rare bird finds feature
Oh too cute! A collection of adorable salt n' pepper kissing pooches
to decorate your picnic table. I love the chihuahua one (because I have
a chihuahua!) but there are other doggies to choose from – doxies,
boston terriers, bulldogs, labs – and even a few non-dogs, like
turtles, frogs and piggies. $13.95 at Catching Fireflies
Thanks birdies for showcasing our puppies in love!
Time Out Chicago Feature
Camp care packages by Kevin Aeh
Make their sleepaway experience even more memorable with these goodies
(excerpt)
Smell ya letter
They’ll want to write a few
letters home using these Colored Smencils, a.k.a. scented pencils
(flavors include grape, very berry, root beer and bubble gum), made
from recycled newspaper. $16 at catchingfireflies.com.
Thanks Kevin for including one of our goodies in your camp care package!
staff picks for dining on the deck
Ice Cream Queen Kit $21.95 For me summer time means lots of ice cream! This mug fits plenty to feed your craving. Enjoy!
Enjoy the Little Things Plate $10.95 Catching Fireflies customers gave me this idea. Use this plate as a
hostess gift for your BBQ invites. Bring a dish to pass on it and the
hostess keeps the plate. Thanks for the great idea!
500 Smoothies & Juices $15.95 I love this book because I enjoy sitting on my patio drinking smoothies
and reading a good book. My son loves coming up with new mixtures and
this book is a great guide!
Fish Swizzle Sticks $10.95 I think these are such a nice gift. On a hot summer day, I love a frou
frou drink and I can't wait to enjoy my next one with one of these
charming fishies! Great for guests to identify their glass too.
Dip Chiller $26.50 I love this chiller, especially, for the summer months. I make a
delicious Cucumber-Yogurt sauce to use on
salmon, chicken and, my favorite appetizer, grapeleaves. Chilled and
ready to spread.
Whale Tail Ice Cream Spade $10.95 I love how this kitschy spade slices through my favorite cold creamy
treat. It works great and also makes a great conversation piece.
Buddha Bowl $21.95 This cool looking bowl molds to your hand like it was made just for
you. Pick one up and see for yourself – you'll want one in every color!
Food Face Plate $11.50 I feel like such a neglected child because I didn't have this plate
growing up. (Not that mom's trick of putting blue food coloring in all
my food didn't work) What kid wouldn't keep asking for more food if he
has this creative, super fun plate. Just think, a little Picasso might
grow out of your child's eating habits.
Propane Tank Gauge $3.75 Just a few years ago I had my entire family over and I was planning on
doing a little grilling. One problem, my propane tank was running low.
Finding a place to refill the tank on a holiday was not easy and
created a stressful situation. Now with my new tank gauge, running low
on gas will never interrupt the party groove.
Pet Top Water Bottle Adapter $8.95 Nothing hits the spot after a long walk to the ice cream shop like some
fresh water. (and a portion of a ice cream cone isn't so bad either)
With this handy water bottle adapter, I can recharge and gear up for
the walk back home.
Kibble Keeper $1.00 (on sale & only available on-line) I like my food to be fresh and when summer rolls around and the humidity starts to rise, this kibble keeper does the job!
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gifting gumshoe feature
Playing with your food is mandatory with the Food Face plates from Catching Fireflies! Kids
can create their own faces with peas, potatoes, anything. Add a little
fun to dinner, and maybe even get them to eat their veggies without a
lot of griping! $11.50
Thanks gals for featuring our funny food plate!
vampire weekend
Mansard Roof by Vampire Weekend has been in Sara's top playlist lately. It is really feel good music
and unlike anything I've heard before. They are managed by the same
guy as the White Stripes
and I think they have a similar edginess and unique flair. I often
can't pick out what instrument they are using! What I thought was a
steel drum is actually an electric guitar. Take a listen and you'll be hooked.
A review reads, "The band has spent the
last year and a half perfecting the
culture collision of indie-, chamber-, and Afro-pop they call "Upper
West Side Soweto" by making that unique hybrid of sounds feel
completely effortless. So, Vampire Weekend ends up being a more
or less official validation of the long-building buzz around the band,
served up in packaging that uses the Futura typeface almost as
stylishly as Wes Anderson. At times, the album sounds like someone trying to turn a Wes Anderson
movie back into music (it's no surprise that the band's keyboardist
also writes film scores); there's a similarly precious yet adventurous
feel here, as well as a kindred eye and ear for detail. Everything is
concise, concentrated, distilled, vivid; Vampire Weekend's world is
extremely specific and meticulously crafted, and Vampire Weekend
often feels like a concept album about preppy guys who grew up with
classical music and recently got really into world music. Amazingly,
instead of being alienating, the band's quirks are utterly winning." by Heather Phares
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a summer evening slurp
Just got back from a steamy stroll to the ice cream shop. While we enjoyed our treats, Gus got some good slurps of agua and also scored the bottom of Steve's cone;)
Having the pet top adapter makes easy to keep our hot dog hydrated!
outblush feature
Wine Glass Top Appetizer Plates ($17 for 4) are one of those head-smacking “Why didn’t we
think of that before? We’d be RICH!” ideas. Carved from lustrously
grained, strong Acacia wood (which, btw, is an environmentally
friendly, sustainable wood source), these twee appy plates are designed
to sit atop a standard sized wineglass. Not only will it help keep your
vino from sloshing about, but you’ll have one hand free to gesture
extravagantly at parties as you expound on the state of the world at
large… or at least who you think should win So You Think You Can Dance. (and why Mary Murphy’s screams could wake the dead.)
Thanks gals for chatting up our wonderful wine plates!
10 more etsy picks
My birthday is right around the corner, so I'm hoping my recent etsy posts will make it in front of my husband's eyes… hint-hint honey:)
Verbena Customs Blends soap & body whips that look good enough to eat
Little Ellie adorable clutches & handbags
Studio Rona love love love this jewelry line
Studio Mela all about perspective isn't it?
Mudd Hutt Studio sweet little dishes & magnets
Elloh artsy office characters & more
Lilla Lotta fanciful printed ribbons
Sweetness by Sarah Lamont sweet little hats for sweet little heads
Yee Haw giant postcards that'll make you grin
purl sweet crocheted critters & such
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Fox 2 Father’s Day Gift Ideas Segment
I spent my Saturday morning talking up some of our clever Dad’s Day gifts. I always have a few butterflies before the segment so here I am running through my line up before the acutal filming starts.
Click HERE to get these great gifts for guys and more at www.catchingfireflies.com
pecans never tasted so good
I hosted a small baby shower over the weekend and wanted to sweeten up the chicken salad so I made these sugar coated pecans for the first time… and now I can't stop eating them!
- 1 egg white
- 1 tablespoon water (also can sub vanilla)
- 1 pound pecan halves
- 1 cup white sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Grease one baking sheet.
- In a mixing bowl, whip together the egg white and water until frothy. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
- Add pecans to egg whites, stir to coat the nuts evenly. Remove the nuts, and toss them in the sugar mixture until coated. Spread the nuts out on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake at 250 degrees F (120 degrees C) for 1 hour. Stir every 15 minutes.
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