Turquoise Thursday: Simple Turquoise Jewelry

Sometimes less is more. 

I love turquoise, but sometimes you only need a little bit to make a splash.

Like one of these bracelets. Obviously the turquoise one is my favorite, but I also think they also look really cute all together. Both this bracelet and the next are from SinClaireDesigns on Etsy. 

This turquoise cross bracelet comes in both gold and silver. Also get happy because both bracelets are only $12! Whose going shopping?

I think this simple beaded turquoise bracelet is my favorite of the three. It is a little more expensive at $25, but I think I could layer this with a lot of bracelets I already have a create a fun little #armparty. The bracelet is from Aden Creations on Etsy and they have some beautiful delicate necklaces as well. 

Hope everyone has been having a great week. I am finally home for a week straight and it has been awesome. The Boy and I have spent every night at the farm working with the cattle. It is a busy time of year because we are working on getting all the cows bred. Some will  be bred by the bull and others through A.I. (artificial insemination). I also was able to get my second Watching the Corn Grow post up. If you haven't read it yet check it out. I reveal what corn pop is. 

I'm also linking up with Rural Thursday. Be sure to check out some of the other great posts.

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Corn Report: Have you heard of corn pop?

Yes corn pop, not pop corn. 

It's time for the second edition of Watching the Corn Report. Every other week I plan on posting picture of our cornfield.

The corn is growing like crazy as you can see below. We are lucky that the corn is growing so well because we definitely could use some moisture, and we are about to get some cold weather. The corn that was plated smaller might be a little chilly the next few nights. In this post though I also want to share with you a by-product of corn. Just keep reading and you'll learn about a little thing called Corn Pop.

This was the corn on May 15. I read the initial corn report click here. 

This is what the corn now looks like on May 30. Way bigger.

And this is what Corn Pop looks like. Actually, the technical name is Sweet Corn Soda.

Awhile back on a work trip though Oklahoma one of my coworkers and I stopped at a store called Pops. I am pretty sure they had every flavor of pop that you could ever imagine. I had to buy a bottle of the Corn Soda. Tonight was the big taste test, I plan on reviewing the five other flavors including bacon later in the week. 

The Boy, his parents and myself were the taste testers. Reactions were as follows:

The Boy: I'm not drinking this. 

The Mom: This tastes like the juice from can corn

The Dad: Like the water from boiled corn. 

Me: This is not good. 

The Boy: Ok so it wasn't as bad as bacon. 

Me: So maybe this wasn't a good idea

The Mom: I think I can taste butter

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Canadian Rice Crispy Squares aka Puffed Wheat Squares

You'll want to add this recipe to your file. 

When my family was down for the wedding we were talking about truly Canadian food. Canada is really a melting pot of cultures, so it was hard to pinpoint what food was "Canadian." A couple weeks ago I wanted to make some treats to take down to the cattle sale in Oklahoma. Puffed Wheat Squares seemed like the perfect solution. Expect for the fact that the Boy and none of my friends had never heard of them!

As I began to describe what a Puffed Wheat Square was the Boy's mom said like a Rice Crispy Square - well kind of. Puffed Wheat Squares are a stable at every Canadian bake sale, school lunch and farmer's kitchen.

Puffed Wheat Squares from the Family Cookbook 

Ingredients
Puff Wheat - 8 cups - find this in the cereal isle
Brown Sugar - 1 cup
Butter or Margarine - 1/2 cup
Corn Syrup - 1/2 cup
Cocoa Powder - 4 Tbsp.
Vanilla - 1 tsp.

Mix all the ingredients except the puffed wheat in a pot. Bring to a boil and boil for 1/2-1 minute. Add the puff wheat and stir. Caution the mixture will be very hot. Put into a greased pan, and let set. Boom Puffed Wheat Squares are serves.

Everything melting and mixing together. 

I also have to show off this awesome customized pan we got for our wedding.

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Turquoise Thursday: Outside Entertaining

It's summertime.

I can't believe it is summertime! We have a covered deck at our house that is perfect for grilling. Now if I can just stay home longer enough, we can have a little party out there.

We registered at Pottery Barn for our wedding. I crossed my fingers so hard that someone would be a good friend and buy me these beautiful turquoise plates.

And they came through. I didn't register for the whole set, but I did receive eight of these Cambria Turquoise Dinner Plates. 

And another eight of these turquoise dessert plates. Wouldn't a cupcake look so pretty on that plate.

Now if I was going get a few things to add to my little porch I think these would work. 

How pretty is this turquoise patio rug. Of course found on Etsy.

I could also sit at my turquoise French Bistro Steel Table. It is even on sale! Two of my blogging friends have been telling me I must get to Target as they have some great turquoise patio chairs. Where is your favorite place to entertain during the summer?

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This gal is a proud farmer and I like make-up

Trust me the two can go together.

I think one of the reasons why I love my life so much is I truly get to do something I am passionate about every day - farm, play with cattle, speak about agriculture, the list goes on. I found it funny last night when two of my Twitter friends, who are both agriculture girls, @LBelleoftheBlog and @jenlynndewey started chatting (tweeting) about our love for make-up, because frankly that is another passion of mine. I love make-up.

Laura - LBelleoftheBlog has recently moved to an area of the country that MAC make-up stores aren't that prevalent. Kind of like my no MAC stores in Iowa situation. She started to tweet about the MAC products that fortunately the mailman had delivered. Jennifer - jenlynndewey quickly joined in on the conversation. And it turned into what our new favorite make-up products are.

Jennifer is oohing over this Kat Von D Eye Shadow Palette.

My own recent make-up MAC purchases. I am loving this new Pro Longwear Lip Creme called Postively Dashing. It stayed on through the afternoon, burgers, guacamole, and sangria. Perfect for girls that don't have time to be touching up their make-up all the time. The eyeshadow is called Antiqued - kind of a red/brown/coppery color, and then Studio Fix Foundation. 

The thing is that we have spent plenty of time around livestock, pastures and crops, and yet we still like to have a little girly side. Maybe no matter how much you smell like a cow you can't hide you inner fashionista.

I changed by Crystal Cattle Facebook page profile picture today. I love these agriculture banners that Bella Spur has created. Check out this album to choose your own agriculture banner. Maybe they can make me one that say proud to be a farmer that love make-up!

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Corn Report: It is out of the ground!

Another season of watching the corn grow. 

I am excited to start blogging again about the corn. Especially, since the Boy and I have our own field. This is also a little scary because it costs a lot of money to buy all the seed, fertilizer, rent the equipment (we call these input costs). We definitely need to have a good crop to cover all these initial costs.

We are farming just over a 100 acres this year. There are 1.3 acres in a football field to give you some perspective. 

The corn was planted a few weeks ago, but it took a really long time for it to finally pop its little head out of the ground. Who would have ever thought I would be so excited when the Boy texted me last week that the corn hard arrived.

Each week I will take a photo of the corn to show how much it grows. And trust me it grows really fast. There is a little saying "knee high by Fourth of July," last year the corn exceeded these expectations. It has been fun to see the green tint appearing in all the Iowa fields.

p.s. check out my new running shoes! And please don't judge my white legs. This was literally the first day (other than the honeymoon) that I have been able to wear shorts. Plus, this Canadian girl doesn't tan very well. 

As the Boy like to say we are outstanding in our field ;) It has been a great year for planting corn. According to Monday's USDA-NASS weekly Crop Progress report 90% of the nation's corn has been planted. That well ahead of last year's schedule when only 56% of the corn was planted at this time last year.

Be sure to tune in each week for more pictures and corn facts. Also, if you want to go back and read last year's post check out the Watching Corn Grow tab. And if you have any questions that you would like answered through the summer you can find my email under the About tab. 

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Hunk of Meat Monday: Shrimp, Feta, Tomato Pasta

Absolutely delicious

Yes, the picture is a little
out of focus, but it is delicious

Tonight I pulled an old recipe out of my book. I found this Real Simple Roasted Tomatoes With Shrimp and Feta recipe last year when I first got on Pinterest, and it became a weekly staple of mine last summer. I was on the road all of last week, and ate way too many fast food meals. As soon as I got home I knew I wanted to cook, and I knew it wanted to be really good.

Real Simple Recipe with my modifications:

You'll need -
5 large tomatoes, cut into chunks. I love using Roma tomatoes
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
kosher salt and pepper - I use the regular stuff
1 1/2 pounds of medium shrimp, peeled and deveined - I buy the already cooked stuff. If I use a pound we usually have enough for supper for two and lunch leftovers
2 tablespoons of lemon juice - I have forgotten this before and it still turns out great!
1 cup of Feta cheese
Oregano

Spaghetti or Crusty bread

For our wedding we got a Pampered Chef dutch over, which was perfect for cooking this meal in. However, any baking dish will work.

1. Preheat over to 450 degrees F.
2. Place tomatoes, olive oil and garlic in baking dish.
3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, stir and bake for 20 minutes.
4. Remove baking dish and add shrimp and lemon juice. I also sprinkle in some oregano. Sprinkle the Feta on top.
5. Return to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes.
6. Serve over crusty bread or spaghetti

Make sure you tune in later this week because I am going to share an awesome common Canadian square recipe and don't forget to visit Beyer Beware for more Hunk of Meat Monday recipes.

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Turquoise Thursday: iPhone Gadgets

Being a geek in style

My phone and iPad are always with me. Working, blogging, connecting with friends keeps a computer or my iPhone with a good majority of the day. So I figure why not make your iPhone a cute accessory. 

I love this turquoise and cow iPhone case. You can buy this image as a piece of artwork, and as a laptop skin as well. Thank you Pinterest for this great find. 

I think this turquoise and pink Chervon iPhone case is really cute. You can find all kinds of different covers on Etsy. 

Maybe you want a little more sparkle in your life? I am pretty sure this would result in a lot of glitter being left behind in my jean pocket or purse. Does anyone have one of these glitter iPhone cases? Do they hold up. 

These Kate Spade iPhone wristlets are pretty genius. The perfect way to carry your phone, a credit card, I.D. and a little cash. 

Do you have a fun iPhone case? I think I need to upgrade mine pretty soon. 

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Time flies by on the ranch

The clock is ticking

Man how time flies. Today the Boy and I are celebrating our one month anniversary. And while that is very exciting I can't wait until one month turns into a lifetime.

While doing some sorting of photos this afternoon, I am across some photos of the Boy's family's ranch that I never got to share with you. I took these picture back in January, back when the grass was dead and it was a chilly winter day in Oklahoma.

This is one of the Boy's and I's Hereford heifers that we nicknamed Teardrop. She has a little red dot under her eye that looks like a Teardrop. Next week we will head to Oklahoma for the Ranch's spring sale. It will be fun to see how much she has changed. And hopefully there is lots of green grass for the cattle to eat. 

I cattle were pretty fuzzy when I was there in January, however everything that will be selling in the sale will be getting a hair cut. 

This is one of the herd sires (boys) on the ranch. He's got lots of babies on the right now. 

To see a few more pictures you can visit my Crystal Cattle Facebook page. 

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Daily Affirmations that Life is Great

I'm thankful.

Sometimes do you a little spark to be lit under you? Somethings to remind yourself that today really is going to be great. That despite the hurdles we have to climb that life is pretty good. This little girls know how to get her day started, and it made me smile! Hope you are all having a fantastic Wednesday.



p.s. Don't forget that it is National Beef Month! So go our and grab a steak, hamburger or start up the grill.

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Things you should know: My favorite style blogs.

Hello friends! 

Via The Chloe Conspiracy

Work is a little crazy right now, and I can only seem to get the post about my wedding dress half way done before something else comes up. So today I am sharing with you some other favorite posts to read. 

These ladies are some of the most fashionable people I know. I love reading their fashion blogs, and getting outfit inspiration. Just because I spend A LOT of time around cows doesn't mean I can't look good ;)

Pink Peonies. I've mentioned this blog before and you will definitely become addicted. This girl has amazing style. She loves J.Crew.

The Farmer's Trophy Wife. One of my Canadian blogging friends she is always putting together awesome outfits. She even takes reader requests!

Urban Country Style. Another Canadian gal, that loves showcasing clothes, her beautiful home, and some REALLY good recipes. She is the one that has convinced me I can wear jean on jean. 

And finally, if you want amazing fashion and help in finding a good deal, The Chloe Conspiracy is for you. 

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