End of Summer Drink

Ingredients:

- 1 shot of white rum

- 1/4 cup pineapple juice

- 5 fresh mint leaves

- apple juice

Directions:

Pour the rum and pineapple juice into a glass.  Smash the mint leaves into the bottom of the glass.  Fill the glass with ice, and pour apple juice over the ice.  Stir and enjoy.  

This drink is a great summery drink, and the rum is barely noticeable, so I bet this would be terrific without the rum too.  I love a good drink mix that can double for people who drink, and those who don't.  Though I suppose it could be dangerous with kids around.  They might think mommy's drink is the same, and get a bit loopy.  Anyway great drink, and I love how it looks like a summer ale.  The mint adds a nice subtle hint of freshness.  

Today was our kick-off luncheon for the fall season at work.  Which means from here on until the holidays I'll be busy busy busy.  Aaron and I are going on a little date night out to a local brewery restaurant.  It's over in Downington, Pennsylvania, called Victory Brewery.  We've never been, but Aaron enjoys their beers, and I've heard good things from a couple I work with.  We are excited to check it out!  Hope ya'll have some fun weekend plans, and happy DIYing, chris!

A New Series: Happy Thirsty Thursday!

Last week I shared my recipe for a Cherry Mojito on (thirsty) Thursday, and it got me thinking this might make an awesome regular series.  So here we are, Happy Thirsty Thursday!  Mint grows like wild fire, and I keep thinking up new mojito recipes to put it to good use.  We had some fresh strawberries, so I decided to give them a try.  

Ingredients: (for one Strawberry Mojito)

- half a lemon

- half a lime

- mint leaves (7 - 10 leaves)

- a couple strawberries

- half a shot of simple syrup

- a shot of white rum

I started by picking some fresh mint.  I used about ten leaves.  I rinsed those off, plus a couple deep red strawberries.  I dropped the mint into the bottom of my glass, and sliced a strawberry up, dropping the slices into the glass as well.  Then I squeezed half a lemon and half a lime, removed the seeds, and poured the liquid into the glass.  Next, I poured in a shot of light rum, and a half shot of simple syrup.  If you would like to make your own simple syrup, check out my recipe here.  I mashed all that stuff together in the bottom of my glass, making sure to break up the strawberry slices, and smoosh the mint.   Once it was nice and flavorful looking I filled the glass up with ice, and poured my club soda over the top.  I used the wild cherry club soda I had leftover from my Cherry Mojito recipe, but I'm sure this would be great with regular club soda too.  

To finish off the look I sliced up my other strawberry, and tucked the slices in around the ice.  I saved one slice to spear with the top bunch of mint leaves, and float on the top of the drink.  I didn't realize how simple it is to make layered drinks like this.  All that red on the bottom is sooooo pretty.  Be sure to stir before you take you start drinking though, because other wise all the rum and favor will stay on the bottom, making your last sip beyond strong.  Ha!  I made this last night, and looking at these photos this morning makes me want to make one right now!  This drink is dangerous, you totally can't taste the rum in it at all.  Yet at the same time it's not overly sweet tasting.  The lemon and lime juices balance out the sweetness of the strawberries and the simple syrup, and it makes for a super refreshing light summery drink.  

While you're reading this I'll be hanging out on LBI with one of my favorite buddies from college.  I'm going by myself, which isn't something I do often, but it's nice to have some girl time.  I love Aaron, but I'm pretty sure I love him even more after a day or two with the girls.  :)  I wish I had more girlfriends that lived near me, so I could have girl nights more regularly.  i don't have too many friends that live close by.  The few awesome buddies I do have, don't know each other, so it's usually Aaron and I, and another couple hanging out together.  Maybe one day I'll invite all my lady friends over, and do lady things together.  Like painting our nails, and talk about hair, and boys.  :)  

Hope you have a lovely thirsty thursday, and happy DIYing, chris!  

Cherry Mojito

It's still super hot here.  Heat wave central. Hello, Summer!  I know a great way for (adults) to cool off on these hot summer evenings.  A nice cold alcoholic beverage.  I don't drink much, and when I do it's usually a Jack and coke.  I say coke but I prefer pepsi, and every once in awhile I'll reach for a ginger ale instead of a pepsi as my mixer.  I've also been know to mix my whiskey with root beer, which I know is completely bonkers.  Also, I'm not too brand specific on my whiskey, nothing that's cheaper than Jack Daniels, which really isn't anything special.  

Wow, that was a little rant about my go to alcoholic beverage!  Anywho ... in the summertime I enjoy a good cocktail.  I get more adventurous with my adult beverages, and I start experimenting more.  Today I came up with a Cherry Mojito.  MMM!  I definitely dig a good mojito.  The mint and lemon lime flavor is so crisp, and refreshing on a super hot day.  I didn't want to mess with that classic flavor too much, but I figured I like all cherry flavored things, so how could this go wrong?  I'm so happy I tried this, so super tasty.  I think I'll be making this again!  

What You'll Need:

- white rum

- simple syrup (or water & sugar)

- fresh mint

- half a lemon

- rose grenadine

- maraschino cherries

- cherry soda

Directions:

I started off by making some simple syrup.  I made a small batch, by boiling 3/4 cup of water in a saucepan, and then I lowered the heat and added 3/4 cup of white sugar.  I continuously stirred the two ingredients together until the sugar had completely dissolved.  This only took about five minutes at most.  I funneled this into a small bottle, and chilled it in the refrigerator.  I went through some extra old junk mail, and catalogues, while that cooled down for a bit.  

About an hour later I picked some of my orange mint, and rinsed that off in the sink.  I placed about five to seven leaves in my pint glass.  Next, I squeezed the juice of my half lemon in the glass.  I poured in a shot of rum, a half shot of the simple syrup, and I mashed that all together.    Then I poured in a half shot of rose grenadine, added some ice, and filled the glass with some store brand wild cherry soda.  Mixed it up, added some mint, and a maraschino cherry for garnish.  

It's fantastic!! Not too sugary, not too fruity, not too rummy.  A great spin on an old favorite.  Hope you enjoy, and happy Thirsty Thursday! :)  Oh, and in case you're more a beer person, the glass I'm drinking this out of is from a brewing company called Twin Lakes.  It's brewed right here in my home state, Delaware.  I'm not a beer person, but Aaron is, and he says their beer is great.  Happy DIYing, chris.  

Wide Macramé Bracelet Part 2

Oh man, hello Summer!  The high today for my area is 101ºF!!! Whew-wee, it's hot out there.  I didn't let the heat hold me back, I didn't delay!  I got the macramé bracelet I started yesterday finished.  To see the first half of this tutorial, check out yesterday's post.  Now on with how you'll finish off this bracelet.  

I periodically tested the bracelet around my wrist, and once I reached my desired length I began tying the last row onto the jump links.  The last row has to be a row that includes the first string in the first knot.  Other wise you'll have a lose end.  

I have twelve strands, so I tied four on each of my three jump rings.  

When I was done tying on all the embroidery threads I tested the bracelet out, and made sure I could easily attach the hook.  The first time I had to remove the jump rings, and add a couple rows.  I tested it again, and it was perfect, that's when I trimmed the long tails off.  My guess for 56 inches of thread to begin with was a bit off, at  least it didn't mess up the project.  I just need to figure out what to do with all these thread scraps.  :)  

I like the way this bracelet sits on my wrist, and the clasp is lovely.  

Of course I love the colors too.  :)

 I'm totally enjoying this technique.  I want to make a ton of these.  I'd like to try better thread, and find a bead that would work, and play with different clasps.  I guess there are only so many of these I need though, I wonder if my female family members would want one?  I wonder if strangers would be interested in buying them ...  I'd totally enjoy making a ton of these.  I love playing with all the colors, and there are so many different materials I could try out.  

Well I'm off to make up some more fun things.  Hope you're having a lovely day, and don't let the sun burn you out!  Happy DIYing, chris.  

Fresh Herb Dijon Mustard Dressing

On hot summer days all I want to eat is fresh picked salads, fruits, and veggies.  If it involves using the stove or oven, I'm not interested in cooking it.  So today I have a super simple salad dressing, a Fresh Herb Dijon Mustard Dressing.  Happy Nom Nom Monday!

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

-  1 Small Lemon

-  1/4 Cup jammed pack with fresh Basil

-  2 Tablespoons fresh Mint (I used Orange Mint)

-  2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard (I used a tablespoon of store brand, and a tablespoon of fancy Sweet Vidalia Onion Mustard)

-  1 Small Clove of Garlic

-  1/4 Cup Cold Water

-  3 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I only had regular olive oil)

Directions:

Pick the basil and mint you'll need.  I've made this dressing before with parsley instead of basil, and it was super yummy too.  Experiment with different herbs, that would compliment the dijon mustard flavor.  Experimenting with different dijon mustards would be fun too!  

Prepare your herbs and clean everything.  Then squeeze the juice out of the small lemon.  Dump all the ingredients expect for the olive oil into a blender.  Blend everything super smooth, about two minutes.  Season with salt and pepper, and then slowly add in the olive oil.  Mix for another minute or so.

Pour into a salad dressing container.

It's a lovely creamy green color.  It's a great flavor for salad dressing.  Usually I'm one to view lettuce as the perfect vehicle to transport blue cheese into my system, but this dressing could have me moving over to the healthier side of salad dressings.  Even my grandmother who is a SUPER picky eater said she liked it, and she's not one to hide her true feelings about anything.  She would definitely tell me if it was gross.  So if you have a picky eater at home, and it's hard to find healthy salad dressings they like, give this a try!  Hope you enjoy!  

Happy DIYing, chris

Friendship Bracelet

Happy Friday!  For this Friday Flashback I wanted to make a friendship bracelet.  I used to make bracelets with embroidery floss and hemp all the time when I was a pre-teen.  When I bought my supplies for my owl elbow patches, I found a great deal on embroidery thread.  Which was a big reason I wanted to make a friendship bracelet, all those colors were calling my name.  I checked on the internet for a tutorial on how to make friendship bracelets, it's been ages!  After checking this out, I was good to go.  

Start by laying all your strings out in the order you want the colors to stack.  The strings on the left will stay on the left, and the strings on the right will stay on the right.  

It was a little rough in the beginning, but it's starting to look pretty cool.  Always start with the outside string, and move to the middle, and keep the colors divided in half the whole time.  Tie two knots on each string.  When tying knots on the left always have the tail going to the left, and do the opposite for the right side.  

In the middle tie one knot to the right, and then another knot to the left.  Now you can move back to the most outside string on the left, and start your next color.  

After I got going I realized I've used similar colors in tons of previous projects.  These were more or less the colors I used in my wedding.  As seen in the handmade paper spiral flowers I used as part of my center pieces.  

This how I painted my bedroom at my parent's house back in 2003.  I still love the way that room turned out, as you can tell by the above photo.  I'll be sad on the day I have to paint it back to white.  

Well, that's all I have for you today.  Have a great weekend, and happy DIYing!  I'll be back tomorrow with my Saturday Blogger Love post, chris.