O Family St. Louis Vacation - Kick off!

Last night was the start of our stay at home vacation.  I should probably mention now that this "staycation' is in addition to our regular vacation in July.  That means our budget for the week is pretty small.  So we will be staying at our house all week.  It's a bit more tricky to make things feel vacation like at home, but we'll do the best we can.

We started things off with a picnic dinner in one of my favorite place in the whole city, The Grand Basin in Forest Park.

The Grand Basin is a beautiful  area below the Art Museum and Art Hill.  

This picture was not taken by me 

 Here is a picture of the Basin during the 1904 World's Fair

This picture was not taken by me either ;)

It's a beautiful place to picnic, especially at sunset.  

 When we got home, we put the kiddos to bed and enjoyed some margaritas on the porch.  Not exactly the beach, but I love sitting on our porch.  I love our porch sitting neighborhood.
 

The margaritas were made (by me) with my step-dad, John's recipe.  We eat at a lot of Mexican joints but I have never found a margarita that I like better.  I hope he won't mind me sharing the recipe.

What you'll need:
Course salt (optional)
Lemon juice
Water
Sugar
Tequila
Triple Sec (or Grand Marnier if you like things fancy)
Rose's Sweetened Lime Juice
Limes

Start by salting the rim if that floats your boat (wet the glass and stick on a plate full of course salt).
Then make your own sweet and sour mix.  You could use the store bought kind, but I don't see why.  This is super easy and you avoid the syrup flavor.  Use equal parts water and lemon juice then add as much sugar as you like.  The Rose's lime is sweetened so don't go too overboard.
Next, mix one shot of Tequila, about 3/4 of a shot of Triple Sec, 1/2 a shot of Rose's, and two shots of Sweet and Sour.  Then squeeze in the juice of 1/2 a fresh lime.  Shake and pour over ice.  Makes one.  But you'll want to make way more than one.  Trust me.