June 27, 2012

Pineapple Gin Punch

I wish I could go back in time and tell my 21 year old self that I would develop a thing for gin in my early 30s. For a long period of time I thought gin tasted like one of those pine tree air fresheners. My head immediately went to that scene in Seven. Yeah… I was such a brat every time Casey tried to get me to try some. Sorry, honey.

If I liked gin sooner, I wouldn’t have had a whole decade of drinking Jack Daniels under my belt.

Jack Daniels might be the reason why I’m partially crazy. Which is a good thing because you are here now to witness it.

Thank you, Jack Daniels.

I made this Pineapple Gin Punch with my Mexican Popcorn. Wowzers! Mint, pineapple & lime with gin provides a delightful combination.

It is the opposite of Jack Daniels. It definitely wouldn’t dance on top of a table, shout talk at people about their astrological signs or get mad when their husband says it’s time to go home from a party.

It’s slightly feminine, a bit mature, unexpected and it might have a son named Cooper.

Why is this drink turning into 32 year old Tracy? I told you…I’m crazy.

recipes, Uncategorized

June 25, 2012

Mexican Popcorn

When you have an impromptu Happy Hour at your house this summer, make some popcorn!

It’s such a simple thing to do.

This Mexican Popcorn is my new favorite thing. Happy Hours REJOICE!

And if you’re just eating popcorn for dinner on a Monday night by yourself, that’s totally fine too. Don’t listen to what my mom has to say about popcorn being an unacceptable dinner. If you do eat it for dinner, I would suggest putting your popcorn in a bowl. Don’t eat it out of the pot. I’m pretty sure my husband would eat popcorn straight from the pot if he didn’t have me in his life. Wait. He’d probably eat it out of the microwave bag without all this spice flavor business. Let’s be real.

Bowls are how we stay classy. Additional herbs, spices & lime zest are how we make life fancy.

It’s also how we make popcorn even MORE addictive!

my everyday life, Photography, Uncategorized

June 23, 2012

My Everyday Life: Week 25

Here’s what this past week looked like:

BUCKET LIST ITEM # 2 Paint toes a girly color. CHECK.

Uncategorized

June 22, 2012

I love lists, Friday!

The Power of Introverts. I relate to this SO MUCH.
This Arugula Orzo Salad has my name ALL OVER IT.
A DINOSAUR PLANTER. Omg. SO CUTE.
Kelly Rae nails it on this post about watching your baby grow.
The coolest way to grow salad.
Slutty Brownies. Nuff said.
Megan makes me want to dip dye EVERYTHING.
Getting locked in the closet. Oh & polenta too!
Speaking of closets, this website is pretty cool.
Hey girl…can you hand me a dishtowel?!
101 Useful Websites. BOOKMARK THIS.
Can’t wait to get my hands on this book.
I AM SO PROUD OF MY FRIEND MEGAN! Go buy her granola. It’s amazing.
I wanna make one of these bracelets but in silver.
Mad Men Grimaces Grins & Reaction Shots. OMG HAHAA.

On the Joy the Baker Podcast, we talk ASTROLOGY, Flirting & Typos. I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard in years! Go check out Episode #54 WHAT’S YOUR SIGN?

This week on High Straightenence I give you a little peek at the BEFORE of my office makeover. Next week it should all be done. Cross your fingers.

My Bites Around the Net

Louise from The Round Table Kitchen adapted my Corn Zucchini Lime Pizza and loved it!

Jessica from How Sweet It Is made my Baked Artichoke Squares for her party.

The Kitchn included my Peach Shortcakes in their roundup!

recipes

June 20, 2012

Boozy Frozen Peach Pops

SUMMER BUCKET LIST ITEM # 1

Make Boozy Ice Pops

STATUS: DONE

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you should listen to the Joy the Baker Podcast! Joy & I talked about our summer bucket list for 2012 a few weeks ago. To fill you in, this summer I want to paint my toes a super girly color (I’m totally a dark gothy nail polish kinda girl), have a BBQ, make/eat s’mores and make boozy ice pops. There may or may not be an impromptu laundromat dance in that bucket… I’ve got work to do!

There are a few things to note about putting booze in ice pops. It’s ALLLL about the ratio. In my internet research, I found that you need 2 cups juice to 2 oz. of alcohol. If you mess with that ratio, you’re bound to get a frozen pop that doesn’t freeze. Boozy slushies do sound kinda good though… You also have to freeze them for at least 12 hours. Booze just takes longer to freeze!

This peachy orange strawberry flavor combo was fantastic. It’s refreshing, sweet and full of good fruits. You don’t really taste a ton of booze (I think it’s the Cointreau that masks it a bit) but there is something a little “adult” about it. You’ll see.

If you’re looking for a more Boozy Susan experience, serve your frozen peach pops with ANOTHER cocktail. Dip it in there! You could also take the sticks out and blend up the pops with more booze in a blender. Consider this recipe a gateway drug to more boozy frozen pops this summer.

We’ve got your number, SUMMER!

recipes

June 18, 2012

Peach Shortcakes

When you hear the word shortcake, you immediately think strawberry, right?

Get over it! Peach shortcakes are the way to go! I mean…strawberry shortcakes are absolutely delightful but PEACH shortcakes are so unexpected. When you’re baking to impress, unexpected is the way to go!

This is the dessert I made for Father’s Day yesterday and for the 5-10 minutes it took for my family to eat this dessert, I heard nothing but silence. Silence is a good sign. Silence means that everyone is too busy enjoying what they’re eating to carry on a conversation.

If you’re a person who likes quiet (ahem, ME), this is the dessert you make when all you want is 5-10 minutes of peace. The best part is that you’re eating something good in that time. Buttery shortcakes are topped with orange spiked peaches, creamy ice cream and finished with little sprigs of MINT. Uh huh.

Silence is golden. So are peaches. Get on it.