FOOD: Pink Lemonade Ice Cream Sandwiches

As I mentioned in a recent "We Are Loving This Week" roundup of my favorite things, I'm obsessed with Fig Newtons Lemon Crisp Fruit Thins. I found them on accident during a grocery trip recently - one where I was intensely hungry so I was buying large amounts of the most random foods like BBQ chips and Fruit Loops. Nope, not pregnant, I just want to eat all the things. Note to self: never shop while hungry.

While I was drooling in the snack aisle, I came across the fruit thins. They seemed like a good choice because anything containing fruit is automatically a health food, and also I'm a sucker for anything lemon flavored, so I grabbed a box and went on my merry way. Little did I know that this one box of fruit thins would be gone within a week. They're crispy with an almost shortbread quality to them, and the lemon flavor is to. Die. For. I immediately went out and bought a second package and decided to whip up these pink lemonade ice cream sandwiches because I HAD to make them for my internet friends. Not for me at ALL. So selfless of me, right? ;)

These tasty little ice cream sandwiches just scream summer! Since I wasn't able to find any actual pink lemonade, and I'm sadly without an ice cream maker (which hopefully will be remedied at Christmas this year - hint hint husband), I came up with a super easy way to make it myself!

INGREDIENTS: 1 1/2 quarts vanilla ice cream, 1 1/2 tsp Crystal Light pink lemonade powdered drink mix, 1 tsp. grated lemon rind, I package Fig Newtons Lemon Crisp Fruit Thins.

ONE: scoop your ice cream into a large mixing bowl and add the Crystal Light drink mix. Mix gently with a spoon until fully combined.
TWO: your ice cream should now be a lovely pink color :)
THREE: wash your lemon and use a grater to grate 1 tsp. lemon rind. Mix in with your ice cream.
FOUR: spoon your ice cream mixture into a pan lined with wax paper and freeze overnight.
FIVE: use a round cookie cutter (or a cup will work in a pinch) to cut out your ice cream and sandwich between two Fig Newton Lemon Crisps. Store in freezer for up to a week (if you don't eat them all before that!)

Good luck eating just one...I know I couldn't. If you're not up for going through the whole ice cream sandwich making process, the ice cream is delicious on its own! Just scoop into some sugar cones and enjoy. My daughter loved the pink color!

Check out our Link Party Page to see where we link up each week!

We Are Loving Right Now - Volume 11 - Recipes for the Grill

I absolutely LOVE to grill...well, my husband does the grilling, I just eat the yummy food! Summer is a time to be outdoors and enjoy grilling out with family and friends. Here are a few recipes we rounded up that you can add to your weeknight meals this summer. There are a few foods we included that you already know you can grill, with a couple new ones as well (including a drink - who knew?!)

 Grilled Brown Butter Pound Cake via Your Home Based Mom

 Grilled Peach Old Fashioned via Martha Stewart

 

 Grilled Peaches and Cream via Eat. Sleep. Make.

 

Grilled Pizza with Fontina and Arugula via Martha Stewart 

 Grilled Tomato "Lollipop" Toasts via White On Rice Couple

 

 Grilled S'mores Banana Boats via Very Culinary

Grilled Sweet Corn with Chili-Lime Honey Butter via Iowa Girl Eats

 

I personally want to dig into those s'mores. It's not summer until you've roasted s'mores! You all know how addicted I am. I mean, I even made s'more ice cream sandwiches so I could make s'mores without the fire :)

 

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I also wanted to let you all know that we're over at The Sewing Rabbit today sharing a tutorial to make this cute leather accented zipper pouch! Yes, I went and made something else with leather. I can't help myself. Come learn how to make one and say hi!

 

 

MAKE: Dino iPhone Tripod

So, if you know me, you know 2 things about me:

1 - I love my iPhone and anything Apple

2 - I love dinosaurs

Needless to say, this is the perfect combo of the 2, is it not?  I have a plethora of iPhone tripods around.  And I had these dino-butts laying around since this project, so I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to utilize them!

You will need:

The butt of a dinosaur (mine are from the dollar store)

Caulking

A suction cup

Paint brush

Use a utility knife to cut your dino in half.  Hopefully, yours are hollow like mine were (otherwise, no part of this project will work!)

Inject your dino butt with the caulking.  Use your finger to make sure the caulking is packed in tightly.

Stick your suction cup in the wet caulking.  Set your phone against it to make sure you're putting the suction cup in at the right angle.  Use a paint brush to remove any overflow caulking between the dino butt and the suction cup.

Next, dab a little caulking on the bottoms of the feet and tail.  If you don't do this, the dino will slide backwards every time your phone is resting on it.  The caulking gives it enough grip to sit still.

Unfortunately, since there is so much caulking inside the dino, this will take a few days to dry properly... about 4-5 days.  It's worth it, though, for how inexpensive, unique and fun this is!

I'm loving my dino-butt iPhone tripod! 

Check out our Link Party Page to see where we link up each week!

CRAFT: Checkered Planters

We shared this simple plant makeover a few weeks ago on The Lovely Cupboard. Grab some spray paint and a plain planter, and jazz up your decor with this tutorial!

If you read our blog, you know that my sister-in-law, Shannon, and I LOVE estate saling. In fact, Shannon even wrote a 3-part series on how to prepare for and find the best stuff at estate sales. If you know what to look for, you can furnish your home or add to your collection pretty inexpensively. And don't turn something down just because it needs a little work - that's the fun part! 

These little checkered planters are an example of a cheap estate sale find (I think I paid $1.50 for 3) that are transformed into something pretty and useful with a little paint.



SUPPLIES: ceramic planters, spray paint and sealant, masking tape or painters tape, X-Acto knife or scissors, measuring tape.

ONE: first, measure your planter to determine how long to make your checks. Mine was about 12 inches around and 5 inches high, so I decided to make 6 rows of checks 2 inches long.

TWO: next, cut out a bunch of rectangles from your masking tape or painters tape.

THREE: using your scissors, cut the ends of each rectangle at an angle.

FOUR: here's what your checks should look like.

FIVE: carefully stick your checks around your planter. 

SIX: when you have all your checks placed evenly, take it outside and place your planter on some newspaper or something you don't mind getting paint on, and spray evenly until covered. Spray several layers of paint on until you achieve an even coating all over, then spray with sealant once the paint has dried. 

Now fill with your favorite plant and display proudly! I'm a big fan of succulents (plus they don't die easily), so I picked up a few at a local convenience store and put them in the planters with some potting soil. If you're having trouble finding succulents in your area, you can usually find a lot of fun varieties at Home Depot. I've even seen some basic succulents at grocery stores.

These little planters make a great addition to my living room decor! Actually, this is Shannon's living room. She has cooler stuff than I do :)

I hope you enjoyed my project, and if you'd like to see more great DIY's, recipes, and home decor, please come visit Shannon and I on Eat. Sleep. Make! You can also find us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Bloglovin.

Check out our Link Party Page to see where we link up each week!

We Are Loving Right Now - Volume 10 (Pinned Faves!)

 

So, I was going through our pinterest boards today and decided to share with you all my absolute faves that we have pinned!  

 

1 - DIY A Frame Tent via A Beautiful Mess - I may not have kids, but I'd still build this for myself.
2 - Tortilla & Black Bean Pie - A vegetarian's dream!
3 - California Sandwich via Ezra Pound Cake - um, holy yum.
4 - Wood-Burned Building Blocks via Alisa Burke -I think these would look amazeballs on my mantel!
5 - DIY Dinosaur Serving Dish via Three Little Monkeys Studio - yeah.. this is awesome as crap.
6 - The Green Space Travel Case via Design Sponge - even if you can't get out of the office, you can still grab a little slice of serenity.

We hope you all had an absolutely fabulous Independence Day and that you enjoy the rest of your weekend!!

MAKE: Para Cord & Vintage Scarf Ring Necklace

Last month we shared this tutorial over at Whipperberry as our first post as part of the Whipperberry Creative Team.  (so exciting!)  We absolutely love working with Heather and are so grateful for the opportunity she's given us.

Of course, you all know how much we love going to estate sales and finding forgotten treasures. You see our photos on FB almost every weekend!  (We did a whole series about our strategies here.)  So, naturally, many many projects come from our compulsive saling.  Today I'm showing you how to make a necklace using para cord from the hardware store and a vintage scarf ring that I got for 25 cents at an estate sale. Yay!

As you can see, my cord got a little tangled.  It took me a good 15 minutes to even find the ends to begin untangling it. 

For my necklace I used 6 strands that were 6' long each, folded in half, with a tie around the middle.  That gives 12 - 36" strands to braid.

I braided 3 groups of 4 strands to get a thick, sturdy braid.  Once the braid is complete, tie some cord around the end and use a hot glue gun to secure the ends together.

Next, slide your scarf ring on.

The hard part is fixing the 2 ends together.  I used the tie that held the looped ends together and joined the 2 ends.  Use hot glue to secure any pieces you think may come loose.

Slide the scarf ring over the joint to hide it.  I made sure it wouldn't move by putting some glue inside the ring, then wrapping 5 loops of cord on either side of the ring. 

 

I actually love this necklace so much that it gets worn at least once a week. I'm actually wearing it right now!  You could even get fancy and change the shape of the necklace by using some copper piping elbow joints... I whipped one up, but forgot to take photos. I'll have to share those at another time.

Jen and I wish you guys a Happy Independence Day!  Have a blast partying and watching the fireworks! 

FOOD: Corn & Black Bean Salsa

Salsa of any kind is pretty much my favorite food... ever.  This one, just happens to be at the top of list of fave salsas.  It's so super easy to make and so delicious!  Not to mention, packed with protein (which is great for a veggiesaurus like myself).

Just grab your ingredients, mix and enjoy!

1 bag frozen corn - cooked and cooled
1 can black beans - drained and rinsed
1/2 red onion - diced
Jalapenos - diced (count depends on your taste for spice)
4 Roma tomatoes - diced (try not to add the seeds and juice)
Cilantro (as much as you like!) - chopped
1/4 tsp lime juice
Salt & pepper to taste
You don't need to be you can always add a clove or two of garlic... I, personally, love garlic on and in everything!

Now mix it all up and indulge... it's an amazing summer salsa.  It's fresh, light and scrumptious!

Check out our Link Party Page to see where we link up each week!