Fruit and Water combined

Hello and happy Monday morning to you! I'm spending the morning working on a new monthly post for Crate Paper (check out the blog on Wednesday!!) but wanted to take a little break to post the rest of my photos from the guest-spot on Jessica's blog! I had originally planned on doing a crafty type post for her blog but it just wasn't happening and then the idea to do a easy recipe seemed much more realistic. I had about a day to decide on a project and get it photographed. :)

A post all about Infused Water it is!

Because we live in the desert, dry has taken on a whole new meaning and to remedy that unfortunate fact - we drink ALOT of water. I remember my first spring/summer in AZ watching people walk with a gallon of water in hand and thinking it was a tad bit overkill. Now, 10 summers later, I've come to realize that a gallon of water a day is a must! Since water can be bland at times, especially with the 10 and under crowd here's a couple of ideas for spicing it up... or sweetening it up!

Strawberry - Cucumber Infused water

You will need: 1 pitcher of cold water, half of a peeled cucumber - sliced and 6 sliced strawberries

Push the fruit down into the water and let set for just a few minutes. Of course the longer you let the fruit and water blend together the stronger the flavors will be. If you're planning on making this for guests, make it right before you'd like to serve it. I've found that the strawberries tend to use their vibrancy when I leave them in the water for too long (3+ hours) and they don't look as pretty as when I first slice them! I like fruit to look fresh!

The best part of infused water is that you can play with different fruit combinations to see which ones suit you taste! Whenever we have guests over I keep a pitcher of the Strawberry/Cucumber chilled in the fridge, I've found the majority of people like how refreshing it is - even my finicky Chase will drink it! My other favorite combinations are Peach/Mint leaves, Lemon/Raspberry and Honeydew Melon/Green Apple.

Table Scape details:

Table runner - a DIY project that cost about $12 and only took me an hour to make - I made it right before taking these photos!

Vase for flowers - found coffee can at the grocery store (I walked around looking for any type of container with the yellow and red colors on it. I love the high contrast between red/yellow and black/white.)

Succulents - planted in thrifted tart tins and tea canisters

Paper straws - purchased from Etsy

Mason Jars - thrifted

Glass Pitcher - Pier1, purchased last summer

Have a lovely Monday!