Daddy's Survival Kit

Last post (I think!) from last weekend's baby shower - I thought it'd be cute to make a gift just for Kyle and whipped up a 'daddy survival kit'. I forgot to take a picture but picture a clear caddy with a handle on the top full of all kinds of 'useful' items like:

• goggles
• gloves
• mask
• wipes
• hand sanitizer
• lysol spray
• nose plug (clothespin)
• ear plug
• tongs
• poncho (clear rain poncho to protect his clothes)
• liquid iv energy packs
• one shot of moonshine

Daddy’s

SURVIVAL KIT

To finish I printed out a simple tag on colored cardstock and tied it around the handle. 

Super easy, super cute! 

my caddy was similar to this

PS: I would have included the book 'go the f to sleep' but my sister already gave it to him hahha. 

7.10.22: 🔥 week 28

7.10.21: LeDonna's rhubarb pie

7.10.20: hungarian potato soup

7.10.19: cookie dough cupcakes 2.0

7.10.18: zesting a lemon

7.10.17: net wrapped mason jar

🔥 Around the Campfire (week 28)

Dear Campers ~

Here's a quick recap in case you missed anything at camp last week:

Posts ~

7/2: 🔥 week 27 

7/3: couples baby shower

7/4: Happy July 4th

7/5: diaper floral arrangement 

7/6: pesto pasta salad

7/7: MSTI: chicken breast rolls 

7/8: words

What's Cooking ~

• mushroom stroganoff, roasted asparagus
• grilled pork chops, sweet potatoes, steamed green beans
• burgers, steak fries, green salad
• baked salmon, couscous, wilted spinach
• lamb chops, potato salad
• steak, tater tots :), caesar salad

Miscellaneous stuff keeping me busy ~

• I stopped reading books by Danielle Steele years ago, I just got tired of them and the 'formula' of her story lines - and romance is one of my least favorite genres (I lean towards John Sandford, Vince Flynn, Lee Child, James Patterson...). So when I read a review in the Costco magazine flyer thing of Danielle's latest book 'The Wedding Planner' I decided I'd give her another shot. I probably just used  way too many words to say I'm not a DS fan and am still not a fan. I was bored, don't like her writing, kept waiting for something - anything - to happen. And nothing did. ⭐️ One star but don't take my word for it, if you love her then you'll probably enjoy this one!
• Fortunately to balance out the above book I got to read a book that I loved and will give a bunch of stars! "Happy Place" by Emily Henry. It's a beach read about friendships and relationships,  with a lot of laughs and a good plot (for me anyway). I enjoyed the characters, the settings, the dialog, her style of writing and storytelling, and was sad when the book ended. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

That's it for this week - hope you'll stop by often for more projects, crafts, recipes, whatever we think to make at camp! Bye :)

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor

7.9.22: roasted pork loin with fig sauce

7.9.21: yard yahtzee

7.9.20: bacon lettuce cups

7.9.19: hair bun hack

7.9.18: beach terrarium

7.9.17: knock-off Topopo Salad

7/8 ~ Words

 

7.8.22: lake life soap dispenser

7.8.21: mushroom rice

7.8.20: sugar cookie mini cakes

7.8.19: beaded hoop earrings

7.8.18: gazpacho

7.8.17: 3-ingredient sangria

My Sister Tried It: Famous Chicken Breast Rolls

Well, I have done a lot of oatmeal/breakfast/protein related things lately so today my “Jenny tried it" is a chicken recipe. This one was weirdly in the form of a Facebook video. Weird place to get recipes? Absolutely. With my sister who'd probably never try a recipe that was not written out with specific instructions? Probably not. I however, decided to give it a go. The first issue is that it required me to watch the video and either take screenshots or seriously scribble things down as fast as I could. So so here is the basic recipe. You are welcome for me not making you watch this in video form and scribble it down.

• Two big chicken breasts, sliced in half to make skinny cutlets
• A half a cup of light cream cheese
• Quarter cup of mozzarella cheese
• Half a cup of chopped up spinach
• Garlic salt

• Topping - equal parts light mayonnaise and mustard mixed together. 

First I sliced the chicken breasts to lay them flat. Spread with cream cheese on each one, then sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, and the spinach. I also sprinkled with a little bit of garlic salt. I then rolled the brass up, and held them, rolled with a toothpick. I placed these in a shallow baking dish that I had sprayed with Pam. Spoon a little of the Mayo/mustard mixture on the top of each one and bake for 25 minutes, remove from the oven and sprinkle a little more mozzarella cheese on the top, and bake for another 10 minutes after that. 

So I have to say this was AMAZING. Not sure of the point to the Mayo/mustard mix on the top- unless to keep it moist? It would have been good without it I think but regardless this was great. The flavor was awesome- and my husband gave it a 9! I’ll for sure be making this one again! Guess my sister better up her game when she makes my next meal! HAHAHAHA

Jill here: Jen emailed me this recipe and pictures and titled it  “Chicken recipe - needs a name!”

I asked what they called it on Facebook haha and she said 'famous chicken breast rolls' - so I went with that. Famous? I don't know, but Jen certainly loved it and I will def be making this one in my future! 

7.7.22: V8 soup

7.7.21: oreo cheesecake cookies by Brooke

7.7.20: tip-sy tuesday: outdoor paper towel holder

7.7.19: 🔥 week 27

7.7.18: movie popcorn butter hack

7.7.17: k-cup twine lights

7.7.16: dear deer by Candy

Pesto Pasta Salad

I made this super easy pasta salad for the baby shower last weekend, it turned out great and everyone seemed to love it! 

• frozen cheese tortellini
• pesto (we love Costco's pesto in the prepared food section by the cheeses, but I also have a great recipe for citrus pesto if you feel like making it)
• halved cherry tomatoes
• small mozzarella balls (cut in half if you can only find the bigger small balls) or chopped fresh mozzarella
• mayo (I like light Hellman's), optional

There are no measurements listed above because they are all based on how much pasta salad you want to make. To make a large serving bowl for the shower I used 4 bags of tortellini, about 18 oz. of pesto, 1.5 pound container of cherry tomatoes, 1 container of tiny mozzarella balls (I think 8 oz.), and a big spoonful of mayo. 

Boil the tortellini according to package directions. Drain and rinse to stop it from continuing to cook. Add pesto and mayo and stir to thoroughly combine. Stir in the tomatoes and mozzarella balls. That's it!

I, of course, forgot to take a picture but I cropped a photo of the food table so you can get an idea. It's in the green bowl to the left of Natalie's sliced cucumber, cream cheese lightened with sour cream, and rye bread square open faced sandwiches. 

7.6.22: PSA: phones

7.6.21: recipe holder hack 

7.6.20: wine cork cork board

7.6.19: propagating plumeria 

7.6.18: watermelon 'sushi'

7.6.17: garden update

7.6.16: river cruise packing

Diaper Floral Arrangement

I planned on picking up fresh flowers for the 'girl' side of the couples baby shower but then (yes, while Googling for baby shower ideas) I saw images for a centerpiece made out of rolled diapers and of course that seemed way more fun (crafting vs. buying = I'll usually pick the craft hahaha).

This was pretty easy - roll up the diapers (I started with the folded edge, you could also start from the open top side), hold in place with white yarn. Carefully slide the blunt end of a skewer into the middle of the diaper roll trying not to poke a hole in the diaper so they can be used later. Line a pitcher/vase with tissue paper and add a round of styrofoam in the bottom; stick the pointy end of the skewers into the foam to help hold them in place. 

Note: the diaper rolls themselves look like exactly what they are and I almost lost the faith that this would turn out hahaha. Keep going, it gets better. 

Once you have as many diaper roll skewers as you want in the vase, add pieces of colored tulle here and there among the rolls, I tied a few of the rolls with some green tulle and also interspersed bits of yellow tulle; I cut apart a bundle of artificial flowers, removed the flowers and added the leaves and wired stem among the diaper rolls. Lastly, add more tissue paper as needed around the base of the rolls to mostly cover up the skewers. 

This ended up looking really cute and even tho Dave said they still looked like rolled up diapers and not flowers LOL I thought it looked like how I meant it to - it mimicked a flower bouquet! 

7.5.22: fanny pack gift idea

7.5.21: vinyl wall words in the bathroom 

7.5.20: 🔥week 27

7.5.19: lego scottie and hydrant

7.5.18: how to grease a bundt pan 

7.5.17: chocolate mint cookies

7.5.16: bleu cheese dressing

Fourth of July '23

You've seen this post before - but it says all the things I want to say again this year so...why reinvent the wheel hahahah!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!

cheers to:

~Stars and Stripes~
~Freedom~
~Sparklers~
~Parades~
~Liberty~

and food, fireworks, family, and friends

ENJOY YOUR DAY!

A note from the dog:

Guys! I usually like loud noises and want to go check out what's happening but seriously...fireworks are scary so please read these tips my mom found. She also turns on the tv which I appreciate...I know she's just trying to distract me from the loud noises outside but since I LOVE to watch tv and bark at anything that moves on the screen it makes the fireworks a little bit easier to take. They are fun for people, but not for me and my friends. Just sayin'. Now go have fun and save me some hot dog.

Love, The Sarge

7.4.21: 🔥 week 27 

7.4.20: Independence day

Couples Baby Shower (boys vs. girls)

We threw a couples baby shower for Mickey and Kyle over the weekend and it was so much fun! Lots of work but all of it was 'fun' work if that is a thing hahaha. We had lots of helpers and divided up the jobs which was great. I oversaw the food side of things (shout out to everyone who volunteered to bring food and drinks, you made my job easy!), Jenny and Brooke did the games and decor. Mick didn't want a 'theme' or lots of decor, and she didn't want a traditional shower - Jen came up with the idea to do 'boys vs. girls' for the games and we did the same thing for the food with a 'guy side' and a 'girl side' split down the middle of the table. We did not do blue and pink colors though thinking that made it seem like a gender-reveal party and they aren't finding out the baby's sex before the delivery so no gender reveal happening. We went with a wood patterned tablecloth and heavier serving pieces on one side, and yellow/creams on the other. 

For the games Jen split the guests who wanted to play into guys/girls teams - she made a trivia board, played family feud and price is right, and a relay of drinking out of sippy cups and baby bottles (very funny!) before it started to rain hard and we had to scramble to get everything inside. By the time the rain let up we decided to not continue the other planned games like guessing what song and artist Jen played on her speaker (all of them had 'baby' lyrics) - we declared a rain out. 

Fortunately we had the food set up inside - for the guy/girl foods we tried to keep them the same type of food but skewed towards 'manly' and then more traditional shower foods for the girl side. Jen ordered letter boards for each side and spelled out 'Welcome to Kyle's Shower' and 'Welcome to Mickey's Shower' for each side. 

Guy side:

• pulled pork, hawaiian rolls
• potato salad
• taco dip and chips
• 'manly meat tray' - a friend brought sausages made from different kinds of meat like bear, venison, duck...we put the chopped pieces in piles on a board but didn't make it 'pretty'
• pretzels
• chocolate cupcakes

Girl side:

• chicken salad, mini croissants
• pesto pasta salad
• texas caviar and fritos
• a very pretty and 'done' charcuterie tray loaded with different cheeses and meats, chocolates and nuts
• fruit pizza
• sliced cucumber and cream cheese/sour cream on small rye squares
• pina colada yellow cupcakes

A couple more fun things to do:

• a diaper raffle. If the guest brought a package of diapers or wipes they got to enter for a prize drawing.

• baby squares. Jen made two big posterboards with squares, one blue and the other pink. Across the top she had baby weights, down the left side was different baby lengths. We bought squares on either one depending if we thought it would be a boy or a girl, and what weight/length. The winner gets the money collected once the baby is here and we know the stats. 

• Brooke took videos of everyone saying something to the baby that she'll turn into a little movie - I introduced myself as 'Grant Jill' (that's what I'm choosing to be called - 'grant' instead of great aunt'), couldn't wait to meet the baby, and that I kinda hope it'll be a girl because I won't know what to do with a boy (we have A LOT of nieces haha) - but that I'd figure things out and love it either way hahahah. Cute idea, right?

7.3.22: 🔥 week 27 

7.3.21: slow cooker cheesy breakfast potatoes

7.3.20: patriotic donut pops

7.3.19: patriotic mini fruit pies

7.3.18: triple berry shortcake

7.3.17: june outfits

7.3.16: nail art for the 4th

🔥 Around the Campfire (week 27)

Dear Campers ~

Here's a quick recap in case you missed anything at camp last week:

Posts ~

6/25: 🔥 week 26

6/26: make a drink cozy

6/27: TT cleaning shower doors

6/28: balsamic roasted baby peppers

6/29: french fries by Macey

6/30: msti: oven s'mores

7/1: words 

It's been a busy week and I don't have any good menu plans for you - Dave is recovering from surgery and we had a baby shower for my oldest niece, lots to do! Hope to see you next week for more projects, crafts, recipes - whatever we think of to make at camp! Happy Sunday :)

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor 

7.2.22: 10 minute chain workout

7.2.21: dessert hot pockets

7.2.20: pompom earrings

7.2.19: tip-sy tuesday: storing ribbons and trims

7.2.18: berry cake

7.2.17: cheesy stuffed omelet

7.2.16: chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches

7/1 ~ Words

 

7.1.22: salt and pepper shrimp 

7.1.21: baked salmon with crab topping

7.1.20: molasses sugar cookies

7.1.19: mosaic stepping stone

7.1.18: caprese salad with blueberries

7.1.17: beaded flag pin

7.1.16: patriotic donut pops