Ever have those days when you just wake up feeling motivated and you want to just start checking things off your list? Well that was this morning for me! A couple of week's ago, I made Lobster Fra Diavolo (a special little Valentine's dinner), and decided that some fresh basil would be a nice touch to brighten it up at the end. I hate buying a bunch of basil because it always goes bad too fast, or I just don't need all of it and the rest just goes to waste. So instead, I like to buy the little potted basil plants. The last one i had grew out of control! I had it sitting around on the counter after that though, and on it's own, it's not very pretty and I kept telling myself "I need to find a little pot for it." As it continued to sit out on the counter, we used a can of crushed tomatoes and the can was sitting out on the counter next to the basil, and I had a little inspiration!

I figured for the price of some rope a the craft store (where I find myself at least once a week anyway), I could create a super simple pot for my basil. So with my used aluminum crushed tomato can, my trusty hot glue gun and some rope (I was hoping one length of rope would be enough, but of course i needed just a little bit extra!), I created something cute and functional.

So to get started, all you need to do (after removing the label and washing your can out), is to heat your glue gun, and starting with the end of your rope, glue down the end and then start winding the rope around the can tightly, gluing it to the can as you go. When you reach the end of the rope, and start with a new length, just be sure to glue them very close together trying to minimize the visual seam that you create. After you've wound the rope all the way to the end and there's no exposed can left, cut the rope, wrap the end of the rope with clear Scotch tape or craft tape tightly so it doesn't fray and glue it down securely to the can. That's it! 

It's really that simple. I squeezed in this little 15 minute craft in between grocery shopping and running out to hunt for some interesting new dessert table displays for an upcoming baptism. You can see I added a cute little chalkboard sign to label my basil, but the options are endless.

This would be a great project to mimic to create centerpieces for a party; use different size cans and fill with cut flowers or potted plants. Use the chalkboards to label the plants or for table numbers and give them away at the end of your party. Or use the same technique around the bottom 1/3 of a dollar store glass vase, fill with some sand and a candle, and glue on a starfish or shell and you're one your way to some fun and inexpensive party decor!

If you give this a try, please share your pictures with us. We'd love to see what you were inspired to do. You can post them to Instagram and tag us @theboastfulhost

Happy crafting!
​Adrienne

Happy Friday! I hope everyone is wrapping up their work for the week, and has a fun weekend planned. We have a fun little brunch to set up for tomorrow which we're excited about, so expect to see pictures of some of the yummy goodness! 

For our cocktail this week, we are taking a little help from one of my dear friends...Trader Joe! Come on, who doesn't love Trader Joe's? We totally get that we are all leading crazy busy lives just trying to fit everything in. Sometimes we just don't have time to pull together 5 different ingredients, with fresh herbs, and fancy liqueurs just to make a tasty cocktail with a couple of friends. This is when we do a little "cheating"! 

When my friend alerted me that Trader Joe's carries these tasty sodas, and suggested using them for one of our cocktail's of the week, I jumped on in. While I'm not a big fan of your typical super sweet big name brand sodas, I was quite intrigued by this Lemon Elderflower Soda. It's not too sweet, it doesn't taste "fake", and I'm a big fan of Elderflower liqueur, so this seemed to be a natural fit. Let me be clear, this is not a sponsored endorsement. I'm just sharing something tasty that I was happy to find (Trader Joe's, if you're reading this though, would love to work something out!).  

So how do you make this yummy beverage? Fill your glass with ice, add a shot (or two) of your favorite vodka, and fill your glass with Trader Joe's Lemon Elderflower Soda. Done. If you are like me, you always have lemons in the house, so if you do, add a wedge and serve. No one needs to know you didn't squeeze a bunch of lemons or use the fancy St. Germain. Just say cheers and enjoy!

xoxo
​Adrienne

Are you ready for Valentine’s Day? With the “big day” tomorrow, hopefully you already have your menu all planned out or your reservations are booked. If not, shoot us a message ASAP and hopefully we can provide you some last minute guidance! 

​While we hope you have your plans fairly set , we thought we might be able to offer a little something extra with a simple yet elegant cocktail. A little pre-dinner or post-dinner cocktail can definitely help to set the right mood. 

That said, we thought we'd bring you our Feelin' Fine Cocktail Time Friday, a little early this week. We wanted to keep the ingredients minimal, but special, and maybe a step up from your typical Wednesday night happy hour cocktail, and of course we felt it had to be pink! 

3 simple ingredients – Rosé Champagne (or sparkling wine), Chambord, and fresh raspberries.

You really only need a tiny drizzle in the bottom of your champagne flute to make this cocktail. You want to add just a hint of that sweet black raspberry flavor, but you do not want to detract from your champagne. 

Ingredients
Rosé Champagne (or any sparkling wine of your choosing)
Approximately 1/4 oz. Chambord per glass
Fresh raspberries 

Directions
Add a small drizzle of Chambord to each of your champagne flutes. Slowly add your champagne to each of the glasses, being careful not to waste any of it by having it bubble over. Top with a beautiful fresh raspberry or two to enhance the flavor of the Chambord (and it just looks so pretty too!). 

Simple, beautiful, pink, and impressive...what more do you need in a Valentine's Day cocktail? 

We hope that you are inspired to make a little cocktail to start your Valentine's date night, or your night out with the girls, or your night in binge watching your favorite show! 

Happy Valentine's Day!
xoxo
​Adrienne

​Do you love the Olympics? I’ll be honest, I’m definitely more of a summer Olympics fan, but I still enjoy watching all of the figure skating and the glitzy costumes (on the guys!), bobsledding teams from countries with no snow, and maybe even a little sled dog racing. But what I can get behind even more, is having an excuse to snuggle up at home, with a group of friends on my couch, in front of the fire to cheer on our country with a fun, themed cocktail in hand…because really, that’s why you’re here, right? 

In the shaker it just looks like an unassuming jar of milk! But we wouldn't just serve you up some plain milk, now would we?!

I looked into traditional drinks from Korea, and no offense to them, nothing was really winning me over. I considered the Olympic rings and the different colors, but all of those colorful drinks were just so artificial. And then I thought this is the winter games, an event full of snow. And considering that the opening ceremony is on later in the evening, I thought why not a dessert drink with a “snowy” feel to it? 

​I’m calling today’s drink “Let it Snow” in honor of the winter games. It’s sweet but not too sweet, and if instead of thinking about snow, this drink is all about the coconut, so it may actually make you feel like you’re watching the opening ceremony from a private Caribbean island!

Ingredients
1.5 oz. Whipped Vodka
1.5 oz. Coconut Rum
2 oz. Half and half (if you happen to have coconut milk instead, I think that would be delish!)
Sweetened flaked coconut
A few drops of good vanilla extract

Directions
Before you begin making your drink, prep your glass by rimming the edge in agave and then dipping it into the coconut flakes. You'll need something a little stickier like agave or honey to be able to hold the coconut (I tried simple syrup and it just all fell off). Next, fill your cocktail shaker with ice, add your remaining ingredients, and shake well. Pour into your prepared glass, and it's time to get snuggly and cheer on the U.S. as the 2018 Winter Olympics get started!

We've been trying to mix up the types of drinks that we highlight for you to appeal to everyone, but we would really like to hear what you want to see! Let us know in the comments here (or on Facebook or Instagram) what your favorite types of cocktails are. We'd love to do something special just for you!

Enjoy the winter games...go U.S.A.!
xoxo
​Adrienne