Month: December 2011

Dreaming of a Tropical New Year

Sips

tangerine dream cocktail

Because you can always dream, right?

This week’s alphatini called for something fit to a tee–and I began thinking Tangerine.

Namely, the tangerine liqueur we picked up in Roatan on our last cruise (which has been far too far in the past). A Dreamsicle martini would be the easy route, but since I was thinking tropical, I figured the tangerine could use a few friends to make nice with in the glass.

Tangerine Dream

1.5 oz Heavy Cream
1 oz Vanilla Vodka
1 oz Tangerine Liqueur
1/2 oz Pineapple Rum
1/4 oz Banana Liqueur
garnish: citrus peel

Combine all ingredients in a shaker over ice and make like your in a mini Conga-line for a moment or three. Strain into a chilled martini glass, garnish with a twist of whatever citrus you can get your mits on, and dream of your next vacation.

Yes, you can substitute a high-quality citrus liqueur like Cointreau if you don’t have any tangerine liqueur handy.

It may well be 2 years before my next cruise getaway (the honeymoon counter is ticking, folks), but until then I can sip this and remember the leisurely days from my last trip.

Cheers!

9-30-2011: E-Day

Third Time Wife, Wedding Planning

This was it–THE day–Engagement Day!

It was a Friday and the 2nd day of my week-long stay-cation I’d scheduled to use up some vacation hours and get some work done on a personal project. T had called to check on the ring and it was in, he would pick it up on the way home.

And I? Was starting to feel a little bit silly. Knowing the ring was on it’s way home I had no idea of how to act. Obviously I was excited but, really, expecting him to what? Get down on one knee? Be serious? That wasn’t really us.

I saw him pull up in the driveway from my office window and *bam* butterflies. Okay, knowing it’s coming does not make it any less special, check!

In his hand was the burgundy bag from the jewelry store and this was how the proposal went.

personal photo

“Here’s the bag…

and here’s the box… (pulling out each part as he speaks)

and here’s another box.

And inside…”

While hugging me to him he said, very straightforward, “Miss Road Trip, I love you very much and I want to marry you very much.”

Well, that wasn’t so much a question as a declaration of intent, it didn’t really call for a ‘yes’ answer so, you know, what’s a girl to say?

“Yay!”*

And that was it: we were officially engaged!

And he did get down on one knee after that. Go figure, we were too busy being giddy and laughing to worry about “traditions” at that point.

Of course, the next thing was calling the family and, well, I knew Mom would be hurt if she wasn’t on the top of our list. Unfortunately, she didn’t answer her phone the first few times we tried her (while T made dinner–it was his week, how quickly we returned to “normal”) so we had to put off our calls for another hour. And then, of course, make it Facebook official to tell everyone else!

Yes, we spent much of the rest of our usual “date night” checking Facebook for responses.

And all my worries about no one being excited for us? Totally unfounded. It was the best, best-case-scenario I could have ever hoped for.

Did you still get giddy for the engagement,
even if it wasn’t a suprise?

*It should be noted that when I first broached the subject with Mr Road Trip, I asked what he’d say if I said I was thinking about marriage not being completely off the table anymore. His reaction? And I quote: “Yay!” I almost feel like we should include that in our vows, somehow.

Think Pink!

Sips

When I was in high school I went through quite the musicals kick and one of my favorites was Bye, Bye Birdie (parodying the hoopla surrounding Elvis Presley joining the Army).

At one point Ann Margaret is slinking around the bar, acting older than she is, trying to make “Birdie” jealous, singing about how she’s “Got a Lot of Living To Do.” One of the things on the bucket list?

Drink Champagne, as if it were water,
Pink Champagne, and after a few…
Daddy dear, you won’t know your daughter!
She’s got a lot of living to do!

This is what comes to mind every time I think about pink champagne.

Australian label [yellow tail] has come out with white and rosé Bubbles just in time for New Years and it might just be worth checking out. This is a brand known for being affordable and reliable and the rosé is in a nice range of not being super sweet or super dry–it’s nice and light and a sweet pink color.

Another plus is it’s favor is the Zork closure: not a screw-top and not a traditional champagne cork that is almost impossible to get back into the bottle, the Zork closure easily pops back on the bottle with a press of the built-in button, making it easy to save the leftovers for brunch the next day.

And, of course, the good folks at [yellow tail] sent over a cocktail recipe in to make the most of their pink bubbles:

EXOTIC TEMPTATION

2 oz [ yellow tail ] bubbles sparkling rosé
1 oz peach flavored vodka
1 oz cranberry juice
1 oz lychee fruit flavoring

In a cocktail shaker with ice add all ingredients except [ yellow tail ] bubbles sparkling rosé. Strain into a chilled champagne flute or martini glass. Slowly fill with the [ yellow tail ] bubbles sparkling rosé. Garnish with a strawberry.

Image and recipe courtesy of  W.J. Deutsch & Sons, Ltd.

Anticipation or Aprehension

Third Time Wife, Wedding Planning
A figure waiting on a bench, looking out to sea

image via stock.xchng | photo by coolza

The ring was ordered and I knew the official proposal would be coming whenever the ring was ready. We were told a couple of days but I figured on a week, just to keep myself from going absolutely stir-crazy.

I was excited for the most part, but as the week wore on there were seeds of dread that started to sprout.

I was excited and happy BUT also a little embarrassed to be–like I’m not allowed to feel this way. Like, been there, done that. The do-over is cool and all, but keep it low-key.

I might have also been a wee bit gun-shy; before I’d closed the door to marriage I’d been engaged a couple times without making it to the altar (apparently I inspire a forever feeling in some men, at least at first). I was afraid this over-cautious feeling would last through the whole process–2 years+!–and that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy it fully until it was done, and then it would be too late.

Lots of deep breaths, lots of reminders to live in the moment.

I think a lot of encore brides face this fear: we’re not young, fresh with stars in our eyes, etc. We’re more mature (supposedly), we know what can happen when a marriage goes wrong and are a little jaded about some of the happily-ever-after-isms out there.

Or, at least, that’s how we think other expect us to be. As much fun as I’d had reading wedding books and magazines, thinking up ways to make that day more us, and soaking up all the inspiration that was out there on the Internet, I was still feeling a little weird–not about the engagement becoming official so much as announcing it to our friends and family.

I started wondering if those family and friends would be as happy for us as I wanted them to be. Some would, I was sure, but what about those who just kinda took the information and had no reaction? Would that hurt? In my mind it already did. As much as I consider myself to be realistically optimistic, I’ve always lived by the “expect the worst, hope for the best” maxim. And I’ve got a doozy of an imagination for the worst case scenario.

The Wednesday before the engagement was the worst (almost-in-tears-at-my-desk-worst) over the imagined slights of those around us who took the news with ‘oh, okay, whatever.’ I was so glad when T didn’t come home with the ring that day and confessed my fears.

Getting it off my chest made a world of difference, though. By the next day I was back to looking forward to the upcoming reveal.

Did you ever worry about how other people
would react to news of your engagement?

A Trio of Champagne Cocktails

Sips

For some folks, leftover wine or champagne is a problem they never have. Todd and I, though, in exercising moderation, frequently have to store leftover wine for a night or two. While there’s nothing wrong with drinking it with more than one meal or even having a glass after work now and then, sometimes it’s nice to mix things up a bit.

This goes double for Champagne and other sparkling wines.

Maybe you chilled more wine than you needed and maybe you now need that space for non-festive groceries for the new year. Why not go beyond the brunch standards of mimosas and bellinis, and try a couple of these champagne cocktails courtesy of Sams Club.

The CÎROC® Royal Grape

Ciroc Royal GrapePreparation Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 1

Ingredients

  •          1 oz. CÃŽROC® Vodka
  •          1 oz. white grape juice
  •          1 splash(es) champagne
  •          1 piece(s) grape

Directions

1.        Shake ingredients over ice and strain into a chilled glass.

2.       Top with a splash of champagne and garnish with a frozen grape.

Smirnoff No. 21® Vodka & Champagne Sparkle

Smirnoff No 21 Vodka & Champagne SparklerPreparation Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 4-6

Ingredients

  •          1.5 cups SMIRNOFF NO. 21® Vodka
  •          2 bottles Moët & Chandon Champagne
  •          1.25 cups pomegranate juice
  •          1 cup simple syrup
  •          thinly sliced lemon

Directions

1.        Combine ingredients in a punch bowl with ice.

2.       Add simple syrup to taste.

3.       Mix in lemon slices.

GinZizzz

GinZizzz CocktailPreparation Time: 5 minutes
Serves: 1

Ingredients

  •          3/4 ounce gin
  •          1/2 ounce Simply Orange®
  •          1/4 ounce Cointreau®
  •          Ice cubes
  •          2 to 3 ounces cold Champagne
  •          1 splash orange water or rose water, optional
  •          1 long strip orange peel for garnish

Directions:

1.        Pour gin, orange juice and Cointreau into a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake to chill.

2.       Pour mixture into a Champagnes flute and top with Champagne. Add orange flower water or rose water, if desired.

3.       Garnish with orange peel, if desired.