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Scent of Summer

July 11, 2011 by Shanna Hatfield

Around this time of the summer, I start dreaming of being somewhere tropical and wonderful versus somewhere that the lawn needs mowed, the housework needs some attention and someone needs to go to the grocery store. Again.

So to compensate for the fact that fresh pineapple is about as close to an exotic location as I’m going to get, I like to fill my home with some fun fragrances.

Three of my favorites are:

Sage & Citrus from Yankee Candle

Island Nectar from Bath & Body Works

Tropical Spice by Bath & Body Works

And when I just need a little extra tropical boost, I grab a tube of this:

Tahiti Sweetie from Bath & Body Works

I inhale it deeply, slather too much of it on and pretend I’m sitting in a chair somewhere close to the beach.

What is your favorite summer candle or lotion scent?

Posted in Referrals | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Monster S’mores

July 8, 2011 by Shanna Hatfield

Captain Cavedweller is once again my hero.

I came home last night to find he had been to the store and found these.

The monster of all marshmallows.

I kid you not, these things are huge!

So after seeing the size of these babies, my mind immediately jumped to S’mores. They are marvelous with regular size marshmallows. How much better would they be with gigantic puffs of fluffy sweetness?

The answer…

So good I nearly melted in a puddle. Oh. My. Goodness.

S’mores are made by sandwiching a toasted marshmallow and a piece of chocolate in between two graham crackers. The name of the treat comes from the two words “some more,” clearly combined because people often wanted to have at least a second serving after having one s’more. The treat was developed by campers in the early part of the 20th century, although the exact date or place is unknown. The first recipe was published in 1927 in the Girl Scout Handbook.

If you’ve never made S’mores, give it a whirl. Especially if you can snag a bag of these over-sized marshmallows! Captain Cavedweller found these at Wal-Mart.

Start with your basic three ingredients for S'mores - marshmallows, a chocolate bar and graham crackers.

Toast your marshmallow until the inside is oozy and the outside is toasty brown. You don't even need a campfire. Captain Cavedweller toasted these on the barbecue.

Line up your chocolate on a graham cracker.

Top with your toasted puff of liquid sweet bliss, aka marshmallow. Place another graham cracker on top.

Enjoy!

Posted in Desserts, Easy Recipes, Entertaining Ideas, Quick and Easy | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment »

Wall of Boxes

July 7, 2011 by Shanna Hatfield

Normally, when I look across the road from our house, I see acre after acre of beautiful apple trees highlighted by the hills in the distance.

When I drove home tonight, the wall of boxes started about a quarter or mile from our house and continued just past our field of vision. It is literally boxes as far as the eye can see.

And although our fabulous view has temporarily turned into a fortress of plywood containers, I don’t mind. It is fun to see all the activity over in the orchard. Summer apples make me think of my grandma who was born and raised in the Ozarks. She had a summer apple tree in her yard and my mom would take us to grandma’s when the apples were ripe to pilfer enough to make a pie. Grandma would have something delicious like fried chicken and blueberry pie for us to eat – and nobody made chicken like her chicken. It was legendary.

The apples were a yellowy-green and tart. They weren’t big by any standard, but good gracious, they could make a tasty pie.

So here is to summer apples, fried chicken and grandmas. May they be a part of your best summer memories.

She Who Misses Her Grandma

Posted in Family, Musings | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment »

Mini Mouse

July 6, 2011 by Shanna Hatfield

When I travel, I always take my beautiful little netbook computer with me. It is lightweight, easy to use and makes staying connected a breeze. I can upload photos, write my blogs and often times, if we are driving, Captain Cavedweller tunes into his sports radio while I pop in my ear buds and type away on my next story.

The only thing I have not liked about my netbook is trying to finagle the controls without a mouse.

For Christmas, Captain Cavedweller gave me a wireless mouse. I loved it the minute it came out of the package. Where had it been all my life? No more cords, no more tangles and tethers. It was awesome. So when we were packing up to go on vacation, I meant to take my wireless mouse with me and, as the way things go when you are hurriedly packing the night before you are about to leave for a week, I forget to grab it.

Captain Cavedweller, being the wonder that he is, stopped and got me a wireless mouse the next morning. I thought it was the cutest thing ever. I call it mini mouse. It truly is a miniature version of a full size mouse, and fits right into my netbook case. How convenient is that?

Sometimes all our newfangled technology really makes me smile.

She Who Doesn’t Know How She Functioned Before Mini Mouse

Posted in Captain Cavedweller, Musings, Referrals | Tagged , , , | Leave a Comment »

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