i can no longer deny it. fall is up on us.

personally, i’m more of an endless summer kind of girl than the fall leaves, pumpkin spice latte kind. BUT the light is changing, it’s cooling down even in sunny southern california and today at the mall my mother saw ACTUAL CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS. we are still a month out from halloween for goodness sake!

my point is, whether i like it or not, autumn is here. but the silver lining to the changing of the season is the beautiful fall produce. figs being one of my all time seasonal favorites. you just can’t get them any other time of year. figs are wonderful for all kinds of sweet and savory dishes. but one of my favorite ways to indulge in fig season is with a cocktail.

fig & flower

serves: 1 cocktail

prep time: 2 minutes

active time: 1 minute

ingredients: 2 oz fig infused vodka (you can sub regular vodka if you don’t have any). 1 oz lemon juice. 1 oz creme de violette. 3 oz club soda. lemon twist. wedge of fresh fig for garnish, optional. 2 cups ice, divided. shaker.

start by filling the shaker with half your ice. pour in the fig infused vodka, lemon juice and creme de violette. cover and shake well till everything is combined. about 30 seconds.

fill your serving glass with the remaining ice and then pour in the contents of your shaker.

top with club soda.

garnish with lemon twist and fig wedge. serve and enjoy.

xo, a

fig & flower

serves: 1 cocktail

prep time: 2 minutes

active time: 1 minute

ingredients: 2 oz fig infused vodka (you can sub regular vodka if you don’t have any). 1 oz lemon juice. 1 oz creme de violette. 3 oz club soda. lemon twist. wedge of fresh fig for garnish, optional. 2 cups ice, divided. shaker.

start by filling the shaker with half your ice. pour in the fig infused vodka, lemon juice and creme de violette. cover and shake well till everything is combined. about 30 seconds. fill your serving glass with the remaining ice and then pour in the contents of your shaker. top with club soda. garnish with lemon twist and fig wedge. serve and enjoy.

finally, a moment to breath. i have been missing in blog actions for two weeks now, for good reasons. first of which was my birthday. a week ago, i turned thirty-two. and i have a REALLY good feeling about my thirty-third year. for two and a half years, i've been grinding along, exerting oodles of energy to try and get all my businesses off the ground. and i can feel it in my bones that things are changing for the good. even my horoscope is leading me to believe positivity is coming in one way or another. 

but age is just at number. more importantly, i had a couple of very exciting events. last weekend, i had my first large wedding cake. six tiers. and the delivery required a two-hour drive on a 102 degree f day. what started out as a mellow delivery, turned into a stressful cake moment since the venue was so remote and the day so warm. my skills were put to the test, but if anything, the day showed me how far i have come and that i truly am a cake professional now. the bride and her family were over the moon, and while i ran myself into the ground physically to deliver, it was worth every painful moment for the pay off. 

the MOST EXCITING part of all the craziness was last nights B.SOCIAL, a live and styled event i threw with my good friend alicia and betsy from the delicious b. toffee. i know... what the hell does that mean? 

basically, we got a bunch of event creatives, wholesalers and business owners together to network and celebrate one another. it was a HUGE success and a BLAST. i was so lucky to have an amazing vendor team of old and new friends come together to make a truly magical night for all. 

here are a couple of sneak pictures from the B.SOCIAL. we had stunning blooms from seven stems, a s'mores bar from mallow mallow, table top rentals from cherished rentals and one time use, adorable plates and forks from l'entramise, just to name a few of the amazing vendors. more photos and recap to come! 

and of course, the recipe for the cocktail i served at the GORGEOUS bar provided by jake duke studios, with tito's vodka provided by hi-time wine cellars. 

lavender + citrus cooler

serves: 1 cocktail

prep time: 2 minutes

active time: 1 minutes

total time: 3 minutes

ingredients: 2 oz tito's vodka. 1 oz orange juice. 1 oz grapefruit juice. .5 oz triple sec. .25 oz creme de violette. .25 oz lavender simple syrup. 3 oz club soda. 1 cup ice. shaker. 

fill your shaker with ice. pour in the vodka, juice, simple syrup, triple sec, creme de violette and lavender simple syrup. shake well till a bit frothy. about 30 seconds.

pour all the contents of the shaker into your serving glass.

top off with club soda.

serve and enjoy. 

xo, a

lavender + citrus cooler

serves: 1 cocktail

prep time: 2 minutes

active time: 1 minutes

total time: 3 minutes

ingredients: 2 oz tito's vodka. 1 oz orange juice. 1 oz grapefruit juice. .5 oz triple sec. .25 oz creme de violette. .25 oz lavender simple syrup. 3 oz club soda. 1 cup ice. shaker. 

fill your shaker with ice. pour in the vodka, juice, simple syrup, triple sec, creme de violette and lavender simple syrup. shake well till a bit frothy. about 30 seconds. pour all the contents of the shaker into your serving glass. top off with club soda. serve and enjoy.