Growing up, The Salty Dog was a place we would eat at during our family trips to Hilton Head. It was my favorite t-shirt (pink, of course), and it represents some of my favorite memories, like the time my sisters fought over who was going to drive to wherever they were wanting to go. When Allye asked who was going to drive, Abby responded calmly with, “Well you’re the oldest, so you should probably drive.” I remember thinking how valid of a point that was, but Allye did not think the same. She fired back, “That’s not a thing, why don’t you just drive?” Abby was very adamant that this was a thing, and had a very good supporting argument, “It’s a rule—why do you think Dad always drives us around?”
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| Coolest part of having sisters? They're automatically your friends, too! 1. Striped bikini: Anthropologie |
Long story short, this argument went on for way too long, and the great debater, also know as Abby, is now a lawyer—shocker!
We’ve done a lot of reminiscing while we’ve been at the beach this week. Our parents reminded us of all the nights we would spend at the “teen club” here in Hilton Head. When I think back, I’m not even certain I was officially a “teen,” but the good news about teen clubs is that they don’t check IDs, so I made it in!
I also recall eating an endless amount of homemade chicken and cheese quesadillas that Mom would make—they were my favorite. And becoming best friends with the beach shuttle driver to the point where he was basically my own private vehicle service.
Now that we’re all a bit older and we’ve outgrown the teen club and the silly yet entertaining fights, The Salty Dog has taken on a new meaning—it’s now one of my go-to drink recipes when at the beach!
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| Salty Dog Cocktail recipe complimentary of Team Littrell Allen Tate Realtors! |
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| They'll get you moving...and will most likely treat you to a refreshing cocktail, too! |
It’s a fairly basic recipe, and some of you may know it as a different name, or really just no name at all, but for now it’s your Salty Dog! It just so happened to be one of the recipes featured in this month’s issue of American Lifestyle magazine—the same issue that Mom and Mark are sponsors of this time around!
One of the best parts about vacation is the fact that happy hour pretty much comes anytime you want it to. On Monday, happy hour came around 3 o’clock for Mom and I, so we hopped up to her and Mark’s kitchen, where you would find the quality alcohol. Your typical Salty Dog consists of red grapefruit juice, your vodka of choice, a grapefruit slice for garnish, and salt for the rim of your glass.
Mom and I created our own version of this drink, but still very similar! Fact about Mom: she doesn’t always love the taste of plain water, so she looks to other not so plain options to hydrate her day-to-day. Here go-to zero calorie drink of choice these days are Sparking ICE waters in Pink Grapefruit flavor. So we mixed these with our vodka and essentially made a skinny cocktail.
Meanwhile, Mark is entertaining himself around us with a conversation that sounds like it has to do with dinner plans, but unfortunately for him, Mom and I’s full attention was dedicated to our happy hour drinks. Mark starts making his way to the front door, I turn to Mom and ask, “So, what’s
he doing?” Mark responds for her and says, “Well he’s right here, so you could probably just ask him.” This sentence is one he has to state very often as the women in my family have a problem with talking about our men in third person even when they are in the room with us. I guess I am no exception!
he doing?” Mark responds for her and says, “Well he’s right here, so you could probably just ask him.” This sentence is one he has to state very often as the women in my family have a problem with talking about our men in third person even when they are in the room with us. I guess I am no exception!
Anywho, I digress, back to happy hour!
We did some taste testing of our concoctions as we kept asking the other, “Can you taste the vodka?” Well we couldn’t, which was a little concerning because Mom definitely had a heavy hand when she was pouring! Typically, our rule of thumb is if you can’t taste it, then there’s not enough! We don’t recommend this rule in all situations, but it’s most certainly always appropriate to follow on vacation!
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| 1. "Mornings are for Mimosas" tee originally from Target, but similar version can be found here: Mornings are for Mimosas 2. Lilly Pulitzer Shorts 3. Diff Eyewear Sunglasses 4. North Carolina Chain Necklace is from my favorite local Monogram Shop, Miller Monograms! |
As we were on our way to one of our family meals in Sea Pines, we noticed THE rule was being broken! I, the youngest, just so happened to be driving this time around with Abby in the front seat with me to prevent her from getting car sick--I'm still debating whether or not I believe this is an actual thing or just a way for her to get to sit up front! Regardless, we got a good chuckle once we realized we were being rule breakers.
Over our last couple of days here, I'm looking forward to breaking more rules with these peeps, and making even more memories that I'm sure we'll all cherish for years to come!
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| The REAL Salty Dog cocktail! |
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| Meet the smallest member of our Salty Dog crew, Mr. Franklin! |
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| Y'all, being an aunt especially to this guy is the most fun! Never a dull moment! |
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| I'd just eat him on a cracker if I wasn't trying to go carb-free! :) |
Recipe pictured below!
