Start a Fun Journal & Make Space for Joy in Life

Finding time for fun in everyday life can be challenging, especially when responsibilities take priority. That’s why I’m starting a Fun Journal—a simple way to capture joyful moments and make space for more fun. In this post, I’ll walk you through how to create your own Fun Journal, why it works, and how it can help you focus on joy and gratitude.

Polka Dot Rainbow Cake

Here are some helpful tips and tricks for constructing a polka dot rainbow cake, decorated on the outside with the petal cake style.  
In this post, I'll focus on tips & tricks for execution rather than sharing a full recipe. Since you can find recipes for both of these types of cakes online already, I've linked to some recipes at the end of this post. 
For Talia's 8th birthday party, she wanted a polka dot birthday party. I knew that I wanted to make a cake surprise for her with a rainbow polka dot cake. I wasn't sure how I would decorate it on the outside until I came across what is called a petal cake which is the technique I used to frost the exterior- I love the effect!

Rainbow Polka Dot Cake

How to Make a Polka Dot Cake

I used store bought cream cheese frosting for between the layers and a crumb coat (because I was worried that I would run out of the homemade cream cheese frosting that I used for the rainbow part). 

Rainbow Grilled Cheese

A couple years ago, for St. Patrick's Day we made rainbow grilled cheese and I thought it was such a fun idea that could be used any time you want to make lunch more fun!  I had a few people ask how to make it, so I put the instructions here.

Rainbow Grilled Cheese Recipe

All you need to create this colourful meal is bread, butter, white cheese, and food colouring.

Start by grating your cheese (we used havarti mixed with mozarella) and separate into four bowls.  This article recommends some of the best cheeses for melting and getting a stringy effect- which is a big bonus for rainbow grilled cheese sandwiches!

Focus on Fun: Rediscovering Yourself After Motherhood

It's hard to focus on fun! Have you ever noticed how easy it is to put fun on the back burner? Life gets busy, responsibilities pile up, and before we know it, the things we do just for fun start to feel like a luxury instead of a priority. But what if making space for fun was actually one of the best things we could do for ourselves? 

Artist Date Ideas & Inspiration Tailored to YOU!

After reading The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, I've been working on making weekly Artist Dates a habit. Sometimes the challenge is how to come up with new or unique Artist Date ideas!

I'm probably not the only one facing this, so I've gathered a list of prompts to help you come up with some personalized Artist Date ideas that are right for you!

Try these prompts & see how many ideas you come up with:

Homemade Candy Cane Marshmallows

I first published this post about how to make candy cane marshmallows years ago, but I wanted to share it this month because it's SUCH a delicious recipe! It makes some mess and takes some effort because making marshmallows is kind of an unusual thing for most of us, but you can totally do it and they are SO soft and delicious and your kids will never forget making these with you! :)  

So, if you've got the time to devote to the making & the clean-up, this just might be the perfect thing to put on your Christmastime bucket list!

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This post was sponsored by Wayfair

Whether they've been working hard outside shoveling the driveway, building a snow fort, making snow angels or just hiking home from the school bus stop, my kids love to come inside and warm up with a nice cup of hot chocolate. We decided to make it more fun during their winter holidays last week and make our own marshmallows! I have always loved adding candy cane to hot chocolate (there's just something so good about that hint of mint mixed in!),  so we tried coating our freshly made marshmallows in a mix of icing sugar and crushed candy cane and the result was fabulous!

I'm going to share the recipe with you because I made some alterations to the original marshmallow recipe I shared on the blog 4 years ago. That recipe was great but it made a TON of marshmallows. Today's recipe makes a smaller batch so it's just right if you're making them just for your own family.