yes friends! we made it to the first day of summer. today is the longest day of the year and the official summer kick off.

our calendar is packed to the gills this week with graduation cakes, food delivery, baby shower, wedding and anniversary cakes. ALL the summer celebrations are going down now.

in additional to sharing all the beautiful cakes this weekend, i’m sharing this summer lunch i planned with my friend lish from lisherbevents and these gorgeous melamine products from juliska.

it got me super excited for summer. summer food, summer fruit, summer drinks and before too long, a summer baby. baby is the size of pineapple this week and coincidentally i’ve been eating a ton of it. it makes me think of tropical vacations and some of my favorite cocktails.

in this weeks edition of delicious cocktails i make and then pass of to my lucky, LUCKY husband, we have a cooling, tropical orange and pineapple drink that tastes like the dreamiest popsicle in a glass. and will have you feeling like you are on vacation.

pineapple + orange rumsicle

serves: 1 cocktail

prep time: 3 minutes

active time: 1 minute

total time: 4 minutes

ingredients: 1.5 oz white rum. .5 oz triple sec. 2 oz fresh squeezed orange juice. 3 tbs pineapple purée (i blended up about 5 pineapple cubes in a food processor until smooth. if you aren’t into making your own purée, you could always sub pineapple juice) + pineapple wedge for garnish. 1 cup finely crushed ice + a couple cubes for your shaker. shaker.

start by filling your shaker with the couple full ice cubes. pour in the rum, triple sec, orange juice and pineapple purée. shake well till everything is well combined.

fill your serving glass with crushed ice. strain the contents of your shaker into your glass.

garnish with a pineapple wedge. serve and enjoy.

xo, a

pineapple + orange rumsicle

serves: 1 cocktail

prep time: 3 minutes

active time: 1 minute

total time: 4 minutes

ingredients: 1.5 oz white rum. .5 oz triple sec. 2 oz fresh squeezed orange juice. 3 tbs pineapple purée (i blended up about 5 pineapple cubes in a food processor until smooth. if you aren’t into making your own purée, you could always sub pineapple juice) + pineapple wedge for garnish. 1 cup finely crushed ice + a couple whole ice cubes for your shaker. shaker.

start by filling your shaker with the couple full ice cubes. pour in the rum, triple sec, orange juice and pineapple purée. shake well till everything is well combined. fill your serving glass with crushed ice. strain the contents of your shaker into your glass. garnish with a pineapple wedge. serve and enjoy.

well folks, i am now SUPER pregnant. three things fit me, i’m beginning to waddle and i can no longer “sneak” behind wesley in our little kitchen. and i still have eight weeks of growing to do.

luckily, some joy and relief has been found in my produce store starting to pack with juicy, refreshing summer fruit. stone fruit being among my favorite. nectarines, peaches, plums and pluots are popped in the fridge, and i bust them out in my hottest, hungriest snacking moments.

wes got lucky this friyay because i had some peaches i needed to use before they were over ripped and so this cocktail was born.

pun intended.

just peachy martini

serves: 1 cocktail

prep time: 2-5 minutes

active time: 1 minute

total time: 3-6 minutes

ingredients: 2 oz vodka. .5 oz st. germain. 4 oz peach puree (about 1 peach, blended and strained. if you don’t want to bother with making your peach puree, you can always purchase some peach juice or peach nectar but your cocktail will likely be a bit sweeter) plus a peach wedge for garnish. 3 large sage leaves, smashed and chopped plus a sage sprig for garnish. 1 cup ice. shaker + strainer. martini glass.

if you are going to make your own puree, start there. blend up all but a wedge of your peach.

strain the puree to remove any large chunks and the skin.

then, fill your shaker with ice. pour in the vodka, st. germain, peach puree and all but a few ribbons of your chopped up sage. shake well till the oils from the sage are released and everything is frothy and well combined. about 30 seconds.

strain the contents of your shaker into your martini glass (bonus points if you have time to chill the glass).

garnish with the remaining sage ribbons, the peach wedge and sprig of sage. serve and enjoy.

xo, a

just peachy martini

serves: 1 cocktail

prep time: 2-5 minutes

active time: 1 minute

total time: 3-6 minutes

ingredients: 2 oz vodka. .5 oz st. germain. 4 oz peach puree (about 1 peach, blended and strained. if you don’t want to bother with making your peach puree, you can always purchase some peach juice or peach nectar but your cocktail will likely be a bit sweeter) plus a peach wedge for garnish. 3 large sage leaves, smashed and chopped plus a sage sprig for garnish. 1 cup ice. shaker + strainer. martini glass.

if you are going to make your own puree, start there. blend up all but a wedge of your peach. strain the puree to remove any large chunks and the skin. then, fill your shaker with ice. pour in the vodka, st. germain, peach puree and all but a few ribbons of your chopped up sage. shake well till the oils from the sage are released and everything is frothy and well combined. about 30 seconds. strain the contents of your shaker into your martini glass (bonus points if you have time to chill the glass). garnish with the remaining sage ribbons, the peach wedge and sprig of sage. serve and enjoy.