Edible Ladybugs!!!

The next time you have a craving for strawberries or chocolate, why not combine both and eat Ladybugs?!?! This little strawberry treat is a fun way to get kids in the kitchen. I especially like this fun and simple treat because it requires very little assistance and kids get a true feeling of accomplishment since they did almost all the preparation themselves. This little dessert is a great way to use strawberries while they are at their peak in the summer and also a great way to provide a less sugary dessert!

What You'll Need:

*Strawberries for body(keep the leaves on the strawberries)

*red or purple grapes for head

*mini chocolate morsels for ladybug spots

*toothpicks

**** Rinse strawberries and grapes. ---Slice each grape in half. ---Insert toothpick into grape and use to attach the "head" to the strawberry body by inserting at top.---Gently press a few mini chocolate morsels onto top of strawberry to create the black spots of a ladybug.

That's it! Easy Peezy Lemon Squeezy!

Note: We also created a bed of greens using celery leaves so that our Strawberry Ladybugs would have something to "munch" on. Any greens will work such as lettuce or even spinach leaves which will go great with the strawberries!---and if you can get your kids to eat the greens as well, then more power to you!

---Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.

Cella's Cherry Cordials and Childhood Memories

Anytime I come across Cella's Cherry Cordials, I am transported back to childhood and going places with my Mom. She would pull over at any one of the familiar gas stations along our typical route to the mall, school, friend's houses, etc. and fill the tank. I was familiar enough with the handful of gas stations to know that I could count on seeing a box of individually wrapped Cella's chocolate cherry cordials next to the register. They usually sold at the time for under .25 cents. I thought that they were such fancy candies and loved the shimmery red foil wrapping paper of each little cordial. My mom ALWAYS bought me two when she paid for the gas. We'd walk back to the car, my mom would turn up the radio(chances are we were listening to Ann Murray, John Denver, or Air Supply) and we'd pull away from the gas station and get back on the road. I would sit in happy contentment as I unwrapped this little chocolate delight (I am sure a few of the little red wrappers could be found on the floor of the car). Even to this day I still eat them just like I did as a child; Unwrap, toss the wrapper to the car floor, turn the cordial upside down and bite off the end to create a "cup". After eating the little chocolaty end, I would sip the sweet syrup from the cup and then eat the cherry. Then finally, I'd eat the "chocolate cup". No sooner would I be done with that one when I'd be unwrapping the second one. I don't often see Cella's Cordials for sale anymore...especially the individually wrapped cordials. But when I come across a box on a store shelf, I ALWAYS buy it and stick it far back in the fridge (I luv the hard crispness of refrigerated chocolate candy). I eat them without urgency and enjoy the childhood memories each one holds of days when my mom and I were driving around the big city of Houston, Texas. Today, I share them with my daughter and wonder what memories of simple pleasures she will remember about our time together.

-----Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.

Let's go to Kilwins

Let's go to Kilwins and satisfy our sweet tooth and our desire for chocolate bliss. Walking into any Kilwins chocolate shop is a treat for the senses. The scent of all that eewy goowy chocolate and caramel is divine. I wish I could stick the whole store in a candle jar b/c it smells sooooo good! The have been making homemade chocolate treats since 1947. Locations can be found throughout Florida and a few other states. We go to the one in St. Augustine, Fl. If you live near a Kilwins or ever get the chance to go to one, then take a moment to enjoy the chocolaty scents and then treat yourself to one(or two) of their many treats to choose from.

I love anything with chocolaty swirly whirlies.

If you live in or visit Florida, then you know we have a certain fondness for alligators.

It is better to eat an alligator (especially one made of chocolate), than to be eaten by one.

My Daughter especially loves Kilwins ice cream. They make the waffle cones right there before your very eyes. Whenever she has a yummy ice cream treat in her hand, the rest of the world fades away and it is just her and the ice cream.

---Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.