The Perfect Cosmo

May 27, 2010 5 Comments

Sex and the City is here!  The movie is finally here, and I know MANY of you are heading to theaters this weekend.  If you’re planning a get together beforehand, you’ll want to make sure you’re serving the best cosmos possible.

We turned to our favorite bartender, Brian, a Miss Kitty’s of Hoboken, NJ, veteran (and my boyfriend!) to find out how he makes theperfect cosmopolitan.

Brian’s recipe:

First, you take a shaker, and you fill it with ice.  Then you add:

3 parts vodka.  I like to use a citrus flavored vodka, like Absolute Citron or Grey Goose Le Citron.

1 part Grand Marnier

1 part Cranberry juice

You place a glass over the shaker, and shaker until its very cold.  Then you strain it into a martini glass, and drop in a lime wedge.

Brian is a fan of YAY!DIY, an expert gin & tonic maker, and quite handsome, if I do say so myself.

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Apartment Gardening: Post Two

May 26, 2010 2 Comments

Ok, so this isn't my herb garden exactly. But a girl can dream.

Now that I’ve got my small indoor garden growing, I’ve been thinking about what the best herbs might be for expanding my little crew. (That’s what I call them. Naturally, “Veeny” the Venus Fly Trap, is their leader.)

I mentioned that I already have packets for lavender, daffodils, dill and thyme - but am curious what my chances are to keep them alive once I plant them next week.  I thought maybe I should grow their wolfpack with a few new members that are actually known for being hardy indoors, just in case.

I did some research and it seems the herbs that consisently pop up as the best to grow indoors are as follows:

[Read more...]

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Sex and The City Worthy Cocktails

May 25, 2010 Leave a Comment

As I’m sure you all know, it’s virtually impossible to watch Sex and the City without a few cocktails stashed away in water bottles in your purse with the girls beforehand.  The movie is the perfect excuse to break out your cocktail-making books and impress your friends with a few fancy drinks.

Our friend Christa over at Martini Talk shared four super easy, delicious recipes, all made with Prairie Organic Vodka and named for everyone’s favorite four ladies: The Carrie Cosmo, The Red-Headed Miranda, The Sweet Charlotte, and The Sultry Samantha.  For the full recipes, check out Martini Talk here.  Choose your favorite and tell us how they are!

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YAY! DIY enters the Next GINeration Cocktail Challenge

May 24, 2010 5 Comments

Last week, New Amsterdam Gin invited us to 2010 Next GINeration Cocktail Challenge.   I mean, look at the title.  Obviously this was an invitation I was NOT turning down.  The cocktail challenge was just that: a challenge to see who could make the best ORIGINAL cocktail using New Amsterdam gin in under 10 minutes.  Right. Up. My. Alley.

The Five Pointscould make the best cocktail (in 10 minutes!) under the guidance of bartender extraordinaire, Alex Ott.

Before the contest started, we mingled and tried two drinks made with New Amsterdam gin.  I tried the 5 Points, named for little bit of history that happened on New York’s Lower East Side years ago.  (It’s depicted in “Gangs of New York.”)  The cocktail was made with New Amsterdam Gin, Orange Juice and Coke.  I also mingled with the bloggers behind Martini Talk and New York Insider TV, who were super fun.

As for the cocktail? It. Was. Amazing. If I had been with friends, I would have had three.  But since I wanted to be coherent enough to report back with details on all of the great cocktail recipes we tried, I pulled myself together and had one. While I drink a lot of gin, I rarely drink gin with juice. This will change moving forward.  Check out New Amsterdam’s site here for some great recipes they created using gin as the main alcohol. (These cocktails are all named for parts of, or things in, New York…perfect for upcoming Sex and The City parties!)

The contest was a blast.  Alex Ott, the head  mixologist, told us a bit about New Amsterdam’s history, gave us some amazing guidance on how to properly make, mix and pour a drink, went over the slew of mixers and ingredients New Amsterdam had for us to use, and then let us loose to give mixing drinks a try.

What did I learn? That liquefied honey is REALLY good in a gin cocktail and that coming up with a drink that tastes good AND looks pretty in 10 minutes is HARD work.  Here’s my final product, named for our old apartment, where we drank many a gin cocktail. The “238”:

[Read more...]

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Last Minute Lost Party Ideas

May 23, 2010 Leave a Comment

Still deciding what to cook for tonight?  We talked to McKenna, LOST fanatic, TV blogger, and friend of YAY!DIY (She designed our logo!) to find out what she’d make…. hope this helps give you some inspiration for your own parties! Find her blog at : http://mcklowry.blogspot.com/

 
What was your favorite season or episode to date?

Favorite season = Season 5
Favorite episode = It’s between The Constant (mythology awesomeness) and LaFleur (Sawyer and Juliet awesomeness) and There’s No Place Like Home (finale awesomeness).

 
What were some of the things they ate that season/show? (Was it the season with the pig, the dharma beer, Jin catching a Fish, McCutchens, Hurley’s fried chicken, etc.)

Dharma everything, but most notable was Hurley’s breakfast of waffles, ham and dipping sauces. 

If you were going to come up with the ultimate party menu, being inspired by LOST, what would you serve?

Yah, screw anything making sense, I’d go for some variety. Beer, rum, peanut butter, ranch dressing, papaya, ham, seafood, fried chicken and candy bars.
 

Are you a Syaid, Swayer, Jin or Jack girl?

Sawyer, like all other sane women. 

Finally, you, like me, are a Juliet fan.  Do you think Kate will live happily ever after with Sawyer, or be killed off in the end?

I’m waiting patiently for Kate’s bullet wound to get infected.

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The Lost Finale: one final Lost themed party

May 21, 2010 2 Comments

I can’t believe after all this time it will be over come Sunday. For those of you who know what I’m talking about, I know you feel my pain.  No matter how crazy some of these episodes were this season, LOST is still, hands-down, one of my most favorite TV shows ever. It had everything a good TV should: suspense (what was more suspenseful than the Others in seasons 1 and 2?!), love triangles (you know where I stand: Team Juliet), the classic villain (Ben, then Locke), mystery (How did polar bears get on that Island? And who WAS Illana?), the loveable character (Hurley), and, of course, eye candy (of which, there was plenty: Syaid, Sawyer, Jack, Kate, Jin…)

To commence the series we’re committed to having one last Lost-themed party, complete with Dharma Initiative beer and wine, and a variety of food to represent the different seasons, our favorite characters, and some of our favorite scenes. 

Planning your own party? Here are some of our ideas.  I’m going to share them with you, but only if you’ll share with us (comments, comments) what you are planning to make!  

  • Pay homage to Jacob and the man in black with classic Black & White cookies. (thanks, Wendy, for the idea!) It can also be a throwback to the Walt-Locke checkers game in season 1. [Read more...]
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Eye Candy

May 20, 2010 Leave a Comment

Please check out this adorable blog, Scrumdillyump. This woman makes the most adorable food art ever – for her children! Precious!!!!  Thanks, Sonia at Make Yourself Comfortable  for sharing.  A sneak peak:

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Apartment Gardening

May 18, 2010 2 Comments

My happy, healthy basil plant!

Unlike Erin, I’m sadly without a yard, or even patio access, to grow a little herb garden.  But I haven’t let that stop me – I’m trying my hand at  apartment gardening!

My kitchen window receives at least two hours of sunlight every day – so I put a small planter there with two basil plants, an oregano plant and a Venus fly trap (for fun) to see if they could survive. I’m forever buying bushels of herbs at the grocery store, using them for one meal and then watching as they go bad in the fridge.  I wanted to stop being so wasteful, and also have herbs on demand. So far, so good!

A few things I’ve learned thus far:

[Read more...]

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Homemade Vanilla Cheesecake…It Tastes As Good As It Looks

May 17, 2010 Leave a Comment

Guest post by Elle Kross, Friend of YAY! DIY

When I first made this Vanilla Cheesecake for my big sister’s birthday when I was a freshman in high school.  Cheesecake is her favorite dessert and since she had bought the Williams Sonoma Desserts Cookbook for me, I had to put it to good use! Since then I have made well over 30 Vanilla Cheesecakes. I’ve gotten  quite bored with them, so I have come up with several variations and learned how to make the cheesecake with my eyes closed.

Below is just one of those versions, adapted from the Desserts Cookbook, feel free to add your own twist!

What you will need: [Read more...]

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Inspiration for a Nightstand

May 14, 2010 1 Comment

I’m in need of a new nightstand. There is nothing worse that not having anywhere to put a glass of water before you go to bed. (OK, maybe there are worse things, but I think this one is annoying!) However, bedroom furniture is just NOT in the budget these days.  When forced to choose between fun vacation and furniture, vacations are the winning. You can always get nice bedroom furniture next year.

My BF did have two older coffee tables that he wasn’t going to use when hemoved.  He very sweetly let them both become project pieces for me.  He has this big one, and one that’s just like it, but a little higher, and smaller – perfect for a bedroom…if only it looked different.

While I was searching the blog world for ideas, I came across this beauty on Twice Lovely. She took an old dresser, used MOD PODGE, some damask paper and some black paint.  And who knew?! It’s now adorable.  It’s the perfect idea to turn that coffee table into something beautiful!  Stay tuned for my own version of the project.

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