Guacamole Recipe

In honor of the unofficial start of summer being today (Memorial Day) I thought I'd share one of my families favorite summertime recipes.

We initially got this Guacamole recipe from a friend of the family but have since tweaked it a little and have perfected the art of avocado chip dips.

Here's what you'll need:

3 Ripe Avocado's
Juice of 1 lime
2/3 of a 8 oz. package cream cheese
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon flour
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup hot picante sauce

Start by putting your cream cheese in a 2 quart bowl that you can mix in. Then scoop out the innards of your avocados and squeeze the living daylights out of your lime.

After you've done that you want to add your salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, flour, and onion powder.

Now it's time to mix! Mix until it's a smooth creamy consistency and there aren't many chunks.

Next you want to add your picante sauce and red onion. No mixer is needed for this part, simply fold it into your dip with a spatula or spoon.

Now that you've mixed that in you should taste it.

Is it salty enough?
Enough spice?
More onion?

Decide how you like it and add certain things to taste. I usually add more picante and cayenne so it's spicier and a little more onion so there is more chunks in the dip.

Serve and enjoy on a hot summer day!

*Note: You probably don't want to make this dip until the day you are serving it as it doesn't keep for long and can take on a weird coloring. If you have dip left over you can keep it in a super airtight container for maybe 1 or 2 days afterwards in the refrigerator.

Now I still have my entire memorial day ahead of me, I'll keep in touch!

xo

Turtle Beach

Nothing says Memorial Day weekend in Florida more than... tourists.

(I can say that now, I'm a local by default... *hair flip*)

Just kidding, kind of. The beaches have been so busy it's like a sea of umbrellas and suntan lotion.

So in hope of escaping the weekend warriors we set out to a more remote part of Turtle Beach. There is no road to this section of beach, you can only reach it by boat or walking.

So we packed up the kayaks with our beach gear and a cooler full of drinks and snacks and set forth into the mangroves! Here's what we found.

It was positively deserted until about 11:30/Noon and then there were quite a few camp sites scattered around. 

My dad fished, unsuccessfully, and mom and I walked the beach to collect shells.

Then all of a sudden... wait... is that a picnic table? Is that Steven King's picnic table and the roof of his house?

Yup. 

After gawking a little we headed back. We decided to take the gulf back to the car instead of the bay which just about gave me heat stroke, it's been so hot here.

So I'm going to try and stay out of the sun for a bit, maybe a couple days but I'll be back on my tanning A-game in no time I'm sure.

After freshening up we picked up the rest of the family at the airport and came home to have a family dinner. I was trying to make myself feel more normal instead of sun-sick so I wore this little get-up. However, it didn't help and I resorted back to yoga pants once I got home. Cute though huh?

Very Floridian.

Similar Top

Skirt

Similar Bangle

Till next time.

xo

Fort De Soto

By now you should all know that I have officially graduated (!) and have since taken a trip down to Florida for a little break before I enter the real world.

Graduation was normal. Boring and long but a right of passage that I wanted to sit through none the less. I got to put on the goofy cap and gown and tremble with my friends when the procession music started to play because we all couldn't believe it was actually happening. There were some welling of eyes in the group but I don't think that anyone I knew actually cried. Here's some pictures from the day and the rest of the weekend with family including the new tattoo I got matching (kind of) with my sister. The word is Saudade, if you don't know what it means you can read about it here.

(ODELL Brewing company)

Then came the beginning of Florida

But that isn't what this post is supposed to be about. It's about my trip to Fort De Soto yesterday. It's located in Tierra Verde, FL and is in the top 25 beaches in the world by Trip Advisor.

It was nice and I'm glad I went but to be honest it was fairly boring. Just like most other national parks in the United States (personal opinion).

It was very clean and well kept. Many children scattered the North Beach but other than that there weren't too many people in the park, it was pretty quiet. 

After scouting out the beach we went to see the Fort.

I'm still confused as to why it is historical, other than it's old. My dad said it wasn't used for anything but to practice. It wasn't involved in a battle or anything. 

Any-who it was a procession of empty rooms and long corridors, very similar to the one I saw at Pensacola Beach, FL. Your voice echoed even with the slightest giggle and it seriously echo's when you get scared of pigeons and scream. 

Learned that the hard way.

The part I did find wonderful about the Fort was that you could go on top of it and got some amazing views of the water and the whole park. I'm not sure how well the views translated into photo's (there was a lot of foliage) so you'll maybe just have to take my word for it.

After seeing the fort we ventured over to East Beach and eventually ended up on the other side of the island where we took a break to fish and tan. My dad caught a pretty big Snook. 

All in all I'm glad I went but I'm not sure I would go through the process of driving an hour, finding change for toll bridges, and paying the entrance fee when Siesta Key Beach is about 5 minutes from where the house is AND higher ranked in the top 25 beaches in the world than Tierra Verde. And free.

If you're in the area check it out, it really is nice. However I'm pretty convinced that once you've seen one Fort you've seen them all.

I'll be in Florida for a while still so I'll keep you up to date on my adventures.

xo

May Flowers

Don't worry this won't be a long post. I just need to share what happened today.

You see, it's May 1st. Wouldn't you expect the whole April showers bring May flowers stuff?

Well guess what, ITS NOT HAPPENING.

What you expect to see on campus -

What you actually see on campus -

And what Holly and I did to make light of mother natures practical joke - 

If I have to turn my graduation dress into a graduation parka i'm going to be very upset.
STAHHHP!!

xx