Passing down the wide aisles, casting a wayward glance at the booths housing roofers, landscapers, and wind chimes, my eye caught a nestled table tiered with samples to sip. Yum! This seemed to answer the sluggish quest for an elixir. Though I cannot recall the name of that company now, I certainly remember the sweet and pleasantly tart cranberry cocktail we sipped at the NJ Home Show. It was made with their signature cranberry shrub - a sweetened fruit vinegar - simply stirred with seltzer, and it was mighty refreshing! I was hooked. Sold! We brought a bottle home with us.

This was my introduction to fruit shrubs, which date back thousands of years in China, the Middle East, England, and early America. Today's mixologists are reviving these sweet and sour syrups to balance flavors and create intriguing new combinations for cocktails and mocktails too. We finished that bottle in record time, splashed with cherry seltzer and a cluster of ice cubes, topped vanilla ice cream, and stirred with sparkling wine.
Shrubs are very easy to make, and in combining a variety of fruit (with herbs too), you can create an all-natural beverage with health benefits. All you need is apple cider vinegar, sugar and fruit. Let me show you how to make a simple strawberry shrub...

There are two ways of preparing the syrup - hot-shrubbing or cold process. For hot-shrubbing, the juice is strained off the fruit after being boiled for a short time with herbs or spices, then steeped in the sugar. I wanted to confer more fruit flavor, so I opted for the cold process. First, I cut fresh, cleaned strawberries, about two cupfuls, into a bowl.

Next, pour one cup of sugar (I used organic raw sugar) over and toss the strawberries, coating them well. You will see the fruit begin too break down into a pink pulp almost immediately.

I wanted as much of the flavor I could get from the batch, so I used a masher to press the strawberries and sugar together, accelerating the process of creating a thick syrup.

Pour an equal part of apple cider vinegar - one cup - into the bowl and give it a good stir. You're almost done! Leave it refrigerated for a couple of days to let the flavors meld. Once ready, simply strain the strawberry pieces out and you are left with the syrup.

A little goes a long way, so a couple of tablespoons with seltzer will yield a delightful, tangy refreshment. Enjoy a little something piquant found in the shrubs... xoxo-Sonya

Graduations, birthdays, barbecues... Summer is already here and the festivities have begun! With so many events to celebrate, there are even more ways to plan a memorable event. If you are in the midst of engineering an upcoming party or just entertaining ideas for the next shindig, behold the assortment of online inspiration to fuel your planning. From an intimate dinner party to a full-blown bash, clever creativity can generate fun and impressive results while still being budget conscious.

First, organization is key. Once you decide on the 5 W's - Who, What, When, Where, Why - answering How is where the real fun begins! Deciding on a main theme can be anywhere from simple to extravagant. With help from my favorite photos on Pinterest, here's a little something to get the creative juices flowing without breaking the bank.
The first glimpse at a party is the invite you send. It certainly doesn't have to be lavish, simple ideas can really take you far, beckoning your guests to join the fun.

This idea from Etsy, movie ticket invites are a snap on card stock and can be adapted for any event.

These are so much fun from Martha Stewart. Whether you host a summer party or a children's event, an invite like this is sure to put a smile on your guest's face!

Free printable invites are available online like these from Victoria Magazine. Adaptable for a graduation theme or a dinner party of global delights, the thrill begins with a rip of the envelope.

Decorating can be costly, but if you find some clever ideas utilizing inexpensive elements, the possibilities are endless. A multitude of colorful balloons are festive and frugal to convey a party mood.

Setting up the right ambiance is tricky, but there are many ways to set the mood with style and charm. Using what you have and a little craftiness can go a long way.

Lighting sets the mood, especially for late afternoon into evening soirees. So how can you get that glow going? Well, here are a couple of bright ideas...

In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous. ~ Aristotle

We can see the tiny pointed beaks poking over the humble haul of twigs carefully tucked in the pear tree in the backyard. We suspect they are sleeping, waiting for their mother, the huntress, off on her daily quest for food. She has at least three mouths to feed, maybe more. I don't want to get any closer and scare them, so I sacrifice a better picture. Thank God Kit can't get up there.

 

In the fourteen years we have resided in River Vale, we have dealt with many forces of nature as everyone - heaps of snow, bullets of rain, wind, scorching sun, dauntless deer and nervous woodpeckers. Surprisingly, this hasn't pruned my growing green thumb. This city girl has definitely become a domesticated nature lover. The inklings were already there. When I had an apartment of my own, the windowsills often spilled over with trails of pothos and ivy, easier houseplants to nurture for a novice. This gave me a confidence I reserved until needed to foster the real thing - a garden neighboring my own home. With sweat and spade, Robert and I have established a pretty and functional garden of perennials supplemented with new annuals each spring. I am always looking for colorful ideas to refine the landscape in place, so I make an annual pilgrimage to the local nurseries. But I always need some ideas first...

Inspiration can be found on the Internet, especially on sites like Pinterest or just in a quick Google search for creative garden ideas. Much of the success is in choosing the right plant for the intended spot, primarily taking into consideration sun or shade. Many times it has been trial and error, but some of those experiments have resulted in colorful surprises. Here at Chez Fitz, learning is part of the fun!

While I love the idea of a living wreathe on the front door, practicality always wins over novelty. On simple twisted willow, pink silk azaleas, gardenia, pansies and ivy grace our front door. I added a hint of silken forsythia to perpetuate spring's golden offspring that blooms and disappears quicker than a wink of an eye.

En route, I found an interesting new type of impatiens that thrive in hot, sunny conditions. Pretty salmon SunPatiens keep the garden sprite company while adding color to the coral bells behind. I was told they get really big and full so I am excited to see them blossom along the front path as the summer heats up.

To fill containers on the back deck, tried and true sweet potato vine spills over the sides and buddy up with marigolds, dianthus and trailing vinca. I love a lot of color in those pots, so the green, yellows and pinks need to soak up the full sun without bleaching out.

The palette isn't complete without something blue. Sitting atop the mosaic table I made last year, the tiny terracotta pot holds a bundle of blue torenia already delicately streaming. Over the years, we have added hydrangea bushes in purple and pink, wild red rose bushes, and migrated tiger lilies that multiply year after year in the front bed. The newest addition are white and pink rhododendrons we added to the existing ones so they can unite to create a living fence around the property.