Refreshing Summertime Berry "Melon-ade" Cocktail

Summertime is for enjoying the great outdoors. Family BBQ's & and pool play dates. Each summer I try to find a new recipe for a refreshing beverage the adults can enjoy while sweating in the relentless hot Florida sun.

This year I decided to create my own recipe. Scouring Pinterest boards, I realized that most watermelon drinks were some variation of a mojito. I'm not a huge fan of rum personally, so I wasn't too thrilled with everything I'd found. Well, necessity is certainly the mother of invention because I have just concocted my new favorite drink on the planet!

Ingredients:

16 oz of Lemonade, use your favorite!
1 cup of fresh cut Watermelon
1 1/2 cups of Ice
Your favorite Berry flavored Vodka to taste (we used about 10 oz)
Toss everything in the blender at once (vodka last), and blend to perfection!

It should come out with a slight slush factor with a little foam on top.

*You can easily omit the vodka for a "mock-tini," this is a very refreshing drink for all to enjoy!

Hope you love it as much as we do, it's our "go-to" summertime refreshment this year.

Easy Peasy Summertime Egg Salad Recipe

Some days I draw a blank when it comes to creative lunch ideas. It seems there are only so many different kinds of salads, soups or sandwiches! I like to keep things fresh and exciting in hopes of introducing the boys to a wide range of flavors and encouraging them to try new tastes. My boys are excellent eaters, ask anyone around I don't have to beg them to eat their lunch. They also happen to be great about eating all of their greens, partly because whether they participated or not vegetables have always been a staple on our plates.

Today I realized I hadn't made one of the classic sandwiches I grew up loving in a long while. So simple, so easy, and full of protein! The timeless Egg Salad Sandwich is always a hit in our home, so I decided to share it with you! There are many different takes on this sandwich, they can get pretty fancy or elaborate. This isn't anything like that.

Summertime Lunch

This is my mom's old fashioned classic Egg Salad Sandwich, perfect for picky little eaters who are funny with different tastes or textures. The "No Muss, No Fuss" of Egg Salad Sandwiches, if you will.

All you will need:

About 6 Eggs, hard boiled and diced w/ yolk (this will last two days in the fridge)
1/2 a cup of your favorite Mayonnaise or Vegenaise
1 Tbsp of Mustard (spicy or honey - whichever you prefer)
A dash of Salt & Pepper (or not, I don't use any for the kid's batch)
1/2 tsp of relish (optional for all my pickle lovers)

Fold together in a bowl and enjoy on your favorite bread, I love Ciabatta!

Hope you enjoy this classic as much as we do!


What's your favorite go-to sandwich? Tell me all about it in the comments section below!

Follow me on Pinterest for more yummy recipe's!


Essentially yours,

Erika

Essential Oils - Insect Bites

Summertime here in South Florida comes with all kinds of perks, including insect bites!
Mosquitoes aren't the only culprit in the sunshine state ants, spiders, you name it! I noticed that the recovery time and painful itching took a better part of the week, 4-5 days at best! I decided there had to be a better (natural) way of dealing with this.

I did my research and here it is! Purify those bites!

It never ceases to amaze me, what nature's pure essential oils can do for you. I diluted the DoTerra Purify blend with Fractionated Coconut Oil in a 1:1 ratio and added it to a glass roller bottle so I can use as needed.

Just a few swipes of this helped to relieve itching and also cut the healing time in half. These were three ant bites from a recent nature walk, by the next day they were flat and barely noticeable. Anyone who has had a Florida ant bite knows the bite comes to a head after the first day and forms this terribly itchy pimple for the next week!

Just another concoction I have to keep all stocked up, especially in the summertime!

www.mydoterra.com/erikasessentials



Essentially Yours,


Erika

Essential Oils: Summertime Stash

Summer is here and in full effect!

Here at #CampMom, we are keeping very busy on our hunt for all natural playscapes that offer up an opportunity for "true play". (Imagination included)You can read about some of these adventures at www.ModernBocaMom.com.

During this process we have hit a few bumps in the road, i.e. bug bites, sunburns, bumps & bruises, even a sniffle or two. (Onguard withdrawals, more on that later)

I've been busy nursing two sneezy toddlers this week and concocting all my blends to last through the rest of the summer, as always I'm sharing them with you!

Bug Spray Recipe:

2oz glass spray bottle
10-15 drops doTerra's TerraShield Blend
Fill the rest of the glass bottle with water, shake and spray!

This has helped tons and smells way better than a lot of my favorite all natural over the counter brands (most of the all natural kinds smell really strong).

Homemade Lysol Disinfectant Spray

1oz glass spray bottle
5-6 drops doTerra's Purify Blend (I also use this blend in my homemade deodorant)
Fill the rest of the glass bottle with water, shake and spray!

This came in handy this week when a close friend of mine was visiting with her three gorgeous babes. I had been nursing two sniffly toddlers earlier in the week, so I made sure to spray everything before they came over. #germsarenotforsharing

Homemade Sunburn Spray:

10 drops Lavender
10 drops Frankincense
10 drops Melaleuca
10 drops Peppermint
Fill the rest of a 15ml glass bottle with Fractionated Coconut Oil

This is a miracle worker for the hubby, I cant seem to get him to wear enough protection and his poor skin always pays the price. This sunburn spray will not only soothe and protect, but it also shortens the duration of what I like to call the "Lobster Face".

Owie Spray:

20 drops Melaleuca
20 drops Lavender
10 drops Frankincense
40 drops of Fractionated Coconut Oil
(I like to add a few drops of the miracle oil Helichrysum)

This is a Mommy Must Have!!!

Having two boys so close in age has proven to test not only my blood pressure, but also my cat-like reflexes. I'm able to reach for this spray in an instant and it has everything I need to help my little guys.
It not only disinfects and soothes, but the Lavender and Helichrysum also aid in speeding up the healing process and keeping any germs from getting in. (Annnnnnnnnnd resume playing!)

Plus, this will not sting or burn like some of those "tried and true" chemical ridden over the counter remedies.

With the over-exposure of chemicals in today's society, it feels good to have some sort of control or say-so in the process of helping to heal and soothe our children of the sometimes uncomfortable experiences in every day life. Let's hear it for #DrMom!

More info on chemical exposure in our everyday lives and how it effects our children can be found at: www.unacceptablelevels.com

If you would like more information or would like to purchase any of the oils mentioned you can find them at www.mydoterra.com/erikasessentials

Happy Fourth Everyone!


Essentially Yours,

Erika