Beach Day - DIY's and Survival Kit

Hopefully you are ready for a beach day because that is the focus of this week’s blog post. The colour we chose is again in the Tarte eyeshadow palette and it is called “Beach Therapy” and it is a matte peachy/sandy shade.

Our focus is getting you beach ready so we have some great crafts that you can take with you on your beach day as well as a must pack list of items to make you comfortable for your beach day.

Crafty DIY’s

Something that is so easy and great to take with you to the beach, are DIY decorated flip flops. All you need is a pair of plain flip flops (you choose the colour you like) and then you can find some little adornments that you can hot glue gun to them. You can do a sparkly jewel theme, a shell theme, or any other idea that you may come up with. You can just attach one big flower to each and spruce up the plain pair of flip flops just like that!

Take a look at this for inspiration...

http://www.marciseither.com/diy-fabulous-flip-flops/

Another cool idea we saw was this beach hat. The one in the link below is inspired by a watermelon but you can do any pattern or design that you like. You just need to find a big straw sun hat and some craft/fabric paint and then you can create whatever you like and it’ll keep you protected at the beach and be a fashion statement! You can also add some ribbon (by hot gluing) or other decorative elements (by hot gluing or sewing) if you like.

https://studiodiy.com/2016/06/09/diy-watermelon-floppy-hat/

Something really cool that we found is a decorated cooler. Even your cooler should be stylish at the beach. For this one you’ll need a cooler, preferably a white one, and then you can paint it to a colour that you like and decorate it with vinyl pieces that you can cut out and make whatever shapes you want.

https://thecraftedlife.com/diy-cooler-makeover/#more-12407

Here are a few more things that you can make for the beach (an umbrella, a cover up, and a towel) which take a bit more effort to make. These do require some more skill, haha, so if you are adventurous, then give these a go.

https://sugarandcloth.com/diy-retro-beach-umbrella/

https://www.merricksart.com/diy-friday-pom-pom-trim-beach-coverup/

https://www.simplesimonandco.com/2015/05/simple-diy-beach-towel-tutorial.html/

Beach Day Survival Kit

Ok, so now it’s time to look at the must have in your beach bag for a perfect beach day!

Sunscreen

First Aid Kit (make sure you have band aids, alcohol swabs, after bite, antibiotic ointment/cream, allergy medicine, and a pain reliever)

Change of clothes and a towel

Cooler

Aloe Gel

Sunglasses

Hat

Beach Blanket

Beach Umbrella

Beach Chairs

Portable speaker

Hair Elastic/Brush

Card Games

A good book

Chapstick with SPF

Comfortable beach shoes (flip flops or sandals)

Sand Coasters

Sand Toys/Sand Castle Making Supplies

Sports Stuff (Frisbee, volleyball, baseball mitts, beach ball)

Rubber Dingy/Inflatable Toy or Boat

Towel Clips

Cool Drinks (juice boxes, pop, Gatorade, premade drinks in a bottle, water)

Snacks (fruits, veggies, cookies, chips, crackers, freezies if you have a good cooler)

Lunch/Dinner (sandwiches-egg salad is always a good cool one but any cold sandwich works such as cucumber, ham and cheese or roast beef, pasta salads are another great option, as are wraps, coleslaw, potato salad, bunwiches, cold fried chicken, green salad, and hot dogs)

Portable BBQ (if allowed)

Mother's Day Slaw and Sandwich

This weekend is Mother’s Day and we are sticking with the things to do for mom this week on the blog. We’re gonna go down the food road today and share with you some recipes for a healthy fresh Spring lunch for mom (these would be good picnic recipes too).

I’m a big fan of fresh coleslaw. I like the simple deli style with the mayonnaise sauce, cabbage, onions, and carrots. I first tried it in England and was hooked; it was so delicious. However, some people like a different and more exciting take on coleslaw so that’s why we are sharing Nicole’s broccoli slaw recipe today with you.

For the Broccoli Slaw you will need the following...

Broccoli, chopped in bite sized pieces

Red grapes, cut in half

Sunflower seeds

Red onion, sliced thin

Slivered Almonds

Raisins

Chopped Bacon

Cheddar cheese, cut into small chunks

1 cup of Mayonnaise, 2 tbsp. vinegar, ¼ cup of sugar (cane or raw)

Whisk together the sauce (Mayonnaise, sugar, and vinegar) and then pour over the other cut ingredients in a large bowl and toss. It’s that easy. Most of the work, like with many slaws, comes in the form of chopping and slicing. Chill and then serve.

Something refreshing and delicious and very healthy to make alongside a slaw, is a sandwich. I came up with a form of a Clubhouse sandwich one morning when I was looking through the fridge at the leftovers.

You will need a ripe avocado, brown bread (your choice and it doesn’t have to be brown), Roma tomatoes, lettuce, bacon, turkey breast or chicken breast (I used leftover turkey the first time I made this but when we just made this, we used deli roasted chicken breast), and then some condiments (we just used Mayonnaise but an aioli would be yummy too).

First things first, cook the bacon and then let it cool slightly.

While the bacon is cooling, slice the avocados, tomatoes, and then wash and dry the lettuce.

Now to assemble the sandwich...toast the bread and then spread on the Mayonnaise.

Then place on the chicken or turkey.

On top of that put on the tomatoes, bacon, avocados, and lettuce.

 Put the other slice of bread on top and then slice in half diagonally. 

Serve with the cold slaw and there you have a yummy healthy Mother’s Day lunch for mom.