Memorial Weekend-Pina Coloda and Bean Dip & Heretic Studios

So I’m a little slow and just now getting to post about Memorial weekend. This week at work has been a bit crazy trying to get caught up from the 5 day weekend (I took off Thursday and Friday then had Monday off! It was wonderful!!) But for the weekend we went down to the sand dunes near Little Sahara in Delta. We pulled out the toy hauler and got the RZR and everything loaded up and ready to go Thursday night. It was really windy when we got there and we couldn’t see much so we just parked and slept. Then Friday morning it was still pretty windy and crappy but we set up camp near our group and had some breakfast. Then we went to take the RZR up the hill. It was running really well and super fast and then it made a bad sound. I looked at Jace and he said, “That wasn’t good…” I guess the crank broke which isn’t fixable out there so it was done for the rest of the weekend. Luckily Jace’s little brother had an extra vehicle we could use so we rode that all weekend. But the weather was so windy/rainy off and on that we didn’t even get to ride much. We had planned on staying through till Sunday but when we woke up Saturday morning and the weather was still crappy we decided to just pack up and head home that afternoon.

The beautiful RZR-can you tell who picked the pink :)

Also notice the headlights and the light bar are Jace and Jake's products. Check them out at Heretic Studios Facebook page.

We stopped on our way home for lunch in Tooele at Wingers then got home and cleaned up a little. Then we went up to visit Jace’s friend Rocky in the hospital. He was having some kidney and liver problems and unfortunately passed away this week. Rocky is defiantly someone you can’t forget and will be truly missed. Memorial services are this Friday June 1^st at 5pm at his Grandmother’s house. Small program and open mic for those who want to share their memories. 2695 S 450 E Bountiful, UT 84010 so if you knew Rocky defiantly come by on Friday.

Later Saturday night Jace and I went to see John Carter at the dollar theater since Jace had been wanting to see it for awhile. I wasn’t super impressed with it, it was just ok. I thought the beginning was pretty slow but the end got better. The Sunday we just relaxed and hung out.

Hanging out Sunday

Monday we did some shopping and went out to eat. That night we cleaned out the trailer and all the toys really well. We got the lawn mowed, the house cleaned, all the laundry done and ready for the upcoming week. It was so nice to just relax and hang out with Jace a lot this weekend. Now that it has been warming up this week I’ve been really craving Pina Colada’s at night. I always need a snack to go with them though so the other night I decided to make this bean dip that sounded yummy. Super easy and delicious. I mentioned the Pina Colada’s in this previous post but the recipe is below.

Virgin Piña Colada

Submitted by Erin-The Sisters Café

4 fluid oz. Cream of Coconut
4 fluid oz. pineapple juice (I use unsweetened)
2 cups ice

Put in blender and blend then serve.

(This website has tons of really good recipes).

Touchdown Bean Dip

Karen Lewis

Ingredients

16 oz. refried beans

1 8oz. package cream cheese (softened)

1 pkg. taco seasoning (25 oz.)

2 garlic cloves pressed (I just use minced garlic or garlic salt)

Shredded cheese (enough to cover the entire dish)

Pico (tomatoes, onion, cilantro all diced/chopped)-season with onion powder, garlic salt according to taste).

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bottom of pan spread beans in bottom. In bowl combine cream cheese, taco seasoning and garlic. Spread over beans. The softer the cream cheese, the easier to spread. Top with pico mixture and cheese. Bake 25-30 minutes. Serve with chips. (I prefer Fritos Scoops)         

**I like to double everything (except the taco seasoning, just use 1 pkg.)  

The top right corner doesn't have tomatoes becuase Jace doesn't like them...

Jace 31st Birthday Weekend

Well this past Saturday was Jace’s 31^st birthday! Friday was spent working on getting ready to go to the sand dunes for the day on Saturday. When I asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday he said go try out his RZR at the dunes so that’s what we ended up doing. (I suggested a day of shopping, massages and dinner at Cheescake Factory or something but he didn’t like that idea as much). We left around 11ish and headed down there with my brother-in-law, Jedd and his wife, Bonnie. The boys spent majority of the time working on the vehicles changing things here and there while Bonnie and I read magazines and took a nap in some lawn chairs. Jace had fun though so I guess that’s all that matters. We came home and cleaned up a bit then went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse. I made sure they sang to him on the horse saddle which really embarrassed him so it was great.

Saturday at the dunes-notice the Funfetti cupcake Jace requested I make.

Saturday night at Texas Roadhouse being embarrased.

Then Sunday we had some church meetings in the afternoon. Jace and I are co-chairs for Youth Conference this year. (Which means we get to help coordinate everything for the ward, I feel way too young to be in charge of the youth ha but it should be fun). Then we had everyone over for Sunday dinner. We had 16 people so it was a large crowd but everyone was awesome and brought something so I didn’t have to make it all on my own. We had Poppy Seed Chicken (Jace’s pick)  and lots of other yummy food like the homemade Red Velvet cupcakes brought by my mother-in-law. That night we just crashed on the couch and relaxed. Now this week is going to be just as crazy and busy since we’re going down to the dunes again this weekend for Memorial weekend (Thursday-Sunday). I’m excited though since we haven’t taken the toy hauler out once this year yet so it will be good to go use it and make sure everything is still working well.

Cupcakes for Sunday dinner-thanks Janalyn

I like how Noah is very confused by my sister Paige holding him... 

Opening presents and my little brother Ridge just chillin

One sad note is that while we were pulling the RZR’s down to the dunes on Saturday our new truck (the one Jace just put a new motor in) started making noises again :( Not sure what’s wrong with it still but it sucks majorly since he just spent so much time/money fixing it and will probably have to pull it down again. Were taking it down this week to get checked out and hopefully it’s nothing major again but will see.

Fruit Dip & Mother's Day Weekend

The past few weekends have been crazy. Luckily this weekend slowed down a bit for us. Friday night Jace and I went to Lowes to pick up some yard tools. Then we went to dinner with Jace’s cousin Cody and his wife Christine at Sonny Bryan’s.  It’s a BBQ place that has only ever been in Texas so I was pretty excited when I saw they had opened one by us.

Saturday was spent cleaning the house, working in the yard, grocery shopping and Jace working on the Truck and RZR. That night we went to dinner at Buca Di Beppo downtown with my family, Aunt Paula and Uncle Mark from California, their daughter Nicole and her boyfriend Scott along with my grandparents. It was good to see the family and have yummy food.

Then Sunday we had church first thing in the morning. When we got home we got ready for a brunch with Jace’s mom for Mother’s Day. My sister-in-law Marci made a yummy French Toast casserole and eggs. Jace and I were in charge of bacon and fruit. I made this super easy fruit dip to go with all the fresh cut fruit.

Fruit Dip

Karen Lewis

Ingredients:

8-oz cream cheese

1 jar marshmallow cream

1-2 Tbsp. Frozen Orange juice concentrate

Dash of vanilla (add according to taste)

*can add orange rind

Directions:

Mix all together and serve with fresh fruit.

Seriously easy and delicious! After brunch we went over to my parents house since my younger brother on his mission was calling! He is in St. Louis, Missouri and has been out for almost a year now. He sounds like he is doing amazing and loves it there. It was really great to talk to him and crazy to think that this time next year he will be coming home soon. Time is flying by. We finished the night with cards and yummy food then went home to veg on the couch before the work week starts. Its going to be a busy week and I need to figure something out for Jace’s birthday since it’s this Saturday!

Jace and I before date night Friday. 

Jace's new edger-he was pretty excited about this.

Downtown Saturday with Jace. 

My little brother Ridge and sister Paige before dinner Saturday.

Painted Bathroom and Baked Beans

Well this past weekend was a little crazy busy but a very productive and fun weekend. Friday night my office rented out a theater and did a screening of the Avengers. I offered to help with getting everything together Friday so I helped tote some give away’s to the Jordan District and had Jace help drag crap in and get set up. Thanks again to Lori and Doug for everything, it was a blast. The movie was pretty good-kinda a predictable Marvel comic movie but still entertaining. Definitely funnier than I thought it would be.

Then Saturday was crazy busy. That morning Jace helped me tape up the downstairs bathroom since I had decided I wanted to paint chocolate brown stripes in there. Once he finished help taping everything, he went outside to work on his RZR and replacing the truck brakes. I put a coat of paint on and then while it dried I decided to start cleaning my windows. I got to all the ones on the first floor. Took screens out, and hand wiped all of them down. It’s not professional grade or anything but they look so much better. I also wiped down all the blinds and got a really good deep clean in on the house. Then I was able to mow the lawn before I put my last coat of paint on the bathroom. Then I had time to run to the store and bank before the night was over.

That night we had a neighborhood BBQ. Everyone brought yummy sides and since it was such a crazy day I decided to go with something super fast and easy. These Baked Beans are my mom’s recipe and they are really yummy and easy (the only part that takes any time is cooking the bacon).

Baked Beans

Karen Lewis

Ingredients:

2 large cans Bush’s baked beans (drain half of sauce)

1 onion, chopped

1 lb. bacon cooked and crumbled

¾ cup Bullseye BBQ sauce

¾ cup brown sugar

 8-12 oz. crushed pineapple (from the can)

Directions:

Mix together into crock pot-cook on low for a few hours or bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Put 2 strips of bacon across top.

Then we went to the BBQ and played some fun games. Jace and I actually won the water balloon toss but Jace got soaked by the kids throwing their balloons at him. After the BBQ we ran to the store and then went to see The Hunger Games. While we were in Louisiana I brought the first 2 books with me. I’m not much of a reader but I managed to read the 2 books in 3 days. I loved them and now I’m on the last one. So I was super excited to see how the movie compared. I ended up being pretty surprised how well it followed the book. I would have to say I liked The Hunger Games more than the Avengers but they are both so different it’s hard to compare them. Sunday we had church then came home to pull off the tape on the bathroom. I was nervous the paint would bleed through badly ruining the stripes but they turned out pretty good. We ended up buying the green painters tape (Frog Tape) instead of the blue one since it never seems to work. I don’t think I will ever use blue tape after using the Frog tape. It worked so much better this time. (Also a side note-the lady at Home Depot told us to use Semi-gloss paint so it resists water/hair spray and everything better. Wish I had known that in my master bathroom...)

Before... 

and after 

another after

That night we had Jace’s dad (Dennis) and step-mom (Gayleen) over for dinner. The past week was her birthday so we did a later birthday/early mother’s day dinner for her. After dinner Jace and I laid on the couch and didn’t move the rest of the night. It was a great weekend but I defiantly could have used some more time to relax.

Bubble Statement Necklace (Similar to J Crew)

So I’ve been eyeing this J Crew necklace forever but couldn’t bring myself to pay the $150 they wanted for it. Then one day I saw on my cousin-in-laws etsy shop the exact same necklace for $50!! I was so excited I texted her and had her order me one. It came in the mail while we were in Louisiana and ever since then I’ve been dreaming up different outfits to wear it with. I wore it for the first time yesterday and got so many compliments on it. You can order them at (I think I now need to order the yellow or soft pink one…) You can also check out different colors on her blog. Thanks again Christine, I love it!!

**You can check out my fashion blog at http://bpfashions.blogspot.com/**