DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

   This comes from  www.theknottybride.com .  Alot of neat diy projects in one neat little package.  Take an afternoon to yourself and get into the zen of paper folding and cutting! Happy holidays TKB readers! It’s Lauren from  Lauren Elise Crafted  again and today I am back to share a special holiday version DIY. {Note: each of these projects could be employed as décor elements for a lovely winter wedding! …  Especially  if it’s holiday-themed!} Christmas is in just a few days! Are you ready? As usual, I am running a bit behind and if you’re like me, you’ll be scrambling  for a few days trying to get everything done. Every year I tell myself that things will be different, that I’ll be organized beforehand but it never seems to play out that way. As much as it plagues me to say this, I am contributing to that holiday rush. I am here today to help ease the holiday madness and show you some quick décor options! I have pulled together a small table

    The  U.S. National Tobaggan Championships  is the only organized wooden toboggan race in the country and possibly the world. The toboggan chute is located in Camden, Main at the Camden Snow Bowl, a community owned year round recreation area which has developed thousand of deicated skiers since 1936. All race revenue goes to off setting the Snow Bowl budget. History     The original chute was first built in 1936 by a dedicated group of volunteers who also built a ski lodge and ski hill, one of the earliest in America. The chute was again rebuilt in 1954 by local Coast Guardsmen and lasted until 1964 when it was brought to an end because of rot and neglect.     In 1990 it was resurrected once again out of pressure treated wood by another enthusiastic group of volunteers and material donors and was to become known as the  Jack Williams Toboggan Chute . The week before the race, many hours are spent during the dark of night, when it is the coldest, to

   Maha Shivaratri  is celebrated with great devotion and religious fervor by Hindus, in honor of Lord Shiva, one of the Hindu Gods forming the Trinity. The festival falls on the moonless, 14th night of the new moon in the Hindu month of Phalgun (in the month of February - March, according to English Calendar). On the festival of Maha Shivaratri, devotees observe day and night fast and worship Shiva Lingam, to appease Lord Shiva. Many interesting legends have been related to the festival of Maha Shivaratri, explaining the reason behind its celebrations as well as its significance.    According to one of the most popular legends, Shivaratri is the wedding day of Lord Shiva and Parvati. It is also believed that Lord Shiva performed ‘Tandava’, the dance of the primal creation, preservation and destruction on this auspicious night of Shivaratri. According to another popular legend, described in Linga Purana, it was on Shivaratri that Lord Shiva manifested himself in the form of a L

I had never tried to combine chocolate with any citrus, except for orange. The reason is I grew up with Orange Milano cookies from Pepperidge Farm–I thought orange and chocolate were the only possibility. Then I took my first bite of a truffle infused with citrus. Hmm, was it lemon, grapefruit, or passion fruit? It didn’t matter. The combination triggered a sensory awakening. I wanted to take cue from those pop-in-your-mouth confections to create my own dessert–one that mimics the richness of a truffle but packed with chocolate–blown up from bite size to cake size. This dessert should resolve anyone’s chocolate cravings–a heart of truffle-textured chocolate surrounded by passion fruit curd and sandwiched between two classic chocolate cake layers, with everything enveloped in a ganache frosting done two ways. (More chocolate = additional antioxidant benefits if you want to play up the health angle for this decadence.) The curd lends a refreshing offset to the overall rich