Archives for January 2018

Super Bowl Party Ideas

January 24, 2018 by Natalie 5 Comments

I’m so excited to be teaming up with Bai for this post to bring you some fun Super Bowl Party Ideas. If you’re hosting a Super Bowl gathering or heading to a friends house, these DIYs and recipes should be a part of your goodie bag of tricks. I’m breaking down some fun, totally easy ways to gussy up that Sunday football fest in style!

Bourbon Caramel Popcorn

6 cups popped popcorn

cooking spray or parchment paper

6 tbsp. butter

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

3 tbsp. corn syrup

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 tbsp. bourbon

Preheat the oven to 300°. Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray or line it with parchment paper. Pop the popcorn and transfer it to a large bowl. Heat the butter, sugar, corn syrup, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Once the mixture starts bubbling, cook for one minute more. Remove from heat and add the bourbon and vanilla. Stir and pour over the popcorn. Stir until popcorn is nicely coated and then transfer to the baking sheet, spreading out to an even layer. Bake for 35 minutes, stirring halfway through. Let cool and serve in a bowl or cute football snack bags. Store leftovers in a sealable container — if you have any leftovers.

Football Snack Bags

brown paper bags

white paint

paint brush

Simply paint line on a brown paper bag to resemble a football. Let dry and use to serve your Bourbon Caramel Popcorn or to send guests home with a Super Bowl goodie bag.

DIY Football Field Tray

clear lucite tray

astroturf

white duct tape

white number stickers

scissors

hot glue gun and glue sticks

Cut the astroturf to the size of the inside of your lucite tray. I found my lucite tray onsale at HomeGoods for $12.99! Cut a strip of duct tape to the width of your tray and fold it lengthwise so it is smooth on both sides. Repeat until you have enough strips to fit your tray. My tray was small so I only did four. If you have a larger tray you can do five or six strips. Lay out each of the strips on the astroturf until they are evenly spaced to form the yard lines. Hot glue in place. Lay out the yard line number stickers. My stickers weren’t very sticky so I secured them with hot glue too. Place on either side of the yard line on both sides of the tray.

Your tray is Super Bowl ready!!

Fizzy Bourbon Strawberry Lemonade

2 oz. Bourbon

3 oz. Bai São Paulo Strawberry Lemonade

top with club soda or champagne

chocolate covered strawberry football for garnish

I kept the cocktail easy peasy because I know hosting for game day can be tough. These can be made easily to order, built right in the glass or you can toss all the ingredients in a punch bowl for easy self-service.

If you want to take this cocktail a step further you can add the bourbon, Bai Sao Paulo Strawberry Lemonade, fresh strawberries and mint to a cocktail shaker then muddle and shake with ice. Strain into a highball glass over ice and top with club soda. If you’re feeling lucky you can swap out the club soda for champagne and kick the ABV up a notch.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Footballs

strawberries

dark chocolate melting wafers

white cookie icing

Fill a coffee mug with the dark chocolate melting wafers and put in the microwave for 10 seconds. Take out, stir the chocolate, and return to the microwave for another 10 seconds. Repeat this until all chocolate has melted but be careful not to burn the chocolate. Take your strawberries by the stems and dip into the mug of chocolate. Place on a piece of parchment paper and let the strawberries set in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. Remove from the refrigerator and pipe the white cookie icing on to resemble footballs. Now you have the cutest and most delicious garnish for game day!

I’m so happy with how my Super Bowl Party Ideas turned out. Super bowl and super cute tend to not go hand in hand usually, but I feel like I totally scored with these! There is no better day to nosh on popcorn than on Super Bowl Sunday and the fact that it’s boozy popcorn makes it all the better. The fizzy bourbon strawberry lemonade is easy, delicious, and that chocolate covered strawberry football garnish is a win in my book! Serving in style is key and the DIY football field tray is a cute detail that pulls everything together. I hope this inspires you to make your game day festivities a little more fun. Ethan’s team (The Eagles) are going to the Super Bowl so I can’t wait to recreate these ideas for Super Bowl Sunday. xo

Healthy Drinks: The Bitter Beet Detox Cocktail

January 17, 2018 by Natalie 2 Comments

Can we drink and be healthy? I’m not quite sure but we can try! I made this Bitter Beet Detox Cocktail with Fernet-Branca that’s super herbal and refreshing. Fernet-Branca is made from bitters and herbs, and though it goes down relatively smooth, the aftertaste kicks and lingers. It is, as almost everyone describes it, an acquired taste.

The base of Fernet is made from grapes and includes generous helpings of the antioxidant saffron, as well as some rhubarb, chamomile, and ginseng. With the rumored herb count somewhere between 20 to upwards of 40, much more goes into Fernet, and other ingredients include peppermint oil, sage, bay leaves, gentian root, and even St. John’s wort. Almost all Fernet recipes are secret though!

The combination of herbs, whatever they all are, settles the stomach, aids digestion, and people often cite it as a hangover cure. Originally, people drank the liquor to cleanse the system, sipping it following dinner. Historically Fernet has been used for health reasons which made it perfect in this Bitter Beet Detox Cocktail.

Bitter Beet Detox Cocktail

1 1/2 oz. Fernet-Branca

1/2 oz. ginger liqueur

1 oz. fresh beet juice

3/4 oz. lemon juice

1/2 oz. honey syrup

thyme, for garnish

Cut your beets into small pieces and run them through your slow juicer. If you don’t have a slow juicer you can make juice in a blender and fine strain. You can also buy it at your local health food store. Add all of your ingredients to your cocktail shaker and shake with ice. Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with a sprig of fresh thyme.

Can I be honest with you guys? I’ve never been a huge fan of Fernet. I have drunk it on occasion to use it exactly what it was meant for — digestion, upset stomach, or hangover. I’ve never truly enjoyed it in a drink and it’s never my first choice. This Bitter Beet Detox Cocktail has kind of changed my mind though.

The earthiness of beets goes so well with all the herbal notes of Fernet. Ginger liqueur adds some nice spice and sweetness to this drink together with the honey. Honey is a great natural sugar and is full of antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins. The lemon juice adds brightness and helps balance the cocktail. In addition, thyme is a great aromatic for garnish and also has many health benefits. Thyme can boost the immune system as well as aid in heart health, provide relief from stress, and is rich in anti-fungal and antioxidant properties.

Have I given you enough reasons to make this cocktail? YES! I hope you will give this healthy Bitter Beet Detox Cocktail a try. I can’t wait to make more fresh vegetable juice cocktails. Is there anything, in particular, you’d like me to use? Let me know below in the comments below. xo

Winter Pimm’s Cup

January 15, 2018 by Natalie Leave a Comment

I’ve been thinking about Summer a lot. Probably because it’s been so cold and I need to be reminded that there will be sunshine and warmth again someday. I’ve teamed up with Zevia to bring you a Winter Pimm’s Cup in honor of one of my favorite Summer classics. The first time I ever had a Pimm’s Cup was many years ago in the city of New Orleans. I think anything I’ve ever eaten or drunk in NOLA has become an instant favorite. It’s impossible not to fall in love with that city.

New Orleans has a way of taking things that you could find anywhere and re-engineering them so that they become so uniquely New Orleans, you’d be hard-pressed to find anything else that measures up. The Pimm’s Cup is one such example. While the classic drink was born in a London bar at the hands of a bartender named James Pimm, the Napoleon House in New Orleans has taken his creation, put a slight twist on it, and placed it down in one of the city’s most charming watering holes. If you ever get a chance to visit, going to the Napoleon House for a Pimm’s Cup and a muffaletta is a must!

I love to make my Pimm’s Cup like the Napoleon House does — Pimm’s, fresh lemonade, lemon/lime soda and a very elaborate cucumber garnish. For my Winter Pimm’s Cup, I’ve added Scotch for a cold weather spin on the classic. There’s no need to add the extra sugar of soda when you can make the perfect cocktail with Zevia Dry Lemon Lime.

Winter Pimm’s Cup

1 oz. Scotch

1 oz. Pimm’s

3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice

3/4 oz. stevia simple syrup

1 can Zevia Dry Lemon Lime Mixer

cucumber, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, and mint for muddling and garnish

Making stevia simple syrup is easy and a great way to make your cocktails a little healthier. Mix 2 tablespoons of powdered stevia with 1 cup of warm water and stir until completely dissolved. The consistency of this syrup will be much thinner than traditional simple syrup. Stevia simple syrup still works perfectly for adding sweetness and balancing out citrus in your drinks.

To make a Winter Pimm’s Cup add some berries, mint, cucumber, lemon juice, and stevia simple syrup to a tin. Give it a quick muddle and then add your Scotch and Pimm’s. Shake with ice and strain into a highball glass over ice and top with Zevia Dry Lemon Lime Mixer. Garnish elaborately with a bouquet of mint, berries, and cucumber slices.

This Winter Pimm’s Cup is a perfect variation on the classic — cool, light, tart, refreshing, and slightly smoky. The Zevia Dry Lemon Lime Mixer is a great substitute for regular sodas because it doesn’t add too much sweetness or sugar. A Pimm’s Cup is usually a low ABV cocktail but I like how the Scotch kicks it up a notch. I need some alcohol content to stay warm this winter. My favorite thing about this drink (besides drinking it) is the elaborate fruit garnish. It practically qualifies as a cocktail and a fruit salad snack which is A-OK with me! I hope you’ll be mixing up a few of these this Winter. xo

Sunday Kind of Love

January 14, 2018 by Natalie Leave a Comment

Hello Everyone! Just checking in to see how your week went. I had a pretty busy one filled with work, lots of photo shoots for new blog posts, and one really bad hangover. OUCH! The Dutch Kills staff party was on Monday and I went a little too hard. Does anyone else get 3-day hangovers like me? I’m back to share my Sunday Kind of Love Post with you. Did any of you decide to also take part in Apartment Therapy’s January Cure? I’m still at it and I’m sharing my progress plus some items I’m looking at to get more organized in the new year.

I loved so many of the assignments this week.

Spend time with your home tonight. This was a media fast day which is so refreshing for me. It’s great to sit and think about all the things you want to accomplish with no distractions
Identify the places at home where paper tends to collect and work to get rid of it. This was a big one for me because I freelance which means I save ALL of my receipts. Keeping all the paper organized is important so I don’t lose anything I need but I cleaned out my desk, purse, and kitchen counter where the papers like to hang out.
Take some pictures of your home and use them to help you pick one thing from your list of projects to finish. I would really love to wallpaper the bedroom so hopefully, I can order it in time to be done this month!
Get your primary sofa into shape. I removed all cushions and gave the sofa a quick vacuum. Then I vacuumed and fluffed each cushion. My pink couch from Article was my dream couch and I’m so happy to own it. This was a quick refresh and made my favorite spot look flawless.
Refreshing the kitchen. This assignment had many parts to it and I did my best to tackle most of them. Basically, you organize everything in your cabinets and drawers plus get rid of anything you don’t need. Lucky for me I organized all my drawers last week! The other part of this assignment is cleaning the entire kitchen by decluttering, cleaning the appliances, and wiping down everything. I’m pretty much done besides tackling the inside of my cabinets. Do you know how much glassware I have? A LOT. Pour me a glass of wine and I’ll finish this by tonight.

I desperately need to organize all the closets because I know they could be more functional. Here are some items I want to get for the January Cure.

This door rack for the kitchen closet.
This shelf tower for the kitchen closet.
This wallpaper for the kitchen backsplash.
This wallpaper for the bedroom.

I’m sure I’ll be adding more things to that list as the month goes on. What are you doing to get your home more organized in the new year? Are there any big projects you want to tackle to get your home in order? Let me know in the comments below. xo

My Warm Take on a Summer Classic: The Hot & Stormy

January 8, 2018 by Natalie 1 Comment

We’ve been enduring freezing temperatures here for weeks now and frankly, I’m growing a little tired of it. When it’s cold and you have the holidays to look forward to you can persevere through it. After the new year, the bitter cold leaves me just that — bitter. I’ve been dreaming up drinks I can stay inside with and that remind me of warmer days. I’m pleased to introduce my warm take on a Summer classic, The Hot & Stormy.

Brilliant, yes? I thought so. The Dark & Stormy cocktail is simple, refreshing, and the perfect Summer highball. But its ingredients dissected make a pretty awesome warm drink appropriate for those really frigid winter nights too. My trick to the perfect Dark & Stormy cocktail is throwing away the premixed ginger beer and using freshly juiced ginger instead. It’s a little more work but the spicy flavor it yields is totally worth it. I add a 1/2 oz. lime to mine with 2 oz. Gosling’s Rum (of course), 3/4 oz. fresh ginger syrup, and then top with club soda for the fresh fizzy ginger beer effect.

I’m going to show you how I make ginger syrup so you can make my Hot & Stormy.

Hot & Stormy

1 1/2 oz. Gosling’s Rum

1/2 oz. lime juice

1/2 oz. ginger syrup

hot water

lime wheel and ginger candy, for garnish

I finally bought myself a slow juicer. I decided on this one by Hurom. Yes, it’s pink which was a plus in my book but it also got amazing reviews (another plus). Their juicers come in lots of other colors and styles if pink isn’t your thing. This post is 100% not sponsored and I’m giving you my honest opinion: buy this juicer. Not only is the design amazing, it’s so easy to put together and disassemble, super easy to clean, and hums like the purr of a fat content cat. It’s SO quiet!

I peeled a larger piece of ginger, cut it down so it would fit through the top of the juicer, and pressed down. Like magic, the fresh ginger juice comes right out. I used a piece of ginger that was probably 5 inches long and it yielded exactly 4 oz. of ginger juice. The key to making ginger syrup is a 2:1 ratio. It’s 2 sugar to 1 ginger juice. Fresh ginger is really spicy so you need more sugar to balance it out. I added 8 oz. of sugar and stirred it until the sugar dissolved. You can heat this over low heat on the stove if you want it done faster. If you don’t have a slow juicer don’t fret. I detailed how to make ginger syrup using a blender for my Dark & Stormy Popsicles on A Beautiful Mess.

The hard part is over and now you can assemble your drink. Add all your ingredients to your serving vessel and top with hot water. You are ready to enjoy your Hot & Stormy.

Originally when I was brainstorming hot drinks to make on the blog I wanted to do a hot toddy variation. Ginger in hot drinks is so good, soothing, and bonus…healthy, but ginger in hot toddies had been done numerous times. I started thinking about my favorite drinks with ginger in them and that led me to this hot Dark & Stormy variation. I basically removed the club soda and replaced it with hot water. I’m so happy with how it came out and it was simple to put together. It’s crazy what a slight adjustment to a cold drink can do to make the perfect warm winter cocktail. I hope you enjoy my warm take on a Summer classic, The Hot & Stormy. It just might be my new favorite cold weather drink.

Sunday Kind of Love: 2018 Home Goals

January 7, 2018 by Natalie Leave a Comment

It’s been awhile since I did a Sunday Kind of Love post on the blog. I think the last time I did one was while I was in France. Things got so busy for me come October and consequently, I couldn’t keep up with doing my weekly Sunday Kind of Love post. Even now I’m writing this a little late so most of you probably won’t see it until Monday morning when you check your inbox.

I wanted to share a quick post about my 2018 home goals. I’m currently doing the January Cure that Apartment Therapy hosts at the start of every new year. I’ve done it for the last six years and I highly recommend joining along. Starting a new year is the perfect time to make a fresh start and getting your home primed for the year ahead. I love doing the January Cure because although trying to get your home organized seems like a giant task, Apartment Therapy has made it easy by breaking it up into small, one-a-day assignments. This makes things more manageable and motivates you to get more done.

I just finished the first week and wanted to share my progress with you. There were four assignments this week and you can catch up on all of them here. Mainly I wanted to talk about Day 2 which was make a list of projects you want to tackle this year. I did a walkthrough of my home and made notes along the way of areas I want to improve. I organized my list by room and created sections for all the important areas.

2018 Home Goals

Livingroom

Organize and clean out the credenza
Take everything off the shelves and deep clean

Hallway

Organize the closet

Kitchen

Organize all drawers and cabinets
Clean out glassware and things I don’t use
Organize closet
Organize the china cabinet
Wallpaper backsplash

Bathroom

Repaint white

Office

Purchase smaller desk with storage
Add more shelving
Organize
Possibly wallpaper (Am I allowed to wallpaper every room?)

Bedroom

Wallpaper
Organize closet
Buy new hamper
Finish decorating

Finishing the first week of the January Cure has definitely motivated me and helped me prioritize what I need to accomplish for my 2018 home goals. On the first day, I organized one drawer in the kitchen and since I’ve organized one a day. It took me under 10 minutes to organize each one so if you have a few spare minutes, spend it each day tackling something small. It might not seem like a lot at the time but at the end of the week it adds up. As a result, every drawer in my kitchen is clean, neat, and organized now!

I can’t wait to continue the assignments and see what I’ve accomplished by the end of the month even furthermore — the year. It’s not too late for you to join in, and if you do I’d love for you to check back and share your progress in the comments. I will be sharing mine here every Sunday for the whole month. I hope my 2018 home goals will motivate you to get your home in order as well. Cheers everyone and happy cleaning! xo

My 2017 Highlights

January 5, 2018 by Natalie 2 Comments

Happy New Year everyone! This year is off to a crazy start with the blizzard we just had here in the Northeast. I’m snowed in and have had a lot of time to reflect so I thought I’d do a post on my 2017 highlights. 2017 was a difficult year overall for our country and the world in general but I was determined to make it one of my best. I have grown so much over the last year both personally and professionally. I traveled to so many places I only ever dreamed of seeing, collaborated with so many talented people, and moved into my dream home. 2017 was pretty much the best year of my life and honestly, I was sad to see it go. Here are some of my 2017 highlights!

Bowie and I started the year off as models for Gypsy Warrior. I always joke around that I should start him his own Instagram account. What do you guys think?

Ever since I studied design and architecture in college I have always been obsessed with Palm Springs, CA. 2017 was the year I made my dream come true and finally visited this magical city in the desert. I definitely found my spirit animal city and the place where I belong. Can’t wait to go back this year and I’d love to do a travel guide on the blog. The first photo is from our trip to Moorten’s Botanical Garden. If you’re ever in Palm Springs going there is a must. Admission is just $5 and looking at all the amazing desert plants and cacti is breathtaking.

I started contributing to A Beautiful Mess in 2017 which was a huge deal for me. I have long looked up to Elsie and Emma and am a long time reader of the blog. I’m so honored to be a contributor and am happy that I can bring my recipes to their readers. If you want to see all the recipes I did for A Beautiful Mess you can check them out here.

I collaborated with Michelle Gage for the Spring One Room Challenge and it was a complete success! My living room was (of course) Palm Springs-themed and I’m so happy with the results. It got a lot of features including ones on Domino, The Every Girl, Houzz, and Apartment Therapy. It was even named by Domino as one of their Most-Loved Living Rooms of 2017 and Wallpapered Rooms That Made Us Embrace Pattern in 2017. Does this mean my living room is so 2017? I still love it!

I traveled to Spain with Cardenal Mendoza which was a whirlwind. We did four cities (Madrid, Sevilla, Cadiz, and the winery/distillery in Jerez) in four days and I fell completely in love with Spain. There was so much brandy and sherry consumed on that trip and I was heaven. I have to edit the hundreds of photos I took while I was there and get them up on the blog. Keeping up with regular content is overwhelming enough that the thought of editing travel photos was daunting to me. Definitely going to try to be better this year with sharing travel on the blog.

I started contributing to Palm Springs Style as well which was so exciting. I’m such a fan of everything Katy does especially her Door Tour for Modernism Week. Can’t wait to go back this year and have people to connect with.

A huge dream come true and the biggest of my 2017 highlights was getting to finally travel to France. This has been a dream of mine ever since I was an Audrey Hepburn movie obsessed little girl so it was a really big deal for me. I got to travel with one of my favorite spirit brands Pierre Ferrand and Plantation Rum. We spent time in Paris checking out all the cocktail bars and also took a trip to Cognac to visit Chateau Bonbonnet and the distillery where Pierre Ferrand Cognac is made and where all the Plantation Rums are aged in barrels. Citadelle Gin is also made there among other spirits in their portfolio.

I stayed behind for a few days by myself and got to explore Paris alone. Something I wish I did in Spain. If you get the chance to travel, stay as long as you possibly can because you never know when you’ll be there again! I need to edit more photos from France and get them up on the blog as well.

As you know I was nominated for Best Drinks Blog by SAVEUR Magazine and traveled to Charleston, SC for the ceremony. Even though I didn’t win, it was a great trip and inspiring experience. I met so many bloggers IRL that I’ve been following for years and got to connect with new ones as well. It was great to be surrounded by so many like-minded individuals that are all trying to accomplish similar goals. Hopefully, in 2018 I can take the trip again!

After all that traveling in September and October, I came home and jumped right into the Fall One Room Challenge. I decided to do this challenge alone to motivate me to get another room done in the house. So happy with how the hallway and stairs came out. Still makes me happy every time I walk up and down them!

Ethan and I had to go to Texas for a family wedding. We were in Grapevine mostly but got to spend a night in Dallas. I visited my friends Christy and Chad’s cocktail bar Midnight Rambler. Can’t wait to go back to Texas and explore a little more. That trip was too quick!

The only bad part of my year was when I lost my best friend and kitty Phil the day before Halloween. He was so young and got sick suddenly so I was completely unprepared and totally devastated when he passed away. I still think about him every day and I know he would have loved the pink Christmas tree as much as Erik did. Erik sleeps under it almost every night. I don’t want to take it down!

My last trip of the year was going on a quick trip to Disney World in Orlando, FL to spend time with my mom, sister, brother-in-law, niece, and nephew. It was fun but I was excited to come home and spend some time here before the holidays. It was the first year I decorated for Christmas as an adult and I think I just wanted to enjoy it.

Thanks to each and every one of you for your continued support. Hope you enjoyed my 2017 highlights and I’m so glad I have all of you to share them with. I’m looking forward to accomplishing more and seeing what 2018 brings. Let’s kick some butt this year! Happy New Year one last time! xo

Archives for January 2018

Bourbon Caramel Popcorn

Football Snack Bags

DIY Football Field Tray

Fizzy Bourbon Strawberry Lemonade

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Footballs

Bitter Beet Detox Cocktail

Winter Pimm’s Cup

Hot & Stormy

2018 Home Goals

Livingroom

Hallway

Kitchen

Bathroom

Office

Bedroom

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