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#FWCon

I’m super stoked for today’s post you guys! If you haven’t figured out
by the lead photo above- I’ve been chosen as one of the 2015 Food &
Wine Conference Ambassadors!!! SO EXCITED!!!

To celebrate I’m going to be re-creating some of the recipes from Isabel Laessig’s amazing blog Family Foodie or from her other blog Sunday Supper Movement–
Isabel is the conference creator. I’ll re-create at least one recipe a
week through the start of the conference. This week my first choice was
to make her Walnut Crusted Salmon Cakes. Here’s how my turned out:

My only swap to her recipe was I swapped bread crumbs for the crushed
walnuts because I didn’t have any walnuts and didn’t want to drive back
to the store after forgetting the one crucial ingredient in the recipe.

LOL! The sauce on top of mine is Tiger Sauce. This hot and tangy sauce was absolutely delicious on them!!! My husband and I frequently enjoy Tiger Sauce on crab cakes, meatloaf and now these salmon cakes. Anyway, get Isabel’s yummy salmon cake recipe HERE!

So, what does me being a 2015 Food & Wine Conference ambassador mean
for you guys? Not only does it mean you will get to see new recipes
that I haven’t tried before on this blog, it also means that if you want
to come to the 2015 Food & Wine Conference with me you can snag
$50 OFF your ticket with this code- FWC15grana

My husband and I have been talking a lot lately about movies and as he brought up references to lots of films we realized that there are a LOT of films I have not seen yet. After talking for just 20 minutes we had a list of 35 films he thought I should see. Then, we asked his dad and sister and at the end of that conversation the final tally was well over 60 films. I guess you could say I have quite a few to watch in the coming days. Thank goodness for Netflix and Amazon Prime I suppose!

However, some of the unwatched films we’d accumulated on the list were not available on Netflix and Amazon. I suppose that was to be expected; these sites can’t have every film in the world obtainable! Our friend had previously told us about utilizing a Pirate Proxy to watch films online that might otherwise be inaccessible on sites like Netflix. We might have to consider this for the films that we can’t find on streaming sites.

Contact me HERE! I’m PR friendly 😉

Anyway, the first flick we chose because it was free on Netflix and was
the first one we happened to type in the search box that was actually
streaming was Days of Thunder.

I have to say I liked this flick quite a bit more than I thought I would. Ah, Tom Cruise before the crazy. I like this version of him. (p.s. I’m glad he has piped DOWN in the media lately and gotten back to just making good movies) And Nicole Kidman! WOW! She was a fox-
although, come to think of it – she STILL is! It was enjoyable to watch even though I’m not a huge racing fan. Yes, Kim if you are reading this- I confess it. I’m not that big into racing. BUT, this flick did give me a better appreciation for racing and I can see why people get so fired up about it. This movie had me laughing, crying and cringing making for an overall feel good flick. If you are bored and looking for something to watch on Netflix I would highly recommend it.

Want to watch it, but don’t have Netflix? Rent Days of Thunder via Amazon Online Rentals HERE!

Oh and by the way- You can also snag free trials of Netflix and Amazon Prime right now. Just click Netflix or Amazon Prime and get your free trials today!

#tequila #cocktails #ThirstyThursdays #recipes
I don’t know what it is about the Tequila Sunrise, but man I love this
drink! I wish I had one of these right now! You have to like tequila to
enjoy it and I certainly do! Here’s how to make it:

Tequila Sunrise

Ingredients:
2 oz. tequila
6 oz. orange juice
1/2 oz grenadine

Have a drink you want me to try or a product you want me to review?

Contact me HERE! I’m PR friendly 😉

Directions:
1. Fill a highball glass with ice.
2. Pour the tequila and orange juice into a martini shaker filled with ice. Shake and strain into the glass of ice
3. Slowly pour a half an ounce of grenadine into the glass.
4. (optional) garnish with an orange slice or a cherry

Obviously in the picture above we used a swanky martini glass instead of a highball and didn’t add any ice, but it tastes waaaaaaaaaaaaaay better when you do it right. We just wanted a prettier layered picture.

Do you like tequila sunrises? If not, what is your favorite drink? Chime in with a comment below!

Do you have a drink you want me to try or a product you want me to review?

Contact me HERE! I’m PR friendly 😉

This post contains links to an affiliate. See my disclosure policy for more information.

I’ll be a busy bee this week!

It’s been too damn long since I posted to my own page. This website is my therapy and I miss posting here. I plan on adding a whole bunch of stuff from my trip to Thailand and to my weekly Thirsty Thursdays that took an unintended break after Halloween 2014. My world has been a little crazy since just before my trip to Thailand, but I am just going to start it up again because it’s my blog and I do what I want! LOL!

So, here’s what you can expect going forward:
– I’ll be posting new stuff weekly again (sometimes daily depending on how I feel that morning)
– I’ll be adding all of my backdated posts from pre-Thailand to Valentine’s Day to National Margarita Day
– I’m going to use this page to do what I said I would- have a diary of my life as a freelancer along with highlights of work I’ve done. And if you don’t like it, you don’t have to visit anymore.

There, I already feel better.

This week on my schedule I have a BUNCH of writing to do. I have 13 newsletters to ghost write, 11 blog posts to ghost write and 6 articles to finish writing and posting for my About.com page 😉 After that I’ve got some editing and re-writing to do for two eBooks I’m ghost writing for two different clients so you could definitely say this week’s schedule will be full and I will be a very busy bee!

Have a great week everybody! I’ll post more here soon 🙂 It feels good to say that!

Image source for image above

As I type this post I’m continuing to lay the ground work for all of my plans that will begin Thursday. So weird that this Thursday marks the beginning of a new year! I have soooooooo many big plans for 2015 and am crazy excited to see where my career will take me in the next 12 months. I’m looking forward to every minute of it! Here’s a quick summary of some of the things 2015 will hold for me- my video camera is ready and my video studio will be complete soon (oh yes youtube HERE I COME!), my fingers are ready and willing to type thousands of words for my own sites and all of my clients, my walking shoes are waiting by the door and my husband is researching a new TB drive to set up a raid for an awesome memory backup system for all the work we will be doing… So beyond excited!

I’m thankful for the lessons learned in 2014 and hope that they will make me a smarter entrepreneur in 2015. To those of you that hurt me this year- I forgive you and thank you for teaching me the lessons you did. To anyone I hurt in the last 12 months- I’m sorry and I hope that we can patch up our relationship and start anew. To those of you who gave me a chance when you didn’t have to, I’m in your debt and hope to make you proud in the coming days, months and years. To everyone who referred new clients to me, thanks for helping me keep food on the table and a roof over my head. To everyone in my life- you are here for a reason and I’m grateful that you are. May you all have the most prosperous and glorious 2015 filled with an abundance of love, happiness and all that your hearts desire!

Source for image above

This post contains links to an affiliate. See my disclosure policy for more information.

My theme for 2015 will be POSITIVITY!

I hate New Year’s Resolutions and the pressure that surrounds them.
So, for 2015 I have some goals in mind and tasks I will do to make those
goals realities and I plan to write at the end of 2015 that 2015 was my
best year yet. I can honestly say that at least in my career 2014 has
been my best year to date so here’s hoping 2015 will actually trump
it!!!!


My current goals for the new year are:
– Be a more positive in 2015
– Practice an attitude of gratitude more frequently
– Make enough money monthly that I can pay all of my bills and have
enough left over to pay down my debts
– Have more fun and live more in the moment rather than planning too far ahead
– Eat healthier and move my body more. I don’t want to say diet and
workout because I hate those ideals. I’d rather focus on the positives
than the negatives.
– Work more on my own blogs and websites to be more independent and financially free
– Get my apartment organized by the end of 2015

Source for image above

This post contains links to an affiliate. See my disclosure policy for more information.

Hello and welcome to a #Halloween inspired edition of Thirsty Thursdays! This week I have THREE Halloween drinks for you to trick and treat your taste buds. Come back next week for part 2 when I’ll make three more Halloween drinks!!! YUM 🙂

First up, Pumpkin-Spiced Pudding Shots:
Okay, so these have been floating around on facebook and Pinterest for the past couple of weeks and I wanted to try them! Two problems though- I could only find Pumpkin Pudding that was already made and two, I’m an idiot and didn’t see that I bought pumpkin CHEESECAKE pudding, not frikkin Pumpkin Pudding. Never fear though- I still made a tasty shot. Here’s what I did:

I scooped the Pumpkin Cheesecake Pudding into a bowl and then added four shots of fireball. Yes- four because I like that stuff. So, then I blended the bejesus out of it with a hand mixer and once it was a gooey hot mess I poured the concoction into 2oz jello shot cups. After pouring I placed them into the fridge to get them cold and two hours later I had my first one.

Verdict: TRICK
I have to say- I added too much fireball, but it was still really yummy (although it burned like hell going down!)

 Contact me HERE! I’m PR friendly 😉

Next up, the Zombie Killer:

Zombie Killer
I tried this drink at James Joyce Irish pub in Ybor City and it’s delicious! You have to try this drink! Now, if you are lazy like I am, go to the bar and order it because right now this huge shot (more like two shots in one seriously!) is just $4!!!!

What’s in the drink? Blue Curacao, Gin, sour mix, OJ and Grenadine.  I just assumed equal parts of this stuff and put it in a cocktail shaker, shook it and poured it into a big shot glass. Still tasted pretty good, but to get it in the correct proportion just go to the damn bar already! They will even layer it all sexy like as shown in the picture above.

Verdict: TREAT!

Lastly, the Dracula’s Kiss:

This cocktail has been popping up in my pinterest feed like CRAZY! I found the recipe on the website A Healthy Life for Me. Here’s how to make it:

Ingredients
– 1 oz black cherry vodka (I used Florida Cane cherry vodka instead because it’s a local vodka and I support small businesses as often as I can!)
– ½ oz grenadine
– cola
– maraschino cherries for garnish

Instructions- I totally didn’t follow the instructions it came with, because I’m a rebel like that. So, how I did it:
1. Pour the vodka and grenadine in a cocktail shaker over ice.
2. Shake and strain into a martini glass (<-keepin it classy!. Only fill the glass about half way.
3. Fill the rest of the glass with cola. I used Pepsi

Verdict- TREAT

More on the Florida Cane Vodka– this stuff comes in 11 different flavors. You can get all 11 from the awesome Gaspar’s liquor store located on 56th street at Gaspar’s Patio. It’s cheap and delicious and you will be glad you tried it. So, support your local biznezz  and go get this vodka! Please drink responsibly!

Welcome to Halloween Drinks Part 2. Gotta love Halloween Cocktails don’t ya?

Bloody Braintini (pictured above):

Okay, this drink is gross as a martini. Should totally have done it as a
shot! The texture is just to gross to drink as a martini. Trust me! So,
here’s how to make it as a shot instead of the original recipe I was
planning to post:

Ingredients:
– Baileys
– Florida Cane Cherry Vodka
– Red food coloring

Prep:
– Add a shot of the vodka into a cocktail shaker over ice and one drop of red food coloring 
– shake and strain into a shot glass filling the glass about 2/3 of the way
– Pour Baileys into the shot glass… it will curdle making the brain effect in the glass (I didn’t use cold Baileys but you totally could)
-Shoot it!

Tastes like a chocolate cherry tootsie roll.

Verdict: TREAT! but only as a shot. Don’t try it as a martini because
then it’s totally a nasty trick! YUCK Check out Halloween drinks part
one, HERE!

Contact me HERE! I’m PR friendly 😉

Next, the  SCREAMing Orgasm Shot:

Ingredients:
– Baileys
– Kahlua
– Unflavored Vodka

Prep:
– pour one oz each of the liquors into a cocktail shaker over ice.
– Shake and strain into a big shot glass
– Shoot it!

If you are too lazy to make this drink on your own, do what I did and get the Twisted Shotz pictured above. Yum! Read my review of Twisted Shotz HERE!

Verdict: TREAT! Check out Halloween drinks part one, HERE!

The final drink is something fun to make with leftover Halloween candy!

This is the Fish Bowl Drank from Tipsy Bartender. Love this drink guys. SRSLY! This is my spin on it though. Not the recipe from the video.

Fish Bowl Cocktail
 Ingredients:
– Florida Cane Cherry Vodka
– Blue fruit punch (I used Dollar Trees ghetto berry but you could also use blue Hawaiian Punch)
– Nerds Candy(the gravel for the bowl)
– Swedish Fish (the fish- duh!)
– Fish bowl (the one I used holds about a quart of liquid)

Prep:
– Line the bottom of the bowl with Nerds Candy. Not too much- just a thin line!
– Fill the bowl with ice
– pour about 2 to 6 oz of Florida Cane Cherry Vodka into the Fish bowl over ice. I wanted it potent so I added 6 oz.
– Fill the rest of the bowl with the blue fruit punch
– Add the Swedish Fish
– Using a straw drink up! Don’t let the
straw hit the bottom of the glass or you might suck one of them damn
nerds into the back of your throat and choke like I did! BLEH!

More on the Florida Cane Vodka– this stuff comes in 11 different flavors. You can get all 11 from the awesome Gaspar’s liquor store located on 56th street at Gaspar’s Patio.
It’s cheap and delicious and you will be glad you tried it. So, support
your local biznezz  and go get this vodka! Please drink responsibly!

   This post may contain a link to an affiliate. See my disclosure policy for more information.