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Get out of that same ol’ recipe rut and try one of these delicious and easy recipes this week! This week I highly recommend making the Dirty Mummy Baconstein Dogs and the Pittsburgh Strawberry Pretzel Tart!
Happy Sunday TKW Family from a very, VERY hot Pittsburgh! We’re talking sweltering. Okay I know Arizona and the west coast you guys are at like 110F+ but you don’t have humidity or you have very little. Here it’s been in the 90’s with 80%+ humidity. It’s just NASTY out. And of course Mr. Fantabulous feels that ‘Hey this is the perfect weather to be outside for 6 hours and cut down a 40′ high 2 1/2′ round Sassafras tree down’. Yeah that will be fun…not! This all started on Friday when it was only 92F and 70% humidity. He made the wedge cut in the tree and was going to put in the cross cut to help it fall down where we wanted – in between the gazebo and the mother-in-law house when he decided he wasn’t sure of where it was going to fall. So he put the excavator on the one side to help lean it in the right direction. As he put the bucket against the tree to apply some pressure all of a sudden you hear this POP! and see liquid spewing everywhere.
Apparently the pressure line burst and lubricant sprayed everywhere. So now I have a tree that could potentially fall on my other house AND a broken excavator. And to make matters worse I had just said “Honey I need to get going as I have 4 stores I have to run to as I need supplies for the weekend.” I’ve had a super busy weekend with 6 client shoots and for the first time, I was a bit overwhelmed that I wasn’t going to get them all done.
So when that line burst I knew my day was shot as I was now on duty to finding an open Bobcat dealer on a Friday at 3:30pm. Luckily we found one – an hour away that closed at 5pm. Did I mention that we also were covered in grease, sweat and sawdust? Sexy, huh? LOL But I put stuff down in my car and we took off to the place. Fortunately the guy had the line he needed. I was afraid, to be honest, pulling into our driveway as with how bad our luck is that the tree had fallen and took out something expensive on the property. Thankfully God was watching over it and our property. An hour later, the excavator was fixed and the tree was down.
Since it was still early-ish (7) and I still needed to run my errands he decided he wanted to come with. That translates as “Honey can we go out to dinner and get ice cream?” lol I managed to get most of my stuff as some stuff I couldn’t leave in the car while we ate as it needed to be cold. Yesterday while I worked on a few shoots he went out to chop up the tree. 6 hours later, in 94F+ temps with close to 90% humidity he (and we as I helped out for about 2 1/2 hours) we finished cutting up that tree. We have a few more trees to take down but the one is a massive oak tree about 4′ round at least and maybe 60’+ high if not more. HE agreed to pay someone to come take that down.
At Home Store
So I love both Homegoods and At Home and, as I was giving one of the realtors we were interviewing I realized something. Almost half of my decorations and stuff are from At Home! Most of my kitchen props and the like are from Homegoods! What’s funny is that Mr. I-Only-Like-Hardware-Stores LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVES At Home! Like he is worse than I in that store! I really should contact them and have them help sponsor this remodel! lol Have you guys been to either of their stores? Great, great prices and really beautiful items.
Latest Find
Last week on Instagram I posted a photo for one of my clients, Bigelow Tea. Now I’ve been a lover of their teas ever since I was little. That’s what Grandma and Mom drank and what I grew up on. I was fortunate enough to team up with them for the past year or so. Well they asked me to create an image featuring their new STEEP teas. I literally made THE BEST Sweet Iced Tea I’ve ever had in my life with these teas! For the past week I’ve had to make a pitcher every day! We had 3 realtors here plus a few friends and they all asked for the recipe. That, my dear friends, will be coming up. But seriously, this tea is amazing! If your local store has it, get some! If not get it on Amazon!
My tea was a Hibiscus Lemon Ginger – yes I mixed it up using tea bags from both!
Plus it’s caffeine free!
Last week on Instagram
If you’re a food blogger this lens is crucial! While I have a bunch of other lenses this lens is SWEET! I used it all weekend and excited to check out the results! If you’re serious about food blogging or photography, definitely invest! The Canon 50MM F 1/2 L USM Lens is where it’s at! Look at the comments! Even Canon themselves commented on it!
How many of you salt your watermelon or fruit in general? We are a house divided on this subject. I LOVE salt on my watermelon. He thinks I’m crazy. What about you?
Then there was this sandwich… Seriously SO GOOD!
And then there was this…. I took my potato stack cakes and made THE BEST BREAKFAST SANDWICH EVER!
And with that I need to scoot and get some more recipes and shoots done today. Have one fantabulously amazing week!
♥ Monday – Aloha Burgers
♥ Tuesday – Italian Chicken Panzanella Salad
♥ Wednesday – Dirty Mummy Baconstein Dogs
♥ Thursday – Crockpot Beer ‘n BBQ Chicken Sammis
♥ Friday – Ultimate Pittsburgh Steak Wedgie
♥ Saturday – Thai Peanut Shrimp Summer Rolls
♥ Sunday – Mozzarella Stuffed Italian Meatballs and spaghetti
♥ Dessert of the week – Pittsburgh Strawberry Pretzel Tart
Lori,
Be warned that there is a special place in the afterlife for people who put salt on fruit. It’s not pretty. Repent before it’s too late.
Regarding your tree work, you guys really kno how to have fun. Wish I were closer, I’d barter for some of that sassafras. Makes interesting lumber.
Stay cool/warm/whatever-your-wether isn’t.
Joe
HAHAHAHA Joe! NOOOOOOOOO I love my salt on watermelon. Have you tried it? We’re not talking a lot but just a smidge. I mean think about it when you make desserts – you have to add salt to help bring out the sweetness. Same way with watermelon. Besides I’m okay with the other place – I have a condo at the Lake of Fire ;-). I wish you lived closer too! We have a 3′ round 60+’ oak tree that we are having taken down too.
Best Kitchen Wishes!