Sunshine Sunshine!

I'm linking up with Gussy today on the Inspiration workshop!

The prompt ~

This week’s prompt is SUNSHINE! When you hear that word, do you think of the outside? Do you think of the color? Of a summer memory?!

Sunshine makes me think of yellow.... is that obvious or what?! And Summer, of course! I can't get enough yellow right now.

Pretty Sunshine Print:

Source: poppytalk.blogspot.com via Olga on Pinterest

 

Don't you love this yellow retro style bathing suit?!

Source: glamcheck.com via Mandy on Pinterest

 

This isn't really yellow but it's my favorite Summer drink. I LOVE Iced Soy Lattes. Hold the sugar please.

Source: starbucks.com via Mandy on Pinterest

 

And now I get to partake in a made for Summer activity...it's definitely time to give the dogs a bath. :) Wish me luck!!

Now get outside and do something Summery. ;)

Tipsy Tuesday - My Baked Potato Soup Recipe!

Are you guys ready for this weeks TIPSY TUESDAY?! I hope so! If not, get your posts ready and link up! I'm excited to see what everyone comes up with. :) (The link up is at the end of this post.)

This week I'm sharing my Baked Potato Soup Recipe (was posted on my old blog.) You should try it, you'll love it...promise. And I promise you it's easy as pie to throw together.

This is one of those recipes that you can definitely make into your own. I don't have exact measurements but I do have approximations. You should know I did this on a whim & didn't even know what we were going to have for dinner. I'm also no Pioneer Woman; the photos are from my iphone and are of poor quality. So, let me take you on this simple yet satisfying adventure.

1. First, you need two potatoes. I like the simple baking potatoes. Peel them and chop them to the consistency that you like. I left mine in inch or so chunks. We like it chunky.

2. Put the chunks in a pot and cover with water. Boil for 15 minutes or so just until you can pierce the potatoes with a fork easily.

3. Drain most of the water out, you'll need to leave a little bit. Now you need a can of chicken broth (you could really use any kind of broth) and a can of evaporated milk. I could literally drink a can of it, delicious. Add the whole can of broth to the pan but only a little less than half of the evaporated milk.

4. Time to season it up! This is where you will need to taste as you go. I never measure. A little garlic salt, (I just shake it for a few seconds over the pan), a little parsley (several good shakes), and a little onion powder (don't over do it). Don't be afraid!! Use your taste buds as a guide. Heck you can even branch out and add different kinds of seasonings. I just prefer these three.



5. Butter. DO NOT forget the butter. Approximately two & a half tablespoons...or more...you can't go wrong here.



6. You'll want to let this boil for a little while, about 10 minutes or so and then let it simmer for a few minutes to steam some of the liquid out and let the flavors mix. Let it get thick but not too thick or you'll have mashed potatoes instead of soup. (I like to mash the potatoes up just a LITTLE bit with a potato masher...just a little.)

7. While you're waiting for your soup to perfect get your toppings ready! We like center cut bacon. ALOT. And we like it crispy. We just put a couple paper towels on a plate and put one layer of bacon on top of that, throw it in the microwave for a few minutes until they're nice and crispy. (turkey bacon is pictured here but we prefer center cut)

8. Cheese, need I say more?

9. Self explanatory. Taste your soup before you add salt, especially if you use garlic salt. The garlic salt and the broth may have made it salty enough. I cannot stress enough to you the importance of letting your taste buds be your guide. :)

10. When your soup is to the consistency of your desires dip some up and top it with your favorites.

11. ENJOY!!!

*Recipe was made for two, if you are feeding more you may need to multiply the approximations. :o)

 

So, What Is Tipsy Tuesday?

I created Tipsy Tuesday as a weekly link-up.

Let's talk about how it should work and what type of posts I'll be looking for; I'll keep it short and simple:

Every Tuesday I am making it available for you to link-up a post of yours to my blog. Others who link up will get a chance to read your post and leave a comment, and hopefully you will have gained a follower or two out of it. We love comments and followers don't we?!

You're asking yourself, 'What kind of information should I be sharing?'

• any kind of 'tip' you would like to share


• do you have a famous mouthwatering recipe?


• cleaning tip, perhaps like my last Tipsy Tuesday post


• mommy tips (how to potty train with smooth sailing)


• any kind of tutorial (sewing, knitting, crochet, any kind of craft)


• any kind of blogging tips


• how to go on a thrifty vacation


• any kind of how-to (how/when to shop at a thrift store)


• ETC!! The possibilities are endless!

Here's a great example I found on Pinterest of a How-To hair-do:

Source: orchidgrey.blogspot.com via Cathy on Pinterest

:)

RULES:

I just have three! Let's be nice to each other and leave a comment on the post above our own.  I mean, we're sharing valuable, life improving information here, show some appreciation!

Also please don't link your entire blog, just the one post that is relevant. Just paste the link to that post in the Mr. Linky box as well as your name.

Lastly, I would prefer you to share your OWN thoughts, ideas, tutorials, etc. but if you happen to find one so absolutely fantastical that you must share it and it isn't your own PLEASE give credit to the brains behind it. K? Awesome! Great! Let's get to sharing all of our wonderful, glorious, fabtabulous ideas. Ready.....GO! (The Mr. Linky will be ready for you in tomorrow's post)

 

Tipsy Tuesday!

While mopping just a few minutes ago I thought it would be fun to do a link up called Tipsy Tuesday with the idea of sharing simple everyday tips with each other.

So, here's the deal, growing up I knew my grandmother was a pro at cleaning. I also knew she didn't use your typical mopping solutions. So I asked her recently what her secret is. She said, two tablespoons white vinegar to one gallon of hot water. That's it! Easy and CHEAP!



My uncle recently handed over his candle making business to my husband, which means we have tons of scents and essential oils on our hands. I thought I would throw my own twist into Grandma's secret solution. Last time I mopped I added a few drops of the honeysuckle scent. Boy did it smell heavenly in here! Today I added the juice of one lemon. It didn't smell as strong as I had hoped but I know lemons have cleaning power! Here is an article that has 6 reasons you should use lemon juice to clean your house. If you don't know about natural cleaning solutions you can make at home do some research about it on google. You'll find baking soda, white vinegar, and lemon juice as some of the most popular ingredients.

Do you have a tip to share with us? Make a post about it and add your link to the form below. I'm hoping to make this a regular Tuesday thing so look for the link-up next week as well. :)


 

I Want to Ride My Bicycle!

Source: republicbike.com via Mandy on Pinterest

 

Is this bicycle lovely or what? I've just started riding my bike again after having our son a year and a half ago. I guess I haven't ridden in so long because I couldn't take him along. We resorted to stroller rides around the neighborhood. Don't get me wrong I love to take him out for a walk with the dogs but walking can get old real fast.

About 5 or 6 years ago I started getting into biking. I'm not just talking about dilly dallying around town but FULL OUT mountain biking. I bought myself a real, fancy shmancy mountain bike. This thing was is the real deal. I spent my hard earned cash on a GIANT.

I went a few times with an old friend around our Lake Fayetteville trails and then once with my husband and a friend. Dallas and I had just started dating & he agreed to go on the adventure to impress me...I guess it worked! haha. So, we fell head over heals in love... yada yada... and my passion for mountain biking kind of got kicked to the back burner. And now I can't even imagine how I made it all the way around the lake, all 5.5 miles of dirt, rock, steep and not so steep hills, etc. Let's face it, I'm not in that sort of physical shape anymore. I don't look much different from what I did back then, except my hair is longer, but I am definitely not as strong as I once was. Go figure, you would think lifting a 30 pound child 30 times a day would maybe do something for ya but I guess that's just wishful thinking.

Lucky for me we just bought a bike trailer! Which means Noah can go with me now! Except we're definitely not going to be mountain biking (maybe I'll get to  slip away every now and then!). So, I'd like to find a pretty cruiser bike to ride around the neighborhood and save the Giant the embarrassment of riding on flat pavement rather than dirt piles and rocks ;-).

So the question is do I search for an old fixer upper that I can customize myself, although I am no expert at spray painting, or do I lay down the cash money honey for a brand new fully customizable Republic? I really could go either way. I think it could be fun to do it myself but also time consuming...

Wordless Wednesday - Friendship Bracelet Tutorial

Remember these?

Want to make one?

Here's the tutorial!

 

 

Saturday Snapshot

Hey y'all! I'm linking up with Kim at Yellow Songbird today for the Saturday Snapshot.

This is sweet baby Noah.

He is my one and only little boy. He's 17 months old and getting smarter every day. And despite the flower behind his ear he is all rough and tough, snails and puppy dog tails, boy. He tries to catch flies and picks up dry dead worms.

His favorite things are:

golf, playing it and watching it on TV with Grandpa,

Reading books with Mommy,

{If You Give a Mouse a Cookie; If You Give a Pig a Pancake; Big Red Barn; are just some of his favs}

being outside,

giving hugs and kisses,

airplanes,

wearing flip flops,

eating snacks with daddy before dinner,

and playing in the water...just to name a few.

He's super smart too. He knows what were saying and he mimics our actions. I can ask him to get a diaper and lay down for me to change him and he will. I discovered that way is a lot easier than just grabbing him and doing it. He used to cry about it but now he likes to take part in it! Just yesterday we were in the bathroom and I was brushing my teeth when I looked down to find him trying to file his toe-nails. I don't remember filing my nails in front of him before but I must have. His little brain is a sponge soaking everything in. I love watching him grow and learn!

So, that's a little bit about Noah. I love him. :)

Hope you  have a great weekend!