Simply Watermelon Lemonade

I simply love watermelon.

& I simply love lemonade.
Little did I know that the two flavors combined are simply amazing.

Not too long ago...

We were at a restaurant that offered watermelon lemonade

instead of the traditional strawberry lemonade that you can find almost anywhere.

Hubby ordered one out of curiosity.

It. was. d e l i c i o u s.
They garnished it with fresh watermelon,

but used watermelon syrup instead of fresh watermelon in the drink itself.

I ordered one on my birthday at another restaurant,
and my taste buds were in heaven once again.
Note: This restaurant also used watermelon syrup instead of fresh watermelon.

Hubby bought a container of pre-cubed watermelon just to munch on
since watermelon is such a great summer treat...
Somehow it became buried behind things in the fridge,
and we almost forgot about it.
Thankfully we found it just in the nick of time,
& began eating it while it was still good.
I realized we wouldn't be able to finish the whole container before it went bad,
and was kinda sad about it...
Then I remembered how delicious watermelon lemonade was,
remembered that we had Simply Lemonade in the fridge,
& decided to make some to use up more of the watermelon while we still could.
It was a thousand times better than either restaurant version,
& the best part...
It was simply lemonade & watermelon.
No watermelon flavoring.
All natural.
There were no leftovers.
Didn't have to toss any uneaten watermelon out (:

Without further ado...
The recipe.

1.75 liter bottle of Simply Lemonade (you will have some left over)

4-5 cups watermelon chunks

Fill blender with 4-5 cups of watermelon chunks. Pour Simply Lemonade in the blender over the watermelon chunks until the 6 cup mark. Blend until smooth. Taste, then add more watermelon or lemonade to your liking if needed. Enjoy!

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xoxo

^Lift

Sooo, I started using this awesome site called ^Lift.

It's a way to track your progress on specific goals you would like to accomplish.

Source: Google+

My sister mentioned Lift in a blog post last month.

I read about it while I had limited internet access

& had been meaning to check it out ever since.

A few days ago I finally got a chance to see what it's all about & I love it.

You can check out my progress here.

 Whether it be simple day-to-day tasks,

or baby steps that need to be accomplished before attaining a long-term goal,

you enter them in as 'habits'

and check them off each day once completed.

I know I always accomplish more when I'm checking things off a list.

Lift helps you track your progress each week,

& you can see multiple weeks at a time to see your long-term progress.

You can encourage your friends

or other people with similar goals.

It's pretty nifty.

No more setting goals in January

only to slack off come February.

Don't be discouraged.

We all have great potential.

Follow your dreams.

Choose happiness.

#itshappyhere

As my Grandma used to always say,

"New day, new start, happy heart."

xoxo

Monte Cristo French Toast

I'm really missing Disneyland right now...

It's my birthday week,

and for the first time in a long time

I won't be able to go to the Blue Bayou

and eat a scrumptious Monte Cristo.

Super sad.

I wrote a guest post about it,

which you should check out over at A Peek Into My Paradise!

I wanted to do something about this craving of mine,

so we had Monte Cristo French Toast for breakfast today...

It's not the same as the deep-fried deliciousness that we always get at the Blue Bayou,

but it definitely hit the spot.

I saw a pretty easy recipe here & modified it a little...

14 slices of ham

14 slices of turkey

7 slices Swiss cheese

14 slices of bread

butter (softened)

3 eggs

1/3 cup milk

1/8 tsp salt

powdered sugar

blackberry preserves

- Arrange cheese, ham, & turkey on plates so they will be easier to grab when putting the sandwiches together. This step will also bring them closer to room temperature so they won't take as long to heat up while cooking. I decided to do this on two separate plates so that the cheese doesn't soak up the moisture from the meats.

- Butter one side of each slice of bread, placing 2 slices of ham, 2 slices of turkey, and 1 slice of Swiss cheese on the unbuttered side of one slice, then placing another slice of bread on top making sure the buttered side is out. Repeat until you have made all 7 sandwiches with the buttered sides out.

- Cut into halves diagonally and secure with toothpicks. I broke each toothpick in half so that they weren't sticking up so high, and used 3 toothpicks per triangle.

- Beat eggs with milk and salt. Dip sandwich halves into egg mixture quickly and fry on a lightly greased hot skillet or griddle over medium heat until egg mixture is fully cooked & sandwich is lightly browned.

- Remove toothpicks before serving. 

- Sprinkle with powdered sugar & serve with blackberry preserves on the side.

xoxo