Raspberry Lemonade Recipe (4)

When I saw this raspberry lemonade recipe on Pinterest, I knew that I had to make it. This wasn’t any old recipe. It was a copy cat of Cheesecake Factory’s Raspberry Lemonade. Simply reading the title made me nostalgic.

My husband and I spent our entire dating relationship living hours, and sometimes states, apart. The second year we dated he lived in Chicago and I was at school in a small town in Texas. Our visits were infrequent, our time together precious and the memories we made during that season of life are some we most cherish.

Every time I was making the trip up to see Currey, my dad, without fail, would make a phone call. He knew that we were both students, money was tight and we rarely got to go on dates since we were apart most of the year. He would call, tell me to enjoy my trip, ask about our plans and tell me that I could put a $100 nice dinner date on my credit card. At that time, a $100 date was extravagant. (Who am I kidding! That’s still extravagant for us. But at the time it felt like $1 Million.) After the first trip we wised up and started having several small dates instead but my first trip to Chicago we blew the whole thing on one dinner at Grand Lux. (It’s by the same people behind the Cheesecake Factory.)

The whole evening was magical! Grand Lux is on the second floor and the huge windows around the restaurant face Michigan Avenue. The trees outside were covered in white Christmas lights which made the frigid evening seem enchanting. We feasted on filet mignon, shared an apple dessert of some sort and I drank several glasses of raspberry lemonade. It’s one of those special nights that I remember all the details. Yes, I could even tell you what I wore.

I have to tell you, this copy cat recipe is just as good as the real thing. It’s delicious, refreshing and slightly addicting. This recipe was perfect just as it was, so head on over to The Sexy Knitter for the full recipe. It’s the perfect addition to any summer activity!