Tis the season of giving!!!

One of my favorite gifts to spoil my loved ones with?! Wine!!!! It’s one of those gifts you just know EVERYONE will be happy to receive. My tip is to always give bubbles to those you don’t know their preferences! With NYE just days after Christmas, you know that bottle will get used regardless if it’s on the yum list!!!

So Eat, Drink & Be Merry this holiday season and print out a festive gift tag!!!

I can’t believe it’s taken me this many years to share my all time favorite cocktail!! Literally my favorite drink of all time. A Kir Royal!!!!! Champagne mixed with chambord. So yum!!!

Definitly not an everyday drink since they are on the pricey side, but they do make one killer holiday or celebration cocktail!!!! 

Enjoy!!

Ingredients 

    •    Champagne 
    •    Chambord 
    •    Raspberries 

Fill a champagne glass 3/4 of the way full with chilled champagne.

Pour in 1 shot of Chambord. Garnish with raspberries.

Serve & Enjoy!!

How the heck is Cinco De Mayo only a little over a week away?!?! As silly of a day as it is, it’s a favorite of mine. A day us Americans pretend to be Mexicans by drinking margaritas and stuffing our faces with tacos?!?

​Best day ever!!!!

Jello shots are always a fabulous way to add a little fun to those Cinco De Mayo parties. Super yummy and yet taste totally delicious for those of us like myself who just can’t take shots of tequila these days! Cheers!!!

& the countdown to Easter begins!!!! Just a little over a week before the Easter Bunny makes his grand entrance and leaves us all of his yummy goodies!!!!!!

Since I’m all about EVERYONE receiving Easter goodies regardless of age, I thought it would be fun to craft up a 6pk of beer for the men in the family!! I made my dad “Reinbeer” a few years back, so I thought I would attempt a cute little bunny rabbit this time! Enjoy!!!

Fill with Easter grass

Boozy Easter Eggs!!!!! My Grandmother’s birthday just happens to be April 1st, which happens to be April Fools fools day. Her favorite wine just happens to be Sutter Home, so last year I made her Boozy Easter Eggs and placed them in an Easter Basket. Figured it would be a gift that would sure make everyone giggle AND one my Grandmother would enjoy since she does love her wine!!!!

The Boozy Easter Eggs were such a hit with my family, that I decided this Easter season I would make the eggs for y’all over here on the blog!!!!

The plastic eggs can be found at Dollar Tree and you can purchase the mini Sutter Home bottles at any store that sells wine for ridiculously cheap. My local store even sells four packs for around $6! Perfect for an Easter gift for your besties or a Grandmother like mine who loves her wine!

Cheers & Happy Easter!

3. Sprinkle in a few jelly beans.

4. Close the plastic Easter Eggs.

5. Hand out to your besties!!! Happy Easter!!

On Sunday my family and I attended the Busti Apple Festival in Busti, NY! A yearly tradition for us! While at the Busti Apple Festival, we picked up apples & cider! That evening I decided to whip up some of my famous Apple Cider Sangria & make an Apple Pie!

​Curious on how to make that cider? Of course you are! That’s why you’re here. Keep on scrolling to find out how you can make a pitcher of this yumminess in your very own home :)

• 1.5 Liter Bottlr Moscato
• 4 Mini Bottles Carmel Vodka
• 2 Red Apples
• 1 Green Apple
• Handful of Grapes
• Half Lemon
• Apple Cider

Pour the bottle of Moscato into a large pitcher. This is a fabulous recipe to use that random bottle laying around you received for a gift since quality does not matter!

Squeeze that half Lemon into the pitcher. Then toss the squeezed lemon into the pitcher.

Chop up your green & red apples. Then toss your apples & grapes into the pitcher.

Now mix in your caramel vodka and top off with cider. The caramel vodka has a very strong caramel taste. I suggest using 4 since you do want to taste the cider! Too much vodka and this will turn into Carmel sangria ;-)

After your Apple Cider Sangria is all mixed together, toss it into the refrigerator for an hour or so. You want the fruit flavors to soak a bit before serving.

Serve & Enjoy!

Any mamas out there need an excuse to go out and buy a bottle or two of wine?! I may just have you covered! Wine Cork Dot Paint Pumpkins! That’s right, you drink the contents of that wine bottle while your child dots away with the corks. It’s a win win activity since Mama is occupied and so is the kiddo! Cheers & happy dotting!

• White Paper Plates
• Green Pipe Cleaners
• Hole Punch
• Orange Paint
​• Wine Corks

Before you let your child dot away, take your hole punch and punch a hole at the top of the white paper plate. This is where you will string your pipe cleaner to make a stem later.

Let your child dot away using the orange paint & the wine cork!

Once your white paper Plate is covered in paint dots, take 2-3 pipe cleaners and wrap them around your finger to make a spiral.

Take your pipe cleaner spiral and simply thread it into the hole you punched in your white paper plate. Twist the stem in place. And just like that, you now have a Paper Plate Pumpkin!

I just love Halloween crafts. Halloween and Christmas are the two holidays I tend to go all out for. I just can’t get enough of the cuteness!!!!

My daughter has a class Halloween party every year! Since Halloween is a favorite of mine to get crafty for, I thought it would be fun to make D.I.Y Mummy Water Bottles for the kids!

• Small Water Bottles
• Gauze
• Glue Stick
• Black Paper
• Scissors
​• Spiders

Take a water bottle and your gauze & wrap your water bottle up.

Take your scissors and cut the leftover gauze. Then tuck the end of your gauze into the gauze on your water bottle.

Now glue on those googly eyes with your glue stick.

Time to cut out a mouth using your black paper. Once you have cut one out, glue it onto your water bottle.

Glue on a plastic spider.

Ta-Da! You now have Mummy Water Bottles. They make the perfect beverage to serve at your Halloween Party!

Ahhhhhh warm weather!!!! I don’t know what it is, but once patio season hits, I’m all about the fruity beverages!!!! Nothing better than chillen on your patio with a big ole glass of something tropical in your hands!!! What’s even better is having a little something special to pass out when your besties are over enjoying the scenery with you.

Since most of us old ladies aren’t the heavy drinkers we were in our 20’s, my sangria Jello shots are exactly the boozy treat to serve your besties. Boozy enough to keep that buzz going, but not too hard that you will need a day to recover. Cheers!!!

Jack Daniels
Coca-Cola
Popsicle Mold

3. It’s now time to take those popsicle sticks and place them back into the mold.

4. Once you have your mold back together, place your Jack & Coke popsicles in the freezer for several hours.

5. Once your Jack & Coke Popsicles are frozen solid. Rinse your mold off with a little bit of hot water. This will loosen the popsicles just enough to slide right out of the mold without breaking.

Can you believe it?!?! Summer is right around the corner! You know what that means right!?! It’s fruity adult beverage season!!!! WooHoo!!!

One of my all-time favorite drinks is a mimosa. I know, not that original of me! But you know what? You can totally take that classic mimosa and make it taste like summer with watermelon juice. Just swap that OJ for some watermelon and wa-la!!!! You now have a champagne beverage worthy of sitting poolside with you all summer!

Cheers!

• Champagne
• Watermelon Juice ( Tropicana Tastes like candy. Pressed Watermelon Juice tastes like real watermelon!)
•Watermelon Slice

Take your bottle of champagne and fill your glass 3 quarters of the way full.

Next, you will want to top of your Champagne glass with watermelon juice. I always recommend Tropicana Watermelon Juice since it’s the most fruity. If you aren’t into sweet juices, you can always opt for a pressed watermelon juice. The pressed juice will be more natural tasting.

Slice up that watermelon for your Champagne glass garnish.

Serve & Enjoy!

So happy spring has finally decided to grace us with its presence here in Western New York!!!! All this decent weather has me craving hot sunny days chillen poolside!!! I can’t wait to kick back on a unicorn float and sip away at my favorite cocktails!

One of my favorite summertime drinks is coconut run! Nothing says sunny fabulous weather like sipping on something fruity! That’s why I decided to turn my favorite summertime liquor into a popsicle!!

•Malibu Rum
•Sprite
•Fresh Lime Juice
•Popsicle Mold

The very first thing you are going to want to do is take your popsicle mold apart by removing the popsicle sticks.

Then, fill each section of the mold with a quarter of Malibu Rum. I know it doesn’t sound like much, but the more alcohol you add, the less frozen your popsicle will be. You don’t want a slush puppy! A quarter of Malibu makes the perfect textured popsicle!! Nice and frozen!

Grab your bottle of Sprite and top each section of the mold off.

To make your Malibu Run Popsicles extra tropical, take a like and squeeze a little bit of fresh lime juice into each section.

It’s now time to take those popsicle sticks and place them
back into the mold. Once you have your mold back together, place your popsicles in the freezer for several hours.

Once your popsicles are frozen solid. Rinse your mold off with a little bit of hot water. This will loosen the popsicles just enough to slide right out of the mold without breaking.
​

Serve & Enjo!

Summer is right around the corner folks!!!! Nothing better than sipping on a delicious cocktail poolside. One of my all time favorite liquors is Parrot Bay!! I even had a bottle of Parrot Bay sitting at my Mimosa Bar in the bridal suite at my wedding.

My all time mixer for Parrot Bay happens to be pineapple juice. The combination makes you feel like you’re on a tropical island vacation!! Just because you can’t afford that trip to Fiji this year doesn’t mean you can’t pretend while floating on your Unicorn float at the pool. Cheers!!!

•Parrot Bay
• Pineapple Juice

Take a normal sized shot glass. Fill the shot glass with Parrot Bay and pour that shot into your martini shaker. No shaker? No problem! Just pour that shot into a large glass. You can use a spoon to mix the cocktail by hand later.

Next, that that pineapple juice and fill your martini shaker.

Once you have your shot of Parrot Bay and your pineapple poured into your martini shaker, close up your shaker and shake away!!!!

One your drink is nice and shaken, grab a martini glass and pour your cocktail!

And just like that, you now have the most tropical drink ready to be sipped on. Now grab that unicorn float and head to the pool with your delicious cocktail. Time pretend you’re on that tropical vacation you have been dreaming of!!! Cheers!