Booze reviews...#7, #8 and yes #9

(no it's not for a fruit salad - fresh ingredients for delicious cocktails!)

The week ended on a very HIGH note. It's great to know that I was going to be meeting with my girls later that night for a few cocktails after a very stressful work week. I was even more excited to meet at my favorite bar in the Financial District, SF - Rickhouse. I love hanging out at this place - it's got a bit of a Speakeasy feel and you are surrounded by whisky barrels and endless whisky, scotch and other spirits you are probably unfamiliar with all around you.

YES, aside from Sephora, this place makes me happy!

First drink of the night:

The Kentucky Buck
A bourbon cocktail also contains fresh muddled strawberries, fresh lemon juice, angostura bitters and topped with ginger beer. This may be my favorite cocktail - I need to learn to make this on my own. It's a great balance between sweet, tart and smooth bourbon.


My second drink is this below:

I really wished I heard what the bartenders said when he told me what this was. I was looking to keep in the bourbon theme and when asked if I wanted to keep it sweet and fruity or something like a classic Manhattan and I opted for the Manhattan theme. That's another cocktail I just can't say no to. So this is just like a Manhattan but I felt like I tasted more of an orange hint to it. I don't know if it was a bitter that I was not familiar thrown into it or if the giant orange zest had anything to do with it but that's what elevated this Manhattan like cocktail. The GIANT ice cube helped! I think I'll just stick to a regular Maker's Manhattan.

This was my friends drink:

The Berry Bramble - I believe you can either choose gin or vodka and she chose vodka I believe. Doesn't it look like Hawaiian shaved ice but a fancier and alcoholic version of it?

This was my last and I was not disappointed by it one bit. Again, under the bartender's recommendation this is The High Plains Drifter (named after the Clint Eastwood western, 1973). Don't let the feminine glass fool you. This is a Rye Whisky cocktail. Other than rye - it has angostura bitters, an Italian bitter, sarsaparilla and grapefruit juice. I would definitely drink it again and I was pleased to know that the very attractive blonde bartender in front of me created it. I kept giving her accolades because I was that proud of her!

Please don't make me choose between this and my Kentucky Buck!! We ended the night at another bar/club, John Collins. I cut myself off and helped myself to a Korean taco truck - mediocre at best but at least it sopped up some of the alcohol.

It was a great night with my girlfriends and I didn't go to bed till almost 3am. The Mimosa at Brunch helped me get things moving along on Saturday!

National Wear Red Day

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

Here in the States it is National Wear Red Day to kick off American Heart awareness month. In America, **Heart disease is the number one killer in Women ages 20 and over, killing one woman every minute**

I'm very proud to work for a company that is supporting the Go Red for Women campaign by taking $5 donations from their employees to wear jeans today (yes, my company does not believe in denim Fridays) and in exchange the money is donated to the Go Red for Women campaign.

I even remembered to wear my favorite red striped top and red lipstick to really support the cause.

(Lipstick - Ultra/Dolce and Gabbana)

Sorry if I look a little jaundiced here - stupid fluorescent overhead lighting! It's a good thing I am wearing red lipstick.

I haven't taken my health seriously until I became a Mom. I try to remember to wear sunscreen beneath moisturizers with SPF, I (try to) eat better, I exercise more and I have been more responsible seeing my physician, ob-gyn, dermatologist, optician and yes, dentist on a regular basis. Tedious and sometimes painful but I am willing to do what it takes to make sure I am here for my family.

Because I don't want to even think about missing out on activities like this with my little cupcake:

For more information:
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/

The cute little pin I received for donating.

Also, for all you Macy's shoppers - receive 20% off (including current sale items) from Feb 2-6. Macy's is a sponsor of AHA/Go Red For Women movement.

Easy on the Eyes....Thursday, 2/3

This is the color scheme I turn to when I'm pressed for time...a variation on golds, taupe, champagne and anything in between. Because careful and precise blending is the last thing I want to do when I'm running late, I usually rely on 2 brushes and my finger to apply my eyeshadow.

Products used:
Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner - Birthday Suit (metallic antique gold) - Lid
Burberry Eyeshadow - Rosewood (light icy taupe) - Crease
MAC Eyeshadow - Arena - brow bone highlight (golden peach)
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide Pencil - Underground (metallic taupe)
MAC - Haute and Naughty mascara - Black (and lots of it)




I think I love the Benefit creaseless cream shadows over my MAC Paint Pots because I get more pigment from the first swipe. I really don't know why I only own two of these! Sometimes you have to build up a color intensity when using the Paint Pots and usually it doesn't look so pretty if you have too many layers on your lid. I also like to use my finger and just glide this on my lid. Also, I am always reaching for this UD eyeliner for my water lines. White eyeliner pencils don't really work for my NC 42 skin tone and luckily my little sister introduced this color to me. This is what she uses to line her water lines and I have been doing that ever since - well when I can remember to do so.

I think it took longer to find these colors in my stash than it did to apply it. It's really an easy look and my favorite neutral themed eye. It goes well with dark lips as it does with a glossy nude. If I'm doing the glossy nude lip with this eye look then I'll go a bit colorful with the blush just so I don't look washed out.

I am also using the jumbo sized Wonder Woman MSF in Golden Lariat (Review coming soon!!) and MAC Temper Tantra Kissable Lipcolour (my favorite new MAC product by far). 

This mug also helps put a smile on my sleepy face in the mornings. 

Sade Lover's Rock

An early Valentine to my husband, the most patient and accepting man I have ever met. I cannot thank God or powers above enough for you in my life.

Early Spring...

The weather here in SF flip flops - sunny skies in the 60's one day and back to clouds and cold temperatures. Sometimes that just in one day. I won't go into much details since I know the weather thermometer drops severely low over in the East and beyond - that would just be cruel of me. But I'm wondering if we are all over Winter and are eager to bust out our lighter colors out of the closet and bottom of our makeup pouches.

I was in a particular pink lip mood this morning and decided to pull out one of the few MAC lipsticks I do own and love, Radicchio from last Spring's season collection - Spring Colour Forecast. Remember that Ripe Peach Ombre blush frenzy? I just got over the fact that I never was able to purchase one even though I went to every MAC counter I could. That's when I really started to hate the phrase, limited edition. I also discovered that even though you do a pre-buy with a MAC S.A. you are still not guaranteed to have it. I think that's just poor store demand planning, don't you?

Don't mind that last sentence, that's just work pouring into my real life.

Radicchio is a cool, pink-plum shade that I never thought I would wear. Plus, my given history with MAC lipsticks I really didn't give it much thought. This particular shade is a lustre finish so it has a lot of slip and not a whole lot of pigment unless you really get in there and lay it on your lips. This however, didn't require much effort to get pigment to show up on my lips. I paired it with Soar lip pencil, a mid-tone pink brown.



I like the results. Soar warms this up a bit giving me a work friendly pink lip. 

I finish by pairing this with a brown lined eyes (D&G #10) and rose with gold shimmer blush (NARS Oasis) and a touch of white beige highlighter (MAC Chez Chez Lame).

I also chose to wear my favorite white Zara dress that I picked up in Barcelona. I should probably avoid drinking coffee and tomato bisque soup.

But because I'm that much of a klutz I probably shouldn't eat the rest of the day!