A refreshing way to enjoy the weather

Spring is here and I can't wait to sit outside with a good book and a refreshing drink. I'm a big fan of natural stuff as well as things my whole family can enjoy.
I'm in love with this great Citrus Fruit Punch recipe. It's perfectly refreshing for the hot southern summers.
Here's what you need:

1 cup - mint leaves
1 cup - lemon juice
1 cup - orange juice (fresh squeezed citrus is always the best tasting)
1 tablespoon - grated lemon peel
1 tablespoon - grated orange peel
1 1/2 cups - Florida Crystals® Superfine Sugar (I love this because it's organic and has no additives)
2 1/2 cups - water
2 tablespoons - honey (I use my local honey for this)
Ginger Ale


Preparation:
Combine first 5 ingredients in large bowl. Set aside.

In 3-quart saucepan, combine Florida Crystals® Superfine Sugar, water and honey. Over medium heat, bring to a boil. Pour over juice mixture and let cool. Strain and store in refrigerator.

To Serve:
Combine 1 part juice mixture with 3-4 parts ginger ale. Serve over ice.

Makes about 16 servings.

The great thing about this recipe is you can you more or less sugar depending on how sweet you want it.  It's also a fun and easy recipe to make with the kids and will surely be a favorite for the summer.

Guest Post - DIY Sugar Scrub by @miriyap

Hello, I’m @miriyap on twitter and I’m here to help @teawithfrodo out by doing a guest blog post while she is spelunking the wilds of TN!  I’ve recently discovered the joy of DIY, from homemade laundry detergent to sewing my own cloth grocery tote bags for shopping (better than paper or plastic, right?).  Not only does it save money in these difficult economic times, but there is a certain sense of satisfaction to be derived in using something you made yourself (a least for me)!

Today I will be sharing an easy peasy DIY facial sugar scrub recipe with you.  The recipe is courtesy of @58andGrace (who runs a lovely etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/58andGrace) and she swears by it!  So here we go!

Easy Peasy DIY Sugar Scrub Recipe

Ingredients:

--1/3 cup of oil (extra virgin olive oil, or combine natural oils easily found in local health food stores to 1/3 cup)

In a mixing bowl, combine the following:

--1 cup light brown sugar
--1 cup dark brown sugar
--1/4 cup Sugar in the Raw (Cane Sugar)
--2 tbs vanilla extract 
--1 tbs cinnamon 
--1 tsp Pumpkin Spice

Pour in the oil.

Mix well and voila!

Done!  I divided the mix equally into half-pint canning jars, and you can decorate with your own label or tie a pretty ribbon around the jar (I didn’t beribbon my jars because I’m crap at tying bows).

They make great gifts!

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@miriyap is a freelance graphic designer who spends way too much time on twitter. She has a Hubby & two kids.  She loves to read, sew and shout filthy invectives at her friends.

Easy ice pops

I love ice pops in the summer but hate the overly sugared and fake flavored ones at the store.  It isn't just that I have to think about Garrett and what he eats, I'm diabetic and need to watch my sugar intake. 
We've got a bunch of ice pop molds, I know some people use ice cube trays but I prefer a more substantial pop.

I started with plain juices. I prefer using all natural juices with no sugar added. I went with Simply Orange with Pineapple.  Even Garrett loved the ice pops, he's also a big fruit eater so I decided to blend some raspberries, blackberries and strawberries with a little milk.  It would have been good just as a smoothie but now it's in the fridge.  My next ice pop flavor will be watermelon.

Very refreshing

Making you own ice pops is really easy.  It's just 3 basic steps.

1: Choose the fruit (or fruits) you want to use.  Or skip this step and go to #2

2: Put in the blender with water, juice (for added flavor) or milk.

3: Blend and put in molds.

I like to let everything freeze overnight so I know it's frozen all the way through. 

A freezer door full of ice pops

Fast, simple, delicious and even good for you.

Yum!