Lately

Wow, what a crazy/busy past couple of weeks I’ve had!! There are so many fun things going on that I can hardly keep up (which explains my M.I.A. status on the blog!) I’ve had so much fun the past couple of weeks that I’ve got to let you in on it!

One really fun opportunity I had earlier in the week was to attend one of the super fun Chef’s Table events put on by Eat Y’all! It was at Walker’s Drive In in Fondren and it was absolutely delicious! The menu was allll seafood (which I normally would not order), but I ended up eating and loving every single course! Perhaps my favorite course was the first one, which had nothing to do with seafood: A Cathead Vodka cocktail called Bee Sting!

The biggest flavors in the drink were honey and jalapeno, and it was absolutely DIVINE. Cathead was kind enough to share the recipe here on their website!

Props to Eat Y’all for a fabulous event!

Another fun recent event was in honor of my brother-in-law Jesse and his soon to be wifey, Mary Margaret! They had a really fun Stock the Bar shower in Belzoni, so I tried to get a little creative with their gift by using lips and a moustache. (Going back to Cathead Vodka… That’s what we got MM! And we got Jess a bottle of his favorite– Jack Daniels Old No. 7!)

For the box, we used an old cigar box left over from Price’s 30th birthday party! I cannot tell y’all how handy having a bunch of empty cigar boxes has been!! 🙂

Along the lines of the wedding, Mary Margaret’s bachelorette party was this past weekend in Orange Beach and we had an absolute blast!! Our theme was animal print so MM’s sister and I went a little crazy with the theme… We even had animal print snacks! These were super easy, made with the square pretzels, Hershey’s Hugs, and Reese’s Pieces! Mmmm mmmm!

We also got animal ears for everyone to wear the night we did dinner and dancin’. They were extra fun props to use in the photo booth MM’s sister and I surprised everyone with! (Long story behind the Hot Mess Express saying, but it was also one of the themes of the weekend so we incorporated it + animal print into the photo booth!)

Me, MM, and her little sister Anne Tatum!

The photo booth ended up being extra fun!

Price and I had a little shower for Jesse and Mary Margaret at our house earlier in the week, so stay tuned for a post all about that coming soon! It ended up being a near perfect night! 🙂

Have the best weekend!!!

The Bee Sting, Southern Style

The Bee Sting.
This drink is another thing I found out about whilst in England back in 2007. My travel friend Lindsey and I went to Bath, England for a weekend and stayed at the most adorable B&B I think I’ve ever stayed in. Their regular rooms were full, so we got to stay in the horse barn, which sounds disgusting, but it was a BEAUTIFUL renovated barn with a full kitchen, two bedrooms, a DVD player and tons of movies, and lots of tea and biscuits! We had a blast 🙂

The breakfast at this B&B was equally as impressive as the horse barn. I remember the food being top notch! Included in the outstanding food and drink was their orange juice. This was not just any ordinary orange juice. What’s in this that makes it so different? we asked ourselves… It was then that I caught a glimpse into the kitchen and saw the owner pouring a full Budweiser into the pitcher of OJ.

There’s beer in this! I told Lindsey. Yep, Budweiser and orange juice. And it was fantastic.

The next time I got on the computer, I googled beer and orange juice and found out that this combo is called a Bee Sting! How fitting since I had just discovered my love for bees! Lindsey and I named the Bee Sting our official spirited drink of the trip. (Well, that and Pimms cups!)

Since 2007 I’ve been making Bee Stings on and off and usually like to add a little extra Southern excitement (in the form of lime and mint!) when I pour one up these days. I wanted to share with you my recipe for Bee Stings, Southern style!

[{ WHAT YOU’LL NEED FOR 2 SERVINGS }]
6 mint leaves
1 lime
1 bottle of beer (of your choice)
Orange juice

Take out two mason jars and put 3 leaves of mint in the bottom of each. Squeeze juice from half a lime into each jar. Muddle the two together in the bottom. Split the beer evenly between each jar, then use roughly the same amount of OJ as you used beer in each jar. Top with crushed ice, a mint sprig, and a straw!

This is a fun “cocktail” (if you can even call it that) for brunches, or for late fall nights on the back porch. It’s simple, light, and fun to play with. I like trying different beers every time just for variation. I’ve also gotten into Trop50 OJ these days, which is lower calorie but every bit as wonderful as regular OJ!

CHEERS to Bee Stings! (The good kind, that is :))