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Chonky Boys: The Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches that Scream Summer!

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Featuring my thick and nuggy Chonky Boy Chocolate Chip Cookies, these ice cream sandwiches are the stuff that summer dreams are made of.  If you've ever had the Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich at Disneyland , you are going to LOVE these!  These big and bold chocolate chip cookies are based on a recipe from my culinary school studies at Auguste Escoffier, but with a few modifications to give them that Jennuine touch.  They make the perfectas book for a fat slice of real vanilla bean ice cream.  And those mini chips?  You just gotta have that extra cronch! Thank goodness this recipe only makes 8 sandwiches, otherwise I would be eating them for breakfast lunch and dinner.  This way, my big family can help save me from my inner child diet-saboteur.   Print With Image Without Image Chonky Boy Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches Yield: 8 Author: Jenn Erickson Loaded with chocolate chips and buttery, brown-sugary vanilla flavor, these mall-sized cookies form a perfect partnership with a
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GETTING MY LUCKY DUCKS IN A ROW...

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Many thanks to everyone that participated in October's contests and giveaways with your wonderful comments, subscriptions, and support!  It was especially fun (and hilarious) reading through all the captions for the ABC Nursery Blocks Caption contest.  Without further ado, here are the lucky duckies: Babygags Baby Apparel Giveaway:  MS. BIBI (please email me with your mailing address and choice of t-shirt or onesie) Set of Cupcake Cuties:  ROYAL FAMILY (please email me your mailing address) ABC Nursery Block Captions:  HONEY MOMMY (please email me the address where you would like your 1-year subscription to Bon Appetit sent) "Does this make my butt look big?"  ~ Honey Mommy
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LITTLE GREEN GOBBLIN'S ~ A PERFECT AND EASY HALLOWEEN APPETIZER

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My clever and crafty friends Jaime and Lisa over at Sprout Boutique turned me on to this one: These simple, delicious, elegant and Halloweenishly green appetizers are made using just four simple ingredients:  blue cheese, cream cheese, seedless grapes and pistachios. Pistachio Blue Cheese Grape Appetizer (a.k.a. "Little Green Gobblin's for the holiday's sake) 1 3-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened 2 oz. blue cheese, crumbled 1/3 cup finely chopped pistachios 1 large bunch seedless red  grapes (40 to 60 grapes) In a small bowl combine cheeses. Wrap a little of the cheese mixture around each grape to form a ball. Roll in chopped nuts. Cover and chill grapes for 30 to 60 minutes before serving. Can be prepared a day ahead.
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JON & KATE ~ THIS COSTUME'S GREAT!

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Halloween brings out such creativity in people! And it can help to relieve our pop-culture induced angst too. Take for example, my friend Chris (known him since elementary school ~ reconnected recently on Facebook ):  His lovely wife Michelle has been often told that she looks like Kate Gosselin.  Okay, so it's a step up from being an Octo-mom look-a-like, or told you have the fashion sense & IQ of the Housewives of Orange County.  Nonetheless, Michelle could do without the comparison.  When Chris and Michelle are out together the problem becomes compounded:  "Hey look, it's Jon and Kate!" (even though Chris bears no resemblance to Jon except the fact that they're both Asian).    But then, this Halloween, Chris and Michelle needed costumes.  It took some convincing, but once Michelle was on board, her creativity took over.  The couple went to Kohls and Ross to buy "Gosselinesque fashion" (Chris coined this new term).  It was even Michelle's
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The Cutest Halloween Costume ~ Maiden Voyage

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Last year my friend Maureen blew everyone away with the Hot Air Balloon costume she crafted for her daughter. Maureen has very generously offered to share with us her inspiration, her tips and how-to for this absolutely delightful costume that is sure to "carry you away..." FOR MORE OF THE  "BEST HALLOWEEN COSTUMES YOU CAN MAKE YOURSELF" CLICK HERE . Rook No 17: This wasn't the first time you've come up with an amazing original costume. So, Mo, tell us: where do you find your inspiration? Maureen: I usually get my inspiration when I find a unique costume idea that is original and makes me laugh. I find the ideas online, from books or magazines. Rook No. 17: Do you work from books, online tutorials, or templates? How do you do it? Maureen: I wing it! I look at a picture of what I am trying to make and try to figure out how to construct the costume. If I think I can pull it off, I draw out my plan and start collecting materials.
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BOUTIQUE CHIC DIY CHEAP SERIES ~ SKELETON CREW

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COST: Under $2/piece TIME: 15 minutes/piece DOLLAR STORE CHEAP TO BOUTIQUE CHIC IN A FEW EASY STEPS... Can you roll paper into a cone? Can you fold an old fashioned newspaper hat? Well, grab your hot glue gun and lets get going... Here's what you need: Glitter skulls (found mine at the Dollar Tree) Can't find glitter skulls? Buy a cheap plastic skull, cover with craft glue, then glitter liberally. Vintage sheet music and/or book pages (I pick up old dictionaries that are falling apart and would otherwise be thrown in the garbage at the end of a garage sale) Craft glue Ultrafine glitter, silver Glue gun Paper cupcake liners Tissue Paper Fringe ~ it's called Festoonery , but you knew that already didn't you, you crafty devil? If you don't have festoonery in your bag o' tricks, follow the easy tutorial below to make your own First, open up 4-5 cupcake liners. Put a dot of glue in the middle of each paper, then stack. Glue stack to the b
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BOUTIQUE CHIC DIY CHEAP SERIES: HALLOWEEN WREATH

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ASSEMBLY TIME: approx. 15 minutes TOTAL COST: approx. $15 HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL NEED: HALLOWEEN SPIRIT (without it, what's the point?) (1) A grapevine wreath from the craft store (got mine at Michael's for $4) (2) Silk Japanese Lantern Stems (got mine at Pier 1 Imports, $2.99/stem) (2) Silk or dried cattail stems (on sale at Michael's for $1.67/mixed fall bunch) Dried Corn Stalk fronds (picked mine up off the ground in the pumpkin patch parking lot) wire or hot glue A few vintage inspired Halloween ornaments. If you don't have any cute little ornaments just laying around your house, here's a tip: Download some free vintage Halloween images from Matthew Mead . Cut out an 8.5" x 11" piece of cardboard from a cereal box (recycling ~ love it!). Most printers will print on this thickness of cardboard. It gives a nice vintage look, and has a good weight to it. Print on blank side (obviously). Cut out. Cover commercially printed side with c
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OH BABY! APPAREL GIVEAWAY...

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One winner will be drawn at random on Sunday, November 1 Your choice of 100% Cotton, made in the USA, babygags onesie, black “I suck, therefore I am.” Size 6 mo. –or- 12 mo. Retail: $22 ~OR~ 100% Cotton, made in the USA, babygags Toddler Tee, black “TRASHTALKER In his contemplations on what is real Plato uttered: “If a baby talks trash in the crib, and no one is there to hear, did the baby really talk trash?” 450 bc, Greece, Diaposium” Size: 24 mo. Retail: $22 TO ENTER: FOLLOW ROOK NO. 17 (PUBLICLY), THEN COMMENT BELOW TO LET US KNOW YOU DID IT. EASY AS THAT. IF YOU'RE ALREADY FOLLOWING (THANK YOU), JUST POST A COMMENT.
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