i arrived home from teaching and taking yoga at eleven this morning ready to get busy in the kitchen. it's friyay, so duh, i had to make and enjoy a cocktail with wes. and then it was time toprep, prep, prep for the baby shower we are catering for my good friend lish tomorrow morning. 

but as soon as i started fiddling around at the bar, wes told me HE wanted to make our cocktail. 

you got it buddy! i'll happily enjoy the fruits of your labor and spend a couple minutes relaxing on the couch before the madness. so he got to creating. 

after we shot the cocktail, we headed out to our garden to enjoy it and some last moments of calm. as i edited the photos, i couldn't help but laugh. that sweet man has spent so much time watching me style photos, there was the perfect amount of props and garnish. too bad he didn't use most of them. so don't mind the muddler, long spoon or that rogue pineapple wheel in the corner of the ingredients shot/the background of many of these shots. they are pretty, but not required. 

while his styling might need work, his bartender skills are well honed. try this orange blossom for a fresh, easy drinking, summer cocktail. 

orange blossoms
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 2 minutes
active time 1 minute
total time: 3 minutes
ingredients: 2 oz vodka. 2 oz fresh squeezed orange juice. 1 oz st. germain. .5 oz hibiscus syrup (you can purchase it HERE). lime wheel for garnish. orange peel for garnish. 1 cup ice. boston shaker. ice for serving. 

fill your boston shaker with 1 cup of ice. 

pour in your vodka, orange juice, st. germain and hibiscus syrup. shake well. 

pour the liquid over ice. 

garnish with lime wheel and orange peel and enjoy. 

xo, a

orange blossoms serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 2 minutes
active time 1 minute
total time: 3 minutes
ingredients: 2 oz vodka. 2 oz fresh squeezed orange juice. 1 oz st. germain. .5 oz hibiscus syrup (you can purchase it HERE). lime wheel for garnish. orange peel for garnish. 1 cup ice. boston shaker. ice for serving.
fill your boston shaker with 1 cup of ice. pour in your vodka, orange juice, st. germain and hibiscus syrup. shake well. pour the liquid over ice. garnish with lime wheel and orange peel and enjoy.

over the last week, i've been hunkering down in the kitchen. wes and i have a baby shower we are catering next week and over the last couple weeks we have had an uptick in catering & cake inquiries, so i've been menu testing most days. just me, my tiny kitchen and some tunes. 

so far we have had some real winners, but my favorite is this cooling cocktail for the baby sprinkle (a baby shower for a mother that already has a child or two at home, for those not well versed in the ins and outs of baby parties). watch out, it is one of those dangerous drinks that tastes like there isn't any booze in it. 

not a drinker or have some at your party who aren't? you could easily make this non-alcoholic (we are for the sprinkle) by omitting the vodka. you could even make a batch with out the booze but serve it on the side for those who want to add it in. 

mint + melon sparkler
serves: 2 cocktails
prep time: 5 minutes
active time: 5 minutes
total time: 10 minutes
ingredients: 4 oz vodka. 2 cups chopped honeydew melon. 20 mint leaves, plus 2 long sprigs for garnish. 2 oz lime juice. 12 oz club soda or other sparkling water (i used one that had a hint of lime). food processor. strainer. 2 collins glasses. 2 cups ice. 

start by combining the mint leaves, melon, lime juice and vodka together in the food processor. 

blend until completely pureed. 

over a bowl, strain your blended liquid until you have a bowl full of nice smooth liquid. 

fill each glass with a cup of ice and a sprig of mint. 

fill each glass 75% of the way with melon juice mixture. 

top off with sparkling water or club soda. 

serve and enjoy. 

xo, a

mint + melon sparkler serves: 2 cocktails
prep time: 5 minutes
active time: 5 minutes
total time: 10 minutes
ingredients: 4 oz vodka. 2 cups chopped honeydew melon. 20 mint leaves, plus 2 long sprigs for garnish. 2 oz lime juice. 12 oz club soda or other sparkling water (i used one that had a hint of lime). food processor. strainer. 2 collins glasses. 2 cups ice.
start by combining the mint leaves, melon, lime juice and vodka together in the food processor. blend until completely pureed. over a bowl, strain your blended liquid until you have a bowl full of nice smooth liquid. fill each glass with a cup of ice and a sprig of mint. fill each glass 75% of the way with melon juice mixture.top off with sparkling water or club soda. serve and enjoy.