horsing around...

The other night my little horse-loving sister was sitting next to me watching horse trick videos on youtube. I'd seen this one before but it still amazes me every time. This girl and her horse make such an awesome team that I had to share it with you.





Aren't they great?

Makes you want to get on a horse and ride...except that it's hot outside

~Susanna

10. pinning again

Time again for some of my favorite ideas called pins from pinterest.


1. Coffer bars are soooooo cute!! The stand and wall color go together real well.

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2. New kind of table runner. I think I like it...

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3.Stuffed strawberries? Oh yeah!

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4.  Packaging can get pretty cute if you do something like this.

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5. I tried this hairstyle today and it turned out really nice. You can find the tutorial here.

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6. I've been looking for graduation invite ideas for next year. So far this has been the prettiest.

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7. You could make a little storage shed into... a little guest house.

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8. I really "need" this...

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9. The coolest wall decor ever!

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10. To live by...

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So, tell me your favorites.


~Susanna

Awesome-Tasting Food!! // grilled peaches?

Last week I grilled peaches for the first time and it actually worked!! You see, we sell peaches at our local farmers market and customers have told me about grilling them. I've always wondered if it really works or not, so I decided to try my hand at it. The result? It turned out AWESOME! You're going to find out just how fast and easy it is to grill peaches...

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Grilled Peaches

Start with peaches that are firm but give a little when you squeeze them. I'd also use a freestone peach.
Cut each peaches in half and remove the pit. You can either grill the entire half or cut the halves into wedges.
Brush the cut side of the peaches with oil (I used olive oil and it tasted great.)
Cook the peaches over a medium fire on all cut side until grill marks show and the peach is tender. (I also grilled a little bit on the other side just to make sure it cooked all the way through. )

You can either eat the grilled peaches plain, in a salad, or with a scoop of home-made ice cream. We ate ours plain, but if you're going to do that eat them hot off the grill. They taste best that way.

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There you have it, grilled peaches in under 10 minutes!

I thought grilling really brought out the flavor of the peach, meanwhile it made the peach look beautifully red. That might be because I used Canadian Harmony peaches. They're known for their red flesh.

Well, I hope you try this and tell me what you think.

Want another recipe on grilled peaches? Then try this one.

~Susanna

If I could...

...I would go back to the beach with my brother!

About a month ago I got to visit him. He lives in North Carolina just a couple hours from the beach so he took me for a day. I had never ever been to the beach before and it was 

AWESOME!!

I took a ton of pictures. (Yes, everything was fascinating. even the sand.) When I got home I uploaded them to itunes and for some reason it decided to crash. In the process I lost my photos. sad. very sad. Thankfully, my awesome brother sent me some of his.

Since we went on Tuesday after Memorial Day the beach was almost deserted and we had it to  ourselves.

My brother tried to teach me how to ride the waves. By the end of the day I think I was getting it. It was fun to see a big wave come at you and being able to ride over it.  Water does weird things to you.

He took his iPhone in with him until he was about knee deep. I thought he was nuts, but then again maybe that was his defence against my splashing. 

We spent almost the entire day at the beach. By the end both of us looked like strawberries. I'm sure I looked interesting the next day when I flew home.

Would I go back? Absolutely YES!!!

Do you like going to the beach or have you ever been?

~Susanna
 

fires...

My siblings and I just watched this 5 Day Timelapse video of the fires in Colorado Springs. It looks just terrible! We had a barn fire 5 years ago and I thought that was bad...





I think the music makes this sound even worse.

 Keep praying for everyone out there. The fire isn't out yet.

~Susanna

9. pinning again

Pinning here we come! I haven't been on Pinterest lately, so there are many new good pins out there. These are some of my favorite!

1...this brick wall is gorgeous for the kitchen. gives it that rustic look.

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2...miniature banana splits: what is better than that? they are super cute!!

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3...been telling this to a lot of people lately. :)

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4...this is an awesome idea for a pencil & pen holder.

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5...this is so happening at my wedding. maybe that is because i just want to the beach and it was amazing!

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6...while we're on the wedding topic, these are adorable!

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7... my mom said this sounded gross, but i thought it would be great for company. when the white rug gets wet, it turns red.

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8...and hopefully you've all seen this before here.

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 9...this hair is so pretty!

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10...I got one of these at Kohls and I love it!!

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Ok, which was your favorite?


~Susanna

Awesome-Tasting Food!! // passion tea lemonade

One thing I have to have every summer is Passion Tea Lemonade from Starbucks. It is one of the most refreshing drinks I've had. Since I don't go to Starbucks all the time I've tried to recreate it and really it is very simple.  Every time it turns out a little different, but I love it. The only problem is when my family sees it and then I have to make a whole gallon by the time I'm done!!

Passion Tea Lemonade (my version)

~TAZO Passion tea bags 
~Lemonade      last time I used Santa Cruz Organic Lemonade.
~Little bit of sugar
~Mason jar with lid
~Lots of ice!!

Start by following the directions on the the tea box for how to make the tea.  
One bag should make at least two servings of this lemonade.

 If you've never had TAZO Passion tea before here is what it looks like:

Let the tea cool down by putting it in the fridge for a couple hours. Yep, I put mine in my mason jar for this part too!!

Next, take about equal parts tea and lemonade, put them into your jar. Screw the lid on and shake about 10 times.  If your lemonade is really strong then don't add quite as much. You can always put more in later if you decide it needs it. 

Unscrew the lid and add as much ice as can fit. Put the lid back on and shake again.
In the end your drink should look something like this:

If it tastes to sour for you add a little sugar and shake it up again.

And there you have it, one of my favorite drinks ever!!

The nice thing about this drink is that if it doesn't taste quite right, you can always add more lemonade, tea, or whatever and it won't ruin itself.

I'd sure like to know if you tried this and what you thought! Also, if you have your own version on how to make Passion Tea Lemonade I'd love to see it.


~Susanna

What a life...

Oh Yeah, my life has been fun lately and I haven't shared any of it with you. So here is a little taste. Actually, it turned out to be a big taste.

Our neighbor brought his horses back to our house for the summer. We've had a ton of fun with them again.

Two of our cats had a total of 10 kittens this spring. Normally, I could care less (they have kittens all the time and they all look the same), but these 3 cuties /\ /\ are actually a lot of fun. In fact we got rid of 2 of our cats so we could keep the one on the far left. He is so sweet!!

I made a new graduation card this year. It turned out to be pretty cute don't you think? If you'd like to buy one just email me and I'll put a listing on Etsy for you.

We had some rain and a double rainbow this last weekend. Charis took this pretty neat photo of the rain. Isn't it cool how the water drops are splashing?  I love rain!

 Yay! for the cool cameras on my ipod touch. Actually takes decent photos.

One of my brothers took me to Chiles for my birthday. Their free birthday dessert of ice cream and hot gooey brownies was awesome!! It was really funny because the staff came parading out with the brownie, singing and clapping.

My mom and I went shopping recently. I found the cutest maxi skirt ever at Kohls! It was the last one on the rack (besides the orange one.)

 
On Monday night I went bowling with some friends.I don't bowling often enough...

 
By the time it was over I had had a blast and a big headache. When we go bowling we sure make a time of it by yelling and clapping whenever someone made a strike or two gutter balls in a row. (Wasn't my idea for the gutter balls, but it sure was funny.)

Scores!!! (wasn't my ball either)

Cool shoes, right?

...the end

So, what have you all been up to lately?


~Susanna

Awesome-Tasting Food!! // lime rice

Are you all having a good week so far?  Mine has been awesome! Last night I went bowling with some friends. (I shall tell you about that later.) Right now I'm in the process of packing. (I'm going to go see my brother that lives in N.C.)

Last week I posted about the Chipotle Chicken I made. I also found a "mock" recipe for their cilantro-lime rice. This tastes almost exactly the same as theirs. It is a terribly easy recipe, just be careful that you don't burn it like I did!! (again) Thankfully, just the bottom was charcoal and the top was still good enough to eat. My problem was I used the wrong burner.  Oh well...

One of the things that makes Chipotle's rice different in because they use Basmati rice. It is more expensive, but tastes really good. 

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Cilantro-Lime Rice 

1 teaspoon vegetable oil or butter
2 tsp. fresh cilantro
2/3 cup white basmati rice
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Lime

In a 2-quart heavy saucepan, heat oil or butter over low heat, stirring occasionally until melted. Add rice and lime juice, stir for 1 minute. Add water and salt, bring to a full rolling boil. At boiling, cover, turn down to simmer over low heat until rice is tender and the water is absorbed, about 25 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork. Add cilantro and serve with Chipotle's Chicken.

[bahs-MAH-tee]
Basmati is a long-grained rice, with a fine texture. It can be found in Middle Eastern and India markets, as well as some supermarkets.

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  Of course I love this recipe since is has something to do with my favorite fruit!! Limes are just so colorful and pretty!!


~Susanna

a true love story...

While checking my blog roll the other day, someone had posted a video about this terribly sweet couple! It looked interesting and once I started watching, I couldn't quit. (If I ever watch anything it is like 10 seconds here, go do something, 10 more seconds, do something else, etc.)  I had never heard of Ian & Larissa before, but this clip tells you about what sweet people they are. Both of them are very inspiring to me. You can really tell how much each of them love the Lord.





Isn't that just way too sweet?  After I watched the clip I found some of their cute wedding photos. Larissa sure knew how to decorate!

You can read more about Ian & Larissa on their blog.They even have a video clip of their wedding.


Hope this really just made your day bright! I know it did to mine.

~Susanna

Awesome-Tasting Food!! // chipotle chicken

I haven't done one of these in awhile so I decided to make up for it by posting a super awesome recipe!

Have you ever been to Chipotles? Of course you have and you love it right? Or do I even need to  ask... :)  I love Chipotles not just because it tastes really good, but also because it's healthy for you. They raise chickens the way you should.

The other day I made "mock" Chipotle grilled chicken. I don't think it tastes a lot like the real thing, but it was really, really good. It is also a ton of fun to make.


"Mock" Chipotle Chicken Marinade

1 (2 ounce) package dried ancho chiles  -I just used ancho chile powder because it was faster!
1 (7 ounce) can chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (discard chipotle pepper, skim out seeds)
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons cumin powder
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped
6 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons salt
1 red onion, quartered
1/4 cup oil (canola/vegetable/olive)
1 whole boneless, skinless naturally raised chicken (about 3 lbs, thighs work well too)

Soak dry chilies overnight in water, until soft. Remove seeds. Add chilies and rest of the ingredients in blender or food processor. Puree until smooth. Stab chicken with fork to let the marinade soak in. If you're marinating overnight, you won't need to stab it too much. If you're marinating for an hour, stab it all over!

Spread marinade over chicken, refrigerate for one hour or up to overnight. After marinating, grill on medium high on an indoor grill where the chicken can be pressed flat.

If using a skillet, heat oil to medium high. Place a foil-wrapped brick on top of chicken to press it flat. If using an outdoor grill, use charcoal to make it ultra delicious. Place foil wrapped bricks to press chicken flat. You can also make this on a Panini grill on medium high heat. Place something heavy on top to weigh it down.

*If you want, you can throw all the ingredients into a crockpot (bones included), cook on low for 10-12 hours or high for 4-6. You will have meat that falls off the bone because it's so tender and the consistency is similar to a stew! You can add 2 cups water or a low sodium stock to keep it from drying out.

Once chicken is cooked let it cool for a little bit and then slice into bite size pieces. Serve with tortillas, cheese, lettuce, sour cream, salsa, and Chipotle Lime Rice. (That recipe is coming next week!!!)

I was telling somebody about this recipe and they were wondering what the chipotle peppers in a can looks like. So in case you're wondering the same thing this /\ /\ is what it looks like.

... and if you're too lazy to cook you can just go to Chipotles and let them serve you. :) 

If you try this recipe tell me what you think. WARNING: this recipe makes you drink water!

~Susanna