Drink of the Moment, Birthday Edition: Mint Chocolate Chip Cake

Batter up!  Next in this special birthday edition series 'Drink of the Moment' is chocolate-y, mint-y, and so so yummy.  For the love of all things good, you are going to want to try this cake-tail.  It has been my birthday boy's favorite so far.  If you've missed the first two, you can find them by clicking here, and here.  :) 

Mint Chocolate Chip Cake-tail

2oz Three Olives Cake Vodka

1oz Chocolate Liquer

1oz Creme de Menthe

Chocolate Whip-a-hol

Chocolate shavings, sprinkles, etc

Place first three ingredients in a shaker over ice.  Shake vigorously, and pour into glass.  Top with whipped cream or whip-a-hol, and garnish with chocolate, or use crushed cookies to rim the glass prior to filling.  Enjoy!


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Drink of the Moment, Birthday Edition: Cherry Cheesecake

Let the birthday cake-tails continue!  Second in the lineup packs the punch of a cheesecake without all of the calories and just as much (if not more) of the fun.

Cherry Cheesecake-tail

1oz Three Olives Cake vodka

1oz Stoli Wild Cherri

Splash of Butterscotch Schnapps

1/2oz White Cranberry Juice

Maraschino Cherries

Whipped Topping

Place first four ingredients in a shaker filled with ice.  Shake vigorously, and pour into glass.  Place maraschino cherry or two into glass and top with whipped topping.  Dig in!

If you like what you see, let me know!  Also, don't forget to click the 'Join This Site' button at the top right of the homepage to make sure you have a drink for every moment.

Drink of the Moment, Birthday Edition: Jay's Birthday Chocolate Cake Martini

Yay, it's Jay's birthday this week(end), and that means cake for everyone!  There isn't much that I like more than cake, though a good soup runs a close second.  Cake and soup, soup and cake ... it makes me smile just thinking about them.  Not everyone has the same affinity for a hearty slice of cake though, even if it is their birthday.  It is in this area that I suppose Jay and I balance each other out a bit- otherwise I might have a fairly poor diet going on.  So, what do you do when the birthday boy isn't anxiously looking forward to acquiring a whole cake of his own?  Well, I say you build an idea on a tried and true favorite and turn that into the best hybrid birthday cake a guy (or girl) could ask for.  In the past I have used things like stacked brownies, etc, but this year it's all about the birthday cake cocktail.  I know Jay is already a convert, and I don't think any guests joining in the celebration will miss the traditional cake one bit either.  Even better, since there isn't just one big cake to share, everyone gets a say in what kind of cake they want to drink and I'll be sharing a few of varieties with you over the next day or so.  On a side note, all of these are made with Three Olives 'Cake' vodka, which I highly recommend acquiring if it's not already in your arsenal.  Seriously, you are missing out on life if you don't try it.  So on that note, cake for everyone - starting with Jay's first chocolate cake martini.  In his own words, after finishing in record speed  ... "It's tasty!"

Chocolate Cake Martini

1oz Three Olive Cake Vodka

1oz Godiva Chocolate liquer

1oz Bailey's

German Chocolate Whipahol

Godiva Hot Chocolate Mix

Place first 3 ingredients in shaker filled with ice.  Shake vigorously.  Pour into glass, and top with German Chocolate Whipahol; sprinkle with hot chocolate mix. Enjoy!

If you like what you see, let me know!  Also, don't forget to click the 'Join This Site' button at the top right of the homepage to make sure you have a drink for every moment.

Drink of the Moment: Jameson in June

Look at this - TWO posts in the same week!  It's a flippin miracle, and it's been waaay too long since my last 'Drink of the Moment'.  Last weekend being Jay's birthday weekend, I mixed up a lovely little sumthin sumthin with his favorite joy juice, Jameson.  So, on that note, I bring you the very special treat of what I'm calling 'Jameson in June'.


Now I am  not typically a huge Jameson fan unless I'm in the throws of a severe winter cold (when it does wonders mixed with warm lemon juice and honey), but I know a LOT of Jameson fans who don't need a reason or a mixer to enjoy a nip every now and then.  This little concoction is by no means a replacement for the slow sipping of a whiskey on the rocks or the late night shot (or two), but it is a surprisingly refreshing and tasty alternative for those who were already fans looking to mix it up a little, AND those of us who were just waiting for a reason to become a fan.  To top if off, it's super easy to make.

Jameson in June

                                                                                  

2 oz Jameson Irish Whiskey

4 oz Apple Juice (I used Simply Apple)                  

Splash of St Germaine (or elderflower cordial)

Splash of lemon juice

Pour all ingredients into glass, stir, and serve over ice.  Garnish with mint sprig.

The best part about this little gem, is that it's already gotten me thinking about what I'm going to do with it for a winter version.  Jameson in January anyone?  Until then, what are you waiting for?  Go ahead and get your new June juice on!

Favorite Five: March

March certainly has been a packed month, and always seems like such a transitional time of year.  This being the last day of the month, I thought I'd do a little recap of my favorite five things about the past 31 days.

1. BIRTHDAYS! - Yep, March has a LOT of them from my perspective (including my own).  I think there has been one for almost every day this month; or at least every other day.  It may entail getting another year older, but this, of course, opens up a lot of opportunity for cake and parties - two of my favorite things.  Even more importantly, it provides an extra reason to reach out to some of the folks that are most important to us and show them just how much we appreciate them.  Though I am under oath to keep most of my party pictures private, you can catch a few birthday action shots in my 'Springing Forward' piece.

2. SPRING - Though it may not be all flowers and sunshine yet in your neck of the woods (it was sleeting at my humble abode yesterday, suck), spring is definitely here -- at least according to the calendar it is.  Though there have been some 'sneak previews' of the warm weather speckled throughout the month already, just knowing that there is more on the way helps lift my spirits and raise my hopes just that much more.

3. NEW BLOGS - Since I'm still kind of new to this myself, I am thoroughly enjoying discovering and learning from a bunch of new blogs.  It can be kind of like finding a nice piece of candy during an otherwise blah day.  It really is amazing how inspiring, supportive, exciting, and slightly indulgent it is to step outside of your own world and see into someone else's through their eyes - talk about gaining perspective!  I feel like this will not only help me improve my own blog, but also enrich my life in a new and interesting way.  It has also been super exciting this month to have inspired a new blogger  and dear friend to take up the type and find her online voice.  If you haven't already visited her blog through the link on my page, take a second to jump on over to 'Napolejen' and show her some support in her new undertaking!      

4. WYE OAK - There is some music that you listen to when and because it fits your fleeting fancies, and there is some music that is your meat and potato music.  For me, this is a straight serving of some of the choicest cuts of meat and creamiest potatoes I've heard in a little while.  Maybe it's because I'm a so-called 'child of the nineties', but this entire album makes me feel like I'm wrapped in a warm, comfortable blanket.  Listening to the sounds and the vocals affect me almost like a wonderfully distinctive scent from somewhere in the past that hasn't been experienced for a while, and then when it is, you're right back to remembering everything about it that you've been missing.  That doesn't happen very often, and I wouldn't necessarily want it to, but when it does it makes for something amazing.  


Here's a clip of the title track off of the album.  Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

5. VCU BASKETBALL, FINAL FOUR BABY! - Admittedly, I am not really a sports fan.  In fact, I have never really been a sports fan.  I went to a university that doesn't even have a football team (and most students prided themselves on that), and where not only was school spirit underwhelming; it was virtually nonexistent.  Now all of a sudden, I have found myself not only watching a game, but jumping up out of my seat and yelling at the tv with more school spirit than I think I've had in my entire life.  Even more, the ENTIRE CITY is energetically rallying behind the players with all of their newly found VCU school spirit and rooting for this team that comes from what was traditionally an art school.  (I never would have thought I would see anything like the clip below from the 'Anti-University').  The critics said they couldn't do it, the commentators say they shouldn't be anywhere near where they are now, and quite honestly I'm not sure how many alumni actually cared about any of it ... until now.   And THAT my dear friends, is why VCU, my alma mater, making it to the Final Four this coming Saturday has been one of my favorite things this month.  This underestimated team has not only worked to prove themselves to their school (which may have been the largest feat), they have proven 'the impossible' to the world, and have somehow inspired me to know not only what time they are playing on Saturday (6:09pm against Butler), but to actually purchase a school shirt.  I don't think I even had one of those once upon a time when I was a student.  I honestly can't think of anything this month that has been more personally inspiring than that, and I LOVE it!  GO RAMS!!

Springing Forward

Wow, this past weekend brought a lot of activity!  Saturday started out nice and slow, and then picked up quickly and didn't seem to stop.  Jay and I hosted a surprise birthday party for my brother Saturday evening, so the day was filled with running errands for party accessories and groceries, and the evening was filled with cocktails, schnitzel, and cake - oh, and of course, Whipahol, the new birthday party favorite.  All of this had to be fit into a 'shortened' evening thanks to daylight savings time, so even though it did run long it was technically an hour shorter than it seemed on the clock (though it certainly did not feel that way Sunday morning).

It was only his 32nd, but we accidentally picked up the wrong candles.  Hope 33 is a good year since he'll celebrate it twice now.

Hats?

The verdict?  Whipahol is better than cake!

Even Olivia got in on the action.

After a great evening/morning, the first day of daylight savings time brought not only an extra hour of sunlight, but here, it was a gorgeously warm extra hour of sunlight!  Though I was still a touch fatigued from being a rock star the night before, the spring preview that was all around was enough to get me up off the couch and outside.  The sunny, seventy-five degree day had me, the poster child for having cold shoulders (even in the tropics), outside in a tank top sans any type of sweater or shrug - it was amazing!  Even more amazing were all of the flowers that have begun to bloom along with the extra sunshine. A neighbor's tree was already in full bloom, and I would be cheating you if I didn't share the stunning pictures.  A minimum of 5 people stopped in front of it just to admire it in the short time I was outside.

Isn't that gorgeous?  It really makes me look forward to our Lady Banks rose blooming over the next few weeks and everything around us coming back to life; gotta relish in the small things sometimes.  Anyway, I don't think I could have asked for anything more inspiring this past weekend than good times, warm weather, AND an extra hour of daylight ... though, having a freshly groomed yard certainly doesn't hurt.  Thankfully, springing forward this year really turned out to be so much more than just a change in the clocks.  

Cleaned up and ready to grow again!