What’s not to love about Amazon? It’s the shipping for me! But I also find the cutest clothing staples on Amazon too! I’ve linked some of my favorites below from my most recent haul!

This top is a great piece, if you get nothing else: I say grab this! It’s $15 today and comes in a ton of colors. It’s lined so the white is not see through. The skirt is perfect for New Years but I can’t say I’d wear it much more than that. The quality is OK, the hem line is completely stretchy so it’s comfortable and its under $25.

White Lace Top

Sequin Skirt

This dress is super popular right now and also comes in a ton of colors! It’s a little on the short side for me but its’s cute and I love the sleeves!

Red Dress

Heels are Sam Edelman

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I love a puff sleeve. This black top is a great staple. The torso is not super long so it’s great for shorter girls! I’ve also shared this skirt a dozen times but I’m obsessed with it and it’s great quality! They finally restocked!

Black Puff Sleeve Top

BB Dakota angled skirt

OTK Boots

Same Puff sleeve, different skirt! This skirt option is cheaper, and half the price of the BB Dakota one above, but definitely size up! I do think it’s good quality for the price!

Black Puff Sleeve top

Black suede lace up skirt

OTK Boots

This top is so fun and only $18! This keyhole look seems to be a new trend and I think I like it! I paired it with my BB Dakota skirt and my OTK boots!

Keyhole Top

Angled skirt

OTK boots

I’m going to shout it: I’m on team prairie dress! I think you either love it or hate it, and I’m here for it! This dress is only $28!

Black Dress

This sweater is awesome quality and under $35! I love the pom pom details and the balloon sleeves! I paired it with my leather leggings and heels but it would also look great with jeans!

Sweater

Leather Leggings

Heels

I saved my absolute favorite for last. This dress is STUNNING with the best twirl factor. Perfect for Valentine’s Day and under $45! I love it!! It also comes in multiple colors and fits true to size!

Red Dress

Black Heels

Happy Shopping!

xo. Amanda

Find more looks on my Instagram! @ThePeddlingPA

New Year’s Eve is always one of my favorite times of the year. It’s a chance to set new goals, expectations and overall just be excited about new beginnings. This may be the most exciting New Year’s of all as I think everyone is likely ready to say goodbye to the year of 2020! 2020 had some hidden gems but overall, not really anything to write home about.

Unfortunately, the normal celebrations for New Year’s Eve just aren’t possible this year so in order to still ring in the new year with some fun, why not have a fun date-night at home?

For this Stay-Home-Saturday, I made a classic Charcuterie and paired it with 3 different bottles of wine (my husband was so excited for this idea, you guys!). We went with all sparkling wine options but you could choose whatever you’d like! I love an idea of doing a steal and splurge option and then guessing which bottle is which with a blind taste test! Either way, you can’t go wrong! If classic Charcuterie isn’t your thing and you’d rather have a fondue night, that is another fun option with details linked on my blog here.

I grabbed all of the supplies for our board at Aldi and Walmart, mainly because they do grocery pickup and it’s just so much easier for me with kids. Side note, if you haven’t made the switch to grocery pickup, try it once and I promise you’ll be hooked!

For a basic board, you’ll want a few variations of cheese, meat, crackers and dips along with some fresh fruit like apples, oranges, grapes, pears and additions like cranberries and pomegranates for a pop of color! Then add some more interesting options like stuffed olives or mini pickle spears.

Start by slicing all of your fruits, cheeses and meats. I halved the pomegranates and placed them in two corners of the board with a garnish of greenery. I also sliced the oranges into thin slivers to mainly use as a garnish for color.

I found the easiest way to assemble was by placing all of my dips and large fruit on the board first and then working around those pieces. For the dips, we had a french onion dip, a stone ground mustard and a cheese spread. Other popular options are jellies, olive tamponades, chutneys and honeys!

Another fun, but easy tip for your board is a salami rose. When I first saw these, I was intimidated but they are incredibly easy!

How to make a Salami Rose:

1. Take your starting piece, fold it in half and begin to roll it into a cone.
2. With your next piece, fold it in half, and roll it around the first piece starting where the first piece ended.
3. Repeat this process until you have the size rose desired!

At Home New Year’s Eve: A Perfect Date Night

To assemble the rest of the board, place piles of crackers scattered in different areas, use your apples to create borders around your dip bowls and garnish with your accents in places that need filler. Try to separate similarly colored items.

One of my absolute favorite movies growing up is The Polar Express. There is just something so magical about believing in Santa and The Polar Express is a perfect journey to that magical Christmas world.

In an effort to come up with fun, safe ideas for family fun and date nights, I have been coming up with weekly themes I am calling “Stay Home, Saturday’s”. This week we had a Polar Express Night, complete with a hot cocoa board, golden tickets and the magical book and movie.

Tips to make the perfect Hot Cocoa Charcuterie can be found here.

This version of The Polar Express book also comes with an ornament for the tree in the back and being able to grab it on Amazon makes it even better!

We started our day by reading the story of The Polar Express and Charlotte was so excited, especially as decorations started going up!

As a fun addition, we also built small “trains” using Lifesavers, Rolos and Hershey Kisses!

How to build a Polar Express Train:

Supplies: Rolos, Lifesaver rolls, Hershey kisses, Hot Glue gun:

• Use a roll of Lifesaver’s as the body of the train.
• With the hot glue gun, attach 4 rolos as wheels to the body with 2 on each side of the Lifesaver’s roll.
• Glue an upside-down Hershey’s kiss to the front/top of the train
• Attach 2 Rolos, stacked on top of one another to the back/top of the train.
• Optional: add a small chocolate Santa or Elf using the hot glue gun to the back of the train.

This backdrop, also found here on Amazon, was such an easy way to transform the room into a Polar Express escape!

We made our hot chocolate and brought our tray with our treats to our movie night as well!

These straws are such a great option, especially if you have kids! They are BPA free, dishwasher-safe and made completely of an FDA approved silicone, making them a much safer option than metal straws for kids!

If you’ve seen the movie, this letter board, featured with a quote from the film, is such a fun way to add some special touches to your Polar Express Theme!

These Gold Polar Express Tickets were such a great addition and really made my daughter feel like she was boarding the train for an adventure! They were found here on Amazon and the best part is the quality – made out of an almost metallic, thick card-stock. I have stashed them away to bring out next Christmas to make this theme our yearly tradition!

The joy and magic that this theme creates is fun for all ages. I hope that your family enjoys it just as much as ours did!

xo.

Amanda Liechty

@ThePeddlingPA

ThePeddlingPA.com

Who didn’t love Candyland growing up? This was one of my favorite games and I remember playing it over and over. They have changed the board quite a bit over the years but most of the classics are still there.

For our Stay Home Saturday, we decided to recreate the board with candy! Charlotte loved it!

Pretty excited with how it turned out! Most of the treats were from Target or Aldi! We found a gingerbread cookie kit at Target to use as the pieces and a ginger bread house from Trader Joes for Queen Frostine’s castle!

First up was Plumpy. He was legit my favorite character growing up but he’s not on the new boards unfortunately! I used an ice-cream cone covered in frosting and some round sprinkles for the plums. The entire board is made of Starburst and I used airhead rainbow’s for the bridges!

My husband actually got really into this project and helped make so much! For Lord Licorice, he made a house out of graham crackers and covered it in chocolate and cherry twizzlers! Complete with a little brick path and a log pile! The marshmallows surrounding the houses are green trees that we found at Target!

Grandma Nutt’s house is another graham cracker creation but this one we covered in sliced almonds and surrounded with mini marshmallows. Grandma and her pet came from our Trader Joes Ginger Bread kit! Another Ice-Cream-Cone Tree too!

Mr. Mint’s station is literally a mint explosion with graham crackers covered in icing and mints, hot chocolate stirrers and candy canes!

Princess Lolly in the back is a field of pink Marshmallows covering a few Rice Krispie Treats and Some pretty pink lollipops from Target!

Jolly with an igloo made out of Rice Krispie Treats, covered in icing and DOTS Gumdrops! We made Gumdrop pass with some pink chocolate candy balls and added some marshmallow trees from Target for the forest!

These two making the grand finale was the sweetest! Charlotte loves a project! This ginger bread kit was perfect for Queen Frostine’s castle!

Basically a sprinkle explosion – we covered the ginger bread house with icing and colored sprinkles and then made some tree’s with ice cream cones, sanding sugar and icing! I added two ice cream cones on top of the house to make it look more like a castle!

What was your favorite game growing up?

xo. Amanda

*For the mom that wants to do Elf on the Shelf- but doesn’t necessarily have the time!!*

So, I feel like you’re either an Elf on The Shelf lover or hater– I’ve always wanted to do it and I think this is finally the year for Charlotte. I plan on only doing one elf for the two of them so the little guy is going to stick around. These are EASY and SIMPLE Scenarios with a lot of supplies you can find around your house or purchase for low-cost. I also tried to incorporate a lot of activities to help us get through being stuck inside with the littles!

For the name of our Elf, we chose “Coco” because what else could be more appropriate this year?

The Rules:

I think many people do this different ways- but this is how I plan to do it:

1. Coco is arriving on the morning of December 1st and will go back to the North Pole on Christmas Eve. This means, I will do the first set-up on November 30th and a goodbye letter on the morning of Christmas Eve for the kids to wake up to. (this is 24 different scenarios)
2. Coco moves every night while the kids are asleep, reports back to Santa for good behavior!
3. Those are the only rules I’m doing 🙂

Grab yours at Walmart here

or Target here.

The Scenarios:

November 30th:

This is the first night of set up, the kids will wake up to Coco in the morning. I plan to have Coco hanging out of one of their stockings with the note:

“Dear Charlotte & Henry,

It is so very nice to meet you!! My name is Coco and I was sent by Santa himself! I will be staying with you both until Christmas and I am so excited to get to know you! I have heard some very good things! Santa has asked for me to keep an eye on you and make sure that you remain “nice”. I will be watching and will report back to Santa if I notice anything “naughty”! I have a feeling we are going to have a lot of fun over the next month!

Love, Coco the North Pole Elf”

My Children are little so this is basically where I will end this introduction but if your kids are older, you could make it a little more interactive like having your kid introduce themselves to your Elf by telling their favorite things or making a list of things that are “Naughty” and “Nice”.

December 1st:

“Dear Charlotte & Henry,

Look at this fast way I found to get downstairs!! I made a sled!

What can you build with the candy canes?

Love, Coco”

December 2nd:

Elf on the Shelf in a cup of coffee or by the coffee pot

“Dear Charlotte & Henry,

I had a late night — so starting off the morning with a strong cup of coffee! Hey! Do you want to hear a joke? ‘Who is Santa’s favorite singer?’ — Elf-is Presley!”

Love, CoCo

December 3rd:

“Dear Charlotte & Henry,

Let’s make ornaments today!

Love, Coco”

I found these cheap make-your-own ornaments at Target last year but here are two options:

• Color your own ornaments for $6
• Fill your own ornaments for $9

December 4th:

“Dear Charlotte & Henry,

I put together the best gift for 2020!
Love,

Coco”

#StaySafeStayHome

December 5th:

“Dear Charlotte & Henry,

I’m trying to build a ladder to get to the top of the tree! Can you help me?

Love, Coco”

I already had some pipe cleaners around the house from amazon which you can order for under $7 here

or this is a great craft kit at Target on sale for $22

December 6th:

“Dear Charlotte & Henry,

Should we spread some Holiday Cheer?

Love, Coco”

Make small little gift bags for your neighbors! Fill with little candies or bubbles etc.

Small gift bags from Target are like $1! Here is a clear option of 20 for $2! I love to keep these on hand!

December 7th:

“Dear Charlotte & Henry,

Let’s Deck the Windows!

Love, Coco”

Window clings are SO cheap! And can keep kids busy forever.

Here is a set from Target! $10

or another set from Amazon for $10

December 8th:

“Dear Charlotte & Henry,

There’s nothing better than a Christmas Cookie!

Love, Coco”

Now I have literally grabbed any kit like this I can find LOL

Target Ugly Christmas Sweater kit for $8 but currently 20% off!

Ninja cookies from Amazon $10

Walmart 16 stocking cookies to decorate for $9

Target Reindeer cookie kit for $8 also 20% off

December 9th:

“Dear Charlotte & Henry,

I’ve got a great game to play with these bows!

Love, Coco”

Bow race game: Put two buckets on either end of the house and have the kids race the bows one at a time to the other bucket. If your kids are older, you can time them and have them race their own time or you or a sibling!

December 10th:

“Dear Charlotte & Henry,

I have a scavenger hunt!

Love, Coco”

My kids are young, so I’ll be doing a simple scavenger hunt! But obviously you can make this as challenging or as long as you want.

December 11th:

“Dear Charlotte & Henry,

Can you make a reindeer?

Love Coco”

There are so many little things you can make with a brown paper bag! Christmas puppets, Snowmen or these reindeer! Or, just let them color them!

December 12th:

“Dear Charlotte & Henry,

Lets send some cards to Grandma and Grandpa

Love, Coco”

Grab some cheap cards from Target and write a note to anyone and everyone, a little piece of snail mail will make their day!

This box is only $8 at Target but often the dollar section of Target has the cutest options!!

December 13th:

“Dear Charlotte & Henry,

What’s Poppin?!

Lets have a movie day!

Love, CoCo”

December 14th:

“Dear Charlotte & Henry,

What can you find in the sand?

Love, Coco”

If you don’t have some kinetic sand, you need some!

Hide anything in the sand and have them dig it out with a spoon- you can either do Christmas balls or treats like Hershey kisses!

Kinetic Sand at Target for under $12

or Amazon for under $12

December 15th:

“Dear Charlotte & Henry,

Lets snuggle up for some Hot Chocolate

Love, Coco”

Y’all know I’m obsessed with Hot chocolate, if you want to go all-out with a Hot Cocoa board, click here to see my inspo!

Target has the CUTEST additions for your hot chocolate in their Christmas section like these chocolate covered spoons for $5

December 16th:

“Dear Charlotte & Henry

Do you want to build a snowman — I mean, a Gingerbread house?

Love, Coco”

Classic.

Ginger bread kit linked here from Target $10

Walmart $9

December 17th:

“Charlotte & Henry,

Just soaking in the bubble bath here!

Love Coco”

This is a cute book a friend got Charlotte from Nicholas Cornell *Support Small Business!*

or this is an easy opportunity to get them new bubble bath or bath crayons like these

December 18th:

“Dear Charlotte & Henry,

Let’s Play Glow-In-The-Dark Bowling!

Love, Coco”

Actually place the glow sticks inside of the bottles and then turn off the lights! Or negate the glow sticks all together and play bowling with water bottles. easy!

December 19th:

Shout out to my millenial moms.

“Dear Charlotte & Henry,

I came in like a wrecking ball!

Love, Coco”

December 20th:

“Dear Charlotte & Henry,

Only 5 more days til Christmas!

What Christmas things can you build with some Play Doh?

Love, Coco”

December 21st:

“Dear Charlotte & Henry,

I thought I was seeing double!! Soon I have to go, but I brought a little friend for you to hang on the tree to remind you of me!

Love, Coco”

I found this Elf on The Shelf tree ornament at Target here for $3.

December 22nd:

“Dear Charlotte & Henry,

3 more days til Christmas! We’re on a roll!

Love, Coco”

December 23rd:

This is the last day that I will be doing Elf on the Shelf because for Christmas Eve, Coco has to get back to the North Pole to help Santa!

“Dear Charlotte & Henry,

And that’s a wrap!! Tonight I head back to the North Pole to help Santa get all of the presents ready! I Had so much fun with you! Would you like to help me wrap a gift?

Love, Coco”

Encourage your kiddos to help you wrap something small, they love to be involved!

December 24th:

OPTIONAL: I plan on having a box under the tree from Coco with a note saying bye and then inside the box some hot chocolate and new Christmas pajamas with the plan for a Christmas Eve movie night or a book!

Have fun!!
xo. Amanda

Follow me on Instagram for more ideas!!

I have ALWAYS loved The Melting Pot. It’s like an outing rather than just going to dinner. Jacob and I used to go every year for our anniversary the first 3 years we were dating.

This week I ordered a fondue pot off of Amazon

I got this one for $70:

But you could also order through Bed Bath and Beyond for $70 and use a coupon (because who doesn’t have one of those laying around)

If you wanted a cheaper option, there is also this one on Amazon for $30:

For the cheese we grabbed this kit from Aldi– REALLY yummy but it almost has a wine taste to it. We added some salsa which made it really good. You could also add a beer, or some diced jalapeños!

If you don’t have an Aldi near you, here’s a recipe from Food & Wine magazine for Cheese Fondue.

For our cheese plate, I ordered a veggie tray from Grocery Pickup and then just sliced everything into a dipping size!

• Apples
• Broccoli
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Celery
• Sea Salt Pita chips like these from Aldi
• Dot’s Pretzels (SO good)
• a loaf of sourdough bread
• sugar snap peas
• boiled potatoes
• soft pretzel bites would have been delicious but they were out of stock at our store!

Here’s a Chocolate Fondue Recipe by Chelsea’s Messy Apron. It’s a nice base that you could add anything to!

For our chocolate, I used a lot of leftover ingredients from my Hot Cocoa Board from last week (click here for reference) but added some new things as well.

• Strawberries
• Brownie Bites
• Jumbo Marshmallows
• Hazelnut Pirouettes
• Cheesecake
• Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Rice Krispy treats
• Bananas are my fave and would have been delicious but queen bee Char ate the last one as a pre-dinner snack!

Overall it was really fun! I’d love to try a new spin on the chocolate because there are so many options like sea salt caramel, adding some shredded coconut or doing white chocolate instead.

I’m excited to have this little fondue pot because it will be so fun for entertaining or date-night at home.

Other Links:

Wooden Tray $20:

Wooden Cake Stand $20:

Emma Serving Platter $50:

Emma Serving Bowls $48 for a set of 4:

Stay Home & Stay Safe!!

XO. Amanda

0-6 Months:

Ok. Lets be honest. At this age, the present is more-so for the parents and the baby likely has everything leftover from their baby shower! Maybe some diapers — parents will always welcome free diapers — or a few special keepsakes. I have linked my favorites below:

Stork Ornament: This is perfect for expecting parents or a newborn. $6 at Target

PotteryBarn Personalized Ornament: This is timeless and extra special because it’s personalized. $30

Recordable Story: I love this one!! And it is a perfect gift to babies from grandparents!

Itzy Ritzy Teether: This is so easy for babies to use! They are cute and under $8!

Freshly Picked Moccasins: These are beautiful and come in so many different colors! On sale for $50 this week!!

Artifact Uprising Baby Book: Pricy but beautiful, usually you can find a $15 off coupon!

Ollie Sleep Swaddle $60

Kiwi & Co. Monthly subscription

Little Spoon: give a fun gift for mama and baby with homemade organic purees!

Honestly, anything to help with sleep. Right now anything Taking Cara Babies is super popular! Her guides are found here:

• Newborn Class
• 3-4 Month Class

6-12 Months:

Finding Nemo Bouncer: Walkers are known to cause hip dysplasia so this is a good option and the one we have for Charlotte & Henry! $130

Block Sorter: Charlotte still plays with this at age 2.5! She loves to stack them Under $8

Vtech Stroll and Discover Activity Walker $30

Fish Aquarium with Magical Lights $20

Cheengoo Baby rattle: soft and easy for them to hold! This is one of my go-to’s for all babies $15

A “busy” chair like this one

Baby Pouch Food Holder: this is the best!!! prevents them from squeezing it all over themselves and it’s easy for them to hold! 2 for $15

“Grapple” Baby toy holder for high chair $20

12-24 Months:

A “pretty” ball pit $160 from Crate & Kids

A pop up game like this Fisher-Price one for $15

A PotteryBarn Anywhere Chair! These are so great, and I think if you get a regular size, they can continue to grow into them

Something to climb on like this block set from Wayfair under $125

A picnic set! Charlotte has this one that she got for her first birthday and is STILL using it at age 2.5

Noah’s Ark toy: This has been another favorite in our house and Char is starting to play “matching” with the animals

A little cleaning set for them to be mommy’s helper! This is on sale right now for $20!!

An indoor playset like this one for under $150 to get us through COVID winter

We also love this indoor slide for $30 at Target!!

Loving this little trampoline too! Any of the above indoor climbing things are so helpful with winter and being stuck inside!

Rocktopus: How cute is this little music Instrument!?

For the 2 year old:

Color Wonder set: moms love ANYTHING invisible ink, RIGHT!?

Kinetic Sand: this stuff is really cool. I prefer to play with it outside or on the table

GO fishin’ game: Charlotte is so into this right now and its on sale for $7!

A disney + subscription would be heavenly! We love this right now!

A playhouse like this little one under $130

Magnatiles $50! I’m expecting these to go on a good black friday deal!

Tablet… you’re either a hater or a lover… we’re a lover.. yikes

Sorting bears game: THIS IS THE BEST! I promise you! hours of entertainment and self play? I’m here for it

This is the best invisible ink project we have ever had! you’ve gotta try it!

Merry Christmas!!

xo. Amanda

A new series I am going to do is called “Stay Home Saturday’s” in an effort to come up with fun, stay at home idea’s for both family fun nights and date nights. We are all stir-crazy, we are all over it. But now, as the numbers are peaking, it is more important than ever for us to do our part in staying home.

First up is a Hot Cocoa Board!

This can be done with the kids, or just your husband for a fun date night idea. Throw on a movie and your cozy Christmas jammies with the fam or dress up for a cozy dessert night with the hubs!

We made our hot chocolate and snuggled up to watch Charlotte’s new favorite, Home Alone (the first one this time!) Charlotte is a little young to truly enjoy a hot chocolate but she loved all the “treats” including this reindeer stick from Target!

Target’s wonderland section has so many fun treats, perfect for Hot Chocolate! Add it all to your grocery drive-up order and you can even stay in your Christmas jammies to grab your supplies!

Most things I grabbed from Target were $1! Making this board super cost effective.

Have Fun! Stay Home! Stay Safe!

xo. Amanda

Anything Comfy & Cozy:

Some fuzzy socks for lounging like these ones by Barefoot Dreams:

Cozy pajama’s like these ones from Stars Above that are the absolute BEST! Loving this mauve color:

Leggings, Every girl’s best friend:

A new pair of sneakers.. DSW is having a great sale right now!

Or a pair of rainboots:

If she already has a pair of Hunter’s.. these would make a great stocking stuffer:

Jewelry Faves:

Loving anything personalized, especially for mama’s with their babies names!

Literally anything Kendra Scott:

I absolutely love this necklace – I also have this in Charlotte’s Birthstone:

The best bralette! These are my favorite! I have one in almost every color!

the BEST perfume… I promise you!! I found this as a gift set at Walmart:

Some Self-Care goodies:

Keep her Hydrated!

Keep her drinks cold…

And her coffee hot…

For your long distance friend:

A cute Etsy gift box like this one by Shop Tilde:

For your Mother In Law: