The Green Owl in Seagrove

Stephanie Anliker, mompreneur and owner of The Green Owl, recently hosted the contributing writers of the Destin 30A Moms Blog. She served delicious hors d’ oeuvres (I had to google the spelling on that one) and wine while we shopped—without children! Stephanie shared her amazing and inspiring story of how she started her organic soap and shea butter body care line and how it grew into the far reaching business she runs today from her shop in Seagrove. And she didn’t stop with just body care products, she also has her own line of authentic Turkish towels.

If you’ve never used a Turkish towel, you don’t know what you’re missing! They are one of the most versatile products that you can buy! Seriously, the possibilities are endless! Stephanie demonstrated so many uses for one towel—sarongs, throws, cocoon shoulder wraps, shower curtains, gift wrap (I’m not even kidding), and the list goes on and on. Mind=blown. Sara wrote an awesome post on the versatility of the Turkish towel over on the Destin 30A Moms Blog, Turkish Towel::My Ride or Die Mom Accessory.

Stephanie also carries tea towels with witty sayings and vintage pictures, cute cute soap holders, Bloody Mary mix that is made locally, and so many other items! I mean, where else will you find a hair scrunchie!?! We’ve all used them and secretly wish we could still get our hands on one…well, wish no longer! They’re available at The Green Owl!

If you are in the Santa Rosa Beach area, stop by The Green Owl and check out everything Stephanie has to offer! She also has a website and can ship to you!

Cute gifts and accessories are also in the store

What started it all—The Green Owl bath and body care line

Robes made out of Turkish towels. Like the towels themselves, they are super absorbent and get softer after each wash

The Green Owl is located in Seagrove at 3723 East C-30A in Seagrove Plaza. Check her out on Facebook and Instagram as well!

June 21, 2017

Our Trip to the Coolest McDonald’s Ever

I recently heard about a McDonald’s in Niceville that had an indoor play center with an underwater theme. Henry and Massey have never even seen a fast food play center, so I thought this would be very exciting for them. I decided to drive up the next time we had a rainy day. Little did I know how soon that would happen.

South Walton and 30A is known for fabulous food. We love dining out and trying new places, but every now and then I get a hankering for McDonald’s French fries. They’ve always been my favorite. In high school, I would often walk from our house in Meadowbrook to McDonald’s, order fries and a coke, and walk back home. Oh the days of rapid metabolism…Henry and William got very excited when I told them we were going to McDonald’s. William even got up before 10:00 to join us! Henry talked non stop about his Happy Meal.

Costa Enterprises owns several McDonald’s in the area, but the one near Bluewater Bay in Niceville stands out from the others. It looks like any other McDonald’s from the outside, but once you step inside and see the play area, you know you’ve found a gem! It is a multi-sensory experience. There is a multi level play zone with a small lower area for toddlers. However, Massey had no trouble climbing all the way to the top and went face first (on purpose) down the slide many times. There are projectors depicting moving underwater scenes complete with dolphins and sea turtles. One of my favorite things was that the soundtrack to The Little Mermaid was playing in the background.

If you live in the area or are passing through Niceville on your way to the beach, it’s definitely worth your time to stop and let the kiddos play while you marvel at how far fast food play centers have come since we were children.

Make sure you pack a blanket or a snow suit, because it was freezing in there! I’m very cold natured, but other people in there were wrapped up in beach towels, so it wasn’t just my weird body thermometer. I kept telling myself it was to kill the germs!

If you want to enter the exact address in your GPS, it is:

Bluewater Bay McDonald’s, 4570 Highway 20 East, Niceville, FL

June 21, 2017

Mexican Cornbread

I’m sure everyone has a tried and true cornbread recipe, but for anyone who doesn’t, this one is delicious and oh so easy! I thought it would be perfect to have with our dinner on this dreary rainy night. We’ve made the base of this for years in my family, but after Will and I married, he asked for Mexican cornbread. I added a few ingredients to my regular cornbread recipe and voila!

Here are the ingredients:

1 c. self-rising meal
2 eggs
1 c. sour cream
½ c. cooking oil
1 can (7 oz.) cream style corn
2 t. baking powder
½ t. salt
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped (can saute to take out some of the heat)
1 can chopped green chiles
1 ½ c. shredded cheddar (I shredded white and yellow cheddar)

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease cast iron skillet and place into oven to heat. Mix all ingredients except ½ cup of cheddar, until well blended.
Pour mixture into hot skillet and top with remaining cheddar. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

June 16, 2017

Chicken Parmesan Two Different Ways

I love Italian food and my children and husband feel the same way. I am certainly not above buying a jar of sauce from the grocery store and doctoring it up, but sometimes, it’s nice to have a large pot of tomato sauce simmering away on the stove all day. The garlic and sweet tomato scent will have you ready for dinner hours before it’s time to eat! Recently, Henry was up BEFORE 5:00 AM, so I decided to start making sauce early in the morning. I may have stolen spoonfuls throughout the day, but hey, I needed to monitor it! This sauce is so easy to make and it uses canned tomatoes because every chef on television says they’re better in sauces, so why not!? After I share the recipe for this sauce, I’m going to share an alternate topping for chicken parmesan that uses fresh from the garden summer produce.

Chicken with sauce only

Chicken with veggies

I have made this sauce for a few years and incorporated played around with various recipes until I got it just the way we like it. You can always add more or less of something if you want more basil, red pepper, etc. You really can’t mess this one up!

The Simmer Down Sauce cast of characters:

Not pictured: Salt, pepper, red pepper flakes

1 ½ T. extra virgin olive oil
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes
5 cloves garlic (peeled and chopped)
½ white onion (chopped)
½ T. crushed red pepper flakes
1 bunch basil leaves, to taste
½ cup white wine (I used a sauvignon blanc)
salt and white pepper, to taste
2 T. butter
1-2 T. sugar

Heat olive oil in pan on low heat. Add onion, garlic, and crushed red pepper, stirring occasionally. Sauté until onions are soft and garlic is lightly golden.
In a large pot, squeeze peeled tomatoes through hands or mash with a potato masher. Add crushed tomatoes, garlic, onion and chopped basil. Allow to heat and cook together for 5 minutes.
Add white wine. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer sauce for 90 minutes.
Add butter and sugar and stir. (more basil can also be added here if desired).
Cook uncovered on low for 30 more minutes. Add salt to taste.

My people don’t like squash and zucchini, so when I decided to utilize produce from my inlaw’s garden with the chicken parmesan, the alternative for them was the above sauce. Meme and Pops came to visit last weekend and brought with them a bag of fresh veggies. They included the most interesting looking eggplant, Ichiban eggplant. It has an entirely different shape than traditional eggplant, but tastes just as wonderful!

I had some focus issues with the camera, so a couple of the pictures are blurry

For the chicken parmesan and the veggie medley, I used:

¼ c. flour
1 egg, beaten
2/3 c. Italian breadcrumbs
4 thinly sliced chicken breast fillets
salt and pepper
olive oil
fresh mozzarella slices
I used 1 chopped zucchini, 1 chopped yellow squash, 1 chopped Ichiban eggplant
I used 1 c. cherry tomatoes, halved
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
¼ c. fresh basil

Preheat broiler. Place flour, egg, and breadcrumbs in separate shallow containers. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour; dip in egg, dredge in breadcrumbs.
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, cooking 1-2 minutes on each side. Place in a baking dish that has been coated with non-stick cooking spray.
Top chicken with cheese and broil 1½-2 minutes. Add more olive oil to pan and heat to medium-high heat. Add veggies except tomatoes, sautéing for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, garlic, and salt to taste; sauté another 3-5 minutes. Spoon over chicken and top with basil.

The veggie medley is fabulous on it’s own. I served it the night before with jalapeno and onion, but I ate it all for lunch the next day and needed more for the chicken parmesan! You may certainly substitute any fresh vegetables that you want to incorporate.

I recommend not cooking the chicken completely in the skillet. Placing it in the broiler will continue cooking it.
If fresh mozzarella isn’t available (Andalusia people…wink, wink), sliced or shredded will work just as well.
You can also give the cheese a nice sprinkle of grated parmesan before popping it under the broiler. It gives the cheese more depth and cheese on cheese is never bad!

I was just going to eat mine with veggies and cheese only, but decided to pour on some sauce and boy, am I glad I did! It was wonderful!

June 16, 2017

Western Lake at Grayton Beach

Before we moved to Grayton Beach, I had only visited the area for food and shopping. I was completely unfamiliar with the beach and my now favorite thing about Grayton, Western Lake. I had also never heard of a coastal dune lake. Coastal dune lakes are beautiful and rare ecosystems. They are only found in a few places in the world, Australia, New Zealand, Madagascar, Oregon, and Florida. There are 15 coastal dune lakes in the 26 miles of Walton County that stretch along the Gulf of Mexico. Here is a map from the 30A website: Coastal-Dune-Lakes-of-South-Walton-and-30A

The lake waters are fed by streams, groundwater seepage, rain, and storm surges. The connection to the Gulf is called an outfall and has a natural flood protection system that is beautiful and amazing to watch as it periodically opens and closes. Following heavy rains, like we’ve had lately, the outfall opens itself up and the lake drains into the Gulf. The salty sea water of the Gulf and the semi fresh water of the lake merge to form an ecosystem that is home to both fresh and saltwater species.

The lake water is typically brown in color, like tea or coffee, due to the tannins released from the trees and other decaying vegetation that are in the water. The water isn’t dirty or dangerous. I’ve had multiple visitors ask me if the water is safe for my boys to be playing in! We’ve been playing in it for almost a year now and have been as healthy as ever! lake

I’ve had a few people from home text or message me about the lake and the beach here at Grayton. We think we have the best of both worlds-the calm and shallow water of the lake and the beautiful waves of the Gulf! It’s really the absolute best place for children and young families!

Western Lake to the left and the Gulf in the distance

More of the lake with a thin strip of sand separating it from the Gulf

We often take the boys out to the boardwalk late in the afternoon to run and play

They like to talk to the tourists and visitors who walk by

Looking back to where the lake curves around towards 30A and Watercolor

Another fun thing about Grayton is that locals are able to apply for a beach permit every spring. It works like a lottery system and the permit is active for one year. It’s so awesome that they can drive right up to the water’s edge! No dragging coolers or beach chairs or whiney children….sigh….Fishing charters drive right out to the Gulf, back up, and drop the boats. I love to walk early in the morning and see them dotted across the horizon as they leave for the day.

I decided to write a blog post about this a few days ago, so in between rain storms on Wednesday, I grabbed my camera and the little boys and I walked over to the boardwalk that curves around the lake into the sand at the Gulf. I took several pictures and I’m so excited that I took them yesterday because sometime over night or early this morning, the water pushed through the sand barrier between the Gulf and the Western Lake and the outfall opened up and the lake drained! Those of you who follow me on Instagram have seen where I’ve shared pictures of the pier covered in water over the last week. It’s not covered anymore! Over the next few days, the tannin tinted lake water will continue to flush out into the Gulf and the lake will become crystal clear as the salty sea water washes back in. Sometimes the outline of the lake changes almost daily. There may be a sandbar in the middle one day that’s completely dry and the next day it will be covered with water.

Henry and Massey love to walk through the lake to the other side

Looking out towards the western side of the lake from the boardwalk

You can see the opening of the outfall in the distance

If you’re interested in learning more about coastal dune lakes, you can find several videos to watch from this link:

Or read more here:

Florida’s Treasure: Coastal Dune Lakes

http://www.co.walton.fl.us/97/Coastal-Dune-Lakes

Coastal Dune Lakes of South Walton

June 6, 2017June 6, 2017

Ham Pie

WARNING: This recipe is not 30A approved! It is not going to get you bikini ready, but it is delicious! And perfect for a rainy day! My Nanny used to make this often and sometimes, I’d even get my own small ham pie! So many of my childhood memories center around time spent at both of my grandparents’ houses. Both of my grandmothers spoiled us with delicious southern cooking on a regular basis. My Nanny passed away seven years ago, but I use so many of her things daily–dishes, dish towels, aprons, pot holders…

This ham pie is straight down home country cooking. A south Alabama gourmet meal. I’m sure you could serve it with a nice clean green side salad, but I like to take the bone from the center of the ham, throw it in a pot of lima beans, and serve those as the green side dish.

Large slice of ham
4 cups of water, reserving 1 cup
A pinch of thyme and garlic powder
1 can cream of chicken soup
3-4 hard boiled eggs, sliced
1 stick butter, melted
1 cup milk
1 cup self rising flour

Boil ham in water, seasoned with thyme and garlic.
When cooled, tear into bite sized pieces and layer in a large buttered casserole dish.
Place egg slices over ham.
Mix cream of chicken soup and 1 cup of ham broth, stirring until blended well. Pour over egg and ham.
Mix butter, milk, and flour. Pour over ham and soup mixture.
Bake at 400° for 40 minutes or until golden brown.

Flour, milk, and butter mixture poured over the top

I have Nanny’s recipe card for this one. It was a newspaper clipping taped to one of her cards.

That golden brown ring around the top of the dish? Scraping and eating that is the special treat for the person who does the dishes. Or so I hear…

Enjoy!

June 5, 2017June 5, 2017

Scrub a Dub Dub

I am a beauty product junkie. Drop me off at Sephora or Ulta and pick me up the next day. Even a well stocked drugstore can keep me occupied for a couple of hours. Once upon a time, I took long baths and showers and enjoyed trying out new products. Nowadays, I’m doing good to remember to rinse my conditioner and shave above my knees. I still like to use a body scrub for a good exfoliation in the shower, so I recently asked friends for recommendations. Here’s a roundup of my favorites:

Lush Ocean Salt Face and Body Scrub

oeansalt

Yes, you read the tub correctly, “A vodka infused cocktail…” This has a very refreshing citrus scent because it contains lime oil and the limes have been extracted with vodka. I honestly have no idea what that means, but it gives it a very clean scent. This was my least favorite of the scrubs that I tried. I like a body scrub to be very gritty and this is more creamy with some grit mixed into it. I didn’t notice until after I had used it a couple of times that it says for face and body, so I tried it on my face and loved it there. The avocado butter prevents it from being too harsh on your face. I accidentally got some on my lip and it tastes like a margarita, which isn’t such a bad thing either… And as a side note, I don’t recommend shopping in Lush with two toddlers. I literally turned around for 30 seconds and they had almost completely immersed themselves in the glitter bath bomb bin. $21.95 for 4.2 oz.

Tree Hut Body Scrub Almond Honey

This one is an old favorite of mine. It was always available at Walmart in Andalusia and is very affordable. The almond and honey scent reminds me of my favorite bath products from Garden Botanika in the Galleria in Birmingham. That store and Bath & Body Works probably catapulted my love of bath products to the level it is today. I love a cookie or pound cake that’s been baked with almond extract, so this is a comforting scent to me. This scrub contains almond oil, shea butter, and honey, along with almond bits and sugar granules to scrub. It’s very moisturizing and is oil based, so you don’t feel like you’re completely stripping your skin of all of it’s moisture as you scrub, but the oil does leave a film in the shower floor. $6.48 for 18 oz.

Philosophy Living Grace Salt Body Scrub

livinggrace

My love of Philosophy products began about 14 years ago when I sat awake feeding William in the middle of the night and there was nothing to watch on television other than QVC. They frequently feature Philosophy products and I would sit mesmerized watching them lather up their hands with the foaming soaps and then moisturize with the lotions. The packaging is catchy, with fun and witty names and sometimes even a recipe. The Grace line (Living Grace, Baby Grace, Amazing Grace…) is composed of light, clean scents that aren’t overpowering. The composition of this scrub is very similar to the Tree Hut one. It is also in an oil, but this one contains salt, so the granules are smaller than the sugar granules in the Tree Hut scrub. Salt is usually more abrasive than sugar, so keep that in mind as well. $20 for 6 oz.

Beautycounter Sugar Body Scrub in Lemongrass

The Beautycounter scrub is my favorite of the four that I am reviewing. The brown sugar granules are in evening primrose, sweet almond, apricot kernel, and sunflower oils, but they aren’t swimming in the oil. You have a perfect oil to grit ratio. You’re able to get a good exfoliation, but still have moisturizing benefits from the oil and it doesn’t leave an oily film in the shower floor. The lemongrass scent is invigorating and fresh. Beautycounter is sold through reps (I’m not one, but I highly recommend Meg Shelnutt). $40 for 8.2 oz.

If you have a favorite scrub that you recommend, please let me know in the comments!

June 2, 2017June 3, 2017

Crunchy Cucumber, Feta, and Almond Salad

This salad is absolute perfection. Crunchy, crispy, and colorful, it’s so refreshing and light. Everything you want in a summer salad. I found it in Cooking Light recently as well. I made it for lunch today while the boys napped and pulled it back out later for my dinner. No one eats cucumbers except for Massey and me. When I sat down eating straight out of the Tupperware bowl, he pushed his bowl of spaghetti aside and said, “Me eat!” He took the bowl and ate and ate on the salad, saying, “Mmmmm…” This would be perfect served on the side with a heavier entree. Without further adieu, the cast of characters:

These are the ingredients, minus the dill once again, because I still haven’t been back to the grocery store. I used dried dill for this one as well. And that rogue cucumber from the other day, well he was sweating in this photo, worried he was once again at the wrong party. Relax little cucumber, this is your moment to shine.