6 Steps for Planning Trips

My family loves going away on vacation and we enjoy it even more when others come along. BUT why is it so hard to get two groups (and I only mean two families) to make decisions? I'm the kind of person where if I want to go somewhere I look it up / call around and plan it. I don't like to dilly dally around for 3 weeks and then try to finalize everything the week before we leave.

Here are the tips that I use when planning a vacation:

1. Decide where you want to go. This may need to include the area immediately around your ideal locale just in case you can't find a place to stay.

2. What kind of trip this is going to be? - camping, hotel, vacation rental, etc.

3. Have a budget - How much do you want to spend on where your staying, food, and fun?

4. Make your reservations - check the cancellation policy and make sure you keep your confirmation numbers with you.

5. Meal plan - Plan your meals and leave a little wiggle room for eating out. I also get together with my friend / family members and do a joint meal plan so the cost of meals is shared.

6. Get with the group that's going and plan your activities - we always plan some together and some separate because not every one wants to be with their friends or extended family for 24 hours / 5 days.

Using these 6 steps will help take some of the stress out of planning a vacation, because vacations are for relaxing not stressing about what's to eat or where to stay.

Pinned It / Tried It - Copy Cat Starbucks Passion Fruit Tea

Pinned It / Tried It - Copy Cat Starbucks Passion Fruit Tea

During the warmer months of the year (or if I am stricken with a hangover) I love to drink Starbucks Sweetened Passion Fruit Tea. It is so refreshing and delish!

The recipe I pinned was from shadycatladysmom


Ingredients:

2 quarts / 8 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
4 Tazo Passion Tea bags
1-2 tablespoons honey (this is my addition to the recipe, a sweet flower honey is best)

Add the 2 quarts of water to the pan, add sugar and honey and bring to a boil.
After you get to a nice boil shut off the heat and add your tea bags, then wait……..

I let my steep for about an hour and a half, I really think the longer the better.
I let mine steep for about 30 - 45 minutes
Pour the tea into your container and refrigerate.

After the tea has chilled pour over ice and enjoy! The best part about this recipe is you don't have to go anywhere to get it and it only costs about .50 cents per glass.

Wordless Wednesday - Chalkboards

Here is my wordless for this Wednesday...I'm off getting my chalk paint on.

Gone Coastal In Houston

Apartment Therapy

 

blissranch.blogspot.com

 

Easy and Chic Flour Sack Hand Towels

Super Easy and Chic Flour Sack Hand Towels

I can never have enough hand towels whether it be for the kitchen or the bathroom. And I think that they should look great! I just found some flour sack towels at Walmart and I really like them because they are so cheap and I can dress them up any way I want to.

The best thing is that you can really do anything to these towels - dye them, paint them, stencil, screen print, iron on transfer, add embellishments buttons or ribbons, or cut and sew them into something else. The possibilities are endless REALLY!

Here is what I did using iron on transfer paper -

1. I took each towel (they come in a package of 5 at Walmart). I folded them in half and sewed the edges together so they became two-ply and closer to the size of a kitchen or bath hand towel. (this is completely optional)

2. I then went online and found some free printable graphics (graphics fairy is a great site to check out). At this point its up to you what you want the end product to look like, but I changed the color and altered the images a little in paint shop.

3. Once you have the images that you want - make sure to do a mirror image or t-shirt image and print them out on your transfer paper (there are two kinds of transfer paper one for inkjet printers and one for lazer printers make sure you get the right kind).

4. Cut out each image (you can leave a little around the edges or use an xacto knife).

5. Arrange the images the way that you like them with the printed side down and iron on.

The image on the left is ironed on, the image on the right is the printed image on the transfer paper

I hope this has inspired you to run out and get crafty with some flour sack towels.
Here are some links for other ideas for flour sack towels

http://www.thecountrychiccottage.net/2011/01/diy-vintage-flour-sack.html
http://www.alwaysinwonder.com/2012/02/painted-ombre-flour-sack-towels.html
http://accordingtocarey.com/tag/flour-sack-towels/

Pinned It / Tried It - Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Number 2 Pencil Blog

Cinnamon Roll Sour Cream Pancakes Recipe:

Cinnamon Sugar Filling

4 tablespoons of melted butter
1/4 cup of firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon

Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in the microwave and add to mixing bowl. Then add 1/4 cup of dark brown sugar (I used golden brown sugar), 2 tablespoons of white sugar and 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and stir together.

Fold a quart size plastic baggie over a small cup, that way you can easily pour the cinnamon sugar mixture into the baggie. Close the baggie well and set aside to cool. To speed up the process a little I put my bag of cinnamon sugar goodness into the fridge

 Sour Cream Pancakes

1 cup of all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons of sugar
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
1 cup of sour cream
1/4 cup of milk
4 tablespoons of melted butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
I made traditional Bisquick pancakes

Let the pancakes set up on the griddle for about 2 minutes, then it is time to add the cinnamon sugar swirl. Snip just a small corner of your cinnamon sugar baggie, push the tip of your baggie into the batter, and carefully swirl the mixture into the pancake batter. Don’t just swirl the mixture on top of the pancake, it needs to be in the batter to make the signature cinnamon roll look. (I don't think I added the cinnamon sugar soon enough and didn't get it into the pancake enough). Try not to get too close to the edge of the pancakes with the swirl, or the cinnamon sugar mixture will run off.

Once the pancakes are cooked, about 7 minutes on the first side, and 5 on the second side, remove them with a large spatula sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Turn them onto the plate swirl side up. Work quickly when removing the pancakes, once the cinnamon sugar mixture cools on your spatula, the pancakes will start to stick.

These pancakes did make a mess of my griddle, but I have a clean up trick that makes cleaning up a snap. While your griddle is still hot take a wet paper towel and using your spatula wipe down the griddle. The steam from the wet paper towel loosens up all the mess and wipes it away.

These pancakes were very good, but I was expecting more of the gritty traditional cinnamon roll filling. I will definitely make these again in the future. Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Wordless Wednesday - Jars

I LOVE jars -

Jar Printable from Creative Cain Cabin

Ball® 6-pc/1-pt. Heritage Collection "NEW" Pint Jar 2013 marks the 100th anniversary of the first series of jars designed by the Ball brothers, each jar intended to be better than the one before. 1913 saw the launch of the first true "Perfect Mason" jar. These limited edition blue Ball jars are a celebration of the heritage featuring period-correct blue color and embossed logos on the front and back. These vintage-inspired blue jars maintain all of our modern standards for quality and reliability. Perfect for all of your home canning needs... or as a collectible item! Features New Jar Design! 6-pack Ball Regular Pints in period correct blue Modern standards for quality and reliability Perfect for all of your home canning needs,or as a collector’s item Vintage Ball embossed logo (front) 100 Year Anniversary embossed on glass (back) Vintage style tray carton 1st in a line of upcoming limited edition jars

Simple Patriotic Wreath

I have found that I am more successful with seasonal decorating when my projects are more simple. I found some cute cupcake papers at JoAnn Fabric. I had plans to make a wreath fully covered in the papers, but that was just unrealistic with the time that I had (at least I'm honest).

 

This tutorial can be adapted by adding as many cupcake papers as you like and by changing the wreath from a grapevine to a foam base.

 

 

 

Supplies:

Wire

Wire cutters

Scissors

Beads

Cupcake Papers -  I used the regular size and the candy cup size

Jute / ribbon

Wreath - foam, grapevine, cardboard anything will work

 

 

I started by cutting down some of the regular sized papers so when I layered them you could see all three colors - red, white, blue.

 

Next I cut 3 inch lengths of wire (you will need I length for each flower)

I made a small loop at one end and slide on a bead

 

Take each wire with the bead and poke it through the center of your layered cupcake papers (you can put as many layers together as you like I did three - 1 red, 1 blue, and 1 white. I alternated the colors on each flower, but that's optional.

After you have all your flowers made then you need to decide how you want to place them. I did a grouping of three regular size for the bottom of my wreath and three small for the top.

To attach the flowers on a grapevine wreath simply feed the wire through the grapevines and secure it in the back by wrapping the wire around the vine.

To finish off the wreath add a jute hanger and a ribbon bow. (I hung my wreath from a vintage hanger and slid a flag behind the wreath just to dress it up.)