VACATION

...my hubby is sweeping me away to the beach for a few days...I am SO.EXCITED! Then to Sunriver with the kiddies! We will catch up when we get back!



Enjoy your last few weeks of summer!

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Auntie Laura's Spinach Dip

This dip is seriously ADDICTING! It is an easy dip to make, especially if you keep some of the ingredients on hand.

Auntie Laura’s Spinach Dip


1 10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

½ cup fresh parsley, chopped

½ cup green onion, thinly sliced

½ tsp. dill seed

1 cup mayonnaise {Light if you prefer}

1 cup sour cream {1/2 strained plain yogurt and 1/2 sour cream is also GREAT!}

1 tsp. Lawry’s seasoned salt

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice {I LOVE Italian Volcano!}

2 8 oz. cans sliced water chestnuts, chopped {thank you, honey for dumpster diving!}

*Mix all ingredients together.

*May be made 24 hrs. ahead of time.

*Flavors are way better after it sits in the fridge for several hours. So, you may want to plan ahead on this one.

*Serve with fresh veggies, crackers, or sliced bread.


ENJOY!


HAPPY HAPPY FRIDAY!

Shared with: at the picket fence, women living well

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Chest of Drawers..."summertime buffet"

Last weekend I was on my way out to a tea party when out of the corner of my eye, I saw a chest of drawers on the side of the road. I quickly stopped {because we do.not.talk on the phone while driving!} and called my sweet hubby and asked him if he could drop everything he was doing and go get the scoop on the chest of drawers. He was on it! Ten bucks!

He asked me where I thought I might put it. I told him I would think about it and let him know when I got home.

As soon as I got home, we got into his car, which he had already cleaned out and went for a drive up the road to pick it up!

He asked me if I knew what WE were going to do with it! KNOWING there was no room in the house, I told him we could use it outside as a summertime buffet. He said, "for ten bucks, why wouldn't you?!"

After bringing it home in all of its "adorability", I hardly have the nerve to start sanding it down...and then putting it outside. EEEKKKK...now I think it should be kept in the house...not sure how I am going to gently tell my hubby???

I am leaning toward painting it a light blue or yellow, but will most likely end up painting it white...like everything else. Then there are the knobs...I think some cute little, delicate ones would be just perfect...but not sure either. Who knows? Maybe I should just leave it alone and save it for a grand-baby...down the road. Decisions.Decisions.Decisions. This is exactly what happens when you can't find the power tool when you are ready to start a project!

What are your ideas? What do you think I should do? I hope I am not opening a can of worms.




linked to:

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Thrifty Thursday

crafty scrappy happy

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Yogurt Pancakes with Lemon Devonshire

With all of the berries we have here in the Northwest it seems a shame to only have breakfast in the morning! So, we had to have pancakes in the evening the other night. Was so easy and so good. Even a bowl of cereal with berries on top would have been just fine with me! That, or a banana/berry milkshake!

Yogurt Pancakes
Adapted from Ina Garten


Stir together:

3 cups flour

¼ cup sugar

4 tsp. baking powder

1 Tbsp. sea salt

Whisk in:

1 cup plain ol’ yogurt

1½ cups PLUS 2 Tbsp. milk

4 eggs

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Zest from 1 small lemon

Directions:

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients

Stir until well mixed. Do not over mix!

Using about 1/4 cup measure, ladle onto griddle that is heated on medium heat.

Make sure the griddle is oiled

Allow pancake to cook until small bubbles start popping up.

Flip pancake and let cook for about 2-3 more minutes.

Keep pancakes warm in a 200* oven. {Be sure to keep them toasty and covered!}

Serve pancakes with fresh blueberries and HEAPS and HEAPS o' CREAM!



Lemon Devonshire Cream:

½ cup heavy cream

8 oz. softened cream cheese {room temp}

1 tbsp. powdered sugar

½ cup sour cream {I like Daisy Brand...full fat!}

Zest of 1 small lemon

1 tsp. lemon oil, pure lemon extract or lemon curd to taste

Directions:

*Beat heavy cream and add the rest of the ingredients.
*Beat until all ingredients are incorporated.
*Keep chilled until ready to serve.


Do you ever have breakfast for dinner? If so, what is your favorite thing to fix or pour?







Shared with:  at the picket fence, comfy in the kitchen, stone gable

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Peanut Butter and Nutella S'MORES

Here is a really fun gift to put together or to be enjoyed by your own family! Everybody LOVES S'MORES, but unless the Hershey's bars are kept cool...you can have a real mess on your hands.
Have you EVER tried unwrapping melted chocolate with children who have had to be patient all day long for their Fire Pit Treats before bed? I have and let me tell ya...it is NOT what sweet dreams are made of! It's Not really that bad, but here is a great alternative. Take the the top graham cracker and spread peanut butter on it. Then, spread Nutella on the other half. Roast your marshmallow and sandwich the marshmallow between the two. Okay. It is a bit more time consuming and a bit messier, but your children and adults are going to be raving about your S'MORES forever!

No Fire Pit? Backyard Burn Ban? {lucky for our family my hubby, the firefighter, is Mr. Safety Monitor!} NO PROBLEM!

S'MORES on the SILPAT:

Preheat oven to 400. Place Graham Crackers on SILPAT-lined perforated baking sheet. Put marshmallows on top of each Graham Cracker and bake for about 4 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and top with a Graham Cracker that has been spread with NUTELLA.

Your Shopping List:

Any Box or container for packaging
1 brown paper lunch sack for lining the bottom of your container...can be wadded up to help start fire!
1 package CAMPFIRE GIANT ROASTERS MARSHMALLOWS {FAT FREE AND GLUTEN FREE} unless you have nothing else to do and you make your own marshmallows!
1 package TRADER JOE'S Old Fashioned Cinnamon Grahams {Use the original Graham Crackers and regular-sized marshmallows for making your S'MORES in the oven...Trader Joe's brand tends to get a bit soggy.}
kindling wood {this is the perfect thing to have your boys put together...it will take them hours and hours}

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Friendships...the BEST "hand-me-downs"

After getting up extra early this morning to get started on my Mundane Monday list of to-do's, finishing LAUNDRY {SERIOUSLY CAN'T STAND IT!}, and then getting together with two dear friends...Which NEVER happens on Mondays...I was once again overwhelmed with how blessed I have been with friends in my life. Do you ever just stop and think about the friends you have had in your lifetime? How they have shaped who you are today?

I have always loved hand-me-downs. So much so that when I was younger, I would have my twinsie break in my new clothes until they were soft and worn. To this day, I hate clothes shopping and still love hand-me-downs from my twinsie and friends who have gently worn the scratchy newness off!

As I was thinking of hand-me-downs, I was thinking about the friendships that have been passed down to me from my mom. Friendships that are safe, friendships that have passed the test of time, friendships that have not had to be earned. They have been friendships that have influenced me from the inner most core of who I am. They have been friends that are younger than my mom, my mom's peers, and the little, older ladies my mom has always adored. They were ladies that promised to pray for me no matter where I was in the world.

Even before I was married, I KNEW that my friends were going to play a very important part in the lives of our children...and they have. As I was reading in Philippians this evening, this is what I read: "And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ...to the glory and praise of God." Philippians 1:9-11.
I love this verse. This is MY PRAYER as a parent. It isn't just me, my hubby, my family, but it is my friends, too who are teaching my children {even if your children are young...they are observing!} what it means to have love abound more and more...it is my friendships that are shaping their ability to discern...

As Laurissa gets ready for college, I asked her if she would write a little bit about what friendship means to her:

Friendship…

“Best friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget.”

We are relational people that are meant to have friends and have relationships with them. Sometimes we don’t always choose the right friends or people to hang out with. Yes, we can have many friends, but few can be our best friends. A best friend, in my opinion is there for you no matter what. She will tell you when you’re wrong, love you when it may not be easy, and most importantly will help not hinder your walk with Christ.

When I was in 6th and 7th grade I thought I had a good group of friends. As I look back now they were not good friends at all. They were just my sinning buddies. My 8th grade year through my senior year is when I learned what good friends really are. They have been a huge blessing to me and to my family. They have told me when I was wrong; they have helped me grow in my walk with Christ. They have encouraged me through struggles, prayed for and with me, and brought a smile to my face when I needed it most!

As most of you know, I went to a small private Christian School and this year I have been extremly blessed by the other eight girls in my class. We have all grown very close to eachother this year and have friendships that I hope and pray will last a lifetime. About half way through the year, one of the girls decided we (all the senior girls) should start a Bible study together. So, every Monday we would meet, talk about our week, share the highlights and our stuggles, go through a passage in the Bible, and share prayer requests and then pray together. That was such a blessing to me, because we could all be real with eachother knowing that we were not going to judge one another or be judged. These girls are like sisters, and we are... Sisters in Christ.

My mom’s friends have had a huge influence on me as well and I consider them my friends, too! I have spent time with her friends. I still like to hang out with just her friends and do things even if my mom’s not there with us! My best friend’s moms are like moms and friends to me as well as other amazing women that I worked with or are staff at my school such as Debbie Eaton, Noreen Lane, and Lisa Montanez. I have been so blessed to have all these different women in my life. I have learned so much from these Godly women that are older than me. They have been there for me to talk to and always willing to lend me wisdom or advice from their experiences and walks in life. I think it is so important to surround yourself with and be surrounded by Godly women. You can learn so much from them.

It is vital that our friendships are buliding one another up and not tearing one another down. Yes, you can and are called to rebuke a friend when they’re doing something wrong, but that doesn’t mean to stop loving them. We should not be slandering one another or gossipping which for us girls, if we’re being honest, is one of our struggles. We are to be self-sacrificial in our friendships, always putting their needs in front of our own. One thing I have learned this year is not to give up on a friendship. Just because a friend may not be putting very much effort into your friendship or may seem not to really care. This doesn’t mean you have to stop caring, praying and being there for them. Showing them Christ’s unconditional love isn’t always easy to do if their friendship has been absent. We are called to love our neighbors and our enemies.
"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." Philippians 2:3-4

This week make it your goal to show Christ's unconditonal love to all your friends and enemies. Set a good example for your kids of what good friendships look like so they will strive for the right frienships in their lives.

What friendships are you handing down to your children?

Shared with: women living well<, multitudes on monday

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Herbed Eggs in a Basket

Sometimes the simplest of ingredients can make for the most delicious and beautiful breakfasts.

If I am short on time, but want something really special, this is one of my favorites!

Your Shopping List:

8 slices of Black Forest Ham from the Deli
8 eggs
Fresh rosemary

See? Easy, easy, easy.

Preheat oven to 400.
Line Prepared muffin pan with ham. {I used my Demarle MOLD...no greasing, no-stick!}
Break egg into ham "cup"
Sprinkle with a tad bit of salt and pepper.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until egg is set.
Remove from oven and garnish with fresh cut rosemary.

ENJOY with English muffin and a tall glass of ice cold orange juice!

THESE little beauties are great for kids to grab and go...or hubby's, or busy Mommas. Not bad cold, either.

Recipe shared with: mom's crazy cooking, pink saturday, stone gable

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