Habitat for Humanity

This past February I had the wonderful opportunity of traveling to Mississippi with my school's Habitat for Humanity Club.  I was extremely excited to experience the South and have the opportunity to give back.  Ever since my first service trip to Ecuador, I knew that I wanted to continue to travel with intent and continue to volunteer abroad.
Habitat for Humanity is a charity that focus on providing affordable housing to families in need. The families work together with volunteers and professional to build their home.
I traveled with a group of 30 students from my university and I made many great new friends through this experience.  A service trip is something I would recommend to anyone looking to travel and have an unforgettable experience.

 Following an long day of travel, we headed to The Shed for some BBQ. It was some seriously good food, and I got the chance to eat at place featured on Diners, Dine-Ins and Dives. 

 We went to a gator farm and went out on air boats to find some gators. It was a really cool and fun experience. I have never been so close to an alligator before in its natural habitat. 

 It was really exciting and coincidental that we were down south during Mardi Gras. We were able to attend one of the family friendly parades. It was a lot of fun catching all those beads and watching the parade. 

 We were there to assist in the building of a house. Our large group was split into three smaller ones. My group was on a renovation site, where they were adding an addition on to the house of a veteran. 

On the way home we stopped in New Orleans. It seemed like a very interesting place and it is one that I would like to go back and spend more time in. We did not get enough time there. It had some beautiful aritecture in the French Quarter. There seemed to be a lot of amazing restaurants. I hope to go back there one day and spend more time exploring.

I hope to have the chance to do another trip such as this one and travel somewhere else in the world to volunteer. Both times now it has been a truly amazing experience. I went on the trip not knowing anyone and came home with 30 new friends. I would highly recommend the experience. 

-Jaclyn

Taco Baked Potatoes

I love Tacos.  But I never finish all my delicious taco meat. So I have had to come up with some creative ways to use it all up (you can only have nachos so many times). One of those ways that is probably my favourite is Stuffed Baked Potatoes. Seriously, I have now taken to making taco meat just to make these delicious things. They are easy and simple to make.

All you need is: 

- left over taco meat (or taco meat made according to your favourite taco seasoning package) 

- potatoes 

-butter 

-milk 

-cheese 

- taco fillings (optional): sour cream, tomatoes, salsa etc 

Start by baking your baked potatoes as normal. Once they are fully cooked, slice in half and carefully remove the middle of the potatoes. 

Mash potatoes as usual. I like to add milk and butter to mine. Then add your taco meat (if you are using left over meat I suggest preheating it first). 

Re-stuff potatoes. Do not be afraid to over stuff them. 

Place cheese on top of potatoes and place back in the over until cheese is just melted. 

Remove from oven and serve with taco toppings. I usually also eat these with a side salad. 

Hope you enjoyed this recipe.  If you have any questions feel free to ask, 

Jaclyn

Inspiration

I have a very unhealthy addiction to Pintrest. Hours go by where all I do is sit online and pin. It also becomes suddenly more interesting when I should be studying or doing something productive.
Personally what I love is boards that tell a story (which is probably why I creep so many wedding boards). I love when boards having a certain feeling to them and all the photos on that board give off a certain mood.
These are my favourite boards at the moment:
The Everygirl, Inspired
The Everygirl Smiles
Summer Lovin
Daydreams 
Inspiracion

What are your favourite boards?
Jaclyn

Bunheads

There is a new show on ABC Spark (basically ABC Family but in Canada) called Bunheads. Its about ballet and Amy Sherman-Palladino (ASP for all you Gilmore Girl fans) is producing it. So OF COURSE I had to watch it. I mean its ballet and is connected to Gilmore Girls, in more ways then one, Kelly Bishop (Emily) is in Bunheads too! I was so upset when Gilmore Girls ended. So hopefully this can help fill that void ( I doubt it... but one can hope). 

It blew every expectation I had right out of the water! It is so nice to have ASP back and have some witty banter, fast paced dialog and the references! Oh how I've missed the references! She doesn't dumb things down for her audience.  I cannot wait to watch more of this. It was like ASP was handing back to me a piece of gilmorism that I lost. Something new and exciting to look forward too.  Not at all like the usual shows on ABC. Way more real and way more relatable. 

You can bet I'll be tuning in next week. 

- Jaclyn

Ice Cream Sandwiches

Nothing beats homemade cookies, except for homemade ice cream. Combine the two and oh my gosh! Amazing! My friend recently got an ice cream maker and I have been dying to go over and try it out. I finally got a chance to see her yesterday and we made these gems. 

Homemade chocolate chip cookies with homemade nutella ice cream.

What a perfect end to a busy week! Enjoy the weekend, its supposed to be beautiful!  I am hoping to head out to the farmers market.
Belle