Some years ago, my husband and I hatched a crazy plan. We decided to get rid of (almost) everything we owned, sell the house, and hit the road.
I’m not sure why. Probably we watched Fight Club too many times. We read too many blogs about the ‘Digital Nomad’ lifestyle, and we have trouble with moderation. We’re intense people, both of us, and whatever we do is pretty much all or nothing.
So we did it. After many, many trips to Goodwill, and a small storage unit for the few things we kept, we hit the road. It was me, the husband, and (this is the ‘aha!’ moment) our five year old and one year old. It was a terrible idea. I mean it was an incredible idea, but it was also….really, really stupid, if you get me.
We had grand plans to head west to California, then north to Canada. As it happened we quit after our second stop, Austin, Texas. But first we spent two months in Baton Rouge with my best friend and her family. It was a sweet summer. Some of my favorite memories from that time are the days she and I were able to get away together. Mother’s Day was one of the best. And our happy hour drinks on that day included one I had never tried before, but which immediately became a personal favorite: a sweet sister to that most well-know tequila drink ever, the Margarita — the Paloma.
Every season I come up with a couple of staple cocktails to rotate through, but I pretty much always have the ingredients for a Paloma on hand, at least in the summer. Try the classic version with grapefruit & lime below, or mix it up with blood orange juice, sliced jalapeños, mezcal, or pretty much whatever you can think of.
What’s your staple summer cocktail? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Paloma
Ingredients
- 1 grapefruit
- 3 limes
- 3 oz. of simple syrup (I make my own by bringing a 1 to 1 ratio of sugar to water just to a boil, either on the stovetop or in the microwave)
- 3 oz. tequila (I prefer silver)
- club soda to taste (roughly 4 – 6 oz.)
Directions
- Juice the grapefruit and limes, reserving a couple of slices of ime for garnish if you’re fancy like that.
- Add simple syrup and tequila.
- Pour over ice.
- Add club soda. Enjoy!
Oh wow that sounds like the perfect summer cocktail! And, I periodically try to get rid of all my stuff. Usually it makes it to the basement 🤔🤷♀️
yeah, same here. i’m pretty much all or nothing. 🙂 let me know what you think if you try the paloma!
Great read ! I have to try this drink!
let me know what you think if you try it Chantal!
Should try this one. Would love to read about the two months on road.
I’ll have to work up some nerve before tackling that one…and get over the self-loathing from a major personal failure, haha
mmmmm!!! Once I have this baby, I need to try this! <3 Thanks for the recipe!
yes, something to look forward to!! <3
Ooooh girl! I think I would make more than 2 drinks. I’ll give this a try when we watch football😊
@naughtykitchen yesss to more than 2. let me know if you try them!