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Cucumber Grapefruit Spritzer

April 3, 2015

I love a great year-round cocktail and this one fits the bill! Super refreshing and delicious this is an easy drink to whip up, no matter the occasion.

Cucumber Grapefruit Spritzer

2 Persian cucumbers
1 grapefruit
2 oz gin
ginger beer

Muddle 1/2 sliced cucumber in the bottom of a cocktail shaker.
Add juice of 1 grapefruit (reserving a wedge for garnish).
Add ice and shake for 20 seconds.
Strain into an ice filled glass.
Add gin and top with ginger beer.
Stir and garnish with grapefruit wedge and cucumber spears.

Tasty

I’ve done my fair share of spreading the Barre3 love on this site (sorry!), but these bars are one of those things that are so engrossed in my daily routine, I forgot they are worth sharing. My favorite baker buds joined in to to make these yummy treats and spread the word… So prep your food processors because this recipe is about to be a staple in your home too!

Barre3 Energy “Barres”

6 dates, pitted
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/4 cup sunflower or almond butter
1/4 cup goji berries (or raisins or dried fruit)
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup ground flax seed
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
a heavy pinch of sea salt
1 cup almonds
handful of cacao nibs or dark chocolate chips
Other: chia seeds, hemp seeds, Maca powder, oats

Pulse pitted dates, coconut oil and seed/nut butter in a food processor until blended.
Add dried fruit, coconut, ground flax, cinnamon, and salt and blend until mixture is incorporated (may still be a bit chunky).
Add almonds and chocolate and continue blending until mixture looks like cookie dough.
Transfer “dough” to a baking pan (nothing larger than an 8×8 or the bars will be too thin) and use the bottom of a cup to press down mixture until evenly flattened.
Store in the freezer for an hour or so until hardened.
Cut bars into individual portions and wrap in plastic wrap.
Continue storing in freezer for an easy on the go snack (they will fall apart otherwise)!

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Hawaii Recap 2015

March 31, 2015

This year was one of our favorite trips yet… the past couple of years we have gone out of our comfortable “tan/swim/read 500 books” rut and spent a few days devoted to exploring the island (thus only remaining in a “tan/swim/read 300 book” rut). I wanted to share some of our favorite pictures from our trip and include a few of our fun day trip agendas 🙂 aloha!

Wailea Day:

Go to Big Beach for a fun day in the sun
Grab JAWZ tacos for lunch
Freshen up and grab drinks/dinner and the sunset at Ka’ana Kitchen (be sure to get the fried chicken, abalone risotto, and the tuna tataki with burrata) at the Andaz hotel

Paia Day:

Grab fish tacos (or the Mahi Mahi sandwich) at the Paia Fish Market (get there at 11am to avoid long lines)
Head over to Rock and Brews for Pina Coladas
Drive down the road to Ho’okipa beach for awesome turtle and windsurfer sightings (bring your own towel/they have warm water showers too!)
Grab Tobi’s for snow cones and poke on your way back into town
Get back in the car and head to Makawao. It is an old rodeo town with super cute shops and a infamous bakery – Komoda bakery (be sure to get their butter rolls and glazed donut holes – and be sure to get there before 4pm!)
Continue the drive to Hali’imaile to enjoy dinner at the General Store (we loved the Sashimi Napoleon, Ombre Tomato Burrata salad, Goat Cheese Panna Cotta, and the Horseradish Crusted Opakapaka). If you get there early (as we did, be sure to check out the glassblowing facility across the street for a real live demonstration, or the distillery for some spirit tasting).
Grab pies from Leoda’s on your way home

Pacific Ocean/Lahaina Day:

Go on the Hula Girl (always.)
The boat leaves at 9:15 and gets back around 2:30ish… we usually are “sunned out” by then and head back to the hotel to get ready.
We grabbed happy hour at Fleetwood’s (half of cocktails from 2-5pm) and then enjoyed their $1 oysters (from 5-6pm).
Dinner was at Leoda’s (our favorite “hole in the wall” spot) – be sure to get the fried salad, pastrami sandwich and Lahaina dog.

Until next time… Mahalo!

For more Hawaii posts click here, here, here, and here!

Sip

Cherry Pop

March 20, 2015

One of my awesome coworkers – Eddie, gifted J & I the amazing PDT Cocktail Book for Christmas this past year, and I’ve been eager to dive into it. A cocktail that initially stood out, was the delicious – Cherry Pop, that I had to share with you all!

Cherry Pop

2 oz Plymouth Gin
1 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
splash of agave nectar or simple syrup
4 pitted cherries

Muddle 3 cherries with a splash of sweetener in the bottom of a cocktail shaker.
Add gin, lemon juice, Luxardo liqueur and ice, and shake until icy and combined.
Strain into an ice filled low ball glass and garnish with a cherry.

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Happiness Files: Stinson

March 19, 2015

A couple of weeks ago, J and I were lucky enough to travel to a new special place right in our backyard – Stinson Beach. With our work schedule, weekends tend to be the best time to get our traveling in, so destinations that are a couple of hours away are usually our favorite. Just when we thought we’d exercised all of our options (Carmel, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, San Francisco, Cordevalle, etc.) – we found a new amazing place to add to our line-up. Here were some of the highlights: