The Hobby Wife

The Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide for Outdoorsman

December 4, 2018

Everyone has that one person on their list that is super hard to shop for and in my family, that person is always the outdoorsman. It seems that they already have everything they need and aren’t the type to want a whole lot of excess so getting outdoorsman the perfect gift can be tricky.

Thankfully there are some really cool products out there just for the outdoorsman and with these gift ideas, you are sure to find a great gift idea that even the hardest to shop for outdoorsman will be excited to get.

These gift ideas contain Amazon affiliate links which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link, I will make a small portion of the sale at no additional cost to you.

Rangefinder- HUNTING LASER RANGEFINDER; tired of cheap rangefinders with short ranges of measurement? The PROWILD Laser Rangefinder is a premium product, measuring up to 540 yards with continuous scan mode, advanced speed technology, and a durable, water-resistant body!

Even if your gift recipient has a rangefinder, an upgrade is always welcome for outdoor enthusiasts, replace the old tired one they have used in the past.

Buck Knife

You can’t go wrong with a knife when shopping for the perfect gift for an outdoor enthusiast and a Buck Knife is an American icon that comes with a forever warranty. Buck Knives are proudly made in the USA and is one of America’s best-selling knives for a reason.

Fire Starter Necklace Proudly handcraft in the USA! This 2-Part fire starter pendent contrasts a pure white Zirconia (ZrO2) Ceramic “Scraper” punctuated against a black chamfered Ferrocerium barrel toggle. The UNISEX DESIGN – fits up to 26″ necks. Every outdoorsman should have a fire starter on hand, and this one frees up space in your bag and makes sure that you have it handy when needed.

Pocket Survival Kit

Ships from USA. American owed & operated. The perfect gift for anyone interested in survival, bushcraft, camping, hiking, fishing and other outdoor activities. Fire starting survival tin container fits in pocket, full of everything you will need to start a fire. Fatwood sticks, Ferro rod, striker, fatwood chips/dust, jute, survival hand saw and a fixed blade stainless steel pocket knife.

TETON SPORTS Oasis 1100 2 Liter Hydration BackpackDAY HIKER’S CHOICE: Light, adjustable, comfortable and just the right price for all the included features. Large capacity hydration pack weighs only 2 pounds (.9 kg); Large pocket with hidden-teeth zipper and weather guard protects gear, clothes, and lunch; Bungee cord system for bike helmet; Butterfly opening for jackets, etc. HYDRATION BLADDER INCLUDED: BPA free 2-liter hydration bladder included; Complete with lightweight, durable, kink-free sip tube and innovative push-lock cushioned bite valve; Large 2-inch (5 cm) opening for ice that also makes cleaning easy.

For the guy with everything, including a good sense of humor…

Big Mouth Toys Camouflage Toilet Paper– What every military, hunter or outdoorsman needs. Both fun and functional, each of the 200 sheets are completely camouflaged. A great gift that is fun to use, but also completely safe as the ink is harmless.

Ammo Gummi Worms Vintage Collector Tin – Are you ready to go fishing? Go fishing in style with our Vintage Collector tin filled with Gummi Worms. Once the gummi worms are gone use the tin as your bait and tackle box. The fishing tin makes a great gift for Fathers, Dads, Friends or any outdoorsman. Each tin includes 2 packages of sour gummi worms. Each tin also depicts the Currier and Ives classic lithographs of fishing in the early days of history.

Don’t forget all of the obvious items that every outdoorsman could use more of like extra ammo, clay pigeons, and broadheads.

If I forgot something that you think an outdoorsman would love to receive as a gift this Christmas, leave me a comment below and I will be sure to add it.

Thanks for stopping by, don’t forget to follow on social media so you never miss a post and have a very Merry Christmas!

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The Benefits of Journaling as a Hobby

November 19, 2018

The Benefits of Journaling as a Hobby are part of a sponsored post. I received Ellie Claire products in order to facilitate my review. This post contains affiliate links which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link, I will recieve a small portion of the sale at no additional cost to you. All opinions are my own.

Writing, doodling, and sketching have many benefits, each can be enjoyable as well as therapeutic. Even if you have never picked up a journal before, you can start journaling as a hobby and reap benefits immediately. Still, aren’t convinced that journaling is for you?

Read some of my favorite reasons that journaling as a hobby is beneficial and get started reaping the benefits of journaling right away.

The Benefits of Journaling as a Hobby

Gain Perspective

If you make a plan and set up your journaling time for the evening it is a great way to wind down from the day. Going over things that may have bothered you or even improved your mood can help you see things from a different perspective, now that you are removed from the situation.

Play some relaxing music, sit in a comfy chair and jot down some things that cross your mind. Keep in mind that nobody else has to read your journal, it can be the one place that you are really honest about your thoughts and feelings.

Improve Memory/Focus

Studies show that doodling in a notebook and drawing random objects as you would do with bullet journaling, have helped improve focus and increase memory. Grabbing a journal can improve your focus which will help you to retain more information.

Improve Penmanship

Practice makes perfect when it comes to penmanship, especially when Ellie Claire journals are fully equipped with prompts and practice for the perfect penmanship. Learning a new technique or practicing each letter over and over again will improve your penmanship greatly, even when practiced a few minutes each day.

Let It All Out

Just like when you visit a therapist, journaling as a hobby can help you let it all out. Getting all of the troubles or struggles you are going through off of your chest will improve your mood and help you to sort out the days’ stresses while letting them go.

Start Over Each Day

Getting a fresh start each day can be possible once you let it all out and get it into your journal. After spending time each night getting it out, you can give yourself a fresh start each day.

Get Organized

Jotting down your meetings or places you need to be is much easier than storing everything on your to-do list in your head. Use your journal to get organized, it will only improve your life.

Planning out your shopping lists in order of the store you are shopping can save you time and making notes when you have an appointment is a great way to make sure you aren’t late. Having plans written down is helpful when you need something to refer back to in order to recheck a time or item needed.

Reflection/Gratitude

One of the most beneficial reasons for keeping a journal, in my opinion, is being able to gain perspective during reflection. Removing yourself from a situation and replaying it out in your mind after the fact can help you to see that something you may have made a huge deal about is not even worth another thought. You may start to appreciate your life in a way that you had never thought possible, learning to be grateful for the little things that would have otherwise never been given a second thought.

When shopping for a journal, check out Ellie Claire for journals with beautiful art and inspiring quotes that get the creative energy flowing. Beautiful journals, full of inspiration and art that is sure to help you reap all of these benefits and more from taking up journaling as a hobby.

You can pick up the Faith & Lettering Journal here, The Illustrated Word Journal here, and Illuminate Your Story here.

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3 Common Threats to Relationships & How to Eliminate them

November 13, 2018

Does your relationship suffer from these 3 Common Threats? Find out now and begin the journey to eliminate them before they become toxic.

Too Busy

Everyone gets busy from time to time, we all have a heavy workload from time to time. This is a normal part of life and everyone should be given allowances for this on occasion as it happens to us all. The problem comes in when you become too busy for your relationship, more often than not. Not having time to spend with your partner shows them where they rate on your priority scale.

Putting your partner at the top of your list of priorities is important and setting time aside each day to reconnect is essential for a happy, healthy relationship. It doesn’t always have to be a romantic date night, just a quiet dinner at home each evening will do. Planning a more extravagant, longer outing can be reserved for weekends or monthly depending on your schedule.

Oversharing

Women are stereotyped as being the role in the relationship who is always chatty. In movies, the wife is typically the character seen oversharing details about her marriage with a friend. In reality, both men and women are guilty of oversharing, this can threaten a relationship, no matter which party is guilty. Seeking advice outside of your relationship may seem like a great way to get a quick take from a new perspective but it causes more harm than good in some cases.

Talking to each other and creating boundaries that both parties can agree upon when it comes to including outsiders in conversations about your relationship is best. It may be wise to seek out a therapist that would be able to help on call, there are lots of options online these days. Having a professional to vent to can prevent close friends from being too involved in your relationship while also offering an experts opinion.

Too Much Screen Time

Everyone seems to be addicted to their phones these days, some of them can’t even seem to put them down long enough to drive. With that being the case, its no surprise that relationships are negatively impacted by this obsessive behavior. Constantly staring at your phone isn’t good for you and it is most certainly not good for your relationship but once you have recognized this unhealthy habit, you can being to correct it.

Setting limits like no phones at the dinner table or turning off your cell after a certain time each night can make the transition easy. Spending quality time with your partner, without a cell phone in between you is extremely important. Letting your partner know that their overuse has not gone unnoticed may be all that is required to help them see the problem. If this is not the case and your partner continues to spend more time looking at their phone than they do interacting with you, seeking out therapy may be the next step.

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Slow Cooker Side Dishes Perfect for Thanksgiving

November 7, 2018

These Slow Cooker Side Dishes are perfect for your Thanksgiving dinner and since they are made in the slow cooker, they will save you so much time and space on your stovetop. Who knew you could cook so many traditional Thanksgiving side dishes in a slow cooker? I wish I would have started doing this years ago!

Every year when Thanksgiving rolls around I start to feel the pressure of the holiday and worry that I am not making enough food. I often worry that there isn’t enough of a variety at my Thanksgiving table and it seems that there just aren’t enough burners on my stove or room in my oven to cook every Thanksgiving side dish I want to make.

I am a worrier for sure, if there is a possibility that something could go wrong, I have already thought about it and tried to prepare myself ahead of time. This year, I have decided to make an attempt to not worry about anything. I am going to prepare enough food to feed an army without the worry of having enough burners or room in the oven by using my slow cooker to make lots of side dishes.

This is going to save me so much time on Thanksgiving and allow me to spend more time with my guests. That’s why these Slow Cooker Side Dishes are perfect for Thanksgiving.

I haven’t tried making Baked Potatoes for Thanksgiving yet but I think this would save me so much time. I usually whip up a giant bowl of mashed potatoes because that was always my favorite as a kid. It just takes so much time whipping and adding in ingredients when I need to be getting everything on the table.

Instead of making stuffing and sweet potatoes when trying to incorporate all of the traditional Thanksgiving side dishes, combining them into one really great dish like this Sweet Potato Stuffing saves so much time.

I have one of those three server crockpots and I usually make things like Baked Beans and Applesauce for Thanksgiving but I have never thought to make them in the slow cooker on Thanksgiving, this is a huge space saver.

Since we live in Iowa it seems like we absolutely have to include things like Buttered Corn on the Cob into our Thanksgiving dinner plans.

Another favorite of mine from childhood is Macaroni and Cheese so we have to make that for sure. I am also excited to add a new recipe to our Thanksgiving menu like this Olive Parmesan Bread.

This Pumpkin Bread Pudding is sure to be a new favorite at my house and I am excited to serve up some Party Meatballs.

To make sure everyone’s sweet tooth is happy this Thanksgiving, I am excited to use the slow cooker to make Sweet Potato Casserole and this Cranberry Apple Cider.

What are your favorite Thanksgiving side dishes? Tell me about them in the comments below and be sure to share this post on your favorite social media to save your favorite Thanksgiving host some time and space.

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Road Trip to the Amish town of Kalona, Iowa

November 6, 2018

One of my favorite road trips to take with the family is to an Amish town in Iowa named Kalona. It takes us about an hour to get there and the trip never disappoints me. In fact, we have taken this road trip many times since we have moved here to Iowa.

Kalona is one of my favorite places to visit for a few different reasons but I would have to say the biggest draw for me is the high Amish population.

Everything I love about Kalona is because of the Amish people who live there. The scenery is so beautiful in my opinion because of the plain lifestyle that the Amish live.

The low crime rate is due to the Amish way of life, a lifestyle strong in religion, honesty, and hard work.

I also love to shop at the local Amish stores, the ones that are actually run by the Amish are full of great deals, the ones that aren’t run by the Amish are mostly full of overpriced items that make a buck off of the Amish lifestyle.

It’s still fun to check these stores out and maybe pick up some scrapple that they may tell you is made locally but is actually made in Ohio, as it says on the package.

There is also a really good Mexican restaurant in Kalona that my family loves to visit, we have made the trip just for the food several times. It is really hard to find the type of Mexican food we enjoy here in Iowa so when we find a place we like, we go there whenever we get a chance.

It was quite a shock to find it in an Amish town but that is another great thing about visiting Kalona, Iowa, you never know what you will see.

I could drive there just for the views and the possibility that I will get to interact with some local Amish folks or pet a farm animal or two.

I love the open country where there is at least one cornfield between each house and a horse and buggy on every street.

Windmills aplenty and a healthy amount of Amish people looking away from your camera.

It can be really easy to joke about their lifestyle but I really do have a lot of respect for their way of life. I wanted to learn more about so when we headed out to Kalona for the first time I asked so many questions that I had in my mind for what seemed like my entire life.

After visiting the area, I learned nothing about the Amish lifestyle that I hadn’t already known although I have read a lot of information about the Kalona, Iowa Amish online since heading out there. I may be able to get some more info about the Amish lifestyle if I actually approach a local but I haven’t had the nerve to do that just yet, I feel like it would be rude.

I guess if I had something to offer them in exchange for their time and information I may feel better about the interaction. One fun fact about Kalona, Iowa that you probably won’t hear from anywhere else is that those fellas like to race their horse and buggies. I know a guy who knows a guy who witnessed these races for himself, he says the local Amish all head to the racing grounds once a week for a day full of horse and buggy races.

Maybe I will challenge a local Amish guy to a race and once my car beats his horse I will get some answers.

That is another reason why I love to take road trips to Kalona, Iowa there is so much to learn and see, no matter how many times you have visited.

Have you ever visited an Amish town? I want to hear all about it!

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Super Easy Apple Cinnamon Pastry Dessert

October 29, 2018

I have always been a big fan of using apples in my recipes, from desserts to dinners, they seem to be a common staple in my diet. I don’t know if it is the old saying that an apple a day keeps the doctor away or if they are just a very versatile food but I find that most of my favorite recipes include an apple in some way.

Apples are also really easy to come by, we know someone with an apple tree that yields quite a bit of fruit each year and the grocery store sells them pretty cheap this time of year.

This recipe for an Apple Cinnamon Pastry Dessert is perfect for Fall or if you love apples as much as me, it is the perfect dessert to serve all year long.

This recipe comes together in a couple different steps and the first step is making the pastry. Once you have combined all of the ingredients and created a dough ball, you will need to roll it out.

To make sure that the dough doesn’t stick to your work surface you can lay out some parchment paper, this makes for a cleaner work area and allows you to wrap the dough up to refrigerate it for later if you aren’t planning on baking your Apple Cinnamon Pastry Dessert right away.

Sometimes I like to make pastry early in the morning so that when dinner is done I can pull it out and already have the labor-intensive part of our dessert ready to go.

Plus refrigerating this pastry dough is a good way to make it easier to work with because it tends to get melty when worked with heavily.

The next step is to create the filling for this apple cinnamon pastry dessert. Dice your favorite type of apple and add it into a mixing bowl. Mix in the seasonings, sugar, lemon juice, and salt, tossing until well combined.

Add this mixture into a rolled out pastry that resembles the shape of a rectangle. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just make the pastry a shape that will allow you to cover all of the fillings.

Wrap the apple filling inside of the pastry dough from both sides, making sure you cover all of the apple filling.

The next step is cut slices across the top of the pastry. Sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon mixture on top before baking at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Mix confectioners sugar, milk, and cinnamon for topping, set aside until the apple cinnamon pastry is done baking.

Drizzle the topping on the Apple Cinnamon Pastry when done and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top for an extra special treat.

Don’t forget to share this Apple Cinnamon Pastry Dessert on social media so your friends can enjoy it too!

Super Easy Apple Cinnamon Pastry Dessert

Ingredients

2 Cups of All Purpose Flour
1 Tablespoon of Sugar
1 Cup of Butter
1 Teaspoon of Lemon Juice
4 Apples
1 Cup of Sugar
2 Teaspoons of Lemon Juice
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Cup of Powdered Sugar
2 Teaspoons of Cinnamon
1 Tablespoon of Milk

Instructions

Mix the flour, sugar, butter and one teaspoon of lemon juice in a bowl until a dough forms. Use a dough hook to mix it and then roll it out.
To make the filling, mix diced apples, sugar, and lemon juice as well as salt to make the filling.
Place filling into center of dough, rolled out into a rectangle shape.
Fold up sides over the filling and slice cuts in center before baking in a 400 degree preheated oven for about 30 minutes.
Make filling using powdered sugar, cinnamon, and milk. Drizzle on top of baked apple cinnamon pastry.

https://thehobbywife.com/apple-cinnamon-pastry/

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7 Simple Ways to Connect With Your Spouse Each Day

October 23, 2018

Sometimes we allow our lives to get so busy that we often push aside the important things that keep our relationships going strong, like connecting with our spouses. Finding the time each day to connect with your spouse should be a priority as it is an essential part of any healthy relationship.

These 7 Simple Ways to Connect With Your Spouse Each Day are easy ways to encourage conversation and help to keep your marital bond strong.

Go for a Bike Ride or Walk

Getting a little exercise is not just good for your body, it is good for your soul. Adding your spouse into the mix is a great way to do something positive for yourself and for your relationship. Going for a walk each day or going for a bike ride is a simple thing to add to your daily routine.

Texting throughout the Day

Staying in touch whenever you get a quick second to say I love you or let your spouse know that you are thinking of them is a proven method for connecting with your spouse when you don’t have a lot of time. Being able to go back and read a text from earlier can be twice as effective. Your spouse may have sent you a text in the morning to tell you that they love you but they still feel that way in the evening so looking back is a good way to keep your spirits up.

Writing Notes

It can be easy to be held back by the idea that you aren’t the “writing type” but even the simplest notes can make your spouse feel connected to you throughout the day. Leaving a notebook in a common area is an easy way to encourage a quick note to your spouse, even if it just says that you love them or miss them. Make it a habit and leave notes every day or even a cute drawing or sharing a memory that will make your spouse smile.

Winding Down Together

Sometimes work can get us into a bad mood or make it hard to bond with our spouse. We all are guilty of letting the hard day get the best of us and unfortunately, this can lead to taking things out on our spouses. It can help to find time each day to talk about your day or just forget it all and watch some television together while letting the stresses of the day melt away.

Having a Meaningful Dinner Together

It may seem obvious to eat dinner with your spouse but sometimes when we get busy we tend to check out, even if we are physically present, we are far far away. Using mealtime to discuss the day’s events is a simple change to make because you are going to be eating anyway, use the time wisely.

Catch up on Current Events Together

It seems that politics is a great way to divide everyone but it can also be a great way to bond people as well. Sharing a passion for certain political topics is a great way to bond with each other. Depending on your level of interest in current events, you may even become active in your community together to make real change happen.

Play a Game

Sharing a laugh and enjoying a relaxing game together with your spouse can help relieve the tension from even the most stressful of days. If you don’t have time to sit down together to play a full game look into getting an app on each of your phones that allows you to take turns throughout the day when you have a minute. Some of my favorites are Words With Friends and DrawSomething, the possibilities are endless, find something you both can enjoy.

Finding time each day to connect with your spouse should be at the top of your priorities. These 7 simple ways to connect with your spouse each day can make a much needed positive change in your relationship, today.

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Frosted Apple Cinnamon Muffins

October 16, 2018

These Frosted Apple Cinnamon Muffins are the perfect Fall food, filled with the best flavors of the season and so easy to make!

I don’t know what it is about the seasons changing but I always find myself craving foods made with apples or pumpkin whenever Fall hits. It may be because of the apple trees and pumpkin farm that our hunting blind overlooks or it could be the scents that every store is piping in this time of year. No matter the reason, I was inspired recently to create a delicious Fall Recipe and I came up with these Frosted Apple Cinnamon Muffins.

I really love Fall although here in Iowa it seems more like a Summer day followed by a Winter day followed by who knows what, it is not at all predictable. I like the idea of Fall, the perfect weather to wear a pair of jeans, some boots, a hoodie, and a nice breeze that keeps you comfortable without freezing you out.

Too bad it never really feels like that. We have to bundle up in the morning, dig out our shorts in the afternoon, and if the wind is blowing you need to take cover because we are not in Kansas anymore Dorothy, a tornado is a coming.

To keep my sanity and the fantasy of Fall going, I just hang out inside with the blinds wide open so I can see the changing of the leaves from my temperature controlled kitchen.

All of that time inside leads to lots of baking and the next thing you know you have a delicious batch of these Frosted Apple Cinnamon Muffins to enjoy, that is another reason to love Fall.

I hope you have enjoyed these Frosted Apple Cinnamon Muffins enough to share them with your friends on social media and leave me a comment below.

Frosted Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Ingredients

2 Cups of Flour
1 1/2 Teaspoons of Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
2 Teaspoon of Diced Apples
1/2 Stick of Butter
1 Cup of Sugar
2 Eggs
2 Teaspoons of Vanilla
1/2 Cup of Milk
Topping
1/2 Cup of Butter, melted
1/4 Cup of Sugar
1/4 Cup of Cinnamon

Instructions

Mix the muffin ingredients and then pour batter into a greased pan. Bake in oven preheated to 375 degrees in a greased pan sprinkled with flour for about 30 minutes. After cooling the muffins, mix all of the frosting ingredients and then pipe it on top of the muffins.
This recipe makes 12 muffins.

https://thehobbywife.com/frosted-apple-cinnamon-muffins/

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DIY European Mount

October 15, 2018

This post sharing tips on how to Create your Own DIY European Mount contains affiliate links which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link within this post, I will receive a small portion of the sale at no additional cost to you.

Create your own DIY European Mount easily with this step by step tutorial loaded with tips to make your deer skull mount an eye-catching piece of decor.

Sometimes you may Harvest a deer that is not special enough to pay for a traditional shoulder-mount or European mount but you would still like to preserve the memory and have a nice souvenir for your wall.

In this case, I am going to show you how to make a DIY European Mount. This process starts with burying your skull in the backyard and showing some serious patience.

Some people choose to buy Beatles to eat the flesh away when making their own DIY European Mount but that is a tricky process and the Beatles sometimes get mites and die.

Sometimes people prefer to boil their heads but in my experience, that process can be very messy. I choose to bury them in the backyard and wait 12 months to get my keepsake.

This is by far the simplest way to make your very own DIY European Mount.

All you do is dig a hole big enough for the head to fit in and cover everything but the antlers with the dirt. After that I like to cover the antlers with a garbage can topped with bricks to make sure no squirrels nibble away at your rack.

After about 10 to 12 months you simply dig it up and almost everything has been cleaned by Nature. The next step is to hose it off but don’t use a power washer and be careful with too powerful of a stream as many of the nasal cavity bones are very sensitive and will break easily.

I like to use a nylon scratch brush to clean off any excess material that may be stuck to it.

When you are finished it has a darker natural look to it than a European mount that you may pay for. I actually prefer this look but if you prefer the more traditional white color, simply tape off the antlers and spray paint with a bone colored paint.

Also, you can design your own plaque by simply drawing out the shape on a 1×12 board.

After you have sketched out your shape, cut them out with a jigsaw.

The next step in creating your own DIY European Mount is sanding the edges so that it is nice and smooth all the way around your cuts.

You can use a piece of sandpaper for this part or pick up an electric sander, it will make this job much quicker.

Take a sawtooth picture frame hanger and attach it to the back then stain it whatever color you would like.

The back of your DIY European Mount will never be seen once hung on the wall so if you want to save on stain, don’t bother painting this part.

I love the contrast that a black background offers to the color of the skull but I also think light wood adds a nice touch as well.

Choose a shade that will fit in well with the rest of your decor. If you already have lots of mounts in your lovely room of death as Ace Ventura called it, you can try to match your existing pieces.

Or if you are like me, you may shop the ding and dent section of paint at your local hardware store and pick up whichever is on sale.

Then you simply take a small drill bit and drill one hole through the plaque where you can put a screw from the back through the front into the skull of the deer.

I like to drill a small pilot hole in the skull as well to make sure that nothing gets damaged.

Your DIY European Mount is now ready to be hung in a prominent location inside of your home.

Show off your finished product on social media and be sure to tag me so I can see how your DIY European Mount turned out and leave a comment below to tell me all about it.

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Foodie Road Trip

October 10, 2018

Not all food is created equally and not every food is available in every location, sometimes you have to take a road trip when a craving hits. Living in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa area has many perks but easy access to delicious foods is not one of them. Thankfully all that stands between us Iowa folk and a decent meal is a little travel so we planned a foodie road trip making sure we stopped at all of our favorite spots along the way.

El Comal

Without a doubt, the number one food my husband loves and misses from Illinois is Mexican food, specifically burritos. The first time I ever stepped foot in Illinois, he immediately brought me to get a burrito, he had been talking about these things being the size of my head and how delicious they were since I met him in Florida where there was nothing like it.

We both love Mexican food so much that we even had a local Mexican restaurant cater our wedding, much to the dismay of some of our more traditional guests. He introduced me to burritos and tacos, topped with salsa verde and before I knew it Mexican food was both of our favorites. Our favorite spot to grab a burrito is a small Mexican restaurant in the industrial town of Rockdale, Illinois.

They have steak burritos like no other, stuffed full of perfectly seasoned diced steak, onions, cilantro, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, and cheese.

Their steak tacos come with the same perfectly seasoned diced steak as well as onions and cilantro. If you go out the right day, you can take advantage of one dollar tacos.

There just isn’t anything like this place here in Iowa, we have tried every Mexican restaurant around here, believe me nothing comes close.

The salsa verde is worth a road trip all by itself but it compliments the tacos and burritos nicely so be sure to try it out if you visit.

Joe’s Hot Dogs

When I first moved to Illinois, I enjoyed eating at Joe’s but never realized how hard a good hot dog would be to come by until we moved to Iowa. I grew up in New Jersey, the land of Sabrett hot dog stands, where you can get a perfect hot dog in any parking lot you happen to drive by that day.

Joe’s offers sauerkraut dogs as well as traditional Chicago dogs, being from Jersey, there is nothing like a good sauerkraut dog in my opinion.

I can’t even locate a hot dog place in the Cedar Rapids area that has sauerkraut, so this road trip was desperately needed.

Joe’s Hot Dogs is located in Joliet, a town with just as much good food as it has crime activity in the area. We moved away due to all of the home invasions, gang activity, and murders happening nearby, but we sure do miss the food.

If you find yourself in the area, get a hot dog and a bag of fries at Joe’s. You will be glad you dodged the bullets to do so.

Baba’s Famous Steak & Lemonade

I have never really understood why this place has famous steak and lemonade in its title. Their lemonade isn’t the best thing on their menu and I don’t think they even serve steak there, I could be wrong. I may have missed these items on the menu while looking over my shoulder at the crime-riddled road this restaurant is placed on called Jefferson Street.

The gyros are my daughters favorite and the burgers are piled so high with toppings that my husband calls them heart attack burgers.

White Castle

If you have ever had White Castle before then there is no description needed on why we would be willing to take a road trip just to get some burgers.

This is another location that I frequented as a kid growing up in New Jersey, much like Harold & Kumar, we went to White Castle a lot when we lived there.

The location in Joliet is the closest one to us which is why we made the road trip, it was the smartest travel decision really but this location is also the dirtiest of all White Castles I have ever been to, so maybe hit the drive-thru if this is the location you stop at.

The milkshakes alone are worth the drive in my opinion, but you can’t visit a White Castle without eating a couple of sliders. I wish there were more locations nearby, there are none in Iowa and before you leave a comment telling me about the store bought ones, I am well aware that you can buy a microwaveable version from the grocery store but I am not in the habit of eating hard bread and greasy radiation.

That just won’t do, so sometimes you need to cross the Mississippi to get a good burger.

I would be more than happy to open my own White Castle in Iowa if I was allowed but this franchise opportunity does not exist here in Iowa due to the location of suppliers is what I have been told. If it did, I would be opening the cleanest and most delicious location in all of the country, people would take food road trips just to visit my location, believe that.

There are so many pretty things to be seen on this side of the Mississippi and the drive through Eastern Iowa is beautiful.

Until the Cedar Rapids area gets all of the delicious foods we miss, we will continue to take these foodie road trips and travel whenever these cravings hit. Be sure to follow on social media so you can see where we travel to next.

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