Sangria Popsicles!

We threw my son’s first birthday party a couple of weekends ago.  I felt that I needed to make my girlfriends something yummy to drink to thank them for coming to celebrate with us on a beautiful, sunny Summer Saturday so I whipped up a big batch of pink sangria.  Being as it was a huge bowl that we were not able to get through, there was a bit leftover so I decided to turn it into “adult popsicles!”

Sangria Ingredients: 

  • Bottle of Wine
  • 3 cups of Vodka
  • 1 cup blueberries
  • 1 cup raspberries
  • 4 cups of water (to cut some of the sweetness)
  • 2 cans of lemon Sanpellegrino- I like it to have a bit of fizz
  • 1 frozen can of juice (I used Strawberry Fruitpoia because that is what I had in my freezer!)

(Please remember this made a GIANT punchbowl full of Sangria!)

Directions:

  • Place all of your berries in a bowl & pour vodka overtop (I like to leave my fruit to soak overnight in the fridge)
  • In a large punch bowl (or pitcher) pour in the wine
  • Add fruit mixture & vodka to your bowl
  • Pour in frozen juice, water & sanpellegrino
  • Stir to mix all the yumminess together & enjoy over ice!

I’ve found that sangria will usually keep for up to 48 hours in the fridge, but in this case I had just enough to pour it into 6 popsicle molds…. They were delicious and super simple to make!  The only tricky part was explaining to my children why they couldn’t eat “Mommy’s popsicles”… lol!

Making Sangria Popsicles

making sangria popsicles

making sangria popsiclessangria popsiclesSangria PopsiclesFullSizeRender-32sangria popsiclessangria popsicles

 

Popsicle Cheers :))

 

Thank you for reading!

Shannon xx

SaveSave

Advertisement

Lunch at the Winery!

What better thing to do on a beautiful Friday afternoon then have a delicious lunch with a couple of my best girlfriends at one of our local wineries?! Maybe follow that lunch up with a wine tasting? Sounds like a plan!  That is exactly what I was fortunate enough to do a few weeks back and it was fabulous.  My two girlfriends and I met up at the Bacchus Bistro at the Chaberton Estate Winery.  We sat out on their lovely little back patio in the sunshine with a glass of wine and a light lunch.  When we finished up our meals we unanimously decided that we were not finished visiting yet and should probably stroll over to the wine shop and do a quick tasting ;))

For the wine tasting you get to choose from 4 of their available offered monthly selections for a fee of $5.00.  Upon purchase of a bottle, the fee is waived.  I am a fan of sweeter white wines and their Reserve Siegerrebe is one of my favourites!  Quite honestly, I enjoy most of their wines.  Let’s just say I have yet to pay the tasting fee on any of my visits as I tend to leave with a few bottles in hand!  Chaberton is one of my favourite local spots to go.

I have a couple more wineries close to home that I plan to visit before the summer is over… Stay tuned!

Blue Linen & Chambray off the shoulder dressesBacchus Bistro at Chaberton estate wineryLunch at DomaineChambray off the shoulder dressChaberton estate winery Langley, BCin the vines at Chaberton Estate Winery Langley BCChambray off the shoulder, Green maxi dressesLunch at Domaine- Tasting Room

If you have any favourite sweeter whites or Rosés to suggest to me, I am always looking for new favourite wines!

Thank you for reading!

Shannon xx

How to Make Easy & Delicious Frosé

How to make frose

Last summer while I was pregnant with my second baby, it felt like all of my girlfriends spent the sunny nights sitting on patios drinking delicious, boozy cocktails right in front of me! OK, they weren’t actually that cruel to do it intentionally, but flipping through Instagram while I was 8 months along taking solace next to my air conditioner at home it sure felt like it… lol! So you know what I am going to be doing on the hot summer nights this year? Drink delicious, boozy cocktails on patios… yippee!!!!!! This being said, I am still a mother to three young children, so I most likely will not be out drinking these delicious concoctions on restaurant patios, but on my own deck at home after my precious babes are in bed.  This is where my new favourite cocktail comes into play… Frosé! (also knows as Frozen Rosé.)  This yummy drink is super easy to make and requires very few ingredients.  It does require a bit of pre planning in that you have to freeze your wine the night before.. or at least the morning of.  I am a rosé lover so this particular cocktail is right up my alley!  I have seen a few different recommended ways to make this beautiful, pink adult slushy and have experimented and tweaked it to my personal preference below…

IMG_9470

Ingredients:

  • 1 750 ml bottle of Rosé wine (remember, the colour will lighten during the freezing process so I prefer to choose a bottle that is a darker pink to start)
  • 1 oz of Vodka
  • 1/2 cup of sugar
  • 1/2 cup of water
  • 1 cup of strawberries
  • 1 oz of lemon juice

Directions:

Pour rosé into ice cube trays (I have also seen it frozen in a ziplock bag, I personally prefer the ice cube route) & place in the freezer overnight (or for at least 8 hours)

  • Combine water & sugar in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil & stir until sugar has dissolved
  • Add strawberries to the water/ sugar mix & place in fridge to cool for at least 30 minutes
  • Once cooled, strain the strawberry mixture to make your strawberry simple syrup
  • Place frozen rosé, vodka & 6-8 tablespoons of your simple syrup & lemon juice into a blender & mix until smooth
  • IMG_9473IMG_9471FullSizeRender-2

How to make FroseFrose

Ta-da! Now it’s time to enjoy your pretty pink, delicious adult slushy!  This drink is seriously so yummy & surprisingly, not overly sweet :)) Pour into your favourite cocktail glasses & if you feel like jazzing them up, garnish with some strawberries, a mint leaf or a sparkly sugared rim!

Delicious Frose

While I was experimenting with this recipe I also had raspberries on hand so I tried a simple syrup made with them instead of strawberries, it was also delicious.  I plan to play around with other fruit combinations this summer so I will keep you posted :))

I would love suggestions for other yummy summer cocktails if you want to leave me a note below!

Thank you for reading!

Shannon xx

Girlfriend Getaways Are Good For the Soul

I have always thought of my girlfriends as my crown jewels.  I am very fortunate to be blessed with a group of incredible women in my life.  (It is definitely a bonus that our husbands all like each other too!)  I treasure these women like an extension of my family.  Unfortunately I do not get to see them as often as I would like to, as we are all moms, step moms, working and busy with day to day life!  I am sure that everyone can identify with this.  When we do get to see each other it’s usually over a quick cup of coffee at one of our houses while we are herding our children, trying to encourage them to share their favourite Paw Patrol toy while not spilling their drink all over a brand new couch!  Distracted to say the least.  This is where the very necessary girls weekend comes in.  We had to pick the date a couple months ahead of time to find a two day period where we were all free, but we did it!  It was going to be my first time away overnight from my baby, so we decided to stick pretty close to home.  We are lucky enough to be less then a two hour drive from beautiful Whistler, B.C. so we chose that as our destination.

On the way there we decided to do the Train Wreck hike that we had heard was pretty cool.  It is essentially a derailed train that the forest has grown up around.  The cars have all been covered in graffiti, making it almost like a museum in nature.  It was a simple hike and i would definitely recommend it as something to see!  We grabbed a quick plate of nachos and an iced cold Grapefruit Ale from the Whistler Brewing Company when we were finished, before heading to Whistler Village to check into our condo.

IMG_8520IMG_7797IMG_8523DSC_0538

We lucked out and the weather was gorgeous for our weekend.  We spent the afternoon and evening having snacks and cocktails on various patios throughout the village.  A word of advice my friends… stick to flat shoes!  Throw on a cute pair of birkenstocks, (yes they are back in style!) flip-flops or slides with your sundress.  We witnessed way too many woman almost bailing as they maneuvered the cobblestones in sky high heels through the village.  Whistler has a pretty casual vibe, that is one of the things I love about it.

One of my girlfriends had put together the most spectacular charcuterie platter so we headed back to our room to devour it, drink wine and share stories.  (After changing into our matching TNA leggings we picked up at Aritzia… comfort is key lol!) It was so nice for us to hang out, laugh and catch up uninterrupted!

IMG_8517IMG_7816FullSizeRender-1IMG_8525FullSizeRender

The next morning we went out for a delicious, caloric breakfast at the Wild Wood.  I highly recommend the Florentine Benedict, although next time I will be only ordering a half order as sadly I couldn’t finish it!  Breakfast is always my favourite meal to go out for.  I love sitting with a coffee, mimosa and something to eat that I could never cook for myself.  I could brunch for hours.  (I am always accepting recommendations for favourite restaurants!) After breakfast we decided to go and relax at Alta Lake.  Whistler has no shortage of incredible, scenic lakes to choose from.  It was the perfect way to relax and rejuvenate.  IMG_8522IMG_8524

Our trip was quick and we were only gone one night, but I feel like we had so much quality time together.  We had some serious, hurt your stomach and make you cry laughs!  It was awesome.  There has already been discussion that we need to make this an annual thing. One weekend away together a year.  Next time we are thinking wine tours in the Okanagan…

I would love to hear where you go for your weekends away and any suggestions or tips!

Thank you for reading!

Shannon xx