Cantaloupe Aguas Frescas

Today it is going to reach 90 degrees in Seattle and here that is hot! Looking for foods to cool us down, I saw a very ripe cantaloupe in the refrigerator staring at me. I immediately knew that I was going to turn that guy into Aguas Frescas!

Aguas Frescas means "fresh waters" in Spanish and that is just what they are. These refreshing beverages are from seasonal fresh fruit, water and sugar. Traditionally the fruit is hand mashed and mixed with water and sugar until combined. I use a blender to make quick business of it. In this case I also made a fresh mint simple syrup to sweeten it with. Less mixing with no granulated sugar to dissolve and a little hint of mint.

This drink is best served ice cold. Refrain from adding ice as to not dilute it. I love to serve one at a summer party for those looking for alcohol free options. Of course I also think that these make a great base for tequila!! 

Cantaloupe Aquas Frescas

• 1 cantaloupe peeled, seeded and diced
• 2 quarts of water - approximately
• 1/3 cup mint simple syrup (see below)
• juice of 1 lime 

Place half of the cantaloupe and half of the water into the blender and blend until pureed. Pour into pitcher and repeat with the other half of cantaloupe. 

Add the simple syrup and lime juice and mix well

Chill until very cold!

Drink!

I love simple syrups. So easy - just sugar and water. You can add any herb or flavor to them and use them for iced tea, iced coffee, mixed drinks etc. So easy to make.

Mint Simple Syrup 

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 handful of fresh mint

Crush the mint and water together in a small saucepan to release the mint oils. Add the sugar and bring to a boil over high heat. Strain mint leaves from syrup. Remove from heat and let cool before use. Will keep for 2 weeks in the refrigerator.  

Paper Wedding Decorations

I love a good party. I need no excuse to get people together, cook up some good food and decorate. For me the ultimate party is a wedding. Really, when else in your life are you going to have all those people in one place celebrating one of the biggest decisions in your life? Whether it is big or small it can be awesome. 

I have been really busy the last couple weeks as we count down to my friend Yvonne's wedding. She is amazing. Her fiance is amazing. Her wedding is going to be the same. I have the great honor of being her wedding coordinator and helping with the decorations. I will make sure everyone shows up in the right place with the right stuff at the right time. I will make sure everything looks great. It sounds so easy but believe me there are a million moving parts. 

For the reception we are looking at tissue pom poms hanging from the ceiling over the dance floor. I could wax poetic about paper decorations for days. I love them. I find them to be very nostalgic - circa 1950's prom or wedding. When done right they are fun and happy. They add texture and smiles to everyone's faces. 

You can find paper decorations on Luna Bazaar and Devra Party Corp> I also show how to make tissue balls here. I look forward to sharing pictures from the reception. 

sparkly thank you tags

My friend June is having her 40th birthday and to celebrate is having a few friends over for snacks and drinks. I love June a lot - she is an amazing woman. And 40 is a big deal so I wanted to do something a little special and decided to put together a little thank you gift for the ladies coming over.

I decided to do a lemon sugar cookie and wrap them in a little bag with ribbon and a pretty tag - I love tags and anytime I am selling or giving goods I ask Mr. Ramon to print me some tags. With spring/summer finally trying to come to Seattle I thought that a nice robins egg blue would be so pretty.

These are the tags we printed -



Now I know that Martha Stewart does a real good job marketing her products - and making a pretty penny off them - but sometimes I get sucked in. And this glitter was the perfect color. Of course this "glitter glue" is just glue - but I needed some anyway since mine has all dried up.



I punched a hole for the ribbon to go through then made a little border of glue and then added the glitter to it - once it dried I blew off the excess.



Here they are all drying.



I filled my bags with cookies and tied the ribbon on and added the tag - and voila!!

party flowers

Spring is here in the Pacific North West. Or at least it is attempting to be here between the  hail and sideways rain. But the tulips and blossom trees are pushing forward putting me in the mood for a spring get together.

I sent out invites to a close group of friends for a little gathering of snacks and drinks.

I wanted to make the homestead a little more festive so I decided to attempt to make some of those awesome tissue paper flowers that are featured on almost every party and wedding site.

I found directions on Martha Stewart and they were so easy to make.

Ramon helped out and ironed to tissue paper for me - we used 8 sheets for nice fullness - I would like to try with more and see how it comes out.

I worked on the accordion folding and cutting the ends to create the petals and then secured them with florists wire - then we separated the layers

The tricky part is to fluff the layers and create seamless balls so you cannot see where the two sides meet.

Ramon hung them from the ceiling while I art directed the installment - overall they looked really good and people who came over thought they were pretty and were surprised I made them. Which either means I don't look like the crafty type or they looked real good!

As I am also wedding planning I thought these might be good in newspaper for a more rustic flower look - they also would be quite smashing in black tissue and a pop of green.