Happy Memorial Day!! We remember those who sacrificed so much to serve us today. It is also a day to spend time with friends and family and celebrate the official beginning of the summer! Today we are having the first of many BBQs. I recently discovered chimichurri sauce on flank steak at Wholefoods (but that is for another post). It is so delicious but I searched and searched for an easy all-American dessert that we could make over and over again for all our summer guests……AND, I think this is it……WAIT FOR IT…….Ice Cream Sandwich Cake. You are going to love it. Happy BBQ!!!!!
Ice Cream Sandwich Cake
24 ice cream sandwiches unwrapped
2 (8 oz) containers whipped topping (such as cool whip) thawed
1 jar hot fudge sauce
1 jar caramel ice cream topping
1/4 cup chopped peanuts to taste (optional)
- Arrange a layer of ice cream sandwiches in the bottom of a 9×13-inch dish; top with a layer of whipped topping, hot fudge topping, and caramel topping. Repeat layering with remaining ice cream sandwiches, whipped topping, hot fudge topping, and caramel topping, ending with a top layer of whipped topping. Sprinkle with pecans. Cover dish with aluminum foil and freeze until set, at least 30 minutes.
We are still in graduation mode here so this week’s Fashionable Friend Friday is our cousin Caroline Gillespie!!! Caroline, a sophomore at Elon University, was recently featured in The Post, yes, THE NEW YORK POST about writing the perfect college essay, by using her travels and passion to get into college. Here is the ARTICLE. I have also added her essay below. GOOOOOOOOO Caroline!!!!! Bon Weekend!!!
If I were given $10,000 to invest in a project that I am passionate about it would be a mission based on ocean conservation. I will admit, going through daily life, it is hard to avoid all kinds of plastic since plastic is so convenient. From my daily cup of coffee, to takeout, to makeup, and school supplies, plastics are everywhere. Before this past summer, when I went on a National Geographic Student Expedition to Belize and learned of plastics’ damaging affects on marine life, I frequently used plastic bags, water bottles, and straws. Since returning home, I have become extremely aware of the amount of plastic present in my environment and I try to find other resources. Now, I bring reusable water bottles to school and even use a metal straw, given to me in Belize, for my daily smoothies. Instead of using plastic grocery bags, my mom and I now use the reusable grocery bags, and when I can, I hold my recently purchased items in my hands rather than using a plastic bag. If I walk out of a store without a bag, people usually give me weird stares and wonder why I do not just put my items in a bag. These odd looks make me think of my time spent in Belize and ways I can work towards reducing the amount of plastics that end up in the ocean by raising public awareness.
Twenty percent of the plastics in the ocean come from ships and offshore platforms. If I were given $10,000 to invest in a company, I would find a company that works to identify ways to reduce plastic contamination. I know that people tend to comingle their trash because of the element of convenience and this is especially true when living out at sea. I would spend a portion of the money to help create a machine that automatically separates trash into waste and plastic. This way, when necessary, people can still use plastics while working on ocean platforms or ships, but when they discard them into trash containers, the machine would automatically separate the trash to ensure it would not end up in the ocean. This machine would help to counteract the ongoing problem of sea life eating the plastic and dying. While snorkeling in Belize, during my student expedition, I witnessed the issue, firsthand, when I collected trash found in the ocean. By the end of the snorkel my water shoes were filled with trash, the majority of which was plastic. I even saw a dissected fish whose stomach was filled with plastic wrappers where the original labels were still visible.
I would use the remaining funds to publicize the product to all companies with offshore platforms or ships. Companies that use the ocean daily have a large incentive to keep the water clear of debris. I think that marine conservation, and specifically the reduction of plastics in the water, is an important issue to invest in because the ocean’s health is tied to our health.
Caroline’s Artwork depicting ocean trash inspired by her trip to Belize.
My son is graduating from High School today!!! Hip Hip Hurray!!!!!! We made it!!!!! I am so excited for him. Today is all about the graduates. Yesterday, Sarah Jessica Parker gave the commencement speech at Harvard. It got me thinking of all past graduates and amazing commencement speeches throughout the years. Best of luck to the Class of 2016!!!
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Are you beach bag ready for Memorial Day Weekend?? Sadly I am not!!! I have my son’s graduation and graduation party to get through before I gear up for the summer. In the meanwhile, I can dream about long beach days and all the fun accessories that go with them. I love these colorful beach bags. I am leaning toward the “Soleil” one for myself. Which one would you choose?
A good friend recently installed an aquarium in her bar. I have been following the procedure along with her and it is really amazing when everything is said and done. Believe me, it is not for the faint of heart. It is a challenge to get everything just right but when it is done, you will have a masterpiece. Here are some ways to incorporate aquariums in your interiors….
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Today’s Book Club Monday choice is one that my own AWESOME book club girls chose…it is The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney. It has become an instant New York Times bestseller and the Amazon Best Book for March 2016. The story goes like this:
Every family has its problems. But even among the most troubled, the Plumb family stands out as spectacularly dysfunctional. Years of simmering tensions finally reach a breaking point on an unseasonably cold afternoon in New York City as Melody, Beatrice, and Jack Plumb gather to confront their charismatic and reckless older brother, Leo, freshly released from rehab. Months earlier, an inebriated Leo got behind the wheel of a car with a nineteen-year-old waitress as his passenger. The ensuing accident has endangered the Plumbs’ joint trust fund, “The Nest,” which they are months away from finally receiving. Meant by their deceased father to be a modest mid-life supplement, the Plumb siblings have watched The Nest’s value soar along with the stock market and have been counting on the money to solve a number of self-inflicted problems.
Melody, a wife and mother in an upscale suburb, has an unwieldy mortgage and looming college tuition for her twin teenage daughters. Jack, an antiques dealer, has secretly borrowed against the beach cottage he shares with his husband, Walker, to keep his store open. And Bea, a once-promising short-story writer, just can’t seem to finish her overdue novel. Can Leo rescue his siblings and, by extension, the people they love? Or will everyone need to reimagine the futures they’ve envisioned? Brought together as never before, Leo, Melody, Jack, and Beatrice must grapple with old resentments, present-day truths, and the significant emotional and financial toll of the accident, as well as finally acknowledge the choices they have made in their own lives.
This is a story about the power of family, the possibilities of friendship, the ways we depend upon one another and the ways we let one another down. In this tender, entertaining, and deftly written debut, Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney brings a remarkable cast of characters to life to illuminate what money does to relationships, what happens to our ambitions over the course of time, and the fraught yet unbreakable ties we share with those we love. Summary Amazon.com
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