My brother-in-law and his sweet new girlfriend, Anuja, were in town visiting from NYC last week. Since they’re footloose and fancy free, they ran off to San Diego for a couple days and then stayed one night in Santa Monica before catching their early morning flight out on Sunday.

We went and hung out at their hotel on Saturday afternoon. I immediately wanted to move in the moment I stepped into the lobby ~ super old Sheraton on the outside, boutique hotel on the inside.

We sat out in the cabana while the kids swam.

It was glorious.

Later that evening we headed to Third Street Promenade to find some dinner and stumbled across Loteria Grill.

The food was great and I loved sitting out along the promenade sidewalk amongst all the evening energy.

I wanted to share with you a drink that I had…michelada de mango. I almost ordered the traditional michelada {tomato juice, lime & beer}, but then laid eyes on the mango variety. Yes, why should a michelada be limited to only tomato or Clamato juice?!? It was slightly sweet, slightly tart and very refreshing.

Super easy to recreate at home…

{Mexican beer of choice, mango nectar, pico de gallo seasoning & lime}

Rub lime slice around the rim of a tall glass and sprinkle with the pico de gallo.

Add ice and 1/4 cup mango nectar to the glass.

Add the juice of 1/4-1/2 lime depending how tart you want it.

Top off with an ice cold beer.

You could certainly mix up a pitcher of these, chill in the fridge and then pour over ice into prepared glasses for a larger crowd.

*****

We loved hanging out in Santa Monica all day…the kids had a blast and now I see the attraction to the whole {staycation} thing! It can still feel like a vacation even if it’s less than 40 miles from home.

So fun.

Cheers!

{BIL, Rodney and Anuja}