 3/4 tsp cinnamon
  
  1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  
  1/2 tsp salt
  
  1/4 tsp ground allspice
  
  1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  
  1/4 tsp baking soda
  
  1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
  
  1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
  
  3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  
  3 large eggs
  
  2 tsp vanilla extract
  
  1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
  
  2 medium Fuji or Gala apples peeled, cored and sliced into small cubes
  
  Frosting:
  
  1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  
  8 ounces softened cream cheese
  
  1 Tb vanilla extract
  
  Pinch of salt
  
  3 cups powdered sugar
  
  Red food coloring
  
  Topping:
  
  2 containers of red sprinkles (I used Betty Crocker)
  
  12 brown Tootsie Rolls
  
  12 green Tootsie Rolls
  
  Directions:
  
  Line cupcake pan with red Wilton large cupcake liners. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk first 7 ingredients together into a large bowl. Set aside. Combine butter and sugar in a standalone mixer with paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, combining throughly between additions. Add vanilla. With mixer on low, slowly add 1/3 of dry ingredients, then add 3/4 cup applesauce. Add 1/3 more of dry ingredients and follow with remaining applesauce. Add last batch of dry ingredients, mix until combined. Fold in chopped apples.
  
  Using a measuring cup add enough cake batter to each cupcake liner until it reaches the top. Smooth tops with a butter knife and place in center rack of oven to bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Add remaining batter to miniature cupcake liners and bake those for about 20 minutes.
  
  Allow cupcakes to cool thoroughly before frosting. (Can be made 1 day in advance.)
  
  For the frosting, add all frosting ingredients to a large bowl and mix until combined. Tear off a sheet of paper towel and lay flat on countertop. Pour all red sprinkles in center of paper towel. Using an offset spatula, frost cupcakes one at a time. Dip frosted cupcake immediately into pile of sprinkles rotating cupcake as necessary until all of top is covered in sprinkles. Continue to frost and dip cupcakes until you have a shimmering dozen of red apples.
  
  Lastly, take the brown Tootsie Rolls and shape into a stem shape. You may need to microwave them for five seconds to soften them up a bit. For the green Tootsie Rolls microwave for about five seconds each and use a rolling-pin to roll them flat. Cut out leaf shapes with a knife and add details such as the veins.
  
  Refrigerate cupcakes until a half hour before devouring.
  The apples obviously do not fall far from the tree.
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  Posted in Baking | Tagged Apple Cupcakes, Apple Cupcakes With Cream Cheese Icing, Fuji Apple, Gala Apple
- An Uplifting Experience
  
  Posted at 10:00 am by Lisa Cavallari
  
  Sep 22nd
  About a month ago, I was out with some friends when one of them spotted a woman walking into a restaurant with, what looked to be, the most painful bra underneath a sheer, white top she was wearing. The bra acted like a corset because her skin was spilling out both over and under the straps on her back. I wondered if she could even breathe in that thing. My friend then turned to me and said, “You should really write about finding a good fitting bra.”
  
  Fast forward to this past weekend when I finally found the time to go shopping for one and here I am to share all the information I learned from a very wise and helpful salesperson named Gail at Nordstrom’s.
  
  First off, it was pretty funny to listen in on the exclamations and excitement whenever a shopper in a neighboring changing room found the right bra. One woman was on the phone talking to her girlfriend about how shocked she was that she was a size G. Honestly, I think the sizing at Nordstrom’s is just a carefully planned ego boost for the small-busted gal because I went up 2 cup sizes from my usual sizing. Not that I’m complaining or anything.
  
  Usually I shop at Victoria’s Secret for my bras so I was surprised by the quality and variety offered at Nordstrom’s, not to mention their outstanding customer service. I think it’s safe to say that VS bras are a thing of the past for me now. Some of my favorite brands that I tried on were Josie (the fabric they use is so soft), Black Bow (again very soft fabric, but also great patterns and enhancements for the smaller-busted), Chantelle (dreamy, romantic, lacy and French) and OnGossamer (very cool twist in the center of the bra that can be twisted again for more oomph). Let me also state that they were having some great sales that day so I ended up buying 3 bras with the original intent of getting just one.
  
  Here are a few misconceptions we have about bras.
  
  Myth: No one can see what I have on underneath my outfit so I’ll buy something more noticeable like a new shirt, shoes, etc and get a few more months out of my old bras.
  
  Truth: Nuh-uh! Your clothes will fit better when you find the right fitting bra by lifting the girls up and smoothing out the dreaded back flab, plus your posture looks better too.
  
  Myth: Speaking of back flab, that means my bra is too tight.
  
  Truth: No, it actually means that your bra is too loose. Wearing a bra with a smaller band size and lower on your back will eliminate back fat.
  
  Myth: When trying on bras, I want the band size to fit me at the middle or the loosest hook so that it’s more comfortable.
  
  Truth: You want the band size to fit you perfectly on the loosest hook because your bra will stretch out with time and wear.
  
  Myth: I only need one or two bras.
  
  Truth: You need to rotate around 3-4 bras during the week making sure your bra has a day to rest in between wearings. Giving your bra a day of rest will allow the resilience to come back in the support elastic. Taking care of your bras can extend their life by using gentle detergent and a lingerie bag in the wash. Always allow your bras to air dry.
  
  Myth: My straps keep falling down. I just need to tighten them.
  
  Truth: If you tighten the straps and they still fall down, that means your bra band is riding up and you need to go down a band size. Your band should fit straight across your back and it should never ride up.
  
  Myth: I’ve been fitted for a bra within the past year or two so my size probably hasn’t changed.
  
  Truth: We all know that pregnancy, breast-feeding and ever-changing exercise and eating habits have an impact on our bust size so it’s best to get measured each time you buy a bra.
  
  Since 3 out of 4 women are wearing the wrong bra size, take a look to see how your bras are fitting. You may have some shopping to do in the not-too-distant future. If you are in the area and looking for a bra, go see Gail at Nordstrom’s in Woodfield. She is an excellent resource.
  
  Are there any questions I might have missed on this topic?
  
  Thanks Sylvia for offering up this idea. 🙂
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  Posted in Shopping
- Fall Fever
  
  Posted at 9:00 am by Lisa Cavallari
  
  Sep 10th
  Autumn is practically here. The chill is supposed to set in slightly this week in Chicagoland and the temperature has turned noticeably cooler in the evenings. I am hoping to get one more batch of pesto out of my basil before it turns completely brown.
  
  Inspiration struck over the weekend to take out some of my fall decorations when I saw that a friend had put hers out. Thank you for the motivation, Debbie. 😉 Except this year, I wanted to show some more restraint. In the past, I have admittedly gotten carried away with my fall decorating. It looked like a Halloween store/leaf storm blew through the house. Part of it is for the kids and the outdoor decorations will still be out in full force, but some rooms I plan to keep Halloween-free because, let’s face it, it’s not relaxing decor, is it? A skull blinking on and off or a witch staring at you while you eat dinner. It can be a little unsettling for guests.
  
  I saw a butcher block decorated for fall on Pinterest and decided to recreate the look. The only thing I am missing is a basket below and a copper bowl or pitcher with some gourds.
  
  Here is our mantle. I am not entirely happy with the duck decoy in the middle, but I will keep playing around with it.
  
  A close-up of the bittersweet I bought from Pottery Barn many moons ago. I love bittersweet.
  
  A few children’s classics that belonged to my dad when he was growing up and an NFL Throwback helmet. Voila. Subtle fall touches.
  
  What do you like to put out when the seasons change? Get the house cozy now because it sounds like this winter is going to be a doozy!
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  Posted in diy | Tagged Fall Decorating, Fall Decorating Ideas, Fall Mantle
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