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Whipping ricotta in the food processor transforms it into an incredibly smooth, spreadable cheese—a blank canvas to be paired with any number of flavors and ingredients. To make it, place ¾ cup whole-milk ricotta cheese, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, and ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper in a food processor, then process until very smooth—1 to 2 minutes. That’s it! We recommend using whole-milk ricotta, which is creamier and richer than part-skim, making for a more luscious spread....

This color, known as “haint blue,” is associated with the Gullah Geechee people. These descendants of enslaved Africans in parts of Georgia and South Carolina have maintained a rich cultural heritage, and among their traditions was the belief that haint blue repels haints, or ghosts. The idea was that the color would trick haints into thinking the ceiling is either water or the sky. Haint blue was first used in Charleston during the early 1800s and continues to be popular today....

Some of my absolute favorite memories from growing up are from when I either went to my church summer camps or when my family went camping with friends! Then I had the chance to be in charge of organizing games and activities for a young women’s camp for 100 youth for four years in a row, so I was able to test out lots of different summer games! And let me tell you, these are definitely our favorites and a hit with kids and adults of all ages!...

Thanks to the Rutherford County Tourism Board for hosting me for this trip. While lodging, meals, and activities were provided complimentary for this trip, all opinions are 100% honest and my own. Fun Things to Do in Lake Lure NC Before my visit to Lake Lure NC, I honestly had no idea it even existed, which is sad because I am a pretty big Dirty Dancing fan and Lake Lure is a huge Dirty Dancing hotspot!...

Easy Oscar Party Ideas I love everything about the Oscars. The gorgeous dresses. The hosts. The surprise of who will win. I love it all. And I’m excited to finally see a traditional Academy Awards after a couple of years of not so normal ones. I loved putting together this collection of amazing Oscar party ideas you can use for your next Oscar party! There’s everything you could need from Oscar party games to food!...

The summer is all about the outdoors! Invite your friends and entire family over for the ultimate summer backyard bash for Memorial Day, 4th of July, or any of the days in between. There are so many different ways you could do this, but I’ve put together some of my absolute favorite recipes, activities, and decorations to help make it easy to host and make sure everyone has a fun time!...

An Avengers Party My family is a little superhero obsessed, so you can probably imagine how many Avengers parties I’ve hosted in my lifetime. Movie nights, pre-movie release parties, just want to get together with friends Avengers parties – you name it, and I’ve probably done it. When the original The Avengers came out in theaters my family went and watched the full movie marathon on Thursday night leading up toThe Avengers movie at midnight....

These foam dinosaurs are one of the easiest dinosaur craft ideas for kids, perfect for an afternoon playdate, preschool, or just a kid who loves dinosaurs! It’s time for another edition of #MakeItFunCrafts and this month our challenge was using FloraCraft® Make It: Fun® Foam Eggs to create a kids craft. Since my two-year-old is absolutely obsessed with dinosaurs these days, we decided to turn our eggs into fun foam dinosaurs....

There are some foods that are just nostalgic because we grew up eating them. Things like pizza rolls, spaghetti-os, and grilled cheese come to mind for me immediately. That and of course my still favorites pizza loaf and striped delight. And then there are the nostalgic treats that everyone loves so much – moon pies (this homemade moon pie recipe is way better), Little Debbie snack cakes of pretty much every kind, and of course Dunkaroos....

If you gave me a choice of a treat – so we’re not talking about a dessert like pumpkin delight or pumpkin crunch cake, but more a cookie or a bar – I would choose a homemade rice krispy treat every single time. Homemade rice krispie treats are my weakness. When they’re good – the ones that are soft and a little gooey – rice krispy cereal treats are so good....

While this post is sponsored by Perdue Farms, all ideas and opinions are 100% honest and my own. This post also contains affiliate links. If you purchase via these links, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Homemade Ham Fried Rice Recipe I love a good fried rice whether it’s at a Japanese Teppanyaki restaurant or at home from my own stovetop. I think the thing I love most about fried rice is that it’s so easy to make....

One of my favorite things back in the day was getting a candy gram. I thought they were so ridiculously clever and honestly, I used them as the basis for many of my young women camp handouts. I mean who doesn’t love getting candy? Because most guys love a box of candy, this DIY balloon candy gram makes the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for him! Or her. For Valentine’s Day this year, I decided to take it one step further and combine two of my favorite things – candy grams and balloons – to make the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for him!...

I’m in full on Thanksgiving mood over here these days if you couldn’t tell by the Thanksgiving coloring pages and Thanksgiving rice krispie treats I already posted this week. And I’ll apologize now if you aren’t a Thanksgiving person because they are going to keep on coming over the next few weeks. I’m just a bit behind this year and have all sorts of fun Thanksgiving games left to share!...

My family and I recently returned from a trip to Universal Studios Resort in Orlando, two trips actually. During the first trip, we stayed at Loews Portofino Bay Hotel and spent the weekend exploring all of the great things to do with young kids at Universal Studios Orlando. And on the second trip, we stayed at Loews Sapphire Falls, skipped the kid stuff, and did all of the thrills we could find....

I’m a total sucker for soft pretzel bites (also hard pretzel bites like these Grinch pretzel snacks but that’s beside the point). If I pass somewhere selling them at the mall, I always have to get a cup. Same thing at the airport. Thank goodness the Kansas City airport doesn’t have a pretzel place or I’d be eating them way too often! Luckily homemade soft pretzel bites are actually pretty easy to make....

Easy Peach Dessert I feel like there’s only a short time period when fresh peaches are the perfect and that time is right now. We recently got a bunch of fresh peaches from our local co-op, so I thought it was time to share this super easy peach cake recipe! It would be so good as a dessert after enjoying a little almond chicken or Instant Pot fettuccine Alfredo. You’ll love it because...

One of the things I love most about spring and summer are all the fruity, sweet, and bright flavors. Whether it’s a strawberry poke cake or pound cake with a little blueberry whipped cream, the naturally sweet flavors are just my favorite. This lemon poppy seed bread fits right into the spring with its beautiful yellow color, sweet and slightly tart flavor, and yummy lemon flavor! It would make a great addition to any a baby shower brunch menu, added to a table of sweets for teacher appreciation week, or just as a yummy Sunday breakfast....

I’m a huge fan of cream cheese danishes, especially when done right. I’m not talking about the ones that have been sitting forever in the Starbuck’s pastry case but fresh ones you’d find at a local bakery. These strawberry danishes remind me of the latter, and they’re simple enough that you can make them right at home in just a few minutes. Plus, they’re a great way to use fresh strawberries, I mean it is strawberry season or at least close to!...