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     No one reminded me that yesterday was Sister's Day!  I found out late in the evening!  It was one of my sister's wedding anniversary.  So, in honor of those two things, I thought I would re-post this popular account of our sister's retreat last year.  I've been hoping that we could do another on this year, but with the pandemic going on, I don't know if it will happen.  As I reviewed this post, it makes me hope it happens even more! 

     I have 4 wonderful sisters.  I love them all dearly and one thing I have wanted to do for a long time is go a sister's get-away with them.  Unfortunately, one of our sisters passed away unexpectedly a few years ago.  Since that time we have all felt a longing to hang onto each other a little more tightly.  So, when my sister Carol's children gave her a get-away trip with her sisters for her birthday, it was the perfect way to get us started at taking time to be with each other! THANKS CAROL'S KIDS!  
     The plans for this trip all came about very quickly, so it required some quick planning and organizing on all our parts to make it happen.  Our youngest sister wasn't able to make it happen this time and we really missed having her on the trip with us. But, the three of us that did go had so much fun that we have promised her that we will plan another trip a little farther in advance so that she can make arrangements in time. 
     Our trip was to a coastal town in California called Cayucos.  Our hotel was right on the beach!  It was amazing!  Since I live in Arizona, that meant a plane flight for me.  Here is how I made it happen as inexpensively as possible:

      We stayed at the Shoreline Inn in Cayucos.  The sliding back door of our room opened up to this gorgeous view of the ocean.  When they say shoreline, they mean it!  We were right on the beach and it was wonderful! 

    The first day that we were there, the weather was beautiful and we saw a large pod of dolphins!  The water was like glass, with only tiny, near to the shore waves and it was easy to see the dolphins jumping and swimming and enjoying themselves.  It was amazing!  Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me, so you will just have to trust me that it was a fantastic sight! 
      While we were there, we drove to neighboring areas of Morro Bay, Pismo Beach and Cambria.  The views were beautiful and we ate some wonderful seafood at various restaurants.  I was in heaven, eating salmon and shrimp! 

     As you can see in the picture above, on our 3rd day, the fog came in and the waves started getting higher, too. I found quite a few shells that were in perfect condition and this funny little picture in the sand, naturally formed by seaweed. 

     My sisters and I had a great time staying up late laughing, crying and talking.  It was a wonderful trip and I highly recommend to everyone that you take some time to spend with your sisters, or daughters or close friends.  It was a great way to relax, recharge and reconnect.  I can hardly wait to do it again! 

     Speaking of sisters, last year my sister gave us each this necklace to celebrate our sisterhood!  You can order similar ones at this website. 

     To read more about gifts that give twice, go to this post. 

     Here is another recipe that adds merit to the old saying, " Necessity is the mother of invention!"  
     I had purchased a produce box from my local produce guys.  There was a small package of quinoa inside.  I had never cooked quinoa except in packaged rice and quinoa mixes and the jury was out on how I liked it.  I know that it is a super food, very good for you.  So, I decided to see what I could do with it.  
      Of course, I searched the web to find out how to cook the quinoa in the best possible way.  I found the answer on Cookie and Kate! I was so pleased with the results when I followed their advice!  Before that, I had no idea that:  #1 Quinoa has to be rinsed or it will be bitter. #2  Quinoa should pop open into little tiny spirals! Look at my bamboo stirrer! 

     The results were spectacular, so if you want to try quinoa the way it is supposed to be cooked, go to their site! 

    To go with the quinoa, I decided to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs that I had.  I've read recently that chicken thighs are more healthy than the breasts!  I don't know if that is true, but I do like the serving size of the thigh and my husband like dark meat best.  
      I didn't want to do an oven baked chicken because of the summer heat, so I decided to try something on top of the stove.  I was so pleased that it came together so quickly!  I used the Crog Salt that I made and told you about on this post.  If you haven't made our own yet, I listed the ingredients separately in the recipe.  I also added thyme.  The tomato-chicken bullion is widely available in grocery stores.  My friend Neomi turned me on to it and now I use it in recipes frequently.    Here are a few tips to easily make this recipe: 

• Use 2 skillets to fit in all of the chicken, plus it makes it easier to get the sauce done in the end.  
• Be sure to cook your chicken without turning it for 5 to 6 minutes on a side.  When it is crisply cooked, it will release from the skillet easier.  I used cast iron for this recipe. 
• Simmer the sauce for a couple of minutes before add the chicken back into it.  Then add the chicken and let simmer a couple of minutes more. 

     It is as easy as that!  Spoon some of the sauce over the chicken and quinoa to serve!  My husband loved it and so did I!  I could hardly wait to tell you about it.  Here is the recipe, enjoy! 

​I have to tell you about my new vacuum! 

On Mother’s Day I received an Amazing gift card. I have held onto it trying to decide what would be the best thing to get with it. For a long time I’ve been on the hunt for a small hand vac that would be easy to carry to the car to clean messes and fit easily into the cupboard where I keep my toaster and crumbs tend to gather. It’s annoying to bring the whole vacuum into the kitchen for such a little thing. I remember my mom having a Dustbuster and my sister getting a toy one (that actually worked!) when she was little. I wanted something like that.

​Browsing Amazon one day I saw a special deal on a new model of a Bissell hands vacuum. It was only $30! A steal! Plus it was a brand I trust, Bissell is the same brand as my current vacuum, which I’ve had for 8 years and is still doing great!  I was hesitant because it only had 20 reviews but almost 5 stars. I decided to go ahead and get it because I love my Bissell big vacuum. 

​My little Bissell came and I love it!  I’ve already used it in the car and it looks so good. It came with an attachment that makes it easy to get into small crevices between seats. And into cup holders. It’s pretty powerful and easy to clean out the filter (which is washable). I also love it’s sleek design and that it charges with just a USB. 

I do wish that it could hold more stuff before needing to be cleaned out. But cleaning it out is so easy that it’s not that big of a deal. 

Safe to say I’m in love with my little vacuum. I think if you’re missing the days of a dustbuster you will love it too. 

And I want to add that I bought this with my own gift card and I’m not sponsored by Bissell. I just like their products. 

Other Posts About Products We Love! 
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    Last week I shared with you the contest we had to judge the best milkshake from fast food restaurants.  I shared a printable for keeping score, all on this post.  We decided it would be a lot of fun to do a similar activity with donuts!  When we did it, we used a similar scoring sheet, but after the competition, I tweaked it for you to include the 3 categories that seemed the most important for donut judging:  Taste, Texture and Enough Sprinkles! 

    For our competition, we ranked 3 different donuts from 3 different donut sellers, namely, Fry's (the Kroger store in our area), Rainbow Donuts and Bosa Donuts.  There are still many other choices to try, but these were where we started.  From each unwitting competitor we purchased a glazed, a chocolate and one specialty donut of any kind. In hindsight, we wish we would have agreed on the one special donut because it would have been easier to make a decision.  Then, I cut the donuts into equal pieces for everyone to try.  We had 8 people this time.  If you have more that that, you will want to get more donuts! 
    The funny thing about this activity was that the kids were so excited for it, but they got full donuts before we were finished trying them all.  So, you may want to limit your testing to just one type of donut, such as glazed, maple or chocolate, or Boston Cream!  Donuts do fill you up quickly.  It was also interesting to see what people preferred in texture.  Some love the airiness of donuts while others like them slightly more dense.  Some people like more glaze and others less.  The kids really only wanted to test the ones that had sprinkles!  I think that we have more testing to do!  It was a fun activity.  If you would like to try it with your family or friends, press the button below to get the pdf for the printable score sheet.  

    If you don't want to run out and buy donuts, you could try making some!  I know that there are all kinds of recipes out there for baked donuts, or ones you make from canned biscuit dough.  But, today I thought I would share a recipe for good old fashioned raised, yeasty, fried donuts that you can glaze or ice anyway you would like.  This recipe is small because people who only have 3 people in their house don't need a ton of donuts because face it, they aren't the healthiest things in the world.  But, a few on a Sunday morning, (or afternoon), can be a real treat. 

Small Batch Raised Donuts

Don't forget the sprinkles! 

Other Contest Ideas!