Free Hermes Bag

This is too cute for words --- I read about it here at one of my all time favorite blogs "A Femme d'un Certain Age"  Firstly, I love that phrase in French --- it is a delightful discreet way of referring to those of us who quite clearly are NOT twenty-one anymore. Secondly, this lady blogs beautifully about her life and her sense of style.
In any event, her blog is where I came across this cute, weird Hermes thing ---
Go to the Hermes website --- go there now --- try not to get sidetracked by all of the gorgeous scarves that you cannot afford, please.... Do not click on the online boutique icon --- instead choose the "travel the world of Hermes" icon ---
Once there, click on "I want it, I'll have it" --- and voila, the templates for the Hermes bags will appear --- they're adorable.
I have a wedding shower later this summer --- I'm thinking that this might be the most lovely favor --- depending on how difficult the cut and paste assembly actually is.  Each lady could go home with her own Hermes bag --- maybe a cute scarf (not Hermes) tied to it???  Classy, cute -- and not too expensive.  Very on the coattails.

Sparkling Lemonade

Ah! The joy of simple food (and drink).  This is so simple and easy -- and yet I'm always astounded by how impressed my guests are by it.  I've already made two pitchers of sparkling lemonade this season.  The first was for the Memorial Day picnic at our house.  The second was for a family gathering this past weekend.  The family is well accustomed to my sparkling lemonade (although they all seem to think its far more challenging to make than it really is), so not too many oohs and aahs there.  

This is one of those emergency treats that turns any simple summer meal into a party.  We take it to Tanglewood with us in the summer (almost time!!) and we take it to the beach.  Unless I make it for just the two of us (yes, sometimes) - there are never any leftovers.  By keeping the two primary ingredients in the pantry and freezer, I can throw this together any time on the spur of the moment.  

Sparkling Lemonade

1 can frozen lemonade concentrate (the cheap store brand will be just fine)

1 bottle (2 liter size) seltzer

1 lemon, sliced thinly

That's it --- pour out the frozen concentrate into a pretty pitcher.  Gently pour in the seltzer (try not to let it fizz overmuch or it will get flat quickly).  Gently stir/mash the lemonade concentrate so that it dissolves nicely.  Add the lemon slices to make it look pretty.  

All done!! 

This lemonade is lighter and less sweet than what you might associate with frozen concentrate lemonade.  That's partly because we're using seltzer, which has that tiny bit of bitterness to it.  But its also because we're using more liquid than is generally called for by the directions on the can.  Its light, nicely sweet, but not overly so, fizzy and wonderful.