HOLIDAYS

I have been the worst blogger lately; going to blame it on the craziness of the holidays. Anyways, going to do a little mash up on live lately:

Nick and I saw some beautiful lights at the Idaho Botanical Gardens.

It was a little chilly but fortunately we had a great work party to warm up at after!

This year I decorated presents in chalkboard style. It was very easy and worked really well! I found teacher's craft paper at a local store and bought about 7 feet of it for less than $5 (talk about a deal and it heavy weight so no need to worry about it ripping!). Then all I did was right on in with regular chalk. Actually, the hardest part of this project was tracking down the bakers twine. Finally found some online at Lima Beads for a great price.

I just loved our front door this year! We have always wanted to use real garland around the door and this year I founds some at Home Depot for a crazy end of season deal!

Potterybarn inspired me to add pinecones to these outdoor lanterns and I thought they were so festive and cozy!

My family hosted a fun filled holiday party the weekend before new years and these were the goodies that we gave to all of our guests. They are crock pot peanuts and chocolate that my dad found on Food Network. I was grateful that I don't like the combo because we made a massive batch!

As gifts for some of my friends this year I made some infused vodka. The flavors I end up making were peppermint and cranberry. I heard the peppermint turned out great and hope that the cranberry ended up  being flavorful!

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

Happy Holiday

Hanging at the tiki hut with my main squeeze.

Loved this drink even if it didn't turn out as great as I anticipated. Supposed to be more separated colors but still a cute concept! I found the idea via pinterest (on this blog: http://www.inkatrinaskitchen.com/2012/06/july-4th-layered-drinks.html) and will share it with you too!

Festive 4th Drink:

Cran-Apple Juice
SOBE Pina Colada Drink
G2 Gatorade

Slowly add each drink to together starting with red, then white, and then blue. Poor SLOW to reduce the chance of each drink mixing. This separate occurs because each component of the drink has a different sugar content...so cool!

I loved this drink as is...but for a little kick of fun I added some Bacardi rum. It didn't look as pretty but tasted great. Everyone at the tiki had a great time :) Love the 4th!!

Tiki Times

Had the best time at my boyfriend's parents house this weekend and just have to share! They just built this sweet huge pond with a tiki-hut and all sorts of great surprises! We had a great evening of lounging on the beach, playing a little rusty volleyball, rope swinging into the water, and for some ramp jumping bikes into the pond. It's the epitome of summer fun. Can't wait to spend many more summer nights out there listening to Old Alabama :))

Wine Tasting

This last weekend was my wine tasting party in Sunny Slope, ID. It was absolutely spectacular! This photo is from my favorite of all the wineries. Hells Canyon had fabulous wine and owners. By far the most relaxing and peaceful environment.

We drank to flight of wine looking at this gorgeous view! So in love with this area!

Another of the wineries we visited was the Huston Vineyards. So cute and great friendly family operation.

Our final destination was the Fujishin Family Cellars. This is where I found my favorite wine! Lost West Winery label the Old Shed Red. Just sweet enough for a new wine-o to enjoy :)) My highest recommendations! Such a wonderful adventure with the closest of friends on a beautiful day!

Birthday Bash

I super excited for my 22nd birthday! Recently I went out to an event in the beautiful Snake River wine country of Idaho and fell in love. So much so, that I decided to have a wine tasting event for my birthday this year! Can't wait to spend time sampling wines with all of my favorite people! Here is the invite I'm sending out that I got at a cute local stationary store called Paisley Roberts...love it!