Meet Me in My Cape Cod Kitchen by Linda Marie Steele (Cookbook Review)

Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own. 

About the book-

With more than 60 delicious recipes, this book celebrates sharing good food with family and friends, inspired by the sweetness of living by the beach. Accompanied by food photography and beautiful Cape Cod landscapes, chapters focus on baked goods such as cakes, cookies, quick breads, cheesecake and biscotti, as well as appetizers, entrees, and salads and even summertime-perfect drinks. Many of the easy-to-follow recipes rely on seasonal and regional ingredients, such as Linda’s Supreme Lemon Cake, Cape Cod Cranberry Loaf, Turkey and Cranberry Empanadas, Linda’s Simple Lobster Salad, and Bella’s Raspberry Tea. Children will enjoy helping with treats such as Nana’s No-Fail Sugar Cookie Recipe, which the author makes with lobster-shaped cookie cutters. This celebration of Cape Cod focuses on gratitude for simple pleasures and includes reflections on life in a seaside community.

My thoughts- 

Last summer my family and I had the immeasurable pleasure of  vacationing on Cape Cod. Ever since, each of us has expressed in interest in going back, it was one of the most pleasurable experiences of my life. Meet Me in My Cape Cod Kitchen brought me back to being surrounded by the water, the friendly locals. and gave me the opportunity to imagine living in such a magical place. I enjoyed all of Lina Marie Steele's recipes, but what I loved more were here snippets at the beginning of each recipe connecting them to her experiences living on the Cape. I did expect there to be more savory dishes indigenous to the Cape Cod area, but as soon as I read Ms. Steele got her start blogging about her baking, it made sense that a lot of the book was baked goods. Still, there were some fantastic recipes to be found, including a quintessential Cape Cod recipe for Clam Chowder (my 8 year old will be ecstatic that we can try to re-create her favorite dish from our trip at home!). There were also drink recipes and enough dessert recipes to keep you busy for a long while. I can flip through this book and dream about being back in Cape Cod until we can find our way back to Massachusetts. I recommend this book to anyone interested in cooking or travel.

Summertime Fun at Bahama Beach Water Park in Dallas, TX + $2 off per ticket!

*Disclosure- I will receive complimentary tickets to the water park as a thank you for helping spread the word about the waterpark and the promotion.

When you live in Texas, there is really nothing better in the summer than going to a waterpark. I have recently discovered one I didn't previously no about on the outskirts of Dallas called Bahama Beach. They are offering a two dollar discount off of each ticket. I also read on their website that hot dogs are only $1 on July 4th! Even if you can't make it out on Independence  the food there is very affordable (the regular price of that hot dog is only $2.50), making it a fun and not super expensive way to be spend a day with family and cool off in this summer heat!


Save $2 on admission to Bahama Beach Waterpark

#Ad- Bahama Beach Waterpark is the perfect place to cool off this summer. Bahama Beach offers the best family waterpark value in the metroplex. Conveniently located only ten minutes south of downtown Dallas, you can get away from it all without ever leaving town. We have everything from 45 foot tall slides for the big kids and adults who are young at heart, to an interactive water playground with a 1000 gallon dumping bucket for the little ones. And for those who want to kick back and relax, grab a tube, wade into one of two zero depth entry beaches, and take a float down the lazy river. Plenty of shade, reservable private cabanas, and food & beverages to satisfy all of your summertime cravings tops it all off. So bring the whole family and make a day of it at Bahama Beach Waterpark!

Summer BBQ Cravebox Review

I was happy to see that my Cravebox arrived the other day. If you don't know, Cravebox is a subscription box. For $10 you get an array of products in a box, some full sized, some sample sized, all usually pretty cool. I hesitate to say it is a "monthly" subscription box. It is not news to anybody that has been following this blog that I LOVE Cravebox and blog about it quite often, but my one complaint would be lack of consistency. The next box may come in a month, but it may be closer to six weeks. Of course, for $10, I can't really complain, I just love getting the boxes so much, I just wish it happened every 4 weeks so I would know that I could look forward to getting them a little more often.

With that said, I really enjoyed the Summer BBQ Box. It had some really great products in it. I was excited to see True Lemon in the mix. I am not usually a fan of powdered drinks, but this one was awesome! It TRULY tasted like lemonade, only has 5 calories and it 100% natural. NO artificial sweeteners here, which makes me a super happy person! Another product I really enjoyed from the Summer BBQ Box were the Mozaik appetizer plates and cocktail forks. I happened to be having a party with a fondue pot in the mix, so we used the Mozaik plates and forks for that and my guests RAVED over them. I will definitely be using both of those products again!

Also in the box was a sample of Mighty Leaf tea. I am not a tea drinker, so I will be passing that along to a friend. There was also a Bic Flame Disk, which is a pretty neat little thing to put on top of a charcoal grill- no charcoal needed. It would be a fun addition at a camping trip or for a backyard that had a charcoal grill. There was also a coupon for a bic multi purpose lighter. I already have 3 or 4 of these at my house. Not only would they be great for lighting up a grill, they are wonderful for lighting candles!

Overall this wasn't my favorite box, but they can't all be and the fun thing is there were still a few products I discovered that I love-which is the whole point of a subscription box! So I still love Cravebox and I will be looking forward to what surprises lie ahead in the next one!

Don't forget to check out the Cravebox website for more information on how to join!

Win Zoya Beach & Surf Collections from Princess Polish!

If you are a frequent reader of this blog, you may know that Ihave a slight obsession withnail polish. The brand that started that obsession was Zoya. There are just so many beautiful colors and collections to choose from! I always have a long Zoya wishlist and it is never empty. Before discovering Zoya, I didn't wear polish (at least not for a very long time!) because of the bad chemicals that many polishes contain. Zoya is free of toluene, formaldehyde, DBP (phthalates) and camphor, such a plus in my book!

I follow a ton of fabulous nail bloggers on Facebook and Twitter. One of my recent favorites has been Princess Polish. With her new giveaway, she might just be my very favorite nail blogger!! To celebrate the milestone of 500 followers, she is giving away Zoya's new summer collections, Beach and Surf! There are such bright summer colors in these two collection. Not a bad shade among them.

One lucky ready will win all 12 polishes! I am hoping that lucky reader is me, but if not, I am hoping it is one of you! Head over to Princess Polish, show her some love and enter for your chance to be the lucky winner!