Friday Favorites~June 2, 2023

Summer always has me craving fresh in-season food or anything cooked on the grill. I love creating meals around the harvest from our garden or the farmer's market. While they are nothing out of the ordinary, I thought it would be fun to share our family's five favorite summer meals.

  I am linking up with Andrea and Erika to share my Friday Favorites.

(This post contains affiliate links, which means FHtoZ earns a small commission off of anything you purchase through a link.)

ONE

SALADS!

Caprese Salad

Strawberry Spinach Salad

The combination of flavors in this salad is so good!  I created this several years ago and it has traveled with me to many a cookout.

Spinach Leaves, washed and dried (I like the baby leaves)
1/2 red onion, diced
2 English Cucumbers, diced
1 Quart strawberries, sliced

Brianna's Poppyseed Dressing (found at Wal-Mart, Kroger or HyVee)

Combine all ingredients in a large salad bowl.  Top with poppyseed dressing and toss just before serving.  Add chicken to make this salad a meal!

Salad Freak Cookbook

My favorite summer cookbook!

TWO

Homemade Pizza

This family meal began during quarantine and is still one of our go to meals. Make one big pizza or several smaller ones and let everyone top it their way.

We use this dough recipe...

and cook them on our well-loved Pizza Pizzaz Oven.

THREE

Tomato Pie

via

We love to make this southern staple when we have an abundance of tomatoes from the garden. This recipe is my favorite!

But for a quick fix, nothing beats a classic tomato sandwich. Tomatoes, salt, and mayo...add basil to fancy it up. 

FOUR

Zucchini Boats

Perfect for using up garden zucchini. This recipe uses all other ingredients from Aldi.

FIVE

Burgers on the Grill

This one needs no explanation. Nothing says summer like a burger cooked on the grill. Dress it up any way you'd like but try topping it with pimento cheese and thank me later.

What are some of your favorite summer meals? I love getting inspiration for new things to feed my people.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend full of your favorite eats!

Xx,

Deanna

Friday Favorites~May 26, 2023

Today is Mason's last day of school, Dan is already done, I am currently working my extended contract days, and it is Memorial Day Weekend. That can only mean one thing...Summer is Here!!   

While we do have a fun summer vacation lined up and I love to travel, I am most looking forward to all the little ways I recharge over the summer. Today I'm sharing my top five ways to "summer"! 

(Shop luggage here.)

 I am linking up with Andrea and Erika to share my Friday Favorites.

(This post contains affiliate links, which means FHtoZ earns a small commission off of anything you purchase through a link.)

ONE

Reading

It is not much of a secret that reading is one of my favorite hobbies. Summer is the perfect time to get lost in a good book, or twelve! Next to my library card these are my reading must haves:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

TWO

Gardening

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

Star rating 4.5 out of 5.

I blogged about this a few weeks ago here, but it bears repeating. I love to garden and also attend farmer's markets to buy what I didn't grow. There is nothing quite like eating fresh food in season!

THREE

Exercising

Summer allows me time to walk, do yoga and play all sorts of games like Pickleball. We love being outside. This year, I plan to do yoga poolside with my favorite yoga series here.

Net

Paddle Set

FOUR

Swimming

Our pool construction was complete last May and it is one of the best things we have ever purchased. I love a good pool day or pool night. We also have an outdoor projector for movies by the pool. So much fun!

Stanley Cup | Hat | Towels | Dress | Sunglasses | Tote | Glow Screen

Pool Noodle | Projector | Basketball Hoop | Slide | Skip Ball

FIVE

Organizing

Every summer I choose a few minor or major organizing projects to complete around the house. While I love to organize, it also allows life to run more smoothly when school starts again. This summer, we are going to organize the boys' memory boxes, which will complete our attic declutter. 

Years ago, I implemented this method for school memorabilia. I highly recommend it if you have littles! Each boy has one bin and it's organized by grade level. 

Add in copious amounts of baseball (both in person and on tv), visiting the big kids, catching up on all the shows, and playing outside with Mason and my summer is complete.

What do you enjoy most about summer?

Wishing you a Memorial Day Weekend full of all your favorite things!

Xx,

Deanna

Friday Favorites~May 19, 2023

I am in full "MAY"hem mode over here; the end of the school year is a marathon.

via

May Deanna is no fun...but Summer Deanna is a blast and she will be here soon!

Today's Friday Favorites are little luxuries to make even the most overwhelming days a little wonderful. 

 I am linking up with Andrea and Erika to share my Friday Favorites.

(This post contains affiliate links, which means FHtoZ earns a small commission off of anything you purchase through a link.)

ONE

Vintage Looking Coffee Mugs

Romanticizing my life one coffee mug at a time. 

TWO

Waterproof Playing Cards

Perfect for by the pool and vacation.

THREE

In my nighttime tea era.

Tea

And my evening rose' era.

FOUR

Running Shorts 

Perfect for afternoon walks that might turn into a jog. Available in a million colors and a great dupe of that other brand. ;)

FIVE

For when I'm too lazy for dishes, but still care about the Earth.

Paper Plates

Wishing you a weekend full of all your favorite things that make life a little more wonderful!

Xx,

Deanna

Friday Favorites~May 12, 2023

Happy Mother's Day Weekend!

I am crossing my fingers for good weather this weekend so that I can plant my garden. I love to get everything in the ground on this weekend each year.  The weather tends to cooperate and my family feels compelled to provide free labor. ;)

   I am linking up with Andrea and Erika to share my Friday "Gardening" Favorites.

(This post contains affiliate links, which means FHtoZ earns a small commission off of anything you purchase through a link.)

ONE

Raised Garden Bed

TWO

Garden Tools

Clippers

Herb Snippers

THREE

Garden Gloves

Garden Shoes

FOUR

Sun Hat

FIVE

White Planter

Garden Hose

Wishing you a weekend full of all your favorite outdoor things!

Xx,

Deanna

Friday Favorites~May 5, 2023

This photo is from our last beach vacation four years ago. That's the longest I've ever been away from the beach, so we are heading back this summer. I've been to many wonderful beaches, but 30A has my heart! I am in full planning mode for an epic beach vacay and thought it would be fun to share my top beach vacation essentials in case you are planning too.

    I am linking up with Andrea and Erika to share my Friday Favorites.

(This post contains affiliate links, which means FHtoZ earns a small commission off of anything you purchase through a link.)

ONE

Beach Towels

I ordered six of these for our pool this year and they are amazing quality.

If you're normal and don't need all your swim towels to match like me, I also saw these in store at Wal-Mart and they look and feel so much more expensive than they are.

And this is in my cart. Room for the whole family!

TWO

Beach Bag

There are so many cute beach totes out this year (I'm looking at you, Target). But this number just may be the one I order. The cooler in the bottom of the bag...genius!

THREE

Sunscreen

Although the beach is my happy place, my Irish skin feels differently. I always wear a hat and bring an arsenal of sunscreen along. These are my favorites.

1 | 2 | 3

FOUR

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 

There is nothing better than a good book and a beach chair. I'm planning to download this one to my Kindle this year. Before I had my Kindle, I was the girl who packed a minimum of four books for a week's vacation. Now I have more room for shoes. 😉

FIVE

Portable Speaker

We love using this speaker by the pool and I plan to bring it to the beach as well. We have the white one but the blue is fun too!

I've got a few beach vacation tricks up my sleeve that make it even more enjoyable. Let me know if you'd like me to Instagram story about that!

Wishing you a weekend full of all your favorite things!

Xx,

Deanna