Labor Day

Our Labor Day wasn't so labor-less...

It all started Friday afternoon when we ventured up to Kansas City in order for Brandon to redeem his anniversary gift.  If you know Brandon, you know he is the most loyal Kansas City Royals fan.  Ever.  He has loved the Royals since he was a little guy, he bats left-handed because George Brett batted left-handed and he will defend George Brett against the haters (ahem...my brother) until the day he dies, he remembers where he was when the Royals won the World Series, and he can rattle off Royals stats from any era.  I could go on, but you get the point.  So, for our fifth anniversary, I decided to get him a Royals experience that he wouldn't forget  - a personal, behind the scenes tour of Kauffman Stadium!  Needless to say, he was very excited and I think he had a great time.  But, I will let the pictures do the talking...

{In the media room}

{Frank White}

{Getting to know Jeff Franceour}

{Bill Butler a.k.a. "Country Breakfast", a nickname he gave himself}

{Hosmer!}

{Royals Hall of Fame}

{Broadcast booth}

{First base camera bay during the National Anthem}

We sat in the Diamond Club seats with my sister and her husband and enjoyed a lovely evening, but unfortunately the Royals didn't win.  However, we did get to experience the Friday night fireworks after the game.  

After a long night, we were definitely ready for bed since we had a big day on Saturday.  We started out at the City Market with my sister and her family.  The city market is located in downtown Kansas City and was so fun!  Before we got going, the girls took a little train ride...

After the train ride, we browsed the market and walked away with plenty of goodies:

• heirloom tomatoes (oh how I wish I could find these in Wichita)
• peaches
• corn on the cob
• dog treats
• bread
• spices and dressing mixes
• flower pots (to be revealed later...)

We left the market in time to meet my brother and his family for lunch before some of us headed to God's country for the Wildcat football game!  If you follow me on Twitter, you know that the game was pretty ugly, but we did pull out a win and we had a great time, as usual!

{the only pic I got was of the band...oops!}

We got back to KC pretty late and pretty much fell right to sleep after our long day.  But we had to get rested up for yet another fun day!  After church on Sunday, the boys took the little girls home for naps while us big girls squeezed in a little shopping.  The highlight of the shopping trip?  Trader Joe's!  Trader Joe's just opened up near my brother and sister's house and I've heard so many great things about their products on food blogs and from my sister and sister-in-law so I knew I needed to make a stop.  And, I was not disappointed!  Not only did they have great products, their prices were also amazing!  For around $50 I got the following:

• 2 chocolate bars
• 1 tub of mini peanut butter cups
• 1 tub of pistachio toffee
• 1 bag of frozen potstickers
• 1 bag of sweet potato fries
• 2 jars of pasta sauce
• 2 packages of refrigerated pasta
• 1 bag of sweet potato chips
• 1 bag of peanut butter filled pretzels
• 1 bag of honey sesame almonds (or crack!)
• 1 box of chocolate covered frozen banana slices
• 1 box of mini ice cream sandwiches
• 2 bags of fresh pizza dough
• 1 bottle of pomegranate limeade (I hear it is great with a little bit of vodka)

Can you believe I got all of that for roughly $50??  I was shocked!  So far, we have used the pizza dough, the tortellini and one jar of pasta sauce (not all together!) and have been extremely pleased with the taste and the quality of the items.  Brandon did not quite understand why we drove all the way to KC to buy groceries, but I hate to inform him that this probably won't be the last time we do this :)

After our shopping trip, we met up with everyone for a little family bowling!  Surprisingly, the little girls did a pretty good job of bowling granny style.

We worked up quite an appetite bowling so we headed over to Todd and Natalie's for dinner and consumed some of our market finds from the day before.  Oh yeah -- we also had some amazing peach cobbler, Paula Deen style!  We definitely went home full and happy.

Monday, we got up and had a yummy breakfast and then packed up the car to head home.  Since we stayed with Tara and Matt, we decided to stop by Todd and Natalie's before we left town to spend a little time with our niece.  We ended up taking the dogs to the park for a little walk because she LOVES dogs and guess who she chose to walk...

Yep, Koby is very loved by this little girl!  

We finally made our way home and hit the ground running.  We unloaded our stuff, washed the car, cleaned out the interior, started (and finished) laundry, Brandon mowed and I made dinner.  Even though it was a crazy busy weekend, we had a great time!

A Good Day

Who knew what a nice rain shower and a break in the 100 degree temperatures could do for my attitude.  This morning, we woke up to a gentle rain shower coupled with large claps of thunder and it was like music to our ears.  The gentle rain quickly turned into big rain drops and by the time I left for work, it was coming down in sheets.  And I couldn't have been happier!

The cool temperatures that lingered around for the day were a reminder that Fall, my favorite season of all, is on its way.  The clearing skies and slight crispness in the air added a little pep in my step as I was reminded why I'm thankful I live in Kansas...the promise of changing seasons!

Another bonus for the day was that today was National S'mores Day and as promised, we did take the opportunity to celebrate.  Brandon humored me as he fought to get the fire started.  I don't think he was quite as excited about this holiday as I was.  Thankfully, he's a good sport and we enjoyed our gooey, melty treats!

Today was definitely a good day.  I find we often get caught up in the stresses of life and forget to celebrate the small things, no matter how trivial they may seem.  I encourage you to celebrate something small this week!

A little math equation

Sorry for posting twice in one day, but I just realized something pretty amazing....

National S'mores Day

+

The forecast for my area

+

New birthday chairs that need to be used

=

One pretty awesome day! 

You better believe we'll be sitting on our patio tomorrow evening making s'mores around our fire pit!  I can't think of a better way to spend a Wednesday evening.
 

Fun Phone Photos

This is a picture of the the temperature around 4:00 p.m. yesterday afternoon.  Ughhh!!

Due to the extreme heat, I took the dogs on a ride in the car the other night rather than taking them for a walk and this is what Koby did the entire car ride.

 

Speaking of Boston Terriers, I got this super cute magnent in the mail the other day!  Natalie, you know me all too well!

I bought these flowers for myself last weekend.  I told Brandon they would cheer me up while he was away.   Aren't they neat?  I don't remember what they are called, but they were in the loose flower bunches at Dillons.  I love them!

If this isn't a pitiful, face I don't know what is.  He was begging to get on the (unmade) bed.



Summer Salads

With the recent heat wave, I've not had much motivation to do any real cooking, as in turn on the stove or oven.  So, I challenged myself to find recipes that require very little, if any, cooking and thanks to my favorite blogs, I found a few that fit the bill.

{Photo courtesy of Our Best Bites}

I am always looking for good "take to work" lunch recipes as I'm not the biggest fan of eating leftovers over and over, nor am I a fan of deli sandwiches.   This salad uses fresh veggies that are currently in season and the addition of chicken makes it a great entree salad that fills me up and stays with me all day (as opposed to a lettuce salad), which then keeps me from snacking in the afternoon.  And, most importantly, the only cooking required was boiling water for the pasta.  This would be a great recipe to make for your next picnic, pot luck, or luncheon.


Southwest Pasta Salad
Recipe by Our Best Bites

1/2 lb bowtie pasta
1 14oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 roma tomatoes, diced or about 3/4 C or halved cherry tomatoes
1 large red, yellow, or orange bell pepper, diced
1/2 C sliced green onions
1/2 C frozen fresh corn (I used fresh corn on the cob)
zest from 2 limes
optional: 8 oz diced cooked chicken (I used a store bought rotisserie)
1/2 C Queso Fresco or Cotija Cheese (or you could sub grated jack, cheddar or pepperjack)

Dressing:
6 Tbs fresh lime juice (about 3 juicy limes)
1/4 C white wine or rice vinegar
4-5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp kosher or sea salt
2 tsp sugar (add a touch more if your limes are extra sour/bitter)
3/4 C canola oil
1/2 C roughly chopped cilantro

Boil pasta in salted water until cooked.  While it’s cooking, prepare dressing.

First zest your limes and place the zest in a large salad bowl.
Place the lime juice, vinegar, garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander, salt and sugar in a blender.  (Basically everything except the cilantro and oil)  Process until smooth.  With the motor running slowly, add the oil in a steady stream until incorporated.  Add the cilantro and pulse so it gets broken up, but some pieces still remain in tact.

When pasta is done cooking, drain and rinse immediately with cold water to cool.  Place the pasta in the large salad bowl with the lime zest.  Add black beans, tomatoes, diced pepper, green onions, corn (no need to thaw the corn),  and chicken if desired.  Toss with dressing.  Taste, and add additional salt and pepper to taste.  For best results, chill for 1 hour before serving.  Right before serving, sprinkle cheese on top.  Serve with extra lime wedges if desired.

Makes about 4-6 dinner sized servings or 10-12 side servings

{Photo courtesy of Our Best Bites}

Brandon is a big fan of Asian cabbage salads, but I always think they need something more.  Don't get me wrong, I really like the original recipes, but when I saw this recipe with the added veggies I knew I had to try it.  I thought the added "crunch" of the veggies would be perfect and I was right.  Also, this recipe required NO cooking at all!
 

Asian Cabbage Salad
Recipe by Our Best Bites
 
1 14 oz bag coleslaw mix
1 rib celery, sliced
1/2 cucumber, sliced
1 small handful sugar snap peas (about 20 baby ones)
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced
1/4 of a small red onion, thinly sliced
1 T toasted sesame seeds*
1/3 C slivered or sliced almonds, toasted*
Optional: 1 1/2 C cooked, shredded or diced chicken

Dressing:
2 T canola oil
2 T cider vinegar
1/4 C seasoned rice wine vinegar
2 T sugar (or equivalent of sugar substitute)
1 t kosher salt
2 t soy sauce
1/4 t garlic powder, or one small garlic clove, minced
1/4 t black pepper
1/2 t sesame oil

* To toast almonds or sesame seeds, place them (not together, do one thing at a time!) in a dry skillet over medium heat. Turn constantly until golden brown. Let cool before using.
Begin by making the dressing.  Combine all ingredients in a jar or tupperware bowl, cover and shake.

Next, place all of the salad ingredients, except almonds and sesame seeds, in a bowl and toss with the dressing.  Place the salad in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes prior to serving.  Top with toasted almonds and sesame seeds just before serving. 

I tossed the salad ingredients and left the dressing off since I knew we wouldn't eat it all at one meal.  Then, I just dished out enough salad for our meal and dressed while I made the rest of our meal and it was perfect.  To me, there is nothing worse than a leftover soggy salad. 

Aside from these salads, I also found a crockpot recipe that I plan to try this weekend for my sis-in-law's early birthday dinner.  I also used a loaf of jalepeno cheddar bread from our farmers market along with fresh tomatoes to make a pretty awesome BLT. 

What are some of your go-to summer recipes?

Attempting to Beat the Heat

The mercury continues to rise here in Kansas.  In the past week, I think the heat records have been broken at least three times and our city was named the 4th Hottest City in the country -- woo hoo!  Everytime I walk out of my office building I feel like God is sitting outside with a gigantic hair-dryer blasting us in our face.  Some people have commented that it feels like a sauna outside and I must say, I don't disagree with that assessment either.  Needless to say, it is pretty miserable and it is only July.  I can't imagine what August and September are going to be like.  Nevermind...I don't want to even try to imagine.  I've sat through enough scorching early September KSU football games to know what we're in for. 

As you can imagine, it is hard to get motivated to do much of anything when it is so hot outside.  I break a sweat just walking to my car (which might be a sign I need to work out more...).  However, I don't want to just waste our summer by sitting around watching horrible summer TV -- even though I'm known to watch some pretty bad TV, the summer lineup is just bad.  So, I've decided to make a list of things we can do to beat the heat and still enjoy our summer.  I would also welcome any other ideas because I know I have readers down in Texas (Hi Heather!) who battle this heat all the time and I'm sure I'm missing out on some fun activities.

How to Beat the Heat in Kansas

• Go to a matinee movie -- Matinee movie ticket prices are cheaper (which frees up a few extra dollars for movie popcorn!) and the movies play in the afternoon, which is the hottest part of the day.  We met up with a couple of friends for a movie on Sunday afternoon and then picked up Papa Murphy's pizza for an impromptu pizza party afterwards.  It was a great afternoon!
• Take the opportunity to work on indoor house projects that have been neglected -- We have a bathroom that needs repainted and we have a been talking about painting our bedroom for a long time but we have just never gotten around to it.  I also often find fun projects online but never seem to have the "time" to work on them, so now would be the perfect opportunity to get crankin'.
• Go to the Farmers' Market early in the morning and enjoy all the fresh produce all week long without having to spend the time and energy tending to a garden.
• Quit cooking! -- There is nothing worse than coming home to a hot house and turning on the oven or stove to make dinner and then sweating to death just to make dinner.  I've been finding some great cold salad recipes that require little cooking and little time.  I've also thought about spending one day of the week cooking and prepping for meals so we don't have to endure the hot oven every day.
• Take a "cool" tour of your city -- We have always told ourselves we need to be tourists in our own city.  This summer would be the perfect time to explore museums, restaurants and other indoor attractions our city has to offer.  And one of the perks is that some of these places are FREE!
• Find the best scoop in town -- I know my diet might not appreciate this activity, but I've always heard of people who go on a mission to find the best hamburger/pizza/etc. in town so why not take it to another level and find out who serves up the best scoop of ice cream in town? 
• Make gifts -- Every year when Christmas rolls around (or birthdays for that matter) I find myself wishing I would have planned ahead and bought gifts ahead of time.  It is no secret I love Etsy and I'm becoming quite a fan of Pinterest which are two sites that are filled with all kinds of homemade gift ideas (and much much much more).  Now would be the perfect time to work ahead on gifts for the upcoming year.

As I mentioned, I would love to hear how everyone else is beating the heat this summer!  Please feel free to leave a comment or suggestion!

When Life Gives You an Abundance of Basil...

 

...Make Sparkling Strawberry Basil Lemonade!

A few weeks ago we had some friends over for dinner and I was trying to figure out how I could incorporate the crazy amount of basil that was growing in our herb garden into our meal.  I knew I wanted to make a tomato, basil,and mozzarella salad, but I also remembered a recipe I found for Strawberry Basil Lemonade (found here) and just had to make it as well!  As I read the recipe, I remembered another recipe I had found for Sparkling Strawberry Lemonade (found here) and decided to sort of combine the recipes into one, and I'm sure glad I did!  The lemonade was pretty much gone before we even ate dinner.

Last night, Brandon and I decided to have a relaxing dinner on the patio and we had a container of strawberries that needed to be consumed so I made the lemonade once again, but this time I added a little excitement to the mix -- vodka!  I didn't add the alcohol the last time but thought it would be fun to try and really, you couldn't even taste it, which is the way I like to drink :)

If you have a party coming up or just want a perfect summer drink, I highly recommend this one!


Sparkling Strawberry Lemonade
10 lemons, juiced, approx 1 cup of lemon juice
3/4 cup super fine sugar
8-10 strawberries, hulled
1/3 cup fresh basil
4½ cups cold sparkling water or seltzer
1/2 cup vodka (optional)

Place lemon juice, sugar, strawberries, and basil in a blender.  Blend until smooth.  Pour juice mixture into a glass pitcher and refrigerate until serving time.  To serve, pour sparkling water and vodka over the juice mixture and gently stir to combine.  Fill glasses with ice and lemonade and garnish with a fresh strawberry or a wedge of lemon.