Thirsty Thursday: Skinny Chai Tea Latte

Spoiler Alert:  This post is not about alcohol

Sorry about that - are you still with me?  Recently, I decided to make a concentrated effort to cut refined sugar out of my diet.  No fun right?  In my job,  I am currently faced with this on a day to day basis:

Yep ladies and gentleman, in the world of yachting we always have a candy drawer.  Guess who gets to stock it?  This girl.   I know that you all believe that I live a glamourous life but when I have worked 18 hours for a few days in a row, my ability to resist the allure of this is tough.

I really have tried to cut foods like this out and when I lived a "normal" life I did not buy this kind of junk food.  I much prefer to splurge on  "amazing" dessert.  I like to stock something like dark chocolate almonds and some fantastic gelato.  I feel like I live a very "healthy" lifestyle in general but when you really start looking at sugar hidden in food it really gets you.  I could dedicate an entire blog on our ability as Americans to allow our food companies to blatantly lie to us about healthy foods and what our food contains but I will skip the lecture and get to the point!   It is crazy when you realize that things like cereals, breads, and even certain "healthy" foods have so much sugar.  Before I lose you and you get depressed like I just made myself by writing this I am here to give you a Thirsty Thursday afternoon pick up!   Yeah!

I spend lots of time shopping and as many of you know Target & Starbucks joined forces to lead you into temptation.  I walk into Target and I want something to sip on for a little pick me up while I stroll down the aisles.   Unfortunately, you realize you are only supposed to take in 25 grams of sugar a day (this is not talking about naturally occurring sugar from fruit & veggies - I also include sugar in Red wine as naturally occuring).  You will be shocked to learn shaken ice tea/ lemonade has 33 grams and a Chai Tea Latte has a whopping 42 Grams of sugar.  It is enough to make this girl throw herself in the ocean (I know how to swim).

Here it is FINALLY!  I am getting to the point I promise.  I know we all like a little sweet pick me up in the afternoons and maybe even a tiny bit of caffeine.  I have stumbled on the answer (cue music).  A Skinny Chai Tea Latte without that fake sugar crap.  Yes!!!  

I stumbled on this beauty at the grocery store the other day.  I have already been a huge fan of Green Tea Blueberry Slim Life but this is the new addition.   I brew this tea bag, add honey (which has been getting rave reviews about weight loss), and put in a splash of unsweetened Almond Milk (I am sure skim milk would work the same) and then I pour it on ice.  Delish!

This drink was approved by my resident Sugar Addict on the boat (amazing I know) but he wants me to put a nice Spiced Rum in it for happy hour one day.   I realize this defeats the purpose of the drink and the cutting out of sugar that I just blabbed on about for way too long.  But one of these days I will need that kind of afternoon pick me up too…….

Thirsty Thursday: Fresh Lime Daiquiris

The word daiquiri makes me think of a sticky sweet blended cocktail (although Megan and her mom do have a fabulous daiquiri recipe they make). But when I was home visiting my parents a few months ago, my dad whipped up a batch of fresh lime daiquiris and they were so good and so refreshing my view of daiquiris has changed for the better! The best part is his recipe only has 3 ingredients and doesn't take any longer than 3 minutes to make. Since then I've been making large pitchers to quench my thirst! 

And as long as we're on the topic of limes, is anyone going to make a key lime pie this month?! 

Fresh Lime Daiquiri

for 1 cocktail:

1 1/2 oz. light rum 

3/4 oz. lime juice

1/4 oz. simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water) 

for a few cocktails: 

1 1/2 cups light rum

3/4 cup lime juice

1/4 cup simple syrup 

directions: 

1. Pour the light rum, lime juice and simple syrup into a cocktail shaker with ice cubes

2. Shake shake (make sure you have good music on)

3. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass

Cheers! 

And because it's been awhile, here's a Graham photo update. I can't believe he's almost 7 months old! 

Thirsty Thursday: Zippy Zipfizz Quencher

Want a zippy little drink with a punch of energy? Ice, vodka, muddle in some mint. Add Zipfizz, gingerale and stir with a rainbow Popsicle. Bonus: When the Popsicle chunks start falling into your drink, gets even better...

I used pink lemonade flavor.

Warning: One whole tube will make it pretty sweet. I used one tube for two drinks and would probably like it even better dividing it into thirds. So...make sure you're drinking with two other people.

2nd bonus: The Zipfizz will give you that boost of B12 energy when you're in for a long afternoon of pool time  partying with toddlers.

Thirsty Thursday - Garden Mixer

The other day I realized I had officially arrived at adulthood. No, it wasn’t getting married, buying a house or having two children that did it, it was opening up my cupboard and realizing I had such a wide variety of alcohol inside of it that it officially looked like a liquor cabinet. I now have a liquor cabinet, people. This is serious. I am all grown up.

One of the best things about having one of these is that you get to make up drinks on the fly. Like this one, below, which was inspired after a long day of working in the yard. My husband and I both felt like something refreshing, so I got creative and grabbed a few sprigs of mint and rosemary from our yard, muddled them with lime, added some vodka and 7-up and BAM! Garden Mixer. Spritzed in your face. We loved it so much I’ve decided to dub it my summer cocktail. Which is like, the highest honor if you’re alcohol.

The Garden Mixer

Lime
Fresh Rosemary
Fresh Mint
7-up
Vodka

Directions

In the bottom of a glass, add a quarter of a lime, a sprig of fresh rosemary, 4 to 5 mint leaves, and muddle. If you don’t know what muddle means, it’s just a fancy way of saying, “Mash the shit out of it.” Then, add a lot of ice, fill the bottom third of the glass with vodka, and finish off with 7-up. Add a sprig of rosemary for garnish. If you want to be a little more high class, I suppose you could use tonic water and add some simple syrup instead of the 7-up.

My recommendation is that you serve this in a mason jar because it looks more complete that way. It’s a hippie kinda drink so dress it up that way.

Thirsty Thursday: Pumpkin Beer

Delivered to the boat by the local lobster -man

After Quebec City, we were lucky enough to get to spend some time in Maine.  It is so beautiful and amazing there.  We also got a big dose of fall.  I freaking love fall.  I love pumpkin, warm clothes, those sunny, cold days, and of course Pumpkin Beer!   In case you missed it, the beauties all love fall and put together some of our favorites from the last couple of years.   I have to admit we were very busy eating this:

And this:

And this:

Yes, I ate lobster 6 days in a row.

What else goes better with Lobster but Pumpkin beer?  I am not sure I can think of anything else.  If you remember my friend Jenna from her Rhubarb Gin Fizz, well she mentioned the other day about a Pumpkin beer with a cinnamon & sugar rim.  Sign me up!   It turns out that I didn't even have to do it myself.  I pulled up to one of my favorite spots in Fort Lauderdale called Tap 42 and they had already thought of it.   If you haven't tried this, do it.

1 Bottle Pumpkin Beer
1 frozen pint glass rimmed with cinnamon & sugar

Lobster is not included.

Thirsty Thursday: Con Chartreuse

Because our boat chef, Michelle makes such amazing food, the guests do not eat off the boat very often. And when they're on the boat, we're on the boat taking care of them! So when we get a chance to get off the boat, we run for shore as fast as we can!  The opportunity for us to go out to eat presented itself in lovely Montreal and we jumped on it. This city is amazing and feels very European. We stumbled on this gorgeous restaurant, Barroco.

It was quaint, had a small menu, and was packed.  This has become our criteria for finding the best spots when traveling. The rumor in Montreal is that old buildings can not be renovated which means they really have their historic, original charm. This particular restaurant was HOT (guess we're lucky present day buildings have A/C!) and we were sweating in uncomfortable places (keeping it clean for Ivadell). This made this drink even more refreshing and I really loved the little cocktail glasses they were served in.  

This drink was light, refreshing, and very unique. I will definitely be making this for my sister when we finally reunite! The base of it is a liquor called Chartreuse, a French herbal liquor. Very interesting - good thing my little cabin has fantastic storage with room for liquor. The other ingredient is Tequila, and according to my Cinco De Mayo post, the beauties love them some tequla. Since for once in my life I was not the bartender, I have to take a guess on how it was made. Here is my best approximation.

Con Chartreuse: 

1 Shot Chartreuse

1 Shot Tequlia

Few sprigs of fresh Basil

1 Lime cut into pieces

1 Tsp Simple Syrup

Muddle the lime, Simple Syrup, and fresh basil in a martini shaker.  Add ice, Tequila, and Chartreuse.  Strain into a glass over ice. Garnish with a lime. These probably will taste better if you have adorable little european glasses to serve these in.  Salut!  

Thirsty Thursday: Dirty Shirley

This summer I have perfected the art of mocktails. I’ve also consumed my fair share of Shirley Temples. I’m expecting beauty baby #7 (my first!) in February which means I have been cut off from the good stuff since June. But I’m not complaining, the little “pit” growing in my tummy is so worth it!

I’ve been loyally posting Thirsty Thursday recipes this summer, but for every real cocktail I’ve made for Curtis, there’s been a virgin version alongside. So when I saw this recipe for Dirty Shirley’s on Pinterest, I was thrilled and decided this would be my signature cocktail on our summer boat trip.

The first evening in Desolation Sound, I made the dirty version for Curtis, mom and dad, and a clean version for myself. They all looked the same (it’s a good thing we label our glasses on the boat to avoid any possible confusion) so I didn’t feel left out when happy hour rolled around!

My dad labeled our cups and he made the "E" prego. How cute is he!? 

I know maraschino cherries are weird but I’ve always loved them in drinks and on ice cream sundaes. I thought everyone did (obviously Megan does too based on her Manhattan recipe and I know my friend Hillary, generally a very clean eater, has a weakness for them) but I learned Curtis is opposed to them and in his words they “taste like plastic”. Poll: Are you a maraschino cherry fan or do you think they’re disgusting?

Our awesome crew enjoying happy hour!

And now for the drink recipe:

DIRTY SHIRLEY 
Ice
Vodka
Grenadine
Sprite
Maraschino Cherry
Optional: Umbrella for flair and club soda

Fill a glass with ice. Pour in some vodka. Add a tiny bit of grenadine (it gives it great color and flavor, but be careful, it’s sweet!). Top the glass of with sprite and garnish with a maraschino cherry, a little cherry juice and an umbrella. If this is too sweet for you, you can do ½ Sprite and ½ club soda. If you're growing a baby, are underage or don't like alcohol (gasp!), for a clean Shirley (aka Shirley Temple): leave the vodka out!

PS. I’m so excited to make this for the Shirley in our family! It will be a perfect cabin cocktail.

Thirsty Thursday: Jenna May's Rhubarb Gin Fizz

Megan says:  I met my friend Jenna May a couple few years ago in college at the beautiful and presigious Western Washington University.  She is not only a lover of food, fun, & cocktails (a Beauty for the day must) but she is most recently a published writer!  About Shakespeare no less!  She was nice enough to lower her standards and write us up a post about her delicious cocktail.  Thanks Jenna!

Jenna May says: 

I love rhubarb.  I get inexplicably excited when I see it, either growing, or cut in the store, in big piles of bright red stalks.  We never, ever had it growing up, so I didn't try it until well into my twenties.  I was obsessed.  At once somehow earthy and bright, tart and floral, and pretty, pretty pink--this plant is magic!  Plus, it's got so much natural pectin, that you can do all sorts of fun things with it with nearly no effort.  Genius.  

So after scouring the internet for recipes to use up my best friend's giant haul of garden rhubarb, I saw a bunch of cocktail recipes.  They all looked delicious--and labour-intensive.  I don't do labour-intensive with my booze.  So, I made some sweetened rhubarb puree, and have been going cocktail-crazy ever since!  The puree also freezes well, in case you want to have these beauties later in the summer, or early fall.  

The Sauce:

Easy, Fast, Rhubarb Puree (for all kinds of cocktail fun...seriously, try mixing it into a margarita...yes.  Do it.)

4-5 cups of rhubarb, cut into 1" chunks
1/2 cup raw agave syrup (or whatever you want to sweeten with!  I like the agave because it doesn't have to dissolve)

(alternatively, I recently did this with a small batch...2 ish cups of rhubarb, and a scant 1/3 cup of agave)

Put everything in a pot on the stove--turn up the heat to medium.  Stir it all around.  Let it sizzle away.  Stir it every few minutes.  Watch as it dissolves magically into pink slop.  Once all the rhubarb is broken down (maybe 10 minutes or so), remove from heat and let cool.  Then, use an immersion blender, or dump it into your regular blender, puree until smooth and pale, rosy pink, and voila!  Cocktail magic!

The Sauce:

What follows is my favourite outcome of the great rhubarb cocktail experiement:  The Rhubarb Gin Fizz (yes!)

Something about gin just makes sense with rhubarb.  I recommend using your favourite gin, and lots of it, as the rhubarb puree is silky and creamy, and can handle a double (and-a-half) measure of spirits.  I have used Bombay Sapphire in this to great success, but Hendricks is my favourite.  The rose and cucumber notes in that gin, mixing with the rhubarb and grapefruit?  Hello, tastes like sitting outside in a flower garden on a sunny day!

One tumbler, highball, or collins glass (I used 8 oz. lemonade glasses)

Two or three ice cubes

2 oz. Gin (For the civilians, 1-1/2 is probably about right)

1-3 T Rhubarb Puree (I do 2, but the amount of gin, how sweet you like your drink, etc, will dictate your choices)

Perrier Grapefruit sparkling water to fill (you can also use the lemon quite nicely--but the grapefruit is my favourite)

Put your puree in the bottom of the glass, add ice cubes, add gin, stir with your favourite swizzle stick or cocktail spoon, when well-mixed, fill glass to the top with the Perrier grapefruit water (careful, it will fizz up like a bellini!).  Garnish with mint, rosemary, or (if you find some midget stalks) fresh rhubarb!  Cheers!"

Thirsty Thursday: Kelly's Summer '12 Secret Weapon

My husband's secret weapon this summer came straight off the shelf at the grocery store. Nothing freshly picked or squeezed from the garden. Straight up strawberry margarita mix in a big canister.

Generally I can't stand margarita mixes because they're too sweet for my taste, but this strawberry stuff mixed with a few other things actually tastes pretty good. Just last week Kelly made a big pitcher of booze with ice, triple sec, strawberry margarita mix and vodka...and it was awesome! He definitely wins for best booze creations in a pinch this summer.

When in doubt of a good mixer, pick up the strawberry 'rita mix!

Thirsty Thursday: Megan's Manhattan

Here I am traveling the Great Lakes and have been able to enjoy beautiful views such as this:

View from Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park -Lake Michigan

And now we are in Buffalo, NY for a couple of weeks.  I have to say we miss the amazing waters, quaint little towns, and beautiful beaches.   Here is how my conversation went at the bar last night:

  Man:  Are you from here?

  Me:  No, I am from California

  Man:  Oh wow, what brings you to Buffalo?

  Me:  Well, I work on a private yacht and we are here for a couple of weeks.

  Man:  You work on a private yacht?  Like for rich people?

  Me:  Yep, I know random.

  Silence

  Man:  Well, I pretty much think you are full of BS

  Me:  What do you mean?

  Man:  There is no way a private yacht for rich people would be spending a couple weeks in Buffalo.

I think that pretty much sums it up.   This week since I am in need of a drink that doesn't hold anything back and am in New York, I decided to do a classic in the Crosby family:  Manhattans.

According to Wikipedia, the Manhattan Cocktail started in the early 1870's at the Manhattan Club in New York City.  It consists of Whiskey, Bitters, and Vermouth.   It says that it was traditionally served with Rye Whiskey but Bourbon has become the most popular.  For the person who loves random facts, it also says that this is the traditional drink of the North Frisian island of Föhr.  If you go there, it is at every restaurant and is the drink of the locals.  Mmmm, interesting.  I will add it to my list.

Back to Crosby Manhattan history:  My grandfather loved Manhattans and even had a traveling bar set for vacations.   He always had a batch mixed up in the freezer.  When I was finally 21, this was my first cocktail with my grandpa.   I also had an early love for the bourbon soaked maraschino cherries I begged my mom to give me from her drink.   Here is the Crosby classic with a Megan twist.

2 Shots Makers Mark Bourbon (my favorite)
Splash of Sweet Vermouth
Splash of Maraschino Cherry Juice

Mix together and pour over ice.   Garnish with a maraschino cherry and an orange slice and enjoy!

If you have one of these, you will be feeling no pain.  If you have two of these, you won't even care where you are currently located :)

Summer Sangria

My lovely sister Linde came to visit a few of weeks ago. Her best friend from college was getting married in Seattle so she took a little extra time off to spend with me!!! Plus, she’s like a totally hard-core runner and the Chuckanut Footrace was happening in Bellingham (it’s a 7 miler) and she wanted to run it. My husband is training for a marathon, Linde has run marathons – including BOSTON, and I am running 5k’s, usually. On a good day. Ok, I do run a little farther than that but I’m slow and I’m also a little bit of a fillintheblank and my tolerance for misery is slim. But I do love running. It gives me this wonderful natural high and also made me have to buy new pants in a smaller size. And there ‘aint nothin’ wrong with that.

But this is about alcohol, not running. (Yes! You can do both! Can you believe it!?!? Running totally cancels out any calories you expend on alcohol.)

So anyway, while Linde was visiting me in Bellingham it was a gorgeous few days--Sunny, low 70s and the perfect temperature for Sangria. So we made some. I basically made up the recipe since I know generally what’s in it. Red wine, fruit, some fruit juice and a little sugar. The key is to let it sit for about a day before you drink it. But if you don’t have that kind of time, totally fine. Drink it anyway.

I should say I paired this with the fried avocado tacos. It was the perfect combination.

Summer Sangria

·         1 embarrassingly large bottle of wine (1 litre)

·         1 orange

·         1 grapefruit

·         1 lemon

·         Strawberries for glasses

·         1 cup orange juice

·         2 tablespoons of sugar

Directions

·         Cut up all of the fruit and put in the bottom of a large jug or punch bowl

·         Add orange juice and sugar

·         Add wine and stir around.

·         Chill for 24 hours if you have the time

·         Pour in a beautiful glass over ice and top with a strawberry

This is us all ready to run the Chuckanut Footrace. How did I do, you ask? Well, at about mile 3 I felt like crying but that was because it was mostly uphill for the first three. And the rest was easy! I ran a _ minute mile. No, I’m not telling. A secret this embarrassing is worth keeping.

The best part was after the run when Linde and Andy and I went out to breakfast and sat in the sun and had mimosas! (Refer to drinking and running above) and then went home and got all gussied up for a wedding in Seattle. Special thanks to Andy for babysitting so I could be Linde’s date.

Here we are just a few hours after the picture above standing in the same spot. I think we clean up pretty nice :) Oh, plus, please note Linde's cute as hell dress with the pink bows. That was her bridesmade's dress from my wedding 7 years ago! She's worn it at least 10 times since. I feel very proud of that. She picked it out herself, of course, which really is the secret to 'wear it again' success.

And for a really funny blog on running I highly recommend this one from bitchin' sisters: http://bitchinsisters.wordpress.com/2012/01/05/an-ode-to-running/

Thirsty Thursday: Blueberry Basil Mojito

The week of 4^th of July was a tough one. I don’t mean to be a whiner, especially because I only worked 3 days and had just come from a 4 day vacation in San Diego. Actually I had an appointment on Tuesday afternoon, so it was really only 2.5 days of work. But for some reason because the holiday was smack dab in the middle of the week it really threw me off and felt like the longest work week in history.

So when the ladies From The Little Yellow Kitchen posted their “relaxation station” cocktail on Friday, I was seriously ready to be home from work enjoying cocktail hour! But of course the ferry was running late (this always happens during the summer on Fridays) so by the time I made it home Curtis already had our happy hour cocktails ready to go (yes, he’s the best) which meant the mojitos had to wait.

These ladies know what they’re talking about when it comes to food and cocktails. Their strawberry jalapeno margaritas are still one of my favorite cocktails.

So on Saturday the sun was shining and around 4 pm I declared it was time for cocktail hour. Hello blueberry basil mojito! The first batch was good, and really refreshing but I think I used too large of glasses because the basil, mint and blueberry flavors were kind of light. So for round two, I used twice as much of the good stuff for each cocktail. And we stopped there but next time, I may try this recipe with rum (vs. vodka) to make it more of a traditional mojito.

But at the end of the day Curtis and I decided this should go into our rotation of cocktails and I decided that basil and sugar tastes really good together. I should have known. Sugar makes everything a little more delicious! 

Blueberry Basil Mojito

Recipe From The Little Yellow Kitchen 

Ingredients (per large drink)

1/4 Cup blueberries

4 Tablespoons of fresh basil, julienned

3 Tablespoons of fresh mint, julienned

Juice of 1/2 a lime

3 teaspoon of sugar or 1 1/2 packets of your favorite sugar substitute

2 ounces of Vodka

Club soda, to taste

Directions

Muddle berries, basil, mint, lime, and sugar in a cocktail shaker.

Add ice and vodka. Shake, shake, shake!

Strain over ice and fill with club soda.

The "More is More" Cocktail

When Kelly took one look at the ingredients in this cocktail, he was like, "You know, sometimes less is more." And then when he took a sip and realized how good it was, I was like, "Sometimes more is more..."

This drink is reminiscent of Hawaiian punch so I guess that would be the cheater way to make this: punch, booze, done. But I didn't have Hawaiian punch so I re-created it using a few more ingredients I happened to have:

For a tall drink over ice, add:

1 shot vodka or white rum
1 shot triple sec orange liqueur
1/2 small carton of coconut water
1 shot of club soda
1 shot of pineapple juice
1 shot of strawberry margarita mix
Couple squirts of lime and lemon juice

For you PNWers, support local! 

Great presentation, pre-stirred.

But I highly recommend you stir it before you take a swig.

Best enjoyed poolside...

Thirsty Thursday: Megan's Firecracker Cocktail

Happy Fourth of July!   Fourth of July is truly my favorite holiday and I plan on celebrating right through to the weekend.  I am currently in Traverse City, Michigan which is a beautiful little town on Lake Michigan.  It is THE summer destination for the midwest.  I love traveling in the summer and finding these little gems.   Summertime and travel always brings back lots of memories of salt water taffy, ice cream, caramel apples, and rock candy.  I loved that stuff when I was a kid.   It has always stayed with me as a special summertime treat only to be found in small town candy stores.  We don't want to lose out as an adult on the joys of summertime but I don't think any of us can recall a time in recent history that we craved rock candy.   So what did I do?  I created a cocktail to have that childhood memory and adult beverage all wrapped up in one.   Rock candy is much easier to find in the summer time but you can also buy it online.   

Megan's Firecracker Cocktail:

Absolut Citron

Sparkling Lemonade (nothing with color, my favorite is Lorina brand)

Soda Water

Rock Candy in various colors and flavors

Pour a shot of Citron in a glass on ice.  Make sure you use a clear glass so you can enjoy the beauty of this drink.   You mix the citron with the sparkling lemonade and soda water depending on how sweet you want the drink.   I typically fill the glass with soda water and then put just a splash of lemonade.  Garnish with the Rock Candy.  The rock candy slowly disintegrates and colors and sweetens the cocktail.    Another fantastic thing about this drink- all your party goers can have different colored drinks and these are easy to make for kids and non- fun people who need it made without the good stuff.   What was your favorite candy when you were a kid?  

Thirsty Thursday - Lavender Infused Gin

I went to one of my most favorite places in Bellingham last night for a celebration with some colleagues from work. It’s called the Temple Bar. And if you live in Bellingham and have not gone, there is no excuse for you. Typically when I go with a friend we get the happy hour special which is a bottle of wine and a cheese plate for $15.00. It’s a screaming deal. But yesterday it was warm outside, the sun was shining and there was a cocktail special written on the chalk board outside called “The Herb Garden” which had lavender infused gin in it. And I couldn’t refuse it because I love lavender! It was so yummy!

I came to work very curious about how to make lavender infused gin, and it turns out it is super easy! So I’m going to try it. And plus lavender is totally in season right now.

Lavender infused Gin

-1 ½ teaspoons lavender
-1 (750-milliliter) bottle gin, such as Plymouth

Add lavender to gin and infuse for 1 day. Strain and use in cocktails where gin is called for. To make a delicious drink like the herb garden, pour 1 ½ shots of lavender infused gin over ice, add a squeeze of lemon, and top off with soda water. Add a sprig of lavender to beautify. It’s the perfect summer drink!

Thirsty Thursday: Sparkling Rosemary Lime Cocktail

Here’s how this cocktail came to be:

1. June is rosemary month, so obviously a rosemary cocktail was the way to go
2. We have not one, but two Costco bags of  limes on hand (not really sure what we were thinking)

3. As of June 1, in Washington state you can buy liquor at the grocery store vs. a liquor store, which means we can buy our beloved Kirkland Signature Vodka at our local Costco!

4. A soda stream sits on our counter so we can whip up club soda, aqua con gas, sparkling water, whatever you like to call it, any time we want … which is really nice when cocktail hour hits and I’m thirsty!

Hello sparkling rosemary lime cocktail!

This was really light and refreshing, similar to a mojito and would be awesome on a hot sunny day. Of course we made it on a rainy day, but now we’ll be ready when the sun comes out. And since I  had the rosemary simple syrup already made up, later in the week I mixed it with a little lime juice and added club soda for a fun mocktail.

ROSEMARY LIME SPARKLING COCKTAIL 
Recipe from joythebaker.com

 Make ahead: Rosemary Simple Syrup
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
3 sprigs fresh rosemary

Combine all three ingredients in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and allow the sugar to dissolve. Remove from the heat, cover, and allow to rest for 30 minutes. Remove the springs of rosemary and allow to cool. Store in an airtight jar in the fridge.

To make the cocktail you’ll need: 
Vodka
Lime wedges
Ice cubes
Rosemary simple syrup
Sparkling water

Fill a glass with ice cubes. Squeeze some lime in. Pour a few tablespoons of rosemary syrup. Pour in a few tablespoons of vodka. Top with sparkling water. Garnish with a lime wedge and sprig of rosemary. Cheers!

Wine Tasting in Walla Walla, Washington

I’ve reached a point in my increasingly busy life when it seems impossible to say yes to anything. One more thing on my plate and I might actually implode from the stress of it all. But when some of my Bellingham girlfriends decided to plan a wine tasting trip to Walla Walla, Washington, I knew this was something I needed to say yes to. These girls (who are just like my fellow beauties) are all trying their hardest to do it all, too. In fact, when I’m at my limit I take a moment and picture each one of their faces as a reminder that I am not alone, that I will survive, and that I have a wonderful support group of women who know what it feels like to go home and cry at the end of the day but damn they look like they’ve got it together when they drop their kids off at daycare/school the next morning.

These are my Blossom Bitches. I call them this affectionately, of course. The majority of us started out as a small group of women who saw each other at birthday parties; our children attend the same daycare—Blossom. But as the years have gone on, I’m now realizing we play more than our children do! And the fun group continues to expand and include more moms, not all of whom take their kids to Blossom (we’re not REAL bitches) and what has resulted is an amazing group of wonderful women who all have their highs, their lows, their individual beauty, and most importantly, their hilarity.

9 of us mamas went on this trip and as you can imagine, we were a dangerous bunch. We were too loud, laughed too much, and demanded too much from our servers. But we did it all with a smile. There were only two pukers (me) and some of us (not me) even went for a run both mornings. These bitches are hard core.

From left to right: Heather E, Jen, Amy, Nicole and Steph

From left to right: me, Heather C, Sandi and Lynn

We laughed on this trip!!! And as we all know, laughter is the best medicine. Oh, and wine. Can I add that too? And a pimped out limo bus?

Meet Amy. She is the cutest thing alive. She wears blue and white polka dot dresses with yellow tights.

We went to quite a few wineries on our trip, although we didn’t get to every one on the list. On Saturday we went to: Basel Cellars, Saviah Cellars, Northstar and Dusted Valley Vintners. On Sunday:  Adamant Cellars, Dunham Cellars and Tamarack Cellars.

Our favorites were Basel Cellars (great wine and BEAUTIFUL grounds complete with a vacation rental house unlike anything you’ve ever seen!), and Northstar was awesome with a live band and we were able to buy a bottle of wine, throw down a blanket and have a delicious picnic of meat, cheese, and yummy bread.  Sunday favorites: Adamant Cellars was the most understated but most divine tasting wine, and Dunham Cellars hooked us up by giving us our own secluded table outside (wait a minute…) and our own server who brought out wine after wine for us to try.

This is us at Basel Cellars posing by the pool. Don't look so dangerous yet, you say? Just wait.

This is what I like to call the AmberAmyOctopus. We thought this was a good idea at Northstar. Yes, there were people around.

This is Nicole posing in the house at Basel Cellars. We got a personally guided tour from Norita, our lovely hostess who we rented our house from. She works at Basel! Downstairs was a bar, stage (ehem, see above) and movie theatre. We were like giddy school girls. It was super awesome.

I mentioned Norita - she was the best! Here's a link to her listing on VRBO: http://www.vrbo.com/293418. There were 9 beds! Each one of us got our own, which was amazing amazing amazing. It was reasonably priced and not a far drive to anywhere we wanted to go.

I highly suggest a wine tasting trip to Walla Walla! You’ll find lovely wine in an unpretentious atmosphere. Perfect for a girls trip!

Don't you love it when the wind gusts up just in time to add that extra bit of cuteness?

Oh, and a big shout out to those special people who picked up the slack for 9 moms who needed a break. I guarantee it was worth it. Aren't you happy now, bitches? I know I am.