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This week a made a batch of Southern Living’s blackberry sweet tea. I thought I’d be sweet {pun intended} and pass along the recipe.
Blackberry Sweet Tea
- 3 cups fresh or frozen blackberries, thawed
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
- Pinch of baking soda
- 4 cups boiling water
- 2 family-size tea bags
- 2 1/2 cups cold water
- Garnish: fresh blackberries
Combine blackberries and sugar in a large container, and crush with a wooden spoon; stir in mint and baking soda.
Pour 4 cups boiling water over tea bags; cover and steep 5 minutes. Discard tea bags.
Pour tea over blackberry mixture; let stand at room temperature 1 hour. Pour tea through a wire-mesh strainer into a large pitcher, discarding solids. Add 2 1/2 cups cold water, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cover and chill 1 hour. Garnish, if desired.
This is a super, super, super easy recipe. If you’ve ever made sweet tea, it’s as easy as that. However, I will say this: as I’m not a big fan of sweet tea, I’m not really a big fan of flavored {cold} tea. The blackberries give the tea a tartness, that I wasn’t in love with. I think you could easily remedy this by cutting back on the amount of blackberries used, or increase the sugar. BUT, Jonathan loved the tea, it was certainly tasty and it made me realize how incredibly easy it is to make flavored teas. I’m planning to experiment with mangos, because that does sounds yummy.
Do you like sweet tea? How about flavored tea?
Visit Alicia at Alicia’s Homemaking for more Try New Adventures Thursday.
Top Ten Things I Miss About Iowa
Posted on: May 10, 2011
- In: Life
- 11 Comments
While Texas is always home, for six years, Iowa was my home too. I’ll admit, it took a little time for me to adjust to being outside of the South, but once I gave Iowa my all, I grew to love it. And of course, the people I knew there were awesome. I miss them daily and wish we weren’t so far away {hey y’all – Texas is a big state *hint-hint*}.
While I could easily list ten things I miss about my Iowan friends, let’s be honest, some of the things I really miss about Iowa are pretty superficial. Without further ado, here they are:
1. Rain – Texas is currently in a drought. Apparently the worst in nearly 50 years. I miss thunderstorms. And rain.
2. Close Stores – Thankfully, we do now live less than a mile from HEB – but I miss living near two major stores in Coralville {oh, New Pi, how I love you}.
3. Traffic – I laughed when I first experienced “traffic” in Iowa. Slowly it became normal and I got frustrated at taking 20 minutes to get across town. Now, when I sit in traffic for over an hour to get across town, I think “Hmmm… Iowa traffic wasn’t so bad was it?”
4. Library – Truth be known, Coralville’s library rocked. And sadly, I have yet to find a library here that beats CPL’s awesome kid program/section.
5. Leaving my windows open for most of the summer – I enjoy the fresh air, which usually leads to having my windows open. A lot. Which ain’t really an option when it’s 90+* outside. Yeah…. I miss having my windows open for most of the summer.
6. Snow – What? Did I just hear a collective hiss from all my Northern friends? Well, it’s true. I do miss the snow. Or missed it over the winter. Though, I am realizing that I don’t miss it staying around for months.
7. Rain – Did I mention that we haven’t had much rain in these parts? Yeah, well, we haven’t. And I wouldn’t mind a good rain storm.
8. Seasons – Other than summer, the seasons in Texas don’t last long. Which is nice, because you can literally spend 8-10 months outside. But sad if you, you know, miss snow.
9. Rain – We are about 5 inches below normal {which is, ironically only 5 inches} for the year. And I’m a little freaked out to learn that our household water is rationed by the state. Having never owned a house in Texas before, I never knew that they rationed how much water a home could get.
10. Rain – I know, I know… I just really and truly miss the rain.
Visit Amanda at Oh Amanda for more Top Ten Tuesday.
Baby It’s Hot Outside
Posted on: May 9, 2011
- In: Life
- 8 Comments
This is the temp my car registered yesterday afternoon
After starting the week off at a blustery 50*, we ended our week with, well, a 50*+ jump. That has to be a record of some sort.
The a/c is on, ice water in hand and the dress code is anything cool. The girls and I are living by the pool most afternoons, and enjoying every minute of it. I’m surprised at how adjusted I am becoming to the temperature. Although, all my wonderful secret fit belly pants and bella bands are not heat-friendly. I’ve tried folding them down, but then it puts too much constriction on my stomach which is pretty uncomfortable. It leaves me in a quandry as to how to hold up my pants. I suppose dresses are the way to go after all.
Southern Living’s May issue has some wonderful sweet tea recipes that I am hoping to try this week. Currently, I have water boiling for blackberry sweet tea – I’ll be sure to share the recipe with you all Thursday. They also have a sweet tea tart which looks divine. And while I might not drink sweet tea often, I’m a Southerner at heart and love anything recipe that requires tea, sugar and heavy cream. Hmmm….
Strawberry Bread Recipe
Posted on: May 6, 2011
- In: Life
- 6 Comments
After yesterday’s post, I decided that everyone really needed in on the strawberry bread recipe.
Strawberry Bread Yumminess
Strawberry Bread
- 2 cups fresh strawberries
- 3 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil {I used coconut oil instead}
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 1 1/4 cups chopped pecans {I omitted the pecans}
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter and flour two 9 x 5 inch loaf pans.
Slice strawberries, and place in medium-sized bowl. Sprinkle lightly with sugar, and set aside while preparing bread mixture.
Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and baking soda in large bowl: mix well. Blend oil and eggs into strawberries. Add strawberry mixture to flour mixture, blending until dry ingredients are just moistened. Stir in pecans. Divide batter into pans.
Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until tester inserted comes out clean. Let cool in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Turn loaves out, and cool completely.
I personally think you should serve with coffee or warm tea. Even better when consumed in the company of good friends.
A friendly note: Bake the loaves separately. I don’t remember having this problem before, but when I baked them together this last time, one didn’t bake fully on the inside, and took quite a bit longer than the 50 minutes.
I first started making this recipe back in Spring 2009. I haven’t changed it up, but have experimented with different sugars and flours. All results have been quite yummy {just make sure to get your whole wheat flour ratio correct, or they will be very dense}. Also, try them as muffins. It’s like doubling the yumminess. Not sure why, but it seems so much more decadent in muffin form. Especially the over-sized muffins. *drool*
And to answer Rosann‘s question from yesterday – No, it does not need to be refrigerated.
I got the original recipe {as noted above} from allrecipes.com.
Bon Appetit!
- In: Life
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As I sat down to write, I realized I haven’t had any one big adventure this week. However, there have been lots of little adventures that have made my week fun {despite battling my cold}.
1. Buying my bridesmaid dress for Carrie’s wedding
This dress was a great find this weekend at Macy’s. And it got the seal of approval from Rabeea and Jonathan. Clearly a winner.
Focus on the cuteness of the dress, not my unkept-haven't-felt-well look
2. Finding a great find on grass fed, organic beef
I haven’t been able to buy 100% grass fed organic beef since we left Iowa. The Texas stores sell it, but the cheapest I’ve seen has been $8.99/lb. Tough to swallow. Then…. oh glorious then. Then, a local store began their sale this week for $3.99/lb. For 100% grass fed organic beef. I bought 10 pounds yesterday and plan to return next week for another 10+ pounds.
3. Surviving the week
I think I might have caught a man cold. Because I feel super whiny and cranky. But, being the good woman that I am, I’ve pulled myself up by my boot straps and carried on with life. And with the exception of getting a little short with the girls yesterday afternoon, I think I’ve done a pretty good job.
4. Made strawberry bread
In an attempt to have something for Jonathan to take on-the-go for work day breakfast, I made strawberry bread last night. It’s a shame that the picture doesn’t capture the wonderful smell from this loaf of awesomeness.
Visit Alicia at Alicia’s Homemaking for more Try New Adventures Thursday!
- In: Life
- 5 Comments
For those of you who have seen some of my twitter updates, I am still in fact sick. Blerg.
Between being pregnant and being totally adverse to taking medication {meds make me a little too loopy}, I have been fighting my cold the old fashioned way: drinking hot tea and sleeping. Which doesn’t go over well with two hyper little girls.
Thankfully, I was able to take them to a playdate yesterday, where they had a chance to play with other kids while I sat at the kitchen table and did nothing but enjoy adult company. In fact, the moms made me do nothing. And that was pretty nice.
Today, with dwindling groceries after our crazy weekend, I am forcing myself to put on real clothes and head out to the store.
Wish me luck.
Weekend Recovery
Posted on: May 2, 2011
- In: Life
- 8 Comments
This weekend was a whirlwind of hosting and visiting with family and friends. Friday, my college girlfriend and bridesmaid, Rabeea, came for a visit. Saturday, Jonathan’s brother, Bradley came up from San Antonio with his girlfriend. Saturday night, we had a party with several close college friends. Sunday we spent the day sightseeing, shopping and enjoying our time with Rabeea, Bradley and Alicia. Sunday night was topped off with a free date night for Jonathan and me. It was a wonderfully fast paced and fun weekend, though very little sleep was had by anyone {including the girls} and in all that, I got a head cold.
Whew. I’m tired just writing that.
So this morning, my house looks like this:
And this:
I’m spending my morning working on this:
And with the temp being a dark and blustery 48*, I’d rather lay in bed, drinking this:
How was your weekend?
A Portrait of a Baby Girl
Posted on: April 29, 2011
- In: Life
- 13 Comments
In September 2009, I spent a week with my parents in Tennessee. Hannah was just shy of three months old and Julia had just turned 21 months. It was a crazy, sleepless, fun trip. One afternoon, my aunt came to visit. While there, she snapped this picture of Hannah on her iPhone.
On Monday, this arrived in the mail:
Honestly, my photograph doesn’t do the painting justice
Aunt Shannon decided that she would paint Hannah’s portrait from the picture she took. Isn’t it beautiful? We hung it in our hallway, where we hope to have a row of family pictures.
What’s your Friday joy?
How to Make Mason Jar Flower Pots
Posted on: April 28, 2011
- In: Life
- 20 Comments
I have an abundance of mason jars that I got off Craigslist last summer. My plans to use them for canning have been postponed, since I need a canner and haven’t found a reasonability priced one yet. I decided that maybe I should use a few of them for crafts instead. A friend sent me a link about spray painting mason jars and using them as flower pots. It was too cute to pass up.
What you’ll need:
Spray paint
Mason jar{s}
Sheet/cardboard to cover ground
I used Krylon spray paint in Watermelon.
Start with your mason jar upside down. Then apply one thin coat.
The best way to achieve a thin coat is to spray from a distance of about 6 inches. Be sure to keep moving your hand back and forth, ensuring you don’t concentrate too much paint on one area.
Allow to dry.
I used Krylon, because it dries in 10 minutes. And I’m impatient.
Once dry, turn the mason jar right side up.
Spray again with a thin coat.
Allow to dry.
Flip the mason jar back over, spray again.
Repeat the process until your jar is evenly coated.
And here is my finished product, with vinca flowers planted. A cheerful welcome to our entry, don’t you think?
Have you ever made your own flower pots?
Visit Alicia at Alicia’s Homemaking for more Try New Adventures Thursday!
- In: Life
- 12 Comments
When I found out I was pregnant with Julia, I couldn’t wait to have that really cute pregnancy belly. It took until 15-17 weeks before you could tell I was pregnant and didn’t just have a “beer” belly. With Hannah, again, I couldn’t wait to have a cute pregnant belly. And with her, it came pretty soon. Partly because that’s what happens with consecutive pregnancies, but mostly because I still had “baby weight” from Julia.
With this pregnancy, I’ve been pretty excited about having a cute pregnancy belly, but I’ve been less than thrilled with increasing weight and realizing the hard work it took to lose two babies worth of “baby weight”. After meeting with my midwife, I came away feeling more empowered about food and have gone on a “diet” of sorts. While I don’t monitor my caloric intake, I monitor what I’m eating. I focus on eating 60+ grams of protein, cutting back on simple carbs and limiting my sweet intake to once a week.
Then, there is exercising. I promised myself that when we got pregnant again, I’d maintain my fitness goals. Yeah… I didn’t take into account just how tired and sick I’d be. So, for about a month, I didn’t lace up my running shoes. Then two weeks ago, I was gifted with a double jogging stroller, and take the girls running when my energy is highest in the day {which varies from morning to afternoon and day to day}.
With the amount of running I had been doing, weight I had lost, I figured it’s take a little longer for my belly to “show”. Turns out, the third time around, you don’t stand much chance of hiding that baby. By 10 weeks, I had a nice little belly showing, and by this week {12+ weeks} I’ve clearly got a belly. Now, whether it’s viewed as a pregnancy belly or a “beer” belly, is debatable. Well… why don’t you tell me?
Pregnant or not?
Now, I will bare my soul to y’all for a moment.
Since Julia, my stomach has been less than, how shall I say this, perfect. And when I got pregnant with Hannah, I noticed that my stomach expanded in a very strange way. It’s flat in the front, where my belly button is, but then everything else bulges. Frankly, it looks really, really weird to me. And honestly, I’m a tad bit self conscious about it. I don’t know why… but it just sort of makes me feel a little weird. With Hannah, it always stayed flat right there at my belly button {and I assume it will this time around too}, so I just always thought it seemed odd.
There you have it. My soul baring moment. Mind blowing, huh? Well, now you know that I’m not always the most confident of women, despite my good looks. Haha! 😉
A Wife Loved Like The Church 
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