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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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FREE PRINTABLE RED ENVELOPE CRAFT FOR ASIAN NEW YEAR -- Year of the Rabbit

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"Gung Hay Fat Choy" means "Wishing You Prosperity & Wealth" One of the best things about being a part of a co-op school for my daughters' preschool years was all the multi-cultural traditions that were shared by the families in the co-op.  One of my girls' favorite traditions, and mine, was the week where we celebrated the Asian New Year.  Receiving a red envelope at the end of the week was always the highlight, and the girls still talk about it to this day with great fondness. Red envelopes (red because it symbolizes luck) are traditionally handed out to children during the Chinese New Year.  This year is the Year of the Rabbit, so I created a rabbit themed envelope to keep the tradition going in my home.  Each girl will get a red envelope with a $1 gold coin inside. The Asian New Year started with the New Moon on Feburary 3 this year, and goes for 15 days until the Full Moon.  Why not make up a few red envelopes for your family
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Toy Story Birthday Party -- Free downloads and ideas -- To Infinity and Beyond...

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So many things have changed since I first became a mother back in 2001.  And while I no longer have as much time, energy, or money as I used to, my desire to create birthday magic for my girls hasn't diminished one bit.   This past weekend, I put together a Toy Story themed birthday party for my 6-year old daughter.  With a few creative touches and a little bit of elbow grease, I was able to create a fun and memorable party without breaking the bank, or staying up until 4:00a.m. the night before. Step 1:  The Invitations I've always been of the mindset that a nice invitation sets the tone for the whole party.  But what to do when you're short on time and on funds?   I found my solution in the creative personalized invitations at printmyparty.com .   Print My Party creates personalized invitations that look like special event tickets, in dozens of styles (Disney themes, Super Heroes, Movies, popular musicians, etc).  Ordering online was incredibly e
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Smitten Kittens, Retro Valentines, and "A Little Birdie Told Me..." Linky Party #5

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Welcome to "A Little Birdie Told Me..." Tuesday!   If you're here to share a craft, recipe or project post, you'll find the linky and the specifics on how to  strut your stuff   just after the features below. Welcome to the party!   This week I have some "party favors" for you. Please feel free to download and get crafty with the vintage-style valentines above and below:   Retro Valentine Printable _________________________________ This week, I'm giving my regards to a group of people I've grown quite SMITTEN with: --THE REGULARS-- the cast of creative characters that have blessed this nest by linking up to "A Little Birdie Told Me" the whole month of January long _________________________________ Here's  what this swell group of birds linked up this week: Christine from Christine & Co. transformed this ordinary compositi
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EASY LEGO CAKE -- A Piece of LEGO That's a Piece of Cake!

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WHO DOESN'T LOVE LEGO? Here's a Lego cake you can make yourself. You can adapt it to be any size, color, Lego shape, and flavor! My Lego lovin' little girl turned six the other day.  Her birthday fell on a week day this year, but I wanted to have a nice little cake to share with the family that night.  I needed a project that was quick and easy, but still had a touch of whimsy and fun.  The Lego cake was the perfect solution to my dilemma.   You don't need to be an "Ace of Cakes" to make your own Lego cake.   My daughter had been dropping hints for an ice cream cake, so my creation consisted of alternating layers of chocolate cake and mint chocolate chip ice cream.  To keep the ice-cream from melting, I had to work quickly and give the components some freezer time at various steps along the way.  It couldn't have been simpler, but was more time consuming than if I had gone with a regular (non ice cream) cake.   The simplest way to
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