Welcome

Welcome to Strawberry Sprinkles! I hope you will find something yummy during your visit here.


A little about me. My name is Ashley. I am a 29 years young. I love to bake for family and friends. Being able to put a smile on someone's face is pretty much why I do this in the first place. I have two little boys Jakob and Conner who are the absolute loves of my life. I am in an amazing relationship with a wonderful guy who is in the USAF. I have one dog, Leo he is a German Shepherd who pretty much marches to the beat of his own drummer. We call North Carolina home, Fort Bragg area but are relocating to Georgia in the Summer of 2014 to be around family. If you ever have any questions or recipe requests or product review requests please feel free to email me.



What makes my site special is these recipes are ones that I personally try. I will never put up a recipe that I have not personally tried and made my self. I will include personal pictures along with the recipe. 

****Please DO NOT ADVERTISE on my blog!! If you would like to trade links or whatever it maybe I will be more than happy to do that but do not leave your blog in my comments as I do no do that to you..My email is below feel free to contact me.****



This is me and my youngest son. If you ever have any questions or you need to contact me please email me at reverie_pixels@yahoo.com

DISCLAIMER: I in no way claim these recipes. Most are things that have been handed down to me or found in magazines or some other way. I am simply sharing ones I like.

Also this blog does not focus on healthy eating. I make what I like and then exercise it off later =D Just making you aware.

Long time no update

So I have seriously been slacking on updating my blog.

Things got busy with trying to leave Belgium and head back to the states. Jason got orders to Pope AFB or Army Air Field as it is now known. We got back to the states in April of 2013 and we were in the process of having the house built and my grandpa died shortly after getting back to the states and I couldn't attend the funeral so I had emotional stuff to work through.

The Summer of 2013 Jason and I decided to separate and divorce. It's been a very friendly and mutual divorce and we've both moved on and are co parenting the boys.

I am currently still in North Carolina, Lillington while the boys finish the school year out and as of right now unless plans change I am going to head back to Georgia to be around my family and rebuild my life. I am very excited about the future and what it holds for the boys and I.

I am going to try to keep up with my blog and get back to recipes and product updates as I test things for companies since I have seriously gotten away from it. I am still making cupcakes just not as much as I was in Belgium. There are just so many cake makers here in the states. None of them really offer what I do so that's a glimmer of hope ;)

If you have any recipes you would like please let me know. If you have a cupcake recipe you would love to see I can create them from scratch or using doctored up cake mixes to make it easier on the baker just specify what you want.

Montagne Jeunesse Clay Spas

I was given one of these clay masks complimentary for testing purposes from http://www.influenster.com/

You can find out more information on the masks and the company from the following places http://www.montagnejeunesse.com/, https://www.facebook.com/montagnejeunesseusa , https://twitter.com/montagnejeuness, http://www.pinterest.com/montagnejeuness/

These natural bamboo fabric masks are infused with specially sourced clays, are 99% natural with powerful and natural ingredients, and are designed to be used as part of your weekly skincare regime. They are easy to apply and are all suitable for combination, normal, and oily skin.

Dead Sea Mud Spa "To cleanse skin. With Cloudberry (to soothe, protect, and heal, high in nutrients), Red Grape (anti-oxidant to protect skin from damaging free radicals), and Glacial Clay (to cool, rehydrate, and deep clean pores, removing impurities)."


Glacial Clay Spa "To cleanse and help thirsty skin. With Dead Sea Mud (to draw out impurities and open blocked pores), Dead Sea Salt (to heal), Seaweed (to moisturize, revitalize, and firm skin), and Kelp (with vitamins and minerals to nourish and moisturize skin, regenerate cells, and help anti-aging)."


Red Earth Clay Spa "To deep cleanse. With Pomegranate (for healing, and anti-oxidant rich, protecting skin from damaging free radicals), Cinnamon (for natural anti-bacterial properties), and Mediterranean Clay (to detox and draw out impurities and excess oil)."

They are very reasonably priced at 2.49. I loved my mask. It felt great and really improved my skin. It was tingly and refreshing and helped my face regain some of that natural glow that I had in the Summer that has gone from the harsh winters we've been having and lack of sun. I would give this a thumbs up and totally recommend trying it.

Goody Ouchless Ribbon Elastics

I was chosen to test the sunkissed vox box by Influenster. I was super excited to be able to participate. We've been overseas for the last 3 years and just recently returned to the states and I was really looking forward to getting back into blogging and being apart of influenster again.

These ouchless Ribbon Elastics were apart of the box and I am so glad they were. I hadn't heard of them before and was super excited to try them. I normally don't put my hair up a lot because I get headaches from using hairbands. I didn't get my hopes up for these because normally I just toss hairbands because they bunch up, break, or cause headaches. I tried one and threw my hair up for a day at the pool with my kiddos and to my surprise at the end of the day I still had it in and no headaches and I got tons of compliments. I highly recommend these to my fellow headache sufferers as a cute fashionable way to throw your hair up. You can wear one and look cute or use a few different colors for a adorable and unique look.



About the product:

*Soft, stretchy material that looks beautiful on the wrist or in the hair

* From America’s #1 elastics brand, Goody® Ouchless®

* Unique knot style hair ties are perfect for personalizing or dressing up your look.

You can find more out about these cute accessories and all their other products by going to http://www.goody.com/

I did receive these hair bands complimentary for testing & review purposes from http://www.influenster.com/

All opinions are 100 percent my own. Would love to hear your thoughts =D

Coming Home

If any of you have followed me for a while or are friends and family you will know my family and I spent the last 3 years in Belgium due to my husband's service in the United States Air Force. I would be lying if I said I loved our time over there. I am just not a fan of traveling or being in the unfamiliar. I love my country and lets be honest, I love convenience. You don't get that a lot over there. We did get to meet some fantastic people while there and got to do some neat things and that is awesome.

My husband called me one night from work and let me know we had orders. He was hesitant I could tell at first, to tell me where we were going. It turned out we had orders to Fort Bragg/Pope AAF. He was not happy about this because this was actually his first assignment and he spent 6 years here prior and he hated it here. I told him not to stress it. It would be totally different now that he has a family and we will be together and that is all that mattered. I had to keep an open mind because I was tired of being in the negative. Belgium just broke me honestly as a person and I was miserable all the time and I couldn't live that way anymore and I didn't want the boys to see me like that. So I went into this expierence with a whole new out look on things. For one it wasn't Belgium, two we would be in the country we love, three there are so many more opportunities here, and four it isn't Belgium haha.

We had quite the ordeal getting home. We basically had no choice in flying home because Brussels airlines wouldn't fly our dogs out. So we had to take Germany and go out of Ramstein AB. We got stuck there for a couple of days due to delays. We finally got out of there and because we had to connect in Baltimore we had to stay there an extra day because we had already missed our connection due to delays and they didn't have another flight to Raleigh for a few days. Then we get to the airport finally going to North Carolina and they tell us they can't fit our German Shepherd on the plane going into Fayetteville NC. It was to small a plane I guess. So they booked us on a flight to Raleigh NC that could accommodate his XL kennel. Relief! I was going to go into all out panic mode. We'd been traveling so I was already stressed and I was going to lose it. Luckily the manage of Delta understood and spared no expense on Delta's dime getting us home. So finally we get to Raleigh and we just rented a SUV and drove to Fayetteville our selves. They were going to drive us down but I just said forget it we will drive our selves.

We have been in the process of buying/building a home here. We decided we didn't want to live in Base housing any more after our nightmare experiences with that and that it was time to just buy. It was going to save us a massive amount of money and we wouldn't be told what to do by some company. We also would be investing in something instead of just flushing rent down the toilet every month. We were in the hotel on Pope AAF for a month and 7 days. It was decent we had 4 bedrooms and a decent kitchen and the boys had other children to play with. It was a pain driving them 30 minutes back and forth every day to the school they were going to but we wanted to have them in the school they would be going to when we eventually got in our house.

We finally closed on the house and we love every minute of it. Well minus all the deposits you have to pay to get all the electricity and water and trash turned on but it's all part of the home owning experience. We chose not to live in Fayetteville because of all the crime that is around so we live a little way away from the base and I am glad we made that decision. The day after we closed on our home, my boys and I went to Georgia for 2 weeks to visit my parents and sisters. So we just finally got back and I am working on unpacking boxes and trying to make my home, a home. I should be back to baking, cooking, and coming up with new recipes once I get everything settled.

I hope to have some new recipes up very soon including the banana split cake that I love and is my favorite thing to eat for the moment. I also am going to continue Friday Favorites. I am really excited about being back in the states. Thanks for following along on my baking adventures.

Here are a few pictures of our life along the way they include first haircuts in the states, house progress as it was being built, yummy cupcakes and dessert, fire ant bites, adorable puppies, and just shenanigans.

Spicy Enchiladas

I am a huge Enchilada fan. I love Mexican food and so does my husband. My kids just don't know what's good and they don't like anything but popcorn chicken so their opinion doesn't count in this.

The original recipe calls for avocado and I am not a fan so I skipped that and I really ended up changing a lot of the recipe. So my version is below and the original version is linked below if any one is interested.

Please excuse the crappy pictures. It gets really dark in Belgium early and the lighting in the house is not the greatest. Really looking forward to moving to the states where our next house is going to have impeccable lighting I am making sure of it.

Bonus! The left overs heat up really well and taste amazing.



This bad boy has a pound of cheese! When I say it is amazing, please believe me haha!



Spicy Enchiladas my recipe
Inspired from The Novice Chef's Spicy Avocado Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:

for the sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
1 Jalapeno pepper, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 red or green pepper, minced
2 tbsps flour
1 1/4 cup chicken stock
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 cup medium salsa
1/2 cup fat free sour cream or greek yogurt

for the enchiladas:
3 cups chopped cooked chicken breasts (about 4 breasts)
1 lb Monterrey Jack Cheese, shredded
1 small yellow onion, chopped
8-10 flour tortillas

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375

2. Heat the butter on high in a sauce pan. Then saute garlic & both kinds of peppers for a minute. Then add the flour and stir constantly for about 2 mins. Then add in your chicken stock, cumin, salt, & pepper and bring to a boil. Gently stir in salsa and sour cream or greek yogurt.

3. Pour a little sauce in the bottom of the pan about 1/2 cup. I don't like my Enchiladas super saucy so you could put a little more if you like.

4. Fill your tortillas with chicken, cheese, & onion (you can omit if you don't like onion). Place in the pan and continue on until pan is full. Then pour as much or as little of the sauce as you like on top of the filled tortillas then use whatever cheese you have left and put on top and bake for 20 mins.

For the best results DO NOT buy bag cheese! Buy the cheese in blocks and shred yourself. It always melts the best. Enjoy the cheesy goodness! It pairs well with chips and salsa or a salad.

3 layer Banana Cake

Moist... it's just not a word I like to use. It just I don't know quite how to explain my hatred of that word. There just is no other word to describe this delicious cake! It is super ..moist.. and just so good. The cream cheese frosting is the perfect compliment to this cake.

I made this cake for my 27th Birthday. I don't order cakes from bakeries here because the Belgians are huge on like pastry cake piled with lots of fruit. They are delicious but for my birthday I wanted cake, good old fashioned cake piled on with loads of yummy frosting. I also am a baker so that means I am super picky. So I decided none of my friends should deal with my serious obsession with food and worry about what I would like, commissary cake was not happening, and my husband can't bake to save his life.. poor guy lol. So I decided to make my first 3 layer cake. I am so glad that I did. We went out and had Indian food at Ashoks. If you ever find yourself in Belgium in the Mons area please do yourself a fantastic favor and look up Ashoks. The atmosphere is not only so inviting and authentic but the food is fantastic. The chef himself came out and checked on us quite a few times and gave ice cream to our friend's little boy.

I topped my cake with lots of sprinkles to celebrate turning 27 and my oldest son Jakob photo bombed the cake picture, it just makes it that much better.







3 Layer Banana Cake by The Novice Chef modified by me

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter
2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
4 oz non sweetened applesauce
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 cup mashed over ripe bananas (about 2 large bananas)

For the frosting:
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 (12 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
5 3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Grease and flour 3 8-inch round cake pans. In a small bowl, mix mashed bananas with lemon juice, set aside. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream 3/4 cup butter and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla, sour cream and applesauce. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk. Stir in banana mixture.

Divide batter (about 2 1/2 cup batter in each pan) into prepared pans. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove pans from oven and immediately place in freezer for 45 minutes. (This keeps the cake moist by immediately stopping the baking so the cake does not continue to bake when you remove it form the oven.)

For the frosting: In a large bowl, cream butter and cream cheese & cinnamon until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Add confectioners' sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high until frosting is smooth. Assemble the 3 layers with a thick layer of frosting in between each layer. Then apply a thin crumb coat on the top and sides. Pop back in the freezer to harden the crumb coat for about 10 minutes. Then apply a thick even layer around the outside of the cake.

Crock Pot Chicken & Noodles

We all have them, those days where you don't have enough arms, legs, time, etc. etc. You need to feed the family a savory & filling meal. I use my crock pot all the time. I think next to my food processor it's my most used appliance. I could go on and on about my crock pot. It's true love I tell ya.

Today was one of those days. The husband had a huge meeting and my youngest son had a doctor appointment. Basically we left house at 10 and didn't get home until 4. So before I left the house I threw this easy, delicious meal in the crockpot. It was well worth the few extra steps I went through!

Excuse the crappy lighting in my house. We don't get a lot of natural light in the house and lets face it, the weather in Belgium is most of the time cloudy and rainy.




Excuse all my cheese =P

Original recipe found at Eat your heart out


Ingredients:

4 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
½ teaspoons Kosher Salt
½ teaspoons Black Pepper
1 cup Chicken Broth
1 cup Low Fat Milk
3 Tablespoons Cornstarch
1 teaspoon Sugar
½ teaspoons (heaping) Garlic Powder
½ cups Reduced Fat Sour Cream
½ cups Non-Fat Greek Yogurt
¼ cups Flour

Directions:

Cut the chicken into strips or bite-size chunks. Place in the bottom of the slow cooker; sprinkle with salt and pepper.

In a medium-sized bowl whisk together chicken broth, milk, cornstarch, sugar and garlic powder. Pour over the chicken.

Cover the crockpot and cook on high heat for 3-4 hours or low heat for 7-8 hours.

Then, in a separate bowl, combine sour cream, Greek yogurt and flour until smooth. Stir this into the cooked chicken mixture and continue cooking for an additional 15 minutes until thickened.

Taste for seasoning, adding more salt as necessary. Serve hot over egg noodles or even rice.

* You can use all sour cream or even all Greek yogurt instead of halving them if you prefer.

* You can add veggies in this like peas, carrots, mushrooms, peppers, whatever floats your boat. We just paired our dinner with a salad and called it good.

** I did something almost totally different with this recipe. When it came time to mix the sourcream/yogurt mixture, I put it all in a big pot on the stove and let it boil for a bit to make it less watery. It came out fantastic and really incorporated everything together nicely. If you want to do this, this is the time I would add any veggies and let simmer for about 20 mins **

Coffee Talk: Happy New Year

1. It's 2013! What will be the first thing you do that is memorable?

Hmm... that is seriously a tough one. Honestly I think it will be when I go to DisneyLand Paris with my family and momma (yes I still say momma and mommy, I spend a lot of time in the south =P ). We are PSCING soon after that ( can I get a Halleluiah?).


2. It's also income tax season... what do you plan on doing with all of that $$$?

Nothing very fun, well we are moving to Pope Army Air Field/Fort Bragg so we need that money to move, we need furniture since having 2 small children is not conducive to keeping what you have nice, & try to find a small junker for Jason to go from work to home in.

3. What are your 2012 pros/cons?

Pros

My husband put on E6
My husband lost a bunch of weight
My mom came to Belgium to visit
We made a bunch of new friends
The boys got the teachers we wanted for the 2012 school year
My cupcake business really picked up
We traveled a bit

Cons

My son got locked on a bus for 3 and a half hours in the snow and no one could find him
My best friend moved ( the joys of being a military spouse)
We still didn't find a good church
It didn't really snow much..
I am sure there are more but I can't think of them right now.

4. What are you looking forward to this year?

We are moving to North Carolina & buying our very first home! We are more than excited! I will be 6 hours from home and my mom and dad so that is freaking fantastic!


5. What was your favorite movie, CD album, book of 2012?

Hmm that is really tough..

Movie: The Hobbit. Freaking fantastic. If you have not seen it, you're missing out.
CD: The new Maroon 5 CD hands down, I Itunesed it.. yup new word itunesed
Book: The Hunger Games, nothing else compares. I have been disappointed in the rest of the books I've read because nothing else adds up for me to their awesomeness.
TV Show: hmmmmm Downtown Abbey of course. I just love British Drama what can I say.

Hershey's Chocolate Double Mint Cookies

What goes to better than chocolate and mint? Not much. You could use Hershey's mint chips or you could even use Andes mint chips. These are super simple to make and pack a really yummy bang! You should add these to your Holiday cookie making list. They would be super easy to make for a cookie exchange or for neighbors.



Ingredients:

2/3 cup butter or margarine , softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) HERSHEY'S Mint Chocolate Chips

Directions:

Heat oven to 350°F.

Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until creamy. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating well. Stir in mint chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 8 to 9 minutes or just until set; do not overbake. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 3 dozen cookies.

Coffee Talk

I am loving the coffee talks with Natalie of The Spunky Poser. I think they really let you get some insight into the blogger behind the blog. If you guys missed it I just posted a super easy, home made recipe for some Christmas cookies that are sure to get you into the Christmas mood Clicky. Okay onto Coffee Talk.



1. How did you meet your partner?

My husband and I met while he was retraining into another field of the military. He was at Fort Gordon and I lived near by. It's hard to resist a hunk in a uniform ;)

2. How did you feel about your partner when you first met them?

I was a little cautious because I was in a bad relationship and didn't just want to jump into something else right away.


3. Where was your first date taken place?

We hung out at the park at Fort Gordon where there is a beautiful gazebo, we hung out there and talked for hours.


4. Where do you see y'all in 5 years?

I see us in a house, hopefully one we've been able to buy and hopefully in Warner Robins Ga. We recently just got orders to Pope Air Field/Fort Bragg and not really loving that but going to make the most of it for sure. It's hard to really picture where we will be in 5 years because things change so much with the military but wherever we are I hope we are financially stable enough to adopt.


5. Show a picture of you and your partner!



I gotta say I love my husband and this crazy life we lead! I loved this Coffee Talk for sure!

Peppermint Blossoms

I needed to get in the Christmas mood. I love to bake and especially around the holidays. I have just been in a funk lately for some reason. So I decided to surprise the boys and bake some for them and my husband's office.

These were the perfect cookie to make. They are so cheerful and use my favorite Christmas candy made by Hershey. You really have to have the candy cane kisses if you haven't yet. They are just the most addictive thing ever! I even use those to make my peppermint bark.

I hope you enjoy the recipe. They are super simple to whip up and really yummy!





Decided to eat one while they were still nice and warm and they were fantastic!




Candy Cane or Peppermint Blossoms
Recipe: Hershey

Ingredients:

HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Candy Cane Mint Candies
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine , softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons milk
Red or green sugar crystals, granulated sugar or powdered sugar

Directions:

Beat butter, granulated sugar, egg and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; add alternately with milk to butter mixture, beating until well blended.

Spray cookie sheet with non stick cooking spray and line with parchment paper.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in red sugar, granulated sugar, powdered sugar or a combination of any of the sugars. Place on cookie sheet.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned and cookie is set. Remove from oven; cool 2 to 3 minutes. Press a candy piece into center of each cookie.

Bakers Notes:

The recipe said it makes 48 but I didn't make that many, I may have made the cookies a little bigger than 1 inch.

I also unwrapped the candies while the cookies were baking to save them from getting to soft.

To keep your cookies from going flat make sure your butter is not too soft just soft enough to cream with the sugar.

If you don't have colored sugar you can always make your own by mixing some food coloring to about 1 cup of sugar. Add enough color until you get the desired color and just keep mixing. It should dry over night so this should be done before hand.

Enjoy!

Fantastic Discovery

My husband and I decided to take a day to our selves and go out and shop around town. Belgium has unique things. I really wanted to go to the art store here and find some paint. I really want to make these hand ornaments out of the salted flour dough and paint them as Santa Claus. The post on Pinterest is super cute so I am going to give a go and I will blog about the results when I get them done.

So we got paint and paint brushes. We went to the mall and picked up Christmas presents for family and friends. Then we went looking for a stocking for a stocking exchange I am doing and I was surprised to realize the Belgians don't fill stockings. I wonder if it's an American thing. I did find my amazing new Christmas table cloth and runner and then my husband found this sugar. It's not just any sugar it's FLAVORED sugar. I got the Strawberry, Cotton Candy, Green Apple, and Chocolate. I thought about doing a give away since this is so awesome. If I get enough interest I might do it.

Coffee talk # 2

So this is the second coffee talk I've participated in and I am having so much fun with it and bring something new to my blog. I decided to do this again.

1. What is the meaning behind your blog name?

I am a huge strawberry fan. I love anything and everything strawberry. I am also a sprinkles fanatic. I have a huge massive collection of sprinkles that I hesitate to touch because of my love for them and how beautiful and simple they make everything look. When I was starting my blog I wanted something that meant something to me and could bring some of who I am to my blog.



That is just a few of them. I have since added to my collection =P

2. How long have you been blogging? What made you start?

I have been blogging since 2011. I mostly started to blog because it's lonely over here in Belgium and I needed a creative outlet to help me get through this long assignment. I also wanted to start saving my favorite recipes. I found that people wanted to know what I was cooking, how I was doing it, and the recipes I used or came up with on my own. So Strawberry Sprinkles was born.

3. What is your blog generally about?

Mostly food and the traveling I do around Belgium and Germany. I love baking and love to share what I've created and recipes for others to use.

4. Do you have any funny blogs you would like to share?

I am still very new to blogging so I haven't met a lot of people yet. So I may come back to this.

5. What are your hopes for your blog?

Honestly I would just love to be able to provide new and fresh recipes. I don't really want to make money or anything off my blog. If I do then hey that is amazing and I would love to be able to sponsor give aways and things like that but if not that is awesome too. I just want to be able to connect to readers and meet new people =)



Please come Join Natalie & the other wonderful bloggers who are joining in the coffee talk.

Brugge Ice Festival

Every year in Brugge, a very famous city in Belgium, puts on a big Ice show. 30 artists from 12 different countries including the USA come together to form a team and create these massive ice sculptures. Last year's theme was Paris Disney. This year's theme was Harry Potter, The Hobbit, and Lord of the Rings. If you would like some information like pricing & addresses you can check out that link Here.

This year we went for my son's 9th birthday. We took one of his friends and off to the train station we went. We had to change trains in Brussels and while we were hustling our way to the next station we saw a huge gigantic train made all in chocolate. It was to celebrate Brussels chocolate week.





We had to take 2 trains to get there and it can be quite a bumpy & long ride. The boys did really well and my husband I just chatted the whole way there. It wasn't too bad and most of the trains were fairly nice. They have 2 classes. You have first class and then you have 2nd class. We went on a weekend day so our fare was half price and kids under 12 are free which saves a bundle of money.





My children and Jakob's friend Jeremy being goobers on the train. I love the second picture. It perfectly captures my youngest son's personality. He is quite the character.

We finally make it the Brugge train station. I had been previously disappointed because there was no StarBucks at the Brussels midi station. What do I find staring at me in the Brugge train station??? Yes, a Starbucks!! It wasn't there last year. The Starbucks in Belgium are all hours away from me so I took advantage of this magical moment and got a Starbucks Caramel Macchiato. Let me just say there was a moment between me and my coffee. I also got a new Starbucks mug to add to my collection & the new 2012 ornament for the tree. I am thrilled! I love coffee. The boys also got some cinnamon roll things and hot chocolate. They were loving it.



After my freak out because there was a brand new Starbucks in the station we headed over to the Ice Festival. When they say it's chilly, they mean it. They gotta keep that ice cold. I had 2 layers on plus a wool jacket and massive scarf and gloves and I was frigid. The boys were cold but they didn't care. They were too busy going down the ice slides to care worry about that.





A little dwarf dude and Ice Festival sign greeted us and that is when the cold hits you. You need a minute to take it all in that is for sure.





I want to party with those guys!





You know some one was ribbing their friend and saying "I dare you." Seriously..





I think the sculptors have a sense of humor.





Giant mug o ice beer anyone?









You Shall Not Pass!!



Scary!



My husband losing his head!



Chilling literally =P



Seriously an ice slide!! How fun is that?!? To bad they didn't have the ice shovels this year to let the kids fly down that thing. I wonder if people got hurt with it last year and that is why they didn't do it again.



Jakob and his friend Jeremy.



My little man Conner






Finally able to relax with some coffee and warm up! I hope everyone enjoyed living through us on this magical journey through the ice. If you get the chance to go, please do! This is a once in a life time experience and something you won't regret getting to see. This was our last year being able to do this so I am glad we went.