GrillMates meets burger and veggies and tenderloin, and salad, and...#crowdtap #grillmates

 We had a birthday celebration in the afternoon and decided to take the party to the evening with some friends and the BBQ thanks to Crowdtap and Grill Mates.

I started off with 2 lbs of ground beef we recently purchased from a Washington Ranch. Added Grill Mates Brown Sugar and Bourbon BBQ Sauce and divided it up for burgers on the grill. It really was that easy and since this is very lean beef the sauce mixed it helped keep the patties together.  

I added a quick cabbage salad using olive oil and sesame ginger dressing and served the adults' with a frozen  margarita and the kids' with some simple grape juice.  A simple yet yummy BBQ dinner!

Part 2 of our Grill Mate experience was a little more detailed.

Beef Tenderloin with Memphis rub, zucchini with Bacon and Molasses seasoning and Baby potatoes with Olive Oil and Montreal Steakhouse Seasoning. 

I marinated the tenderloin steaks over night in the Memphis Rub
Seasoned the Zucchini with the Bacon and Molasses seasoning, and marinated the potatoes in olive oil and Montreal Steak seasoning all day.
Grilled to perfection and served a our family outside for a perfect evening!

Needless to say my boys are LOVING these GrillMates seasoning and the outdoor cooking just adds to the enjoyment. Bring on the fall grilling season! Yes we BBQ year round here at Unionvale Mom's Spot.

Thanks to Crowdtap and GrillMates for the amazing package of goodies I received including the various spices mentioned in this post. All other Food and Beverage items were purchased by this blogger and not compensated for.

I'm still here, I promise

I haven't abandoned the blog I promise. It is the harvest season and I am up to my ears in harvest and processing of fruits and veggies. I will post pictures and recipes and money saving things soon I promise. I have been asked to speak to a local MOPS group in September and decided I would write my talk via the blog so I hope to put together at least a couple posts covering realistic frugal living with coupons, bulk, local programs, etc..
What are you favorite money saving tips? I would love to hear from my readers some of their great ideas. Real people and real ideas, this isn't an extreme couponing event, this is an event for Moms of Preschoolers and if you fall into that category or have in the last 5 years you remember the challenges that come along with it. Also I want to know what kind of recipes you would like to see. I have several sets of photos saved to share recipes but don't want to waste your time.

Back to School in stylish Shoes at a discount

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Famous Footwear for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Famous Footwear has an amazing deal for the Back to School season: BOGO + 15% off Famous Footwear Coupon15% off plus Buy 1 Get 1 at 1/2 price. WIth sizes and style for the whole family , this is a great deal to put shoes on everyone's feet.  Between now and the 18th of this month you can print the coupon for 15% off your purchase and combine it with the current promotion of BOGO. I know with two little boys shoes add up fast plus Mommy could really use some new shoes so this promotion is an excellent value for me to consider. 

I also love the new FREE  Reward program they office, get 1 point for every dollar you spend in the store or online and redeem points for certificates for up to $100 a year which turns into FREE shoes. Bsides earning free shoes, you also receive discounts and other perks just for signging up. 

Famous Footwear has the latest styles as well as the traditional work, play , and activity shoes every family needs and with so many locations you won't have trouble finding a store near you or shop online and save as well. Online or in store Famous Footwear has you covered for fashion and family friendly shoes. 

2 boys plus Mom and maybe even Dad will be shopping Back to School Deals with our Famous Footwear location locally and checking out deals online before we head out to make the whole process that much easier. 

This time of year can cost families a lot of money, check out Famous Footwear's promotion of BOGO + 15% off Famous Footwear Coupon15% off plus BOGO and save your family some money while finding great shoes. 

 

 

Garden Fresh Dinner : Cabbage Bowls yes Please

I love summer for the garden fresh dinners I can create!
Tonight was a perfect mix of flavors and ease.
Grilled in aluminum foil these cabbage bowls where not only easy but full of flavor

I started with a medium head of cabbage cut in half. I peeled off a few layers carefully to create the bottom and top of the bowl. I filled the bottom of the "bowl" with chopped onion, zucchini, and tomato. Drizzled olive oil over the pile and sprinkled with herbs.

I placed the top of the bowl on and wrapped the aluminum foil around the bowl and placed it on a medium heat gas grill for about 20 minutes. 

I topped with some crumbled feta cheese and roasted garlic and enjoyed it for dinner

I will be making this again I'm sure especially since both Mike and I enjoyed it. Hope I have enough cabbage in the garden to keep up with the grilling. Happy Grilling!

Concours d Elegance 2012 weekend in review

I remember the first time Mike took me to a Concours event, we had been dating for a year or so and his sister was catering the event dinner and needed some extra help, so we worked that evening knowing we would be getting up the next morning to attend  the show. At the time I had no real idea how much energy it would take to attend the weekend. Well over the years I have been to quite a few of the shows including 2002 when I was very pregnant with our first son and it was almost 100’ in the shade and then 2005 when I was again very pregnant with son#2 and it was crazy muggy.  In 2003 Mike began driving his truck as the “trouble truck” for the Vineyard and Lake car tour. He has driven all the tours and I ride along (on most of them). This year we did the Tour along with over 50 vintage cars including one of the cars Mike had in his shop 2years ago.

We visited Elk Cove Winery outside of Gaston Oregon and tasted a lovely Riesling from the vineyard while enjoying a nice variety of appetizers. After the nice tasting and light lunch we toured down to Haag Lake.  While many of the car owners road in the wooden boats  around the lake, Mike set up a vintage music collection on his sound system just outside the car trailer , and I took a nap in the back of the truck. After my nap, we followed the tour to Oregon’s Sakary just outside Forest Grove for tasting and the end of the tour celebration.  Thankfully Mike did not have to rescue anyone during the tour and we were able to join his family for dinner and prep for the next day’s activities.
This year’s Concours weekend was also my in-laws 50th wedding anniversary so we were really pushing to get it all done.  I couldn’t help set up the tables and chairs since my shoulder strength hasn’t fully returned so I joined my sister-in-law to prep food. Note to self (sometimes it is easier to hire a caterer)
Mike and I had made arrangements to leave the boys at my parents’ house overnight so we returned home to a quiet but very warm house. 
The next morning we decided to go to church and lunch before heading over to the show with a plan to pick up the boys on the way to the Anniversary party.  We enjoyed the show, especially since one of my favorite cars was in attendance.

This 1935 Cadillac is one of my favorite Cadillacs. The lines, the reflections in the paint, and the original interior.  Pat and Pat Brothers are good friends and run an auction company Pat n’ Pat where they put together amazing fundraising auctions all over. They also race in the Great Race to raise money for Autism research. They are just great people and fun to be around. They also received 2 awards this year with this car. They received a 1st in class as well as the Larry DeRoux award.
Mike and I enjoyed watching the awards ceremony which we don’t normally do. This year it was extra special because Mike knew one of the guys running sound for the event,so he sat and visited with him while we watched the awards ceremony (waiting to see the 1935 Cadillac go across the stage).
After the show we headed to pick up the boys and get to the Anniversary party.

The cake table included their wedding album along with a simply elegant cake from Perfection Bakery and my Mother-in-laws wedding veil.

I had my first large scale experience with setting up cheese trays and adding touches to cheeses. We rolled goat cheese in course black pepper  and another goat cheese in raisins. Both added an elegance to something as simple as Goat Cheese.

I know there are very few family pictures of my husband’s family  so we didn’t miss an opportunity like this.

The weekend was a success although tired we had a great weekend.

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DIY Hat and Hair decoration thanks to Dollar Tree

Getting ready to go out can sometimes mean taking it to the next level. Recently I attending a car tour with my husband and decided to wear my favorite dress. I needed some accessories though. I decided to wear my straw hat , but I really didn’t think the flowers on it matched the dress much less anything in my wardrobe.  So I hit the local Dollar Tree and picked up a couple of bunches of orange and white flowers, a headband , and some ribbons. I spent $5 and ended up with extras after the fact.

Anyway, here is my quick hat fix and headband

1 roll of grossgrain ribbon is usually more than $1 so I was happy to find 5/8” ribbon in white.

1 very plain straw hat, I removed the old blue and ivory bud flowers

My hot  glue gun doesn’t see near as much time as it use to but sure comes in handy when I need to do something quick.

I lined the end of the ribbon up on the patch where the previous flowers were to cover up the left over bits.

I placed the first flower and worked out from there.

I added 3 more flowers in white and orange to balance it out.

The finished product. I love the over the top flowers on the simple straw hat.  Read through the rest of the article to see me in the hat.

Now, I knew I would have 2 events to attend the weekend I made the hat for so I decided to mix it up a bit and do simple headband while I was at it.

I  decided to go with an orange headband to keep it a little more subtle instead of the bright white.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I took 1 flower off its stem and flattened it the best I could, then a bit of hot glue and attached it to the headband.

A quick and easy  headband  and I’m ready to go. I like it simple and easy, and simple feminine touches can make such a difference.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Something old, well maybe not , just from the archives

I realized that I haven't been crafting alot lately, partially because my old office/ craft space is a disaster and partially because homeschooling 2 boys takes most of my time.  I need to get back to my scrapbooking and art journals. While searching  playing on pinterest today, I came across several Project Life posts and realized I could easily create myself a small portable space to craft again.
While I think about how I am going to set up and get organized on a budget of, well , $0 I thought I would share some of the fun scrapbook stuff from my previous blog.

All 3 of these are digital cards that I printed and added to my Scripture Scrapbook I honestly don't remember where I got the embellishments but they sure are simple.

I made this page using the Creative Memories Paisley punch and vellum printed on my inkjet printer. Can't recall which  Creative Memories paper pack this was from .

This was part of a digital kit page challenge back when I was on design teams. I don't remember who the designer was, but I do know I loved working with this kit. Nathan would have been 2 in these pictures, he will be 7 next month.

I hope to get back to creating again soon so I can share some more fun stuff with you all.