Arsenic Lace

Natalie

Fall Spice Syrup + Old Fashioned

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Fall-Spice-Syrup-Old-Fashioned

I couldn’t have planned this post any better because today it finally feels like Fall. The windows are open, there’s a beautiful breeze coming in and it’s a most wonderful 66 degrees out there. Time for an old fashioned, right? 😉 I had an idea to make a Fall spiced syrup that you can use a number of ways all throughout the cold months. My favorite way to use it is in an old fashioned, but you can use it in a daiquiri, a fix, or even your coffee. Use it in any cocktail that calls for simple syrup by merely swapping it out and making your drinks a little more Fall appropriate….

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Sunday Kind of Love | Paris Edition

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Greetings from Paris, everyone! If you’ve been keeping up with my adventures over on Instagram you know that I’ve pretty much eaten/drank my way through Paris and Cognac. I’m going to write a separate post about some of my favorite bars and restaurants plus my trip to Maison Ferrand but just wanted to pop in and say bonjour. Sunday is my favorite day and I’m taking a bit of a rest. This week has been a whirlwind and I may have stayed out a tad bit too late last night (oops), so I slept in and got some room service. I sure don’t mind writing this blog post from the cutest hotel in Paris, with the windows open, enjoying some coffee and a few pastries. Life is magical sometimes and I’m very grateful to have had the chance to go on this trip.

I’m staying at the beautiful Hotel Henriette located on a small and quiet cobblestone street close to the Mouffetard district. Earlier in the week, I was at Hotel Bachaumont which was equally beautiful but it is exciting to get to explore a whole new neighborhood. For this Sunday post, I wanted to share some photos of the hotel and a few I’ve snapped on my Parisian adventures!

This is the view of the Eiffel Tower from the Trocadero. I’m so happy I finally got to see it in person and fulfill a lifelong dream. The only thing I wish is that there was someone else there to get a photo of me in front of it. Oh well, next time! How cute and charming is that carousel?

This is Rue Crémieux, a little cobblestone pedestrian street with private houses in the 12th arrondissement. I had so much fun photographing it, but it was admittedly hard because there were so many other people there also trying to snap some photos. I couldn’t check into my hotel yet so I dropped off my luggage and spent a few hours here and patiently snapped photos as people cleared out. It actually started to pour while I was there and I had to duck under a tree. That may sound crazy but I got all the photos I wanted and I think they will be the most important things I have to remember Paris by. I will definitely be framing some of these. I took so many I would need to dedicate a whole post to this street.

Hotel Henriette couldn’t be any more perfect for me. The design is such an elegant mix of antique/French with a very bohemian feel and blended with more modern furniture and lighting fixtures. My design style is very similar which is why I picked it and it’s even more beautiful in person. I wish I was staying a little longer because I feel very much at home here. Hotel Henriette is going to be my default hotel whenever I come back to Paris. Seriously, when can I come back to Paris?

I hope you’re all enjoying your Sunday. I fly back tomorrow evening and I’m hoping to get up bright and early to go to the flea market. Will they let me bring furniture on the flight? Au revoir! xo

Fig + Vanilla Sidecar

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Bonjour everyone! If you’re reading this, I’m probably touching down in France right about now. To celebrate my trip to France with Pierre Ferrand, I’ve made a delicious variation on one of my favorite Cognac classics and have come up with a Fig + Vanilla Sidecar. Like most classic cocktails, the exact origin of this drink remains slightly unclear. The first recipe appeared in 1922, in Harry MacElhone’s “Harry’s ABC of Mixing Cocktails” and Robert Vermeire’s “Cocktails and How to Mix Them”. In MacElhone’s book, he cites the inventor as Pat MacGarry, a popular bartender at the Buck’s Club in London, but later cites himself. Vermiere states that it was MacGarry as well. I’m putting my money on Pat MacGarry!…

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Sunday Kind of Love

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Sunday came so fast this week. I’ve spent a lot of my time preparing for my trip to France and making sure everything is in order before I leave tonight. I shot a cocktail but didn’t have enough time to get it up, so that will be on the blog tomorrow. HINT: I’m making something with a French based spirit in celebration of my trip to France. I’m going to take a lot of photos and try to update the blog atleast once while I’m there. Maybe my Sunday kind of love post next week will be a Paris edition. One can only hope! 😉

  • Last weekend my livingroom was on The Everygirl again. I know you’ve seen my livingroom a bunch of times by now, but the article is here incase you want to check it out. I think I’m going to do the One Room Challenge in October by myself this time around. I’m working on so many projects in the apartment that I feel like I’m a bit overwhelmed and that I can easily get distracted. Doing the challenge will help me stay motivated and focus on getting another room totally completed. At this stage, my bedroom just needs wallpaper, which means I should probably just order it. That will force me to put it up. This is the one I’m getting. I took advantage of Labor Day sales and ordered the items I linked to last Sunday. When I return from France there will be a new kitchen table, chairs, and a rug for the kitchen. All the kitchen will need to be complete, is some art and styling. I’d really love to get a new light fixture for that room as well. I was thinking this one. I will keep you updated about the One Room Challenge and what I will be concentrating on once it starts.

  • Speaking of ABM and popsicles, my Gin + Tonic Popsicles went up this week and they are AMAZING. Super refreshing and easy to make at only four ingredients. Summer isn’t over yet!

  • Voting closed for the Readers Choice portion of the SAVEUR Magazine Blog Awards. Each category has a Readers Choice and Editors Pick, so I have two chances to win an award. I was on the fence about if I should go or not, but I decided that I should and booked my flight and hotel this week. I will be in Charleston 10/1-10/3. If you have any recommendations please send them my way. I have always wanted to go to Charleston, so this was a great excuse! Wish me luck.

Stay tuned for a new recipe and follow me along on Instagram to see all of my France adventures. Au revoir! xo

Sunday Kind of Love

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I hope you all enjoyed your week and are making the most of your holiday weekend. I’m having some regrets about the summer as we approach fall… I didn’t make it to the beach once! I’m coming to terms with the fact that I might have some serious workaholic issues that I need to work through. Did I just create more work for myself? I’m not sure. 😉

  • It’s the last few days to vote for Arsenic Lace as Best Drinks Blog in the SAVEUR Blog Awards. Please go here and cast your votes as many times as you can until 9/6.

  • The Strawberry Hibiscus Frosé I made for Palm Springs Style was featured on The Feed Feed. Check it out here and grab the recipe!

  • These Jalapeño Mango Margarita Popsicles went on Palm Springs Style this week as well. They are as good as they sound. Boozy, super fruity, and SPICY! My most flavorful pop-tail to date. Making these is a must!
  • I pulled the trigger on the ABM x Kelly Moore bag that I mentioned last week. I desperately needed a new camera/laptop bag to travel to France with. If you’re on the market for a new camera bag, check them out. I went with the gold one because I figured I should expand my wardrobe outside of the color pink.

  • I wrote about my favorite frozen cocktails in Jersey City on ChicpeaJC for the holiday weekend. Check it out here and if you’re local, check a few places out and have one before Summer menus disappear. This is the Missionarys Downfall that I put on the Summer frozen menu at The Archer.

  • You have a few more hours to enter my giveaway with Bloomia. Go to my Instagram and follow the rules. I will be picking a winner later today. Who doesn’t want fresh flowers delivered right to their door?
  • There’s a huge sale going on over at West Elm for Labor Day. Should I pull the trigger on the kitchen table? Was thinking about putting this rug under it, which is also on sale. Thoughts?

That’s all for this Sunday. I’m headed out of town to spend some time with family for the day. Hopefully I can update the blog before I leave for France. One of the next Sunday Kind of Love posts just might be a Paris edition. xo

Tropical Rosé Sangria

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I’m holding on to Summer for dear life over here. I already see people posting fall cocktails, and drinking pumpkin spice lattes. While I love fall and all the delicious flavors it brings, I’m a summer girl, and it’s so hard to say goodbye. Luckily, this year I will be a bi-coastal blogger. When it’s cold and dreary here, I will still be creating warm weather appropriate drinks for Palm Springs Style, another blog that I contribute to. Dreaming of warm weather will be a little easier this Winter and hopefully, I can arrange a jaunt back to my favorite little city sometime in the new year. It’s Labor Day Weekend and I hope you have something fun planned. I’ve whipped up this fruity sangria recipe to make sure we send Summer off in style. Unlike classic sangria made with red wine, orange juice, and orange liqueur, this Tropical Rosé Sangria recipe is lighter, fruitier, with a tropical and sweet finish.


Tropical Rosé Sangria, serves 4-6

1 bottle of rosé

1/2 cup cognac or brandy

1/4 cup Giffard passionfruit liqueur

1 cup fresh pineapple juice

strawberries

kiwis

mango

lime

pineapple

Slice your strawberries, kiwis, mango, lime wheels and pineapple, then place in a bowl or pitcher.

Add pineapple juice, cognac, passionfruit liqueur, and rosé. Stir and then cover, let steep in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. When ready to serve, add ice and pour into glasses.

I think this is my favorite sangria recipe that I have ever had. Swapping the orange liqueur out for passionfruit liqueur was a last minute decision but a brilliant idea. I’m so happy I did it! If you’re not familiar with Giffard, they make a range of delicious liqueurs for using in cocktails. The Crème de Fruits de la Passion (Passionfruit) was released in the U.S this past Spring. I highly recommend picking up a bottle and trying some of their other varieties of liqueurs that are available. Using fresh pineapple juice instead of the classic orange in this sangria recipe really made the tropical element come to life and complemented the fresh fruit and rosé.

Sangria is so easy to make and that’s why it’s great for large parties or gatherings. This recipe is so good you might not want to share it though. Enjoy your last big weekend of Summer and if you decide to make this recipe, chime in on the comments and let me know how it turns out! Cheers everyone! xo

Styling Your Home Bar | Bloomia Giveaway

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For years I’ve had a rule that once a week, I buy myself flowers. Very rarely did anyone else purchase flowers for me and it was an exercise in self-love. I realized quickly that having fresh flowers in the house added a pop of color and life to my living space and the sight of them also made me smile. This was the beginning of a plant lady in the making! I’m so happy to have teamed up with my friends over at Bloomia for this post to spread a little happiness and talk about why flowers are important to me at home and in my work.

Bloomia is a global floral company with offices and production companies is the U.S, Chile, South Africa and the Netherlands. In the U.S their flowers are grown in King George, Virginia (about 40 minutes away from D.C) and are available in main supermarkets like Wholefoods, Wegmans, and Trader Joe’s. Their mission is to spread happiness through their sustainably grown, pesticide free, thoughtfully designed and consciously delivered floral products.

I’m running a giveaway over on Instagram, so after reading this post make sure you visit my account over here this afternoon to enter. All you have to do to be qualified to win is make sure you’re following me and Bloomia and leave a comment tagging a friend to whom you’d want to send flowers. Two lucky winners will get flowers shipped directly to their door courtesy of Bloomia. The giveaway will run until Sunday, so you have all week to enter.

I’m going to go over styling your home bar but first wanted to share some tips about styling your own floral arrangement. I thought my vintage Lilly Pulitzer dress with cocktails and flowers on it was perfect for this occassion!

  • Cut an inch off the stems using a sharp knife, especially if the flowers will sit a while before being arranged. The fresh cut will help the stems absorb water better.
  • Remove any leaves that fall below the water line.
  • Add large, heavy flowers first, turning the arrangement as you work to ensure even placement on all sides. Fill in with smaller, airier blooms, and leave enough space between the stems so individual flowers have room to shine. Include flowers with various shapes and stem lengths.
  • Make your bouquet taller than its container by about one and a half times. Also, make the width balance the height.
  • Use different textures that are interesting to look at it. I pick a color pallette and try to stay within three colors.
  • Arranging flowers in odd numbers is a great way to have some nice variety. Sometimes I will pick a base color of five flowers and then add in different colors in three’s.
  • Change the water every day and recut stems.

Having a bar cart or a bar station in your home is fun because you get to change it up seasonally and it’s also a great landing spot when entertaining guests. I love to have fresh flowers on the bar cart because it adds a pop of color and some really nice texture.

Your booze is important! I love seeing pretty styled bar carts all over the world wide web BUT I would never trust someone who didn’t have some bottles on their home bar. It’s a bar, right? I love to keep a variety of spirits here, that way there is something for everyone. Keeping your higher end spirits here is also a great idea so you can showcase the best of your selection. Have a bottle each of Vodka, Gin, Light Rum, Dark Rum, Bourbon, Rye, Scotch, and Tequila. Having some Amaro available is great too for sipping after dinner. You can keep some bitters here as well but you should never have your vermouth on the cart unless you’re mixing with it. Vermouth should always be kept refrigerated because it is a delicate fortified wine that will go bad if left out at room temperature.

I love to keep a bowl of fresh fruit on my bar cart for the same reason I love to keep fresh flowers; it adds natural texture and a pop of color!

If you have pretty bar tools this is a great way to display them. I keep all of my gold and copper barspoons and strainers in my crystal mixing glass. I’ve also displayed my collection of colored cocktail shakers. Having a jigger is necessary for making sure your pouring is consistent when making drinks, and so I keep those available for use here.

Having a few peices of glassware available is also neccessary …and some straws too! I keep it organized by using trays to seperate certain things. I also try to style by color, just like with the flower arrangments. Picking a base color is key to having something that looks finished and cohesive. Obviously, my base color was pink. 😉

I hope you enjoyed my tips and tricks for making a flower arrangment and styling your bar cart. Check the slideshow above to see how many different arrangments I made with my Bloomia flowers.

What’s your favorite thing on your home bar?

Do you love keeping flowers in your home as much as I do?

What’s your favorite flower?

I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. I hope this post brought a pop of color to your Monday. Good luck to everyone who enters the Bloomia giveaway, and I can’t wait to see what you do with your flowers!

Sunday Kind of Love

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I hope everyone had a good week. I can’t believe we’re approaching the last week of August. I really don’t know where the time is going. Someone stop the clock please! Not a whole lot happened this week except the usual tons of work thing that I always seem to be struggling with. There is light at the end of the tunnel though.

  • I'm going to Paris and Cognac in September with Pierre Ferrand to tour the distillery and spend some time in France. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to travel with them. France and especially Paris has always been on the top of my list of places to go to but somehow I've made it 30 years without getting the chance to travel there. I'm staying behind for a few days after the trip so I booked my hotel this week. After searching for a few hours I found this really awesome hotel, The Henriette, that was very afforable and just look how adorable it is. I know what you're thinking…how did you find a Palm Springs looking hotel in the Paris? Let's just say the universe found it for me. This trip has seemed so far for months and now it's just around the corner. What am I going to pack? Did I just find the hotel that every blogger is going to stay at now when they go to Paris? Can you spot a photo of my favorite hotel in Palm Springs framed above one of those beds? Click the photos to see the slideshow.

  • Meet the Finalists went up on SAVEUR this week. Check it out here and read about their favorite drink blogs of 2017 and learn more about each blog/blogger that has been nominated in the SAVEUR Blog Awards. You have until 9/6 to vote for Arsenic Lace for Best Drinks Blog, so keep voting! EVERY DAY!

  • Did you see my Chamomile Elderflower Tom Collins on A Beautiful Mess? It’s a delicious and refreshing variation on the classic Tom Collins with elderflower liqueur and chamomile flower infused honey syrup. This drink was so good and I had a blast making it and shooting it. I’m really happy with how the photos turned out.

  • I have a fun post and giveaway that goes live tomorrow on the blog. Keep your eyes peeled for that email in your inbox in the morning. You have to be following me on Instagram to enter, so if you’re not already, what are you waiting for? 😉

  • I need a new camera bag because I want to travel with my camera, especially for this France trip. A Beautiful Mess did a collaboration with Kelly Moore and ever since they launched them I’ve been dying to buy one. It seems like there’s enough space for my camera body, a few lenses, but most importantly my laptop. I want to be able to blog while I’m on that trip so having a bag that can accomodate all of my needs is really important. I like this one because it can be a shoulder bag or backpack which is super useful. My current camera bag is a little small and when I put all of my stuff in it, it’s very heavy and hurts my shoulders. This bag is obviously ridiculously good looking as well. My biggest problem? Should I get pink or gold? Obviously my mind goes directly to pink but keep in mind everything I own is pink, including jackets and my hair. What do you guys think?

If you have ever been to Paris and have any recommendations on places I should go and see, please tell me in the comments section below. Museums? Favorite restaurants? Cocktail bars? Colorful walls? I want to know about it. Enjoy your Sunday. I’m hoping to get a little time to relax myself. Cheers. xo

Frozen Cantaloupe Daiquiri

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With the end of Summer just a month away I had an itch to make a frozen drink. What’s more fun than a frozen drink? Drinking one out of fruit, right? I have drunk many piña coladas out of a pineapple and was trying to brainstorm what other fruits I could possibly turn into a serving vessel. Watermelon has had its fair share of the spotlight this summer with being the perfect addition and vessel for frosé. While I was perusing the produce at my local market last week I spotted a cantaloupe and I knew this fruit was THE ONE. When perfectly ripe it is juicy, sweet and has a floral aroma which sounds perfect to pair with rum. My mind went directly to the daiquiri which is a classic and simple drink but can be completely transformed with the addition of some fresh fruit. So I present to you a Frozen Cantaloupe Daiquiri!


Frozen Cantaloupe Daiquiri, serves 1

1 1/2 oz. rum (I used Plantation Dark)

3/4 oz. rich simple syrup (cane or demerara sugar)

1/2 oz. fresh lime juice

1 cup of fresh cantaloupe

Cut your cantaloupe evenly into two and scoop out the seeds in center. Carefully scoop out the insides of the fruit and reserve the shells as your serving vessels. You can freeze the shells and the fruit beforehand. Using frozen fruit in drinks or smoothie bowls yields a better and more slushy consistency.

Add all your ingredients to your blender pitcher and blend with a cup of ice. Pour into a cantaloupe shell and garnish with a mint spring and a slice of lime.

This Frozen Cantaloupe Daiquiri is super fruity, refreshing, and so simple to make. I used dark rum in this cocktail because I thought the flavors would mesh well with the richness of the demerara simple syrup and floral aromas of the cantaloupe. Frozen recipes sometimes need to be reworked because of how much water content they have. I like to cut the citrus in half and up the sugar to compensate for all the dilution. Using a richer sugar for your simple syrup, like demerara or cane, instead of plain white sugar also helps to combat an over diluted and tasteless frozen drink. I hope these tips help you next time you’re making frozen daiquiris at home. I’m super excited about how this frozen drink in a fruit cup turned out. I hope you try this recipe at home and if you do don’t forget to chime in on the comments below. Cheers everyone! xo

Sunday Kind of Love

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I can’t believe how fast the summer has flown by. The end of Summer blues have officially set it. We’re approaching the last two weeks of August and I haven’t been to the beach once. I dread the winter so my anxiety about it starts pretty early. On the other hand, for the first time in my adult life I have the space to get a Christmas tree and I’m really excited to decorate the mantels. Besides looking forward to that, the cold and darkness really gets me down. Am I being over dramatic? I better start planning my next trip to Palm Springs.

There seems to be no slowing down in my schedule. I have a pretty busy September ahead (I’m going to France – YAY!) and October is jam packed with two weddings and I’m possibly going to Charleston for the SAVEUR Awards. Speaking of that, don’t forget to keep voting for me! You can do that here as many times as you want until 9/6.

  • Supercall named me one of the best boozy Instagrams to follow if you need a vacation. Check it out here! I REALLY need a vacation. Have you gone anywhere fun this summer?

  • Joanna Hawley of Jojotastic mentioned my Hibiscus Gin-Gin Mule in her Friday edit column. I’m such a huge fan of her blog so I was really excited that she even reads mine! Fan girl moment. Go check out her blog if you don’t read it already. I’ve been completely drooling over her bedroom reveal.

  • What do you think of this floral table by Liberty for Anthropologie? I thought I had decided on the West Elm table because it was more practicle. If you didn’t read my kitchen table dilema post, I haven’t pulled the trigger yet. I’ve been lurking Craigslist for something vintage too. I really want to get something before the holidays.

  • My biggest news of the week is that my living room was featured on Apartment Therapy. I went to school for interior design (not sure if a lot of you know that) so one of my dreams has always been to see my home featured in my favorite design publications. This year my dream came true with a feature on Domino and now Apartment Therapy. I’m trying to finish up the rest of my rooms for fall so hopefully I can do some home tour features. DREAMS!

Making this one short and sweet. I have a lot of fun recipes coming your way this week, both here and on A Beautiful Mess. I’m also making some delicious boozy popsicles for Palm Springs Style which I’m very excited about! I shot two projects this week for posts that will have giveaways attached to them as well, so stay tuned! Hope you all had a great weekend. Cheers. xo