party blab: an ode to summer

Summer has come and gone with a flash, much to my dismay. While the disappearance of warm weather and outdoor evenings is far from our near future, I was shocked to see Halloween décor being dusted off recently. Really? Already? A bit premature, in my opinion.

Despite my affinity for scarves, sweaters and all other fall fashions, I am not ready to say goodbye to my sun dresses, flip flops and swimsuits. So much so, that I am going to spend this weekend lounging on the river donning a swimsuit, sipping summery cocktails, and enjoying yummy barbeque. That just screams summer, right?

I thought it best to incorporate the most obvious summer favorites into our “Ode to Summer” weekend, including watermelon cocktails, floppy hats and sunglasses and evening barbeques.

Upon researching fun additions for the weekend, I came across this Watermelon-Tequila Cocktail, contributed to Food & Wine by Bobby Flay, which is making it very challenging to focus on getting work done in the few hours I left until we depart.

Image by © John Kernick, found on Food & Wine

Recipe:

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup granulated sugar (I may forgo and use more lime juice)

8 cups diced seedless watermelon (1 pound)

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1 3/4 cups blueberries

3/4 cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves, plus 8 sprigs for garnish

1 1/4 cups silver tequila

Ice

1. In a small saucepan, bring the water to a simmer with the sugar and stir over moderate heat until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute; let the sugar syrup cool.

2. In a blender, puree the watermelon until smooth. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl and strain the watermelon juice, pressing gently on the solids to extract as much juice as possible. Discard the pulp.

3. In a large pitcher, combine the sugar syrup with the lime juice, blueberries and mint leaves. Using a wooden spoon, lightly muddle the blueberries and mint. Add the watermelon juice and tequila. Refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.

4. Pour the cocktail into tall ice-filled glasses. Garnish with the mint sprigs and serve.

me blab: hiatus

Sadly, The Blabbery has suffered from a bit of a hiatus. A nightmarish, drawn-out escrow period threw us into a state of mourning between the months of March and June. It was not until June 27 that all mourning passed with the brief email stating, “You’ve closed escrow.” Hallelujah!

As ecstatic new homeowners, we have since then been unpacking, organizing, decorating, and most importantly, celebrating our new home every single day. Considering we purchased our home as new construction, we had the opportunity to pick everything from flooring to countertops, which has only made it even more exciting. I cannot wait to share what we have completed, thus far, in the upcoming weeks!

It’s been one hell of a journey that I would take over and over again just to be where we are today.