Tap Dancing, Backyard Baseball, Sangria....and WINNERS!

"Don't do anything embarrassing on your birthday this year. You don't have as much time to live it down as you used to." ~ Anonymous

Sorry for that blog silence. I bet you were just starting to get used to me blogging every day of the week, weren't you? Well, that is just something I cannot commit to. I admire those who can, but I think I would rather keep you guessing. ;-)

This weekend was jam packed!

{Tiny Dancer and friend, the youngest in the classes, with tap greats
Robert Audy, Josh Hilberman and Jeannie Hill}

Tiny Dancer participated in the Point Tap Festival. A three day intensive workshop devoted to tap dancing, Tiny Dancer had the distinction of being the youngest in the class. There were high school students, college students, professional dancers and student of life dancers. Some have been dancing far longer than her 10 years and some were 6x her age!

Tiny Dancer and her good friend took the morning classes only which was plenty.  She had the amazing experience of learning tap methods from some of the country's best instructors, from New York City and Boston. Tiny Dancer loved Josh with his fun, quirky vaudeville style and his larger than life personality. A veteran tap instructor, Robert Audy, is credited with teaching Shirley MacLaine, Ben Vereen, Mandy Patinkin, Cybill Shepherd, and John Travolta how to tap dance. He has choreographed shows like Oklahoma and wrote the books on Jazz Dancing and Teach Yourself How To Tap. Such an honor to study with these teachers! She is already making plans to come back next year.

Then on Saturday I joined in the fun learning the Shim Sham Shimmy taught by assistant professor of dance at UW-SP and the director for all this fun, Jeannie Hill. If you are a tapper, you will know what I am talking about! Ms. Hill had such amazing creative energy! She really made it enjoyable for my very first dance class ever (and no, there are no pictures of me flopping around!).  I did it in my bare feet but I can tell that it would be even better with tap shoes on! (For the record, Tiny Dance told me that I was 'getting it' and that she could help me learn it even better with a bit more time ;-) And then on Saturday night we were treated to an incredible performance of the staff, including live jazz music. I walked out with a lilt in my step and a song on my heart!

If you want to see a really fun Shim Sham Shimmy, check out this flash mob on the streets of London! I sooooo want to be up and dancing with them.



Sunday we had the last hurrah of the baseball season with a party to celebrate the dream season. The weather was perfect, and all but one family was able to attend. The Brewers game was on, the beer and sangrias were flowing, the food was delish (thank you Arby's for your roast beef!) and the boys had a blast. So on Sunday night I was pooped (or maybe it was the sangria?), and here it is 10:19pm on Monday and I am just getting around to returning emails and finding out what I missed from all my blog peeps.

Here is the yummy sangria recipe. I made it in a big jug with a spigot so it was virtually mess free! And I made a non-alcoholic punch for the wee ones running around (lest you think there were no other options!).

Simple White Wine Sangria Recipe

The beauty of the simple White Wine Sangria recipe is that it is as delicious as it is easy, and it only gets better as you add your favorite fruits! (I doubled the recipe below for the party, but should have quadrupled it! ;-)

Ingredients:

• 1 Bottle of white wine (Riesling, Albarino, Chablis, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc) 
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1 cup of orange juice
• 2 oranges (sliced)
• 1 lemon (sliced)
• 1 lime (sliced)
• 2 oz. brandy (optional - but seriously, why not?)
• 2 oz. triple sec or cointreau (optional - and I don't measure, so I would assume I used more of everything ;-)
• 1/2 liter of ginger ale or club soda or Squirt

Preparation:

Pour wine in the pitcher and squeeze the juice wedges from the orange,lemon and lime into the wine, add brandy if desired. Toss in the fruit slices and add sugar Mix well. Chill overnight. Add soda just before serving. If you'd like to serve right away, use chilled white wine and serve over lots of ice.  

Addition ideas: I made a double batch and mixed one Riesling and one Moscato - the less expensive the better! Add any fresh fruit you have on hand... sliced strawberries, peaches, handful of fresh blueberries, raspberries, kiwi. And why not a shot or two of gin, brandy or rum... yum!

We bought this house in 2009 and the back yard was a big selling point. It is quite large and fenced in. There is a nice deck and patio. The boys set up a make shift baseball diamond in the backyard and had themselves a 4 hour non-stop baseball game with whiffle balls and plastic bats (even with those, these balls are coming like a shot!). They have their own rules, (like the ball has to be in the pitchers hand before the runner hits first base and that's an out, over the fence is a home run, and on the deck or patio is foul unless a parent catches it, then it is an automatic out) and they ran around having a ton of fun, until one boy FINALLY decided he was hungry and then they all descended on the food like locusts leaving a few crumbs and empty chip bags. I just love these boys and their families. I miss them terribly until we meet up again next spring.

Speaking of the Boys of Summer... I just received the Blurb book that I made of them. Would you like to see? (You can check out this link if the preview isn't working below.)

Our Boys of Summer by Erin Prais-Hintz | Make Your Own Book

Pretty cool, eh? It is a bit of work to get it to be how you like it, but that is the sort of futzing that I like to do. With the software that Blurb.com provides, you can start with their templates and edit them to your heart's content. And even though there are a few spots that are rough (couldn't see the bloops from the preview) I am overall very pleased with the outcome.

I see other options for these Blurb.com books in the future... what about one of Tiny Dancer and her friends on stage? Such a quick and easy way to scrapbook all those pictures I have taken. I love the idea of scrapbooking but not the execution. I could totally get behind this and it would be something that could be in a personal library. But I am totally going to put this into play for a book about my jewelry designs each year. It will be fun to have as a 'published' portfolio, but also to see how my design sense has changed over time.

But I KNOW what you are waiting for... and I am just torturing you by dragging it out until the end.... the winners of last week's birthday giveaway bash! All winners were chosen at random. Each winner needs to email me at enjoytheday{at}tesoritrovati{dot}com to arrange for your prize!

Day 1 - Reading free books is the best!
I decided to have two winners. Because it was my birthday week, so I can do that! ;-)
Queen of the Palace - who requested The Help and Shanghai Girls
MoonRae - who said she would be happy with any of them, so she can pick two from the remaining books

Day 2 - 15% off coupon at my Etsy Shop with code: ITSMYPARTY
Okay. That was sort of a gyp. Because I never got around to posting any more of the pendants and such that I promised I have hanging around. So I will leave that coupon code up until the end of August, so keep checking back for more things to appear. But wait! I decided to reward one lucky reader with a special treat... 50% off any one item in my shop... and the winner is....Janet of Singingwoods! Janet has a new Etsy shop called SingingGlass with awesome lampwork. Go check it out!  Janet, email me and I will tell you how to claim this prize!

Day 3 - FOCUS on what really matters
This month for the 'simple truths' sampler I was FOCUSing on what really matters, and I want to share that with someone special. And because it was my party, I decided that one was not enough, so I am giving away two! Congrats to KayzKreationz and Designs by DawnMarie! Woot! I will make your pendants up special just for you, like a 'simple truths' fortune, but you need to email me your contact info to send it!

Day 4 - Things with Wings!
Such sweet reminders of who is important in our lives. I hope you all take the time to tell those people how special they are to you! Grand Prize goes to Cynthia of Cynth's Blog! Woohoo! You get that fabulous prize package of winged things worth over $90. Just send me an email and I will send it winging its way to you!

Day 5 - Just add movies
For a little more fun, I shared everything but the movie in a fun pack! These goodies are going to Shannon of For My Sweet Daughter (who, coincidentally,  is a birthday buddy as we share the same date. But I am sure I am the older and wiser sister! ;-) Maybe you can enjoy a fun movie with your lovely daughter!

Check back at the Art Bead Scene this coming Saturday to find out who the winner of the tiger lily pendant is.

And thank you so much for all your awesome reading, music and movie recommendations, the brilliant Etsy tips, the bouquets of sweet thoughts and the overwhelmingly flattering words. I feel so very blessed to be a part of this happy community and so delighted to share the things that make me happy and inspired with you!