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!