Drink of the Week #9: The Spiked Pineapple

 I have only visited the pool a handful of times this year, but the last time I was there I knew that I wanted to make a frozen concoction to sip-on while floating around.   My mind automatically went to tropical, so I bought a pineapple.  

The great thing about using pineapple for a cocktail, beside the sweetness and it's ability to play well with most liquors, is that it is very juicy.  So juicy that when tossed in a blender alone releases a ton of liquid juice and not a lot of pulp/fruit mush.  

I wanted to create something simple, with few ingredients, and with no added sugar.  After chopping and blending the pineapple I added the gin and just a touch of 100% pineapple juice.  To make the cocktail more well rounded I added a banana and it was done.  

Blended with ice to turn the cocktail into a smoothie of sorts, it was ready to consume.  Split between three only yielded a drink per person; I loved it so much I was wishing I had a second pineapple to make another batch.  

Style Inspiration: Neon Pineapple

Pineapples in fashion seem to be all the rage this summer.  Every time I get on Pinterest or read a blog it seems that somebody is sporting a pineapple covered fashion piece.  

When I made my monthly walk through the sale section at J. Crew my eyes caught a glimpse of a bright yellow dress, neon to be exact.  I picked it up without even looking at the price tage; I love neon.  When I tried the dress on I fell in love, I even sent a pic to my hubby. 

Finding a perfect dress wasn't even the best part, it was the price.  I seriously found the sale of the century.  No really...the dress retails at $148.  Not only was the dress on the sale rack, but they were running an additional 50% off all sale items; plus I got my teacher discount.  Eek.  For this $148 beauty, I paid $32.  I never get lucky like that, it was amazing.

I jumped at the chance to wear the dress just a few short days after I bought it, and my inspiration automatically went to the pineapple because of its color.  I needed to accessorize with greenish-blue to get the pineapple look nailed down, so that is exactly what I did.

 I know what you are thinking, "that color yellow isn't really that of a pineapple".  But you are wrong, it is, it's the colors of a mutant pineapple that came into contact with crazy purple Minyons.  

Running around in my adorable, and comfortable, teal flats, I had a little bit of fun with my new dress.  The statement necklace, with the same color teal as my shoes, didn't hurt the look either.

I am already plotting the next time I can wear my neon pineapple dress.  It has just enough class, playfulness, and eye-popping color to go anywhere.  I think you can actually see me walking down the street in the dark in this number.