S'mores Graham Krispie Treats

I wasn't quite sure what to call these. Technically they don't have Rice Krispie's in them so they shouldn't be Rice Krispie treats. On the flip side when you say Rice Kristpie treats, everyone kind of gets the idea and knows what to expect. Am I right? Well these are an awesome twist on that old favorite. Next time you get a hankering (yes that's a technical term) for something sweet and crunchy, try these!

S'mores Graham Krispie Treats
adapted from here

Ingredients
1 bag (10 oz) mini marshmallows
1 cup chocolate chips (plus more for topping)
1 box (12 oz) Golden Grahams cereal
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions
Spray a 9x9 or 9x13 pan with cooking spray, set aside. In a large non-stick pot heat the marshmallows and butter over medium heat until smooth. Stir in vanilla extract. Remove from heat and fold in Golden Grahams until mixed evenly. Add chocolate chips and mix a bit more. Spread evenly into pan and top with remaining chocolate chips. Press firmly into pan and let cool. Slice into squares and enjoy!

Lazy 5 Ranch

Sometimes you just have to let go and enjoy life like a child. That's exactly what we did when we joined some friends of ours for their daughter's third birthday party at Lazy 5 Ranch. What is Lazy 5 Ranch you might ask? It's basically a glorified petting zoo. You not only pet the animals, you either drive your car or ride in a horse drawn wagon through this huge open area and you actually feed all the animals. Well, with a few exceptions... we weren't allowed to feed the zebra. Some animals (the emus and giraffes) you let eat straight from the bucket while others (the llamas and deer) you feed from your hand. Our guide told us how to feed each animal so there were no lost fingers.

Anyways, here is the birthday girl. You might remember Gwen from this trip we took back in April.

As part of the birthday crew we took the horse drawn wagon through the enclosure. It looked a lot like this one, but it wasn't as crowded. We had the perfect amount of people on board, meaning we had room to move around.

All of the animals knew the drill, when the cart came through there was food to be given out. They weren't shy (for the most part) and came right up to us demanding food. Here is one of the llamas who actually appears to be waiting patiently.

It took a little getting used to feeding the animals. Some were more aggressive than other. And like I said some ate from your hand as oppose from the bucket. Here is Joe warming up to a llama. After the first round of feeding or so we got comfortable and it was easy-peasy.

The giraffes were my favorite. Although most animals were free roaming, the giraffes and a few others had their own enclosures. The wagon rode right up next to the fence and stopped for a while. We were instructed to just hold the buckets up and let the giraffes have at it. We even gave their heads a little pet while they ate. It was so cool to be so close to these huge, yet gentle creatures.

You can probably tell we had perfect weather for an outing like this. We were a bit nervous because on our drive to the ranch it was sprinkling. Luckily the clouds parted and the sun came out. It was perfect!

The zebras came right up to the wagon too, but like I said, there was no feeding these guys. I guess they can be very aggressive when it comes to food. Plus they have teeth on top and bottom. The llamas and other animals that we were instructed to feed from our hands don't. I think they only have teeth on the bottom which means they can't really bite you or anything while feeding. The zebras were still beautiful to see up close.

Oh and the bison. They were fun to feed. As you can see they were trained well... all they had to do is open their mouth and stick out their tongue. Then we poured food right in. It was easy!

Here's a better shot. I think this guy is actually a water buffalo. There were so many different types of animals at the ranch and lots that I didn't get a picture of. It was hard feeding them while snapping pictures and trying not to get my phone too dirty. Other animals included many types of deer (which most of the females were pregnant and we saw a few babies), emus, pot belly pigs, ducks, rhinoceros (which was not outside of his covered area that day, bummer) and probably more that I'm forgetting.

We had a lot of fun being a kid again. Thanks to our friends for inviting us!

White Wine Spritzer

Another Pinterest idea!! This was a simple drink to whip up and is perfect for summer. Although you can hardly call it a recipe, I got it from this blog. Joe and I enjoyed these on a weekend when the temps went up and we needed to cool down. One change I would make next time is less raspberries. I didn't add the whole bag into the pitcher, but we made sure a few made it into our glasses and I didn't care for that. Oh well, live and learn!

White Wine Spritzer

recipe from here

Ingredients

One bottle Moscato wine (chilled)

Equal part Sprite Zero (chilled)

Frozen Rasperries (to your liking)

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a pitcher and service chilled.

Photo Friday #47

Taste of Charlotte was in town this past weekend. Joe and I didn't attend, although we did check it out last year. The event happens to take place right outside my hotel so I bailed out around lunch time on Friday and snapped this picture. Don't worry, I went back to work. Taste of Charlotte is basically a festival of food and non-food vendors. You purchase tokens and each vendor is selling certain items for a couple tokens each. There's some great food from pizza to candied pecans (my absolute favorite last year!)

Cleaning The Washing Machine

As you already know, we're first time home owners. Even though we've lived in the house a little over a year, I still consider ourselves very new at this whole owning thing. Not only does that include mowing the lawn and taking care of the entire exterior, it also means tending to our appliances. When we first moved in we thought there was something wrong with our dishwasher, it wouldn't turn on. Then we realized there was a light switch that controlled it, who knew. It's little things like that we're still learning as we go.

Our washing machine was one of those learning experiences. After using it regularly for about a year it got a mildewy smell that I couldn't shake. Granted, I consider my nose pretty good at smelling. Soemtimes this becomes almost a bad thing. The laundry room is right off our kitchen near the entrance through the garage. We use that entrance every day so the smell wore on me. I made sure to always leave the door to the machine open after each use and I even left the compartment where I put the soap open hoping the water would dry out nicely. Unfortunately that still didn't do the trick. The tray just inside the door would still sit with water and icky stuff started appearing.

What did I do? Well I searched Pinterest of course. I came up with this website on how to give the washing machine a good cleaning. Then one weekend when I had a little extra time I gave it a try.

In my own words, here is what the directions said:

1. Pour 4 cups of bleach down into the soap compartment and run the washer (empty) on the hottest possible cycle. I warn you this might make the area around the laundry room smell like bleach. We started the washer and took off on some errands and returned to the smell. Not too bad, I could handle it.

2. Pour 4 cups distilled vinegar into the soap compartment and run the washer (again empty) on the hottest possible cycle. This cycle will take care of the bleach smell and your washer is good as new!



I wish I had a good after picture for you. I snapped a few, but the lighting by that time of day was not ideal and it didn't show the huge improvement. You can probably tell that we frequently shop at Wal-Mart by these Great Value brand products. Tip: this is a cheap remedy. Give it a try!

Treehouse Vineyards

Ahhh, summer time is here. Joe and I recently soaked up the sun with a trip to the Treehouse Vineyards in Monroe, NC. We actually bought a Groupon months ago to try this place out, but kept waiting for the weather to get nicer. It was well worth the wait. The winery was tucked away in a residential area of Monroe and was kind of hard to find. The Groupon included a tasting and tour for two people, but beforehand we had a little time to kill. To beat the heat we enjoyed wine slushies (I think they called them wine-a-ritas). We sat and drank our slushies while Facetiming with Scott and Amy. Glad you guys called!

Seriously, this was the view behind the main building. The winery got its name from a treehouse that was built by the owner. He built it for his wife and stuck some rocking chairs up there, which is 30 feet in the air. Guests can rent it by the hour and enjoy the view while relaxing with a glass of wine. We never went up there, but heard from some other people that it was pretty neat.

We walked a bit through the vineyard towards the pond. I can't stress enough how beautiful of a day it was. The weather was perfect for this outing.

Each Saturday night the winery has a live band for guests to enjoy. We didn't stick around for that, but it was a great idea. This is definitely a place we will keep in mind for guests. Monroe is about 30 minutes south of where we live so it's not too far away. Totally worth it!

Mr. & Mrs. Will

Did you hear the big news? I have a sister. This is a first for both Joe and I and we love it... well we mean that we love Amy... who just married my brother. Welcome to the family, sis! It was such a beautiful, exciting, and amazing wedding. You get the point. This is basically a (beautiful) mess of pictures. Not many were actually taken by me, but rather stolen from others (via email or Facebook I might add).

The rehearsal dinner was at the Lobster Pot. As expected Joe ate lobster and unexpectedly I did not. They look like a couple ready to make their relationship legal!

The girls. I had the opportunity to meet them all at the wedding shower back in March. They were all so lovely, I'm so glad I got to spend more time with them. It was a fun bunch!

Here is a shot of the shirts Amy gave each girl to wear while getting ready before the wedding. It was perfect! S is for Sara.

And we sipped on mimosas while everyone got their hair done.

The boys also spent some time together before the ceremony. This picture belongs in a magazine, so GQ!

Here is the happy couple right after the ceremony. This was the point of the day where everyone could let out a deep breath and relax. We had a party to attend! Isn't Amy's dress gorgeous?! Her mom hand made the beaded belt. I loved everything about her outfit!

Wait, before the party we had to stick around for pictures. I can't wait to get the professional copies and share some of those! This is really the best picture to show my hair. I'm kicking myself for not taking more pictures from the back to remember.

On the trolley we go! You can see the love birds through the window.

Is Scott caught in an off moment or is this an intentional photobomb?? You decide. Either way, a bit creepy I must say.

Poppin' bottles on the trolley.

The one good picture I got of the two of us.

The trolley took us out to Fort Adams. It was a beautiful backdrop, but it was freezing cold. We were all troopers though and got the shots we needed and then ran back to the trolley. Once again, I can't wait to see the professional pictures!

Boys being boys... they had to pose next to the cannon.

We got back to the hotel and headed to the cocktail hour. It was so great to see so many family members there! Once again, kicking myself we didn't take more pictures with the family. Sorry this picture didn't turn out well, Deb!

Again, the very happy couple!!

Amy and her sister, Emily. I love these girls and wish we all lived closer!

Beautiful decor at the head table. All of the flowers were very pretty.

Their first dance.

Amy dancing with her dad.

And Scott dancing with mom.

Cutting the cake... which was delicious by the way!!

After a long night of fun and friends we met for breakfast before the couple took off for home.

Thank you Scott and Amy for a wonderful weekend. Joe and I loved every minute of it and were so happy to be part of your special day. Once again Amy, welcome to the family!!