A Fetching Friday feature of summer sites summer spots summer scenes.
2013 Ahmanson Cup Regatta Yacht Zapata II alt by D Ramey Logan
Enjoy your summer Fetching Friday and weekend!
Category: summer
It’s That Summer Vacation Time of Year Again
Summer vacation let’s hit the holiday road getaway, treasure hunting, taste testing delicious cuisine, unplugging if only for a few days, reconnecting with Dave the Builder. It’s that summer vacation time of year again.
Vacation
All I ever wanted
Vacation
Had to get away
Talk (type) to you next week.
Summer Fabulous in a Jar: Lavender Rose Summer Body Scrub
The look of summer fabulous does not just happen. Getting our decor, porches, patios, decks, lawns and gardens summer wow ’em ready comes with a fair amount of work. Unfortunately, this labor of summer outdoor living love does not go unnoticed on the hands, feet and elbows of those who do the time in the summer salt mines putting a lot of elbow grease into it by performing the let’s pretty things up around here task at hand. Consulting my handy dandy Thesaurus for a nicer word for work, I thought these synonyms for the word work make a point.
Task at hand.
Elbow grease.
Salt mines.
Hand. Grease (oil). Salt. I’m thinking a sweet summer season body scrub is in order.
Targeted emails, BOGOS and promo codes complement the necessary essential oils order needed to create the latest addition to my DIY beauty scrub recipe collection. Let me introduce you to a fabulous summer hand, feet and body beauty treatment– Lavender Rose Summer Body Scrub.
I almost forgot to add this little tidbit of inspired information to the post.
Godinger Hershey’s Kiss Candy Dish
Back at Christmastime I ordered the crystal replica of the Hershey’s Kiss from Godinger Crystal for Dave the Builder’s Christmas stocking gift. The busy shipping elves at Godinger mistakenly sent me a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup dish instead of the Hershey’s Kiss dish. One quick and courteous call to customer service later, the issue professionally became a non-issue resulting in a sweet deal. With all this talk and type of the rule of kiss aka keep it summer simple, container inspiration stylishly struck.
I spooned ¼ cup of the scrub into the kiss dish and added a few of the dried lavender buds for keeping it lavender rose summer body scrub stylishly scented and summer scrub simple.
I keep the remaining scrub in a lidded jar, the lavender buds nearby in a lovely vintage dish. The pairing of lavender and rose together is summer scent divine!
Lavender Rose Summer Body Scrub
½ cup sugar
½ cup kosher sea salt
½ cup coconut oil, melted
10 drops lavender essential oil
10 drops rose essential oil
1 tablespoon dried lavender buds
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Spoon scrub into a lidded jar of choice and seal tightly. Scrub will keep for several weeks.
Summer In A Jar: Fig and Fresh Mint Vinaigrette
Well, it’s fig and fresh mint vinaigrette official.
Slowly, but surely I’m becoming my grandmothers.
These two Southern women of strong convictions and delicious confections knew from trial by fire through temperatures of hellacious measure how hot a kitchen could get in the dead of summer.
Late lunch and evening meal menus played to cold salads of potato, macaroni, Louisiana seafood and leafy greens, fresh farm to market fruits and vegetables served at room temperature (the absolute best way to eat a homegrown tomato!), crispy cold fried chicken or bacon, roast beef or thin sliced ham prepared the morning before, canned pickles and chow chow spiked with bite and flavor.
Even in these modern central air times, when the stove and double ovens are cooking and baking at full throttle in the good old summertime, things can get hot, hot, hot in the kitchen.
I learned from the best it’s not the temperature it’s served at but the taste and presentation upon the plate.
My latest summer salad series recipe, Fig and Fresh Mint Vinaigrette, deliciously fits right in with the house salad rule for summer suppers.
Dijon mustard, olive oil, Kosher salt and fine black pepper make a tasty base.
Complementing flavors of the fig preserves and fresh lemon juice bring on the zing, but two tablespoons of fresh mint chopped uber fine deliver a bright bite placing this vinaigrette in a whole new flavor category.
This fig and fresh mint vinaigrette is summer in a jar.
Simply fresh, simply delicious!
Note the vintage serving bowl I bought on our latest antiques treasure hunting trip.
Fig and Fresh Mint Vinaigrette
Ingredients
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 Tablespoons fig preserves
1½ Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoons fresh mint, finely chopped
Kosher salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
Directions
Whisk lemon juice, Dijon mustard and lemon juice in a small bowl until blended. Add olive oil and whisk until blended. Stir in the fresh mint, Kosher salt and pepper. To guarantee extra blended goodness pour vinaigrette into a small mason jar. Screw on the lid good and tight and give it a good shake to combine.
A Most Fetching Friday: Keeping Cool
Today’s A Most Fetching Friday serves as a friendly reminder of the importance of keeping cool in the intense summer heat. Our internet service failed to connect us to the world wide web this past Wednesday morning and as of this posting remains spotty. Ugh!
Work crews from AT&T have graced the Places In The Home compound with their skilled and professional presence over the last two days. Knowing the importance of staying hydrated and keeping cool in the fight against heat exhaustion, I keep a steady supply and variety of bottle waters on hand for the postman, landscape crews, and utility workers.
The heat is on in these intense summer days making it necessary for those who work and play outdoors to do what it takes to reduce the risks of associated with the unforgiving combination of heat and humidity.
One does want a hint of style.
Keeping cool is key when working or playing outdoors in the summer. Stay cool, hydrated, sun protected and heat exhaustion educated in these fun in the summer sun months.
A Most Fetching Friday: The Summer Vacation
Today’s A Most Fetching Friday is all about the summer vacation.
Tourism thrives on it, houses are built to entertain around it, school teachers wait all school year long for it to get here, kids of all ages celebrate it, and memories made on the summer holiday road stay with us for a lifetime.
Lake Keowee Lake House Cabin, South Carolina
Summer In Color at The Saguaro Palm Springs
What story will your summer vacation tell?
Dave the Builder and I have been on a mini vacation for a little over a week. Reality will soon call us back to our normal routine, but for now the pace has slowed and the summer vacation life is good.
Tagged for Travel
Get Your Kicks and Your Gas on Route 66
Sunny Days and Cool Waters
Summer Sounds
Have a lovely weekend.
Coconut Poke Cake
Temperatures in Louisiana hit the 90° degrees in the shade mark today. Summer is in sight and the first holiday weekend of the season is coming up. I guess now is about as good a time as any to shine the spotlight on an entertaining summer read and a delicious summer recipe. Two things our dinner gang does not shy away from- discussion and dessert. The Coincidence of Coconut Cake and a request for coconut poke cake served up a delicious course of both.
The Coincidence of Coconut Cake
My mother requested I make a coconut poke cake for our Mother’s Day brunch dessert. She specifically wanted me to make a coconut poke cake from a recipe she eavesdropped on overheard two ladies discussing at the beauty shop. Trying to follow her not so committed to memory bits and pieces of recipe recall about drove me coconuts. “They said something about poking holes and coconut.” Gee thanks, Mother.
Google supplied the general outline, but a couple of ingredients adjustments and culinary interpretation fined tuned the overall taste. My mother was so pleased with how my coconut poke cake turned out she asked me to make another one for the next meeting of our dinner gang. My idea for choosing The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy E. Reichert as our required read was no coincidence at all.
Coconut Poke Cake
Ingredients
1 box white cake mix
1 cup coconut milk
3 large eggs
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons good vanilla
1 can (15 oz) Coco Lopez cream of coconut
2 8 oz frozen Cool Whip Extra Creamy whipped topping, thawed
1 8 oz package shredded coconut
Directions
Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour the pan(s). I like to use about 2 heaping tablespoons of the dry cake mix to flour my pan. You can use a rectangular pan, two round cake pans or a bundt pan.
Prepare cake mix substituting the coconut milk for the water and adding vanilla. Beat for 2-3 minutes on medium speed until all ingredients are well blended.
Pour cake batter into prepared cake pan(s). Bake according to package instructions. Remove cake from oven and while cake is still hot poke holes all over the top of the cake using a the handle of a wooden spoon.
Slowly pour the entire can of cream of coconut over the top of the cake. making sure the cream of coconut soaks into the holes. Allow cake to cool completely. Generously frost top (and sides) with the extra creamy whipped topping and finish by topping the cake with the flaked coconut. Cover and keep refrigerated.
A Most Fetching Friday: Grilled to Perfection Delicious Inspiration
Today’s Fetching Friday features grilled to perfection delicious inspiration for your outdoor living entertaining ideas pleasure.
fetch·ing
/ˈfeCHiNG/
adjective
adjective: fetching
attractive.
synonyms: attractive, appealing, sweet, pretty, good-looking, lovely, delightful, charming, prepossessing, captivating, enchanting, irresistible
Grilled Salmon with Dijon and Dill Creamed Pea Sauce
Grilled Flatbreads with Mushrooms, Ricotta and Herbs
Grilled Portofino Vegetable Antipasto
Grilled Shrimp with Fresh Cranberry Salsa
Grilled Stone Fruit with Almond Mascarpone Dip