Friday Fun!

I didn’t get a chance to do a post yesterday. I wanted to join in with Heather for Bookclub Friday and post a cocktail of the week – it didn’t happen.  I’m headed out in half an hour for a little shopping with my ‘Bestie’ :-) So I thought I’d try to do a quick post before I go.

( this was us at the Rodeo last night! more about that in the next post!)

Last weekend we didn’t try a cocktail (we’re both trying to watch our calories!) so I picked up a new bottle of wine to try. . . an organic Chardonnay.

Don’t you just love reading the labels of wine to see what kind of tastes you’re ‘supposed’ to experience when you drink it?!

This one was ‘filled’ with flavors of green apple, pear, citrus and hints of French and American oak! Could I taste all that? Of course not, but it was a nice glass of wine ;-)

This was us last weekend hanging out in Cheryl’s back yard (that’s not me sitting down, I’m taking the picture!) It’s still so hot during the day, but the evenings are warm and nice to sit out in, so long as you have your bug spray handy!

Not sure if we’re mixing up a cocktail tonight, but we did try one earlier this week (very low in calories) so I’ll share that one next time.

The boutiques are calling my name. . . . have a great Saturday!

Friday Fun, Cocktails & Books

Yay, it’s Friday :-)  Even when we’re off school and every day feels like the weekend, I still love Fridays! It means hubby will be home with us for two lovely days AND I get to hang out with my girlfriend too because she’s not working for two whole days ;-) And we usually try a new cocktail (or make up one of our favorites!

Last weekend I tried another of Val’s cocktails. The one she featured on her blog was a Lemon Drop Martini.

CHEERS!

Hmmm, I thought I would love it cos I love lemons, and anything ‘tart’, but both Cheryl and I agreed it wasn’t really to our liking. SO, I mixed up another ‘Ice Blue, which I really DO like (you can get the recipe here at Val’s Blog)

This week, I’m not sure if we’ll be trying a cocktail or just having wine. The trouble with cocktails is they can be very high in calories (and carbs) whereas a glass of wine is only about 100 cals.  Although I’m still tempted to mix up just one to try and then have a couple of glasses of wine the rest of the night – what would you do?  ;-)

Last night at book club our host greeted us with leis and served us a Mai Tai as we arrived! The book we had read was The Aloha Quilt so of course she was going with an Hawaiian theme.  The Mai Tai was DELICIOUS, so I’m wondering if I should make that tonight. Val says she has a great one to share this week, but it’s not up on her blog yet! I’ll have to check what the ingredients are for a Mai Tai and get what we need. Slowly but surely I’m stocking my ‘cocktail cabinet’ so I might not need much for it.

Speaking of books, I thought I would join in with the lovely Heather this week, over at Blonde . . . Undercover Blonde, for her

As I mentioned we just finished reading The Aloha Quilt for book club, but I’m not going to talk about that one, (honestly it wasn’t that good a read! imo) I’m going to talk about this one that I’m currently reading on my own (meaning it’s not a book club pick)

Who Is My Shelter by Neta Jackson – this is the 4th book in the ‘House of Hope’ Series. I first read Neta Jackson’s novels in her Yada Yada Prayer Group Series (loved those too) and some of the characters spill over in to this new series.

Here’s the description: Gabby Fairbanks is now settled in her new apartment at the House of Hope. But she is being pulled in several directions at once and has some hard decisions to make. Philip, her estranged husband, is in a lot of trouble with a rogue cop from whom he borrowed money and also with his partner at the commercial development firm after he takes company money to cover his gambling losses. Lee Boyer, the Legal Aid lawyer who has become a friend to Gabby, now wants to be more. Gabby must decide whether to give Philip another chance, as their sons, Paul and PJ, hope, and she turns to the folks at Manna House, where she works, and the Yada Yada Prayer Group to help her discern God’s plan for her.

I don’t know why I love these books so much, but I do! They’re an easy read, and you seem to get to know the characters really quickly. Some books take a few chapters to really get in to, but I find with this series (and the Yada Yada ones) I’m sucked in after just a few pages. I’m only half way through this one but am enjoying it as much as the other 3. I’ll be sad to come to the end of it as it seems to be the last in the series. But I was happy to read on Neta’s website that she’s working on a new series called ‘SouledOut Sister’s, again, using some of the characters from her previous books, and bringing in some new ‘annoying’ ones (as she puts it) too :-)

Ok, before this post gets waaaaaaay tooooooo loooooooong, I’ll jump off here and go clean house ready for the weekend!

Cocktail of the Week!

We have a great new cocktail to share with you this week . . . and when I say ‘we’ I mean me and my BFF Cheryl :-)

It was Cheryl that found this one (recommended by a friend) and she made it for me to try just after Christmas. We had one on New Years Eve too . . . I give you

Key Lime Pie Martini!

I was waiting for Cheryl to send me the picture of ours she took, but she’s had a super busy week, so I grabbed this one off the web! I don’t know the full recipe to this (I’ll get it later from Cheryl) but we actually tried it a few ways, one combo being equal parts of Ke Ke Beach Key Lime Liqueur, vanilla vodka and 1/2 + 1/2 cream. What made this cocktail ‘over the top’ good (imo) was the graham cracker crust around the edge! Cheryl dipped our glasses in key lime juice then in to crushed crumbs. As you went to take your first sip, oh my gosh the smell of the lime and graham crackers really made you feel like you were just about to take a bite of Key Lime Pie – it was AMAZINGLY GOOD!

Here’s a recipe I found online if you’d like to try it this weekend. I’ve never heard of Ke Ke Beach Key Lime Cream Liqueur, but you should be able to find it easily at your local liquor store. Give it a try this weekend – such a fun drink. I think we’ll be having another tonight ;-)

Happy Weekend.

Denise