vintage motorcycle show

 

Just a week or so ago Mike and I went to a vintage motorcycle show.  It was held at the Gilmore Car Museum, about half an hour away from where we live.  Neither of had ever been there before, regardless of it not being too far away, so it was fun to visit!

 

So there are a bunch of photos up in here today, but we liked so much of what we saw!  Here are some of my favorites:

 

 

 

Pony cycle!  so cute.

 

 

And these are Mike's favs:

 

 

After we looked at all of the motorcycles at the outdoor show, we got to go into the car museum for free, so of course we took advantage of it!  Check out these cars, people!  Oh to have lived back in the day when these were on the road!  *sigh*  I think I would've been giddy to have picked up for a date in one of these suckers.  Can you imagine going to the drive-in wearing a pretty dress, a bucket of popcorn in your lap, and sitting a beauty like this?! ...dreamy.

 

 

 

What a darling little camper!!

 

 

Oh, and this used to be a set in a kid's Disney movie...I don't remember which one, and I hadn't seen whichever one it was...just thought it was cool to be next to a giant sized car, haha!

 

 

And now for a teensy one!  What fun it would be to play in one of these as a child!

 

 

side car!

 

 

We had a great time!  I'm glad we got to go.  Sadly, we heard in the news that night that a motorcyclist had been killed on the road to the museum that day.  Most likely it was someone that had also been at the show; there were sooo many people there on their own personal bikes.  My prayers go out to the family of those gone.  This is a good reminder, especially with the great summer weather, to be extra careful while driving, and watch out for motorcyclist... they're a lot smaller and harder to spot, so do head checks and look twice people!

 

Hope you all have a good hump day!

what's in my wardrobe~ caddy pants

 

Yesterday Mike was watching golf, and suddenly got the itch to hit some balls.  It had just stopped raining, and there was a possibility it would start back up, so we jumped up from the couch and ran out the door with his clubs.  I've never golfed in my life, and don't have a desire to, but I like going along to drive the cart like a mad-woman, drink some beer, and give my caddy advice (I know nothing!  ...but I still pretend).

 

The weather turned out to be really beautiful, and the only reason I needed this sweater was because of the cool breeze we got while I was driving the cart around.  Those things go a little too slow in my opinion, haha.  Mike did throw it in neutral at one point while we were going down a hill, so we got a bit of speed- woo!

 

 

Here's Mike's first swing of the year!  He did really well for not having been out for a whole year!

 

 

posing....obviously.  I don't have a golf ball or anything, heh.  It was a fun time, and I'm glad we got out!

 

 

outfit details~

sweater & pants~ thrifted // lace top~ charlotte rusche // tank top~ ? // sandals~ target // sunnies~ firmoo

 

 

 

*reminder*  If you follow Exploring Woods via GFC, it's going away shortly.  If you'd like to continue to follow along, consider bloglovin as an alternative; just click the button below!  There are other options, of course; bloglovin's just what I use and it works well for me!  Happy Father's Day, Dad!!

 

let's eat~ carrot cake

 

I'm here to tempt you with more photos of mouth watering carrot cake again today.  As mentioned yesterday, I acquired an abundance of carrots over the past few weeks, thanks to my lack of memory and knowing that I already had some stowed away in the refrigerator.  So, knowing that I would likely not snack on that many carrots, I decided to make a carrot cake to use some of them up.  I mean, what else do you make with carrots, come on?  Wait, sshhh, don't think too hard about that, I really just wanted cake.

 

The recipe I used was from good ol' Betty Crocker, and it turned out to be super simple as well as tasty.  I peeked at another recipe book of mine before hand, but it was a little to fancy and ambitious for what I was feeling at the moment, having ginger (which I didn't have), and an orange flavored cream cheese frosting.

 

In case you're feeling slightly ambitious (but not too much so), here's the recipe:

 

Carrot Cake

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour (if using self rising, omit baking soda & salt)

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups shredded carrots (5 medium, or a zillion baby ones in my case)

1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (I used pecans)

handful of raisins (not in the recipe, but I wanted them)

 

1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease bottom and sides of one 13 x 9 inch pan, or 2 8-inch or 9-inch round pans with shortening; lightly flour.

2.  In large bowl, beat sugar, oil and eggs with electric mixer on low speed about 30 seconds or until blended.  Add flour, cinnamon, baking soda, vanilla and salt; beat on low speed 1 minute.  Stir in carrots and nuts.  Pour into pan(s).

3.  Bake 13 x 9 pan 40-45 minutes, round pans 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool rectangle pan on wire rack.  Cool rounds 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire rack.  Cool completely, about 1 hour.

4.  Frost 13 x 9-inch cake or fill and frost round layers with cream cheese frosting.  Store covered in refrigerator.

 

 

Cream cheese frosting

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened

2 to 3 teaspoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 cups powdered sugar

 

1.  In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, milk and vanilla with electric mixer on low speed until smooth.

2.  Gradually beat in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, on low speed until smooth and spreadable.  Frosts 13 x 9-in cake generously, or fills and frosts an 8 or 9-inch two-layer cake.

 

Yum.  What have you been baking lately?
Happy weekend!

food & beer friday~ cucumber hibiscus ale

 

I'm so pleased that I randomly picked up a mixed party pack of Magic Hat beer at the grocery store the other night.  I was just looking for something to have with dinner, and it was between the beer, or some liquor to make amaretto sours...sounded good at the moment, although I rarely drink hard stuff.

 

It was exciting seeing this Cucumber Hibiscus Ale amongst the other bottles, and I knew this was the first I wanted to try.  (Kristin, probably not as good as your hibiscus ale, but maybe you could get your hands on this one??)  Guys, it is so good!  It's not like any beer I've ever had...it's really hard to describe.  Mike thinks it tastes like potpourri, but I don't think so...drinking potpourri doesn't sound pleasant, haha!  I can see where he comes from, but potpourri in my mind smells like cinnamon and Christmas, and this has none of that.  It does kind of remind me of cucumber melon lotion from Bath & Body Works...that doesn't make it sound better I'm sure, but trust me it's delicious!  Pretty sweet, but not overpowering, with no real hop flavor.

 

 

Our house has accidentally acquired quite a few carrots (ehem, me forgetting we already had some, and buying more...a few weeks in a row), so I made a carrot cake to use some up yesterday.  These two things paired together were soo good!  This was dinner while sitting outside with Mike and our dog, haha!

 

 

details:

Brewery~ Magic Hat in South Burlington, VT // ABV~ 4.2% // hops~ Appolo & Zeus // malts~ pale, wheat, and caramel

 

This is a seasonal beer, available April-July, so you better pick some up quickly if you want to try it!

 

 

What's Kristin featuring this week?  Click here to find out!

Grab our button and link up below with your own food and/ or beer post throughout the weekend!

 

 

<a href="http://skinnyjeanschailatte.com/search/label/Food%20Beer%20Fridays" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1252.photobucket.com/albums/hh568/sknnyjeanschai/ScreenShot2013-03-20at85155PM_zpsd814f054.png" border="0" /></a>

what to wear~ on an ice cream date

 

 

 

The What to Wear team is dressing for an ice cream date this week!  Oh ice cream, I love it so.  Now is the perfect time of year for some too, with things heating up.  These photos were taken the day after my three day cleanse.  I was definitely ready for some ice cream after that, hehe.

 

I've mentioned Plainwell Ice Cream before in a few of my posts (found here and here), and it remains to be my favorite ice cream shop.  I've gone there ever since I can remember, so it has sentimental value, as well as truly delicious ice cream.

 

 

Guys, I'm sure you know this, but it's super weird taking outfit photos in public.  I can't really handle it...so all you get of the real deal are those top sneaky photos; I had Mike snap a few more of my outfit once we got home.

 

 

See how long our grass got??  We loved it, but alas it's been cut twice since.  Our backyard neighbor informed us that we'd better be careful or the city would fine us for it being too long.  Not sure if he meant that to be helpful or as a "hint."  Until we live in the country one day, I guess we have to abide by city rules.  I'm tempted to rip out all the grass and just plant a bunch of stuff...

 

 

outfit details:

dress & belt~ thrifted // lace top~ charlotte russe

 

 

Please stop by Nicole's blog throughout the day and see what the other ladies wear while cooling off with a cone!  Link up yourself if you wish, or join us next time on June 27 when we show what we wear while crafting.

photo an hour

This past Saturday Mike and I both had the day off of work, and enjoyed spending time together.  Our city had a big weekend planned, chuck full of fun things to do, so we decided to go check out some of the happenings.  I thought it'd be fun to do a photo an hour of our busy, fun-filled day.  Here's my day in photos of Saturday, June 8.

 

8am- computer & coffee before heading out

 

9am-  Went to the farmer's market for the first time this year!  I got asparagus, tomatoes, & eggs

 

10am-  After the market, we went downtown to check out the art vendors on the mall, and in the park.  On the walk down from where we parked, we went past the Greek Festival going on.  Although it's a good time, we didn't go in this year because it's a bit pricey to get in, and then you have to buy food and everything separately. 

 

11am-  There were lots of zombies at the do-dah parade this year.  This is a parade for local businesses, where they all dress up as absurdly as possible.  This kid cracked me up; he had the whole leg-dragging-on-the-street thing going on.

 

12 noon-  We looked at some art set up in the park.  This little mouse was the cutest little thing!  Pricey for such a small little dude, but I'm sure it's worth the effort put into it.

 

1pm-  We were pretty hungry and worn out from all the walking we did.  Our plan all along was to get lunch here at Bell's, our local brewery and have a brew.  It was a good plan of course (Bell's is always a good plan).

 

2pm-  It took a little longer than usual to get our food because the zoo was hopping.  That just left time for more beer!  I had a black bean wrap, and Mike had some beer brats.  Sooo tasty!

3pm-  On our walk back to our car, a train started coming.  Being smart like we are, we wanted to hurry and get past the tracks before it came.  Thankfully it was going uber slow, so we didn't get run over, and I had time to get an "oh-snap!" picture of Mike.  The tracks were buzzing at us, though, which I'm sure was it yelling at us to get off....don't play on tracks guys.

 

4pm-  walking + sun + beer = nap time, for me and kitty.

 

5pm-  rounding up some donations before heading out to the thrift store.

 

6pm-  Thrifting!  I ended up getting a roll of contact paper for a project, and Mike got a golf shirt.

 

7pm-  Disc golf time!  I wasn't into playing this day, so I walked along for a bit until I got tired and went to watch some families of geese at a pond while Mike finished.

 

8pm-  Winding down for the day with a computer and two cats on my lap.

Saturday was a fun and busy day!  Hope you all have a great day today!

drum rooooollll.....!

And the winner of my blog birthday giveaway is Jacqui from Dusty Country Road!!  Yeah!  Congrats, girl, and thank you to everyone who enters and reads my blog.  I truly appreciate you all. :)

I'm off to have a fabulous day off cruising the town with my hubby!  I hope you all have an amazing weekend!