Happy 4th!

Happy 4th Of July !
Hope it's a fun day for everyone.

What we will be doing today! Relaxing - Yay!

Backyard BBQ Recipes To Share -

These are a few of my favorite recipes to make for our backyard BBQ.

They are super tasty and fun to make and eat.

 Hope you try them and enjoy!

Happy Summertime.

To start - Very important, a yummy drink! This drink is more like a dessert, It's so good.

I Got this recipe from my Mom. Thanks Mom!!

Frosty Citrus Punch :

Ingredients -

1 can (120z) frozen limeade or lemonade concentrate thawed

3 cups cold water

2 cans lemon lime soda chilled

1/2 pint ( 1 cup) lime or lemon sherbet, softened

In a large pitcher, mix limeade & water.

Just before serving, stir in soda, pour into a punch bowl,

float scoops of sherbet on top. I serve the punch in mason jars.

They look so cute and old fashioned.

It's so refreshing too !!

Bacon Ranch Potato Salad :

I don't know about you but when I hear bacon and potato...

I'm always interested, so good together!

Ingredients -

2 lb red potatoes, unpeeled and cut into 1/2 -inch chunks

1 tbsp salt

1/4 cup mayo

1/4 cup plain reduced - fat yogurt or sour cream

small bundle of chives ( 2-3 tbsp chopped)

small bundle of chopped parsley ( 2-3 tbsp chopped)

1 small green onion

1 clove minced garlic

juice of 1/2 lemon

1/4 cup buttermilk

black pepper to taste

pinch of salt to taste

4 slices thick cut bacon, cooked to a crisp

Instructions-

1.Cover potatoes with 1 -2 inches of cold water and add 1 tbsp salt.

2. Whisk mayo, yogurt, chives, parsley, green onion, garlic, lemon,

and buttermilk together in a small bowl.

3. Salt and pepper to taste and refrigerate until ready to use.

4. Bring potatoes to a boil and reduce heat to medium,

 cooking until the potatoes are fork tender ( 8 -10 mins.)

5. Drain potatoes and return to the pot or transfer to serving bowl.

Let cool 5 -10 mins (potatoes should be very warm but not steaming hot.)

6. Pour half of ranch dressing over the potatoes and toss.

7. Toss remaining dressing and crumble bacon, and serve cold. 

(click on the read more link below for more recipes.)

The Glory Days Of Summer ~

It's been to long since I made a post on Our Haven Place. Which I won't make any excuses for, let's just say that things have been a little busy! I hope you enjoy my collages on Fashion Spark ~ I try to keep things active and interesting there.

So Summer Time is here...YA!! All the fun activies to do. The swimming, eating, reading and traveling.

 Daniel and I have lived down south for a little over 2 1/2 years now. I can't believe it, how the time has quickly gone by. We are falling in love with many things down here. Including the vegetation and it's beauty, it's so green and lovely, and go figure my hair is loving the weather, with all the humidity ( I have waves & curls, the first time in my life) ha! 

To celebrate the South and Summer- I wanted to share a few pic's of the beauty of my new favorite flower. The Magnolia blossom.

Also, very soon I will be sharing some favorite recipes for the Summer

( bbq , salads and desserts... etc). 

Take care,  Peace and Love- Megan 

Celebrating A Decade ~

We just celebrated our 10th Wedding Anniversary last month. I can't believe it! So we decided to have some fun with new photo's. We had a blast at the photo session and our talented photographer totally captured exactly what we were looking for. I just told her three words -

 Vintage, Fun, Whimsical ~ she got it!

Thanks Tara - you did a wonderful job.

 Here's to another 10 years Daniel!

Tara's website -

http://www.tarasprocphoto.com/

Happy Valentines Day -

I found this vintage valentine and just loved it! Super Cute. Happy Valentines!

Ready Set Go!

Time is just flying by. Over the years I have finally realized it doesn't get any easier or more kick back and mellow. Time is not always on your side - Ha! We are all getting a little older and wiser. We just keep on adding to our lists of things to do. The pace is killing me somedays. That being said, I love to keep busy and I always like to be active. This year we have decided and have made a pact - Daniel and I, to stop sweating the small stuff, and have some new life changing experiences. A kind of Slowing Down -which we look forward to... I'm not saying our life is or has ever been boring because it's not. I just want to take more time out to enjoy things day to day.

I think 2011 will be an amazing year! I hope it's starting off on the right path for you all!

Merry Christmas And Happy Holidays ~

Merry Christmas and lots of love from The Brown Family...

A Grand Christmas - At The Grand Floridian Hotel

The Beauty Of Winter ~ Images Of The Season

Holiday, Vintage Children

Happy Thanksgiving ~

We just celebrated Thanksgiving today- since Daniel and I are both working tomorrow. Everything  turned out perfect- yum! Wishing  you all a very Happy, Tasty Thanksgiving.

                                                                     

The Thanksgiving Table, Beautiful Centerpieces~

A Soup And Chili Recipe, To Share~

Love these soup recipes. The air is changing and we are just craving something warm on a cool night. Soup is good food, so yummy, hearty and it makes us feel cozy... Hope you will try out- 2 new favorite soup recipes we love.

Happy Halloween ~

Up At The Cabin ~ Birthday Getaway

We just got back from our beautiful getaway, celebrating Daniel's birthday. We wanted to go camping for awhile now, however because of our work schedules and not being able to drive hours away, I found the next best thing, renting a cabin about 20 minutes away from us with amazing views, hidden away with tasty dining options and fun adventures about 10 minutes from our cabin to the resort and lodge. My kind of camping, ha! Anyway, it was pure heaven just to getaway and to spend some time together enjoying nature. On the last day we even did some kayaking, which was the first time for the both of us. When we first got into the boat, Daniel in front and myself in back, we thought well this won't be hard! Sure, Daniel took it very seriously and I followed his stride, then a few moments later after going down river, we ran into a swamp and the trees started hitting us in the face - then, we almost flipped. I couldn't stop laughing for some reason I thought it was the most hilarious thing, I don't think Daniel thought it was quite as funny.  All the sudden, we both broke out in laughter and tears. We recovered and did not flip, there was just algae everywhere in the boat. Well, needless to say - we survived and decided to mark that off our bucket list -for good.

Despite all this, Daniel said it was the best birthday he ever had, which makes me so happy!

Here are some of the pictures of our fun!

My New Favorite CookBook ~

Trick Or Treat -

What An Inspiration - Such A Wonderful Film~

We just saw this movie, It was truly an inspiration. If you haven't seen it yet - I greatly suggest you do. It explains so much about living with Autism. It's the story of Dr. Temple Grandin, a person with highly-functioning autism, noted  bestselling author, doctor of animal science and professor as well as her work as a autism advocate. Actress Claire Danes gives such an electric and powerful performance as Temple Grandin. It's beautifully filmed and I promise after you see it you will be inspired and uplifed.

Halloween Countdown, Adorable Costume Idea's Found!