Take a Bite Out of Shark Week with Duck Donuts

Posted on August 10, 2020 by

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The 2020 edition of Discovery\’s Shark Week began yesterday, Sunday, August 9th. Shark Week began by airing \”Air Jaws: Ultimate Breach Off\” at 8 p.m. and will continue all week with at least three specials airing each night. In honor of Shark Week, Duck Donuts is selling a Shark Assortment now through August 16. Head on over to Duck Donuts and grab this jawsome assortment before it\’s gone!

When I heard that Duck Donuts was selling a special edition Shark Assortment I knew I had to go grab it, and take it out on the water with me while I watched Jaws. What I love about Duck Donuts is their donuts are made for you when you order. That\’s right, you actually get hot delicious donuts, made to order. If you live in the Metro Detroit area a Duck Donuts just opened up in Troy. 

What\’s in the Duck Donuts Shark Assortment?
The Duck Donuts Shark Assortment is filled with 12 different donuts, that are sure to have all you shark lovers ready for Shark Week. 

1. Honolulu blue vanilla icing with marshmallow drizzle and a shark gummy
Super cute, loved the shark gummy!

2. Maple icing with chopped bacon and a raspberry drizzle
Very sweet.

3. Honolulu blue vanilla icing with marshmallow drizzle 

4. Sand Dollar: vanilla icing with powdered sugar and coconut
Great combination.

5. Classic cinnamon and sugar
Definitely a classic that is reminiscent of fall.

6. Strawberry icing
Best strawberry icing ever. 

7. Vanilla icing with raspberry drizzle
Great flavor combination.

8. The Flip Flop: chocolate icing with vanilla drizzle
How can you go wrong with chocolate and vanilla?

9. Maple icing with graham cracker crumbs
Sweet maple flavor

10. The Beach: vanilla icing with cinnamon and sugar
Delicious and sweet.

11. Lemon icing
My absolute favorite! Highly recommend getting a donut with lemon icing on it.

12. Beach Ball: vanilla icing with rainbow sprinkles and chocolate drizzle
All around fan favorite. 

Five Things

Posted on August 7, 2020 by

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Happy Friday! Week 21 is over, and this week has been filled with sunflowers, plenty of produce from the garden, new positive vibe stack, time on the water – I even got a waterproof case for my phone so I could take it out on the water with me, healthy recipes and just time relaxing. I hope you had a wonderful week and enjoy your weekend!


Zoya Fall 2020: Luscious

Posted on August 3, 2020 by

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Get ready to fall in love with Zoya\’s fall 2020 collection Luscious. This collection is jam-packed with quintessential fall colors and has me craving cooler days and leaf-peeping. Whether you enjoy the sultry red or earthy colors, Luscious is sure to have something just for you. 

All the descriptions below are from Zoya.

Wanda can best be described as a cool-toned rouge pink with a gold and rainbow micro-shimmer. I love a good pink, and this appears to be a great transition to fall color. 

Patrice can best be described as a neutral blush with a rainbow and gold micro-shimmer. This color looks like it will be absolutely stunning on, and one that I am extremely excited for. 

Teresa can best be described as a deep purple toned ruby metallic. 

Andrea can best be described as a cool-toned, duo-chrome metallic with a purple and green shift. Who doesn\’t love a good sultry, vampy vanish?
Bentley can best be described as a deepened grape cream. I am extremely excited for Bentley, as I love a good purple for fall. 
Sharon can best be described as a red-toned wild berry cream.
Lisa can best be described as a rich garnet red cream.
Soleil can best be described as a warm sparkling cider metallic. Oh my gosh, I am so excited to try this polish out, it looks perfect for a day at the apple orchard. 

Tasha can best be described as a sensual brunette brown metallic. Can we say hello gorgeous?

Mel can best be described as a slightly muted forest green cream. This right here is the color I have been waiting for! I am obsessed with army green vibes for fall and this polish is channeling all those vibes. 

Lou can best be described as a deep spruce blue cream with a kiss of green. No room for the blues with this pretty polish.
Tommy can best be described as a blue-toned slate grey cream. Just when you think this collection can not get any more beautiful, they give you Tommy!

Saying I am excited for the Zoya 2020 Fall release Luscious would be an understatement. You can find the collection online Monday, August 10. 

How to Make Bread and Butter Pickles

Posted on August 3, 2020 by

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Growing up, I was surrounded by women who spent time in the kitchen canning and making anything from jams and pickles. The tradition carried on from one generation to the next. While my great-grandma and Meeme would make their pickles or jam alone, it\’s become a tradition that my mum and I make them together – at least when I am in town anyway. 

A few weeks ago my mum and I made up a batch of my Great Grandma Bea\’s Bread and Butter Pickles. These pickles are canned and take about four months to get to the proper pickle flavor. You can either can these pickles or place them in your refrigerator to enjoy sooner than later. 

You can make this recipe with traditional cucumbers that are not too long, and you will use about five of them. That is how my great-grandma would make them. My mum and I prefer to use pickling cucumbers, and grow them in her garden. You can typically find pickling cucumbers at a roadside farm stand and/or your local farmers market.

Grandma Bea\’s Bread and Butter Pickles

this makes a single batch 

Ingredients
5 cups sliced pickling cucumbers (See step 1)
3 medium sweet onions sliced
1/4 cup kosher salt
1 cup white distilled vinegar
1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon clove

Directions
1. Wash the cucumbers and cut them into thin slices.
2. Peel and slice the onions thin.
3. Combine the cucumbers, onions, and salt in a large bowl, and add ice. Let stand for 2 hours. 
4. After two hours drain. 
5. In a pot add vinegar, water, mustard seed, sugar, turmeric, cinnamon, and clove. Taste the mixture to make sure that is the flavor you want your pickles to be. If it is not the flavor you are looking for add more spices to get to your desired pickle flavor.
6. Once you have your desired pickle brine flavor, bring the mixture to a boil. 
7. Place cucumbers and onions into canning jars and pour the boiling brine mixture over them. 

*At this stage, you can prepare them for canning, and can according to canning directions. These pickles taste best canned and sitting for a couple months. Typically we make our pickles in August and open our first jar at Thanksgiving. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family does.
** Use something down the side of the jar all the way around it to go up and down and remove the air bubbles. In turn, this will force you to add some more brine.

31 Things to Do in August (Quarantine Edition)

Posted on August 1, 2020 by

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Hello August! Summer is flying by, and the arrival of August is a reminder that summer will soon be coming to a close and I need to soak up as much of it as I can. Thanks to COVID, this hasn\’t been the most exciting summer, but I am trying to make the best of it. Instead of venturing out of state for travels like planned, I have stayed in locally. Even though I am not traveling, I am spending more time outside than ever before. I have spent hours in a kayak or on my paddleboard, gotten lost in the woods, and really just branched out. I hope you\’re having the best out of your summer and are able to truly savor what is left of it.

Even though life looks different right now, there are still plenty of things that you can do safely. While restaurants are allowed to be open here, I am still not ready to dine-in. I know some of you are doing more than others and if you\’re like me and avoiding people I hope you enjoy these 31 things to do in August will inspire you to soak up what is left of the season.
1. Take a hike on a trail you\’ve never been on before.
2. Grill pizza on the BBQ. My favorite is fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and basil on Naan bread. 

3. \”I carried a watermelon!\” Today is National watermelon day. Enjoy some fresh cut melon while you watch Dirty Dancing.

4. Go for a bike ride around town or a new city. 
5. Peach season has started here in Michigan and it\’s the perfect opportunity for homemade peach ice cream.

6. Sunflower farms are all the trend this year, and the perfect way to add some sunshine to your day.

7. It\’s national lighthouse day. If you live in the Great Lakes state make sure you visit one of the 124 beautiful lighthouses before summer ends. Note: due to COVID many lighthouses will not let you climb inside this year.

8. It\’s tomato season! Head to a local farm or farmers market to pick up some delicious Michigan grown tomatoes. 

9. Wake up early and head out to catch the sunrise over the water.

10. Support small and do some shopping locally instead of online.
11. Head to the beach for a relaxing day listening to the waves crash.

12. Take in the sights of a nearby city that you\’ve never visited or have not visited before. 

13. Go kayaking down the river. It\’s not only a great way to social distance with friends, but a fun way to enjoy the end of summer and take in some great views.

14. Summer ice popsicle and ice cream season and the iconic creamsicle is the perfect blend of both. So why not celebrate national creamsicle day with one. You can bet Jack will be getting some licks of an orange creamsicle.

15. Don\’t miss your chance to watch a sunset or two. 

16. Print out your favorite pictures or make a book of your favorite pictures from this year. 

17. Have a picnic in the park.

18. Send some snail mail to friends. 

19. Grab some ice cream from a local shop.  

20. Catch a movie at a local drive-in theater. 

21. Have a backyard bonfire and don\’t forget the s\’mores!

22. Get out of town and do some car camping.

23. Go for a bike ride around town or a new city. 

24. Make a signature dessert from a place you want to visit. My mum and I will be making some traditional macarons…yum!

25. Clean your car out (mine has a lot of sand in it).

26. Support small and do some shopping locally instead of online.

27. Sit on the end of a dock and go fishing.

28. Paint an art project.

29. Give horseback riding a try.

30. Visit your local zoo.

31. Take a scenic drive. 

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