Award and More Recipes

This will be a bit of a long post, but there are great things all around: I received a great award and the recipes I'm posting are A LOT lighter than the last one :P {That's for you, Barbara!}

Big thanks to Tori at Tori's Teacher Tips for thinking of me when giving out this award:

!!!!!

I love being a part of the blogging community and think it helped me tremendously throughout my first year of teaching and will for the next thirty years! Thank you, Tori!

The rules:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you.  Of course! Huge thanks, seriously.

2. Include a link to their site. I heart Tori's blog. Have a look around.

3. Include the award image in your post. Got it.

4. Give 7 random facts about yourself. See below.

5. Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award. So many fantastic bloggers.

6. When nominating, include a link to their site. 

7. Let other bloggers know they've been nominated. 

Random Facts:
1. My dearest friend, Jessie, has been my best friend since Kindergarten.
2. I have suddenly developed allergies {I don't know to what exactly but not to any foods - phew!} and for someone that L.O.V.E.S. summer, this is the worst.
3. I have been asked to run a workshop for Math and Literacy Centers for our teacher orientation in August. I'm nervous and excited to map out a plan for this.
4. Right now I'm wearing my new Merrell "Barefoots." They are the lightest footwear I've ever owned. Okay, so because it's like walking on bare feet and most of us usually don't, I have to "break them in." Which sounds weird, I know, but its important for my muscles. Jeff and I ended up getting the same pair {plain black} because we do so much wandering when we travel.

5. One of my favourite shows is HGTV's House Hunters International. We have a bit of a dream to one day own income property overseas.

6. I just ordered dozens of white roses for our wedding day, which is coming up SUPER fast {July 21} and I could not be more happy and excited about. I am also working on some white hydrangeas. Gotta keep it simple for an evening wedding :)
7. I find it annoying that my blog posts are filled with so many different fonts, when I specifically have only one chosen for my template. Not as techy as I wish I was!

I'm now giving the award to: 
1. Susie at Learning with Susie Q {Susie is one of my most supportive followers and she has great ideas to share!}
2. Erin at First with Franklin {She's having a giveaway right now in honour of 100 followers}
3. 1st Grade Hip Hip Hooray 
4. Jacque at Mommy & Me Creations
5. Brittany at Sweet Seconds
6. Casey at Second Grade Math Maniac
7. Heather at Second Grade Perks
8. Kimberlee at Teacher Time Savers
9. Nicole at Mrs. Rios Teaches Second Grade
10. Stephanie and Jamie at Prayers and Purple Elephants
11. Barbara at Grade ONEderful {She already has this award of course but she is such a great bloggy friend that I just need to show some appreciation! And she's Canadian!}
12. Alessia at Mrs. Albanese's Kindergarten Class {Another fellow Canadian!}
13. Jenny at Luckeyfrog's Lilypad
14. Amanda {great name! hah} at Reaching for the Top! Ms. Wilkie's Second Grade Class.
And last, but most certainly not least, my absolute favourite teacher in the entire world:
15. Jeff at A New Classroom! He started his blog just a bit ago and is creating a very detailed game-based system for teaching his grade eight class next year. Go check it out if you'd like a fresh perspective on teaching middle school.

Now on to the food.

So this long weekend friends of mine hosted a three-bride {myself and two other good friends} bachelorette party at Blue Mountain and it was SO great! We have a great group of friends that we met while teaching in Korea and I'm so thankful for such a helpful, supportive and loving bunch. I made snacks to hold us over between meals and they were all a big hit. *CLICK ANY OF THE PICTURES OR THE TITLES TO GO STRAIGHT TO THE RECIPE* I highly recommend everything I made: 

Roasted Tomato and Garlic Salsa from Mama Loves Food - make it as spicy {or not} and as chunky {or not} as you'd like. The key is in roasting the veggies. It was definitely like restaurant salsa.

Olive Tapenade with fresh French bread - This was SO EASY to make! Just put all ingredients (black olives, green olives, garlic - that's it} into a food processor and voila. Also Delicious and also from Mama Loves Food.

Warm Spinach and Artichoke Dip {one of my favourites!} This recipe is from Chatelaine, one of my favourite "everything" magazines. If I still lived in Canada I'm fairly certain I'd have a subscription.

Goat Cheese and Bacon Balls - from another favourite recipe site, Buns in My Oven. Blended with cream cheese, the strong goat cheese flavour is nice and mild. If you let them sit too long after making, the basil starts to take over the flavour of the bacon, so I guess it's up to you when to eat!
If you need a quick and tasty bbq potluck, try one out. You won't be disappointed!
- Amanda