Archive for 2013

St. Patrick's Day Treat Recipes


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It's that time again for a treat post! Whether you're Irish or not, St. Patrick's Day is a great opportunity to gather with friends and family and snack on some yummy green and Irish-inspired treats. So let's get right down to it, here are my very favorite St. Patrick's Day dessert recipes!



















Have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day and enjoy these sweet treats!





Staying Safe on Pinterest


posted by Holiday Helper on , ,

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I know this is not a holiday related post, but it it VERY important and relevant nonetheless. Please feel free to pass this on to friends and family. 

Let me just start out by saying- I LOVE Pinterest. It's become quite an addiction for me, and any time I get a few minutes free you can surely find me pinning some awesome ideas on there. I also love it because of the wonderful things it has done for this blog. The majority of my traffic is generated through Pinterest, and I am forever grateful for that.

However, like any other social website, there will always be a few bad people looking to destroy what is (for the most part) a very safe and fun community. I experienced this first-hand just a few days after I joined. I just sort of assumed that whatever the people I followed (my friends) pinned was safe to click on. After seeing my anti-virus software go into "panick-mode" and tell me that I had hit a malicious URL, I realized just how naive I was. Since then, I have learned quite a few ways to protect myself from getting into a situation like this again, and I'd like to share them with all of you:

Protect Your Computer
I know this seems like a no-brainer, but make sure you have a reliable anti-virus software installed. No matter what website you are on, if you are clicking any links or downloading anything you need to be protected. After years of using a very expensive anti-virus program that kept letting things slip through the cracks, I decided to try out a friend's recommendation, Avast. I use the free version, and it has worked wonders for me. However, there is also a paid version available should you need it.

Check the Source
Whenever I see a pin I find interesting, the first thing I do is click on it once to bring up all the details. In the right corner right above the repins, there is a section that says "Pinned via _____ from _____." The second blank will be the website the pin will link to, or the source. If you recognize website, carry on. If not, Google it instead of clicking the pin and check out what others have to say about the site. Is it safe? Does it show content it claims to show? If it looks fishy, it's just not worth the risk to me.

Friends Don't Let Friends Pin Unsafe Content
What makes Pinterest so great (and sometimes bad) is that any one pin can go "viral" (a.k.a getting passed around like crazy) within minutes. So if you notice a pin that looks like it may be spam or other risky content, comment on the pin and let the person know that they should take it down. This will also let other people know when they see it not to repin. 

Use the Report Button
If you've tried the previous idea to no avail, it's time to report the pin and let Pinterest handle it. To do this, click once on a pin to pull up the details. On the right hand side of the pin, there will be a series of buttons including the "Report" button. When you click it, there will be a list of options you can report it for such as "Hateful Speech", "Nudity", or "Spam". I generally report any unsafe content as spam, as that seems to be the most effective way to get it removed quickly.

Have any other ideas to stay safe on Pinterest? Feel free to add them in the comments!



8 Creative Ways To Use Conversation Hearts


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Ahhh...conversation hearts. For most of us, they evoke warm childhood memories of a candy that may not necessarily taste very good, but makes up for it with it's pretty pastel colors and fun sayings. Valentine's Day just isn't complete in my house until we break open at least one box of this classic candy. And over the years, we have come up with quite a few interesting uses for these little guys other than just nibbling on them. Here are some of my favorite ways to use conversation hearts:

1. To play Valentine's Day Bingo. For the printable bingo cards, click here.  


2. As inspiration or decoration for baked goods. To see more ideas, click here.

3. As topiary. For tutorial, click here.

4. As jewelry. To view the bracelet click here.

5. As a math worksheet for the kids. For the printable, click here.

6. To make a picture frame magnet. See the project here.

7. As a wreath for your door. For the tutorial, click here.

8. As a cute little gift. To see how to put it together, click here.

Please feel free to share other uses you have found for them in the comments section below!





Valentine's Day Treat Recipes


posted by Holiday Helper on , ,

14 comments

UPDATE: It has come to my attention that the link to the "Easy Valentine's Day Sandwich Cookies" no longer works. It appears the owner of the blog has made it invitation only. Therefore, I have switched out that recipe for a nearly identical one, now labeled as "Homemade Heart Sandwich Cookies" below. I apologize for the inconvenience!


Before we officially kick off the next holiday, Valentine's Day, I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone who helped make this Christmas season so awesome. Thanks to all of you, we gathered so many fantastic ideas both in our posts and comments- so keep em' coming!

And now, onto the yummy stuff. Once again, I have taken all the searching and hard work out of your Valentine's day recipe planning by compiling a list of all my favorite sweet (and love-themed) treats. Enjoy!