summer finds

1. Target has some ADORABLE little girl sundresses. This one even matches my new photography props:

Loved this cream little number as well:

Makes me wish I had a little girl to dress up... oh, the fun!

2. With the availability of garden lettuce I've been experimenting with salad recipes.

This was a Buffalo Chicken variation. My absolute favorite, however, is not pictured. It included grilled NY strip steak, gorgonzola, red onion, candied pecans, and a maple vinaigrette. The dressing recipe is below:

Maple Vinaigrette

1/4 cup cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
3 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 tablespoon (plus 1 teaspoon) Dijon mustard
Salt and ground black pepper

Directions
Into small bowl or jar, measure vinegar, oil, syrup, Dijon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; mix with wire whisk or fork (or cover jar and shake) until well blended. Cover and refrigerate up to 1 week. Stir or shake before using.

And the candied pecans recipe:

Candied Pecans

1 cup pecan halves

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Prepare a large sheet of parchment paper or foil for cooling pecans. Stir sugar, oil, and vinegar in a large skillet over medium heat until sugar melts and syrup bubbles, about 3 minutes. Mix in pecans and stir until nuts are toasted and syrup coats them evenly, 5-6 minutes. Turn nuts out onto prepared parchment paper and separate using 2 forks. Cool completely. Nuts can be prepared way in advance (up to 1 month) and stored in an airtight container.

3. The Metropolis Resort in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

With Chaos Waterpark on one end and Action City on the other, our kids were anything but bored.

We received an awesome deal that included two days of unlimited games (including bumper cars, go-karts, miniature golf, bowling, laser tag, and the rock climbing wall IN ADDITION to the arcade). It was kid heaven.

And with a Dairy Queen on-site, I was in mom heaven :)

4. Izzy's Ice Cream with 32 ever-changing flavors each day and an Izzy scoop on top. Be sure to stop by on Thursday, July 29th for their 10th birthday celebration!!

5. While on the ice cream kick, I might as well keep on going... Stoneridge Creamery flavor "Tom's Twisted Pretzel" (available at Cub Foods): chocolate-covered pretzel chunks and caramel - need I say more?

6. Old Navy Summer Clearance. Picked up these cute jammies for a steal:

7. Hidden Greens Golf Course - voted Best Public Golf Course 2010 by City Pages.

In addition to a monthly Date Night special, kids under 16 years old golf free (with a paying adult) on Fridays and Sundays after 3:00 pm.

How about you? If you have any summer finds of your own to share, just add a comment to this post!