The Gift of Music + Free Printable

December 7, 2018 3 Comments A Well Crafted Sponsor

Anyone else out there getting overwhelmed with the number of wants and THINGS? I am a gift giver by nature and love to see someone’s face light up with a gift I’ve given, but as my kids’ age, I’ve really begun to appreciate the “experience gift” over the next new toy. What’s great about this particular experience gift is that it is the ultimate DIY– learning a new skill!

This is the seventh day of my 12 Days of Christmas DIYs for 2018. Each day for the next twelve days I share DIY projects, recipes, entertainment, and more, that you can incorporate in your holiday season. Most will be super simple! This post is in partnership with the Hoffman Academy. I received complimentary services. All images and opinions are my own.

I am a part of several moms groups on Facebook and as this holiday season arrives there are countless posts looking for ideas for experience gifts that they can suggest to grandparents or loved ones for their children to help stave off some of the over-abundance of the season. I love this idea but have never really had great options in the past. I’d love to gift my child lessons or sports items, but I also know that it can be SUCH A huge time commitment that I hesitate to do something similar for someone I know. When I discovered Hoffman Academy, an online piano lesson site, I was super excited about the opportunity to do lessons on our own time.

A bit about Hoffman Academy

Hoffman Academy is an online piano lesson “experience,” credited with turning children, from beginner to advanced levels, into extraordinary musicians. Children develop their skill easily and quickly via the “Hoffman Method,” which focuses on learning by ear before learning by eye. Online games help with mastery of concepts and practice tracks make students feel like pros. This new way to learn the piano is engaging, entertaining and effective – and a great way to give the special gift of music, for the holidays and year round.

All of the video lessons are available for free! However, the premium package offers printables, daily practice instructions, games, and much more. Budding musicians can now receive a full year of the Hoffman Academy Premium package for $179! For Ages 5+.

** Holiday Special Update: For a limited time (ending Monday, December 14th at 11:50 PM PST) purchase a year of Hoffman Academy Premium and receive THREE additional memberships! Learn more on the Hoffman Academy website. **

The really cool part (for me at least) is that you can create a parent/mentor account and add your children (or yourself!) as students. My account has both myself and my son as students and the system will keep track of both of our progress individually. Yep, you read that right… I’m learning the piano too! I’d love to be able to break out some sweet piano skills in the middle of a party! Again, the accounts are totally free and you have access to the video lessons right off the bat. Then if you find that you’d like the premium features it is only $18 a month with $9/month per additional student.

Twelve Days of Christmas Songs

In the upcoming weeks, the Hoffman Academy will be releasing twelve different lessons featuring a different holiday tune so that you can learn a new holiday song each day! Check out some of the videos from last year’s 12 Days of Christmas Songs on the Hoffman Academy blog.

DIY Piano Experience Gift Card

You still want to make giving an experience gift as fun as giving a toy. When it is a promo code or gift card it makes it a tad hard to make it super fun.. but, you can use the attached card as a tag added to a gifted keyboard or piano or an adorbable stuffed animal as pictured above. Or, you can slip the free printable piano card into an envelope with a message about the gift.

This gift card would work perfect for a gift subscription to the Hoffman Academy, to give with tickets to a symphony concert, or as an invitation to a holiday karaoke party!

Directions for free printable piano holiday card:

Download the free printable piano card file.
Print double-sided on cardstock
On the side with the piano, cut out along the charcoal colored outer line. Fold the card down the center. Once folded you may find that you need to trim the card a bit.

A Well Crafted Pantry

Triple Berry Miso Smoothie featuring Oregon Blackberries

July 31, 2017 2 Comments A Well Crafted Pantry

My husband and I have recently been on a bit of a smoothie kick. Our busy schedules make smoothies a fantastic quick and portable breakfast option. We’ve tried a whole bunch of variations. Most of them include some array of vegetables, fruit, and non-dairy milk. Occasionally we will do a smoothie with yogurt, protein powder, or chia seeds.

This post is in partnership with Oregon Berries. All opinions are my own. Check out my Instagram (@JenniBost) for your chance to win 10 lbs of Oregon Blackberries delivered right to your door! Affiliate links are marked with an asterisk.

After reading “Eat and Run*” by Scott Jurek, my husband began adding some miso into his smoothies. It took me a long, long time to try it, but I finally did. If you don’t know what miso paste is it may be a good idea to try this BEFORE finding out what is… just skip right down to the recipe and enjoy the extra layer of flavor that it adds to a smoothie.

Those who want to know what miso is… it is a paste that is made with a fermented soybean and grains. It also has a lot of beneficial bacteria and is high in protein. Miso has many nutritional properties that are said to be beneficial for the digestive system, immune system, and may even help prevent certain types of cancer. I love miso soup, but wasn’t quite feeling the idea of including it in my morning smoothie. I’m so glad I finally tried it! Miso brought just enough salt and savoriness to this smoothie to cut some of the sweetness and really highlight the flavors of the Oregon grown berries.

Berries are incredibly nutritious for you as well (packed with antioxidants and fiber)… but, there is no need to convince me to eat more berries! I honestly didn’t know how good berries could be until I moved to Oregon where I got to taste berries picked just days before! I love that the freshness of the berries is preserved in the frozen berry selection found by the different vendors working with Oregon Berries.

Triple Berry & Miso Smoothie featuring Oregon Blackberries

Make two 8 oz smoothies with this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 8 oz bag of frozen triple berries (Oregon blackberries, blueberries, black raspberries- I used the Health Berry Blend from Stahlbush Island Farms)
1/4 cup spinach
1 heaping teaspoon mellow red miso paste
1/2 cup very hot water
1 cup vanilla coconut milk
Fresh blackberries for garnish

I pretty much add spinach to every smoothie I make. If you don’t put too much spinach it is really, really easy to cover up the flavor while getting all the spinach goodness in your drink.

Directions:

Dissolve the miso paste in a half cup of very hot (but not boiling) water.
Put the miso solution and other ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth..
Garnish with a fresh blackberry or two!

Don’t forget to jump over to my instagram and enter to win 10 lbs of Oregon Blackberries!

UPDATE: This giveways has ended. Giveaway Guidelines: Enter by following my Instagram account as well as the @oregonberries account and commenting below with your favorite way to use Oregon Blackberries. Get an extra entry by tagging a friend! The drawing will take place on Saturday, August 5, 2017. Winner will be notified on Instagram. Giveaway winner must 18 or older and must have a U.S. based mailing address. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the prize, the prize cannot be delivered to a P.O. Box. This giveaway is in no way sponsored my Instagram or Facebook.

A Well Crafted Pantry

Tips for a Great Outdoor Meal & Grocery Outlet Giveaway

May 6, 2015 19 Comments A Well Crafted Pantry

The warmer days of Spring are here and Summer is just around the corner. For me this means that it is time to bring dinner OUTDOORS! Spring and Summer holidays and special occasions (Mother’s Day is Sunday!) are the perfect opportunity to bring a meal outdoors. The change of scenery can help make any meal feel like a special meal. But, not every meal makes for a great outdoor meal. You’ll want a meal that can hold up to the weather, be easy to serve and not too complicated to pack up and bring to wherever you are having your outdoor meal. When Grocery Outlet asked if I wanted to work with them on a post I immediately thought of all the fun outdoor items that they get this time of year, and wanted to throw a little outdoor party in honor of Mother’s Day. Below are some of my tips for creating a great outdoor meal. Check in tomorrow for a few recipes that anyone can make that are great for an outdoor meal!

What makes a great outdoor meal?

I think that there are a few factors that make for an outdoor meal, including simplicity. Part of eating outdoors should be that the whole meal has a more relaxed feel to it. Even if you are going super fancy and formal, the meal itself can be made simple and easy to eat while still being elegant. Last year I went to a wonderful outdoor farm to table meal that completely hit all my favorite notes of an outdoor meal! Here are my tips for what makes a great outdoor meal:

1. Keep it Simple – The meal does not need to be complicated nor have a lot of steps. The perfect outdoor meal can either be cooked outdoors, or packed up and easy carried outdoors. When planning an outdoor meal you’ll want to keep your ingredient list down (at least the items that are going to the table, if you want to prep a complicated many ingredient meal at home that still carries nicely and is easy to serve then by all means, go for it!), keep the garnishes to a minimum and let the meal really be the centerpiece of the experience.

2. Make sure it holds up to the weather- Besides food safety, considering the weather is important for the overall meal experience. If the meal you are serving really tastes best piping hot then you’ll need to figure out a way to cook or at least reheat outdoors so that the wind doesn’t take down the temp. Or, you can choose a meal that can be served at room temperature or cooled. If it is really hot then you might need to think about whether your desserts or meal items are going to just melt while waiting to be served. Of course, don’t forget about food safety as no one likes food poisoning. Items that are sitting out need to be properly cooled or heated to keep the items out of the danger zone.

3. A pretty setting – Eating outdoors can be a wonderful experience that can make any meal feel like a special occasion. Of course, if that meal is served in a not-so-ideal space and handed out wrapped in plastic it can feel more like a fast food experience than a special occasion. Take a few moments to make the meal special by taking care on how it is served. Even dressing up your picnic items a bit can make an ordinary meal feel extraordinary. When throwing parties in my back yard I often opt to cut flowers from my yard and use my basic dishware from the house. I leave my really nice dishware inside, but the basics can still feel dressed up when surrounded by nature! When I picnic I try to make things nicer by wrapping them in parchment paper and twine rather than just plastic baggies, or serving items on bamboo plates or reusable outdoor plastic plates instead of opting for paper.There are also a lot of great brands of really beautiful paper plates out there that can be perfect for making an outdoor meal feel special.

4. Think about pests – Nothing can ruin a meal faster than a few pests. Supply bug spray, plant bug repellent plants around your yard, or use some citronella candles to ward off pesky mosquitoes and flies. I found these adorable yellow tins with citronella candles at Grocery Outlet for less than $2 and bought a whole bunch of them for my outdoor parties. Not only do they look cute on the table, but they help ward off unwanted bugs!

Don’t forget to check back tomorrow for some super easy recipes that ANYONE can make for a great outdoor meal!

Enter to win a giveaway to Grocery Outlet

Grocery Outlet wants to help you serve a great outdoor (or indoor) meal and are sharing a $25 Gift Card with one lucky reader. Grocery Outlet operates 210+ stores in California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington. Check out the Grocery Outlet website to find a store near you!

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This post was created in collaboration with Grocery Outlet. All opinions are my own. Thank you for reading and sharing posts that are created in partnership with brands that help support this blog.