The Best Margaritas.

A part of the key to our successful trip to the beach was a never ending pitcher of margaritas. It's not to say that we would not have had a fabulous time without them...but it wouldn't have been the same.

There is something about the beach that demands a margarita. Right?

This is not your standard margarita recipe. There is no lime involved. Nor is there any sweet and sour mix. It's the simplest recipe of all time. My mom has been serving them like this for years - be it at a Mexican themed bridal shower, Cinco de Mayo, or for the girls at the beach.

The beauty of it is the easy proportions. Any bartender will tell you that the key to a good drink is in consistency. The first drink should taste just like the second and should still taste the same on another night with a different bartender. That's why margaritas are so difficult. There are a million ways to make them and everyone likes them a little differently.

But these are easy - and delicious. Not too sweet, not too sour, not too strong. And they always taste the same! I love a reliable drink.





No Sally, that's not how you do it. Show some self control. Jeez.

Can't take her anywhere.





There are four ingredients and all in equal amounts. Frozen limeade, Corona, Sprite and Tequila. Feel free to sub in Corona Lite and Sprite Zero if you're feeling spunky.





The Corona is simple - 1 bottle.





Then the limeade, which is the slushy stuff found in the frozen section.

Next, pour in your Sprite. You can either use one can or simply refill the limeade container if you're using a 2 liter bottle.





Same goes for the tequila. Fill that limeade can right back up and dump it in.

Mix it around and then pour over ice. If rocks drinks aren't your thing than pop the pitcher in the freezer and let it sit for a few hours until it gets deliciously slushy. Perfect for taking down to the beach!

But I should add, go ahead and make a double batch. They're that good.

Now, who wants to make a practice batch and invite me over for a taste test?

Let's recap:

• 12 oz frozen limeade
• 12 oz Corona or Corona Lite
• 12 oz Sprite or Sprite Zero
• 12 oz Tequila (measure it in the limeade can!)
• Stir and Enjoy!
  
  

The Beach.

You know when you plan a weekend get-a-way and it lives up to all the expectations you had? That was this weekend. My sister, best friend and I loaded up the car and headed south in search of white sand on Florida's panhandle. 

We had one fabulously fun day on the beach. We also had a rainy day, which is only slightly unfortunate when there are only two days in the weekend. But the sunny day made up for it tenfold. 

Plus there was the small incident where I rode my bike into a large cluster of bushes and everyone was too busy laughing at me to help untangle me from the twigs. That definitely made up for the rain. I suspect we'll be laughing about that for a while. 

Before the rain hit we got a little too big for our britches and decided that an eight mile bike ride to nearby Seaside was manageable. None of us took the Florida humidity into consideration - or the fact that eight miles is a really long way - so we turned back around mile two. But we figured that a four mile ride had earned us a margarita or two, which is how we spent the rest of our rainy day. 

When the rain subsided on day two we hit the beach bright and early. Sun or no sun, we weren't about to miss out on another day. 

We set up shop quite nicely, red solo cups and all. As it should, our day morphed nicely from chatting to sipping margaritas, to playing games and diving through the waves.

Although I was raised going to the beach every summer, I've never been a huge fan of salt water. However, I've recently decided that seizing the day is the way to go. So into the ocean I went, salty water be damned.

While I was in there I remembered how my dad taught me to dive under waves as they were crashing. After jumping over a few I finally decided to seize the day and make the dive under. Let me tell you, it felt great. The waves, the bubbles, the sand - it was like being a kid again.

Mermaid is the name of the game. My goal was to dive under every wave that crashed and kick my feet up above the water just like a mermaid would. I haven't had so much fun in months. Sure, I hurt my shoulder in the process, but no worse than that time when I crashed my bike into the bushes. 

Basically, totally worth it. This is why they invented aspirin. 

The countdown is on - one more day on this side of the Mason Dixon line before I head back to Maine and then home to Canada. 

Time to have some last minute summer fun!

At The Beach.

Florida. The beach! White sandy shores. Two of my favorite girls. Drinks! So many delicious drinks.

Life doesn't get much better.





We weren't here ten minutes before we whipped up a batch of my mom's famous margaritas. I'll share the recipe next week. Not to worry. Ignore the brown hue, they're delicious.

With red Solo cups in hand we booked it down to the beach just in time for sunset.

The beach was still packed with folks that had clearly been back to their houses for showers and a change of clothes and then headed back down with wine in hand to catch the sunset.

It was a party. Some lucky folks even had a bonfire built and waiting for them. We spent a solid twenty minutes debating the best way to snag an invitation.





We've got big things on the agenda. Like eating. And drinking. And sitting on the beach.

And drinking more margaritas.





Those pounds I want to lose? They're just going to have to wait a few more days.

I'm going to soak up every last bit of this trip and enjoy the company to the fullest.





The last time Sally and I went to the beach was in high school - as in, 15 years ago.

Holy crap. My math must be wrong. Surely we're not that old. The margaritas must be getting to me.

But based on how well she knows me, that seems about right. We've been best friends forever.

I hope you do something fun this weekend :) Happy Friday!