Open-Faced Bacon Burgers

Mmmmmm - who can pass up on a tasty bacon burger?  Whip up these fast little guys with some leftover strips of crispy bacon and a little surprise - English muffin half-buns.

Another trip to the zoo...

I'm on my third field trip to the zoo this summer - this time Little Man's class headed to Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek, Michigan. The biggest feature of this zoo is the Wild Africa part of the park with it's safari full of zebras, ostrich, and other various safari animals. The most popular attraction is the giant and friendly giraffas where you can get on a platform at their head level and feed them biscuits and lettuce. This zoo is really a full day trip as you can spend a half day easily in the Africa section, which is a ways away from the rest of the zoo. It can be a bit much for little kids so plan on a wagon or stroller but it offers a great experience for all ages.

Zippy 15-Bean & Ham Soup

As we start entering that time of fall and rainy, cool days here and there, I start to crave more soups and stews and warm, hearty comfort food.  This is a recipe that you don't have to feel guilty about going back for a second bowl either.  Its full of natural goodness that is well-seasoned and simmered to perfection.  And its a very inexpensive way to feed a hungry crowd.  Serve it with a crusty french loaf and you can serve about 12 hungry adults.  You do have to plan ahead because unless you have a ham bone (like a ham hock) in your freezer, you will want to make this a day or two after you use a bone-in half-ham like I did here.

The Cabin

Love this place. Michiganders call it "up north" - which means anything north of the center of the mitten. About 40 acres of heaven to an outdoorsman with state and federal land near. There is always a lot to do here if you feel like doing anything and a lot of great ways to do nothing at all. Our kids have the same love for this place that we do and always look forward to coming. I hope its a place that is giving them a lot of great memories to look back on. There are boxes of pictures here from over the years of my husband and his siblings as kids that we always end up dragging out and a notebook we've been signing in for about a dozen years.

This particular weekend my husband and his brothers and brother-in-laws had decided to sign up for a softball tournament. I hope its a new tradition. While they didn't win the tournament, we all had a lot of fun and his parents enjoyed seeing so much of the family together. We had a lot of fun with our matching hats and shirts and posing for silly pictures together. Yesterday we took the kids on a canoe trip with my brother-in-law and his son and ended up at my husband's uncle's cabin. This gave us the opportunity to check out some more family pictures and show the kids some cool pictures of their great-grandpa.

It is hard for me to slow down and enjoy these kinds of moments at home where the to-do list looms and grows bigger by the minute so its nice to end my week's vacation with a long weekend at the cabin sitting by the campfire and ponds gazing at the stars and listening to the birds and kids' laughter.

Check Out This Great Deal From Famous Footwear!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Famous Footwear for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
I'm the first to admit that back-to-school shopping is not my favorite thing to do.  My daughter, however, is another story.  The minute the first bin of pencils is out she is on it.  I'm actually getting excited that she is almost in the same size as I am so I can steal her clothes and shoes - she has way better fashion sense than I do!  Speaking of shoes, as a fourth-grader, her feet are growing almost daily so it seems like we are constantly on the hunt for quality shoes that will stand up to her vigorous day but not put a huge dent in my cash flow.  That's where Famous Footwear is coming to the rescue!

Right now, Famous Footwear is offering a great back-to-school deal with not only 15% off but also Buy One, Get One Half Off with this special coupon - wow!  BOGO + 15% off Famous Footwear Coupon  And if you are a Rewards Member or sign up to join their free rewards program, you can get 20% off.  The Rewards Program gives you 1 point for every $1 you spend with Famous Footwear.  You'll get special inside discounts and perks and you can acculumate points to earn certificates up to $100 a year.
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Pond at the Cabin

After two days of rain and mist we are presented with this site at the cabin. I am so thankful for both the rain and the sunshine. We are sitting here listening to the sounds of nature around us...and the 10 million questions from the children about those sounds.

Get the most out of your bone-in half-ham.

I always cringe when I look at meat prices these days.  So I try to buy big hunks of meat when I have the time to deal with them and get as many meals as possible out of them.  So I was looking at ham and the fully-cooked,bone-in, half-ham was only $1.98/pound - hard to get better than that anymore.  I took a 10-pounder home.  And you can see that I trimmed it a couple different ways. 

Greek Maple Peach Crepes

This fresh and light dish can be served for breakfast or as a dessert - what a treat! Start by dicing 2 over-ripe peaches. Mix with 1 cup of plain Greek yogurt and 1 tablespoon of real maple syrup.  Set aside.

Humbly Featured!

Please join us at the blog hop at Frugal Living and More!  I'm being featured - thanks so much, Esther!

31 Day Photo Challenge - Day 7 - Something Cute

Day 7 of the 31 Day Photo Challenge hosted by Thrift Shop Commando!