We made it to my Grandma’s house in record time – whee!
Although the trip started out a tad uh, messy, shall we say, the drive actually went pretty quick. Maybe it was because I plugged my laptop into a power adapter, then harnessed my iPhone’s internet capabilities to create a little mobile office in the car. I worked for the first four hours of the drive, ninja kicking my email inbox and crossing tons of little things off my to-do list. Yes!
It’s been so great to be back at my Grandma’s, but I couldn’t help getting a little choked up as I first walked through the house and backyard, reliving dozens of Christmases and summer vacations spent here in the past. It was weird at first without my brothers or cousins around for the first time ever, and realizing we’re “all grown up” now, but luckily sweet Ben was on hand to lean on AND teach my Grandma fun things like how to play Bejeweled on the iPad. A 93 year old gamer in the making! 
Things got even sweeter yesterday when some relatives came in from nearby, including my cousin Lindsay!
Lindsay and I have always been the runts of the family – both 5’2, or under if anyone else has anything to say about it – and crazy personality similarities despite growing up states apart.
She brought her 1 year old daughter with her who charmed the pants off of everyone, all afternoon. She is such a doll. 
My Aunt, Uncle and cousin Josh also came to visit, which was such a treat. I didn’t grow up around any of my extended family, so it is FAR too few and far between our visits. Any amount of time we get to spend together, even if it’s just an afternoon, is treasured.
Today we are off to visit a nearby vacation spot my family and I went to every summer growing up, Oglebay. My Mom went with her family when she was little, then started the same tradition with us. We’d spend a week in a rented cabin, fishing, playing putt-putt, and pedaling the paddle boats around the resort’s lake. Those were the days!
Then it’s off to my Aunt & Uncle’s house to partake in their town’s Dean Martin festival (it’s his hometown) and eat ourselves silly on my Aunt’s homemade Italian delicacies. OMG I CAN TASTE THEM NOW. I hope you have something fun planned for this weekend too, and to kick things off, check out my favorite finds from around the web in this week’s Friday Favorites!
Favorite bite: Lime Glazed Mini Bundt Cakes. Goll, these look like they’d just melt in your mouth, don’t you think? My mouth is watering!
Favorite remix: Tex Mex Sloppy Joes. Grown up, spicy Sloppy Joe’s. LOVE this picture too.
Favorite pooch. Rawr.
Favorite healthy treat: Broiled Brown Sugar Vanilla Bananas atop Ricotta. Caramelized spiced bananas over warm ricotta cheese. Elegant, but easy (and insanely delicious looking!)
Favorite makeover: Pallet Backed Bookshelf. Take an inexpensive bookshelf then replace the back with worn pallet planks. This looks like something you’d find at Pottery Barn!
Favorite view: Montalcino, Tuscany, Italy. I want to go to there.
Favorite outfit. I’m obsessed with maxi dresses right now, can you tell? Navy and yellow are one of my new favorite color combos too.
Favorite drool: BBQ Pot Roast over Cheddar Ranch Grits. ALL THE THINGS!
Favorite DIY: Baking Sheet Turned Decorative Tray. Cover old baking sheets to make cute, decorative trays. I have so many old, crappy baking sheets I should do this too. I just can’t bear to throw them out!
Favorite picnic fare: Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad. I bet this would be the first to disappear at any picnic or BBQ. YUUUUM.
Favorite woah: Lake Retba, Senegal. A PINK lake – HA! Apparently the lake’s hue is due to some harmless bacteria in the water. It’s also got a higher salt content than the Dead Sea, which makes everyone FLOAT like a boat. So cool!
Favorite find: Veggie Storage Cabinets. I absolutely LOVE this idea, as I hate how much room onions, garlic, and other non-refrigerated fruits and veggies take up on my countertops. Definitely working this into my dream home’s kitchen configuration.
Favorite freeze: Meyer Lemon Sorbet. Hot summer days require sweet-tart sorbets. This looks SO refreshing!
Favorite fresh: Summertime Noodles. Fresh, light, and definitely Farmer’s Market Recipe Collection approved.
Favorite helper: Pull Out Cabinet Organizers. A must have for any kitchen with too much stuff. Cough, MINE.
Favorite sweet: Slutty Blondies. If craving promiscuous blondies is wrong, I don’t want to be right!
The Cookie Dough Lover’s Cookbook Giveaway
Uh, absolutely drooling over the cookies you named as entries in this delectable giveaway! The winner of The Cookie Dough Lover’s Cookbook Giveaway is:
M. Vivian: mmmmm… oatmeal peanut butter dipped in chocolate.
Congrats, M. Vivian (and why have I never thought of this idea?!) Email your full name and mailing address to IowaGirlEats@gmail.com, and we’ll get your cookbook right out to you!
Have a great weekend, everyone!
You’re in west Virginia?! I used to go to Oglebay park every summer in high school! The setting was TOTALLY like the scene in American Pie, but of course nothing crazy happened since we were all just band dorks
at least I was a ‘cool’ band dork and played the snare drum!! Haha
Have a fun, safe trip!
Cheers.
We’re in Ohio, but we cross the border to Wheeling just for Oglebay. I am SO excited to go today!!
oops! forgot to say it was for bandcamp. just realized that comment made no sense!
i’m from ohio though! have fun while you’re there
Ah, Oglebay!! That was MY vacation spot with my grandparents and extended family growing up!! My grandparents live right outside of Wheeling in a small town (in Ohio) called St. Clairsville. I actually just returned from there about 20 minutes ago! What town were you guys in?
Ooooh the memories! what a small world
I love Fridays, your website provides such great links in one little day!
You’re grandma is so sweet! Have a wonderful weekend!
Aaaah that pup is so cute!
One of my favourite dessert/snacks at the moment are baked ricotta cups, especially with banana – they’re so simple and only use three ingredients. I’m going to post a recipe on my blog soon because even though they’re not the prettiest things, they’re too delicious not to share!
My husband grew up in the Wheeling area — I’ve never made it up to Steubenville for the Dean Martin Festival, but I’ve heard it’s a lot of fun.
Grab a slice (or three) of DiCarlo’s pizza for me while you’re down at Oglebay!
Or 100 – I can seriously taste it now. Can’t wait to stuff my face!!!
My family goes to Oglebay as well! Every other summer we rent a cabin for the extended family and my grandparents have been doing this for a long, long time. Enjoy your road trip!
Where did you get that striped t-shirt!? It’s so simple and cute.
Gap!
LOVE the photo of Ben teaching your Grandma to play Bejeweled!! Enjoy the trip!!
I love Friday Favorites! Slutty blondies – yes please!
I love your Friday Favorites post – the recipes are always great ! Can’t wait to try the lime bundt cakes.
Hope you have a good vac with Grandma !!
slutty blondies? I know a few
You had me at the lime glazed mini bunt cakes! Is it wrong that I want to make this picture my background on my computer?!!?!
I love the slutty brownie, cookie, blondie, etc. idea! I first heard about slutty brownies from my mom when she saw an interview with Jessica Simpson when she was pregnant and said her favorite treat was a slutty brownie (brownie, chocolate chip cookie, and Oreos combined). That slutty blondie looks amazing! My best friend is coming to visit me next week and something “slutty” is definitely on the menu ha!
Your grandma is just adorable!! Buffalo chicken pasta salad? Sign me up!
I love this blog. It is my first time here. I found it while I was trying to read some reviews on a dress that I had ordered early this week of a not very known website. It is the yellow maxi dress above. I actually got it this morning and it is amazing. It is fully lined and it fits perfect. I also bought two more dresses from rulehim.com and I just love the quality. Again, great blog…. I thought I’d share my 2 cents
I need that Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad in my life! Hope you have a great time with your family!
Love this post! I love the look of maxi dresses but am 5’2” as well – how to do find them short enough?!? All of the ones I find are way too long
Try 6pm.com for maxis that work for petite girls. I’ve picked up four maxis thusfar three of which were from Banana Republic. I’m just oveer 5’8. They are rather long even for me. I also picked up three from 6pm.com and they were much shorter.
So glad you all are spending time together with your extended family. I remember when our family met your grandparents, mom, and aunt at Oglesbay to visit for a couple of summers as we were growing up. What a great place to spend time together! Have fun.
Thought IGE readers might like to know: the Cuisinart Griddler is on sale at Costco now through July 8th for only $54.99! Plan on picking one up this weekend
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11600425&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&N=5000043&Mo=1&No=0&Ntk=Text_Search&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&D=griddler&Ntt=griddler&Sp=S
So glad I found your blog! Thanks for linking back to our bookshelf!
Have a great trip!
Lisa
My Dad’s from Martins Ferry and we went to Oglebay everytime we went there. Eat at Mehlman’s Cafeteria if you get a chance, they have the best stuff!
Great post today — Love all of your Friday Favorites!
Your grandma is so cute! I hope she becomes a new Bejeweled champion!
Those sloppy joes look amaaaaaaaaazing. Definitely going to give them a try soon!
That pink lake is amazing, it doesn’t even look real!
what a coincidence.. here’s a pic of me in that exact spot in Tuscany! it was beautiful indeed
http://i49.tinypic.com/1zwgje9.jpg
I am totally lusting after that chevron maxi dress. And that buffalo chicken pasta salad. Looks like a great side dish for a Father’s Day cookout this weekend!
We will have the yellow and white chevron dress back in stock early next week. April 24 is the estimated time of arrival.
omg I live only 10 minutes away from oglebay! (home town) we went there all the time as kids for picnics, the pool, etc. small world
Your family photos look adorable!
Maxi dresses FTW! I bought 2 the previous weekend, sea blue and dark blue
What a great Friday Favorites! Love the maxi dress, pink lake (what a dream!), and the veggie storage cabinet is just perfect (why didn’t I think of that?). Teaching your Grandma to play Bejeweled is cute…who doesn’t love that game (was just playing it,lol). And the slutty blondies…who knew they looked that good!
What a gorgeous grandmother! It is so special spending quality time together. I love that she is ipad-literate. My grandma is still mastering answering a phone call on a mobile
Hey girl! Thanks so much for featuring my Buffalo Chicken Pasta salad on your Friday Favorites post! I had over 900 links to my blog from yours! I couldn’t believe it! PS- I’m from WI, so we’re not too far away
[...] told you a bit about Oglebay in Friday’s post – it’s a family resort type place (resort sounds stuffy – this place is not [...]
Loved the buffalo chicken pasta salad! Made it for a Fathers Day picninc and it was a hit! Thanks for sharing.
Next time you’re near a large appliance store, check out cooler drawers (don’t be surprised if the SA looks at you in bewilderment, but they are available). Ours consist of 2 stacked, good sized drawers installed under the counter next to the refrigerator, You can set the temp from 34°-45°. In the shallower, bottom drawer we keep potatoes winter squash, garlic, shallots and regular onions (root cellar type stuff). In the deeper top drawer we keep (uncut) citrus, apples, bananas, peaches, nectarines, plums, melon, sweet onions, basically anything that you find in the center of the produce section or that tastes better not refrigerator cold. Fruit disappears quickly here, lol. Berries and any cut fruit still lives in the fridge. We love those drawers.