Archive | November, 2017

cocktails with ROF jack-o-fire cocktail

30 Nov

all month long , we’re going to feature a signature holiday drink and release it on thursday.

one thing that is fun to do if you’re having a holiday cocktail or dinner party  is to start with a pre-made signature drink.  typically just one to hand people as they come in.  when people come over, try to engage all the senses.  for example, your house is infused with scented candles that have already been burning a while or a tasty dinner in the oven, a holiday playlist with regular music mixed in with holiday music and a signature cocktail!

this first cocktail is the perfect holiday sipping drink.  you’ve got cinnamon flavor with the whisky, vanilla, pumpkin and irish cream all together.

all this month, if you post on social media, send us a photo or comment here on the blog of one of ROF’s drinks you made, we’ll enter you in a drawing to win a sleeve of these:

JACK-O-FIRE

  • 1 part Fireball Whisky

  • 1 part vanilla vodka

  • 1 part pumpkin spice liqueur

  • 1 part Irish cream

Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with cinnamon stick and ground nutmeg. Recipe from here.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

2017 WISH, I MEAN, GIFT LIST

28 Nov

my mom used to say that as a child i could want to buy something in a gas station.  i don’t understand why that is even worth mentioning.  duh. of course i could!  i think the important thing for all my loved ones around me to grasp about that statement is that shopping is a PASSION for me and has been since i was a child.  in a gas station, no less!

is it shallow to like…things?  i say no.  i say it plays a part in cultivating, evolving and curating your style.  i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again – i LOVE it when someone says to me “THIS IS SO YOU!” that means i’ve developed a style and look that people pick up on.

my good friend, jackie grubb marshall, is so thoughtful and has always through the years given me things even outside of birthdays and holidays that were “so me.”  for example, she got me slang flash cards that i have hung up in my last 3 office walls.  also, white porcelain bulldog salt & pepper shakers and a pillow with our dallas zip code on it.

anyway, back to shopping. this list started as a place for me to gather things i saw on-line that i wanted to buy myself or someone else.  i started it a while ago and after looking at it, think that you might like some of these as gift for someone over the holiday.  here is a link to the whole collection.

APRES SKI DRINK COASTERS

for all design lovers, dig on these coasters that are $35.00 for 50.  i use paper coasters i snag from hotel rooms around the world for bedside drinks, sink-side glasses and as spoon rests in the kitchen.  i love the font on these.  get them here. 

TRIBE OF MENTORS by TIM FERRISS

by now you know what a big tim ferriss fan i am.  i carry tools of titans around with me everywhere i go which is not easy because it is a million pages long!  his latest book just came out (dying to buy!!) and it is all life advice by the best in the world. $17.85 buy it here.

BECAUSE JESUS EATS WITH EVERYONE picture

i love this picture and everything in this store.  Jesus wasn’t about exclusion, He was about inclusion and love.  and he eats with everyone! this sign is $130.00 and you can get it here.

CARBON STEEL GRIDDLE PAN

i just read about this in this month’s bon appetit magazine’s gift guide.  it says: “A carbon steel pan gets ripping hot super fast and retains heat evenly, just what you need for getting that crispy crust on the outside of your smash burger or the golden-brown exterior of a perfectly-cooked pancakes. And, just like a cast iron, you can stick it directly into a wood-burning fire or on top of your grill.”  $31 (on sale!)  get it here

PALOMA TURTLENECK SWEATER

i’m a sucker for white in the winter and nothing looks more chic and comfortable than this oversized sweater.  i like all three colors it comes in, actually.  now that i think of it, i like every single thing in anthropologie. every damn thing.  $130 buy it here

WATERMELON SLEEPING MASK

supposedly, this is what will give you that dewy, fresh glowing skin you covet.  quite the buzz on this mask you apply at night (like a moisturizer) and wash off in the morning or use as a 10-minute mask. $45 – run, don’t walk here.

happy shopping!

Tags: , , , , , , ,

black friday highball: cocktails with ROF

23 Nov

happy thanksgiving!

i’m so thankful for you.  i appreciate you letting me be creative and you reading and sharing.  i certainly am thankful for ROF who makes living life so much fun.  today is thursday, so it’s cocktails with ROF time.  today, he is celebrating BLACK FRIDAY with a Jim Beam Black drink to sip after you get done with shopping, crowds and malls tomorrow.  recipe is below his video:

2 oz bourbon

1 oz ginger ale

2 oz coke

squeeze of lime

fill a glass 2/3 with ice, pour in bourbon, add in the ginger ale and coke.  finish with the squeeze of lime.  enjoy!

Tags: , , , ,

how to make world class scrambled eggs

22 Nov

scrambled eggs?  am i off my rocker?  what about turkey, cranberry sauce or harvest rolls?  nah, you’ve got that covered...it’s too late for that.  but what you really need to know is how to make world class eggs.  guys, listen up.  and by that i truly mean guys.  you have an opportunity here to master this art and win over your kids hearts every saturday morning.

at least that was the case with me.  my dad cooked a few things real well.  steak and eggs.  not together.  he was the world class scrambled egg maker.  in his slippers, saturday mornings, MTV blaring in the family room next to the kitchen.  TURN THAT CRAP DOWN!  sorry, i digress.  now, these may not have been the best eggs i ever had but i would never know it.  my dad talked everything he did up.  so when he served the eggs and bacon he’d say “have you ever seen anything more beautiful than that?”  and “you’re in for a real treat today, kids” – always matched with an eye roll from my mom.

now, i’m married to ROF and he really does make the best scrambled eggs.  i would have loved to have a scrambled egg challenge with him and my dad.  that would have been fun.  but ROF cooks me eggs a lot – even during the week! and i have to say, they are the best.  (shout out to my sis who makes the best over-easy eggs and egg sammies in the world!)

watch ROF at work here and how to make scrambled eggs.  oh, and of course, you girls can master this too! 🙂

Tags: , , , , ,

pumpkin pie martini recipe – for thanksgiving!

16 Nov

one week until thanksgiving.  are you ready?  ROF and i are staying in angelic madison and spending the holiday with good friends.  this week’s “cocktails with ROF” is given to you early so you can properly prep and serve this at your thanksgiving weekend activities and BE THE HIT OF THE PARTY!

we first had this drink in NYC here.  one of the very best places to have a cocktail in the city.  we had started dating in april of 2009 and by thanksgiving i was already headed out to meet his family outside of NYC.  he took me here and we ordered two pumpkin pie martinis and i think they cost $18 each.  i kid you not. luckily for us, the recipe is on their website which you can see here or i pasted it below.

here is ROF:

2 things for tuesday – maple + einaudi

14 Nov

it’s 2 for tuesday.  here’s a little sumethin-sumethin for you on this most lovely tuesday.

these are two things i feel like talking about and since it’s my blog, i will.  you’ll thank me for it.  if you like to eat and like to listen to good music, you’re in for a treat. keep reading…

forget you, pumpkin spice. i want maple.

sure, i love to light a pumpkin soufflé candle from anthro like the rest of you, but i’m in love with another fall flavor.  it’s a flavor that takes a backseat to what we’ll call PS from now on but is (in my humble opinion) so much better.

why should maple be relegated to just a sunday morning pancake topper?  brace your taste buds for these snaps:

starting clockwise from upper left:

  1. creamy maple brie and cheddar apple soup// thanks to kevin lynch and the closet cooking website

  2. pastry wrapped baked brie with maple butter roasted apples//thanks to tieghan and the half-baked harvest blog

  3. maple glazed bacon wrapped roasted carrots//thanks again to the closet cooking website

  4. maple dijon chicken thighs//thanks to budget byte$ blog

if those recipes don’t make your mouth crave some maple… i’ve collected 15 others on my pinterest board that will!  see them here!

****

2 for tuesday – #2

get hip to ludovico einaudi

inspired initially by reading my favorite book and learning that listening to certain types of music and the SAME music while you work over and over again increase productivity (it works!) i stumbled upon this brilliant italian composer and pianist.  if you want to play a soundtrack to:

  • enrich the background of your life
  • make you think, make you happy, make you contemplate
  • help you concentrate
  • force you to meditate, let go

listen to einaudi.  i have done 2 things for you.  i’ve cultivated a playlist to listen to IN ORDER here:

also, here is a playlist that is my work playlist that i personally love.  you might love it too! then again, you might need more of a motley crue type of playlist!

make it a great tuesday!  i’m grateful for you!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

encouragement for today

11 Nov

there’s something i want to remember every single morning.  

but i don’t.  i wake up and go through my programmed routine and i forget.  in the beginning i didn’t forget. and i made myself promise that i wouldn’t.

i don’t want to forget to remember to live this day as if i had 4 months left to live.  

like so many people out there, i learned this lesson the hard way.  it happened to someone close to me.  in fact, now that i think about it, it has been a similar situation for several people close to me.   why should you listen?  because i promise that if this news hasn’t crossed your path yet, it will someday.  

do you know what my dad did when he found out he had 4 months to live?  he moved, within weeks, two doors down from me in an OK apartment complex in dallas, texas.  do you know where he was living?  in a million dollar or so house on a golf course on hilton head island – away from his children – away from his family.

when he got the word that he was dying, his very first thought was me, my sister and my brother.   and my mom.  he didn’t give a shit that he was going to a rented one bedroom apartment – all that mattered was he was close to his family.  he didn’t care about feeling uncomfortable about asking our forgiveness, he did it.  and quick.

i could go on more about this but this encouragement for today isn’t about my dad.  it’s about you + me.  how can we live each day with this mindset?  here is what i thought about:

1. close your eyes.  you just got this horrible news.  what is very most important to you?  make it that important every single day and act as such.  pick up and move to dallas, so to speak.

2.  make it right.  if there is anything off kilter, make it right, now.  don’t wait for this day to come.  make it right RIGHT NOW.

3. make other people important.  taking a lesson from dad, i absolutely became the center of his life.  and i wasn’t before.  he was genuinely interested in what i was doing, saying, learning.  my favorite memories ever were in the morning before work, i would see his bald head bouncing down the outside walk to my house for coffee.  i loved it.  he couldn’t wait to wake up and talk to me about my day and what i was going to do.  i need to be like that every day with everyone i encounter.

4. get over yourself.  and your fears, insecurities and inhibitions.  it’s not about you.  it’s about your time with people important to you.  big difference.  so say i’m sorry, say i’m scared, say let’s pray, say i love you – stop with the inside voice telling you stupid things.  you only have a limited time.

DSCN2053

 

 

Tags: , , , ,

COCKTAILS WITH ROF: Brandy Old-Fashioned Recipe

9 Nov

living in Wisconsin is just plain fun.  it really is.  there are so many things that are unanimously loved throughout the whole state that it’s like one big club.  here’s a little sample of what i’m talking about:

  • cheese curds
  • friday night fish fry
  • euchre
  • going up north
  • bar dice
  • beer and…
  • BRANDY OLD FASHIONED!

of course, i called it “brandy old fashion” forever until i noticed the error of my ways and quickly changed.  google “wisconsin and brandy” and you’ll see the articles on how no one can really explain why ALL OF WISCONSIN DRINKS SO MUCH BRANDY!  one article went right to the source  – Korbel and got this quote:

“Wisconsin is our number one state,” says Margie Healy, director of public relations for the California-based Korbel. “We export 385,000 cases a year, and 139,000 go directly to Wisconsin. That’s one-third of our total production.”

all i can tell you is that they are darn good drinks!  my girlfriends and i tried the “sweet” version this past weekend and loved them!

so here is ROF with another drink for you to try out this weekend.  make it for you and your loved one and send us a picture! recipe is below.

Brandy

Orange

Lemon

Cherries (jar)

Cube of sugar

Angostura bitters 

Sweet: 7-up or Sprite

Sour: Club Soda

Ice

Put cube of sugar in class and squeeze the juice from one slice of orange and add a cherry.  Muddle it together – just press and break up the sugar cube and cherry.  Put 4-6 dashes of bitters in the glass and add some ice cubes.  Next, put in about 2- 2.5 ounces of Brandy.  Korbel is most popular.  Lastly top with either 7-up for SWEET or top with club soda for SOUR or a little bit of BOTH for a PRESS.  Add one more cherry to the top.  Take some lemon zest and squeeze the oils into the top and rub zest along rim.  There you go!  Enjoy!

Share your pictures with us!

 

Tags: , , , ,

WHERE TO GO IN NYC

7 Nov

i recently sent my friend an email with my recommendations for places to go and things to do in NYC.  this is a city that we try to go to at least 2x a year.  i thrive off the energy and creative vibes that seemingly ooze from the sidewalks and radiate from people there.  we were just there a couple of weeks ago and ate here – YUM-O!

we’re headed back in december for my birthday and to spend christmas with relatives and we are staying here (the benefits of traveling for work and collecting points all year) and having dinner with 3 other couples here.  also, i’m totally into the “secret” restaurant scene and are currently trying to get the password/reservation to this place.  CAN’T WAIT!

so here was my advice to my friend who was headed there for the first time recently.  please leave your favorite places in the comments below!

********

i’m so excited to hear about NYC through your eyes.  promise me you’ll have fun!  don’t worry about ANYTHING  – just take it all in.  There is NO MORE BEAUTIFUL CITY IN THE COUNTRY!   here are a couple of places/ideas.  Take it or leave it, you won’t be able to see it all! .

for me, i’m all about experiencing what a city has to offer – no chain restaurants/stores – goes without saying, but i said it anyway.   these are totally random ideas.  my biggest advice about NYC is this… it is an anything goes city!  do not be afraid to walk into places, say hello, leave – whatever.  this city is more casual and friendly than you think – they have SEEN IT ALL.

FRIDAY DINNER SUGGESTIONS:

MARY’S FISH CAMP: http://marysfishcamp.com/home.php

nestled deep in the Greenwich Village neighborhood, you won’t believe you’re in a big city.  every time i’m here, i think, i could totally live here.  OMG.  The brownstones etc… this place doesn’t take reservations so we have put our name in and walked across the street to Greek place and grabbed a drink at the bar.  NOTE: you could even eat here – just as good!  When I was there with my niece, nice boys next to us said they had the best sangria and they asked if we wanted to try it so we did.  later, we were like, we didn’t even know them!

MERCER KITCHEN: http://www.themercerkitchen.com/

Ok, not sure you can get in here. But I LOVE THIS PLACE!  It’s in SOHO (south of Houston pronounced HOW-ston, not like the city) and this hotel is awesome.  They have a great restaurant in basement – make reservations now, if you want.

this area is my favorite in the world and you could walk to the bar at the SOHO GRAND http://www.sohogrand.com/dining-nightlife/ upstairs (saw Reese Witherspoon here) and it is so happening and great people watching. ROF and I played gin rummy for hours in the afternoon here.  Walk up the funky stairs and order a drink at bar.  I’ve been here like 28.5x.  (maybe not that much)  This would be a fun night.

TAO: Downtown: https://taodowntown.com/

meatpacking district –  this place is wild!  Very fun and another area to go to.

Saturday – before show

OK, so before your show, you gotta go to Central Park!  You may want to have brunch here.  I think I ate here  https://www.yelp.com/biz/sarabeths-new-york-10

have a great brunch/breakfast and just cruise Central Park!  Whoop!  Take a horse carriage through there!  No doubt – !!  You will be like – No way am I in NYC!

Other favorite places:

washington square park – can’t beat it.  i have spent hours here with ROF.  Just grab a coffee, grab a bench and hang out!

Ok  – here is some “only in NYC” experiences:

 

i’ve also blogged about my other NYC trips here and here.

where are some of your favorite places in the city?

Tags: , , , ,