L.E.N.S. Photo Challenge ~ You are My Sunshine

Yeah for sharing photos! Over at Home is Where You Start From weekly photo challenges are held. I just found them, became a follower & am entering their challenge for this week " You are my Sunshine." I chose this photo of my lovely sister to submit because she was kind enough to let me practice "action shots" while we went for a walk (and ended up in a river!)

Although my sister and I are still close, we don't get to see each other all that often anymore. This day was just really special and it came to mind as soon as I heard all the name of the challenge. :)

Best Friends + Lattes = A Great Day!

The other day, one of my dearest and best friends Sarah came over! We shared some great talks...and great coffee! Well, great lattes. :) She brought over one of my favorite coffees, Dunkin Donuts Strawberry Shortcake. It's ridiculously expensive but so ridiculously good! So we ground it up, brewed it strong and steamed some milk (with extra foam, of course!) and it was wonderful!

Because Diana was being a crazy person we also went on a walk (we were also slightly crazy, after the lattes and all. Im not even taking into consideration the morning coffee!) So we went on a walk a walk and it was awesome...well. Mostly.

(I had written a big long thing about this but just decided not to) Basically, we were in an uncomfortable situation that involved several men blocking that trail. God kept us safe, nothing happened and the police were called. And I'm not allowed to walk on trails by myself anymore. So from now on, we're just going to stick to the sidewalk from now on. We will not be taking the road less traveled. Unless, of course, I have my big strong hubby with me :)

Vanilla or Hazelnut Iced Coffe Recipe :)

My dream come true... A Mc Donald's in my own home!!! Ok, not really. But the next best thing, a copy cat recipe of a Mc Donald's iced coffee! Yup, it's true, I finally found and tweaked an iced coffee recipe that tastes just like my new favorite drink. :) The secret is to cold brew the coffee because then it doesn't get that acidic taste when you try to drink it cold. So, if anyone else out there shares my obsession, here is the recipe!

*************************************************************************************

~Vanilla or Hazelnut Iced Coffee~

* Mix 2/3 cup of coffee grounds with 1 1/2 cups of room temperature water. Cover and let sit AT LEAST 12 hours. I think it tastes best at about 14 hours.

* 1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk

* 4 Tablespoons of either hazelnut or vanilla syrup. (Once I used vanilla imitation extract and that was amazing too!

Step 1

*After your coffee water mixture has sat and cold brewed for 12-14 hours, separate the coffee from the coffee grounds. The best way I have found to do this is to take a coffee filter, place over a glass cup and secure in place with a rubber band. Pour the coffee and let it strain through the filter. When it starts to get too full of grounds, very carefully take off of the cup and replace with another filter. I usually go through 2-3 filters and gently squeeze the last bits of coffee out after removing each filter. (Does this all make sense? I can see myself doing it in my head, lol )

Step 2

* Mix the coffee with one can of sweetened condensed milk and add your flavoring. Be careful not to splash your very concentrated coffee concoction!

Step 3

* Pour into a pitcher and add about 11 cups of icy cold water. Park in the fridge and let chill! When your ready for your coffee, pour over a big glass of ice.

And Volia! You now have a perfect iced coffee! A word of caution though, all that sweetened condensed milk makes it a high calorie dessert like treat. So, after you get over how great it is, this is best for a once in awhile treat. And don't make the mistake of what I did, drinking 3 glasses before bed. All that caffeine and sugar had me running on a super sugar high and added to my horrible sense of dry humor, lol :)