Living La Vida Holoka


Star-Spangled Berry Sangria

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Party like it’s 1776 with this 4th of July Star-Spangled Berry Sangria! It’s made with fresh blueberries and strawberries for a patriotic, summer sip!


As one celebration turns into another, I find myself asking again, “Where is this year going?” Tomorrow is the 4th of July and even though the summer months have only just begun, it still feels like we’ll blink and summer will soon turn into fall.  And even though New Jersey has entered its first real heatwave of the season, I’m going to try to hold back from complaining, at least too much!  Because before we know it, we’ll be pulling our sweaters and boots on all over again.

So, for now, let’s party like it’s 1776 with a patriotic sip and enjoy the summer!  Even though I’m kind of a sourpuss when it comes to fireworks now – thanks to Hunter (fireworks, thunderstorms, car doors slamming – he hates it all!) – I’ll still enjoy the red, white, and blue celebration with something on the barbecue and a cold glass of this Star-Spangled Berry Sangria in my hand!


It’s that time of year again when our berry bushes are starting to burst with fruit! Our strawberries have slowed down quite a bit, but our blueberries and raspberries are doing well!  Since I’ve been freezing our raspberries to make a dessert like these raspberry crumble bars, I opted to make this sangria with strawberries.  The blueberries and strawberries give this sangria a perfectly patriotic look for the 4th of July!

I also believe that a good sangria shouldn’t be made without apples!  They’re a traditional sangria ingredient that soak up all of that sangria goodness!  So I cored, sliced, and used a cookie cutter to cut stars out of a Pink Lady apple.  Plus, the sangria-soaked stars make a pretty cute garnish for glasses, too!

CELEBRATE THE 4TH OF JULY WITH THIS STAR-SPANGLED BERRY SANGRIA!

Star-Spangled Berry Sangria
Party like it's 1776 with this 4th of July Star-Spangled Berry Sangria! It's made with fresh blueberries and strawberries for a patriotic, summer sip!
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Ingredients
  1. 1/4 cup brandy
  2. 1 tbsp. honey
  3. 750 ml bottle of dry white wine
  4. 1 can berry flavored seltzer
  5. 2/3 cup fresh blueberries
  6. 1 cup strawberries, sliced
  7. 1 apple, cored, sliced, and cut into stars
  8. Ice cubes
Instructions
  1. Add brandy and honey into a pitcher. Stir until the honey has dissolved.
  2. Then, add the rest of the ingredients and mix.
  3. Serve over ice with an apple star, to garnish.
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I added berry seltzer for a little sparkle. It’s the 4th of July, after all!  It also boosts the berry flavor, making this a really refreshing summer drink!  But if you don’t have berry seltzer available, swap in another flavor or just use good ol’ plain seltzer!

Also, if you want to get that fruit all boozed up, let the sangria sit in the fridge for a bit!  Then, fill your glass with ice, pour, and enjoy!  If you’re looking for a last minute recipe to serve tomorrow, this might be it!  It’s ready in a few simple steps and will be a hit all summer long!


Have a safe and happy 4th of July!

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If you like this recipe, you might enjoy these posts as well:

How to Make Tropical Drink Stirrers for Your Summer Sips

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Summer officially starts tomorrow!  In my family, we have lots of reasons to celebrate during the summer.  We’re talking loads of birthdays, a graduation, and our wedding anniversary.  And honestly, I’m probably forgetting something because there’s always so much going on! I feel like the summer itself is just one, big celebration. Forget the birthdays, anniversaries, and everything else that’s happening during the next couple months.  We made it through a cold, snowy winter and summer is like our prize for patiently waiting for its return!

Or not-so-patiently waiting.

The entire summer season seems reason enough to gather with friends and family and pour a few cocktails or a tall glass of lemonade or sun tea!  So I thought it would be fun to make some tropical drink stirrers to have on hand for our summer celebrations!


These simple drink stirrers start with clear swizzle sticks.  I made little, tropical shapes out of oven-bake clay to glue on top of the sticks.  I found a cute pineapple mold at Michael’s. Then, I found a set of tropical molds on Amazon to use to make palm trees.  

I would suggest sticking to shapes that have a sturdy base.  While the palm trees definitely worked out in the end, I had a little patching up to do on the tree trunk when I glued it onto the swizzle stick.  The pineapples, on the other hand, came out ready to party!  

SUPPLIES

STEPS

  1. Start making your pineapples and palm trees.  Press yellow clay into the pineapple mold leaving room at the top for green clay.  Then, press green clay into the top of the palm tree mold leaving room for brown clay at the bottom.
  2. Carefully remove the clay shapes from the mold.  Smooth any edges, if necessary.
  3. Gently push a clear swizzle stick into the bottom of the clay shape.  Remove the swizzle stick and set aside.
  4. Place parchment paper on a small baking sheet.  Bake the clay according to package.
  5. Remove the clay shapes from the oven and allow to cool completely.
  6. Once the shapes are cool, add a little super glue into the opening and, once again, gently push the swizzle stick into the bottom.
  7. Set the stirrers aside until the glue has completely dried.  Then, whip up a batch of cocktails and get your stir on!



So even if you’re just serving up lemonade and tea to the kiddos this summer, these tropical drink stirrers will make those summer sips all the more fun!  Want to designate drink cups?  Make a bunch of different shapes for everyone to choose from!  

These drink stirrers took just minutes to make!  Even though I used mine in simple glasses of lemonade, imagine how fun they’ll look in your favorite mocktail or cocktail!  Cheers to summer!

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Looking for some drink inspiration for your tropical drink stirrers?  Check out these posts:

20 Summer Sangria Recipes to Sip on This Season

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I don’t know what it is about summertime. Once it heats up outside, it’s time to pour myself an icy, cold drink!  One of my favorite adult beverages to sip on during the summer is white wine.  Especially a nice white wine sangria with fresh fruit, like peaches!  Mmm!  Sangrias are so easy to make, too.  You basically just pour some wine, chopped up fruit, and liquor into a pitcher.  Let the fruit soak up all of that goodness and you have a perfect summertime adult beverage!

We always end up with a ton of fresh berries during the summer from our bushes out back.  I’ve used them in wine slushies before, but they’re also great to throw into a pitcher of berry sangria!  If you’re like me and not about to turn on the oven when it’s scorching hot outside, sangria is a great way to use up your favorite summer fruit!  I mean, pies are good, but they’re not exactly going to cool you down like a nice glass of sangria!  At least that’s my excuse for making a nice, big pitcher!

Want to go beyond traditional sangria recipes?  Sip on one of these 20 sangria recipes and be the hit of your next barbecue or summer celebration!  

  1. Tropical Sangria with White Wine and Pineapple Rum – Mom on the Side
  2. White Wine Strawberry Lemonade Sangria – Fancy Shanty
  3. Sunset Sangria – Wine & Glue
  4. Peach Sangria – Homemade Hooplah
  5. Tropical White Wine Sangria – Lemon Tree Dwelling
  6. Sparkling Honeysuckle Summer Sangria – Busy Being Jennifer
  7. Easy Red Sangria Recipe – Live Love Texas
  8. Raspberry Lemonade Sangria – Jennifer Meyering
  9. Summer Boysenberry Sangria Sparkler Recipe – Living Mi Vida Loca
  10. Sparkling Cucumber Watermelon Sangria – How Sweet Eats
  11. Pink Moscato Sangria Recipe – Flour On My Face
  12. Sweet Tea Berry Sangria – The Bewitchin’ Kitchen
  13. White Peach Sangria – Vegan Family Recipes
  14. The Best Rainbow Sangria – Princess Pinky Girl
  15. Summer Berry Sangria – The Culinary Compass
  16. Sparkling Strawberry Sangria – The Happier Homemaker
  17. Fruity Summer Sangria – Sweet Little Bluebird
  18. Peach Raspberry Sangria – A Joyfully Mad Kitchen
  19. White Strawberry Lemon Sangria – Kitchen Treaty
  20. Summer Berry Sangria – Olivia’s Cuisine

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What’s your favorite kind of sangria to sip on during the summer?

How to Infuse Your Water with Essential Oils

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We all know that the adult human body is made up of about 60 percent water.  And we know that we need to keep ourselves hydrated or we’ll dry out and crumble into ashes like vampires exposed to sunlight.  Wait.  What?  That’s not what happens if we don’t drink water?  Okay.  Anyway, it’s hard to get those eight recommended glasses of water into our bodies each day.  Water itself is pretty plain and boring when there are so many other beverages available for us to sip on. 

But what if you concocted a tasty way to consume more water by creating easy, natural water infusions just by using fresh fruit, herbs, and essential oils?  Now we’re talking!

We had quite the summer tease about a week ago.  It was 80 degrees and sunny outside.  So I slathered on the sunscreen and spent a lot of time outdoors.  It’s so important to stay hydrated on hot days.  Especially if you’re staying active!  That’s why I love making flavor infused water.  You can use frozen fruit, fresh fruit, herbs, and even essential oils to infuse your water with a ton of delicious flavor!  


I have become a big fan of Young Living’s Vitality oils.   One of my favorite things about these oils is that you can take them internally.  Just one drop of oil in a glass of water adds big flavor and supports wellness!


My favorite flavor infusion combos:

  • Lemon + Peppermint
  • Citrus Fresh + Basil
  • Thieves + Orange Oil
  • Strawberries + Basil + Lemon
  • Grapefruit + Rosemary 

Mix and match essential oils with fresh fruit and herbs for endless flavor combos!


A few things to consider before adding essential oils to your water:

  1. Essential oils are highly concentrated extractions from plants.  Only pure essential oils (like Young Living) should taken internally, in small quantities.  If you are not comfortable consuming essential oils, you can still create delicious water infusions from fresh fruit and herbs.
  2. Know your oils.  Not every oil is meant to be taken internally.  The ones I have recommend in these infusions are safe to drink with water.
  3. Only drink essential oil infused water from a glass or stainless steel bottle.  Essential oils pull toxins, so it’s not recommended to add essential oils to plastic water bottles.
  4. I also recommend using filtered water.  We keep a filtered water pitcher in the fridge that’s so convenient!


Thank you to some of my fellow Young Living members for contributing this helpful information.  Safety first, guys!

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Have you ever flavored water with essential oils before?



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