Happy Summer!

Wow, the year is flying by and summer is officially here!  In between working, taking golf lessons (yes, and I love it!), heading to my parents place at the beach, bridal showers, engagement parties, welcoming babies into the world, I have still found some downtime for myself.  A group of us headed off to Bald Head Island for Memorial Day weekend, what a wonderful, relaxing place!  Here are the girls…and I swear, we did not all plan our white jeans night!  

Our view from the pool looking over at the croquet players and golfers on the first day.  We headed over to the beaches and the other club for some relaxation by that pool one day, too.  

Old "Baldy" 

Katie and I even thought it was a great idea to run a 5K the second day there…reallll fun let me tell you, after drinking a few glasses of wine the night before, and then (do not let this fool you) running up dunes and hills and wondering if it was ever going to end!

I have also enjoyed the beautiful weather and eating outdoors on the deck.  Don't forget to check out The Two Green Foxes for some of our delicious recipes!  Last night I made Spinach "Burgers" and Sweet Potato Fries.

And for lunch, I made a delicious Avocado Chicken Salad…I'm telling you, best chicken salad I have had so far…and healthy and light!

A side of a cool refreshing Strawberry Cucumber Salad…what's not to love about summer?! 

Hope you all are staying cool and having a wonderful summer so far!

Tuesday Treats: Banana Blueberry Muffins

Check out these delicious, yet super healthy, muffins on my new blog at Two Green Foxes!

Have a wonderful day!

Welcome, Warm Weather!

So, even though the past couple weeks have had some days in the 40's and I have actually been able to run outside, I still was feeling the need to soak in the sun.  Good thing this trip came just in time! 

We headed off to St. Kitt's and Nevis.  Have you ever been??  If not, it's a MUST do!

We flew in and stayed at the Marriott in St. Kitts.  Look at this view on our way to ShipWreck Beach!  It was honestly amazing!  

We were told the monkeys drink the alcohol at ShipWreck Beach and to watch our drinks…we never saw one drink any though and were slightly disappointed.  The beach was great though, and we walked down to some of the fun little bars and restaurants.  

Every which way you looked was breathtakingly gorgeous and I'm sorry, but my pictures do not do it justice!

One night we headed out for a catamaran sunset cruise over to Spice and Mill for dinner.  Again, we need to bring a photographer with us on these trips! After some delicious rum punches (which will knock your socks off) and a couple Caribs (the local beer), we had a delicious dinner.  I wish I could live there with all the fresh fish and veggies!

Here is a picture of Nevis on our sunset cruise.  

And here is Nevis the following day as we took the ferry over to Nevis.  Its pretty rare, apparently, for it to be this clear above it.  That's how Nevis got its name…Nevi means Snow and it looked like snow on it…however, thankfully, they never get snow!  The weather is perfect…80's and sunny with a few clouds/rain showers to cool you off while you have lunch and a cocktail!

View from the Hamilton House (where Alexander Hamilton was born) for breakfast in Nevis.

Entering the Botanical Gardens

Everywhere you looked was beautiful.  Lots of greenery with gorgeous flowers, mountains on one side, the ocean on the other. 

I think someone needs to get married with this setting in the background!  

Where Princess Diana stayed when visiting Nevis with William and Henry in the 80's. 

And off to the Four Seasons in Nevis was our next stop!

I could sit in those comfy lounge chairs all day while they sprayed us with water, brought us fruit infused water, and just take in all the scenery.  Can we say R&R?!

The last view while sipping on my morning coffee before heading back to the US…and the chilly weather!  

I think my body is made for the sun and warm temps.  I seriously considered taking a job as a bartender or something down there and just getting Baxter shipped down to me…he would love it!  Hmmmm…..how can I get my company to open up in St. Kitts or Nevis?!

Mark this on your bucket list…it's definitely a "To-Do!"

Check This Out!

Hi Gang,

So, you may have noticed my lack of blogging recently.  Well, I'm on to great things!  My friend, Niki, and I started our new blog, Two Green Foxes! 

It's still brand new and so much more to come, but I hope you will come and follow us along, as we blog about our secrets and success of healthy living in this crazy busy world!

Here are just a couple recipes we have planned…along with so much more!

Stop by and let us know what you think!

Also, you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook @TwoGreenFoxes!

Tuesday Treats: Paradise Cookies

Maybe its because I will be in paradise soon…in St. Kitts and Nevis…but something just told me to try out these cookies…and that's just what I did this weekend.  

Our neighbor is suffering from complications from a broken foot and I thought these would be nice to bring along to she and her son, along with the "Crabbies" I made and some other goodies, in hopes of making her smile!  I think they did the trick…check 'em out and try them yourself!  They are a recipe from Paradise Bakery (per Pintrest, that is).

Ingredients

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

bag of chocolate chips ( I had extra and threw them in, as I need to get them out of my house so I can get into my bikini!)

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.  Cream together butter and sugars.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well with each addition.  

3.  Add vanilla….then, flour…then baking soda….then salt (I did not combine dry ingredients in seperate bowl as I was instructed to…I was just too lazy, quite frankly).

5.  Stir in chocolate chips.

6.  Scoop individual portions on ungreased baking sheet.

7.  Bake until golden brown around edges.

8.  Allow to cool.

ENJOY!!!

Doggie Party

Super Bowl parties aren't just for the humans.  Baxter was able to have a "play date" with his friend, Sampson on Super Bowl Sunday!  I'm not sure who was more excited, the pups or me, as they entertained each other and wore each other out just in time for the game to start!

Because they were so good and I was making "treats" for the party I was going to, I only felt it was fair to let them have some goodies too, so homemade treats it was!  I even let them eat the "cookie dough" while we were baking!

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 cup natural peanut butter

1 cup low fat milk

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease 2 baking sheets and put to the side.  

2.  Combine peanut butter and milk in mixing bowl.  

3.  Add dry ingredients and beat well. 

4.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough, and cut shapes with cookie cutter. 

5.  Place on prepared baking sheets and bake for about 20 minutes.

6.  Allow to cool on wire rack.

Let the handsome pups ENJOY!!!

Super Bowl Sunday…GO RAVENS!!!

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!!!

Heading to a party later and thought I must bring something "Baltimore-y" for our RAVENS!!!  

Crab Melt-A-Ways it is!!

Ingredients

1 pkg English Muffins

1 stick butter

1 jar Old English Cheese Spread

2 Tbsp mayo

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp seasoning salt

1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat 

Directions

1.  Half and quarter English Muffins.

2.  Line 2 baking sheets with foil.

3.  Melt butter and add cheese spread.

4.  Add salt and mayo until creamy.

5.  Carefully fold crabmeat into melted mixture.

6.  Place tablespoon of crab mixture on each piece of english muffin. 

7.  Place in freezer.  

8.  When frozen, put in ziplock bag until ready to use OR throw in oven and broil until bubbly and crisp.

ENJOY!!!

 We got up early today and headed to the grocery store to get the lump crabmeat (it sold out last night, so we were set for the 6am batch this morning!).  Bax headed out in his jersey and got to be the center of attention at the grocery store, Starbucks, and Office Depot (more projects!).

Bax smelled those warm delicious donuts baking in the grocery store, so we took two to his "grandparents" while they were still hot.  Bax is smart…he knows he gets a bite of anything from his grandparents!

Off to get ready for the BIG GAME!  

Hope you enjoy your parties!

GO RAVENS!!!