Moscow Mules have been a favorite cocktail of mine lately and a go to cocktail to mix up at our parties! If you’ve never had a Moscow Mule, you need to try one. The Moscow Mule is a very simple cocktail that consists of ginger beer, vodka, lime juice, honey ginger syrup (optional), and mint.
So when one of my friend’s birthdays was coming up who loves Moscow mules, I knew it would make the perfect gift basket and that they would love it! So, if you’ve got someone who loves Moscow Mules this makes the perfect gift and they will end up loving you! The copper mugs alone are so cool and you can’t have a Moscow Mule without the signature copper mug.
For those friends or family members that love cocktails, this is the perfect gift basket for them for practically any occasion like a birthday, bridal shower, wedding, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, or Christmas! I’ve got a list of all the items below needed to make a Moscow Mule gift basket! We’ve also made a recipe card and a downloadable PDF file of the recipe to download and print to place in the basket!
Were you invited to a BBQ and don’t know what to make or forgot you needed to bring a dish? I’ve got you covered with my go to dish I like to bring…Broccoli Salad! This salad is so simple and easy to make and it’s soooo good!! This broccoli salad is my favorite! It’s full of broccoli, crispy crumbled bacon, golden raisins, sunflower seeds, and sweet poppyseed dressing! It always seems to be one of the first dishes to get eaten up too, so that tells you how yummy it is! The only thing you have to cook is the bacon. How much easier can a recipe get? Not much easier. All you have to do with the rest of the other ingredients is pour it into a bowl and mix it all together.
So hit up the grocery store and grab all the ingredients needed and a giant bowl and whip up this delicious salad! You won’t regret it! I promise. And you can get any brand of poppyseed dressing, but I love the BRIANNAS brand the best!
1 (12 ounce) bags of broccoli florets, cut into bite size pieces
1 bottle Briannas poppyseed dressing
1 (16 ounce) package of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 and 1/2 cups of Golden Raisins
1/3 cup unshelled sunflowers seeds
Instructions
Combine broccoli, golden raisins and sunflower seeds in a bowl.
Pour the bottle of dressing into the salad and mix all together. Tip: I usually use the whole bottle but if you don't like as much dressing you can start off with half the bottle and then continue to add dressing until desired.
Let salad chill for 1-2 hours. It might look like the salad doesn't have enough dressing when you take it out of the fridge but it is. The salad dressing marinates into the ingredients.
Give the salad a stir before serving, mix in bacon leaving a bit for the top, and serve!
We’ve all been there. First pool day of the summer or first day of our beach vacay, and we’re roasted and toasted. Burnt to a crisp. Sometimes ten layers of SPF 50 just doesn’t do the trick. But have no fear, we’ve rounded up our top 5 ways to beat a sunburn for you! These methods are ALL TRIED AND TRUE. I swear by them. In no time at all your painful skin will no longer be glowing inferno red and you’ll actually be able to wear normal clothes without gritting your teeth.
Hydration. And lots of it. I’m not talking about drinking “a water bottle” when you get back from the beach. That’s not enough. You’re going to think I’m crazy, but you need to drink a water bottle every hour, if possible. And yes, this means you’ll be peeing like a racehorse (probably every hour as well), but I’m telling you it works. I learned this trick from a friend in college. He grew up surfing in California and has had his fair share of sunburns as a result, but this trick takes the sting out by the next day. If you’re hurting really bad you definitely need to start pounding the water!! I promise, it works.
Cold Aloe Vera. Aloe is no secret. I’m sure we’ve all used it before for to help aid the sunburn sting. But have you tried putting it in the fridge? Game changer! During the summer we keep a bottle of aloe vera in the fridge at all times. There’s something about that COLD gel that can calm even the hottest burn.
Sun Bum Cool Down. You may have heard us talk about this product before in one of our sweet pick posts, but it must be mentioned again! It’s pure magic. I prefer this because it’s less sticky than aloe and seems to take away the heat for a lot longer than aloe does. I put this on as soon as I come in from a long sun-exposed day to help the healing start right away. If the it turns into a bad burn I’ll apply this repeatedly until the skin calms down. This takes that burning sting OUT better than any other lotion I’ve tried (and it smells delicious).
Noxzema cream. Yes, the same Noxzema that you used in junior high as part of your acne-defending face regimen can heal some of the worst burns! Noxzema was actually originally developed as a sunburn remedy and then was later marketed as a facial cream. It contains camphor, menthol, phenol and eucalyptus, among other ingredients to help soothe and calm the skin. When using it for burns apply a layer of the white cream over the burn. Don’t rub it in, just allow it to slowly sink into the skin if possible. Apply it as often as you need until the burn heals. This product not only helps with sunburns, but burns of any kind. So, whether it’s a sunburn or a stove burn, you’ve gotta have some of this stuff on hand!
Be smart about SPF. Did you know that not all sunscreen is created equal? If you think you’re covered because your moisturizer or foundation have sunscreen in them, think again! According to my thorough WebMD research, you need 7 times the normal amount of foundation to achieve the SPF on the label. No one does this so make sure to use a real sunscreen—not just make up sunscreen. Here are a few more tips to make sure you bring your sunscreen A-game to the next pool party.
Broad spectrum coverage is a MUST. There are two types of UV rays—UVA rays (these are the ones that cause wrinkles and premature aging) and UVB rays (these are the ones responsible for sunburns). Make sure your sunscreen has both UVA and UVB protection. According to the FDA, if your sunscreen is labeled “broad spectrum” it covers UVA and UVB.
No sunscreen blocks 100 percent of UV rays! Ultrahigh SPFs are not much more protective than SPFs of 30 or 50. SPF 15 blocks 93 percent of UVB rays. SPF 30 blocks 97 percent. The increase in protection is even more gradual after that, 98 percent for SPF 50 and 99 percent for SPF 100. So don’t be fooled SPF 100 isn’t doing much more for you than SPF 30!
The real secret is to apply sunscreen early and often. Apply at least 15 minutes prior to exposure and reapply every 2 hours!
There’s no such thing as waterproof or sweatproof sunscreen. Water-resistant technically means it will last for 40 minutes or 80 minutes in the water (depending on the brand)…that’s it! So make sure to reapply often when in the water or sweating.
Cheers to the first day of summer! Hopefully these tips will keep you calm, cool, and careful on all your sunny summer adventures.
I’ve visited California more times than I can count. By now, I should know San Diego and Los Angeles like the back of my hand. Little did I know, I had yet to experience the best California has to offer. That’s right, I said it. Southern California is no longer my favorite west coast destination. Recently, my little family and I had the opportunity to spend one full week in Central California. The main reason for our trip was to visit my cousin and two really close friends. I have to say I was concerned we might be a little bit bored. I wasn’t sure if there would be enough “entertaining” activities for my three-year-old daughter, Olivia. But I knew it would be a fun adventure, visiting new places and having new experiences.
The best part about our vacation, was experiencing the area as a local and not a tourist. Having our family and friends as tour guides led us to some really cool hidden gems. Take a look below to learn more about each of the areas we visited.
San Jose San Jose is home to many of the world’s largest technology companies, including eBay, Cisco, Adobe, Facebook and more. It was incredible to see all of these major companies as we drove through the city from the airport. My first impression left me wondering why people would want to live in the middle of this ongoing business park atmosphere, but then we drove a little further south into Willow Glen and I immediately fell in love with San Jose. One of our favorite things to do during this part of our trip (besides driving through the neighborhood, day dreaming of what house we would buy) was to walk up and down the tree lined streets of downtown Willow Glen. We’re talking about the adorable town you see only in the movies.
Nestled in the 10th largest city in the nation, Willow Glen has a small-town feel with cafes, coffee shops, boutiques, restaurants and more! We, of course, took every opportunity we had to enjoy as many restaurants and sweet shops we could get to during our time downtown. We had the most delicious pizza at Jake’s of Willow Glen, yummy donuts at a mom and pop shop called Manley’s Donuts and rolled ice cream at Icicles.
Of course we couldn’t leave San Jose without stopping at Levi Stadium, the home of the best team in the NFL! Marc and I have been 49ers fans ever since we were little kids, so this was kind of a big deal for us.
Half Moon Bay
Half Moon Bay is the perfect summer beach town. It reminds me of a quaint little summer spot you would see in the movies. The main reason for our visit was to see the location of the famous Mavericks big-wave surf contest. We trekked up a paved road by the Air Force Facility and then took one of the many trails down the cliff side to Ross Cove Beach. Let me tell you, this is one of the most peaceful places I’ve ever been. We were the only ones on the beach. The view of the cliffs and waves splashing against the rocks was like nothing I had ever seen before. We could have spent all day just laying in the sand. On our way out of town, we had lunch at Half Moon Bay Brewing Co. for some delicious fish tacos and local beer. We enjoyed the patio seating and ocean views.
Santa Cruz Our time in Santa Cruz was short lived, but definitely a place we want to go back and visit. The beach was really busy, which was surprising for how cold the water was. Olivia enjoyed splashing around for an hour before we made our way up to the boardwalk. You can walk around and enjoy the atmosphere of the board walk for free. There is a huge building at one end of the boardwalk where you can play arcade games, mini-golf, laser tag and other fun indoor activities. The boardwalk is such a fun place to hang out, enjoy the ocean view, ride carnival rides and fill up on carnival themed food like cotton candy and deep fried everything! The only downside is the cost of rides. It’s comes out to $5 per ride, unless you buy a season pass. I was pretty shocked at the price of tokens and thankful we were only there for about an hour or it would have taken a majority of our vacation budget!
Monterey Bay The main attraction we were looking forward to in Monterey was the famous Monterey Bay Aquarium. Everyone we told about our trip said we had to stop and check it out. I must say, it didn’t disappoint. There were so many fun things to do including behind-the-scenes tours, shows throughout the day and live feedings. There was also an interactive area called the splash zone, where kids could play in the water and touch all sorts of creepy crawly sea life!
The aquarium was also a great place to take in the gorgeous views of the shores of Monterey Bay. We sat outside for almost an hour enjoying snacks and watching sea lions swim by. If you want to take a peek at the view I’m talking about, check out the live cam from the aquarium’s ocean-view deck.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium is by far one of the best aquariums I’ve visited. However, if you are planning a trip, keep these things in mind:
Schedule: You could spend all day enjoying everything the aquarium has to offer, so plan to spend a good 3 – 5 hours.
It’s expensive. General admission costs $50 for adults and $30 for children 3-12.
Food options. The cafe has a variety of food options and it’s pretty tasty. Just be prepared for steep prices.
Before we left Monterey, we decided to drive along Ocean View Blvd to check out some tide pools. We could’ve spent all day searching for star-fish, watching crabs and enjoying the waves as they splashed against the rocks.
San Luis Obispo – SLO
San Luis Obispo, in my opinion, is a hidden gem. However, it might not be so hidden since it was recently named the “The Happiest Place in America”. I had never heard of the city until our friend moved there a year ago. After spending two days in “SLO” and the surrounding small towns, Marc and I were sold and ready to move. Home to California Polytechnic State University, this college town has such a laid back vibe and an adorable historic downtown, filled with hip restaurants and bars. There is also an incredible river walk that flows down the middle and is the backdrop to a lot of the restaurants.
Shell Beach Our friend lives in an adorable beach house neighborhood, one street away from Shell beach. The homes are absolutely incredible and unique. We spent the evenings walking along the cliff side, looking down at the waves splashing against the rocks. It was so peaceful and relaxing. I can’t believe they live there! One morning we explored the beach and searched the tide pools for sea creatures. It was pretty foggy, but still made for a beautiful sight. Avila Beach Avila is a small beach community with restaurants, bars, shops, golfing, fishing and more. The beach was really nice and had beautiful views. Our friend said when he surfs this beach, he is always accompanied by friendly dolphins! Although we didn’t see any marine life, we walked up and down the shore and found a star fish! That was the main event for our little one. I can’t even begin to explain how beautiful the beaches are in central California, with the cliffs and rocks. It’s so different than southern California.
Hello, interweb friends and followers (currently only our siblings and parents)! We are four friends that have been creatively scheming since 7th grade and have now reunited to share our creative endeavors with you. (click here for all the juicy deets) We hope our everyday slices of life leave you laughing, inspired, hungry, happy and most of all, feeling connected to people like yourself. So come, follow along!
P.s. We promise to include some pretty hilarious throwbacks documenting our 20-year creative friend journey along the way. #totallyworththefollow #braces #juniorhigh #awkwardtweens
