It’s the end of August in Phoenix which means nothing other than it’s HOT and gross outside. I see other people complain about weather in the 90s and just laugh silently. The high today is supposed to be 107…mix that in with the humidity from recent storms and it makes for one disgusting weather mess. All of this weather while I’m pining for the great return of the Pumpkin Spice Latte are not a match made in heaven. Knowing September is around the corner makes me desperate for boots, scarves, hoodies, and all things pumpkin.

For now, though, some ice cream in a bag will do 🙂

This is an amazingly fast and E-A-S-Y project to do if you want a fun way to cool off on a warm (or hot and gross) day. Oh, and it’s delicious. I was super impressed with the flavor and Caitlin loved it, too. I definitely suggest it to those of you who have toddlers and kiddos at home who will love the “experiment” side of it and seeing the transformation of a liquid to a solid – LBR is a little young for that but she was a great helper in the shaking process!

Ingredients

– 1/2 cup half and half (milk will also work)

–  8 TBSP salt, the coarser the better. I used kosher salt as we use it in place of table salt but that will work just fine

– 1 TBSP sugar

– 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

– Ice

– Gallon Ziploc bag

– Sandwich size Ziploc bag

What to do

– mix half and half, sugar, and vanilla in the smaller bag. Seal tightly.

– fill gallon bag about halfway with ice and add salt

– put your smaller ingredient bag into the large bag and seal

– Have a dance party and shake, shake, shake! You might want to wrap a towel around the bag or use some oven mitts because it gets pretty cold. It took us about 5 minutes of shaking to get a good ice cream consistency.

– Take your smaller bag out and enjoy…you can even eat it right out of the bag and save the dirty dishes if you want!

 It doesn’t make much; I didn’t measure the final product but it filled a small custard cup and was a delicious small treat that Caitlin and I shared together.

                         My little shaker helper

 The final product!

In other, more exciting news…we are moving! We haven’t shared with a ton of people because the whole home selling/buying process is a nightmare and it seems like things can go wrong at just about every turn. It has been a whirlwind of craziness for our family but it’s so exciting. Everything is FINALLY finalized, all contracts have been signed, and all work needed has been completed. We aren’t going far…just up to North Phoenix, but that seems like a universe away when I have only lived in the East Valley. In two short weeks we will be moved in and I will have to learn a new area to call home and take a new house and make it our home. I am so excited to have more space to work with as we were quickly outgrowing our current home. We’re going from two bedrooms to four and I am so exciting to actually have a guest room again! I’m sad that we sold and are leaving behind our house now because it’s the house I lived in with my best friend, it’s the house Dave and I came home to after getting married, and it’s the house we had our first baby in. So many memories are kept here but I know that our new home will have just as many new and exciting stories that will unfold in our time there.

A glimpse at our new house with so much potential for new memories!

 Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

xoxo

Courtney