A Toast to Laurel, MS with Mock Champagne!

What are the odds that the year you move back to the town where you grew up that at nearly the SAME TIME an HGTV show pilot is filmed there based around the concept of returning to your hometown?

I know, right? Nope, we’re not on the show in any way, shapem or form, but the show’s host, Erin has designed my gorgeous wedding invitations AND Wagner’s baby announcement (the two pieces of paper I treasure the most in the world), so I do know her a teeny tiny little bit.

Sunday, January 24th at 11am (THIS WEEKEND!) is the air date for Ben and Erin Napier’s HGTV show pilot, Hometown, and is also Laurel, Mississippi’s BIG DEBUT onto the national stage (Followed not long after by Jones County’s big deut with The Free State of Jones movie). The whole town is so excited about this, that there’s a city-wide chili lunch right after the airing at our lovely little train depot. My whole family came back from the beach completely down for the count with some awful flu-ish type virus right now, so it’s not looking like we’ll be able to go, BUT we’re going to drink ALL the orange juice in town between now and then to try to get ourselves well again.

IN THE MEANTIME I’m making sure I don’t miss a chance to celebrate such a big event, so we’re going to be raising a very chaste, very Sunday-morning-Appropriate toast to Laurel, to the Napiers, and to coming home with my Grandmother’s Mock Champagne/Wedding Punch that comes from the classic Laurel Entertains YWCO cookbook (I know. is it Coincidence or fate? Plus my mama did all the gorgeous house illustrations in the book. Whhhaatt?)

I hope hope hope you’ll join me in watching Hometown on Sunday to see a little bit of where I grew up, and if you don’t make this mocktail while you watch, consider making it complete with a gorgeous lemon and herb ice ring (how-to coming soon!) for your next baby shower or another time you want to have something festive for your non-drinking buds.

1 Quart white grape juice

3 quarts ginger ale

Ice Ring

Ladle

Punch Bowl

Combine the two drinks in a punch bowl and serve with the ice ring. Yep. That’s it. 😉