An Easy Drink Recipe and the WINNER!

It’s nice to have sweet refreshing drinks for the summer time.

I know I’ve said it many times before...I can’t eat sugar. I even have to be careful eating too much fruit and I rarely drink juice because of the concentrated natural sugar.

But here’s a quick and easy drink and it’s HEALTHY, too!

I buy these fruit smoothie drinks in the refrigerated section of our favorite grocery store, Publix.

I mix 1/4 of this container ...'C Monster’, Citrus C with Diet Seven Up. I get the wonderful fruity flavor and the fizz from the soda and it’s less than 60 calories (using the 1/4 bottle per drink). And I consider this a treat...I don’t have it every day!

And now the WINNER for the Eco Natural Soap Giveaway is.....

Dorothy from Hensrule !

Congrats Dorothy!

(I used random.org to get the winning number)

And thanks to Eco Natural Soap for this fabulous giveaway! They still have FREE shipping, too! I LOVE free shipping! And we all love your wonderful products! I carry this one everywhere I go!

We’re enjoying our summer in Florida! Do you have any refreshing drinks you like to have with the temps climb?

Enjoy your weekend!

Nighthawks and Giveaway

Today is the last day to enter the Eco Natural Soap giveaway. Please go to the original post HERE to enter!

We have nighthawks that swoop down at sunset to eat those pesky mosquitoes and other bugs.

But one afternoon this week they were hungry a little earlier than usual. We saw about a half dozen at around 4 pm. (And YES...the moon was out, too!) So out I went with the camera to try to get some photos of these birds in motion.

I took the photos to Picmonkey to crop and sharpen a bit. (here are the best photos I could get, Della!)

Nighthawks are a large bird and very graceful and pretty....well as long as they don’t swoop down on me when I am walking in the evenings.

I’ll announce the winner of the giveaway tomorrow!

Do you have any fun plans for the weekend?

I’m RICH ....and don’t forget to enter the GIVEAWAY!

I have new SHOES!

Or at least I think that’s what they are!

But I just HAVE to ask all of YOU!

What do you call these?

It’s so funny living here in Florida! You think Florida...it’s in the South, right?

A Southern accent should be the norm?

Well, think again!

There are so many people that move here from all over the world that I have a hard time being understood! Of course when I talk to my girlfriend, Sherry from Back 2 Vintage we don’t have any problem understanding each other. Of course she’s from Mississippi and remember...I’m from Arkansas! But when I go into some of the stores around here, I have to repeat what I say. I thought I was going to have to SPELL this one out!

I asked an employee that was working in the shoe department in Be*ll’s  where the houseshoes were. Then I said slippers. He didn’t understand either word until I said them both again. He directed me to another part of the store. When I got there, I asked the lady in that department if those were the only houseshoes or slippers they had and she said....”What?” So I said it AGAIN!

By then I had said houseshoes 4 times

....and slippers 4 times.

But all of my hard work paid off!

I went wild and got two pairs. I felt like I deserved them. I had to work so hard to be understood. (and I had a really good coupon! heehee)

So I just have to ask....

what do YOU call these?

These are definitely ‘favorite things’ so I’m joining Katherine’s Corner this morning!

Enter the Summer Fun giveaway

HERE !!!

Have you used the ‘Creative Kit’ in Picasa?

I haven’t even noticed it until tonight!

So I took this photo, opened Picasa and clicked on it to enlarge it. Then I clicked on Creative Kit.

The first thing I did was play with the Effects....

this one is Daguerreotype.

Next I used Reala 400 for this effect.

And then Vibrance. (all in Effects)

Then I clicked on Decorate and added a heart and went to Text and added text.

Have you tried it yet? It reminds me just a little of Picnik! What do you think?

And what it the mystery object in the photo? I just noticed I should have moved it! haha! It’s a cork that I took out of an old bottle! (do I need to take another photo? Please say NO! heehee!)

Enjoy your evening!

Have some fun with photos...

and throw old corks away!

Good Morning...the SUN is out!

We had a soaking rain from Tropical Depression, Debby but no flooding or damage in our community. We had about 5 inches of rain on Sunday but only sprinkles of rain the past couple of days. Our hearts go out to those that are dealing with flooding. And also to those in the West battling fires. I’m keeping them all in my prayers.

Thanks for those that have written with your care and concern. I sure appreciate it.

Here’s a screen capture of the weather map showing the path of the storm.

Can you find where I live?

The SUN is shining and all is well!

(a quick photo taken from my back door, no need to color boost...the grass is GREEN and the sky is blue)

What does your morning look like?

Favorite things and a GIVEAWAY!

I’ve received some pretty things from giveaways.

I won Cindy’s giveaway at Cynthia Lee’s Designs and she made me this beautiful necklace. She said she knew I would like something dreamy with a touch of lavender in it. She added a friend charm and worked her magic. I’m so blessed to have made so many friends on my blog! Thanks Cindy!

I’ve worn it every day. (thanks hubby for taking my pic on the run...and I’m going to run barefoot! lol)

This was taken when we still needed sunglasses in the Sunshine state. It’s been raining here but so far it hasn’t been bad at all. Thanks for your concern!

I also won these travel towels from Kim at Snug Harbor Bay. She also made me a braided key chain. Thanks Kim. The Lightload towels will really come in handy this summer!

I’m taking advantage of these rainy days to sew up a storm! I’ll show you what I’m working on soon...maybe tomorrow!

And please go HERE to enter the

Eco Natural Soap GIVEAWAY!

What do you enjoy doing on a rainy day?

“Summer Fun” Giveaway!

Summer is my favorite season of the year!

So let’s get it started with a GIVEAWAY

sponsored by Eco Natural Soap .

You can also visit Alicia’s blog HERE !

I love all of their products and when they came out with Mineral Make up, I was anxious to order some. I’ve worn Mineral make up for years now and think it gives me a natural look. My skin is super sensitive so all I wear now is a little concealer under my eyes and Mineral make up. I don’t wear anything on my eyes or even lipstick any more.

I’ve used my Mineral make up and I am very pleased with it. I love the way it goes on and the fact that it lasts all day.

 

There were some other products in my package for me to use and then review.

The perfume is wonderful...a fresh clean scent that is true lavender. My hubby is the one that uses the lip balms and he likes them all. He uses the unscented the most.

And I love all of the bars of soap. This Coconut Milk will be perfect for summer time baths!

So now I would like to give a little review on a product I got from Eco Natural Soap last year.

We were at a State Park here in Florida and decided to walk down a trail to the river. It was hot and humid and in the middle of summer. We had been on that trail many times before but the conditions were just right that day for mosquitoes. So I put the ‘Don’t bug me’ repellant on my legs and arms. They always go after me, so hubby didn’t put any on at all. Well....they came after us both! We didn’t get far down the trail before we decided to turn back. I didn’t have ANY bites on my legs OR arms...but I had bites on the back of my neck. And hubby had been bitten, too. So I thought this was a good test. NO BITES where I had put the mosquito repellant. (I don’t want anyone to be afraid of Florida in the summer. This only happened to us once.) It only takes a very small amount of the salve and it does not irritate your skin at all. I couldn’t live without it now!

So would you like to have a few products from this amazing store?

Eco Natural Soap is giving one of my readers a wonderful gift! A note from Alicia,“The winner gets to choose any one of our soaps any one of our body or specialty balms and any one of our lip balms.”

So here goes...

1. Please be a follower of my blog Lavender Dreams and let me know in a comment.

2. Go to Eco Natural Soap HERE , look at their products and tell me what you would most like to try.

3. Have fun this summer!

Three comments... three chances to win!

And don’t forget to have FUN!

I’ll announce the winner on June 29th!

Summertime! My favorite season!

Oh how I love summertime and it’s especially beautiful here in Florida this year!

*We’ve had some little showers that just pop up and don’t last long. But they leave us with ‘not as hot’ temps and lush green surroundings!

A quick photo of Sholom Park...

and the flowers we are enjoying as we begin the Summer season!

My regular readers are going to feel like they LIVE in Sholom Park but what better place to walk, get some exercise....and take a few photos, too!

I’m joining Mary for Mosaic Monday,

and Diane for Beautiful Sunday

and Sunny Simple Sunday !

Please stop back by tomorrow

for a GIVEAWAY! ; )

*Update on Central Florida...the pop up showers we had during the week have changed into a steady downpour all day today. We have a few gusty winds and rain. Please pray that we don’t get anything worse! Thanks!

Are you hungry AGAIN?

We love to eat! We love to buy fresh ingredients and get in the kitchen together and cook! And I am so glad my hubby loves to grill!

What’s on the menu tonight?

Beef Ribs....OH MY!

Hubby marinates them for at least an hour. He has even agreed to share his secret marinade recipe. Of course, he says he adds to it....so there may be a secret ingredient he’s guarding! heehee!

He does not put the BBQ sauce on the ribs while they are grilling. We ‘dip’ our ribs in sauce on our plates.

I’m joining Shannon at Cozy Home Scenes. Hope you’ll check out some of the other party goers for more great summertime meal ideas!

Which do you prefer....Beef ribs or Pork?

Beef ribs are my FAV!

Treasures from the Sea...via ETSY!

I love the ocean...but when I can’t be on the beach, I love to visit Etsy !

Sometimes I do a search! And ‘sea glass jewelry’ is one of my favorite searches!

I love all of the beautiful jewelry but I also love a bargain. I usually limit my search to a certain ‘price’. It’s nice to narrow the search down to what I can afford!

And I’ve found a wonderful Etsy shop with fabulous jewelry at great prices!

Lacy Laura Gray has a ‘buy of the day’ and I took advantage of it one day to order this pretty sea glass necklace...it’s the prettiest shade of light blue!

And I rarely see stud earrings that will go with my ‘beachy’ jewelry so I put these in my cart, too.

I contacted her to ask her a few questions and she was very sweet and fun to work with. I told her about my blog and she even came to visit!

Well....imagine my surprise when I opened the package to find THREE little bundles all gift wrapped in tissue with pretty ribbon!

She wrote me a note and said she wanted to design something especially for me!

She’s a Florida girl and found the sea glass and coral on Cape Blas, “the tip of the cape”, 2 weeks ago.

It’s hard to express what it means to me for someone to show me such a kindness. What wonderful friends I’ve made through my blog and over the internet. I love having so many sweet friends right here in Florida!

I hope you’ll visit her...HERE ! You will LOVE the jewelry she makes and be surprised when you see her prices! Everything she sells is a wonderful value!

I love buying handmade....don’t you?

Break out the Grill for an ‘old’ favorite!

I have exciting news! You can eat meatloaf in the good ole’ summertime without turning on the oven!

Serve with Lindeman’s Shiraz!

We had grilled meatloaf in a restaurant years ago and from then on, that has been the only way we’ve cooked it! You can never go back!

So what’s different about the recipe?

Use your favorite meatloaf recipe but don’t put as much tomato sauce in the mixture so that it is a bit dryer. So basically, we are mixing ground meat, bell peppers (red and green), onion, Italian bread crumbs and spices with a little tomato sauce. Mash it into a big ‘hamburger like patty’...one pound of ground meat....one big patty!

Mix a sauce to pour on top when it’s done. Since I can’t eat sugar, I mix mostly tomato sauce with just a dollop of ketchup and pour on top. (hubby slices the ends off for me..they are the best!)

Cook thoroughly. It will be crispy on the outside and moist on the inside! Save some for cold meatloaf sandwiches! OH MY...so GOOD!

I’m joining my girlfriend, Shannon at

Cozy Home Scenes for this fun party!

Have you ever eaten grilled meatloaf?

You’ll love it!

“June Notecards with Vee”

I’m joining Vee at A Haven for Vee with my notecards for this month.

We are spending the summer months here in Florida so I wanted to share some photos I’ve posted of our beloved Sholom Park.

I hope you’ll join us in with photos you’ve posted

on your blog that would make nice notecards!

Happy Summer everyone!

Time to grill! A Flashback to 1961!

We love to grill here in Florida! The weather is nice enough to grill year round and we have a nice big gas grill in our courtyard.

Now let’s get the Betty Crocker Outdoor Cookbook from 1961 to see what’s on the menu tonight!

How about Shish Kabobs?

This is one of our favorites...

especially since hubby gets to wear a skirt...I mean a kilt! Oh wait! That’s not MY hubby!

And I KNOW this is not him! lol

Here’s mine! My knight in shining armor!

(I hope he doesn’t mind the teasing...because he’s grilling beef ribs tonight! I love you, honey!)

This is a great meal for me because hubby does it all!

He skewers the meat and veggies together for more even cooking....

and then we put everything in a big bowl to serve.

We like to lightly toast pita bread, butter it and put our goodies inside and serve it with rice...buttered of course!

I’m joining my girlfriend, Shannon at

 Cozy Home Scenes for a fun summer PARTY!

What’s your favorite meal to grill?

Share it with us!