Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Summer 2013 Letter to my Readers


Please have a comfy seat and a cup of tea or iced tea from my kitchen!  I have started making my own teas!  They can be used for hot tea or iced tea!  And speaking of tea, I have a giveaway coming up here this week for some spectacular COFFEE (I did not make this but one of the companies I order from has made it).  The winner will receive a bag of this coffee.  Check back around Thursday or Friday for this giveaway!

I have been so busy with blogging these days ever since I took on the Ultimate Blog Challenge for July Challenge of blogging every day and this group's owner also sends you blogging topics if you need help!  I love it!  So far I haven't and it's close to being over.  I have so many topics running through my head that I write them down and hope to cover them soon!


I am looking for an inexpensive blogger who may be a graphic artist (maybe a stay at home mom or dad?) and would be interested in using my color palette and transform my blog into something that is easy to read.  I need topic headers for topics  that I write about quite often.  And I'd like to have 3 columns.  I also need a banner and button.  I do have a website, http://www.conversationswithcarolyn.com and I'd like to use this blog there but not using WordPress.  I think I want to stay with blogger.com and start writing more in my other blogs...  and tie them into this one blog. 

There's a local company that I'm thinking of using but before I do that, I'd like to get some pricing options from bloggers who create graphics and web pages, etc...   So please write to me at carolyncavies @ yahoo. com    Please use the topic "Graphics" with your proposal and a sample of something that you've created.  You can put your watermark on anything that you've done!  Thanks!


This time of year has me always looking at the beautiful houses right here in my neighborhood.  I don't want to move but we are slowly outgrowing our condo and I need to have a garage sale! I think I will wait til October to do one.   I like to serve this lemonade recipe to serve there and a spiced tea that I make in my "tea business." 


I hope this Old-Fashioned Lemonade recipe is helpful to someone or more!  I love lemonade all year round and especially 1/2 and 1/2 (no booze! unless of course, that you add it to the mix).   I love the lemonade and tea mix and I make my own with the teabags that I make.  If you would be interested in writing a Product Review and have a Giveaway with my tea bags, please write to me at carolynjm @ live.com  and use the topic line to be "PR and Giveaway Tea Bags"  and I will select 10 bloggers using Random.org to accomplish this.

If you are a FAN on my group, https://www.facebook.com/Chattingwithcarolyn maybe you have been keeping up with the Christmas Letter Game for CHRISTMAS IN JULY.  So far I have had the same gal winning and she's hungry for competition!  So please come by the game today and play the letter "R" and then tonight, the letter "S" with her!  Here's where the game (with a prize for the winner) is on my blog.  The times to play are announced in my fan group with the big letters "R" and "S" and it's a lot of fun! http://conversationswithcarolyn.blogspot.com/2013/07/christmas-in-july-letter-game.html  


Have you bought any Scentsy from me lately?  We have the BRING BACK MY BAR sale going on this month.  There's still time to order here.  https://carolynscandlesforsale.scentsy.us/Scentsy/Buy  Thanks!


Yum!
 


Would you be interested in joining my fan group and playing games with us and having great chats?  The address is given in the post and we'd love to have you with us!






Sunday, July 21, 2013

DIY: reuse tea bags and coffee grounds





Remove cooking odors:
Both coffee grounds and tea bags are excellent deodorizers and can work wonders on your hands after chopping stinky foods like garlic, onions and fish.

Clean your floors:
Looking for an all-natural way to keep wood floors and furniture shiny and clean? Look no further than your morning cup of tea!

Due to its tannin content, twice-brewed tea is perfect for adding extra luster to your wooden decor on the cheap. As an added bonus, you’ll also ditch the cleaning product smell and still get results you’ll love.

Keep pests away from your garden:
Noticing ants, slugs and other pests hanging around your garden? Sprinkle coffee grounds around problem areas to keep pests at bay.

Clean your pots & pans:
For squeaky clean pots and pans without the elbow grease, rub spent coffee grounds onto dirty cookware using a scouring pad. The added abrasion will help to remove stuck-on messes without harsh chemical cleaners.

Add to houseplants:
Both coffee grounds and tea bags have loads of nutrients that help houseplants thrive. Due to high acidic content, coffee grounds are perfect fertilizer for acid-loving plants such as tomatoes, carrots, roses, rhododendrons and azaleas. The antibacterial content of tea bags helps to gently clean while wafting away odors and perking up your skin – making these common kitchen leftovers perfect for your next mani-pedi party.
Keep your fridge fresh & clean:

Skip buying baking soda for deodorizing your fridge, and use a small container filled with coffee grounds instead!

Tie-Die:
You already know a splash of coffee can stain light-colored clothes. But have you ever thought of using your morning cup to create a homemade dye?

Clean your face:
Both coffee and tea are loaded with beneficial properties that sooth irritated skin and brighten a dull, tired winter complexion.

Shine your shoes:
We’ve heard of using citrus scraps and even banana peels to shine your shoes. But what about the leftovers from your morning cup?



QUESTIONS:  Were these DIY tips new to you?  What is the one that you might use at home?  What kind of DIY tips would you like to see me cover?  Thanks for reading and commenting! 

Day 22.

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Wordless Saturday! Anniversary of AURORA shootings.

























What do you want to say on this anniversary of the Aurora Shootings?  Use the COMMENTS, thanks!

  Day 20

What is a TWITTER PARTY? How do I sign up and get started using Tweet Deck?


Hi!  There is a GUIDE for TWITTER PARTIES.  Here:  http://www.twitterpartyguide.com/what-is-a-twitter-party

I'm so happy you are reading this and at the end I will ask if you plan on attending our TWITTER PARTY on July 31st (1st anniversary of the book, IF I SHOULD DIE BEFORE MY DOG. 

If I Should Die Before My Dog Book We Will Review!  You don't have to be a blogger to do this.  You will be writing your review on Amazon.com  If you sign up with me with your most frequently checked email on the COMMENTS to this note, you will be able to get a free copy of the book (if you go through the whole blog tour and promise to write a review).  I will have an official sign up sheet for this made for you by Sunday, July 21 and will make a new entry with it!  

FIRST, you need to have a TWITTER account:  https://twitter.com/

I'm asking the people who plan to participate in the TWITTER PARTY to tell me when the best day is this coming week and next weekend (July 22-28) to have a PRE TWITTER PARTY (so they can practice and get the help they need to understand how to do it?) 




Cathy and Joe Connolly, the authors and please join their GROUP, If I Should Die Before My Dog


 Please also JOIN the GROUP that is having the Pre Tweet Party, the Twitter Party and the IF I SHOULD DIE BEFORE MY DOG BOOK TOUR which is  https://www.facebook.com/IfIShouldDieBeforeMyDogBlogTour




Here's what you need to download for free: http://tweetdeck.com/


A couple of questions to answer in the COMMENT section please?  

1.  Have you ever read this book we are reviewing?
2.  Would you like to?  Will you pay for it or be part of the Blog Tour?
3.  Please leave a COMMENT with your email address or link to your blog if you would like to participate.

    Thanks!




Friday, July 19, 2013

Recipe pick of the Day! Garlic Cheesy Bread

Hopefully once or twice a week I can show these fabulous recipes that I find on Pinterest and bring them here with giving the credit to the writer and pictures of the process of making this.  I will lead you to the complete recipe and today's comes from:  Laura's Latest.com

http://www.laurenslatest.com/hasselback-garlic-cheesy-bread/

Hasselback Garlic Cheesy Bread

Hasselback Bread Final 2 

This bread is the bomb.
Last week, I got some evil Kerrygold Samples in the mail. Basically, it was a box filled with cheese and butter.
Aw, shucks.
What is a girl to do? 

To prevent myself from inhaling it all in a 24 hour period, I put some in the freezer, but then immediately thought of this bread I’ve been wanting to make. Everyone has seen the Hasselback Potato, right? Well this is a much more scandalous take on that. Think MORE butter, MORE garlic and MORE cheese. Carbs are my friend, can you tell?
They hang out in my booty.

{TMI? Sorry.}

This bread is the very reason why I run. It helps lessen the blow to the whole ‘carbs setting up shop in my hiney’ thing.
And believe it or not, this is super simple to make! I think its safe to say we all have the ingredients for bread in our pantries. Butter-most likely and cheese-uh, yeah! I seem to have these ingredients on hand all.the.time. I used garlic herb butter from Kerrygold and I’ve seen pre-made garlic butter at the store, but it’s really easy to make at home. {Mix butter and finely minced garlic together. Yup, that’s it.}
So, that’s all the info you need to know, m’kay? Let’s make some bread, yo.

Bread Ingredients  First thing you’re going to want to do is grab all your ingredients. Nothing to out of the ordinary here.

Bread 1  Into a mixer bowl, add in your water, yeast and honey. Stir it all in and leave it alone for 5-10 minutes. You want to make sure your yeast is alive and kickin’.

Bread 2  Once your yeast has gotten foamy, stir in the salt and the flour in 1/4 cup increments. PS-You never want to go above level 2 {stir} when using a Kitchenaid Mixer. I just just read that in the instructions manual. Making dough=slow speed.

Bread 3 Once the dough starts pulling away from the sides and the bowl is looking pretty clean, then it’s time to set the timer and walk away. 5 minutes later your dough should be tacky and smooth. Like, it should feel a little sticky, but leave nothing on your fingers when you poke at it. Grease your bowl and dough. Cover the whole thing with a towel or plastic wrap and let it rise for an hour or until it’s doubled in size.

Bread 4 One hour later, I got me some purdy lookin’ dough!

Bread 5 Punch that dough down and divide into two equal balls.

Bread 6 Roll those dough balls into two baguette shapes the length of your baking sheet. I like to twist mine because {1}they look cool and {2}it helps keep them from shrinking.

Bread 7 Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise for 30 minutes. Then preheat your oven to 400 degrees and place the pan nearby to get all that extra warmth seeping from your oven.

Bread 8 They should have doubled by the time the oven is preheated {about 45 minutes later}. Reduce the oven temp to 350 and bake for 20 minutes.

Bread 9 In the mean time, grab some of your garlic herb butter…

Bread 10 And melt it down. It’s so much faster working with melted butter.

Bread 11 You’re gonna want to slice some cheese too. I used a sharp white cheddar. OH yeah.

Bread 12 After 20 minutes, your french loaves should start to golden. Take them out of the oven and brush with some melted butter. Bake another 5-7 minutes or until perfectly golden. Remove from oven and cool 15 minutes. Now, we could stop here and have two lovely french loaves of bread but I’m insane and must add butter and cheese. So, lets keep going!

Bread 13 Slice your bread into 1 inch slices 3/4 of the way down. It’s important to let your bread cool at least 15 minutes so that when you cut it it doesn’t squash the loaf right down. Make sure you use a bread knife too! *Important*

Bread 14 Once your bread is sliced, take that garlic butter and slather it on top and in between all those cracks. Be generous!

Bread 15 Then put your slices of cheese into those cracks and bake it another 5 minutes or until all that cheese is melted.

Hasselback Bread Final 1 Hello, lover.

Hasselback Bread Final 3 Come to mama.
See? Not too hard was it! Here’s the printable for ya’ll! Hope you enjoy! Try not to eat the entire thing in one sitting…or at least have the decency to change into stretchy pants first.

 PRINT and SAVE is here:  http://www.laurenslatest.com/hasselback-garlic-cheesy-bread/



Hasselback Garlic Cheesy Bread

Yield: 2 loaves

Ingredients:

1 cup Warm Water
1 Tablespoon Honey
1 envelope Active Dry Yeast (2 1/4 Teaspoons)
1 teaspoon Salt
3 cups Bread Flour
Olive Oil, For Greasing Surfaces
⅓ pounds Sharp White Cheddar, Or Any Other Cheese You Prefer
½ cups Garlic Butter

Directions:

In a large bowl, stir water, honey and yeast together. Let yeast proof 5 minutes. Once you know yeast is active, stir in salt and the flour in 1/4 cup increments. If you are using a stand mixer, be sure to not increase your speed higher than a 2 or ‘stir’.

Once dough starts pulling away from the sides and the bowl seems to be pretty clean, set a timer for 5 minutes and walk away. Let the machine knead the dough. After 5 minutes, dough should be smooth and tacky but when touched shouldn’t leave any dough on your fingers.

Grease the bowl and the dough. Cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let rise 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Punch down dough and cut into two equal portions. Form into two long baguettes the length of the cookie sheet. I like to twist mine because it looks cool, but it also keeps its length and doesn’t shrink. Cover with plastic wrap and rise 30 minutes.

Start to preheat oven to 400 degrees F and place dough close to the oven where it’s nice and warm. Once oven is preheated, remove plastic wrap, from the dough reduce oven to 350F, put the bread into the oven and bake 20 minutes.
In the meantime, slice the cheese into thin slices and melt the butter.

Pull loaves of bread out of the oven after 20 minutes and brush with the melted garlic butter. Bake another 5-7 minutes or until bread begins to turn a golden brown. Remove from oven and cool 15 minutes.

Cut 1-inch slices 3/4′s of the the way through the loaves. Brush garlic butter in between each slice and fill with a slice of cheese. Bake another 3-5 minutes or until cheese is completely melted.
Serve immediately.


A shorter version with added pesto (which is 1/2 homemade) is:   http://wearychef.com/2013/04/01/irresistible-cheesy-pesto-bread/
  That's the Irresistible Cheesy Pesto Bread!

Which one would you choose to make if you felt like making it?

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