last night, wes left for three weeks of work. he's headed to indian wells to work at the nobu pop up restaurant they have at the big tennis tournament. the restaurant is literally on the court. it is a great opportunity and he is super excited.

i can't lie, i'm going to miss him. when i traveled fifty percent of the time for work for a few years, we weren't married and i was far less codependent. but it has been YEARS since we have spent more than two nights apart. i'm sure i'll get plenty of work done and spend time with friends and family, but i'll miss my best buddy. my kitchen copilot. the best coffee maker in town.

but my first and last love is me. so i'm going to indulge in my favorite things while he is gone. starting with this cocktail. i've been anxiously waiting for the lavender plants to pop up at trader joe's and they have finally arrived. i love lavender. probably because it's so calming, and i could always use a bit of that. looking for an easy drinking, relaxing cocktail to prepare for the weekend? this is your jam. be careful. it goes down nice and easy.

lemon + lavender whiskey smash

serves: 1 cocktail

prep time: 3 minutes

active time: 1 minute

total time: 4 minutes

ingredients: 2 oz rye whiskey. 1 oz fresh lemon juice. .5 oz simple syrup. 3 oz club soda. handful of lavender leaves. 1 cup crushed ice. 1 cup ice. lavender flower + lemon twist for garnish. shaker.

start by filling your shaker with the regular ice and your serving glass with the crushed ice. in the shaker, add the whiskey, lemon juice and simple syrup. smash up the lavender leaves to release their oils and add them to the shaker.

add your twist and lavender garnish to the glass. shake your cocktail till well combined. about 30 seconds.strain the cocktail into your glass.

top off with club soda and give it a good stir.

serve and enjoy.

xo, a