Countdown to 'bethenny': 8 days!

Skinnygirl recipes for Labor Day Weekend

I am so sad to see Summer go, but these recipes from Skinnygirl Cocktails will surely brighten your spirits (pun intended) this Labor Day Weekend!

Summer is fading into fall and that means that the season of boots, snuggly sweaters and fabulous fashion will soon be here!  Let Skinnygirl® Cocktails lighten the Labor Day load and help you ease back into reality and routine with a stress-free celebration.  Kiss summer goodbye with the following fun and fruity cocktails perfect for sipping in style:

• Endless Summer
• Sunset Strawberry Lemonade
• Tropical Tea-se

Looking to enjoy Labor Day without the work?  Pick up a bottle of your favorite from Skinnygirl™ The Wine Collection before your neighbor’s backyard BBQ.  At under $20 a bottle, it makes a perfect gift that won’t break your back-to-school budget. 

Below please find some delicious recipes and that will have your guests raising their glasses in salute to your end-of-summer soiree:

Endless Summer

Ingredients

·         ½ parts Skinnygirl™ Island Coconut Vodka
·         3 parts pineapple juice
·         4 parts sparkling water
·         1 cup sliced mango, frozen
·         Mango wedge for garnish

Preparation

1.      Pour over fruit and ice.

2.      Garnish with a mango and enjoy!

Sunset Strawberry Lemonade

Ingredients

2 parts Skinnygirl™ Bare Naked Vodka
• 2 large muddled strawberries
• 1 part powdered lemonade mix
• Splash of club soda

Preparation

1.       Pour over ice.

2.       Top with club soda and enjoy!

 

Tropical Tea-se

Ingredients

·         1.5 parts Skinnygirl Cucumber Vodka
·         6 parts green tea OR diet  Green Tea
·         Pineapple wedge for garnish

Preparation

1.       Pour over ice. 

2.       Garnish with a pineapple wedge and enjoy!

Have a safe & enjoyable LDW!

@OhHellYes

Review: Funko Pop!: Sheldon & Amy, Howard, Raj, Leonard, Bernadette, & Penny from 'The Big Bang Theory'

I am IN LOVE with these new Pop! vinyl figures from Funko based on one of my favorite TV shows, The Big Bang Theory!

My obsession with Funko started when I saw the concept art for Amy Farrah Fowler's Pop! figure -- I immediately had to find out what these cute little nuggets were and how I could start collecting them. It turned out that the Sheldon Cooper Pop! was already available, so I quickly ordered him online and literally drove to my local Barnes & Noble to see what Pop!s they had available that day. I went home with Ursula the sea-witch from The Little Mermaid, my favorite childhood movie, and my love of Funko has grown from there.

Anyway, Sheldon and Amy are the king & queen of my Pop! collection, and a few months later I was able to complete the nerd herd with the release of Leonard, Howard (my second-favorite after Amy), Bernadette, Penny, and Raj!

To find out more about Funko and all the incredibly cute Pop! vinyl figures (and more!) they make, check out Funko.com.

My visit to a 'bethenny' taping!

On Thursday, August 22nd, I was so excited to attend Bethenny's first taping of her brand new talk show. My day started out at 2:22am, cause I'm a lunatic & had to be the first in line to make sure I got in, and I arrived at the studio at 5am exactly. For an 8am call time, 10am show. Like a lunatic. ;)

One of the most exciting parts of the day was that I was going to meet some of my Twitter friends (totally NOT in a creepy or pathetic way), and they joined me on the line soon after I arrived. As we waited to be let in, it was SO incredibly nice to put faces to names and get to know @Jodie_Atkinson, @momkim5, and @jenn_regan. The only missing Twumpkin was my girl @Acute_Tweetment, whose guest-blogs I hope you remember from last summer's test run of 'bethenny.' I also got to know Kim's wonderful sister, and Jenn's mom @PattyAnn615 & her future mother-in-law.

As we waited on line & caught up on each other's real lives, Bethenny took & tagged a photo of us on Instagram... WHAT?! Soooo cool!

There were so many people working for the show, and many of them stopped & asked "Are you Mike?" which was super exciting. When we got to the check-in area, we got special pink wristbands that would grant us priority seating. Once we finally got in to the studio's waiting area, we watched the "Bethenny: No Limits" promo video on loop & (im)patiently waited to be led up to the set where all the action would take place.

Then finally the time came for us to go to our seats in the studio audience and our names were written on special Bethenny seat-holders in the second row - ah! It was so cool to be treated so nicely by Bethenny and her team of lovely staffers, and we were so excited to have a prime location in the studio. We were seated directly in front of the spot where Bethenny would come out to "Calling All My Girls" at the top of the show - it was so awesome!

The show itself was super fun and the energy in the room was really special. It was beautiful to experience Bethenny's sincere joy in putting on this show and to see her attitude of gratitude; you could tell Bethenny was really taking it all in and having a great time!

After the show wrapped, Jackie (Bethenny's assistant) came over to us & said that Bethenny would take a picture with us on set. Again, WHAT?! It was so amazing for Bethenny to recognize me & Kim and to thank us for coming. And we got to celebrate Jodie's birthday! I told Bethenny that she "kicked ass" & that the show was really great fun.

It was such a special experience and I always feel so lucky that Bethenny is always so sweet to me... it really means so much to me, and I am so happy for her & so proud of all she has accomplished.

AND it was so special to experience this with my original Twitter friend Kim and new additions Jodie & Jenn; I only wish Corrie could have been there with us, but I KNOW that ALL of us will one day reunite in person at the show.

Oh, and Cookie made a special appearance for one of the segments! :)

We had a special visitor on set today: @Cookiedabooboo ! pic.twitter.com/VF0k47xBDK
— Bethenny Frankel (@Bethenny) August 22, 2013

Get your own tickets to the show! See more of Bethenny's new set! 

And here's a video from the taping:

Discover new music... Serena Ryder

Skinnygirl: National Lemonade Day is 8/20!

When life hands you lemons, add a little Skinnygirl Vodka! In honor of National Lemonade Day on Tuesday, August 20th, Skinnygirl Cocktails is making a toast to the dog days of summer by adding a new twist to the warm weather classic. 

Whether you’re sipping poolside or planning an afternoon picnic, Skinnygirl Cocktails would love to help you liven up your lemonade!  These refreshing cocktails are the perfect way to make a Skinnygirl splash during the last few weeks of summer.

Sparkling Lemonade

Ingredients

·         1½ parts Skinnygirl™ Bare Naked Vodka

·         ½  part fresh lemonade

·         1 part seltzer

·         Squeeze of lemon

·         Lemon twist for garnish

Preparation

1.       Shake vodka and fresh lemonade.

2.       Strain into glass filled with ice.

3.       Top with seltzer and a splash of fresh lemon juice.

4.       Add a lemon slice for garnish.

5.       Add lemon twist for garnish and enjoy!

            

           

Vodka Crush

Ingredients

·         2 parts Skinnygirl™ Bare Naked Vodka

·         2 parts chilled lemonade

·         Lime for garnish

·         Ice

Preparation

1.       Shake all liquid ingredients in cocktail shaker.

2.       Pour over ice.

3.       Add lime garnish and enjoy!

Summer Splash

Ingredients

·         2 parts Skinnygirl™ Bare Naked Vodka

·         1 part black tea (or powdered iced tea mix)

·         1 part lemonade

·         Lemon wedge (optional)

Preparation

1.       Mix ingredients in a tall Collins glass.

2.       Garnish with lemon wedge (optional)

3.       Enjoy!

Are you a lemonade person? Will you be toasting to this sugary drink on August 20th? Happy pouring!

How-To: Make your own Skinnygirl VANILLA Vodka

As you know, I love all things Skinnygirl and Bethenny, and I also love anything vanilla.. So, I wanted to create a homemade Vanilla Vodka using Skinnygirl Bare Naked Vodka. 

I thought it would be cool to house my concoction in something different, so I used a glass peanut butter jar. Of course I had to make it look more "official," so I applied a Skinnygirl Cocktails temporary tattoo [see my HOW-TO here: http://mac-ohhellyes.blogspot.com/2013/07/how-to-make-your-own-skinnygirl-glasses.html?m=1].

To infuse the vanilla flavor, I used full vanilla beans, cut slits in them, poured the Skinnygirl Vodka over it, and sealed the lid. I'm going to let it sit for about 5 days & then we'll see if my flavor infusion worked! (I'll update the blog with the results!)

What flavor should I try to make next? Let me know @OhHellYes

Shark Week kicks off this Sunday... Take a bite out of these Skinnygirl recipes!

Cancel your evening plans and cue the dramatic music – Discovery Channel's annual Shark Week begins this Sunday, August 4th and Skinnygirl Cocktails has the perfect cocktails to honor this much anticipated TV event!

Having a Shark Week viewing party? These “jaw-dropping” cocktails will put your guests into a feeding frenzy while they celebrate everything we love to fear about getting in the open water:

Jaws Juice

Shark Tooth Twister

Ingredients

2 parts Skinnygirl Island Coconut Vodka

1½ parts coconut flavored sparkling water

Agave Nectar

Directions

Using agave nectar, rim glass with shredded coconut.

Pour vodka and sparkling water over ice and enjoy!

Jaws Juice

Ingredients

2 parts Skinnygirl Bare Naked Vodka

5 muddled blueberries

3 muddled blackberries

1 part club soda

Directions

Muddle berries in glass with vodka.

Top with club soda and enjoy!

Shark Bite Bloody Mary

Shark Bite Bloody Mary

Ingredients

2 parts Skinnygirl Cucumber vodka

2 parts low-sodium tomato juice

Splash of fresh lemon juice

Squeeze of fresh lime juice

Dash of Worcestershire sauce (to taste)

Dash of hot sauce

Sprinkle of celery salt

Lime, cucumber and celery stalk for garnish

Directions

Mix all ingredients together in a tall glass

Garnish with lime, cucumber and celery stalk and serve.

Predator Punch

Ingredients

1½ parts Skinnygirl Tangerine Vodka

Great White Wine Slush

½ parts passion fruit juice

Squeeze of fresh lime and lemon juice

Dash of orange extract

2 tablespoons sugar-free pineapple syrup

2 parts club soda

Directions

Pour all ingredients over ice and stir. 

Garnish with a lime.

Great White Wine Slush

5 parts glass of Skinnygirl™ California White wine

2 parts frozen lemonade

1 part soda water

Lemon peel twist for garnish

Directions

Blend ingredients with crushed ice and pour into a flute glass. Finish with soda water and garnish with a twist of lemon.

These sound so good! How do you celebrate Shark Week? Comment below and tweet me @OhHellYes!

Celebrate National Watermelon Day with Skinnygirl!

Enjoy these 2 recipes from Skinnygirl Cocktails to celebrate National Watermelon Day this Saturday, August 3rd.

Moxie Punch

1½  parts Skinnygirl White Cherry Vodka

1 part Lemonade

2 parts Sparkling water

Strawberries

Watermelon slice

Preparation

Muddle strawberry and watermelon slice.

Add vodka and fill with sparkling water and add lemonade.

Garnish with a strawberry.

                              

What-A-Melon! Martini

Ingredients

2 parts Skinnygirl™ Bare Naked Vodka

1 part club soda

3 watermelon cubes

Watermelon balls

Preparation

Shake vodka with ice

Muddle watermelon cubes in old fashioned glass

Pour vodka over muddled watermelon and top with club soda

Garnish with watermelon balls and enjoy!