Y’all, I’ve almost made it. In just over a week I’ll have survived another school year, this one with the additional challenge of teaching with my baby in tow. In all honesty, it has been an incredible blessing to have Everett with me at school, and I’m deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to spend every day with him while also going back to work. That said since he decided to become very mobile a few weeks ago after an extended “potted plant” phase,  I’m exhausted from chasing him around the classroom trying to prevent him from swallowing colored bead bars and pink tower cubes. It’s time for summer, hallelujah amen.

As the weather creeps into the 90s and the humidity cranks up to 11, I’m spending most of my days fantasizing about all the different ways I can put my cocktail shaker to good use. And lately, with the strawberries at their peak, ripe and tart and sweet, my cocktail shaker is churning out strawberry lemonade more than anything else.

Strawberry lemonade is as simple as it sounds- strawberry simple syrup, freshly squeezed lemons, gin, and a top off of rosé. Simple, and incredibly refreshing. And when served in a fancy coupe glass, quite the show stopper. It’s ideal fantasy material for the days that begin at 5am and are spent chasing around a baby and a mess of preschoolers.

Strawberry Gin Lemonade
makes 1

1 oz strawberry simple syrup (recipe below)

1 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 oz gin

2 oz sparkling rosé

sliced strawberries to garnish

Combine strawberry syrup, lemon juice, and gin in a shaker with ice. Shake well and pour, strained, into a cocktail glass. Top with rosé, garnish with a strawberry slice (or two) and serve.

strawberry simple syrup:

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

1 cup muddled strawberries

Simmer over medium/high heat until sugar has dissolved into water. Allow to cool completely. Will keep for 1 month in the fridge.