Frocktails: Girly Grapefruit

For this frocktail, I've teamed up with Q Drinks. Their sodas are delicious, made with natural ingredients and perfect for adding a little fizz and flavor to cocktails. I stirred up a GG Thiz, a tasty, slightly savory cocktail using thyme simple syrup, lime juice, gin and sparkling grapefruit soda. 

It's a perfect shade of pale pink, so I paired it with this sweet floral dress from Gap. It's casual but cute, has a flattering flared skirt and deal-sealing pockets. A drink and a dress fit for spring!

GG Thiz
Recipe courtesy of Q Drinks

2 oz. gin
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
1/2 oz. thyme syrup
6 oz. Q Grapefruit or other sparkling grapefruit soda
Lime wedge or slice for garnish

To make thyme syrup, dissolve 1 cup of granulated sugar in 1 cup of water, while heating to a simmer in a small sauce pan. Once simmering, remove from heat, add 5 thyme sprigs and let steep for 30 minutes. Strain and cool.

Fill a highball glass with ice, pour in the gin, fresh lime juice and thyme syrup. Top with Q Grapefruit and garnish with a lime.

Dress found here. See past frocktail posts.

Frocktails: Color Me Bold

Pregnancy really threw a wrench into pairing cocktails with dresses of the non-maternity variety, so after a yearlong hiatus, I'm happy that frocktails is back! First up, a bold red dress and an equally vibrant blood orange cocktail.

For the drink, I took the classic French 75 and incorporated blood orange juice. It brings a little extra sweetness and a whole lot of color to the cocktail.

The fiery color of this dress from ASOS is eye-catching enough, but with the structured silhouette and sassy slit, you've got a real statement-maker. Cheers!

Blood Orange French 75

1 1/2 ounces gin
1/2 ounce lemon juice
1 1/2 ounces blood orange juice
2 1/2 ounces chilled Brut Champagne

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add gin, lemon juice and blood orange juice and shake until chilled. Strain and pour into a champagne flute or coupe and top with champagne. Garnish with a twist of orange.

Dress found here. See past frocktail posts.

Coconut Milk Hot Chocolate

It's 70 degrees in Austin, but I'm thinking of my Northeast pals getting pummeled with snow, so I decided to heat up a pot of hot chocolate as a sign of solidarity. This coconut milk-based recipe is creamy and decadent, and I love adding a dash of spice with cinnamon. If you've got a second can of coconut milk handy, you can top off each mug with coconut whipped cream.

Coconut Milk Hot Chocolate

1 13.5-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
1 ounce finely chopped chocolate (I like bittersweet)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat the coconut milk in a saucepan until hot but not boiling. Add the chocolate and stir until completely melted. Add cinnamon and vanilla extract and stir. Serves two.

Make Your Holidays Pop with Absolut

When Absolut Vodka contacted me about their Limited Edition Andy Warhol bottle, I was so excited. The fun, festive bottle is the perfect way to make your holidays pop. Carry it along to a party, and you've got a gift for the hostess that's more memorable than a bottle of wine.

I used the bottle as inspiration for a colorful drink station because even the bar should be festive at your holiday party. I decorated with lights, a felt garland and a bowl of colorful glass ornaments. I always love having a signature drink at a party and the simplicity and Christmassy colors of a vodka cranberry are a great option. Hope your holiday parties are merry and bright!

Vodka Cranberry

1 part vodka
2 parts cranberry juice
1 wedge of lime

Fill a chilled highball glass with ice. Add vodka and cranberry juice. Garnish with lime.

Thanks to Absolut for sending me their Limited Edition Andy Warhol bottle.

Autumn Spice Coffee

Recently, I've been incorporating a little fall flavor in my morning cup of coffee. I add 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg per cup to the coffee grounds before I brew a pot. I skip the sugar (and don't even miss it), add cream and top with a little more nutmeg. It's like a mug full of coziness.

Mama-to-Be Mocktail: Purple Fizz

While we were in Napa on our babymoon, I had to forgo the cabernet sauvignon, but I did get to enjoy some delicious grapes right off the vine. Ever since, I've been craving that same juicy flavor, so I decided to come up with this fruity, fizzy mocktail.

Purple Fizz
4 oz. sparkling red grape juice
4 oz. cranberry juice
4 oz. ginger ale
Frozen grapes for garnish

Combine chilled grape juice, cranberry juice and ginger ale and add a few frozen grapes as garnish and to keep the drink cold.

Austin Eats: Hillside Farmacy Happy Hour

Hillside Farmacy is an East Austin restaurant housed in a restored drugstore and is a total hipster haven, so of course, we like it. We stopped in for happy hour the other day and tried their mac & cheese, gulf shrimp and malt vinegar fries. They even serve tasty non-alcoholic drinks, like the strawberry, basil and balsamic soda I had. I'm looking forward to returning for a full meal and a real cocktail some time soon.

Feeling Fresca

An agua fresca is a water-based drink infused with fruit, seeds, herbs or flowers. There are so many flavor possibilities, but I went with a combination of pineapple and mint. It's light and refreshing and perfect for sweltering summer days.

Pineapple Mint Agua Fresca

2 1/2 cups pineapple, cubed
2 cups water, divided
2 tablespoons agave or honey, or more if you prefer it sweeter
1 tablespoon lime juice
6-8 mint leaves

Puree pineapple, 1 cup water, agave, lime juice and mint leaves in a blender until smooth. Pour into bowl or container and mix in remaining cup of water. Chill until cold for about 2 hours, then strain mixture into pitcher using a sieve, pressing on solids in strainer. Fill glasses with ice and pour the agua fresca over. Garnish with mint. Serves 2.

Mama-to-Be Smoothie

I've been drinking lots of smoothies lately to beat the heat and squeeze more servings of fruits and vegetables into my day. This one is my latest favorite, full of protein and potassium and beneficial foods for baby and mama. Of course, you don't have to be pregnant to enjoy it.

Banana, Almond and Spinach Smoothie

1 frozen banana

3 pitted dates

1 cup of milk or almond milk

1 tablespoon of almond butter

1 cup of spinach

Combine ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

Summertime Chai

Last week, I finally busted out the ice cream maker for a batch of this coconut milk chai ice cream I found on Cookie + Kate. It was yummy and just the right blend of spices, but I undid all the lactose-free fun by turning it into a milkshake, which I'd also recommend. Just blend together a cup and half of chai ice cream, about 3/4 a cup of milk and a splash of vanilla extract and top with cinnamon. It's a delicious, summery spin on the usually cozy drink.

Single-Serving Lemonade

One of the nice things about working from home is that if I get a mid-afternoon craving, I can usually head into the kitchen and do something about it. Last week, I was desperate for a glass of lemonade, but since I didn't have the time or patience to make a whole pitcher, I stirred up an individual serving. It did the trick without all the lemon-squeezing and chilling time usually required.

Single-Serving Lemonade

1 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
1/4 cup hot water
3 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
3/4 cup cold water
3 mint leaves (optional)

Stir together the sugar and hot water until the sugar is dissolved. Add lemon juice, cold water and mint leaves and give it a stir. Serve over ice.

Pink Drink

Can you believe that color? The Maine Root soda company has a special edition Texas flavor called Pink Drink. It's made with prickly pear cactus juice, which gives it that outrageous hue, and it's sweetened with agave. I've had it a couple times already alongside pork buns and tacos, and I keep going back for more.

Bubbles and Bitters

The fine people at Veuve Ambal and Hella Bitter sent me some sparkling wine and bitters and gave me the task of coming up with a cocktail. The rosemary and grapefruit are such a nice pairing with the bubbles and bitters, and the color is the loveliest. It's a perfect way to fancy up your basic brunch cocktail.

Grapefruit Rosemary Mimosa

2 oz. grapefruit juice
1/2 oz. rosemary simple syrup
3 oz. Veuve Ambal sparkling wine
2 dashes of Hella Bitter Citrus Bitters

To make the rosemary simple syrup, bring 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of water to a boil in a saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, add two springs of rosemary and let sit at room temperature for one hour. Remove rosemary.

In a champagne flute or coupe, combine freshly squeezed grapefruit juice with rosemary simple syrup. Top with sparkling wine and two dashes of bitters.

Date Night: Mixology Class

Jonah and I had yet another date with HowAboutWe, a company with the goal of helping people fall in love and stay in love, and we chose a mixology class! Since we've made dumplings, heard Ira Glass talk and gone indoor skydiving, it seemed like a celebratory drink was in order, and the class turned out to be the perfect blend of fun and learning. You can sign up for free to browse HowAboutWe's date options, and as a bonus, use this link to get $50 off your first date! (New members only, offer expires May 31, 2014.)

The mixology class was sponsored by Tanqueray, so we learned all about the history of gin and the delicious cocktails you can make with it. For someone who has always thought that gin tastes like pine trees, I discovered I actually like a drink with gin when it's done right.

Two entertaining and knowledgeable bartenders talked us through the cocktail-making at The Royalton Hotel in midtown Manhattan, which has a great bar and huge lounge of a lobby if you're ever looking for a place to grab a drink. Jonah loved hearing about the history and science of gin, and I loved the plate of truffles and chocolate-covered strawberries we got to snack on. We each made a French 75 and an Aviation, and they were both delicious! It was a perfect way to spend a cold Saturday afternoon.

Here's the recipe for an Aviation, a gorgeous and tasty cocktail, if you're interested.

The Aviation

2 oz. gin

1/4 oz. maraschino liqueur, such as Luxardo

1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice

1/4 oz. creme de violette

Pour the gin, maraschino liqueur and lemon juice into a cocktail shaker filled halfway with ice. Shake well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Drizzle creme de violette into glass. Garnish with lemon peel.

For our next date, I'm eyeing a movie night, this urban foraging outing and this glassblowing class. Interested in HowAboutWe? Sign up for free to browse their date options and be sure to use this link to get $50 off your first date!

Our date and this post were made possible by HowAboutWe.

Frocktails: Have a Heart

In honor of Valentine's Day, I decided to shake up a pretty pink cocktail. It's called a Cherub's Cup, but Cupid's Cup might be more appropriate in this case. It's flowery and fizzy thanks to two of my favorite cocktail ingredients, St. Germain and sparkling rosé. And if you want to get all cute with it, you can carve your strawberry garnish into a heart.

The pink tweed dress is from Banana Republic. I love the simple silhouette, the black detailing and the pink itself is actually a bright neon, a fun twist on an otherwise classic-looking dress. The red sequin heart, which doubles as a pin and hair clip, is from ban.do.

Cherub's Cup

1 oz. St. Germain or elderflower liqueur
2 oz. vodka or Hendrick's Gin
3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz. simple syrup
2 strawberries
Brut Rosé sparkling wine

Combine St. Germain, vodka or gin, lemon juice and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker. Add one strawberry, stem removed, and muddle with the other ingredients. Add 3 ice cubes and shake. Strain into a glass filled with fresh ice and top with Brut Rosé. Garnish with a strawberry. To make it look like a heart, remove the stem, cut in half lengthwise, carve a triangle out of the top and round the edges. Cut a small slit in the bottom so it can rest on the edge of your glass.

Dress found here. Pin found here. Frocktails is a monthly feature for fashion and libation inspiration.

Black Forest Smoothie

It's so easy (and excusable) for me to snack on chocolate and candy this time of year. All those darling little hearts and red and pink confections are calling my name, so I came up with a healthy alternative to trick my sweet tooth. It's rich, flavorful and sweet enough to fill the heart-shaped chocolate void.

Black Forest (or Chocolate Cherry Almond) Smoothie

1 cup almond milk
3/4 cup frozen dark sweet cherries
1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Makes one large smoothie.