Summer Blog challenge Catch Up

I told myself I would do this everyday, but my days have been consisting of this...

I am fostering a pair of boarder collie pups. 12 weeks old. They are soooo precious and been keeping me away from the computer. Right now, it's nap time, so I'm taking advantage of it. I have them until July 9th.

Last Wednesday, I moved out of my downtown Chicago apartment. So, I've been trying to put my apartment stuff back into my home HOME. 

This is what happened to me when I tried putting my clothes BACK into my closet.

I'm STILL trying to get my closet back in order.

But, I am still going to participate in the SBC. I love reading other blogs about people's summer, because I'm nosy I am very interested in what everyone else does! :)

So, here I go...bare with me please. 

Day #6: Lemonade!

I just made this drink last weekend and let me tell you, it was a hit. I looked at all the ingredients and said ewww...but it was surprisingly well! Here it is:

Summer Drink

1 Orange

1 Lemon

1 Lime

1 cup Vodka

1 cup Ginger Ale

1 cup Lemonade

1 cup (I can) Light Beer

Fill pitcher with citrus wheels, then 1/3 with ice. Then pour in each liquid and top off with the beer. 

Day #7: Favorite Summer Memory

My favorite memories would be going to Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina with my family and friends. I miss it and want to go back ASAP. Maybe next summer. This summer I'm going to PUNTA CANA!! 40 days until I'm going to the Dominican! Not that I'm counting or anything :)

Day #8: Summer TV

If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you know that I LOVE TLC and HGTV. One of my shows that I watch religiously is House Hunters, HH International, Property Virgins and My First Place. 

I also love So You Think You Can Dance. I use to dance and I miss it, so that's my dance fix. I also like shows like the Voice, America's Got Talent...you get the picture.

Day #9: Childhood Swimming Memory

When I was little, my parents put us in swimming lessons. I was maybe 6 or 7. We went to a private swimming pool for classes. One of the swim instructors had the strategy of they'll learn to swim when they have too. The first day of class, we had to jump off the diving board.... by OURSELVES! By the end of the week, our teacher was pushing us under water, to make us swim under water. It's safe to say I did not like swimming lessons. Back in the 90's though, I guess that is how swim teachers taught. Ironically, after that, I was a fish. I LOVED the water. Junior and Senior year of high school I was even on the diving team. Weird? Maybe. But I loved it!

Day #10: Summer Must Have

Slurpee's are a MUST!!!

rollerblading! I LOVE IT!!

Day #11: Summer Beverages

Like I said before, I love slurpees! I also like iced tea and lemonade aka arnold palmer. 

Day #12: How Do You Beat the Heat?

I go swimming. I don't have a pool, but some friends do. I also like going to a lake. One thing I don't like about the lake beaches is that they are usually ALWAYS crowded!

Day #13: Summer Craft

This summer I revamped my cookbook. I'm starting to cook more, so I wanted an easy to find way to search and browse through the recipes I have collected over the years. I used Jen's (over at IheartOrganizing) amazing way of organizing recipes. She is amazing. I swear anything she does is so creative and can be done relatively cheap. For my cookbook, all I had to buy was a cute binder, and binder dividers. Look here for the way she did her binder. I did the same thing. I call it a craft because it looks pretty and took me a long time.

Day #14: Summer Recipe

Since I started cooking, I love all recipes. One of my favorite ethnic dishes are itailan. So this baked ziti dish looks amazing. I haven't tried it yet, but I will soon! I am very excited to see everyone else's summer recipe! 

Baked Ziti

1 box of Ziti

1 24 oz jar of Giada's Tomato Basil sauce

2 rounds of fresh mozzarella (about 2 cups)

1 cup of ricotta

3/4 cup of parmesan (grated)

1 egg

S&P

Bread crumbs

Butter

First, preheat your oven to 425. Then cook the pasta to al dente and drain. In a bowl, combine sauce, grated mozzarella, ricotta, grated parmesan, egg, S&P and hot pasta. Pour into a greased 9*13 pan. Top with bread crumbs, extra parmesan and dot with butter. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes, or until bubbly and golden.