We have been loving these summer days, especially down in the outer banks hanging out with friends and family. The sunny beach days by the water and the cool nights around the table playing the Mexican Train Game (have you played… it’s addicting) have been the best. My 30 by 30 list has seemed to fall by the way side between vacations and busy work weeks but my #28 – have a signature drink has been one everyone has been willing to help with! So by trial and error at the beach house we have been testing every pinteresty delicious drink around.

While this lavender lemonade didn’t make the signature cut it is still one I would recommend to try during these last few days before fall.

Found this great recipe at onekingslane.com (and cut the servings in half):

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
4 sprigs lavender (stems and buds), plus a few additional sprigs for garnish
5 fresh squeezed lemons (approx 1 cup) lemon juice (I was excited to use my new juicer for this!)
2 fresh squeezed limes worth (approx. 1/4 cup) lime juice (and this!)

Directions:

Boil about half a gallon of water and the sugar. Remove from heat, and add lavender sprigs along with the lemon and lime juices all together in the pot.

Let the mixture cool to room temperature, strain the lavender.

For a quick way to serve use a shaker after straining (love this new shaker from Shikshook) with ice to chill quickly.

To make this a bit more adult friendly (and what better kind of signature drink than an adult one) I topped each serving off with a 1/4 glass pour of my favorite Prosecco from Trader Joes.  It added a little carbonation and whole lot of deliciousness!

Hope you enjoy!

 

*I received the shaker to test at a discounted rate but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Summer is coming to end and while I am looking forward to pumpkin spice lattes, football games and cool fall weather I will miss the amazing vegetables from the garden my husband grew out back!  We have been eating out way through countless squash, zucchini, tomato, basil and cucumber recipes.

Last night while mixing and matching some delicious sounding cucumber salad recipes with what ingredients we had left in the cabinets (the struggle of not grocery shopping after vacation) I came up with a tasty little treat I thought I would share!  I even managed to use a new vegetable peeler I received from Raaya without slicing my own fingers in the process(which is a culinary miracle).

So here is my new favorite summer Cucumber and Onion Salad:

Ingredients:

1 large cucumber

1/2 purple onion

1/8 cup balsamic vinegar

1/8 cup extra virgin police oil

1 tbsp dill

2 tsp of sea salt

Directions:

I used the slicer to make vegetable noodles out of the cucumber, then chopped up the onion.  Next I simply combined all the ingredients in a large bowl, tossed it all with tongs, being sure to coat all of the vegetables and served!  Simple!

Hope you enjoy!

Happy Monday!

I am back from the beach and back to the office.  A quick weekend away is never enough but I can’t wait to get back down to the outer banks in two weeks for a longer vacay!  Here is a quick look at the weekend by the sea…

My sister and I started an annual ‘Sister’s Weekend’ in Duck, NC a few years back and I was looking forward to a few days away with her all summer.  We packed the fridge with our favorite drinks and all the appetizers and cheese we could find at Trader Joes!

That night we tested out the local Uber and went exploring (definitely a new adventure for us… we are usually homebodies at the beach).  The friendly drivers and delicious margaritas were so worth it!

I have a few orders coming in for customized t-shirts for some friends so I thought I would play around with some techniques and made a few shirts for me and Beth to wear at the beach.  This lime one may be my favorite!

Now time to finish the laundry that I didn’t finish when I got home Sunday!  Hope you have a wonderful week!

 

The spring and summer for us has been a baby boom. Little ones are popping up left and right we can’t help but spoil them. If you are like me and bouncing between throwing baby showers and attending “sprinkles” (baby showers for the second baby, or third… or fourth) it is sometimes hard to find a new gift idea. While shopping off the registry is always appreciated, I usually like to add in a little extra gift from me. My current go to has been made-by-hand baby blankets, but sometimes there are not enough hours in the day and I need a sweet gift to grab and go! Here is a little round up of perfect gifts for any little one coming soon!

1. Diapers! Always a necessity and with companies like Honest, you can even give gift cards for new parents to get just the size they need.

2. Sophie the Giraffe. This little creature is a baby whisperer and seems to be adored by any little human she encounters! She is soft, rubbery and super cute.

3. Baby Gym. A cute little play center to keep baby occupied. Love this one from Ikea, no batteries needed.

4. Hooded Towel. You can find this bath accessory in all kinds of animal styles.

5. Play mat. A cute alternative to a blanket for little ones to lay on on the ground. Mom and dad can add a little loop on the top so baby’s mat can be hung on the wall when not in use.

6. Baby bandannas. These super soft bandannas are the perfect bib to add a little style to drool happy babies.

7. Books. Wether it’s a book that was special to the gift giver when they were little, or a sweet story new parents will loving reading to their little, you can never go wrong with books!

What is one of your go-to baby gift ideas?

And, just because she is too cute, the newest little to our family, my sweet niece Abigail rocking her little baby bandanna (c/o Zoozik)…

My skills in the garden are definitely lacking (err.. nonexistent) but I have a wonderful husband who is very skilled in that department. This years gardening is overflowing with delicious veggies and he even added a smaller herb garden on the porch that is flourishing.

Brandon let me pick out which plants to add to the porch planter and I was excited to add some dill (for my favorite fish recipe), basil, cilantro and lavender. He planted it all and tasked me to make tags to mark the different plants.

I grabbed some chalkboard tags on hand so I attempted to write out each herbs name but was not liking how my print was looking with the chalk-paint markers (total type-a personality shining through). I had some vinyl I had received from angel craft on hand so I decided to take a few extra moments, write out the names on paper with a favorite marker, scan in the handwritten print and use my silhouette curio to cut out the print on vinyl. A few extra steps, but the results were just what I was looking for. With the vinyl I was able to use different colors for each herb and the vinyl will weather much better than paint markers. I am loving the results!

Oh today was a Monday in every way that people hate Mondays!

But now I am home, the house is clean and I am ready to grab a glass of wine and take a long bath (thanks to H-Set for the perfect bath mat to making soaking in the tub just right… no bum slipping!)

First, a quick weekend recap before I let the day slip away!

Friday, I had the day off work so while Brandon was out working, I attempted some DIY house cleaners.  All epic fails and I have come to the realization that the  price to buy the cleaners is so worth it!   When Brandon got home we ordered some pizzas, grabbed some movies and had a night in.

Saturday was a busy day while I spoke at a conference and Brandon helped his parents around their house so we determined Sunday was going to be just for us.  We decided to head to a concert series at the Winery.  It was a beautiful day so we took the ferry, which neither of us had done before, to Williamsburg.  It was an easy trip and we made it to the concert, got a glass of wine and grabbed our seats before Ben Rector took the stage.  Simple Plan followed and oh my did my high school memories came flooding back!  The crowd was great, wine delicious and sun was shining bright.  A new experience and one we want to do again next year.

We wandered around the winery then headed back home to get ready for the week ahead!  A few pictures from our little adventure!

It was a dreary and wet weathered weekend here but still lent itself to a nice relaxing weekend.

My event was cancelled on Saturday due to the no stop rain (will we ever dry out?!) so after checking the park conditions and make my ten billion cancellation phone calls I treated myself to a Target trip (and oh was it a good one!). A cancelled event also meant I was now free on Saturday evening to attend my sweet friend, Jana’s, 30^th birthday dinner.

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We had dinner at the new Home Republic Brew Pub at the oceanfront in Virginia Beach then went to a little dive bar down the road to hear a friend’s band play. A great night with some great friends I had not seen in a while!

 

Sunday I stopped by my sister’s house to say hi.  We spent the afternoon catching up and playing an intense game of Uno with my nephews.  Then it was back home for some Sunday cleaning and prepping for the week ahead.   We are looking forward to a 3 day weekend coming up and the official kick off of the summer season!

I mean, doesn’t everyone need a good trooper mask for Sunday Funday?!

Just had to mention this adorable necklace I have been loving lately (did you the instagram post). Can’t wait to share a fun give away with the lovely ladies at A-List Greek this Friday!  Stop by their shop and see all their great pieces!