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! 

Currently Loving: Marble

I survived school, hallelujah!

On that note, I'm now on the job hunt which is not going too well unfortunately. Your options are a little limited when you don't have a car. Oh well, hopefully I'll find something soon. 

But the good news is, I got some new dividers for my Carpe Diem planner (which is not in use yet because I don't have inserts for it yet). They are from Minted Sugar on Etsy and they are just truly fabulous. Excuse the awful lighting, I'll try to take better pictures in the future, I just couldn't wait to share! 

I've fallen in love with everything marble lately, especially marble + gold. It's just so clean and chic. It's like all of a sudden I want everything marble. I mean, how can you not?! Look at these gold dipped marble coasters: 

I waaaaant. They would look so good against my black table (that's my justification for buying them if I do, not that I need one). 

Anyway, I'm going to put you in the marble mood as well. I'm sorry or you're welcome (your pick). 

1. Fioforma 2. Balmain 3. Topshop 4. Senso 5. Charlotte Olympia 6. Balenciaga

1. Kamilah Willacy 2. Soo Ihn Kim 3. Christian Paul 4. Balenciaga  5. French Connection  6. Shadow Play

1. Nordstjerne 2. Art Club Concept 3. Nineteenseventythree 4. Houseology 5. Artemest 6. Juliska

Isn't it all so lovely? I especially love all of the dark marble. I haven't yet perfected--or even attempted--marble nails but I think that might be a summer project I'll have to work on. I'm sure many of you fashionistas have tried this. How hard is it, really? Be honest with me! 

Do you swoon over marble as much as I do? What are you currently loving? 

  

Review: Lush Pumice Power

I may have mentioned it before, but I'll mention it again: I hate feet, including mine. With that hatred comes neglect. My feet have some unfortunate dry spots and my toenails go unpolished 99% of the time, but I'm working on changing that, starting with this past weekend's purchase.

I took a trip to Lush and bought their Pumice Power, with the main ingredients being pumice powder, coconut oil, and organic sweet orange oil. It smells exactly like fresh oranges, and it is heavenly.

It's teardrop shaped, or maybe it looks like a giant orange seed. Either way, it fits into the palm of your hand. In the shower, I exfoliated my feet with firm, circular motions with this little guy. It was torture because my feet are so ticklish.

If you've ever had your feet stained orange from wearing Rainbow brand flip flops in the rain, that's what my feet looked like during this process. No fear though, it washed right off when I rinsed.

I had to use a bit more force on the drier parts of my feet (the sides of my heels), but when I got out of the shower I was pleasantly surprised. My feet were super soft! I even let John touch my feet, which NEVER happens. I wanted to let him feel how soft they were, and he agreed! The sides of my heels still felt like they needed a tiny bit more work, but there was still noticeable improvement. Like if I had endured the tickling for a few more seconds, I would have been fine. Besides that, my feet were so soft.

I've used it on my elbows and other spots that get dry too, so you obviously don't have to reserve it just for your feetsies. If you want to use it as a full body scrub, I wouldn't recommend using it every day because it is quite abrasive.

Would I repurchase?: Yes! The smell is wonderful and it leaves my feet feeling like a baby's bottom (I hate that phrase, but it's pretty accurate). It requires a little extra elbow grease if you have some extra troubled spots, though.



What products do you use to pamper your feet?

Sherry London Evening Dresses

Sherrylondon.co.uk is an online store that offers a rainbow of custom made bridesmaid dresses, prom dresses, cocktail dresses, and evening dresses. I browsed the website for a bit, and I am positive that whatever your shape and whatever occasion you are shopping for, Sherry London is sure to have something for you.

There are some special features that the website offers, too. You all know how much I love customization. For example, let’s say I found this beautiful floor length lace dress that I adore, but I want it in dark navy (because you all also know how much I love my dark colors). 

The designers on the website will customize the dress for you in almost whatever color you want. There are even color charts for your convenience so you can see the different colors and what they will look like on certain fabrics.

You have the option to pick a size, or for an extra fee you can enter your custom measurements and have them customize it even more for you. Again, you all know I’m all about customization. The options seem endless once you see all of the beautiful dresses they have available, but the options are infinite once you start thinking about all of the color options for those dresses.   

If you have a prom, special occasion, or black tie event that you haven’t found the perfect dress for yet, I recommend taking a look at sherrylondon.co.uk.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. 

Currently Loving: Round Sunglasses

I've mentioned it before, but I just adore the 1970's as a fashion era. The patchwork skirts, the bold-patterned everything, scarves, suede, bell bottoms, fringe bags, bell sleeves, mini skirts and dresses...I could go on. But one of my all time favorite trends of the 70's that has made its way back around is round sunglasses.

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Aren't they just lovely?! I'm lusting after that pair in the first picture, I just love the frames. It's odd because when I was younger, I used to despise large, round sunglasses. Now they are probably my favorite type! 

1. Linda Farrow 2. Matthew Williamson 3. Victoria Beckham 4. Linda Farrow 5. Linda Farrow 6. Mykita    

1. Prada 2. Fada 3. 3.1 Phillip Lim 4. Ray-Ban 5. Karen Walker 6. 3.1 Phillip Lim  

1. Hot Topic 2. zeroUV 3. Forever21 4. Zaful 5. Emblem Eyewear 6. Popmap

And finally, these are my two pride and joys. Well, one pair is John's because he too, loves round sunglasses. I think he likes them because they make him look like a mad scientist, haha. Whatever the reason, I'm all for it because I get to borrow his sunglasses! 

His are the pair with the octagon frames from Urban Outfitters, and mine are the plain black ones from Versona. With the weather warming up, I will be on the hunt for some new ones this spring. I'm going to try to venture out of my "just black" comfort zone this time. 

What's your favorite silhouette for sunglasses? 

I'm Designing a Website! (Kind of)

I'm designing a website! Well...kind of...not really. It's my boyfriend's website and he's put me in charge of the whole design and set up process. I had forgotten how much of a process it is starting from the ground up since all I do is make tweaks to mine when I need to.

He also wants me to design him a logo. I know nothing about logo making and I have not studied a damn thing about graphic design other than some reading on the internet and some things that I've pinned on Pinterest. I don't think I'm qualified for the job but I'm flattered that he thinks I am. (I don't know if he actually thinks I am or if I'm his only option, hehe).

If I've learned anything throughout this experience, it's that designing websites/graphic design isn't something that I want to do with my life. Funny though, because when I was graduating high school it was a path I was considering. Glad I didn't follow through with that!

Anyway, the process has somehow inspired me to do some revamping of my own. I found this article, titled "How to Make Your Blogger Blog Not Look Like A, Um, Blogger Blog" and even though some of the tips are subtle, they do make a difference! I didn't realize getting rid of the Blogger navbar at the top of my page would make such a difference, but it did!

So, hats of to all of you website and graphic designers. I don't see how you put up with the demanding clients constantly changing their minds and acting like you have nothing else to do in your life *glares at boyfriend*. It's fine though, I'm happy to be part of his website!

Update: Here is the finished product! Infrareality.com

What subtle (or not so subtle) tips do you have for revamping or freshening up your blog?