Saltwater Taffy...

Saltwater Taffy....

It's officially summer.... Yipee!!! Time to get yourself at least one bag of this fun candy. I love that the bag is a mixture of fruity, peanut butter, chocolate, cinnamon, licorice and other incridible flavors. There is something for everyone! Our family has been buying it since I was a little girl. We would go to the Ocean with other families and this was our treat. My dad was a dentist, so you can imagine... a rare treat! My dad kept Snicker's bars in the trunk of his car (remember the old trunks... they had locks on them). But Saltwater Taffy was a different story. He let us have it... summer months only... but we could have it... and a lot of it!! When I saw this taffy in the store the other day, I could not resist. I bought a bag for our family... and one for my dad for Father's Day. We loved it... and he loved it.

It's all good!

-Tracy

Happy Father's Day to all you men out there...

You know that phrase.... "A picture is worth a thousand words."?

Well, here it is.

We are finally home from our interesting, to say the least, road trip we took earlier. I will blog about it on my family blog so my family can laugh about it. Others might not be as entertained. If you are curious, feel free to go to http://www.lifeisjustplainfun.blogspot.com/. Let's just say it involved "driving in the rain", "McDonalds", "church", "another breakfast at my dads", "a car show that only had 18-20 cars and three Harleys...and an auction with a John Wayne clock", "a sign that said Civil War Reenactment... didn't stop for that one", "photos with gnomes", "getting gas even though Greg swore he had enough and that is why we took his beefy Harley Davidson truck instead of my new, comfy car", "at least 7 cups of coffee", "onion dip (see yesterday's blog for the recipe)", and "sports on tv"... I am painting at the moment (tshirts) and will not be able to blog until later. So, for now...

This photo will have to do.

Please notice Greg's hand on the remote (so he can watch the US Open, the Mariners and some station that has dirt bike racing on it).

According to Greg... "Life is good!"

Happy Father's Day to you all.

-Tracy

Recipe for Father's Day (Caramelized Onion Dip)...

Tomorrow it's Father's Day... a day for HIM! .... Rule no. 1... make his favorite dip so he has something to eat while watching golf, baseball, motocross, Wold Cup soccer, and any other sport he can find... To be honest with you I didn't know there were so many different sports until I married him. And I found there were more than that when we got cable!

I got this recipe from my cousin, Sue years ago. I think I might have altered it a bit, but regardless, it is one staple in our family when we entertain. Gather the ingredients. Chop the onions. The rest I will list below. I got the best advice from a friend years ago... after chopping onions, wash your hands and rub them on metal. We have a hot water spout on our sink that is metal and I just use that. It's amazing. It takes ALL of the onion scent off of you. I swear. Don't know how it works... it just does!

Mmmmm.... this is the point where I wish I had doubled the batch so we could have BBQ hamburgers with caramelized onions the next night.

My neighbor, Debbie gave me my own Pyrex measuring cup. I had small ones, but never one large enough to make the whole dip. One day she just rang my doorbell and said "surprise"... and it was mine. My first big Pyrex measuring cup... And I only had to wait 46 years to get one.
Thanks Debbie... Love ya!


Caramelized Onion Dip (a man's dip!)

2 sweet onions, peeled and sliced and chopped into 1 1/2" slices
1 Tblsp. vegetable oil
1 Tblstp. butter
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
2 c. sour cream
1 c. mayonnaise (my husband will only eat Best Foods)
1 pkg. Lipton Onion Soup Mix


Heat pan and add oil and butter. Melt. Add onions. Cook on medium heat for 25 minutes. Turn heat down if the brown too quickly. After they are golden brown, add the balsamic vinegar. Cook on medium heat for another 5 minutes. Remove pan from stove. In bowl, mix sour cream, mayonnaise and onion soup mix. Then add caramelized onions. At this point I put it in Tupperware (or Glad containers) and refrigerate for at least two hours. It's reallly good the second day... that's why I made it today... for Father's Day tomorrow. The photo I showed you above was not chilled yet. And yes, it is okay to sample it at this point. My 9 year old son says you have to do that so you know it is not poisonous... he also claims he has to do that with all dessert items!
Serve with potato chips. I prefer Baked Lays. Greg prefers Wavy Lays. Our kids prefer Ruffles. In honor of Father's Day... Wavy Lays it is!!
Make sure to serve your man a cold beer with this dip... and give him the remote... and tell him to put his feet up. After all... you will be rewarded for your efforts in 11 months when Mother's Day rolls around again.
-Tracy

ps. The Fisher beer glasses were ordered on line about 5 years ago. I cannot remember the website, but if you Google "personalized beer glasses" you will find them. I gave them to all the men in our family one year for Father's day!

Ruche

If you are not familiar with Ruche

it is an

online based boutique

that carries vintage-y feel clothing and accessories.

I think it is a close runner up to my love of

Anthropologie!

I really love the summer looks.
and the vintage car.

I ordered the

cobalt blue agency sandals!

Happy Friday!

It is finally our last day of school today...

summer at last!

Ashlyn

Father's Day

via askmen.com

Yikes - Father's Day is almost here and I don't have any great gifts ideas for my hubby. Why does it always seem harder to buy a gift for a man?? I think I have already run through all the grill gadgets, wallets, fishing gear, cologne/clothes, coffee grinders, sports stuff, yadda yadda yadda over the years.

How about you? Does anybody have a great gift planned for Father's Day?

I'll have mine with Turquoise....

If you love turquoise - or teal, aqua, sky blue, seafoam...then these pictures are for you. All of these images come from House of Turquoise. If you really love the above colors, this blog will make you feel like you died and went to heaven!

Hope you like it as much as I did.

Ashlyn

Happy candy...

Fruit flavored Tootsie Rolls...What an amazing treat...

They just make you smile...


Stressed spelled backwards is desserts.
Coincidence? I think not. -Author unknown

*


I went to Target the other day. I was on a mission to buy a candy jar. I love when I enter a home and prominently displayed on the kitchen counter is a big, glass jar... filled with colorful candies (or deep, dark chocolate). I bought two jars. This large one is filled with fruit flavored Tootsie Rolls. I remember eating them by the bags when I was pregnant with our youngest. I filled the smaller jar with granola bars. I was hoping to have one jar that the kids might be able to make a better nutritional choice... but, not so... they take after me. The Tootsie Roll jar is by far the most popular one on the counter! Then, as I was leaving Target, the spring section sucked me in. The colors were so vibrant... like candy. Just being in that aisle made me happy. I wanted to redecorate our whole patio. I could not justify the expense that day. But I could justify buying the cute grass green basket in the photo. Love it!!! Next time you are at the store be sure to pick up some happy candy. It will brighten your day.
-Tracy