There's just something about a rainy spring day at Smith Mountain Lake, and I got about three of them last week. The smell of wet grass outside, an early morning haze on the water and a light mist coming down in the afternoon; and cup after cup of hot tea; sitting with my mom at the big dinner table by the window.

It's sleepy and hopeful and full of high school nostalgia--I somehow miss it already and couldn't wait to get home to Charlotte, all at once. 

Maybe it's allergies (I've never had them before but suddenly I think I do), or just good old-fashioned overwhelm, but I've been feeling out of sorts these past week or so and as a result, I've been pretty absent on this blog.

I just wanted to pop in this morning and say that I'm sorry for that, but I'll be back to regular posting again soon. You can always follow along with me on Instagram, as there's rarely a day that I don't post something there.

Rob is visiting friends in Connecticuit, so Ender and I decided to visit Roanoke for the weekend--yesterday I got my hair colored and went to barre with my mom and best friends Emma and Raquel, which was so fun because I hardly ever have two of my girlfriends in the same place at the same time. Today I'm shooting some really fun projects for upcoming La Crema posts, and tomorrow I'm spending time with my friend Erica and her sweet family--her kids are our godchildren!

Anyway, I hope you're are having a great weekend. Just wanted to say hi, and that I'll be back again soon.

I've been a little obsessed with lavender simple syrup for a while now--two summers ago I made it for the first time while trying out a new cocktail recipe, but it wasn't until I had it at my favorite coffee shop in Minneapolis that I really fell for the flavor. Lavender and coffee, especially when iced, is such a fantastic combination and when the weather gets warmer, I can't help but make a big batch of both to fancy up my mornings.

Here's how I do both:

Lavender Simple Syrup

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• Four or five sprigs of fresh lavender

Instructions: 

1. In a saucepan, heat water and lavender to a simmer. Allow the lavender to steep in the water like tea for a few minutes, until fragrant.
2. Add sugar and stir until dissolved.
3. Store in a jar and add it to your iced coffee--I like mine with lots of ice and a splash of coconut creamer.

Cold-Brew Coffee

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup of ground coffee
• 3 cups of water

Instructions: 

1. In a large jar or other glass container, combine coffee and water. Stir well with a wooden spoon.
2. Cover and let stand overnight, or for at least eight hours. Strain with a coffee filter (a paper towel works in a pinch, too) and store in the refrigerator.

I took a couple photos of some purple flowers in our courtyard and hopped on my HP Sprout to make a few labels for my jars. I think fancy simple syrup in cute jars with custom labels would make great gifts for Mother's Day or even a sweet bridal shower (I wish I had this computer last year when I was making body scrub for my bachelorette party friends)!

This post is brought to you in partnership with HP. As always, I thank you for your support as I work with sponsors.

Photos by Joshua Vasko for Freckled Italian.