I met my Happy Hour Soul Mate last week at Matrilumina (the week wasn't all deep, spiritual, and profound awakenings!).
Now, it should go without saying that Emmett is, of course, the original and longest-standing Happy Hour Soul Mate (as well as the cutest). But I think in an area such as this, there is more than enough room for two Soul Mates. Happy Hour is, after all, about inclusion not exclusion. The more the merrier, right?!
And while my Happy Hour Soul Mate #2 and I didn't specifically talk in great length about our Happy Hours, there were tidbits of information peppered throughout our conversations that week that lead me to believe if she and I lived next door to each other, we would do happy hour together every single day.
You see, we both appreciate the RITUAL of Happy Hour: the marking of the end of a day of labor, the noting of accomplishments, and acknowledging the transition from work to rest. A ritual that involves food and drink and conversation and good company. And we each see that WHERE Happy Hour takes place is as important as the food, drink, conversation, and company present. We've both dedicated spaces (I wouldn't call them sacred spaces but they are very, very special) in our homes where our Happy Hours occur: for her, on the front porch of her home in the Outer Banks and for me, in our front yard under the canopy of our Chinese Elm trees, the filtered sun on my skin, the setting sun over the Sierra Madre Mountains.
And while we both appreciate the Happy Hour that is simply an excuse to get together with friends and catch up (the opportunity of which we would never turn down), I have a feeling, given the choice between that and our low-key, sigh-at-the-end-of-a-long-day, shoes-kicked-off, favorite-pair-of-sweats-on, chillin'-with-our-thoughts Happy Hour, the latter would win out. Every time.
It's nice to know there is another person out there who has my Happy Hour back.
This new Happy Hour drink recipe is for her. Light, crisp, refreshing, and not too strong, it has become my go-to during these past few weeks of ridiculously hot weather here in Southern California.
Cheers!
Hendrick's Breeze
1½ parts Hendrick's Gin ¾ part fresh orange juice a couple splashes of Angostura Bitters lemon wedge ginger ale soda water
To prepare: In a long glass combine the first three ingredients. Squeeze the wedge of lemon and drop it into the drink. Add ice. Top with equal parts ginger ale & soda water and give a good stir.