after finishing all my thanksgiving shopping, i'm sitting in a blanket of delicious aromas sipping on my first of many vodka sodas this weekend, i'm sure. 

and lucky for you, i'm feeling extra giving. with everything going on in our lives, i've decided it is time to up my blog game. newfoodtuesdayz is quickly approaching it's sixth birthday and it's time for me to get my shit together and step it up.

so from this moment on, you can look forward to tips & tricks thursdays and friyay happy hours in additional to your regularly scheduled newfoodtuesdayz programming. so here is a sneak peak at both. 

tips & tricks: easy cocktail styling

the holidays are stressful enough as it is. there is so much cooking to do that the last thing that you need to stress about is also making fancy cocktails. however, social lubrication at this time of year is a must. so instead of going out of your way to buy a ton of mixers and alcohol for cocktails people will probably never order, come up with one or two easy but pretty cocktails to have on hand for your guests to choose from. i like to go very simple and use a bubbly mixer and one alcohol. there are a bunch of great combinations. you can go classic like vodka + soda or gin + tonic. or go wild. try a sparkling wine + campari. like whiskey? how about a whiskey + ginger ale. you are really only limited by your imagination. 

now to take it to the next level, add a couple of organic elements. i try to pick herbs, fruits or vegetables that go with the colors of my party. you can layer one or two organic elements to really make the cocktail pop. lavender, blood orange or pomegranate ice can always be made in advance and kept in the freezer till party time. small fruits are always beautiful on a sugared or salted rim and herbs always look stunning gently settled into a cocktail. 

for the perfect thanksgiving combo, try this kumquat (in season starting in november) and rosemary vodka soda. you can't go wrong. 

kumquat + rosemary vodka soda
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 1 minute
total time: 2 minutes ingredients: 2 oz vodka. .25 c club soda. 1 kumquat. 2 rosemary sprigs. 1 tbs sugar for the rim. 1 cup ice or large ice cube. 

gently ice the edge of your glass. dip the rim of the glass into sugar until the entire rim is covered. 

in your glass, combine the vodka, ice and club soda. 

make a little slice in the bottom of the kumquat. 

garnish with kumquat and rosemary and enjoy. 

xo, a

kumquat + rosemary vodka soda
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 1 minute
total time: 2 minutes ingredients: 2 oz vodka. .25 c club soda. 1 kumquat. 2 rosemary sprigs. 1 tbs sugar for the rim. 1 cup ice or large ice cube.
gently ice the edge of your glass. dip the rim of the glass into sugar until the entire rim is covered.
make a little slice in the bottom of the kumquat.
in your glass, combine the vodka, ice and club soda.
garnish with kumquat and rosemary and enjoy. 

woah. what a week. 

i arrived home from a pretty action packed and emotionally draining trip to chicago on monday afternoon. i went straight home to blog, teach a swim lesson and prepare for my wednesday morning photo shoot. tuesday morning i woke up before the sun to teach my 6 am class, then hit the ground running. shopped all FOUR stores necessary for wednesday's shoot and thursday's dinner deliveries. 

let's take a pause from my rant to really hammer it home that i can't wait till i make enough money to have my supplies delivered. the super market is not my friend. neither is its buddy, the out of control parking lot. 

so back to tuesday. came home from many stores, cooked well into early wednesday morning and went to bed with the alarm set with plenty of time to get everything finished up, packed up and out the door for my 8 am call time. 

queue my eyes slowly opening to bright light and the sheer panic that came over me as i realized it was way to bright for 6:17 am. it was of course 7:17 am. one hour after my alarm was SUPPOSED to go off. 

so after all that running and working and so, so much sugar, i was a half hour late to the shoot. and the whole way down i was having a total freak out. we are in the very infancy of our business and i couldn't believe i was going to be late. so unprofessional. and of course in my rush to get out the door not everything was finished and accounted for so i knew i would be scrambling. basically, i was starting to feel like i really wasn't good enough to make it in this hard industry. 

but then i showed up. and i was the second person there. the shoot came together beautifully. as usual, i had over prepared and even with some things missing and some things undone it ended up being perfection. everyone was so cool and it was amazing to spend the day with smart, talented, women business owners who deal with the same struggles i am going through every day.
the rest of wednesday, thursday and this morning were pretty much a blur and here we are. drink time. 

we all deserve this bad boy. 

satsuma tangerine's are only in season for a month or two around the holidays and they are citrus perfection. usually no seeds, so easy to peal and always tender and juicy. and now, they are turning your friday around. 

tangerine campari soda
serves: 1 cocktail
total time: 2 minutes
ingredients: 2 oz vodka. 1.5 oz campari. 1 oz satsuma tangerine (or other citrus) juice. 2-4 oz club soda. tangerine section for garnish. cup of ice. 

in a tumbler with the ice, combine the tangerine juice and club soda to taste. 

pour in the campari.

garnish with tangerine segment and enjoy. 

xo, a

tangerine campari soda
serves: 1 cocktail
total time: 2 minutes
ingredients: 2 oz vodka. 1.5 oz campari. 1 oz satsuma tangerine (or other citrus) juice. 2-4 oz club soda. tangerine section for garnish. cup of ice.
in a tumbler with the ice, combine the tangerine juice and club soda to taste.
pour in the campari.
garnish with tangerine segment and enjoy.