Combining Two Favorites... into ONE!

Food

Entertaining

Survival

Three things, I believe MOST of us desire... and need...

especially at the end of a stressful day!

Now, there is a place where you can find ALL of them...

and let your worries melt away - 

DRUM ROLL 

(please)....

www.machemag.com

It's the love child (or brain child)

that combines TWO of my favorite blogs into ONE online magazine!

www.quitelikeit.com

www.inspiredtaste.net

"Quite Like It" is written by two design buddies 

(one in Omaha, NE - the other in Baltimore, MD)

 who love creating wedding invitations, stationary and holiday cards.

They're blog posts are AWESOME.

Always full of the latest trends in fashion, design and anything girlie :)

Heather Winkel

Ananda Spadt

"Inspired Taste" is written by a husband & wife team, who are always looking 

for inspiration in the kitchen!

They have fabulous recipes that are EASY to make!

(And the photos of the food are B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L)

Adam Gallagher

Joanne Gallagher

So, when all four decided to launch

Mache Magazine

(together!!!)

I couldn't have been more excited.

It's a fabulous digital magazine - 

full of recipes, family fun, and "do it yourself" crafts.

So... please...

head on over, and check it out!

You'll love it.

Promise.

Sweet Summer Salad

One of my absolute favorite things about summer...

SALADS!

And boy, do I have a tasty one for you...

simple known as...

"Sweet Corn Salad."

This salad will feed about 4 people, so if you need more - 

DOUBLE it.

Start with 4 ears of sweet corn.

Put them in boiling water for about 4-5 minutes.

Cut up 1 large cucumber.

Cut up about 1/2 cup of green onions.

Finely chop 1 jalepeno, and about 1/4 cup of fresh cilantro.

Also chop 3 tomatoes.

Once your corn is cooked and cooled...

 cut the kernels off the cob.

(Cutting the corn off the cob always takes me back to the 4th grade, when I had braces -

and my dad always had to cut the kernels off, so they wouldn't get 

stuck in my braces! LOL )

Next...

Find a really great "White Balsamic" vinegar.

I really, really like the kind from Marzetti.

OR - you can make your own.

You'll need:

1.) 4 tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar

2.) 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Add to the veggie mixture.

Add salt and pepper.

Toss together, and pop in the fridge for 2 hours to marinate.

So pretty, right?!

You can eat the salad EXACTLY like it is...

or put it over a bed of fresh mixed greens.

I took my salad outside, because the weather is FINALLY

feeling like summer in Wisconsin.

A few great magazines...

... and my iPod with my summer tunes :)

Perfect little lunch.

Summertime 2011 Playlist

"Hey, Hey, Hey" - Michael Franti & Spearhead

"Summer Girl" - Leighton Meester

"Shake It" - Michael Franti & Spearhead

"Brighter than the Sun" - Colbie Caillat

"The Lazy Song" - Bruno Mars

"Days Go By" - Keith Urban

"Good Life" - OneRepublic

"Somewhere Over the Rainbow" - Straight No Chaser

"Running on Sunshine" - Jesus Jackson

"Ants Marching" - Dave Matthews Band

"Perfect Day" - Lady Antebellum

"One Love" - Bob Marley

"Hope" - Shaggy

"Boys of Summer" - Don Henely

"Dog Days Are Over" - Florence + The Machine

"Come Sail Away" - Styx

"Heat of the Moment" - Asia

"Rumour Has It" - Adele

"Sew" in Love

I have fallen in L-O-V-E...

... with these PENDANTS!

When I saw them on Etsy - I immediately 

had to blog about it!

They are made by SeptemberHouse - 

so sweet, simple and DETAILED!

I mean, seriously...

... what a beautiful idea!

(The best part - they only cost $20)

With my birthday coming up in a few months, any one of these would 

make a great gift.

Wink, wink! :)

Branching Out: Brown Sugar Pineapple Pie

One fruit that always says SUMMER to me...

is the PINEAPPLE.

And when I found this recipe by Michelle Branch (of all people)...

remember this song? 

I figured - let's give it a try!

You'll need a little bit of "everything"  :)

Filling

3 large eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon flour

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1/2 stick of unsalted butter that's melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon rum extract

1 20 oz. can of crushed pineapple (drain the juice)

Topping

1 cup of flour

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup shredded coconut

10 tablespoons of butter

(Mix "topping" ingredients together until they're crumbly.)

Mix the eggs together in an electric mixer for about 5 minutes,

until they are SUPER light and fluffy!

Add the brown sugar, white sugar - mix.

Then, add the 1 tablespoon of flour, melted butter,

corn syrup, and rum/vanilla extracts - mix.

Next, add the can of crushed pineapple.

Stir in with a spoon.

Pour into a pie pastry.

(I just went to the store and bought one.)

Put the pie in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes.

After 40 minutes, take the pie out of the oven - 

and put your "crumble"on top.

Put the pie BACK in the oven for 

another 20-30 minutes 

(until the top is golden brown.)

Serve up with vanilla or coconut ice cream.

It is DELISH!

Super sweet - 

and the crunch of the coconut/nuts on top, gives it a "salty" factor.

For the "back story" on this recipe, 

check out this link.

Who would have thought Michelle Branch was a "pie" artist too?!

Crazy.

Father's Day Finds

Father's Day 

is exactly ONE week from today.

And, I'm pretty sure... 

that I have the best dad out there.

He's hilarious, caring, GREAT at fixing almost anything...

and most importantly, he's NEVER shy about telling us kids, 

"I LOVE YOU."

I still don't have his entire gift put together, 

so I logged on to Etsy to try and find some ideas.

FOR THE GARDEN

These signs from Winfield Designs are pretty perfect - 

I know he would love them.

Thanks to ElementsEtching 

I could put all three of his kids' names:

"Jenny"

"Laura"

"Mattt"

on three rocks - and he could place them in the garden.

Or, just give him ONE BIG rock describing how much we love him.

FOR THE HOUSE

Over the last few years, he's had problems with his eyes.

I think these signs from Added Touches would be the perfect way to 

give him an eye chart that he would love to read!

(And, add a bit of humor to the situation.)

SO "UNCOOL"

I think all of us have said, "my dad is SO uncool" at some point.

Well, now you can remind him through these fun items from Gibberish. 

PERFECT FOR YOUNGER KIDS

These next few items are GREAT for little kids to give their dads.

First up, these hand prints from PERSONALIZEDprints.

It's something he'll always have, and will remind him of how little his kids once were!

If your dad has a mustache, these chocolate treats from gymbohannah 

would be funny to give him.

Plus, they only cost $4 per pop!

What dad DOESN'T love to play LEGOS with his kids?!

These cuff links from GenXBoutique are so fun!

For the older kids (aka - my age) - 

these cuff links from dlkdesigns are a bit more sentimental.

You can pick TWO locations - so (for example) they could be:

1.) Where you were born

2.) Where he was born

3.) Where you went to college

4.) Favorite vacation spot

Etc.

The choices are endless!

They also offer "initial" cuff links.

You could put his initials, or even your initials in them!

SIGNATURE GIFTS

Finally, these gifts from bailey doesn't bark are SO awesome.

If you don't live near your dad, 

you can send him a "post card" on a coffee mug!

That way, he can read the note from you each and every morning :)

If he's more of a "tea drinker" - they also have an option for that too!

"No. 1 Dad"

Also, you can send him a personalized card

using CHALK!

I totally HEART this idea.

Happy Father's Day to ALL the dads out there!