Wine & Dine Wednesday

Today, we will talk Mojitos.

Full of flavor and refreshing with all the mint that goes into these. And that makes it the perfect summer drink!

Here is my version:

Mint leaves (I used about 10-14 leaves)
Juice of 1 Lime
1 oz. Mint infused Simple Syrup
2 oz. Light Rum
1oz. Club Soda

The day before I made the drink I made the Mint infused simple syrup:
Add 2 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar to a pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add approx. 20-30 leaves of mint. Let sit till cool. Remove the mint leaves with a spoon. Pour syrup into a glass container and put in the refrigerator till cold or ready to use.  Just a little side note: most simple syrup recipes are equal parts sugar and water, but to me, my version was plenty sweet for this drink.

To make the drink:
Add mint, juice of lime and syrup to a bowl and mash with the back side of a spoon. You could muddle this but I do not have one. I also cut some of the mint leaves to release some of the juices from the leaves. Remove mint leaves with spoon or strain mixture.
Put ice in a glass, add rum, pour syrup mixture over rum and top with club soda and a mint leaf.

Enjoy!

Wine & Dine Wednesday

The heat is here!

 Warmer days are here to stay and while I love a good wine this southern girl also loves a glass of sweet iced tea! And what better way to enjoy the summer than sitting on the deck sipping on a cold glass of tea with mint.

Many many many years ago while in Las Vegas I realized that not everywhere makes tea the way we do here in the south.

So for those of you who have never been to the south or don't know how to make sweet iced tea....here is how I do it! (I know this isn't life changing but I'm sharing anyway!)

First, I begin by filling a pot with water and add 2 tea bags, bring to a boil. In the meantime, add one cup of sugar to a gallon pitcher.

Let cool slightly. Then remove tea bags and pour tea into pitcher (make sure it is still warm enough to dissolve the sugar). Stir to dissolve sugar and then add enough water to fill the pitcher then stir again. Or you can make a double batch on the stove and not add any water but this will make your tea really strong, which is still really good by the way. But, I usually go the first route and add water to my pitcher. You can also add more or less sugar depending on your taste.

Pour your tea over ice and add in washed mint leaves for a mint flavor. Of course you can leave the mint out if you like. Or you may add a lemon wedge if you prefer.

So glad summer is here!!

Lamp Re-do & Big Boy Room

 

When trying to get our oldest son's room a new grown up  fresh look I changed up most items in his room except this lamp. It sat there so plain and well blue. It needed something and so without really thinking alot into it, I gathered some fabric glue, burlap and twine.

 



 

I brushed fabric glue over then shade then covered it in burlap. I cut off the excess and then added a twine trim around the top  and bottom of the shade.

Viola! A new look in no time!

After looking at this for over a month now I think I may paint the base red........

Here is what the big boy bedroom looks like

 

 

There is a large dresser with mirror on the wall on the far left of the photo(that you cannot see).

 

The DIY Wall Art  can be found here.

The DIYCurtain Panels can be found here.

The bedding is from Pottery Barn Kids.

The red desk is a DIY that my husband completed a while ago.

The DIY Pencil Holders on the desk.

 

What do you think?

 

Linking up to Liz Marie Blog.