A Drink That Won't Ruin Your New Years Resolution

Happy New Year, You+Me* Readers! Did you guys know that 2011 is the year of the rabbit on the Chinese calendar? That’s as close as we’re going to get to having a year of the Jackalope so we view it as a good sign as we get this brewery open.We’re smack dab in early January now, which means many of us are trying to stick to those New Years resolutions that seemed like such good ideas three days ago. We’re here to help! It seems like most people have the same resolution – be healthier. We’re all for a healthy lifestyle, but we refuse to participate with any diet that tells us you can’t have alcohol. That is a surefire way to make me drop that resolution like a hot potato. May we suggest though, a healthy drink. Okay, not “healthy” but better for you than a White Russian. This vodka pomegranate blueberry cocktail is filled with super foods! Okay, it’s filled with juices made of super foods, but pomegranates are in season right now, and their seeds are super delicious so we recommend adding fresh seeds to this recipe.

(source)

To reward yourself for being so awesome and having this heart healthy antioxidant filled drink, why don’t you serve them in one of these gorgeous glasses?

(source)

Aren’t they beautiful? They’d be divine just sitting in your cupboard but imagine how lovely they’ll look with the deep red cocktail sitting in it...and then slowly disappearing from it.

Recipe adapted from Fresh Approach Cooking:
1 ½ ounces of vodka

½ ounce of pomegranate juice

Splash of pure blueberry juice

Splash of club soda

Garnish with pomegranate seeds

Combine the vodka, pomegranate juice, blueberry juice and club soda in a cocktail shaker. Shake shake shake it all up, pour it in the beautiful glasses, garnish with the seeds. Sip and enjoy!

Cheers to a happy and healthy 2011!

Fighting the Winter Doldrums

Dear YOU + ME*,

It's time to pack up our holiday decorations, but I get a feeling of dread just thinking about it. Without a tree bedecked with sparkling ornaments and twinkly masses of lights hanging everywhere, it will be so cold and dark and winter-y. Any suggestions for keeping our home warm and bright without looking like we're unable to let go of Christmas?

Thanks!
M.

Dear M.,

You sound like a girl after our own hearts--life is much too short for dreary winters. Luckily, you have plenty of festive decor options that say winter, not Christmas. Here are three of our favorites:

Twinkle
Use your twinkle lights in unexpected ways for a glow that doesn't say holiday. 

Clockwise from top left: via Apartment Therapy, Pinterest, Apartment Therapy, Citified

Citrus
Lemons, limes, oranges, kumquats--use them all for decorations that also make your home smell delicious.

Clockwise from top left: via Real Simple, Mary Ruffle, Elle Decor, Oh Happy Day

Hearts
It's a little early to start decorating for Valentine's Day, but hearts made out of cozy materials or papers in colors other than pink and red can definitely make an early appearance.

Clockwise from top left: lovefromchloe, bookity, Between the Lines

We hope these ideas keep your home feeling warm and cheery all winter long.

xo,
ME*

Do you have a question for us? While we can't promise to answer every question that comes our way, we love to hear from you. Drop us a line at hello[at]gmail[dot]com.

Going, going, back, back

Happy Monday, friends! We hope your holidays were joyful and triumphant, that your new year is off to a great start, and that you're still rocking your sequined minis even though it kind of feels like the festivities are over. Emi and I are off tonight to go meet Elisabeth in our hometown of San Francisco (or just outside of SF anyway) for 2 weeks of working over there. We've got some great collaborations up our sleeves for out there, and can't wait to share them. In the meantime, here are some of my favorite California-themed things from Etsy.

(I Heart California Print, Nan Lawson)

Seriously, Nan Lawson is amazing. Did you see the illustration that Elisabeth had her do for me? 

(California, Dutch Door Press)

Elisabeth and I both have this print hanging in our houses. And, if you're not a California girl (or boy), Dutch door has a bunch of other states, too.

(Going to California, The Wheat Field)

(San Francisco Wave, Tomoko Maruyama)

(California Cutting Board, A Heirloom)

Go forth and conquer, lovelies, and if you're on a flight tonight from JFK to OAK, sorry in advance for the toddler in seat 9C.

Wishing You Good Fortune In 2011!

Photo by Angela Gaspar for YOU + ME*

Happy New Year, friends! This year is going to be full of great things. I can just feel it.

Consider the photo above our virtual contribution to your luck for the year. Did you know that ring shaped foods are considered lucky in many cultures? I'm pretty sure they're even luckier when served all wrapped up in the Coral and Tusk lucky charms tea towel. We hope today is the beginning of a truly lovely year!

Highlights of 2010 & Goals for 2011

Photo by Angela Gaspar for YOU + ME*

Do you have any New Year's Eve traditions beyond kissing your honey at midnight? Miya and I happen to have the very same tradition with our respective husbands. We like to kick off New Year's Eve (or New Year's Day) by taking time to write down highlights from the prior year and our goals for the upcoming year. My husband and I finally compiled them in a book since part of the fun is re-reading and reflecting on them.

Wishing you an evening full of happy memories of 2010 and big dreams for 2011!

Happy Birthday, Miya!

Hello, friends! As 2010 winds down, I hope this last week is full of all your favorite things.

Speaking of favorite things, today happens to be the birthday of one of my absolute most favorite people ever. Yes, I'm talking about Miya.

Birthday portrait by the uber talented Nan Lawson

If you've met Miya for even a minute, you know I'm not exaggerating about how much I adore her in the least. Miya is one of the most talented people I've ever met. The fact that she accomplishes so much every day while walking a dog, carrying a toddler, and lugging a giant bag of art supplies, baby gear, and other miscellany is a constant source of amazement and inspiration to me (especially since I'm usually ready for a nap by around 9AM). No matter what Miya has on her to do list for the day, she is always the first to volunteer to take your dog for a walk, bring you some soup (almost always homemade) when you're sick, or help you finish up some crafty project that is taking much longer than you originally anticipated.

On top of that, she makes everything more fun (I've had better times with Miya while jam packed on a subway after running errands for hours than I would have with most people at a party). It just so happens that my entire household agrees completely. My dog still searches the park for Miya every morning when we go on our walk even though she moved to Brooklyn forever ago. And if you ask Claire who she is talking to when she pretends to be on the phone, she almost always says Miya. Basically, Miya is the kind of friend I hope everyone is lucky enough to have.

Happy birthday, Miya! I hope today is the best.

xoxo,
e

Queenie Cooks: Browned Butter Pound Cake

Merry Christmas slash Happy Festivus, everyone! I'm writing this post from (slightly balmier than New York) Austin, Texas, where I'm spending the holidays with two of my favorite people in the world (Nick and Louisa) and two of my favorite dogs in the world (Oscar and Hunter).

Louisa has planned a most fabulous menu for Christmas Eve dinner, including three (yes, THREE) separate desserts. When it's your first year hosting your in-laws and your parents for Christmas, this is the sort of thing you tend to do. That said, if you're still in the planning stages for tomorrow night's dinner or Saturday's festivities, I hereby submit one of my very favorite, ridiculously easy recipes for your consideration.

Browned butter pound cake. The very words thrill me. My incredibly talented friend Lorna created the recipe, and I've found little that perfumes a house quite as incredibly.

You can make this cake with ingredients you already have in the house, and yet it makes the place smell all special occasion exciting. It bakes up flawlessly every time, and pairs gorgeously with a myriad of ice creams (vanilla, cinammon, honey, ginger) and sauces (toffee, butterscotch). It transports easily, can be made ahead of time...really, there's absolutely no reason not to make this cake.

Even if you already have plans for dessert. After all, there's always breakfast. And snack time. Or whatever.

Lorna's Browned Butter Pound Cake
Adapted from Lorna Yee

2 sticks + 1 tbsp unsalted butter

2/3 cups packed dark brown sugar

2/3 cups granulated sugar

4 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a skillet, melt the butter over high heat until it starts to brown and smell nutty. (Give it the occasional stir so that the butter browns evenly, and doesn’t burn.) Transfer the browned butter to a bowl and set it in the freezer for a few minutes to cool while you gather the rest of your ingredients.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cooled, brown butter in with the sugars on medium speed until creamy and light, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one by one, beating well after each addition. The mixture should appear about doubled in volume in the mixing bowl. Beat in the vanilla extract.

Set the mixing speed to low, and beat in the remaining ingredients until combined. Transfer the batter to a loaf pan, and smooth the top.

Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour, and test with a skewer to ensure doneness. If the cake is still too moist in the center, bake for another 5-10 minutes, and check again.

Let cool completely before slicing.

Photo by Angela Gaspar for YOU + ME*

Are you cozy by a fire, drinking eggnog with family and friends? We sure hope so. We're taking things easy through the new year, but we will still have some festive posts going up on Holiday. Here is a recap and a sneak preview for you:
- Mulling spices made easy
- Slowing down/a way for kids to feel good about giving
- A Christmas Eve tradition (complete with matching pjs)
- A tip for making sure your ornaments remain memorable

Oh, and I would love if you stopped by here on the 27th for a very special surprise for a very special someone (shhhhhh, don't tell Miya).

Merry wishes to you and yours!

The Smell of Christmas

Photo by Angela Gaspar for YOU + ME*

Two words: mulling spices. Visit us on Holiday for ideas on how to make them, use them, or give them.

50's-Inspired Shoot with Kay English Photography

Good morning, friends! I hope your weekend was filled with ice skating and sugar cookies. My in-laws visited this weekend for a little pre-Christmas head start, and it was fantastic. We may or may not have made one of our weekend missions to find matching PJs for the entire family for Christmas eve/morning. Today, we are so excited to share a shoot with you that we did back in November. 

 

 

When Kay English got in touch with us about styling a vintage-inspired shoot for her, we knew that we had to bring something fresh to the styled-shoot world. We pulled in Poppies & Posies to create some retro-inspired, yet still modern, florals for us to kick off the vintage feel. We also had our two favorite glasses folks over on Etsy send over their most fabulous frames.

The premise of the shoot is that the bride and groom had come into NYC to elope in the morning, and then spent the day exploring the city together. We had Dara from Preston and Olivia create the veil that our model wore; she sent over the most perfect veil ever. Look at this bow:

We hope you like it; we had so much fun putting it together. We'll be taking it easy this week and next, but rest assured that we've got some serious goodness coming up for you in the next few weeks. Have a lovely Monday, dears.
Vendors:
Photography: Kay English Photography
Fashion & Prop Styling: You + ME* Lifestylists
Florals: Poppies & Posies
Jacket: Starkweather Vintage
Glasses: Vintage 1950's Glasses & Mom & Pop's Vintage Eyewear
Dress: Fancy
Suitcase: Vintage Parade
Veil: Preston and Olivia