It’s official friends, summer is more than half way over. While I swear that the first day of summer was only yesterday, August right around the corner means that it’s time to soak up the sun and the last relaxing moments of summer before it passes us by. While it’s a little heartbreaking, it gives us all a good excuse to celebrate the season before fall is here {and then that other season after fall that we definitely don’t need to talk about…}. Long live summer, am I right?

To get into the summer spirit before it’s gone, I threw a little picnic to enjoy a relaxing weekend afternoon in Lincoln Park. And since I don’t always throw picnics, I decided to go all out with baguettes, cheese, fancy dips, olives – you name it, I had it on my picnic blanket. And of course I had to make sure a little beer and cider {my personal favorite!} was involved to really get the party started. I obviously take my picnics very seriously 😉My latest obsession has been ordering alcohol and spirits on demand from Drizly, so I made sure I ordered up a few of my favorite drinks for the occasion! Drizly makes it easy to always have your favorite drinks on hand by delivering liquor, alcohol, mixers and more to your door in an hour or less. So rather than having to go out and buy that one ingredient you forgot for your cocktails, or forgetting to hit the liquor store on your way home from work, you just have to visit their website or the app, order what you need and pick the time you’ll be home to pick it up. It’s awesome for me because I can always plan ahead – ordering a few ingredients for upcoming cocktails or beers for parties during the week to be delivered that night or during the weekend!Since I wanted something perfect for a hot summer picnic, I ordered a few 6 packs of Stella Artois and Stella Artois Cidre, two of my favorite drinks this season. They’re both super refreshing, crisp and make everyone happy – between all my friends someone loves at least one {but most likely both} of them, which always gives me extra bonus host points!

To jazz things up, I made a super easy sangria that’s perfect for picnics since you’re able to bring all the ingredients with you and mix it on the spot! If you want to make a pitcher ahead of time, you can definitely do that too, but I liked mixing it glass by glass so it’s easier to haul around the park 🙂

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 2 crisp pears (I used one green and one yellow for color)
• 2 crisp red apples
• Stella Artois Cidre: one bottle is perfect for two glasses of sangria)
• A bottle of pinot grigio (any kind will do!)

Directions:

Pour half a bottle of chilled Stella Artois Cidre into glass, or as much as will fill half your glass. Mix in about 2 large spoonfulls of chopped pears and apples for a sweet crunch.Top off your drink with chilled pinot grigio, any of your favorite brand from Drizly will do!Garnish with additional chopped pears and apples to give your drink a little flair. Even though it’s super easy, it’s really quite delicious and perfect for summer parties or events!  I’ll be drinking this on repeat for the rest of the summer – or as long as I have Stella Artois Cidre stocked in my fridge! What are your plans for soaking up the final days of summer? I’m hoping to plan a lot more boozy picnics, planning a few close trips, and working on my ever-fading summer tan. Hopefully we have a late fall ahead of us!A special thanks to Drizly and Stella Artois for sponsoring this post! I’m a big fan of their services and products, and as always, my opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that make Charmingly Styled possible!

Photos by Jules Kennedy