Five for Friday

Hello and welcome to my Five for Friday! I am linking up with Cup of Tea , Della Devoted , and Bright on a Budget!

1. I ordered this fabric defuzzer on Amazon and it is so handy! I have a lot of cardigans and knit tops, which all start to pill after a while. The clothes are otherwise in great shape, just have started to pill. This worked so well at removing the pilling! If you don't have one you need to buy it! It's so inexpensive too!

2. We had a bit of exciting news around my house this week; my sister got her black belt in Tae Kwon Do! I would post a picture, but I didn't get that great one with her and her belt. It took her a little over 3 years, but she finally got it!

3. I had some leftover egg whites from making pudding last week, and with my sister getting her black belt, I thought I would make a cake to celebrate! I used this recipe and I freaking forgot the baking powder! I can't believe I did that! I read through the recipe I don't know how many times and just missed it and didn't remember until it was half way baked. Despite the fact the cake didn't rise and was dense, it still tasted pretty good. I'm sure it will be even better next time! 

4. Do any of you listen to podcasts? I'm all caught up on Generation Why and Thin Air. I've been listening to Stuff You Missed In History Class and that is pretty interesting. I like listening to podcasts when I'm driving to work. What are your favorites? 

5. In case you missed it, I shared my recipe for strawberry spinach salad (you should try it!) and a review of the July Love With Food box! Be sure to check those out!

 Hope you have a great weekend!

July Love With Food Box

Organic Popcorn by Pure Growth Organic Food: The popcorn was okay. I don't care for cheddar popcorn in the first place, but this just tasted like any other cheddar popcorn. On a positive note, the popcorn was soft, not tough like other bagged popcorn can be.

Mojito Lime Mints by PUR Mints: I really did not like these mints! I don't care for fruit flavors with mint, I just don't think it goes together. If you like mojitos, then I think you would really like this as it does have a strong flavor; it just wasn't for me.

JimmyBar! in No Bluffin' Banana Muffin: I really didn't care for this. The texture was super weird and I didn't taste any banana at all.

Organic Bunny-Shaped Lollipops by TruJoy Sweets: I thought this was pretty good. I wasn't really expecting to like it, but I ended up finishing it. I'm not sure what flavor it was supposed to be, but it did taste good!

Sour Beans by YumEarth: These were okay. They kind of reminded me of the Flintstones vitamins I'm sure we've all had as kids. I just thought they tasted a little odd. 

Berry Greek Yogurt Bar LUNA Protein: I thought this protein bar was pretty good. It didn't really have much of a blueberry flavor, just a few dried blueberries in the middle of the bar, but otherwise pretty good.

Snack Pack by Barney Butter Almond Butter: I thought this almond butter was really good! Granted, I haven't tried too many other almond butters, so I can't say if this is any better than any other brands, but I thought it was pretty tasty!

Real Steak Jerkyby Chef's Cut: I'm not really a fan of beef jerky, I just don't care for the texture of it. But I tried this anyways and it was actually pretty good! It was soft and had really good flavor. I ended up giving it to my sister and she loved it!

Twice-Baked Tomato-Basil Pretzel Sticks by Pretzel Perfection: These were pretty good. I was worried the flavor would be overpowering, but it's not that bad. There were a lot of pretzels in the bag too! They would probably tasted really good with the hummus I got in last month's box!

This was an okay box. There were a few items I really liked (the Barney Almond Butter and the pretzel sticks were my favorite.) and there were a few items I really did not like (the mints and the JimmyBar.), and the rest were just okay. I thought there was a nice range of different products, but overall it was just an okay box.

Interested in trying your own Love With Food box? Click HERE and you'll get half off your first box!

Strawberry spinach salad recipe

This strawberry spinach salad is pretty popular around my house! It's definitely a summertime favorite! My mom came across the recipe somewhere on the internet years ago (if you know the original source, please let me know!) and I've made a few changes to the original recipe so it tastes even better! 

The salad is full of flavor and the perfect side to just about any dish! I hope if you give it a try you'll like it!

The salad itself is pretty simple, just these four ingredients!

I start off by chopping (or you can buy pre-chopped pecans) and placing them on a baking sheet. Toasting them in the oven helps to bring out the toasty goodness of the pecans and give the salad so much more flavor! 

Toasting the pecans first gives them enough time to cool down while you prepare everything else.

Next dice the cheese.

Wash the strawberries.

Slice or dice the strawberries into bite sized pieces. If you're using big strawberries, you might want to dice them, otherwise with smaller strawberries you could just slice them. However you prefer to eat them!
The dressing is pretty simple too; just a couple of ingredients mixed together!

And the salad is ready!

Strawberry Spinach Salad

For the salad

1 5oz sized package of spinach

1 1/2 cups pecan pieces

3/4 cup smoked Gouda cheese*

2 cups chopped strawberries

*I buy the smoked Gouda cheese in the deli section of the grocery store and ask for about a 1 inch chunk.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. 

2. Chop the pecans into pieces and spread out on a small baking sheet. Toast for about 6 minutes or until they start to smell toasted and look slightly browned. Set aside to cool.

3. Slice and dice the cheese, set aside.

4. Rinse or wash the strawberries in a produce wash, then pat dry with a towel. Cut strawberries into slices or cubes (whichever you prefer).

5. Place spinach in a large bowl, then top with strawberries, Gouda cheese, and the toasted pecans.

For the dressing

3 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons lime juice

1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil

A little over 1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1. Stir until everything is combined.

And that's it! Pretty simple! Enjoy!

Five for Friday

Hello and welcome to my Five for Friday! I am linking up with Cup of Tea , Della Devoted , and Bright on a Budget!

1. That package I mentioned last week that I was anxiously waiting for? Well it arrived when I got home from work that day!

I found a great online shop out of the UK (Dorothy Perkins) and I was able to pick up a few great tops! 

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

2. I'm not a huge video game person, but my sister and I have a few favorite games and enjoy playing every once in a while. We got the new Lego Star Wars The Force Awakens game from the library and have been playing it this week. It's so fun and one we'll definitely be buying sometime! 

The Lego games are always fun because they always add funny stuff throughout the games. For instance, this was on Rey's speeder:

3. Did anyone else see the Buzzfeed list about the most popular ice cream shops in every state? The one in Idaho is about 8 hours away, so I definitely won't be visiting that one anytime soon! But I've heard of the one in Portland, and will have to check out the one in Seattle sometime! Ice cream is always a good idea ;)

4. I've been reading through the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone illustrated book and really enjoying it! The pictures are so beautiful! And the book is the British version, so that's fun!

I'm planning on buying illustrated version of The Chamber of Secrets when it comes out too!

5. In case you missed it, I shared some pictures from a lavender farm we visited and a post on what's currently going on!

Hope you have a nice weekend! Does anyone have any fun plans?