Larabar - Whole Food Energy

Hello! I realize it's been a week since my last post, but I have several things looming on the horizon that have captured my attention. Things like planning a graduation party and travelling to out of state soccer tournament's . Oh and I also decided to do C25K!  C25K has an App (who doesn't?) and I thought that would make things sooo much easier since it will tell me what to do and when to do it! I need a little push to get myself going and this is the perfect answer.
Anyway, have you tried Larabar's? They are a whole food energy bar that are quite tasty but I don't love the price! A buck a bar and I just saw them for $1.25 a bar! Outrageous and a little too pricey for my taste but I discovered a solution for that. I found a homemade version on Natural Health at Home's Whole Food Meal Plan that is fast, easy and delicious! Fast because it can be made in a food processor, easy because there is no cooking and delicious because it is soft and sweet and nutty! The other great thing is there are only two ingredients, dates and nuts. My kind of cooking! Ready for the recipe? I'll wait while you go get a pencil and paper.... :)

Homemade Larabar's

1 10oz. package of pitted dates
1 8oz. package of nuts (pecan, walnut or almond's. Your choice)

Place dates in food processor and pulse until it forms a ball. Break ball apart with a spoon and add nuts to date mixture. Process until the consistency of wet sand. Empty contents into a 8x8 baking dish. Cover with parchment paper and press contents down compacting until smooth. I used a small rolling pin. You can also place a plate on top and press down.  Leave parchment on top and refrigerate for 1 hour before cutting into squares.

The first batch I made I used pecan's. Today I used walnut's but you could use whatever you like. Almond's are also good. The great thing about these are the possibilities are endless. Throw in some chocolate chips at the last minute or even add dried cherries with the dates for a different taste. Or how 'bout some dried apples or coconut? Adding in a tablespoon of peanut butter or any nut butter will kick it up another notch. See what I mean? You are the master and you can create any combination of flavor's and tailor them to your own personal liking! So, get creative and go make yourself a whole food energy bar that doesn't break the bank!

Cinco De Mayo Summer Kick-off

Just two more days until Cinco de Mayo, so why not kick-off the summer season with a cool, refreshing margarita, a bowl full of cool, creamy, spicy guacamole and some crunchy chips?




Yell "Ole! "while donning that wide rimmed Mexican sombrero you bought on spring break and you'll have yourself a party! Invite the neighbor's, crank up tunes like "Tequila!", "La Bamba" or "Macarena" and you will have the perfect introduction to a summer full of celebrations!

Here is my no fail recipe for the perfect frozen margarita:


Restaurant Style Frozen Margarita

1 can frozen limeade
Tequila
Triple Sec or any orange flavored liquor
Ice
Course salt
Lime

Empty the frozen limeade into a blender and fill the limeade can half full with tequila. Add a quarter can full of Triple Sec followed with lots of ice and blend together. Rub the rim of a margarita glass with lime and dip into course salt. Fill glass with frozen margarita and garnish with a lime slice. Ole!

Parade of Porches

The cool windy weather around here has given me a little more time to prepare my front porch for the summer season. It needs a good cleaning and restaining the cedar floor is on my list of priorities to whip it into shape!

I really love the color of this stain on the Pottery Barn Chesapeake Collection of outdoor furniture. It is exactly the dark, rich color I envision on the porch floor.

Pottery Barn

 Well, guess what? Benjamin Moore now offers that exact color stain in their Arborcoat line of exterior stain products! You can't imagine how excited I was when I noticed it in the Pottery Barn catalog. I heard angels singing!

Benjamin Moore

So, off  I go to pay a little visit to Ben and bring a sample home! Keep your fingers crossed that it looks exactly like I picture it in my head!

In the meantime, onto the Parade of Porches!

Here is my list of essential elements for a great porch!

Rocking chairs

Southern Accents

Southern House Plans

google

A screen door.

google

Ferns

google

Flower baskets

google

Wicker furniture

camp1899.com

google

Southern Living

1844 Paxton House Inn

And no porch would be complete without a swinging daybed

Black and Bleu Designs

or a porch swing

camp1899.com

Shutters are another great element. Although technically not needed on a shaded porch, I love the depth and interest they add. Similar to adding  artwork to a blank wall.

susieharrisblog.com

Dress your porch with flag bunting for The Fourth of July!

google

flagandbanner.com

Dust off the cobwebs and get your porches ready! You'll be sipping sweet tea before you know it!

Serving Trays and a Style Crush

I have been inspired lately by the many uses of serving trays. They are more than just a place to pass drinks during a party. They can be used in any room of the house from the kitchen to the bathroom. They are a jack-of-all trades decorating tool and no one can style a tray better than Mary Carol Garrity of Nell Hill's!

I first came upon Mary Carol's style in her book Feather Your Nest. It was there that my style crush began! I absolutely fell in love with her decorating style and her use of everyday serving pieces to create jaw dropping vignette's. Lucky for me, she has a Facebook account where I can get my fix of all things Nell Hill!

The base for many of her vignette's are tray's of all sizes shapes and textures.

Here she uses both a silver tray and a rustic wicker tray in a place setting.

http://thestonerabbit.typepad.com/the_stone_rabbit/

In her home she uses a large silver tray on a coffee table to create a pretty vignette with books, a wooden box and small dishes. By corralling everything onto a tray there is still plenty of space on the table for a guest to place a drink.

Nell Hill's

A sideboard is used to create a makeshift bar for entertaining. A wooden tray is used to hold bottles of wine.

http://briarcliffvillagekc.com/shop/nell-hills-holiday-hints-dress-up-your-drink-tables/

Bathrooms are another area where a tray can come in as a handy decorating tool. Bath salts and oil's in pretty glass container's, rolls of fresh white towels, fresh flower's and a pretty candelabra on a silver tray create a relaxing oasis.

Nell Hill's

http://briarcliffvillagekc.com/shop/nell-hill%E2%80%99s-new-year%E2%80%99s-decorating-resolutions/

A tray is used as a flat surface to hold glasses transforming this tufted ottoman into a coffee table.

inthetweeds.com

Tiered trays are great to hold many items at once. A tiered tray is used to hold essentials such as salt, pepper, sugar and cream in the kitchen or on a coffee and dessert bar.

https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=456778201234&set=a.456778006234.253732.139731846234&type=3&theater

Style at Home by Mary Carol Garrity

https://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.457360471234.253954.139731846234&type=3

Again, more than one tray is used in this vignette. In the living room, a tiered porcelain tray placed on top of a black tole serving tray showcases a pretty collection of antique pill boxes.

http://dorascottage.blogspot.com/2011_10_23_archive.html

One of my favorite ways Mary Carol uses a tray is in her foyer on the staircase! Here a silver tray is used as the base for a large candelabra creating a warm and welcoming entryway!

https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=456779856234&set=a.456778006234.253732.139731846234&type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nell-Hills/139731846234?sk=photos#!/photo.php?fbid=10150293758611235&set=a.10150293757051235.345941.139731846234&type=3&theater

I tried to copy the above look in my foyer one Christmas, but soon realized that a tray balanced precariously at the foot of the stairs and four kids do not mix!

But I can dream! And I dream one day of going to Kansas City to visit her flagship store Nell Hill's and tour her beautiful home during her tri annual Open House.

Have you been to Nell Hill's?

Mantel Monday ~ Spring Edition!

Recently, I showed you my mantel all decked out for spring in this post. Well, I couldn't leave well enough alone, so I moved things around a little to make way for my chicken feeder dressed for Easter.



Please excuse the ugly watermark. I was trying something different in preparation for the closing of Picnik and I made a BIG mistake I can't seem to undo!

Please enjoy the pictures anyway!















I moved the blue and white that was on my mantel to the console.














Out came the cloche and a nest along with my ornament tree and mercury glass Easter eggs.






Are you busy feathering your nest?

View this post to see how the chicken feeder looked in the Fall!


Come see all the spring goodness at:

Savvy Southern Style - WOW Us Wednesdays