{Food & Entertaining}

Thanksgiving: 5 Cocktails To Wow ‘Em!

Happy Harvest, Socialites!

Here we are, in mid-November, planning big dinners, detailed tabletops, and please-no-one-kill-each-other seating arrangements. You’re thinking of it all to make sure everyone has a good time and avoids jail time eats well! But while you’re choosing side dishes and weighing giant fowl, don’t leave out one of the most important ingredients in dealing with family: what is everyone drinking?

Sure, wine with dinner is traditional, classic, and easy. But why not kick it up a bit with all of one of these 5 fall flavored cocktails? Before dinner drinks, or for cozy after dinner convo, I’ve got you covered! Each recipe serves 2, because you’ll DEFINITELY want a refill.

The Pomegranate Martinipomegranate martini

  • 3 oz. plain vodka of your choice
  • 5 oz. POM Wonderful (antioxidant alert!!)
  • 1 oz. triple sec
  • pomegranate seeds and orange rind for garnish

Combine in an ice filled shaker and strain into martini glass. Garnish with an orange rind curl on the side and loose pomegranate seeds in the bottom. They look like rubies!

The Caramel Apple Martini

  • 3 oz. apple flavored vodka
  • 1 oz. butterscotch liqueur
  • 4 oz. apple juice
  • caramel cube for garnish

Combine in an ice filled shaker and shake vigorously. Place an old fashioned cube of caramel at the bottom of each martini glass and strain your libation over it. Not only will it add flavor as it melts, but when the drink is done, there’s a treat!

The Pumpkin Pie Martini

  • 3 oz. vanilla flavored vodka
  • 3 oz. Godiva white chocolate liqueur
  • 4 oz. heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • whipped cream to garnish

Spread a healthy spoon of whipped topping around on a saucer and dip the rim of your serving glass into it, akin to how you might dip a margarita glass into sugar. Shake measured ingredients together over ice and strain into the glass. This one makes a great dessert drink, served in martini glass or with extra whipped cream as a decadent shot sized serving to sip. Ta-da! Talk about a no-bake recipe!

Haute Toddy

  • 4 oz. Maker’s Mark bourbon
  • 4 whole cloves
  • enough boiling water to fill the mugs
  • ground cinnamon to taste
  • 2 lemon wedges for garnish
  • 2 whole cinnamon sticks for garnish

Pour the bourbon into two stylish mugs or Irish coffee glasses. (Tip: I love the homey size of clear glass coffee mugs and they’re easier to find at big chain discount or dollar stores!) Add 2 cloves and a little ground cinnamon to each. Fill mugs the rest of the way with boiling water, adding a wedge of lemon and a stick of cinnamon to each as garnish. Perfect accompaniment to board games after dinner!

Fig Infused Vodkafresh figs

  • 4 whole fresh black figs
  • 1 750ml bottle of your favorite vodka, resealable

Wash, then cut your figs into quarters. Add them to the bottle of vodka, close, and keep it out of sunlight for about 5 days. Every day or so, agitate the bottle. Think swirls to spread the flavor around, rather than froth-inducing martini shaker style. At the end of the 5th day, strain out the solid fig bits…and you’ve got artisanal vodka! But be warned, you’ll have to start this one early if you want to sample it at Thanksgiving! The longer the infusion, the more flavor it will have. So, no Socialite, an overnight infusion won’t do. Plan ahead!

As with the recipe for anything, play around with these and make them your own. Maybe add a special touch that’s just yours. For example, try a green tea bag in your Haute Toddy. Add a Madagascar vanilla bean to your fig infused vodka batch. What about a raspberry flavored vodka in your pomegranate martini? Also, I’ve used brands that I favor through the years – use what YOU like! The sky’s the limit for fall flavor in your glass!

So, now that that’s solved…where’s your mother-in-law sitting? Need a cocktail, Socialite? ::smirk::

Till next time, cheers!

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Contributor | Eva Said It
Eva is a mother, writer, entertaining doyenne, and snark expert based in New York City. Money can’t buy happiness, but it buys her lots of wine and stinky cheese…which is close enough. Catch more of her stiletto clad sarcasm at www.evasaidit.com.

 

{Living}

Faux Terrarium

TheBudgetSocialite.comI love terrariums. I love the look of them and the idea of having a little island in a bottle seems so cool. Terrariums evoke a very earthy and organic feel when you look at them and that’s why I wanted one of my own.

TheBudgetSocialite.comI always have these lofty ideas of what I’m going to do until I begin to actually do it. Once the research started, the pricing realized and the time needed, laziness began to ensue and I decided I’m going to fake my terrarium for only pennies and minimal effort.

What you’ll need:
Glass bowl
Spanish Moss
River Rocks
Faux Succulents (mine is a candle!)

How you do it:
In the glass bowl, lay the rocks first, place the fake succulents around, add the Spanish moss on top.

TheBudgetSocialite.comEasy peezy! What do you think? Will you make your own?

{Living}

10 Financial Savvy Moves

Being a Budget Socialite, I am always finding ingenious  ways to being fabulous without having to crack open my sample sale kate spade wallet. I have devised this top 10 list that can get you on your way to becoming the financially savvy socialista that I know you can be.

1. Set a short term financial goal. What financial goal(s) would you like to see within the next 5-10 years?

2. Set a long-term financial goal. Think about what age you would like to retire and how much you will need to live comfortably without having to worry about finances.

3. Train yourself to be financially independent. Create a budget and not rely on credit cards for purchases. If you must use a credit card, make sure that it is for a purchase that you can pay right off.

4. Buy a home. This is a great time to purchase a home with the housing market rates.

5. Fund or continue to fund 401(k) or IRA account.

6. Have at least 6 months worth of salary saved up for a crisis.

7. Pay off credit card debt if you have any. Start with the highest interest rate card 1st.

8. If you have children, now is the time to start saving for college. No age is too early.

9. If you have student loans and you are having a hard time making the monthly payments, call your loan holder to reevaluate your payment plan. If you call, they will work with you.

10. Think about starting a business. There are a numerous amounts of tax advantages for small businesses.

Let us know what you think or if you have your own ways to being more financially savvy.

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Contributor | Charlene Bey
Charlene Bey is an Accountant and is the owner of Easy Flow Bookkeeping, LLC. Charlene eats, sleep and lives accounting and loves giving her opinion when it comes to being financial savvy.

{Beauty}

Eyes that Pop!

As a professional makeup artist, 100% of the women who sit in my chair tell me the thing they want more than anything else is to have eyes that pop! Even women who don’t typically wear makeup will make that request. Of course, I’m never surprised by their request and I simply smile and nod as if I’ve never heard it before.

The eyes are the focal point of the face and when they look bright and open, it’s very appealing. Not only can bright eyes make you appear more attractive, but they can also make you appear younger.

I love highlighting the eyes. Even if you are someone who doesn’t typically like to wear makeup, wearing minimal eye makeup and utilizing some quick and easy tips that I will share with you can really make your eyes pop!  For example, did you know pressing eyeliner and/or matte eyeshadow into the lashline (base of upper eyelid) can make your lashes appear thicker? Makeup artist do this trick all the time, to create the illusion of thicker lashes. See for yourself.

tightline-before-after

Lift your eyes at the lashline and using an angled brush, press a matte eyeshadow or an eyeliner (should match your eyelash color) into the base of the lashes. Gel liners also work really well and generally won’t smudge.

Define your brows. Fill them in with eyebrow pencil/shadow (apply with an angled brush). Note: choose two shades of eyebrow pencils/eyeshadow (one close to the color of your hair and another 1-2 shades lighter). Use the darker pencil/eyeshadow to make short hair-like strokes from the beginning of the eyebrow to the arch. After the arch, switch to your lighter pencil/eyeshadow. With soft strokes, finish the ends of the brow; use eyebrow brush or empty mascara wand to soften the pencil/shadow (will soften any noticeable lines). You can even follow-up with brow gel (also clear mascara will work) to keep the brows in place.

Defined Brows before and after

Curl your eyelashes.  This will make the eyes appear lifted and the lashes appear fuller and thicker. Eyelash curling tip:  Make sure your lashes are completely free of mascara. Start at the base of your lashes and make sure to get all lashes in the eyelash curler. Hold for 3 seconds. Don’t hold any longer or it will crimp the lashes instead of curling them. Curl the lashes in 3 sections:  at the base, middle of the lash, then the tip of the lash to get a natural curl. To separate the lashes, follow with your favorite mascara.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Apply mascara. There are some really great mascaras on the market.  For those of you who don’t want to appear as if you are wearing mascara, but want the benefits, don’t fret, as there are clear mascaras on the market that hold the curl really well. Some mascara suggestions are:  ELF lash and brow clear mascara, Maybelline Falsies, L’Oreal Voluminous mascara, Lancome Definicil, and Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill

Line your lashline.  I recommend lining with waterproof eyeliner, a liquid eyeliner or gel liner. For those of you with oily eyelids, to prevent under eye smudging, try this tip: after applying the eyeliner, apply a matte black eyeshadow or whichever color coincides with your eyeliner, apply on top of the eyeliner (apply with an angled brush) and set with a translucent face powder, under the eyes.    Tip:  if you have small eyes, don’t completely line the top and bottom lashes, as the eyes will appear closed.

eyeliner_before and after

Add eyeshadow primer and/or eyeshadow base. These products will allow your eyeshadow to last all day. Primer and eyeshadow base suggestions:  Urban Decay Primer Potion is fantastic! Lorac eye primer.  MAC Paint Pots are incredible! NYX Jumbo Eye pencils.

After you apply your eyeshadow primer and/or eyeshadow base, follow-up with your eyeshadow(s) of choice.  Here’s a guide to help you choose YOUR best eyeshadow colors, based on your eye color:

  • Warm blue eyes are blue-green. They may have flecks of light green or yellow in them.  They look great with blue-green colors (like turquoise) and fuschia eyeshadow.
  • Cool blue eyes are vibrant blue. They may have flecks of white in the iris. Use complementing colors such as oranges and corals. Other colors such as ash, taupe, gray, heather, slate and lilac are also favorable.
  • Warm green eyes have slightly more yellow in them. They are enhanced by green shadows with a yellow, chartreuse color. Tip: green is a fall trend color, so are navy and plum which also look great.
  • Cool green eyes have more blue or brown in them. They are enhanced by green shadows that contain blue or brown. They are also enhanced with contrasting pinks, as well as taupe, plum or violet. Additionally, yellow-toned beige, camel, heather, moss, and slate are favorable.
  • Hazel eyes are a combination of brown, green and gold. They are best enhanced with yellow-green or brown-green shadows, as well as purple shadows.  
  • Warm-hazel eyes contain large amounts of yellow. They are enhanced by gold to almost pink-brown. They are intensified with deep green, gold, lavender or plum shadows.
  • Gray eyes are enhanced with grays, earthy browns, plums, violets, periwinkle, navy blue, or deeper brown shadows.
  • Warm brown eyes are lighter in color with a slight amount of yellow. They are enhanced by blues, teals, greens, and purples.
  • Cool brown eyes have more red, black, or mahogany. They are intensified with contrasting colors such as blue and slate, as well as other colors such as cement, sable, mocha, khaki, stone, and bark.

 I saved the best eye enhancing product for last ….white eyeliner. I know it sounds so ‘80’s, but there are many things you can do with a white eyeliner pencil to accentuate the eyes and make them pop. Here’s what white eyeliner can do for you:  Highlight the inner corner of the eyes. Highlight the brow bone. Add to the waterline to make the eyes appear brighter.

 There you have it…tips for eyes that pop every time! So, there’s no excuse to have boring, ineffective eye makeup ever again!!!! Give these tips a try and let me know how they work for you. Until next time….stay beautiful!