You are here: Home / 2011 / Archives for July 2011

The Costume Trunk

July 27, 2011 by 3 Comments

I recently read The Costume Trunk by Bob Fuller, a children’s book about a little girl who discovers a magical costume trunk that takes her and her friends to the imaginary world of Paddywhack Lane where they can be whoever they imagine to be. It reminded me of the costume trunk I played with as a child.

Ok, it wasn’t a trunk.

It was a drawer in my grandmother’s dresser full of shawls and costume jewelry.

It was pink tutus and other dance outfits repurposed.

It was a blue flower girl dress that I wore in my uncle’s wedding. When it no longer fit, we dyed it purple and my sister played dress up in it.

We pretended to be princesses, actresses, characters from our favorite books. We just had fun pretending.

My son has gotten to the age of pretend play and its so fun to watch. One day he’s a superhero flying around the house catching bad guys. Another day he puts on a pair of goggles and pretends to be an ocean diver. I love seeing his imagination at work and look forward to the pretend worlds we’ll travel to together.

Who does your child pretend to be?

As a member of the From Left to Write Book Club, I received a copy of the book for free. This post is not intended as a review.

Filed Under: Books, My Life in Words

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

July 23, 2011 by 2 Comments

I made ice cream cone cupcakes for my son’s birthday. He asked for a Buzz Lightyear cake but I wasn’t feeling that adventurous this year.

I got my inspiration from The Divvies Bakery Cookbook: No Nuts. No Eggs. No Dairy. Just Delicious! since the recipe needed to be food allergy friendly. While there’s a specific recipe for these cupcakes in the cookbook, I decided to improvise and go with my default cupcake recipe, also from Divvies. I’ve tried other cupcake recipes and Divvies Famous Chocolate Cupcakes are his favorite. You can find both recipes in the cookbook.

I started by doubling the cupcake recipe to make 24. Then I weighted the ice cream cones with Enjoy Life chocolate chips. I filled each cone with the batter and baked them in a cupcake tin at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes. Once cooled, I topped them with Pillsbury’s vanilla icing and sprinkles. I used an icing bag and tip to create the swirl.

The next time I make these, I’ll try the larger cones. These were too small for the tin and, as you can see in the photo, too small for my cupcake carrier. They totally took a tumble on the way from the kitchen to the party on the patio.

But they tasted awesome (yes, I cheated on my diet to try one. Had to!) and were a big hit with the kids and the grownups.

These cupcakes were free of milk, egg and nut products. I can’t speak to other allergens but I think the recipe could be easily adapted for soy and wheat allergies.

The above post includes an Amazon affiliate link.

Filed Under: Food (Allergy) Tagged With: ,

Goodbye Harry Potter

July 17, 2011 by 2 Comments

This is not a movie review. It’s a reflection. No spoilers here.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two made me cry. But not for the reason you may be thinking.

It wasn’t at the end.

It wasn’t because Harry lived or died.

It was the flashback to when Harry’s mother is killed protecting him, a scene that’s been played throughout the eight movie series. I’m not sure why the theme of love, more specifically a mother’s love, finally struck me with this final movie when its been there all along. Maybe it’s the pregnancy hormones. Or maybe it resonated with me because of the similar bond I share with my son.

Whatever the reason, this one scene set off a wave of emotions about the end of the Harry Potter series that I wasn’t expecting. It made me look back at what the series has meant to me.

When the books first came out, I was a recent college graduate working in publishing in New York. Books were my life and these were all the rage. More than ten years later, I’m a married mother now working for a magazine a long way from New York. I’ve read all the books and seen all the movies.

I saw the first movie with my friend Julie and so began a tradition in our lifelong friendship of seeing the Harry Potter movies together. It was a tradition that I held dear. We saw all of them together at the theater, except Deathly Hallows Part One.

Once, I accompanied my sister to a midnight book release at Borders (can’t remember which book, perhaps the last). And, while on vacation in the summer of 2007, I sat outside the bathroom she locked herself in while she read the final chapters of book seven – she was pregnant at the time and a little emotional about the ending.

But I was never one of those hardcore fans that you see on TV. I never dressed in costume. I never went to the opening midnight show; I didn’t really care if we went opening weekend. I didn’t read the last book right away; I waited for my husband to finish it first. So I was surprised by the wave of emotions that hit me as I realized that this was the end.

I am happy with the way it ended, though. I was satisfied with the last book and felt the last movie was equally as good. It was better than good. It was awesome.

And besides, the series really isn’t over anyways. It’ll go on when, one day, I share the books and the movies with my children.

What has Harry Potter meant to you?

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Filed Under: My Life in Words