Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Trifle + Springtime Ice Cream Sundae Bar

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SoHoppinGood #CollectiveBias

We are so incredibly excited that spring has finally arrived, and since we are in a new area now, we decided to celebrate with a little get-together so the kids could get to know some of our new neighbors better. I pulled together a super quick and simple build-your-own ice cream sundae bar for an easy and fun party. We had a great time!

And for the grownups, I also made a crazy easy but crazy delicious trifle with brownie bites, Blue Bunny® Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, whipped cream, and hot fudge sauce. YUM.

It seriously took about 5 minutes to put together, but it tasted so good and looked pretty too. Win-win.

Let's start with the kids' adorable sundae bar, then I'll share the trifle instructions.

My kitchen hutch was really easy to deck out for spring with fresh white serveware and darling pink dishes, so it seemed like the perfect spot for a springtime ice cream party. I'm a firm believer that a simple party is the best kind there is. No need to stress out and make your life hectic and miserable to host a get-together. All it took was some yummy treats, simple dishes, and minimalistic decor to make this spot perfectly party ready.

I found the cutest little waffle bowls -- adorable, delicious, and they cut down on dishes I have to wash after everyone goes home. They are a triple threat. I set them out on a cute tray along with some spring decor.

And I put out an array of fun toppings for the kids to choose from. From left to right, we offered salted peanuts, brownie bites, rainbow sprinkles, banana slices, and chocolate sprinkles. We also had hot fudge and whipped cream, which I kept on the kitchen counter so kids wouldn't serve themselves and accidentally drip/spray it all over. The less hot fudge ends up on my kitchen floor, the happier Mama will be.

The 'Bunny Treats' sign felt very appropriate to put out on display with our Blue Bunny®  ice cream options. How cool is that new clear packaging? Love that you can see the flavor swirls through the packaging -- it makes choosing flavors in the store way more fun since you can see exactly what you're going to get!

Our tasty ice cream bar options were Blue Bunny® Super Chunky Cookie Dough (the crowd favorite!), Blue Bunny® Homemade Vanilla, and Blue Bunny® Mint Chocolate Chip. I picked them all up (along with all our party goodies and toppings) at Walmart during my regular weekly shopping trip, so it was quick and painless to prep for this party.

A few more white dishes and potted plants, and this made a cute little ice cream party station.

Now to serve the hungry little party animals! Certain little guests kept things simple with just a scoop of ice cream and no toppings (what?! why?!).

But others went all out and requested EVERY topping available. That's more like it.

But I'm pretty sure there are no wrong answers when it comes to a sundae bar. Except for maybe not partaking from the sundae bar at all.

I've never seen these adorable waffle bowls before, but I think they are going to be a must-have for future ice cream nights at our house. They were so tasty, so cute, and the perfect size for a little sundae!

My talented sister Rebekah (of Ritzy Reba designs) helped me out by designing this adorable coloring page for the kids to enjoy after they finished their sundaes. How cute is this?! Just right click on the image and hit 'save' to keep it and print at home for your own party! Please use and enjoy this design at home -- not for any commercial use :-)

For anyone unsatisfied by a build-your-own sundae bar (although I can't imagine WHO that person might be or WHAT their problem is), this amazing trifle should fit the bill very nicely. All the fun of a sundae, pre-stacked and ready to serve.

Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Trifle

1/2 gallon Blue Bunny® Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream, softened
1 9x13 pan of brownies (I used a box mix), cut into bite size squares
1 (16 oz) tub frozen whipped topping, thawed
hot fudge sauce (enough to drizzle on top)

In a glass serving bowl or trifle dish, layer ingredients as follows:
1 - ice cream
2 - brownies
3 - whipped topping
4 - drizzle of hot fudge
5 - ice cream
6 - brownies
7 - whipped topping
8 - big drizzle of hot fudge
9 - brownies for garnish

Freeze until ready to serve, and let sit at room temperature 10 minutes before serving to soften slightly.

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Visit Blue Bunny® for more delicious #SoHoppinGood ice cream ideas!

Valentine’s Printable + Sweater Giveaway

Today is a happy day. Let me count the ways:

1. Darcy once again rocked it last night, clocking in at 8 consecutive hours of sleep. It hasn’t happened often enough for me to feel comfortable that this might be her new normal, and I know that publicly shouting her sleep success from the internet equivalent of my rooftop means she’ll sleep approximately 4 1/2 minutes tonight, but right now I feel gooooood.

2. I started re-reading The Handmaid’s Tale for the first time since high school, and dang I forgot how powerful and amazing this book is. It is perhaps not for the faint of heart, the easily offended, or readers who really just want a fun book (it is the absolute antithesis of fun), but I am floored by it and can’t stop thinking or talking about it, so look out if I know you and see you in the next week or so, because I’ll probably talk your ear off.

3. My sister Bekah, who did a giveaway here recently to celebrate opening her etsy shop, Ritzy Reba, made a gorgeous Valentine’s Day printable for you guys to enjoy for free! She’s the very best. She printed one out for me and it is even prettier in person.

Beautiful, right? I love it. Just right click the picture above to save/download and print.

4. I crocheted an adorable sweater for Darcy. My mom sewed a sweet little skirt for her, and I wanted to make a sweater to match it. It came out SO darling. I love the wood buttons and sweet little scalloped border along the bottom edge. It’s based on THIS free pattern, and I love it.

Aaaaaaaaand it doesn’t fit Darcy. I could barely stuff her arms into the sleeves, and the buttons were straining over her chest. That’ll teach me to crochet her a sweater while she naps, and not try it on or even grab an item from her closet that does fit her to use as a guide. DANGNABBIT.

But it’s so darn sweet, and I don’t want to just hoard it and never give a sweet baby the chance to wear it, so I’m going to give it away to one of you.

Some specs on the sweater: definitely newborn size, and would probably fit up to roughly 2 months. Laid flat, the chest measures 7 1/2 inches across. I made it with acrylic yarn, and it’s super soft and cozy, and can be washed and dried by machine. If you have a newborn, will have a newborn soon, or know a newborn, I hope you win! I’m keeping this giveaway limited to just US residents . . . sorry for the inconvenience! Enter below. I’ll cross my fingers for you. Have a happy weekend, folks!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dare to Deck the Halls

This is the final week of Dare to DIY, and we’re decking our halls for the holidays! I’m already looking forward to next year’s Dare to DIY series, partly because it’s fun and the perfect way to get a little more ‘into’ the holidays than I otherwise might, and partly because things have been so hectic this season at our house that I didn’t feel like I could leap into it quite as much as I wish I could have. Lucky for me, my sister totally came to the rescue for my Deck the Halls project—I had no idea what to do, and no time to do it, so thank goodness for sisters, right? (Not just for hall-decking, of course.) But more on that in a second.

Today’s final link party is over at NewlyWoodwards, so I hope you’ll pop over there to check out all the inspiration and link up YOUR Deck the Halls project! Check out these fun ideas from my co-hosts:

(Colorful pom pom wreath via Primitive and Proper, Joy to the World print via Maybe Matilda , Christmas countdown via Decor and the Dog, Plaid and Union Jack pillows via NewlyWoodwards)

As I said before, inspiration was at an all-time low in my casa this week. I could hardly think of any projects to pull together to deck my halls, and the ones I did think of were too prohibitive in terms of cost or time. I don’t have much time to spend on my projects these days with a newborn in the house, and I really didn’t want to spend much money, either. (Always one or the other, isn’t it?)

But thank goodness for sisters! Mine happens to be opening her own online shop of adorable graphic prints, and when I mentioned being stuck on a decorating project, offered some of her cute Christmas printables to me. Can’t get easier than hitting ‘print’ when it comes to Christmas decorating, and that’s about as much energy and time as I have for it this year. Actually, less, because she printed them for me. Thank you, sister :-)

I just set them up in some cheap Ikea frames, added a few small decorations and Forrest’s Christmas branch ‘tree,’ and had a sweet little Christmas vignette in seconds. I love the adorable chalkboard style of these prints, and it’s really nice to have a small religious display in addition to the more standard Christmas décor. A nice reminder to me of what I should really be thinking about this season.

I hope you’ll check out my sister Rebekah’s adorable new graphic shop, Ritzy Reba, and especially pop into her Freebies page if you’re looking for some last-minute Christmas décor!  Besides this cute Joy to the World set, she has quite a few more Christmas prints that you will love, and even a nice surprise for Harry Potter fans ;-)

I’ll be sharing more from her awesome store next week, and maybe even a giveaway! In the meantime, swing by to NewlyWoodwards today and link up your holiday decorating DIY projects, visit the other participants to see their fantastic ideas, and enter to win a FANTASTIC handmade giveaway! This series has been so fun and motivational for me . . . a big thank you to my co-hosts for their wonderful work and ideas, and a round of applause for Kim of NewlyWoodwards for inviting us to join in her wonderful series!