Author: Tammy Litke

I don’t get out to the spa much…oh who am I kidding, I don’t get out to the spa at all.  The last time I stepped foot in one was six years ago.  If you’re a mom with younger kids and a tight budget, you know how it is.  By the time every one else is looked after in the family – there’s nothing leftover for you to splurge a bit on yourself!

We don’t seek out gluten-free products to eat in our home, but I do buy some occasionally.  Sometimes it’s just because we like the taste of the product, other times it’s because we’re entertaining guests that eat exclusively gluten-free.  In light of that I like to try new to me gluten-free products so I have a variety of ideas on what to serve when bringing snacks or treats or making meals for my friends.

Last week I got the chance to cross another item off my bucket list.  Stomping grapes.  The evening couldn’t have been more perfect.  Great Friends, Great Weather and Great Wine.  Without a doubt it was a trifecta.

Let me back up a bit.  Last Friday afternoon, my friend Dawn from The Frugal Mom, asked me if I’d like to go with her to the Moonlight Harvest Festival at Messina Hof Winery in Bryan, TX.  Well..duh!  Of course I wanted to go.

A while ago I saw an advertisement in a magazine for a book release.  It was one of the books in the Debbie Macomber series Cedar Cove.  I had never heard of it before and had not read any of them, but the cover looked interesting as did the synopsis.  I decided to borrow the first book in the series from our library and liked it a lot.  When I went to borrow the second book, I had to be put on the hold list because there was a wait for it.  And then I found out the reason why…because Cedar Cove was coming to TV.

Flip-flops have proven time and again to be a fad-less fashion trend that’s here to stay. It’s an incredible feet (ha ha!), to be sure!

You’ve seen that I’ve written about the importance of keeping an open dialogue and talking about underage drinking with my teenager.  In just over a week we’re going to be dropping her off at college and while I trust she’s going to make smart decisions, I can’t say the same for the rest of her peers . 

You can help fight childhood cancer one cup of Freckled Lemonade at a time!

When we purchased our home last year, we went into the deal knowing that this 1980’s era house would require quite a bit of updating.  The sellers had done some minimal upgrades to bring it into the 21st century, but they left us with plenty of work to do.  Like removing the trash compactor in the kitchen.

In all our years combined (and my husband has 50 of them to his life so far!) no one in our family knows what it is like to be hungry.  We can reach into the pantry, fridge or freezer for anything from a juice drink to chicken nuggets at any given time.  After having a child of my own, I had a keen passion for helping the plight of hungry kids in my own community who might go to bed with an empty stomach at night.

The Hunger Heroes campaign is all about action.  It’s about turning families into superheroes, and tapping into the incredible power of giving. 

So there are two things I thoroughly enjoy when it’s time to kick my feet up on the couch and relax.  Drinking coffee and watching HGTV.  I can totally get absorbed in both.  My coffee addiction is legendary, as is the barista bar in my home.  Brewing up a cup of coffee and tuning in to Flip or Flop, Love It or List It or my new favorite Flipping the Block, has me completely engrossed on a Sunday evening.

Did you see last week’s episode?  Whitney (who also happens to have a blog!) & John won a consult with David Bromstad the previous week for their bathroom reno project.  He gave them some great advice and painted them some original art work.