Drink Week-Summer Beer (and special guest blogger Lois Pearl Designs!!!)

To end our wonderful drink week I have a our very first, and very special, guest blogger! I'm so excited to introduce you to my good friend and fellow crafty gal Erin from Lois Pearl Designs.


Erin was probably sewing and crafting before she could walk or talk and has the most amazing handbags and clothing in her Etsy Shop. She's a midwest girl who loves sewing, cooking, wine and the family farm. She's been a great resource, teacher, and friend as I've continued on my crafty journey and I'm super excited that's she's joining us today!


Hi All!

I’m Erin, from Lois Pearl Designs.  

Today I am so excited to share one of our favorite warm weather drinks with you, Summer Beer!

Here’s what you’ll need:

1 can frozen lemonade concentrate (I like pink)

3 cans light beer

¾  can clear vodka, either straight up or lemon flavored

Pour lemonade mix into pitcher, then use the lemonade can to measure out ¾ can vodka.  Add vodka and beer to lemonade. 

Stir, pour, sip and enjoy!

Drink Week-Chai Iced Tea

I know it's saying a lot, but I think this is my favorite "Drink Week" drink!

I L-O-V-E, love Chai Iced Tea, but why does it have to be so expensive?!?! The powder packets never taste as good and are just as costly as the high-end coffee shops. When I saw this recipe at A Cozy Kitchen I got super excited and I was not disappointed. This tastes EXACTLY like the coffee shop chai teas. I could have consumed a whole gallon of it, but then would be awake for days! (I also think it would taste just as wonderful with decaffeinated tea and low-fat condensed milk if you prefer.) It's a perfect drink for a hot summer day when you need a little pick-me-up!

Ingredients

• 1 star anise (**I went EVERYWHERE for this little starry spice and the only place that had it was Whole Foods. It was in their bulk bins and I got 10 for a $1. Just grab a bunch, you'll totally be making this drink again and again.)
• 14 cloves
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 12 peppercorns
• 4 cardamom pods, opened (I could only find the pods at Whole Foods, but I think the cardamom seeds would work as well. Essentially you are opening the pods and putting the seeds in the spice mixture)
• 2 cups water
• 4 tablespoons of strong black tea
• 4 1/2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk (you should have some left over from the Brazilian Lemonade earlier this week)

In a medium saucepan, add spices (NOT THE TEA) to two cups of water. Bring to a boil; remove from heat; let steep for 5-20 minutes depending on how strong a spice flavor you want.

Add the sweetened condensed milk to the water/spice mixture. Bring the milk and spice mixture just to a boil and removed from heat.

Add the tea to the milk and let steep for 5 to 10 minutes to taste. (You can also reheat to a simmer and remove from heat...this is totally optional)

Strain into a pitcher and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or until cool. Serve over ice.

So wonderfully spicy and refreshing at the same time!

Drink Week-Cotton Candy Martini

When I came across this martini on Pinterest I knew it would make it's debut during "Drink Week" and would be just as much fun as the Bubble Gum Martini.

It's the perfect drink for a Girl's Night In. It's pink, it's fun and it has cotton candy in it! What's not to love?!?!?








In a shaker, combine:

• 2oz of your favorite vodka
• 1oz cranberry juice
• 1oz pineapple juice
• ice

**I used 2oz of cran-strawberry juice because that is what I had on hand


Place a puff of cotton candy in your martini glass.

Pour your martini mixture into the glass over the cotton candy.

Once the cotton candy has dissolved enjoy your new favorite martini!

I love that the sugary goodness of the cotton candy does not overpower the martini. It's the perfect balance of all the ingredients.

Enjoy!

Drink Week-Sangria

I was first introduced to this wonderful Sangria last summer. Not only is it refreshing, but it only has three ingredients which makes it perfect for impromptu summer gatherings. I think one of the things that drew me to this Sangria was that it doesn't require fruit. I know there are some "Sangria Purists" out there that are shaking their heads at the lack of fruit and to you I say that if fruitless Sangria makes you that uncomfortable by all means throw some fruit in there! I'll be sticking to my fruitless Sangria and will be enjoying my first refreshing sip while you are still in the kitchen slicin' away!

To each his own...


Here is my treasured Sangria recipe:

Personally I think you can tell how good a recipe is by how weathered it looks. A well-loved recipe is usually covered in dried food and the corners are ripped and dog-eared. You can tell by looking at my copy that I REALLY like this drink!

To make the Sangria you will need to mix the following in a pitcher:

• 3 parts Blackberry Wine
• 3 parts Sprite
• 1/2-1 part Brandy

Serve over ice.

Pull up a lounge chair, relax and enjoy your new favorite summer drink!

Drink Week-Brazilian Lemonade

WELCOME TO DRINK WEEK!!!

Our debut drink is BRAZILIAN LEMONADE and it is YUMM-Y!

Brazilian lemonade is wonderfully refreshing and perfect for a hot summer day. It is a non-alcoholic drink, but a little birdie told me that it tastes great with a little rum added in it too! It does not keep well so I recommend making it right before you plan on serving it.  Go ahead and make a double batch, I guarantee that you'll need it!

Ingredients

• 4 limes (you want the ones with the thinner skin, they are less bitter and are juicer)
• 1 cup of sugar
• 6 cups of cold water
• 6 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk (you might want to pick up two cans...you may need it later this week...hint, hint)
• Your favorite rum (optional)

Mix the cold water and sugar and place in the refrigerator until ready to use. 

You will need to to wash the limes well to take off the wax and any pesticides. Regular dish soap is fine. Then cut the ends off of each lime and slice into eights.

Place half of the limes and half of the sugar water in the blender.

Pulse 5 times.

Place a strainer over the pitcher you will be using to serve your lemonade and pour in the contents of the blender. Use a wooden spoon to press the rest of the liquid into the strainer. Discard the peels and pulp.

Repeat with the remaining limes and sugar water.

Stir in the condensed milk. Taste. If it seems bitter you can add more sugar or more condensed milk.

Serve immediately over ice and enjoy it's fruity goodness!

Source: Our Best Bites

Makin' Things Easy and Annoucements

Happy Sunday!!!
I hope you are having a wonderful weekend & aren't melting too much! It's so very H-O-T hot here in Indy that we have taken up permanent residence at the pool! I plan on being there until September.

I made a few changes to the blog this weekend...did ya' notice???

There are two new features to help you navigate around here a little better. There is now a "search bar" on the top right corner of the blog. Hopefully this will help you find your favorite posts a little easier. I've also combined all my tutorials into one place. There is now a tab at the top of blog where you can find links to all my tutorials. These two changes were based on suggestion from readers. I want to make my blog easy to navigate through so if you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them. I will be adding a few more tabs this week; one for recipes and another with links to some of my favorite blogs.

And now for our announcement...

I'm having my very first theme week!!!

It's going to be five days of wonderful summer drinks. I even have my very first guest blogger lined up too so make sure you check in every morning for the drink of the day! 

Swimmy Fish

This was our regular pool attire the past month...

The girls had enough flotation devices to save the Titanic from sinking. If one drop of water hit one hair on their head we'd go into meltdown mode. I was convinced that one day I'd be the proud mother of teenagers in water-wings.

It didn't take long for the girls to notice that most of their friends did not use floaties, life vest, inner-tubes or any other  buoyant devices (and certainly not all at once!). It's a amazing what a little bit of "good" peer pressure can do. We are now the proud parents of not one, but TWO swimmy fishes!

It's a Proud Mama Moment!