camp out adventures

I know this blog is supposed to be about crafts, but I have been too busy lately with my fun social life to get a lot of crafts done. I have also been too busy to take pictures of my crafts, so I promise I will get on that!

But in the mean time, let me tell you about our camp out last weekend. Kim, Arianne, Jocelyn, and I started off the evening right by eating dinner at El Pollo Rico, our favorite Peruvian chicken place. Now we did have the option of eating hot dogs at the camp out, but who in their minds would choose a hot dog over rotisserie chicken, fresh off the spit, with coleslaw and french fries? It was an obvious choice. After a delicious meal we made our way to the campsite.

Thanks to my lovely tent (courtesy to my fat ex-boyfriend . . . which is another story in itself) and my hand tent-raising skills, we had our tent up in no time, even though it was pitch dark outside. With four girls in a two-man tent, we decided to just lay down the sleeping bags on the floor to maximize the padding. Once all the necessities were in place, we decided to get to the fun stuff: marshmallow blow guns.

Now, this all started my sophomore year in college when some guy friends introduced me to the glory of a marshmallow blow gun. I have since fallen head over heels in love with it, making several for myself over the years. I sadly left my last one at home when I moved, so a few months ago Kim and I decided it was high time to recreate the glory, so we headed to Home Depot. With a little muscle and ingenuity, we quickly had ourselves a beautiful marshmallow blow gun. And the camp out sounded like the perfect place to put them to the test.

We walked back to the car, picked up our guns and ammo and headed to our next target. After a quick demo for Jocelyn, we ventured in the direction of the guys who were camping nearby to make sure we were safe (or something to that effect). As they were helping make their fire, we were sneaking closer and closer to their camp, all white shooting them with mini marshmallows. Now, I thought we were being pretty loud, but apparently they couldn't hear us walking through the brush or our giggling. After finally making it feet to their camp and being quite loud, they finally decided to investigate what exactly was hitting them, and they finally found us. We were not about to give up quietly though; the moment they spotted us, I stood up and proceeded to shoot Zack straight on.

My favorite shot from the night was my lying on my stomach, army crawling through the leaves all while shooting. I think the camo pants did the trick.

After making easy prey of the men, we headed back over to our camp to see who we could hit from our group. We had a riotous time shooting people 30-40 feet away, hiding behind tents to give us cover, and most of all, posing with our guns. We looked hot; I ain't gonna lie.

Eventually after using most of our ammo, making a few people mad, and laughing until our stomachs hurt, we decided to call it a night and joined the rest of the camp for s'mores, campfire songs, and general relaxation.

Despite that this was an all-girl camp out, we actually headed to bed at a decent hour because we were so tired. Remember how it was four girls in a two-man tent? Well that meant we were just a little squished. At one point Jocelyn noticed I was cold in the night, so she shared her blanket with me, and I immediately cuddled right up with her. Sorry about that Joc. At least we know my husband will get the best cuddle-buddy ever!

by request

First off, let me thank my three readers for commenting on the blog! I almost never get comments, and just to show you how much I appreciate it, I will hereby fulfill your requests.

Without much further ado, here are my mocktail recipes:

Hawaiian Sunrise
2 oz ginger ale
2 oz peach juice
1 tsp grenadine

Pink Lover
4-6 oz ginger ale
1 oz grenadine
1 oz lime juice

Schmooze
2 oz orange juice
2 oz ginger ale

Love Potion #9
2 oz orange juice
2 oz cranberry juice
1 oz peach nectar
1 tbsp grenadine

The Flirtini
2 oz peach juice
1 tsp grenadine
2 oz tonic

Vixen
1 part orange juice
1 part cranberry juice

Liquid Temptation
2 oz tonic
1 tsp grenadine
1 oz lemon juice
1 oz orange juice
1 oz pineapple juice

Sweet Tart
1 1/2 oz cranberry juice
1/2 oz tonic

Wrench
1 part orange juice
1 part tonic

Bitter Experience
2 oz orange juice
1/2 oz lime juice
1 oz lemon juice
1 oz tonic

Bar tending tips:

1. These recipes are mainly estimations, not exact measurements. I kind of use them as a guide, about equal parts this and that, and then a little drizzle of that.

2. I prefer to use fresh lemons and limes in my drinks. Just cut the limes in wedges and squeeze.

3. All these drinks are made in cocktail shakers (shaken, not stirred). To make a drink, put ice in the cocktail shaker, add the ingredients, put the top on, and lightly shake. Note to self: carbonated beverages EXPAND when you shake them, so don't do this vigorously and expect to not get a little juicy. One might think this is obvious, but I've had quite a few friends get a little excited about tending bar and shake until they were covered in juice.

4. Feel free to remain the mocktails, which I usually do for every party, depending on the theme (halloween, new years, valentines day).

mocktails

With the house half empty and the summer winding down, Kim and I thought it was high time for a mocktail party. We moved the bar downstairs, dusted off the cocktail glasses, reinstated the kissing booth, and plugged in the ipod for a great night of dancing, mocktail shaking, and mingling. Here are the ingredients for the perfect mocktail party:

1. Refinished bar from a frat house in Georgetown. Yes I rescued my bar from a literal frat house in Georgetown. I was afraid for my life when I went inside to look at the bar, afraid of the broken glass, the empty hard liquor bottles, the trashed house, and the half clothed men who were wandering around. But after a little investigation I knew that after a little scrubbing, washing, sanding, and then repainting, the bar would look incredible. So we took it home and I spent the next few nights cleaning and then repainting it with the help of Kim. Yeah my roommates were kind of suspicious when it reeked of hard liquor and smoke. I was equally grossed out washing it down, but after a good scrub and a little febreeze it really did turn out well. I couldn't be happier with my little bar.

2. Random assortment of cocktail glasses. Thanks to a fun shopping spree at Crate and Barrel as well as the local Thrift Store (it is literally called "Thrift Store"), I have a great assortment of cocktail glasses. The ones from the Thrift Store came in a large box, so I was so surprised to find out that half were actually crystal! So now we drink in style.

3. Cocktail shakers and pour spouts. I picked up my first cocktail shaker in college and then found two others a few years back. And last birthday I was greatly surprised by Ben when he gave me the pour spouts to put in different bottles to make pouring so much easier and make the bar tender look that much cooler.

4. Rockin' drink menu. Over the years I have put together a great mocktail drink menu that always seems to please. Last night the definite house favorite was The Pink Lover. My past favorite has usually been The Bitter Experience. As always, the drinks are fake, but the buzz is real.

5. Disco ball. I've always loved disco. I first started collecting vintage disco albums in middle school. And when I say vintage, I mean vintage. I have a whole collection of actual records of the Bee-Gees, disco hit compilations, Styx, REO Speedwagon, Boston, etc. I've had my disco ball for almost 10 years now and it has never let me down.

6. A great play list. Timbaland, Beyonce, Lil' Bow Wow, JT. Need I say more?

7. Fishnets. No cocktail party is complete without fishnets.

8. Cheese ball. Now you might be thinking that cheese balls are only for holiday parties where eggnog is served. Hells no. That is because you haven't had Emily's amazing cheese ball. It will change your whole world. Thanks Emily and Jill for making the party taste fabulous.

9. Kissing booth. Yeah that is right, we put up our beads, turn on the soft back-lighting, and turn on the make-out mix for our parties. You better believe we are serious.

10. Dropping it like it's hot. No party is complete without a little dancing. Thanks to everyone who loves to dance as much as I do.

i'm sailing away

One of my dearest friends Jenn turned 30th this last week and decided she wanted to do it in style, so we went sailing on Saturday. I have to admit that I've really never been sailing before, so I was excited to get a taste for it. We went sailing on the Chesapeake near Anapolis. Here is the Marina where we found out boat, the Pintita, sailed by none other than Captain Pete. He was a hilarious man who enjoyed our silliness and made the trip very enjoyable. Here is he giving the birthday girl a little pre-boating present. Jenn knows how to party. Before we had even left the marina, she handed out party favors, complete with sweet pirate tattoos and headscarves for all the girls. We had a hilarious time getting our tattoos on. Jocelyn had a sweet one of a scull and cross bones. Very piratesque.Ben sported his tat on his chest, also very pirate themed. Looking hot, Ben.

Thanks Andy, Diana, and Cristy for sporting those pirate tattoos so well!

Our "little" sailboat was beautiful! We took to the open seas (okay not really) and spent three glorious hours relaxing with friends, looking for jelly fish in the water, watching Trent get a little woozy from his Dramamine, laughing at Capt' Pete, and enjoying the beautiful sunset.

Jocelyn and I spent the majority of our time at the back of the boat, lounging in luxury. I'm not sure what we were we laughing at in this photo, but we did have a great time. And I'm so rocking the headscarf in Peru!

My dear friends Jenn, Diana, and Cristy looking smashing. One of the best benefits of being Jenn's friend is all of Jenn's other friends. She is the hub of social life, and I just love all the lovely women that I meet through her! Diana is a joy to be around and so hilarious. Cristy is always fun and makes you just want to get up and dance.

Lastly, but certainly not least, are all the girls with their matchy-matchy headscarves. Truly a wonderful evening, filled with incredible people and one of the funnest activities in DC. Birthday wishes to Jenn, and may this new year bring her peace, happiness, and even greater friendships.

This is a shout-out to my little brother Garrett who left yesterday to serve a two-year mission for our church in Russia! Two weeks ago he came to visit Diedra and I one last time before he left for the training center and then for Russia in the fall (just when winter starts, which we liked to remind him). While we were playing tourist in DC, we came across an exhibit of award winning National Geographic photographs. I walked past the above one of the monkey, turned to Garrett, and said "hey, that's you!" He promptly fluffed up his hair and posed for one of my favorite pictures of him. And don't worry, he has this developed into an 8x10 and hung it on the wall at home to remind our parents just how much they love their favorite and only son!

We also had the chance to attend the temple one last time together. It was one of the most beautiful days of DC summer weather ever! Now I'm looking forward to all of Garrett's hilarious and incredible mission stories. And to sending the best care packages ever!