Who loves S'mores?!

Smores.. who doesnt love these suckers?! They remind me of summer- i could probably eat them on a daily basis!

Golden grahams has these smore bars out- they're delish, but honestly, there's only 6 measly bars in the box for almost 3 bucks. LAME- expensive.. and why would i buy something with all additives in it, when i could make it MYSELF?! well.. i did. I found a blog post ( if its' yours PLEASE let me know so i can give you the credit earned!) I couldnt decide what chocolate to use, so i used two different kinds and used an entire box. I made a semi sweet and a milk chocolate. i personally liked the milk chocolate best.

After making it, i broke it into pieces and bagged it up for mini me's teachers and bus driver ( i fully believe in buttering your teachers up- they treat your kid better!!)

SO, here's the SIMPLE 3 ingredient recipe!:

S'mores Bark

Inspired by: Golden Graham S'mores and my co-worker, CL
*Almost 1 bag mini marshmallows
*Almost 1 12 oz box graham cracker cereal
*2 lbs candy melting chocolates


Divide: I found it easier to work in two batches. Divide the ingredients approximately in half.
Melt: Take the first pound of chocolate and in a microwave safe bowl heat in the microwave at 50% power for 30 second intervals. Stir in between. Stop when chocolate is completely melted.
Combine: In a large bowl, mix the melted chocolate with about 1/2 of the cereal and marshmallows. Toss to coat well.
Spread: Take the mixture and spread it out onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet.( I just laid 3 pieces of wax paper to line my counter tops and poured it on there) You may need 2-3 cookie sheets total for the whole recipe.
Repeat: Repeat the steps above with the remaining half of ingredients.
Cool: Allow bark to cool completely for an hour or two.
Assemble: Break the bark apart in small chunks and serve in cupcake liners.
(Note: Recipe can be cut in half. This makes a large amount of bark.)

Charleston Weekend cont'd

Saturday we took a tour on the horse- drawn carriage thru Charleston- This is the Chisholm house.

This is the city jail dating WAY back- they do a ghost tour there. ( No thank you!) There is also a house located next to the jail- the ghost hunters from Tv were just there and found a trap door in the house with bones inside of it.

Jail sign- all old and weathered.

First Moon Pie store was in Charleston- didnt know that before!

Havent seen a Cigarrette vending machine since i was 6!! In a restraunt we ate at in between the bathrooms.

After our tour we drove thru Rainbow Row where all of the multi- million dollar homes are. They are spectacular and full of color. Pictures cant capture the enormity of them and the details each house has.

Some random bride having her portraits taken-

Charleston is GORGEOUS! If you EVER have a chance to visit there, you need to go. The seafood is out of this world! Lots of fun shopping, a straw market, farmers market, and lots of people to watch!

Weekend Charleston Girl Trip!

A Few weekends ago, some girlfriends and i took an overnight trip to Charleston. I've NEVER been there before, but have heard so many raves about it. With one of my girlfriends aunts here from Pa, we wanted to go somewhere that was historic- Boone Hall Plantation was on our list for Friday.

Little did we know it would be so hot- with a heat index of 115, people! That's not dry heat, that's HUMID heat. We spent 3 hours at this place- Now when i say the name of this place, for most of you that means nothing.. However, when i say: remember that summer house of the girl's parents in the movie, the Notebook ?! That rings a HUGe bell i'm sure ;)

THIS was that place!!

I am in love with the moss that hangs from trees- did you know that its actually a fungas, but will grow with the tree and they dont take from each other, so they live in harmony and make weird girls like me giddy when i see them!

Here's that infamous house! Of course the white pergolas on either side weren't in the movie- up close, those are actually covering benches for people that wait to tour the inside of the house. I did tour, however, we werent allowed to take any pictures, but i will say its gorgeous inside- the library with all of the old, musty antique books was my favorite- TALL bookcases, with hinged, see thru doors made out of chicken wire and framed with wood. the details were endless!

these are the slave houses which are in front of the house- there were about 6 of them if i recall, with one of them being the slaves place of worship. In each of these houses, they had facts on the slaves, what they did, how they lived, etc. VERY intriguing!

Another "Notebook" moment.. when her boyfriends driving down to her parents house and you see the LONG stretch of trees. Pictures CANNOT express how gorgeous it was!
( A little fun fact about that movie- remember when he crashes into the big iron fence ? that was NOT suppose to happen in the movie- the gates were suppose to open and failed, but the director like it so much, he kept it in the movie!)

Another shot of the slaves quarters

This is a view of the back-side of the huge house- on this property they have a full farm that runs all year long ( watermelons, pumpkins, grapes). Their biggest crop is Pecans, although with many storms, the trees were uprooted and died-

Many tv movies and shows have been filmed on this property
- Army Wives just finished filming a few weeks ago. This house may look familiar to some. It was built for a set on the movie starring Halle Berry, called Queen.

I saw this tree and went coo coo.. no lie.. my FAVE tree, a Crepe Myrtle, which you will see ALL OVER the place out here, WITH the moss in it.. ahhh.. cant get much better than that!

I am SO glad we all went- it was totally worth the money and an eye opening experience. I will be taking the fam back !!! Its not only educational, but so beautiful.. its heaven on earth, really!!

More Charleston pics to come-

Another Year of School Has Begun!

And unfortunately, Lil Muffin isnt going yet - Just sayin'!!! Tomorrow starts week 2 of the school year. I cant believe summer is over, but it was time ;) I was getting tired of breaking up drama and petty fights between the girls!!

Lil Muffin wants so desperately to go to school, ride the bus and have a backpack- for now, sitting on her sissy's lap for a picture will have to do .
This is mini me's teacher this year and she's thrilled. Its always hard to start with a new teacher, because we've loved her previous ones so much ( and honestly if we had it our way, we'd have her first teacher out here, EVERY year- like i said WISHFUL thinking. ) We've been blessed with every teacher out here she's had

Every year, mini me is allowed to pick her first day outfit- this was her choice this year and i loved it!! We only buy shoes, and school supplies to start the year off because out here, you dont need long sleeves and jeans until LATE fall- so, 4 pairs of shoes, an adorable Vera Bradley book bag ( which she paid half for with her hard earned money), and many school supplies later Mini Me has started off her 3rd grade year with a bang..

..... And how BIG she looks. Cheers to another Great year!!

Projects GALORE!

When the minis went with the Mr, i was able to do MANY projects. When i'm doing crafts, i'm one happy girl!

One thing you have to know is i STEW on projects for weeks, sometimes MONTHS trying to figure out where or what i should make. Sometimes, project ideas just happen right away-

This first project has been a LONG one. i forgot to take before and afters of everything, i'm a loser- but.. under this pic you'll see a pink canvas. My best friend in Sc was going to throw this away. i knew i could use it for something- i tried spray painting and that didnt work-

I hand painted black acrylic paint on the entire front and sides.

One dried, i sprayed each of the pieces of scrapbook paper with spray adhesive and layed on the canvas. i simply used the "Q" that i already had ( once again, another fun thing from Corky's daughter) that i've literally had for 3 yrs and didnt use. i sprayed it a tiffany blue-

had a 5x7 pic printed of lil muffin and used a vinyl rub on i've also been stashing for over 2 years. How cute is this simple piece of art?! i'm in love!

Monograms- i love them. I used to not "get it" because in Oregon, you dont do monograms. Well, things have changed and i look for ANY reason to have a monogram! I was burnt out on wreaths on my front door- while in hobby lobby ( my second home) i came up with this idea- a GIANT monogram ( joanne fabrics), a yard of fabric and modge podge. i literally layed the H
on top of the fabric and kept 2-3 inches around it and cut. i then cut every 2 inches all around so that i had small pieces to glue on the H and wouldnt get bubbles. you literally get your fingers messy and use them as your paint brush. This is a TIME CONSUMING project, people! we're talking 2 plus hours WITHOUT interruptions! once glued onto the H, i glued on TOP of the fabric to seal it, once again to not have bubbling. I then thought of a random do dad to match the fabric- on my neighbors i glued a mini owl on .
This idea has TAKEN OFF and we now have neighbors making their own spin offs-

these were those old 80's pantry doors with horrible gold hardware on them. i literally took tons of pieces and screws out. i spray painted them and then sanded to look shabby. I bought picture wire so that they could hang on the wall and had the Mr. screw screws into each side of the back of the shutters with the wire hanger, and then put square chair pads on ALL four corners of each so they wouldnt scratch the wall. i literally paid 6 dollars for the shutters and maybe 8 for the spray paint!

(ps the wicker trunk i also got at the garage sale for only 15 bucks and holds clean sheets)

i made this wreath using a round wreath form from the dolla store- i also bought my shells there and literally hot glued them on - super easy, super inexpensive!

While blog stalking, i came across a tutorial from a blog called Little apartment on the prairie that gave a tutorial on how to make your own beach glass with MODGE PODGE and food coloring! AGain, so easy- i went to our goodwill and got many bottles, however you can use what you have- the tall one is actually an old liquor bottle and the small square one was a reed oil diffuser at one time!

And that my friends is what i got done to show for.. there was more made

and many good trips to goodwill -
I think the best thing in all of this,is you dont have to fork out boatloads of money to do a project! The key is patience! Get an idea, and wait for the right thing to come along! its taken nearly over a year to get my room together and i'm still not done, but all the waiting and time pays off i promise you!

Our FAVE cheese Dip!

Mothers Day this year, i told you i was given the new Trisha Yearwood Cookbook- i cannot say enough about this book and will be buying it as gifts this year! If you love to cook, BUY THIS!!!

One of the best recipes for a party is the Charleston Cheese Dip. EVERYTIME i make this for the neighborhood get together, its literally gone in minutes. I never take pictures of it, so found this picture on the blog : Stirring the pot. Another great cooking blog!!

The recipe ?!!! you've got it!

*1/2 Cup Mayonnaise

*1 8 0z pckg Cream cheese, Softened

*1 C grated sharp cheddar cheese

*1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese

*2 green onions, finely chopped ( we dont add that, the Mr. cant eat onions)

*dash of cayenne pepper

*8 Ritz or butter crackers, crushed

*8 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled

Pre- Heat oven to 350*

In bowl, mix all ingredients BUT ritz crackers and bacon.

Transfer to a shallow baking dish,

top with crushed ritz and cook for 15 minutes. Remove, and top with bacon-

serve immediately!!

Once again i'll say, this is one of those cookbooks you might as well ALWAYS have out.. i have it literally sitting next to my stove!!