Cocktail Hour: Birthday Cake Martini

Before we get to the main event, I wanted to let y'all know I'm filling in for Christa over at Significance or Nothing today. As a fellow Southern gal trying to make her way through the political craziness that is Capital Hill I kind of love her.  Come visit me!


Now, we all know I love cocktail hour, so when I saw Nicole's is hosting a week long linkup aptly named Cocktail Week (it's a #hashtag so start using it like crazy, go) I knew I'd use it as an excuse to have some playtime at the bar. The one in my house that is.

Someone around these parts has a birthday coming up (like tomorrow, eek!) So I wanted to treat myself to something sinfully delicious that I'd normally never touch. My personal drinking rule is I don't drink cocktails if I can't sorta see through it (with a few notable exceptions i.e. red wine and frozen margaritas) Generally all those milky syrupy sinfully sweet cocktails just leave me with a killer headache the next day.

But one every now and again is okay, right? And let me tell you, this is just about the best possible exception to the rule 

Birthday Cake Martini

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Adapted from A Beautiful Mess

Ingredients

• 1 oz Amaretto
• 1.5 oz Pinnacle Whipped Cream Vodka
• .5 oz Godiva White Chocolate Liqour
• 1 oz Heavy Cream
• Sprinkles
• Frosting

Directions

First rim your fanciest martini glass in frosting. Then dip that deliciousness in a plate full of sprinkles to make the cutest glass you've ever seen. Next up combine all the remaining ingredients. Shake to combine and carefully pour into your fancy glass. 

Seriously, I'm re-evaluating my life for not drinking with this whipped cream vodka sooner. It is SO good. Go get you some right now. Vodka Diet Cokes will never be the same. 

Please go link up your favorite Cocktail with Nicole on Probably Polka Dots. She's one of my blog bff's and just generally awesome so you need to stalk her like I do. 

A Little White Dress

After living in the South for 25 years I can tell you, we have some strange traditions. One that I've never really understood is the unwritten rule that girls wear white dresses to graduation. I suppose it's somewhere along the lines of a cotillion or coming out of sorts... so it kind of makes sense, right?

Well I have quite a few friends graduating school in a few short weeks, so if any of you out there are on the hunt for the perfect little white dress I've pulled a few gorgeous options for you! 

Pearl About Town Dress, ModCloth

This dress is "currently unavailable" on ModCloth, but I love it so much I had to share anyways. Any southern girl who loves pearls is probably gasping somewhere at the perfection that is this dress. I need to come up with an excuse to wear this. Anyone getting married this year? Please wear this to a rehearsal dinner for me? k. Thanks. 

White Spot Jacquard Dress, Dorothy Perkins

I love the subtle polka dot of this dress, and I think this cut is flattering for just about everyone. Graduations are definitely a time to be on the more conservative side, so I love the high neckline, but the fit and flare keeps it current and attractive.  Plus it's on sale. You've got to love that. 

 9 & Co. Shift Dress, JCP

This dress is super classic, but the subtle wave pattern adds a bit of visual interest. I personally can't pull of shift dresses, but I love how effortless they look. Add some pearls, and you're the picture of southern perfection.

Brocade Peplum Dress, Ark and Co, Piperlime

I love peplum and this dress is just so perfect it really doesn't require much at all. 

Scattered embellished skater dress, Dorothy Perkins

Personally, this is the route I would go. The embellished silver studs across the top provide the perfect visual interest, making it not your average white dress. To me it feels slightly edgy, but it sparkles too so what more could you ask for? 

So, are you graduating this year? If so, what are you wearing? 

Friday's Fancies: Pop of Neon

I'm not going to lie. I've not been the biggest fan of the neon trend. While my personal style is pretty colorful, neon just strikes me as a bit abrasive. Needless to say when I saw this week's topic I made it my mission to find a neon look I would actually wear.

When I came across this dress, I knew this was it.

Jessica Simpson shift dress, $175 / Double breasted trench coat, $990 / Giuseppe Zanotti heels / Blue Nile peridot jewelry / Reeds Jewelers

While this isn't exactly the most affordable look I've ever put together, I absolutely love it! So how do you feel about neon? How have you managed to work it in to your style? I need some help!

DIY Lamps

Have you ever been on the hunt for a perfect lamp but you just cant find it? Well my bff Katherine has been hunting for weeks and weeks with no success. When I was in town last weekend we decided to screw it and just make one ourselves.  There are about a million ideas out there, but this is what we did. We were both thrilled with the outcome and how relatively easy it was!

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Kat decided she wanted to use a clear glass vase and a white shade. She picked up 2 vases and lampshades from the thrift shop (not just for popping tags) for less than 10 bucks. Then we headed over to Home Depot for the lamp kits. Those were about $10 each, so $30 total for two one of a kind lamps. Not a bad deal.

So here's what we did.

 NOTE. This is what you do if you DON'T want to attempt to drill through glass. The cord runs along the side of the vase. 

Get yourself a sweet vase.

A 3-Way Socket

and a lamp cord (also, think about decorating your lamp cord for fun!)

Drill a hole in the side of the bottom of the lamp kit so you can run the cord through the side.The metal is about as thick as a coke can, so it's not too hard to drill through. We found it was most effective to drill 3 small holes right next to each other, then chisel between them to attempt to make your cord fit.  

Congratulations! Now that the hard part is over! Put the end of the cord through the hole. 

Then follow the directions on the lamp kit packet. Essentially tie this fancy knot and attach to the screws. 

Then stuff it all in there and secure the bottom. *Make sure the bottom is on straight or else the light will tilt.

Get yourself some gorilla glue and 3 1/2 inch washers. You will glue each of these together and to the base of the lamp kit. Take off the little screw on the side of the bottom cap the slide on the washers. This will create a flat surface to stabilize your lamp, and allows you to glue the vase to the light. Don't forget gorilla glue works better on a moist surface.

Since you can't really clamp it together, weigh the top down with a heavy book. 

After your glue dries (30-60 minutes) glue directly on to the base of your vase. Weigh the top down with a book and let the glue cure. *Gorilla glue foams up, so don't be alarmed. 

Then you're essentially done! Add a bulb and a shade then plug her in! 

So... what do y'all think? We were both totally obsessed with this project and began brainstorming endless ideas for lamps! Mason jars, wine bottles, those jars you use to store pasta! Plus the bottom of the lamp is the top of the vase, so it's open and you could potentially put something in there to display!

I think it's important to note that we used the kind of shade that is secured directly by the light bulb that way we didn't have to mess with harps.

This project is super easy, and the hardest part was really just drilling through the side of that metal cap.  I will say that if you are wanting to save money, a DIY lamp could be the way to go, but you have to be careful with your components. I mean if you pick up a vase for $20 and another $10 for a shade (both of which seem like reasonable prices to me), plus another $10 for the kit, you're suddenly out $40 for one lamp and 2 hours of your life. For that price you could probably find something you're happy with a Homegoods or something. But part of the fun is being able to say, "Look, I made this" and impressing all of your friends.

Now I'm so excited about this DIY project, and can't wait to get brainstorming on some fun ideas for my new place!