lemonade orangeade

I had a bowl full of pretty big tangerines and I wasn't reallly sure what I was going to do with them.  Then it hit me.  Make Lemonade Orangeade!  This is the perfect Spring/Summer drink.  We drank gallons of this stuff every summer.  The real kind though...with sugar (oh, it was so good).  We don't drink soft drinks or real lemonade around here, so I decided to use crystal light instead of country time.  You could use country time if you want!

lemonade orangeade

ingredients:

1 crystal light lemonade packet (can also use country time lemonade)

4 or 5 oranges (I used tangerines)

1 or 2 lemons

-make crystal light as directed on the package

-squeeze juice from oranges and lemons (save one of each for garnish)

-slice up lemons and oranges and put it in the pitcher

*can also be used to make a cocktail. just add vodka or firefly.

This drink is so refreshing! Make a pitcher of this stuff while you work in your yard this weekend. Enjoy!

 

punked

I love practical jokes!!  I've been counting down the days for "punk'd" to come back on.  This season does not look like it's going to disappoint. 

Tune in tonight at 10/9C on MTV! 

at home mani

If you do your own manicures at home (or if you want to start) then you need to invest in 3 things...

1. true blue 60-second manicure scrub

60-second manicure hand scrub

2.  sally hansen's travel nipper

travel nipper

3. sally hansen's nail file

sally hansen nail file

The manicure scrub will change your life!  Thanks to these three products, I've been doing my own nails for the last year. 

I love buying new polish.  My recent purchase...

essie. to buy or not to buy.

oxford

My Mom and I made a quick trip to Oxford over the weekend to help, my sister, Chase with a crawfish boil fundraiser for Chi Omega. It was so much fun, and they raised over $40,000 for the Gardner Simmons Home. I love Oxford...and I'm always looking for an excuse to go visit and eat some really good food.

chase and me

ms. tanya and me

crawfish table

the boure burger
fried pickles and blue cheese...sweet potato fries.
yum.

finished up at city grocery with tommie

last stop!
bottle tree...humble pie

Can't wait to go back!  Luckily, Chaser is taking Summer School, so I will HAVE to go visit her.

big fat check

Alright, so I got my first check from EBATES!  I actually got a check and a $10 target gift card.       

To learn more about ebates click here.

Or sign up here.

some dance dares

I talked about Ellen's dance dare, here, last week.  The fam went shopping last weekend and we decided to give it a try.

Taylor dancing in Nordstrom...

Chase gave it a go...

I'm waiting for my turn!!  It was so much fun, we couldn't stop laughing. 

patsy's pasta salad

It's officially the first day of Spring!  This means it's time to make some pasta salad to keep in your fridge.  This recipe is my favorite.  My Mom always kept this in our fridge growing up and we took it in our lunch all the time!  I made this the other night and grilled some pork chops.
     

ingredients:
1 package of bow tie pasta
cherry tomatoes (halved)
feta
sliced black olives (drained)
pimentos (drained)
green onions (chopped)
artichoke hearts quartered & marinated (drained)
pepperonicini (sliced up)
zesty italian dressing
salt and pepper
--you can also add chopped cucumber

*the great thing about pasta salad is that you can alter the recipe and add ingredients that you like. 

directions:

• cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water. follow the directions on the package.  drain well and let cool.
• add cherry tomatoes, sliced black olives, pimentos, green onions, artichoke hearts, pepperonicini, and feta.
• pour the dressing over the pasta (i used about half of the bottle).  stir well. salt and pepper to taste.
• cover and put in fridge for 3 hours (or overnight).  the longer you let it sit in your fridge the better it gets!!

Enjoy!

call me maybe

Hoda Kotb played this song "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen on Thursday.  I thought it was really upbeat and fun, so I went to you tube to find it.  I found her video, but I also found another video with Selena Gomez, Justin Beiber, and Ashley Tisdale.  I may or may not have watched it more than once.  Guilty.

 

colored denim

I love the colored denim trend.  It's so fun!  Even Kate Middleton has embraced colored jeans...

kate middleton in coral

I think she is wearing j brand #811 in tangerine.

j brand mid-rise skinny leg jeans

Allison, over at born in black & white, shows us how to sport the cobalt blue denim trend.  Her jeans are from the GAP.

My Mom even picked these up this week...

AG stilt in highlighter blue

You can't go wrong!  So go get a pair and have some fun.

banana bread

The weather has been gorgeous!  It instantly makes me think of my Mom's banana bread.  We had a piece every morning for breakfast before swim practice.  It is so easy and delicious!

Banana Bread

*Those aren't the actual bananas.  My bananas were browning.



ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) (melt or room temp)
• 1 1/4 cup of sugar
• 2 eggs
• 4 tbsp sour cream
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup mashed bananas (2 bananas)
• non-stick spray

mix butter, sugar, eggs, and sour cream
add in flour, baking soda, and vanilla
mix in the banana
grease and flour pan
bake at 350 degrees F for about 1 hour

ready to bake

{yum}

If you're just trying to get rid of some bananas that are going bad, you should freeze it.  Make sure you wrap it up in tin foil so it won't get freezer burned!

Wanting this pan for future bread making...


williams-sonoma gold touch nonstick mini loaf pan

just dance

Watching The Ellen Show always makes me laugh.  I love her "dance dare" segment.  She dares you to video yourself dancing behind someone that has no idea. 

Seriously, how funny is that?? I'm dying to try it!!

Here are a few of my favorite dance dares...

homemade granola

For me, there's nothing better than homemade granola.  My roomate in Rockford gave me her recipe, and it's seriously THE BEST GRANOLA EVER.  Clay LOVES it. 

In case you can't read my recipe card...

Homemade Granola

ingredients:
2 cups regular rolled oats
1 cup coarsely chopped, slivered or sliced almonds, chopped walnuts, or chopped peanuts (I use sliced almonds)
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup shelled sunflower seeds
1/4 cup toasted wheat germ
1 cup of dried fruit (I use cranberries)
dash of nutmeg
hefty sprinkling of cinnamon
1/2 cup honey or maple-flavored syrup (I use honey) (I think I usually end up using closer to a cup just eyeballing it. You want to make sure it's significantly moist otherwise it won't bake up right)
2 tablespoons of cooking oil

• Combine dry ingredients in casserole dish.

• Combine the honey and oil in a saucepan and warm up until it thins out and is easy to pour & stir
• Toss the honey and oil in, stir
• Bake at 300 for 30 minutes, stir after 15 min

{the finished product}

Eat plain or serve over yogurt with some fresh fruit. 

This recipe is perfect to make and take to a host/hostess if you are visiting for the weekend!

kony 2012

Tory Burch and Kim Kardashian posted a video about Joseph Kony yesterday on twitter.  I took the time to watch the entire video (all 30 minutes), and I was in complete shock.  Joseph Kony is a war criminal from Uganda.  He's the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).  The LRA is known for being ruthless and cruel.  Kony takes children away from their families to join his army.  The boys serve as soldiers and the girls are forced to be "wives" (or sex slaves).
The point of this video is to get Joseph Kony's name out there and make him famous so that he will be captured.

Here's what you can do...

• You can sign the pledge here.  I have to be honest.  I didn't sign the pledge because it was going to force me to change to the facebook timeline. 
• Like Invisible Children on Facebook.
• Donate.
• Purchase KONY 2012 products.

hump day tunes

What a beautiful hump day!  68 degrees!  I am loving Flo Rida's new song "Wild Ones" featuring Sia.  It just reminds me of Spring and instantly makes my day better when I hear it. 

same kind of different as me

same kind of different as me

I finished reading this book last week, and I have to say that it's probably one of the most emotional books I have ever read.  

It's very difficult to write about this book without giving away the contents.  Same Kind of Different as Me is a story of friendship, kindness, faith, and family.

This book is a true story about an unlikely friendship between a modern day slave and a wealthy art dealer.  These two men are very different, but they both have more in common than they know.  The struggle of overcoming adversity will prevail in both of their lives.        

To say this book is "touching" would be a complete understatement.  Ron Hall and Denver Moore have you thinking and reevaluating your own life throughout their entire story.

This is a must read, and I'm so glad I started 2012 with this book.

crockpot bbq chicken

My Mom made this bbq chicken recipe a few weeks ago.  I decided to try it out and use my crock pot (for the first time) and I am in love.  It was so easy.  I almost felt guilty...almost.

not pictured: brown sugar

Ingredients:
4-6 pieces boneless skinless chicken breasts (you can use frozen chicken breasts!)
1 full bottle of BBQ sauce (I used sweet baby ray’s)--28 oz bottle
1/4 c vinegar
1/2 to 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 – 1 tsp. garlic powder

-Mix bbq sauce with all the ingredients under it in a medium-sized bowl. I used 1-28 oz bottle of bbq sauce, but bought two bbq bottles because I was worried about dryness. I added about 1/3 cup of extra bbq sauce.
-Place the chicken in the crockpot.
-Pour sauce over the chicken and set on LOW for 4 to 6 hours.  I set it for 6 hours.

I shredded the chicken with 1 hour to go. 



Cooking for 2 is so hard.  I had enough BBQ to feed a family of 10.  I decided to freeze half of the BBQ.  I folded a plastic bag over a bowl and filled it up.

This recipe is super easy and delicious!  You will not be disappointed.  I can't wait to use my crockpot again.

tornado relief

Some of you may have heard about the devastating tornado that hit, my hometown,  Harrisburg, IL on Wednesday (2/29).  The tornado had 170 mph winds. The destruction is devastating.  I took some pictures Wednesday afternoon while we were trying to salvage some of our old neighbor's belongings.  She lived next door to us for 26 years, and moved to this house last year.  She survived with minor injuries.  This is what's left of her house...

Mama Bear's House

Mama Bear's neighbors

My grandparents (Mom Mom and Poppy) live right behind Mama Bear and lost part of their roof, some windows, and lots of trees.

Mom Mom and Poppy's house

Their backyard

We feel so lucky and thankful that all of our family and friends are okay.  Unfortunately, not every one was as lucky.  Please remember to pray for Harrisburg.  We need it.