Cape Cod!

Y'all!  I'm back!  Did you even notice that I was gone?

I posted three crock pot recipes on July 29th and then headed to Cape Cod on July 30th and we didn't get back until August 9th.  And since then, I've been in the middle of PTO planning meetings, doctors appointments, dentist appointments and back-to-school shoe shopping! (One of the perks of attending a Catholic school is that I had already ordered all the uniform pieces from Land's End before we left for the Cape so shoe shopping is the only thing we had to do. And for that Peter, my non-shopper, is very grateful.)

We had a great time at the Cape.  We got to see Dan's sister for a couple of days.  We spent a lot of time with Dan's Uncle Bob and we also got to see Dan's brother and sister-in-law for lunch.  It was looking like we weren't going to get to spend any time with them so the fact that we were able to see them for lunch was a great bonus!  Although due to scheduling the kid's didn't get to see their cousin, Jillian and play their normal round of mini-golf and they were very disappointed about that.

We did a few new things that we hadn't done on past visits to the Cape.

We took a boat ride from Chatham and saw the seals:

The tide was going out so the sand bars were starting to emerge and all the seals flocked to them to lay on them.  We saw a ton of seals.  And they sounded like wounded cows!

We also strapped our bikes onto the back of the car and headed to Falmouth.  We parked and hopped on the Shining Sea Bike Trail.

From the official Cape Cod Bike Guide:  The Shining Sea Bikeway (SSB) was named for a line in the song America The Beautiful, written by Falmouth native Katharine Lee Bates. It follows the original route of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad that used to run from Buzzards Bay, through North and West Falmouth, around Woods Hole and into Falmouth Station. In the early 1970's the Town of Falmouth purchased the right of way, tore up the tracks and officially opened the 3.3-mile Shining Sea Bikeway in 1975. In 2009, a new 7.4-mile section was added, extending the trail to North Falmouth. This addition was built with a $3.2 million federal grant. Now the SSB runs 10.7 miles from County Road in North Falmouth all the way to the Steamship Authority parking lot in Woods Hole.

We biked the 3 and half miles from Falmouth to Woods Hole and got to see beautiful scenery - salt marshes, the ocean, rocky beaches, and several Osprey nests.  It was flat and breezy and absolutely perfect.  And when we got to Woods Hole, we hopped off our bikes and parked them at the Steamship Authority and walked around Woods Hole.  We found a nice place for lunch and after lunch we got back on our backs for the ride back to Falmouth.  We walked around Falmouth for a bit and got cupcakes.  It was such a great day.  I would definitely do that trail again!

Here are a few pictures from our ride:

Look at the beautiful view behind us.  That was our view for a lot of the ride!

Feeding the ducks at the restaurant.

Walking back to the bikes.

Cupcakes in Falmouth!

We also went to the Cape Cod Inflatable Park. Y'all!  This place was so much fun! They had something for everyone.

They had water slides (but we went at night after those had closed down), all kinds of bounce houses (of course, my kids were too old for those) and a whole section called The Challenge.  That's where my kids hung out most of the time. 

Sorry for the grainy cell phone snaps.  The kids had a blast and Sarah said the only thing that would have made the place more phone would have been if she could have had all of her friends there with her!

In addition to all of the new things we did on the Cape this year, we also spent lots of time on the beach:

And we got ice cream.  Lots of ice cream.  The Cape has so many good ice cream places.  We went out for ice cream 6 times and we only repeated the place once.  And I'm not even going to complain about how much weight I gained on vacation. 

 And we biked to Seagull Beach one evening and walked out on the jetty for a pictures.

We had great weather and we made a lot of good memories!

And I can't believe there's only one more week of summer vacation left!

3 Fabulous Crock Pot Meals!

I'm linking up with the fabulous Dweej today!  I'm sharing not one but three, that's right three, fabulous crock pot dinners.  They are easy and we love each one of them!


Mississippi Roast

Ingredients:
1 chuck roast (4-5lbs)
1 packet ranch dressing/dip mix
1 packet McCormick's Gravy Mix  (au jus)
1 stick butter
5-10 pepperoncini peppers

Directions:
Mix the ranch packet and the gravy pack together.  Sprinkle on chuck roast.
Put a stick of butter on top of  the roast.  Place peppers on top.
Cook in slow cooker on low 4-6 hours until done.

And when I made it last night, I didn't even mix the spice packs.  I just sprinkled them separately.  And you read it correctly - there is no liquid in this other than the better when it melts.

Meat cooked in butter?  What's not to love?

It doesn't look like much in the crock pot before it cooks.

Or even when it's done cooking.   But it is yummy! 

And because my husband loves him some beef, here's another pot roast recipe:

3 Packet Pot Roast
 
Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 (.7 ounce) packet dry Italian-style salad dressing mix
1 (1 ounce) packet ranch dressing mix
1 (.75 ounce) packet dry brown gravy
1 (3 pound) boneless chuck roast

Directions: 
Whisk together water and contents of all packets until smooth.  Place beef roast into crock pot and pour the sauce over the top.  Cook on low for about 6 hours.


And because man can't live on beef alone, here's a yummy one pot chicken meal:

Crock Pot Italian Chicken and Potatoes

Ingredients:
4 boneless chicken breasts
1 cup Italian salad dressing
2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning
1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

Directions:

Place chicken in crock pot.  Sprinkle with half the Italian dressing, spices and cheese.  Place carrots and potatoes around the chicken and cover with remaining dressing, spices and cheese.  Cook on low for about 6 hours.

Sarah's Birthday Room Re-do!

For Sarah's 11th birthday, she decided she wanted to update her room. "It looks like a little girl's room not an 11-year-old's room." 

So, even though we had just redone her room for her 9th birthday, I told her we could.  Because honestly, I hated the colors she chose for that room re-do.  (Three bright Pepto pink walls and one bright purple wall!  Those colors could definitely keep you up at night!)

I told her that I would get the paint and help her paint the walls but she would have to take care of all the new accessories. 

Peter and Dan headed to Boy Scout Camp and she and I got to work. 

First, let's do a few BEFORE shots.  

We had already removed a white book case from the center of this wall before I remembered that I have a blog and needed to take before shots!

These letters used to hang over her crib so I would say we definitely got our money's worth.  But she decided they were too babyish for her new room so she took the "S" and we covered it in scrapbook paper and it is hanging on her door now.  (See first photo in post.)

Inside the stripped mesh is a cool purple butterfly chair.  This also did not make the cut for the new updated tween room.  Her room is pretty small and she wanted it to feel more open which is why the bookshelf is out and so is the chair.

Sarah wanted a soft neutral color so we headed to Lowes and picked out a ton of samples.  We ended up with Ballet Slipper.  It's almost white but it has a definite pink tone but, thankfully, not Pepto pink!

It already looks so much better!

She and I made several trips to Hobby Lobby looking for just the right accessories and trips to Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Target, and Kohls to find the right neutral bedspread.  She chose a white bedspread because she wanted all of her accessories to "pop"

She wanted a gallery wall over her desk and spent a lot of time and money on it.  It took two trips to Hobby Lobby to get just the right frames for the wall and then we spent a lot of time arranging the frames, and then a lot of time getting them on the wall.  (I used the old trick of copying the frames on paper and hanging the paper up so we would  know where to put the nail holes.)

We waited for Daddy's return from Boy Scout camp before we hung everything.  

And here is the final product! 

She made the pillow cases using a no-sew tutorial she found on You Tube.  (Way cheaper than buying new pillows!)

Doesn't the gallery wall look great?

Cute clock from Aunt Cathy!

Taaa daaaaah!

She is thrilled with her new room.  It's very calming and she spends a lot of time in here.  The color looks a little washed out in these pictures but there's some definite pink tones so it's still girly but without being "little girl".  I think she acheived the look she was going for and I'm very proud of her.  She had a vision and she made sure we stuck with it until the project was completed!

And without so much stuff in it, the room looks and feels bigger and it's definitely easier for her to keep clean.  I think it needs some curtains but she didn't want any.  I might get her some anyway because the window looks so naked.

So this was Sarah's big room redo and I can't believe it's been done for over a month and I'm just now posting it.

Cupcake liner flower - so much cuter than a bow!

Sarah is going to a birthday party tomorrow.  It was time to wrap the present and I suggested we make a cupcake liner flower for the top of the box instead of a bow.

Deborah, from a Delightful Glow, just posted one that she made and it seemed simple enough that even I could do it!

You basically take two cupcake holders, twist them, staple them, and glue buttons on them and voila:

Isn't it the cutest thing?

And here it is on the birthday present:

So much cuter than a bow and so simple to make!

Head over to see Deborah if you want the easy instructions and have a great weekend!

St. Rebecca Irene, pray for us!

When I was pregnant with Rebecca, Dan's brother and wife sent us a gift for her.  It was a tiny little gold chain with a guardian angel charm.  It was just the sweetest little thing.  Rebecca never got to wear it while she was in the hospital and I breifly thought about burying her with it.  But then I realized that she no longer needed a guardian angel so I kept it.

Occasionally I would wear it but the chain was very short and very dainty. I was always afraid I was going to break it with my adult sized neck. The charm was gold and I didn't have any gold chains to put it on and had never gotten around to buying one.

One day I wore it and put it back with the rest of my jewelery but when I went to wear it again about a month ago, it was gone!  I was heartbroken.

I remembered putting it back but it wasnt there.  I searched and searched and couldn't find it.  I assumed that it must have ended up on my closet floor and gone out with the Goodwill pile.  (My jewelry hangers are in my closet hanging right over the pile of clothes that are headed for Goodwill. I've always got a pile of clothes that are headed to Goodwill.)

So I did what all Catholics do. I asked St. Anthony (patron saint of lost things) to pray that I would find it.  I continued asking for his intercession and I continued searching but to no avail.

Then Dan went to Dubai again and came home with a beautiful 18k gold chain for me that he purchased in the duty free shop.  He said he wanted to get me something from one of his trips.  He occasionally brings something home for the kids but he's never brought anything home for me.

The gold chain was simple and beautiful.  He asked me what I was going to put on it and I just sighed and told him that I would find something. I knew in my heart what I wanted to put on it but I just didn't know where it was. 

Sarah even started asking me what I was going to put on it.  I ramped up my requests to St. Anthony for intercession and then one morning decided that I was going to ask Rebecca to pray about it as well.  And what do you know?  As soon as I asked her to pray for me, I decided to go look where I had looked multiple times before and THERE IT WAS! It was hanging exactly where it was supposed to be hanging!  Why had I not seen it before??

I was elated!  I put the charm on my chain and have been wearing it frequently ever since.

But that's not the end of the story! 

As I was searching for my charm, my blog friend, Madeline lost something as well.  She posted on Instagram that she had lost something very special so I told her that I would pray that she find it.  She later mentioned on her blog that she was still looking for this item.  And then, the same morning that I found the charm, she posted again on Instagram that she was still missing her very special item.

I told her in a comment what had happened with my charm and that I asked my little saint to pray that I would find it and that I did! 

Well, imagine my surprise when a few days later, Madeline posted a picture of the blueberry pie that she had made based on my recommendation and the following words:

I made the blueberry pie that Beth recommended.  The entire time I asked for St. Rebecca Irene's intercession to help me find my wedding band.  (HER WEDDING BAND!!) Not one hour later we found it in the middle of Christopher's room!

Oh how happy this made me!  Y'all - she lost her wedding band, asked for Rebecca to pray that she would find it and then it turned up one hour later right in the middle of her son's room which had been searched multiple times!  Read all about it here.

I know all my non-Catholic friends are probably a little skeptical.  But if you can ask all your friends on earth to pray for you, why can't you ask your friends in heaven?  And since I know without a shadow of a doubt that my little Rebecca is in heaven (she was sinless after all!) she is the perfect person to ask for prayers. She is up there for all eternity worshiping God so (unlike our friends on earth) she's got plenty of time to pray and she is literally right there with Him!

Finding the charm and Madeline finding her ring, made Rebecca feel so close. 

I miss that sweet little baby and honestly not a day goes by that I don't think about her. Knowing she's in heaven is a comfort, but sometimes I  need something concrete to confirm what I believe.  And finding that charm was concrete for me. 

And then on the same day that I found the charm, Dan and I were out watering Rebecca's Dahlia's and a beautiful butterfly was flying around.  I felt like God was confirming yet again that Rebecca's life had unfolded exactly how He had ordained and that His plan for her was continuing to unfold even in her death. And I felt peace. 

Sometimes God sends butterflies to remind us that it's all good!

Lemon Feta Dip!

I found a great recipe on Pinterest on Wednesday and have already made it twice!  Well, to be fair, I only made half a batch on Wednesday but went to the store and got more feta and made a full batch yesterday.

It's so yum and so simple that I feel the need to share it with you!

If you're like me and love you some feta - then you're gonna love this dip.

The recipe is from Sweet Paul and was originally in his cookbook, Sweet Paul Make and Eat.  

 

 

Sweet Paul's Lemon and Feta Dip

7 ounces feta cheese (about 1 cup crumbled)

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest, plus more for garnish

1–2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 garlic clove, minced

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving

Pinch of red pepper flakes

Crudités, chips, toasts, or pita crisps, for serving

1. Place the feta, lemon zest, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil in a blender and whir until combined but still slightly chunky. It’s dense, so you may need to stir it with a fork once or twice. Taste, and if it’s too salty add more lemon juice.
2. Spoon into a serving bowl, drizzle with a little oil, and sprinkle with a pinch of pepper flakes and some lemon zest.
3. Serve with crudités, chips, toasts or pita crisps.

I have to admit that I did not have fresh lemons and forgot to pick them up when I went to the store for the second batch.  But it was delish with lemon juice from the plastic squeeze lemon so I can only imagine how much better it would be with fresh lemons.

We have a ton of cucumbers from the garden and I have been using those in this dip.  A great way to use up my cucumbers and its a very low carb snack!

I hope you enjoy!

Fun summer weekend!

Yikes! How can it be Wednesday already and I haven't even posted about our weekend? I better remedy that! Dan spent last week in Dubai but he arrived home Friday. We had tickets to the Dash game so off we went!

 They lost the ballgame but we enjoyed an awesome fireworks show after the game.  The Dash always have the best fireworks following most of their Friday night games!  And boy do I love me some fireworks!

On Saturday morning we decided to drive to Boone, NC.  We stopped for lunch at McKethan Brothers Barbecue  before heading to Foggy Mountain Gem Mine.

At the gem mine, we purchased a bucket of dirt and sluiced our way through the much to find some gems.

After we were done, we took our treasures to the experts who sorted through everything for us and told us what we found.  Our best find was an emerald!  Sarah wanted to pay to have it cut our of the stone and set but I said no.  There was no telling how big (or most likely small) it was.  Knowing our luck it would have been too tiny to set.  And the price to cut an emerald was far more expensive than most of the other stones. 

After we left the gem mine, we hopped on the Blueridge Parkway and took in the beautiful scenery on our way home!

We came home and grilled burgers and ate corn on the cob that was fresh from the garden.  Sunday was Mass, delicious lunch at my parent's house and then just hanging out. 

It was a great weekend!  me! 

When life gives you blueberries, make blueberry pie!

We have a few blueberry bushes and they have lots of blueberries on them.  I picked quite a few last week and Sarah asked if she could make a pie.  My recipe is super easy and super tasty so I let her go for it!

I've shared the recipe before (but it was back in 2009 and please look at my babies!) so here it is again.  It's so good, it bears repeating!

Delicious Creamy Blueberry Pie

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups fresh blueberries
• 1 (9 inch) deep dish pie crust
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine 1 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, and salt. Add eggs, sour cream, vanilla and lemon juice, stirring until blended.
2. Place blueberries in pastry shell, and spoon sour cream mixture over berries.
3. In another bowl, combine 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup flour. Cut in butter until mixture resembles course meal. Sprinkle this mixture over sour cream mixture and berries in the pie shell.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 60 minutes, or until lightly browned and not shaking in the center.

If you've got blueberries and are craving a pie, make this one!  You won't regret it!