Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts

Monday, June 16, 2014

summer in a glass AKA the dirty coke

While cleaning and organizing our kitchen last year when we moved in, one of the many gadgets we found was a Soda Stream. It's probably not something I would have ever bothered to buy myself, but since we already had it and all the necessary supplies, we gave it a try. It's so awesome! Seriously, I'm not a soda person. I don't really like it. I don't really drink it. But this thing is cool. The girls get a big kick out of it, and we just pull it out for something fun to do in the kitchen, not on a regular lets-have-soda-with-dinner kind of basis. Last summer we were obsessed with making our own root beer floats, and since the soda is made in small batches it never goes flat (not to mention cheaper than buying soda all the time). This summer we were in search of a new drink to add to our soda-making-repertoire and I stumbled on this recipe for dirty coke. I was so excited to try it. The girls' faces got all scrunched up in confusion when I said we were having dirty coke with dinner, but I persevered.

First we gathered all our supplies: coconut syrup (from a local coffee shop), lime juice, half & half, and our soda-making supplies. This is enough to keep us stocked with dirty cokes for quite a while!

The fun part- adding the bubbles!

Adding the syrup. (Technically this recipe is for diet coke. But diet soda, I mean yuck. So we bought the regular cola syrup)

Then just add some of the coconut syrup, lime juice, and a splash of half & half to finish it off. We found we liked them more with a little less coconut and a little more lime. They went perfect with our back patio dinner: Janelle's homemade sloppy joes, Nebraska corn right off the husk, and cheesy potatoes (a Meyers classic).

And then Janelle got creative with the extreme bendy straws. BTW, If you don't know Janelle, she's awesome. And she's our assistant, which means that she gets paid to hang out at my house 5 days a week :).

Cheers to our new favorite summer drink!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

friendship bracelets

hello! i'm home from my wonderful week away and much to my dismay, we seemed to have jumped back into winter. i know kansans can't be the only people experiencing this crazy weather swing! i mean seriously, i thought this was supposed to be spring!  

regardless of the weather outside, i'm already bringing out my summer wardrobe. which for me always includes a bunch of friendship bracelets! which really doesn't take much explination- they're iconic and elementary school kids have been making them forever and a day.

some how i've never kicked the habit and i've been making new ones each season for years, so i've built up quite a collection. these are just a few of my favorites

and of course, sometimes i even make them for friends, because nothing says "love" like some knotted embroidery floss!
 

Monday, August 16, 2010

i love it...i love it not...

i have a love/hate relationship with manhattan kansas.
which i don't really think is unusual when you move to a completely new and unfamiliar place. it's actually pretty arbitrary how i feel about it on any given day. like a little girl plucking petals from a flower to discover if her crush loves her or not, my feelings about the city have less to do with the city itself and more to do with me.

but lately it's been all love love love.
mostly for reasons i can't explain or pinpoint. it's the beginning of my dibilitating allergy season {and i won't even tell you how much it costs to refill my inhalers} so really i should be dreading the coming months, but i'm finding myself looking forward to the fall. it's getting cooler {finally!} and the sky is so beautiful. all the time. i find myself cloud-watching any chance i get. school starts next week and i'm excited to get back to my routine- blogging, working, practicing, and maybe a little yoga.

i think it's going to be a good year.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

mom, don't read this

mom, don't read this post.
seriously, just stop now.

and what is so terrible that i'm hiding from my mom? a sunburn. you might not see what's so bad about this, but you haven't seen my sunburn, and you don't know my mom. now i'm not saying she's crazy or anything, but she does have this whole {some might say obsessive} thing about sunblock, sun exposure, and skin cancer. and i don't need her worrying about me {or looking at me with those disappointed-but-still-judging eyes} you know what i'm talking about because every mom has them.
i went and did something stupid. i got a sunburn. a bad one. one like i've never had before. i thought i was too old {and wise?} to do something so stupid {because really, i know better, i was raised better} but it just so happens that the day i decide to break out my 2 piece is the day i forget sunblock and spend 3+ hours poolside.
bad news bears.
i have got one {angry} red belly.

day 1: uncomfortable
day 2: unbearable
day 3: not bad- until lunch when i got to reapply aloe and find my stomach covered in bubbles. blisters. like when you step out of the shower and have water droplets all over? it's like i forgot to dry off. horrible and mesmerising at the same time. i can't seem to look away.

and again i say, how did i let this happen?! i know better! i was raised better!

all i can think about is the summer my sister was a lifeguard and she got little bubbles all over her back, too. and i asked her what the heck they were and she gave me some nonchalant answer about it happening all the time, not being a big deal... to which i immediately freak out and yell at her about how bad it is, how she needs to wear sunblock...

oh how the mighty hath fallen.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

SUNmer woes

yesterday we spent 3 hours at the pool.
that's 3 hours in direct sun.
and the last thing a sixth-grade girl wants is her babysitter floating around her and her other friends. so needless to say, i spent most of the time on the sidelines, reading, and trying not to turn into a little sizzling piece of bacon.

my solution? buy a big, white, floppy sunhat with a black ribbon {to match my black, pointy-bra, ruched side, '50's esc bathing suit} and channel these images:
i'm not melting away, i'm fabulous...
 i'm not melting away, i'm fabulous... 
 i'm not melting away, i'm fabulous...

 {and maybe a little zooey, too}

all i need is the umbrella! {and sand...and waves...and spray....and the right lighting...}

Saturday, June 12, 2010

summer means...

painted toes

friendship bracelets 

freckled cheeks

and lots of sunscreen!
  
what does summer mean to you?

Thursday, June 3, 2010

summertime pets

have i told you about my summer job yet? i think it's gonna be great. i'm babysitting {or nannying as i'm told people my age call it} for 2 kids from my school program. they're awesome and live out in the country, and they have a lot of animals.
 
so many animals!

{jack}

{princess}

{chewy}

{brand-new baby kitties!}



{frankie, one of 8 barn cats}

{speedy}

{professor}

{trouble with ed}

{ed, and the other horse whose name i can't remember right now}

{domino}

good thing i love animals :)