My [Sandy] Little Secret

What a whirl-wind! Somewhere around 1,800 driving miles round-trip, we are finally home!  Did I mention we had two gremlins in the back seat along for the ride?

So where'd we go?  We went on an amazing post-deployment vacation!  We met up with some of our dearest friends at their beautiful home in North Carolina then continued our vacation with them in  Charleston, South Carolina where we were just a very short drive from the Isle of Palms.

So Simple Bathtub Table

I've been wanting a "bathtub table" for so long now. (What are those things called?!) Anyway, I finally just decided to build one.

I was able to do this project for about 12 bucks. Yes!! Those are my favorite kinds of projects! 

Simple Way to Support Our Troops [with Coffee]

I was trying to come up with something interesting for today's "Friday Find" so I casually asked my husband what I should write about (not expecting much of an answer).  He immediately came up with the idea to talk a little bit about Green Beans Coffee and how it is an easy and inexpensive way to support our troops.

When our troops deploy, they are many times experiencing uncomfortable living conditions, they are working odd hours, and of course, there is usually some aspect of danger involved with their jobs.  Somethings as simple as a cup of coffee can really change their perspective on the day.

So let me tell you a little bit about how Green Beans Coffee works.  You have two different options:

Summertime Homemade Popsicles

Over this past weekend, we all went blackberry picking at this great local places that offers them as high as you can mound them in your quart container as well as all you can eat.  We certainly walked away with our money's worth!

Since we have blackberries galore, now, I needed to come up with a way to use a few immediately. I decided to make popsicles.  This is not much of a recipe.  More like, mash some blackberries... Add a couple table spoons of sugar... Freeze.  That's my kind of cooking!!

I filled up a 1 quart pot with blackberries and heated them on low-med while I mashed them up.  Then I added just enough sugar to make them nice and sweet.  I poured the content into a measuring cup with a spout to make pouring it into the tiny popsicle mold less messy.  (The liquid amount of berries turned out to be just around 2 cups).  

Freeze, and you get a delicious, quick, and healthy treat.

Do you have anywhere near you where you like to pick fresh fruit?  What are your favorite things to do with blackberries?  We have all of ours frozen on trays until further notice!

Janice

Car Maintenance Board

Bryan, my husband, has been wanting one of these ever since he saw one very similar to this one in my dad's garage. Of course since I've been busy trying to beautify and organize his garage, his car maintenance board had to be the same!