Things to Do with Leftover Halloween Candy

Happy Halloween! I'm not going to lie...I'm looking forward to sampling a few pieces of leftover candy from the haul I brought home to give out to the neighborhood kids. But what about all the other leftovers? The two stuffed bags my girls will haul home tonight? They can't (and won't) eat all that candy in a sitting. Or a day. Or a week. I always let them eat some because, really, what's the point of letting them Trick or Treat if they can't have some of the candy? Here are some ideas on what you can do with leftover Halloween candy:

1. Levy a "Parent Tax" on the candy.
Let's be honest. It is a lot of work to purchase and/or make a whole Halloween costume and all the accoutrements that go along with it. Not to mention buying candy for the neighborhood, getting your kids dressed, and braving the elements as they go door to door demanding treats from complete strangers. My husband likes to call it the "parent tax," but really he just asks the girls if they'd share a piece or two with him. They are usually so high on sugar fumes that they willingly oblige without any complaints. After they go to bed, we sneak another piece or two without feeling guilty. Much.

source

2. Keep a bag of lollipops in the car.
A secret candy stash can come in handy for traffic (when the kids are screaming in the back seat), doctor's appointment shots (when the kids are screaming), and long waits during sports or dance lessons (when the kids are screaming).

Perhaps you see a pattern here. The candy can prevent the screaming. Or at least dial it down a notch.

3. Add some favorites to a small bin.
Keep it in the pantry or upper cabinet and save them as special lunchbox treats.

4. Use it for baking.

I add chopped up candy bar bits to breads, cakes, and my "famous" Christmas trifle.

Here are some other links to recipes using leftover Halloween candy:

Taste of Home

Real Simple

My Recipes

Mint

5. Goody bags, anyone? 
If you have a crowd for Thanksgiving, why not make some cute goody bags with those leftover Hershey bars? My oldest's birthday is in early December, and you better believe those mini chocolate bars make great goody bag filler!

6. Take it to work or send it off with your husband.
Everyone at the office will love to hate you for bringing or sending the candy their way. They'll feel a surge of productivity with the sugar rush and you will get a promotion for being so brilliant.

7. Include the hard, wrapped candy in your Operation Christmas Child shoebox. 
(Note: they will not accept items that melt, like chocolate)

8. Donate it.
Send it to the troops, a local nursing home, food bank, or a women's shelter!

9. Freeze it.
Frozen M&Ms? Um, yum!

10. Craft with it
Make a candy corn wreath, or search Pinterest for some cute Thanksgiving printables to make gift baskets or bags for the teachers. So many possibilities.

Or, of course, you could just eat it all. Your dentist will love you for that. You can pay for his kids to go to college!

What do you do with the leftover Halloween candy?

*Tutorial for the DIY Trick or Treat Bags is here.

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Linking to Positively Splendid

Thrifting Inspiration and Makeover Ideas

I'm going to take you guys on another thrifting expedition with me today. I love browsing my local thrift stores and dreaming up ways to give new life to old pieces. It's hurricane central in Virginia right now...as I type this on Monday, the rain is coming in sideways and the winds will follow tonight. Since I don't know if we'll have power, I thought I'd share some Thrifting Inspiration from our Salvation Army with you today. I'd love to know how you would fix up and use these pieces!

I spotted this very cool sideboard/buffet in a side aisle and just loved the "hidden" drawer at the bottom. I could see this piece in an office or craft room. Maybe even in a family room...what about a pretty kelly green?

I'm almost positive I've seen this sturdy computer desk at Pier 1 before. The top was pretty beat up. I'd sand it down and repaint it white for that classic cottage look:

And every desk needs a chair, right? Almost positive this one goes with the desk pictured above. The screws holding the back up need to be tightened, and it needs new paint job and a cute cushion:

This chair was, um, lovingly decorated by someone. It needs to be lovingly redecorated. Maybe a soft gray?

I don't know what the heck kind of sewing machine or serger this is, but holy moley is this cool or what?! I could serge clothes for an army!

If I was pregnant or a photographer, I would have snapped this baby up in a heartbeat. These vintage bassinets make great photo props!

Completely awesome mirror. I was tempted to bring it home for just $15. You could leave it as-is, or repaint the frame:

Hello, cute round table. You're begging to be painted black and to have a fun, no-sew table runner decorate your top, aren't you? (I'm sorry, am I the only one who talks to furniture?)

Paint the knobs, add some cool patterned paper (that can be changed out) to the backs of those shelves, and you have a really neat-looking loft bed:

This one was hard to get a shot of because it was laying flat on top of some stuff, but it could be a great storage piece in a bathroom, or maybe even for a spice nook in a kitchen or pantry. Paint the wood, spray painted knobs, maybe add a stencil to one area?

I've seen quite a few filing cabinet makeovers on the web lately. This one was in great shape. I wanted to snatch it up and stencil it like Chelsea from two twenty one did.

This sweet little school desk would be perfect if you have a dedicated homework spot in your home. It needs some cleaning, but I'd leave the top as-is and paint the body a aqua, red, or even black or gray (if it needed to stay neutral).

I don't bring home upholstered things because of the excessive fear of bed bugs I harbor (too many Dateline specials and a husband who works in the mattress/bedding industry and tells me horror stories), but this couch has great lines. Yes, the upholstery is pretty awful. In fact, it made my eyes bleed for awhile. But, it would look fabulous with new upholstery or a pretty little slipcover!

So, do I have you wanting to head to your local thrift shop in search of goodies to bring home? Isn't fun to imagine all the possibilities?

What was your favorite piece?

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Halloween Activity and Recipe Ideas

There's still time to plan a little Halloween fun for your family if you haven't already! I hit the 'net and Pinned a bunch of fun Halloween Activity and Recipe Ideas to share with you today. It's a real Pinfest of games, printables, crafts, recipes, and more! Enjoy, and please be sure to Pin these awesome ideas from their original sources (listed below each photo). Happy Halloween!

Parents.com had a great line-up of easy crafts:

Source: parents.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Does your preschool or church do "trunk or treating"?

Source: sheskindacrafty.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Pumpkin Carving Tips:

Source: freshhomeideas.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Pass treats out at school or work!

Source: mommyskitchen.net via Amanda on Pinterest

Dinner before trick or treating?

Source: creationsbykara.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Send a little treat in for the teachers!

Source: marthastewart.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Kids' Craft Ideas from Martha Stewart:

Source: marthastewart.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Puffy Candy Corn Craft:

Source: crafts.kaboose.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Printable Halloween Games:

Source: apples4theteacher.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Activities and Games from Family Fun:

Source: familyfun.go.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Printable Coloring Pages and Reading Activities:

Source: apples4theteacher.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Awesome Halloween Recipe Round-Up!

Source: lovefromtheoven.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Halloween Treat Recipes from Better Homes and Gardens:

Source: bhg.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Halloween Crafts and Activities:

Source: enchantedlearning.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Adorable Pumpkin Bean Bag Toss:

Source: positivelysplendid.com via Amanda on Pinterest

55 Kids' Craft Ideas from Country Living:

Source: countryliving.com via Amanda on Pinterest

31 Days of Halloween fun from Disney Family:

Source: family.go.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Halloween Treat and Party Favor Ideas:

Source: bhg.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Lots of fun, huh? What are your favorite Halloween activities and recipes?

*I'm sharing an easy weeknight dinner recipe at Imparting Grace today. Please pop over and say "hi" to Richella!

If you enjoyed this post, or found it helpful, I hope you'll click your "Pin It" button to add this post to Pinterest, or a +1 for Google+. 

More Highlighted Links--Share Your Best Post!

If you're here to link up to Weekend Bloggy Reading, it's open for new links until 10 pm (ET) tonight. Please share your best post of the week with us...crafts, recipes, home decor, book reviews--all kinds of posts are welcome.

On Saturdays and Sundays, I like to share fabulous projects from the link party with my readers. I add many of these Features to my Pinterest page as well as Facebook, so be sure to link back in your post!

Here are a few links from Weekend Bloggy Reading that caught my eye.

~Autumn House Tour via Imparting Grace

~DIY Glitter Flats via Michaela Noelle Designs

~"Grown Up" Caramel Apple Cider Recipe via The Pink Flour

Highlighted Weekend Links--Share Your Best Post!

Happy Saturday! Please pop in to link up YOUR best post of the week at my Weekend Bloggy Reading link party. More Features on the way tomorrow!

All kinds of posts are welcome here: We have recipes, party ideas, room makeovers, crafts, tips and tricks, home decor, fashion advice, and more! The code for the button is near the end of this post, or you can add a text link back to me within your post.

Keep reading to see just a few of the posts that caught my eye so far.

~Master Bedroom Reveal via Southern Chic Love

~Painted Acorns via Just Grand

~Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze via Life in My Empty Nest

::Weekend Bloggy Reading:: Link Up!

Welcome to my Weekend Bloggy Reading link party. This is the day of the week where bloggers stop by to link up their best post of the week, and readers get to browse tons of fun project ideas. If you're new here, don't forget to "Follow" or subscribe so you don't miss future parties and projects! Please be sure to read my guidelines before you add a link.

This party is a great place to showcase your very best post of the week (home decor, crafts, party ideas, recipes, DIY, etc.) and to see what else is out there.

Here are a few of my faves I spotted around the web this week:

sources listed below

~DIY Brooch to Necklace via Dans le Townhouse

~Iron and Rope Mirror via Storefront Life

~Pottery Barn Inspired Storage Lockers via Chalkboard Blue

~Halloween Bouquet via Saved by Love Creations

~And Me? This week featured:

•  Chocolate and Butterscotch Chip Pumpkin Bread
• Gallery Wall Inspiration and Ideas
• Scenes from the Pumpkin Patch
• The IKEA House

Time to link up your best post of the week!

The IKEA House

If you follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, you may have seen the news that apparently IKEA came and painted a house up the street from us:

Not only did the homeowner choose a seizure-inducing shade of yellow for his base, but he decided to accent the hideousness with BOLD! BLUE! To add insult to injury, he added a "Lego Block" trim to all the windows and doors. While these colors are great choices for a company logo, they don't translate particularly well to house paint colors.

I was, for a short time, hopeful that maybe the guy was experimenting with drugs and that when he came down from his trip he might see the error of his ways and go back to nice, plain white. No such luck. Not only did he complete the paint job, he left it up.

I find this permanent memorial to bad design unsettling. I feel particularly awful for the owners of the house next door, who just recently renovated their home and finished it out with new landscaping and tasteful gray siding.

I've never wished for an HOA more than when I saw this poor house being slaughtered by poor paint choice. Technically, this home is in a different neighborhood that borders ours...but it still offends my eyes when I drive by. I'm shocked there haven't been any accidents yet from rubbernecking.

Are there any eyesores in your neighborhood?

Scenes from the Pumpkin Patch

My girls look forward to our pumpkin patch time every Fall. We have several great pumpkin patches in our area, but our favorite has free admission on the weekdays...making it the perfect spot for pumpkin picking. Michaela Byrd and I visited one morning earlier this month with our MOPS group. We had so much fun we went back over the weekend with Natalie, my mom, and my sis and niece, who were visiting. While Michaela Byrd was convinced we'd see The Great Pumpkin (too much Charlie Brown, perhaps?), we did see loads of pumpkins, fun farm stuff, animals, and some great Fall vignettes. Here are some Scenes from the Pumpkin Patch.

I just love the sight of lumpy Fall gourds, mounds of corn, fresh apples, and bright orange pumpkins.

The animals are always a big draw for pumpkin patch visitors:

It's not a trip to the farm without a hayride and a look at the scenery!

And the grand finale, the choosing of the pumpkins...

Some people go for the "cleanest" pumpkin they can find:

Others hunt for the absolute largest thing they can possibly carry and then hand it off to their mom to lug to the car:

We certainly had our fill of Fall fun over those two trips!

What's your favorite Fall activity?

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