{Tips & Tricks} Reviving Wilted Hydrangeas

I've had a bumper crop of beautiful hydrangea blooms this summer which makes me so happy!

I have been cutting lots of them to make bouquets around the house. I usually recut the stems and add fresh water every few days to keep them around as long as possible. Sometimes they start to wilt prematurely even after I've done all of that.

But, there's a way to bring them back to life!  Submerge the blossom in a cool water bath for about 45 minutes to an hour.  Recut the stem and dip the stem in boiling water (sometimes I skip this step!) and place in vase with fresh cool water.  Warning: There will be drips on whatever surface you place the vase on so place a towel underneath if you're worried about them.

In a few hours your previously wilted flower will be looking like new and will last a few more days!

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{Travel} Birthday in NYC

We had a little trip to NYC to help our city girl move into her new place. 

 It also happened to be the hub's birthday (he's a good sport!).

We drove into the city which was quite an experience #terrifying.  It was helpful to have a car for the move though.

 She moved into an apartment in Brooklyn with this view from the rooftop deck.

This looks like a great place for parties! 

After getting her stuff moved in, we explored the neighborhood and found a place for lunch.  That's my veggie burger.

Traveling back to our hotel....I was happy to have the car parked!

Darling daughter met us at the hotel and we checked out the rooftop bar at our hotel. The view was beautiful but the atmosphere was too clubby and loud.

At the NYX store in Union Square.  Dinner was at Ellary's Greens and so good!

She introduced us to Van Leeuwen ice cream.  I got vegan cookie crumble with strawberry jam!

 After our girl went back to her place, we walked around the city.

 So pretty at night!

 Love that sky!

Birthday selfie!

The next morning we were on our own for a bit.

It was a rainy morning so we went to Chelsea Market.

 We met our daughter for lunch at By Chloe. I was so excited to finally get to eat there!  I was so overwhelmed with the choices but settled on the pesto meatball sub AND the mac and cheese with shitake mushroom bacon.  All VEGAN! Also that strawberry lemonade was delicious!

The food was amazing and lived up to all of my high expectations!   This is my daughter's quinoa taco salad and hubby's fries.

We didn't have to rush home so we lingered in the city awhile longer. I've always wanted to go to Fishs Eddy(a dish superstore) and found one while we were out exploring.

 The weather improved and we walked around Union Square Park.

Then it was time to head home so we went back to our hotel and got our car.

 Just getting to the Holland Tunnel took over an hour and it was quite nerve wracking! I was relieved when we finally made it to the turnpike for "normal" traffic.  I love New York but we'll leave the car at home next time!!

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How To Make Frosé {Summer's Coolest Cocktail}

I think rosé is the perfect summer wine, it's so cool and refreshing and pink color is so pretty.

What's even cooler in the summer is frosé!  Frosé=Frozen+Rosé.  I made some for our 4th of July celebration and it was a hit!  I used this recipe  for Boozy Frosé but used raspberries instead of strawberries since we have a few strawberry allergies in the family. It made it extra vibrant and pink!

*Note:Start the day before you want the frosé!!

Raspberry Boozy Frosé

1 bottle of rosé wine (the darker the color, the better)

1/4 cup vodka

4-6 TBS raspberry simple syrup

Raspberry Simple Syrup

1 cup water

1 cup sugar 

1 bag frozen raspberries

To make:

Pour wine into a plastic container and freeze overnight. It won't get frozen solid.  Make the simple syrup. Combine the water and sugar in heavy saucepan. Stir to combine. Heat on medium high and stir occasionally until sugar is dissolved completely.  Add raspberries. Pour into a container and refrigerate overnight.  Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a jar and discard berries (or use in another recipe).  You will have extra simple syrup too--it's great on pancakes and waffles!

Make the frosé: Combine frozen wine, vodka and 4-6 TBS of simple syrup to a blender. Process on high and serve immediately.  You can also refreeze at this time then scoop it out (like we did) when you're ready. 

Enjoy your trendy summer cocktail!

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{Yard} More Critter Visitors

 We've had some interesting critters visiting the back yard lately.

 I love when I see the foxes out there. They are so playful and cute.

They spook really easily so I have to be stealthy when I try and get some photos of them. I was using my zoom for these pictures.

 Deer are a lot more common sight but to see a mama and a baby so close was exciting!

This one was a first.  We were sitting out on our deck one Sunday morning and I saw this guy traveling down the yard towards the woods. He took his time so I had plenty of time to snap a few pics.
My last visitor surprised me when I was walking under the deck, it slithered by and freaked me out! No, I didn't get a picture of the huge (to me) snake!!

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