Relaxing and Recipe Sharing

We were a super chill, super relaxed family this weekend! Friday night we joined my sister, my BIL, my parents and some additional family at Olive Garden to celebrate my niece Sydney’s 12th birthday. It is hard to believe she is already old enough to wear makeup and have a cell phone!

Happy birthday, Syd the Kid!!  

(This photo was not taken Friday night. We were both much younger in this picture but it's one of my favorite together.)

Saturday we enjoyed a nice lazy morning, followed by a little shopping and then dinner with our friends, Toby and Eva. I made two new recipes that turned out great. The first is a watermelon/arugula/feta salad. If it sounds weird, I agree, but it is very refreshing and I recommend trying it.

Watermelon/Arugula/Feta Salad

(Found here)

Ingredients:
3 cups seedless watermelon, cubed and chilled
1/2 cup crumbled feta
7 oz arugula
1/4 small red onion, sliced very thin
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt and fresh pepper

Directions: Mix the top 4 ingredients together. Mix the bottom 3 ingredients together. Combine and enjoy. While making this I couldn’t help but consume lots of watermelon and it turns out Daisy, my 4-legged child, LOVES watermelon too. Also, I didn’t really measure out the ingredients; it is much easier to just add and taste as you go.

The second recipe is a Raspberry Lemonade Beer Cocktail. For my friends who remember the “Redneck Margaritas,” these are kind of similar but better, in my opinion. I think I will be busting this recipe out again during football season!

Raspberry Lemonade Beer Cocktail
(Found here)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup frozen raspberries
3 1/2 (12-oz.) bottles beer, chilled
1 (12-oz.) container frozen raspberry lemonade concentrate, thawed
1/2 cup vodka
Garnish: lemon and lime slices

Directions: Stir everything together and drink! I used 4 beers instead of 3 ½ because that’s how we roll in my house. The more beer, the better!

Finally, we had brunch reservations for Sunday morning, but after waking up not feeling too great, we cancelled and spent the day being lazy. It was fantastic! We ended the weekend by playing a little tennis and then MYOPN (Make Your Own Pizza Night) again. Pure bliss!