diy mama

lifestyle blog sharing diy, family, travel, organization & disney tips

Shelly

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Summer Martini Recipes

Cheers mates! Summer time, for me, always means martini time! We went on vacation last week and made up a new martini that was SO delish that I knew I had to share! I thought I might as well share a few other of my favorites as well so here are 5 of my fav martini recipes!

top five

I might as well start with the Snicky Wicky which is the martini we made up this past week while playing a game of Wahoo. This martini was a dessert drink that took a lot of control to pace myself! Needed: Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup, Smucker’s Carmel Syrup, 1oz Amaretto, 3oz Roasted Carmel Whiskey, 1oz Bailey’s Irish Cream, and 1tsp cream. Swirl the glass with both syrups in whatever artistic fashion you desire. Mix the remaining ingredients over ice and add to prepared glass. Enjoy! You could also use carmel vodka in place of the whiskey.

snicky wickyMy most favorite martini, to drink while having sushi, is a mango martini. It goes heavenly with the coconut mango shrimp tempura sushi. Averie posted an amazing Mango Coconut Water Tropical Martini that honestly made my mouth water reading about it. Needed: 1.5oz Mango Passion Fruit Schmirnoff Vodka Light, 1.5oz coconut water, and 1oz pineapple juice. Shake ingredients over ice and strain into glass. Averie made them look super cute using mango, pineapple and maraschino cherries.  mangomartini This summer I’ve been really digging lemonade since we swore off soda a couple months ago. I made a strawberry lemonade from scratch that was stellar but this Boozy Peach Lemonade on Style Me Pretty looks like my next weekend BBQ drink! I love it because you can make a big batch and let guests serve themselves! Needed: 2oz (or so) peach flavored vodka (Absolute APeach), 1.5c sugar, 1c hot water, 2.5c lemon juice and 1c peach juice or puree. Stir sugar in hot water until dissolved, add vodka, lemon juice and peach juice. If using peach puree add to glass before pouring in other ingredients. Add thyme or peach as garnish.

peach lemonadeAnother killer summer party quencher is this Strawberry Watermelon Sparkling Sangria from Kelly at Nosh & Nourish. Ok, I know, it says sangria…but it’s just so pretty, I drink it in a martini glass and call it a martini. 😉 For some reason, I’d never considered mixing strawberries and watermelon but they are amazing together! Needed: 1c vodka, 1tbsp key lime juice, 1c chopped strawberries, 1c chopped watermelon, 1c watermelon juice (after straining), and 1bottle sparkling white wine. Combine vodka, lime juice, strawberries and watermelon in a large measuring cup to marinade for an hour. Using a strainer, juice the watermelon chunks to extract the juice. Add everything together in a large pitcher and serve immediately. Garnish with fruit or mint leaves.

strawberry-watermelon-sangria-noshI’m such a sucker for packaging! I bought this Kinky liqueur a few years ago and have mixed it with Sierra Mist and OJ but didn’t LOVE it until I came across this Kinky Blow-Pop recipe by Jessica at The Novice Chef. It is darling with her heart shaped lollies but like it with strawberry or watermelon blow-pops! Needed: 1.5oz Kinky liqueur, 1oz bubblegum vodka, 1oz pink lemonade and a splash of sprite. Garnish with a red sugared rim and a lolly pop.

kinky martiniWho’s coming over for some tinis?! Good thing my best friend is coming to visit this week so I can quench my craving! Which one are you going to try first? What is your go-to martini to make when having friends over or to wind down from a hectic week?

ShellyClick on each photo for a re-direct to the photographer.

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Stress Sucks

Hi Friends. I’m writing this with my hair, wet, piled on top of my head, smelling like Sponge Bob watermelon bubble bath and listening to the top 50 songs of the 90’s. Sometimes life is so exciting and fun that it stresses me out. Silliest thing ever. I wish I could just be happy for the awesomeness that is my life and be nothing but grateful for who I am. But sometimes I cry for no reason at all. I literally can not think of what is making me cry or even what triggered the tears. This is why I’m thankful that I always have my understanding husband near by to rub my back, draw a bath and tell me ‘it’s ok.’ It’s ok to cry, life is ok, everything is ok. I know, as a woman, as a mom, as a sister, daughter and friend, we put on our best face when we see friends and family. We get to see our friends and family such a small amount that I don’t ever want to waste time not being happy while I’m with them. Sometimes I just need a distraction from…well life I guess. I need to make my brain stop thinking about the laundry I need to do or the mulch I need to spread or the bottles that need to be made (all of these things were pushed aside for my bath tonight.) Stress sucks and sometimes you just need to do something else.

Camera 360My all-time best stress reliever is to color. I could color for an entire day. I especially love coloring with someone. You have to find something that you enjoy coloring though. My favorite medium is Crayola crayons and I like coloring design books. My newest coloring book is Secret Garden because it takes so long to complete a page (of which I have yet to do) and the pictures are beautiful! Doing my nails and painting also helps to focus my mind towards creativity. secret gardenBubble baths are another way I relax. I force myself to not think, which is basically meditation. I have a hard time meditating, so to block out thoughts, I have a mantra I like to say. As I inhale through my nose, I say ‘Thank you’ and as I exhale I say ‘I love you.’ It helps refocus my mindset to a positive place. helperPlaying a game also helps me snap out of a funk. We have a TON of board games but I also really like Dance Central and Rock Band. I enjoy our board games because I have to strategize while playing and I just plain LOVE singing and dancing so DC and RB are an obvious fit for me. Again, for me, these things are better when there’s a lot of people but I also really like when it’s just Jeffrey and I playing. CarcassonneBeing outside is a great way to help me relieve stress. The sun really affects my mood, so if it’s sunny, being outside automatically helps me feel better. For me, planting flowers is my favorite hobby while outside but a lot of people find walking, reading or playing sports to be the best way to relieve stress. flower Another great way to calm my mind is to escape in a book. I’m a teen nerd girl at heart and love reading YA books. I’m usually reading a few books at a time so I can choose based on my mood. I’ll switch it up between a YA/beach read and something educational/motivational.

readI really want to go do all of these things right now! What are some of the methods you use to help relieve stress? I’m always up for trying something new!

Shelly

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Summer Lovin’

summer-lovin

Hey beach babes! So this past Saturday was summer solstice which makes me super sad!! It means winter and darkness is right around the corner! Not really…I’m just being a bit dramatic. For real though, it does mean that it’ll start getting darker earlier at night and stay dark in the mornings. So while it’s still summer and the days are long, fill them with fun! Spend time outside, drenched in sweat, hair frizzy, getting crazy tan lines because you can! Go to the drive-in, a local carnival, find an apartment pool and beg to be let in if you have to! Just enjoy it!

Shelly

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July 4th Finds

Hello fellow Americans! (If you’re not American, you can still read this post, and are encouraged to celebrate July 4th because it’s everything that’s awesome about America!) Last year I celebrated the 4th quite leisurely. I was rather large with a lil bean in my belly and wasn’t too interested in festivals or 90 degree weather. I spent the day doing my nails (poorly), watching The Sandlot and taking some treats over to our neighbors for the block party. We couldn’t see the fireworks last year because they moved locations but there were still plenty of massive fireworks being set off. I think the states that ban fireworks may have bigger household fireworks BECAUSE it’s illegal.

July-4-2013This year, we will be celebrating (with lil bean out of my belly) in St. Louis after a week visiting our family in Oklahoma! Depending on the weather, we want to check out the 4th of July parade and festival at the park, go to the zoo and watch the fireworks. All of these things will be new adventures for Sophie and I’m super excited! This week’s Friday Finds are things that I’d love to make for our 4th but will have to hold off until next year!

4th-finds

  1. Vanessa’s awesome food blog, called One Sweet Appetite, has the cutest popcorn cone printables! I’m not sure why I think popcorn is an ‘American’ food but I feel it definitely has it’s place on the 4th!
  2. I’ve had this super cute streamers decoration, from Style Me Pretty, pinned for years and think it would be an inexpensive way to dress up an outdoor party for the 4th!
  3. Lorie, at Be Different Act Normal, has the CUTEST bunting idea for the traditional 4th of July pie! It’d be super simple to make them out of washi tape using red & white stripe and blue & white polka dots!
  4. I love the extremely patriotic cake that Rachel made over at Bubbly Nature Creations! I would have to do yellow cake because that’s the only cake I ever make (it’s my husband’s fav!) I think the covered pretzels are a great salty addition to the sweet cake!
  5. How does this not have July 4th in America written all over it?! Sherri made this Pinterest inspired bandana tablecloth and has a great tutorial at Made from Pinterest!

I’m a little jealous I won’t get to celebrate by mixing two of my greatest loves: crafts and America, but I’m super pumped to be going on an adventure and doing something new! If you have little ones, I thought this 4th of July scavenger hunt that Heather put together was a super cute idea!! Who doesn’t love scavenger hunts?! What are your plans for July 4th? Any traditions you will be partaking in? My Dad always used to have the best firework show in our neighborhood! Next year I kind of want to decorate my bike and ride it around town! I’m a dork like that.

Shelly

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Save the Bees

Happy National Pollinators Week! I wish I would have known this before today because I would have done multiple posts! I will have to do a follow up post another week. 🙂 I am a huge lover of bees, from far away. I physically get tense every time I hear a bee and if it’s close it’s way worse. I got stung multiple times in my sleep by a hornet and ever since have been quite afraid of anything that stings. I’m slowly getting over my fear of hating all insects with stingers because I’ve learned how important bees are to our existence.

hello-beeMy interest in learning more about something I fear came from my Dad’s interest in beekeeping as a hobby. I am thankful he wanted to learn more because knowledge is power and we NEED to keep the bees alive with less chemicals and better habitats. I asked my Dad why he started beekeeping and why bees are so important.Here’s what he said:

‘I got started in bee keeping after I was encouraged to get a hobby by my daughter. I read that 25% of the world’s honey bees have died off since 1999. . So after studying about them on the internet and a couple books later I decided to build a Top Bar Bee Hive. Bees are extremely important to our food supply, they make and incredibly delicious product and they are fun to watch.
One third of the world’s crop depend on pollinators. Pollinators include bees of all sorts, birds and bats. According to the American Beekeeping Federation, some crops such as blueberries, and cherries are 90 percent dependent on honey bee pollination. Believe it or not they are pretty docile. Their main goal in life is to tend to their queen and they will always leave you alone as long as you leave them alone. I handle my bees in shorts and t-shirt. My 4 year old granddaughter is fascinated by them. She loves to go down to the hive with me and watch them. Even at her age she has plenty of questions about them.’

dad-beesThere are several ways you can help save the bees! Planting bee friendly plants in your yard is one of the biggest things you can do to help. You can also be sure to not use harsh chemicals on your plants and if you know any farmers, encourage them to do the same. There are TONS of cute bee inspired art, jewelry, clothes and decor that you can use to help spread the word too!

Save-the-bees

  1. This Save the Bees print is super cute and a helpful reminder!
  2. I’m in love with this honeycomb ring! I love the geometric design as well as the different metals to choose from.
  3. This bee house would be very helpful to hang on a tree in a yard full of pollinator friendly flowers!
  4. You could use this print as art and to help you decide what plants will work best in your zone!

The New York Times has continuous articles being updated on saving the bees and there are TONS of other resources on why bees are so important and how to do your part. Start simple and understand more about bees! What are you going to do to help save the bees? Maybe get a few books from the library and have your kids get involved too! I have lots of bee related decor now, but I’m really loving the Plant These to Help Save Bees print!

Shelly

 

 

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