Caramel Popcorn

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Caramel Popcorn

Caramel popcorn is the most classic sweet and salty snack there is! This recipe is so easy and addicting. Family movie night just got even better!

When I was a kid we had an old air popper that had a tray on top that melted the butter and allowed it to drip onto the popcorn while you were making it. It was so much fun to sit on the counter and watch those little seeds explode.  

When I got married I discovered that my husband still had an air popper.  His didn’t have the fancy butter tray, but that’s ok. On extra special occasions we got to eat caramel popcorn! It didn’t occur to me that kids now days probably haven’t seen air poppers until we pulled ours out to make some caramel popcorn last night. Our little one was so excited!

A bowl heaped full of caramel popcorn.

What Ingredients Do You Need for Caramel Popcorn?

You basically just need popcorn and then ingredients for making homemade caramel. Here is your ingredients list:

  • Popcorn
  • Butter
  • Brown Sugar
  • Light Corn Syrup
  • Vanilla
  • Salt
  • Baking Soda

The measurements for each can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

How to Make Homemade Caramel Popcorn

This recipe is so simple! It has become a favorite of my children to make on Friday nights. Here are the basic steps:

  1. Preheat your oven.
  2. Make the popcorn
  3. Make the caramel on the stove top.
  4. Pour the caramel over the popcorn and stir to combine.
  5. Bake.
  6. Let cool and devour!
All the details can be found in the recipe card, so check there for any clarifications!

A white bowl heaped full of caramel popcorn.

Why Do You Bake Caramel Corn?

Baking caramel popcorn makes the caramel crisp up and get th

Discover how to create a more joyful Instagram feed

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It’s time to put the fun back into social media

Discover how to create a more joyful Instagram feed

Ever find yourself tapping out of social media feeling worse than you did before? Bad news, comparison traps, and toxic trends can wear you down over time. So, follow these steps to take back control of your feed.

1. Focus on following pages that inspire you

What are the things that interest you, that really make you tick? It could be crafting, gardening, music, DIY, cooking, books, or film. Hunt down and follow accounts dedicated to sharing content on these topics. You’ll then have the chance to soak up inspiration, and you might even learn a thing or two as you go, meaning you’ll be leaving Instagram with more knowledge and drive than you went in with.

2. Make use of the ‘mute’ button

Social media politics is a real thing, and we all know the anxiety that can accompany making the choice to ‘unfollow’ someone you know. But if someone is posting things that you find distressing, or even which just rub you up the wrong way, the ‘mute’ button is your best option. It’s especially helpful when you know the person IRL, as you’ll no longer see their posts popping on your feed, but you’re still ‘following’ them, and so have the option to check in with them from time to time.

3. Turn off ‘like’ counts

If chasing ‘likes’ is something that causes you stress, or has you second-guessing what you should or shouldn’t share, now’s the time to turn them off. You can hide likes on the things that you post, and also on other people’s posts, by heading into the settings on the app. This eliminates a key factor in comparison culture, and also encourages you to share happy memories and special moments without the worry of how those ‘likes’ will add up.

4. Feed the algorithm

The algorithm appears to work in strange and mysterious ways. And while sometimes it can get things right and show us content that we want, it can also get things wrong and we might find ourselves face-to-face with something we could have done without seeing. If that happens on your ‘Explore’ page, did you know that you can let Instagram know it wasn’t for you? Simply tap the options button, and mark it as ‘not interested’. You can also feed it in other ways, by ‘saving’ and ‘liking’ the things that you really love.

Over time, your algorithm should learn what works for you, and if you’re employing other techniques for creating a more positive feed, it shouldn’t be long before your social media feeds start to blossom.


The Little Things Newsletter #326 – Life, laughter, and lots of great food!

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Welcome to the weekend, my friends! I had a whole lot of fun this week cooking and shooting new recipes to share with you soon. The changing of the seasons always inspires me with new foods and flavors to play with in the kitchen. I’m all about peaches and blueberries, zucchini, corn, and tomatoes right now. What are you craving these days?

ON THE BLOG this week: Flavorful marinated strips of fork-tender beef are served with crisp hot onions and peppers in this recipe for Korean Beef Bulgogi. Bulgogi is one of the most well-known Korean foods and I’ve been making it at home for years now.

Fresh mushrooms, bell peppers, and sweet onions are sprinkled throughout this buttery, garlicky, Vegetable Rice Pilaf.

If you can imagine your favorite homemade brownies transformed into a smooth and creamy bowl of ice cream, then you have a glimpse of the awesomeness that is this Brownie Ice Cream.

Have you tried German Pancakes? Served with Grandma’s orange sauce, these are unforgettable. They are basically the world’s easiest to make giant popovers. These pancakes are baked in the oven, where they rise tall and they gently fall, instead of being cooked on a griddle like traditional pancakes.

Sweet Orange Sauce has been a favorite part of our weekend breakfasts for as long as I can remember. My grandmother always served this sauce over her German Pancakes and over crepes.

What I’m CRAVING: This Crispy Cajun Cauliflower brings a kiss of heat to this tasty, slightly crunch side dish. I’ve made it almost weekly for a while now. I LOVE it!

My FAVORITE THING this week is my recipe rock! I first told you about it over 3 years ago and I still use it almost every day. I’m ecstatic to see that it’s available again. I spent hours on the phone a couple of years ago trying to track it down for gift-giving and it was out of production.

Sean found it for me one year for Christmas and I’ll admit that I didn’t think it would actually work. But it does! If you’re like me and enjoy a printed recipe instead of using your phone or tablet while cooking, this nifty little contraption manages to hold a single sheet of paper upright with just the stone and magnet.

What I’m READING: Darksong Rising. Continuing with more of the same, this is the third book in the Spellsong War series. The books tell the story of an alternate world where magic is worked through music. It

Sexy time: discover the secret to preserving intimacy in your relationship

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Could scheduling sex be the key to preserving intimacy in long-term relationships?

Sexy time: discover the secret to preserving intimacy in your relationship

I reach my hand across the kitchen island for the serving spoon, my husband’s eyes tracking each deliberate movement as I gingerly place my second serving of turkey bolognese on my plate.

“Don’t get sick, baby,” he says tentatively, as I savour the full flavour of carrot and thyme melting in my mouth, and put my fork down.

I know what he means. My husband is not a jerk. He is not worried I will get fat. He is worried that these extra few bites will lead to me feeling bloated and full, which will in turn result in me explaining to him, “I don’t feel pretty tonight,” when he reaches for me under the covers as we settle into bed.

I met him when I was 42. Eight years younger than me, he often gets mistaken for any number of Hollywood movie stars – think Bradley Cooper or a young Hugh Grant. But, despite this, I have rarely been in the mood for having sex since I hit middle age.

In my early 50s, I first chalked up my declining libido to needing more of an emotional connection before intimacy. We tried sharing compliments with each other before hitting the pillow, and finding time for walk-and-talks during the day so we could discuss the ups and downs of our lives. And while I felt appreciated and connected, it did nothing to rouse my lust.

Then came menopause. I took supplements I saw advertised online, supposedly designed to provide hormone-free support to enhance libido. Nothing happened. I ultimately got on hormone replacement therapy, and while my night sweats stopped, my desire for sex continued to stay muted.

On a long walk one day through the desert landscape with one of my besties, I confessed my situation. “We aren’t unhappy,” I said. “Despite the usual bickering and what my therapist friend calls ‘normal marital hatred’. I love spending time with him, so why my case of the blahs?”

Could it be that even though I am a relationship and life coach, an issue I thought I had conquered through a support group, years of therapy, and a seven-day personal development retreat was still wreaking havoc with my self-esteem? Did I really think that my innate worthiness was directly tied to how I sexually satisfied my husband? Did that make me a ‘good wife’? Or even a ‘good woman’?

I thought hard, trying to remember the last time I had felt genuine sexual arousal. It was many months before, at the Watershed Music Festival my husband and I had attended. In my short shorts, I had pressed my body against my husband’s as we made out while Tim McGraw crooned in the background, reminding me to “live like I am dying”. I couldn’t wait to get my adorable, attentive husband into bed that night.

What had been so different? Well, at the festival he didn’t expect me to “do” anything. I was just being me on my own terms, and I felt sexy and confident. I knew there was an answer here but I couldn’t quite see it... Yet.

It wasn’t until I was working on putting my weekly plans into my organiser that I realised while I had been crushing my goals at work, having great life balance, enjoying good friendships, and living my purpose, the one area I had put the least effort into week after week, month after month, and year after year was my romantic relationship with my husband.

Then, a woma

Friday Faves + San Diego fun

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Hi friends! Happy Friday! How was the week? Liv went back to dance this week and P heads back to soccer next week, so we’re officially back in the fall hustle. I’m looking forward to catching a hot yoga class with a friend this morning before doing the work thing. 🙂

Some fun things from lately:

the Pilot and I celebrated our 15th anniversary yesterday! The girl in this pic had no idea what the future would hold, and how we’d have these perfect, amazing, beautiful babies. Feeling very blessed to share this life with a man I love so much.

Our gifts to each other: we spent the day doing not much at all, and it was everything.

It’s been so busy the past couple of months that we were talking about how incredible it would be to just sit around all day and watch TV and enjoy each other’s company. I introduced the Pilot to F45, we drank coffee, ate fresh sourdough, and planned out travel and events until next summer, and then I took a nap while the Pilot caught up on some work. It was the low-key and lovely day we’d both been craving.

We took the babies with us for anniversary dinner at Vivace, which is a classic Tucson Italian restaurant with gorgeous views of the foothills. We shared antipasto, escargot (Liv’s fave), enjoyed amazing entrees, wine, and dessert. It was the perfect way to celebrate.

I’m looking forward to a weekend at home after being gone for a few weeks, even though we had the best time in San Diego last weekend! We drove up for the weekend to celebrate Max’s Bar Mitzvah. We’ve known Max forever – his mom Betsy is one of my BFFs and her husband and the Pilot are also good friends – so we knew we had to be there for such a special occasion. We got into San Diego early evening, and took the kids directly to Belmont Park to ride all the rides (don’t take your children on the rickety old roller coaster just FYI) and a late dinner at Crack Shack.

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