fruit salad with orange vanilla glaze

Did you have the best weekend ever?

Because I sure did.

It looks like we've finally gotten through the solid month of rain we were having {knock on wood}, so this weekend I took advantage of the beautiful weather the only way I know how.

At the pool with a good book, of course.

{ps - I finished that book in three days...could not put it down}

J and I had a little get together at our apartment Saturday afternoon, complete with all the grilling out necessities and lots of drinks by the pool.

Hosting people at our place is one of my favorite things to do, hands down.

I made two gallons of my favorite summer sangria.

I, personally, can never get enough of this stuff.

So it was nice having leftovers after the party and getting to sip on it all weekend.

I also whipped together a non-alcoholic punch for my pregnant friend.

Everyone deserves to have a fruity drink by the pool, pregnant or not.

In my opinion.

FYI - this punch turned out delish and was a total hit.

{one can frozen pink lemonade concentrate, one 2 liter of gingerale, and a handful of raspberries - so easy!}

Our friends also brought over their sweet pup to visit AJ.

He could not stop giving her kisses.

Obviously.

Keeping with the spirit of summer and beautiful pool weather, today I have something delicious to share that is perfect to eat outside in the high temps.

recipe adapted via

Things you'll need:

For glaze:

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

zest of one orange

juice of one orange

2 tsp vanilla extract

For salad:

3-4 pints strawberries, halved

2 cups green grapes, halved

2 cups red grapes, halved

1 cup raspberries {or blueberries/blackberries/etc - anything will do!}

Bring sugar, water, orange zest, orange juice, and vanilla extract to a boil.

Remove from heat and set aside until completely cool.

I did this step the night before so that my syrup could sit in the fridge overnight.

You can totally do this 30+ minutes before you're ready to serve though, so don't fret if you don't have an extra eight hours!

Slice up fruit and put into a large bowl.

Pour half the syrup over the fruit.

Stir carefully to coat all the fruit.

Pour the rest of the syrup in the bowl, and toss to coat.

Serve immediately!

This would be delicious alongside some eggs benny or on top of some homemade waffles.

Clearly I have brunch on the brain.

I made this as a side to go with the burgers and homemade potato skins that graced our party table.

When I'm sitting out in the sun for an extended period of time, it's tough for me to eat really filling, carb-y things, so it was great having this salad as an alternative!

{Although, lets be honest, we all know I loaded up on carbs that day - holiday weekend, folks, holiday weekend.}

Hope you all enjoyed the long weekend as much as I did!

Is it Friday again yet?