Burlap Curtain

My husband and I are redoing our kitchen in our cabin in the mountains. I have been looking at curtains for weeks and have gone back and forth about them. I really liked this cute little strawberry curtain and thought it would go perfect with my colors. All my friends hated it, but I loved it so I was about to pull the trigger and buy it and then I decided it wouldn't really match out pot rack we made out of an old vintage sled. So basically I was back to the drawing board. 

While I was at Home Depot one night I just decided I would make my own out of burlap. We went to the gardening section and bought a HUGE roll of burlap for $12. Then we went to Wal-Mart and I bought some lace, stitch witchery, and a tension rod. 

Thankfully the width of the burlap was exactly what I needed for the size of the window. I rolled out a piece that was double the length and hemmed both ends with the stitch witchery. I laid that over the tension rod and tied it together in the middle with the lace. 

I felt like it just wasn't enough so I decided to make a valance. I measured how long I wanted the valance and rolled out double that. I only hemmed one end since the other wouldn't show. I just laid it right over the curtain. Now when I untie the curtain to close it, it looks much better with the valance. 

The curtain ended up coming to less than $9. I used less than a 4th of the burlap roll so I can use it for other projects (I see placemats in my future). I have a ton of lace and stitch witchery left. Really the biggest cost was the $4 tension rod for Wal-Mart! 

This is an awful picture from my phone, but you get the idea! Nothing fancy, but it;s what I wanted! 

Alaskan Vacation

A friend of mine is going on an Alaskan Cruise in a couple of weeks and asked me to give her some advice. I didn't really have much to offer up since our trip was a little different than the normal cruise, but one of the best vacations I have EVER been on! 

We flew into Anchorage and rented an RV for 10 days. Best decision ever! We basically made our way around the Kenai Peninsula. Sometimes we stayed at campsites, but most of the time we literally stopped off on the side of the road and went to sleep. We had no plans and no agenda. The major towns we hit were Seward, Homer, Kenai, and Wittier. Of course there were lots of little stops along the way. We didn't really eat out much because we bought a ton of fresh salmon and halibut to cook in the RV.

The first night we were there we stayed in Anchorage. We ate at a place called Simon and Seaforts. It was very good. Of course I had to get the Alaskan King Crab Legs and they were amazing! The next morning before we picked up our RV we took a flight tour with Rust's Tours over Denali National Park and Mt. McKinley. This was WELL worth the money. The views were breathtaking and you could only get them from a flight. I HIGHLY recommend this if you are ever in Anchorage. 

We saw more bald eagles than I have ever seen in my life. We saw black bear walking across the street in front of us. At one point a momma moose and her baby ran beside our RV for at least 2 miles. The wildlife up there is incredible. It was one of my favorite parts of the trip. 

Our first point of interest was Portage Glacier. The river that ran along the road to this glacier was aqua blue and AMAZING! You can't tell in the pic below because it's a sunset shot....you have to see it for yourself! :) 

Our next big stop was at Exit Glacier on the way to Seward. It was HUGE and gorgeous! 

We did a lot of fishing. Mike was more excited about that than anything. It wasn't salmon season yet, but we still had a ton of fun! We fished at Homer Spit, Kenai River, Kasilof River, Skilak Lake. And probably others that I am forgetting! 

There are a couple of lakes we passed that stick out in my head. One is Kenai Lake. This lake was a color green I had never seen. It was breathtaking. There was an amazing restaurant on it called Kingfisher Roadhouse. I had a mushroom tart there that I will never forget. It was one of the best meals I have ever had. The other lake was Skilak Lake. This lake is from the runoff of a glacier so it is cold and aqua blue. We were able to pull our RV right up to it. It was the best campsite I have ever laid my eyes on. 

Another stop was in a little town called Whittier. It was a cute little place right on the Prince Edward Sound with a population of 177. To get there you have drive through a tunnel that is 13,300 feet long. It's also a railway tunnel so the light tells you when you can go. We just walked around and ate reindeer sausages. It was nice! 

This was truly one of the best vacations I have ever gone on. The fact that we had no plans and just stopped when we wanted was great. Since the sun never sets up there you can pretty much have any schedule you want. If you have never been to Alaska, it's a must! 

Clean Watermelon Salad

There is nothing I love more than watermelon in the summer! I like to have it in the refrigerator at all times. It's so refreshing and is a cure for the sweet tooth when it rears it's ugly head ;)

I had quite a bit of watermelon that was going to go bad so I decided to make a quick salad as a side item to some grilled chicken.

Clean Watermelon Salad

2 cups of arugula
1 cup of cubed watermelon
1/2 cup of fat free feta
1/4 cup of chopped fresh mint

I drizzled the whole thing with some balsamic vinegar and added a little fresh ground pepper.

Clean and Low-Carb Salmon Patty

I LOVE salmon patties. When I was 18, before I moved to the Virgin Islands, my mom asked me what I wanted my last meal at home to be. I chose a salmon patty, mashed potatoes, and green peas. YUMMY!!! 

I have made clean salmon patties before with Ezekiel bread crumbs, but lately I have been trying to eat clean and lower carb (not atkins, 90 carbs a day). So, I decided to try putting almond flour in my mix and they turned out great. It's really the most simple recipe ever. 

I put my patty on some field greens with a little goat cheese and some crunched up pecans to give it some crunch. Since my husband isn't doing low carb or eating as clean as I am, I split his patty in two and made him little sliders on some Hawaiian sweet rolls with some garlic stone ground mustard. His exact words were "I want this on our menu once a week!". Good enough for me!

Clean and Low-Carb Salmon Patties (Makes 2 large, or 4 small)
1 2.5oz package of salmon (found in the canned tuna aisle)
1/4 cup and 1 tbsp of Almond Flour
1 egg
1 crushed garlic glove
a dash of salt and pepper
a dash of Mrs. Dash in whatever flavor you want

Mix all ingredients together. Form your patties and place on a nonstick skillet on med heat. Cook each side about 5-6 minutes...until golden brown.

Destin, FL Travel Picks

I love to travel, but for some reason I have not really talked a lot about my travels on this blog. I decided I was going to start adding some places I have been and suggestions for those areas. My first one is Destin because my girlfriends are going there with their family this weekend and it was on my mind. I don't have many pictures, but I will add what I found on my phone!

My all time favorite meal I have ever eaten is in Santa Rosa at a place called Stinky's Fish Camp. Their shrimp and grits are to die for. I NEVER miss out on going there!

Another place I never miss out on are the food trucks in Seaside. I love the grilled cheese one, but I have eaten at all of them and they are all wonderful. It's just a fun atmosphere. 

The Donut Hole is a great place for breakfast or to pick up a YUMMY keylime pie. They are pretty busy, but open 24 hours a day. 

The Back Porch is also a favorite of mine. It's not because the food is outstanding, but because it has a great view, great drinks, and a great atmosphere. It has the perfect "Destin" feel.

The Harborwalk Marina is a great place to take the kids. So much fun stuff to do out there. 

If you want some fresh seafood to take back to your condo, Sexton's Seafood Market is awesome! 

If there is a night you want to stay in and eat pizza, Merlin's is the place to order it from!

If you want a fun night out at a cool bar, head to the Red Bar at Grayton Beach. 

And last, but not least....just drive slowly down 30a all the way to Alys Beach. It's a beautiful drive that I never get enough of.

Ok, now I want to go to Destin! I have been 4 times in the last 3 years and I am ready to go again! 

Clean Mexican Salmon Salad

This is something I literally threw together on my lunch break. I added it to an avocado, but you could also use it as a dip with tortilla chips. 

Clean Mexican Salmon Salad
1 package of Wild Caught Salmon (From the canned tuna aisle)
1/2 cup of FF greek yogurt
1/4 cup black beans
1/4 cup thawed frozen corn
1/4 cup of chopped cilantro
1/4 cup of FF Feta Cheese
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp of chili powder
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and you are done! 

I scooped out a little bit of a half of an avocado, added that to the mixture and stirred it up until blended. Then I put about 3/4 cup of the mixture in the avocado and cooked it on a cookie sheet on 350 for about 15 minutes. It was great that way! 

Things you could add that I didn't.....

Diced Tomatoes

Green Chilies 

Diced Onions 

Cayanne Pepper

Diced Bell Peppers 

Clean Summer Salad

I love summer salads. There is something about fruit, nuts, and stinky cheese that gets me! This is one of my favorites! Enjoy! 

Clean Summer Salad
Field greens
Grilled chicken
Sliced strawberries
Diced granny smith apples
Pecans
Low fat gorgonzola
Clean Honey Vinaigrette