Alcoholic (Non-Liquor) Drinks for Summer

Liquor and I seem to not be getting along too well lately. It's so unfortunate too, because I love it so much. I can't tell if it's the liquor, or the switching between non-liquor drinks (beer/wine) and liquor drinks that gets me in trouble.

Either way, I'm taking a bit of a break from liquor drinks for a while. I've been sticking to beer for the most part, even though I admittedly did take a few shots when I was out with my friends the other night and I was fine. 

Beer gets boring after a while, and I fear the dreaded beer belly especially with summer just beginning. I'm now on the hunt for some super delicious but still alcoholic drinks, just sans liquor. 

1. Strawberry Pineapple Mimosa

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Ingredients: 

- 1 1/2 cups orange juice 

- 1 1/2 cups pineapple juice 

- 1 bottle sparkling white wine, chilled 

- 1/2 cup strawberries, thinly sliced 

Instructions: 

- Mix orange juice and pineapple juice in a pitcher.  

- Pour mixture into champagne flutes until half full. Fill the rest with white wine. 

- Garnish with strawberries. 

- Serve immediately. 

2. Peach Bellinis 

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Ingredients: 

- 1 part peach puree or peach nectar 

- 2 parts Prosecco 

Instructions: 

- Place pureed peaches or peach nectar in a champagne flute.  

- Carefully pour in Prosecco, wait for bubbles to go down, continue to pour, and stir. 

- Serve immediately. 

3. Strawberry Rose Wine Mojito

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Ingredients: 

- 2 lime wedges

- 1 large or 2 small strawberries, diced 

- 6 fresh mint leaves

- 1 teaspoon agave 

- 1/2 cup chilled rosé

- 1/4 cup chilled club soda 

- Ice 

Instructions: 

- Combine the lime, strawberries, mint, and agave in a glass and muddle gently with a spoon. 

- Add the wine, club soda and ice. 

- Stir and serve. 

4. Year-Round Summer Shandy 

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Ingredients: 

- 1 part wheat or other light beer

- 1 part lemonade 

- Splash of ginger ale for extra fizz (optional) 

Instructions: 

- Mix beer, lemonade, and ginger ale in a glass. 

- Stir and enjoy! 

5.  Port of Havana 

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Ingredients: 

- 3 oz. white port 

- 0.75 oz. lime juice

- 0.5 oz. vanilla syrup

- 1 dash Angostura Bitters 

- 1 dash Bittermens Hopped Grapefruit Bitters 

- Ice 

- Lime wheels for garnishing 

Instructions: 

- Mix all ingredients together (except lime wheels) in a cocktail shaker until chilled. 

- Strain into a coupe glass. 

- Garnish with a lime wheel if desired.  

Hopefully these 5 cocktails will give you a little inspiration for the summer. Of course, you can always modify them if you'd like. 

It's always nice to have a break from your typical glass of wine or bottle of beer, especially if you're on a liquor strike like I am. 

What's your favorite summer drink right now? I'm really feeling the Bellini love myself! 

Tea Review: Acerola Fruit Tea

As I mentioned before, I'm trying to drink more healthy teas. I've had 2 experiences so far.

First, I tried a green tea latte from Starbucks. Since it's Starbucks, I can't be sure how healthy that is for you, especially since it was a latte also and not just green tea. And it tasted horrible. It was green and it tasted like grass and milk to me. I do not recommend.

I have an extremely scratchy throat right now and I thought some hot tea would feel nice. Then I remembered I had a few packs left over from Eco Emi samples. I decided to try one, specifically the Acerola Fruit tea.

First of all, I don't have any fancy tea making supplies so I had no idea how to make it since it was a loose tea (it came with little bags but I have no idea where they went). So I improvised but it worked out just fine. Once it was done brewing, it was a dark red-purple color and I could tell it smelled like fruit. I did have to sweeten it a tiny bit, but not much. I could see myself drinking this on a regular basis and not having to force myself to drink it. It has kind of a sweet and sour flavor. My fruit allergy also did not act up while drinking it.

Now, let's get down to what's in it:

"Tart hibiscus joined by the cherry-like Acerola fruit. This sweet sour flavor is enhanced by candied pineapple and papaya pieces"

It definitely has a noticeable cherry like flavor, and the candied pineapple and papaya pieces gave it its slight sweetness. I also had never heard of the Acerola fruit, so I did some research.

The Acerola fruit contains very large amounts of vitamin C, so it's good for the immune system (and my current cold). It promotes anti-aging effects by reducing the influence of free-radicals, and promotes collagen production for beautiful skin. It is also said that they can fight the symptoms of colds, flu, herpes, allergies, cancer, liver disorders, and many other sicknesses.

Do I recommend this tea?: Yes! I didn't have to force myself to drink it, and it's definitely made my throat feel better. The benefits of the Acerola fruit also sound very promising.

Where to buy it: As far as I know the only place that sells the specific tea I drank is Tea Gschwendner. I'm sure other tea companies have similar versions using the Acerola fruit though!

Have you ever tried this tea, or anything else using the Acerola fruit? Leave me a tea recommendation below so I can review some more if you want!

Do You Drink Healthy Teas?

I'd love to drink less soda and more water/green tea/what have you. I'm sure you've all heard the benefits of green tea, so I probably don't need to go into that. But here's a brief summary:

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As I've mentioned before, I used to be a subscriber to Eco Emi. Used to. I'm working a lot less now than I was in the summer because it is our slow season, but I plan to re-subscribe when I start getting more hours in. Either that or buy a gym membership, I haven't decided which yet.

Anyway, there are 2 things I can almost always expect in every box: lip balm and a tea of some sort. A healthy tea at that since it is Eco Emi.

I live in the south, so I grew up on sweet tea, VERY sweet tea. I've tried a few of the teas, I don't remember specifically which ones, and I could not drink them. I remember one was chamomile. I tried so hard to like it but I couldn't finish it.

I'm trying to get into drinking healthy herbal teas because I have pretty bad anxiety, and my mom does not think it's a good idea for me to go on medication, and some teas have been found to help with stress and anxiety.

Basically I'm curious to know: Do any of your drink "healthy" teas? As in, teas with actual health benefits? Can you stand to drink green tea? Do you sweeten them? Are they an acquired taste? Or is it a mind over matter thing? I need to know I'm not the only one here. I'm used to my super sweetened tea and that nastiness just isn't cutting it for me at the moment.

Lovely Links

I'm finally jumping on the link roundup bandwagon. Here are some cool/interesting/odd/funny/etc. articles I've found this week!

The Huffington Post presents, bizarre alcohol combinations! Most sound pretty freaking weird, but the Skittle infused vodka sounds pretty interesting.

Ew, 10 icky facts about bedbugs from Refinery29. I never knew they were so widespread!

Senior pictures are coming up (for those of us still in high school), and Beautylish provides great tips on how to look good in HD

Something I'm still trying to master, Keiko Lynn has a great tutorial for winged liner!

From All Women Stalk, 9 bags to style up you LBD. The last 4 on the list are my FAVORITES. So pretty!

Also from All Women Stalk, 8 Great Summer Diet Snacks. My favorite is lemon ice, my friend and I used to make it all the time using Crystal Lite!

Just in case anybody else is having a Shark Week party (and by party I mean my boyfriend is coming over to do shark activities with me when he gets back from Florida), here are some shark cupcake ideas, a shark bowl party drink recipe, and a shark fin ice tray to keep those drinks cold!

Have you ever eaten sea urchin? Seems pretty odd to me.

These 8 makeup tips you haven't heard before, are actually ones I haven't heard before! The deodorant trick sounds pretty interesting!

Nothing is worse than when your boobies hurt! Find out possible habits that could be making them hurt!

Well that's it for this week. I hope you all have a great weekend! Also don't forget to let me know if you've ever eaten sea urchin, because I'm quite intrigued. Also don't forget to enter my giveaway :)

Color Inspiration: Pink & Green

Time for another color inspiration :) I'm feeling pretty bright and happy today, so I thought pink and green would be appropriate. Enjoy!

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Hope this made your day a little brighter! The travel giveaway ends in 5 days, so enter while you still can!