Summer Sangria

This past weekend, J and I attended a Surprise Birthday Party (which also turned out to be a surprise engagement party!) for one of our friends. Her now fiancé planned the whole thing & provided the basics and asked that everyone who came bring something for the party. 

Instead of going the typical chips & dip or potato salad route I decided to make Sangria! And it was a huge hit!

This drink totally screams summer to me! An outdoor BBQ wouldn't be complete without a super refreshing, ice cold drink like this. I ended up throwing a ladle into the top at one point during the party and people started munching on those watermelon cubes like hot cakes but I will warn you, the fruit and the drink itself and be quite dangerous if you're not careful. ;-) 

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Cherry Lime Watermelon Sangria

Recipe from here (with a few changes)

Prep Time: 10 min || Cook Time: 4 hours || Makes about 2.5 gallons

• 6 cups of watermelon
• 4 cups of bing cherries
• 6 limes, sliced
• 2 750ml bottles of white wine (Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay work best)
• 1 1/2 cup white rum (we used Bacardi)
• 2 liters of lemon-lime soda (we used Sprite Zero)

Cut up fruit and place in large pitcher or drink dispenser. Carefully pour the wine and rum over the top. Cover and place in the fridge for 4-5 hours. Add the soda right before you're ready to start drinking. Pour over ice and enjoy!

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This drink will most likely be my go-to summer drink for the rest of the season!

Homeowners: Bits of Color

Having an awesome backyard space is something that's a huge priority for J and I. Between enjoying dinners on the patio together, having a space for our O-dog to play, and hosting lots of get togethers with friends and yard games we can't wait to get our yard in tip-top shape. 

When we moved in the yard was in rough shape, not quite as bad as our first yard, but it still needed a lot of work. The former owners knew they were selling so they spent little time with anything yard related, even watering unfortunately. I spent a whole day pulling weeds and wild-grass (something that we'll always have to deal with since we back to a green belt) and we're still working to get the grass back to life. Lots of water and some new seed should definitely help in that area. 

But we have been making lots of progress in the yard already and I can't wait to share! We've spent a ton of time getting our planter boxes filled with gorgeous perennials and have made some progress with shrubs around the edges of the yard as well. We wandered around the nursery for quite some time picking out items that we love, things that will fill out in years to come and I can't wait to see them grow!

J named our smokebush Smokey Robinson, such a silly husband I have.

Here's a list of what's in our yard so far!

Double Play Gold Spirea :: Gaillardia // Celosia // White Sage // Coneflower :: Aurora Deep Purple Delphinium // Purple Picotee Dianthus :: Royal Purple Smokebush :: Blue Mist Bluebird :: Rabbitbrush

Now if only we could get our patio furniture and fire pit from the movers. It seems as though the moving truck took a detour to Alaska before delivering our stuff so it could be a while still. Oy vey!

Homeowners: We've Moved

It has been quite the stressful, busy, hectic, and yet amazing last week or so as we finished preparing for our big move, made the drive to CO and are finally in our new home. We have yet to get all our belongings delivered by the moving company and are anticipating their arrival on pins and needles but we are thankful to be in the new home even if it is a little off still. 

Here's a glimpse into the adventure so far....

 the sweet pup finally starting to adjust after being pretty out or sorts // generous spare items from family to make things a bit more workable around here

porch lights that signal we're home to the neighbors // delicious homemade & warm treats from next door

 the dying front tree that we're fighting for // the back tree that doesn't quite know where to grow leaves from

 air mattress beds and bits of home in the form of dog toys // a master bathroom with super high countertops that I love

cozy house pants that bring a bit of life inside // a front porch on a cul-de-sac to display more gorgeous blooms

lavender waiting to go in the ground // empty planters waiting for a garden

this view from our upstairs, I seriously can't get enough

Now let's just hope that our stuff arrives sooner rather than later so we can have more clothes, furniture and a full kitchen again. Until then we're making due with what we have, relying on the generosity of our friends and family and loving our new life back in our home state. 

2011 In Review

2011 has been one of those years that I will remember for the rest of my life. I am so happy I decided to do this post because it made me look back at all the pictures, stories and memories I've created in the past year and how special each and every moment was. 

So take a look back with me....

+ Our after-Christmas/New Years vacation to Waikiki on Oahu, HI. I feel so blessed to be able to go to such a beautiful place with someone I love so much. 

 + I celebrated my 22nd birthday (the 4th one celebrated with J) and was spoiled rotten! 

 + Our poor Ollie got horrible blisters on his feet but did so well as they healed and

+ We spent far too long without furniture waiting for the new stuff to arrive

 + J's birthday was spent with friends from out of town, lots of margaritas and days spent relaxing by the pool. 

 + We graduated! It was a long four years with lots of stress, studying, and wondering when it was going to end but I finished my bachelors degree and J finished his masters. 

 + We spent lots of time taking our pup swimming in the ocean. He loves it so much it's hard to get him out. 

+ J and I celebrated our 4 year dating anniversary! I cannot believe how quickly the time has past and how many amazing memories we've created together. I love that man!

 + We got to spend some time back in CO this summer to celebrate the wedding of two of our great friends. While the drive from SD to CO is never fun we wouldn't miss trips like this for anything.

 + After a lot of stressful paperwork, specific deadlines and lots of finger crossing we finally bought and moved into our first house! We have loved being able to do whatever we wanted in the new house and there's nothing quite like home. 

 + We've done lots of work since we moved but it is all so worth it. A yard for our pup to play in and a guest room to host family and friends.

+ Now that we have this amazing new house we decided to host Thanksgiving for my mom and sister. Our turkey was a big success, I made homemade gravy for the first time ever and we spent some time at the beach. Noting says Thanksgiving like the sun and the sand!

+ The holidays are definitely my favorite time of the year and I was so excited to finally be able to decorate outside as well as inside wherever and however I wanted. I can't wait to make holiday traditions in our new home. 

+ And last but definitely far from least.... J and I got engaged on Christmas Day 2011. I promise that I will do a post soon specific to the details about this but lets just say I have never been happier in my whole entire life. I cannot wait to start planning this wedding and continue to grow our lives together!

Thanks 2011.... 

for an amazing, spectacular, whirlwind year that I'll never forget. 

Homeowners: The Backyard of Doom

One of the huge reasons we wanted to buy a house was to have a backyard of our own. So we could enjoy evening drinks with friends around a patio table and let Ollie run in his own space and have a grill we didn't have to share with 50 other people in the apartment complex and so I could plant herbs and hibiscus and whatever I felt like in the garden.

When we moved into this house we knew it was going to be a lot of work back there. The house had been a foreclosure and was therefore vacant for over a year which meant that no one was taking care of the yard. Add that to the fact that they had random cages (we think for animals of some sort) and covered structures throughout the yard and we were faced with quite a challenge.

Step 1: 

*Remove all the random structures. 

(evidence can be seen along the wall behind J)

*Pull out all the dead plants in the planter. 

*Demolish the oddly placed piece of cement in the side-yard 

(which turned out to be a bigger project than we imagined)

*Attempt to remove all the stickers/weeds in the lawn 

(so Ollie wouldn't come in covered in them, but clearly he wasn't in the actual lawn much)

Step 2: 

*Kill off all the dead grass/weeds/etc etc in the lawn

*Rototill the yard so it wasn't as hard as brick 

(rented a truck from Home Depot and two rototillers because our ground sucked that much)

*Lay down 20+ bags of topsoil, that happens to smell like manure 

(J's clothes had to be washed multiple times to get the smell out) 

*Attempt to put in a sprinkler system 

(but realize we don't have enough water pressure for one after all the digging was finished)

*Scrap said sprinklers and fill in the holes

*Spread more top soil and fertilizer

*Lay sod

Step 3: 

*Admire the changes because they are so great!

 *Water sod excessively with our sprayers attached to the hose

*Start to plan out what to plant around the edge of the yard

*Put in red bark along the edge of the patio 

(because the spot was too skinny for grass and Ollie needs a "restroom")

*Buy a patio table to finish the yard off

*Continue to water the new sod

*Dream about all the evenings we'll spend in our new space

We cannot believe how much hard work it took to fix the yard but we are so happy with the results. Now it's time for entertaining of friends and family back there. But for now I'm off to water the sod ;-)