Tag Archives: instagram

Fancy Schmancy Grilled Cheese ~ Provolone, Goat, Prosciutto & Jam

Today is a perfect June Gloom-y Monday. No pressure to get out to the pool or the park, just temps in the low 70s and a work-around-the-house kind of day. I’m enjoying it because before too long, it’s going to really heat up around here.

Elliott spent the morning at Cooking Camp while Holden and I {ok, just me} whizzed through the house filling trash bags, getting piles ready to donate, vacuuming and throwing a couple loads of laundry in.

Feels so good to just get rid of STUFF. Ugh! So. Over. It.

On this wonderfully overcast and cool day, it only seemed fitting to light a candle ~ this has been my favorite to burn lately and sends off and ever so slight tropical scent making you think wish you were on an island far, far away sucking down a daiquiri with sand between your toes…

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{Yankee Candle, Paradise Spice ~ banana, vanilla, cinnamon & cloves}

Also, I think a nice warm grilled cheese fits the bill for lunch on a day like today.

I have a whole board on Pinterest just for grilled cheeses. I’ve yet to try any of them, but when I saw this one on IG, well….I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Thanks, Cameron, for sharing! It was amazing…..duh.

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What you need:

Loaf of sourdough bread

Slices of provolone cheese

Log of goat cheese {or already crumbled. I used plain, but an herbed one would be even more delish}

Prosciutto

Jam of choice {I used homemade peach, but strawberry, fig, apricot or blackberry would be fantastic}

Softened butter

What you do:

Lightly butter two slices of bread. Flip them over and spread some jam on both slices. Add crumbled goat cheese to one slice and a couple thin slices of provolone to the other. Lay some prosciutto {I used 2 slices} on top of the cheeses and make into a sandwich. Place buttered side down onto a pre-heated grill pan or panini press. Flip after a couple minutes or cook as your panini press directs.

Slice diagonally and ENJOY!

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It’s crispy, gooey, sweet & salty!

This sandwich will be your sunshine on a cloudy day.

Trust me.

Muggings On The Rise

Last month, Kim over at Cuppa Kim sponsored and orchestrated her second annual Mug Swap ~ where you send her your info and she pairs you up with someone to mug! The thing is…the person you get doesn’t automatically get you. That makes it fun because it keeps you in suspense and guessing, if you like that sort of thing which I do.

I secretly and casually started following my girl, Jamie {@james_town}, on Instagram and started reading her fun blog so I could get an idea of what she liked.

I learned that she had an eye and a soft spot in her heart for vintage/thrift store finds so the first place I looked was Goodwill. I immediately spotted a fun little {too little in my opinion} vintage-y piggy number that I absolutely fell in love with. It was simple, yet chic and modern, but I love that this little gal has a history. I hope that she held many cups of coffee or tea in her day and will allow Jamie to enjoy many more!

{Goodwill on right, Target on left}

Then I remembered I had seen the orange and aqua cuteness at Target so I flew over there to grab that one too since it’s more substantial and can hold more caffeine. I LOVE how the two mugs compliment each other, as well! It couldn’t have worked out more perfectly.

And you certainly cannot have a naked wrist while sipping your hot beverage of choice…

{twine wrapped bangle with felt flowers}

I had so much fun gathering little goodies to stuff in the mugs and package this up for sweet Jamie, the newlywed!

She wrote the sweetest recap of her Mug Swap experience here.

*****

On the flip side, I received my package on the most perfect day…..the day I got home from my court appearance for my lame ticket.

{which was dismissed by the way because the officer did not show. yay!}

My mugger was darling Elizabeth {@lizzymarie725} who I had already had the pleasure of “knowing” on IG.

I could kick myself that I didn’t snap a picture of the box because she had some cute paisley packaging tape on there….

My awesome{!!} mug came with the nicest card, some Caramel Pumpkin Pie coffee and a bundle of polka dotted straws! I’m super spoiled and have no problem with muggings of this kind!

My maiden voyage with my new mug most certainly called for a little dollop of whip….

Waiting for a legit Fall morning to brew the caramel pumpkin coffee.

And I will certainly think of Kim, Jamie and Elizabeth while I am sipping it!

Thanks, Kim for hosting ~ love this idea. Can’t wait for next year!

Thanks, Jamie for being my mug-ee ~ I had so much fun!

Thanks, Elizabeth for being my mugger and for absolutely spoiling me rotten!

There’s An App For That

Did you know there’s an app for making really good friends?

Yes, it’s called Instagram!

Just by posting pictures and sharing fun little tidbits of your daily life on IG, you can {meet} some wonderful friends. And if you’re really lucky and live close enough, you can even eventually meet them in person. It’s crazy how you can feel like you’ve known someone for years just by making little comments on their photos or texting from time to time.

Several months ago I started following a friend of a friend because she has an eye for vintage, five beautiful daughters, and a weenie dog named Rodeo! Us wiener dog lovers need to stick together, right? She followed me back and we would comment on pictures of our hounds and make weenie jokes. After getting to know her, we discovered that we’re both Libras and I am 11 days older than she is ~ we won’t go into what year! {wink, wink}

Anywhoo, I went and stayed with Richelle in May while down in Mission Viejo for a fabulous Pioneer Woman Potluck hosted by my blogosphere friend turned real life friend, Julie. I met Julie last September at Blog Sugar. Joy’s Hope was one of the very first blogs I read and religiously followed. Julie makes it so easy to want to open up and share the happy things in life which is precisely why I wanted to start blogging myself. I am honored and thrilled to be able to have met her in real life. And because of Julie I was able to know Richelle, too! Social media really is so great.

This weekend Richelle and her two youngest {Kallihan & Kapri} came up to visit us for some pool time and concert in the park action. My kids were so excited to meet some new friends…we had some matching pajamas for the girls all ready and waiting on our guest bed with gift tags created by Elliott…

Friday afternoon’s weather was weird, so we went to see Brave.

We went for a night swim on Friday evening…

{captured by Richelle}

Saturday morning veg-fest…

New Cool Lime Refresher run before hitting the pool again Saturday morning….

{add 2 pumps coconut syrup to make it a tropical treat}

We packed up a picnic and headed to the concert in the park…Led Zepagain!

We sat around the table, sipped coffee and chatted on Sunday morning then had lunch at Souplantation before saying our sad good-byes…

*****

And of course, I love to entertain and cook for a crowd!

We had Taco Salad Friday night.

Monte Cristos Saturday for lunch…

{photo stolen from Richelle}

Asian Ginger Slaw with Hoisin grilled chicken at the concert…

{new fave marinade/glaze for chicken ~ 2 tbsp. hoisin, 1/2 tsp. Chinese five-spice powder, 1 tsp. soy sauce and 1 tsp. vegetable oil. just coat chicken with it and grill or bake. from the July ’12 issue of Sunset, page 100}

I mixed up a little adult beverage to sip at the concert ~ vodka, Malibu, pineapple juice, blue curaçao and a splash of Sprite. {as seen in this post}

And the piece de resistance of the weekend…

Trashy Brownies

I’d not yet spotted these on Pinterest, but Richelle had, and quickly gathered the ingredients and got them in a 9X13 ASAP.

Apparently the brownie stuffed Oreos that were flying around the inter webs last year were not enough……

Just line a 9X13 pan with parchment paper. Spread packaged chocolate chip cookie dough on the bottom, followed by a layer of Oreos {preferably double stuffed} and then top off with boxed brownie mix prepared as directed. Bake at 350* for about 35 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. Cool completely {even refrigerate a little} before cutting.

Needless to say they were delish, but something to make very infrequently. They would be fun using the red Oreos during the holidays, too!

*****

All in all it was a fabulous weekend despite an ant problem in our kitchen, Rascal nabbing Kapri’s Ring Pop within the first 3 minutes and me completely losing my cool at the pool with Holden.

Social media friendships are the best!