save a little chocolate for me

Mother's day has long come and gone and I've been wanting to share the following recipes ever since the big day but have been completely unable to due to sick children, sick me, work, etc. Life has been crazy. I actually went insane last week, had a temper tantrum and took off up north for a few days to a tiny little town that is most underrated. My mother-in-law lives there part-time and she shared the parental role with us, which allowed me to get some much needed rest. A lovely retreat when the pressures of every day life boil over. And when you're a sick mumma with sick kids who just don't stop!


Anyway, for mother's day, I wanted to do something home-made for my mum (the person who has everything). After spending some time on pinterest looking for ideas, I decided on chocolates and home-made candles. The chocolates were amazing! 


The candles turned out ok but were a bit finicky because the wax kept drying unevenly, creating huge craters which required me to re-melt and refill a couple of times with more wax. No big deal, just a bit more work than I'd planned and an end result that was less than perfect. But functional. I bought 2 little tea-cups second hand and bought candles from the dollar store that I melted down in a double-boiler. Voila, candles. Here's the link.

Oh my goodness, the chocolates...who knew that chocolate making was so easy and so delicious! The DIY versions were hands-down better than their commercial counterparts. Here's my favourite, the home-made version of Pep's or York Peppermint Patties:

Then there were my son's favourite, the Chocolate Peanut butter Turtles

And finally, home made Almond Joys...so good.

I made extras of all of them, then put them in the freezer. The intent was to always have a treat at arm's reach for visitors. But they haven't lasted long as we have been devouring them. Especially in the afternoon when one babe is asleep, the other is outside amusing himself with his dump trucks, and I find myself with a rare few minutes alone...nothing beats a chocolate and a coffee or tea by myself. Guess I have to make some more...