back from the beach!

well, hello there. remember that time I feel off the blogging wagon? we headed to the beach for a few days and then when we got back I was trying to balance between getting a shitdone of work done and soaking up my last few days at home with Penny. oy. so - blogging clearly didn't fit in that equation for me, oops.

vacation recap? here goes: it was great! what? you want more details? okay.

we headed to one of my favorite places in the entire world - wilmington, nc [where I lived for four years before DJ stole me away to the berkshires] to visit our sweet friends and to just get out of dodge -- oh and to eat, yes, we go on vacation to eat [and eat we did, YUM]. it was a much needed getaway for us to just decompress for awhile and for Penny to meet some of our favorite people! I'm hoping we can get back their soon [hopefully for a little longer, when we can both truly "take off" work rather than bring our work with us].

also, penny is continuing to be the easiest baby ever [I don't want to jinx myself] -- she slept pretty much the whole ride to and from wilmington and slept through the night every night we were there AND didn't seem to even be effected by the fact that her schedule pretty much got thrown out of the window when we were there -- phew. we are two very lucky people! of course, she had fussy moments here and there but let's be real - she's a three month old baby, what do you expect?! again and again, I just have to say we are so freaking lucky!

now to the part you've been waiting for... pictures from our trip!

so that's that...

we had such a great time and feel so blessed and lucky to have such amazing friends in our lives! 

now off to plan the next vacation...

Summer Snapshots & Shutterfly's Long Live Summer Photo Contest

Welp, Summer is in full-force... I'm not going to lie, having a newborn I haven't really taken advantage of "summer vacation" (no pools or beaches for me yet, boo) so I'm counting on all of you do it for me... here are some of my favorite summer snapshots from last summer... (I also have been doing a piss-poor job of taking pictures with the Nikon this summer, oops)

So, have you been living it up this summer? If so be sure you take advantage of Shutterfly’s Long Live Summer Photo Contest on Facebook it launched this past Monday (July 9^th) and you can find out more about it on their facebook page! Here are the themes for each week -- 

•       Week 1(7/9): Americana

•       Week 2 (7/16): Great Outdoors

•       Week 3 (7/23): Water Fun

•       Week 4 (7/30): Sports & Activities

•       Week 5 (8/6): Parties & Celebrations

You can win a trip for four to The Bahamas and a professional photo shoot so you’ll remember your vacation forever.  (um, yes please!) All you need to do is upload your favorite photo and caption based on the theme of the week... and you get a gift from Shutterfly just for entering! You can enter at any point during the 5-week sweepstakes period.

PRIZES

•       Instant win prizes just for submitting a photo!

•       Weekly prizes (contestants can enter one time/week)

•       Weekly featured photos: up to 5 weekly entries will be selected from the gallery and featured on the Facebook fan page and awarded a $500 gift card on Shutterfly and a copy of the new Lonely Planet travel photography book.

•       Grand prize: trip for 4 to Bahamas, 4 nights, family photo shoot

Submit your photos here!

[and if you win I expect an invite to the Bahamas!]

(Sweepstakes official rules)

**Shutterfly has graciously given me a free 8x8 photobook for posting about this contest

summer recipes...

so this weekend was quite a success... lots of lounging around on the couch, swimming, laying out at the pool, sparklers, reading and outlet shopping. very american, eh? oh yes, and we made [and drank] lots of sangria... I made three different types of sangria - two were a big success, one was  bust... hey you can't win 'em all. anyways, I had a great weekend with lindi-lou and DJ and two of the sangria recipes were just too good not to share so here you go...

Traditional Sangria Recipe

• 2 bottles chilled dry red wine, like Rioja
• 1 cup brandy
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup superfine granulated sugar
• 2 oranges, cut into thin rounds
• 2 Meyer lemons, cut into thin rounds
• 3 Key limes, cut into thin rounds
• 2 apples, cored and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
• 2 cans of Fresca* 
• [*Food Channel recommends 2 cups of Club Soda but the Fresca makes it extra yummy in my opinion]

In a pitcher, combine the wine, brandy, orange juice, and sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the orange, lemon, and lime slices, the apples and refrigerate until well chilled, about 1 hour [we let ours sit overnight]. Remove from the refrigerator and add the soda.  Serve and enjoy! This was a great hit at the party we took it to, everyone was asking what was in it disappeared quickly! I would definitely make it again!

 Peach Sangria Recipe

Makes 8 cups [next time I'm doubling the recipe... it was that good]

Ingredients:
1  (750-milliliter) bottle white wine [RIESLING] 
1  cup  peach schnapps
1/2  cup  frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
2  nectarines, sliced
1  cup  green or red grapes, whole or sliced


Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher.
Cover and chill at least 2 hours or overnight. 
Stir before serving.

yup, it's that easy and that good - I will warn you, this recipe is VERY sweet... if you don't like sweet drinks, it's not for you - aka Lindi-Lou and I loved it and DJ gagged when he drank it. 

I also made a batch of Sparkling Sangria.... it was not good. BUT, I let the fruit sit in the booze [minus champagne] for a day and a half before drinking it [not what the instructions say to do, oops]... it was too boozy/not sweet enough for my taste [now that I think about it - did I even add the sugar?? damnit- who knows], ANYWAYS - it might be one to try again on another day. 

we also had a [patriotic] berry tart for dessert over the weekend...

 Ingredients

• 1 8-ounce sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest [or lemon juice if you realize you forgot to zest the lemon at the last minute and you're too lazy to do it]
• 3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
• 2 cups blueberries [or 1 cup of blueberries and 1 cup of raspberries... I might even double the fruit and do two cups of each and I would add strawberries next time too]

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375° F. On a lightly floured surface, unfold the sheet of pastry and roll it into a 10-by-12-inch rectangle. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
2. Using the tip of a knife, score a 1-inch border around the pastry without cutting all the way through. Brush the border with the egg and sprinkle with the granulated sugar. Bake until golden and puffed, 18 to 22 minutes.
3. Using the tip of a knife, rescore the border of the cooked pastry without cutting all the way through. Gently press down on the center of the pastry sheet to flatten it. Let cool to room temperature, 15 to 20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the cream, lemon zest, and 2 tablespoons of the confectioners’ sugar and beat until smooth. Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly within the borders of the pastry.
5. Arrange the blueberries in a single layer over the filling and sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of confectioners’ sugar.

As easy as can be - but it tasted like it was missing something to me, next time I'll definitely add the zest and more fruit to make it more "lively" - but it wasn't bad at alll - you can't go wrong with puff pastry!

crash, boom, bang.

 

don't you just love fireworks? definitely my favorite part of fourth of july [other than the whole day drinking, pool, sunshine part]. we had a blast setting of fireworks and playing with sparklers [and for me snapping pictures of it all]. no big display for us this year, just some driveway fun on sunday night... I'm not going to lie, as the night progressed we probably set off some fireworks that were a little too big for the cul-de-sac... but thankfully, no fires on our watch. just a few nervous pups and lots of kids with their fingers in their ears!  so grateful for a relaxing weekend with loved ones, now onto tackle the work-week! 

lazy days of summer...

doesn't get any better than this...

I'm excited for a pool day with the fam tomorrow and am finally venturing to the Chateau with my love & bestie today to go wine tasting!

hope you're having a great weekend, just splashing around!

summer sangria

I don't know about you about you but I am psyched for the upcoming three day weekend. We don't have any major plans just enjoying having Lindi in town, going on a hike, grilling out and laying by the pool with the fam. I'm also planning on whipping up a batch (or two or three) of sangria tonight so that it'll be nice and ready for us all weekend long.


Now the tough part - which sangria recipe to make?! I think I've narrowed it down to these...


Sparkling Sangria...

Source: sweetpaulmag-digital.com via hitaj on Pinterest

Peach Sangria...

Source: justbesplendid.tumblr.com via hitaj on Pinterest

Red Sangria...

Source: realsimple.com via hitaj on Pinterest

Traditional Sangria...

Source: foodnetwork.com via hitaj on Pinterest

thoughts? 

I'll be sure to share how the finished result is!

are you set for summer?

...I thought I was set for summer... 

...then I saw this...

Sephora's 10-piece collection of must-haves for a golden and glowing summer...

What it does: This complete collection, featuring two full-size and seven mini products, includes summer-perfect shades for the eyes, lips, nails, and face. It also includes a roomy, signature Sephora makeup bag for taking it all with you any time, whether you're just chilling poolside or you're dashing off for your next far-flung destination.

This set contains:

- 0.07 oz full-size Sephora Collection Mono Eyeshadow in Choco Excess 19 (dark chocolate with silver glitter)

- 0.13 oz Smashbox Fusion Soft Lights in Dusk

- 0.08 oz Too Faced Mini Peach Leopard Brightening & Perfecting Bronzer

- 0.125 oz Sephora by OPI nail colour in I'm Wired (opaque electric coral red)

- 0.08 oz Fresh Sugar Rosé Tinted Lip Treatment (sheer berry rose in pink case)

- 0.18 oz Guerlain L'Or Radiance Concentrate with Pure Gold Make-Up Base

- 0.10 oz Tarte Lights, Camera, Splashes! Mascara in Black

- 0.34 oz Urban Decay All Nighter Long-Lasting Make-Up Setting Spray

- 0.20 oz full-size Smashbox Lip Enhancing Gloss in Pop (cool pink)

- Sephora signature makeup bag

$135 value, only for $39!

come to mama... come to mama....