FRIENDSGIVING: A recipe for throwing the best shindig

Can you believe that Thanksgiving has crept up on us once again? Because we can’t!

We’ve got your back. If you’re throwing your own little (or big!) shindig for your friends or fam bam, you have to go all out. It’s go hard or go home. We want you to wow everyone and impress your family and friends with your party throwing skills! So here’s what you need.

A bangin’ playlist. Because what’s a party without some tone-deaf singing and embarrassingly good dance moves?

Snacks, snacks, snacks. You can never have enough snacks to share around. They’re there to get the conversation flowing and the mingling happening!

Crowd pleaser dishes. If you’ve got a signature dish – cook that. There’s a reason why it’s your signature dish, so keep everyone’s tummy’s happy! If you don’t have a signature dish, ask around beforehand what everyones fave meal is. You’ll own the chef throne.

‘WOW’ factor decor. Decor sets the mood of a party, so whether you’re going for a rustic setting or a fun and colorful vibe, make sure you catch everyone’s attention.

A good selection of drinks. You know the go. Champagne, wine, beers, vodka, and maybe a little bit of tequila? But don’t forget to cater for the non-drinkers!

Event planning sort of your thing? Check these posts out.

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Written by Gold Soul blogger, Alissa. She is a design student and a freelance writer from Australia. Follow her at Words By Femme.

YUM! Gingerbread Spice Latte

We can all picture our perfect day during the Fall season. It would involve being all cozy as the weather starts to turn into sweater weather. It involves being lazy and snuggling up with the softest blanket that you can find. And, of course, we can picture ourselves sipping on a hot drink and warming our soul!

It’s the perfect time of the year to try out this delicious Gingerbread Spice Latte to get you excited about the upcoming autumnal vibes.

What You’ll Need
– 1 cup Milk of choice
– 2 tsp Instant Coffee
– 1/4 cup boiling water
– 1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
– 1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
– 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
– 1 tsp Vanilla Extract (or sweetener of your choice)

In a mug, add 2 tsps of coffee to your boiling water and stir. Then add your sweetener of choice.

Now you can add all your spices into the mix – ginger, cloves and cinnamon. Then stir.

Froth and heat your milk. If you don’t have a milk frother, heat up the milk and blend it for a few seconds.

Combine and stir all ingredients together, sprinkle some extra Cinnamon on top and enjoy!

The thirst is real. Check out these thirst quenching recipes.

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3 Baking Recipe’s to Try This Fall

It’s that time of the year where you get the urge to bake up something so irresistibly delicious.

It must be the cooler weather or the colour that all the leaves are turning. Whatever it is, just go with it and pig out on these amazing baking treats. Bake up something with your pals, make a batch as a gift or have it all to yourself. Just have fun with it!

 

Melt-In-Your-Mouth Maple Cinnamon Rolls via sallysbakingaddiction.com

 

Three Ingredient Fudge via thebigmansworld.com

S’more Cupcakes via cakequirk.blogspot.com.au

 

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Printable Checklist for the perfect Summer Picnic!

What’s Summer without a picnic? Perfect weather, good food, even better company, laughs and just good times all round.

If you’re planning a Summer Picnic, make it the best one your guests have ever been to. Impress with the best selection of food and entertain the right way with the best mixture of activities and drinks.

Bring out your creative side! Picnics are the best chance to catch up with your nearest and dearest – whether that be your girl gang or your grandparents! There’s a tonne of choices that you can make to throw the perfect picnic to cater for everyone!

So where do you start? Ya girl has always got you covered.
Here’s a printable checklist for the perfect Summer picnic. Just click on the image below, then right click and save it to your computer. EASY AZ.

You can tweak this list as much as you want! Add the things you love to bring to a picnic! Pinterest is always a good place to browse for inspiration. It’s packed full of food and drink suggestions and ways you can glam up any Picnic party.

Have a peak at the Gold Soul store to see what you’ll be wearing to your perfect Summer Picnic. A cute romper? Bug-eyed sunnies? A flirty dress?

 

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ENERGY IS WHAT YOU NEED

We only want you to have good vibes all day, every day.

You can come back to this blog post every time you feel a little bit bummed out and in need of good energy kick! Here are a few things that you can keep yourself busy with to keep that energy flowin’!

• Listen to some upbeat songs
  Go all out and move to some beats. Get all hyped up with some bangers, whether you’re with your squad or by yourself!

 

• Fuel up on some good food
  Replace a greasy burger with some fruit and veg every once in a while. You definitely don’t have to stick to boring foods – make it interesting with colorful fruit, tasty salads and yummy flavors!

 

• Do a quick, but intense workout
  Nothing screams energized more than a fun and intense workout. Get pumped up by doing some jumping jacks or a quick sprint to get the heart pumping.

 

• Get a quick massage
  Treat yourself to a massage! You’ll find yourself hella relaxed and energized to take on the day.

 

• Do Yoga in the morning
  It’s the latest craze and we love anything that promotes good vibes. Wake up and feel motivated! Appreciate the life you live while stretching your beautiful bod in all the right places.

 

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FRESH AS: Green Tea Lime Cooler

It’s about to get ridiculously hot in here. Go ahead and get some fresh coolers into you and get ready for the Summertime, you babe!

We all know that Green Tea is amazing for you – it’s super healthy and has tons of benefits but who wants to drink a cup of hot tea in hot weather? Not you!

So here’s a way you can incorporate the same Green Tea health kick into a fresh as summer drink to share around with your friends and fam! Cool down and fresh up with a quick and easy Green Tea Lime Cooler.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

– Ice Cubes
– A sweetener of your choice (I’m using 1 tsp Honey)
– 1 Green Tea bag
– Juice of Half a Lime
– A few Mint Leaves

SERVES 1

~

Boil water and make a cup of Green Tea. Add your sweetener while it’s still hot, then leave to infuse for about 5 minutes.

Then, add the juice of 1 Lime and stir.

Transfer the Tea into a tall glass of ice and garnish with a few leaves of Mint.

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FRESH AS: Bubbly Margarita Water

Time to freshen up with every sip of this Bubbly Margarita Water! This super easy drink can be whipped up any day when you need that little extra kick in these warm Spring days. Obviously, you can be cheeky and add a little Tequila into this mix if you’re wanting something for your inner party gal.

What You’ll Need

– Sparkling Water
– Ice
– 1/2 Lime
– 1/4 Orange
– Sea Salt

Fill half a glass with ice. Then add the juice of 1/2 Lime and 1/4 Orange.

Top it off with sparkling water and add a pinch of Sea Salt for extra freshness.

Fancy it up with a slice of Lime on the rim of your glass (if it’s not Instagram worthy, I’ll send it back), stick in a straw, stir and sip. AHHH

If you liked this FRESH AS drink, check out this DIY to keep refreshed this Spring!

 

DIY Print Mug

Coffee anyone? Or a cup of hot tea maybe? Whatever your drink, don’t drink it out of a boring old mug that you bought 10 years ago – it’s time to add a bit of fab. You can personalize these as much as you want – you can draw a little drawing, write on your favorite quote or lyric, do a fancy typography job… the possibilities are endless! These are an amazing gift idea for any coffee/tea lover and they’re so inexpensive! So go and get creative and start designing your new favorite mug.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED
– Plain Mug
– Paint Pen
– Oven

 

Pick out a design you want to put on your mug. Like I said, this could be anything! Don’t underestimate your creativity and think out of the box! Once you’ve finalized your design, you can go right ahead and start drawing with your paint pen. If your design involves covering a large area with color, consider using spray paint.

Here’s where you can think outside of the box (or inside of the mug in this case!). Think of a design that you can apply to the inside or even at the bottom of the mug. The possibilities are endless!

Let the paint dry completely. This will take about an hour or two.

Once you’ve waited at least and hour, throw your mug into the oven (not literally of course) and bake it for 10 minutes at 350°F.

When 10 minutes is up, take the mug out of the oven, let it cool completely and rinse it with water.

When you’ve dried it, you’ve just made your very own printed mug. I think you’re allowed to celebrate with some wine in your new mug?

FRESH AS: Detox water

Fancy a delicious water? Who doesn’t when they look as pretty as these. Guys and girls, get ready to be feeling refreshed as f*** throughout your entire day, whether you’re spending all day at work or adventuring until the sun goes down. This is a twist on an everyday drink that has no sugar, is good for you and tastes oh-so fresh.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED
– Half a Cucumber
– 1 Lemon
– A few Mint leaves
– Kitchen knife
– Any large bottle
– Water

Make sure all your fruit and veg are washed and clean! Then cut up your cucumber and lemon as shown in the photo below.

Pick off a few Mint leaves.

Drop your cucumber, lemon and mint into your bottle and add water!

Leave your concoction to chill for a bit and let the flavors infuse nicely into the water. Sip throughout the day and keep hydrated!

BAKE UP: Guilt-free Dough balls

Wake up, bake up. Are you feeling the need to spontaneously bake something amazing? What about some guilt-free oatmeal spice dough balls – amazing enough? Of course they are! Who doesn’t want that sweet spicy taste of cinnamon hitting their lips when they bite into a moist dough ball of goodness? Salivating yet? Well let’s get right into it.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

4 tbsp wholemeal flour

2 tbsp regular oats

1 egg

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

Pinch of salt

2 tbsp honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

+

Mixing bowl

Mixing spoon

Baking paper

Microwave safe plate

Microwave

STEP 1  Mix together your wholemeal flour, oats and egg in a mixing bowl using a mixing spoon.

STEP 2 Add your spices to the mix – cinnamon, cloves and salt. Mix together.

STEP 3 Add the honey and the vanilla extract and mix.

STEP 4 Grab a microwave safe plate and lay out a layer of baker paper on top of it.

STEP 5 Using a tablespoon, put dollops of your mixture on the baking paper leaving half an inch between each ball.

STEP 6 Place them in the microwave and cook them on high for approximately 50 seconds.

STEP 7 Let them cool for 10-15 minutes and take them off the baking paper.

STEP 8 Sprinkle them with a bit of extra cinnamon and voila!