Ahh January. As we head into February and burrow in for the chill of winter, I am loving the neutral palette with a hint of sparkle and a waft of chimney smoke (in a pre-packaged candle- if only I had my own chimney).

Cocktailian Eric Alperin’s Southside Royale is a refreshing champagne cocktail that’s just the ticket for the winter doldrums. If you have read this blog, you know I am always in the mood for anything bubbly and especially in January. Gin, simple syrup, a splash of fresh lime juice, champagne and a sprig of mint make this cocktail a zippy delight.

I just picked up some of these pehr tea towels for a recent dinner party. I love the print and the neutral palette- good with any season and every table.

How much do you love this print? It’s all I can do not to buy it. Budgeting is a… well, you know. Thomas Hammer M10 print at One Kings Lane through Friday.

I recently re-zhuzhed my makeup and added this Naked Basics shadow palette. Love it.

I pretty much wear these everyday. They are pretty with an edge, I feel kind of tough wearing them- which I love- and they go with everything. Loren Hope Isis studs.

“Bent-backed tulips, smoldering chimney smoke, dried vines and brick walls”- with a description like that, I had to buy this. In the high priced world of luxury candles, this one’s a steal at $14.95. I am a fan. Tatine’s Tisane candles come in a few different scents and the thick votive is reusable. And they burn clean- a must now that I’ve got these littles crawling around. I found them at my favorite shop here in Alexandria, Red Barn Mercantile. I can’t walk in there without buying something. I love to support local business, what can I say.

Always a fan of Heather Moore’s textile designs at skinnylaminx, I love her Mini laMinx line as well. The Orla dress pays homage to Orla Kiely’s lovely stem pattern. Not that your Mini can wear this now but spring is not far off… I hope.

And lastly, how much do you love this room! It’s the perfect spot for a private dinner party. A group of us are throwing my friend Katy, of Katystyle, her baby shower here in this lovely room at ISA in Brooklyn, scouted by my stylist pal Erin. Very much looking forward to it- it will be dreamy and candlelight for her chic shower.

How does January inspire you? What are you eating, drinking, wearing? What are some of your favorite things during these wintery days?

{Image Credit: Southside Royale photo by Dave Lauridsen}

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My friend Teri posted this photo of the rosé aisle at her local wine shop in St. Barts. She and her hubby spend 4 months a year in paradise, lucky girl. On this bitter cold and snow-covered January morning, I’m taking a lovely little couch trip to this magical place where there lives an overabundance of rosé and a seemingly endless amount of joie de vivre. Nothing cheers up the winter blues like a splash of the pretty pink juice and visions of white sand, stylish people and a clear blue sky and sea. A girl can dream.

My pretend suitcase contains: (well- all except for the Tempier rosé, which I will later imbibe on my couch while visions of seashells dance in my head).

1. Kevyn’s Aucoin’s Forever Matte Lipstick- this stuff is brilliant, I love the bold and vibrant matte finish. 2. I’d pack Hemingway’s Islands in the Stream both because I’ve never read this posthumously printed novel set in the Caribbean and  because I love the title. Who doesn’t love Dolly and Kenny’s version, especially on a good karaoke night. 3. This little Tibi jacquard dress is a splurge but this is a couch trip so whatevs. 4. Movie star worthy Elizabeth and James shades. 5. It’s a good thing this is a couch trip because my post-bebes body is not ready for a bikini. But if it were, it’s got to be: pink fringe- because it’s St. Barts, not Vero Beach. Calypso St. Barth.  6. Kate Spade’s Harrison Street passport case- it’s just so snazzy. 7. Calypso’s chiffon tie bracelet. 8. The Bardot sandal by Rebecca Minkoff.  9. J.Crew’s Farmer’s Market Tote- affordable and classically cute. 10. Oh just the best damn rosé I have ever had. In my top 10 wines. Not cheap for a rosé but unbelievably complex with chocolate, spices and red fruit, a real beaut. Domaine Tempier Bandol rosé. 11. An ombre scarf that goes with everything. A little pricey but I’m quite sure I’ll wear this everyday on this pretend getaway, not to mention all spring and summer long. 12. Don’t you love this cover art redesign! Dr. No is Caribbean appropriate seeing that much of the action takes place in Jamaica. I loved Casino Royale and look forward to reading this one, everyone could use a dose of vintage Bond in their life- especially on pretend vacation. 13. La Sardinia Lomography camera- just because it’s pretty and old school. I used to carry around my Holga, but I like this one better. Bon Voyage!

{Image Credit: Miles and Aisles of Rosé photo by Teresa Reyes}

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Ever wonder how in the world someone manages to take a mere sniff of a glass of wine and exclaim, “wet leaves, truffles and wild game”. Find yourself dubious? Well, for most wine geeks of the world, we have learned what to look for in a particular grape and terroir. We know the general flavor profiles of a grape and what the earth may bring according to its location on the map. In other words, we have help going in.

I’ve decided to do a new series called Cheat Sheet to let some of you in on our secrets. You won’t think us as cool (or pretentious) anymore, but c’est la vie, it’s more fun to drink when we can all talk about it anyway.

Here are some basics to look for in a Pinot Noir. Notes of a grape will change, sometimes drastically, according to its terroir. For example the mushrooms and truffles you may get from a Burgundy Pinot may differ drastically from the forest floor you may get from a New Zealand Pinot. And it’s all subjective as hell anyway- that’s what makes it fun. Cin Cin!

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Have a fabulous weekend. I’ll be busy with the bebes, try to get some winter cleaning done (exciting, right!) and post-bebes bedtime, try out some of the new wines I picked up at Planet Wine- really looking forward to trying the Graham Beck Rosé Brut Sparkler from South Africa- I am in a bubbly mood these days but then again, what day isn’t a great day for a sparkler?

I am tempted to trek into DC and take the kids to the National Portrait Gallery as I have not yet been (I know, a crime after being here for 2  years) but am thinking twice due to the inaugural preparations. DC gets crazy town with major events and this one is a biggie. I think I’ll stick to my side of the river.

Loving this YSL multicolored mani. Wish I had the skill and/or patience to pull this off.

Have a good one. See you next week!

{Image Credit: Friday by bitsbobsandbeats.com}

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Michel Chapoutier and Anne-Sophie Pic’s Saint-Peray.
This is an awesome crisp, chalky white for under $20. My tasting notes below, a go-to for me- any night of the week.

Nudo Olive Oil
We adopted an olive tree from a grove and Abruzzo a couple of years ago through Nudo and received these beautiful little tins of olive oil throughout the year. A great idea and a delicious olive oil to boot. I really wanted to go visit our little tree- maybe next time.

My Dutch Bike imports bikes from the Dutch company, Workcycles. These babies are beautiful and the real deal. A bit pricey at around $1900, hey- a girl can dream…

Butter’s Royal Navy is a rich and beautiful navy, I just love a navy nail. Butter is always formaldehyde, toluene and DBP free.

Ok, so they are a bit hipster-ish, but I have to admit- I love these Warby Parkers. I just got mine and really dig them. These are the Zaggs in Tennessee Whiskey.

I am seriously jonesing over these Cobra Rock South Highland boots. Handmade in Marfa, TX. by the coolest couple, Logan Caldbeck and Colt Miller. Even their names are cool.

Jeff Koons designed the ’10 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild label. The most expensive artist on the planet is fitting for this Bordeaux 1st growth.

I’m not a big tat girl, but this is really pretty kickass. Matthew Kaner, beverage director at Bar Covell in LA, sports a northern Rhone-shaped bottle on his arm. Specifically, a Thierry Allemand “Reynard” Cornas Syrah-shaped bottle. Here is a great post on Whitney Adams’ blog, Brunellos Have More Fun, for more info on Matt and his tat.

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I know it’s pretty last minute, but here are a few fun ideas to throw in those stockings:

Tom Dixon Candles- expensive but oh so pretty!

D.S.& Durga Brooklyn-based scents- Cowboy Grass (my favorite) – a beautiful blend of American sagebrush, white thyme and prairie switchgrass. Irresistible.

AFAR- simply the greatest travel mag out there. A subscription is that gift that keeps on giving.

A colorpop locket for pics of your love or your minis from Anthropologie. You can pick your chain separately.

Butter Yummy Mummy nail paint- no icky toxins, beautiful colors, this one is a particularly flattering neutral.

Une Bobine iphone tripod- great for recipe reading while cooking.

Crosley Songbird Radio- I love the orange, they come in a few other great colors too.  Just cute.

Jayson Home Farmer’s Market Baskets made of glossy bone china. Cuteness in the kitchen.

A mini 1/2 bottle of delicious Gruet rose sparkling wine. Who wouldn’t want to pop this open Christmas morning!

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News last week that Robert Parker will be stepping down as the editor-in-chief of his Wine Advocate and shifting operations to Singapore rocked the wine world- everyone weighing in on what this all means. The end of an era? Have American wine drinkers lost interest in his point system? While the answer is unclear- look, I love a list and a shortcut just as much as the next guy, we are a list-obsessed culture and point systems fit right in with that mentality- it may signal a changing of the guard.

While point systems make wine buying easier for some, they don’t do much toward engaging the drinker. I think this generation of wine drinkers may be more interested in the romance and the story behind the bottle than the “importance” of it. Less interested in showing off a pricey bottle deemed important by a wine lord- you can picture Gordon Gecko proudly gifting a 100 point bottle- these days foodies and wine drinkers alike (witness the Top Chef phenomenon) are interested in the person and the place behind the drink. Who made it? Why does it smell like that? Where exactly does it come? Is it indicative of its terroir? No one really talked like this 10 years ago. Well, ok, I know some did but generally speaking, not really. Now it is not uncommon to hear people speak of terroir-driven wines and wafts of hawthorne and gooseberries, as if anyone outside the UK really knows what a gooseberry smells like. (It always reminds me of Veruca Salt’s “Snozberry, who ever heard of a snozberry?”) While it may border on annoying to some, I like the direction it’s going. To me it signals a genuine interest in wine as opposed to a follow the leader mentality.

Not that I’m going to get all anti-Michel “MICRO-OYGENATE” Rolland on everyone, there is certainly a place in the world for everyone’s palate, but that’s just it. Parker is purported to be an amazingly nice guy with a terrific palate. It just so happens that his palate is, in my opinion and many others’ (see: Alice Fierling’s The Battle for Wine and Love or How I Saved the World from Parkerization)- extreme, favoring high alcohol, big, jammy and manipulated wines. Which is fine. It just always seemed odd that that particular palate represented the market in such an influential way.

While there will always be a place for critics, as they can give something (a bottle of wine, a painting, a movie) its cultural context and sometimes its relevancy, it’s a fine line with the power that they can wield. Case in point: the spike in Bordeaux and cult California Cabernet prices during Parker’s reign. Coming from the theater world, I have seen creative careers demolished with one powerful review. On the upside, critics are said experts and we definitely need those guys around whether we agree with them or not. They taste a lot of wine, go to a lot of gallery and museum exhibitions and see lots of movies. There’s something to be said for that.

Critics aside, for me, Parker takes the mystery out of wine. Having one person judge and rate a wine so systematically seems kind of, well- dull. People want more that that, it seems. They want the experience, the story that they can bring with them when presenting that bottle of wine. Not just that, but the point system seems cold and somehow finite in relation to the artistry that goes into winemaking.

I got into the wine business after reading Neal Rosenthal’s Reflections of a Wine Merchant. I just couldn’t stand it- the stories about his instructions from an Italian winemaker to hike up the sheep-laden hillside and shout out his name for their tasting appointment, the proper way to spit in a gravelly cellar (on an angle toward the corner), the way he swears he can smell a wild hare’s wet fur in his Barolo- all of it is just so romantic and fun. While winemaking is certainly not all fairy tales, wild hares, charming domaines and gooseberries, as it is also the stuff of blood, sweat, tears, financial highs and lows and high stress- either way you cut it, it’s full of drama. And we love drama. It seems we may embracing wine for its story. What fun. So, so long Robert Parker, well at least in the way that we knew you. While I truly admire his tenacity for single-handedly and most impressively carving out his place in the wine world, and while his future may very well be big and bright in Asia, it seems that the tide may be turning and we may be romancing the bottle. Or- maybe he was just tired of that gig, and none of it really means anything. We’ll see…

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Ahh, the West, can’t wait to get out there. We leave this week for 3 weeks of holiday tidings- seriously the most wonderful time of the year- thank you Andy Williams, R.I.P. And it’s my Minis’ 1st Christmas- so special.

We start in Texas with a side trip to Austin to see my brother and sister-in-law, with a stop at Vino Vino’s Oodles of Bubbles Champagne Tasting on Saturday. I haven’t been yet but have heard great things. Bring on the bubbly.

Then we’re off to Santa Fe to spend time with more family and soak in the Southwest scenery. Love that town at Christmas. I am looking forward to hitting Harry’s Roadhouse for some blue corn turkey enchiladas and maybe do some tequila tasting. Maybe we’ll take the twins on a walk down farolito-lit Canyon Road and definitely stroll the Plaza. Jackalope is a must for last minute stocking stuffers. I will definitely do a getaway post, post trip. I’ve been going to Santa Fe for years with my family and hit the jackpot when I married a man whose sister lives there & added bonus: I have an aunt and uncle that live there too. Great reasons to go back, and as often as possible.

Then back to the ranch where we’ll just relax, cook, eat, drink, bake, watch Christmas movies, play charades, watch bad movies (one of my all-time favorite things to do with my brother who is a master at Mystery Science Theater-speak) and REPEAT.  Life doesn’t get much better than that.

Lonesome Dove- Tim Love’s highly rated Fort Worth restaurant. I have not yet been and looking forward to a meal there this year.

William-Sonoma’s Pomegranate Champagne Cocktail recipe. I made this last week for a cocktail party without the Grand Marnier (because I didn’t have any) and it was a big success- my simplified version below- I look forward to making it again, this time with the Grand Marnier. They key to this is, just a few pomegranate seeds, they are sweeter than you think.

Coronaritas- what a great invention! The Exhausted Mom’s recipe here.

Ina Garten’s Fleur de Sel Caramels. I’ve never made caramels and am salty-sweet crazy, so I look forward to attempting the Contessa’s recipe.

The Ref. If you have not seen this movie- netflix it, order it, download it- whatever, IMMEDIATELY. Hands down my favorite Christmas movie EVER. Denis Leary, Kevin Spacey, Judy Davis and Christine Baranski are all brilliant. Seriously- what a crazy cast. The mother from Mary Poppins, Glynis Johns, even makes an evil appearance. So many great one-liners that I find myself repeating year round- “Slipper socks… Medium.”

And of course, Christmas Vacation. The holidays just wouldn’t be complete without the Griswalds. “Squirrel!!!!”.

My mom wants to tackle an easy seafood paella recipe. She’s got a bottle of Domaine de Cabasse Rose de Marie Antoinette that should go great with it. Mas de Daumas Gassac Rose Frizant would be killer with seafood paella too.

I’ll attempt to read 2 books, Where’d You Go, Bernadette and David Nasaw’s new Joe Kennedy biography. This is slightly ambitious as I just finished Gone Girl after 4 months of reading basically, 1/2 a page every night. That’s about all I can stay awake for these days with the twins still not sleeping through the night, so we’ll see how this plan shakes out.

Here’s my easy peasy Pomegranate Champagne Cocktail recipe:

Totally foolproof, this couldn’t be easier:

1. Fill your glass almost 3/4 full with Cremant (I use this as opposed to a champagne as it is very tasty and a lot less expensive)

2. Drop in 5 pomegranate seeds (no more as they infuse more sweetness than you would think)

3. Add a tiny splash of POM juice (because that stuff is potent)

And, Voila- a foolproof Christmas Cocktail (or Chanukah or Kwanzaa or whatever- everyone will like this little diddy)

CIN CIN!

{Image Credits: Farolito-lit by Diane Brumberg, Fleur de Sel Caramels by Gimme Some Oven)

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1. Egly-Ouriet Brut 1er Cru NV Les Vignes de Vrigny, $59. You seriously cannot go wrong with a bottle of this. Anyone in their right mind will adore it. 100% Pinot Meunier, unusual for a champagne. All of Egly-Ouriet’s wines are special. I’ve been holding on to their 2008 Ambonnay Rouge for years now. I’m thinking I’ll give it 6 or 7 more years, if I can stand it.

2. Apato crescent bottle opener $50. Just cool.

3. A giant gold wishbone from Jayson Home, $48. Because it looks great-would be a cool addition to a centerpiece.

4. John Robshaw bone tray, $198. Beautiful and sparkly. Great for the holidays or anydays.

5. Dwell Studio petrified wood cheese plate, $105. Stinky cheese + petrified wood- ok, I buy it- something about those two together really kind of works.

6. Mini martini glasses, $2.50- for that mini negroni she’ll serve as an aperitif. Because really who needs a huge cocktail before dinner. Ok, maybe some do… but I love the idea of a mini before that first glass of wine.

7. I am jonesing for one of these vintage champagne buckets, $65. No one is alike. Jayson Home will email you photos of available buckets when you order.

8. I just love these little chalkboard napkin rings, $15. A great way to personalize your table without too much effort, and reusable to boot.

9. Marble salt + pepper bowls with gold spoons, $108. These are just pretty & cool. Great looking on a snazzy table.

10. I am loving the Verve flute from Crate & Barrel, $12.95. Champagne glasses are always so delicate, which I like, but it’s nice to switch it up and give some heft to those bubbles.

11. Tear-off gold-flecked confetti placemats for the no-fuss hostess, $25 for a set of 50.

12. Another badass bottle opener, $50.

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It’s that time of year again in Alexandria when Scots and Scotophiles alike gather to march down King Street in their finest Highland dress- kilts, tartans and ghillies galore. Spectators come out in droves and bring their adorable pooches adorned in their Scottish duds to trot around Old Town. Here is an image of the bagpipers on break, from last weekend’s walk. We almost missed it (I still haven’t quite gotten the hang of a quick and easy departure with the twins) but caught the tail end. It was almost more fun- just the sight of all the kilt-clad folks just hanging around and chatting.

Here are a few peat-intensive pairings for this festive Scottish walk.

1. Elements of Islay Ar2, – this one is hard to find, $80. Spicy, smoky and sweet- this single malt beauty sings with butterscotch and citrus notes in addition to the notes above. Not too peat heavy but enough to place it from Islay. Love the bottle- this would make a great gift.

2. Bruichladdich Octomore 5.1, $174.99. A cult peat-heavy scotch. You’ll either love it or hate it. For some old school whisky connoisseurs, this style of whisky making is just not kosher. It’s almost experimental- the ppm (parts per million of peat phenol) dialed up to 169- the highest concentration in a known whisky. Others are gaga over it, making it sought after and expensive. The flavors and notes attack and almost obliterate your palate. A single malt for a Parker palate.

3. Lagavulin 16 year old single malt scotch, from the 182 year old whisky house- $69. Again, heavy on the peat-smoke, this one is a delight. It gives you a bit of everything. Complex and rounded with a long and beautiful finish. Sweet yet smokey- a great combo. Kind of the perfect peat-heavy whisky.

All 3 smoky single malts are very distinct. If you like whisky but haven’t yet tried a peaty delight from Islay, one of these should peak your inner peat geek.

[Image Credit: Smoke Roll-Up by Eddie Mayda]

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