Find it here!

Monday, February 23, 2015

Butterbeer Recipe!

I'm a HUGE Harry Potter fan. I grew up with the characters. If you're like me, you always wanted to go to Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. Heck I still do. One of the things I've always wanted to try is Butterbeer. I've looked all over the recipe trying to find a recipe that I feel tastes like what the books described. I've found many recipes although none quite lived up to what I had imagined. So I tweaked one of the recipes I found.

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 tsp water 
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar 
  • 1/2 tsp rum extract
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup heavy cream, divided
  • 6 tsp butter
  • 4 12 oz bottles of cream soda (very cold)
Directions:
  • In a small pan over medium heat, combine brown sugar and water. Bring to a boil. Boil until mixture reaches 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer. 
  • Add in butter, salt, apple cider vinegar and 1/4 cup of the cream. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. 
  • Once the mixture has cooled, add in rum and vanilla extracts. Mix well. 
  • In a bowl, pour the remainder of the cream and 2 1/2 tbs of the brown sugar mixture. Using a hand mixer, beat until thickened. It should be frothy looking. 
  • Divide the brown sugar mixture between 4 tall glasses. Pour is 1/3 cup of cream soda and mix well. Pour cream soda into the glass until almost full. Add the froth to the top. 
  • Now watch your favorite Harry Potter movie and enjoy your delicious Butterbeer. 

Friday, February 20, 2015

The Best Icing Recipe Ever!

Lately I've had a thing for baking and decorating cupcakes. I've been creating my own recipes for not only the cupcakes, but also the icing. Here is one of my favorite Icing recipes! It's perfect for any kind of cake or just to eat! I hope you enjoy.




Ingredients

2 egg whites (be sure they are room temperature)
3/4 cup of light corn syrup
1/4 cup of sugar
1/4 tsp of salt
2 t vanilla extract


Directions


  1. In a clean bowl, beat egg whites and salt on a high speed until foamy. I highly recommend using a stand mixer. You can use a hand mixer, but it'll take longer. 
  2. While the mixer is still running, add in sugar slowly. Beat mixture  at  medium speed until soft peaks form (when you lift the mixture out, you should have little points in the mixture that bend at the top).  
  3. Bring the corn syrup to a boil in a small pan, on medium heat. Once syrup is boiling, remove from heat. 
  4. Slowly add the corn syrup to the egg mixture while the mixer is on high. Beat until stiff peaks form. This will take about 5 minutes. 
  5. Add vanilla. Mix well. 
I recommend using this frosting quickly. It doesn't store well. Do not put plastic wrap over the iced cake. It'll make a mess. 

Friday, February 13, 2015

Advice For New Military Spouses

I've been asked by many people what advice I'd give to a new military spouse. So I decided I'd make a new post just to answer that question!

Make the best of every duty station

Being married to someone in the military brings a lot of opportunities to travel. As an army wife, I've had to live in some less than desirable places. I've always made the best of it. Travel around the area and see the local sites: visit museums, state parks, and local restaurants. Remember that chances are you'll never return there.

Don't compare your duty station to the last one

A great assignment is a blessing but can also cause problems later on if you allow it to. If you leave an amazing duty station for a not so amazing one, don't allow it to ruin your experiences in your new town.

Don't get your hopes up for your next duty station

No one duty station is ever guaranteed. If you set your hopes too high and you don't get the station you wanted, you'll be very let down which can lead to you being miserable.

 Remember your spouse is in the military- not a civilian.

So many times wives get upset that their husbands work late. Your spouse is in the military. They'll work crazy hours, they'll go into the field for weeks at a time, and they'll deploy- often times missing holidays, births of their children and important family events.

Often times when you get comfortable in your new home, it's time to move again. It can be hard to get used to, but it's part of the lifestyle.

Don't believe in the "Dependa" and other stereotypes

Believing in such stereotypes will keep you from befriending those who you don't see as an equal. If you like sporting your favorite "Army Wife" hoodie, then do so. Don't care what other people say or think.


These are just a few bits of advice that I would give a new military spouse. I hope this helped!

Monday, February 9, 2015

Our Weekend Adventure!

Cody and I had an amazing time today! We went to Hunting Island SC. It was absolutely gorgeous! Although it was a little cool, the weather was great!

There was a lighthouse that we climbed to the top of.






There was also a lovely beach you could walk on. We were lucky enough to see some dolphins swimming close to shore. We also found a ton of shark teeth!





After weeks of barely being able to see each other, it was great to just get away and it be the two of us. If you ever get the chance to go, you should!

Saturday, February 7, 2015

It's Not Goodbye, It's See Ya Later

Today one of our good friends moved away. He will now be living states away from us. He was the first friend I ever made down here. Although I'm very sad to see him go, I know that this is not goodbye, it's see ya later.

We're so lucky to live in a time where we can call, text, Facebook and Skype each other whenever we feel like it. I'm so happy for our friend. He's no longer in the military and he seems genuinely happy. He has a plan for his future and I think it's absolutely great. Even though we'll be miles apart, I know we'll all stay friends.

I'm thankful for the military because it has given me friendships that I never would've had and helped me make memories that will last a lifetime.

Friday, February 6, 2015

Good News!

I'm so excited! We've gotten some good news. Cody has only a few things he needs to improve on to go to board! I'm so very proud of his hard work. So many people don't realize the amount of work that goes into getting promoted.

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Recipe Time

Over the past few months I've been getting together a lot of my family recipes and my very own recipes. I'll be making a cookbook that I'll be selling. I'm very excited for it! It will have a little bit of everything. Recipes for pastas, cookies, and some good southern meals. I'll be sure to post more about it once I get them printed.

10 More Carepackage Ideas

When you're loved one is deployed, you want to be sure they have as much of home as possible. My previous post CarePackage Ideas gave tons of unique ideas of what to put into carepackages to send your loved ones. In case  you have used all the previous, here are some more ideas!!



1.) Night At The Pizzeria 

This is a great package to remind them of home. Include pizza themed items such as parmasean packets (like you get with pizza at restaurants),pizza flavored combos, pizza pringles, and non regrigerated microwave pastas/sandwiches. You can decorate the box with pizza stickers!

2.) Movie Night

This is one of my favorite carepackages to send. It allows your loved one to escape for just a little bit. Include: Movies on a flashdrive/harddrive or DVDs, popcorn (prepopped or microvable), popcorn seasonings, and small boxes or packages of candy. You could decorate the box with different movie and film themed stickers or print out movie posters and glue them on the package.

3.) Star Wars 

Is your spouse a Star Wars fan? This is the perfect package for them! Include the star wars movies, glow sticks, collapsible light sabers, cookies (come to the dark side, we have cookies!), and any other Star Wars trinkets you wish to include.

4.) Taste of Home

Include homemade cookies, fudge, breads, cake in a jar and any other homemade goodies that will survive the trip over. Be sure to wrap every item very well!

5.) Warm Night

Include a blanket, hand warmers,microwave soup, thick socks, a new PT cap (to sleep in), and hot cocoa mix.

6.) Under the Sea

This is a fun package to send. Include goldfish snacks, sweedish fish, go fish card game, fishing game, candy octopus, Little Mermaid  movie, JAWS movie, and small toy fish, jellyfish, octopus, etc.

7.) Game Night 

Include cards, board games, and electronic (handheld) games. Also include any other games or snacks that you choose.

8.) A Good Night's Sleep

Include pillows, blanket, ear plugs, sleep masks (the things that cover your eyes while sleeping) and another other sleep related items.

9.) Fright Night

This is a fun package for horror lovers. Include lots and lots of scary movies and popcorn. You can also include red silly putty (for blood) and decorate the package with movie posters for their favorite scary movies.

10.) Date Night

This will be good for those rough nights apart. Include romance movies (or romantic comedies), popcorn, a picture of you all dressed, one of your shirts with you perfume on it, Another cute idea is to send a video of yourself talking to your spouse. It'll be something he or she can watch over and over whenever he or she misses you most .

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

The Struggle is Real

The past few weeks have been rough on us. Cody's been working a 12-12 shift (midnight to noon) and we haven't been able to see each other very much. Every night he works later than everyone else, so that cuts into what little time we do have together. On top of that, in the past month, he's had one day off. He even had to go in on his day off. It's definitely causing stress within our marriage. We're both tired of not seeing each other. Sometimes the tension is really high in our house.

On top of not being able to spend time together, Cody's taken on a huge workload at work. Ever since SSGT ______ died, he had to assume his roll. So now he's taken on not only his job, but a job above his pay grade. His stress level is even higher. He is constantly doing something for work and I can tell how much pressure he is under. He was supposed to go to promotion board but they keep giving his bullshit reasons as to why they won't send him. I feel so bad for Cody. He's been working so hard, and no one is acknowledging it. I know he feels highly under-appreciated and that he feels like all this responsibility is for nothing. I wish I could help him.

I tell him often, although it may not be often enough, that I am so very proud of him and what he  does. I'm proud to be married to him and to be able to take this long journey with him, through the ups and downs. I just really wish there was something I could do...

Monday, February 2, 2015

Our Little Coffee Shop

While we were home for Christmas, Cody bought me a really nice espresso maker with a built in frother. I've always been a coffee lover, but now I'm an addict. We no longer go out for coffee, because I make us cappuccinos and lattes at home. Well, I decided our kitchen needed a coffee station. Since we have a very small kitchen, I decided to clean off an area on our counter and devote it solely to coffee making. 

Our coffee station consists of our coffee beans, coffee grinder, espresso maker, frothing pitcher, espresso and cappuccino glasses, our flavorings, K cup machine and K cups. I'm working on some decorations for the walls around it. I can't wait until it's finished! I'll be sure to post pictures when I have everything set up and pretty.