Summertime Sweety

I am all about my Sangrias, and last week we were having a big cookout, so that basically begs for a sangria!  So for this week on Wine Wednesdays I am letting you all in on the perfect tropical, sparkling, sweet but not too sweet white sangria to accompany all of your summer cookouts!  I received high complements from this one, even from the guys who don't normally drink "party juice."  According to them, it was quite dangerous, and was the first drink gone! Ingredients Four Lemons Two Oranges Two Limes Frozen Melon (Cantaloupe and/or Honeydew) Frozen Mango 1 Double Bottle (1.5L) Riesling 1/3 cup Triple-sec 1/2 cup Bacardi Mango Rum 1 can Mango Nectar 1 can Diced Mango in Juice 1 bottle (750 ml) Extra Dry Sparkling Wine 1 bag Frozen Berries (or more frozen melon/mango) 1 Orange, thinly sliced 2 Lemons, thinly sliced Directions From the first set of ingredients, juice four lemons, two limes, and two oranges.  No fake or bottled juic...

I'm considering a new series on this blog... How would you all feel about wine Wednesdays?  Not every Wednesday of course, but just to mix things up sometimes!  Most all of the drinks I make end up being something I concoct from various ideas and recipes I see online, and then add wine to it, and voilà, wine punch!  And I see a distinct lack of wine punch or creative sangria recipes on Pinterest, so look no further; I'm coming to the rescue! I made this drink recently for a party in which the color theme was purple, so of course we had to have a purple drink!  It was met with much praise, and I highly suggest giving it a try!  It is a very sweet drink, but can be toned down based on your preferences.  It would be the perfect way to bring in Spring!  (If it is actually Spring where you live, we just pretend here, it is still snowing) Ingredients Blueberry syrup: Bag of frozen blueberries (minus 1/3 cup.) 1 cup sugar 3 cups water ...

(Stick around until the end for a surprise announcement!) In my past two posts this week I have been focusing on the past year; what I did, the things I accomplished, the places I visited, etc.  You can find the links here if you would like to see my 2018 Recap, Part One (January-July) , and Part Two (August-December) .  But now, it is time to focus on the year ahead of me. For the first time in my life, I have no homework due.   No tests to prepare for.  No projects I've been putting off until the last minute.  I'm done with all of that! But that also means I have a new set of responsibilities I'm supposed to to be taking on. Where am I going to work?  How am I going to make rent?  When can I make time to get groceries?  I have to make my own doctors appointments?  Should I be applying for more jobs? It's... It's definitely different. At the current moment, my plan is to stay at the school in which I did my stud...

(If you missed Part One, January-July, you can find it here! ) August We kicked August off with a bang and dove right into another vacation, this time to the Outer Banks of North Carolina!  We started our trip with another aquarium, and a few nights at this gorgeous little Bed and Breakfast in Manteo. While there we also had the opportunity to see The Lost Colony outdoor Drama.  I highly recommend, it was amazing! But be warned, Manteo breeds a different kind of mosquito than everywhere else, and they WILL just pick you up and carry you away! My mom and I were just dying to see the Ocean even though the island we were currently on was landlocked and Dad had just told us to be patient and wait until we got to our Condo a few days later.  We didn't listen, and after shopping one night we took the car down to a public entrance to see the sunset and feel the sand between our toes.  It did not disappoint!  Until I got squared by a wave... Dec...