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Watermelon Granita
This morning I’m dreaming of the Outer Banks, fresh watermelons, and the watermelon granita I’d make because we were always overoptimistic about watermelons. (They are pretty irresistible.) Click here if you are impatient and need to jump straight to the recipe (and possibly miss out on my helpful commentary and humor). Every year as arrive in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, we stop at Morris Farm Market in Barco, grab a cart, and buy more fruit than we can comfortably fit around our feet and suitcases in the car. A giant watermelon, three cantaloupes, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and the family favorite, local peaches, along with a jug of strawberry cider for the…
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(Practically) Crafty: An Easy Summer Flip-Flop Wreath
I should start a series called (practically) crafty because I have a million ideas and minimal execution – but I like to think that when I do make time to craft, I do it right. That said, my front door has been barren and sad-looking, complimented by the growing cracks that are developing, thanks to blistering Dallas heat on a inappropriately dark shade of stain for a west-facing door. This poor door was crying “make me pretty”. But I was feeling, well, thrifty. And then at the craft store I spotted flip-flops, and a plan came together. This time I didn’t want to spend a lot of money (famous last…
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Summer Fun at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science
If you are looking for something to do in the Dallas area this summer, look no further than one of my favorite local destinations: The Perot Museum of Nature and Science. There is so much to explore there this summer that I wanted to share all the goings on! I was recently invited to Family Media Day at the Perot Museum, where they kicked off the morning with a film in The Hoglund Foundation Theater with DREAM BIG 3D. Narrated by Jeff Bridges, the film is a celebration of human ingenuity behind engineering marvels big and small. I will warn you – I cried, several times. Yes, in a movie…
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Baby Back Ribs with Coffee-Infused BBQ Sauce
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MyKCMasterpiece #CollectiveBias With warmer weather arriving, we’ve nearly reached the time when I pack away my slow cooker and the gas grill goes into heavy rotation. I love to barbecue, and we grill year round. When we lived in Chicago, it wasn’t unheard of to shovel a path through the snow to get to the grill, and I’ve been known to hold a flashlight in my teeth as the sun sets early in winter and the patio lighting was negligible. In Wales, I mastered holding an umbrella over the grill so the rain…
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Tips to Keep Your Young Athlete Hydrated
I received product from BODYARMOR in exchange for sharing my thoughts. I was not otherwise compensated, and all opinions remain my own. #BlogginMamas When my son got out of our car yesterday after soccer training, he said “EW” as he looked at the pool of sweat on the leather seat. I looked at the jug of water he was carrying and asked how much of it he had consumed. “All of it” he said. “I ran out halfway through practice.” I gave him THE LOOK and warned him about letting himself get dehydrated. He cracked open a StrawberryBanana BODYARMOR and chugged it down. It was hot outside. It was also 8pm and only May.…
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Two Middle Grade Books for Summer Reading
My 10-year old is an avid reader, and her reading pile is ALMOST as tall as mine. We both have a problem walking away from a tempting book (and what a good problem to have), particularly as we are both making sure we are set for summer reading. Of all the books we’ve both read lately, two stand out as superb choices for your kids: The Real Boy by Anna Ursu, and The Girl Who Could Not Dream by Sarah Beth Durst. Both are excellent options for your kiddo to pick up over the summer because they are fun and engaging. I picked up The Real Boy at the encouragement of our…
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8 Reasons Summers Were Better When I Was A Kid
We’re nearly at a third of the way through summer vacation, and after a day like today, I have to wonder…how did my mom manage to READ so often in the summer when I was a kid? Seriously, the first two memories that come to mind when I look back at my mom during our summer vacations (when we weren’t reading) were of her (a) curled up with a book on the TV room* sofa, telling me to “put down my book and get outside”, and (b) vacuuming**. (*Why we called it the “tv room” when the entire wall the tiny TV sat upon was actually a bookshelf, and nearly every…
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Fourth of July Twinkie Cake
If you are a follower of a Paleo or whole foods lifestyle, look away. I’ll be back with a fun drink ice or post momentarily, but for now, I’d like to talk about a dessert that includes ingredients that do not fall on your super healthy shopping list. This is a FUN dessert with some fruit thrown in so it isn’t totally crazy: Twinkie cake. Let’s be honest, there are two kinds of people: the “Twinkie – YUM!” and the “there is nothing natural about that snack cake” people. And yes, while the ingredient list reads (to those who bother) like a college chemistry experiment, Twinkies are yummy. (Obviously,…
