Berry + Pomegranate Wine Spritzer

Last week I joined a fun little 4th of July Recipe Swap. The goal? Make the recipe you're assigned with plus a personal twist. I was delighted to be matched with Christina's Very Berry Vodka Spritzer!

My "twist" on the recipe was using vino instead of vodka...mostly because I was able to throw this together with things I already had at the house! :)

Ingredients
pomegranate seltzer water [I had 10 bottles at home...I stock up when they're buy one get one free! And I seriously love seltzer water...]
white wine
[frozen organic] mixed berries: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries

Directions
Combine all ingredients [to the stiffness of your liking!], sip, and enjoy!



...but really. :) I just kept the seltzer + berries in a separate pitcher because I had two types of wine: one bottle of pinot grigio and a bottle of Fre dealcoholized wine for the mama to be at our cookout! She could enjoy her "wine" spritzer too!

It's that simple.

Cheers!

Do you love a good spritzer too!? Please spill your recipes with me! :)

Happy summer sipping!

 

  Be sure to visit Taylor, my champagne sponsor! She's one of my fave DIY extraordinaires!

 

4th of July Staycation

Our 4th of July long weekend was filled with some of our favorite folks. We celebrated with friends from Wilmington as well as our out-of-town guests, the Hoidals! Last summer we roadtripped to Nashville, TN, with the Hoidal fam, and this year brought a beach vacay/staycation. We plan to make H family vacations an annual thing. :)

Y'all know what's next...the photo recap!

THURSDAY

 Long weekend excitement...

 ...and some well deserved surprises after driving down to Wilmy through Hurricane Arthur.

 Of course I couldn't resist buying Baby Hoidal her first bow. [Gender Reveal blog post here!]

FRIDAY [4TH OF JULY!]

 The boys wasted no time getting in the water.

 And my Englishman wasn't too enthused with the American pride photos. ;) [as seen on Insta!]

 TWO of my favorite gals! :)

 You would never know that a hurricane came though the day before -- it was the perfect beach day!

 Malpal getting some pup snuggles pre 4th of July cookout at our place.

Bffies

 Trader Joe's for the win with appetizers. Always. [And thanks, Mal, for bringing these!!]

 Wine Spritzer with a non-alcoholic wine option for the mama-to-be! [Recipe here]

 H family photo (Mark said he didn't need to wear red, white, and blue since he's English...ha! Womp.)

Totally didn't take pics of our cookout fun and our wonderful guests who made it the best!! Oopsie!

SATURDAY

We beached it during the day again and headed to WB's Mellow Mushroom for lunch, which was obviously fabulous. Pizza is one of my favorite foods by far.

Later in the evening, we headed back across the bridge to Wrightsville to watch the sunset.

 Crusining across the bridge in Marky's "new" jeep

 Cheers!

 We live here?! Doesn't get old.

 Eeeeeek! This pic marks Mal's halfway point -- 20 weeks! And the day baby H's dad felt her in mommy's tummy for the first time!! 

 Good friends and beautiful sunsets. Life is grand.

 Can you tell that we still can't believe we live at the beach?! ;)

 Love, love, love my Malpal!

Wifeys

 Hubbies

 #marriage #andhavingfriendswhoare6'7'' [Thanks Joe!! :)]

 Hoidals

 Mark wanted to join in the pregnancy photo fun...! AHH! 

SUNDAY

 Ending the weekend with a bang? Banana splits circa 9pm. 

While watching our first ever episode of One Tree Hill (I know...how did I never watch it before?!).

We are so thankful to have such wonderful friends back in Charlotte and here in our new city! Thanks to our fraaands who celebrated this weekend with us!!

Also: Pure Barre really hurt yesterday. After a long-weekend hiatus...woof. Getting back in the groove of reality isn't too shabby though. :)

Hope y'all had wonderful 4ths as well!

 

  Be sure to visit Taylor, my champagne sponsor! She's one of my fave DIY extraordinaires!

Land That I Love!

Via | Free Printable!

I [sincerely!] hope this post finds you either already on vacation or counting down the hours till a long weekend. :) It's so fun that the 4th falls on a Friday this year!

Today I'm looking forward to our besties (whose gender reveal you just read about!) driving down and spending the long weekend with us. I have been anticipating their arrival since leaving Charlotte last weekend.

Our plans? Chilling through this forthcoming tropical storm, making a 2nd batch of [organic!] 4th of July bark, hosting a cookout, and getting some major beach time in after the storm passes!

I'm signing off for the bloggy world early for the long weekend so I can enjoy everything and everyone fully, but you can always follow me on Insta for little updates until then! [And let's be real -- you know I'm a picture queen. :)] See y'all after the 4th! Happy, happy!

Via

Cheers...to AMERICA!

  

   Be sure to visit Taylor, my champagne sponsor! She's one of my fave DIY extraordinaires!

Fourth of July Bark

So here is your easy, no-brainer, literally 5 minute hook-up to making a sweet and healthy alternative 4th of July snack/dessert! This recipe is super yummy and the perfect frozen summer treat.

Ingredients

32oz organic vanilla yogurt

Frozen organic mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries)

Directions 

1. Spread the yogurt out onto a baking pan with a spatula. (I used all 32 oz!)

2. Place berries on top. (I sliced the strawberries into smaller pieces before adding them.)

3. Put it in the freezer! (Almost done!! 1-2 hours should do the trick.)

4. When the yogurt has frozen, use a knife to slice into pieces.

5. Serve it as cold as you can get it! Yum!!

 

So darn easy, right? Cool off and curb your sweet tooth.

I wanted to include ALL of these words in the title: Healthy! Organic! Easy! 5 minute! Frozen! 2 ingredients!

Too much goodness...

This is going to be my newest in the freezer staple -- my eat-it-everyday-all-summer-long dessert. 

Oh, and the only problem I had with this recipe? Consuming too much 4th of July bark during the slicing process. Many pieces did not make their way from the baking sheet to the bowl. And I'm not sorry about it.

P.S. Harris Teeter shoppers - these organic berries are on VIC special right now!! Go get to the Teets today before the specials change over tomorrow! ;)

Happy 4th of July meal prepping!  Pop on over to Mia's blog...my lovely June sponsor! :)