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Smirnoff Sorbet Light Cocktails for Memorial Day and Beyond

May 22, 2013 by 10 Comments

This is a sponsored post by Smirnoff Sorbet Light.  All reviews/opinions expressed in this post are unbiased and based on my personal view.  And yes I did want my title to sound like Buzz Lightyear was saying it.

cocktail ideas for memorial day and summer barbecuesMemorial Day is this weekend!  Will you be barbecuing?  Our family, along with probably everyone else in my neighborhood, will be outside, grilling food and sipping cold drinks.  When the weather warms up, I like to try to find a new “go-to” drink.  Since this summer I will be vacationing where temperatures reach well over 100 degrees (which means I will be forced to wear a swimsuit), I need something that is delicious and refreshing but without a ton of calories or sugars.  Smirnoff sent me their new line of infused vodkas, Smirnoff Sorbet Light, to try and they are exactly what I was looking for.  They have only 78 calories per 1.5 ounce serving which makes them light so I don’t feel super guilty about having a cocktail.  The best part is they taste natural and do not have any sort of diet-y aftertaste.

memorial day barbecue ideasI love to barbecue when the weather gets warmer but the menu can get pretty boring if you aren’t careful.  It is usually just steak and corn, or at least at my house it is.  I invited a few friends over for a little lunch barbecue to try out something a little different.  My amazing friend, Amy (who used to write the most delicious food blog) put together this awesome grilled lunch to show us how we can change-up our menu.  This grilled shrimp and hearts of romaine salad was insanely good and super easy since it was paired with a store-bought cilantro dressing.  And remember shrimp grill up super fast so you won’t be stuck over the hot grill for long.  Nothing is better than sweet grilled onions, am I right?  The grilled tomato skewers are a fun take on a caprese appetizer and are sweet and juicy.  And while I have never met a loaf of bread that I didn’t like, this grilled crostini is what dreams are made of.  I will be recreating this menu on Memorial Day for sure.

mixing drinksThe Smirnoff Sorbet Light Vodkas come in three, perfect for summer flavors, Lemon, Raspberry Pomegranate and Mango Passion Fruit.

Smirnoff Sorbet Light lemon TeaI’m an iced tea lover so this black tea based cocktail had to be tried:

Smirnoff Sorbet Light Lemon Tea

1.5 oz Lemon Smirnoff Sorbet Light

3 oz Unsweetened Black Tea

.5 oz Fresh Lemon Juice

.25 oz Agave Nectar

Mix well and serve over ice.

YUM!  And totally refreshing.

summer barbecue ideasHosting a barbecue is a good time to invite friends to try something new.  Most of us get stuck in a rut and it doesn’t take much to push us out of it again.  Set out some simple recipes and ingredients and have everyone pour their own cocktails.  Chances are, they will give something new a shot.  Or maybe they’ll just have a shot.  And that is when the party gets really fun. (Please drink responsibly).

grilled dessert for memorial day and summer barbecueI’m pretty sure I have the world’s biggest sweet tooth.  If you haven’t tried grilled pound cake yet you better get on it!  Amazing!  Like Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah’s couch amazing.  And just that quick grill on the bread adds a whole new depth of flavor to a simple berries and cream dessert.  I’d like to also note that this creme fraiche had honey in it which made me want to sing love songs to it.  So simple, but SO delightful.

summer cocktails pink and orangePassion fruit is one of my favorite flavors ever so I really enjoyed the Mango Passion Fizz but the big winner was the Raspberry Lemon Punch.  Total crowd pleaser.

Smirnoff Sorbet Light Mango Passion Fizz

1.5 oz Mango Passion Fruit Smirnoff Sorbet Light

.75 oz Fresh Lemon Juice

.5 oz Agave Nectar

2 oz Club Soda

Shake up first 3 ingredients and top with Club Soda.

Smirnoff Sorbet Light Raspberry Lemon Punch

1.5 oz Raspberry Pomegranate Smirnoff Sorbet Light

4 oz Lemonade

4 raspberries muddled

Muddle 4 raspberries in a glass and add cold lemonade and Smirnoff Sorbet Light.

smirnoff sorbet light for summer barbecuesHuge thank you to Lauren and Amy for helping me out with my little lunch barbecue (Lauren did all my floral styling and Amy did all the food)  I know testing cocktails and eating delicious food can be such hard work.  Wink.  And thank you Smirnoff for introducing me to your delicious new product.  While this was a sponsored post by Smirnoff Sorbet Light all opinions are my own.

What are your favorite summer drink flavors?

Filed Under: Family Life, Food, Holidays, Party Inspiration, Recipes, Sip it Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Floppy Hats for Spring and Summer Fun

March 19, 2013 by 4 Comments

floppy hatsIn California we have a lot of sun.  But when it isn’t really warm, you sometime forget about the damage it can do.  The weather started to warm up recently and it has me noticing how much sun we are exposed to just walking to and from school.  While my skin cancer scar is healing up nicely,  it is still new skin and I’m not supposed to get sun on it.  So I’m looking to invest in some floppy hats.  Which is freaking me out.  My head, face and ears are not suited for hats.  The hats shown are certainly cute enough but please think happy thoughts that they fit and don’t make me look like a crazy lady wearing a big hat.  Well #5 is a bit Virginia Beach Spring Break but with the right outfit it could be cute.  Are you a hat person?

1 : Black Brim

2 : Peachy Stripes

3 : Woven Panama (Do you instantly think of Van Halen like I do?)

4 : Pinks and Oranges

5 : Woven with Beads

Filed Under: Family Life, Fashion, Oh you fancy huh Tagged With: , , , ,

Frozen Treats – Summer memories new and old {Giveaway}

September 6, 2012 by 6 Comments

sour patch kids popsiclesIt isn’t summer with out a Popsicle am I right?  I have vivid summer memories of playing outside in our front yard with my older sister, our little boom box blasting The Jets and trying to get through the Popsicle before it completely melted all down your arm.  But these days Popsicles rock my world for another reason.

summer popsiclesMy oldest son has multiple food allergies.  And Popsicles have proven to be the treat that makes him feel like a regular kid even outside of summer.  During soccer season, Popsicles are the treat that each family can bring during their snack time and we know the kids with food allergies can eat what everyone else gets to eat.  Same thing with kindergarten.  While they ruled out food in the classroom to make it safer for all the kids with allergies, there were a few times where they wanted to treat the kids.  Popsicle saved the day each and every time.

kids and popsiclesPopsicle recently introduced their Sour Patch Kids flavor (which happens to be a favorite candy of my kids) which my boys are enjoying in these photos.  Just like the candy, the Popsicles are sour on the outside with a sweet center.  Doesn’t that first photo have “sour” written all over it?  But I know that if this little guy ate the whole thing that it wasn’t all that sour.  In fact, I tried these the very next day and fell in LOVE with these.  Most of the regular Popsicle flavors are too sweet for me.  These have the perfect amount of tang for me.

popsicles are the perfect summer treatIt makes my heart so happy to see my kid with a cold treat.  Hopefully one day he’ll outgrow his allergies and he’ll be able to try other sweet frozen treats.  Until then, I know that as long as I have a Popsicle for him, he won’t feel left out.

As some of you may know, I’m have a wicked sweet tooth.  I am not a big ice cream eater in the sense of eating it out of a tub because they are usually so plain.  I prefer an ice cream bar of some sort.  Usually there are several flavors mixed together and some type of crunch which tickles my fancy.  So I was super excited to find out about some new treats by MAGNUM, Breyers, Good Humor, Popsicle and Klondike.

unilever ice cream brands imageIf you head over to the One2One Network’s Facebook page right now, you can enter to their daily drawings for coupons for these awesome brands and enter to win a year’s worth of frozen treats!  And I am pleased to give away five full value coupons for these five participating brands ($25 ARV).  Just leave a comment on this post and I will choose a random winner, one week from today, on Thursday, September 13, 2012.

Here are some of the yummy treats you could use your coupons for:

Breyers has introduced their “Blasts” line which mixes their high quality ice cream with your favorite snack aisle treats such as Oreos and Reeses.  Klondike has added additional flavors of their popular Choco Taco treat.  Popsicle has added delicious selections to their Yosicle line including the Duos pictured above.  MAGNUM has created mini versions of their delectable treat as well as a Mochaccino flavor that I am dying to try.  Good Humor has taken your favorite candy and made them in to ice cream bar form.  Yum.

Visit each brand’s website directly to see all the flavors they have created.

MAGNUM  .  Breyers  .  Good Humor  .  Popsicle  .  Klondike

*This is a sponsored post by One2One Network.  Product and additional incentives were provided to me.  All opinions stated are my own.

Filed Under: Family Life, Food, Food Allergies, Things I Love Tagged With: , ,

Light Cider by Michelob for your summer entertaining

August 6, 2012 by 2 Comments

Have you tried Michelob Ultra Light Ciders yet?  They are yummy, refreshing and perfect for summer entertaining.  The light apple flavor is perfect for those who don’t enjoy traditional beer and wine drinkers will surely love these too.  Seeing as how we are moving in to the hottest part of our summer, these will be my go-to drink to cool off with.

I love to share new things with my party guests and I will definitely have these on hand for my end of summer barbeques.  The best part is they are gluten-free!  I never like for my friends with special diets to feel left out.  These Light Ciders are sure to be a crowd pleaser at your next party.

Had I thought ahead, I would have picked up some apple Izze Soda for the boys and we would have had the perfect family picnic.  Instead they chose to entertain me while I tried to take some pictures.  Why yes, that is the sprinkler my oldest son is doing.  That is his signature move.

Michelob Ultra Light Cider’s can be found at your local grocery store!

*I was given Michelob Ultra Light Cider to review as well as all this summer picnic entertaining stuff from Crate and Barrel.  All opinions are mine.

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Food, Sip it Tagged With: , , ,

Jonathan Adler shares quick summer entertaining tip

July 2, 2012 by 2 Comments

 

 

 

Jonathan Adler shares summer entertaining tip  CLICK THIS LINK FOR VIDEO

 

Wait, what was that?  Was that my name at the beginning of the video?  Why, yes it was.  That’s right.  Jonathan and I are bff now.  I’m feeling a little bit like the Mrs. today.  Ok, he has no idea who I am but I still totally geeked out that he said my name in the video (nerd alert).  Check out Jonathan’s quick tips for fabulous summer entertaining brought to you by Diet Pepsi.  For more summer fun follow #dpfunfizzflair around the interweb.  So far, the rad paper straws from me previous post have been spotted in a Seattle Target but I have yet to see them here in Orange County, CA.  Keep me posted if you see them!

*This is not a compensated post.  I was sent product and the most coveted straws in all the land.  All opinions are mine.  It is no secret, I think Mr. Adler is the cat’s meow.

Filed Under: Fashion, Food, Oh you fancy huh, Party Inspiration, Party Planning, Table Tops, Things I Love, Videos Tagged With: , , , ,
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