Tag: holiday

Homemade Peppermint Mocha

I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to make a peppermint mocha that wasn’t full of a lot of calories.

Can I be honest? The ones from Starbucks are not my favorite. They add way too much chocolate. I would rather have the peppermint shine through. I love peppermint in my lattes so that makes sense.

Yesterday I found a peppermint mocha ground coffee at Aldi’s so that is what I’m using for the coffee part of the recipe. So good.

For the recipe:

  • ground coffee – I used peppermint mocha flavored coffee.
  • peppermint syrup
  • almond milk – I used vanilla unsweetened almond milk. You could use real milk or any non dairy milk. I just prefer almond milk.
  • cacao powder
  • whipped cream

Peppermint Mocha Latte

Stars of the recipe:

  • 1 to 2 Tbsp. ground coffee (I used a reusable K cup pod for my coffee maker.)
  • 1 Tbsp. peppermint syrup
  • 1/2 c. milk (dairy or non dairy)
  • 1 to 2 tsp. cacao powder
  • 2 Tbsp. whipped cream

Steps:

  1. Add the peppermint syrup to the mug.
  2. Then brew the coffee. I brew my coffee using the bold setting.
  3. While it’s brewing, froth the milk and cacao powder.
  4. After the coffee is done brewing, top with frothed milk and whipped cream.
  5. Enjoy!

Note: You either need to use a frother or froth it without a frother. Place milk and cacao powder in a mason jar, place the lid on it, and then shake it. (Arm workout) Once it’s increased in volume, remove the lid carefully. Microwave it for 30 to 60 seconds.

Stay kind!

Have a magical day,
Traci

My Valentine’s Days

Yes, I said days. I had an unexpected day off on Valentine’s Day so Hubby and I went out. Then I took the boys out on Friday which is a rare occurrence now that they are older.

Continue reading “My Valentine’s Days”

Fourth of July Parade – 2018

This year I decided to sit at the beginning of the parade not realizing I was going to miss all of the cool floats.  Our town’s parade begins in 4 spots – a church and 3 entrances of a shopping plaza.  If a float or group started at the church or the one entrance of the shopping plaza, then I got to see it.  Actually I saw the fire engines/ ambulances take off from one of the other spots but that was because they had been parked behind where I sat for the parade.  I missed the floats, etc. . . that started at the fourth spot.  Now I know.

Oh, and the heat index was ridiculous.  It was in the 90’s and so very humid.  I had a shady spot to sit in but the end of the parade, my shirt was moist.  The Wee One, the Imaginative One, and I stopped at Burger King to get frozen drinks afterward because we were so hot.

Enjoy the photos I was able to get of the parade.  I think I got some good photos.

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Every year, there is a fly over.  This year, I was able to capture that fly over.

The two dogs are therapy dogs.  Their names are Spirit and Hairy or Harry.  They go to a local hospital twice a month to help people recuperate from surgeries, etc. . .

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I got a few shots showing you some of the floats that I missed seeing.  After a while, it was pointless to try to get a photo of all of them since I could barely see them even with my telescopic lens.

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My boys walked in the parade holding the big flag.  (Only the Imaginative One is shown in the photo.)  They started at that fourth entrance.  The people who were sitting next to me at the parade were kind enough to watch my stuff so I could run/ walk fast to get a photo or several photos of them before they started marching in the parade.

My niece was rollerblading with the Girl Scouts.  She went past me but was waiting by the Boy Scouts for the parade to move.  The Imaginative One had to take a photo of her and heckle her.  She responded back.  They have such an interesting relationship.  They are only 2 months apart in age.  She’s going to be a sophomore while he’s going to be a freshman.

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I absolutely love how this collage turned out.  They had a group of Marines and some trucks that were with the Marines.  These decals on the truck window were awesome so I took photos of them.

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You can’t forget the street cleaners.

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I hope you had a magical 4th of July!

Have a magical day,
Traci

Fourth of July Fireworks

This year some kind soul paid for the fireworks display in our little city.  So we had a bigger and better fireworks display this year.  When the fireworks display was over with, you could smell the sulfur and see all the smoke.  

I was able to get a lot of good photos of the fireworks.  My plan was to bring my tripod but I had forgotten it in my haste to leave my house when my mother-in-law came to pick the boys up.  The tripod would help with long exposure shots which would have been cool.

However I love the shots I got of the fireworks so it all worked out in the end.

Without the further ado, here are the collages I created of the fireworks.

The sunset – It was gorgeous plus the boys waiting patiently or not so patiently for the fireworks.

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The fireworkscollage2collage3collage4collage5collage6collage7collage8collage9collage10

It was 10:30 pm.  I was attempting to get a photo of all of the smoke.
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The first video is from  sometime in the middle of the display.

The second video is from the finale.

I hope you had a magical 4th of July!

Have a magical day,
Traci

Our Fourth of July – Afternoon and Fireworks

After the parade, the Wee One went with his grandma, aunt, and cousin.  They had Arby’s for lunch which made the Imaginative One upset.

Later on, the Wee One and my niece came over to my house to swim.  I took a few photos of them swimming with the Imaginative One.

Continue reading “Our Fourth of July – Afternoon and Fireworks”

Our Fourth of July – The Parade

Every year, our town hosts a Fourth of July parade.

Last year, I was too ill to go to the parade.  This year I decided the boys, Hubby, and I should watch it even though we had the chance to walk in the parade.

collage #1

Before the parade begins, there is a fly over.  This year we had two different fly overs which was cool.

The Wee One has freckles normally.  They are even more pronounced because of being in the sun last week.

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If you haven’t heard about the Honor Flight, click on this link to find out more information.  I live in the town next to where the Honor Flight was started.

The owner of Foy’s was driving the Ghost buster’s car.

collage #3

Ohio State University is HUGE around here.  We had the guy who dresses up for all of the games in the parade, a guy who looked like Jim Tressel, and a guy yelling “O-H” up and down the street.  I didn’t take a photo of the Jim Tressel look-a-like.

The Wee One was all about getting the candy.

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The librarian who was driving the Bookmobile noticed the Imaginative One was reading a book while watching the parade.

One of the floats had a random grill on the back of it.

 

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The Wee One saw candy caddy corner from us that had not been picked up.  When there was a lull in the parade, he made sure it was safe to cross.  Then he picked up the candy and waited there until it was safe to cross back over to where we were sitting.  I was so proud that he was thinking through his actions.  The candy was shared with his brother and cousin.

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One of the photos in this collage is the street cleaner.  We knew at that point that the parade was over with so we packed up and walked the three blocks back to where we parked.

Here are some videos from the parade:

I hope you had a great Fourth of July!

I will share the photos of the fireworks next Monday.

Have a magical day,
Traci

Gingerbread Coffee Creamer

It costs $4.25 for a tall (small) Starbucks’ gingerbread latte.  You can make this creamer for half that price.  You’ll get the same great flavors found in gingerbread.

Molasses, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger are flavors you associate with gingerbread.  So those are the flavors I put into my homemade creamer.

Continue reading “Gingerbread Coffee Creamer”

Makes it own Crust Apple Pie

Last week I found this recipe on This Week for Dinner’s website.  I thought this was a genius idea because you don’t need to make a separate crust for the pie.  I don’t know if I’ve attempted to make homemade crust.  Usually I use the store bought variety.

This pie is easy to put together.  Although it called for peeling the apples, I left a little peel on which added color when the apples peeked out of the crust.  Which was pretty cool looking.  This is not a traditional pie.  Instead the crust is more like a cobbler then apple pie like.  This pie would be good with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or even cinnamon ice cream.  Yum!

Makes It Own Crust Apple Pie

from This Week for Dinner

Stars of the recipe:

  • Sliced apples, sliced but not too thin, peeled
  • 1-2 Tablespoons of cinnamon sugar
  • 1 1/2 sticks melted butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 beaten egg

Steps:

  1. Fill a pie plate or any 8×8 casserole dish/pan with sliced apples. Only the center can be slightly above level with the top of dish or the topping will spill over the sides, so don’t get carried away.

  2. Sprinkle the apples with about 1 Tbsp. cinnamon sugar. (More or less depending on what you like.)

  3. Mix together the butter, sugar, flour and egg.

  4. Pour the mixture evenly over apples, sprinkle with more cinnamon sugar if desired.

  5. Bake at 350 degrees F until deep golden brown – around 40-45 minutes or so.

     

Printable Recipe

Easy Fudge

Who doesn’t love fudge?!?  It’s rich and decadent.  Recently I found a recipe for an easy fudge that I decided I needed to try.  It is so easy to make and tastes yummy!  The best thing is that it only requires 3 ingredients!  Yes I said it right, I only needed three ingredients.  Not bad for a delicious piece of fudge.

Stars of the recipe:

  • 1-12 oz. bag of chocolate chips
  • 1 can of condensed milk
  • 1 to 2 tsp. of vanilla extract
  • handful of pecan pieces, optional

Steps:

  1. Place the chocolate chips and condensed milk in a microwavable safe bowl.
  2. Microwave on 70% power for 1.5 minutes.  Stir.
  3. Continue microwave on 70% power for another 1.5 minutes.  Stir.
  4. If the chocolate is not melted, continue microwaving on 70% power for 30 second intervals until the chocolate is melted.
  5. Once the chocolate is melted, add the vanilla and stir.  If you add pecans, this would be when they would be added.
  6. Pour into a square cake pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.  (I also lined mine with foil and then sprayed the foil.)
  7. Place in the fridge until it’s hardened.  Cut into pieces.  Enjoy!

 

Printable Recipe

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