Music Monday 8 | What’s Your Country Song

Thomas Rhett’s new single, What’s Your Country Song, oozes nostalgia. If you were one of the lucky ones to grow up in a small country town, this song may very well elicit feelings of joy and warmth as you pull from those memories made. On repeat, this song brought all the feels which led me down a photo rabbit hole. I pulled a few for the slideshow below (swipe left if viewing from a phone) that I’m sure only my mama will appreciate.

Music brings back memories that can quickly turn to smiles and tears. Music is a universal language that speaks to all.

Go ahead, hit play on the song and start rummaging through your old photos for a trip down memory lane.

Enjoy. ❤

“What’s Your Country Song”

Did you grow up on a tractor
Did your daddy let you drive
Are you whiskey bent and hell bound
Even though your mama tried
Did you cruise down a backroad
With your dixieland delight
Are you on the chattahoochee
On a barefoot blue jean night

Everybody got a small town anthem
Everybody got a story to tell
Everybody got a hallelujah
Everybody been through a little hell
When you’re rolling down a little two lane highway
And you turn your radio on
Tell me which one hits you baby
Yeah what’s your country song
Yeah what’s your country song

Do your exes live in Texas
Are you so lonesome you could cry
Are you heartbroke cause you know
That ain’t your truck in her drive
Are your friends all in low places
Underneath the neon moon
Are you already country
Back when country wasn’t cool

Everybody got a small town anthem
Everybody got a story to tell
Everybody got a hallelujah
Everybody been through a little hell
When you’re rolling down a little two lane highway
And you turn your radio on
Tell me which one hits you baby
Yeah what’s your country song
Yeah what’s your country song

Who’s your strawberry wine
What’s your family tradition
What makes you turn it up, makes you raise your cup every time you listen

Everybody got a small town anthem
Everybody got a story to tell
Everybody got a hallelujah
Everybody been through a little hell
When you’re rolling down a little two lane highway
And you turn your radio on
Tell me which one hits you baby
Yeah what’s your country song
Yeah what’s your country song

Reese’s Cookie Bars

I love all the November vibes. Rich colors, crisp air, the start of Holiday conversations. For me, November marks the beginning of Fall. September is just an extended summer, October is Halloween, but November? She brings to us a season of thanksgiving in all her beautiful tones.

Of course she also brings the below, which really is a point of discussion, but I can’t seem to get her to sit down to hash it out, so here we are.

In the dark.

I wanted to send a treat out to the shop , which landed me on No. 2 Pencil’s recipe for Red, White & Blue M&M Cookie Bars. To give the dessert it’s fall vibe, I called in Reese’s Pieces and Reese’s mini cups as reinforcements.

You can find the original recipe here, but will share my twist below. I was told by the hubs that the slightly undercooked middle pieces would pair well with some ice cream. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear they made this happen.

Ingredients

  • 2 sticks of butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 cups of all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • Reese’s Pieces
  • Reese’s Mini Cups

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick spray
  3. Beat butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until fluffy.
  4. Add eggs and vanilla extract.
  5. Add flour, baking soda, and salt until combined.
  6. Stir in your desired amount of Reese’s Pieces, reserving some for topping.
  7. Transfer to 9×13 baking dish.
  8. Press additional Reese’s Pieces and Reese’s Mini Cups into top of cookie dough.
  9. Bake 30 to 35 minutes on oven rack in lower third of oven.
  10. Let cool completely and cut.

Cheers!

*Contains affiliate links

Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

 

I made this dessert earlier this summer and OHMYGOSH you guys.  It was insane.

Or… so I was told.  I made it for a work meeting.  All I know is it was licked clean within an hour time span.

Thanks to Vera over at Oh My Goodness Chocolate Desserts for the easy to follow instructions and recipe.  Springforms and I have a history of disasters, but this little raspberry crumble number redeemed our friendship.

Enjoy!

PS. You should click on her link above for legitimate photos of the dessert.  Much more pleasing then my kitchen lighting + iPhone snaps.  Lazy at best when capturing food shots.  Whatevs.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

 

Ingredients

FOR THE FILLING:
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 8 oz. cream cheese-softened
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 cup raspberries-washed and well drained
FOR THE CAKE:
  • 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 5.5 Tablespoons unsalted butter- softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
  • 3/4 cup sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
FOR THE STREUSEL TOPPING:
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 3 tablespoons butter-chilled and cubed
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 8 or 9 inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. Filling instructions: Mix the cream cheese and sugar together on medium-low speed until creamy. Add egg white and mix on low until combined. Set aside.
  3. Cake batter instructions: Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl, set aside.
  4. With an electric mixer cream together the butter and sugar on medium-low speed. Add egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Slowly mix in the flour mixture alternating with the sour cream. Transfer the batter into the prepared pan and smooth with a spatula. Spread the cream cheese filling on top. Place raspberries on top of cream cheese filling.
  5. Topping instructions: Combine sugar, flour and chilled cubed butter in a bowl. Stir with a fork or pastry blender until the mixture is crumbly and sprinkle on top of raspberries.
  6. Bake for 40-45 minutes until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack, run a thin knife around the cake and loose ring of springform pan.
  7. Store in the fridge.

12th Annual Biker B!tch Run | 2017

The 12th Annual Biker B!tch Run rolled in hot.

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And rolled out even hotter.

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Literally.

It was 9 million degrees that day. But who ever let a little sun and heat index of stay-inside-and-hydrate stop them?

Clearly, not us.

 

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The Beginning – Sugars in Council Bluffs, IA

Sugars provided us with our morning cocktail blends of bloody mary’s, screwdrivers and red-bull vodkas.  Logical drinks of choice for the 10:30 brunch hour, right?   And can we take a moment to appreciate this pretty BA sign that Candy and Marcy got for me???    This girl has some pretty incredible and oh-so thoughtful friends (even if I had to be reminded WHO actually went in on this bad boy.  Early on-set of Alzeimers, friends.  It’s real.  And I was just so excited for the day!)  Thanks again Candy!  ❤

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After cocktail hour, hugs, hellos and good-to-see-ya again’s… it was time to make that day our b!tch.

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Stop 1 – Tailgators Bar and Grill in Oakland, IA

A smorgasbord of lunch, ice cold beers and temperature regulation, Tailgators served us well.  And leave it to these naughties to find an opportunity in the dumpster.

Because where else, right?

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Finding fun in every moment is what these chicks excel at.

I dig.

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Stop 2: Cruisers in Griswold, IA

I believe we have Cruisers to thank for the kick of feel-good-endorphins.

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It’s a strong possibility those endorphins were brought to you courtesy of little cups of jello thanks to that wild child, Elise.  A little jiggly bucket of magic dust is what we will call it.

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And it’s our civic duty to follow clear directions and common law…

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So we made sure to oblige.

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Cruisers also provided us with a long stretch of street where we could actually set up and snag a few photos while melting under the fiery glare of the sun.

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Oh, but honey…

Griswold never looked so good.

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Let’s not forget our fun little crew taking space in the fun bus.

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I have Hunter to thank for many of the group photos from the road.  I gave her my camera and said “have fun”.

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Anyway, let’s roll on, shall we?

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Tyree always serves as my right-hand woman.  On the road and in life. ❤

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Stop 3: The Rainbow in Red Oak, IA

There is always one community that doesn’t know what to do or how to handle us when we come rolling in.  This year was definitely Red Oak.  Upon entering the town we came up on a sheriff.  Said sheriff pulled into the center turning lane and sat there while each and every one of us rolled on by, following the trusty 25mph speed limit and providing smiles, winks and a few head nods.

I am certain he was just enjoying the view…

Wouldn’t you?

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The Rainbow provided us with some eats and treats before it was time to leave the fine diners of the Rainbow Cafe to themselves again.

Ya, I see you Cyndi.

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Liz was being a badass a few weeks prior and broke her ankle so instead of two-wheels, she got four, courtesy of this little scooter.  And what kinda mode of transportation would it be without a license plate?

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Y’all.  This is my aunt Marla.  My dad’s sista.  I have this B!tch run to thank for getting us connected again.  It’s been so fun having her along for the ride.   Fun fact: she trailored down my dad’s old bike so I could use it in senior pics back in 1999.   Fun new fact: she fed me pizza when I was a toddler and got scolded.   This new fact is brought to you courtesy of Jessica’s conversation starters in the fun bus.

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Let’s ROLL!

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Stop 4: Jaime’s Tavern on Main in Essex, IA

Oh, friends.  FRIENDS!

You don’t even know…

Let me elaborate via visual effect.

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Our smart mouthed but huge heart friend Jenn couldn’t make the run due to work (we were also down a few others due to a trip to MX, a float trip, work and family time) BUT, Jenn busted her butt to get to Essex to have a drink and see us off to the next stop.

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And it’s always about this time where I become huggy.  I believe we can thank those little buckets of magic from earlier.

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Or maybe these baby beers.  Seriously.  Have you HAD THESE YET?

You are missing out.  Don’t miss out.

Don’t be that guy.

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Alright, Alright.  Let’s move along while we still can.

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Stop 5: The Hangout in Malvern, IA

It’s always about this time where folks start tearing off to head home for dinner with their s.o.’s or various other reasons.  It took me a minute to get used to that as the OG days we stayed together until alllllllll hours of the night.  But, a larger group now-a-days equals a wider range of home locations and miles in between plus family obligations, so I have embraced it as the new standard and can totally dig it.  It’s us.  It’s the new way.

And this last official bar always brings the onslaught of photo opps, as for many of these girls, this B!tch ride might be the only time each year that they ride together, which makes the moments and memories even more special.

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A little fact about the below pic.  Cyndi (left) rode in from Cedar Rapids!  I met Cyndi during the summer of 2007 at the Conesville Motorcycle Rally (R.I.P to the #2 ranked most epic of rallies… click here and here for the #1 ranked) so to have her join up this year on her own ride was pretty friggin’ sa-weet!

And Ashley (right) was a Jeeper during the 11th annual and decided then and there that she was going to be on her own two-wheels for the 12th annual.

A woman of her word.  My kinda peep.

Tyree- does this make her MY friend now too?

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Is the photo fuzzy, or have you just been drinking?

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The official stops may be over, but the unofficial stops were just beginning!

Peace out Malvern!

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Unofficial Stop 6: The Backroom Lounge in Lake Ohana/Glenwood, IA

We didn’t stick around here long.  Just enough for Tyree to join some kids in a bounce house, eat some grub, laugh at something on a phone that I am sure wasn’t funny, pass out the lollipops.

GANG, I am SORRY (not sorry cuz more for me) I forgot these earlier in the day… fail.

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OFFICIAL stop 7: Cara’s SURPRISE 30th BIRTHDAY PARTY!

We cruised into her nice quiet neighborhood, frightened her husband, rolled back the throttles because no birthday is complete without the sound of motorcycles hitting their rev limiters and surprised the hell outta this girl.

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We done?

duh.

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Some fuel and then I took up whip while Liz led us out to The Mile Away where you should also go for the chairs alone.

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Strong possibility they’ll put you right to sleep too!

Soon after the Mile Away we made our way to Crescent for some grub and good tunes and a final end to the night brought to you courtesy of Kimi’s famous split.  It wouldn’t be a B!tch run without it.  BUT, I shall spare her the pic.  There may be some shirt slippage in there and that’s just reserved for us. 😉

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Year 12 brought the fun.  It brought the renewed spirit.  It brought new friendships and reunited old.  It brought a sense of complete camaraderie and sisterhood that makes the B!tch run what it is and what it was built from.  Friendships united on trust, love, honesty, loyalty, a lil booze, wind and complete and total nonsense.

And 100% fun.

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CHEERS!

 

 

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Special Thanks to:

Courtyard Ink

And all the bars visited, linked above.

 

 

 

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