A Fun Way to Drink a Bottle of Wine - Sangria Recipe

I suppose it's a lot of fun to just pour wine into a glass, sip, and enjoy. You can even get glasses that can hold an entire bottle of wine. But, there are other, more fun, ways to drink your wine.

So, how can you make wine more fun? Make Sangria!

Sangria is light, smooth, and refreshing. You could easily drink a bottle (or more) of wine in the blink of an eye. What? You've never made it before? You should! Here's how:

Sangria

2 bottles of red wine (inexpensive, but not really cheap) - 1.5L total
1/2 cup brandy
2 Tbsp sugar
About 2 cups sliced/chopped fruit (I used 1 orange, 1 lemon, 1 apple)
A bit of fresh fruit (I used strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries)

Yummy Sangria!

Slice your fruit. I cut my orange and lemon into rounds but diced the apple (so it will fall into my glass when I pour and I can eat it!).

Put the cut fruit into a pitcher. Add the sugar and brandy and give it a mix. Refrigerate the pitcher for 6-8 hours to give the fruit time to macerate.

When the long wait is over, pour in all of the wine. Your Sangria is ready to drink.

Before pouring, prepare your glasses. Add a little fresh fruit and some ice. Pour away!


★ You can use any fruit you want for this drink, but it's important to have the citrus in the first step.
★ This is a great year-round drink and an easy party drink.
★ You can change it up each time you make it, using whatever fruit you have on hand or what is in season.

Cross Stitch Kit Giveaway

Last September, I wrote about my custom QR Code pattern being mentioned in Cross Stitch Crazy Magazine. I was super excited and thanked the magazine for mentioning my shop on the CSC Facebook page.

Someone responded to me, and I ended up swapping a few emails with a woman at the magazine. I set up three cross stitch kit giveaways with them, and my last giveaway issue is out now! I got my copy of the magazine in the mail today, and I just had to share.

I already sent out a Rainbow Rain Cloud Kit to a lucky lady who won the first giveaway. The winner of the second giveaway will be chosen next week, and they'll be receiving my Saving Planet Earth Kit. Lastly, in the newest Cross Stitch Crazy issue, my Caffeine Molecule Kit is up for grabs! The winner will be chosen on May 1st.

I really hope the winners like their new kits!

New Rule

I've been having issues with my crafty to do list just growing and growing. It's now bulging at the seams! I have so many projects that I want to work on, but "no time" to do everything.

There are tons of legitimate non-crafty tasks that consume much of my day (running around after a toddler, working out, cooking, cleaning {sometimes}, grocery shopping, business stuff, etc.). Even though I have legitimate time-consuming things to do, I also know that I waste way too much time on random time-sucks, like Pinterest (finding more things to add to my crafty to do list!) and watching TV - usually those two together.

I know I can't give myself crafting deadlines or schedule specific times to craft each day, but I did institute a new rule for myself. If I'm watching TV, I have to be doing something crafty (or for my shop) at the same time. Out with surfing Pinterest and stalking people on Facebook. In with sewing, designing, cross stitching, blogging, sketching, etc.

If I can hold myself to my new rule, I should be able to get more crafting done, finish new designs for the shop more quickly, and be better about blogging more frequently.

I'm watching TV and blogging right now, so I guess that's a good start!  :)

Green Iguana Margaritas

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I'm rocking a green shirt, but I won't be downing any green beer today. I like beer. Sometimes. Well, I mostly like sour beers (YUM!).

My husband and I have been on a margarita kick lately, so we decided that making green margaritas would be Irish enough for us! We took our basic Cadillac Margarita recipe and "greenified" it. Both the Cadillac and the Green Iguana Margarita are strong but smooth drinks. The Green Iguana has just a hint of melon flavor, which is perfect for me. I hate when cocktails are too sweet. Yuck!

Green Iguana Margaritas

Cadillac Margarita

3 oz 100% agave tequila
2 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
1 - 1.5 oz Cointreau

Green Iguana Margarita

3 oz 100% agave tequila
2 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
1 oz Cointreau
1 oz Midori

Fill a glass with ice (cute cactus-stemmed glasses are optional). Add all ingredients to the glass, and give it a quick stir. Sip and enjoy!

Return to Blogging

It's been a while since I last blogged. Mr. Baby is getting older, and we have a lot more active time in the day now (play group, reading time at the library, playing at the park, walking around the lake, learning activities at home, etc.). Some time went by without me writing anything, and I decided I didn't really have enough time in the day to devote any to blogging.

I kind of miss blogging, especially sharing the projects I'm working on or new designs I've stitched up. So, I'm hoping to find the time to write. I don't think I'll be posting as often as I did before, but I'll definitely do it more often than I have recently.

See you next time!