Basil Martini

I love a good cocktail and a few years ago I remember going out to a nice dinner and ordering a delicious Strawberry Basil Martini.  I have an excess of basil growing in my garden so I decided to try a take on a basil martini.  I am officially hooked.....and so are all my friends!

Basil Lime Martini

2 ounces vodka

1 ounce Basil Simple Syrup*

4 or 5 Basil Leaves

Juice of 1 lime

Muddle together the basil leaves, simple syrup and lime juice.  Transfer to a cocktail shaker and add vodka and ice.  Shake, pour into your favorite martini glass and enjoy!

*In order to make the Basil simple syrup combine 1 cup of sugar, 1/2 cup of water and a handful of basil leaves into a saucepan over medium heat.  Let combination simmer until all sugar is dissolved.  Stir occasionally.  Once all the sugar is dissolved remove the saucepan from the heat and let the mixture cool completely.  After the syrup is cool run it through a sieve and pour into a mason jar in the fridge for up to week. 

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Kitchen sign

We have been living in our house for about 2 1/2 years and it is still a work in progress. We have a large wall in our kitchen and for the past few years we have been trying to find the right thing to put there. I came across a picture on Pinterest of shelves made from crown molding and that inspired us.

 I had the hubby make 4 shelves from crown molding to showcase a few of our "nicer" cookbooks and then we made a sign out of an old piece of wood.  For the print, I found a font I liked and printed out the letters in the size I wanted. From there I traced the letters onto the wood and used Martha Stewart Black Satin paint to paint in the letters.

I found an image of a whisk online that I decided to trace and paint onto the corner of the sign.

After painting everything black I went over the paint with a crackle paint to give the sign an older look.

Once the sign was complete, hubby added the hardware and hung it up.  I am pretty happy with the way it turned out!

And the completed look!

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Sunkissed Vox Box from Influenster

I was so excited the other day when I received my most recent VoxBox from Influenster.  It was called the Sunkissed VoxBox and it was the best one from them so far!

My Sunkissed VoxBox had the following:

• Dr. Scholl's For Her High Heal Insoles
• Goody Ribbon Elastics
• Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream
• Sinful Shine with Gel Tech nail polish in Mardi Gras

So far the only thing I have been able to try out is the nail polish.  I was really impressed with it!  I love a good manicure but hardly ever paint my nails due to time.  I hate waiting for it to dry and I usually smudge at least one nail which is so infuriating.  I tried it out the other night before I went away and not only did it not take very long to dry, it went on easy and actually still looked good 3 days later.  I will definitely be stocking up on this polish.

As I test out the other products I will let you know what I think.  I will be giving the heal insoles a test this weekend while I am working.  Hope they work cause I will be on my feet a lot!

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"I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes."

I'm Back!  So I fell out of the blogosphere for a while, actually, more than a while..a year and a half!  When I was younger and would hear adults say "time flies" I never truly understood saying that until now.  Life is so hectic and juggling everything is such a daunting task some days.  

Around the time I stopped blogging I had started working a bit and I also found out I was pregnant with baby #2.  I stopped having time to do anything or make anything fun worth blogging about.  Over the last few months I have been finding myself wanting to start things back up and share the different projects, products or fitness tips I have been picking up or trying out along the way.

The first time around I was really focused on sharing various recipes and diy projects I had taken on.  Although I do still love to try out new things in the kitchen or tackle a craft, I have also started getting into fitness, health and beauty.

My ideal scenario would be to turn this blog into a community for people with similar interests.  As much as I like to tell people what I am up to or into at that moment, I also love to hear the same from other people.  Looking forward to reviving 52 Social!