Wishing you all...

a very happy Memorial Day! Hope you are enjoying this lovely day and remembering all of the amazing men and women who have so bravely served our beautiful United States of America. We've spent the weekend eating lots of BBQ, homemade ice cream sandwiches, custard with yum yum sauce, and lounging by the pool. And I just may have awoken at 6 AM this morning with an itsy bitsy panic attack because I realized the shear enormity of all of the work I have neglected these past few days. Does this ever happen to you when you try to take some "time off"?

{Captain Heaven sailing her floatie}

What did you do on this holiday weekend?

Cool Down

It is seriously hot here in the Southeast. I am starting to reach that point where I just want to hibernate in my air conditioned apartment and eat ice cream. Hoping to beat the heat, I made lemon raspberry popsicles. I have a feeling that my ice cream maker and popsicle molds are going to be my best friends this summer.

{Lemon raspberry popsicle}

What are your favorite summer treats?

Beach Squirrels

I have always adored squirrels. I think they are probably one of the cutest little creatures on earth. On Saturday, we headed down to Anna Maria Island to spend the day at our friends' beach house. A precious little gang of squirrels eagerly greeted us at the house and insisted that we feed them peanuts.

{Waiting to be fed}

{Little squirrel coming to get a treat}

We spent the day grilling, laying on the beach, playing games, and swimming in the cool Gulf water. No oil here yet, thank goodness. Being at a beach house for the day totally spoiled me. I desperately want one now. As we lounged in the shade, I imagined myself having my morning coffee on the balcony and then going for a run along the shore. I'm pretty much obsessed now. This whole doctor thing had better work out, right?

{View from the beach house}

{Gossiping on the beach with the girls -- I decided to go for a retro beach look, complete with 50's style swimsuit, huge sunglasses, and hat}

{Hubby relaxing in the hammock -- it doesn't get much better than this!}

orange you glad it's summertime?

Every summer I set out with the intention to have lots of picnics. Sadly, the gap between "spring" and "summer" lasts about a week down here and picnic weather seems to slip rapidly by me. I suppose I could have a picnic at any point in the summer, but there's just something very unappealing about sitting outside when it's 100 degrees with 100% humidity. In my opinion, it's never fun to sweat profusely while you eat. Air conditioned dining please.

Saturday was the perfect day for a picnic. We found a nice spot in the shade and enjoyed the cool sea breeze. Our menu included: spinach, orange, and fennel salad; various cheeses; multigrain gourmet crackers; grapes; and San Pellegrino. Of course I packed a little bag of homemade treats for Heaven as well.

{Orange and fennel salad}

I'm hoping to have a few more picnics before the weather gets too unbearable, which leads me to wonder...

What are your favorite things to pack for a picnic?

soaking up the sun

I headed to the beach this weekend to spend some time with my little family. We had a nice picnic, swam in the ocean with Heaven, and soaked in the refreshing ocean air. If only I could just spend every day at the beach with no responsibilities looming over my head like "internship applications" and "dissertation"...wouldn't life be grand?

{Me and my precious little fur baby}

{Heaven wants to go for a swim so badly but she is scared of the crashing waves}

{"Look at me Mom! I'm swimming!" -- Heaven}

{"Did you see me Mom? Did you see me?" -- Heaven}

{Dirty puppy}

superstar golfer

This weekend, hubby challenged me to a game of putt putt golf. Naturally, I accepted and let him run his mouth for days. Hubby is good at talking trash.

{Champion}

Of course I won. I have this little gift of making hole-in-ones. Hubby really should have known better than to talk so much smack.

cheese please

I must confess that I spoil my dog rotten. I've been wanting to make her some homemade treats for ages, but all of the dog recipes I had contained lots of special impractical ingredients, making them rather pricey. So I was thrilled when a friend gave me several recipes that utilize common stuff I already had in my fridge and pantry. Heaven just adores cheese, so naturally I thought a cheesy treat would be a good place to start. She seemed to know that I was making something just for her, because she stalked me a little more than usual while I was in the kitchen. Or maybe she was just hoping I would drop some cheese on the floor.

{Cheese treats}

{My little girl enjoying her snack}

The treats were a big hit, and Heaven seemed to appreciate the fact that they were made with love just for her. But then again, it could have just been because she really really really loves cheese. Since they looked so tasty (and were made with normal human ingredients), I couldn't help but taste one myself...it was like a delicate little cheese cracker. Yummy, but I think I'll let Heaven have her treats and stick with cupcakes for myself.

Cheese Biscuits

{not sure of the original source since this recipe came to me from a friend}

1 cupe whole wheat flour

1 cup unbleached white flour

1/4 cup cornmeal

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup cheddar cheese {I used 1/2 cup to make them extra cheesy}

1 large egg

3/4 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 325

2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.

3. Kneed together until well mixed. Turn out onto a floured surface and roll flat to about 1/4-inch thickness.

4. Cut with cookie cutters. Sprinkle with a little extra Parmesan cheese.

5. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

addicted to buttercream

The past couple of weeks have been busy busy busy...lots of end of semester projects and papers due, training site interviews, and a quick trip home to Louisiana. I've also been baking cupcakes for my lovely friends who were so generous and made donations to help fund my upcoming mission trip. One friend requested buttercream frosting, which is my absolute favorite. I haven't made buttercream in a while, and I had forgotten how addictive it can be. I probably consumed 5000 delicious calories just tasting to make sure it was "just right" and licking the bowl. I'm strongly considering just making a big bowl of buttercream to eat on everything possible.

{Cupcakes begging to be eaten}

Yesterday I took a few minutes to go thrifting, which I haven't done in forever. I found quite a few treasures that I can't wait to share with you in future posts. I bought a pretty little vase, old fashioned ice cream soda glasses, and a couple of vintage dresses that I plan to alter and reconstruct. My new vase was longing to be filled with flowers, so I scooped up this cheerful bunch of tulips.

{Pretty little tulips}