Extra! Extra!

Big news: Pioneer Woman is coming to Food Network. Grab your butter, put on your cowboy hats, and get ready, because it's gonna be great!


See the FN news release here.

See Ree Drummond's fab site here.

And the first time I gushed about her here.

I'm very much too excited to say more. I'm going to go mark my calendar for August 27th.

Weekend Mirths, A Key Recipe

It was a pretty simple weekend. Nothing too fancy, just family and work around the house. So I'll give you something to kick your week up a bit-Key Lime Pie.

This is strikingly easy to make, I mean, seriously so cinch. You juice some limes, you beat some eggs, you open a can, bake, the end.

So you should probably make it soon :) I ventured upon making it simply because the Freff smacked his lips one day and said, I feel like some key lime pie. As I looked up recipes, I would ask if he liked this or that about the pie (like meringue topping or sour cream, etc.).
Eventually he confessed: "Well, I've never actually had key lime pie, but I really like the yogurt. Does it taste like the yogurt?"
Me (between hearty chuckles)-"Yeah it's pretty much like that."
Jeff-"Then I think I'll like it."

We topped our pie with loads of sweetened, whipped cream, although next time I'll do a meringue. I also purchased a pre-made graham cracker crust, because to me, it's one of those things that tastes the same if it's homemade or store bought, plus if I was going to make my man juice 22 little round balls, I figured I should do everything I could to make the rest of the process go smoothly and quickly.


It's best to let this pie refrigerate over night, this mellows the flavor and puts it at optimum eating delight. If you can't wait that long (we didn't and that my friends is how I know this) get ready to pucker up, because the pie is tart! Almost overwhelmingly tart, but still yummy. Just try to wait though, ok?





Key Lime Pie
adapted from Emeril Lagasse's recipe found here

For the Pie:
1 9-in graham cracker pie crust
2 (14-ounce) cans condensed milk
1 C key lime juice, about 22 key limes-rolled prior to slicing and juicing to break juice pockets
2 whole eggs

For the topping:
2 C heavy whipping cream
3/4 C powdered sugar (Jeff likes his really sweet, so use less or add gradually for your preferred sweetness)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a bowl with a pouring spout, combine the condensed milk, lime juice, and eggs. Whisk until well blended, and pour the filling into the pie shell. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes and allow to chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

The Final Installment

We were out until 3am this morning participating in the wonderful events that encircle a Harry Potter premier. We started with a double feature showing Deathly Hallows Part 1 at 9pm and Deathly Hallows part 2 at 12:01am. Amidst the parade of muggle-dressed ministry workers, Professor Tralawneys, Weird Sister bands, and Dobby the house elves, we waved our wands and sat on the edge of our seats waiting for the final end of saga that began when I was 12. Two massive sodas, one large jug of popcorn, a box of dots, and a bag of raisinettes later, I was fit to burst but quite content with the way things all turned out. Until I had to get up for work this morning. And until I realized that the movie was the end of an era. I'm feeling a bit sad today, despite my contentedness, and I'm not sure whether to resist the urge to run to the library and check out books 1-7 and re-read them (or re-re-re-read them) or just let the dust settle.

Either way, we'll be trying to recover from the excitement all weekend long, drinking butterbeer, and if I can possibly stand another kernel of popcorn, I'll be making this homemade kettle corn recipe.

Try these butterbeer recipes to keep your HP spirits up:
food network
Butterbeer cupcakes
Mugglenet Butterbeer
Wizarding World of HP Top 5 recipes

I hope you all have a great weekend! Go out and fight the HP crowds-it's worth it.

P.S.-we were so glad we did the double feature! Double the fun and when we walked into the theatre at 7pm we were seated right away, while hundreds upon hundreds (we're talking A LOT of people!!) were already lined up waiting. They must have been there for over 8 hours! When did you get in line? Were you able to get a good seat? Did you use any special techniques to secure your spot?

Wonderful Weekend Mirths

This past weekend Jeffrey and I had the wonderful good fortune of escaping to the wilderness to slow down, enjoy life, and relax. On Friday, the two of us loaded up our car (though trips like this always make my Mister come down with a huge case of truck lust) and left the bustling, cramped city life behind for the sweeping expanses of green and red and gorgeous rock formations of Southern Utah. We stayed in the most adorable cabins, fished-and ate what we caught-hiked, and soaked up fresh, clean air and pristine views.

{sweet little country cabin}

{the view off our back porch}

{a dinosaur print we found on the hike! Jeff thinks it's a horse hoof-does look like a hoof to anyone else? I don't think so. DINOSAUR people}

{I was fascinated by the faces naturally carved in the rocks}

{he's fearless}

{the valley of Dixie National Forrest after a tremendous hail storm; two inches of juniper-berry sized hail covered the scenic byway we drove on}

{my little sun-burned kneecap got toasted through a whole in my jeans}

{Red rock cliffs escorted us home}

Weekend Mirths, spanning 2 weekends

It's time for my favorite I'm-way-behind-in-blogging-so-please-accept-my-photo-essay catch-up game! We've been delightfully busy lately having way too much fun and I'm still waiting on the handsome geek to finish his computer so I can bombard its 2 terabyte hard drive with pictures, and have I mentioned that 3 months after moving we still have not finished unpacking? Do you know me? Do you know how I tolerate mess and disorder? I don't. But I do love long summer weekends spent with my bestest making memories we'll never forget, so I'll leave the boxes and to-do lists out of mind for now. These days are just too good to waste.

{stopping to play Pooh sticks}

Our weekends start at 1pm on Fridays-that's when I finish my work and school week and when Jeffrey finally decides to crawl out of bed. :) One of our favorite Friday activities is to grab lunch at Molly's-the BEST lunch place in Provo-then work off their delectable chocolate cream cheese cake riding our bikes around town or going for a walk. Sometimes we brave the shady Provo River trail, dodging bums and plump shirtless men, focusing our attention instead on the gushing river and abundance of trees.

Two weekends ago we joined with our cousins for a Cousins Camp-out at Payson Lake, and may I just say that camping with kids is really fun. My youngest cousin present, Timm, was the resident bear watcher for me, so he was the maniac making sure all the food was picked up and put away, which left me time to roast more s'mores.




We L-O-V-E glow sticks in my family. A party just isn't a party without them.

Dan was camp chef extraordinaire, cooking up the seriously most edible, even delicious, camp food I've ever had while roughing it.

I think it took all week to get the smoke smell of of my hair, so when the weekend of July 4th arrived we were ready for something a little more fancy. Friday night we drove through the canyon to Sundance, where the Utah Symphony was holding an outdoor patriotic concert. We were lucky to have a beautiful, clear night, so the sounds of America rang out over the gathered crowd.

The Symphony played patriotic songs, scores from All-American movies and plays, but our favorite was when they honored service men and women and families by having them stand when their songs were played. I felt remarkably grateful for so many people who honor and serve our country.


Two old favorites: Red Vines (now available in pull-n-peel!!!!) and my trusty red flats made for an All-American celebration.

Saturday night was the big fireworks show, and our pals Shane and Robyn joined us for explosions and strawberry shortcake. The fireworks were so beautiful this year, I almost cried with delight.

{fireworks awe}

Sunday night we decided to trek up to Jeffrey's grandparents' home to spend the holiday with them. Some force in the universe conspired against us though, and no sooner had we set out than we got a flat tire! With a little help, we switched out the bad tire for the slightly less bad spare tire...and braved the back roads up over the mountains at a daring speed of: 40 mph :)

We discovered that we much prefer the back road and will most likely take the extra time to drive the scenic route when we again head north.

{we made to grandpa's house}

Miraculously we found someone to fix the tires on the 4th of July-what a relief- but the grand summation of the entire Independence Day weekend was our drive home through the valley that night. Fireworks broke up the night sky on either side of the interstate, for miles ahead of us and miles beside us, and accompanied our travel the entire way home.