It is time for the final herb garden check-in!

The herbs are doing wonderful and loving their new spot on our porch. When I bought them (the second time around) some of them were a little crispy from being out in the ridiculous Colorado sun all day, every day but since our porch is shady all morning, they are looking much better. They get a good amount of sun in the afternoon and that seems to be plenty for them. The only real problem I am having now is the wind! It’s pretty normal to have 30 MPH winds where we are which the plants aren’t digging but what do you do?

Back when we first moved here, I put some herbs outside in part of the yard that is ridiculously sunny all day and despite watering them twice a day, they eventually dried out and got trashed. So I think we have found a good place for them now.

This project has inspired us to do a few others things around the yard. I mentioned that before we even got our official assignment for this project, my husband was so excited that he went out and bought a bunch of beautiful flowers and planted them in a cute little barrel. Unfortunately, we had a few more snows after that and most of the flowers bit the dust. Some of them are starting to come back now that it is warm and hopefully we can replace the ones that don’t sometime soon. We also have a small pot of bright yellow lilies now that I accidentally bought myself for Mother’s Day that are loving being in the sun most of the day. And every time we go to The Home Depot I have to talk my husband out of fruit trees! He is obsessed with the idea of an apple tree! I am almost positive he is going to come home with one someday soon.

I asked my husband if he had any advice to someone who wanted to plant their first herb garden and he responded with, “Don’t let your wife do it!” So there you go.

My best advice is to plant things that you know you will use. All the herbs I planted are things that I use frequently (minus the purple basil – I’m a little scared of it but it was too pretty to pass up!) in the kitchen. I plan on lots of mojitos in the summer with the mint, lots of tacos with the cilantro, and lots of caprese salads with the basil. I even found a use for the Thai basil in this Spicy Basil Pork:

I really loved working on this and will continue to enjoy my herbs all summer long. Thanks to The Home Depot for allowing me to participate in this project!

It’s home improvement time, and The Home Depot has everything you need to #DigIn for Spring. No matter what projects you want to tackle, they have great values on all you need. They’re ready to help you with renovation ideas and expert advice, too.

Get over $300 in email exclusive savings each year, sneak peeks on new products, monthly lawn & garden ideas for your region and access to The Home Depot’s gardening experts. Click here to join the world’s largest garden community today! Or go to homedepot.com/gardenclub to see some of the many benefits of membership.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Home Depot.

My kid’s last day of school is tomorrow. How crazy is that? It’s really hard to believe that summer is so close considering we just had snow 3 weeks ago! Well since Memorial Day is only days away and since that pretty much signifies the beginning of grilling/picnic/pool season, Nicole and I decided to do a drink along those lines.

I made this Sarasota Lemonade because what says summer more than lemonade? I’m not really sure the origins of the name of this recipe but it’s definitely delicious. It’s sweet Moscato wine mixed with pink lemonade and 7Up. It’s sweet and bubbly and everything I look for in a drink. I love using frozen fruit in drinks like this because it keeps them nice and cold but doesn’t water them down.

Nicole made Red, White, and Blue Sangria - perfect for your Memorial Day barbecue!

One year ago: Banana Cake with Vanilla bean Frosting
Two years ago: Split Pea Hummus
Four years ago: Greek Celebration Bread
Five years ago: Mango Buffalo Wings

My husband and I clash when it comes to food sometimes. We both tend to go for things that we grew up eating. Like, the other day I was making egg-in-the-holes for the kids and he was all “Eww! What is that?!” Because apparently when his mom did the egg and toast thing, she mixed everything together in a cup and he thought my way was completely wrong.

Well years ago I made that Dorito taco salad with Catalina dressing that is so delicious and I was sure he would love it.  Because who doesn’t love a taco salad made with Doritos and a sweet dressing? He didn’t like it. Because it wasn’t the taco salad he grew up with. And I could’ve hit him.

Every once in a while I get a random craving for that salad so when I stumbled upon this chicken recipe that calls for Catalina dressing, I knew I had to make it. Hoping to quell that craving, I guess! Y’all know I’m a sucker for onion soup mix in recipes too so really, this was a win all around. Plus who doesn’t like to have pink chicken? As long as it’s fully-cooked pink chicken!

Definitely put some foil in your pan before you make it. All the sugar in the dressing and preserves burn after awhile and really makes clean-up a pain. I learned the hard way.

One year ago: Marbled Chocolate Brioche
Two years ago: PB&J Cookies
Five years ago: Israeli Couscous with Pistachios and Apricots

Remember how I went shopping at The Home Depot and bought a bunch of beautiful herbs and then told you I was keeping them inside until the cold weather finally passed us? I actually managed to keep them alive and they were big and healthy and loving life. Well, it kept snowing and kept snowing – I swear we had more snow in the past month than we had all winter. Eventually the herbs did make their way outside and I planted them without any help from my husband so they weren’t exactly beautiful but they were planted. And they lasted approximately 2 days outside before this happened:

She was all “#digin? Don’t mind if I do!”

The funny thing is that my husband and I previously had more than one conversation about how he didn’t trust her to stay away from the herbs and I kept saying “Psssh, she’s a DOG! She’s not going to eat lavender!” I was so wrong. After she was done destroying everything, she ate every herb she could find.

So it was back to Home Depot for me.

They didn’t have the huge selection they had last time but I got most of the herbs I use on a regular basis: cilantro, mint, thyme, parsley, chives, sage, cilantro, and a couple kinds of basil.

I came home and got them planted almost immediately. In the front yard so you-know-who can’t get to them!

We still had some potting soil leftover and plenty of slow-release organic fertilizer  so we should be good to go now. Our biggest issue when it comes to keeping these babies alive will be the sun. Since we’re at about 6,000 feet here, the sun is ridiculous and you can literally spend 5 minutes outside in the summer and smell like burnt skin. The herbs are on our porch now where they’ll get lots of shade in the mornings and then lots of sun in the afternoon so hopefully that keeps them alive and growing.

It’s home improvement time, and The Home Depot has everything you need to #DigIn for Spring. No matter what projects you want to tackle, they have great values on all you need. They’re ready to help you with renovation ideas and expert advice, too.

Get over $300 in email exclusive savings each year, sneak peeks on new products, monthly lawn & garden ideas for your region and access to The Home Depot’s gardening experts. Click here to join the world’s largest garden community today! Or go to homedepot.com/gardenclub to see some of the many benefits of membership.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Home Depot.

Home Depot from amanda livesay on Vimeo.

Don’t let the name of this fool you, it’s definitely not healthy! But man, is it good!

I made this strawberry pretzel salad last week and my 3 year old kept asking me why it was red. After telling him over and over again that it was because it had strawberries in it, he told me that he wanted a purple one. With grapes. And grape jello.

And while I couldn’t stomach anymore jello (I hate the stuff!) I did find this recipe and I knew everyone would love it. It’s basically just grapes tossed in a “dressing” of cream cheese, sour cream, and sugar.  Then it’s topped with brown sugar and pecans. How can it be anything but delicious?

It would be perfect for all those outdoor get-togethers that we’ll all be heading to in the coming months!

One year ago: Fluffy Pancakes
Two years ago: Caramel Pecan Monkey Bread
Three years ago: Baked Hushpuppies
Five years ago: Chicken Piccata

One of my favorite things about summertime is picnics. Is there really anything better than climbing out of the (kiddie) pool and then eating a portable lunch on the warm ground? Blanket underneath, ice cold drinks in hand, and the kids shoving their food in their mouths so fast so that they can get back to playing? I took my kids and a bag of Kettle Brand Chips on a picnic to the park recently. Do not worry though, there were sandwiches involved too! I am absolutely obsessed with sandwiches on bagels – bagelwiches if you will – and they are just perfect for a picnic because they don’t get soggy like regular bread does. On my bagelwich, I piled lettuce, tomato, cheese, bacon, and avocado. Simple but fresh flavors with just a teeny bit of mayo spread on it. We chose to take a bag of Kettle Brand Chips Salt and Vinegar Chips with us because they are one of our favorites and they pair perfectly with simple sandwiches. They have the perfect balance of zesty sea salt, tongue-puckering vinegar and that signature Kettle Brand Chips crunch. Salt and vinegar are one of the only flavors that everyone in my house agrees on! Kettle Brand Chips have been making great-tasting, all-natural chips since 1982. They use real, unpeeled potatoes in small batches to achieve a superior taste and their signature crunch. Kettle Brand Chips uses no trans fat, no MSG, no artificial colors or flavors, and definitely don’t have a long list of ingredients that you can’t pronounce! They are also the first potato chip brand verified as using non-GMO ingredients by the Non-GMO project. But back to our picnic! We are incredibly lucky to be in an area that has tons of outdoor picnic areas so that’s where we headed after getting our picnic packed. We had sandwiches, the bag of Kettle Brand Chips, drinks for all, and some light jackets just in case. You really don’t need much else for a great picnic. My kids absolutely love being able to eat outside and then run off all their energy when they are finished. So now I want to know what you include in your picnic basket! 

We’re giving away a $100 Visa gift card to one lucky reader! To enter for your chance to win, simply leave a comment answering the question, “What do you include in your picnic basket?”

Rules:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
b) Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the 
following unique term in your tweet message: “”#SweepstakesEntry”"; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post”
c) Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 5/20 – 7/3.
Be sure to visit the Kettle Brand Chips brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!

Can you tell that I really love margaritas? I know tequila is really a love or hate thing and I definitely love it. My husband, on the other hand, gags at the very smell of it. More margarita for me!

We decided to focus on limes this week which, of course, made me automatically think of margaritas. And grapefruit is super cheap right now so this was the perfect time to finally try a grapefruit margarita! I’ve been wanting to make the forever but even though I love grapefruit, I was worried they would just be too tart. The ruby red grapefruits are actually really sweet though and this drink doesn’t even require a simple syrup which means there’s hardly any prep involved in these. You just have to squeeze the fruit and then stir it all together in a big pitcher.

They are so yummy and so easy to drink more than you actually mean to. Whoops! I’ll definitely be making these throughout the summer!

Nicole made a really fun Brazilian Lemonade that involved blending whole limes and calls for one of my favorite ingredients: sweetened condensed milk!

One year ago: Coconut Lemon Bars
Two years ago: French Dip
Three years ago: Gummy Candy
Four years ago: Anadama
Five years ago: Cinnabon Knock-Offs

In the months prior to my husband’s deployment last year, we were obsessed with Fritos. So obsessed that when we got our first major snowstorm since moving to Colorado, my husband was so desperate for some that he braved the roads. And then came back home approximately 3 minutes later after doing a 360 trying to get out of the driveway.

We have defeated our Fritos addiction for the most part but the moment I saw these sloppy joes with Fritos on top, I knew I had to make them. Sloppy joes aren’t really something I love but seriously, Fritos! They turned out better than I anticipated – super flavorful, just the right amount of smokiness, and the Fritos add the perfect crunch to the sandwich. There were zero complaints about this one!

These are perfect for a weeknight meal because they really took no time to cook up. And I bet most of the ingredients are things you already have on hand! Just make them. And when your husband looks at you like you’re an idiot when you tell him he can’t eat the Fritos because they’re for sloppy joes, just tell him to shut up.

One year ago: Thai Turkey Burgers with Peanut Sauce
Two years ago: Sticky Fingers Bars
Three years ago: Pecan Brownies
Five years ago: Fig Bars

It seems like it’s been forever since I’ve blogged about something doughy. I’m really weird about blogging and sometimes start to think that I’ve blogged everything there is to possibly blog about. Which is silly because there’s an endless supply of recipes and ideas out there.

So today I’m sharing something I’ve never blogged, never made, and never even eaten before now! I was always kind of confused about stromboli because it seems like every time I see it at a restaurant it looks just like a calzone – folded over pizza dough with stuff inside. But as it turns out, a stromboli is actually rolled up, cinnamon roll style, once it’s stuffed with your choice of toppings. This one is only cheese (smoked gruyere!) but you can pretty much add anything you want. Meat, different cheeses, and veggies.

This dough recipe from Red Star Yeast is pretty fantastic. It’s light and airy and the perfect compliment to all the cheese. I’m a big believer in waiting for a bread to cool completely before cutting for the best texture but with something like this, you just gotta cut into it as soon as it comes out of the oven and the bread doesn’t suffer at all for it.

I’m still obsessed with Platinum yeast and if you haven’t given it a try yet, you absolutely must. It makes baking with yeast completely foolproof! I was able to skip the first step of the recipe (softening the yeast) thanks to the magic of Platinum.

One year ago: Provencal Olive Fougasse
Two years ago: Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread
Three years ago: Pink Lemonade Cupcakes
Four years ago: Walnut Sticky Buns

This post sponsored by Red Star Yeast. 

One of the great things that The Home Depot does is their Kids Workshop. They host a workshop for the tiny ones on the first Saturday of every month – you can check the schedule here, just click the “Kids Workshop” tab up top. The workshops are a lot of fun for both kids and parents and did I mention it is completely free? We did a Kids Workshop almost every month while my husband was deployed – it was really nice to have something to do that didn’t cost anything and kept the kids occupied for awhile.

May’s Kids Workshop was a kids herb planter! How fitting, right? We are growing a huge amount of herbs at home right now so my kids were extra excited to find out they would build their own.

We got their as soon as they started and there was already quite a lot a people. My two older boys (the baby isn’t big enough for the workshops yet, unfortunately) each grabbed a yet-to-be-built planter, a couple cups to plants their herbs, and a screwdriver. Yep, another great thing about the Kids Workshops is that they usually don’t require anything more than a screwdriver or a tiny hammer. We already had Home Depot aprons but the store does provide them to any kid that participates.

Once they assembled their planters (with a little help from mom) they moved on to painting which was probably their favorite part. Both boys were paint crazy and we ended up with a couple very brightly colored planters. While we let the planters dry, we ran into Home Depot so the boys could pick out some herbs to plant. The oldest picked dill and rosemary and my purple lover picked lavender and purple basil. We got them all planted when we got home and the boys have been diligently watering them. Hopefully we get them to actually grow a little!

And of course I couldn’t leave Home Depot without buying some pretty flowers!

In my next post I’ll be telling you why we had to go back to Home Depot for more herbs for the big herb planter. Someone in the house took the #digin hashtag a little too literally!

It’s home improvement time, and The Home Depot has everything you need to #DigIn for Spring. No matter what projects you want to tackle, they have great values on all you need. They’re ready to help you with renovation ideas and expert advice, too.

Get over $300 in email exclusive savings each year, sneak peeks on new products, monthly lawn & garden ideas for your region and access to The Home Depot’s gardening experts. Click here to join the world’s largest garden community today! Or go to homedepot.com/gardenclub to see some of the many benefits of membership.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Home Depot.