{ June 2009 }

June 28th, 2009

4th of July Food Ideas?

Need some food ideas for a fabulous 4th of July celebration? You’ll love this Perfect Pulled Pork with a side of Ultimate Baked Beans. They’re great for holidays, parties with friends, and summer days when you want to have fun with your family and not spend all day in kitchen! :) Like yesterday for example- we hung out by the pool all day and when we got home, the last thing I wanted to do was think about what to fix for dinner. We could’ve stopped for fast food on the way home- but we didn’t have to. :) We had delicious pulled pork sandwiches and hearty, meaty, ultimate baked beans waiting on us. The pulled pork cooked in the crock pot all day and took less than 5 mins to pull apart because it was so tender, juicy and falling off the bone. The baked beans were made ahead and all I had to do was get them out of the fridge and pop ‘em in oven.

You can check out the Ultimate Baked Beans recipe for specifics on how I did the pulled pork in the crock pot. Another reason to check out it out? See that bacon up there? I cooked it in the oven. :D

I’ve been doing it this way for awhile now and it turns out *perfectly* done. Check out the recipe- it tells you exactly how I do it! :)

BTW, have you tried whole wheat hamburger buns? Let me be the first to say, I *hate* whole wheat bread. Okay, hate is a strong word. I really, really dislike whole wheat bread. I love bread, but unfortunately for my bathing suit, I really, really dislike whole wheat bread. :p Maybe it’s the texture, or the color, or the aftertaste, or I don’t know what. But I actually really like whole wheat hamburger buns! I can’t tell the difference! lol. Especially with these pulled pork sandwiches. I got two different kinds the other day, just in case- regular buns and whole wheat buns. I had one of each last night and I couldn’t tell the difference. I’m sold! If you’re a whole wheat bread hater (er, disliker?) like me, give these a try sometime. They might surprise you! :D

We had plenty of leftovers, so I think I’m going to fix myself another sandwich right now. :D

But before I go, I want someone to have this $25 gift certificate to B Johnson Jewelry!

Isn’t it just delightful? So pretty and summery. :) Someone I know should *definitely* have those earrings.

To be entered to win the $25 gift certificate to B Johnson Jewelry, leave a comment on this post- you can…

1. Leave a link to what you’d get! I’d love to see!
2. Tell me about your 4th of July plans- got any great recipes you’re looking forward to making? :)
3. Or you can just say whatever comes to your mind! ;)

One entry per person please! :) The winner will be chosen by his or her comment number, which will be picked by Random.org’s number generator. But hurry! The contest ends MONDAY night, June 29, at 10:00 pm CST.

Thanks so much for looking and GOOD LUCK!!! :)

blog giveaway winner

Congrats to #53 Rachel E.! You won the $25 gift certificate to BJohnsonJewelry! Contact me to claim your prize! :)

128 Comments

June 25th, 2009

And the winner is . . .

blog-giveaway-winner

Congratulations to #113, Kathy F! :) You won the $30 gift certificate to The Polkadot Alley! :) We’re all totally jealous! :D Don’t forget to come back here and tell us what ya got! :D

Everyone else, I don’t want you to go away empty handed! :D Come see these cute pics of Miley and Howie playing on the beach and swimming in the pool. :D

Actually, you’ll have to *go* see them. They’re on Miley and Howie’s blog. :P I just added a ton of pictures and a really fun video of Miley and Howie catching the frisbee on the beach and swimming in the ocean. If you need a vacation, go see their pics- it’ll make ya feel like you were there! :D

Oh, but before you go! I’m selling some of my camera equipment on eBay, and it would be really cool if someone from here got it, right?? :)

One of the items is my very first lens- the Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8. This was my first- and only- lens for a long time. It’s a *great* general purpose lens for a beginner or for someone who only wants one lens. The wide angle makes it great for indoor pics and the 2.8 aperture lets in lot of light so you can get that nice background blur and take low-light pictures without a flash. This lens is in excellent condition. Now that I have a few other lenses in my collection, I’m having to make some room in my bag- but this little lens will make someone very happy! :)

I’m also selling my *well loved* Canon Powershot (point and shoot). This little compact camera is great for carrying around in a small purse or pocket and takes *excellent* videos. Kevin and I bought a $200 or so video camera awhile back and ended up taking it back because this camera took videos that were so much better! :)

Anyway. Head over to my ebay page and check it all out if you want! :) Best of all, all of my auctions have FREE shipping if you use Buy It Now! :D

Thanks for looking!! :)

11 Comments

June 23rd, 2009

New Recipe to Share . . .

It’s been awhile, but once you see this recipe, you’ll see it was worth the wait! :D

This fresh, colorful pasta dish is *perfect* for summer.

The sweet, crisp bell peppers add such a wonderful flavor to the chicken and the creamy alfredo sauce. The color and taste really bring this dish to life! :)

Pour over some funky farfalle pasta and top with a little fresh basil (from my garden! :)) – this dish is definitely pasta perfection! :)

Click Here for the full recipe for this Colorful Chicken Alfredo! :)

Speaking of summer- I was browsing The Polkadot Alley the other day and they have the *cutest* new beach and pool accessories! :) Have you seen them?? Run over there and check them out! :)

Aren’t they to die for? :) I thought you’d think so. That’s why I thought a $30 gift certificate to The Polkadot Alley would be the perfect giveaway to kick off the summer here at kevinandamanda.com! ;)

Look at that *cute* terrycloth lounge chair cover! Doesn’t it look so soft and comfy! My regular beach towel never covers the entire chair. This cover would be perfect! Or the beach bag and matching towel!! Wouldn’t I look so hip toting that to the pool? ;) Or that SUPER CUTE cooler!! I love it!!! Oh- and the cupcake tray?? Wait, is it too late to cancel this giveaway and keep the gift certificate all for myself?? :D

No no, rest assured, I want *you* to have it! :) As a way to say thank you for being such a loyal reader! :) And you can tell me what you got and I can live vicariously through you. :D

To be entered to win the $30 gift certificate to The Polkadot Alley, leave a comment on this post- you can tell me what you’d get if you want! (or how delicious my colorful summer pasta looks ;D) The winner will be chosen by his or her comment number, which will be picked by Random.org’s number generator. But hurry! The contest ends Wednesday, June 24, at 11:59 pm CST.

Thanks for looking and GOOD LUCK!!! :)

237 Comments

June 8th, 2009

Where the four hundred live . . .

There’s going to be a giveaway at the end of this post. But first let me show you this beautiful garden we visited this weekend.

Hampton Cove

On our way to a wedding, we drove past this neighborhood and it had this gorgeous garden and waterfall right at the entrance.

Hampton Cove

These colorful flowers lined a walking path that lead around the gardens.

Hampton Cove

After the wedding, we spent a good part of the afternoon just taking in this peaceful place.

Hampton Cove

And since we were all dressed up, I figured I’d better document it. ;)

Hampton Cove

I did have a hard time walking around in those heels though. ;)

Now… about that giveaway! ;) Are you ready to win the June 2009 edition of Crystal Wilkerson’s Project 365 digital scrapbooking kit?? :)

Click here for more info about the kit and to see some super cute layouts she made with the kit! :)

*Times up!* Thanks for playing!! :) Congrats to #108 Rachel L.! :) You’ve won!! Check back next month when we’ll be giving away the July Collection!! :)

For a chance to win Crystal’s June Project 365 Kit, leave a comment on this post. One entry per person, please! The winner will be chosen by his or her comment number, which will be picked by Random.org’s number generator. But hurry! The contest ends TONIGHT, Monday, June 8, at 11:59 pm CST.

Want a SECOND chance to win this kit?? :) Crystal’s running this same contest on her blog, so run over there and enter on her blog too! :)

Thanks for looking and good luck!!! :)

183 Comments

June 4th, 2009

Weekend getaway in the mountains . . .

We’re back! :) Last weekend we celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary and spent the weekend tucked away in a cozy cabin in Helen, Geogia. The town of Helen is the re-creation of a German alpine village- complete with cobblestone alleys, quaint village shoppes, authentic bakeries and restaurants, and old-world towers. Its quiet location on the Chattahoochee River, nestled in the Blue Ridge mountains, was the perfect spot for our long weekend getaway. :)

I took 2 cameras with me on this trip- my Canon XTi with the 24-70 2.8 L lens and a Sony DSC-H20, a small point a shoot for when I wanted to snap a quick pic and didn’t want to drag out the big camera.

If you’re interested in seeing more information about any of the pics below, like which camera I used, you can click on any of the pictures and it’ll tell you what camera I used and, if it was the Canon, which settings I used, like aperture, shutter speed, etc.

On to the pics! :)

The cabin we stayed in had a waterfall in the jacuzzi! And also a waterfall into the hot tub on the porch- my favorite. :D

One of the peaceful views near our cabin.

On our first morning in Helen, we went to Anna Ruby Falls.

The path to the falls was very pretty, and a nice, easy walk.

One of the twin falls- this is the one on the right. I’m not sure if this is Anna or Ruby. ;)

That afternoon we took the puppies on a hike around the lake at Unicoi State Park. It was a beautiful 2.5 mile hike, and there were lots of places to stop and take in the scenery.

Within 5 seconds of being on the trail, Howie finds a mud puddle. And what does he do? Of course he has to lay down in it! :p

Oh, Howie.

Fortunately, later in the trail, there was a creek for the puppies to play in (and wash off in!!)

See? This is a little bit later on the hike. All clean! :)

The lake was gorgeous! :) I kept wanting to rent one of the paddle boats, but we ran out of time. :p

“Smile shutter” at work on the Sony camera! :) (more on that later! :))

The next day was Helton Creek Falls- it was a very short path to get down to the falls, and it had these cute little stairs that took you right down to the base of the falls. :)

We spent the morning just lounging by the creek, throwing sticks for the dogs to fetch, and watching the cascades of Helton Creek falls. It was nice and warm later that afternoon, so we rented some tubes and went tubing down the Chattahoochee river!! :) I really wanted to take my camera so I could get a pic of us tubing, but I’m glad I didn’t now- we got SOAKED!! :) I’m not sure the camera would’ve made it. :p But we had fun. :)

On our last full day in Helen, we did a longer 5 mile hike up the Raven Cliffs Falls Trail. Early in the hike we came across this heart tree and had to stop for a pic! :)

This was one of the falls we came across on the trail. You could get down the base and wade around in the water and also get up to the top and sit on the rocks atop the falls.

The Raven Cliffs Falls is a beautiful trail- lots of these little bridges to cross.

And Lots of rocks and gnarled roots to maneuver too.

Howie bravely crosses the Dodd Creek along the trail.

But Miley refuses to come down until someone comes and gets her. ;)

One of the upper falls along the trail.

This was a very peaceful, tucked away hiding place. We took a break here before going back! :)

On our last day before leaving Helen, we took the puppies down to the Chattahoochee River and let them play in the water, fetch sticks, and try to catch the passing tubers. ;)

See more pics from our trip here!

This trip was my first chance to really get to use the Sony DSC-H20 and overall I was pretty pleased with it. Macro mode wasn’t all that impressive- it had a hard time focusing on close up subjects and didn’t really blur the background all that much. The HD video is awesome though. Another cool feature was smile shutter. I could turn it on, set the camera on a rock or something, get in the pic, and when we both smiled, it automatically took the pic. And if we blinked, I didn’t even have to set it up again. If we smiled again, it took another pic without me having to get up and mess with the camera again. Sweet! We used that a *lot*! :) Of course it wasn’t perfect… It had a hard time detecting smiles in low light and from far away, and sometimes even in perfect lighting and perfect closeness to the camera we’d smile… and smile…. and smile really, really, big… And nothing. Then as soon as we’d give up… It snapped the pic. LOL. Of course. But overall it did work really well. :) It has a decent zoom (10x optical), but the camera was still small enough for Kevin to carry around in his pocket while we were hiking. Probably my favorite thing about the camera was “Easy” mode. In Easy mode, it automatically detects whether you’re taking a picture of a landscape, a portrait, macro, back lit, and probably some other modes that I didn’t notice, and it adjusts the settings for that particular pic. It worked great- I kept it on Easy almost the whole time (except when the puppies were playing in the creek, then I put it on Sport/Action). Oh, one more thing- I like how it snapped the pic really fast- not a huge lag like on some digital point and shoots.

Hope you liked the pics! :D Thanks so much for looking!! :)

64 Comments