Did You Know

New Year’s Eve And The Cocktail

cocktailI know that when I have a party, let alone a New Year’s Eve Party, it is  always great when your bar is stocked with a little of everything, but what is everything?

I was happy to come across this article on realsimple.com, How to stock a party worthy cocktail bar…. with New Year’s Eve on Saturday, you just might be having guests over to bring in 2012.  Here are some of what Real Simple suggest you have on hand. Illustration of a martini

 

 

 

 

 

 

VODKA… a must…at least in my house, most of my friends are vodka drinkers…expensive brands are not really necessary Absolute  or Rain Organic does the vodka good.

Illustration of a gin drinkGIN…try not to buy a really cheap brand of Gin, best one is Gordon’s since tonic is usually added to the gin

Illustration of bourbon on the rocksBOURBON…now this is usually not on my list, a little bit pricey for my taste…but I will be rethinking this.

Illustration of a rum drinkRUM…I remember those rum and coke days…but this is one of those items you need to splurge on, so go for the caribbean gold and try not to drink it with coke.  UGH!

Illustration of a margaritaTEQUILA…now we are talking, splurging on Tequila is a good idea, since most people really like to do shots.

Illustration of a glass of whiskeyWHISKEY AND SCOTCH…another splurging item, this is a must also in my house, hubby and dad always order it on the rocks.

One more thing.  Buying cheap mixers for drinks can more than dilute the cocktail…if you are making a Cosmo my choice of Cranberry Juice is Ocean Spray  (not diet) always use fresh limes and lemons…

Let us not forget those who will be driving home… Coke, Pepsi, Seltzer,should also be on hand last but never least, COFFEE..

  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 

recipe

Pomegranate-Champagne Punch

Here is a great holiday punch from Martha Stewart. We love using Prosecco instead of the champagne – either way, hope you give it a try – Cheers!!

1 1/2 cups pomegranate juice
1 cup pear nectar
1/4 cup orange-flavor liqueur
1 bottle (750ml) Champagne

In a large pitcher, combine the juice, nectar and liqueur. Slowly add Champagne. Serve over ice.

I remember the day when me and Merci each bought a punch bowl set (pretty sure the set was $9.99 ) from Woolworths’ about 30 years ago and we felt so grown up and sophisticated.  Now we talk about that day, everytime we have a get together and use it – happy days! 

arts/craft, Family

All That GLITTERS

Shopping for a Christmas gift for my granddaughter, Sophie, this year was easy. As I strolled the aisles of Toy ‘R Us I  just happen to look over my right shoulder and lo’ and behold there she was,

PRINCESS BELLE!

Belle  my granddaughter’s favorite princess.

Holy macaroni!  Is she  going to love this doll.  This Princess Belle doll  sings along with the tea cup  and Lumiere the Candlestick OMG!     How cute.  I Knew right then that I had to give her this doll for Christmas.

But to my dismay my Belle bubble  excitement was quickly busted.   The buster, Sophie’s  mother.
“You cannot buy her this doll” said her mother.  “Why?  Why can I buy her this doll she would love it, I love it”  I replied.  My daughter-in-law went on to explain  that the doll’s a dress sparkled with GLITTER.  My daughter-in-law then did the GLITTER test, she rubbed her fingers across the dress and looked at her hand…GLITTER was on her fingers, then she looked at me and said,” That is why she cannot have Belle, you know your son”.

Let me explain the “You know your son” remark.

See my son hates GLITTER and he has warned all of us that  nothing, but nothing that has GLITTER is allowed to enter their home.

ABSOLUTELY NO GLITTER!!

Believe me when I tell you my granddaughter is trained to adhere to the NO GLITTER rule…she too does the finger test…See Mommy, NO  GLITTER.”

So needless to say GLITTER  turned my Christmas joy upside down 🙁

But then I thought, how could I not get Sophie her favorite princess doll just because of  GLITTER ?  So I quickly assured  my daughter- in- law that I would handle the GLITTER on Belle’s dress and if my son tried to be a  Grinch, and prevent my granddaughter from bringing  Belle home, I would step in as her grandmother and his mother.  But again my daughter-in-law reminded me with a reply of, “You know your son.”

I blurted out…” I am going to get Sophie, Princess Belle and I will take care of the GLITTER problem!”

So the question now was, How do I get the GLITTER problem under control?  How do I  make  sure  that I  do not turn  Christmas Eve into the NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS   I did not realize when I stood my ground that  I had bitten off more than I could chew.

I really thought removing GLITTER  would be easy, so  I decided to take care of the GLITTER  problem on Christmas Eve.   Talk about waiting until the last minute to solve a problem.

First I used the vacuum on the glitter.    Suck, suck, suck… did not work GLITTER did not move.  OK, now I will use duc tape, that stuff always works… NOT!   

This GLITTER  stuff is really annoying me now.

What the heck, why does it not want to come off?  There has to be something, something has to work on GLITTER.  So now I search the web, “What removes GLITTER?’

Hairspray.  Well hairspray does not take it off exactly, what it does is it keeps it from falling off…BINGO!  That is what I need that is the answer .  I just want to keep that darn GLITTER from flaking off..so I sprayed, and I sprayed, and I sprayed, until Belle began to smell more like a hair salon then a doll.

I sprayed hairspray all over Belle’s GLITTER.   Belle’s dress was so sticky…now I worried, did I just ruin her dress.  So after what seemed like 100 sprays I closed Belle up and wrapped her up and placed her under the Christmas tree…and then prayed.Sophie opened the gift and when she saw Belle, well let me just say there is no better Christmas when a child lights up with joy and delight.

As for my son and Belle.  Belle passed the GLITTER test.

See what the hairspray did was create a film over the GLITTER and the film acted like a paste which kept the tiny little GLITTERS stuck to the dress, and the  GLITTER would not fall off.

At the end of the evening Sophie took Belle home and now this Christmas Eve will be just another Christmas Eve that Sophie went home happy… Thank you, thank you, hairspray… GLITTER on

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arts/craft, Video

Turn Christmas Cards Into Gift Tags

Please don’t throw away those Christmas cards – have fun turning them into gift tags for next Christmas.  So easy to do – you can use any card really, for any ocassion – all year round – I add the ribbon right before I am ready to use the gift card.  This is a great craft project for the kids to help out with!!

product review

Pocoyo

POCOYO IS HERE!!

Here to make children “LEARN THROUGH LAUGHTER”

Who is this little Pocoyo fellow and where did he come from?   Well Pocoyo comes from Spain, Pocoyo and his friends make learning FUN!   There is no better way to teach a pre-schooler then teaching with laughter.

Pocoyo Bump N' Go Racing Car 24741Pocoyo has a  little red car, really cool.

Santa gave my grandson one for Christmas and our 18 month old  just loved Pocoyo.

I mean just look at that face.

What a face!

 

 

 

 

Pocoyo never travels alone, his friends are always close by.

Elly (the elephant), Product DetailsPato (the duck) Product DetailsandLoula(the dog) Product Details

they star along side Pocoyo.

Pocoyo and his friends are now appearing on Nick Jr, PBS and Univision.

Pocoyo’s vibrant, colorful world comes to life through Bandai’s lovable line of toys, which includes Squeeze n’ Play plush Bath Fun Figures, an adorable Bump n’ Go electronic car and Swiggle TRAKS, enabling preschoolers to discover right along with Pocoyo!

Bandai’s  line brings Pocoyo into the lives of children in many different ways.

Since its September debut, Pocoyo SwiggleTraks has been recognized as one of the top toys of the year by publications and leading parent’s organizations including:

  • ·         Parents Magazine’s “Best Toys  of the Year” 2011
  • ·         The Toy Insider’s “Hot 20” toys for holiday 2011
  • ·         Parent’s Choice Awards Fall 2011 “Recommended” Toy

Pocoyo Bath Figures 3-Pack 24701

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muzVYmuJZ8k

 

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