The Perfect Champagne Cocktail

Happy Champagne Friday! This week I thought I'd keep it simple and share with you the recipe for the perfect Champagne Cocktail. At the end of every day, I take my favorite spot on the couch and just as I settle in for a relaxing evening I am struck with an insatiable craving for Champagne. Sometimes I am lucky and have a bottle in the fridge to quench my thirst, or if I am really desperate I can convince my boyfriend to go buy a bottle....Anyway, it has occurred to me that the reason my nightly Champagne desire is that every evening I sit directly opposite this classic poster of Grace Kelly. To make matters worse, I also have one of these posters at work, so all day, every day I have this nagging desire to drink Champagne...just thinking about it makes me thirsty!!
Anyway, here are a few more classic Champagne posters along with the "Perfect Champagne Cocktail " recipe.

"The Perfect Champagne Cocktail"
taken from "Highballs High Heels - A girl's guide to the art of cocktails" by Karen Brooks, Gideon Bosker and Reed Darmon. published by  Chronicle books exclusively for Barnes & Noble

1 sugar cube
4 to 5 drops bitters
4 to 5 ounces well-chilled Champagne

Garnish
1 lemon twist

1. Drop the sugar cube into the bottom of the Champagne flute, and pour the bitters on top. Let the cube absorb the bitters until amber-coloured-about 30 seconds.

2. Muddle the cube, breaking it up into a soft, granulated mound. Slowly, add half of the Champagne, letting the bubbles rise, then subside. Add the rest of the Champagne pouring slowly until it just about reaches the top of the glass.

3. Twist the lemon peel over the top and drop it into the drink to serve.

Yum!!!

Mother's Day

 At the moment I am busily preparing the shop for Mother's day.
For the color scheme I opted for traditional pink with a touch of green and soft sorbet tones, highlighted with old gold to add a touch of luxury. While merchandising the shop it occurred to me that I neglected to order Greeting cards for Mother's Day, so I have been busily drawing away to come up with something, luckily I came up with a few things and got them to the printer just in time !
(they are getting couriered to me as I type!)

The pink and gold  Mother's Day theme at Fanantique below.

What to wear?!!

 I recently received a rather lovely invitation to a 'Ladies Afternoon Tea Party' . The invitation advises that Vintage attire would be most appropriate for this event. This lovely image is taken from it and works perfectly to set the tone for the afternoon event.

As you can see, it is set to be a very elegant affair and one must dress accordingly! The party is to take place in only a few days time and I am yet to decide on what to wear!
I do have a few dresses , that I was lucky enough to acquire when I was buying pieces for the store. Most of these are yet to be worn...so this could be the perfect occasion !

These two are both great dresses from the fifties, classic and simple styles which can be easily accessorized . They would both look great with some wrist gloves and pearl necklace, the  slimline black dress would  great with some red accessories to vamp it up a bit. The other dress with the full circle skirt is a more casual and girly in it's feel and features a subtle grey spot in the fabric.

The dress below, while not really a vintage dress , could definitely be an option. It was a Christmas gift from my wonderful partner and I have not had the right event to wear it to yet!
(this dress from Allanah Hill)

This dress is so much fun, this is more of a Forties look, which is probably my favorite era.. although I do love the twenties and fifties too!. It has a bold purple floral design and looks great worn with some platforms.

Then again, I could always pull out something I have worn before.......

Now to decide on accessories, hair and make-up! The trouble we go to for a three hour event!!!

Frosty Fruits

Happy Cocktail Friday!

Following on from my  previous efforts to cool down, this "Cocktail Friday" I am featuring a cocktail named " Frosty Fruits"

Frosty Fruits
martini glass

pulp 1 fresh passionfruit
30ml gin
30ml cocoa leaf liqueur
45ml ruby red grapefruit juice
2 squeezes of lime
orange peel to garnish

Combine all ingredients except for garnish and shake with ice. Double-strain into a chilled nartini glass and garnish with orange. Enjoy!

Winter White

It seems like Winter is taking forever to get to Melbourne..we are still suffering through this horrible humidity which is a complete disaster for my hair, and the worst part is, it's still too hot to disguise the bad hair with a hat. In an effort to feel cooler, I have put together a collection of some of my favorite pieces that are in the store right now..all in icy whites and silver.

Cocktail Friday!

Cocktails &  Rock Tales
by Jane Rocca
Hardie Grant Books

I have just received this fabulous book, just in time for the weekend. This collection of cocktail recipes has my mouth watering and I am having trouble deciding what to try first!
If you visit the store on a Friday, you know that I like to indulge in a Champagne or two as we wind down for the weekend and enjoy the 'Friday vibe' in the air.  I have decided that I will feature a cocktail recipe for inspiration, at the end of every week . To kick things off, I am starting with the very delicious sounding 'Ma Cherie'
(I did think about 'cooking' my way through the book, like Julie Powell but thought it my be hazardous to my health...)

'Ma Cherie'

Colada Glass

45ml gin
15ml cherry liqueur
splash of lime juice
splash of lemon juice
1 sugar cube
splash maraschino cherry juice
splash of soda water
2 lime wedges to garnish

Combine all ingredients except for cherry juice, soda & garnish. Strain into colada glass over ice cubes. Top with cherry juice and soda to taste and garnish with lime wedges. Enjoy!!!

More about the book....
Pop goddess? Then sip on a material girl. Rockabilly? You'll need a Cheesecake Rodriguez in between dances. After all, drinks are not just drinks, and tunes are not just tunes- both the music you listen to and the cocktails you indulge in are statements of intent. What you think determines what you drink. So, after hunting down original recipes from bartenders at leading Australian and New York bars, rock journalist Jane Rocca created the ultimate guide to finding the spirit for every soundtrack.


I couldn't resist adding one more cocktail, it sounds so delicious..but a little bit more preparation time involved...going to give  this a try on the weekend. yummmmm.

'Rocky Road'
Martini Glass

5ml frangelico
30ml marshmallow infused vodka*
10ml cherrry brandy
10ml dark creme de cacao
10ml black raspberry liqueur
15ml soy milk
vodka soaked marshmallow, grated chocolate and chopped hazelnuts to garnish

Rim glass with frangelico.
Combine all remaining ingredients except for garnish in a mixing glass and stir well. Pour into martini
glass and garnish with marshmallow, chocolate and hazelnuts.

* To infuse vodka with marshmallows combine a 250g pack of vanilla marshmallows with 700ml vodka in microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1min. Stir thoroughly then microwave on high for another minute. Leave to stand for 5 minutes. Pour into a bottle ready for use.

'Write to Me'

Following on from my last post about Julia Childs, I have just ordered this gorgeous 1950's stationary, due to arrive instore early next week.

This fabulous design is from the range of "Write to Me" which we are very proud to now be stocking.
Write to me is a boutique stationery and homeware company created by sisters Nicoletta & Anna Constanti. Each product is designed, hand printed and crafted in their little Melbourne studio.

Julie & Julia

We recently watched Julie and Julia on DVD and loved it. Not only were our mouths watering from all the delicious looking food that Julia Childs (Meryl Streep) was cooking but from the gorgeous looking costumes and sets. Following the biography of Julia Childs, set for the most part in Paris in the 1950's we were treated to some classic styles, fabulous dresses, hats, shoes and bags.
The other half of the movie tells the story of blogger, Julie Powell , (Amy Adams) a New Yorker , who begins the movie in jeans and ends up in cute 1950's style pearls, vintage dresses and aprons by the end as she develops her obsession with the iconic Julia Child . Definitely worth a look!