Happy Friday!!

Happy Friday lovelies!! I hope you all had a wonderful week! The weather has been heating up here in NY and I'm so loving this little taste of summer we have. The Hubs and I plan on hitting the beach this weekend, here's what else I'm looking forward to...

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Do you lovely readers have any special plans? I'd love to hear!

A LITTLE GIVEAWAY!

Hello All my lovely readers! I've been quite a miss lately. There has been so much going on for me I just had to unfortunately put something a side for a bit. I have been working on a very special wedding invitation suite for my very first client and I am so so excited about it. I cant wait to take photos and share it with you all. Also there have been some exciting new changes going on with my company I work for full time designing girls clothes. It's been a whirlwind of a week! But hopefully this week I'll get back into a little groove of posting. :) In the meantime I'm so excited to tell you all about a special little giveaway for my Etsy shop over on Pearls & Pastries Shop. Lauren has a little etsy shop of her own with some deliciously girlie items! Head over to her blog to see how to enter and what you can win!!   I love how Lauren styled my items for her photos below!!

{via Pearls & Pastries Shop}

Non-Dairy Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream

I like Ice cream. No I mean REALLY like ice cream. So much that I think the first little argument my husband and I had was over the fact that I polished off his Ben and Jerry's Milk and cookies in one whole sitting. Yes, I like ice cream THAT much. So when I gave up most dairy products including ice cream I had come up with some replacements like frozen Kefir, which I made here. While I find frozen Kefir delicious, and refreshing, it's still not ice cream. Oh how I've longed for the creamy texture and soft sweet taste of full fat milk based ice cream. This recipe is creamy, sweet, and so close to traditional ice cream that my husband requested I make a Milk and Cookies inspired version next! I'll have to play around with that idea! For now this strawberry shortcake version hits the spot.

Ingredients

1. 1 can of full fat coconut milk (to get the closest to real ice cream don't use the light version)
2. Strawberries quartered and smashed (I used about 20)
3. 4 tbs raw honey
4. 1 tsp vanilla extract
5. 4 tbs coconut cream - This will make your ice cream creamy and also add some sweetness. This stuff has a lot of sugar so you can omit and just adjust your honey if you don't care to use this. It is also very calorie heavy so if your concerned with that, I would suggest omitting.
6. 4-5 cracked graham crackers. (leave them in chunks)

Directions
    Combine your coconut milk, honey, coconut cream, and vanilla and whisk till everything is incorporated. Add your strawberries and whisk well mashing any larger chunks of berries you see as you go.  Pour your mixture into an ice cream maker and mix according to the directions adding in the graham crackers during the last 5 minutes of mixing. Enjoy!

Makes 6 servings, approximately 250 calories per serving

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

 {art/type by Monique Bellavia}

Sending all you Mama's out there lots of love and kisses this weekend!! xoxo

The Pink Flamingo Cocktail

Lately I've been on a bit of a grapefruit kick. This has to be the strangest thing because my whole life I've avoided grapefruit like the plague. I just couldn't take it's bitter tartness. But I think as you get older your taste buds change and I've been finding myself craving this juicy bitter fruit. Don't worry this drink isn't overly bitter or tart. The orange juice, and splash of cranberry cut it perfectly. Here's my recipe for this delicious crisp springtime cocktail.

*Makes approx 4 cocktails.

Juice of 2 Grapefruits
Juice of 1 lime
Juice of 1 Orange
Splash of Cranberry (per serving)
Fresh mint
1/2 tsp sugar (optional)
sugar for the rim
1 shot Vodka-1 shot per drink (Titos is my vodka of choice)
Lillet Rose aperitif -1 shot per drink

I peeled my fruit and used my juicer to get the most juice out of them. After all the juicing is done muddle the mint in a cocktail shaker, I used 2-3 sprigs of mint per drink. Pour enough of the juice mixture for one drink into the shaker with the mint, add the splash of cranberry, sugar (if using) and the vodka and Lillet, shake shake shake (yes I sing that as I make cocktails) pour over ice into a sugar rimmed rocks glass (aren't these flamingo ones perfect!). Garnish with fresh mint and a lime wheel and enjoy!

8 Day Flowers

         So I'm not going to pretend at all that this is something I came up with on my own. My florist actually let me in on this little trick. I do it now with every flower I buy, save a few that have too soft a stem like hyacinths. But typically this trick can be used with most flowers. All you do is snip your flowers to the desired length for your vase. I use a tape measure after perfecting the length on one and then go along with that measurement for the rest (yes I am that anal!). Take any old hammer and smash the end of the flower stem till it's just broken. This will allow the flower to absorb more water. Sprinkle the flower food, and about 1/2 tsp of sugar into the water and mix up. Arrange your flowers and change the water every other day.  My florist may have told me this trick but I buy most of my flowers at the local deli on my way home on Fridays. I typically don't buy fully bloomed I buy them when they look like they are just about to bloom. This also helps prolong the life.  Enjoy your 8 day flowers!

Mother's Day Picks

Mother's day is right around the corner! Here are some of my picks for her special day!

1. Jonathan Adler First Lady Pillow
2. C Wonder Knot Rings
3. Floral Tea Cup
4. Kate Spade Garden Grove Necklace
5. C Wonder Monogram Jewelry dish
6. Eternal paper flowers
7. Coach Bag
8. Tory Burch flamingo cosmetic bag
9. Glittered Note Cards
10. Gold dot ball bud vase
11. Three Flamingos iphone case

Cinco De Mayo and Derby Day!

bag • top and skirt • margarita recipe • pouchette • checkered dress • hat (similar) • mint julep recipe

There is definitely no need for competition with these two events. I just cant decide which look I'm going for and what I'll be drinking! (I know the toughest of decisions stumps us all!) Either way I'm so excited to be venturing to Jersey with the Hubs for his family's annual "Cinco De Derby" day. I know the husband will be sticking with Bourbon and Most likely I'll be hitting the Tequila! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend filled with Margaritas and Mint Juleps!

Juice Pulp Bread

My Husband and I are big juicers. We love the jolt it gives us in the morning and typically 3 times a week we juice a vegetable blend for breakfast and sip while we get ready for work. On weekends however we prefer a fruitier mix. Makes it taste more like a weekend treat. Also we usually drink a much smaller portion followed by homemade chocolate chip pancakes (because that's what you just do on Saturdays!). This is what we do with all that fruity juicy left over pulp!

 Ingredients:

• 2 cups pulp from fresh juice (see below for my favorite mix)
• 2 cups flour
• 1 or 2 very ripe bananas
• 1tsp baking soda
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1tbsp flax meal (optional)
• 2 eggs
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 2 medjool dates (pitted) 
• Toasted coconut flakes for topping (optional)

This is my go to juice blend: 3 large carrots, 2 large red apples, 1 large cucumber, 4 celery stalks, 6 medium sized strawberries, and occasionally one orange. The juicer I use is this one and I love it. It's affordable, easy to clean, and pretty compact.
     After I make the juice I set it aside.  I put a hand full of kale or spinach into my magic bullet and puree. Then I mix the juice and the puree together. It's refreshing and delicious!! To make bread or muffins with the pulp left over from the juice blend, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Put all the above ingredients (minus the coconut flakes) into a blender till it's well blended. Then I either just make muffins or one whole bread loaf, and top it off with the toasted coconut before baking for 30-40 minutes.  
    The medjool dates add just a hint of caramel sweetness. If you want a sweeter taste feel free to add 2-3 tbsp of brown sugar. Personally I enjoy mine best when cold, but I can never help myself when it's hot right out of the oven! This recipe will work with any juice pulp really so feel free to get creative.

P.S. My shop and blog are now on facebook! WOOHOO! Feel free to like me over there! :) xoxo
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