3 Drink Mixes to Try This Summer

First, today is the second day of our squat challenge! I am so happy to be doing this with you! Yesterday's was quite wonderful, so let's kick it up a bit on the second day of the challenge :)

Summer is here, summer is here! When I think summer I think sipping drinks poolside or lounging at the beach. It makes perfect sense then to be seeing so many fantastic drinks that are perfect for poolside sipping, picnics, and tanning by the beach.  

Since we are up at camp and working super hard 12+ hours of the day, these drinks will have to be put on hold for the time being. But you just wait, August, I guarantee that one or two of these goodies will be in your future! 

Rose Sangria

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There is a very abrupt split in our family between those who love sangria and those who hate it. I am on the side of loving it; I mean, it is wine and juice with fruit, how could someone not?! This Rose Sangria was first discovered on Cup of Jo from Kimberley Hasselbrink's new book, Vibrant Food, and I have been thinking of it ever since. Ingredients include Rose, watermelon, lime, raspberries and more. Drink this and think of me... then tell me how it is! 

Blueberry and Basil Smoothie

This goodie is something that everyone in the family can enjoy and is even a bit healthy! Honestly though, I would be just as happy looking at this beauty as I would be eating it. The blue coloring and green leaves just makes is so appealing. Then you add in the cool smoothie after a hot day and it just might be heaven! This could be one I will be trying before summer is fading away! 

Tom Terrific

Don't you just love this name? What you may love even more is the mix of Indian Pale Ale with gin. I could totally see this drink being sipped at an uber lush backyard barbecue where everyone has perfect smiles and are nonchalantly laughing with one another. Adorable children with perfect manners, hair, and clothing would be playing with perfect puppies and all the adults would have impeccable taste in fashion. Of course, Tom would be there, he is so terrific.

Stitch Fix, Love it or Hate it

After reading this blog post on Pumps and Iron and all the blog posts from PB Fingers, Fitnessista, and Pumps and Iron (again) about their trip to San Francisco with Stitch Fix, I decided to try it out. If you do not know, Stitch Fix is a clothing delivery system for women and has almost every blogger remotely into the fashion world going crazy. Pretty much, you go onto their website, take a style diagnostic, put in your sizes and preferences, and your appointed stylist picks out frocks for you to wear. Said frocks are shipped to your door and you decide what stays and what goes. 

Every Stitch Fix costs $20 and whatever clothing you decide to keep, you buy minus that amount. Honestly, I am a bit confused as to whether you pay that amount no matter what, or if you get a $20 kick-back for buying their goods. If anyone knows, please enlighten me. 

I am a sale queen and consider buying things full price to be for suckers, I opted for the least expensive in every category. Meaning, there is no sense sending me $200 jeans, they will be shipped back immediately with very little chance of actually being tried on. I know, it may sound a bit cheap, but I love brands like J. Crew and Banana Republic and am able to get jeans for less from them, so why pay more? 

Whoo, back on track now... My first fix came just last week in a pretty box with beautiful wrapping and a nice note from my stylist along with recommendations of how to wear each item and with what. Inside was a pair of SUPER CUTE emerald/blue-ish jeans that fit like a glove; two tank top blouses, one with a feather pattern and one with honeycombs, a maxi dress, and earrings. The jeans and feather tank I loved, everything else was the worst thing ever. Dramatic? If you saw them on me, you would agree. 

After taking off the maxi and honeycomb top and immediately deciding to send them back, I thought, and thought, and thought on the top and the jeans (the earrings were a no-go since they cost $60?!). In the end, I decided that $58 for a tank top (no matter how cute the feathers are) is just too much, and $99 for the pants that are very similar to a pair I already had was just silly. 

I am ok with paying a bit extra for good quality and completely understand the mentality of paying a bit more for something to last a bit longer, but none of these items seemed to be much better in quality than Kohls. The prices, however, were way higher. 

For that reason and for the fact that there is no way to shop a sale with Stitch Fix, I have decided to be the first blogger in history to give them a not-so-sterling review. Yes, it is a wonderful idea to have someone pick out clothing for you and send it to your home. And yes, the process was quite easy and wonderful. But in the end, paying $20 plus the price for overpriced clothing that is not such great quality was not a happy process for me. 

After this fail, I went to J. Crew and purchased three outfits for the hubs and two for me for a total that was less than the Stitch Fix total?!!!??! Gotta love J. Crew sales! 

Etsy Under $50

About a month ago I got a gift card from Etsy for winning this contest and still have not used it. Gasp. Etsy is one of the best places to shop for jewelry, cute shirts, hair things, and pretty much anything one would need to decorate their home. Well, all these amazing things have made it quite difficult for me to decide on just one item to buy. So, instead of me having to put more metal energy into what incredible piece I should buy, I figured we could leave it to you instead. 

These are all incredible items that would look good anywhere and on anyone, I simply cannot make a choice. Even better, they are all $50 or less! If you had $50 from Etsy, what would you spend it on? 

1. Large Vintage Temporary Tattoo that I am currently obsessed with. This has all of the prettiness of a tattoo but without the fear of sagging skin and the aging process! 

2. A Totoro Watercolor that is quite possibly the coolest thing ever. There is a pretty high chance that this guy will be ordered by the time you read these words. 

3. Well Why the Hell Not art print that I want on the wall across from my bed so it is the first thing I see upon waking. Yea, this year is going to need some motivation to accomplish all our goals!!

4. Its a Lace Bracelet that I just love. I just love it! 

5. LOVE Sign Language Poster. This is simply beautiful and reminds us of a pretty important thing in a gorgeous and modern way. 

6. Wonder Woman Rings. These really need no explanation as to why I love them. 

7. Pretty Earring Set of Three for the third lower lobe piercing that I will be getting at the end of summer!  

8. Proper Tie D for those Ni No Kuni lovers. If you get it, chances are you love it too! 

9. Felted Wool Cat Bed that is $5 over our limit, but isn't it worth it? Well, that is as long as said cats actually use it. 

10. My Favorite Bracelet ever. Why I have not purchased this yet is beyond my understanding. 

Things I am Loving

Happy Friday! Will you be doing anything super fun this weekend? Staff training starts up here at camp and I am so excited. This week is one of my favorites and the weather in Michigan is simply beautiful right now... Except for three days ago when it sounded and felt like the world was going to end. That thunder storm was beautiful, but quite a bit intense! 

It seems like it has been f-o-r-e-v-e-r since we did a "things I love" post, and with all the things to love this summer, today seemed like the perfect day to do it. Do you have anything you are currently obsessed with? This will not be on the list, but I think I have worn this pair of jean shorts five out of seven days this week. Surprisingly, they look and feel freshly cleaned! 

My new favorite running app I am soooooo excited to be doing this with all of you and am LOVING logging my runs to see my little avatar move along the route. It is so much fun and has gotten me back running again after a few weeks off. 

Outdoor running One of my favorite parts of being in Michigan is running outside on these country roads. Being up here does not feel official until my first run. Then, jogging in the crisp, clean, refreshing air is a better start to my day than all the guilty pleasures in the world! To log runs, I have been using the Nike+ Running app and loving it! 

Graze We talked about it on the blog yesterday, and I am still loving it. Yay to snacks and yay to yummy snack popcorn that does not leave me feeling like a buttered-up turkey after eating it!

This article My sister-in-law wrote it, so, I may be a bit biased since she is one of the coolest people I know, but it is great! Our whole family has gotten into running this past year and the article is all about it. Yay for having a family of fitness enthusiasts and writers, gotta love it! 

My iPad mini case I love this case. It was bought to second as a clutch when needed and works great as both clutch and case. I have also recently discovered that it is [somewhat] water proof. Since my iPad was in it at the time, I will forever be grateful for this little guy! 

This shirt The hubs found this shirt and showed me it telling me that it is the perfect description of me on a shirt. It is nice to be so known by a person; he was completely right. After seeing it, I did the most mature thing a 27 year-old who sees something they like can do... I jumped up and down and begged him to buy it for me by simply singing "buy it for me, buy it for me, pllleaaaassee" over and over. Yes, I know, my maturity is far beyond my years ;)