5 Chris10's Monthly Must-Haves: July

Hello Friends!

I am excited to introduce a new series that I will be doing each month on the blog.  It is titled Chris10's Monthly Must Haves and each month I will showcase ten things I absolutely adore!  Hope you enjoy!
 

Food

With the summer heat in full steam, now is the time to head to your local Farmer's Market to pick out some fresh fruits and veggies.  Last week, I picked up some peppers and made my friend Susanne's home-made salsa. This recipe makes a ton of mild salsa but if you want to give it some more heat, leave in some of the pepper seeds. If you have a food processor, this is so easy!  Tip: When dealing with peppers, try to wear plastic gloves while you core out the seeds.  If you don't do this, your hands might get a warm sensation from dealing with all the heat!

Home-Made Salsa
Ingredients:  
2 large chili peppers, 2 large jalapeno peppers, 1 yellow pepper, 1 green bell pepper, 6-8 green onions, 4-5 sprigs of fresh cilantro, 2 16-20 oz. cans of peeled tomatoes, 1-2 tablespoons of salt, 1-2 teaspoons of black pepper, 1-2 tablespoons of sugar
First, core all seeds from the peppers.  Then cut up the peppers and put into a food processor and place into bowl.  Next, cut the white part off the onions and put into food processor.  Cut off stems of cilantro and put into processor and add all into bowl.  Open the can of tomatoes and pour just the sauce into the bowl then place the whole peeled tomatoes into the processor and grind.  Add salt, sugar, and pepper over the mixture.  Stir all ingredients together, seal the bowl and chill in refrigerator.  Enjoy!

Music

I can't stop listening to Jimmy Needham's, Forgiven and Loved.  It reminds me of Jason Mraz and I just love sitting in my lounge chair listening to it.  Perfect easy-going song!

Scripture

If any of you are like me, you have heard scripture verses all your life but tend to forget where to find it when you need it most?  It has been a goal of mine to try and memorize scripture each month but it has been hard to stay accountable.  So, one of my girl friends and I are going to memorize two scripture verses each month.  At the beginning of the month, we will each write down a verse on a note card and give it to one another to have memorized by the end of the month.  The great thing about writing it on a note card is we can put it on our mirrors while getting ready, in our cars while stopping at red lights, and in our purses to pull out when we need it most.  This month, our scripture verses are from Isaiah 26:3, "He will keep in perfect peace all who trust in Him, whose thoughts are fixed on Him." and Deuteronomy 33:26-27, "There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty.  The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.  He will drive out your enemy before you, saying, 'Destroy him!'

Home

I found this great soap at Target and it was super cheap.  I love the way it makes my hands feel and the Lemon Verbena matches my kitchen perfectly!  I went to their web site and love what they say about their product, "Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day makes honest, hardworking cleaners that work like the dickens on dirt. Remember, keeping clean is easy. All you need is a sensible pair of shoes, a little elbow grease, and the right soap."  So southern, don't ya think?  To find all of their products click here.

Fashion

While I was out buying hostess gifts, I ran across some letter pendants that can go on necklaces and bracelets.  I scored some teeny tiny A & M pendants and I bought a 16" and 18" chain for them to wear as a double necklace.  It is my way of always having Adeline and Maralee close to me!

Kids

Speaking of Adi and Mar, I found the best gift for them!  Last week, this item was featured on The Today Show and it automatically became a must-have for me.  These pacifier holders are called WubbaNub's and they are so practical and cute!  If any of you have little ones, you know how easy it is for them to let go of their pacifier.  These cute animals are attached to the pacifier and it makes them so much easier to grasp.  Also, what I really love about this product is hospitals have started to use them for infants! 

Books

Last summer, I read The Shack in two days.  It is a book that forces you to think outside the box and ask, "What if..?"  I thoroughly enjoyed it and I promise even guys will have tears in their eyes after reading this page-turner!!!

Lifestyle

This month is our three year anniversary and we are going to just have a stay cation!  For those of you that aren't familiar with this term, a stay cation is when you stay in your town instead of traveling for vacation.  Actually, our whole summer has been a stay cation but we have had lots of fun!  So far, we have kayaked, gone to a baseball game, had a couples massage, and have lounged in our very own backyard.  The thing that I have enjoyed most about our stay cation is that we have gotten to do things that have been on our bucket list for Montgomery and at the end of the day we don't have any luggage to unpack!

Hobbies

My friend Stephanie and I both have little girls and agree that a girl is not dressed without a bow in her hair!  So, we have embarked on the wonderful world of bow-making.  We were cracking ourselves up trying to learn the master techniques of forming these cute products.  We used everything from a lighter to a hot glue gun to perfect these mini masterpieces.  It was a really fun way to catch up and enjoy each others company for an afternoon.  Bow-Making Tip of the Day: Purchase some liquid starch to make the ribbon firm.  Just place the liquid starch on the ribbon and then place the ribbon in between tissue paper before you iron.  The tissue paper protects the ribbon and the iron makes it stay firm!  That allows you to make lots of fun shapes like this dragonfly bow.

Movies

Toy Story 3 is a must-see if you haven't already!  Raleigh and I are HUGE fans of Pixar (the company that created Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and Up) so we are always at their movies on opening night.  I promise adults will love this movie as much as kids.  In fact, Raleigh read a fun article that stated that this movie would probably have the largest following of all Pixar movies because most adults saw the first Toy Story when they were children.  Woody's horse, Bullseye reminded us of our dog Obi :)  The film will make you want to laugh, cry, and hug the person you are with so try to catch this while it is still in theaters.


I hope y'all enjoyed these monthly must-haves!

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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