Yummy Cocktail Recipe + Tomorrow's L-O-V-E Link Up!

When the warm weather hits and the days get longer, I love treating myself to a fun cocktail on a Friday evening.  I typically don't ever drink liquor on "school nights" -- so this is a fun way of starting the weekend off.  This past weekend I made the best little martini and just had to share!

St. Germain Citrus Fizz Martini

(I totally just came up with that name off the top of my head)

Ingredients
1 part St. Germain
1 part Smirnoff Lemon Sorbet Light vodka
Grapefruit Perrier
Basil leaf, for garnish
Sliced cucumber, for garnish
Sugar, for rim

Make It
Start off by moistening the rim of your glass -- I used a cucumber slice but you could also use a lemon wedge or water.  Invert your glass on a saucer that has a few tablespoons of sugar on it to get a pretty sugared rim.

For the drink, in a martini shaker mix equal parts St. Germain and lemon sorbet vodka.  For one cocktail, I used a shot of each.  Add in ice and shake together, then pour in glass.  Top off glass with grapefruit Perrier (I don't add this to the martini shaker or the top wants to pop off!) and stir.  Add in a basil leaf and a cucumber slice for garnish.

This was my first time of trying Smirnoff's lemon sorbet light vodka ... it was incredibly tasty.

Also, tomorrow is my link-up!  I hope you will want to play along with the Spill About Your L-O-V-E series that I did during our Europe trip.  If you want to participate, here are the questions you'll answer in your blog post tomorrow:

 

{1} Describe your dating life prior to finding your husband/boyfriend/fiance.

{2} Describe your husband/boyfriend/fiance in one word. How would he describe you in one word?

{3} You had a really silly fight. Embarrassing silly. What was it about?
{4} In three sentences (and only three!), describe where you both hope to be in 5 years.

{5} Tell us something about your husband/boyfriend/fiance we wouldn't know from reading your blog.

{6} What's one thing you never thought you'd do in front of your husband/boyfriend/fiance, but you did?

 

I hope you will play along tomorrow - it's easy!
* Post your responses to those questions on your blog
* Insert a few photos that you think sum up your relationship
* Insert the logo below with a link back to my blog 
* Come over to my blog post and insert your post in the link-up! 

Email me or leave a comment if you have any questions :)

Weekend Fun

Saturday was warm and sunny -- and it definitely called for a trip to the lake!

My family has a home at a great lake about an hour from our house.  The thing I love about this lake is that it's totally relaxed ... no mega-million dollar homes, no posh restaurants, no Tiger-sized yachts.  Just a place where you can throw on your denim cutoffs and grab a koozie for your beer.

We packed up the car and got to the lake in time for lunch.

After having a bite of lunch, we threw on our suits and took the boat out!

We had some great music going, and the six of us spent a lot of time just floating in the water and chatting.

We left the dinner decision that night up to Dad as an early Fathers Day celebration.  His choice of burgers on the grill was spot-on ... exactly what we all were craving after a long afternoon on the water.

As a little surprise, we made Turtle-flavored homemade ice cream for dessert!  He has always loved Turtles, but then again, who doesn't love chocolate, caramel, and salted peanuts together?!
 

We are already looking forward to many more lake weekends this summer!

I hope you all had a wonderful time celebrating the Fathers in your lives ... and special hugs go out to all of you who, like my husband, lost his father much too soon.  We still spent the evening last night reminiscing about some of the great and funny things about Ian's dad -- a man I never had the pleasure of knowing.  But I still thank him all of the time for the great man he helped to raise!

5 On Friday ... A Link-Up!

So jazzed that it's Friday and even more jazzed that I get to spend this day linking up with my gal pals Darci at The Good Life, Christina at Carolina Charm, and Natasha at Hello! Happiness for our 5 on Friday series!

If you haven't joined us yet for this series, jump on in!  Linking up is a great way to meet new friends and introduce them to your lil' bloggie as well.

Here's what I'm loving this Friday.

{1} Sweet Dreams of Our European Breakfasts
Not that I don't love my morning sliced fruit, but seriously -- we did it up BIG in Europe.  Lots and lots of croissants with Nutella, salami and cheese.  Below you will also see the delicious muesli that I devoured at our hotel in Switzerland like it was my first meal after being rescued from a deserted island.  And, cappucinos ... cappucinos all the time.  With real sugar.

 

{2} Warm Weather Cookin'
This weekend we'll be at the lake, and Dad has requested for his celebratory Fathers Day dinner to be burgers on the grill.  Mind you, they will be burgers laced with jalapenos -- my parents don't do anything halfway!  I'm so excited for this as well as all of the fixins' that will accompany these burgers.

Source: blog.mrslilien.com via Mrs. on Pinterest

{3} Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion
Before we left on our trip, I decided to go for it ... a little makeup splurge.  This eyeshadow primer by Urban Decay is $20, so not the least expensive product in my bag, but 100% worth it.  You can find it here.  I am amazed at how well it works.  My sparkly taupe eyeshadow is in the same place at 8pm as where I put it at 7am.  Impressive!



{4} Nest Wasabi Pear Candle
My sister saw this on my blog and sent it to me! The Wasabi Pear scent is totally amazing, and it has already lasted much longer than my typical candles.  I like lighting this one on the weekends.  It fills our house with the perfect, fresh scent!  You can find the votive version here.


{5} DAD.
This Fathers Day, I can't think of anyone else I'd rather be with.  So happy I live close enough to my parents to properly celebrate the man who taught me how to write my ABC's sitting on his lap in his office.




Thanks for letting me share my 5 on Friday with you.  Your turn!

All you have to do is write your post about your 5 on Friday, insert our logo above, insert a link back to one or all of our blogs, and enter your post address in the link-up below.

Go for it!

Supper Club Menu: Pre-Italy Style

Two days before we left on our Europe trip, it was my turn to host Supper Club.  You may remember that the way we do it, the host makes the entire meal -- appetizers, entree, dessert.  The other attendees just bring a bottle of wine! 

I may have been taking on a little more than I should have before embarking on our big trip.  Once I realized this, I laid out a pretty strict gameplan for myself of what I could do in advance and on which days I would do so.  Advance prepwork kept me sane!  I outlined my planning in this post, which was a huge help for getting my tasks in order.

As a nod to our upcoming trip, I decided to go with an Italian-themed dinner for my Supper Club girlfriends.  Here's what we ended up with on the menu:

Prosciutto and Melon
The sweet thinly-sliced canteloupe pieces were so yummy when paired with the salty prosciutto.  I had the prosciutto freshly sliced from the deli department -- next time I'll ask them to slice it a bit thinner.  I love it when it's really stringy and sticky.  The girls loved this appetizer!

Strawberry, Brie, Basil and Honey Crostini
I'd say that this was definitely the hit of the evening!  The flavors paired up perfectly together and they were so easy to assemble.  I used a log of brie rather than a round or wedge, so all I had to do was slice it with a cheese knife! 
 

Tortellini Skewers
I used spinach and cheese tortellini (tossed in creamy Italian dressing) and cherry tomatoes.  Such an easy "grab and go" appetizer.
  

Margherita Pizzas
Each girl received a small individual pizza with a tomato base, basil leaves, and buffalo mozzarella.  These were so yummy!  The small sizes made them easy to bake all at the same time using two racks (I cooked six pizzas).  Along with the pizzas, we had a big Italian salad with the "copycat" Olive Garden dressing.  Quite yummy!
 

Lemon Brownies
Although this certainly doesn't look as appetizing as the Pinterest photo did, they were so amazing!  You can find the recipe here.  I quickly nabbed a small square of it to save for Ian before we all went back for seconds.  Clean-up of this dessert was so easy because, well, we all but licked the baking dish. 

If you are in need of a great appetizer recipe, I couldn't recommend the brie and strawberry crostinis enough.  Totally divine.

Our next Supper Club is tonight, and I can't wait to see my girlies!

Wednesday Randoms & Next Week's L-O-V-E Link-Up!

This post may be a little here, there, everywhere ... Wednesday randoms!

{1} Tart Convertible Dresses
First of all, I was waxing poetic yesterday about my Tart convertible dress, and lo and behold, shortly thereafter I received an email saying that Tart would be on Rue La La today.  I can't wait to log on at 11am (Eastern) and see if there is another convertible dress that I can pick up.  I have my heart on a convertible maxi dress!

If you've never shopped with Rue La La before, it's simple.  Joining the invite-only site is free with no obligation to purchase (but with their incredible deals, it's hard not to).  Plus you are given a referral link which you can share to earn credits to shop on the site ... aka, the potential for free clothes, accessories, home decor!  Need an invitation?  Click here.

{2} Packing Love
I was so happy to see that yesterday's post about how I packed for two weeks in Europe helped some of you gals out who also have long travels ahead of you.  A few gals asked some questions about the other things I packed besides the clothes.  Here's the rundown:

Toiletries, beauty products, hairdryer: In my backpack (that I checked), I put in toiletries that I knew I would not need during our overnight flight.  Also, toiletries that would not necessarily be handy on a deserted island in the event of a plane crash ... chalk that up to too many Lost episodes in my early 20s.  Those essentials came with me in a tote bag on the plane.  Example of checked toiletries: large round brush, hairspray, self-tanner towlettes, travel size lotion (no hotel rooms we stayed in provided lotion -- bring some!).  Example of carry-on toiletries: glasses/contact case/contact solution, makeup, toothbrush/toothpaste, comb, basic medications like aspirin.  All five of the hotels that we stayed at provided hairdryers which ranged from a really awesome Babyliss in Paris to an archaic monstrosity in Florence.  I think my hair would have dried at the same rate if Ian just blew on it.  Lots of easy updos for me!

Purchases, souvenirs:  In general, Ian and I aren't big purchasers of souvenirs.  I'd rather spend money on good food and experiences.  We did bring back some items, though -- one print which is currently being framed, some limoncello, some olive oil, et cetera.  Being that our packs weren't full to start with, we had plenty of room for packing.  If I would have been super-duper organized, I think throwing in some bubble wrap when packing would have been a great idea although we experienced no breakage whatsover.

Carry-on bag and clothes for plane: We had fairly long flights (8 hours there, and returning we had a 2 hour connecting flight and then a 9.5 hour flight) so I knew it would be important to pack smartly and comfortably.  Our carry-on bags had necessary toiletries, noise-cancelling headphones, earbuds, iPads, magazines which I didn't read, gummy bears, crackers.  We also had blow-up neck pillows which were great.  I wore my yoga pants so that I could curl up in the seat or sit Indian-style if I wanted.  I also wore a tank, a cardi-wrap, and a black pashmina.  Pashminas on planes are so multi-functional and therefore, essential!

{3} Link Up: Next Week!
Okay gals, let's do this.  The Spill About Your L-O-V-E linkup will go live next Wednesday morning.  So, start planning your posts!  Here are the questions that you'll answer.  You don't have to answer them all!

{1} Describe your dating life prior to finding your husband/boyfriend/fiance.
{2} Describe your husband/boyfriend/fiance in one word. How would he describe you in one word?
{3} You had a really silly fight. Embarrassing silly. What was it about?
{4} In three sentences (and only three!), describe where you both hope to be in 5 years.
{5} Tell us something about your husband/boyfriend/fiance we wouldn't know from reading your blog.

{6} What's one thing you never thought you'd do in front of your husband/boyfriend/fiance, but you did?

   
So, I hope you will play along next Wednesday - post your responses to those questions on your blog, insert a few photos that you think sum up your relationship, and then insert the logo below with a link back to my blog.  You can come over to my blog post at that point and insert your post in the link-up!  Email me or leave a comment if you have any questions :)

 

Almost time for the Rue La La sale ... I've got my "add to cart" clicker finger ready!

Packing For 2 Weeks In Europe: How I Did It

I'm still compiling all of our photos together from our trip and I'm busting at the seams to share them! 

First I wanted to share a little about packing for this two week trip.  When we first started the planning process, I started making some new purchases.  I couldn't wait to wear my new outfits while strolling the streets of Italy!

Then came the text.

"Hey baby, I just got some really good advice.  We're going to be taking backpacks instead of luggage on our trip."

I nearly dropped my coffee cup.  After I spit out my coffee.  Husband's outta his dang mind.

(And he ended up being SO spot-on with this advice.)

We were going to be doing a considerable amount of walking and train travel during the trip, and the thought of pulling rolling suitcases over stone streets in crowds and hoisting them up on train racks was less than appealing.  So I gathered my courage, broke out of my comfort zone, and borrowed a hiking pack from a girlfriend.  Things were about to get interesting.

When packing for two weeks, we considered what could be easily washed, dried and reworn.  Items that were bright enough to help us find each other in crowds yet neutral enough to mix and match.

I started out by laying out things I wanted to wear on the bed.  Ian did the same thing on our guestroom bed.  Here's the basics of what I packed:

Shirts/Tops
Black spaghetti-strap tank, black tube top for layering, orange tunic, 2 thin cardi-wraps, black short-sleeved peplum shirt, long-sleeved chambray shirt, 3 sleeveless shirts/tanks, 3 sleeveless blouses for evening

Shorts/Pants
White denim capris, black leggings, black yoga pants, navy shorts, khaki shorts

Dresses
Grey short-sleeved maxi dress, black chiffon maxi, black convertible high-low dress, long-sleeved mini dress (got subbed out for the red/white dress in the photo above after a weather check)

Accessories
Casual cross-body bag, gold wristlet for the evenings, gold braided belt, black pashmina, pastel scarf, waterproof anorak, 2 bikini tops with black bikini bottom, black coverup, sunhat, 4 long necklaces, pearl studs, diamond studs, gold hoops, 2 pair large chandelier earrings, wedding earrings for anniversary night

Shoes
Comfy boat shoes (Sperry Top-Sider Audrey in platinum... looooove), gold kitten heels, black/cheetah kitten heels, gold sandals, rose gold high heels, trusty ol' Rainbow flops

The absolute BEST things ever are The Container Store sweater bags which my Mom gave to me a few Christmases ago.  There were three in a pack and they came together in a plastic pack.  I used one for tops, one for pants/shorts, and one for dresses.  The plastic pack they came in was the perfect size for my wristlet, scarf, and belt.  They were total space-savers; my hiking pack was only about half-way full when we left for our trip!  Also, rather than having to dig through the entire pack for a new shirt, I just pulled out the clear bag that had all of my shirts and then zipped it back up.

Here's what I got the most use out of:
Chambray shirt, black leggings, black yoga pants, black pashmina, long pearl necklace, boat shoes, flip flops, cross-body bag.  All of these were worn multiple times ... for example, I wore the chambray shirt over my black maxi dress for our anniversary, and then I would throw it on over my Lululemon pants with flops the next morning to go downstairs for a bite of breakfast.

In retrospect, I didn't need both bikini tops; I probably didn't need three pairs of shoes with heels ... tons of walking; while the sleeveless blouses at night were great in theory, I didn't wear any of the three I packed due to chilly weather!  I also didn't wear the sunhat.  I thought I'd need it for the coast in Italy but I ended up using the chiffon belt that came on the black maxi dress as a head-wrap for the day we went to Capri.

The Tart convertible high/low dress (in blue above; mine is black) was awesome for our last night's dinner in Italy.  I would have worn it more had the weather cooperated!  That's the great thing about convertible dresses is that by tying the top straps different ways, you can achieve so many different looks (I got mine from Rue La La.  Exact style sold here; similar ones here, here, great maternity version here for my preggo friends).

So as high-maintenance as I may seem, this girl went backpacking!  Who would have thought?  I'll be posting a picture this morning on Instagram (@alizadventures) of me with my pack on.  See it to believe it!  :)

We're Back From Europe!

Europe trip = success!

We have spent the past two weeks frolicking around Paris, Switzerland, and Italy ... and we lived to tell the tale!  It was an amazing adventure and a great learning experience.

How can you sum it up?  Really, it was just surreal and magical.  Surreal and magical.
 

Here are a few preview photos.  As you can imagine, I'll be posting quite a few in the next several posts!

Only 795 more to show you!  (ha)

Also, a huuuuuuge thank you to all of my guest posters for the Spill About Your L-O-V-E series!  I tried to pick a various assortment of bloggers, and I loved reading some of your comments about their responses that struck a chord with you.

Just curious -- if I hosted a link-up later this week, would you want to play along as well?  Basically, you'd just answer the questions on your blog, submit your post's link on my site using the link tools, and put the logo on your post!

Let me know ... if there is enough interest, let's make it happen!

Spill About Your L-O-V-E: The Reedy Review

Wrapping up this guest post series is Laura from The Reedy Review.  How can I explain Laura?  Well, for starters, she's my sister!  In addition, she is coming up on her first year anniversary with her husband later this summer.  He has been such an awesome addition to our family -- completely seamless.  Another newlywed sharing her experiences ... take it away!

{1} Describe your dating life prior to finding your husband.
Well, there really wasn’t one. I was one of those girls who was friends with all of my girlfriends’ boyfriends but never had one of my own. I like to think I was just too picky, but I may have just been telling myself that to feel better. T was my first boyfriend and I was his first girlfriend.

{2} Describe your husband in one word. How would he describe you in one word?
I would describe him as Considerate
He would describe me as Passionate

{3} You had a really silly fight. Embarrassing silly. What was it about?
You've got to love those fights about silly things. The ones that blow so far out of proportion that you end up forgetting what you started fighting about! One of our more memorable ones was when he told me I did laundry too often. I’m sorry, I didn't know this was even a thing! He told me the shirts and boxers at the top of his drawers were getting too much wear, while the ones at the bottom weren't getting worn. After bickering back and forth we ended up deciding to do our laundry separately. No more folding 20+ undershirts (in his particular way) or matching up black dress socks that somehow all look the same but really aren't. Whoo hoo!

{4} In three sentences (and only three!), describe where you both hope to be in 5 years. 
I want us to be members of a church. I want us to both {still} love our jobs. I want us to be home owners. 

{5} Tell us something about your husband we wouldn't know from reading your blog. 
His name is actually T. Some bloggers abbreviate their family members' names to keep some anonymity, but my husband’s name actually consists of one letter. T stands for Thompson. He's a third, and there are a lot of other Toms and Tommys in the family, so all that was left was T.

{6} What's one thing you never thought you'd do in front of your husband, but you did? 
I really don’t think there is one. I always wanted to have a boyfriend/husband that I could be completely open with, and I think I found it. Before we were even officially dating, I was over at his house and choked on a tortilla chip. I ended up throwing up all over his blanket that was lying over top of us. After that, I had no shame.