sunday recipe: i refuse to cook!

Look, I'm not complaining here [at all], but I've definitely noticed on a few occasions here and there, that I somehow tend to be the one who ends up cooking when asked to come to dinner at a friend's house. If anything, I take it as a total compliment. And, I absolutely must give credit to Alexis and Dave for never subliminally asking me to cook because Dave is a chef too... I'm sure he's encountered this same exact situation at times. All that being said, I absolutely 100% refuse to cook anything on Thanksgiving Day. Nope, Nuh-uh, Yeah Right, No Thank You! Don't even ask me to peel the potatoes unless you're looking to get a nasty death stare. I guess I just like to think of Thanksgiving as my day off; a day I can reap the benefits of someone else's, more specifically my mom's, hard work. And as selfish and self-absorbed as all of this may sound, I must admit, that I love EVERY SINGLE MINUTE of it!

OK. So now that it's been established that my fork and knife are the only utensils I'll be picking up this Thursday, I definitely wouldn't mind, and would actually quite enjoy, making a few cocktails. I was getting very excited about making this one, but when I saw our 80º weather forecast (wtf?!), I decided this one would be a more refreshing option. Ginger Liqueur?! Now, that's something I can definitely say 'yes' to!

Canton Royale

from Domain de Canton Ginger Liqueur

3 parts Champagne

1 part Domain de Canton Ginger Liqueur

1 lemon wedge

1 piece candied ginger

1

Fill a glass 3/4 full with Champagne, then add 1 part Domain de Canton Ginger Liqueur.

2

Squeeze a little lemon juice in it.

3

Garnish the glass with candied ginger and say Cheers!

*Recipe courtesy of eatmakeread. I wish Kelly could be my personal bartender...

...

Isn't that the truth?

Have a fantastic weekend!

a different kind of friend

If you are relatively new to this blog, you may not know that I worked as a florist for many years. Jan owned the shop and Claudia and Ginger were her two other employees. All three women are older than me. They have children that are my age or older. They watch Mad Men and can relate. It was definitely strange for me going into this work environment at 22, but the bond I share with all of them now is priceless and I wouldn't let go of it for anything in the world. Over the years, they've taken me under their wings and shared stories of good times and bad. They've talked about being married by 22 to men they barely knew, because "that's just what you did back then".* They've talked about raising their children and babies falling out of cribs and 4th graders neglecting to tell you they have a school project due until the Sunday before they're supposed to turn it in. There's the time when Jan picked up her 7 year old daughter from school and she got in the car crying, and claimed, "Robert got me in trouble because he told the Teacher that I called him a 'stupid motherfucker', but I didn't do that mom... I swear!". How exactly do you handle that one? They were all stay-at-home moms who didn't start working until their children were grown. They've seen friends come and go, relationships sizzle and burn out. They've led the fullest lives, full of the most amazing stories that I can honestly listen to again, and again, and AGAIN.

Last night they took me out to dinner to celebrate my birthday and, of course, I heard all about THEM turning 30. By my age, they had all been married for years and had had most, if not all, of their children. Two of them got their ears pierced as 30th birthday presents to themselves. I guess they weren't allowed to have pierced ears at a younger age because "only sluts had their ears pierced". Every moment spent with them usually results with me in total hysterics and being so grateful for having these extremely special women in my life. It's kind of nice to get a totally different perspective on life sometimes and I know I can always count on them to give me that. So, lots and lots of love to my "different kind" of friends!

*Jan always told me to marry my best friend because that's the surest bet in a marriage, so that's exactly what I did.

**Photo courtesy of freeparking.

HUGE announcement!

Remember when I mentioned my friend Camille, whom I bought my bridesmaid's necklaces from? And, I said something about her having the best eye for vintage jewelry? Well hot damn, lucky for us, her website launched today and it's full of lots and lots of goodies! I've been browsing her site for the past hour (or more?) coming up with a nice variety of outfits that would be a very welcome addition to my wardrobe . Now you don't have to live in LA to relish in all that is Lady. And if you do live in LA, I strongly suggest you go in and say HI because she is all kinds of sweetness!

grandma chic

Doesn't everything about Kim's (from Desire to Inspire) bedroom scream 'Mrs. Roper'? But, in such a good way? Now I'm feeling like I REALLY need a peacock chair... and some lace bunting. And did you notice the pink walls? It's just all too good.

love scenes between anonymous couples

How rad are these?! Now that I'm a graphic designer, I'm extremely tempted to rip off this idea.

*Photos courtesy of sicoactiva.

personalize private time

If you happen to live in an apartment like we do, you may be aware of the fact that apartment bathrooms can be lacking in the charm department. I'm really loving this idea of taking some old photos and saved cards and plastering them all over our 'bleh' bathroom walls. I would, however, probably clump them all in little frames because I'm not sure how well they'd fare with all that moisture.

*Photo courtesy of Domino.