It was a mint julep weekend

I know it was Mother's Day this past weekend, but my mom was out of town. She was vacationing in her beloved mountains of North Carolina.

Since we didn't celebrate Mother's Day in the traditional sense this year, Andrew and I decided to go "all out" for another event: The Kentucky Derby.

We took an impromptu flight to Louisville, bought a hat and made our way to Churchill Downs.

I tease. We did not do that.

We stayed home and drug out our mint julep cups to celebrate instead.

This was our reward for checking off our "to-do" list, cleaning house, and running errands. 

I was all ready. I had a beautiful wide brimmed hat....that I just needed to locate. I looked and looked but just couldn't find the darn thing. 

"Moving on to bigger and better things", I said. We had mint juleps to tend to. I found a great julep recipe from the internet, and all we needed to do was buy the mint leaves. Andrew went to two grocery stores, and they were fresh out. Other couples in Baton Rouge must have been doing the exact same thing: buying fresh mint for their mint juleps. 

So here's the score card:

* no ticket to Churchill Downs.

* no wide brimmed hat.

* no mint leaves for a mint julep.

Boo hiss.

But you know what they say, "When life hands you no mint leaves, you make bourbon and ginger 'cause that's what you have stocked in your home."

Beautiful phrase.

We did just that.

And when you have a clever husband who loves mint, you can count on him doing the right thing: buying Mint Milano cookies in their stead.

All of that hoora for a two minute race. 

It's the memories. I told Andrew that I want my kids to learn these iconic Southern things as we learn them, too. Nothin' like a kid knowing the important things in life: the perfect mint julep recipe. We'd probably serve ginger ale to the children. 

It's no secret that I like to make a big deal over these kinds of things. It's fun. Why not?

Next year, though, I'll be ready.

Until then, bon appetit!