Sweet Blog O'Mine

Author: Laren

  • Booze You Can Use: Have a Negroni Sbagliato

    Negroni_sbagliato

    Photo: La Cucina Italiana

    Sometimes one little tweak can make all the difference. Given my love for the Negroni and my recent fascination with champagne cocktails, it's no surprise that I enjoy the Negroni Sbagliato. Roughly translated, it means a bungled negroni — a mistake — but don't let that fool you. It's a perfect starter to an evening, no mistake about it.

    Negroni Sbagliato
    1 ounce Campari
    1 ounce sweet Vermouth
    1 ounce prosecco
    Fill a
    rocks glass with ice. Add Campari, vermouth and prosecco, in that order. Stir and garnish with orange slice or twist.

  • Reboot

    As many of you know, I'm in the midst of a bit of a career reboot right now (if you want details, email me!).  A colleague who recently left my firm to start her own consulting business recommended a wonderful book to me called Reboot Your Life: Energize Your Career and Life by Taking a Break. I highly recommend it and frankly, wish I had read it a few years ago. The idea is that taking a sabbatical, whether planned or unplanned, can be a good way to take a look at what you really want in your life. It can be eye-opening.

    Last night, I got to see a reboot close up. A former associate at my firm left to start her own catering company, TomCookery, which specializes in Southern and Carribean-inspired comfort food. Talking to Tomika about the process of getting her business up and running and getting to taste her delicious food — jerk chicken wings, macaroni pie, banana pudding and more — inspired me so much. I'm so proud of her for following her dreams, and I'm looking forward to doing the same.

  • Squishy Thought for the Day

     

    Gapingvoidlove

    courtesy of Gaping Void

     

    Feeling particularly grateful for the love that surrounds me, whether it's Valentine's Day or not.

  • Only in New York

    I'm out walking Moxie late last night. We approach a tree, where Moxie starts sniffing and a guy walks towards us with his larger dog.

    Him: "A rat!"

    Me (thinking that he is insulting my tiny dog): "Hey!"

    Him: "No, there's a dead rat right there!"

    Me: "BWAH HA HA!"

  • Booze You Can Use: Have a Seelbach Cocktail

    Seelbach-cocktail-f

    Bubbles. They instantly lift the spirit. Sometimes, however, you want bubbles, but you want something a tad more complex than a glass of champagne. Enter the Seelbach. On New Year's Eve, and on a subsequent visit to Pouring Ribbons in the East Village, I kept asking for champagne-based cocktails. There are many, but I was specific — no citrus. At one point I received the Seelbach cocktail, a lovely concoction that carries the name of the hotel in Lexington, Kentucky where it was created.

    Seelbach Cocktail
    1 oz. bourbon
    1/2 oz. Cointreau
    7 dashes Angostura bitters
    7 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
    Champagne

    Stir ingredients over ice, then then strain into a chilled flute and top with champagne. Garnish with a lemon twist.

  • Happy 40th, Schoolhouse Rock!

    Gotta get my nephew on board with these as soon as he's old enough!

  • Thanks, Joe!

    IMG_20121001_164633.jpg
    In the fall, I had the opportunity to meet with Vice President Biden in my role as a board member of the Association of Pro Bono Counsel. This letter hangs on the wall in my office and serves as a reminder of my mission, my inspiration, my goals, and my professionalism. "You and your colleagues truly represent the best of our profession. I wish more Americans knew about the outstanding work you are doing." I will do my best, Joe. I look forward to reporting back this fall.

  • Hibernation

    Sorry for the crickets around here. I haven't been hibernating per se (although today's frigid temps certainly make me want to), but I've certainly been laying low. Despite that fact, it seems that I'm battling the plague that has been making the rounds . . .

    To keep you amused until I write more, please enjoy this animal video from the BBC.

  • Happy Moxieversary!

     
    PhotoGrid_1358193626916I adopted Moxie from Badass Brooklyn Animal Rescue a year ago today after thinking for years about whether or not I was ready to adopt a dog. In some ways I was and in some ways I wasn't, but we figured it out together. The first week I had her I was fostering-to-adopt; I hadn't committed to adopting her. Three days in she ate a roach motel while I was at work. As I was sobbing into the phone, talking to the ASPCA poison control hotline, I knew I was in for the long haul (she was ok).

    We've had quite a year together. We went to obedience school, which was clearly as much for me as it was for her, we've spent hours snuggling on the couch, and we've walked miles around the city in all types of weather. Both of us have made friends at the dog run, and we've kept each other company when the other has been under the weather. 

    I haven't regretted my choice for a moment. She's part of my family, and I'm looking forward to more of our adventures together in the future.

  • Wicked Smahht

    IMAG0775.jpg

    If my Schoolhouse Rock recollections are correct, I'm pretty sure they mean adverb.