Lemon Cake Balls

No dessert says "Summer Fun" better than lemon cake balls topped with colorful sprinkles! So grab your bored kiddos and whip up some of these easy treats. :)

Twice Baked Potatoes

Shelby has been making these awesome potatoes for years and I finally got him to measure some things so I could jot down the recipe! Everything can be adjusted to suit your personal tastes but this is a great starting point. They are even better when you do the second bake on a charcoal grill. The smoky flavor is amazing.

Orange Soda Cupcakes

Soda pop cupcakes were the first thing that Shelby ever cooked for me. We were still "just friends" at that point and he apparently had a huge crush on me so he may have been attempting to woo me with his mad baking skills. ;) If I remember correctly, he made them with Fufu Berry Jones Soda that night. 

After making these using a bunch of different flavors, we have decided that orange soda is our favorite. It has the most flavor and is something that you don't hear of everyday. You can use any flavor of pop that you like though and try mixing it with different cake flavors like chocolate cake mix with root beer.

Star Wars Mural

As I mentioned yesterday, Jer spent a few days with Mamaw and Pop at their farm and I decided to take advantage of the child-free time by working on his new room! When he came home I got to surprise him with his Star Wars mural: 

 

Even though he only got to enjoy his Superhero Room for about a month before we had to move, I decided to go with a different theme instead of just recreating the old room. He is obsessed with Star Wars (especially Darth Vader) and thanks to Papa's garage sale addiction, he already had a ton of toys to decorate with. 

Pizza Sandwiches

When I was younger, sandwich makers were really popular. We had a lot of fun filling them with different combinations like ham and cheese and my personal favorite: pizza toppings. The problem was that strip down the middle that was always hard and crunchy. I have also been trying to clean out my kitchen and get rid of any unnecessary gadgets that only have one specific use. So the other day I was hungry for a pizza sandwich and decided to make one using just a regular old skillet and it worked great!

Mr. Potato Head Planter

While trying to squeeze all of Jer's toys into his new room, I decided that it was time to downsize the Mr. Potato Head collection. So I started thinking about how we could use one in our new decor and it hit me that  he would make an adorable planter with crazy hair! 

South Seas Grog

This is another recipe that I created based on a favorite from a restaurant. The South Seas Grog was my favorite tiki drink from Psycho Suzi's Motor Lounge. Once again, it looks like this is no longer on the menu so I'm really glad that we came up with our own version! This drink is a great to sip while sitting out on the patio on a hot summer night. 

How To Replace Window Screens

One of the many things that needed to be fixed on this house were the window screens. Most of them only had a few small holes. But there were a couple that had such big holes and rips that we couldn't even open those windows because they would let too many bugs in. Luckily, this was an easy and fairly inexpensive project - about $25 to re-screen the entire house. 

Black Bean and Cheese Quesadillas

Quesadillas are one of my favorite foods for summertime. They are easy to throw together and don't require heating up the house by using the oven. This bean and cheese version is so full of flavor that even the most devout meat-eater will love it. :)

Sidewalk Paint

We had a short break from the heat wave so I decided it was time to try out the sidewalk paint that I have been seeing all over blogland. It was really easy to mix up and Jer had a lot of fun with it.

Fresh Strawberry Pie

This strawberry pie recipe came from my husband's family. We accidentally altered it once and we liked it even better so we kept the changes. It is a great retro treat on a hot summer night!