Showing posts with label our favorite things. Show all posts
Showing posts with label our favorite things. Show all posts

6 Days Left



Our Mommies on a Mission campaign has been a great success so far! 

To date, we have sold over 300 ‘Reminder to Play’ sets and have raised $2,731 toward building a playground in Afghanistan. Our campaign finishes on June 17th, so you still have time to help build a playground for children in need of a safe place to play.

The ‘Reminder to Play’ set is a special limited-edition design from Peekaboo Beans made just for women. The design team worked hard to come with a universally flattering design that fits all unique body types. The ‘Reminder to Play’ jacket features toggles on the inside that enable you to cinch in the waist, or leave loose. The back of the jacket covers your bottom and the front sits perfectly at the bottom of your hips. Also featured are deep pockets and thumbholes to provide comfort and warmth. 

The ‘Reminder to Play’ leggings are made to have you feel controlled and comfortable at the waist without digging in. The unique cuff at the bottom of the ankle lets you change up your style.


Our fit models loved trying on the garments, commenting on comfort and unique features such as the polka dot details inside the hood of the jacket. A favourite aspect of the jacket is the quote inside that will remind you every day that play nourishes your mind and body – both children and parents.

Let us help you choose your size! 

Click HERE to view all the sizing details and order your Mommy Beans!


Life is good.


Here at Peekaboo Beans we know and believe that life IS good. We are constantly surrounded by amazing people and enjoy the benefits of humor, support, encouragement, accomplishments, hard work and... PLAY!  

So this Thanksgiving we want to share with you our personal THANK YOUS straight from the mouths of our playful team members of the Peekaboo Beans Playground (our head office... of course!)

Here is what some of them are thank for... 

The oppurtunity to be a Mom

My family (this one came up a lot!!)
My daughters birth parents
My community and neighbourhood
My Peekaboo Beans family
My children
My family's health
Spouse who puts up with me (haha!)
Smiles on my bean's faces
A warm place to sleep
Coffee (of course!)
My hubby's sense of humor
My friends
Animals
The ability to travel (good one)
Italian food (and wine perhaps?)
That I do something I'm passionate about every day at work
Cats
That everyone in my life is supportive of my goals
A family who cares for me
A roof over my head
My awesome job! 
Access to clean water and delicious food
Being able to do what I love every day
My amazing son
The support, love and companionship I get from my husband
My childhood friends
Chocolate
My health
The beautiful city I call home
Sunshine
Pumpkin pie (an absolute fave!)
The ability to be active
Open fields and crunchy leaves
My daughters
Fleece pants
My friends who REALLY care
Chocolate (again)
Laughter
Hugs from my kids
To live so close to nature
My raincoat
Watching my children sleep so soundly
To have LOVE in my life
An incredible passionate and gorgeous boss!

From our Peekaboo Beans family to yours... Happy Thanksgiving. We hope you enjoy many lovely, playful moments this upcoming weekend.






Why not get your Beans involved this with giving THANKS and showing them how Life is Good! Download our free "Today I am thankful for..." printable and have your Beans fill it out. This is such a wonderful way to reflect on all those special things, moments and people that we are so thankful for in our daily lives.


Click HERE to download and print our THANKFUL printable.


Sue's Survivor cookies

You don't need to know us well to know that we are all cookie, cake and donut lovers here at the Peekaboo Beans Playground.  And some of our favorite days are when we see Play Stylist Super Star Sue Jennings pull into the parking lot and gently emerge from her car with a basket of home baked goodies!!  Sue.. we love you and you certainly bring an element of FUN and YUM to us around here! 
 
So a few weeks ago, Sue showed up with her latest creation of goodness... Survivor Cookies.  The perfect blend of oatmeal, buttery-ness, delicate nuts and hearty chocolate chips. Mmmmm is all that we can say!!  And they certainly didn't last long! 
 
 
When we asked Sue if she minded that we share her delicious recipe with the rest of the world, she graciously accepted and asked us to give a big warm shout out to her friends at Eric Hamber Secondary as this recipe is originally from the grade 10 baking teacher, who happens to be Sue's good friend.  So without further ado, we bring you Sue's Survivor Cookies...
 
 
We asked Sue why they are called survivor cookies and here's what she had to say...
I believe they are called survivor cookies because they have similar ingredients to a granola bar. Lots of seeds, can add nuts, dried fruit etc to give you a bit longer lasting energy and fibre than a chocolate chip cookie. But, they ARE a cookie!! 
 

And one more note... the baked cookies freeze excellently (real word??)  as does the raw cookie dough. Which allows for long term enjoyment!! 
 
Sue's Survivor Cookies:

1 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour (white or whole wheat)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup raw/unsalted sunflower seeds
1/3 cup flax or poppy seeds
3/4 cup unsalted pumpkin seeds
1 cup raisins or chopped dates
2 cups large flaked oats
1 pkg milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a large bowl or mixer, cream butter and both sugars until light and fluffy.
Add eggs and vanilla and beat well.
Add flour, baking soda and salt and stir into batter.  Mix until combined.
Stir in seeds, dried fruit, oats and chocolate chips. You can refrigerate dough for 30 minutes to reduce spreading when baking. (this step is optional)
Drop dough in rounded/heaping tablespoons on parchment lined baking sheet (12 per tray).
Bake 15-20 minutes or until just golden around the edges. (bake less for chewy, more for crispy).
Cool on racks and enjoy with a big glass of milk.

This makes about 5 dozen cookies, you can bake half and freeze the remaining raw cookie dough to bake later.  ENJOY!!

Betcha can't eat just one! 
 
 
 
The girls (and boy - yes, the "big bag of chips") at Peekaboo Beans created a list of things that they would LOOOOOVEE to receive as a gift on Valentine's Day. So we are sharing it with you - and who knows what will happen if you JUST "happen" to leave it lying around for your better half (or Beans) to see after you've checked off your favorites! We also added 3 extra spots to add your own goodies!
 
 
 
Get your printable PDF Valentine's "If only i had..." list HERE
 
 

A year in review - for your Beans



Who likes free printables!  We have created this "Year in Review" printable for you to fill out with your Beans and have as a keepsake for the years to come.  This is a great way to reflect on the year just passed and to also look forward to the year ahead and perhaps set a few important and kid friendly goals. Almost like a New Years Resolution worksheet for kids, but way more fun!  

Print your Peekaboo Beans copy HERE

Print your CiCi Bean copy HERE

diy temporary tattoos

 So I was pretty excited when I came across this company called silhouette... Because they sell  printable temporary tattoo paper! AMAZING! You just place it in your regular printer, print out whatever you like on it and you have your own custom temporary tattoos! You can buy the paper from the silhouette website or on ebay and start creating!


Another fun and stylish temporary tattoo alternative for children and adults are the designs from tattly. A company started in July 2011 by a mom in New York who was tired of the poorly designed options available. These quirky tattoos are created by a group of all-star designers and illustrators. Take a look at the cute and quirky designs they sell, which are also great inspiration for your own creations! 

tattly
Both options are fun for all ages and the ideas are endless! I can't wait to get my hands on some of this paper! I am also quite taken with some of the original tattly designs available. 
+ tattly knows how important play is!
From the

lille huset houses



While perusing blogs for spring 2014 inspiration I came across a unique dollhouse company called lille huset, which I’ve grown a little obsessed with. This company crafts simplistic houses from paperboard and reclaimed Baltic birch wood that children can make their own. I can’t imagine how excited I would be if I had this house as a child, I kind of want my own now. The website has DIY ideas and downloads to decorate your house as well as inspirational houses to provide ideas for your house.


On the online store you can even purchase a set of 6 xs houses that are individually wrapped for party favors. I think this would be a wonderful keepsake and idea for a birthday party and a great craft activity to keep your little guests occupied.

lille birthday party!

These houses are not just for girls! They are a blank canvas so boys can have just as much fun personalizing their own house. With the various designs you can create a small town with roadways and various DIY projects.


I couldn't wait to share these houses with you! Such a great way to fuel your child’s imagination and provide them with a toy that will reflect themselves. Best part is, if the walls get full you can purchase replacement paperboard ones and keep your wood wall.
This post by guest blogger Rachel, our...


Back to School Picks


For most of us here on the West Coast school was back in session as of yesterday and through all the chaos and reworking of schedules we hope you can take a moment and enjoy this week.  Aside from being full of craziness, it's also a very fun and memorable week for lots of us and we thought it would be great idea to share with you some of our favorite back to school picks, everything from treats to gear!
 
Visit our Back to School Pinterest Board to see them all. 

Bofrot by Akosua



Bofrot, Ghanaian goodness!

Akosua, our WOW girl at the Playground, keeps coming to work with these awesome little packages of goodness!  Never lasting more than a day, we all gobble them up like they are going out of style!  So fresh, so yummy and such a treat to enjoy an old Ghanaian tradition.  So we are thrilled that Akosua's Mother has allowed us to share her family Bofrot recipe with all of you.  Enjoy, and be forewarned... it's hard to eat just one!



Bofrot -
1/2 cup warm water
1.5 oz sugar (3 Tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon)
1/3 egg (I beat a large egg, poured it in a 1/4 cup measuring cup, then poured out 1/3 of it)
1 teaspoon yeast (I happened to have rapid rise yeast, so used that)
4 oz of bread flour (higher gluten content than regular white flour) [that's about 1/2 c plus 1/3 cup unsifted flour]
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 t baking powder
pinch of salt
oil for deep-frying (I used canola)

Mix dough together gently and knead into a ball, cover and let rest in a bowl for at least 2 hours.  When you are ready, heat up the oil and drop it spoonful size into the deep fryer.  Fry until golden brown, remove from oil and rest on paper towel.  Cool and enjoy! 



Coloring Fun!


Who doesn't love to color?  In a many travels across the Pinterest Universe we stumbled upon some really amazing coloring pages and would love to share them with you.  Here's our favorites....

 

  






Monkey around with Lilah Bean!  For you to print and color.  Click here to download your copy.


Find more of our favorites on the Peekaboo Beans Pinterest Boards


Our favorite things!



Reading is fun!  And it's one of the most important things you can do with your child (besides play of course!) while they are young.  Aside from the chance to enter magical and entertaining worlds and far off places, the benefits from reading to your kids from a young age are plenty... you give them the opportunity to build a stronger relationship with you, learn basic speech skills, better communication skills, learn logical thinking skills and achieve enhanced concentration and discipline and by reading to your young ones early on, children are taught that reading is a indulgence and not a chore.  So with that, give your children a chance to let their imaginations run wild and explore all that books have to offer! 

Here is a collection of wonderful books hand picked just for your by the staff from the Peekaboo Beans Playground.  We have created our own little must read list from a collection of our favorites while we were growing up and some that have become favorites from reading to our own children. 

From the top:  The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams, The Monster at the end of this Book by Jon Stone, For Just one Day by Laura Leuck, Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney, Smart-Opedia Junior by Maple Tree Press, Smely Socks by Robert Munsch, Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor, Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein, Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems, Curious George by H.A.& Margaret Rey