The State That I Am In

Let's Call the Whole Thing Off

2011-11-30T12:56:00.001-08:00

Last month Alie and I were asked to attend the Cleveland Fabulous Food Show and host cocktail demos in the spirits lounge. We always jump at the chance to attend these events. You get put up in a fancy hotel, driven around and taken to nice restaurants, and you're sure to meet interesting people...okay, they also pay really well. The Cleveland show was no different, only this time, instead of just walking off with a bunch of new friends, a bottle of the best BBQ sauce ever, a lovely bottle of organic olive oil, and some delicious elixirs, we also left with out most embarrassing story to date.

The story starts and ends with Guy Fieri. When we walked into the chef holding area on Saturday morning, we were excited to find that our trailer was right next to his.

We were introduced, and immediately felt badly for talking so much shit on those god-awful sunglasses he always wears on the back of his head. He was super nice, you see, and invited us onto the main stage to serve him a cocktail during his next demo (which held about 2,500 of his biggest fans).

We decided to make Guy our signature Thanksgiving cocktail, the Shoot A Wild Turkey. It's basically a concoction of whiskey, butterscotch schnapps, and pureed yams, which is blended together and topped with mini marshmallows that get bruleed with a blow torch. Fun, delicious, and festive.

I insisted that we come out with the cocktail already poured in its glass, and that we then use the blow torch that Alie had strategically strapped to her leg underneath her beautiful vintage dress to brulee the marshmallows. The crowd would love it, I told her, and we'd still have a fun certain something to wow 'em with (sexy legs and fire).

But noooooo, she was determined that we come out with the cocktail mixture in the cocktail shaker, pour the drink, and then top it with the flaming marshmallows. Alie is hard to argue with when she makes up her mind, so I agreed to go along with her plan, and we nervously waited behind the stage curtain to be called on stage.

Guy's audience was going nuts for him. I'm not prone to stage fright, but I must admit that a butterfly or two were doing lazy flips in my stomach as we waited.

The rest is pretty hazy. I remember walking on stage and waving to the crowd. We told Guy about our festive drink, and then...and then Alie went to shake the cocktail shaker full of the orange-hued concoction...I remember hearing the top pop off and looking over at Alie as the crowd went silent.

She was covered in the cocktail -- from the bottoms of the pretty curls in her long red hair, to her toes. We stared at each other opened mouthed and horrified, until I started cracking up...which thankfully the audience did as well.

We somehow finished the cocktail, and walked off stage, where Alie collapsed in a ball of mortification, followed by being forced to pose for photo with everyone backstage.

Chef Robert Irvine posing with the mortified Alie.

We didn't see Guy for the remainder of the weekend, and we can't imagine he's a big fan of ours.

Thanks to Bobby Dixon for the photos!...also for the wild hibiscus!

Free Lunch

2011-09-08T23:24:00.000-07:00

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Alie and I were lucky enough to be on the awesome KCET online show Free Lunch. Check out our seven minute episode above, and if you want a little extra, watch the short below. It's the story of how Alie and I met, and if you've been reading this blog for any amount of time, you won't be surprised by the details (hint: I was peeing in a bush...because I am classy).

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We're (NOT) Having A Baby

2011-08-31T16:07:00.000-07:00

About two months ago I took a pregnancy test for the first time in my life. I'm not sure how good or bad that record is, but honestly it seems weird that I reached 31 years of age without so much as a scare.

This probably sounds masochistic, but I've always been curious about that "is it possible???" feeling. It felt like I was missing out on something big, something that would answer the question once and for all whether or not I actually wanted a baby. My standard answer of "75% want, 15% not sure, and 10% don't want" can only be tested when waiting for those telling lines after pissing on a stick, it seemed.*

*Don't get me wrong, I've pissed on sticks before, just never the baby soothsaying kind.

I've been on The Pill most of my adult life, you see, so it's never really been an issue. Even during times of abstinence, either self-imposed or not, The Pill has been a constant. Despite being engaged now, having a child seems like something that is a long, even uncertain ways away. So The Pill I pop.

But...but I wanted to see how I felt without it, so I stopped taking it for a month. Halfway through that month I woke up feeling queasy and just...off. I felt that way all day, and had stomach cramps to boot. When it hit me, and when thought about that night Colin and I had spent a few days back...ya know, the kinda night where you play a beer-laden competitive but flirty game of darts at your favorite local dive bar, then walk home arm-in-arm, making each other laugh and, my god, he's so handsome and funny and...well you know the rest.

I stopped at the grocery store and bought a pregnancy test. The cashier wouldn't look me in the eye, and in total defiance of my feminist tendencies, I made a show of flashing my engagement ring lest she think I'm a slut. I secreted the box containing one soothsaying pee stick in my purse and came home.

I peed on said stick, and we waited (I'm a terrible secret-keeper, so I told Colin about it as soon as I walked through the door). As I waited those few minutes to be told my future, I panicked. I knew this was the moment I had waited for my entire fornicating life: my feelings about this would tell me, for certain, whether or not I actually wanted to be pregnant.

To be honest, all signs pointed to "no". But...again that but. While I hoped for a single line telling me that the nausea I was feeling was just a slight hangover and not a fetus in my womb, I couldn't help but feel that, someday, I would hope for the opposite.

I know you guys are like super in suspense and shit, so I'll just come out with it. I'm not pregnant. I'm back on the pill, but my "want" percentage has been upgraded to 80%. Four more scares and I should be at a solid 100%, so that's something.

What kind of blogger would I be if I didn't have a photo of the "no baby stick"?

And here's a photo of me trying on a wedding dress for the first time in my life. First things first, amiright?

Summer's Hot Cocktails on Cooking Channel

2011-08-15T16:27:00.000-07:00

Hey! Who's that dodo-head on the teeee veeee??? It's me, along with my lovely redheaded partner in crime, Alie Ward! A couple months back we shot a cocktail special for the Cooking Channel called Summer's Hot Cocktails, and it aired just a couple weeks back for the first time.

The show itself is awesome and tons of fun, and if I can be totally not modest and completely self obsessed for a moment, I must say we kind of (totally) rocked it. So much so that we've been asked by the radass producer/director to be in more of her shows. So yay

If you get the Cooking Channel (Food Network's hipster little sister), you have three more chances to watch Summer's Hot Cocktails this month.

August 17, 2011 9:00 PM
August 17, 2011 1:00 AM
August 21, 2011 7:00 AM

All times Eastern

Give it a watch and let me know what you think!

It was the blurst of times

2011-06-29T00:49:00.000-07:00

I should probably be more secretive about this...about the fact that, at one point in my adolescence, I did meth on a pretty regular basis for a short time. Or that I went to rehab for it, and then failed at rehab. But what can I say? I'm not a shy, or timid, or sensitive person. I like to display my open wounds for all to see, an hey! here is one such open wound!

Last Sunday night I did a storytelling show at Hollywood's iO West theater. The show is call True Story: Because Truth Is Funnier Than Fiction, and the topic was "playing with fire". The video isn't great and I speak kinda fast and nervous in it, because as I say in the beginning "I'm a blogger first and a story teller never," but I hope you like it all the same. Also I miss blogging on a regular basis, so expect more posts soon...or just follow my Tumblr page for regular bursts of bullshit.
xoxo

I'll Be On the Cooking Channel This Sunday!

2011-03-18T17:44:00.000-07:00

Watch Alie & Georgia on Cooking Channel this Weekend!

Hello bloggy friends! This Sunday, March 20th, myself and my red-headed partner in cocktail crime will grace your t.v. screens on the Mo Rocca-hosted Cooking Channel show, Food(ography). Please tune in at 9 PM EST to catch us whip up a couple cocktails and hopefully not embarrass ourselves too much by having our foul mouths constantly bleeped for bad language.

The focus of this episode is high-tech food, "exploring how websites, blogs and social media are changing the flavors of the culinary landscape." We created a couple cocktails in that theme, including the Dot Calm, which you can find the recipe for below.

Hope you watch and enjoy! More info and full schedule here. And as always, you can catch a new Alie & Georgia cocktail video every Monday at Food2.com, and watch all our past videos here. My current favorites from this season are Blame It on Meringue (our take on lemon meringue pie), our Girl Scout-esque s'mores cocktail, and our red velvet cupcake cocktail.

Dot Calm
Serves 1
Ingredients:
2 oz. whiskey
1/2 oz fernet
1 tsp agave nectar
6 oz hot chamomile tea
Directions:
In your favorite mug, add whiskey, fernet, and agave nectar and top with chamomile tea. Stir and enjoy!

Well Hello There

2011-02-09T21:26:00.000-08:00

Holy hell it's been a while since I posted here. It's not as if posting hasn't been on my mind, it most definitely has, but subtracting a desk job from my life, and adding a full-time job of promoting Alie & Georgia, working towards end goal of landing a t.v. show, has made the thought of posting here just overwhelming.

How about some bullet points to catch you up to date, with the promise of posting here at least once a week?

I'm still totally engaged to the raddest dude I've ever met. This Valentine's Day marks exactly one year since we met, and every day since that fateful evening has been better and better. It's so weird to think that there was a time, not too long ago, that this person, my best friend, wasn't in my life. A lot of my friends are single, so I don't gush to them about him too much to avoid them hating me, but Jesus, this is really the happiest I've ever been. As for wedding plans, we're not really sure where to start (a location would be nice, I suppose), but I'll keep ya'll posted once the planning commences and I turn into a raging bridezilla. Should be fun.

The Alie & Georgia thing is going extremely well. We shot 12 more episodes of our show, Drinks with Alie & Georgia, in December, and they've been airing every Monday since January. You can see all our videos for Food2.com here. My favorites are the Cereal Killer Cocktail, our avocado margarita we call Guac This Way, and our Valentine's libation called Red Velvet Cupcake Cocktail.
We've also been blogging for Food2, and have started a podcast called The Deep End w/ Alie & Georgia that should be up on iTunes soon. You can listen live on Sunday mornings at 11am PST here.

My nephew just turned a year old. He is the greatest. I'm still 90% anti having children of my own, but honestly, if I could be promised one just like this little dude, I may reconsider.

Alright, tons of other stuff going on (taking my first improv class, perhaps a new Six Month/Six Dresses post, and a rant about how awesome not having a day job is). Stay tuned!

Holiday on the Rocks!

2010-12-02T14:05:00.000-08:00

Guess what?! I was on tee vee! Last August my partner in cocktail crime, Alie Ward, and I went to New Jersey to film a Christmas special for the Cooking Channel, called Holiday on the Rocks. We spent the day in an emptied out restaurant with none other than Top Chef - Just Desserts judge Johnny Iuzzini, and the charmingly nerdy Dave Arnold (who much to my dorky culinary excitement, is the brother-in-law of Wylie Dufresne...woot!).

Alie and I shot two segments. For one segment, we created three holiday-based cocktails - a coconut based concoction we coined the Meshugana Macaroon, our take on an Old Fashioned using muddled candied orange peels we call Coal In Your Stocking, and a concoction that was basically a fruitcake in a glass which we garnished with, what else, a cube of deep fried fruitcake. We named that cocktail after Alie's fruitcake loving aunt - Aunt Norma's Nutcase Fruitcake.

Alie and I closed the show along with Johnny and Dave by clumsily helping Johnny make some delicious peppermint chocolate bark.

The holiday special, which has had appearances from other notable party peeps like Dr. Mixologist himself, Mr. Darryl Robinson, aired last Sunday on the Cooking Channel. Alie and I were both SO nervous about our performance, but we were beyond pleased with the way our segments turned out.

It airs again tomorrow, December 3rd, and again on the 4th. If you get the Cooking Channel, I'd just love it if you watched the show! You'll get to see/hear me guffaw and make bad jokes about eating chocolate chips straight from the bag, and watch my mixologist know-how in action! You can see the all the dates the show will be airing throughout the month, along with recipes for all the holiday cocktails from the show here: Holiday on the Rocks

Also, because I am a total nerd and this was my first time on real life television, I of course taped the commercial with the help of my crappy camera and shaky hand, which you can watch here:

Engagement Photos

2010-11-10T11:10:00.000-08:00

On a sunny Thursday afternoon a couple of weeks ago, Colin and I were lucky enough to be visited by our friend Laura Taylor. Laura is sweet, funny, gorgeous, and an amazing photographer. She'd taken pictures of Alie and myself in the past (see the results in this post, or just look over at my profile pic), with awesome results, so I knew that mine and Colin's engagement photos were in good hands. She didn't disappoint.

We wandered around our charming Silver Lake neighborhood, sitting on porches and staircases and stealing kisses every so often (Colin and I, that is) while Laura snapped away. I'm beyond happy with the way the photos turned out. Here are just a few, so as to not bombard you with our sickening adorableness. More later.

You can see Laura's portfolio (which is seriously beautiful) at her website here: www.thedarlinglife.com and follow her on Tumblr here.

My Garden

2010-10-29T13:35:00.000-07:00

Her cooking skills, her impatience, her taste for a nice glass of red wine after a long day...those are all things I got from my mother. One thing I most certainly did not inherit from her, though, is her green thumb. As much as I've struggled throughout my life, keeping a single damn plant alive longer than a month or two is something that totally evades me. It may have something to do with the fact that I have trouble remembering to water myself, let alone a whole garden of plants.

Anyway, here's my latest attempt at having a thriving garden. My mom helped pick everything out, with the stern warning that I need plants which thrive on non-attention and neglect. Lets hope that this go 'round fares better than all the previous.

Pregnant: If I Put That Word in the Title Maybe You'll Read This Post...but I'm most certainly NOT pregnant

2010-10-20T22:31:00.000-07:00

I haven't had a desk job in about two months now. I'm busy as hell, mind you, with emails and meetings and interviews and plotting and planning the world domination of the Alie & Georgia franchise, but not with anything that would leave me the time or patience to sit in front of the computer and just, well, waste time. This means that my Google Reader has racked up a daunting 200+ unread posts. This also means that my little blog here has become woefully neglected.

A still from our new travel show, Cunts In Countries.*

*just kidding...for now

First I want to say that I'm not pregnant. I know that's a weird thing to announce - that even though I am not now, nor do I plan anytime in the future, becoming or attempting to become pregnant - that I am wholly and completely without a child in my womb. The reason I tell you this because the few times that I peruse my neglected Google Reader, the only topics I'm really looking for is one of my beloved favorite bloggers being pregnant, newly relationship'd or engaged, or something equally announcement-worthy...okay fine, also if the words "cute wedding dress" is in the post. Have I mentioned that I'm engaged?

A still from my new reality show, Intervention: Bitch Stop Staring At Your Fucking Ring Already Your Annoying All Your Single Friends

I guess it's hard to blog when things aren't normal, or at least aren't somewhat predictable. I can't announce the new things on the horizon, because they're not yet set in stone and they're not announcable as of yet. I can continue to plug my current happenings, which for the time being is a weekly cocktail video made via the aforementioned Alie & Georgia franchise. You can view them every Monday morning here. In fact, go ahead and watch me in full zombie-mode here, if you please (it's one of my favorites so far):

I promise to keep ya'll updated as the tell-able bits come in. There's a potential trip to New York on the horizon, some fun food and drink related blog posts for Food2.com scheduled to start rolling out weekly (the first of which you can read here, if you please), and some cute engagement photos the fiance and I had taken last week. So I apologize if my posts are few and far between, but I promise to keep them somewhat interesting when I finally do sit down in front of the computer to waste a bit of time.

Mrs. B's Secret

2010-10-04T12:37:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone out there in bloggy-land! The oppressive, random heatwave we've been having here in LA has lifted, and I woke up this morning (embarrassingly late this morning) to pouring rain. Honestly, nothing makes me feel more cozy than pouring rain, especially when I don't have to venture out into it.

As if right on schedule, our newest Drinks With Alie & Georgia is a warm, cozy, maple-based, pajama-clad, brand-spiked cocktail, perfect for a rainy fall day. I hope you enjoy the video!

Also, totally random, but this happened recently:

The Mixologist Myth

2010-09-28T22:26:00.000-07:00

I'm sure every other Los Angeles-based blogger has already told you this, but we're having a freaking heat wave over here. I hate to complain about weather, cause I know some of you live in places that experince this type of mind-melting heat for, like, months at a time or whatever, but here in LA we're not really used to this sort of thing.

Before you peeps in Arizona and Texas tell me to eff off, can I just mention that it was 112 degrees yesterday? As I am now a self-employed person, I didn't have an air conditioned office to take refuge in, so I was forced, forced I tell you, to take asylum in the mall, where my best friend and I languidly wandered from air conditioned store to air conditioned store, while sipping cool lemonaides, and buying unnecessary make-up items. It was a hard. day. ya'll.

Okay, I'm not winning any friends here, am I? Here's a picture of my poor, hot cats to soften your heart a little:

My dear fiance, who had been doing actual physial labor in said sweltering heat all day, came home exhausted. Being the good faux housewife that I am, I offered to fix him a nice cool cocktail.

Now, somewhere in the midst of making tongue-in-cheek cocktail videos and creating sometimes-awesome, sometimes-revolting cocktails, I've been labeled a "mixologist". As I am not much in the way of modest, I haven't been quick to deny this, even if it's not very truthful. Hell, I've been called worse things before without denying it (hint: sometimes being labeled a "bitch" isn't the worst thing in the world). A connoisseur of cocktails? A liberal libationist? A fucking bartender? Yes, you could truthfully call me those things. A mixolgoist? Well, I'm trying my best to embody that title.

A lot of people are nervous to mix their own cocktails at home, and I get that. I used to be one of those people. But during the past year or so, with a lot of help from liquor left over from our video shoots, I've started collecting a modest amount of liquid accouterments for my at-home bar.

Proof:

So here's what I made for Colin:

4 ounces black raspberry vodka

2 ounces raspberry liqueur

2 ounces St. Germaine (an awesome elderflower liqueur that you should try!)

I shook the booze over ice, then added it to glasses with more ice and some frozen berries. Then I topped it off with some sparkling water. It was so yum! Also check out those metal bendy straws. They're one of my favorite items in my bar (you can get em here).

Being both a drinker and a gentleman, Colin kindly returned the favor by making a drink for us as well:

4 ounces vodka

1 ounce raspberry liqueur

1 ounce triple sec

Blended together with crushed pineapple, a banana, and a tropical popsicle. It was frothy and oh so refreshing!

I have no excuse as to why this beer-centric event happened later, but I'm blaming the cheese. Have you had that cheese in the tupperware? Ohmyfuckinggod it's heaven.

My point is: I'm no mixologist (at least not yet) and you can too! My best suggestion, as I know this shit gets spendy, is to buy little airplane bottles of the boozes you want to try until you find what you really like. It may not be the classiest thing in the world, but when have I worried about being the classiest girl in the room? Although if you call me that, I'll never deny it.

Tell me, what's your favorite go-to cocktail when you're sipping at home?

Gumdrops and Culottes

2010-09-27T10:48:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday, everyone! Did you know that through the end of the year, I'll have a new cocktail video up on Food2.com? It's true! This week's video is for our Drunken Donuts, which you can watch here:

and in case you missed last week's video, for the Hari Kari Me Home, here it is:

Alie and I have also been getting some pretty awesome press, and doing some fun interviews. You can listen to us on Dan Dunn's The Imbiber Show here (which was SO MUCH fucking fun), or by downloading it on iTunes. If you have Sirius, we were on the Playboy Morning Show two weeks ago (remind me to write about the fact that we were a flight risk while waiting to go on-air in the green room). You can read a really awesome and fun interview with us on Toque here, and watch a special video we did for Lemondrop.com here.

Okay, so I'm done with the shameless plugging of myself. Personal stuff to come this week, I promise.

Here's a secret, just to tide you over.

I'm wearing culottes in this photo:

You're welcome.

Married to the Mob

2010-09-23T14:53:00.000-07:00

Last night, on the way home from the after-party for the Blogger Prom (more on that later), was the first time Colin and I put any real life, making-plans-type conversation about what we wanted for our wedding. Sure we've been throwing ideas at each other since we got engaged, have discussed our "must haves" (his wanting his brother to give a speech, a darling vintage dress for me, natch), and even had a certain month in mind (June, because it sounds a long ways off), but we had never really settled on anything that would help us move forward with plans.

But sitting next to each other in his car last night, as he safely navigated the 1:30 am almost-empty streets of Los Angeles, a plan started to form. Now we have someplace to start. A jumping off point. I promise this isn't going to become a wedding-centric blog, just as it hasn't become an "oh my god I'm so madly in love" blog (my most recent post aside). And the details of what we've got cooking in our brains is much too much in the early stages to reveal too many details, but I'm just too fucking excited about it not to shout it to my little page on the Internet. So here are a few key words: downtown central library, flash mob. That's all I can tell you for now.

Oh also? I plan on wearing something along these lines:

How fucking cute is that???

via The Broke Ass Bride who I met last night at Blogger Prom and now have a total blog crush on

Smoke If Ya Got Em!

2010-09-20T20:49:00.000-07:00

I don't talk about him much, do I? He proposed to me almost three months ago, and I've been wearing this lovely little vintage ring on my finger ever since. My heart skips a beat whenever I look at it. We have a happy little home in Silver Lake. We cook together a lot yet still spend too much money on eating out, and once in a while share a cigarette on our porch amongst our dying plants that we potted when we first moved in with the very best of intentions of keeping them alive.

I guess that's why I don't write much about it. I worry that happiness isn't much of a drawn when it comes to blog fodder. But I'm happy. I'm done with dating forever. I changed my life completely last Valentines Day when I asked the cute, tall, curly haired fellow on the smoking patio for a cigarette even though I don't really smoke, and then handed him my phone number unprovoked when I left.

Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like right now had I not had the courage to speak to him. But then I remember that I've never been that type of girl -- the type to not do something, to not put herself in a possibly uncomfortable position despite great risk to her self esteem. Life is for the living, I strongly believe. If I could give one piece of advice, if I dare become that happy asshole blogger for one second, the kind who pretends to have all the answers, that would be my piece of advice: be bold. Do something. It's so worth it.

Peanut Butter & Jealous

2010-09-13T14:29:00.000-07:00

Oh hey, remember that time I made an video series for Food Network's Food2.com with my best friend Alie? Well it's finally been unleased onto the world, starting with this video for the Peanut Butter & Jealous.

I woke up at 3:30 this morning to film a segment for the KTLA morning news, and I'm throwing a party tonight for what could turn out to be a hundred friends and strangers, so you'll have to excuse me for not being more eloquent and...jesus, I can't even think of the word right now. Naptime.

Of Cocktails and Videos

2010-09-08T17:59:00.000-07:00

Mine and Alie's cocktail demonstration at the LA Times Food & Wine celebration was a hit, and despite the sweltering heat (that's mid 80's, which is "sweltering" when you're from California), we had a great turn out for our demo, and an even greater turn out when we started passing out samples (natch). I had such a great time, and am SO relieved I'm not someone who cowers when addressing crowds.

The launch of our cocktail series for Food2.com premieres this Monday, September 13th, with the Peanut Butter & Jealous (although I've seen the video floating around the internets, for those looking for a sneak peek). Alie and I will be doing press all week, and bright and early on Monday morning (that's 4:45 am, which is early when you're from ANYWHERE) we will be filming a segment for the KTLA morning news. I'm thinking of cutting out the middle man and just mainlining some coffee that morning.

Deets to come, as well as ever-important posts about stuff other than the videos, but in the meantime...here's a video! Turns out one of my bloggy crushes, one miss Caroline on Crack (who is the THE. BLOGGER. when it comes to the Los Angeles and beyond cocktail world) was in the audience during our demonstration on Sunday. She filmed us making our Umami Up, and posted it for all to see. Yay!

She also wrote about our demo here.

Hope you're all well and happy! More to come, but for now, I have a sick fiancé to take care of.

New York Trip - Part 1/2

2010-09-02T22:14:00.000-07:00

Alie and I are home from New York, with stories to tell and photos to show. Unfortunately, the computer with all the uploaded New York photos is currently being a jerk. I'll have to forage for the few photos I have in my inbox, on my phone, and those I've already posted on my Tumblr. Hope ya don't mind.

It was an amazing, probably-life-changing trip. I love New York more every time I visit, and I have to say that this trip topped all others. We went to the AOL building to film a segment for the awesome website Lemondrop, dropped by the Sirius offices to meet the delightful Lea of Cocktails With Patrick and record a segment for her upcoming show, and took important meetings in tall office buildings with a bunch of awesome people.

More details to come, but please enjoy these photos in the meantime.

Our VERY FIRST Dunkin' Donuts experience. Yeah, it was pretty amazing.

If asked, Alie will gladly tell you about our harrowing experience with a gypsy cab, and about how we ended up - not at Chelsea Market where we were headed for an important meeting - but somewhere in Chinatown called Cherry Market, and no, we do not want to pay you, Shady Gypsy Cab Driver, twenty extra bucks to get us back to Chelsea Market, thankyouverymuch.

She will also tell you that it was all my fault, which technically it totally and completely was. Personally, I'd rather focus on the above photo, which makes me look oh-so cosmopolitan as I run to catch a YELLOW CAB. Lesson we learned the hard way in New York City #45: never get in a cab that ISN'T YELLOW.

On the stoop of our awesome little East Village sublet, which we found via Airbnb thanks to a tip from a friend. Sublets, you guys! That's the only way to hotel, in my opinion.

I've been a fan of Howard Stern since I was a kid, so this was a big deal for me. I kept hoping he'd walk out of the door and maybe give me a high five at least, or even better, pose for a photo with me that would make me the envy of every big brother and fiancé I have [one of each]. Sadly, he was off that week, so we only got weird looks from passersby.

More photos and stories to come. This month is sure to be an exciting, highly bloggable one, and I'm looking forward to sharing all the happenings with all you lovely peeps.

This coming weekend, for those of you in the LA area, finds Alie and I demonstrating some of our new cocktails on an actual stage at the LA Times Food & Wine Celebration (with a She & Him concert, to boot!). Please ignore the fact that we're scheduled to go on at the same time as one Miss Pioneer Woman. We're passing out free samples of cocktails, and she isn't. So there.

And on September 13th, we're terribly, stupidly excited to present the first of 12 brand new cocktail videos which we made for the Food Network site, Food2 (bookmark our page at www.food2.com/drinks).

We'll be doing tons of press and awesome events for the show (see the aforementioned Lemondrop and Sirius radio visits), as well as hosting some guest-bartending gigs which I hope to see some of your pretty faces at.

photo by my awesome sister Leah

Have I mentioned how happy I am lately? Because I am. Endlessly, deliriously happy.

Six Months + Six Dresses # 4

2010-08-19T12:19:00.000-07:00

Presenting Dress #4 of the series Six Months + Six Dresses, hosted by one Miss Kyla Roma. You can find my past dress posts here: #1, #2, #3.

This month's dress is more of a love story about a dress, or a sob story for a dress, really. The dress is in my closet, you see, but sadly, that's where it will stay until I lose a couple pesky "relationship pounds". So I guess this month's dress is more of a dichotomy. Here is the dress:

And here are my running shoes:

Dichotomy indeed. It's not that I think of myself as a fatty, so don't get it twisted. But the night I bought this dress, on sale at an otherwise wholly overpriced store, I realized that I gained a lot more than I had anticipated when I moved in with Colin.

The dress could zip, so I had that going for me, but I couldn't, ya know, like breath or more or anything once it was zipped. So I've started a workout/eat healthy regimen, and I'm already seeing results! In all honestly, I'm not totally sure the dress will fit in time for my trip to New York next week, and I'm okay with that. But I'm hoping, instead, to wear it to the Food & Wine Fest which I'll be a guest at.

Zooey Deschanel will be there, ya see, and we can't let that bitch be the only well dressed one, can we? Photos to come, I hope. In the meantime, my new workout mantra is "yellow dress, yellow dress, yellow dress".

A Darling Life

2010-08-17T11:34:00.000-07:00

I don't have a job anymore. Well, a day job at least. Last time I wrote about my job situation I was a week away from taking a 30 day leave of absence from my boring ole job as a receptionist at a big, fancy office in downtown LA. I had been there, at the same desk, answering the same damn phone, "good morning"ing the same people, for over two years. And I was bored. BORED.

"What was I ever to do with my life?" I wondered to myself, while fronting a veneer of calm coolness. "Become a writer" was my usual answer, but even I doubted that, so I stuck with this job and dreamed of bigger things to come.

And now, well, those bigger things have arrived, much to my disbelief. I'm still not secure in my unemployed state, that is for sure, but the veneer I used to so gallantly hold on to is no longer a front.

Alie and I turned in our book proposal a couple weeks ago. It was a hard, difficult effort, but if it shows anything, it's that she and I work well together, and goddammit, we have good ideas and witty, wry voice to boot.
We'll be in New York next week, for the second time together. Last time we pounded the pavement trying to sell ourselves to whomever would give us a moment to spare. We slept in a twin size bed with a gentleman who was kind enough to open his home to us, and froze our asses off in the first snow of the season. This time we're being flown, FLOWN, to New York to film a special-something for one Cooking Channel. It's mind boggling how far we've come.

We'll be taking meetings while in NYC which our real life agents at William Morris set up for us. We'll be mixing drinks and meeting important people and attending meetings in tall buildings wearing fancy dresses.A week after we get home, we'll be attending the LA Times Food & Wine Fest (with She & Him performing!!!) and hosting a how-to demo where you'll learn how to make our newest libation. Two weeks after that, the first of our 12 episode cocktail videos premiers on Food Network's Food2.com
I haven't been posting much, and I'm sorry for that. I guess it's hard for me to imagine that people want to read about a charmed life which really, in the past year, is what my life has become. I have a fiance who I'm literally blown away by on an hourly basis - because of his humor, his ruggedly handsome good looks, his kindness, and our deep love for each other. A career that I've fucking created out of thin fucking air with my very best friend, a girl whose wisdom, charm, and humor make me strive to be something better.

My life wasn't like this three years ago. I was depressed and lonely and so, so scared of every little decision I was making. For those of you who have been reading my blog since then, I hope you feel as excited about all this as I do. For those of you who have just started reading, well...welcome to the blog of a charming girl with a charmed life.

*All the lovely photos in this post were taken by the equally lovely Laura Taylor. You can find her website here, her blog here, and her flickr here.

Who Wants To Come Over For A Drink?

2010-08-06T12:21:00.000-07:00

Throughout the years, during my estate sale, garage sale, and flea market wanderings, I've collected many odds and ends that would nicely round out an at-home bar, but I never had the space or wherewithal to achieve such a thing. But an in-home bar is something I've always yearned for...something I've always seen as a sign of sophistication and a life of leisure.

Well I finally have a nice sized kitchen in my lovely new home, along with counter space to spare, and a little nook that was just screaming to be made into a retro bar. What I lack in expensive and well stocked liqueurs, I make up for in decanters, glasses and accouterments.

Somehow a drink tastes better when it's out of a fancy vintage glass.

Stay tuned for my future findings. I'm powerless when it comes to vintage glass and barware, so my collection is sure to grow!

Stations of the Spice

2010-07-26T14:44:00.000-07:00

A few months back I noticed a new spice store in the neighborhood. Seeing as how "the neighborhood" I speak of is one Silver Lake Junction, a mish mash of fun but ofttimes expensive stores catering to the tragically hip and excessively moneyed, I'd all but avoided the spice shop, save for the two times I attempted a pop-in in while in the neighborhood and found it closed both times.

But one sunny Saturday morning recently, I found myself at the new cafe next door to the spice store for brunch (a little place called Forage...which was delicious, but see the aforementioned tragically hip and excessively moneyed comment above) and lo and behold, Spice Station was open! So we walked down a charming little outdoor corridor, following the signs to the back patio, and found a airy, deliciously aroma-ed little store that I'd like to someday use as my home-decor muse.

The dude working the front counter couldn't have been more helpful, and explained the whole buying process once we told him it was our first visit. Dozens and dozens of interesting spices and flavored sugars lined the walls, with little jars out for visitors to sniff and sample. Alie and I wandered around in awe, opening jars and oohing and aahing over the varieties.

They also had gift sets, like the salt set that is definitely going on my birthday wish list next year. Alie ended up buying some loose tea, which they carry in excessive varieties, while I walked away with three little bags of exciting stuff.

ghost pepper salt, toasted coconut sugar, and aged balsamic salt

As soon as I left the store I started plotting the meal I would make utilizing my purchases (which were not at all as expensive as I had imagined). For the balsamic salt, I halved a pound of brussel sprouts and tossed them with cubes of butternut squash and chopped kale. That was mixed with olive oil, fresh ground black pepper, and about two teaspoons (probably a little more) of the salt.

The whole concoction went on a sheet pan, which I sprinkled with even more salt, and into the oven at 350 for about 45 minutes. Once the veggies were nice and caramelized, I tossed them with balsamic vinegar and Parmesan cheese. Holy crap it was good.

I left the hot pepper salt (the Ghost Pepper being the hottest pepper on the planet and me being a big pansy when it comes to spicy stuff) in the capable hands of Colin. He squeezed the juice of two limes, chopped about an inch of fresh ginger, and splash of olive oil and put that over low heat. Next he added about a teaspoon of the ghost pepper salt and gave it a minute on the heat to mingle. He then poured the mixture atop some cooked shrimp, which were skewered and wrapped in tin foil to marinate.

Then he grilled that shit, because he is in love with his grill and will not pass up an opportunity to cook something on his grill. Note: I am perfectly okay with this, as got-dayum, food tastes so much better when cooked on a nice grill.

For the toasted coconut sugar, the very first thing that popped into my head was: CREME BRULEE. And yes, it was in all caps because I just get that excited about creme brulee. Have you ever made it? It's deceivingly simple to prepare, although it does require some patience, a few extra dirty dishes, and a couple more steps than a simple dessert usually would. But my god it's worth it.

After making the coconut custard itself and refrigerating the little ramekins for a few hours, I sprinkled more coconut sugar than the recipe called for because I am Georgia and sugar is my favorite vice.

My motto has always [just now] been "why use a creme brulee torch when your best friend has a blow torch she's willing to let you borrow in exchange for a ramekin of delicious, delicious creme brulee?"

The meal was a complete success, with every dish yummier than the next. I can't wait to hit up the spice store again and fill my spice rack with new and exciting flavors. Maybe I'll even make it a weekly thing, and start reoccurring Spice Mondays posts. Hell, I've already used the leftover spices and sugar in pretty much everything I've cooked since. Wee!

Capturing My Spirit

2010-07-22T11:34:00.000-07:00

My friend Lou O'Bedlam, master photographer that he is, managed to capture what Oprah would call "my spirit" during a photo shoot over the weekend.

Keep in mind that Alie had no idea anything was amiss until Lou emailed us the photos on Monday. I stared at the photos over her shoulder as she laughed in horror as the scene unfolded on her computer screen.

I feel like if someone were to ask what my personality was like, the askee would need only show the asker this series of photographs, and they would get a pretty good idea. That makes me endlessly happy.

Of course, there were some slightly more normal photos that day:

But the aforementioned ones are my favorite, of course.

Finding Fruit

2010-07-15T11:49:00.000-07:00

Have you guys heard of this thing called "Fallen Fruit"? It's something of a movement all over the country where people map their neighborhoods based on fruit trees. You see, at least here in LA, if there's a fruit tree in someones back yard, it's illegal to trespass and pick the ripe fruit from the tree. But! If there's a branch hanging over the gate, say, and a ripe piece of fruit just sittin all lovely and exposed and not technically on said fruit tree owner's property, well than that piece of fruit is yours to pick!

It was on that principal that Colin and I, along with his trusty dog Mona, decided to explore our new neighborhood, which is located along the quiet back streets of Silver Lake. It ended up being a really fun long walk, and it was a great way to explore and get a feel for the neighborhood, one which you normally miss when whizzing past the scenery in a car.

Our adventure started on a down note when I spotted a very ripe, very NOT available fig, that was about to go bad just past the owner's property mark. Figs...holy fuck I am obsessed with figs. It broke my heart to see this pretty little guy all gussied up and ready to eat, but just out of my reach. What's a law abiding, play-fair girl to do??? Walk away and just pretend she never saw it, right?

Well, technically "yes", that's exactly what you're supposed to do. But what can I say? I'm weak when it comes to the siren song of a ripe fig. Read on though, ye who denounce such thievery, as that was the only piece of fruit I snatched in such a treacherous manner that day.

A good thing to have with you when venturing out on such a walk, is a fruit picker. Failing that, then a tall partner in crime is a good companion. Here is my such partner in all his 6'3 glory plucking from an overladen peach tree (alas, the peaches weren't yet ripe).

If the object of your desire, in this case some luscious looking oranges, aren't reachable even by your tall companion, leaping may just solve the problem.

If all that fails, simply climb onto your partner's already sore shoulders and happily pluck away. Before the letters of complaint regarding cruelty come in: don't worry, we gave the poor stranger who just happened to be passing a piece of fruit for her photo-taking troubles.

We found a ton of yummy things to eat that day, and a lot of trees that will be ripe in the next month or so.

The furry one in our party (no, not Colin) made some friends, then growled and bared their fangs at her new friend's tiny hands, so was quickly lead away because she can't play nice.

Above all, we were respectful of the fruit we found and the kind people we were taking it from. That's really what this movement is all about, you guys. I'm being serious! Stop laughing! It's about respect for local and sustaina...oh fuck it. Who'm I kidding?

We came home with an awesome bounty, most of which is rotting in my kitchen as I type this. What can I say? Good intentions count for a lot in my life, and I've got good intentions coming out my ears.

Starving after our walk, I quickly put together this yummy sandwich of toasted olive bread, Swiss cheese, and artichoke spread (all from the Echo Park farmer's market), a big green tomato that we found on our walk, and torn basil from our garden (side note: OMG I have a garden!!!). It was so yummy, and we felt like good people because we didn't buy any of it from evil big box stores.

We paired it with this lovely bottle of wine, which we found during our walk on an illusive Pinot Grigio tree. We'll be visiting that tree again, for sure.

We're already planning our next foraging adventure, and a "fallen fruit" sangria to celebrate. Find out more about Fallen Fruit here.

Tell me, have you ever done anything like this? It was so much fun, and I highly recommended it.