Gifting money

Those who know me in person, know I don’t like gifting money in a plain envelope. I feel it’s too impersonal and lacks creativity. So when SweetieS started school this last fall and all the parents agreed that we would give money when it came to birthdays, I went on Pintrest to get some ideas.

So far I have “toilet rolled” a few and made “piggy banks”.

- how do you gift money?

First signs of Spring

and what a better way what with a glass of refreshing Sangria?
When I visited Portugal many years ago I was introduced to Sangria, a refreshing drink based on red wine. During the trip I found variations with white wine, rose and champagne! We quickly realized that the sangria based with rose wine was our favorite.
I had yet to try to make it myself though. So when I got the chance this past weekend, I gave it a try…
According to my Portuguese friend, the Portuguese version is usually made with Portuguese liqueurs, most commonly “Licor beirão” (flavors of seeds and herbs) and “Liqueur de Laffon” (orange flavors). And Sumol (Portuguese sparkling water) to top it of. These liquids are not available here in Norway, So I opted for liquids with similar qualities. I ended up with “St.Hallvard” for the herbal liqueur and “Cointreau” for the orange liqueur . To replace Sumol I just used a cheap lemon/lime soda.
To give it the Sangria look and feel, I added some sliced fruits. Here is the ingrediencies I used:
- an apple
- a lemon
- a lime
- an orange
- a bottle of red wine ( I just used a bottle of Italian red wine I had laying around)
- 4cl St.Hallvard liqueur
- 4cl Cointreu liqueur
- 1,5l lemon/lime soda
(add a tablespoon or two og brown sugar if you want the cocktail even sweeter)
I was recommended to mix the fruits and alcohols together and let sit for at least a few hours. Add the soda just before serving.

Chilling….