favorites of 2011.

If you know this guy, then it's a spoiler alert for my album of year.

So it's a little past that time of year where everyone (and their mother) put out their "best of 2011" lists. Well in true fashion... I'm late to that game.

Let me just say, I recognize that my taste is sort of all over the place and that at the end of the day I'm just another internet music fiend with an opinion. So to clarify, I'd like to call this list my "Favorites of 2011" and not the, "Best of 2011."

I'll leave the "best of" lists to everyone else. This list merely hits the highlights of albums that I listened to in excess, found surprisingly awesome, and still can't get enough of.

I'm going to post a playlist of favorite songs, later this week so stay tuned...
 

lucky charms.

On a recent trip to NYC, I finally got to visit Bookmarc - Marc Jacob's concept book store.

I've sort of been looking forward to going since I heard about it a year or so ago. In a nutshell it's all of my favorite things- a book store filled with all things fashion, photography, music, lifestyle and pop culture. Thank you Marc, for filling a void I didn't know was there.

It was as wonderful as I'd imagined it to be. Seriously, I could spend hours in there - and it's the size of a shoebox.

Anywho - point being, I felt the need for a souvenir. I couldn't lug a coffee table book home in my suitcase.  (Let's be real, that would take up too much space for the other shopping I was doing, and this was just the first stop.)

So I bought myself this:


















Completely, unnecessary. Total impulse buy. Totally only $7. I'll be honest, I thought I'd only wear it every once and awhile, but it was a cute little something from Bookmarc, so I got it.

Flash forward to present, two months later. I can't take the thing off, AND I'm wishing I'd bought them for all of my friends. (and one day I will friends! Just wait!)

Maybe this is ridiculous, but whatever... I think I unintentionally bought myself a little charm that's come to be a great reminder of my trip, but also a little piece of hope for all my goals large and small this year. I'm just hoping my wishbone can be my lucky charm - for good luck, adventures, and new ventures this year.

I'm not sure you can pick your own lucky charm-- But I'm definitely going to try.

the making of a french 75.

So.

My blog's namesake. What is it you ask?

Simply put -  it's the tastiest, kick in the pants, cocktail around. At least as far as I'm concerned...

It gets its name from a French field gun, yielding very much the same punch, due to the powers of the combined liquors.

Here's what you need:
- Gin
- Fresh lemon juice (it really makes all the difference)
- Simple syrup ( it's really easy and cheap to make)
- Cold Champagne (I recommend Brut... it's not sweet and has the best flavor in my opinion)

( The Psychopedia)

- The instructions above are pretty accurate (though I made some modifications)... and I thought their diagram was adorable.

Jess' French 75 Recipe - 

1. Fill up a shaker with ice.
2. Add 1.5 oz of Gin
           1 tbs. (0.5 oz) of Simple Syrup
            1.5 oz of lemon juice
3. Shake. Shake. Shake.
4. Pour into a Champagne glass, and top with 4 oz of chilled Champagne. (You can use a collins glass, but who doesn't prefer a champagne flute or coupe?)
5. No garnish necessary - Unless you feel fancy. Then garnish with a lemon twist.

Voila! Cocktails are served!

For my future bar... I'm lusting after these bad boys:

Banded Champagne Coupe - West Elm

the french 75.

Oh hello!

While the goal was for this new little venture to start sometime in December, the holidays (and ahem procrastinating) has taken it's toll, and suddently it's January.

Seems fitting that as we all start with resolutions for the new year, I start fresh with this new blog. I won't call it a resolution, just a new outlet for the adventures of this year. So hello 2012. Hello, new year, new beginnings, etc. etc.

Hello, new blog.

The goal? Musings on all of my favorite things... music, food, photography, crafting, fashiony things, and likely sparkles and champagne (that's where the french 75 comes in... more on that later)


Sooooo, welcome to my trials, adventures, and insights as this new year unfolds.