Mediterranean Grilled Salmon Kabobs

 

What You'll Need:

1 2lb salmon fillet
1/3 cup of olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon of cumin 
1 teaspoon of thyme
1 teaspoon of oregano
1 teaspoon of dill
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of chili powder
1/4 teaspoon of coriander
1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
1 large zucchini 
3 lemons
1 small red onion
2/3 cup of grape tomatoes 

What You'll Need to Do:

Remove the skin from the salmon fillet and chop into 1-2 inch chunks.
Juice two of the lemons and slice the other discarding the seeds.
Thinly slice the zucchini and red onion.
Add cubed salmon, lemon juice, slice vegetables, sliced lemon, tomatoes, olive oil, and spices in a large bowl.
Toss to combine. 
Cover with foil and place the  bowl in the fridge from 20 minutes to 2 hours (your choice!).
Spray six 12-inch metal skewers with cooking spray.
Add salmon, lemon slices, tomatoes, and sliced vegetables to the skewers in an alternating fashion.
Spray grill will cooking spray and preheat to 350 degrees F.
Add kabobs to grill once heated.
Cook 3-5 minutes on each side.
Remove from the grill and enjoy!

serves: 4 / prep time: 15 minutes / marinade time: 20-120 minutes / cook time: 6-10 minutes

2021 Summer Reading Guide

 

Golden Girl by Elin Hilderbrand 

On a perfect June day, Vivian Howe, author of thirteen beach novels and mother of three nearly grown children, is killed in a hit-and-run car accident while jogging near her home on Nantucket. She ascends to the Beyond where she's assigned to a Person named Martha, who allows Vivi to watch what happens below for one last summer. Vivi also is granted three “nudges” to change the outcome of events on earth, and with her daughter Willa on her third miscarriage, Carson partying until all hours, and Leo currently “off again” with his high-maintenance girlfriend, she’ll have to think carefully where to use them.
From the Beyond, Vivi watches “The Chief” Ed Kapenash investigate her death, but her greatest worry is her final book, which contains a secret from her own youth that could be disastrous for her reputation. But when hidden truths come to light, Vivi’s family will have to sort out their past and present mistakes—with or without a nudge of help from above—while Vivi finally lets them grow without her.

That Summer by Jennifer Weiner 

Daisy Shoemaker can’t sleep. With a thriving cooking business, full schedule of volunteer work, and a beautiful home in the Philadelphia suburbs, she should be content. But her teenage daughter can be a handful; her husband can be distant, her work can feel trivial, and she has lots of acquaintances, but no real friends. Still, Daisy knows she’s got it good. So why is she up all night?
While Daisy tries to identify the root of her dissatisfaction, she’s also receiving misdirected emails meant for a woman named Diana Starling, whose email address is just one punctuation mark away from her own. While Daisy’s driving carpools, Diana is chairing meetings. While Daisy’s making dinner, Diana’s making plans to reorganize corporations. Diana’s glamorous, sophisticated, single-lady life is miles away from Daisy’s simpler existence. When an apology leads to an invitation, the two women meet and become friends. But, as they get closer, we learn that their connection was not completely accidental. Who IS this other woman, and what does she want with Daisy?

Skye Falling by Mia McKenzie

Twenty-six and broke, Skye didn't think twice before selling her eggs and happily pocketing the cash. Now approaching forty, Skye moves through life entirely--and unrepentantly--on her own terms, living out of a suitcase and avoiding all manner of serious relationships. Her personal life might be a mess, and no one would be surprised if she died alone in a hotel room, but at least she's free to do as she pleases. But then a twelve-year-old girl shows up during one of Skye's brief visits to her hometown of Philadelphia, and tells Skye that she's "her egg." Skye's life is thrown into sharp relief and she decides that it might be time to actually try to have a meaningful relationship with another human being. Spoiler alert: It's not easy.

Things gets even more complicated when Skye realizes that the woman she tried and failed to pick up the other day is the girl's aunt and now it's awkward. All the while, her brother is trying to get in touch, her problematic mother is being bewilderingly kind, and the West Philly pool halls and hoagie shops of her youth have been replaced by hipster cafes. 

When We Believed in Mermaids by Barbara O'Neal

Her sister has been dead for fifteen years when she sees her on the TV news…  Josie Bianci was killed years ago on a train during a terrorist attack. Gone forever. It’s what her sister, Kit, an ER doctor in Santa Cruz, has always believed. Yet all it takes is a few heart-wrenching seconds to upend Kit’s world. Live coverage of a club fire in Auckland has captured the image of a woman stumbling through the smoke and debris. Her resemblance to Josie is unbelievable. And unmistakable. With it comes a flood of emotions—grief, loss, and anger—that Kit finally has a chance to put to rest: by finding the sister who’s been living a lie.  After arriving in New Zealand, Kit begins her journey with the memories of the past: of days spent on the beach with Josie. Of a lost teenage boy who’d become part of their family. And of a trauma that has haunted Kit and Josie their entire lives. Now, if two sisters are to reunite, it can only be by unearthing long-buried secrets and facing a devastating truth that has kept them apart far too long. To regain their relationship, they may have to lose everything.

Under a Gilded Moon by Joy Jordan-Lake

Biltmore House, a palatial mansion being built by the Vanderbilts, American “royalty,” is in its final stages of construction in North Carolina. The country’s grandest example of privilege, it symbolizes the aspirations of its owner and the dreams of a girl, just as driven, who lives in its shadow.
Kerry MacGregor’s future is derailed when, after two years in college in New York City, family obligations call her home to the beautiful Appalachians. She is determined to distance herself from the opulence she sees rising in the Blue Ridge Mountains, however close its reach. Her family’s land is among the last pieces required to complete the Biltmore Estate. But something more powerful than an ambitious Vanderbilt heir could change Kerry’s fate as, one by one, more outsiders descend on the changing landscape—a fugitive from Sicily, a reporter chasing a groundbreaking story, a debutante tainted by scandal, and a conservationist prepared to put anyone at risk to stoke the resentment of the locals.
As Kerry finds herself caught in a war between wealth and poverty, innocence and corruption, she must navigate not only her own pride and desperation to survive but also the temptations of fortune and the men who control it.

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Malibu: August 1983. It's the day of Nina Riva's annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around the famous Rivas: Nina, the talented surfer and supermodel; brothers Jay and Hud, one a championship surfer, the other a renowned photographer; and their adored baby sister, Kit. Together the siblings are a source of fascination in Malibu and the world over--especially as the offspring of the legendary singer Mick Riva.
The only person not looking forward to the party of the year is Nina herself, who never wanted to be the center of attention, and who has also just been very publicly abandoned by her pro tennis player husband. Oh, and maybe Hud--because it is long past time for him to confess something to the brother from whom he's been inseparable since birth.
Jay, on the other hand, is counting the minutes until nightfall, when the girl he can't stop thinking about promised she'll be there.
And Kit has a couple secrets of her own--including a guest she invited without consulting anyone.
By midnight the party will be completely out of control. By morning, the Riva mansion will have gone up in flames. But before that first spark in the early hours before dawn, the alcohol will flow, the music will play, and the loves and secrets that shaped this family's generations will all come bubbling to the surface.

Beach Read by Emily Henry

Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast.
They're polar opposites.
In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they're living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer's block.
Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She'll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he'll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.

My Husband's Daughter by Emma Robinson

It is past ten o’clock on a cold Friday night when Rebecca and her husband Jack’s doorbell rings. Outside is a woman who introduces herself as Jack’s ex-girlfriend Cara. And she’s holding the hand of a shivering, blue-eyed, four-year-old girl. Who she claims is Jack’s daughter.
Rebecca is shocked to discover he has a child from his last relationship – even one he hadn’t known about. Because becoming parents isn’t part of their life plan. They like children, but they also love their freedom and spending time together uninterrupted; the way that, if they wanted to, they could travel the world at a moment’s notice.
But Cara needs them. Because Cara has a devastating secret that she can’t tell anyone yet. Not even her daughter. A secret with the power to change all of their lives.
A secret that will ultimately mean Rebecca has to ask herself – could she find it in herself to welcome her husband’s child into her home, and into her heart?

The Price of Paradise by Susana Lopez Rubio

Havana, Cuba, 1947. Young Patricio flees impoverished Spain and steps into the sultry island paradise of Havana with only the clothes on his back and half-baked dreams of a better life. Blessed with good looks and natural charm, he lands a job as a runner at El Encanto—one of the most luxurious department stores in the world.
Famous for its exquisite offerings from French haute couture to Arabian silks, El Encanto indulges the senses in opulent extravagance. It caters to visiting Hollywood stars, rising politicos, and prerevolutionary Cuba’s wealthiest power players, including the notorious mobster César Valdés.
Falling in love with the mobster’s young wife, Gloria, is suicide. But Patricio is irresistibly drawn to the beautiful girl with sad eyes, a razor-sharp intellect, and a penchant for both Christian Dior’s clothes and Einstein’s theories. Within the walls of El Encanto, anything seems possible, even a love that promises to heal them and a desire that thrums with the mambo beat of the city itself.
In a reckless love affair that spans half a century, Patricio’s and Gloria’s lives entwine time and again, challenged by every twist of fate—for in a world of murder, betrayal, and revolution, those who dare to reach for paradise seldom survive unscathed.

Shipped by Angie Hockman

Between taking night classes for her MBA and her demanding day job at a cruise line, marketing manager Henley Evans barely has time for herself, let alone family, friends, or dating. But when she’s shortlisted for the promotion of her dreams, all her sacrifices finally seem worth it.
The only problem? Graeme Crawford-Collins, the remote social media manager and the bane of her existence, is also up for the position. Although they’ve never met in person, their epic email battles are the stuff of office legend.
Their boss tasks each of them with drafting a proposal on how to boost bookings in the Galápagos—best proposal wins the promotion. There’s just one catch: they have to go on a company cruise to the Galápagos Islands...together. But when the two meet on the ship, Henley is shocked to discover that the real Graeme is nothing like she imagined. As they explore the Islands together, she soon finds the line between loathing and liking thinner than a postcard.
With her career dreams in her sights and a growing attraction to the competition, Henley begins questioning her life choices. Because what’s the point of working all the time if you never actually live?

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

Sandwiched between two exceptional siblings, Taylor Edwards never felt like she stood out—except for her history of running away when things get too complicated. Then her dad receives unexpected, terrible news, and the family makes the last-minute decision to spend the summer together in the cramped quarters at their old lake house.
Taylor hasn't been to the summerhouse since she was twelve, and she definitely never planned on going back. Up at the lake she is confronted with people she thought she had left behind, like her former best friend Lucy, and Henry Crosby, her first crush, who's all grown up...and a lot cuter. Suddenly Taylor is surrounded by memories she'd rather leave in the past—but she can't run away this time.
As the days lying on the beach pass into nights gazing at the stars, Taylor realizes she has a second chance—with friends, with family, maybe even with love. But she knows that once the summer ends, there is no way to recapture what she stands to lose.

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

After the first season of her true crime podcast became an overnight sensation and set an innocent man free, Rachel Krall is now a household name―and the last hope for thousands of people seeking justice. But she’s used to being recognized for her voice, not her face. Which makes it all the more unsettling when she finds a note on her car windshield, addressed to her, begging for help.
The small town of Neapolis is being torn apart by a devastating rape trial. The town’s golden boy, a swimmer destined for Olympic greatness, has been accused of raping a high school student, the beloved granddaughter of the police chief. Under pressure to make Season Three a success, Rachel throws herself into interviewing and investigating―but the mysterious letters keep showing up in unexpected places. Someone is following her, and she won’t stop until Rachel finds out what happened to her sister twenty-five years ago. Officially, Jenny Stills tragically drowned, but the letters insists she was murdered―and when Rachel starts asking questions, nobody seems to want to answer. The past and present start to collide as Rachel uncovers startling connections between the two cases that will change the course of the trial and the lives of everyone involved.
Electrifying and propulsive, The Night Swim asks: What is the price of a reputation? Can a small town ever right the wrongs of its past? And what really happened to Jenny?

The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

In the ballrooms and drawing rooms of Regency London, rules abound. From their earliest days, children of aristocrats learn how to address an earl and curtsey before a prince—while other dictates of the ton are unspoken yet universally understood. A proper duke should be imperious and aloof. A young, marriageable lady should be amiable… but not too amiable.
Daphne Bridgerton has always failed at the latter. The fourth of eight siblings in her close-knit family, she has formed friendships with the most eligible young men in London. Everyone likes Daphne for her kindness and wit. But no one truly desires her. She is simply too deuced honest for that, too unwilling to play the romantic games that captivate gentlemen.
Amiability is not a characteristic shared by Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings. Recently returned to England from abroad, he intends to shun both marriage and society—just as his callous father shunned Simon throughout his painful childhood. Yet an encounter with his best friend’s sister offers another option. If Daphne agrees to a fake courtship, Simon can deter the mamas who parade their daughters before him. Daphne, meanwhile, will see her prospects and her reputation soar.
The plan works like a charm—at first. But amid the glittering, gossipy, cut-throat world of London’s elite, there is only one certainty: love ignores every rule.

The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary

What if the end of the road is just the beginning?
Four years ago, Dylan and Addie fell in love under the Provence sun. Wealthy Oxford student Dylan was staying at his friend Cherry's enormous French villa; wild child Addie was spending her summer as the on-site caretaker. Two years ago, their relationship officially ended. They haven't spoken since.
Today, Dylan's and Addie's lives collide again. It's the day before Cherry's wedding, and Addie and Dylan crash cars at the start of the journey there. The car Dylan was driving is wrecked, and the wedding is in rural Scotland--he'll never get there on time by public transport.
So, along with Dylan's best friend, Addie's sister, and a random guy on Facebook who needed a ride, they squeeze into a space-challenged Mini and set off across Britain. Cramped into the same space, Dylan and Addie are forced to confront the choices they made that tore them apart--and ask themselves whether that final decision was the right one after all.

Impostor Syndrome by Kathy Wang

In 2006 Julia Lerner is living in Moscow, a recent university graduate in computer science, when she’s recruited by Russia’s largest intelligence agency. By 2018 she’s in Silicon Valley as COO of Tangerine, one of America’s most famous technology companies. In between her executive management (make offers to promising startups, crush them and copy their features if they refuse); self promotion (check out her latest op-ed in the WSJ, on Work/Life Balance 2.0); and work in gender equality (transfer the most annoying females from her team), she funnels intelligence back to the motherland. But now Russia's asking for more, and Julia’s getting nervous.
Alice Lu is a first generation Chinese American whose parents are delighted she’s working at Tangerine (such a successful company!). Too bad she’s slogging away in the lower echelons, recently dumped, and now sharing her expensive two-bedroom apartment with her cousin Cheri, a perennial “founder’s girlfriend”. One afternoon, while performing a server check, Alice discovers some unusual activity, and now she’s burdened with two powerful but distressing suspicions: Tangerine’s privacy settings aren’t as rigorous as the company claims they are, and the person abusing this loophole might be Julia Lerner herself.
The closer Alice gets to Julia, the more Julia questions her own loyalties. Russia may have placed her in the Valley, but she's the one who built her career; isn’t she entitled to protect the lifestyle she’s earned? Part page-turning cat-and-mouse chase, part sharp and hilarious satire, Impostor Syndrome is a shrewdly-observed examination of women in tech, Silicon Valley hubris, and the rarely fulfilled but ever-attractive promise of the American Dream.

Summer Scoops: Pineapple Dole Whip

Sadly, today's recipe finishes out my Summer Scoop series. This is a special one for all my Disney-crazy family and friends who absolutely love Dole Whip! Pineapple Dole Whip made it's debut at the Disney parks in 1986 and since has become widely available at zoos and theme parks throughout the country. You won't believe how easy it is to make! 

What You'll Need

1 big scoop of vanilla ice cream 

4 ounces of pineapple juice

2 cups of frozen pineapple

What You'll Need to Do

Place all ingredients in a food processor or powerful blender.

Blend until the mixture becomes smooth.

If you're super fancy, top with whipped cream and a maraschino cherry, serve in a hulled out pineapple, or pipe into a dish using a piping bag with a star shaped tip for the classic Disney Dole Whip swirl.

ENJOY this soft-serve right away!

If your blended Dole Whip comes out too runny, place in the freezer until it's the consistency of soft-serve ice cream.

Check out the rest of the recipes in the series:

Homemade Lemon Italian Ice

No Churn Strawberry Ice Cream

Watermelon Mojito Popsicles

Blueberry Lemon Mini Cheesecakes

Frozen Sangria Fruit Cups

Summer Scoops: Blueberry Lemon Mini Cheesecakes

Welcome to my Summer Scoops series my favorite summer sweets! Today is all about a cold cheesecake with refreshing lemon and blueberry and a crunchy cookie bottom!

What You'll Need

12 lemon creme Oreos

2 8oz blocks of cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup of powdered sugar

2 tablespoons of lemon juice

1 teaspoon of lemon zest

1 teaspoon or pure vanilla extract

pinch of kosher salt

1 1/2 cups of heavy cream

1/4 cup of blueberry preserves

What You'll Need to Do

Line a 12-cup cupcake pan with cupcake liners.

Place one Oreo into the bottom of each cup.

Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer until smooth.

Then beat in powdered sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla, and salt.

Add heavy cream and beat until fluffy, stiff peaks form.

Spoon cream cheese over Oreos in the pan.

Dollop a small amount of blueberry preserves into the enter of each cheesecake using a small spoon.

Use a toothpick (or small skewer) to swirl.

Refrigerate until firm - at least four hours.

Lick the spoon.

ENJOY!

Be sure to check out recipes Homemade Lemon Italian Ice, No Churn Strawberry Ice Cream, and Watermelon Mojito Popsicles!  

Weekend Wins

We ate at a restaurant!

Have you heard of Loving Day? Loving Day is observed on June 12th in the US marking the anniversary of the 1967 United States Supreme Court decision, Loving v. Virginia which struck down all anti-miscegenation laws in the remaining 16 states in the USA. It was brought to my attention by one of my college roommates (also named Ashley). Read more about Loving Day, Loving v. Virginia, and The Lovings now!

Kiss press on nails for the win!

Scout is a week out from his haircut now and starting to look a little better. By the time the groomers opened up here he was 2 months overdue for his bath and cut. Because of that he ended up pretty matted and had to get a fairly short cut. I'm just glad his hygiene has greatly improved. My little old man:

I finished this book and it was really good (3/5):

More wins for times to come: 

Meeting in person with my book club tonight after having virtual meetings in March, April, and May!

Salons and spas open today! I have a hair appointment on June 22nd and need to get my eyebrows threaded ASAP!

Heading back home the last week of June and getting to see all my favorites! The county in PA where I am from/going to is still in the 'yellow.' I'm hoping it goes 'green' by the time I arrive! 

HAPPY MONDAY EVERYONE!

Tips for the Perfect Picnic

Try a picnic backpack. Baskets can be bulky and awkward. Picnic backpacks are a very popular option as your food, cutlery, and drinks are neatly stowed. Most even come with a corkscrew and cutting board! It also leaves you hands free to ride your bike to your picnic destination!

Pack baby wipes. Keep baby wipes on hand for spills, sticky hands or faces, or to clean dishes. They already come in portable packaging!

Use a waterproof picnic blanket. Look for a PVC-coated, waterproof picnic blanket. It's great for days when the ground is moist and also for any spills or unforeseen rain showers.

Keep your drink bug free with mason jar sippers or another cup with a lid. The sweet, sticky drinks of summer are havens for bugs and bees. Keep them out by using a cup with a lid and a straw. Perfect for kids too!

Use frozen water bottles as coolers. Make your beverage of choice do double duty! Freeze your water and use the bottle to keep your picnic items cold.

Buy screw top wine. Packing a corkscrew can cause extra bulk (if you don't have a backpack that comes with corkscrew). Save space in your picnic basket by buying and packing a wine with  a screw top.

Summer Trend: Tropical Prints

The best way to ease tropical prints into your summer wardrobe is with accessories! Add a pop of tropical to any outfit with a printed clutch, bag, shoes, or hair accessories! 

Tropical prints can be worked in to wedding guest attire, day wear, or casual evening wear. Choose feminine touches such a chiffon, pleats, ruffles, and fabrics that flow!

The best way to a tropical print in to your casual every day wear is to choose a more muted palette. Skip the bright prints and go for patterns with earth tones.

And last, but not least, the easiest way to wear tropical prints this summer is with a tropical print bathing suit!

Best.Summer.Ever

I'm a summer girl through and through. Give me sun, hot days, sand, and surf! This summer was more than I could have ever expected! I made it trough my 35th birthday and met my celebrity crush without fainting!

My husband threw me the best surprise party for my 35th birthday! He got my entire family and my best friend, her husband, and little boy out from Pennsylvania for a really great pool party and week of fun. And I had NO.CLUE. I was so shocked and surprised. I was so excited to show my brother and his family around as they were  here for the first time. It was so sad and so hard to say goodbye to everyone.

I got to spend a decent amount of time with my friend Meghan and her little monster, and even got put on baby sitting duty once or twice!

Nick and I went to the Western & Southern Open for the fifth summer in the row! It's such a great end of the summer trip with 3 days out in the sun. I also met my favorite tennis player and celeb crush, Andy Murray!

I dragged Nick to the Grand Rapids Polish Festival so I could get some delicious, homemade, authentic pierogies!

And Nick and I went on a Mexican and mini golf date this past weekend to close out the summer!

Song of the Summer

Ava Max - Sweet but Psycho

Book of the Summer

Elin Hilderbrand - The Perfect Couple

Shows of the Summer

Four Weddings and Funeral

Love Island UK

(both on Hulu!)

Treat of the Summer

ice cream (always!)

And here are some cute pictures of Scout to end the post...