Vacation home

Thanks to Wm Rowe

My husband and I recently bought a vacation home on the lake a couple hours from where we live. We wanted to make sure it had all the conveniences of our everyday home so when we went there for the weekend or even for a month or two in the summer we would still feel at home. We set up our internet through http://www.wildbluedeals.com/ so that my husband could still work from the lake house. That way we could stay longer each time and not have to worry about rushing home so he could get to work. Most of the time when we are there, I spend a lot of time reading out on the dock in the sun. I love to be outdoors, and the second story of the dock is the perfect place since we furnished it with nice lounge chairs to hang out on. There is a covered area that we put in a stereo system so we can have music when we entertain. And there is even an area that has a great grill. It is almost like an outdoor kitchen. I would absolutely love to retire here one day.

Quick Cinnamon Rolls {from scratch}

Yesterday morning I got up early and made cinnamon rolls for my family for breakfast. Normally cinnamon rolls in our house come from a can. However, I found this great recipe HERE that is super easy, delicious and takes less than an hour! The recipe doesn't have any yeast so you don't have to let the dough rise.I've included the recipe below but I made a few changes to the glaze. The original recipe was extremely thin so it just soaked into the rolls. I like mine to be frosted. Next time I think I'll even try a cream cheese frosting for them. Yum!

 Above is what they looked like when they were finished.
And below is what they looked like after my family got ahold of them.

I'm telling you. They are yummy!

Quick Cinnamon Rolls

Dough

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup milk

Filling

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon

Glaze

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup milk (I would only add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you get the desired consistency)

Directions:

1. For the filling, in a small bowl combine softened butter, brown sugar and cinnamon to form a crumbly mixture
2. Sprinkle 1/2 of the mixture over the bottom of a 9x9 pan.
3. In a large bowl mix together the dry ingreidants (flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt).
4. Cut in softened butter (I used my hands).
5. Stir in milk to form a soft dough.
6. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick.
7. Spread the remaining filling on the rolled out dough.
8. Roll up the rectangle going across the short side so that you have a long log. With a sharp knife slice into 18 small rolls (12 if you want them a little bigger which is what I did).
9.  Bake for 20-25 min at 400°F.
10. For glaze, combine powdered sugar and milk in a small bowl and stir until smooth

   11. Once rolls are finished, drizzle on glaze and serve warm.

Enjoy!

30 Day Photography Challenge {day 8-11}

Day 8: A bad habit

My almost 3 year old tends to throw fits whenever he doesn't get his way. It's pretty pathetic.

Day 9: Someone you love

My incredible husband. He doesn't like having his picture taken and said "Why don't you just take one of the boys?" My response? "Because I take pictures of them all the time." Geesh.

Day 10: Childhood Memory

I kind of posted about this earlier, but this is my necklace that I wear pretty much all the time. When I was 4 years old I had a brain tumor and while I was in the hospital my dad called Bishop Gerber to come see me. The Bishop brought me this miraculous medal that had been blessed by the Pope. When I was little I was only allowed to wear it to church on Sundays. By 7th grade it was a daily accessory.

Day 11: Something Blue

Collin's car he got from the treasure box at school. He was very proud of himself for putting the stickers on all by himself.

Next up a sunset. Too bad you can't see it from our house because of the trees and other houses. That one might have to wait...

30 Day Photography Challenge {day 2-7}

Day 2: What you wore today

It was a lazy Friday (the 13th) so I wore sweats and my long sleeved WSU shirt. I always wear socks because my feet are always cold, and my necklace is an every day accessory. It was given to me by Bishop Gerber after I had a brain tumor removed when I was 4 and has been blessed by Pope John Paul II.

Day 3: Clouds

This challenge was difficult for me. From our house there isn't a lot of open sky, lots of trees in the way, and I don't have fancy camera lenses. I'll have to work on my cloud pictures in the future.

Day 4: Something Green

 a laundry basket





a wash rag

I had a hard time finding something green.

Day 5: From a high angle

little man all dressed for church

Day 6: From a low angle

 Like the drool all over his face? That is what a child who just enjoyed a cinnamon roll looks like.

This one doesn't show the angle as much, but I adore this picture. He had to have 2 puppies to snuggle with.

Day 7: Fruit

Tomorrow's challenge is to photograph a bad habit. I'm not sure wha I'll be taking a picture of yet.



edited

I submitted a phot of my boys to a blog for photo editing. You can view it here. She does link up parties every month to give people a chance to have a photo edited by her. Someday I'll be able to do it all by myself, but for now it was fun to see what someone else did with it.