Happy February! While I generally despise the winter months, celebrating this month of love brings me so much joy. Valentine’s always has, and always will be, meant for spreading love, no matter what that love may look like. Significant others, friends, and family alike deserve love, and Valentine’s Day is a wonderful occasion to share it. Valentine’s is commonly hated upon but I truly believe it’s time that narrative changed. Check out my full blown Valentine’s rant here if you need to be convinced. Now that you’re convinced, let’s spread the love!
Spreading the Vday love comes in many forms. I personally always decorate, send handmade Valentine’s cards to my friends and dress in pink, red, and hearts. I might as well just be cupid herself at this point! My other favorite part of the month is attending my bestie’s annual Galentine’s brunch. It’s truly a pink picturesque dream and always such a fun time dressing up to brunch with the girls. This year of course we had to spice it up with a festive pink drink! Sure you can just buy regular pink lemonade and add champagne but this lavender flavored pink lemonade mimosa is what garden party Galentine’s brunch dreams are made of! Seriously, this drink tastes as fancy as she looks and is absolutely worth the extra effort.
This bubbly number is fairly simple to make but just includes a few different steps to bring it together. First you’ll want to make your lavender simple syrup by following the recipe below. I purchased the dried lavender from the spices section of my local Ralphs. Wherever you buy it, just be sure to use culinary lavender so your syrup doesn’t end up tasting soapy. Next you’ll need to juice your lemons. Yes this process can seem daunting but in reality it took me less than 10 minutes and tastes a trillion times better than store bought lemonade. After you have your simple syrup made and lemons juiced, just combine with water and add a little bit of cranberry juice for the festive pink color. You can always adjust the flavor profile to your sweet and sour preferences by adding a little more or less lemon juice, simple syrup, or water. Once everything is combined, chill in the refrigerator (along with your champagne) until cold. Your lemonade should last in the fridge for about a week. When you’re ready to drink, add half lemonade and half champagne (or a little extra champs) to a champagne glass and enjoy!
Lavender Pink Lemonade Mimosa
A fancy floral pink lemonade mimosa meant to be sipped at a garden party brunch with the girls
Credit: thecalifornialocal.com
Ingredients
- 2 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 3 cups water
- 2 cups lavender simple syrup
- 2 tbps cranberry juice
- 1 bottle of chilled champagne
- Fresh or dried lavender stems for garnish
Directions
- In a pitcher, combine lemon juice, water, lavender simple syrup, and cranberry juice
- Stir to combine
- Chill in refrigerator until cold
- In a champagne glass, combine one part lemonade and one part champagne
- Garnish with a lavender stem
Lavender Simple Syrup
Credit: thecalifornialocal.com
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 tbps dried lavender
Directions
- Combine sugar, water, and dried lavender in a saucepan over medium-high heat
- Stir occasionally until the sugar is fully dissolved and the syrup begins to boil
- Once boiling, remove from heat and let cool for 30 minutes
- Strain out the dried lavender
The California Local 