Non si puo pensare bene,
Amare bene,
Dormire bene
Se non si e mangiato bene.
One cannot think well,
Love well,
Sleep well,
If one has not dined well.
-Virgina Woolf
A good cocktail never hurt either… ~JTB
I am terrified of the ocean. Really any open moving water fills me with Natalie Wood-like terror. In a past life, I’m quite sure there was an “incident” and the terror is enough to keep me from attempting to surf in Hawaii, dive into the clear waters of the Caribbean, or go for a brisk swim along the shores of Rhode Island. If anyone’s gonna have their leg bitten off by a Great White or get pulled out to sea in a rip current, it’s gonna be me. The Bee. I’m convinced. No, sir. If you need me, I’ll be sitting right here with my big toe in the water, sipping on my white wine. Ok, glugging.
But all was made right on the Tyrrhenian Sea.
In a slice of heaven carved out of the cliffs of Amalfi called Santa Catarina, dripping in lemons and bougainvillea, I fell in love with la dolce vita life.
Float, dip, emerge, eat, drink, repeat.
Amalfi is pastels and technicolor. Cool turquoise-tiled lobbies, pale coral houses studded along the cliffside, deep hot-house pink cascades of flowers, jade green water, and every afternoon, the brightest neon orange Aperol Spritzes.
Bitter and sweet. Crisp and palate cleansing. This is hands down my favorite drink of the summer months. And if you find yourself on a lounge chair seaside at Santa Catarina ask Paolo or Giuseppe for one made a la Jule The Bee. I promise you, you won’t be sorry.
A traditional Italian Aperol is made with Prosecco, the Italian version of champagne. Sweet and bubbly, it notoriously gives me a cloying headache the next day that will ruin even the most perfect day in Amalfi. But swap it out for my favorite French champagne and you’ve got an aBEErol Spritz that will blow your mind, without making you reach for the Advil. It’s my one push back on the Italian culture. The rest is perfection.
Best part is, you don’t have to be in Italy to enjoy an aBEErol Spritz! Just ask Lauryn Evarts of “The Skinny Confidential.” Last summer when we met for drinks at The Nat King Cole Bar in The St. Regis Hotel in Manhattan, her mind was blown. She’s been ordering her Aperols Bee Style ever since. Don’t believe me? Read about it here.
My grandmother taught me to bring memories from my favorite travels home with me, to always have a few key pieces that translate to my surroundings when back home. “Don’t fill your home with stuff, fill your home with a little bit of the best of everything.” For more Gammy wisdom, read this.
I have her on my shoulder when I buy anything. And it is because of her that I have cultivated my wardrobe and my home with a few choice pieces that remind me of Amalfi. They are linked for you below, and I hope they bring you as much joy as they’ve brought me.
The pieces that I wear (when I’m not zipped up in my soulcycle onesie) and have linked below, are classic and modern, while also being sexy and timeless. Channel your inner Sophia Loren and Audrey Hepburn a la “Roman Holiday,” throw on some pink lippy and enjoy!
Below are also some of my favorite Italian products that I’ve loved and used since my honeymoon with Bazz nearly 15 years ago and continue to use to this day. They take me straight back to Italy, especially during a time when we probably won’t be going back there for a while. My home is filled with the subtle scent of our favorite hotel on earth, our beloved Santa Catarina, its lemon groves overlooking the sea that tamed even the toughest of customers (that would be me). When friends gather at our home I am always asked, “Jule it smells incredible in here, what is that?” The room diffuser is perfectly subtle, divine, and unique.
And always front and center on our gleaming bar cart, is a bottle of Aperol. Tonight I’ll make one, I’ll close my eyes and breathe in deep, and sip and sigh, and go right back seaside to Santa Catarina.
Ciao BEElas!
Xx Bee
The Bee’s aBEErol Spritz
Equipment
- Large wine glass (read more on this below, your glass is important!)
Ingredients
- Ice your desired amount
- 3 ounces Aperol
- 3 ounces Champagne
- 1 ounce (splash) Club Soda
- Orange Slices for garnish
Instructions
- Fill glass halfway with ice.
- Add the Aperol, champagne, and club soda, and stir with a spoon until fully incorporated.
- Serve with an orange slice if you're feeling fancy.
Notes
Below are all of Jule’s necessities for making the perfect aBEErol Spritz ~
Here are Jule’s Amalfi inspired “choice pieces” to build a Gammy-approved wardrobe ~
And here are the key scents that bring Jule back summer in Italy ~
Have a question for Jule? Dating getting you down? Friendship in a frenzy? Mother-in-law making you mashugana ?? Nothing is off-limits. Everything is anonymous! Ask The Bee HERE!
All illustrations by @courtneycoloring
Delicious!! 5 stars!