Currently Exciting/Inspiring Me: Spring

Spring, I’d like to give you a hug. You make me so happy. You encourage me to leave the coziness of my house for sunshine, fresh air and cool breezes. It’s so easy to hibernate during the Winter. The snow, ice and below freezing temperatures make venturing outdoors completely unappealing – not to mention treacherous, at times. I become lazy, anti-social and, well, fat, in the Winter! But my shell is beginning to crack, and I’m starting to crave being outdoors. It’s the perfect time to be visiting New York City, where the temperature is unseasonably warm, and I can take advantage of it. In NYC you walk everywhere, burning calories while shopping and sightseeing, something not really possible back in Omaha, a city that’s not really pedestrian friendly.

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Currently Exciting/Inspiring Me: A Signature Cocktail

If only I liked beer. My life would be so much simpler if I only liked beer. I could walk into any restaurant, club or bar and know exactly what to order. Unfortunately, I don’t enjoy lagers or ales, and you can only drink so many Cosmopolitans before you begin to feel a bit frou-frou and high maintenance. Typically I veer towards sweet or fruity concoctions, but as I approach 30, I think it’s time I found a more sophisticated drink of choice that isn’t a margaritas, mojito or something pink in a martini glass.

I totally buy into the idea that you are what you drink:

…what we choose to drink can reveal more about us than, say, our astrological sign or whether we prefer Elvis or the Beatles. What a tense moment, to be the first to order a drink with a group of people you haven’t hung out with before. Do you order a beer to let them know you’re easygoing? Do you order champagne to convey that you’re the fun, sassy type who likes to celebrate ordinary moments? Do you order scotch to let them know that you might start to get kind of intense in a couple hours? Do you order a Merlot, as if “Sideways” taught you nothing? The pressure.

I could become a wine snob to prove that I’m “artsy and cultured,” but I don’t particularly care for red wine, and I hate Chardonnay, which leaves me with few varieties from which to choose. What I want is a signature cocktail. Like a vodka tonic, although not a vodka tonic because I don’t like them. Maybe a rum and tonic or a whiskey and ginger. Perhaps a Tom Collins, Betty Draper’s drink of choice. How about a Moscow Mule, a Sidecar or a Mudslide (no, definitely NOT a Mudslide)?

My husband discovered signature drink at The Boiler Room – a negroni – and now he attempts to order one wherever we go. Me, I tend to assume the role of designated driver simply because I can’t decide on a what to drink and, therefore, drink nothing. Perhaps, with your help, that can change.

I’d love to know what you drink and, more importantly, what you think I should drink. Please comment below!

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