Tag Archives: friends

Lake favorites

Posted on August 17, 2011 by msshoescocktails | Leave a comment

Okay, okay, Ms. S&C promises this will be the last of the lake-related blog posts, Twitter posts, and Facebook posts. But, she couldn’t wrap up this year’s lake trip without sharing more of her favorites.

Drink favorites
Bloody Mary’s, Grapefruit Crushes, Pimm’s, Champagne cocktails, red wine, beer, beer, and more beer: there are lots of drink options at the lake. (You saw this picture from last year, right?) Thankfully, Ms. S&C is not charge of them all. Last year, a friend (we’ll call her Mrs. Smith) introduced us to Banks Rum and the Five Island Watermelon Punch. This year, Mrs. Smith, prepared for us a traditional Bajan Rum Punch. We didn’t keep score, but it was likely this year’s winning cocktail.

When Ms. S&C inquired about the recipe, Mrs. Smith shared the traditional (and delightful) saying to help one remember:

One of Sour
Two of Sweet
Three of Strong
And Four of Weak

It translates into this:

1 cup lime juice
2 cups simple syrup
3 cups white rum, preferably Banks Five Island White Rum
2 cups of ice and 2 cups of cold water

Directions:

Stir all ingredients together in a large pitcher. To serve: fill a highball glass with three or four additional ice cubes. Garnish with a splash of Angostura bitters and a dash of grated nutmeg.

I want to think it is the perfect balance of sweet and sour that makes this a winning cocktail, but I really think it is the bitters and fresh grated nutmeg.

Favorite moments
Like the numerous drink selections, a lot of games are played at the lake: bocce, horseshoes, Scrabble, Mexican train dominoes, Left-Center-Right. But, it was during a competitive guys-against-girls game of Celebrity where a Coach Taylor impression (from Mr. Smith, coincidentally) will go down as my favorite charade moment of all time. With one turn of a hat, breaths were taken away. #fullhearts

Ms. S&C would consider almost any yoga session by the water a perfect moment, but her favorite yoga moment came on a rainy day — with first day jitters behind her — when she led an extensive indoor session that turned into a truly blessed experience. #namastebitches

Playlist favorites
Where there are booze and games, there is music. We marked this occasion with a collaborative playlist, in which everyone submits two song requests. Below you’ll find the complete list of songs, with notations for those currently in heavy rotation in the S&C house.

Mercy — Duffy
When Did Your Heart Go Missing? — Rooney
Birthday — Kings of Leon
Little Lion Man — Mumford & Sons
Loving Cup — The Rolling Stones
Jingling Baby — LL Cool J
Price Tag (feat. B.o.B) — Jessie J
Can I Kick It? — A Tribe Called Quest
Walk On The Wild Side — Lou Reed
Toob Amplifier — The Presidents of the United States of America
Rolling in the Deep — ADELE
Give Me Everything (feat. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer) — Pitbull
Otis (feat. Otis Redding) — JAY Z & Kanye West
My Mistakes — Eleanor Friedberger
Holdin On to Black Metal — My Morning Jacket
Hold You Back — JC Brooks & The Uptown Sounds
Metal Firecracker — Lucinda Williams
Get Me Bodied — Beyoncé
Look At Me Now (feat. Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes) — Chris Brown
Am I the Only One — Dierks Bentley
Cheers (Drink to That) — Rihanna
S&M — Rihanna
Baby Got Back — Sir Mix-A-Lot
So Lucky (Eurovision 2011 – Moldova) — Zdob Si Zdub
Your Touch — The Black Keys
Evacuate the Dancefloor (Radio Edit) — Cascada
Everybody Gets to Go to the Moon (Live) — The Three Degrees
True Loves — Hooray For Earth
That Way (feat. Jeremih & Rick Ross) — Wale
On My Level (feat. Too $hort) — Wiz Khalifa
I Gotta Get Drunk — Redbird
Rehab — Amy Winehouse

Until next year!

posted by Ms. S&C

History repeats itself

Posted on January 7, 2011 by msshoescocktails | 1 comment

This time last year (January 8, 2010, to be exact), Ms. S&C wrote this blog post. It started with:

Ms. S&C has been busy, busy, busy getting ready for her biggest work event of the year. It is one of those all-consuming — yet somewhat exhilarating — work periods. I’m reminding myself about work things in the shower. I’m thinking about new ideas walking home from work. I’m working late. And working more means blogging less.

It closed with:

P.S. It is New York City I’m going to. Even for work, even when it’s cold, New York City is New York City, and it’s something to look forward to.

Um, so, this is *exactly* what Ms. S&C would write today, one year later. It is that time of year when things (meaning work-work things) take over.

But, because Ms. S&C is headed to New York City, and because she has the greatest friends on earth, she is reminded that she should take some time to enjoy herself. By doing what exactly? Trying a few new cocktails.

Proof that she has the greatest friends on earth? Proof that she is going to enjoy herself? She was sent this email today:

Hi! I know you must be prepping like crazy for your conference so I thought you’d appreciate this: Frank Bruni’s top 3 cocktails from last year, and where to get them. Seems like you will have earned one (or three) of these by the time you’re there this month. Let me know how they are if you get to try them. xo

Ms. S&C responded and cc’ed another friend, who lives in NYC, asking her friend if she will go to *one* of these places with her.

Her friend’s response:

Um, how do I even take that question seriously? Let’s meet at ma peche on Monday after work (it is right near my office), then we’ll go down to The John Dory for dinner after that. Tomorrow night we’ll have a night cap in the east village at Joe Doe (or maybe even eat there)?

If you’re interested in keeping up with Ms. S&C’s adventures, follow her on Twitter or join the S&C Facebook page. Things happen over there a little more regularly these days.

PS) History does repeat itself. Ms. S&C bought another pair of black flats for the occasion. And, fashionable flats are still hard to come by.

posted by Ms. S&C

1 Comment

Posted in cocktail-related

Tagged friends, good cocktails in NYC

Overheard at the lake

Posted on August 25, 2010 by msshoescocktails | 3 comments

For some reason there are a few little snipets of dialogue, from the recent lake trip, that really tickled Ms. S&C. Maybe because they are centered around booze, maybe because she could title them both: “Make it two,” or maybe because she thinks her friends are funny (and funnier after a few drinks).

One afternoon, Ms. S&C and a few others toured Seneca Lake on a sailboat (a 24 footer, I believe). Upon arriving back at the dock, here’s what she overheard:

MGC (who had been sitting on the dock drinking beer with others while we were sailing) says to CA (who is about to exit the sailboat): “Was it a two Strongbow boat ride?”

CA: “It would have been if I had two Strongbows.”

(What’s really funny about this is: Strongbow ciders are a favorite of the guys at the lake. That’s who we buy them for.)

Here’s one reason the lake is Ms. S&C’s favorite summer weekend.
Another reason? Her friends are funny.

Then, one evening, at least 12 of us (almost the entire group at the lake), were sitting around a table playing the game Left-Center-Right. Those not playing were standing around watching. (If you’ve ever played the game, you know it can get kind-of intense towards the end, when you’re only down to two or three players, and there’s a large stack of dollar bills to be won.)

JS (who ultimately wins the game) says: “Is there anyone standing who knows how to make a Dark ‘n’ Stormy?”

JM perks up and adds: “Is there anyone standing who knows how to make *two* Dark ‘n’ Stormies?”

(One reason JS asked this question was because we had a conversation about how it is sometimes difficult to find people who know how to make a real Dark ‘n’ Stormy. Ms. S&C, of course, knows how to make real Dark ‘n’ Stormies — but she was playing the game.)

Ms. S&C’s has a three-part series covering her favorite weekend of the year. Part one: Sights of the lake. Part two: Overheard at the lake. Part three: Drinks at the lake.

posted by Ms. S&C

3 Comments

Posted in cocktail-related

Tagged drinking during the day, friends, I'm funnier when I drink, lake trip