Party Recap and Punch recipe

The open house on Saturday went very well. We had a nice group come out, but it wasn't so overwhelming that it took us forever to get everything back to normal. The house was still relatively clean when everyone left. There wasn't a ton of leftover food to be put away. Almost everything fit into the dishwasher in one load.

Our menu was quite simple - fruit and vegetable tray, cheese and sausage, bacon ranch cheeseball and crackers, spinach dip and tortilla chips (not homemade this time!), sugar and forgotten cookies, citrus punch, and wine. Nothing terribly difficult or fancy but it was a nice spread. I was pretty proud, even if I did have the little cubes of cheese that I can't stand! (they were my husband's choice!)

The weather was perfect. We were able to open the french doors between the living room and the screened porch. We actually spent most of the day on the porch just because it was so nice out there. I love having a place to sit where I can enjoy the fresh air and be comfortable and not have to worry about bugs! I can definitely see spending some quality time out there again with a glass of wine!

In preparation for the party and as a gift from his mother, we got the swing for the front porch. It looks really nice and we enjoyed sitting in it waiting for everyone to come over on Saturday. I want to get a cushion or something for it, and I can see napping on the swing. Hopefully my snoring won't scare the neighborhood children!

Because I'm a slacker I totally forgot to take pictures of making the punch, but there isn't much to take pictures of. It is very simple.

1 (12 oz) can orange juice concentrate - thawed

1 (12 oz) can lemonade concentrate - thawed

1 (12 oz) can limeade concentrate - thawed

6 cups water

2 liters ginger ale and/or Sprite (I used 1 liter each)

Basically you just dump this all into a punch bowl and mix. Save the soda until right before you serve it so it doesn't go flat. If you want it to be sweeter you can also add some pineapple juice, although I would also add a little more water if you do. Serve over crushed ice and you have a very tasty beverage.

*Variation* - for a grown up version you can obviously use champagne in place of the soda

Also, if you prefer slushy punches, add another 2-3 cups of water to the juice concentrates and water, then freeze overnight. Let it thaw slightly before adding the soda and serving. Obviously this way you don't need the crushed ice.