the summer series: sips, sweets, and songs

This summer has been a HOT one and I've constantly been craving something cold and refreshing to drink after a long day at work. I've recently been loving grapefruit juice and the last time I was at the liquor store I stumbled upon this amazing grapefruit vodka. I'm not a fan of super sweet cocktails so this grapefruit one I created is perfect for me. It's slightly inspired by one I had on my work trip! If you haven't had a chance to read that post you can find it here.

Ingredients

- 1.5 oz. grapefruit vodka (I used Deep Eddy's) Plain vodka would also work!

- 4 oz. grapefruit juice

- Half of a lime, divided

- Ice

- 4 leaves of mint, divided (optional)

- Sprite or club soda (optional)

Directions

1. Slice a thin wedge off of the half of lime. Take one mint leaf and tear it into very small pieces.

2. Twist the other three leaves of mint and place them at the bottom of a shaker. Muddle the mint gently.

3. Fill the shaker halfway full of ice. Pour in the vodka, juice from the large piece of lime, torn mint, and grapefruit juice. Shake gently to combine.

4. Strain into a short glass. Top off with Sprite or club soda and garnish with the wedge of lime and pieces of torn mint.

5. Enjoy!

I also have been wanting to try a coffee affogato recently after seeing a picture of one on Instagram. Unfortunately, I don't have an espresso machine, but! Molly does! She came over this past weekend and we made coffee affogatos and they were amazing! Here's how you make your own:

Ingredients

- 1 generous scoop vanilla ice cream (preferably Haagen-Dazs)

- 1-2 shots of espresso (very strongly brewed coffee also works)

- Cinnamon (optional but highly recommended)

- Roasted and salted pistachios, roughly chopped into very small pieces (other roasted nuts will work - hazelnuts, almonds, etc.)

Directions

1. Using a Nespresso machine (or Keurig/coffee maker) brew 1-2 shots of espresso or equivalent. Set aside.

2. Place a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream into a small glass.

3. Carefully pour the espresso over the vanilla ice cream.

4. Garnish with chopped pistachios and sprinkle cinnamon on top. Serve immediately.

The salt of the pistachios and the spice of the cinnamon really bring out the flavors of coffee! I cannot recommend this enough. It's super simple and so yummy.

While you are enjoying your grapefruit cocktail or coffee affogato, you can listen to my summer playlist! It's a short one, but contains a lot of the songs I've been jamming to all summer. I was able to see Ariana Grande and Shawn Mendes in concert this summer and included some of my favorite songs of theirs. Bastille and Ed Sheeran came out with new albums so I made sure to include their songs too!

You can listen to it here. Be sure to follow us on Spotify!

See y'all soon,

Gabriella