Everyone Needs a Planner

Everyone needs a physical planner to actually write things down.

I don't go anywhere without mine.

I keep it in my purse.

I like the leather cover, with a Jan-Dec format, 

variety of calendars, maps, and blank pages in the back.

Write down all appointments for myself and my husband.

Keep track of birthdays.

I write daily to do lists and keep track of pretty much everything.

 I have checklists, wishlists, to do lists, travel lists, school lists... 

you get the point... LOTS of lists :)

I love having the year mapped out and being able to look ahead.

It's a great snapshot of my entire year.

I've been keeping a planner like this since 2005.

I keep track of birthdays too.

I have a gift tracker in the back.

I write down all birthdays and keep track of the gifts that I give.

This is a great resource from year to year 

so that I know what I've already given as gifts.

How do you keep track of all of your important events?

Quick Cinnamon Rolls

I woke up early one morning and wanted to make breakfast.

I didn't want to spend hours on it but wanted something yummy.

I came across a recipe for

QUICK CINNAMON ROLLS

from valleyridgerecipes

It looked doable, easy and I had all of the ingredients.

Hooray!

I cut the recipe in half since there are only two of us.
Here's what you'll need to make 12 cinnamon rolls:
1 3/4 c warm water
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c oil
3 T yeast

Mix and let sit for 15 minutes.

Add 1 t salt

2 eggs

5 heaping cups of flour

Mix together for 10 minutes.

Dump out onto a floured surface into a rectangle shape.

For the filling you'll need:

1/2 c sugar

2 T cinnamon

pecans and lots of them!

Spread softened butter all over dough.

Sprinkle with cinnamon and then sugar.

For the icing:

pinch of salt

1 t vanilla

3 cups of powdered sugar

milk

My husband recently had a cinnamon roll that he dubbed 

The best cinnamon roll I've ever eaten.

I'm kind of competitive and want the best cinnamon roll he's ever eaten

to be one that I've made for him!

When I inquired about what made it so delicious, he said that it had icing swirled into the roll.

Done!

I love pecans but my hubby isn't as fond of them

so I divided my dough like this.

Then I carefully started rolling it up.

I used a knife to help me carefully get it off the counter.

Rolled up and ready to be sliced.

Start slicing.

Spread them out on a greased pan.

Cover and let rise for less than 10 minutes.

You don't want them to rise too much because they will continue to rise in the oven.

Bake for 12-15 minutes at 400.

Voila!

I let them cool down a bit and then put a dollop of icing on top of each one.

I spread the icing out with a knife as it was melting.

These rolls were really good, quick and easy!

Just like the recipe promised :)

Your family would LOVE them!

High Five for Friday

Hooray for Friday!

Here were the highlights of my week:

1. I mentioned last week that I got an iPhone...

this week we figured out how to FaceTime with my Sis and her kids.

This is Allie blowing me a kiss :)

"Love you Wicky!!"

It was Mickey but now we've gotten a little closer to Whitney.

Hayden called me Nit-Nee.

 We love to FaceTime (once my sis established a no yelling rule :)

Nieces and nephews make me smile.

2. The beach is calling my name, great weather
and I'm looking forward to heading there this summer.

 3. I realized the other day that my closet has gotten quite colorful!

In the past my closet was filled with only dark tops and lots of pants.

Yay to me for branching out :)

 4. I found this darling dessert bowl & spoon set at TJ Maxx.

Can't wait to have some summery treats in them!

5. I stopped in TJ Maxx to find my hubby some swim trunks.

No swim trunks

but I hit the jackpot on new tops for myself!

I also found a great Michael Kors belt on clearance.

I'm linking up with Lauren

Happy Summer to you!!  :) Whitney

Fruit Wash

How well do you wash your fruits and veggies?

I usually rinse them in warm water but that's about it.

I recently found an idea on Pinterest

showing a much better way to wash your fruit.

Go to aprettylifeinthesuburbs to see the original idea.

All you need is vinegar, water, fruits and veggies.

I made sure my sink was nice and clean before I started.

Plug up the sink and let the warm water run.

 Add 1 cup of vinegar and stir around half full sink.

 Here's my stash of food before:

 Place food into the water and let soak for 10 minutes.

 Stir occasionally.

 Containers from the fruit.

I decided that I didn't want to put my clean fruit back in them.

 It's smells slightly vinegary but not too bad.

Oliver sniffed it out pretty quickly.

 After 10 minutes, let dry on paper towels.

 I was hoping my water would look icky but it was really gross!

 The fruit didn't appear that dirty 

but the water turned brownish and had lots of ick floating in it.

 My CLEAN strawberries and fruit.

 I did the cherry tomatoes separately so that I wasn't sorting grapes and tomatoes.

 I let them dry and repackaged them.

 I labeled the bags so that I could keep track of everything.

This whole process took less than 30 minutes,

was really simple

and I will DEFINITELY be doing this to all my produce in the future.

Give it a try!