Weekend Fun!

This past weekend was a good mix of work and fun.  I just love weekends like that!  

We did a ton of scraping paint at our rental house.  It was super hot and definitely not fun but we are making progress.  We hope to have it all scraped and painted by the end of August.  Here is a before picture of our rental house.   As you can see we have a lot of work to do!  

Thursday night I went to the baseball park with friends to watch the fireworks and have some appetizers.  They have a new outside firepit area and it's a great place to watch the fireworks.

 We ordered carrot cake and nachos and both were delicious...and definitely not WW friendly but both were so good!  

Ava spent the weekend camping with another family.  It was a gorgeous weekend for camping and they had a great time!

Sunday night I went to see my favorite band Sugarland at Turning Stone.  I saw Jennifer Nettles in December and she was just as fabulous this time.  It was an amazing concert they played a good mix of old songs and new and it was a great night.  I went with some friends and we ate at the Tin Rooster before the show and that was a lot of fun!  

I am hosting book club tonight, our exchange student Anne is visiting with her family so we are having dinner with them tomorrow and then I'm having a day at the lake Thursday to celebrate the birthdays of two dear friends.

Have a great week!

Xoxo

Book Review {June}

In June I read two fabulous books and I want to share both of them with you.  I love reading and I try and read 50 pages every day.  Sometimes that happens and sometimes it doesn't.   I feel like I'm always busy so if I can't read one day I try and read a little more the next day. It's always a good day when I can spend a little time reading.

You can read my other book reviews from this year below

January 

February

March

April

May

It was my turn to choose the book for my book club.  Last month we read a really heavy book about a boy and his escape from Afghanistan.  After that book we needed something different.  So the book I chose was waaaayyyyy different.  I chose The Marriage Pact and it was a creepy page turner.  This book is about a newly married couple that receives an invitation to join a marriage pact as a wedding gift. The Marriage Pact group turns out to be very cult-ish and at times downright frightening.  This book is a page turner and I can't wait to talk about it with my book club girls tomorrow night!

The second book I read last month was another page turner. I got so invested in this book I read the whole thing in about three days.  It was just that good!  The second book I read is called Sharp Objects and was just released as a limited series on HBO. I can't wait to watch it!    This book is about a young Chicago reporter that goes back to her hometown to write about the murders of two young girls.  While she's in her hometown she stays with her mother and she navigates the complicated relationship with her family while confronting her own demons.    I don't want to give to much of the plot away  but this book has so many twists and turns.  I just loved this book!

What books have you been reading this summer?

Xoxo 

Saturday Snack{Flag Dip}

Last Sunday Ava and I went to a 4th of July party at my friend Erica's.  She hosts the best parties and her 4th of July party is amazing.  She lives in the country and has a huge yard, a creek, an amazing screened in porch and a pool.  Her house is the perfect setting for a summer party!  I saw this Flag Dip recipe on pinterest and decided to make it for the party.   It's super easy to make and everyone loved it.

Ingredients
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 pkg. taco seasoning
16 oz. sour cream
1/3 cup salsa
1 pkg. (8 oz.) shredded taco cheese
1 pkg. ( 8 oz.) shredded iceberg lettuce
1 can (2.25 oz) sliced black olives
1 cup cherry tomatoes halved

Instructions
Cook meat and drain add taco seasoning and cook as directed on package. Let cool. Mix sour cream and salsa together.  Spread onto bottom of 9x13 inch baking dish (I used a disposable one) and layer beef next and then top with the iceberg lettuce, top with cheese, tomatoes and olives in a flag pattern.  Serve with tortilla chips.

Enjoy and have a happy weekend!

Xoxo

Friday Favorites!

Today I'm linking up with Andrea, Narci and Erika to share my Friday favorites.  We celebrated the 4th of July and spent a lot of time swimming this week which is always fun.  This weekend Ava went camping with another family and G and I have some house projects to do and I'm going to a Sugarland concert Sunday night so it's going to be a great weekend!

1.  We celebrated 4th of July Wednesday with a parade, lunch and swimming with friends and a concert at night.  It was a FULL day!!  Here is a picture of the side table that I decorated in our sunroom.

2.  I made this delicious taco dip for a party last weekend.  I am going to post the full recipe tomorrow in my Saturday snack post.  

3.  Our niece and nephew are always two of my favorites.  Our nephew Gabe just got a new pet snack (ewww!!) and his mom sent us this cute picture of the two of them.

4.  My absolute favorite thing to do in the summer (besides swimming) is hanging out on the deck eating good food and having a fun drink.  I could do this every.single.night.  It's heaven to me.  

5.  This mason jar carrier that I got at Wal-Mart earlier this summer is a favorite.  I have used it all summer and I just love it!  I have used it countless times this summer.  It comes with six mason jars, straws and lids.  

That's it for me this week. I hope you have a fabulous weekend!!

Xoxo

Happy Birthday America!!

We had a fabulous 4th of July!  We ate a lot of delicious food, spent some time with some fabulous friends and just had a really great day being outside in the beautiful sunshine.  

Ava and I started the day by marching in our town's annual 4th of July parade.  It held at noon and was blazing hot.  We passed out stickers and candy to promote the annual Pit Run that happens in October.  

Right after the parade Ava and I went and had lunch with my friend Sabrina and her family and then we went swimming for the afternoon.  It was in the high 90's and it was a great way to spend the afternoon. 

After swimming we raced home and I got ready to go to a concert at Ommegang. Before the concert we dropped off our husbands to play cards and had snacks at my friend M's house.  

We had dinner before the concert at the Red Shed.  We sat outside and had amazing grilled cheese, french fries and mozzarella sticks-you know super healthy food-ha ha!

After dinner we headed to the concert it was a beautiful night to be outside and listen to music.  We ran into my sister in law Anne at the concert.  I always love seeing her and I got to see her Dad who is visiting from Michigan.  

I decorated a table in our little back porch for 4th of July.  I wanted to do a whole post on my decorating for the 4th but I didn't have time this year.  Anyway, as usual I love decorating for holidays and the 4th of July is no different.   I've had my 4th of July decorations for years and I get them out every year.  I add little American flags to plants and the star banner and flag plates I got at TJ Maxx years ago.  

I hope you and yours had a fabulous 4th!!

Xoxo

Crafty Wednesday {Vodka Infusions}

Last Thursday Rachael and I hosted our last craft night until fall.  We held it at a bar/supper club in our town and had 20 people.  We did two crafts.  We made vodka infusions and people got to hand paint their own shot glasses. I did the vodka infusions part and Rachael taught people how to hand paint their shot glasses.

There are a TON of recipes out there for vodka infusions. I did quite a bit of research on them while preparing for this class and I'll list my top tips below.  We wanted to use in season fruits and vegetables for this class so we choose three infusions using mostly in season ingredients. People could choose the one they wanted to do.

The three we had at the class were

Strawberry Rhubarb-mix strawberries and rhubarb using a one to one ratio

Bloody Mary-mix tomatoes, garlic, onion, celery, lemon, fill and peppercorns to your personal preference

Cucumber Mint-mix cucumber and mint using a four to one ratio

We used these bottles from SKS glass.  We got the larger 750 ML size but you could also get the smaller size for this project.

You want about two inches of fruit/vegetables at the bottom of your jar. I just love the bottles we got but honestly if we do this craft again we will just get mason jars because after a few days your vodka is infused and you will need to empty out all of the fruits, vegetables, etc from your bottle. These bottles are pretty but getting rid of all the organic stuff from your bottle would be so much easier with a Mason jar.

I first learned to make infusions when I went to the Beekman Boy's Christmas class last November.  Since then I have been really interested in making them and seeing what kind of different flavors you can mix together. 

 Some of the ladies that come to our class don't drink so we had them do the strawberry rhubarb or cucumber mint infusion and just add water. I made a mint and cucumber one for myself and it was delicious.   Flavored water is great for a party! 

 Everyone had a blast!  We have found that people just love to get together and create something that they made.  It always makes us so happy when people come to our craft nights and have a good time.  

If you decide to make your own infusions here are some notes that have helped us--

1.  Don't take too much, think about how much you'll drink or need for a party and make that amount.
2.  You need to shake your infusion twice a day and taste it once a day.
3.  Most flavors take 4-7 days to infuse but make sure you taste it daily to get the taste that you want.
4.  Alcohol is very good at extracting flavors from herbs, spices, fruits and vegetables.  It takes a lot less time than you think for an ingredient to flavor your vodka
5.  You must strain everything out of your vodka.  Because overtime those stay bits of fruits, herbs etc will create an off taste with your vodka.
6.  You can store your infusion at room temperature or in the fridge.  
7.  Don't eat your fruits or vegetables after they infuse your vodka they will taste awful...trust me!!

Let me know if you try infusing your own vodka or water!  I

Happy Wednesday.
Xoxo

Friday Favorites!

Today I'm linking up with Andrea, Narci and Erika to share my Friday favorites.  We did a couple of fun summer things this week which is always fun!  This weekend is high school graduation in our town so we have a few graduation parties to go to and I also hope to get some things done around the house.

1.  My friend Stephanie had a girls night at her house Wednesday night.  She has an incredible outdoor fire pit and made us the most delicious chicken and shrimp fajitas and watermelon margaritas.  All of our kids were there too which was fun.  It was a great night.

2.  Last night I volunteered at the prom.  I worked at the smoothie bar and it was great.  I loved seeing all the kids dressed up and I got to work with my friends.  Ava volunteered at the after prom party at the high school and she didn't get home until 5:30 this morning!  She will tired today.  

3.  Book club is at my house next month and I picked out such a good book.  It's called The Marriage Pact and it's about newlyweds who get a wedding gift to join a group called The Pact.  They end up getting wrapped up in a creepy marriage cult.   I am not all the way through it yet but it is a page turner!!  I love reading and try and read a few books each month. You can see last months book review here.  

4.  I ordered my new planner this week and it came yesterday. I got a Day Designer for Blue Sky. Last year I got the Erin Condren planner and I liked it (especially the personalized cover!) but honestly I  didn't love it.  It was small and I need a lot of room to write things down.   I've had the Day Designer before and I'm excited to go back to it!  

That's it for me this week. I hope you have a fabulous weekend!