not going to lie. this week was a pretty big week. 

it has been eighteen months of hard work and laying the groundwork of my food and fitness businesses, and things are starting to pay off. thursday in particular was a big day. 

we had been planning a fun dinner party with one of my besties lish for a bunch of her girlfriends for a few weeks. wes and i were both looking forward to hanging with lish, making some beautiful food and hanging out with some of our mutual friends i haven't seen in a while. then i received word that a photo shoot we did the food styling for was going to be published over at green wedding shoes, including one of our cocktail recipes. WOW. the photos alone were worth giving our time too, but the feature was more than we could have dreamed of. and the drizzle topping on my cake? i taught class yesterday morning to my first ever SELL OUT!!! i was in shock, and the emotional high lasted me all the way to our evening dinner party which was great fun and such a success. lish always throws the most fun parties. 

alright. the gushing is over. i have two more classes to teach this week and then i will be celebrating a week well done with this watermelon chili mary we cooked up for the photo shoot. bring on the mary weekend. 

watermelon chili mary
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 10 minutes
active time: 2 minutes
1 cup watermelon juice. 2 tsp yellow tomato puree (you can easily sub 2 tsp tomato juice). 2 oz vodka. 1 tsp lime juice + 1 wedge lime. .5 tsp sugar. 2-3 dashes hot sauce. .25 tsp chili powder. .25 tsp celery seeds. .25 tsp salt. 1 candied kiwi for garnish. 

with a spice grinder or mortar and pestle, grind the celery seeds, chili powder and salt together. pour the spice blend onto a flat plate. rub the edge of your serving glass with the lime wedge to get it a bit sticky. then, gently brush the rim of the glass into the spice mixture. place your kiwi and lime garnish on the glass. 

fill that glass with half the ice. place the remaining ice in a shaker. 

pour in the watermelon juice, tomato puree, lime juice, sugar, hot sauce and remaining spice blend. 

shake well till combined and a bit frothy. 

strain into the prepared glass, garnish with lime wedge and serve.

xo, a

watermelon chili mary
serves: 1 cocktail prep time: 10 minutes active time: 2 minutes 1 cup watermelon juice. 2 tsp yellow tomato puree (you can easily sub 2 tsp tomato juice). 2 oz vodka. 1 tsp lime juice + 1 wedge lime. .5 tsp sugar. 2-3 dashes hot sauce. .25 tsp chili powder. .25 tsp celery seeds. .25 tsp salt. 1 candied kiwi for garnish. with a spice grinder or mortar and pestle, grind the celery seeds, chili powder and salt together. pour the spice blend onto a flat plate. rub the edge of your serving glass with the lime wedge to get it a bit sticky. then, gently brush the rim of the glass into the spice mixture. fill that glass with half the ice. place the remaining ice in a shaker. pour in the watermelon juice, tomato puree, lime juice, sugar, hot sauce and remaining spice blend. shake well till combined and a bit frothy. strain into the prepared glass, garnish with lime wedge and serve.

the countdown is on till mother's day. and long gone are the days where the only ladies i am celebrating are my mother and grandmothers. 

these days, there are beautiful mommies all around me. many of my coworkers, best friends and family are now mommies. and i don't know a better way to celebrate all the lovely moms in my life than with a very pretty, very delicious cocktail. (especially for those new mommies & mommies of teenagers). 

the great thing about this cocktail is that while it is bright and tangy, you can easily adjust the sweetness of the drink to your liking. not a huge lavender fan? not a problem! you can easily tailor this drink to your taste by using whatever fresh herbs you love in your garden. the goal isn't necessarily a lavender cocktail, but one that reflects your favorite herb form your spring garden! all you need to do is sub the lavender for the same amount of your favorite herb. thyme, marjoram or basil would be great options. 

spring splash
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 3 minutes
active time: 2 minutes
total time: 5 minutes
*author's note* if you already have simple syrup on hand you can soak some of your simple syrup with the fresh herbs for thirty minutes to an hour. if you need to make simple syrup, add in an additional half hour to make the syrup and allow it to cool to room temp before use. you can store your simple syrup on hand in the fridge for a month. 

ingredients: 2 oz vodka. 1 oz fresh pink lemon juice. 1 oz lavender simple syrup (use this simple syrup recipe just add .25 cup fresh lavender leaves or any of your other favorite garden herbs, strain and use or store). .5 oz campari. club soda to taste. lavender sprig for garnish. shaker. 2 cups of ice divided. serving glass of choice. 

start by combining half your ice with the vodka, lemon juice and simple syrup in your shaker. if you know you like a sweater cocktail, i would recommend using 2 oz of the herb simple syrup. 

shake well till bubbly. about 10-15 seconds. fill your serving glass with the remaining ice. 

pour the contents of your shaker over ice. 

top with club soda till just sparkling. 

top with campari. 

garnish with lavender sprig and enjoy!

xo, a

spring splash
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 3 minutes
active time: 2 minutes
total time: 5 minutes
*author's note* if you already have simple syrup on hand you can soak some of your simple syrup with the fresh herbs for thirty minutes to an hour. if you need to make simple syrup, add in an additional half hour to make the syrup and allow it to cool to room temp before use. you can store your simple syrup on hand in the fridge for a month.
ingredients: 2 oz vodka. 1 oz fresh pink lemon juice. 1 oz lavender simple syrup (use this simple syrup recipe just add .25 cup fresh lavender leaves or any of your other favorite garden herbs, strain and use or store). .5 oz campari. club soda to taste. lavender sprig for garnish. shaker. 2 cups of ice divided. serving glass of choice.
tart by combining half your ice with the vodka, lemon juice and simple syrup in your shaker. if you know you like a sweater cocktail, i would recommend using 2 oz of the herb simple syrup. shake well till bubbly. about 10-15 seconds. fill your serving glass with the remaining ice. pour the contents of your shaker over ice. top with club soda till just sparkling. top with campari. garnish with lavender sprig and enjoy!