Sangria and a Summer Night

I’ve been dying for a good excuse to try to make a yummy summer drink and I finally had my chance this last weekend! I made this delicious sangria recipe on Saturday night and, if I do say so myself, it turned out pretty darn delicious. I poured it over frozen strawberries and ice and it was so cool and refreshing. The best thing about sangria, I’ve discovered, is that it keeps well in the fridge for a few days and actually tastes even better after about 24 hours (which is good because I still have half a pitcher in the fridge). The perfect drink for a summer night. For a non-alcoholic version, you can also try this recipe out.

I hope that this Memorial Day is a time of remembrance and honor for our fallen service members and their families, as well as prayer for our active-duty and veteran armed forces. A special thank-you to both my parents and little brother for their service to their country and to any members of the military or their families that might read this blog! Please know you are loved.

Happy Memorial Day!

elizabeth

September 11, 2011

I have nothing really important or great to add to the many memorial events, articles, photographs and so on. I found it extremely painful to look back over images and news stories from that day. As many Americans do, I remember very clearly where I was and what I was doing when we first turned on the news.

Today my heart is heavy for the thousands of people affected by the 9/11 attacks in New York and Pennsylvania. I hope that while we take this day to remember the lives lost, we also remember the many who are left living with the effects of poisonous air and countless injuries associated with working at Ground Zero. I hope I don’t stop remembering them tomorrow when there isn’t a story about them on CNN or my homepage. It’s easy for me to want to sweep these memories under the rug but not everyone has that luxury. And I hope that we take today as an opportunity to give back to our own communities, the way the many first responders, firefighters, police, and rescue workers gave (and continue to give) in their community.

If you or someone you know was affected by the September 11th attack, my heart is with you, especially today.

love, elizabeth

PS: I couldn’t locate the original source for the photograph above but if someone knows it, email me or comment so I can credit it properly.