Mother’s Day has been celebrated for centuries, dating back to the ancient Greeks and Romans. A type of Mother’s Day was celebrated in England too as a way to honor Virgin Mary. However, Julia Ward Howe first thought of Mother’s Day in the United States in 1872. Her original idea was that Mother’s Day should be dedicated to peace. She held a meeting for several years called Mother’s Peace Day. While her idea was spread, her interpretation didn’t quite stick.

In the early 1900s, a woman named Anna Jarvis brought about the version of Mother’s Day we all know. Her mother’s dream was for mothers to be celebrated for their constant contributions, and so Jarvis made this a reality. She and her supporters wrote letters to people in power hoping for Mother’s Day to become an official holiday. By 1911, Mother’s Day was being celebrate in almost every state, and on May 8, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson put Mother’s Day into place as an official holiday.

It is important that everyone takes this day to really appreciate his or her mother because mothers do so much for their children. Of course, mothers should be thanked for everything they do throughout the year, but this holiday gives us a special day to show our gratitude. While there are many ways to show your mom how much you care, a delicious batch of brownies is certainly one good way to guarantee a huge smile on your mother’s face!

Source link: http://www.mothersdaycelebration.com/mothers-day-history.html

Happy spring, brownie lovers!

Spring is finally here, and I’m sure you are all excited too for this cold, snowy winter to be over. For most of us, this winter was extra long, so I’m certain everyone is going to want to be outside as soon as the sun comes out and warmth inches toward us. In anticipation and preparation for the warm weather, here’s a list of 10 fun things to do this spring!  Many are for outdoors, but a few are things to do indoors for those days with spring showers.

1.    Organize a scavenger hunt around your neighborhood or a local park! You can do this no matter what age, whether with friends or your kids.  Everyone enjoys the excitement of feeling like they’re discovering treasure. Write clues to send people to the next destination and the final prize could be a delicious batch of brownies!

2.    Plan a picnic! Choose a local park or just enjoy a picnic in your backyard. For those of you who live in NYC, you might choose one of the many beautiful spots in Central Park or Prospect Park.  Bring a big blanket and enjoy good food (brownies included) and good friends (or family) in the sun.

3.   Declare a Pajama Day! Plan a day where no one gets out of his or her pajamas. Pajama Day includes indulging in your favorite treats (brownies perhaps?), as well as watching movies and playing board games. This can be a perfect family-bonding day or works wonderfully as a solo activity.  It provides a chance to take a break and recharge from our often overscheduled and hectic lives.

4.   Go bike riding! For many people, bike riding is something they haven’t done since childhood, but it is a fun way to exercise while enjoying the sun on your face and the wind in your hair. Combine this with idea #2 and go for a bike ride to a park or an open area and bring a picnic basket with you! Rest and refuel before your ride back.

5.    Flex your chef muscles! For rainy days, try new recipes or create a few of your own and try out some new dishes. You might offer a buffet of your creations to your friends or family. For those of you with small kids, have your children help you cook!  Naturally, you’ll need dessert too, so experiment with a new brownie flavor and let me know how it turns out!

6.     Go to a baseball game! Many people have never experienced a baseball game and even if you are not a fan of the sport, it is a good opportunity to spend time socializing with friends. There are affordable tickets for every stadium so it doesn’t have to put a dent in your bank account. Most stadiums will let you bring your own brownies in, too.

7.     Go on a trip to the zoo! Take a group of friends, go with your kids, or invite your significant other to look at the animals that have also been hibernating all winter. This is a great weekend plan for when the weather gets nice and warm.

8.     Form or join a running or walking group! Many people feel inclined to work out during the spring to get a beach body for the summer and many also need motivation to stay on track with their work outs. Teaming with a buddy or two is the perfect solution.

9.     For the ladies, have a spa day! On a rainy day, have all of your girlfriends come over and have a relaxing day painting each other’s nails and giving each other makeovers. It doesn’t matter what age you are; a day with your girlfriends is always fantastic (especially if you have brownies).

10.  Plant a garden! Make your backyard a more beautiful place by planting new flowers this season. If you don’t have a backyard, plant a window box, or fill a few small pots to line a windowsill.  You might enlist your family or friends to help, by having each person choose a different flower, that way everyone has left his or her own individual mark.

What are some of your ideas for enjoying spring? I would love to hear what you are planning! I hope you try out some of these fun adventures and have the best spring to date!  

We will be back at the  Chocolate World Expo in Long Island  at the Cradle of Aviation Museum, Sunday, March 3rd, 10am-7pm.  Last year there was a line of chocolate lovers around the block waiting to get into this packed event!  Hours have been extended this year and there are even more wonderful vendors with various chocolate creations and other treats.

Tickets are $15 and include admission to the show as well as all the museum exhibits.

On Wednesday, March 6th, 6-8pm, Sweet Muse will be at the Entrepreneur Space to celebrate its 2nd birthday along with many of the other entrepreneurs who work out of this shared facility.  You’ll find a wonderful selection of artisanal products available here.

Free Admission!  Samples!  Raffles!

36-46 37th Street, Long Island City, Queens

As you well know, Valentine’s Day is less than one week away and that has gotten me thinking of all the romantic things couples can do together, besides consuming insane amounts of heart-shaped chocolate.

For married couples in New York City, every year on Valentine’s Day, Times Square hosts a Renewal of Vows event. If you go to Times Square on this day of love, you have the opportunity to renew your vows on the glass Red Steps in Duffy Square. There are few things more romantic than professing your everlasting love in the Crossroads of the World. You and your partner will be shown on the big American Eagle Times Square Digital Billboard. How wonderful would it be to have your five minutes of Times Square fame while reaffirming your love for your significant other? This event is for people of all ages and is obviously not limited to those living in New York City. For those of you who don’t live in NYC and want to be extra romantic, a trip to the Big Apple to renew your vows would certainly be memorable.

So for all of you looking for something new and exciting to do with your valentine, take a trip to Times Square.  Bring along some chocolates (or brownies!) and flowers and you have yourself a perfect Valentine’s Day.

Peace, Love and Chocolate!

Photo courtesy Heather Cross, About.com

I’m wondering if there’s a way to bring back a little love for Valentine’s Day by loosening the way we think about it.  Afterall, it’s not the only “made up” holiday out there.  And, what’s wrong with creating reasons to celebrate anyway? 

Maybe we could  just look at Valentine’s Day as a day set aside to remind us to celebrate who and what we love about life.  These days when we require online pop-up reminders and phone alarms to keep us on track with all the events, appointments, and tasks we are packing in, Valentine’s Day can be a somewhat larger stickie on the calendar.  It can serve to remind us to shift our focus from all the things we are supposed to do, many of which we far from love, to the people and things in our life that we do.

In a relationship?  Wonderful.  You’re not going to show how much you appreciate that person only on Valentine’s Day, but it’s a great opportunity to do so.  And let’s not limit the day only to romantic relationships.  Maybe there’s a friend who could use a little cheer or a friendship for which you are particularly grateful.  If you are not in a romantic relationship, invite that friend to do something fun and celebrate how special that relationship is.  Call a friend to get together for coffee, go for a walk, or share a treat together.  And it doesn’t have to be on the 14th, that’s just the reminder on the calendar.

And finally, how great if Valentine’s Day just became less about what you should do or are supposed to do and became more about what you LOVE to do.   It’s probably not hard to list a few things that you love to do and have not done in some time.  Devote some time on Valentine’s Day.

Celebrate who and what you love.  Happy Valentine’s Day!

http://pinterest.com/sweetmusetreats/love-is-in-the-air/

Brownie hearts with quotes about love (send us yours and we'll include them.)

Time for another day of all things chocolate!

Sweet Muse will be at the Chocolate World Expo in Long Island  at the Cradle of Aviation Museum, Sunday, March 4th, 11am-6pm.  Thisis the first chocolate event of its kind to take place in Long Island!

We will have more than a dozen brownie flavors for sale individually, by the dozen, and in gift tins, including Special Edition flavors that are not regularly available.  We’ll also be handing out brownie samples throughout the day and offering special Chocolate World Expo pricing.

Fill yourself with delicious chocolate and knowledge of the history of aviation all in one place!

Receive 20% off all brownie gifts purchased on Cyber Monday.  Use code CYBERSALE on the Sweet Muse website or when calling to place your brownie order. 

Sweet Muse offers a variety of sizes of gift tins and boxes and over a dozen delicious flavors to choose from to create the perfect gift.  Sweet Muse brownie gifts include a Large Brownie Bites Box with 64 brownies that can be shared in an office or at a party, a 12-piece Brownie Gift Tin where each member of a family can choose their favorite flavor, and a Brownie Buddy Gift Box with 2 individually wrapped full-size brownies to let a colleague or friend know you are thinking of them.  We include a hand written note card with your greeting free of charge.

Plan to shop at Sweet Muse this Cyber Monday for the best discounts on brownie gifts.  Indicate the target date when you would like your brownie gift to arrive and it will be shipped accordingly to arrive during the designated timeframe.  All taken care of so you can relax and enjoy your holiday festivities.

Brownie Gift Tin

Brownie Buddy Gift Box with Winter Cookie Charms

http://thecravecompany.com/nyc/