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Friday, September 28, 2007

One, Two, Buckle my Shoe



I must admit that I've been guilty of letting my 15 month old daughter run around all summer without shoes on. And now that fall is fastly approaching and winter is just around the corner, I've started to freak that maybe she won't wear shoes. Problem solved...these shoes are so flexible that I think they will provide a perfect transition from her free-toes days to shoe wearing days. Plus I think they are adorable! Check out the Mamas&Munchkins site, where I found these "Flower Power Shoes" for $30.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

The Weekend Edition - Dallas Trendy Moms

Autumn at the Arboretum - The Great Pumpkin Festival





What: The Dallas Arboretum helps celebrate the fall season with it's annual Autumn at the Arboretum. There are tons of activities to do ranging from Mommy and Me Mondays, Hay Bale Maze, A House made of Pumpkins, Hay Rides, and much more. If you venture to this venue on the weekend make sure to dress your kid up in his/her Halloween costume for the Costume Parade every weekend at 1pm. The weekend festivities also include face paining, pumpkin carving demonstrations, crafts, and musical performances.

Where: The Dallas Arboretum

When: September 22 - October 31 9am-5pm

Cost: $8 for adults, $5 for children (3-12), kids under 3 are free -- parking is $5

Need More Info:
http://www.dallasarboretum.org/Events/AAA.htm

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Score a Goal with this Fun Toy Box



Tired of those matchbox cars and thomas trains strewn all over your family room? Why not put this cool toy box in the corner and teach little guy to put all his fun toys in it every night before bed? We like this toy box because it is sporty and fun. Little Tikes also makes a basketball version. They used to make a football version that was our ABSOLUTE favorite...so if you're wanting that model you're gonna have to search eBay for it. Pretty affordable at $49.99 from LittleTikes.com.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Vroom Vroom!










Beep beep, honk honk. That's what your little one will be saying with these way cool Little Tike Cars . This site has TONS of cool cars - and range in price from super cheap - $29.95 to super pricey - $509.99. These are our three personal favorites but we're sure that you'll be able to find one of your own. Check them out....Christmas is just around the corner - and this would be a great gift from Santa :)


Monday, September 24, 2007

Vintage Fabrics

We recently came across a fun little online shop, Warm Biscuit. They are a bedding company - offering lots of cute bedding sets and other accessories for children's rooms. Our favorite thing on their site is this really cool vintage fabric elephant. Check it out for yourself, $29.

Friday, September 21, 2007

This is not your Grandma's Pumpkin Cake

I'll have some pumpkin cake please...delicious recipe and cute design elements of this cake made it worth sharing with all of you! Found on FamilyFun.com. I'll have to admit that if I make this cake...I will more than likely use a boxed cake and ready-made frosting...but here is the recipe for those who are daring!

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
Cake:
5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cups milk, at room temperature
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, at room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups sugar
6 large eggs, at room temperature

Frosting:
2 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
Approximately 9 cups powdered sugar
Green food-coloring paste
Orange food-coloring paste
One flat-bottomed green ice cream cone
12 large yellow and white gumdrops (6 of each)
Sugar (to roll gumdrops on)
2 tbsp. chocolate chips
Clear edible cake glitter

1. Heat the oven to 350° and butter two 10-inch bundt cake pans.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a medium bowl, stir together the milk, pumpkin, and vanilla extract until smooth.
4. In another large bowl, beat the butter or margarine and oil together with an electric mixer until combined. Next, beat in the sugar. Then beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Alternately beat in the milk/pumpkin mixture and the flour mixture until just combined.
5. Divide the batter between the two prepared pans. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean.
6. Cool the cakes in the pans for 15 minutes, then turn them out onto wire racks to cool completely.
7. Directions for Frosting:
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth.
Mix in the vanilla extract. Then beat in the powdered sugar gradually until the frosting is a spreadable consistency.
Color about 1 cup of the frosting green and the rest orange. 8. Assemble the Cake:
Trim the bottoms of the cakes so they lie flat against each other.
Frost the flat surface of the bottom cake and place the other cake on top.
Frost the entire cake orange. When the frosting dries, add green frosting leaves and top with the ice cream cone to create a stem. 9. Decorate the Cake:
Sprinkle sugar over your work surface and use a rolling pin to flatten 12 large yellow and white gumdrops together into a pancake about 1/4 inch thick. Adults only: use a knife to cut out the eyes, nose and mouth.
Microwave 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips for about 60 seconds. Dip the left side and bottom of the facial features in the melted chocolate. Dab a small amount of water onto the top surface of each feature, sprinkle the edible glitter on top, then press the facial features onto the cake.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

The Weekend Edition - Dallas Trendy Moms

As promised with the relaunch of The Trendy Mommy Spot - we are excited to issue our first Weekend Edition! We hope to add more cities in the future - but for now we'll be sticking to our home turf - Dallas, Texas.


The Plano Balloon Festival



What: 75 colorful and fun hot air balloons fill the skies over Plano, arts and crafts, fun and games, music - a great time for the entire family! Don't miss the fireworks show on Saturday evening and the Balloon Glows on both Friday and Saturday nights.


Where: Oak Point Park & Nature Reserve


When: This weekend (9/21 through 9/23) - Friday 4p-10p, Saturday 6a-10p, Sunday 6a-7p


Cost: $5/person - Kids under 3 ft. are free


Need More Info:
http://www.planoballoonfest.org/





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Addison - Oktoberfest


What: The 20th Anniversary of the Addison Oktoberfest is this weekend. Grab your polka gear and your German food appetite, bring the kiddos out for some folk dancing and great kid entertainment.


Where: Addison Circle Park


When: This weekend (9/20 through 9/23) - Thur 5p-11p, Fri 5p-12a, Sat 12p-12a, Sun 12p-6p


Cost: $5/person - Kids under 3 are free


Need More Info: http://www.addisontexas.net/


Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Unique Costumes



Tired of Thomas and Elmo and Shrek costumes? Looking for something that won't be seen on 1,000,000+ kids this year? Check out the costumes at The World of Whimm. We've included some of our personal favorites for you take a gander at...but there are lots more at this unique seller's site.

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Simply BOOOOO-wlicious! These adorable bows are perfect for your little ones hair. For $6 your little pumpkin can be a fashion plate for the upcoming Halloween party. Check out Bownanza for these and other styles...they even have turkey bows for Thanksgiving...although they aren't nearly as cute as these Itsy Bitsy Spider bows!


Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Party Time





Planning on having a hauntingly fun bash this Halloween? Check out these oh so stylin mini cards. They can be tied onto candles or little bags of candy and can serve as great party favors. $4 for 12 cards at the Digital Paperie.

Monday, September 17, 2007

Owl - Owl - Owl




This week is going to be dedicated to Halloween here at The Trendy Mommy Spot. Have your little one say Happy H - owl- oween with this adorable shirt. $18 - the designer of this shirt can make them long sleeve for those of you who might have to endure cooler temps this Halloween or short sleve for those of you in the deep South. This adorable design can even be put on a onesie! As the maker of this designer shirt says...Have a HOOT this Halloween!

Sunday, September 16, 2007

A tag for you, a tag for baby


Do you have one of those borning black diaper bags - you know the kind, free at the hospital? I have a really pretty diaper bag that I'm terrified to give to the church nursery when I drop my little sugarcakes off on Sunday. I know the nursery workers are very nice and competent people...heck I leave my child with them each week, so I must trust them. But for some reason I just can't leave my 'pretty' bag with them...weird I know. The fear of the nursery workers messing up my bag or somehow losing it prevails every week and so each Sunday morning I dump all the contents from my 'pretty' bag into the free black bag we received at the hospital when I had sugarcakes. The free black bag is just ok, it is made out of some kind of fake waterproof cloth and definitely has no style...so recently I've been searching for something to spice it up with. I also need a tag for it - so that the nursery workers can easily identify that my free black bag is mine, although I must admit that I wouldn't care too too much if the bag somehow got lost in nursery land - nonetheless, I have been looking for a cool tag to somehow improve the look of the bag (even if in a minor way). So here it is....a delightful bag tag. Love the prints of these tags...the maker of these has lots of styles and sizes to choose from...and although I think they are just made out of plain paper cardstock - I still think they are cool enough and cheap enough to splurge on. At $2.85 for 10 tags - I say why not?? I might even go as far as to laminate the thing after I write sugarcakes on it. Plus the remaining 9 can always be used for gift tags...


Friday, September 14, 2007

We're Back!

After a long hiatus, we're pleased to say that The Trendy Mommy Spot is back! Over the past few months we have found some great items and can't wait to start sharing them with all our loved readers! We are also excited about a little twist we are taking from our usual product only showcasings...we are going to start sharing tips of the trade (the mommy trade that is). As fall is just around the corner, we at The Trendy Mommy Spot thought it would be great to dive back in with a plug for this awesome indie marketplace. We stubled across ETSY a few months ago and are totally in awe of it! LOVE IT! It is an online marketplace...kind of like eBay - but way cooler! Etsy describes itself as your place to buy and sell all things homeade. Take some time to browse this awesome site. If you're just looking to waste some time, they even have a feature where you can browse by color...Of course you can go through the normal browsing channels as well, such as by category. We'll leave you to browse away...expect to see some great uniquely eclectic items out there...ENJOY!