Amy's Playdate Salad

This is my favorite salad to make and chances are good that if you come to my house for a playdate and I say I'll make lunch, this is what you will get!



Amy's Playdate Salad

*shredded lettuce

*shredded cheese

*chicken

*sunflower seeds

*craisins

*apple pieces

*grapes

*strawberries

*Ken's Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette

The finished project! Mmmm, enjoy!

Thankful

This is the 2nd time this year that a tornado hit close to our house. The first time, maybe a month ago, one hit an exit down from us. Today one hit half a mile down the road. Some houses were destroyed, some badly damaged.

I am so thankful that we are safe and nothing happened.

Cole and I are getting used to playing in my closet...it's actually kinda cozy in there. I was thinking of writing the date on the wall every time we have to run in there!

New M&Ms!

M&Ms are my comfort candy. My favorite are just the plain old plain ones. BUT when there is a new flavor (or holiday edition) I just HAVE to get them! So, when I saw these, they went in my basket.

Ok, here is my opinion...the coconut M&Ms are soooo yummy! They taste like vacation. I saw them and HAD to get them. When I saw the strawberried peanut butter ones I was skeptical. I just couldn't see myself lovin' these. And it was so. They were better than I thought, but I wouldn't crave them, or buy them again. (Cole thought they were really good!)

Christmas In July

Ho! Ho! Ho! and Deck Them Halls, QVC had their annual Christmas in July this weekend. I was so excited. My friend Jen and I watch and order and compare purchases. We both love to decorate for fall and Christmas. After watching the show and ordering some stuff, I decided that I am going to decorate the inside of my house November 1st! The outside after Thanksgiving. I decorated inside before Thanksgiving last year and really liked not having to rush after Thanksgiving...plus we got to enjoy the cheeriness longer.

I am obsessed with Bethlehem Lights. They make a ton of greenery that is pre-lit, battery operated, and with a timer! Woo Hoo! I bought some of their stuff last year and liked those features. I wasn't super crazy about the light bulbs, but hey, all the rest was great! The picture at the top is one of things I got yesterday. Even the candles are battery operated and come on with the rest of the lights!

I think my lifetime goal is to have Christmas decorations for every room in the house. Each year I get closer and closer!

Addicted To Dip

Fruit dip that is, not snuff!
My friend Tammy told me about this dip and I can't stop making it and eating it! I'm sure it is good that I am eating a lot of fruit...but not so sure about the tons of dip I am using!

I have made it full fat and low fat...both yummy!

Here is what you need...
a tub of Cool Whip
a package of cream cheese
a jar of marshmallow fluff

Mix them all together...
Enjoy!

Mmmmmmm!

I like it best with cantaloupe.

Spring Weather Makes Me Happy

**As you can tell by the title, I wrote this awhile ago! I never finished, but don't know what else I had planned, so I am just going to post this! Although, I think I am going to spotlight trips/events from my past in the future...haha...my head is REALLY full and I NEED to blog more!**

The weather has been so nice lately. I love being outside when it is warm with a little breeze...especially in the evening. The other night after dinner we went out and I was watering my flowers...oh yeah, I did some planting. I was inspired after putting pictures of my old flower gardens on the weekly question. I went through all my old scrapbooks and realized how much I missed doing all that. Plus, I went over to my neighbor's backyard and it was like a resort back there! I came home and told Dan how great it looked and I guess he saw a spark of the old excitable flower loving Amy (and not Cole sucks the life out of me Amy) and decided to give me a great gift. He told me I could have a planting budget and go to town! And I did! I love my big backyard, but one thing that bugs me is that in the winter, the woods behind and beside our house all is bare. So, I planted some evergreen trees and bushes so I can see green come this fall/winter. I also planted some of my old favorites...fox glove, hibiscus, daisies, lilacs and got a solar powered birdbath. THEN I fixed up the back patio. I got some plants, a little fountain and rearranged the furniture and viola! a little bit of tranquility in my life. (yay!) I can sit on the patio and listen to birds and water trickling while reading. I still have more I want to plant...I need some more flowering bushes and colorful perennials. I really want a hollyhock, but it has proven to be the one purchase that sets a move in motion. I planted one at my first house...then we moved into our next house. then I finally started a little planting after Cole was born and then we moved here. So I have mixed feelings about the hollyhock. But if I see one, I gotta get it! (especially if it is yellow!)



We planted some different grass in the way back...the kind that grows in the shade. (fescu) Dan has had to cut it three times already. It is really green and is like Ohio grass. I just love the smell of freshly cut grass!



Ok, so where I was originally going with this was I got a good feeling the other night being outside. Like I said, it was after dinner (we cooked out on the grill so the lingering grill smell was in the air) and there was a light breeze and it was warm and it just made me think of the time I was at the Cape. We went with another couple and stayed a long weekend. We toured the Cape and saw the lighthouses, beaches, and went to Nantucket for a day. I loved Nantucket. Walking down the cobblestone streets, flags in everybody's yards, flower gardens in bloom, the smell of fresh sea air, the birds and breeze...That is what I felt the other night. An all-American night.



I definitely want to go back to the Cape someday.