We’ve hollowed out pumpkins and used them as vases, candle holders and as dip bowls. This year I took some cute pumpkins and made mini pumpkin charcuterie cups! I love a good charcuterie board but little individual boards/cups are just too adorable. And little pumpkin cups?! Too good. They are super easy for carve out – you could make a whole bunch of them super quick. After we ate ours, I left the carved pumpkins in the fridge to test how early you could carve them out ahead of time. So far they’ve been in the fridge for 4 days and they haven’t softened or rotted at all – they look just as good as day one! So, if needed, you can prep them a few days before your party with no problem! I think it would be a great way to use all the pumpkins used as decor for Halloween as a treat for a Friendsgiving celebration – then you get two uses out of them!

Materials Needed for Mini Pumpkin Charcuterie:

• mini pumpkins
• pumpkin carving knife
• spoon
• cupcake liner ot parchment paper
• charcuterie items (I used flatbread crisps, rosemary breadsticks, assorted cheeses and meats, dried figs, dried mango, cashews, castelvetrano olives, apples, and fresh herbs)

Follow along with the video below!

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This terracotta clay leaf garland is perfect for fall decor! While I was making the clay leaf bowls I shared last week, I had the idea to use some of the smaller leaves to create a garland. I thought it turned out cute and is another easy craft to make to add to my fall decor.

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Last night I started decorating the house for Halloween! Since today is officially the first day of fall, I figured it’s about time to start spooky season! Last year I made a few of these DIY string spider webs and never got around to posting the tutorial before Halloween, so I’m sharing it this year. They’re honestly pretty easy to make – the drying and layers of mod podge is a little annoying but the process itself is so simple and you can make them whatever size and design that you want!

Materials Needed for DIY String Spider Web:

• black string
• mod podge
• paint brush
• cardboard
• duct tape
• plastic wrap

Follow along with the video below for step-by-step instructions on how to make these!

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This clay leaf bowl is an easy craft to make and perfect for fall decor!

Fall is here, maybe not officially, but as soon as September hits, I’m ready for cooler air and crunchy leaves on the ground. One of my boys made a clay leaf years ago at school and I thought it would be fun to do a similar project for fall. I’m always looking for cute fall decor to use in September, before all the Halloween things comes out. These are a fun, easy craft to make!

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Last year I went to a restaurant in Rochester that served bingsu. I had never heard of it before but I can’t resist a little sweet treat after a meal, so we tried it out. We got their mango bingsu and it was like the lightest, fluffiest, treat ever. It was like being a kid and laying in fresh fluffy snow and taking a little lick and it all sticks to your tongue and melts immediately. It was so light and refreshing! Last summer I kept trying to recreate it with a bunch of different recipes and shaving techniques and none of them were close enough. The shaved ice machine I tried actually made the worse version I tried haha. But this simple mango bingsu recipe that I made was the closest I’ve come up with and shaving it with a little grater gave it the most similar texture and it was so good! The drizzle of extra sweetened condensed milk, some fresh mango and popping boba makes this just perfect. You can skip the popping boba but I actually think it adds a lot to the dish!

Ingredients & Supplies Needed for Simple Mango Bingsu:

• mango
• whole milk
• sweetened condensed milk
• popping boba
• handheld grater
• large ice cube tray

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Simple Mango Bingsu

Ingredients

Mango Bingsu

• 1 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1 mango

Toppings

• mango
• popping boba
• sweetened condensed milk

Instructions

• Chop up one ripe mango.
• Add chopped mango, milk and sweetened condensed milk to a blender and blend until smooth.
• Freeze overnight. (I used silicone square ice cube molds to make them easy to pop out and shave later.) I like to also throw a couple bowls in the freezer to get them nice and chilled for serving.
• Remove frozen cubes and use handheld grater to grate into chilled bowl.
• Top off with a drizzle of sweetened condensed milk, fresh mango, and popping boba.
• Serve immediately.

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Half of our honeymoon we spent in Italy and while we were in Venice, we had to try their famous ciccetti. We tried a bunch of different kinds while we were there but our favorite one was this purple looking cream that we had no idea what it was. We realized it was like a kalamata olive cream cheese. Once we got home, my chef husband quickly whipped something together and it tasted just like it! We have had it so many times already in the last month and a half. We added castelvetrano olives because they’re my favorite olives and it’s the perfect little topper! I actually hate kalamata olives normally but they’re amazing in this. We also had a bunch of friends and family try it and even the ones that don’t like it have loved these!

We’ve made a lot of different crostini recipes in the past, but I think this is my all time favorite. I also like not having to cut and toast each piece individually like with traditional crostinis. All of the ones we tried in Venice just had fresh bread but I think toasting the whole baguette like we did for this recipe gives it a nice crunch but still nice and soft inside.

Ingredients Needed for Olive Cicchetti:

• kalamata olives
• mascarpone
• cream cheese
• french baguette
• castelvetrano olives 

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Olive Cicchetti

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup kalamata olives, roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup mascarpone
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1.5 tbsp kalamata olive brine
• french baguette
• castelvetrano olives

Instructions

• Beat kalamata olives, mascarpone, cream cheese, and olive brine together for a few minutes. (If mixture seems too thick, you can add a bit more mascarpone. You can use it immediately but the flavor is a bit better if you leave in the fridge overnight.)
• Put baguette whole in oven for 8 minutes at 375°.
• Slice into 1/4”-1/2” slices.
• Top slices with a generous amount of olive cream cheese mixture.
• Slice castelvetrano olives in half and put on top of cream cheese.
• Enjoy!

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We made these moss votive candles for Caitlin’s bridal shower. They are the easiest DIY and add a whimsical forest touch to your tables and decor. I sadly didn’t get any great photos of them at the shower, you can barely just see them on the tables in the moss runners. But they add such a nice touch and are incredibly easy to make!

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I am finally back at it after taking a few months off of blog projects to finish prepping for my wedding and then GETTING MARRIED(!!!) and then going on my honeymoon! I feel like we’re feeling a little settled in now so I’m getting back into my posting routine. This project I actually made before the wedding as decor for it. I found an antique lamp that I loved and wanted to use it on the bar we made for the reception. So I reworked it to be a wireless lamp so that it would work anywhere at our outdoor wedding. Then I made this adorable DIY velvet lamp shade to pair with it. I made a couple other wireless lamps with velvet lamp shades too!

I am excited to use this lamp in my office now that we’re unpacking and organizing all the wedding decor. My office only has two plugs in it and they are not in the most useful locations so having a wireless lamp that I can just set on my desk no matter how I rearrange my office is perfect. Plus a wireless lamp that still has that true antique character is a win in my book!

Materials Needed for DIY Velvet Lamp Shade and Wireless Lamp:

• vintage lamp (found mine for a few dollars at the thrift store)
• wire cutters
• battery powered lightbulb (or make your own version)
• plain lamp shade (you can also usually find some cheap ones at Goodwill)
• velvet (I bought mine at Joann’s before they closed but I linked something that seems like it might be similar)
• sharpie
• ruler
• scissors
• spray adhesive

Follow along for step-by-step instructions in the video below:

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I recently hosted a bridal shower for Caitlin. I made some floral food labels to go along with the theme we had. These were a last minute craft I did, as I had forgotten to make labels for the cream cheese we had on the bagel bar and a few other things we needed labeled. So I had to whip these up the night before, so they’re a super easy, quick label to make. They got a lot of compliments and I was told to share how I did it here on the blog. The ones I had made for the shower didn’t get saved, so I recreated some to share here! (You can see a few of the ones I made for the shower in the photos in the bridal shower post).

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For Caitlin’s floral bridal shower, I made these roasted beet whipped feta goat cheese crostini. Cait loves beets, and I wanted the pretty pink color. I decided to use both whipped feta, because it’s my favorite, and goat cheese, because Cait loves it. These crostini got rave reviews at the shower, both for the taste and how pretty it was.

You can make this to serve as a dip or to spread onto crostini, either way, it’s delicious! And topped with edible flowers, it makes such a pretty appetizer that’s perfect for spring and summer parties.

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Roasted Beet Whipped Feta Goat Cheese

Serve this roasted beet whipped feta goat cheese on crostini or just as a dip, it's delicious either way! Topped with edible flowers, it's a pretty appetizer perfect for spring and summer parties!

Course Appetizer

Ingredients

• 5 ounces roasted beets*
• olive oil, salt & pepper, for roasting beets
• 6 ounces feta
• 4 ounces plain goat cheese
• 2 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• fresh ground salt & pepper, to taste
• veggies, bread, pita crackers, pretzels, for serving
• edible flowers, for topping, if desired

Instructions

To Roast Beets:

• Preheat oven to 400ªF.
• Remove top from beets, and scrub well.
• Place each beet on a square of aluminum foil that’s slightly large than the beet. Drizzle beet lightly with olive oil and salt & pepper.
• Wrap the foil around the beet and place on baking sheet.
• Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until fork tender. (Time will vary, depending on the size of your beets).
• Remove beets from oven and unwrap foil. Let beets cool to room temperature.
• Run beets under cool water, and the skin should peel easily off while washing.

Whipping Beets, Feta & Goat Cheese:

• Cut beets into chunks.
• Place the 5 ounces roasted beets*, 6 ounces feta, 4 ounces plain goat cheese, 2 ounces cream cheese,2 tablespoons olive oil, and a dash of fresh ground salt & pepper, in a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. (About 3-5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed).
• Spread mixture into dish to use as dip and serve with veggies, bread, pita crackers or pretzels. Or spread mixture onto crostini to serve as an appetizer.
• Top with edible flowers if desired.

Notes

I found that the beet flavor was quite strong immediately after making the mixture. However, as the dip sat in the refrigerator for the next couple of days, the beet flavor really mellowed and was not very noticeable. So if you are looking for a stronger beet flavor, serve dip immediately. If you do not like beets, but want the pretty pink color, make the mixture ahead, and refrigerate until ready to use (you may want to let the mixture sit at room temperature for about 20-30 minutes to soften for easier spreading).  

 

*I think I roasted 4-5 beets and was able to get two batches from that amount of beets.

Be sure to follow our Food & Recipes Pinterest Board for more inspiration!

-Manda

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