I Love a Crafty Day.....Marshmallows

I know many of you heard about our crazy weather that we had in the south last week.  I made my trip to the grocery store and thought that when the weather got icy, I would make some homemade peach fried pies.  My mom made them for us on cold snowy days when I was a little girl. 

Well, it never happened. 

Sometimes, cooking can be like crafting...only better, because you get to eat your project.

THIS is what happened instead.... 

HOMEMADE MARSHMALLOWS!!!

Now I've made marshmallows in the past with a recipe from M. S.  It was a recipe I got from her magazine about 8-10 years ago....long before gourmet marshmallow confections became popular...before blogging....before Pinterest.  I decided to try my hand with a new recipe and boy am I a happy lady!

Aren't they just beautiful???



PERFECT

A cup of hot cocoa on a frigid day with the delightful addition of a delicious and perfectly plump homemade marshmallow.  So easy to make and a fun project, too!   ENJOY!

Here's where I got the recipe: marshmallow recipe

Adult Grilled Cheese

We had a wonderful visit with friends at Seaside and Seagrove, Florida this summer.  Everything is fun and exciting when you go to the beach!  Especially when you share it with friends.

Another thing I love about visiting this area are the Airstream food trucks of Seaside.  I had the opportunity to eat at the Airstream food trucks two times during our visit.  Both times, I got a sandwich at The Melt Down on 30A.  Who wouldn't love a day at the beach, sunning, shopping and then a delicious grilled cheese sandwich?  AND have it served to you in a brown paper bag--just like a kid's sack lunch from years ago.

I knew I wanted to make these delicious sandwiches

 at home, so here is my first sandwich from The Melt Down.

The Mozzarella, Tomato and Basil grilled cheese.

Oh my goodness!  Such fresh and simple favors of summer all in one delicious sandwich!

Here's what you'll need:

2 slices Italian bread (I used Publix's 5 grain Italian)

fresh mozzarella

fresh basil leaves

fresh tomato slices

butter

 

I used a non-stick skillet with a little pat of butter in it.

Then, I placed in the pan one piece of bread topped with a generous slice of fresh

 mozzarella cheese so it could start melting.

I heated the bread and cheese low and slow and got the other

 ingredients ready at the same time. 

I prepped my fresh basil-washed it and patted it dry.

I sliced the tomato.

Here's the menu of delicious sandwiches at The Melt Down.

When the first side of the sandwich was golden brown,

 I put the basil leaves on top of the melting cheese.

  I placed the other slice of bread on top and gave it a little pat of butter, too. 

 I flipped the sandwich so the other side could start to brown. When the other 

 side of the bread was brown, I removed it from the pan and placed it on my plate. 

 I opened the sandwich up and placed the tomato slices

 inside and gave them a dash of salt and pepper.

I then returned to top slice of bread to the sandwich. 

 And, to make sure everything was extra gooey,

 I microwaved the sandwich for 20 seconds.

Here are the results!



Yummy Summer Goodness--

An adult grilled cheese!

Fresh mozzarella, basil and tomato grilled cheese.



The Post Office at Seaside, Florida.

The different Airstream food trucks at Seaside, Florida offer ice cream,

grilled cheese, hot dogs, bar-b-que and delightful raw offerings.

I think I've brought home a

 great souvenir from our summer vacation.

Joining the party:

Rattlebridge Farm: Foodie Friday

World Traveler Coffee Table

I love to travel.  Do you? 

                                 I thought I would share my

                    world traveler coffee table with you today.  

I usually like to think about vacations to the beach in the summer months. I often like to express those thoughts by decorating my coffee table in my family room with shells, beach pictures and other beach-related items.  This year, I decided to try something a little different. I decided to use some things I have on hand to make what I'm calling a World Traveler Coffee Table.

I haven't painted my furniture, but I decided to lighten

 up the look of my coffee table by adding the linen

 table runner my grandmother made years ago. 

Here's a another view of the table runner.

  It adds a perfect lighter look to the coffee table.

Then I added to the table, this old globe that

 I can always remember being in our home.

  My mom said it is over fifty years old. 

I can remember that this dial on the top always fascinated

me when I was a little girl.  You could see where it was day

 and where is would be night just by the turn of your finger.

I found these vintage-style maps at a store recently.  I thought they might

look good on the table, too.  The magnifying glass came from

 the desk in my great-aunt's bedroom.  I don't know how

 old it is, but my aunt died in 2001 at the age of 100. 

The postcard is from a stack of vintage cards a friend gave

 me several years ago.  It is an old one of Panama City Beach, Florida.

Here are two vintage brochures from The Statue of Liberty

 and The Empire State Building.  I have visited both

 and was happy to find these at an estate sale several years ago. 

 The picture is my favorite one of my

daughter on the streets of New York City in 2011.

Now I have to show you this cute little table that I got for Mother's Day.

  I'd been looking for something like this and was delighted

when I found this on a shopping trip to Birmingham, Alabama. 

I love the distressed look and the yummy turquoise paint on the sides.

I was prowling around at my Mom's the other day, and we found

 this little book from Pompeii, Italy and several Italian coins. 

It brought back memories of a trip long ago that is still fondly remembered.

A piece of vintage sheet music completes the table top.

Here's a final look at my coffee table and the

 new look that I'm so enjoying this summer--Thank you, Blogland! 

What are you enjoying this summer? 

 The fresh fruit?  The sunny weather?  Photos from a recent trip?

I'd love to know what you are loving this summer!

Joining the party at:

Seaside Beach Side

We visited Seaside, Florida on our way in to Seagrove last Saturday.  It is a unique beach town experience.  Here's a little bit of our afternoon.

 

When you arrive, you will notice that there are several Airstream trailers that are parked along the sidewalks.  The vendors there offer a variety of food items.

Here is a picture of the ice cream vendor.  I just love the vintage Airstream and the other vintage touches.  Who wouldn't love that old Coke box?  Do you remember them?

This cute sign above another trailer was cute and SO retro.  It almost made me want to eat a hot dog!

My husband and daughter got their meal at a place that served raw goodies.  She had a veggie spring roll with a peanut dipping sauce.  He got a tortilla wrap with hummus, sprouts, avocado and cucumbers.  I got a yummy turkey, avocado and cheese grilled cheese from this trailer.  My hubby and I shared a half with each other.  His was great and so was mine!

We visited the Modica Market. 

Click here for Modica Market
 

Check out the super cute Post Office!

I LOVE this sign!!  It was constructed with old license plates. 

I LOVE THAT SIGN!

There was neat art to see.

Fun outdoor shopping.

I think I want to try this at home. 

 It would be great to have ivy or another vine trained to do this at my house!

You could even take a ride in a yellow duckie bike rickshaw.

We went to Seaside two times on our trip. 

 I found this fun store that I will share with you later.

I'm linking up with:

Beach Bound

We had the opportunity to spend the Fourth of July weekend with some friends who were staying at Seagrove, Florida for the summer.  We headed down on Saturday morning.  It had been several years since we had been to Florida's beaches. 

It was a pretty drive.  Lots to see along the way.

We were at Seagrove in just a few hours.

We saw a number of small sand dollars during our stay.

We caught (and released) little crabs on our late afternoon walk. 

We used to do this as kids when we were growing up-a nice memory.

The next day, we had sand in our toes.  A beautiful, sunny day!

 

Somehow, everyone always finds their shoes when it's time to go home.