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 :))

Where It All Began…

Making stationery is something I’ve been doing off and on for probably 5 or 6 years now, but it wasn’t until last year that I decided to name my line The Lovely Bee. I started thinking back to what exactly inspired me to choose this name for my company, and it’s sort of a neat story!

My fascination with bees started back in 2007 when one of my besties, Lindsey, and I lived in Oxford, England (NOT Mississippi!) right after college. We went through BUNAC (which I’m not sure even exists anymore) but it was a great company that hooked us up with temporary work visas and helped us get our feet on the ground for a few months of working abroad. (I was a waitress/barista and she was a mystery shopper… We had some awesome jobs!)

Here’s a page from our time in England. The picture of us sipping tea is surefire proof that we were in jolly ol’ England at tea time! The sign on the fence represents my love for dog humor, English style!

During a day off in Oxford, we decided to visit the Oxford Botanical Gardens and really had a great time looking at all the beautiful plants. We also saw tons of BEES flying around from flower to flower, so I got a few pictures of these guys!

One of Oxford’s botanical bees

It also so happened that I’d just finished a book called The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (which is definitely one of my favorite books EVER.) The book became even more special after I learned that my mama had been reading the exact same book 7 time zones to the left at the exact same time I was! (If you’ve never read the book, I highly recommend it. The thing that made the divine timing of her and me reading this book at the same time was because the book is about the relationship between a mother and a daughter… SO COOL!) The book also gave me an appreciation for bees.

After becoming uniquely fascinated with these little buzzing creatures, my sweet husband (who was my boyfriend at the time) gave me a bee necklace for Christmas that year that I RARELY take off. I’ve been through three chains but have managed to keep from losing the bee charm through the years. It’s such a special piece of jewelry to me!!

I SO love this necklace!!

When coming up with the name for the business I had such a passion for, I thought it might be a good idea to name it after something else that I’m crazy about, so BEES it was!

The Lovely Bee by Laurel

The bee in The Lovely Bee logo was hand drawn, as was the laurel wreath surrounding it. The laurel wreath was my mama’s idea, being that my name is Laurel and all. 🙂 Maybe one day The Lovely Bee will be able to afford a little logo update, but for now, it’s just perfect for where “we” (me and my shop dogs!) are as a company! Right now, I’m just so happy and so blessed to be able to get to do what I love!