Holiday

A Valentine’s Weekend Round-Up: Best Events in Baltimore

categories: Holidays, RESTAURANTS

It’s that time of year again – love is in the air and singles are in despair.   Do you already have plans?  What are you waiting for?  I’ve put together a list of happenings in Baltimore for the cutest couples, the sexy singles and all my girls celebrating “Galentine’s Day”. Whatever side of the spectrum you’re on, there is something for everyone in Baltimore to enjoy this Valentine’s Day.

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Brio Tuscan Grille – $23.50 Lobster Tail or Sea Scallops, $33.95 Surf and Turf.  All options include soup or salad.

GrillFire – Thursday 2/11 – Saturday 2/13.  $85.00 Prix Fixe dinner for Two includes 2 starters, one entrée sized to share and a double chocolate mousse.

Lebanese Taverna – $45 Three-Course Dinner/$20 Wine Pairing

Jack Binion’s Steak in Horseshoe Casino – $95.00 per couple Three-Course Menu

Wine Market Bistro – $65.00 Four-Course Prix Fixe Dinner

Red Maple – $80 per couple Three-Course Dinner includes one glass of wine or champagne per person.

Linganore Wine Cellars – Days of Wine and Roses: Special Romance Package. $35 Per Couple Wines and Chocolate Pairings.  February 12-15.

Warehouse 518 – The Anti-Valentine’s Day Party on Friday, February 12.  Specialty  Cocktail List, and music  start at 9 pm. Bring your bitter heart and maybe a friend, platonic or romantic.

Baltimore Social – $10 in advance, $15.00 day of event. Valentine’s Day Bar Crawl

Johnny Sanchez in Horseshoe Casino – Valentine’s Day Speed Dating $15 Early Bird, $20 General Admission,   $25 At the Door. Mix and Mingle with a complimentary cocktail, extended happy hour specials and prize giveaways.

Baltimore Paint Party – Prices and Locations Vary

Sweet James Irish Cocktail

categories: COCKTAILS

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There’s no written rule that says all St. Patrick’s Day cocktails have to be green.  This year I decided to save the green drinks for the bar scene and mix something different at home. The end result is a cocktail that I like to call “Sweet James”  This cocktail is made with two Irish favorites – Jameson and Guinness with a bit of Pineapple Juice to give it a sweet flavor.

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What you need:

2 oz Jameson Irish Whiskey (or any Irish Whiskey)

1/2 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/2 oz simple syrup

2 oz pineapple juice

1 bottle or can of Guinness Stout

Instructions

Add whiskey, lemon juice, simple syrup, and pineapple juice into a cocktail shaker with ice.

Shake well and serve over ice only filling only 1/2 the glass

Pour the Guinness slowly over the cocktail filling it to the top

* Serves 1

Bottle after Bottle

categories: Arli, COCKTAILS, Holidays

Happy New Year Everyone!!! I hope you had a safe and fulfilling holiday season, I know I did. Christmas was great and New Years Eve was even better.  On NYE, some friends and I celebrated at Mosaic Nightclub (4 Market Place) in Baltimore.  This was our second year celebrating at Mosaic because we had so much fun last year we decided to do it again.

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We also like the  VIP bottle service that Mosaic offers on NYE – unlimited bottles from 9:00 pm until midnight.  I was excited to see our cocktail waitresses were dressed in “Queen of Hearts”  costumes and  I have to admit I was a little jealous because I love to wear theme-inspired costumes. Last year our spirit of choice was Belvedere and this year  Ciroc.

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Ciroc is always a good choice liquor if you’re going to drink all night because I find  it gives you little or no hangover symptoms the next morning.  We had a group of about 15 people and I’m almost certain we went through 5-7 bottles of Ciroc…at some point I lost count.

Normally when you opt for a table and bottle service it includes one liquor with two or three mixers. Vodka and Tonic is good, Vodka and Cranberry is good, but I personally like to shake things up a bit.  Luckily we had Ciroc Peach & Ciroc Original and I was able to experiment.   I thought I’d share a few recipes with you…

1.  Ciroc Original, Tonic, Redbull, Squeeze of Lime

2.  Peach Ciroc, Orange Juice, Cranberry Juice, Squeeze of Lemon

3.  Ciroc Berry, Tonic, Squeeze of Lemon and Lime

I hope these easy mixes come in handy for your 2013 party enjoyment!  Be Safe and Be Blessed 🙂

 

 

5 Tips to Cure that Holiday Hangover

categories: FYI

HolidayHangover

5 Tips to Cure that Holiday Hangover

I remember my first hangover like it was yesterday — New Year’s Day 1998.   I was sure that was the day I would die.  Vomiting profusely, curled in the fetal position, making promises to God declaring I would never sip another drop of alcohol again. We’ve all been there and will probably be there again, some of us sooner than later.

Just in case you happen to drink too much this New Year’s, here are five tips to help you knockout that New Year Nausea.

Drink Gatorade

…or any other sports drink of your choice.  “Holy Water” (as I like to call it) works wonders at combating a hangover.  All that talk about electrolytes is real.  We lose electrolytes when we consume massive amounts of alcohol and we become dehydrated. Sports drinks replenish the electrolytes in our body and help it stay calm and centered.  I suggest you buy a large Gatorade next time you are at the market and keep it in the back of your fridge just in case.

Drink Water

Gatorade is good at combating dehydrationbut water is always great for flushing out all the toxins in your body.  Gatorade and Water work best together in replenishing what you lost and getting rid of what you don’t need.  We should already be drinking 8 glasses a day anyway, so drink up!

Eat Carbs

Toast, crackers, or pasta are all good foods to help restore the blood sugar levels that dropped while you were taking back those shots.  Low blood sugar levels cause you to be tired and irritable all day, making your liver work overtime to metabolize that alcohol.  Give your liver a break and eat small portions of carbs in moderation to help calm that churning in your tummy.

Take Alka-Seltzer

Alka-Seltzer has been around for over 80 years, so they must be doing something right.  To some the taste may not appeal to your pallet, but little bubbles are good for you. Alka-Seltzer contains sodium bicarbonate and this ingredient helps to neutralize the stomach acid and calm the bad bubbles in your belly.

Shower. Shock. Sleep.

As hard as it may be to get out of the bed during a hangover, it’s best to shower and wake that body up.  Get those juices flowing. If you alternate the water temperature between hot and cold this helps shock your body into shape and jump starts the blood circulation that will help with  dehydration.  After your shower, get some sleep.  Let your body rest and naturally work on getting back to its natural state.

Don’t Drink More Alcohol

The worst thing you can do in the midst of a hangover is drink more alcohol.  The “Hair of the Dog that Bit You”  myth has been around a long time, but it has not been proven that drinking more alcohol is helpful to a hangover.  It may lessen the effects of a hangover…temporarily, but it will extend your symptoms in the long run.  If you must drink the morning after skip the Bloody Mary and go for a Virgin Mary (Mary minus the Vodka) the tomato juice and celery have restorative vitamins that will restore balance and flush out the toxins in your body.

 

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