• Recipes,  Snacks

    Sweet, Savory, Simple

    Summertime is a busy season and it’s been tricky to make time for cooking, baking, and blogging. We had a stormy Saturday today and I decided it was the perfect time to come up with a Fourth of July blog post–that transformed into a yummy afternoon of sweet, savory, and simple popcorn recipes! The recipes for each of the 3 popcorns can be found below–the most important part is to start with fresh, air-popped popcorn. It’s a healthier option to microwavable popcorn and it’s easier to control the ingredients going onto your popcorn if it isn’t already over-salted and drowning in artificial butter. Patriotic White Chocolate Popcorn: Ingredients: 12-15 cups of…

  • Desserts,  Recipes

    Raspberry-Lemon Cheesecake Bars

    Light and refreshing, lemon cheesecake is the perfect spring dessert. Add in some raspberries and now you have a colorful, fruity dessert to share with friends and family. I’m so glad I came across this recipe from Kraft just the other day. I revised the steps a little bit below just to add in some implied instructions. I love that this cheesecake recipe was meant to be cut into bars which is perfect for smaller portions and individual servings. Family gatherings can get pretty big with lots of yummy desserts to try. With these bars, I can cut the pieces into the perfect serving size so even the little cousins…

  • Desserts,  Recipes

    A Match Made in Heaven

    Chocolate + Strawberries = Love With Valentine’s Day weekend coming to an end, you might be looking for something simple, yet thoughtful to give that special someone on the actual day. This year, Valentine’s Day is on a Tuesday which for most people means work and busy schedules. These easy, but festive, chocolate covered strawberries are the perfect way to satisfy your sweet tooth and let your Valentine know how much you care! *Disclaimer: These chocolate covered strawberries also make a great addition to any girls’ night or dinner party so feel free to enjoy them year round in any setting 🙂 Ingredients:  Fresh strawberries (washed and dried–really, really dried) Baker’s…

  • Recipes

    Honey-Glazed Ham

    A few years ago, I had the chance to make the honey-glazed ham for Christmas and ever since, it’s become a family favorite around this time of year. Baking a ham is fairly simple, and with just a few added ingredients to make the glaze, you can create a festive, delicious honey baked ham for the holidays! Ingredients:  1 stick of unsalted butter 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup honey 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp. nutmeg Pineapple slices Cloves Ham Instructions: Prepping the ham: Take the ham out of the packaging (but save it for time and temperature instructions). Score the ham making shallow cuts diagonally on the surface. Place…

  • Crafts,  Lifestyle

    A Bouquet of Thanks

    With the holidays just around the corner, family gatherings can sneak up on us whether we’re ready or not. Between work, school, or extracurricular activities, cooking or baking something for each event may not be an option. But, don’t worry! You don’t have to show up empty handed. Flowers are an easy, thoughtful gift to bring along to any Thanksgiving meal. Have more than one stop to make? Just buy a few bunches of flowers, arrange them together, add some ribbon and you’re all set!

  • Drinks and Cocktails,  Recipes

    Spooky Halloween Punch

    No Halloween party is complete without a delicious and easy-to-make punch! The best thing about this recipe is that you can customize it to fit your tastes and cater to your guest list. I made this a non-alcoholic punch, but you can easily add in rum or vodka to the ingredients for a more adult version or use pre-mixed sangria in addition to the Sprite for added flavor! And to make this punch even more festive, I used my new Halloween themed stemless wineglasses that I got during a Halloween party gift exchange at work! Thanks Amanda!! 🙂 Ingredients:  Raspberry Sherbet Orange Sherbet Sprite Instructions: Add 2 scoops of either…

  • Desserts,  Recipes

    Apple Pie Two Ways

    Apples, cinnamon, and sugar are pretty much staple ingredients in the fall, but I wanted to try something different than traditional apple pie. Below are 2 different desserts/pastries–and the best part is that you can use the exact same ingredients for both! Semi-Homemade Apple Turnovers Ingredients: 3 Honey Crisp Apples Pillsbury Pie Crust 1/4″ cup granulated sugar 1 tbsp. cinnamon 4 dashes of ground nutmeg Sprinkle of brown sugar Instructions: Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Wash, peel, and chop your apples. I usually slice the apples first and then chop the slices into smaller pieces. Add the apples to a medium bowl. Then add the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and…

  • Lifestyle

    Poetry, Poetry, Poetry

    po·em ˈpōəm,pōm/ noun 1.) A piece of writing that partakes of the nature of both speech and song that is nearly always rhythmical, usually metaphorical, and often exhibits such formal elements as meter, rhyme, and stanzaic structure.  synonyms: verse, rhyme, piece of poetry, song 2.) Something that arouses strong emotions because of its beauty. Lately I’ve noticed there are more and more poems floating around on Instagram and Facebook. Many of them are images of scribbled notes on parchment paper or a few lines written on a typewriter to give them a vintage feel. Not everyone is an English major so it’s no surprise that teens and young adults aren’t…

  • Drinks and Cocktails,  Recipes

    Summer Sangria

    There’s no better way to start off the weekend than with this White Wine Summer Sangria! Citrusy and refreshing, it’s the perfect way to relax after a long workweek or toast to another beautiful, but hot, summer weekend. Most sangrias do take some prep work and the longer you let all of the fruit and wine sit together, the tastier it will be–so be patient! Ingredients: 2 bottles of white wine Pinot Grigio Moscato 2 lemons, sliced 1 orange, sliced 3 limes, sliced Maraschino cherries 3 tbsp. simple syrup Ice (optional) Instructions: Slice the lemons, limes, and orange Spoon out 6-8 cherries and rinse them under cool water Add all of…

  • Recipes

    Rosemary-Lemon Lamb Chops

    I’m pretty excited about this recipe! First time making lamb chops and they turned out great! Now, I did call in back up because I wouldn’t dream of making lamb (or using his grill) without asking my dad to join me 🙂 The steps below are mostly prep work, but they prove that a good marinade really does make a difference. Ingredients: 10 lamb chops with bone 1/4 cup freshly chopped rosemary 1 lemon—juiced and strained 1/2 cup oil—I used 1/4 cup vegetable and 1/4 olive oil 1 tsp. garlic powder 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. pepper Instructions: Set out the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and 1/2 cup of oil.…