What I Read in April #ourgoodlifebooklist

As an avid reader and a part-time book blogger, I have wanted to do a wrap up of the books I have read each month.  April is a good time to do this, I think.  I mostly want to be outside, but April showers bring May flowers and all...

Lemon Thyme Lemonade

There are few things I enjoy more than my herb garden. I finally got it planted now that warmer days have decided to stay.  One of my favorite herbs is lemon thyme. It's the best of all herbal worlds.  I love it in salads, but I also love this lemonade.  It is perfect for garden parties.

Choosing a Custom Door For Your Home

When selecting what doors to have fitted in your home, this is a decision which should be made with a lot of forethought and careful consideration. After all, this is something that is a massive feature in any home. Moreover, it is quite a substantial investment, and so it is a decision which cannot be made lightly. Interior doors have the capacity to dictate the entire look and feel of a room, and this is something which is very important to bear in mind. Therefore, there are some key aspects you need to bear in mind when you are seeking custom made interior doors for your home. https://pixabay.com/photos/door-toilet-door-peace-and-quiet-1229144/

Free Lilac Printable and a #Mothers Day Giveaway!

Mother’s Day is around the corner and I have a special printable for your mom as a sweet little gift. This is a watercolor of a photo of lilacs from my garden. Print on a heavier stock paper and frame with an 8.5 x 11 frame and it is gorgeous anywhere!

Borneo Without Breaking the Bank

While there are other places like Indonesia that can most definitely be tourist traps, there are countries not so far away, but still within Asia that is very cheap. Borneo is one of those places that can be a haven for backpackers, but what is the best way to get the most out of an expedition to Borneo without breaking the bank?

The Summer Retreat #ourgoodlifebooklist

If you need a summer beach read, don't hesitate to pick up The Summer Retreat by Sheila Roberts. I didn't realize when I picked up this book that it was the third in a series of books.  I'm always hesitant about getting a book in a middle of a series!  However, my fears were unfounded.  The author does a great job of getting you up to speed without seemingly doing so. The book is set in a small harbor town that makes you want to read it on a beach!

Six Best Things to do in New York City

New York. It really is the city that never sleeps. With a seemingly unlimited selection of restaurants, bars, exhibitions and shops, there's no shortage of things to do in the city. Whether you’re visiting for a long weekend or stopping over to see a family member or your children, it's guaranteed you’ll find something that suits everyone's tastes. We’ve rounded up a list of the six BEST things to do in the Big Apple, to make sure a great time is had by all. Image Source: Pexel

Pan Bagna #NationalPicnicDay

April 23 is National Picnic Day so my friends and I decided to share our favorite portable picnic foods with you.  I'm sharing Pan Bagna, a pressed sandwich that you can make ahead, thus saving you time on picnic day!

Swiss Almond Cheeseball

April 17 is National Cheeseball Day and I can't let it go by without sharing a super simple cheeseball recipe. So delicious, as well as easy!  I love the flavor of this Swiss Almond Cheeseball.

Peach Vodka Tonic #pinterestchallenge

Welcome to the April edition of Pinterest Challenge!  This is a group where we actually try the pins we save!  I had saved this pin to my Summer Lovin' board and wanted to get started on some of these delightful cocktails.  If you don't already, you should follow Summer Lovin'.  There are hundreds of fabulous summer ideas on that board!  The original maker of this drink was How Sweets Eats and the pin was found here .

Lavender Tea Bread with Lemon Glaze

My favorite way to celebrate Mother's Day is to go to a fancy brunch. I love having beautiful mimosas, decadent dishes to try and luscious breads:  scones, biscuits, tea breads all beautifully matched with special butters to go on them!  We are helping you create that pampered feeling of a fancy brunch without having to spend the big bucks!

Strawberry Fizz with Rhubarb Shrub

This month in Improv Cooking Challenge, we were given the combination of Strawberries and Rhubarb.  That's a tough combo this time of the year, many of us don't have rhubarb growing at the moment.  That was fine with me, I just used a bit of my homemade Rhubarb Shrub.   If you follow the link, you will learn about shrubs and how to make the rhubarb one.  So delicious in a cocktail.

10 Reasons to Visit Indonesia

Image Source. Licensed under Creative Commons. Indonesia has something for everyone – it’s no wonder that it’s one of the fastest growing travel destinations. Here are just 10 incredible reasons to visit Indonesia.

3 Benefits of a Motorhome Vacation

Image via Pixabay There is a big, exciting world out there, and there are all sorts of interesting and life-affirming ways to see it. You could, for example, fly to an all-inclusive five-star resort and spend a while being pampered, or you could visit one of the great cultural towns of your country, or an iconic world region, and spend your time checking out renowned art galleries and museums. This article, however, is going to tout the benefits of a motorhome vacation – whether that means buying your own, or renting an RV , and seeing how far you can travel across the country during the time that you have it in your possession. Without further ado, here are some of the benefits of a motorhome vacation.

Vacation Ideas for the Whole Family #ourgoodlifetravel

It’s getting to that time of year where you’re thinking about booking some time away with the kids. However, arranging a vacation that everybody is going to enjoy can be frustrating, not to mention difficult without spending too much money. When you have children, all you’re looking for is something that will entertain them, educate them, and also provide some sort of respite for Mom and Dad. That can’t be too difficult, right? Luckily, it’s not as hard as you might think and to help you out, we’ve come up with a list of easy vacation ideas for the whole family, so check it out!

Baked Romaine Chips

While it is still pretty early to have spring produce at your fingertips, I wanted to share with you this recipe for Baked Romaine Chips as they are so good and basically good for you!  In under 10 minutes, you can have a salty treat that won't break your diet. I'm joining the Baking Bloggers with their theme of Baking with Spring Vegetables. Romaine lettuce is a later growing spring crop, mainly because it can tolerate the heat more than other lettuces. Most gardeners plant their romaine after the spinach and chard have already made their appearances.

Three Great Beach Reads #ourgoodlifebooklist

I've been so busy reading that I haven't taken the time to do the reviews.  I want to catch up a bit and tell you about these incredible reads.  Please note:  I received these books for free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Caesar Egg Salad with Lettuce Wraps

Caesar Egg Salad is an Egg-straordinary Egg Salad, which is the theme of today's gathering.  You will find many ways listed below to make egg salad.  I am a big fan of eggs, and I have given you many egg dishes over the years, such as these Jalapeno Deviled Eggs , Lacy Eggs (one of the blog's most searched for post!) and Milk Poached Eggs (this is delicious, you don't know what you are missing!) I really like this Caesar Egg Salad because it is good for you keto dieters.  This is a low carb dish, especially if you use a homemade Caesar dressing, like the one I found here at Low Carb Maven.   This dressing is so good, you will want to eat it by the spoonfuls!

3 Fascinating US Cities

If you are thinking of taking a trip around the US , whether from abroad or from home, you will want to make sure that you are aware of where to go. Of course, there is plenty to see across the US, and you might feel that it is hard to narrow it down to a few options. But there are some cities, in particular, you might be keen to visit, and which can help to give you a taste of US life across the board, and those are what is worth looking at first in particular. In this article, we are going to take a look at a few of the best US cities that you should absolutely consider visiting so that you can make sure that you are seeing as much of the country as you would like to. Let’s take a look and see if these strike a chord with you. Credit San Francisco Known for its history of being a loving and hippie kind of place, San Francisco is also just a great place to visit generally. Whether you want to go and see the infamous prison of Alcatraz, or you are thinking about jus

Solar Lights Flower Stakes

I am delighted to be joining Bring on the Crafts monthly blog hop sponsored by Inspiration Vault and Craftify My Love.  Our theme for the month is anything to do with flowers. I may have stretched the theme a bit, but I love making plant stakes for my flowers every year.  Remember when I made these plant markers with plastic spoons from Dollar Tree?  Or these s uper easy and fast clothespins markers ? These new plant stakes are a tiny bit more complicated, but still easy and fun! My little cutting garden is in the back corner of my yard and I wanted to do a little something that would show me where it was at night.  As I was searching for plant markers, I found these simple outdoor solar lights and instantly knew I could combine the two needs into one item. Thus the Solar Lights Flower Stakes was born! I didn't need many materials, and what I did have to buy all came from Dollar Tree. I happily painted the rim of the solar lights white, taking care to make the brush

Making the Most of Your Free Time

As a fully-grown adult human, you have duties and responsibilities that can feel as heavy as the weight of the world. To get nice things, however, you have to work for them, so you have to spend the majority of your life completely switched on and focused – things don’t just happen. Every so often, however, you need a little break from the rigors of everyday life. A lot of people get themselves into a weekly pattern that is so systematic that it can be somewhat unfulfilling. You need to break that routine at times if you want to make the most of your time off. There are hundreds of things you can do, but here are a few for starters. Be With Friends Being social is healthy, but if you want to really enjoy your days, you need to be with the people you love. Everybody likes their own company at one time or another, but being around your buddies is much better. You can’t create too many memories sat at home in your pajamas. Do Some Exercise Keeping active is one of the best thing

Buying for Someone Who Doesn't Know What They Want

When a special occasion is on the horizon, like a birthday, or Christmas, it can break us out in cold sweat. After all, getting gifts for people is difficult at the best of times. What do you do when there's someone that you want to buy something to mark an occasion, but they are the type of person that says “I don't need anything?” Or, they are someone that never wants anything for their birthday anyway? It's very frustrating because you want to mark the occasion in some way, and a gift is usually a good way to do this. Let's see if we can provide some solutions. Don't Be Afraid To Get Inspiration From Unlikely Sources There are sites like Gifts for Mum that provides you with an abundance of choices. In one respect, this is great, but if you've got too many options to choose from, it can be difficult to whittle down to one perfect gift. So instead, if you are struggling to buy the perfect gift for someone like this, perhaps going for the gift basket app

The Best Places To See Nature In All Its Glory

There are so many ways to travel , and so many reasons that you might want to, that you might find it challenging to work out what kind of travel is best for you. One of the very best things you can do with a traveling bug is to go and see as much of the natural world as possible. Nature is beautiful in all its forms, and seeing more of its variety has a way of really opening you up to the splendor of living on Earth, while also often provide a great opportunity for you to get away from it all and truly, fully relax. In this article, we are going to take a look at some of the best places that you might want to consider going to in order to see nature in all of its fantastic glory. As long as you have tried out these, you will get a much better understanding and appreciation of the natural world. Australia Because of its sheer size, Australia is always going to be a major consideration when it comes to finding somewhere naturally beautiful to visit and roam around. There is ju

PB and J Fat Bombs

Remember this schoolyard chant?  Peanut, peanut butter. Jelly.  Peanut, peanut butter. Jelly.  I used to love saying this rhyme with my students! It's National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day!  The average American will eat over 2000 PBJs before graduating from high school!  Peanut butter was considered gourmet food in the early 20th century.  Both the Good Housekeeping magazine and Table Talk magazine published a peanut butter sandwich recipe in 1896! According to the National Day website, the first PB and J may have been served in 1901 by Julia Davis Chandler.  In the 1920s the price of peanut butter went down and the sandwich became popular with children. Peanut Butter and Jelly has come a long way since its early roots.  PBJ is a flavor profile that is recognized by most Americans.  To celebrate, I made up some PB and J Fat Bombs and boy, are they good! I make these from sugar-free jelly to make them more keto. Yield: 24 Author: Terri Steffes Print Recipe With

Eggs Benedict Casserole #TasteCreations

For April the Taste Creation bloggers are showering you with Brunch Recipes!  We are so excited about how close Easter is and wanted to give you some tried and true recipes that you could use for your Easter morning breakfast. I first saw this recipe on the Betty Crocker website, but over time, we have learned to adjust the recipe and this is what we do now. We let everyone serve themselves the hollandaise sauce by passing it around in a gravy pitcher. We like a good cocktail on Our Good Life, so if you like a cocktail at your brunch, check out these recipes:  Raspberry Limoncello Blush , Skinny Pom Sparkler , Fresh Peach Daiquiri , and the Front Porch Sipper. Yield: 12 Author: Terri Steffes Print Recipe With Image Without Image Eggs Benedict Casserole Delicious casserole made with the same ingredients as Eggs Benedict, but faster and easier! prep time: 2 hour and 15 mins cook time: 40 mins total time: 2 hours and 55 mins ingredients: For the casserole