Memorial Day Must Haves...

Thought I would take a minute to share some of our Memorial Day staples...

All are simple to make and take very little time so you can make them quickly or in advance without taking time away from friends and family.

 

First thing is a pie my mom has made on Memorial Day and 4th of July for as long as I can remember... She would prepare it on Friday night and we would spend Saturday and Sunday enjoying it by the pool...

Blueberry Banana Pie

You will need:

2 Envelopes of Dream Whip

1/3 Cup of Sugar

8oz of Cream Cheese

Graham Cracker Crust

Sliced Bananas*

(*enough to cover the bottom of your pie crust)

Blueberry Pie Filling

Slice Bananas, use to cover the bottom of the graham cracker crust.

Mix the 2 envelopes of Dream Whip as directed on the box.

Add 1/3 cup of sugar.

In a separate bowl, beat 8oz of Cream Cheese.

Mix with the Dream Whip and pour over graham cracker crust.

Top with blueberry pie filling.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

The next two are my favorite Sangria recipes and key when wanting the perfect drink to sip on during a hot day off... the first is super easy to make and very refreshing, the second is a Stevens Family Favorite that my mother in law makes... We request it on pretty much EVERY occasion... Tailgates, Christmas parties, New Years, and even to celebrate the birth of Erica's babies hah like I said EVERY occasion!

 So go on give these two a try, you will be so glad you did! 

Simple Sangria (White)

You will need:

1 bottle of Moscato

1 can of Fresca

Fresh Fruit*

*I use Orange slices, raspberries, blackberries, green grapes and strawberries

Cut up fruit, add to Moscato and Fresca, stir, chill and serve!

Vicki's Sangria

You will need:

Jug of Sangria

Frozen Juices: Limeade & fruit punch

Orange juice

Lime Juice

Sour Mix*

(*I use Mr and Mrs T's Whisky Sour Mix)

Liquor: Rum & Triple Sec

Thaw out the frozen juices so they are liquid. 

Pour out half of the sangria into a container. 

Pour the full can of limeade, ½ can of fruit punch, and ½ can of Orange Juice into the jug of Sangria, 
I just use the empty limeade can to measure the OJ.

Do not add any water to the fruit juices!

Put in three squirts of lime juice.

Add one cup of sour mix.

 Put in 6 shots of Rum and 5 Shots of Triple Sec. 

If you have any room in the bottle/jug, top it off with the sangria you have put aside.

Shake bottle, Refrigerate, serve with a slice of orange and Enjoy!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Things I'm Loving Thursday...

THURSDAY! Thursday already! Woo Hoo! We have been rockin' and rollin' this week...finally the work week is almost over! After a long convo over group text with 8 of my favorite girls last night I decided it was time to get it in gear and clean house from top to bottom, catch up on laundry and make an effort to get my act together for today! So glad I did because now I feel more than ready for this long weekend! Thanks for fueling my fire ladies!

Memorial Day weekend is always the official start of summer for this girl!
Which marks the beginning of Saturdays spent sippin sangria, trips to the lake, time at the beach, pool parties, bike rides, and camping trips (Erica make this happen)... and my personal favorite... GIRLS WEEKEND!

This Memorial Day weekend is no exception... it's here and it's screaming SUMMER!
Got a pool party in the books for Saturday, a new tank top in my closet, and last years red, white and blue swim suit just begging to be worn. Sad to say I won't be making it to the lake this weekend with my dad and Tate but with so many summer travel plans already scheduled I need a little time in CS.



While searching for must have items for summer and essentials for the pool party this weekend I stumbled across so many things I just love (especially things that are monogrammed) ... Here's a little peek...

This would be the perfect hat to wear on the lake...

Dying to get this for our trip to the beach this summer...

Who can say no to a Strawberry Riesling Slushie... 

This bucket is essential for backyard gatherings this summer... can be used to hold towels or ice down drinks... I think I need two of them!

And what girl doesn't need a good maxi dress for the summer...

Hope you have more self control than I do... pretty sure I will be the proud new owner of these items very soon! :D

Bring on the holiday weekend, hot dogs, hamburgers, beer, and cold desserts!

Abilene...

Last week I got to work from our home office in Abilene and spend time with my friends and family there...nothing ever compares to going home! I cried like a baby on Sunday when I had to leave! I spent most of the week out by moms or dads pool, shopping, and eating at all my favorite places.

Wednesday night Dad came to Mom's house to celebrate the end of Tate's freshman year of college over dinner and margaritas! I have said it before and Im sure I'll say it a million more times but I just love that my parents are still friends and get together with Tate and I so we don't always have to split time! Thursday night I went to see the lil Morris kids... I just love that Laney always remembers me! My heart melted as she proped her little self right next to me on the couch and rested her head upon my arm as she showed me her games on the ipad and told me all about Yo Gabba Gabba's circus episode! That lil girl has had this Nonnie wrapped around her finger since before she was born! Parker and Brooks are at such a fun age right now, so curious, crawling like crazy, and just best friends! Cant wait to attend their 1st birthday party in just a few weeks!
Friday night we went to Western Heritage with Dad and some of his friends and then went to have a few beers with Mel, Marsh and Janson.

Saturday we took it easy, attempted to see the Avengers but it was sold out... Bummer!

Sunday we celebrated my mom at lunch at The Beehive, then said our tearful goodbyes so we could get on the road back to CS in time to celebrate Jeff's mom at Pei Wei for dinner!

It's weird being back in CS and Tate being home for summer... It's been a very long 5 days without her... Oh August please come quickly

Playing catch up...

Whoa!!! Has it really been that long since my last post! Here's a look back at March and April to get us back on track...
My cousin Ben got married...

We went to Chicago over Jeff's Spring Break! We shopped, relaxed, watched a lot of college basketball, ate, drank and celebrated St Patty's Day in a BIG way...

Then Tate's 19th Birthday came along and we celebrated her special day with a nice dinner at The Republic followed by a little cake at our house...

We went to Harlingen to spend Easter with the Lists...

Erica gave me this... Which made.my.weekend!

The following week was Rach's birthday so we went out for dinner and drinks...

Jeff and I took an impromptu trip to Lake Charles one weekend...

Then my manager and his wife welcomed this precious little one...
Rebecca Ann Morris

I was lucky enough to get to spend a few hours with her on Friday... So sweet I could just spend all day holding her!

If you're still reading you'll be glad to know that brings us to this past weekend... Cinco de Mayo, Mel&Marsh came to CS and so did E and Daniel and Sus...we had so much fun!

the cups we had made for the weekend...

Woo hoo feels good to be all caught up! Another post coming soon!