Full Sun Favorites

I have a different kind of favorite post for you today.  It's all about gardening.  Specifically, FULL SUN gardening.  Our yard is so sunny.  Barely any shade anywhere.  It's taken me a season or two to figure out what works for the hot sun, but I have a good list of full sun favorite to share with you today.  Our last yard was nearly full shade so it's been a good challenge for me to figure out a whole new yard.

These sun loving plants can tolerate hot hot sun as long as they are watered daily.

I hope you find a plant or two that might work for you in your yard.

1 // Verbena - red and purple

2 // Corkscrew greenery

3 // Kimberly Queen Ferns - I have 4 of them.  2 on my front porch.  2 on my back patio.  They just getting prettier and bigger the hotter the weather gets.  They love the summer sun and heat so much.  I'm amazed.  They are more expensive than Boston Ferns, but if you have sunny spots they make such a statement around your house.

4 //  Lantana - I have 4 different color variations and it looks so pretty in pots or planted in your landscaping.  It flowers from early summer through Fall.

5 // Sweet Potato Vine - this gorgeous neon vine is such a pretty filler in any pot.  I added it to several of my pots.  It is a yummy snack to squirrels so be sure to sprinkle it with chili powder regularly if you have friendly squirrels at your house.

6 // Light Pink Vinca - it's the sweetest flower and it comes in tons of colors.

7 // Sweet Alyssum - this is the prettiest flower.  It seems to get better as the summer goes on and it really fills in nicely in pots.

8 // Marigolds

9 // Petunias

10 // Bacopa - this is the cutest flower!  It vines down in pots and grows so nicely.  It's been flowering all summer long.  I'm so glad this pretty flower caught Olive's eye.  It's brand new to me this year.

11 // Asparagus fern - it's a little pokey so you wouldn't want to handle it, but it gives nice height and texture and color to your pots.

12 // Purslane - Olive grabbed this succulent and it has done so well.  It's gigantic.  It started out as a tiny plant and it loves growing and draping over the side of my pots.  The blooms just keep coming.

Do you have any full sun flower questions for me?  Or any flower/landscaping questions that I can help you with?  I've been working hard for the last 9 or so years to learn how to garden.  My MIL taught me lots and gardening has become one of my very favorite hobbies.

Linking up with Momfessionals

Homemade Hibachi

We had the yummiest hibachi take out when we were in Florida and I came home determined to recreate it.  The kids all loved it.  Going to a traditional hibachi restaurant is well over $100 for our family so I did a little research on how to make fried rice and picked up some Yum Yum sauce.  It made all the difference!  My whole family love this meal.

I roasted some veggies - zucchini, carrots, onions and broccoli.  I left out mushrooms.

I bought some really thin chicken breasts and seasoned them with salt, pepper and Everyday Seasoning Salt.  Bake until well done.  Let cool and slice thin.

Roasted veggies.

Fried rice.  So good.

Ingredients:

green onions

match stick carrots

2-3 scrambled eggs

2 bags of cooked Boil in the bag rice

soy sauce

yum yum sauce

Directions:

Cook Rice.  Cook scrambled eggs in a skillet.  Add in all the veggies once the eggs are fully cooked.  Add in the rice and squeeze a generous amount of soy sauce and yum yum sauce on top.  Stir until well combined.  Not everyone at my house loves fried rice so I also made some white rice.

I made some kale chips that got mixed reviews and served the dinner like this.  Several of us loved having yum yum sauce to dip our chicken in.

Would your family enjoy this meal?  We loved it!  The whole meal cost me under $20 to make with leftovers for lunches.

Happy Birthday Kevin!

Our favorite guy turned 42 this weekend!  He's smart, hard working, the best griller and we love that he's in charge of planning adventures for our family.  It's been fun to see him grow and thrive in his current job.  We are his biggest fans.

We had the best time celebrating his special day with his family at his parent's house and at home.  We're trying hard to squeeze in all of his favorite things this week.

Kevin's birthday is just a few days after the 4th so I tend to plan a red white and blue party for him most years.  I baked cookies and his mom made his favorite cake.  The kids were in charge of doing the candles.  Can you tell?

Kevin loves fireworks more than anyone else I know.  He's a super fan.

We're always thankful when family can come together to celebrate our birthdays.

Olive is now taller than Nana and was so excited to see a plate of molasses cookies arrive with Nana for the party.

Olive is getting so tall!!  I have to ask her to bend down to do her hair.  She would be thrilled to be taller than me one day.

Kevin got some really sharp plaid blazers for his birthday.

So much love :)

Happy Birthday, Kev!!  Wishing you your happiest year yet!

Storms rolled in cutting our fireworks display short and then we had a rainbow pop up when we went to leave.  You know I love those kind of signs.

Fourth Favorites

I hope you had a wonderful 4th of July!  June seemed to go by slowly, but now we're half way through summer.  We had a festive week and I have lots of favorites to share with you today.

1 // Flag Charcuterie Lunch

I surprised the kids with all of their favorite red, white and blue foods for lunch.  They loved it!  These soft pretzels are such a fun addition to any lunch menu.

2 // Amazon Favorites

Did you see my Amazon favorites post on Wednesday??  10 Summer Amazon Must Haves - I shared s everything from goggles to toddler shorts to board books to these jelly bracelets that I love so much.  If you've seen me this Summer, you've seen me wearing these bracelets.

 3 // 4th of July

We had a really fun 4th at home.  I love matching holiday outfits for the kids so much.  We invited some friends over for fireworks and fun and it really was so much fun.

4 // Watch them grow!  Our trees were planted about a year ago and they have grown so much.  So have the kids!

2023 Backyard on July 4th

2022 Backyard on July 4th!

5 // Red, white and blue jello

My kids requested festive jello for the 4th.  I make rainbow jello every St Patrick's Day so they wanted me to try red and blue jello for the 4th.  It took hours to make (12 layers x 20 minutes each to set = a lot of time making jello), but the end result was totally worth it.

6 // Bouquets of flags

I stocked up on a big set of American flags last year and I loved decorating with them again this year.  It is so fun and festive to have bouquets of flags all over the house.

I popped flags in everything I could for July!  All of my planters and indoor plants all got flags.  Our house looked so festive and the kids had fun helping me.

7 // Jordan Bakery Box

I had some really yummy red, white and blue orders this week!

8 // Parties

I love all the prep and planning for holidays.  It's my favorite thing to collect all the best paper products for parties.  We used these cute firework plates all week and added sprinkles to anything we could.

9 // Kids in the Kitchen

This was our family theme this week - incorporating kids in the kitchen whenever we could.  I invited them to help me make breakfast for dinner giving them important jobs.  They loved it.  I taught them my tricks and tips for chocolate dipped pretzels.  They had the best time making them for our 4th of July party with friends.

10 // Okra

We picked a bowl full of okra this week!  It's done so well in our garden.  I am planning to fry some and freeze some for soups this Fall.  Fletcher had the job of measuring the okra to make sure we picked the biggest ones.  Leo had the job of collecting everything in a bowl.  We are loving our garden!

Linking up with Momfessionals

10 Summer Amazon Must Haves

I have the best Amazon must have list to share with you for Summer.  I found some really great things this season that my whole family.  My shopping list is a little bit of everything from fashion to vacation and everything in between.  I hope you find a few things that catch your eye.  Thanks for clicking and shopping my Amazon links.  I appreciate it so much!

1 // Xinnun 60 Pieces Glitter Jelly Bracelets

If you have seen me this Summer, you have seen these jelly bracelets on me.  I wear them almost every day and I LOVE them.  They're waterproof and have held up perfectly in the pool, the ocean and look so cute with all of my outfits.  They are soft and easy to wear.  You'll forget they are even on your wrist.  I ordered this big pack so that I could keep some and share some.  I've been wearing the white, rose gold and hot pink sets.  They are the perfect, really affordable accessory.  Your girls would love them!  My preteen even asked for a set of her own.  They are perfect for everyone from preteens to moms.  They are on sale with a coupon to clip right now.  I can't recommend them enough!

2 // 12 PCS Reusable Water Balloons for Kids, WHDPETS

I surprised the kids with a set for each of them this Summer.  They are so easy to use.  My toddler and my ten year old had fun with them.  You just need a tub of water for them to refill in.  They're magnetic and so much fun.  I love the mess free water balloon option because it is no fun to clean up all those water balloon bits from traditional water balloons.  The kids came up with really fun tossing games, loved throwing them at each other and loved all the different colors.  They are so cool!  There is a coupon to clip for this set right now. 

 3 // Car Cup Holder Expander for Car Organizer with Adjustable Base

Do you ever get annoyed with the tiny cup holders in your car or car seats??  I was over it so I ordered these big cup holder for my kids to use on our last road trip.  They use big water bottles and now they have a cup holder that accommodates their water bottles.  They work so well and are easy enough for kids to install.  I love that it keeps their water close to them and keeps water bottles from rolling around my van all summer.  I bought the two pack so that both of my big kids could have one.

 

4 & 5 // Eversport Kids Swim Googles Pack of 2 and COOLOO Kids Googles

It had been a while since I'd purchased new goggles for the kids.  They both love these styles so I stocked up on two packs for Summer.  They fit large heads, are adjustable, comfortable and durable in the ocean and the pool.  They are really affordable and the quality is great.  I've purchased several sets of these because the kids love them so much.  They are on super sale right now! 

6 // Beach Gladiator Anti Rash & Chaffing Roll On

I just purchased this for my boys to use this Summer.  They both could have used this for our pool/ocean days so I hope this works well for them.  It's got great reviews! 

7 // BIUBLE Jump Starter 2000A Peak 21800mAh 12V

If you ever have issues with dead car batteries (or have a toddler that likes to turn on your headlights!!) this jump box could save the day for you!  We had to borrow one before our last road trip thanks to Leo hanging out in the car while I packed.  I decided that Kevin needed one for Father's Day so that we could take care of ourselves the next time our car battery died.  It has amazing reviews and I'm so happy to have this jump box that doesn't require any other car to hook up to your car to recharge your battery.  It's an amazing kit!  It has almost 6k reviews and a coupon to clip right now. 

8 // First 100 Books

If you have a toddler, you have got to get these books.  Leo is obsessed.  We have most of them now because he has loved them since he was tiny.  They are his favorite road trip activity and favorite book to sit and read.  It teaches the names of so many things and it has really boosted his vocabulary.  He loves to read these with someone and read them independently.  They are toddler gold in the book department.  These board books are very durable and very affordable.  I'll link some of his very favorites. 

 9 // Palm Pets

My big kids are obsessed with these sweet little Palm Pets.  They are so soft, have a beanie bottom and there are tons to collect.  I love that they're so affordable at mostly all under $10.  My kids love to buy them with their own money and they make a really great road trip surprise because they are so small.  There are tons to choose from.  I'll link some of our favorite ones. 

10 // Boys Sport Shorts by Tech City

I was having the hardest time finding cute shorts for Leo this season.  He's 3 years old, but easily wears a size 6/7.  That means that most shorts are way too long on him.  Not these cute sport shorts!  They have a vintage, classic vibe that I love so much.  I purchased one 3 pack and can't wait to buy him more.  They do run small so size up at least one size.  I bought the 7/8 and would probably go up another size when I order again.  I love that they have the cutest colors for little boys and girls.  They are on super sale right now!

 

It was a good month of Amazon shopping!

Linking up with Tanya for Prime Purchases

BLT Pasta Salad

I tried a new recipe for BLT Pasta Salad and it was a hit!  The perfect summer salad.  I loved it and so did my big kids.  I was shocked.  We had it for lunch several days in a row last week.  We got to use several things from our garden which made it extra fun.  I started with the recipe from @halfbakedharvest for BLT Pasta Salad and then customized her recipe to work with the ingredients I had on hand.  It turned out so yummy!

Dressing:

1/4 c sour cream

1/4 c Dukes mayo

1 T buttermilk

1 c fresh basil

3 green onions

2 t Worcestershire

1 t garlic salt

1 t onion flakes

salt and pepper to taste

 

Blend all ingredients until smooth.

 

 

Salad:

1 box of your favorite pasta noodle

small tomatoes

finely chopped lettuce

fresh corn on the cob

thick cut bacon

*purple onion would have also been delicious

 

I didn't want the salad to get soggy so we kept the ingredients separate until we were ready to eat.  I made one box of pasta and it lasted us for several lunches.  We kept the dressing in a separate bottle and each person customized their own salads each day with just the right amount of each ingredient.

I also grabbed this loaf of sourdough bread from Aldi on a whim and it was SO GOOD!  I toasted it in the oven each time we ate salads and we all loved it as a side with our salads.  Fletcher even loved dipping his toasted bread in the homemade salad dressing.

I hope you get a chance to try this delicious salad!