It’s that time of year again kids. Football fan or not, it’s fun to plan a little party around the annual helmet mash. What to drink? I like to mix up a signature drink of some sort and personally think it’s a bit blasphemous to not include beer in that mix. So… a beer cocktail is the way to go.

I’m going with the Caip-beer-inha- that’s a mouthful isn’t it- maybe not the best name for this twist on the classic cocktail, as Caipirinha is hard enough to spell as it is, but it sure is tasty.

Created by mixologist extraordinaire, Jacob Grier at Portland’s Metrovino, the Caip-beer-inha is a sure-fire hit with your Super Bowl eats. Citrusy and minty by nature, this cocktail turns hoppy and floral with a tasty bitter note, when you add your IPA. The trick is not to use a drop more than an ounce of beer or your beer-inha will become a bitter-inha.

A great match to your Super Bowl spread, this little baby will match up fantastically with wings, dips, chili, nachos- you name it and is a real crowd pleaser. It drinks like a holiday which is sort of what Super Bowl Sunday’s all about.

CAIP-BEER-INHA (makes 1)

What You Need:
2oz cachaça
2 wedges lime
2 wedges lemon
6 mint leaves
0.5 oz agave nectar
1oz of IPA beer

What You Do:
1. Muddle citrus and agave nectar with a non-laquered cocktail muddler in a cocktail shaker
Record Scratch: Ok, if you haven’t muddled before, you don’t know what you’re missing.
Two things about muddling:
-If you don’t know how to muddle- watch this goateed-guy show you how to do it, he means business.
-If you don’t have a muddler, here are 6 great ones.
2. Add the mint and cachaça to your muddled mix
3. Shake with ice
4. Pour into a serving glass
5. Top with beer
6. Cin Cin and Enjoy!

What are you all drinking this Sunday? Will you watch the Bowl that is Super? I’m rooting for Seattle, I’ve always loved Denver and Peyton Manning but I think Seattle’s defense will clench it. I sound like I know what I’m talking about right? I don’t. Ha. Just thinking Seattle may have this one, plus it’s a pretty town, so go Seahawks. Although, it is now officially the Chinese New Year and the year of the Horse, so… the Broncos have that on their side. May be the best team win. Cin Cin- go Seahawks.

Image: Better Cocktails at Home

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Happy Weekend dear readers. I don’t want to come off crass, but I have been known to use colorful language from time to time so when I saw this quote floating around on Pinterest, well- I kind of had to bite. The author of this illustrious quote is sadly unknown- pretty funny.

Well, at the risk of crying wolf, I regretfully did not get Miss Virginie’s (our new house) photos up here along with inspiration images and reno updates, as promised. We just brought down the demo hammer this week. Woohoo! Still, no time to post due to the freezing tundra that is currently Northern Virginia (I’m officially over winter) and the unbelievable amount of time it takes to get the kiddos in and out of the house (they look just like the kids all bundled up in A Christmas Story) and this insane preschool application process that I am currently enduring. Oh, and I started teaching at George Mason this week- I’m officially an academic. Pretty fun. I’m an Adjunct Professor and teaching the dance majors advanced ballet. I’m thrilled to be there, the program is run like a conservatory and the talent, faculty and studio spaces are outstanding- good times.

What are you all up to this weekend? We will start packing up our tiny apartment and start the epic move into Miss Virginie. We don’t anticipate actually moving in for another few weeks because of the reno, but we’ll get a headstart so that we can try to make this place look half way attractive to potential buyers (it’s current state is pretty much a toy explosion).

What I’m Drinking: 
An old standby, this Morellino di Scansano. I crave an Italian red when it’s cold out and when I don’t want to splurge on my favorite region (Brunello!), I go in for this little beauty. It’s $15, rustic but not too rustic, tastes and smells of dirt, cherries and wild herbs, and is a trusty and excellent partner to pizza, pasta and my fancy homemade grilled cheese (mozzarella, pesto, tomatoes, and olive bread pressed with a grill iron- yum and eat your heart out panini!) .

A Few Things of Note: 

A Somm who actually tries to sell his wine as cheap as he can? This is a guy after my own heart. I know I don’t live there anymore, but I can’t help following my NYC Eater feed and reading about the city’s latest and greatest eateries. Pearl & Ash has been on the list since it opened last year. Admission: I have their wine list bookmarked and sometimes… I just click to read and reread, dreaming up what I’ll order when I finally pony up to the bar. Patrick Cappiello has done a killer job with the wine list. Here it is, read it and weep.

How a working class couple amassed a priceless art collection- this is so cool.

How delicious does this little citrus honey yogurt tart look! I want to make this for a Sunday brunch party.

This brass hood kills me. I’d love to have it in my kitchen, they are really tough to find affordably, let me know if you come across one.

Ralph & Russo channels Grace Kelly- I wish I had somewhere to wear this.

Wow! Go DC! 44 DC theatre companies to showcase works written by women.

These are some seriously inspired Ikea hacks. After pricing out dining chairs (sigh), I think I might just go Ikea and arm myself with a Sharpie to replicate the coveted Les Touche pattern on the seat covers like this clever gal did here. Inspired!

Cin Cin ya’ll and enjoy the weekend!

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“It’s cold out, but hold out, and do like I do…”- thank you Carol Bayer Sager, I couldn’t have said it better (she never disappoints). For me, a super cold day calls for a great glass of bubbly- honestly any day calls for a great glass of bubbly, but I digress…

Let’s get down to brass tacks. There’s good bubbly and there’s great bubbly. But the truly great bubbly usually takes a big bite out of one’s bankroll. Enter the affordable grower champagne- “AHHHHH”, I can hear the angels sing. For those of you who regularly read this blog, you know how much I love me a good grower champagne. It’s true that a good grower bottle of bubbly is one of the best things on the planet- it’s definitely in my top ten of best things period, and that’s saying a whole lot. I recently popped open this bad boy and much to my delight (financially and tastebud-ally), I was much more than pleasantly surprised. This one, my dears, is a serious keeper.

I pinched this beauty for no more than a mere $37 at my local Whole Foods and for those of you who know the price of real estate in Champagne, that is a shade less than a miracle in the Champers market. I was doubly delighted when upon researching this little gem, I realized that my pal Mary Margaret McCamic (great alliterative name, right?) imports this finessed and effervescent juice- well she doesn’t per se, but she works for the esteemed importer that does, North Berkeley Imports, and you are hard-pressed to go wrong when you find their label on the back of your newly-bought bottle.

In a word, this Jean Veselle Blanc de Noirs NV Oeil de Perdrix is well… heaven. Really. It’s color alone is swoon-worthy. It’s a salmon-y pink bubbly little glass of heaven, and it’s a blanc de noirs. Basically a white champagne masquerading as a rosé champagne- cheeky. Too much? Maybe. But for $37 and with this kind of finesse, color and floral perfection, I can’t help myself.

Here’s what I got:

This one’s worth hunting down. If you can’t fork it over like a King, you can still drink like one. Go Grower!

I found it here for a bit more than I paid. Be on the lookout, my friends.

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…that today is National Squirrel Day? This is a day that I find so random, I kind of had to post about it. I’m not sure what we’re really supposed to do to show our love and appreciation for the squirrels on this, their national day of recognition, but hey- I like a squirrel just as much as the next guy so three cheers for the cuddly rodents.

In other news, if you’re stuck inside today with a little too much time on your hands (like we are) due to another mammoth snowstorm, Madewell is having a 40% off sale (SMILE40) or you can make this squirrel-shaped sandwich for your little ones (or yourself) in honor of those lovable and furry rodents.

Happy Snow Day Eastcoasters!

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Portrait of Francoise With A Bow In Her Hair, Picasso 1946.

I love the drawings of Francoise, Picasso’s second to last wife, and this one with the little bow is my favorite. His interpretation of her is so lovely. It’s interesting to compare his artistic representation of Francoise to the other women in his life, especially Dora Maar- whoa.

Well hello dear readers. Please excuse the radio silence as of late. We closed on our house, my hubby’s still in Istanbul, I’m trying as hard as I can to wrangle 2 spots for the kiddos in a great preschool (which translates to tons of time spent at open houses) and my mom and I were busy playing with the bebes and enjoying long lunches out- it was a momentous week. I promised some photos and inspiration boards for Miss Virginie (our new abode) but clearly did not muster up the time to do so. Next week… there’s always next week.

I hope you all are off to some swell adventures this weekend. We have no big plans and I don’t even know what I’m drinking, though I may try this. I’m in the mood for something big, bold, a bit funky and cheap- our reno budget is loomly large over my brain.

A few things here and there that caught my eye: 

52 Places to Go in 2014, c/o the New York Times. What’s on your list?

Eat like it’s summer using winter seasonal veggies- a great salad to cure the winter blues.

Girl Scout wine pairings anyone? ‘Tis the season for the Thin Mint and… Syrah? A little scary maybe, but fun for an over-indulgent girls night in. My sister-in-law Lauren sent me this- fun.

This very well might blow your mind. If you need to save 30 seconds in a given day, here’s a nifty way to separate your egg yolks.

Now this is the kind of hostel I’m talking about. I did my time in the blech hostels of Europe during my student roaming days and vowed I would never do so again, but the new wave in luxe hostels might change my mind. If anyone’s headed to Venice and low on cash (an oxymoron of sorts, right) check this joint out.

These black and gold metal barstools are rocking my world.

While we’re talking about furniture, my heart skips a beat when I find something like this on craigslist. I would need to have it reupholstered and maybe even repainted a high gloss black or white, but it’s pretty fabulous.

The 10 Best Golden Globe Dresses? What do you think?

I’m jonesing for a Moroccan wedding blanket. Anyone know where I can score one that won’t break the bank?

Cin Cin all and enjoy the weekend!

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As promised, here’s what I got from the $12 bottle of 2010 Domaine Brusset Laurent B. Cotes du Rhone. It’s good ya’ll. Not mind blowing, but it’s got the goods to deliver what you want in a yummy and satisfying Cotes du Rhone- great for a Thursday.

You can definitely go wrong in this neck of the woods. There’s just so much juice being turned out from this fruitful region that the odds are kind of against you. But if you trust your wine merchant and you see a low-priced bottle of Cotes du Rhone, it’s probably worth a shot. The Cotes du Rhone can be a good region to lean on.

Domaine Brusset Laurent B. Cotes du Rhone, $12

*New Yorkers: This one sells for a couple of bucks more on Fresh Direct if you like to have your juice delivered with your groceries.

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This is so brilliant, I had to devote a single post to it. I tried this myself over the weekend and Eureka- it works. Where was this method during my early 20s? Genius.

What You Need: 

1. A Bottle of Wine

2. A Shoe

3. A Hard Surface

What You Do: 

1. Take off Your Shoe

2. Stick the bottom of the wine bottle in your shoe.

3. Softly bang against the wall.

Kazam! Wine bottle opened. Wowzers.

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I love this hand drawn map, from Mapping Manhattan: A Love (and Sometimes Hate) Story in Maps by 75 New Yorkers. What a cool idea. I lived in the artsy, busy and bookish neighborhoods of NYC during my tenure there, never the “stylish” according to this New Yorker, but I may beg to differ.

Happy Weekend dear readers.  I hope you all are off to some exciting adventures. My mom is heading into town as my hubby heads to Istanbul. He’s working on a ballet there so he’ll be gone for over a week, thankfully CiCi (aka my mom) is hightailing it east. What would we do without our moms!

We are closing on our house next week (fingers crossed) and then we’re going to … Release the Kraken. We’re tearing down walls, repainting, staining and refinishing the floors and completely gutting and creating an entirely new kitchen (yay!). There are a million things I want to do this house. Every room is just so wrong right now and desperately cries out to be fixed but budget dictates that I must exercise some serious patience with her (my house, that is). I am the type of person that likes to tackle everything all at once, I can’t stand to leave things undone, but I don’t much have a choice here and will have to channel my inner Zen-ness.

In the meantime, I can’t wait to start scouring flea markets, vintage stores and craigslist to round out my decor. Stay tuned next week as I’ll be posting BEFORE pictures of Miss Virginie (after our dear newfound home state of course) along with some mood boards with a slew of ideas for design. I’m trying really hard to curb my enthusiasm for a California late-mid century house and respect the fact that Miss Virginie is of course a Virginia native with an unfortunate Colonial-ish vibe. Now, I pretty much hate anything Colonial, so you can bet that those ridiculous faux columns embracing the front door will be first to go. Inside, she’s a blank slate so I can really do anything but feel like I need to keep reminding myself that I’m in Virginia and not Laurel Canyon.

I would love your thoughts! We haven’t done a big reno project since our New York apartment and I’ve never done a kitchen, I’m pretty psyched.

What are you all up to this weekend? I’m going to hang with the kiddos and CiCi and watch Tina and Amy light it up on the Globes- my favorite awards show of the year, no one really takes it that seriously and everyone’s just drunk and happy, really the best kind of awards- and those two ladies kill me, they can get away with anything.

What I’m Drinking This Weekend:

I’m sticking with Southern France. My post this week about the Languedoc made me nostalgic for that part of the world, so I think I’ll try this inexpensive bottle from the Cotes du Rhone. Tasting note to follow. I once heard a Somm say that you really could never go too wrong with a bottle of Cotes du Rhone, but I would have to disagree with that as I have gone very wrong indeed. Let’s hope this one is promising, especially since it’s $12.

And maybe this ode to Maggie Smith: the Dowager Countess Cocktail for my Downton Abbey viewing.

A Few Things:

The Northern Lights– I have got to get to Iceland to see this fantastical sight. Anna Watson Carl’s posts about her recent trip to see the galactic display, are so inspiring. And this hotel blows my mind.

15 30-Minute Meals from the gals at A Beautiful Mess.

Crafty Winter Activities for the kiddos from Handmade Charlotte.

A True Artist– this is so sweet.

This looks amazing. Big Thornbirds fan- totally looking forward to this.

CBK, “the Original Gwyneth?”, I don’t know what do you think? I know that I love me some CBK, looking through these photos is kind of fabulous and makes me so nostalgic for the late 90s.

Cin Cin ya’ll! Have a great weekend.

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It’s January kids. It’s cold, it’s brrrr-ful and let’s face it, it’s a trifle bit depressing. Now I’m not a winter-hater, I actually quite like a healthy dose of cold. Polar Vortex? Not so much, but I’ve always loved the seasons and the change each brings  throughout the year. The quiet and cold solemn days that winter boasts are good for the brain. These days lend themselves to clearing out the mind and readying oneself for a New Year and all that may bring. But honestly, when I’m not waxing poetic about it, January can be tough. It can be especially tough with little ones running around on the verge of daily cabin-fever frenzies, not to mention myself.

Enter the Languedoc- a perfect winter remedy. Now I’m not saying that alcohol is the answer but I am saying that infusing a little bit of Southern French vino into your life at this time of year can’t hurt. I often like to sip rosé and dream of lazy afternoons overlooking the Meditteranean from some fabulous terrace when this side of the pond suffers from a smudgy gray day, with seemingly nothing much in focus. These long winter days can roll right into each other creating a sort of blur-like effect. A good, inexpensive Languedoc wine goes a long way toward refocusing these foggy days.

5 FRENCH WINES TO CRUSH THE WINTER BLUES $20:

1. Domaine Rimbert St. Chinian Travers de Marceau Organic  $15 RED
I’d like to have a perpetually flowing tap of this little beauty in my kitchen. Brought to us by one of my favorite importers, Jenny and Francois, I love its blueberry notes infused with a bit of leather and stones. This is wine is exactly why the Languedoc rocks my world.

2. NV Paul de Coste Brut Rosé,  $16 ROSÉ SPARKLER
One of the best bottles of pink bubbles I have had, hands down. Inexpensive, marshy and herbalicious. You can taste the wild garrigue (herbs) floating through the air. Pop this one open on a cold winter’s sunset and imagine yourself seaside. The link is for a non-rosé, this one is a bit tough to find but it’s all over NYC wine lists.

3. ’10 Hecht and Bannier Minervois  $19 RED
A juicy and yet still mineral red bursting with dark red fruits, licorice and mint. A very well-balanced and hearty red.

4. ’11 Ermitage du Pic St. Loup Tour de Pierres  $14 RED
Terroir at its best. Kermit Lynch, pioneer importer, bring this beauty in to the States. An unreal deal for a great earthy, herbal bottle of wonder. Kermit knows what’s up. If you love wine and adventure and haven’t read his book, download this sucker today.

5. ’12 H.B. Picpoul de Pinet, $7 WHITE
You’ve seen this green bottle everywhere, well- it’s good and it’s $7. Enough said. Not just for summertime sipping, this racy and minerally white may be called the Sprite of the South of France but it’s drinkable and delivers decent complexity for the price. An old standby.

Most of you may be familiar with the Languedoc region of Southern France but for those of you that are not, it is magic. I don’t mean just the country itself, although its natural and wild-like beauty is surely something to behold- but this region is churning out some seriously good juice at crazy low prices (forgive me if I sound like Crazy Eddie).

The Languedoc-Rousillon produces a bevy of deliciously marshy, wildly herbaceous (in the good garrigue-kind of way as opposed to the unripe vegetal-kind of way), spicy and licorice-tinged, fragrant and floral wines that are relatively very inexpensive.  They’re a little saucy too, maybe it’s their close proximity to Spain that gives them a bit of a kick. I am absolutely gaga for these wines. They pair fantastically with lots of dishes and especially anything that is Mediterranean-influenced. On a cold winter day, sip a good Corbieres and cozy up to a plate rustic vegetable panade (like this one from Alice Waters) and voilà- winter blues crushed.

A helpful and detailed map of the region to get your bearings, by Benoit France:

TIP: Look for small growers in these regions. If you can’t nail down my favorites, ask your local wine merchant which producers he or she favors. If you trust your wine shop, you really can’t go wrong with a wine from this region. Vive Le Languedoc!

Cin Cin and Enjoy.

Illustration by John S. Dykes

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I love this photo. The dancers look so relaxed but as always- with a pointed toe. That’s my resolution. Slow down and move with grace and ease but with a pointed toe, so to speak. In other words, we can’t be totally at rest all the time right? But we can try to infuse our lives with a bit of calm while staying on point(e).

After a much needed break from le blog to enjoy the holiday season with the fam, I am back and ready to start this year up. First up, as always, the New Year’s resolution. I love making resolutions but like most of us, I rarely take them seriously enough to completely follow through. In fact, I can’t remember any year when at the end of it I said to myself, “Awesome, I totally nailed that resolution.” So instead of staying on that train- which we all know is the definition of insanity and I can’t much afford to go insane at this point in my life- I think I’ll hop another express- the Slow Train to sanity.

I’m not going to stress about the usual resolutions- diets, trying to be more productive, vowing to finally get organized, learning another language, traveling- all things that I would love to do more of (except diet of course), but let’s get real- I’ve got 19 month-old toddlers, a slew of jobs and gigs to tend to and a house to renovate (yay!).

Am I really going to get organized for once and for all? Listen, I don’t want to be negative but I do think it’s probably wise to be realistic and not set unrealistic expectations. I’ll try my hardest to organize my life but most of all, I’m going to try to take things slow and be an active participant in my life, not distracted but all of things on my plate. I recently read a quote on Pinterest that said, “My brain has too many tabs open.” My sentiments exactly.

This year instead of adding to the long list of self-improvements, I’m going to streamline and slow it all down, unplug and exhale (and inhale too hopefully). We’ll see how it goes. If I feel a bit more calm by the end of this year, then it all worked out great. If I don’t, oh well- that’s life right, and it’s all good and as it should be. I’m so grateful for all the blessings in my life. I really want to make a concerted effort to put the kibosh on over-planning every minute of our lives and just enjoy the moments as they happen- with a pointed toe, of course.

Oh yeah, and I might finally buy a juicer and make myself one of these every morning. I might.

What are your resolutions? Or what is your approach to resolutions? I’d love to hear. Happy Happy New Year!

{Image: Alison Jones}

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