Happy Friday!

If everything has gone according to my plan, I should be sipping an umbrella drink as we speak.

Well, not if you’re reading this at 7 am, because I plan to still be snoozing.

I am on vacation after all.

But by 5 o’clock, I plan to have something fruity and cocktail-like in my hand.

And since I do like to share, I made you one, too.  This is actually a non-alcoholic beverage {super great for entertaining on a hot summer day}, but if you add in some coconut rum, I won’t tell.  In fact, I recommended it.  I sampled it that way {for blogging research} and it was great.

Have a wonderful, super, fabulous Friday!

Yeah, you heard me.

Chocolate margaritas.

I’m sure it’s not a new thing–although I have to tell you, I’m a master at trying flavored margaritas, and somehow I missed the boat on this one.

But ohmygoodnesswherehasthisbeenallmylife?

And if you knew about it and didn’t tell me–shame on you.

You know chocolate and me arelikethis.  And I am pretty much locked at the hip with Mexican related stuff (or um, it’s locked on my hips from the consumption of waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many chips and salsa), so the minute I spotted this recipe I had to make one right away.

You should, too.

It is a great way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, after all!

I’m not going to lie: it is a super-sweet drink and is probably best served as a dessert drink rather than a cocktail.  It’s also a super-strong drink (well, it was for me, though I’m actually not a big drinker), so if you don’t like ‘em that way, cut back on the tequila a bit.  Even the Tall Boy, not typically a sweet-drink fan, enjoyed this one!

Have a happy, happy Friday, and a great Cinco de Mayo! Cheers!

I know the northeast got snow this week, but it’s already into the 90′s where I live.

It’s also practically raining cotton, so my throat is swollen, my eyes are little watering slits, and I’m sneezing like nobody’s business.  Ahhhh, Kansas in the spring.  There’s nothing quite like it.  =)

Anywhoo, this kind of weather makes me awfully thirsty, you know?

What’s great about this drink is that it’s just about as good sans alcohol.  The mint sprigs and lime juice really crisp up the drink, with just the right about of sweetness from the berries to keep it extra interesting.  Perfect for sipping on the deck while Doodle practices his t-ball swing (can you see the baseball bases in my first picture?  Whoops.).

I’m thinking this might be good with blueberries and lemon–what do you think?

Happy Friday, everyone!

I am seriously glad it’s Friday.

As fast as the weeks tend to go for me anymore, this week Friday couldn’t come fast enough.

I think it had something to do with the fact that I needed to get my driver’s license renewed. Has anyone else gone through this torture lately?

Fortunately, our DMV no longer requires a written test for a regular renewal.  However, they did apparently decide that in lieu of the written test, they’d force you through a process that you’d gladly exchange for a root canal.

This “simple” renewal cost me three trips to the DMV office, and a huge chunk of my life I’ll never get back.

The first time I attempted to go, the computers were down.  My second visit entailed a seriously disgruntled employee informing me that the wait was two hours, and that I’d better just “come back.”  Look, you sent me the renewal card, okay?  I’m totally okay with my current license, one showing my picture nearly a decade younger, and my pre-pregnancy weight.  It’s not like I’m in any mad rush to change it.

So Thursday morning, I got up nearly an hour before my usual wake-up time (torture!), so I could “beat the crowd” and get there when the office opened.

Except everyone else in the city had the same idea.

So yeah, pretty much all day this little sipper was on my mind.

If you haven’t tried Tuaca before, well…you need to.  It’s an Italian liqueur that one of my best girlfriends introduced me to eons ago.  And while it’s most often served as a chilled shot, it’s also a great way to punch up apple cider.

But, since we’re sort of out of the apple cider season, and I’m really about too old to be drinking shots anymore, I toned mine down with a little cream.  Then punched it back up with some Frangelico (a hazelnut liqueur), and some Kahula.*

*See my little rose?  Doodle brought it to me as I was hurriedly taking this photograph.  He’s my doll.

Yippee for Friday!

I guess I’m sort of on a “colada” roll this week.

And after the week I’ve had, I could definitely use one of these today. Except I’m now out of Midori, so I can’t make any more until I get to the store…and, at the rate I’m going, I probably can’t get there for another few days. So make one of these for me, would ya?

I wish I had a better picture to show you. But the reality of it is, when I went to take this picture, my camera shut down, thumbing its nose at me and telling me to “change the batteries.”

Except I couldn’t find any.

And, since it was a fairly warm day, my icy drink was melting at an alarming rate. Frantic, I took batteries out of every remote in the house, until I finally found a combination with enough juice to power up the camera for long enough to take one picture.

And then I drank this, ’cause by that time, I kinda needed it.

At which point, the Tall Boy returned home to tell me that he had a stock pile of double A batteries hidden in some super special top secret location I knew nothing about.  Seriously?  Who hides batteries?  Apparently, my husband.  Although it wasn’t so much “hiding” the batteries as it was “remembering” that he tossed some aside instead of putting them away.

You’d think that after nearly 10 years, I’d be used to his methods of “organizing,” but I’m not.  These midori coladas sure help, though.  =)

Happy Friday! What are your weekend plans? I’d love to hear!

Whoo-hoo, we made it to Friday!

Not only is it Friday, but it’s St. Patrick’s Day weekend!  Even though I’m not really into celebrating the actual holiday (um, except for imbibing anything that contains Irish cream or mint), I made you a fun cocktail to celebrate.

And, since it’s me making it, this is a drink that tastes like a dessert.

Yeah, yeah, I know it’s not green, but it’s mint-chocolate flavored, so that totally counts as Irish, right?

Also, it only has two ingredients, so it’s easy to make even if you drink one or two too many, if you know what I mean.

Have a totally marvelous, rainbow filled weekend!

Despite my professed dislike for sour stuff, Midori Sours were probably my favorite drink when I was in my early 20′s. Well, that and a fun little drink we called bizzo and swiped over at the Phi Delt house, but that’s a story for another time. Anyway, I don’t know if I thought the neon green hue was just cool, or if was because the drink tasted like a Jolly Rancher and not actual alcohol.

Both, maybe?

Also, it’s not a super strong drink, and since it is pretty sweet, I could nurse it along for quite awhile.  Annnnnd, I could order one confidently at the bar since it was one of the only mixed drinks I was familiar with back then.

As a side note, if someone orders you something called a “Tarantula” and insists that it is not a strong drink…well, it is.  But you probably already knew that.  Yeah, a drink aficianado I was not at age 21.  Um, it’s more than a decade later and I’m still drinking stuff like marshmallow flufftinis and strawberry smackeroos, okay?

Anyway, in the spirit of finding something green to imbibe for St. Patrick’s Day, I went back to my trusty old friend Midori.

This was not my planned post for today.

But last week, I was totally wasting time on the internet and Pinterest doing important research on St. Patrick’s Day and related food-stuff, and I stumbled onto a recipe for homemade Bailey’s.

Yep, you heard me.  Homemade.  Bailey’s.  As in Irish Cream.  As in, be still my heart.

I was completely intrigued, which meant that I had to make it the very next day.  You know, for research purposes.  You know how I feel about homemade stuff–like eggnog, tortillas, summer sausage–typically you can’t go wrong with homemade anything, but I couldn’t imagine how this would turn out.  I figured it would be okay, maybe even good.  But fabulous?  I couldn’t see it.  Feeling like you’re swimming in a creamy chocolate heaven?  No way.

So I dumped the ingredients into the blender, and literally thirty seconds later, I had the absolute best Bailey’s I’ve ever tasted.  Ever.

If you like Bailey’s, you must make this right away.

You must.

I promise, you’ll thank me for it later.

And while you’re at it, use it to make this, would you?  And then invite me over.

Happy Friday!

It’s Friday–whoo hoo!  And if you’ve had a week like mine, which included having a sick toddler on Valentine’s Day, you’re ready for the weekend.

Well, let’s face it.  I’m always ready for the weekend.

And I really only like drinks that taste like desserts.

Inspired by the apple pie I made the Tall Boy for his birthday, I decided I needed one in liquid form.  This is apple-y, caramel-y, and utterly yummy.  Right up my alley.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Whoo-hoo! It’s Friday!

Not only is it Friday, but it’s the Tall Boy’s birthday! So you know what I made for him? Well, not this drink, clearly*.  Because A: it’s pink and girlie; and B: it has Amaretto in it, and in his mind, Amaretto = almonds = gross.

So, you know, I made it for me, because A: it’s pink and girlie and B: it has Amaretto in it.

You should make it for yourself, too, since it’s Friday and all.

*Don’t worry, I’ll crack him open a Budweiser later.

Have a great weekend!