Quote of the Day

"You can have anything you want in life

if you dress for it."

- Edith Head

* image via Crush Cul de Sac

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Just in time for Cinco de Maya, I've got a few margarita recipes that I'm just dying to try. Using flavors like blood-orange and watermelon, these drinks looks as beautiful as they are tasty. Check them out!

Blackberry-Thyme Margarita

Ingredients

16 large fresh blackberries, divided
4 small fresh thyme sprigs, divided
6 tablespoons 100% blue agave silver tequila
1/4 cup Simple Syrup
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon Cointreau or other orange liqueur
2 cups ice cubes, divided
1/4 cup chilled sparkling wine

Directions

1. Place 14 blackberries and 2 thyme sprigs in medium bowl. Press firmly on solids with muddler or back of wooden spoon until mashed.
2. Mix in tequila, simple syrup, lime juice, and Cointreau, then 1 cup ice. Stir to blend well. Strain into large glass measuring cup. Mix in sparkling wine.
3. Divide remaining ice between 2 tall glasses. Pour Margarita mixture over. Garnish each with 1 blackberry and 1 thyme sprig.

Serves 2.

Peach Margarita

Ingredients

2 parts silver tequila
1 lime, juiced
1 1/2 parts peach schnapps
1/4 cup white peach puree
Ice

Directions

1. Fill a cocktail shaker 1/2 of the way with ice. Add all of the ingredients. Shake hard to combine.
2. Strain into a margarita glass filled with fresh ice. Enjoy!

Makes 2.

Blood-Orange Margarita

Ingredients

Lime wedge
Salt, optional for rimming the glass
1 blood orange, juiced
1 lime, juiced
2 ounces tequila
3/4 ounce orange liqueur
1/4 ounce agave nectar

Directions

1. If desired, wet the rim of a margarita glass with a lime wedge and dip into a plate that is covered with salt. Fill the glass with ice and set aside.
2. In a cocktail shaker, combine the blood orange juice, lime juice, tequila, orange liqueur, and agave nectar. Add ice and shake vigorously to combine.
3. Pour out the ice from the glass and strain the shaker's contents into the chilled, salt-rimmed glass. Enjoy immediately!

Serves 1.

Watermelon Margarita

Ingredients

Chili Salt
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
Cocktail
1 lime wedge
Ice
2 ounces blanco tequila
2 ounces watermelon juice
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
1/4 ounce Simple Syrup

Directions

1. Make the chile salt: In a small bowl, mix the kosher salt, sugar and ancho chile powder.
2. Make the cocktail: Moisten the outer rim of a highball glass with the lime wedge and coat lightly with chile salt.
3. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add all of the remaining ingredients and shake well.
4. Fill the highball glass with ice and strain the drink into the glass.

Makes 1 drink.

Guavarita

Ingredients

1 lemon wedge and salt
ice
2 ounces blanco tequila
1/2 ounce triple sec or Cointreau
1 ounce guava nectar
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
1/4 ounce simple syrup

Directions

1. If desired, moisten half of the outer rim of a martini glass with the lemon wedge and coat lightly with salt.
2. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
3. Add all of the remaining ingredients and shake well.
4. Strain into prepared glass.

Makes 1 cocktail.

* images and recipes via Yumsugar

Quote of the Day

"The tones of gray, pale turquoise and pink will prevail."

- Christian Dior

* image via Pretty Stuff

Where In The World

Summer vacation is so close I can almost taste it! With that in mind, today's post is all about the great wide world and how many beautiful places there are to explore. I don't know where a single one of these photos was taken, but I do know there's a whole lot of world to see.

* images via Pretty Stuff, All Things Stylish, Crush Cul de Sac, and Mojitos and Blow

Quote of the Day

"Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race."

- H. G. Wells

Who, What, Wore

Last night's annual Metropolitan Costume Gala proved to be the ultimate form of procrastination. Call me crazy, but I usually enjoy the red carpet for the Met Gala more than the Oscars. Maybe it's because the focus is purely on the clothes and not on who's going to win such-and-such award. So without further ado (and in no particular order other than Diane Kruger who in my opinion was the showstopper of the night), here is my Best Dressed List for the evening. It contains many of the usual suspects (Diane, Gwyneth, Gisele) but I made sure to throw in a wild-card (I know that Ashley Olson's puffy-sleeved dress will not be everyone's favorite but for some reason I thought she looked simply beautiful in it).

Also, if you want to check out the really outrageous looks from last night (some people were a little too inspired by the royal wedding) then I suggest you look at Fabsugar which includes just about every attendee of the event.

* images via Fabsugar

Word of the Day

Sprezzatura

"a certain nonchalance, so as to conceal all art and make whatever one does or says to be without effort and almost without any thought about it."

* image via Pretty Stuff