Homemade Lemonade Spritzer

I've been trying all kinds of fun things with my Soda Stream. One of my favorite drinks so far is this Lemonade Spritzer!

By far, my favorite recipe for homemade lemonade is from Pioneer Woman. It takes a little time but it is so worth it. It works well for this drink because you can use some of the concentrate with regular water and reserve some of the lemonade concentrate (the lemon juice + sugar water mixture) to mix with soda water, or you can just make a bunch of soda water- totally up to you.

I reserved 1.5 cups of the lemonade concentrate in a mason jar and kept it in the fridge. When I was ready for a refreshing drink, I just mixed the concentrate with soda water straight out of the soda stream to my taste (I like mine with more concentrate, less soda).

Add ice and a mint sprig for garnish and you've got yourself a spritzer!

If you're so inclined, adding a little vodka makes this a delicious adult beverage. Trust me.

Happy Summer, friends!

Sweet Snack: Fruity Grahams

Summer vacation is in full-swing here at my house. My kids don't seem to be too bored, but, we're only in week 2 of vacation. Actually, this is their first full week off, so I'm guessing by Friday afternoon I'll be hearing "I'm bored! There's nothing to do! Moooooom, lets do something!". It's inevitable.

When summer rolls around, I like to have lots of healthy and fun snacks on hand. I prep snacks on the weekend, which helps a ton during the week. All of the fruits and veggies are ready to eat and easily accessible, so, the kids can grab what they want without having to ask!

I have a few fun snacks that are my "go to" snacks during the summer- frozen grapes, frozen yogurt dots, and frozen peanut butter banana sammies. I may need to break for a snack now...

Earlier this week I was thinking really hard about a fun new snack I could make for the kids and these fruity grahams were the result. It's like a mini fruit pizza, but healthified. I swear it's a word. Well, it is now. I think I've used it enough times throughout my posts on the blog that it's justified as a word.

What I love about this snack is that it's simple. Graham crackers, fruit, plain greek yogurt, and a little pure maple syrup. That's it! It's also a fun way to get kids involved in the kitchen. Plus, it saves them from their boredom. ;)

Fruity Grahams

makes 12 

6 sheets of organic graham crackers, halved (just break in the middle)

1/2 cup plain greek yogurt

2 teaspoons pure maple syrup

assorted sliced fruits

In a small bowl, mix  yogurt and maple syrup until well combined. 

Spread a spoonful of yogurt on to each graham half. 

Top with your favorite fruits and enjoy! 

Tip for making for a crowd: Place graham cracker sheets on bottom of a cake pan, spread the yogurt on top, then top with fruits. The graham becomes soft if it isn't eaten right away, which would make for a yummy dessert to take on 4th of July or to your summer BBQ! 

Miss KK approves these, and she happily obliged to eat about 3 of them while I took pictures of her.

What is your favorite summer snack? 

Healthier Soda

Recently, I have made the decision to stop drinking pop (soda, coke, whatever you call it in your neck of the woods :-)).

I was able to completely cut out soda and I talked about that here. Now that I'm not craving pop anymore, I want to be able to enjoy a little fizz every now and then. Especially now that we have entered into the hot and humid Oklahoma summer days. There is something super refreshing about a fizzy, ice cold drink on a hot day. I didn't want to be tempted to fall back into my pop drinking ways, so, I've done some research and decided to purchase a SodaStream.

This post isn't sponsored, I have no affiliation with SodaStream what so ever. 

You can see here that SodaStream is a healthier alternative to many sodas you can buy at the store. But what I really loved was the opportunity to make my own syrups and even add fruit to the carbonated water so that I can enjoy a variety of healthy beverages this summer. Not to mention, it's a much greener alternative to buying all those bottles and cans!

I've already consulted Pinterest and found a few recipes I will be trying for homemade syrup. I have a few ideas of my own to test as well.  I will keep you updated on my favorites!

In case you're also considering purchasing a SodaStream- there's a $20 mail in rebate available now on all models over $65. This was what convinced me to go ahead and purchase ;-)

Do you have a favorite SodaStream flavor or recipe? I'd love to try it! Leave it in the comments, please and thank you!

My Office Must-Haves

This post is not sponsored.

Oh my. Wedding season kicked off in mid-May and I have been so busy that I've been abandoning this little ol' blog. Between doctor appointments, meetings, soccer practice, and just life in general, I could use a few more hours in my day!

Since I've been spending SO much time in my office, I thought I'd share 3 of my favorite Office "Must Haves" with you all on this Friday afternoon. I love me some office supplies, but, these 3 I could never live without!

Clipfolio: I found this little gem at Target a few weeks ago. It's a clipboard/notepad/note holder all in one. I clip a weekly "to do" list on the front at the beginning of each week. It has business and personal things listed and is easily accessible to me to see at all times. Once the included notepad runs out, you can just replace it with any 8 1/2 x 11 notepad. This thing has a permanent spot on my desk!

Seagate Slim Portable External Hard drive: This super slim external hard drive is my lifeline these days! I love that it's so small and can fit virtually anywhere- I just keep it in my desk drawer and pull it out when I need it. It holds a ton (1 TB) and is perfect for backing up pictures or other documents. It was super easy to set up, too!

Erin Condren Life Planner: I've gushed about my love for EC many times over on this blog, but really guys, I couldn't function without my LP. This thing literally holds my life- weddings, consults, soccer practice, birthdays, editing schedules, engagement session dates, bill due dates... it's all in here!

What are your office "must haves"? I wanna know so I can go out and buy some more fun things for the office. I mean, after all, you can never have enough pretty and functional office supplies.

Prevent the Sunburn Peel

Every Spring, without fail, as soon as I come out of "hibernation" I end up with a sunburn. It usually happens innocently enough. The first time it's warm enough for a tank top I think to myself "I'll only be out for a few minutes... I'll be fine".

Well, even if it's just 5 minutes in the sun without sunscreen, I burn. I'm so diligent about sunscreen with my kids, I should really pay more attention to MY shoulders once in a while.

When I burn, I peel. Always. My whole life. This is how it happens: burn, peel, if it's still red under "the peel" I will even peel again! No joke. I have tried so many things to prevent the peel. Lotions, gels, all kinds of stuff.

Unintentionally, I put some baby oil on my arms and shoulders after a sunburn last month and guess what?! No peeling!! I couldn't believe it!! I thought the baby oil would help hold in moisture so that it wouldn't peel as bad. But it didn't peel at all. Talk about a cheap and quick fix!

Here's what I've figured out about this little trick:

• Baby oil does, indeed, hold in enough moisture to help prevent peeling. Use it everyday for best results. (even when you aren't sunburned, it is still nice to use)
• Don't use the oil on skin that is still hot to the touch. You don't want to trap in the heat. So you may need to wait a day before you start trying to prevent peeling.
• I put the oil on just before I get out of the shower- while the water is still running. This helps to wash the excess oil off so you aren't all slimy when you get out of the shower.
• Blot the water off with a towel when you get out of the shower- you don't want the oil to rub off on the towel.

Obviously, the best way to prevent peeling after a sunburn is to not get one in the first place, so wear your SPF folks. Don't be like me  ;-)