This year for Jane’s 6th Birthday, we threw an Alice in Wonderland themed Mad Hatter Tea Party. I have so much fun planning these birthday parties and running wild with a theme (see her Paris Picnic birthday party from last year!). This year, she really got into planning it with me which made it even more fun. We sat down and rewatched the Alice in Wonderland movie, and took lots of notes on our favorite details we wanted to incorporate into the theme. Sharing all of the sources at the very bottom of the post, so keep scrolling if you want to recreate this idea! 
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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Laura’s Lean. All opinions are 100% mine.
Kicking off the new year with some better eating habits after a LOT of indulging over the holidays. I’m starting by giving our taco night a healthier spin with these tasty taco bowls made with Laura’s Lean Beef! Laura’s Lean 92% lean or 96% lean is lower in total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol than most other beef products, making it a great source of clean, lean protein for our family meals. To make these bowls, I skipped the usual taco shells and cheese, and made them instead with tons of fresh, wholesome ingredients like quinoa, roasted sweet potatoes, chopped up avocado, crunchy green spinach, Pico de Gallo and some Laura’s Lean Beef mixed with some taco seasoning – yum!
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Since the new year is time all about updating our routines and making healthy choices, I thought it was the perfect time to update my favorite clean beauty products list. In past years I’ve shared all of my favorite Beautycounter products – being a consultant, I get a great discount and tend to use mostly their products. But this time I expanded the list to include several products from other clean beauty brands that I’ve tested this year. I’m all about finding more affordable and accessible options. See all my favorite clean beauty products and clean beauty brands to kick off 2023 below:
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Sharing my last partner post of the year today, and it’s one I’m so grateful for! My friends at Christmas Tree Shops and I have had so much fun this year collaborating on tons of festive tablescapes and entertaining ideas. When it came time to brainstorm an idea for how to end our year of holiday celebrations, I shared with them one of my favorite traditions we started a few years ago – taking my daughter with me to Christmas Tree Shops with a wish list from local organizations and filling up our cart with toys, bedding, and wrapping supplies to help those that need some extra support during the holiday season.
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One of my guilty pleasures is watching baking videos on Instagram. I *love* to cook but I’m an impatient baker, and while I aspire to be a person who busts out 10 different holiday cookie varieties at Christmastime, I find the baking process daunting most of the time. Lucky for me, my friends at Fancypants Baking Co share lots of their delicious seasonal cookies with me, and I leaned on them for a little holiday cookie box shortcut this year!
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Tis the season for baking some tasty holiday cookies! I took my basic shortbread recipe (one of my favorite buttery cookie recipes) from my cookbook and gave it a seasonal twist by dressing them up with chopped pistachios and dried cranberries. The red and green colors are perfectly on theme, and the sweet and savory flavors a delightful complement to the buttery cookies. Get the recipe below!
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As we gear up for the holidays, I took a trip to Christmas Tree Shops to gather some festive decorations and entertaining supplies. I brought my daughter and after we walked around the store and tested out every single nutcracker, I filled my cart up with the cutest holiday entertaining supplies! And while I was there, I was struck with inspiration for a fun gingerbread house decorating activity after seeing their contest flyers, which was a special way for us to kick off the Christmas holiday season while we were off from school and work for a few days after Thanksgiving.
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One of my favorite posts of the year — my annual Thanksgiving recipe round up! I’ve got 50 (!!) recipes from my archives with all of the tasty inspiration you need to get for cocktail hour, the best side dishes, sweet desserts, and all the advice you need to make every part of your holiday meal delicious. Scroll down to get inspired and build your Thanksgiving menu with fresh ideas: 
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My very Trader Joe’s inspired Thanksgiving recipe series wraps up today with an easy, no-bake, three-ingredient Thanksgiving dessert: Gingersnap Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifles! Using a layers of chopped up frozen pumpkin cheesecake, crushed ginger snap cookies and whipped cream I created a delightfully simple but flavor-packed trifle to serve for holiday guests. Get the how-to below!
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Continuing our Trader Joe’s Thanksgiving hacks series this week with another tasty, four-ingredient appetizer that’s just about as easy as pie to make: Cranberry Pecan Crostini! I took a ciabatta baguette (any baguette will do!), sliced it into rounds and arranged them on a baking sheet. Give them a little drizzle with olive oil and toast them up in the oven. When they’re golden brown, take them out and give them a dollop of cranberry sauce, a crumble of cranberry stilton cheese and finish them off with a few candied pecans – delicious!
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