I got this recipe in my inbox this morning from one of my favorite sites, CocktailTimes.com.  This looks so light and refreshing… the perfect alternative to the usual beer for 4th of July weekend.  I would mix it up and serve them with unusual grilled sausages instead of the expected hot dogs? Or with grilled shrimp skewers?

Ok, so it’s not totally All-American, but that cucumber-blackberry combo sounds the perfect cure for a long, hot summer.

Mint Summer Nightini

Ingredients:
- 2 parts Stoli Blackberi, blackberry flavored vodka
- 1 part fresh cucumber juice
- Splash of simple syrup
- Mint leaves
Garnish: mint leaves and thin slices of cucumber

Muddle mint leaves and shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with sprig of mint and thin slices of cucumber.

We’ll be out of the office tomorrow enjoying our Independence.  Here’s hoping you have some fun in the sun planned.  Happy 4th of July!  Stay cool.  

Kathy is coming to visit me in San Diego this August and we’d love to create an opportunity to meet some of you lovely peeps!  We’re working on putting together a little soirée at one of my favorite lounges for a few hours one evening.  But, in order to best gauge attendance, we’d love to get your feedback on if this is something you’d like to attend. 

To give you a little sneak peek into what we have in mind, while it will be a cash bar for adults 21 and up, there will hopefully be some fun door prizes, as well as a signature cocktail special and some delicious (and I do mean delicious) noshes. I’ll be meeting with the folks at said venue about the details as soon as we can a rough headcount.  We’ll be there for general merriment, meet n’ greet, book signing and blog talk.  Most importantly, we’re there for fun, so bring a friend!

Check out the poll on the sidebar of our blog to vote!

... but he can sharpen his periwinkle anytime.

“Life is like a box of crayons. Most people are the 8-color boxes, but what you’re really looking for are the 64-color boxes with the sharpeners on the back. I fancy myself to be a 64-color box, though I’ve got a few missing. It’s ok though, because I’ve got some more vibrant colors like periwinkle at my disposal. I have a bit of a problem though in that I can only meet the 8-color boxes. Does anyone else have that problem? I mean there are so many different colors of life, of feeling, of articulation.. so when I meet someone who’s an 8-color type.. I’m like, hey girl, magenta! and she’s like, oh, you mean purple! and she goes off on her purple thing, and I’m like, no - I want magenta!”

- John Mayer (singer, artist, performer)

Fab quote courtesy of Lisa.