4 Fun Free Family Halloween Events In the West End!

Halloween is such an exciting time of year with young kids and getting out to experience it with other families is so much fun. Last year Ben wasn't quite old enough to fully appreciate Halloween, but this year, as a mature preschooler, he is raring to go.

There are so many amazing family Halloween events throughout the city to check out, many of which are FREE! For my fellow West Enders I thought I would put together a list of a few community events that are happening over the next week in the Bloor West/Junction area. Hope you and your little pumpkins have fun!  

1. The Junction Pumpkinfest Saturday Oct 25th 2pm-6pm - Junction Train Platform

For Full Details and Schedule: http://thejunctionbia.ca/the-junction-pumpkinfest/

2. Toronto West Halloween Fest Sunday October 26th 10:30am-4pm - Bloor St West (Runnymede to Jane)

For Full Details and Schedule: www.torontowesthalloweenfest.ca

3. Toddler Halloween at Ravina Gardens Sunday October 26th 10am - Ravina Gardens Park

4. Pumpkin Walk in Vine ParketteSaturday November 1st 6pm-9pm - Vine Parkette. Bring your Jack-O-Lantern!

Hope to see you around the hood this week! Trick or Treat!

- Carolyn  

DIY Family Halloween Costume Inspiration

Every September as fall rolls in I think about Halloween and vow not to leave costume making to the last minute. However, every year on Oct 30th I'm scrambling to work my costume magic. 

Luckily this year I have a very eager preschooler keeping me on track. So when Ben informed me yesterday that "Halloween is really soon mama!" I heeded his warning and hunkered down to do some brainstorming and research to figure out the perfect costume for our family. You'll have to wait till Halloween to see our final pick!

Do you need some Halloween costume inspiration?

Check out a few of our DIY family costumes from recent years, plus some other great links to costume ideas below. 

Halloween 2011 - Olive Oyl, Popeye & Swee'Pea

Halloween 2012 DIY - Prince Ronald, The Dragon & The Paperbag Princess

Halloween 2013 DIY - A Family of Garden Gnomes

I love making DIY costumes because they save us money and often use repurposed & recycled clothing & materials which means less waste for our environment. Although I love to sew, I don't see the point in spending a ton of time sewing a costume that will be worn for a matter of hours, so my Halloween DIYs usually involve a trip to the local thrift store and the craft store followed by lots of pinning, stapling & glue gunning. Crafting at it's finest ;)  Keep it simple and have fun!

If you need more inspiration check out these 32 Family Halloween Costumes That Will Make You Want To Have Kids , or these hilarious Sexy Halloween Costumes for Mom & don't miss out on these 34 Babies In Halloween Costumes The Whole World Needs To See. 

- Care

Perfect Food For Fall - Roasted Squash Soup & Drop Biscuits

As the days become shorter and cooler, and sweaters and boots begin to appear, I make the transition over into fall cooking. After a summer of non-stop BBQ'ing I'm usually ready to return to my stove and my cozy kitchen to make some warm delights. Risottos, stews, roasts, casseroles, soups and biscuits are exactly what fall weather calls for. 

One of my family's all time favourites is this Roasted Squash & Apple Soup (recipe below). I don't remember who gave me the recipe, but it's one that I make frequently once the cold weather arrives. I'm especially excited because this year we get to make it with squash from our own garden.

I love to pair this soup with these super simple Pull Apart Drop Biscuits from Canadian Living. The first time I made these biscuits for my mom she was so impressed that she immediately gave up on her mother's recipe she had been using for 40+ years in favour of these. That's how good they are! Plus they're so simple to make. The wet dough takes minutes to prepare, and no need to cut out individual biscuits. Just break off clumps and roll in a little flour before placing on the pan to bake. So easy!

Hope your family enjoys this fall meal as much as mine.

Happy Fall Cooking!

- Care

Roasted Squash Soup

Ingredients

• 1-2 squash (butternut, acorn or buttercup)
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Cup Onion Finely Diced
• 1 Tbsp Butter
• 4 Cups Vegetable or Chicken Broth
• 2 Apples, Peeled & Chopped
• 1 Cup Cream or Whole Milk
• Cinnamon to taste
• S&P to taste

Instructions

1. Cut Squash in Half, remove seeds, brush with oil & sprinkle with S&P and Cinnamon. Roast in oven for 45 mins at 375
2. In a large saucepan melt butter and cook onion until soft
3. Add cooked squash (removed from skin) apple & broth and bring to a boil
4. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 mins
5. Add S&P and cinnamon to taste
6. Puree with a handheld blender *optional
7. Add cream & serve
8. Enjoy!

The Baby Show - Here We Come!

I'm so excited to announce that Fifty-Seven we will be taking part in The Baby Show being put on by the publishers of Oh! Baby Magazine this fall. The show will take place Saturday Sept 27th (9am-6pm) & Sunday Sept 28th (10am-5pm) at the Direct Energy Centre at Exhibition Place, and is filled with tons of local and national exhibitors showcasing the latest in prenatal, postpartum and baby & toddler products & services.

We'll be set up in the Exclusive Begift Registry Lounge chatting about our services, selling products (like our fav the SleepBelt!), and meeting lots of expectant & new families. We're really excited to be one of Begift's featured partners at The Baby Show. 

For anyone who hasn't heard of Begift, it's an awesome new online registry full of incredible services for mom & baby. It features classes, workshops, health & wellness services and so much more. All the gifts moms really want, because you can only have so many onesies!

Come by and visit us at the show to get your free registry passport & gift, plus be entered to win one of TWO Dream Begift Registries! Each Valued at over $2000!! 

General admission at the show is $15. Use coupon code: TBS57 to save $3 on admission! Plus kids under 12 are FREE!

Hope to see you at the show!

- Carolyn 

Is Your Family Ready for Winter? Come Pillage In The Village!

It's that time of year again. Time to start thinking about switching over seasonal gear and going through your closets to see what fits & what needs to be replaced for your family this winter. I don't know about you, but I find it a stressful time of year as the cost of snowsuits, boots, skates & other seasonal gear really adds up. As always our family relies heavily on gently-used clothing & gear to get us through the changing seasons on budget.

If you're looking to save some money this season check out your local Community Parent-to-Parent sales. Our local sale in the Bloor West Village area Pillage In The Village is coming up at the beginning of October and is always a great event with tons of amazing deals. It's an absolute fav of mine and a sale that I try not to miss.

Where: Swansea Community Center, 15 Waller Ave

When: Saturday October 4th from 1pm-3:30pm. *50% off sale runs from 3pm-3:30pm.

*Most sales do not allow children, strollers or bags inside. So leave the kids at home & have fun shopping for some great deals with your laundry hamper!

*I strongly encourage you to make note of your kid’s shoe & clothing sizes & what you need most, so you can go directly to those areas of the sale first. These sales are extremely busy & not for the faint of heart!

If you want to know more about local parent to parent sales and other ways to save money while dressing your family, check out this 3-part blog series from last spring about 3 Ways to Save Money & The Environment While Dressing Your Kids. 

Upcoming Toronto Parent to Parent Sales:

• The Parent Bazaar(Sept 13, 2014)
• TPOMBA Fall/Winter Clothing Sale (Sept 20, 2014)
• South Etobicoke Mommy Market (Oct 18, 2014)
• (Oct 18, 2014) Great Kids Stuff Sale (Oct 25, 2014)
• Mom to Mom Sale Markham & Stouffville (Oct 25, 2014)
• Toronto Mom to Mom Fall Sale Event (Nov 1, 2014)

Good luck getting some great deals for your family this fall!

- Care

Back to School AKA Happy Halloween!?!

One day into the school year and Halloween stuff is already lining the shelves at most big stores around the city. Don't panic! The stores like to pretend that Halloween is just around the corner so you stock up on treats (that you inevitably eat in the weeks preceding halloween & then have to replace), but really we still have 8 full weeks to prepare. Totally doable, and yet I know I will blink and it will actually be Halloween. Time flies these days.

I try not to go too overboard with the refined sugary treats with my little ones (3 years & 11 months), but I love to make homemade treats & find great costumes for our whole family to have fun with. This week Benny asked if he could be a Lion for Halloween and it made me realize that I better start thinking about what I need to prepare for this year. We usually have a family costume (DIY) for parties, as well as individual costumes for trick or treating & kid's parties. This year is Benny's first year at nursery school so he's pretty pumped for his own kid's costume party. 

Buying costumes, especially for a whole family, can be down right expensive and when they're only worn once our environment pays the real cost. That's why I'm proud to partner with Eco-Outfitters Online for The 3rd Annual Toronto West Costume Swap! 

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The Details:

1. Drop off your clean, gently-used costumes at Eco Outfitters Office between Sept 2, 2014 & Oct 2, 2014. Be sure to pin your name & email address to your costume so they can confirm your trade in.

2. Return to Eco Outfitters Online on Saturday Oct 4th 10am-6pm and shop for a FREE gently-used costume for your little one. 

*If you don't have a costume to trade in you can still shop the costume swap from 12pm-6pm with a minimum $5 donation to The New Mom Project. 

While looking through our past Halloween pictures I realized that Ben has been a lion several times...maybe time to trade in some lions for a new animal. Can't wait to see what we find!

Trick or Treating 2012 - Roar!

Trick or Treating 2013 - Roar The Sequel!

So grab your gently-used costumes & drop them by Eco Outfitters anytime this month to save money and the environment while still getting your kid an awesome Halloween costume. 

Have any questions? Contact Rebecca at Eco Outfitters Online via email  for more details.

Simple Summer Tomato Salad

Dinner prep can be a tough time of day for many families, ours included! Everyone is tired by the end of the day, and the task of planning, prepping & cooking a meal with kids at your heals can feel overwhelming. Our Ben (3 y-o) has taken to asking "Is dinner ready yet?" "Yes Dinner's Ready!" "It IS Ready!" Imagine this sequence on repeat over and over while you prep & cook a meal. Super fun times ;) We've tried to involve him in food prep and cooking as much as possible, but with his 10 month old sister in tow it becomes a bit chaotic to say the least. 

In order to keep my sanity and avoid episodes like this I focus on quick easy things to prepare so we can have dinner on the table at a reasonable time before anyone gets hangry. We want to make sure we get lots of healthy whole foods in our diet, so keeping it simple ensures this actually happens. 

In the summer months one of our family's favourite healthy side dishes is a Simple Tomato Salad. Our good friends Lesley & Mike introduced us to this recipe a few years ago, and we make it at least twice a week, usually at Ben's request. It's that good!

Now that our beautiful grape tomatoes are all beginning to turn a bright red it's even more exciting.

This recipe takes mere minutes to prepare and only takes a few ingredients, making it ideal for a busy family and a perfect light addition to any BBQ.

You don't need exact measurements for this one, so have fun with it and make it to suit your tastes. 

Enjoy! Hope it becomes one of your family's favourites too.

- Care

Simple Summer Tomato Salad

Ingredients

• Grape Tomatoes
• Fresh Basil
• Feta Cheese
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Olive Oil
• Pepper

Instructions

1. Wash grape tomatoes and cut in half
2. Wash basil and chop roughly
3. Place tomatoes and basil in a bowl
4. Crumble feta on top
5. Add freshly ground black pepper to taste
6. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar & olive oil
7. Toss & Serve

Feeding Your Baby at This Little Piggy - Join us Today!

I've been meaning all week to write a quick blog piece about the upcoming Feeding Your Baby event at This Little Piggy that I'm taking part in. This Little Piggy is an amazing baby shop in the Parkdale neighbourhood of Toronto. I especially love this shop because they feature so many locally made products and love to host community events. At today's street sale I will be available to answer any questions about starting solids or progressing through foods with your baby. Something that we cover regularly in our workshops at Fifty-Seven. 

Embarrassingly the event is today! Saturday July 26th 11am-3pm...and I'm just getting around to it now! Sometimes my life as a stay at home mom of 2 (Ben 3 years & Lucy 9 months) and business owner can be overwhelming and I need to make choices. So this week instead of doing more things to check off my work to-do list I spent some uninterrupted time in the backyard with the kids. We weeded & harvested our veggie garden, ate apricots fresh from the tree, and enjoyed afternoon cuddles under the branches. Pure bliss. 

In the evening I went for bike ride with my husband & celebrated 4 years of marriage while eating a delicious local meal right in our neighbourhood at The Passenger. Days like these make a life.

Last night I was feeling guilty that I hadn't done anything to prepare for today, but upon reflection I realized that I had. Feeding Your Baby isn't just about choosing the right first food. After all, there is always more than one way to do anything right. 

Feeding your baby is about incorporating a healthy lifestyle early in life. It's about introducing healthy whole foods & regular physical activity. It's about teaching your kids about food systems and where our food comes from, as well as respect for our bodies and our health. It's about teaching moderation and enjoying snacks and treats too. It's about setting an example for our kids and taking the time to enjoy life. This is my message to parents about Feeding Your Baby. 

So for anyone who is looking for something to do on this summer Saturday come join us at This Little Piggy 1594 Queen St W (Queen at Sorauren Ave), to chat about everything food! Or really anything baby you want to discuss. 

-Carolyn