This weekend, I headed down to the Jersey shore for some family time, beach time and good, old-fashioned “get out of Dodge” time. It was glorious for all of those reasons but I also made a cool discovery I had to share.

My one cousin is seven months pregnant and not able to take part in some of the, shall we say, “activities” that took place throughout the weekend. Instead, she was downing Polar Seltzer and finally, I took her up on the offer to try one.  She kept talking it up as the perfect drink – better than water when she wanted a beverage, but without any of the bad side effects of soda. I haven’t tried seltzer in a long time on its own — my grandparents always used to force it on us and I just didn’t like it. But turns out, seltzer has come a long way!

You can enjoy it all by itself, or make a cocktail (alcoholic or non) with it – your choice!  It really is yummy either way. Here is one of my favorite recipes, compliments of the folks from Polar. The alcoholic version uses the brand’s “Pina Colada” flavor, and the non-alcoholic requires “Mint Mojito.”

With alcohol:

In a tall glass combine:

• 3 fresh watermelon chunks
• 6 mint leaves
• 2 limes slices
• ½ teaspoon of brown sugar (optional)

Muddle thoroughly

Add ice

Add 1 ½ oz of Grey Goose vodka

Shake well.

Top with Polar Seltzer Pina Colada

Without alcohol:

Place chunks of seedless watermelon in a blender. Blend slowly. Strain with a sieve and recover watermelon juice.

In a tall glass filled with ice, combine:

• 50% fresh watermelon juice
• 50% Polar Seltzer Mint Mojito
• Garnish with fresh limes and mint

I think both are the perfect drinks for the summer and all the holidays coming up. And you can serve them side-by-side so that everyone in the family can enjoy one way or another.

One of us is pregnant! WooHoo!

I’m sad to see this weekend come to end, but so happy that summer (well, at least fake summer for another month) is here. I’m so ready for flip flops, cotton dresses and an excuse to eat frozen yogurt for lunch every day.

How did you spend the weekend? Do you have any traditions for this weekend? Did you do something special to honor those who are and who have served in the military?

I went to visit my parents in Rehoboth for a few days.  We took a power walk along the boardwalk on Saturday morning. At 10:30 am, the beach was already packed with people enjoying the Ocean Breeze on that very hot day.

We skipped the beach this trip – I only like to sit at the beach when its hot enough to take a dip in the water.  In May, the Atlantic Ocean is still a bit too chilly for my tastes!

We did head on over to the pool in my parent’s neighborhood, and got some good vitamin D. (While wearing Neutrogenia’s SPF 70, don’t you worry.)

On Monday I spent the day redoing our back garden, planting new plants, essentially planting new life.  It was the perfect alone time to spend the day reflecting on what Memorial Day is all about.  Something much bigger, much  greater than hot dogs, berry pie and crowded beaches.   Thank you to all those who serve, who have served, and to those who have paid the ultimate price.  Our lives are better because of what you have done.

About a month ago (eek!), I wrote how I was going to try and make my own rug.  Logistically, it took me a little bit to figure out what I needed and what to do, but I think (maybe?) I have figured it out.

Last weekend, I started to lay out the elements and while I don’t want to say anything yet (because I could be totally wrong!), I think it will look pretty good.  It’s going to be a little bit smaller than what you see here, but basically this is where it will go and sort of/kind of/not really how it will look:

As you can see, the dog is REALLY into this project…the boyfriend, not so much.

A few months ago on Pinterest I found some monograms made from wine corks.  Amazing.  It was like my dream. Monograms and wine corks, together?! Naturally I needed to recreate this myself.  It turned out pretty cute!

I wanted to hang it on my door, but I don’t know how it’ll hold up – i’m afraid that I won’t be able to stop it from hitting the door again and again when it opens and closes.  I will test it out and let you know where its final spot ends up being.

Here’s the tutorial if you want to recreate one for your home!

Start with a wooden letter. I got one from Michael’s for about $3.

I used some craft paint to paint the letter a color closer to cork.

Then I looked through my corks, found the broken ones, and cut a few manually to be different shapes, textures, etc.

The I started playing around with where I would place each cork. Here I was trying to respect the curve of the letter.

I used Aleene’s Tacky Glue to stick the corks onto the letter.

I made sure to wipe off excess glue with my fingernail.

Here’s a cork I cut in half.

and these two I was trying to fit together on the curve.

Use just a little glue – not too much.

And that’s it! We’re done!

In my kitchen cabinet the other day there was: half a bag of chocolate chips, half a bag of butterscotch chips, half a bag of walnuts, and some Ghirardelli chocolate squares.  The half-open bags were making me crazy. So I decided to make Kitchen Sink cookies, which I made up a few months ago. I called them Kitchen Sink cookies because you literally throw in everything but the kitchen sink!

This time around I used these ingredients - these are all half-filled bags!

These are left over from our Xmas party – for some reason, the husband thinks Ghirardelli squares = Xmas.  Who knows, but I like them, so I’ll go with it!

Of course, what’s a cookie without potato chips?!

I used this basic recipe for chocolate chip cookies that I worked out a few months back. The dark brown sugar makes all the difference. This time, I also used REAL vanilla extract from Madagascar.  (It was all the organic market by me had.) Normally, I go cheap-o on the imitation.  Never, ever again on the cheap stuff.  There is a difference!  I will splurge on vanilla from now on.

I mixed the chocolates in! Some of the chocolate squares where caramel and super-gooey in the middle. I wish I had had more of these to add in.

Then, the potato chips and walnuts:

Getting ready to bake!

All done! I never had a cooling rack before I got married and registered for all those crazy things you think you can’t live without. But my goodness cooling racks do make baking easier! If you don’t have one, they’re super cheap and absolutely worth it.  It makes the cooling process much, much faster and neater – because your cookies will be flat – and easier than using 1 million plates.

Happy Monday everyone! Or, should I say, Happy Almost Summer! I can not wait for Memorial Day. The attitude in New York just changes once it hits. People are more relaxed, anxious to be outside, and ready to hit the beach. With summer on the brain the ONLY thing I wanted for dinner tonight was homemade guac. I used my easy recipe here, added some chips and a very tasty dinner was had. I mean, I guess guac isn’t really dinner, but I decided it was.

I spent most of the weekend in the Poconos, cheering the sweet husband along as he ran the Pocono marathon. I unfortunately didn’t get any good pictures of him running to post, but know that he looks really cute when he runs.  I was a little jealous I couldn’t run this time around, but that’s ok.  The 80-degree heat was far too hot for a marathon.

I also bought a few basil plants to plant outside in my planter. I’m not sure why they’re so droopy.  I’m hoping a few days of sunlight and they’ll be growing tall!

• 3,000+ strangers from across the world, placed on a boat together and left to eat, drink, gamble and dance together as one floating neighborhood
• 24-hour access to food
• ample time to nap, stare out at endless horizons, and generally zone out on island time

For some this is not ideal. For me, this is the stuff dreams are made of.

As I stare out my window during this very dreary and rainy New York City day, I can’t help but go to my happy place, which is eating a hamburger in the middle of a sunny day, smack in the middle of the ocean.  But that photo is only in my head. Here are some other photos of the islands for those stuck in the rain today!

We took a quick tour of some central areas in San Juan, and this was one beach our driver brought us to. Waves were crashing, the sky was blue…it was super relaxing.

I wasn’t the only one enjoying the day, this crab was catching some rays as well.

In Old San Juan, I spied this adorable row of apartments and one was for sale. I restrained myself from calling the number listed and buying it sight unseen, even though I really wanted to.

One of my favorite spots in San Juan is this gorgeous and famous cemetery, named Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzis. It borders the sea and is the final resting place for some of Puerto Rico’s most famous, wealthy and influential residents. As far as cemeteries go (and I weirdly love them so I’ve been to a lot), it’s definitely one of the most gorgeous and picturesque I’ve ever seen.

When we docked in St. Maarten, this super yacht was also in the same port, as was another…which had a helicopter land on it as we took a boat to the island. Through some Internet stalking, I discovered the owner of this Atessa IV is a Montana-based industrialist.   In my next life, I come back as a Montana-based industrialist. This thing was unbelievable.

One of my absolute favorite things that we did was take a catamaran out of St. Thomas to snorkel near St. John. Here is my dad with the boat’s captain who was pretty dreamy.

As we drove out to St. John, we passed Michael Jordan’s house, which is in St. Thomas. Apparently Kenny Chesney also has a large house in St. John. I wondered what other celebs were lurking about. On my next trip, I will look into this!

The sun was a little scarce in St. Thomas but as we came back in the sun broke through. Here is our group enjoying the ride back.

I spied this bumper sticker in St. Thomas during our drive back to the ship.  I wasn’t sure what it meant, but I was intrigued!

I also really loved this reminder to drive carefully.

I always love this view when you are getting back to your ship from being in port. It’s always looks cool.

All in all, I find cruises super relaxing, a means to unplug (no service at sea or on the islands!), meet people from around the world (which I wrote a little bit more about here!), eat and drink to your heart’s content (not necessarily a good thing but very fun!) and just unwind.  And there is nothing at all wrong with a little island time! Ever! If you ever want cruise advice, email me at lia (at) the prettydelicious (dot) com. I know all the ins and outs, including how to get the best cabin on the ship, the best seat at dinner and how to properly go about exploring the islands.

Normally when I travel I just throw balls of yarn in my bag.  (Mom, I know you’re not shocked by this.)  Let’s just say that’s a little messy.  And by a little, I mean, ALOT.  I spend tons of time chasing around yarn!  But now it’s all nice and neat and ready for my trip to the Poconos this weekend.  (The Sweet Hubby is running a marathon – wish him luck!)

Of course, I’m loving the preppy stripes inside.

The bag is waterproof – it has a bit of that plastic-y feel, so it would actually be perfect for wet bathing suits following the pool or beach. The drawstring is SUPER tight, so you wouldn’t worry about it getting your other clothes wet. They also sent me this cute case, which would probably be good for pencils, or perfume or make-up, since its waterproof.

But I use it for knitting needles to sew of the ends of my projects, and scissors!

You can order them online, here: http://hadakishop.com/  The site has a variety of other sizes and colors.  These aren’t ones they sent me, but I’m loving these, too. Isn’t this cute for summer? As a beach/pool bag?

And these dots are just too much. LOVE.

And I love the greens/blues in this make-up case:

 To comply with FTC regulations, Hadaki sent me samples for free. But I only wrote about them because I liked them!  As a rule, we will review any product, but will only include ones in the blog that we would have purchased ourselves. 

It’s an amazing organization that helps young women – those under 40 – who have been diagnosed with or are survivors of breast cancer.  YSC offers resources, connections and outreach so women feel supported, empowered and hopeful.

Lia and I have participated in fundraisers for the organization over the years, and last night was no exception. We were lucky enough to accompany our company’s CEO to the annual “Living In Pink” Gala, which was a Casino night.  We had a blast gambling with fake money, and were moved by the stories of women our own age battling this disease.  To learn more, check out their website here.  They have 30 affiliates across the United States!