My Favorite Fall Drink - the Blood Orange Margarita!

Happy September friends! I'm sad to see summer go so quickly but I'm so excited for all-things-fall which include comfort food from pizza places open late and cocktails with a sweet kick. I'm partnering with Agavero Orange Liqueur to share a super easy margarita you'll want to add this to your "Must Try" Pinterest board.

Because this margarita is so easy to whip up in a flash and uses the least amount of ingredients, it's my go-to for spontaneous get-togethers or for dinner parties. The sweet concoction is always a crowd-pleaser and the spicy rim can be customized (or removed entirely) to one's liking.

The Recipe vv

Blood Orange Marg!

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Now, don't let the name "Blood Orange Margarita" fool you. We won't be squeezing blood oranges until the sun comes up. Instead, we'll be relying on Agavero Orange Liqueur to fool our taste buds into thinking we did. Agavero Orange is a blend of 100% blue agave tequila, infused with the essence of oranges and pure agave nectar. Basically, the perfect addition and complement to any margarita recipe.

You'll Need Per Glass
- 2 oz Gran Centenario Tequila Plata
- .5 oz Agavero Orange Liqueur
- 3 oz pomegranate juice
- lime juice (use 1/2 of a lime)

Use sliced oranges for garnishing!

** Feel free to add a splash of soda water if you find this too sweet!

For the Rim
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp chili powder
- mix both in a small bowl
- rub the rim of glass with a lime wedge
- dredge in the chili-salt mix

** Feel free to skip this step!

What I like to do is grab my metal shaker, feel it halfway with ice and add in all the liquid ingredients. Cover it up and shake my little heart out. Or, for at least half a minute. 

Afterwards, I set the shaker to the side and prep my glasses with the spicy rim. Life hack, it's a lot easier to pour the rim mix into a flat plate and then dredge your glasses through it. After that, fill the glasses with ice.

Once the glasses are ready, pour in the tasty margarita (using the strainer) and serve with an orange slice.

Now, the most important step - enjoy the drink! 

To learn more about Agavero Orange Liqueur and try out a few other cocktails - head to their website here! Let me know if anything piques your interest :).

This post is intended for my 21+ readers. Please remember to drink responsibly!

Hustle Hard but Relax Harder | The Perfect Recipe for Binge-Watching the Queen of the South

I have a confession to make. Every Thursday night I toss aside any work or blog obligations, prep my favorite drink, make my lazy-girl snack, and bring over a few masks and hunker down on my couch. Okay, so maybe not such a huge confession but with the amount of hustling that happens behind the scenes here I can at times feel guilty for treating myself to a Queen of the South on USA Network.

I was first drawn to the series because of its Latina heroine and the healthy dose of spoken Spanish throughout. But my favorite thing about the show is how there’s an underlying message coming from the heroine, Teresa Mendoza – she chooses to never play the victim and refuses to let her gender tell her what she can and can’t do. The action-packed crime drama makes for a good binge watching too!

See the trailer for yourself!

Now if you haven’t started watching, stop what you’re doing and let’s make that a thing of the past. You won’t be able to stop at one episode so let’s get you situated with my no-fail (extremely easy) recipes for the binge-watching Queen of the South.

Lemonade-Pom Spritzer
This sweet mocktail is perfect for those that want to unwind without a glass of wine. But, it’s also great if you prefer something with a kick, simply add in your preferred amount of vodka and voila! This recipe makes about 8-12 servings.

You'll Need

1 8oz. bottle of pomegranate juice
1 can of frozen lemonade concentrate
1 two liter bottle of gingerale (you can substitute seltzer too)
1 lemon for garnishing

In one large pitcher, pour in the pomegranate juice. Add in the lemonade concentrate. Next pour in half of the gingerale, and mix all of the ingredients. Continue to pour in the remaining gingerale and mix. Serve over ice and garnish with a lemon slice. 

Savory Rosemary and Parmesan Popcorn
When it’s too hot to bake my tried and true chickpea recipe I turn to the next (and adequately) healthy lazy-girl snack. Don’t worry, you won’t burn the popcorn but you will find yourself garnishing popcorn from now on.

You'll Need

½ cup of kernels
¼ cup of olive oil
crushed rosemary
1 large garlic clove, smashed
garlic salt (to taste)
black pepper (to taste)
¼ cup of parmesan cheese

In a medium size saucepan, add 1 teaspoon of rosemary and smashed garlic. Add in the olive oil and set to low heat. Add in garlic salt and black pepper to taste – don’t go overboard because you’ll be able to season your popcorn later on too.

After 15 minutes add the kernels. Monitor the kernels and once the popping starts to slow down turn off the heat. Once the last kernel has popped or popping has halted, remove from the saucepan and transfer to a large bowl. Garnish popcorn with a sprinkling of more crushed rosemary, garlic salt, black pepper, and the Parmesan cheese. Mix the contents and enjoy!

If popcorn isn’t enough, then keep the popcorn for dessert and choose from a great selection of frozen Mexican dinners. Easy and quick to cook, it’s a great cuisine to enjoy for a night in front of the TV.

Now that we have the food and drinks covered, it’s time to move onto the masking portion of the night. Lately, my winning combination has been a clay mask followed by a moisturizing one. The key here is making commercials work for you – slather on and wash off when the commercials hit the screen. You’ll finish each episode with gorgeous skin and ammo to take on the next day.

There you have my no-fail recipe for binge watching or simply unwinding with my favorite on-screen hustler. And if you end up falling asleep on the couch… I won’t judge you. Just don’t spoil any episodes and we’re good.

Watch USA Network’s Queen of the South, every Thursday at 10/9 central.

Let's Talk Juicing!

Right off the bat, my diet is something I've always struggled with. I'm constantly reaching for sweets or oversalted snacks and neglecting the leafy greens and barely know how to peel a tangerine.

I do get a little better about hydrating when in training mode, but I know I could do better. According to the 80/20 rule, I could actually work out less if I put more effort into eating cleaner. Which, I did none of while in Nashville. No regrets either way.

via jusbyjulie.com

Since this year is turning out to be a huge one for me I'm going to put more of an effort to eat cleaner, hydrate more, and work out smarter. If you're interested, I could share more of what I'm eating. Until then, I'm keeping track of my meals & water intake with my Fitbit.

After making this commitment it's time to clean the slate which I tend to do by juicing. Now, I'm not the best at juicing and find it extremely hard but mama didn't raise no quitter. 

Now there are tons of Juice companies out there, but I wanted to keep it local and with one that never disappoints when it comes to 100% blended goodness - Jus by Julie. They were kind enough to send out a one-day cleanse to test out. Unfortunately, I lasted about four hours before supplementing my cleanse with lots of steamed veggies.

via jusbyjulie.com

But here are a few tips to ensure your best cleanse yet:

1. Be Prepared
This means avoiding any fried or processed foods (including alcohol) a few days prior to your cleanse. During this time, you should also be drinking lots of water and getting in quality sleep. By the way, the above is guaranteed to give you glowing skin from the inside out if you make it a lifestyle change.

2. Right Timing
If you want to be successful, make sure the timing is right. A day following vacation or during an intense training period might not be the prime choice. Instead, aim for a day that is low-key and will allow you to focus on the cleanse. Next time I cleanse I'll opt for a Sunday which has always been reserved as my homebody day.

3. Be Easy on Yourself
Just because I didn't complete the cleanse as it was structured out doesn't mean I failed. Look at the positives - I fueled my body with amazing good-for-me ingredients and hydrated along the way. At the same time, I learned a lot about how my body works and figured cleanses are better once a season (for me) and that getting a few key weekly juices (Dr. Green & Açai Blend are my current faves) in works better. And it's super easy to incorporate Jus by Julie into my week with their super easy subscription service or by simply walking into one of their four locations.

What's your take on juicing and are you incorporating it into your lifestyle?

Learn more about these guys at jusbyjulie.com or visit one of their locations here.