Scooter Ride!

This past Saturday Brandon and I went on a Scooter Ride in New Jersey.  It was a big group thing that some guy plans every year and we heard about it through a friend of a friend.  It turned out to be a great time!  We rode about 60 miles, all through the country-side of New Jersey.  We stopped for lunch at a little hoagie place and then again at a little lake.  It was beautiful!  The turn-out was great as well!  About 66 riders joined in the fun!  It was amazing to say the least!   Although the smell of sweaty men and exhaust might turn you off....(as it does me) it was a lot of fun.  You would never expect a day of riding to be so tiresome...but by the end of the day on Saturday....I was beat.  Here are some pictures of the ride!

Some of the Scooters!

This is the one I rode....A Honda Ruckus!

Brandon's Elite

All the people!

It was a GORGEOUS DAY!

I tried to be creative!

All the bikes!

Our group!

Pretty picture of the lake we stopped by!

Swedish Chocolate Balls

I had been sent this recipe by one of my pen-pals awhile ago and have been meaning to make them and finally got around to doing it the other day!  They were rather simple and turned out amazingly good!  It has a granola-like touch to it because of the oats and sugar...but with chocolate and vanilla sweetness.  Very simple to make!  I would definitely recommend them to anyone who needs a quick dessert or cookie to take somewhere for an event!  Here is the recipe!

Swedish Chocolate Balls

1 stick butter (room temperature) or 1/4 lb. butter

2  1/2 cups rolled oats

1  1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

 1 tsp. strong coffee

2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa

Coconut flakes

 Mix the butter, sugar and coffee first.  Then add all of the other ingredients. 

Roll the batter into 25 small balls and then roll in the coconut flakes. 

 Refrigerate for at least two hours!

  Simple enough right?!?!

All of the ingredients in one big bowl!

The oats!

The cocoa!

Yummy coconut!

Before rolling!

Rolled and waiting to be covered in coconut!

Waiting to be chilled!

Do you have any favorite cookie or dessert recipes that are simple yet so good?

Buying Local

Supporting your local farmers and businesses has become the latest thing...so I decided to partake.  I decided to spend a day and really investigate my own little town and discover all of the hidden treasures.  I decided to start the day off with breakfast at the Jukebox Cafe, a little 50's styled cafe that serves breakfast and lunch.  After breakfast I headed over to Frecon Farms where they sell just about everything.  Wine, chocolates, plants, flowers, honey, tea, fruits, veggies, baked goods, breads, beer, eggs, meat and so much more.  And it is all grown, harvested or created right in my area! 

I did a little shopping and picked up a few things.  Here are some pictures of my findings!!

Two yummy The Republic of Tea teas and a beeswax chapstick!

Local Wildflower Honey!

Yummy Chocolates!

It is a Strawberry Melomel Wine!  Made with Honey!

A Red Wine Mix!

Baby Shower!

So my friend Arilys is pregnant and due June 14th!  We had a late baby shower for her this past weekend.  Just one month before her due date.  This is her first baby and she is super excited!  She has had quite the year!  She just got married in July 2010 and now she is expecting a baby!  She couldn't be happier!  She is having a little baby girl and she has decided to name this beautiful little girl...Juliana!  So pretty right!  She is going to be a great Mom and I am so happy for her!  Here are some pictures from the shower!  It was a great time and she got a lot of great gifts!

A Little Baby Cake!

A Home-Made Edible Arrangement!  It is actually a baby carriage!

The food was AMAZING!!!  (Just a small example)

 I made some Cream Scones...a very simple recipe.  I made them randomly the other day and everyone loved them...so I figured it would be a great addition to a baby shower!  For the scones, I brought along some strawberry, apricot and guava jellies and apple butter!  I also made Thumbprint Cookies which were also a hit!  I had NO leftovers to bring home!  (I also secretly saw some people stashing the cookies away on plates to be taken home!  LOL!  They got great reviews!)

The Gifts!  Again...Only A SMALL example!

The Mother-To-Be!  BEAUTIFUL!!!

It's a GIRL!!

Look at the BABY BUMP!