Happy New Year!

As 2014 winds down, boy has it been a whirlwind of a year. New job (blargh), yet another failed relationship, going out on dates, friends' weddings and babies, a best friend moving down to Houston (woot!), my dear puppy having to be put to sleep (miss you Hershey), trying to make an effort to keep up my blog (more successful this year than any other), and all around attempting to just get happy.

I always make resolutions every year, but, like most everyone else, fail to keep them. I really want to make changes for 2015, and focus on getting everything together for myself, in both the job and personal life realms. The biggest thing is losing weight. Cliche, I know, but it really has knocked down my self esteem.

I hope 2015 has big things in store for me, because I sure as hell have earned it! :)

Cheers!

New glassware obsession

As a lot of my friends know, I'm obsessed with glassware. I cannot resist buying at least one set of glasses any time I step into a home goods store, and you bet your bottom dollar I snag a pint glass from every brewery I go to as well..

Lately, I've really been into collecting wine glasses. Crate and Barrel is definitely my go-to. Come to think about it, a majority of my glass collection came from there. They have every kind of wine glass imaginable (and every other type of glass, really), from vintage style to contemporary.

My new go to for wine is Crate and Barrel's "Camille" glasses, in the red wine size. Made popular by Kerry Washington's character, Olivia Pope, on Scandal, these babies have taken on a celebrity persona of their own.

I feel so elegant whilst drinking my vino from these glasses! At 14.95 a pop, I really only could budget for a set, so I'm lusting after the whit wine set from afar (Christmas?).

One sip from these, and you will be in love :)

Autumn 2014!

Autumn has always been my favorite time of the year for many reasons - that crisp feel in the air (not so much in Houston), the fashion, the colors (again, not so much in Houston), college football, and there is pumpkin scented/flavored everything. I miss Michigan in autumn. You can't beat the colors driving up north, or the feeling of walking on campus at Michigan State University in September.

I don't think I've been so excited for Spartan football season before - under Coach Dantonio's lead, the boys get better and better every year, and are still fresh off a big Rose Bowl win! I see wonderful things in the future, and am so proud of our young team!

I wish so badly I could make it back for a game this year (haven't been since the year after I graduated), but alas, with my job, I'm very limited on time I can take off. If they make it to a bowl game somewhere around Texas or Louisiana this year, I definitely want to make it a point to go.

While I can't make it to East Lansing this year, I did discover (after three and a half years) there is a large Spartan population down here, resulting in Blackfinn of Midtown being the "MSU bar". It was so awesome going in there, and seeing so many other Spartan fans. Gave me hope of possibly being able to still marry a fellow Spartan, even being in the South! Haha!

On another note, the other fall events I'm excited for are the haunted houses to open (I LOVE Halloween!), Ren Fest to start, hunting for good donuts and cider (they have no clue what cider mills are down here, WTH?), and, most importantly, introducing gem tones back into our wardrobes.

Oh, there is so much more I could go on about Fall and all of it's goodness! I'm working on compiling a list a fall-centric drinks, so be on the lookout for that post to roll out! 

'Til next time! :)

Big announcement!

After much contemplation, I have decided to change things up with Clothes, Cats, and Cosmos. I plan on renaming my blog "Remember the Cosmo" (an ode to my favorite cocktail, as well as my love of history), as a play on the famous historical saying "Remember the Alamo".

I'm also contemplating moving my posts and future shenanigans over to Tumblr, on a professional recommendation. BIG changes are coming your way, so get ready!

Here is a teaser for the new logo:

Til' next time!

Craft Beer of the Week

It's been a long time since I've posted a craft beer of the week! I've spent so much time working on the two long blogs covering my week long vacation with Jasna, resulting in the other parts of my blog lacking! Sorry!

My sister and I recently made a trip down to Central Market (you can find ANYTHING there), which is our favorite grocer in Houston. They have a ginormous selection of meat, cheese, seafood, organic foods, and, most importantly, spirits! They always have a few taste testing options for different wine and beer. That day, they were offering a fruit beer called Melonhead by Shipyard Brewing Company. I LOVE fruit beer, so I thought it was fantastic. My sister liked it too, even though she's not the biggest fan of fruitier beers. It has a lot of flavor to it, and almost had a hint of a Bubble-liscious bubblegum taste! The company describes it as "a crisp, quenching wheat ale with a refreshing essence of fresh watermelon." You can find out where you can locate Melonhead, or any other Shipyard beer, by going to their website here.

Cheers!

Part Deux of Laura and Jasna's Excellent Adventure!

For the last leg of mine and Jasna's trip, we decided to take the five and a half hour car ride to New Orleans and party it up. We were originally set to make a stop in Lake Charles to gamble a bit (my friend Kristi was going to meet us for our overnight in Lake Charles, but sadly, couldn't join us all the way in New Orleans) and take advantage of the resort at L'Auberge, but it ended down pouring the entire day we were supposed to be there. Luckily, I was able to cancel our reservation, and book an extra night in New Orleans.

Louisiana is one of the few states I actually don't mind driving through. The drive was a bit lengthy, but definitely not terrible. We kept ourselves occupied with impromptu sing-a-longs, boy gossip, and scenery. Speaking of scenery, for a good portion of the trek down I-10, the road is full of bayous and greenery (and, if you're lucky, a tiger!). Yep, you heard me correctly. Believe it or not, one of the gas stations located just west of Baton Rouge (home of the LSU Tigers) does house a real life tiger. I was so excited Tony was there, as the last time I had driven through Louisiana (back in September), the state had confiscated him.

Tony!

Moving on, it had been twelve years since I had been to New Orleans, and that was only for a half of a day (we took a cruise where that was one of our stops). Even when I was way under age, I enjoyed the city's atmosphere. I couldn't wait to go back when I WAS of age! I also can't believe it it took me nearly three and a half years of living only five and a half hours away, to finally make it over. 

Classic New Orleans balcony lit up in Mardi Gras colors

We arrived at our first hotel (the very cute and very "old New Orleans" hotel, Bienvielle House) of the weekend shortly after dinner time, so we took an hour or so to get settled and freshen up from our car ride before heading out to explore. Since we walked a very limited amount the first time I had been there, it was amazing to see how different the area was from what I remembered. We were so mesmerized by the French Quarter and surrounding area. I liked how they kept a lot of the old gas lamp street/house lights. It adds so much character and old world charm to the city! 

Gas lamp street lights

After walking around for nearly two hours, we decided to have our first taste of creole cuisine. We checked out a few different places, but ultimately decided upon Pere Antoine, located on Royal Street. Both Jasna and I decided to have po-boys for dinner (I had shrimp, Jasna catfish). They were fantastic, and we were delighted to be able to wash them down with Abita Strawberry lager (my all-time favorite beer!). Anyone who reads my blog knows how obsessed I am with any Abita beer, and could understand how thrilled I was when I saw it all over the city (like it was Budweiser or Miller)! 

Pere Antoine

When we finished eating, it was time to hit up Bourbon Street! I was the biggest dork, and compiled a list on my iPhone of different bars (which a majority are open until 3-5am) and drinks to try. Question was, where do we start? After a little walk down Bourbon, we decided to pop into Tropical Isle to get one of their Hand Grenades (which can be served on the rocks or frozen). Oh. Girl. I can definitely see why they are so popular! They hardly taste like alcohol, and are very delicious. Beware: they DO consist of pretty much just booze, so they are extremely potent. Both Jasna and I were feeling pretty tipsy by the time we finished those (I know, old ladies getting schwastey after one drink), so we decided to take it easy with a daiquiri - or so we thought. We didn't know which daiquiri shop to go to since there were so many, so in typical Laura and Jasna fashion, we chose based on the cute/creepy little Jester glasses from Jester Daqs. Next question was what flavor to get, so we went with the obvious choice - the house special (labelled "strongest drink in the world"). Neither of us thought too much of their "claim", as most places that say they have "the best this, or the strongest that" are completely bogus. Not the case here. Whoa!!!! Jasna and I went from 40 to 150 mph in a matter of minutes. These, too, went down quite easily. I couldn't believe it was so easy to drink Everclear (word on the street is that most signature "Bourbon Street" drinks include it as one of their ingredients)! After half a Jester, Jasna and I headed into a club called "Bourbon Heat", where the bouncer was nice enough to let us sit with our outside drinks (it was, after all, around 3:30am). We decided to finally call it a night around 4:30am, but happened to meet some cool friends randomly on our way back to the hotel. So, of course, we ended staying out an extra hour!

Bourbon Street

Tropical Isle Hand Grenade

Inside Tropical Isle

Tropical Isle

Jester Daiquiri 

After a good night of sleep (and shockingly, no hangovers), we were ready for our full day in the city. We decided to start with breakfast at Cafe du Monde, which is famous for its' beignets and cafe au laits. They were so good, even though we ended up in a big powder sugar mess! We decided to do a little shopping in the little one of a kind shops mainly on Chartres Street, and a few other random stores in that area after breakfast. There were so many cute, eclectic stores (why am I acting surprised?)! A few of my favorites were Hemline and Fleurty Girl (not on Chartes Street), as well as the vast array of antique shops (even though I have a tiny dislike for them, I can still appreciate their history). At Fleurty Girl, I ended up getting hooked on their signature super soft t-shirts, as well as a local headband brand, Haybands. I ended up buying two shirts (one with traditional Mardi Gras colors on a crown, and the other featuring the Hurricane drink), as well as a couple Haybands (followed by a plethora of other colors when I got home!). We hit the French Market after wrapping things up on on Chartres Street, which was the main thing I remember from my first trip there. You can find just about anything there - food, drinks, clothing, trinkets, flowers, decor, the list goes on! It's a great place to people watch and check out local vendors.

Cafe du Monde

Entrance to French Market

Jackson Square

Once we finished our shopping excursion, Jasna and I hopped into the car and took a drive to Uptown and the Garden District, to see what other parts of the city had to offer. We took Magazine Street over that way, and stumbled upon a ton of cute little shops, restaurants, and bars. After popping into a handful of little shops, we decided it was time to feed our faces again. After reading a few menus, we again chose creole - dining at Ignatius Eatery. Both Jasna and I feasted on red beans and rice, and all I have to say is yum! I've been hooked on red beans and rice ever since! We, of course, paired our red beans and rice with more Abita beer (since the plan was to go to the brewery, but you can only fit so much into a weekend). Upon finishing our dinner (way earlier than the previous day), we took a drive down St. Charles Street (one of the main streetcar lines, hello "A Streetcar Named Desire!"), and couldn't believe how many beads were still hanging in the trees from Mardi Gras! We lastly passed by one of the Garden District mansions used in American Horror Story: Coven, which was really cool since it was so heavily featured in the season.

Beads in the trees!

"Coven" mansion

Since it was our last night in New Orleans, we decided to do it up big and stay out super late again. To get mentally and physically prepared, Jasna and I napped for a half hour, and both polished off a Monster Ultra Blue (my daily life line). We were ready to party again! We headed back to Bourbon Street to begin our night at Pat O'Brien's for some real Hurricanes. MUCH better experience this time around. The bartender actually mixed our drinks, and they were fantastic! We even got the hurricane glasses we had missed in San Antonio!

Hurricane

Pat O'Brien's selfie

Balcony view

We headed back to Tropical Isle for another Hand Grenade after Pat O's, because we were in the mood for something sweet after our Hurricanes. We ended up at one of the other three locations (from what we gathered, was the original). We sat and people watched for a bit again, enjoyed another live band, and then it was on to the next bar. First, we made a pit stop - to pick me out a tutu!! I saw a number of girls with them throughout the course of our time there, and I thought it would be fun to get one and reminisce of my days as a ballerina! :) I picked out one in the traditional Mardi Gras colors, with glitter in it. I love it, and received tons of compliments! Jasna and I started to get hungry again, so we popped over to Willie's Chicken Shop, where we had chicken strips and daiquiris. I don't know if it was because we were tipsy or if the food was that good, but we thoroughly enjoyed our chicken (and the sauce is amazing!).  Once we polished off our food and daqs at Willie's, we trekked over to Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, which happens to be the oldest bar in America (est. in the 1700s). Great way to end our night, and wonderful atmosphere.

For our last half day in New Orleans, we wanted to do brunch on a balcony. We were trying to pick a place with a cool view, so we ended up at Tableau, which is right off of Jackson Square. Jasna and I both went with mimosas and Croque Madames for our brunch. Everything was fantastic, and the view was so nice! I will definitely go back, maybe even for supper, since they offer a dinner menu as well.

Mimosas!

Jackson Square

Croque Madame

We took one last stroll around the French Quarter, went into a few more stores, then headed back to Houston. I must say, we had an amazing time in New Orleans, and I cannot wait to go back!

Bourbon during the day

Streetcar on Canal

Finally a New Post!

After another month of not writing, I'm back with a new blog post! Things have been sooooo busy at work (thanks, Spurs!), I've had zero downtime. When I get home for the day, I'm so exhausted that I only want to cuddle up on the couch with a glass of some sort of booze, my cat Minnie, and the tube (does anyone actually use that word anymore? I'm such an old soul!, haha).

 I wanted to take a little time to tell everyone about my trip with one of my best friends, Jasna, to San Antonio, Austin, and New Orleans.

Let me say, that time flew by like no other! We had SO much fun over the course of the week, and packed a bunch of activities into that time.

Jasna arrived to Houston Sunday afternoon. I picked her up from the Amtrak station, and she was a bit overwhelmed by the heat at first! I just said, "welcome to the south!" This was really the only laid back day of our week - spent having dinner, and Jasna catching up with my parents and sister. We left for San Antonio the next day, and even made a stop to pop Jasna's Buc-ee's cherry! She loved it, and affectionately calls the beaver "Bup-ee". I was pleasantly surprised we only made one pit stop the whole drive, with two ladies who have bladders comparable of a 95 year old woman's traveling together.

Jasna with Buc-ee

We arrived in San Antonio sometime between lunch and dinner, which gave us enough time to settle into our hotel, get gussied up, and head out for the night. Usually when I stay in San Antonio, we always get a hotel right on the Riverwalk. This time, I ended up booking a hotel a little off the Riverwalk, which was a hop, skip, and a jump to the Alamo, and only cost $89 for the night! Very spacious and modern - awesome deal. As it was Jasna's first trip to Texas, I wanted to take her to America's first Tex-Mex restaurant, Casa Rio. For those of you have have not been to San Antonio, you would definitely recognize the brightly-colored umbrellas of the restaurant, as they grace most of the pictures you would have seen of San Antonio in magazines, postcards, etc. The location is great, food delicious, and for being such a popular restaurant, the wait for a table was not bad at all (we sat on the bar patio with a couple margaritas whilst waiting). With being in a prime location, there is plenty of people watching to do. I will never forget this one guy, who we couldn't tell was a bum or not. He passed by the restaurant a number of times - wearing army boots, ripped jeans, an oddly neatly pressed shirt, while polishing off his look with his chosen accessory of a tall-boy of Busch Light. He kept stopping at tables asking people questions, but not for money like you would expect. It was almost like he was just some lonely drunk guy looking for company, but then he would go up to random vacated tables and pick at the food, so, I don't know. Very interesting character.

The city view from our hotel

Casa Rio riverside

Continuing our night, we decided to first stop in a little convenience store right across from the Alamo, pick up a couple energy drinks (fuel!), and snap a few evening pictures in front of the iconic Texas (and for that matter, American) landmark.

The Alamo at night!

After a little photo session, we first stopped at Esquire for a drink, then headed back towards the Riverwalk and surrounding bars. We decided to go to Pat O'Brien's, which always has a good crowd and live music. After debating on what drink to get, we both decided on getting Hurricanes (the drink Pat O's is famous for). I was quite excited to finally try their classic drink, but ended up semi-disappointed as the bartender just pulled a couple of plastic cups and filled them with a pre-mixed drink from the well. It was still pretty good, and I understand why they would do a pre-mix with it being their signature.

Pat O'Brien's

An hour or so later of enjoying the band and chatting, we decided to head to a different bar. As we were checking out a few different places, a cheeky bouncer starting talking to us and subsequently persuaded us to come into his bar, Club Sirius. Boy, was this a good decision! There were just enough people there, the music was fantastic, and the bartender was the best! Nate did a great job taking care of us. He created special drinks for us with the bar's signature "Sirius Salt" (a mixture of spices and salt), gave us multiple free shots, and only billed us $8 each! Oh, I was in love. Who wouldn't like a hottie bartender that treats you well, and is so sweet on top of that?!?  Needless to say, we ended up spending the rest of the night there. After all the fantastic drinks and shots, Nate even accompanied us as we walked out of the bar. We talked with him for about a half hour after bar close, and when were finally saying our goodbyes, he seemed so disappointed we were only there for one night! :( We were disappointed as well, but he sent us each off with a big bear hug - lifted off the ground and all! Can you tell I was a bit smitten? haha

The beautiful light up horse-drawn carriage

We began our next day in San Antonio with a trip over to the Alamo to soak up some history. I know it sounds corny and nerdy, but I always spend some time at the Alamo every visit I make to San Antonio. It's amazing to think such a huge important battle was fought on the grounds where high rises, hotels, and restaurants now stand. My first trip over that way, we were all shocked to see this famous landmark standing right in the middle of the city, and not in some field 20 miles off the beaten path. Definitely a must see!

The Alamo in all of its glory

We then decided to do "linner", and went with Buckhorn Saloon. The atmosphere exudes old west, with the building having been built sometime in the earlier 1800s, and cowboys walking around greeting guests. If you're looking for some great southern food and sandwiches, this is the place. We even did their museum tour (you can even grab a beer from the bar to take with you while on the tour!), which included an exhibit on Texas Ranger history, different stuffed animals (eek), a special Bonnie and Clyde exhibit, and a full sized replica of an old west San Antonio street! Very cool and worth the money!

Jasna with her huge beer

Me with my huge beer

My employer back in the day

Old west

Bad girls go to jail!

Buckhorn Saloon

After finishing up at Buckhorn, we made the short drive up to Austin for our next stop. We were stuck in a bit of traffic, so we didn't make as good of timing as I would have liked. But hey, we were in no rush, we were on vacation! :) We got to our hotel right around dinnertime, so after we settled in again and freshened up, it was time to feed our faces again (you're starting to see a trend here on this trip, right?!). On the recommendation of my friend Kristi, Jasna and I trekked over to this French restaurant called Peche. It was fantastic! We had some absinthe-based drinks (I tried "Death in the Afternoon" - absinthe mixed with champagne), as well as grilled cheese with gouda and apple butter, and, of course, escargot (which I tried relentlessly to get Jasna to try, but she wasn't having it)!

Death in the Afternoon

Fancy pants grilled cheese

My favorite - escargot!

After dinner, we took the city in at dusk, and continued the night on 6th Street. We went to a handful of places, but didn't do anything too crazy. Another fun night all around.

After a restful night's sleep, we decided to take a walking tour around the city by day. We had lunch at Second Bar + Kitchen (tried Austin's own Eastciders Gold Top cider, yum!), spent an hour in a perfumery, where we gained our "life coach" George, popped by the Capital Building, and ended our time in Austin around the University of Texas campus. It's still one of the most beautiful campuses I've ever been to (my alma mater is still my favorite!). 

Before we headed back to Houston, we made the pit stop to the flagship Kendra Scott store, and Jasna made her very first purchase! She's hooked! :)

For our day of exploring Houston on Thursday, we decided to take advantage of the spectacular lunch Saint Arnold Brewery hosts during the week. That day's lunch consisted of a root beer-rubbed pork loin, grilled veggies, a blue cheese crumble salad, and unlimited beer (I usually only make it to two or three beers). 

Boileroom Berliner Weisse

While we were so full from lunch, Jasna and I still craved something sweet. No trip downtown/uptown would be complete without a trek to Sprinkles for one of their phenomenal cupcakes. I tried a new one that I had never seen before - orange cake with strawberry frosting.

Orange cake with strawberry frosting!

I really wanted to show Jasna the Houston night life, so we met up with my friends Michelle and Nate at Boheme (for their very different drink menu), followed by The Dogwood, both in the Midtown area. Right near the end of the night, we joined my sister, and one of our other favorite couples, Glenn and Kasey, for the tail end of Meteor's Drag Show. Very talented ladies and gentlemen! Wrapping up our night on the town in Houston, we made a stop at House of Pies to split a slice of banana cream pie. Delish!

Jasna and I with Coffee!

Stay tuned for part two of our adventure - Laura and Jasna do New Orleans!!