Summer Archives – Page 6 of 13 – A Well Crafted Party

Sunday Snapshots: Movies in the Park

July 13, 2014 2 Comments A Well Crafted Life

This was a tough week that I’m not quite ready to go into about on here… But, on Friday night the family (including my wonderful in-laws who are in town visiting) visited a local park for Movies in the Park. It was absolutely the most perfect ending to a very long week.

I had read a little about movies in the park program and knew we’d go to a park, picnic in tow, and see a little live music and a movie. We picked a local park playing the movie Frozen. It was all of that, but so much more! I was impressed by what the City of Portland and the local sponsors put together for a free evening of entertainment.

Quick recap of our Movies in the Park experience for memory-sake and just in case you want to check out some of these companies/entertainment options for yourself:

Pre-show entertainment was done by The Danny Black and The Sale. Both bands were great! The Danny Black one-mad band had me cracking up with fun new lyrics put against a background of familiar music and sung by a really strong male voice. The Sale had all the kiddos out front dancing!
Free popcorn was being handed out by local cheerleaders. Kiddo loved this and being able to do a little craft with a cheerleader.
Several companies were raffling off the opportunity to win some pretty awesome prize. I won a gift certificate and bag of coffee from Mojo Cafe and Drive Thru out on SE Powell. How cool is that!?
Movie didn’t start til dusk (understandably) so it made for a late night. Several smart families brought their kiddos in pjs.
One incredibly smart momma (or dad) decided to throw a Frozen themed birthday party at the park! They brought blankets, frozen balloons, and treats. The entertainment was taken care of for them!
We brought a blanket and picnic. Next time I’ll worry less about the food (there were three food carts in attendance and a popsicle vendor!) and more about cushion. My old rear can’t handle 4+hours on hard ground. Next time some pillows and maybe low camp chairs will attend as well.
I really, really want to go see The Little Mermaid at Mt. Scott Park on August 29. Who is with me?

This isn’t a sponsored post. I was just throughly impressed by the offerings of the Movies in the Park program and the Summer Free For All programs in general. I hope to attend more this summer!

A Well Crafted Lady

Curvy Girl Style: Sun Safe Fashion with Summer Skin Pt. 1

July 8, 2014 3 Comments A Well Crafted Lady

Right after my skin cancer diagnosis I had the opportunity to meet the owner and creator of the sun safe fashion line SummerSkin. Summer Kramer (yep, that is her name!) is seriously such an inspirational powerhouse of a woman that has really made a beautiful brand of clothing that can also help protect you. I was fortunate enough to be able to sample one of her creations— the Endless Summer Scarf. The Endless Summer Scarf is just too much fun because it can be worn so many different ways. I got the scarf the week before my surgery and had fun creating 7 Different Days of SummerSkin Style for my Instagram feed. Over the next couple of Curvy Girl Style posts I’ll be sharing some of my favorite outfits from that week! Check out all the styles I did by looking up #mysummerskin on Instagram!

So, my first favorite is actually the first outfit I put together. It is perfect for an easy summer day at the beach. Casual, cool, but still protected!

Outfit details: Hat —Target // White T-Shirt —Target // Bracelets: 1 home made from old shoe straps and the red leather braided bracelet is a favorite from Flourish Leather // Shoes— Payless // Boyfriend Jeans— Old Navy // Scarf: Endless Summer Scarf from SummerSkin in White

A Well Crafted Pantry

Saturday Spirits: Spiked Ice Cream Recipes (No Ice Cream Maker Needed!)

July 5, 2014 4 Comments A Well Crafted Pantry

Happy Saturday Spirits! It is getting HOT HOT HOT outside which makes this a very fun recipe for a hot summer evening. These Spiked Ice Cream recipes are easy to make at home without the use of any fancy ice cream makers or tools. I used a food processor for mine… but, they can just as easily be made with a hand blender or by mixing with big spoon.

These are fairly light on the alcohol over all. But, they should definitely be served to those legal to drink only.

These recipes aren’t super precise since they are not from scratch recipes, but rather are using some premade items. When I say a carton it may be slightly different than your size of carton. I do write how big of a carton I used. But, please get creative with these items and taste test along the way! (That is most the fun anyways!)

Mango & Bitters Cocktail Sorbet

Supplies: (Some of the below links are affiliate links. Purchases from affiliate links help suppport this blog)

Approximately 1 carton of your favorite Mango Sorbet (I used Trader Joes Mango Sorbet which is 33.81 oz)
10 Shakes of Bitters
3 oz Vodka
Mint (for Garnish)
Food Processor (or hand mixer or big wooden spoon with large mixing bowl)
Ice cream containers (you can use the original container if you’d like, or pretty containers for parties! Portland locals can pick up ones like those photographed at Fancy That Shop in Orenco Station! )

Directions:

Let your mango sorbet soften on the counter for a bit. You should be able to easily scoop out the sorbet.
Scoop the sorbet into your food processor or into a large mixing bowl
Add in the 10 shakes of bitters and 3 oz vodka
Mix like crazy. Make sure everything is incorporated.
Fill your ice cream container with the sorbet and then place back into freezer. It should firm up after an hour or two and be ready to fill ice cream bowls!

Raspberries & Cream Spiked Ice Cream

Supplies: (Some of the below links are affiliate links. Purchases from affiliate links help suppport this blog)

1 carton of your favorite Raspberry Sorbet or Gelato (I used the Raspberry Sorbet from Trader Joes which is 1 pint)
1/2 carton of your favorite Vanilla Ice Cream (I used Trader Joes French Vanilla which is 1/2 a gallon)
3 oz Raspberry Vodka
Food Processor (or hand mixer or big wooden spoon with large mixing bowl)
Ice cream containers (you can use the original container if you’d like, or pretty containers for parties! Portland locals can pick up ones like those photographed at Fancy That Shop in Orenco Station! )

Directions:

Let your Raspberry Sorbet (or gelato) and Vanilla Ice Cream soften up on the counter for a bit.
Scoop the sorbet into your food processor or into a large mixing bowl
Add in the 3 oz of Rasberry Vodka
Mix like crazy. Make sure everything is incorporated.
Fill your ice cream container half way with the sorbet mixture. Then spoon in vanilla ice cream and swirl around with your spoon. You can mix everything together if you’d prefer, or you can leave it a little unincorporated for a swirl-like dessert.

Raspberries & Limoncella Sorbet

Supplies: (Some of the below links are affiliate links. Purchases from affiliate links help suppport this blog)

1 carton of your favorite Raspberry Sorbet or Gelato (I used the Raspberry Sorbet from Trader Joes which is 1 pint)
1 carton of your favorite Lemon Sorbet or Gelato (I used Cioa Bella Lemon Zest Sorbet 14 oz)
3 oz Limoncello
Food Processor (or hand mixer or big wooden spoon with large mixing bowl)
Ice cream containers (you can use the original container if you’d like, or pretty containers for parties! Portland locals can pick up ones like those photographed at Fancy That Shop in Orenco Station! )

Directions:

Let your Raspberry Sorbet (or gelato) and Lemon Sorbet soften up on the counter for a bit.
Scoop the Lemon Sorbet into your food processor or into a large mixing bowl
Add in the 3 oz Limoncello
Mix like crazy. Make sure everything is incorporated.
Fill your ice cream container half way with the Limoncello & Lemon sorbet mixture. Then spoon in Raspberry Sorbet and swirl around with your spoon. You can mix everything together if you’d prefer, or you can leave it a little unincorporated for a swirl-like dessert.

Summer

Quick recap of our Movies in the Park experience for memory-sake and just in case you want to check out some of these companies/entertainment options for yourself:

Mango & Bitters Cocktail Sorbet

Raspberries & Cream Spiked Ice Cream

Raspberries & Limoncella Sorbet

What do you think? Will you be spiking some of your ice cream desserts?