Cinnamon Sugar Apple Chips

Fall is in the air! This has to be my favorite season, hands down. Granted it is October and Southern Louisiana is still a little warm, I have been able to enjoy warm pumpkin lattes and bought a super cute pair of boots that have found a home close to the front door in hopes of being worn someday soon.

Something about snuggling in a warm jacket, sipping pipping hot apple cider, enjoying the spoils of the hours roaming and picking apples is the quintessential fall activity that I so desperately miss after leaving the East Coast. The apples at Fresh Market will have to suffice for now.

In the spirit of Fall, I decided to find some new ways to eat apples. I love them, my kids love them....who doesn't love them. We do have a slight separation in the house on which apples are better...green apples of course! No matter what color or what size, when cooked they not only make the house smell amazing but taste wonderful.

Never will you buy dried apple slices again. These are so simple and you can basically customize them however you want. So go grab your apples and your favorite spices and lets get baking.

Grab a few of your favorite apples.

Cut off the stems and then cut off one of the sides to give you a flat surface to cut your slices.

I used a mandolin to help get even slices but you are more than welcome to use a knife.

I used cinnamon and brown sugar. There is no right or wrong amount to use. I just put in equal amounts of each.

Take those apple slices and press them into your sugar mixture. Make sure to coat both sides.

Place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and pop them in the oven at 200 degree F for an hour. Then take out the sheet, turn the apples over and let them cook for another hour for soft dried apples or 2 hours for more crispy apple chips.

Take them out and put them in an airtight container. They last for about a week but I am sure they won't see the light of the 2nd day!

Edible Pumpkin Pie Lip Scrub + Lip Balm

Chapped lips have to be one of the worst things that come with the winter season. It is finally nice and cold down South and the cool crisp air can be unfriendly to your lips. Just like any other part of your body, your lips deserve to be pampered too! So here is another recipe to help keep those lips kissable. By the way, who doesn't love pumpkin spice. I do miss the warm, creamy pumpkin spice lattes from the local coffee shop, they get rid of those way too early. Don't worry if you catch your self sampling the pumpkin-y goodness that you are about to put on your lips....it is all edible.


EDIBLE LIP SCRUB

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon  of honey
• 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice

It is pretty simple from here. Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix them together. Transfer the scrub to a little container or jar with a lid. Apply the scrub with your fingers and gently rub it back and forth on your lips. Make sure once you rinse off your scrub to follow up with a balm....preferably your pumpkin pie lip balm that you made.

PUMPKIN PIE LIP BALM

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons sweet almond oil
• 1 teaspoon beeswax
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• lip balm container

In a double boiler, combine the almond oil and beeswax and mix until they are melted together. Remove from the heat and add in the honey and pumpkin pie spice. Once everything is all mixed up, slowly pour it into a container and let it cool and harden.

Now that you have made your own pumpkin pie scrub and balm, you can keep your favorite winter treat around a lot longer!

                                                                                                                           mages


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Pumpkin Pie Milkshake

It is finally September, that means cooler weather and the invasion of everything pumpkin. For me, the pumpkin invasion is a welcomed sight. 

This is my first year spending late summer/early fall in the south and it seems like the cooler weather is never coming. Low 90's as the high almost everyday this week doesn't make for the perfect weather for a pumpkin spice latte. I imagine a piping warm cup of pumpkin, tall boots, sweaters, college football and the crisp wind biting at my ears but here we are still in shorts, flipflops and carrying around sunscreen in my purse, sigh....where is fall.

So to get my pumpkin craving under control, I switched it up a bit.  Honestly I have never tried a cold pumpkin drink but the outcome was wonderful. Something I could sip on while I watch  my kids play on the tramploine and in the pool dreaming of those cooler days to come.....well hopefully!

Here is what you will need:

1/4 cup of pureed pumpkin

2 cups of your favorite vanilla milkshake

3/4 teaspoon on pumpkin pie spice

nutmeg and cinnamon 

Add the pumpkin, ice cream and pumpkin pie spice into the blender. 

Blend until nice and smooth. 

Transfer the milkshake to a cup and garnish with a dash of nutmeg and cinnamon on top.

You could add some whipped cream and crushed vanilla wafers to the top for an extra little garnish.

                                                                                                         image

4th of July Mojito

It is that time of year, where the parking lots are filled with firework stands and your neighborhood streets are littered with firework debris. Apparently here in Louisiana fireworks are not just reserved for particular holidays, our neighbors have informed us that people shot them during all the Saints games. So basically half my year will be filled with fireworks, joy.

Since we are in a new place, we aren't going all out for our celebration but one of the first things on my list was to find a drink fitting the occasion. My children picked out these hideous blue, sugar filled jars of juice, which were not quite fitting for the adults in their lives.

So I came across this wonderful drink and I cannot wait to try it out. I am sure there will be a test run later tonight just to make sure it is just right.

Oh yea....and that is edible star glitter floating around....could you get any more patriotic?!?

Berry Mojito

4th of July Mojito

Makes 1

2 ounces white rum
1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
1 ounce simple syrup
10 mint leaves
2-3 sliced strawberries
10-15 blueberries
Silver edible glitter stars

In a glass muddle lime juice, simple syrup, mint, strawberries and blueberries.  Add rum and stir.  Fill glass with crushed ice and top off with club soda.  Garnish with a skewer of strawberries and blueberries and sprinkle edible glitter stars on top!

DIY PVC Water Sprinkler

We just got finished making a pretty big move to the nice warm, humid state of Louisiana. Oh let me tell you this girl was not made for the humidity. I would be lying if I didn't say I thought I was dying my first day here. Now that we are rolling up on a week, I am starting to get used to the heat, granted I don't like it, but if I never got used to it I would be sitting in my house all summer long probably watching mind numbing reality tv.

My kids on the other hand, HA, heat shmeat, they want to be outside. After the first initial days of unpacking the u-haul and unpacking the necessities it was time to get outside. Thank goodness we found a house with a nice backyard and its fenced in. No more worrying about one of the boys pulling a Houdini and disappearing on me.

After scouring the internet on water toys etc. I remembered that my friend Kelly over at Here comes the sun, made this wonderful water sprinkler for her kids out of PVC piping. Creative yes, cheap yes and its quite durable.

I changed it up a little bit but the overall design is the same.

Here is what you are going to need:

2 10-foot pieces of 3/4 inch PVC pipe
2 slip on t-connectors
2 90-degree slip on elbow joints
3 end caps
a hose connector, found in the same place as the other PVC joint pieces
drill with a 1/16" drill bit
a saw or a PVC pipe cutter







First lets cut the PVC. Take one of the 10' pieces and cut into two 5' pieces. Then take the other 10' piece and cut into one 4' piece and four 18" pieces.

Now lets drill the holes into the 4' piece. Temporarily slip on the t-connectors to help stabilize the pipe as you are drilling. Using the 1/16" drill bit, put your holes every couple inches. The more holes you drill in the wetter you will get.

Now lets assemble! Remove the t-connectors and replace them with the elbow joints. Attach the two 5' pieces to your drilled piece of PVC to make a large U-shape. Put the t-connectors at the ends of the 5' pieces and attach the 18" sections to form a base. Now place the end caps on three of the open 18" pieces. On the final opening, attache your hose connector.

Hook up your hose and start having some fun!

Strawberry Frozen Lemonade, 2 ways

Living at the beach has is good points...being able to enjoy the desolate beaches during the spring and early fall, the warm water most of the year and the wonderful coastal weather, until you start thinking about hurricane season.

Now that it is June and school is out, college is out and our town is being swarmed by out-of-state tourist, I tend to stay away from the beaches and the boardwalks and enjoy time out at the pool or sitting outside on my porch with a cold drink, watching the boys play in the sprinklers. If we go to the beach, it is usually really early in the morning or late at night when most of the tourist are scouting out the shops or trying the local cuisine. It is nice not having to fight the crowds.

A few months ago I hopped on a plane and flew out to Texas to visit my husband sans kids. It was one of the funnest things I have done in a long time. We stayed at a beautiful lake front hotel, in a large suite which was fit for fancy people...let me tell you, I sure did feel fancy that weekend. We stopped at a restaurant on the water and ordered way too many of these wonderful, and pretty, frozen lemonade drinks. I think the scenery and the company made the drinks even better.

So now that its warm outside and we are spending more time outside, the hot drinks are being replaced with the cold ones and this one was first on my list to recreate.

Granted I just couldn't get those pretty swirls in mine... it sure did taste good!

Ingredients:

2 cups frozen (or fresh) strawberries (about 24 strawberries)
1/2 cup crushed ice (or smallest cubes possible)
1/2 cup lemon juice (fresh or bottled)
2 Tablespoons of sugar (or to taste)
3/4 cup water

If you want to make these the Adult version, just add in some Vodka to your own taste

(Optional)
1/4 lemon, sliced, for garnish
1 Tablespoon of ginger, fresh or dried (finely chopped)
A few mint leaves

Directions:

1. Allow frozen strawberries to thaw slightly.
2. Before placing ice cubes in blender, crush large chunks by sealing securely inside a plastic zip bag and rolling over the bag firmly with a rolling pin.
3. Combine lemon juice, strawberries, sugar substitute or sugar, crushed ice and water in blender jar. If blades get stuck, add more water.
4. Blend on high with lid tightly secured until smooth and thick.
5. Pour into glasses and serve immediately. Garnish with a slice of lemon & sugar the glass rim, if desired.

DIY Make-up setting spray

It's that time of year where the weather is getting warmer, the humidity levels are rising and I hate what the combination of those two things do to my makeup. I don't know about you but the melting makeup is not my favorite look to rock during the warmer months. 

There are a few makeup items that I swear by that are made by high end makeup companies...MAC setting spray is a must have, but I do hate the price tag. 


You can use setting sprays to moisturize your skin, set your make up, and add some shine to your hair. If you look cakey with too much face powder you can use this product to make it melt into your skin. It is great in the summer months because it prevents your make up from moving or if you are one of those girls who wears makeup to the gym. If your foundation dries before you buff into your skin all the way, you can spray it on your brush and then finish applying the make up.

Here's how to make it:

• 1 part pure glycerin (You can find it in the facial care, pharmacy, cooking, or even craft stores) 
• 3 parts filtered water 
• Something to put it in, I used an empty MAC bottle

   

All you do is mix 1/4 glycerin to 3/4 water inside a spray bottle and use. That would be if you have combination skin. If you have oily skin try 1/5 glycerin to 4/5 water and if you have dry skin try using 1/3 part glycerin to 2/3 parts water.

    If you have redness in your skin you can add 1 part rose water, that will also give it a nice rose smell. I like to put one part witch hazel in mine personally because it makes it feel less sticky. If the stickiness is still a problem for you, try just a little rubbing alcohol.  

Give it a try. I hope you like it!