Lemonade Popsicles!

With Spring officially here and the temperature warming up,

I'm guessing many of us will be eating popsicles quite often.

Personally, I like to make them myself to control the ingredients.

And one of my favorite kinds is to use simple lemonade!

You can use whatever lemonade you'd like,

be it homemade or store bought - both kinds will work.

I tend to make my own using this recipe

then simply use molds to make my popsicles!

The Goods:

Lemons

Sugar

Water

Popsicle Molds

Popsicle Sticks

Lemon Juicer

Cut your lemons in half and start juicing...

Squeeze the juice out of ALL your lemons. 

I did a total of a dozen.

Measure out the amount of lemon juice you need.

And toss all the discarded lemons.

Of if you have a compost throw them in there!

Measure out your sugar and make your simple syrup.

Get your lemon juice, simple syrup and water ready to combine.

Then mix it all up in a big pitcher.

Fill your popsicle molds almost all the way full.

If you're using the tops that came with them, add them now.

If you're using popsicle sticks, freeze for about an hour 

and then insert the sticks so they stay upright.

Freeze overnight to make sure they're completely solid.

Package them up and give to family and friends.

And of course enjoy one yourself!

Spring Quinoa Salad

I'm a BIG fan of quinoa and recipes that use the super grain.

By far, my favorite way to eat it is salad form.

You can see past recipes I've shared here, here and here!

Quite often I bring some version of quinoa salad to work for lunch.

In fact, my coworkers have caught on to my love of quinoa salad

and one even shared a link with me that she thought I'd like.

While browsing the link the next day,

I quickly realized I already had one of the links bookmarked!

I already had plans to make it and had forgotten!

Because of my awesome coworker, I was reminded of this recipe!

I found my Asian Quinoa Salad Recipe on Two Peas & Their Pod,

so I had a feeling I'd really enjoy another recipe from them too!

The Goods:

Cooked Quinoa

Asparagus

Peas

Avocado

Olive Oil

Honey

Lemon Juice

Basil

Garlic

Salt

Pepper

First step - make your lemon basil dressing.

In a deep bowl or jar, combine the following:

olive oil, lemon juice, honey, garlic, basil, salt and pepper.

Whisk or shake to combine.

Next wash and cut your asparagus into 1-inch pieces.

Heat olive oil to medium, then add the asparagus and lemon juice.

Cook for about 5 minutes - until asparagus is tender.

Add your peas, stir and cook an additional 2 minutes.

While the asparagus and peas are cooking, chop up your basil.

Now the fun begins - adding and mixing everything together!

In a large bowl, combine the quinoa, asparagus and peas, then toss.

Now add the dressing and basil, then mix again until well coated.

The original recipe called for adding the avocado before tossing,

but since I was going to be enjoying this for the next few days,

I decided to add diced avocado right before eating!

Now the only thing left is to dig in and enjoy!!!

Spring Quinoa Salad

Adapted from Two Peas & The Pod's Recipe!

For the dressing:
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice
1 Teaspoon Honey
1 Clove Garlic - Minced
1 Tablespoon Basil - Chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste

For the salad:
2 Cups Water
1 Cup Quinoa
2 Teaspoons Olive Oil
15 Spears Asparagus - cut into 1-inch pieces
1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
1 Cup Frozen Peas
1 to 2 Avocados
1/4 Cup Basil - Chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Cook your quinoa according to package directions. Once cooked, fluff with a fork and set aside.
2. In a deep bowl or jar, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, garlic, basil, salt and pepper. Whisk or shake to combine.
3. Heat olive oil to medium, then add the asparagus and lemon juice. Cook for about 5 minutes - until asparagus is tender.
4. Add your peas, stir and cook an additional 2 minutes.
5. In a large bowl, combine the quinoa, asparagus and peas, then toss.
6. Pour the dressing over the quinoa mixture, add the chopped basil and then mix again until well coated.
7. Right before serving/eating, add fresh chopped avocado.

Easter Home Decor

Easter is officially less than two weeks away,

so I guess I should finally post about my Easter decor.

You can see last year's decorations here!

Welcome come on in!

I made the tulip wreath last year.

You can read about that here.

The other side of the front door.

Bunny and beautiful roses.

Picked up this bunny candy dish a few weeks ago.

Eggs, egg and more eggs by the tv.

I found this at Michaels recently!

My decorations don't stop at the bathroom...

Or the kitchen!!

I'm always on the hunt for cute new decorations.

I can't wait to see what's on sale after the holiday.

In my opinion - that's the BEST time to buy!!

Why HELLO New Garden!!!

It's been MONTHS since I mentioned anything about my garden.
Way too long if you ask me, but I have reasons.

Why's that you ask?
Well - simply because there hasn't been much of a garden sadly.

But I'm happy to say that changed recently!!!

I made a trip to Home Depot recently and came home with lots of goodies.

Flowers, Herbs, a Jalapeno plant and soil to be exact!
And after purchasing, I spent TWO HOURS getting everything planted and cleaned up.

So without saying anything more,
I'm happy to share the newly updated balcony garden!

NEW Corner Plant Stand!!!

This year - I decided to use individual pots for my fresh herbs!

I have Oregano, Sage, Lemon Thyme, Flat Leaf Parsley, Rosemary and Basil!

And the Jalapeno Plant!!

NEW Window box liners (thanks Mom and Dad!!) and flower!

I'm loving watching these change from day to day.

Some pink geraniums in the hanging planters.

And some marigolds!

Check back soon for updates and maybe even some new additions!

Any suggestions???

Craisin Green Bean Quinoa Salad!

Wow! That title is a mouthful.

I'm sorry, but I couldn't think of a better way 

to describe this delicious salad in fewer words.

You may or may not have figured out that I really like quinoa.

I usual use it to make tasty salads for lunches throughout the week.

You can read about one here and another here!

After eating both of those above salads many times, 

I wanted to branch out and try a NEW quinoa salad!

A local lunch place makes one with craisins and green beens. 

It is so simple and tasty, so I was looking for a recipe similar to that.
I couldn't find one exactly like I wanted, so I just sorta made up my own!

Craisin Green Bean Quinoa Salad 

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

½ teaspoon salt or to taste

¾ cup craisins

1 cup green beans

¼ cup sliced almond

¼ cup sliced green onion

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

1 ½ tablespoons olive oil

1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

Salt and Pepper

1. Rinse the quinoa in several changes of water. Combine the 2 cups water and ½ teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to simmer, cover, and continue cooking until all water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, uncover, and allow to cool for 15 minutes. 

2. In a medium bowl, combine the cooked quinoa, craisins, green beans, almonds,

and green onion until well mixed. 

3. In a small bowl, whisk the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and garlic until well blended. Pour over the quinoa mixture. Toss until well blended. 

4. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving. 

Spring Decorations

If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you probably know by now that I love to decorate!

I really get into the seasons and am always looking forward to the next holiday.

You can read about some of my past decorations here, here and here!!

Now, let's talk about my Spring Decorations!

For me - Spring and Easter have always gone hand in hand.

In fact, most of my decorations are Easter related!

And this year, I added a NEW Spring Wreath to the mix.

You can read about all about that here.

Take a look below at the fun Spring decorations around my place!

I know it's probably a little late to use any of these ideas at your place this year,
but keep them in mind for NEXT year and get started on your DIY projects now!!!

Copycat Spring Wreath

In the last year, I started making wreaths for the different holidays and seasons.
You can see a few here, here and here.
Since Spring and Easter were coming up, I knew it was time to make something festive!

 I turned to the internet and found a few options.
After getting opinions from a few people I settled on this one!

I made my shopping list and after a quick trip to Michaels I was ready to go!
Take a look and how easy it was to make this beauty!!

The Goods:

Wreath

Fake Tulips

Burlap Ribbon - Two Kinds!

Floral Wire

Hot Glue Gun and Glue

Wire Cutters

Make the bow and the main bouquet.

Decide where to place and hot glue it to the wreath.

Hot glue the rest of the flowers to the wreath.

Wrap in the larger burlap ribbon.

(Not pictured)

Hang on front door for all to enjoy!!!

Garden Highlights

I don't have time to do a full garden update, but there are some fun and exciting things happening in my garden so I had to share the highlights! Since I'm limited on time, this post will be mostly pictures, but check back soon for a more in depth look at the ever changing garden!

The carrots have sprouted!!!

Holy Jalapenos!

20 peppers and counting folks. 

New Cat Grass. 

The meow meows are happy!

The FIRST Raspberry blossom!

I can't waittttttt to see what happens!!!

Three new Poppy buds. 

And a rose is blooming!

I can't remember the last time this happened actually.

Don't forget to check back soon for a longer update on the garden!!!