Tag Archives: S&C music

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

Three things: campari, anklets, new indie-rock

Posted on July 21, 2011 by msshoescocktails | Leave a comment

Ms. S&C would like to thank the ladies over at DIY Del Ray for the recent blogging inspiration. (I hope to channel their home renovation and decorating inspiration as well. But, I’m a little held back by the do-it-yourself concept, as I’m in a do-it-for-me place at the moment.) However, seeing their regular sharing of cool ideas and things they like reminds me: I like to share things too!

So, here are three things that Ms. S&C really likes right now:

(1) Campari

Back when I started this blog (July 2008!), the bitterness of Campari was like nothing I had ever tasted. Now, my refined — or slightly numbed — palate craves the herbal sensation. My cocktail-writing idol (and now my New York Times Op-Ed writing idol), Frank Bruni, shared his experience with the Negroni Sbagliato awhile back. After trying it out myself, I can attest to it being a pretty damn good, fizzy and refreshing, “summertime negroni.” The Campari Cup (a love child of the Pimm’s Cup) is also good use of this aperitif.

(2) Anklets

I’ve noticed an anklet on one of my yoga instructors (yes, there is more than one yoga instructor in my life — and yes, I have crushes on all of them). Then, I came across this anklet on Garance Dore’s blog. My recent captivation of anklets also reminds me of the scene in “Love in the Afternoon,” when the spunky Audrey Hepburn wears an anklet to make the womanizing Gary Cooper jealous (of course it works). All this leads me to say: I want an anklet for the summer sandal wearing! Help me find a cool one. Please!

(3) New Music

I’ve been in a music rut lately. I haven’t been excited by much of anything (anything *new* that is — but, I do have a new-found love for Fleetwood Mac). Just as I’m lamenting this rut, the new Bon Iver album comes along. I am so in love — and it has been put on such heavy rotation — that I had to purchase the first album, “For Emma, Forever Ago,” too. Both albums are great to listen to, but the new album is particularly dreamy. Fave songs include: “Towers” and “Perth.”

Naturally, when it rains, it pours. I’ve also been recently introduced to Eleanor Friedberger’s (of Fiery Furnaces fame) debut album, and I’m pretty giddy about: “My Mistakes,” “Heaven,” and “I Won’t Fall Apart on You Tonight.” Indie-pop at its best. I swear.

Lastly, The Feelies’ “Here Before” — their first album in twenty years — is certainly worth a listen. Or ten.

The three things blog post gives Ms. S&C an opportunity to share a combination of shoe and cocktail-related finds, along with something else. That something else usually includes music or yoga.

posted by Ms. S&C

Three (farm-related) things

Posted on October 21, 2010 by msshoescocktails | 1 comment

Three quick things. All farm-related (sort-of).

(photo from The Sartorialist)

(1) Farmer’s Market Chic

Ms. S&C loves this farmer’s-market-chic-look. Perfect blue eyes (that match the shirt, that match the apron). Perfect use of the tie. Perfect hat. Perfect coat. Perfect rugged pants. Perfect weathered boots.

(photo from little brown pen)

(2) Applejack

Hello, fall produce. Ms. S&C is glad you’re here. Ms. S&C is also glad she recently came across Applejack (apple brandy) in her bookclub book “The Group.” Now, she must use it in a punch, in an Old-Fashioned, in something! (Especially if that something includes apple cider, fresh sliced apples, and maybe a dash of maple syrup?)

(3) Country-rock

The Flying Burrito Brothers: the Gram Parsons’ band that made country music cool — the band that made 70’s rock laid back — is in heavy rotation in the S&C household. Ms. S&C thinks you should listen to the “Hot Burritos” anthology album, particularly songs: Dark End of The Street, Hot Burrito #1, The Train Song, Image of Me, and their cover of Wild Horses.

The three things blog posts give Ms. S&C an opportunity to share a combination of shoe and cocktail-related finds, along with something else. That something else usually includes music or yoga.

posted by Ms. S&C

1 Comment

Posted in apple brandy, cocktail-related, fall/winter cocktails, music, three things

Tagged apples, fall 2010, S&C music, S&C three things

Get ready, waves coming

Posted on August 13, 2010 by msshoescocktails | Leave a comment

As Ms. S&C mentioned in her recent Rehoboth Beach update, the “crush” may be the perfect beach cocktail, which means it may be the perfect summer cocktail. It is certainly a damn refreshing cocktail. And, it is a cocktail that is very easy to make. Did you hear that? It is a cocktail that is super easy to make. Make one. This weekend.

There’s one month before Labor Day, so Ms. S&C begs you — pleads with you — to make a “crush” before summer is over. Did I mention how it is so easy? And, how it tastes like a summer drink is supposed to? If there is one thing Ms. S&C can give you this summer, it is the Grapefruit Crush.

Ms. S&C’s favorite cocktail of this hot, hot summer?
The grapefruit crush.

Grapefruit Crush
(recipe adapted from Going Out Gurus, and what they claim to be a proper and traditional recipe)

Ingredients:

2 oz. Grapefruit Juice — preferably ruby red, and the fresher, the better
1 oz. Vodka — the original recipe calls for grapefruit-infused vodka (i.e. Absolut Ruby Red)
Lemon Lime Soda — Ms. S&C also plans to try it with Fresca
Lime wedges — for garnish

Directions:

Fill a collins-style glass with ice. Combine one part vodka, two parts juice, and top with soda. Stir. Garnish with lime wedge.

———————————–

When you’re beachside or poolside or lakeside — or, wishing you were beachside, poolside, lakeside — here’s a playlist that can help set the mood.

Some of the songs are on the playlist because of name alone. Beach House is one example (I’m glad the band name works because I’m totally digging their Teen Dream album right now). The Velvet Underground’s “Ocean” is another (I think the song is about heroin?). Some of the songs are, naturally, from surfer bands: The Beach Boys and Jan & Dean. And bands who are inspired by surfer bands: The Morning Benders, Caribou, and Surfer Blood. (And, good god, it was hard not to pick most of the songs from The Beach Boys’ Surfer Hits album, or from Pet Sounds, which is actually my fave.)

Perhaps Ms. S&C was destined to surf because all these songs come directly from the S&C music library. They’ve just been waiting to be compiled on a playlist, and to be heard with a grapefruit crush in hand.

Surf Songs

Swim – Surfer Blood
The Tide is High – Blondie
Surfer Girl – The Beach Boys
Charlie Don’t Surf – The Clash (this may be my favorite on the playlist)
Ripple – Janes Addiction (yes, the Grateful Dead cover)
Surf City – Jan & Dean
Ocean Breathes Salty – Modest Mouse
Ocean – The Velvet Underground
Redondo Beach – Patti Smith
Wipe Out – The Beach Boys
Inaudible Melodies – Jack Johnson (or any Jack Johnson for that matter — he’s a Hawaiian surfer for crying out loud)
All Day Day Light – The Morning Benders
Melody Day – Caribou
Zebra – Beach House
Tides of Time – The Soft Pack
Surfin’ Safari – The Beach Boys
Sea of Love – Cat Power
Wouldn’t It Be Nice – The Beach Boys

Ms. S&C would like to know: Do you have favorite songs that remind you of the beach? What songs should be added to the surfing playlist? Please share!

posted by Ms. S&C

Blood, sweat, and beers

Posted on July 27, 2010 by msshoescocktails | 1 comment

A little over a year ago, Ms. S&C ran her first 5K. Since then, she’s run in ten 5Ks and one 5-miler. Her 11th race was this past weekend, when she ran the Crystal City Twilighter. It was sweltering, it was tough, but it was also so freakin’ gratifying. I don’t know if it was because of the cheering crowd, because other friends ran in the race, or because it was one of the hottest days of the year — this race was memorable.

What shoes was Ms. S&C wearing? A new pair of Brooks. What was Ms. S&C drinking? Well, a hell of a lot of water before and after the race. But, a little after 9 pm, she opened a beer — a Bud Light — and no beer has ever tasted better.

There was at least sweat and beers as Ms. S&C ran her 11th race on
one of the hottest days of the year.

Continuing with the S&C music momentum, Ms. S&C thought she’d share her current running playlist. While she doesn’t listen to music during races (she tries to make it on pure adrenaline), her iPod is a necessity for everyday runs.

The S&C running mix includes:

Bruises — Chairlift (the song made popular by the iPod Nano commercials)
Hey Ya! — Outkast
MMMBop — Hanson (a little embarrassing, but whatevs, it is fun)
Rill Rill — Sleigh Bells (love that it samples Funkadelic’s “Can You Get to That”)
Drunk Girls — LCD Soundsystem
Party in the U.S.A — Miley Cyrus
Empire State of Mind — Jay-Z (and the Jay-Z song was on)
You Know I’m No Good — Amy Winehouse (remix, featuring Ghostface Killah)
Crazy — Gnarls Barkley
Here Comes Your Man — Pixies
My Place — The Adverts
No Woman, No Cry — The Fugees
Time to Pretend — MGMT
Cold War — The Morning Benders

And finally, our public service announcement: go for a run. Go for a walk. Get outside. Then, drink to your health!

posted by Ms. S&C

1 Comment

Posted in beer, shoes

Tagged beer, running, S&C music, to your health

Making (music) references

Posted on July 19, 2010 by msshoescocktails | 4 comments

You may or may not know this: Ms. S&C likes music. All kinds of music. She particularly likes listening to music with a cocktail in hand.

Over on Facebook — both on the S&C fan page and my personal page — I often make reference to what I’m eating, what I’m drinking, and what I’m listening to. (When it comes to status updates, they are like my holy trinity.) A friend suggested that I incorporate more music selections/recommendations in my S&C blog posts. You know she’s a good friend when (a) she reads my blog, and (b) says she likes my taste in music (thanks, AV!)

What you also may or may not know: I fancy using a song title as a blog post title. Some of the references are more subtle than others, but here are a few faves:

Femme Fatale — snakeskin Louboutins are a perfect match for this song from the Velvet Underground & Nico album. The shoes are wicked cool and so is the song, the band, and Nico.

Paint it Black — the patent leather boots post was inspired by the Rolling Stones song (which Rolling Stone magazine lists as one of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.)

Dancing Queen — easy reference for a Project Runway blog post about drag queens, but the ABBA song is deserving.

Dry the Rain — when writing about rain boots, I couldn’t help but think about all the movie scenes with John Cusack in the rain, and also the scene from High Fidelity,when he tries to get customers to buy the Beta Band album by playing this song.

Such Great Heights — I love the original Postal Service song, but the Iron & Wine version is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever heard (like so beautiful it hurts beautiful). And, high heels = great heights, right?

Killing the Blues — things that go well together: purses and shoes, and Robert Plant and Alison Krauss.

Then, there’s an occasion when a song inspires a drink selection. Who wouldn’t want a sloe gin fizz after hearing Portland, Oregon, from Loretta Lynn and Jack White? Loretta Lynn is amazing. Jack White is amazing. This song is amazing. Too bad a sloe gin fizz isn’t quite as amazing (but worth trying).

Sloe Gin Fizz
(recipe courtesy of Esquire)

2 ounces sloe gin
1/2 ounce lemon juice
1 teaspoon superfine sugar
club soda

Shake the gin, lemon juice and sugar with cracked ice in a chilled cocktail shaker. Strain into a small, chilled Collins glass and fizz to an inch or so from the top — splash the club soda or seltzer in rather carelessly, so that it foams.

“Well Portland Oregon and sloe gin fizz / If that ain’t love then tell me what is uh huh, uh huh.”

“Well sloe gin fizz works mighty fast / When you drink it by the pitcher and not by the glass uh huh, uh huh.”

posted by Ms. S&C

4 Comments

Posted in cocktail-related, cocktails, gin

Tagged S&C music, sloe gin fizz