Sparkle Friday and a SURPRISE SPARKLE FRIDAY GIVEAWAY!

Hey Lovelies!!! It's FRIDAY!!!!! Woohoo!!! I can't tell you how much your comments and messages to me regarding my "On God's Perfect Timing" post mean to me! I love to hear your stories! It is amazing how much we can all relate to each other in some ways and how much we can encourage each other as well!

This week has been crazy here! Lots of late night working in the craft suite for moi, Reagan stuck a rock up her nose (really?!!! I'm still not over it! She is a nut!), Teddy is having bad dreams and up a bunch at night, my neighbors are ridic...It is so glamorous here!! Ha!!! I am so excited that I shipped out the giveaway winners' prizes! Yay! I can't wait to hear that you all received your goodies!

Also, this has been an extra extra sparkly week in the presidential house! I have been making lots of glitter wineglasses! Yay! I will be doing a flash sale next week to sell them, finally! If you don't want to wait to purchase, you can comment here or email me and you can buy early! Fab champagne glasses will be joining the wineglasses and all will be sold in sets of 4! Are you so excited?!! I am!

So, onto a few sparkle items that I am loving this week!

I finally took the plunge and added the neon pink Kate Spade studs to my life! I love them almost as much as the clear! :) I feel like I might need to add more colors to my collection too! So fun! I sent a surprise little happy in turquoise to someone earlier this week! That's a great color as well and I can't wait for her to get them!!!!!

This Foiled Dot Napkin Set from Anthropologie is amazing! I use them as placemats as well! My BFF gave them to me. Does she know me well or what?! Anywho, I ordered 6 more sets! They are on sale! Hello!! Perfect for gifts, etc! I could see these paired with a 4 pack of Sofia and paper straws as a hostess gift or birthday gift!!! LOVE!

 While I was making wineglasses this week, I made a few glitter vases! I am obsessed with how they turned out! This rose is from my fav bush in our yard! It smells amazing and of course,
it's my fav color!

I recently found this fab Etsy shop, Baker's Bling! I have been searching for gold paper straws for awhile now! Oh, how I love a paper straw!!! They have gold and silver straws (and any other color you could imagine!!!!!!)! They are FAB-U-LOUS and I love them! What better way to bring bling to your everyday life than by using a blingtastic paper straw!

Pair these straws with a Sofia or one of my hubs' Mojitos and one of the sparkly Anthro napkins
and you are totally set for a fab and fun cocktail hour!

Now for the Sparkle Friday SURPRISE!!!! 

I am giving away 2 sets of 50 of these FAB straws from Baker's Bling!!!!!! They will be a mix of GOLD stripe and chevron! Are you sooooo excited?!!!! YAY!!!! I am so excited for you!!!!

So, the deets, my dears! Same as last time! If you follow my blog, that's one entry! If you follow me on Insta (littlepresidents), that's another entry! If you post about the giveaway and tag @littlepresidents and #littlepresidents on Insta, that's another entry! Please comment on this post and let me know if you did one, two or all three! You must comment on this post with that info! I would also love to know in your comments, what you will use these fab straws for, if you win! The giveaway will end at midnight on April 30th! It's a short one, so be sure to enter right away! I hope you have a blessed weekend and that it's filled with lots of love, sparkle and happiness!

xoxo,

Ashley

Mojito Monday

Happy Monday lovely peeps! I have the song "Manic Monday" in my head, so I decided to change it up to "Mojito Monday!" It's no surprise to most people that know me, that my hubs is a "mojito master!" We even have a speacial name for them that one of our friends came up with~"Aseanitos." We have had such beautiful weather, besides a tiny bit of rain last week, so, we decided at the last minute yesterday afternoon to do fish (ahi) tacos and have our good friends for dinner! As my hubs was making the grocery list, he said "do we have limes?" and I said "we should do mojitos!" at the same time! Ha! Great minds think alike?! :) 

 Anywho, I have had a couple people request the recipe that we use. My hubs tells me the recipe is all in his head, so this will be a loose recipe and you should always taste test too! We (my hubs) typically makes them ahead of time if we are having a party or even just having people over for dinner. Then he is not stuck making drinks all night. It works out great! Everything tastes better in a mason jar and when you put a lid on it, it also doubles as a cocktail shaker! So, all your guests need to do is give the mojito a little shake, add a straw and it's ready! Yum! You can do this with pretty much any mixed beverage! We have done it with margaritas as well! 

Depending on how many mojitos you want to make, you'll need a lot of limes and mint. Mint is a really great thing to have in your yard. Just beware that it will completely take over the ground where you plant it! Our plant was doing awesome and then it was not. I believe it has something to do with the wiener pups...they like to eat our harvest. Abbey usually eats most of the blueberries before any of us can! Ha!

You will also need a muddler. If you have ever had a bad mojito, I can pretty much guarantee that the bartender did not muddle the lime and mint enough. I rarely order them when we are out because of this. You have to take your time muddling. The taste of mint needs to be strong!

  

Another secret weapon is using sugar instead of simple syrup. Muddling the lime, mint and sugar together is key. The sugar seems to exfoliate the mint and it really helps make the mint taste strong!

He also adds more sugar to the ice later in the process. This is not a skinny cocktail! Ha!

Here is the whole setup. A whole lot of deliciousness getting ready to happen!

The finished product! Add a fun straw and enjoy! 

Aseanito Recipe(makes 1 mojito)

1.       1 tablespoon of sugar

2.       5-6 large mint leaves

3.       Muddle mint and sugar

4.       Squeeze in half a lime

5.       Muddle

6.       2/3 inches of rum

7.       Fill with ice

8.       Add ½ tablespoon of sugar

9.       Fill with Club Soda

10.   Shake

11. Enjoy!

Mojitos are really pretty simple to make and so refreshing and delish! They are the perfect addiction to any party or just a relaxing Spring/Summer evening at home! Hope you are all happy and healthy on this beautiful Monday morning. We are off to enjoy some fun in the sun, after a quick visit to the dentist (blah!)! Happy Mojito Monday!

xoxo,
Ashley