Shelley Beatty

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Kansas City Tradition Fairy Princess

January 20, 2016 by shelley

Fairy Princess at Kansas City Museum

Fairy Princess at Kansas City Museum

I think Kansas City is the only place that a Christmas tradition includes a visit to the fairy princess.

Kansas City Fairy Princess tradition

Kansas City Fairy Princess tradition

For those few who are unfamiliar with the Fairy Princess tradition: each December, children from throughout the Kansas City area make the short pilgrimage to the Kansas City Museum to share their holiday hopes with the princess, as well as to enjoy stories, performances, and hands-on activities that have added to this uniquely Kansas City annual event. It is an experience today’s children share with their parents and grandparents, who in their turn, visited the Princess and made their own childhood wishes known.

From her beginning in 1935 at the Kline’s Department Store’s Toyland through the late 1960s, the Fairy Princess was a holiday highlight for Kansas City families. When Kline’s closed its doors in 1970, the princess disappeared from Kansas City’s holiday traditions.

For 16 years she lived only in the fond memories of those who had experienced her enchanting charm. Then in 1987, the Kansas City Museum gave the Fairy Princess a new home, reviving this treasured annual experience for current and future generations. Since 2006 she has also appeared annually at Zona Rosa Town Center, which, in partnership with the museum, has brought the Fairy Princess back to her retail beginnings.

During the first three Saturdays and Sundays in December, the Fairy Princess will hold court at the Kansas City Museum, just as she has done for the past three decades.  And of course, we had to visit the Fairy Princess.

Kansas City Fairy Princess

Kansas City Fairy Princess: Front: Carolyn, Second Row: Henry, Becca; Third Row: Collins, Becca, Emily, Jen, Shelley, Bob

Kansas City Fairy Princess

Bob and Emily at Kansas City Fairy Princess

Kansas City Fairy Princess

Kansas City Fairy Princess

 

Kansas City Fairy Princess

Kansas City Fairy Princess

Kansas City Fairy Princess

Kansas City Fairy Princess: Jen, Emily, Henry, Becca L., Fairy Princess, Carolyn, Becca H. and Collins

Kansas City Fairy Princess

Becca and Kansas City Fairy Princess

Kansas City Fairy Princess

Carolyn Kansas City Fairy Princess

Kansas City Fairy Princess

Henry Kansas City Fairy Princess

Kansas City Fairy Princess

Henry getting treasure at Kansas City Fairy Princess

Kansas City Fairy Princess

Becca and Carolyn at Kansas City Fairy Princess

Kansas City Fairy Princess

Becca and Collins at Kansas City Fairy Princess

Kansas City Fairy Princess

Henry Kansas City Fairy Princess

Kansas City Fairy Princess

Kansas City Fairy Princess

Kansas City Fairy Princess

Becca at Kansas City Fairy Princess

Kansas City Fairy Princess

Carolyn at Kansas City Fairy Princess

Kansas City Fairy Princess

Henry Kansas City Fairy Princess

Kansas City Fairy Princess

Kansas City Fairy Princess

Kansas City Fairy Princess

Emily at Kansas City Fairy Princess

Kansas City Fairy Princess

Collins at Kansas City Fairy Princess

Kansas City Fairy Princess

Doing Crafts at Kansas City Fairy Princess

Kansas City Fairy Princess

Kansas City Fairy Princess

The Kansas City Museum is under going renovation and is starting to regain its former beauty!

Kansas City Museum after renovation

Kansas City Museum after renovation

Kansas City Museum after renovation

Kansas City Museum after renovation

Kansas City Museum after renovation

Kansas City Museum after renovation

Kansas City Museum after renovation

Kansas City Museum after renovation

Filed Under: Christmas, Family, Holidays, Kansas City Tagged With: Fairy Princess, Fairy Princess at Kansas City Museum, Kansas City Museum, Kansas City tradition, tradition

Fourth of July and Popcorn Bar

July 8, 2013 by shelley

It has become tradition on the Fourth of July to have a few close friends come to our home to swim and barbecue.  It has become a nice tradition.

Last year I did a hydration station with different flavor lemonades.  The year before I did a red, white and blue candy bar.  To do something different this year I did a popcorn bar.  I used a lot of the ideas from the website pen n’ paperflowers.  It turned out to be a fun idea:

Popcorn bar sign

Popcorn bar sign

Popcorn bar

Popcorn bar

Popcorn bar

Popcorn bar

Popcorn bar

Popcorn bar

Popcorn bar

Popcorn bar

Popcorn bar

Popcorn bar

I had a big basket of hot air popped popcorn.  Brown paper bags were nearby so one could scoop in the popcorn, spritz and then select a seasoning from several choices.  I got the popcorn seasonings and spritz from Kernel Seasons.

Popcorn bar

Popcorn bar

Popcorn bar instruction sign

Popcorn bar instruction sign

Popcorn bar

Popcorn bar

Popcorn bar-seasonings

Popcorn bar-seasonings

Popcorn bar

Popcorn bar

 

Buckets full of a variety of candies were available to sprinkle on top of popcorn.

Popcorn bar

Popcorn bar

Popcorn bar

Popcorn bar

Popcorn bar-toppings for popcorn.

Popcorn bar-toppings for popcorn.

Popcorn bar-toppings for popcorn.

Popcorn bar-toppings for popcorn.

Candies for popcorn topping.

Popcorn bar

Popcorn bar

Popcorn bar-caramel popcorn balls

Popcorn bar-caramel popcorn balls

I made Caramel Popcorn Balls from a recipe I have had for years and years.

Caramel Popcorn Balls

1 lb brown sugar

1 cup white corn syrup

1 square butter

1 large can sweetened condensed milk.

popped popcorn (I like the popcorn heavily coated so I make just one large batch of hot air popcorn)

Combine butter, brown sugar and corn syrup in kettle.  Cook until mixture comes to a boil.  Add sweetened condensed milk stirring frequently.  Cook over medium heat until mixture forms ball when dropped in cold wter.   Pour over popcorn and form balls.  (remember to cover hands with butter)

Popcorn bar-caramel popcorn balls.

Popcorn bar-caramel popcorn balls.

Popcorn bar-red, white, and blue popcorn.

Popcorn bar-red, white, and blue popcorn.

Popcorn bar

Popcorn bar

The red, white and blue popcorn was made from Koolaid popcorn recipe:

Kool-Aid Popcorn

2 cups sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

2/3 cups butter

6 quarts plain popped popcorn

2 packages Kool-aid (red is cherry or strawberry, white is lemonade, and blue is ice blue raspberry lemonade)

1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 225 degrees F.  Boil sugar, syrup and butter together for 3 minutes.  On a large shallow un-greased baking dish spread out popped popcorn.  In a separate bowl, combine the Kool-Aid with the baking soda.  Remove sugar syrup from the stove and carefully stir in the Kool-Aid mixture. (Note: This will make the sugar mixture puff up.  Be careful not to get burned.)  Now take sugar mixture and pour it over the popped popcorn.  Carefully mix all till combined.  Place it in the oven and stir  every 10 minutes.  Repeat this 3 more times.  Take popcorn out of the oven and when it starts to cool, break it apart into pieces.

(Instead of Kool-Aid you could substitute flavored oils and food coloring, making any kind of combination imaginable.)

The website I used for inspiration also sold the labels and the sign in their Etsy shop.

(The popcorn bar was so popular for the 4th of July I re-cycled the idea for a “pioneer theme” church activity with the Young Women with “Emma Smith” as our guest.)

Another fun 4th of July idea I did this year were chocolate covered Oreos and some of them decorated with chocolate transfer:  The red with white strip cookies and blue star cookies are made with a mold.  The flag decorated cookies are chocolate transfers.  You can find everything you need at Fancy Flours: www.fancyflours.com, molds and chocolate transfer sheets.

Chocolate covered Oreos

Chocolate covered Oreos and chocolate transfer Oreos.

Chocolate covered Oreos and chocolate transfer Oreos.

Chocolate covered Oreos and Oreos covered in chocolate decorated with chocolate transfer.

Chocolate covered Oreos and Oreos covered in chocolate decorated with chocolate transfer.

 

Fourth of July decorations:

Fourth of July decorations

Fourth of July decorations

Fourth of July decorations

Fourth of July decorations

Fourth of July decorations

Fourth of July decorations

Fourth of July decorations

Fourth of July decorations

Fourth of July decorations

Fourth of July decorations

Fourth of July decorations

Fourth of July decorations

Fourth of July decorations

Fourth of July decorations

Fourth of July decorations

Fourth of July decorations

Fourth of July decorations

Fourth of July decorations

Fourth of July decorations

Fourth of July decorations

Fourth of July decorations

Fourth of July decorations

This year I decided to change the decorating from my usual.  The swags were put on the front of the house and I got flag bunting for the back to weave in and out of the railing.

Patriotic bunting for the fourth

Patriotic bunting for the fourth

Waterfall back yard

Waterfall back yard

Patriotic bunting for the fourth

Patriotic bunting for the fourth

Backyard

Backyard

Patriotic bunting for the fourth

Patriotic bunting for the fourth

 

Filed Under: Events, Family, Fourth of July, Friends, Holidays, Ideas, Recipes Tagged With: chocolate covered Oreos, chocolate transfer sheets, Fourth of July, holiday, patriotic, patriotic cookies, popcorn bar, tradition

Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Eve preparations…

February 16, 2013 by shelley

Christmas Eve dinner was a little more low key this year.  Since there were people with colds we used paper plates and throw away utensils to try and prevent the spread of germs.  B.J. and Jenn were still trying to get to Kansas City but were keeping us updated on their progress.   Miriam delayed her arrival, but Andrea and her children came to enjoy our traditional steak and shrimp Christmas Eve dinner.

DSCN0002

 

DSCN0004

DSCN0006

DSCN0007

DSCN0008

DSCN0009And then we had to get down to the serious business of preparing for you know who…the big guy…the guy in the red suit…SANTA…

DSCN0021

 

Becca and Henry got cookies and milk ready for Santa and they put out some food for the reindeer…

DSCN0024The stockings were hung by the chimney with care…DSCN0025

DSCN0026All hoping Santa would soon be there…DSCN0027

 

 

Filed Under: Christmas, Family, Holidays, House Tagged With: chimney, christmas, Christmas Eve, cookies, dinner, Family, reindeer, Santa, shrimp, steak, stockings, tradition

Easter 2012 April 8th

April 16, 2012 by shelley

Our Easter dinner traditions include carrot cake cooked in clay flower pots, decorated with coconut green “grass”, real flowers, bunny peeps, gummy worms and jelly beans:

Our traditional Easter dessert, flower pot filled with carrot cake decorated with green coconut grass, flowers, bunny peep and a gummy worm.

Another tradition is our chick cupcakes (made with lemon flavored cupcakes and frosting, a vanilla wafer for the chick’s head, orange slices cut in half for wings, peach gummy rings cut up for the beak, a little orange frosting and sprinkles and a dot of black icing for the eyes:

Cute chick cupcake for Easter.

Chick, chick here, chick, chick there..here a chick, there a chick, everywhere a chick chick.

 

Easter cookies:

Easter sugar cookies.

Bunny sugar cookie.

Festive Easter dessert table:

Easter dessert table.

Easter desserts.

Easter table setting:




Fun bunny bread from Great Harvest Bread Company:

And fun bunny decorations:

Adorable bunny handmade by artist Jane Howard.

HAPPY EASTER!

Filed Under: Easter, Family, Holidays, Ideas Tagged With: bunny, carrot cake, chick, dessert, dinner, Easter, great ideas, holidays, peeps, tradition

Christmas Eve

January 9, 2012 by shelley

Christmas Eve, we hang the stockings, re-enact the nativity, put out cookies for Santa, and oatmeal and carrots for the reindeer.







Filed Under: Christmas, Family, Holidays, Nativity Tagged With: carrots, christmas, cookies, Family, Nativity, reindeer, Santa, tradition

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I'm Shelley. Mom of three and grandma of eight... living right in the middle of the country, Kansas City! I'm happy to be alive and enjoy sharing exciting goodies that I find and make. Here you will find ideas for LDS Young Women's activities, family updates, and a compilation of all things wonderful.

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