Creamy rum balls

Here's my take on the classic rum ball.

Ingredients:
- 3 bars of Hershey's symphony creamy milk chocolate
- 1 tub of extra creamy Cool Whip
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- 1 T Malibu rum (can use extract, but that's lame)
- 6 Oreos (optional)

Start off by toasting the coconut - Preheat oven to 350 and spread the coconut out thinly - Bake for 3 minutes, then stir around then bake for 2 more minutes. Remove from oven and set aside - Crush up cookies at this time as well - Put chocolate into a microwave proof bowl and cook for 30-45-30, stirring each time - Flash freeze for 5 minutes and add in Cool Whip - Once it's well mixed add in rum & mix til blended - Flash freeze for 15 minutes - Form into balls and roll into coconut or cookie crumbs. Makes 25

*NOTES* Malibu is a smooth rum and will give the rum balls a very mild rum taste. I use a dark rum for a bolder rum taste. I like to do 1/2 T of each.

Also we all love rum, right?? Anyways don't go overboard with the rum. If you do it won't bond to the chocolate and will make it sticky and won't form into balls. I would say on top of the required tablespoon add no more then an additional 1/2 tablespoon.

Change up the toppings. You can use nuts, spices, wafers. Make it your own.

BBQ bacon shrimp

Our friend Juanita gave us the idea for these and man was it a good idea.

These are amazing and so simple to do. You'll never have leftovers.

I was thinking of doing scallops as well, but oddly enough our butcher was sold out of them. Maybe next time.

Ingredients:
-1lb jumbo cooked shrimp
-1lb (or box) of bacon
-1 cup of Famous Dave's Sweet &Sassy sauce


*If you are using wooden skewers make sure to soak them for at least 15 minutes.*

Cut the tails off the shrimp - Cut the bacon into pieces. 3 maybe 4 pieces each slice - Take a shrimp and wrap the bacon around it, then place on skewer - Repeat until all shrimp have been used - I don't put more then 6 on a skewer - Put all the skewers into a jumbo sized Ziploc bag and pour in sauce - Let marinate for 30 minutes.

Cook on grill. We cooked it for about 18 minutes on a medium low heat. Grills vary so just watch for the bacon to turn a little bit crispy.

*NOTE* When the grease drips it will cause flames to shoot up. Not major, but make sure your grill is in a good location. We use a grill pan that has the small holes and lines. Takes a little bit longer (18 minutes) to cook but you'll have less grease dripping on the flame.

Going old school

Antique shopping.

Yep that's all there is. I wrote a long entry about this, but my phone decided to delete the text and I'm to lazy to rewrite it. Enjoy the pics!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Utah sales tax tokens. (1937-1951)

 

 

 

I had these!

 

 

 

My herb garden

This year I took the herbs out of my normal garden and did little pots on the deck. I found a cute plant stand and pots at Target.

Last year my Sweet Basil grew out of control, this year it's having a hard time holding on. A few of my friends said they are also having a hard time in growing theirs. Very odd.

This year I'm growing, mint, spearmint, thyme, cilantro, lavender, sweet basil, italian parsley.

I found a few twigs, used a pocket knife to shave off the bark and the used a sharpie to make my labels for the plants.

10 beauty must haves

I was reading an article in Glamour and they had a list of the essential beauty must haves for woman. Now I don't wear make-up unless its a special event or have a lot of beauty items/tools. So I was thinking I might have one MAYBE two things off the list. I was actually surprised when I had all 10.


So here are the must haves in no certain order:


Blush

• I have a Ruby by Bare Escentuals & Laguna bronzer by NARS

Concealer

• Sephora & Clinque make great concealers. I like and use both of them

Eye Cream

• I use & love Olay Total Effects Eye treatment or their Anti-wrinkle eye cream. Just get an eye cream that helps with fine lines and will reduce puffiness.

Red Lipstick

• I LOVE, LOVE red lipstick. My mom always wore this vibrant red lipstick. It always reminds me of her when I'm wearing red. The trick is to find the right red for you. I use 3 different but bold shades of red, depends on my mood. #1 Sephora brand Royal Wedding - #2 NARS Fire down below -#3 NARS Viridiana.

BB Cream

• I'm still loving my Garnier BB Cream. BB cream really is a all in one cream. Foundation, moisturizer, primer, toner and has SPF. Although I still have concealer I haven't used it for quite some time now.

Mascara

• A for sure must! I wear my BB cream & mascara everyday. I'm in love with Eyeko skinny brush mascara.

Dry Shampoo

• I have Tresemme dry shampoo now, but have used and love Bumble and Bumble black powder. I was just lazy to go get B&B @ the mall.

Deep Conditioner

• Nexxus Humectress is a must or you could do my egg mask. I switch back and forth.

Face Wipes

• Say Yes to Cucumber facial wipes I carry at all times. For my lazy or drunken nights I use Neutrogena Oil-Free Cleansing wipes- Pink Grapefruit. These are in my nightstand for easy access. Both smell yummy.

Sunscreen

• If you looking for a easy carry stick I suggest Clinque Sun SPF 45 or for a spray try Aveeno SPF 50 is where it is at.  It's oil-free, non-greasy, waterproof and won't weigh down your hair if you use it in your hairline.

Although it's not on the list, I have to have a white shimmer eyeshadow or a white eye liner. If  applied correctly this makes your eyes pop and look bigger. Think subtle not 80's rocker.

Special Olympic games

What an amazing day we had! We watched some pretty amazing athletes compete in softball, soccer and track & field.

I was so proud that eBay had 125 volunteers as "Fans in the Stands". We were yelling our hearts out, shaking our pom-poms and showing our signs of support.

I know my family is looking forward to the Fall games.

By accident the boys have the same aviator glasses.

Medal ceremony

Marlo was an amazing player

Fist pumping for making a goal

Marlo told the Wee one he needed a body guard after the game, because he's kindof a big deal. I <3 him!

This was for the furthest softball pitch