Hi friends! I hope you all are enjoying your summer. I definitely have, and although I’ve missed you all terribly, I’ve truly enjoyed the break and have been spending a ton of time with my family! Don’t panic… school hasn’t started back up yet. We still have a few more weeks of summer here in Kansas, but I wanted to come share a little “I love this stuff”, love with you. You know what I’m sharing today has to be good if I’m interrupting my summer hiatus to tell you about it!…

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Hot Buttered Rum… I can’t think of a better cocktail to curl up with on a cold, fall day. I actually hadn’t had Hot Buttered Rum before until a few weeks ago. I was visiting a friend one evening and as I sat down, she handed me a cup of this steamy, warm, smooth and buttery beverage. I was instantly hooked…and was also wondering what took me so long to get this concoction into my life. It was love at first sip, as it totally warmed me up from the inside, out.

When I think of cocktails I often think of my friend, Jessica, from the How Sweet Eats blog. I’m sure you all know Jessica. And I’m sure you all know that she is expecting a baby very soon! What you may not know is that Jessica continued to post cocktail recipes even after she found out she was pregnant just so her internet friends wouldn’t suspect something was up. That’s some serious cocktail dedication!…

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My friend Kathy and I were making our daily walk back to our houses after picking up our kids at school. It was during that walk that an idea sparked… “Do you like Pomegranate?” I asked. “Yes!” “Well, why don’t you all come over and help me test out this recipe for Pomegranate Margarita Martinis?” (Yes…it is a tough job being my neighbor when I have cookbooks to review!) I didn’t have to say anything further and Kathy and her husband were soon on their way to my house.

The Best Summer Drinks recipe book is a little book that packs a lot of punch. Created by Ray Foley, the publisher of Bartender Magazine, the Best Summer Drinks recipe book is a must have for any summer party, impromptu happy hour, or even a night out on the porch swing reading your favorite novel. Featuring 500 incredible cocktail and appetizer recipes, I have already bookmarked many pages of drink recipes to try. What I love about the Best Summer Drinks recipe book is that even with a partially stocked bar, there are a ton of recipes that you can make. With categories like “Summer Cocktails” and “Summer Punches and Pitchers” your next gathering can be complete by adding this collection of great cocktails to your home bar. Want to hear the best part…this collection of recipes can be purchased from Amazon.com for only $4.99!

Just to tempt you even more, I’ll share two of the recipes that got our attention and tempted our tastebuds. Pomegranate Margarita Martini (pictured) and Blueberry Lemonade.

Pomegranate Margarita Martini
2 Cups Jose Cuervo Golden Margarita Mix
1/4 cup pomegranate juice
1/4 cup Jose Cuervo Especial tequila
Juice of 1 lime
Lime zest curl for garnish

Shake liquids vigorously with ice. Strain into a chilled martini glass, and garnish with the lime zest curl.

Blueberry Lemonade
2 oz Hiram Walker blueberry passion schnapps
1 oz Hiram Walker 60-proof triple sec
6 oz lemonade
2 lemon twists and 2 lemon wedges for garnish

Pour half the schnapps and triple sec into a tumbler over ice; repeat. Fill each tumbler with the lemonade, and stir.
Garnish each with a lemon twist and lemon wedge. Serves 2.

Disclosure: This blog post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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I have a horrible fountain drink addiction. I used to never drink soda/pop/cola/coke of any kind. Once I had my first child, a trigger went off inside of me and I had a sudden caffeine crazed addiction of the fountain drink variety.

I have tried off and on over the years, without a whole lot of success, to break this habit. I will do good for a few weeks and then will break down and fall down the slippery slope, yet again.

My mom once told me that the easiest way to break a habit is to replace it with another habit. With that brilliant piece of advice in mind, I have now found something that I really believe will be a sufficient fountain drink habit breaker.

Care to join me?

Mudslide (from Recipezaar)

5 min | 5 min prep

SERVES 1

• 1 1/2 ounces vodka
• 1 1/2 ounces Baileys Irish Cream
• 1 1/2 ounces Kahlua
• 8 ice cubes
• 1 1/2 ounces cream
• 1 scoop vanilla ice cream
• 2 scoops chocolate ice cream

• Frozen Lemonade Cocktail, from Sweetnicks
• Frozen Blackberry Margaritas, from Patty’s Pantry NYC
• Pina Colada Slush, from Divine Domesticity
• Raspberry Champagne Cocktail, from Posie’s Place

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Ugh – in the last couple of days, my computer got hit by some kind of virus or trojan or something. I still don’t know what it was, but it caused serious havoc in my world. To make matters worse, I tried to fix it by downloading what I thought was a legitimate spyware program, which ended up being virus fueled as well. I have wasted so much time on computer problems this week. I was about to lose my mind when I stumbled upon a great computer repair help board called, Bleeping Computer (appropriate name, isn’t it?). Thanks to the helpful tips of some of the forum posters, my woes are gone.

This morning I was knee deep in annoying computer problems and didn’t even want to think about breakfast. But, guess what… the kids thought they needed to eat. Can you believe their nerve? When times like these strike, I go for pure simplicity. Something quick, healthy and full of vitamins. The best part is the kids have noooooo idea that I am cramming nutrition down their throats. They think they are having milkshakes for breakfast and because of that, I am the coolest mom in the world!

If you need a little simplicity to start your morning, give a breakfast smoothie a try. There are plenty of options out there, but this tasty Blueberry smoothie is one of our favorites!

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