Can we all just please acknowledge that “shackets” is such a weird trend name? lol. idk why but it just makes me laugh, but like in an awkward way haha. I would assume most of my non-fashion readers haven’t even heard of this term and are thinking, “ummmm what?!” 🤨
Well it’s exactly as it sounds, a shirt jacket… somewhere between a padded fannel, an oversized button up and a lightweight jacket, these “shackets” have taken over as one of this fall/winter’s hottest outerwear trends.
This be my first winter in LA, I’ve discovered that shackets are where it’s at–the perfect California winter jacket! Or for all my SF buds, the perfect layer under the coat you take off to covid dine al fresco (and east coasters, don’t even bother taking off that coat lol, or the shacket you undoubtedly have on underneath).
So, a toast to shackets! Whatever layer it may be in your winter wardrobe, I’ve gathered my favorites below. 😄
Citrus and spice is everything nice, but the holidays are for boozin’ so we’re making them naughty. 💃🍸I found this spiced pear liqueur at Whole Foods recently and have been putting it in all my drinks for that “christmas flavor.” Well, that and my homemade holiday spice simple syrup! 😋🎄
Confession though: I’m not an eggnog gal. There, I said it…Holiday blasphemy! Eggnog and Bloody Marys are the only 2 cocktails in the history of drinking that I somehow just can’t do. So I guess we’ll call this cocktail my eggnog substitute for the holidays; and once you try it, you’ll see why!… At least I hope haha.
Pour all ingredients (gin, pear liqueur, egg white, simple syrup, and lemon) into a cocktail shaker without ice.
Shake it insanely hard for 15 seconds — Ya gotta break up that egg white!
Open the shaker (it should be foamy inside) then fill it with ice and shake vigorously for another 30 seconds.
Double strain into a coupe. (If you can’t double strain, single straining is fine you just might get tiny ice bits on the top of your drink).
Garnish with Angostura bitters — the design pictured here is made by dropping 3 drops of bitters onto the foam and then running a toothpick vertically and horizontally through each drop.
*Fun little tip for all the martini lovers out there…. make a gin martini but add 1oz of this spiced pear liqueur and you’ll have a delicious Christmas martini! 🍸🎄
Using my newly invented cinnamon simple syrup has been an absolute game changer for holiday cocktails! Between this drink and my christmas mezcal cocktail, I’ve been bottoms up all week! lol. And I plan to do more next week when I go home to mom’s for the holidays. 🙃
So cheers to a new year, may it be much brighter than the last. Stay safe. Merry Christmas. Love to you all, and to all a good night! ❤️
Since we can’t travel to far off glorious places for the holidays this year, I’ve been ultra invested in making things at home feel different/special. Honestly just so thirsty (literally) for a kitschy Christmas bar experience that I’m taking my Christmas cocktail game up a notch with homemade simple syrups and newly invented recipes!
I wanted to do something less expected (i.e not bourbon), and tequila always makes me feel like I’m on vacation in Mexico. 🙂 However, mezcal is a much more appropriate spirit for the holidays due to it’s bold smokey flavor; plus it pairs well with the all-spice liqueurs/syrups. So now I present you with my “Christmas in Mexico” cocktail… enjoy! 🥃
Actaullyyyy before you can make the drink, you need to make some Christmasy simple syrup! Making simple syrup at home is really easy… it’s just 1:1 ratio of water to sugar and then add whatever fruit or spices to flavor it as you wish. (Great gift idea too 😉)!
Cinnamon Spice Simple Syrup
Ingredients: 1 cup granulated or cane sugar
1/4 teaspoon ginger (or fresh ginger great too!)
2-4 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (from TJ’s but I would say it’s optional)
Process:
Pour 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar into a pot and add whatever spices you wish. See measurements above for what I added to mine, but have fun with this part, it’s a lot about personal preference… if you want more sweet just add a bunch of cinnamon and less spices, but if you want that “all spice” flavor throw a mixture in there! I like to smell it while it’s cooking to get a good idea of taste! 😋
Bring all ingredients to a boil and then immediately reduce to simmer for 3-5 minutes until everything is dissolved. Stir frequently.
Set aside and let cool. Straining optional depending what yours looks like. I kind of like the aesthetic of the spices showing in the drink.
I highly recommend you make a cinnamon spice simple syrup because it will make almost any drink you put together this season “taste like Christmas” and it’s so so easy to do!
Combine all ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice.
Add a generous amount of cardamom bitters (maybe 5 dashes) and then a couple dashes of both Angostura and orange bitters (if you don’t have I don’t think it will break the cocktail).
Now shake! (Normally I would stir a more spirit forward cocktail without citrus, but since the consistency of the simple syrup can vary I think it’s best to shake this one to break down the syrup and distribute evenly in cocktail).
Strain over 1 large ice cube in a rocks glass
Garnish with a tiny bit of ground cinnamon on top of the large ice cube and for added points, snip off a tiny piece of the Christmas tree for extra holiday spirit! Just make sure to remove before drinking 😆🎄
The mezcal stands up really well next to the sweetness of the amaro and cinnamon syrup. I actually tried this with bourbon and thought it was a touch sweet and flat…the flavors blended together too much. But this drink is giving me alllll the christmas feels, even though mezcal!
Now, light that fire and join me for Christmas in Mexico! 🔥
I hope everyone has a lovely and safe holiday season and that this cocktail can bring you a little bit of escape during this tough year.
It’s that time of year again… nope not the holidays… BLACK FRIDAY lol and tbh I feel more prepared than ever. Probably because surfing the web for coveted items has become quite the hobby during our 2020 quarantine roller coaster haha. I’ve pretty much been “adding to cart” for months now but it’s finally is my chance to check out. So which sales am I most excited about for Black Friday??? Find out below!
*I’ll be supporting small businesses for all my holiday shopping and also do not advocate for excess spending on Black Friday. For me this is not about buying too much too fast. Most of these items have been sitting in my cart for a couple months, I’ve just been waiting for the sales to start to be able to afford the purchase.Please be mindful when making purchases!
Shopbop – 20% off on orders of $200+ (with code: SHOP20). An epic sale because Shopbop rarely does anything sitewide, and since they’re a pricey retailer, hitting $200+ is pretty easy. 🙃 I’m planning to hop on the “Shacket trend” with a few of these babies. But my most splurge worthy item? This.
Tamara Mellon – up to 40% off sitewide!
Another killer shoe company with wildly expensive shoes lol but offering an amazing sale deal, just once a year! My top shoe picks for Tamara Mellon are: these Clash Boots and these mid-calf Easy Rider boots. Don’t sleep on it, stock is going fast!
Missoma: 25% off everything!
Time to stack up for less! I shopped this sale last year and got so many fun gold layering pieces that still look great today (didn’t tarnish or rub off etc). They only do this sale once a year, don’t miss out.
What’s in my cart at Missoma:
Fiorucci – 25% off sitewide! The new hot gossip around IG, Fiorucci is popping up on fashion influencers everywhere and admittedly I am no exception lol. I desperately want to get my hands on some of those angel goodies. 😇
Girlfriend – 30% off sitewide
This sale speaks for itself… the most coveted workout brand on sale at 30% off everything?! Heyylooooo. If you only buy one thing, don’t miss out on their FLOAT Collection. It’s sooo soft and well made! Here is my favorite bra and fave shorts.
Parachute Home – 20% off sitewide! (while supplies lasts)
Another hot ticket – they only do this twice a year! I’ve heard incredible things about Parachute and think this little discount is just enough to get me to dive in.
Happy Thanksgiving! I hope this little guide helps you get started and happy shopping! xx
Katie and I made it our life’s mission during quarantine to craft the perfect Negroni Bianco recipe. After buying and trying tonsss of different vermouths and bitters, and a “mild” buzz, we did it! 👏🏼👏🏼 The irony now being that this is more of a Negroni Viola because of this awesome periwinkle Empress Gin I just got, but with the same taste, I’d take a fun purple drink over a clear one any day! 💜🍸
Popular in British Columbia, Empress 1908 Gin is a newbie on the US market. It’s naturally colored with butterfly pea blossom (no artificial coloring used) and gets its distinct flavor profile from 8 natural botanicals: butterfly pea blossom, fairmont empress tea, juniper, grapefruit peel, coriander seed, cinnamon bark, rose petal, and ginger root. If this sounds good to you, you’re right!
Like all Negroni style cocktails you need 1 part gin, 1 part bitters and 1 part vermouth. So we played and played and found a few variations, some sweeter and some more bitter but anyway I’m really excited to share this one with you today!!
Ingredients
1oz Empress Gin (or any other gin really, but I’d recommend something not toooo flavorful like Tanquerey, Bulldog or Beefeater)
1oz Vermouth Blanc 1oz Luxardo Bitter Bianco Grapefruit for garnish
(For my fellow cocktail geeks, the Luxardo replaces the Campari, and the Vermouth Blanc replaces the sweet vermouth of a traditional Negroni)
Process:
Pour all ingredients into a cocktail stirrer over ice and stir until very cold (when glass starts to condensate). TBH, you can also mix directly in your glass with ice but I find best to do separate.
Strain mixture into rocks glass over 1 large ice cube
Garnish with a grapefruit peel (extra credit: take grapefruit peel and hold at 45° angle above glass with outer peel facing away from you towards the top of cocktail. And then pinch the peel together horizontally so the citrus oils release onto the top of your drink).
For me, a negroni is a year round cocktail. Unlike margaritas or old fashioneds, I enjoy one any time, any where—it’s 100% my go-to drink. But nowwww, I’m freaking OBSESSED with the negroni bianco, or should I say negroni “summer edition.” It’s lighter in both taste and appearance and a bit sweeter, which makes it easier to drink on a hot summer afternoon (comparative to it’s blood red counterpart).
I have tons more knowledge on vermouth or bitter substitutions from our big taste test but fear no one is as nerdy as me with their cocktail assembly haha so I’m ended here…comment below if you’re curious though, happy to spread my wisdom 🙃
[Minor life update ahead but I won’t be offended if you skip right to the ingredients lol]
Hope you’re ready for another cocktail recipe because my spring martini is utterly delightful! 😜 Going to keep these posts coming since we can’t go to bars right now and if I’m itching for some high quality sips!
I’ve always been into mixology making cocktails at home, that’s no surprise, but quarantine has taken it to an entirely new level. From ordering a literal case of different kinds of vermouth to drinking 6 nights a week, I dove in head first—and then started drowning in my own concoctions haha. So much so I had to punish myself with a Whole30 diet over the last month (1 week to go and I’m dyingggg for Sugarfish)! But enough blabbing — time to drink!
I call this my Spring Martini because it’s more floral than a regular martini (with the special edition gin and added Lillet). It’s light enough, yet stiff enough to get the job done anndddd with a delightful pink hue — I mean what’s more spring than that?! Groundbreaking… 🙃🌸🍸
It’s simple! Pour all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake for 10 seconds until your hand is super cold then strain (double strain if you have the tools) into a coupe over a round ice cube* 😊
Garnish with a lemon twist 🍋 Pro tip: hold the peel at a 45º angle above the glass and pinch it in half horizontally to release the citrus oils on top of the martini, then drag the lemon peel along the rim, twist and drop in.
*I saw the round ice cube in a coupe thing at Le Sirenuse in Miami and thought it was just the chicest thing ever so I had to incorporate for the presentation. It’s tricky though, I love that it dilutes the drink a bit which makes for a more daytime friendly martini; but on the flip side, if you let it sit there too long, the martini will get too watery.
If you make my Spring Martini at home please DM or comment or something! I loveeee seeing you guys making my drinks (also desperately need feedback haha). I hope you enjoyyyyyyy and stay safe. xx 😁
The only outerwear I need this summer: a 90’s cardigan
It’s a shirt and a sweater. It’s retro and classic. The layering and styling possibilities are endless! Safe to say, the 90’s inspired cardigan has become quite a wardrobe necessity for me. I guess as a new LA resident this is what my outerwear has been reduced to?! Yikes… 😝
It’s been funny here in quarantine. Shoots relaying on inside mirror play, tungsten light and textures. But I can honestly say, I had such a blast during this shoot. Some solo time in my room to just play and create… kind of made me remember why I started this blog in the first place. I guess I just needed the world to stop for a second to breath and appreciate. As badly as I want out… there have been some undeniable benefits to this pause. 🧘♀️📸
Fully acknowledging that I’m tooting my own horn here but I must be onto something because most sites I checked were sold out most of their size run! 👉🏼I mean it people, hurry to snag or keep an eye out for a restock. Sorry I didn’t blog this sooner!
FAVORITE 90’S INSPIRED CARDIGANS:
And few short sleeve favorites:
Also I found a tonnnn of amazing ones at Aritzia (here) but unfortunately I can’t stream them into a carousel so be sure to check them out on your own (my top three: here, here and here).
