There’s nothing like summer time and hosting your friends at home!  This summer I’m making more time for entertaining at home since my backyard is one of my favorite places to spend my time.  Today I pulled out all of the outdoor couch cushions from the basement, reconnected the fire pit, and did some shopping for dinner and my favorite summer cocktail recipes to serve up for a little get together at home.

This is my second summer in a row celebrating warm summer nights with the delicious Lillet Spritz cocktail and I’m excited to mix some up for my guests.  I picked up some kebabs, asparagus, and Lillet Spritz ingredients for tonight’s backyard BBQ and couldn’t wait for my guests to arrive.  I prep my ingredients ahead of time so that it’s easy for me to make a Lillet Spritz for my guest right when they walk in the door or easily made by everyone as they need a refill.

One of my Favorite Summer Cocktail Recipes: Lillet Spritz

For the classic Lillet Spritz you’ll need:

• 2 parts Lillet wine, here I used Rose!
• 4 parts tonic water
• Cucumber slices, for garnish
• Mint leaves, for garnish
• Strawberry, for garnish

Add ice to a large wine glass (the more the better in my opinion!), add two parts Lillet wine, four parts tonic water, and garnish with cucumber, strawberry, and mint.  It’s seriously that easy!

And being a summer hostess isn’t complete without the perfect party outfit!  Malia Mills is a designer that I love for her mix of girl power and badass-ness all rolled into a beautiful dress or swimsuit.  For my party I chose this beautiful, breezy Malia Mills dress in a gorgeous red color draped over a classic one piece swimsuit.  I love the Malia style of wearing swimwear as undergarments and its perfect for a hot day when you just might feel like taking a dip in the pool or turning on the hose!  The way this fabric moves and dances just gives me chills!

Lillet and Malia Mills have partnered together again this year for the Summer Style Series installation and developed a co-branded retail collection that features a satellite apparel collection available at Malia Mills stores nationwide this summer.   The Malia Mills x Lillet Apertif Shop + Give Collection compliments the quintessential aperitif occasions of the season (hello summer time hosting at home!) and non-profit organization founded by Malia Mills production director Libby Mattern, dedicated to providing industrial sewing education to those in need.

Course-of-Trade offers a modular training system where people can learn sewing in three weeks and have assistance in job placement in factories.  When I first learned about this partnership, I loved hearing the story about a woman in the program who previously was working the night shift in a fast food restaurant and who was able to enroll in the program and develop skills to drive a new career and passion for her.

The collection is available in all Malia Mills retail stores from June 15th through September 15th, 2018.  10% of the purchase price from the collection is donated to Course-of-Trade and Lillet supporting proudly through donation this year.

Make sure to take some extra time this summer to slow down and enjoy those special aperitif moments–take the summer Friday afternoon off, book the long weekend getaway, find relaxation and pleasure in enjoying the warm summer nights!  Cheers to the best summer yet!

What about you? What are some of your favorite summer cocktail recipes? Let me know in a comment below!

Loving this summer recipe? Click here now for more of my favorites!!