The Winter Cocktail

My dear friend Elise gifted me a bottle of Patron Citronge. Up until then I had never heard of it before so it was time to start experimenting. There are so many great warm weather cocktails out there. But what about those of us caught in the polar vortex? I made it my mission to make something just as delicious for the colder months. I figured that Patron Citronge would pair well with citrus fruits and since oranges are in season (and on sale) during the winter that is where it began.  To really hit home with the winter theme, I decided to add few drops of vanilla flavor to gives it a rich, woody taste. A new cocktail was born, The Winter Cocktail.  I am excited to share it with you! I tested it on my book club girls and they approved.

Here is what you need:
– Freshly squeezed orange juice
– Freshly squeezed lemon juice
– Gin
– Aperol
– Patron Citronge
– Vanilla flavor
– Cocktail shaker (My sister in law Samantha got me this one from Anthro! Isn’t it so cute?!)Wintercocktail You must squeeze the juice yourself otherwise it won’t taste nearly as good.  Back away from the Tropicana people. wintercocktail2 Add 4oz of orange juice and 2oz of lemon juice to your cocktail shaker.  (This usually amounts to 1 orange and 1 lemon – which makes it easy!) wintercocktail3 Now add 2oz of gin, 1 oz of Parton Citronge, 1oz of Aperol and 1/2 a teaspoon of Vanilla flavor! wintercocktail4 Add 2 handfuls of ice to your shaker.  Shake it like a polaroid picture until it is cold! Serve straight up. (Something to try when it gets warmer – omit the vanilla and serve on the rocks!)wintercocktail5Is it 5:00pm yet?  If you test it out, let me know how it goes!

March Madness

I’m in the middle of March Madness!!  Even though my March Madness has nothing to do with basketball, I feel like I’m playing a basketball game right now.  I’m juggling so many moving parts and trying to fit everything in before that game clock goes off!

March is usually a pretty boring month for me.  The store is closed, the shows are over, Nantucket is quiet and cold and the only thing that keeps me busy are my daily visits to Stop & Shop so I can have some human contact.

This year, my March is pretty dang interesting!!  Steve and I are just back from Amanda and Nick’s ridiculously fun wedding weekend in Miami.  In a couple of days we are off to meet up with the rest of the Ott family in Europe!!

On top of all that there is a lot going on at the store.  We are painting, refinishing the floors and getting things ready for the upcoming season.  I’ve got Julia’s wedding shower to plan.  Plus, I’ve got the cutest little puppy that I need to spoil because I don’t want her to be sad when I leave her for the next couple of weeks.  (Let’s not even talk about it… I’m feeling so guilty!)

Here are some snaps from my first week of March Madness
This was Tuesday.  Yep it snowed again:marchmadnessAnd this was the sunset Tuesday night:
Marchmadness1 The sunset progression:marchmadness2 The beginning stages of my spiffy new floors (they are still going to be gray):Marchmadness3Off to Miami we go!! The hotel: marchmadness4a The beach:marchmadness5marchmadness4The Rehearsal Dinner:
rehearsaldinnerAmanda’s stunning family!  Her brother, (Amanda & Nick), her sisters Erika and Jessie:EpsteinsThe bridesmaids!  We wore Love Shack Fancy Dresses – we will be carrying this style dress at Milly & Grace this season (Photocred: Dani Epstein):bridesmaidsI’m sad to say that I didn’t get very many pictures – I was having way too much fun!!  (The photographer’s pictures are better anyway!) With Mrs. Godfrey and my main squeeze! Amanda&NickweddingMarch, I’m loving this change of pace!  Keep it up! xo

 

Fall ’14 Style Report & Top Picks!

The overall trend for Fall 2014 is pretty and feminine.  This Milly & Grace Girl is very happy.  The color palette is going to be soft and muted and the two colors we saw most were light pink & cool gray.  Could Fall 2014 get any more perfect?!
The Fall Color Palette: light pink, cool gray, powder blues, heather charcoals, rich creams, pretty browns, and tans. The pop of color is sangria and emerald.
Style Trends: Elegant high necklines, lace, solid clean sweaters, fur vests, lots of plaid, drop waist dresses and feminine florals.
Shopping recommendations: Make sure to have a plaid shirt, a thicker solid turtleneck sweater in a soft color (light pink or powder blue), a faux fur vest, a pretty floral silk top and a lace dress!

Here are my top picks from the designers we carry at Milly & Grace:
Joie faux fur vest (We are also getting this in black):joiefurvest
Free People deep purple fringe party dress:
freepeople
Rebecca Taylor high neck floral top:
RebeccaTaylortop
Rebecca Taylor floral dress:
RebeccaTaylor2
Splendid staples:
splendid

 Tracy Reese “Chanel inspired” long sweater coat:tracyreeseParker gray suede dress:parker

We are excited go announce that we are going to have a few new jewelry lines this coming season!
Shashi:shashiTheia:
fring

Another new addition to the line up are these water bottles made by Swell!  They keep beverages cold for 24 hours or hot 12 hours!!  Say What??!!Swell Water bottlesI know that Fall is so far away.  But don’t worry, stick with me and I’ll be sure to remind you about the upcoming trends!