We All Float On Again

With Memorial Day coming up this weekend, one of my favorite all-American treats is the Root Beer Float.

It’s a very simple recipe – root beer and a scoop of vanilla ice cream, but lately I’ve seen two adorable variations I just had to share. One mimics the standard recipe created in Colorado back in 1893, while the other one is a chocolately twist.

I just die over anything miniature and the mini root beer float is no exception (right). I saw this delicious dish passed around at a recent event that was covered by Biz Bash, but in my research, I found this cute recipe with resources to buy the cups from Smarty Had a Party.



Recipe from Smarty Had a Party“To make these cute treats, start by using a melon-baller to scoop the ice cream into the cups, top it off with a bit of root beer, and voila, you have a lovely, yummy conversation starter to open the party with!”



A few weeks back, I saw the most simple, mouth-watering recipe on Serious Eats – the Klondike Float. It’s basically a half a Klondike Bar with a can of Coca Cola! Oh and for those of you planning a trip to Pittsburgh in a month, the Klondike was invented in the Steel City!!

(Photos: Smarty Had a Party and Serious Eats)

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Birthday Crown

Here at Shot of Brandi, we recognize people’s favorite drinks if their birthday falls on a Thirsty Thursday.

Well pops – this one’s for you! Let’s all do a shot of Crown in honor of the King of the Bonkowski family – my dad, Joe!

Over the last five years, my dad has developed a love affair with Crown Royal. His go-to drink is a double crown with ginger ale.

Until today, I didn’t know why this Canadian Whisky was named after a king’s headpiece. According to Wikipedia…

"The production of Crown Royal began in 1939 coincident with the first Royal Tour of Canada by reigning monarch King George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth. To mark this historic occasion, Samuel Bronfman, President of the Seagram Company, decided to create a quality whisky to be packaged in a crown-shaped bottle and dressed in a distinctive royal purple bag. Like the packaging, the name chosen for the product was intended to reflect the quality of the spirit, a marketing concept that quickly caught consumer attention. It was available only in Canada until 1964." - source

Crown is still produced in Canada.

There are a few different variations of Crown to please a number of tastes (and price points). First there is Crown Royal Special Reserve - which is aged longer than regular Crown. There is also Crown Royal Cask No. 16 – which is made from over fifty blended and individually aged whiskies in a 12 year old cognac barrels. The fancy barrels come from France and this spirit is more like a cognac with notes of rye, grain and fruit.

If you aren’t a fan of ginger ale, then people typically mix Crown with cola and Gatorade (really?!). If you like bomb shots, you can drop some Crown into a glass of Red Bull to make a Chili Bomb or a Bouncing Betty.

With a surprise trip to Pittsburgh in the works today, it looks like me and Joe may sip some Crown this evening!

(source: Wikipedia)

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Stashe Bash

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Tom Selleck. Wilford Brimley. Cap’n Crunch. Brady Smith. Hitler. Albert Einstein.What do these men have in common?

Famous mustaches.

Mustaches have become some what of a pop culture fad. Like the mullet, people are sporting mustaches for party photo opps and even hosting mustache-themed parties (great 30th b-day idea?!).

While I’ve been seeing a number of mustache-related pictures, one was finally worth writing about – the chocolate mustache on a stick.

I spotted this gem on one of my favorite blogs – Hostess with the Mostess.

So if you are thinking about hosting a stach bash, consider serving the chocolate mustache on a stick or giving it to your guests as a favor!

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Search Story

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Sometimes I see things, and I think “wow – that’s cool…” I then make a mental note of this cool thing, knowing that one day I’ll be able to use it.

The YouTube / Google Search Story is one of those “that’s cool” things. Basically, you enter in a few words and Search Stories makes you…well, a Search Story – a small video of your search results set to some fancy music of your choice.

Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of how it works:
1. You write a story
2. You pick music
3. Search Stories creates your video

I played around with this and made a cute little video that involved the words “Brandi Bonkowski Loves Brady Smith and They Will Marry on June 26, 2010 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The End,” but I didn’t want to save it in a public setting for all to see. This is just an example of something to plug in and play with!

So if you want to see Search Story in action, check out this promo created by Sesame Street!

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So Glad I MET Ya

Like your average fashion-obsessed nerd, I get so excited each May for the Costume Institute’s annual Benefit Gala. This year's event took place tonight in New York. It’s like the Academy Awards of charity events (some call it the east coast Oscars). Co-chaired by Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, the biggest celebrities in the fashion world dress some of the biggest celebrities in Hollywood (and some d-listers with good publicists).

Some of the more notable fashion pairings for the night included Burberry & Emma Watson, Stella McCartney & Kate Hudson, Lady Gaga & Prada, Versace & Ivanka Trump, Valentino & Anne Hathaway and Wintour & Kristen Steward in Chanel.

In a lame corporate sponsorship move, a certain west-coast clothing retailer (who I will not name) dressed eight stars on tonight’s red carpet. While I think this is a lame move, I do appreciate that the money raised goes to the museum.

Here are some of my favorite looks from the night (all photos via Pop Sugar).

Post Source: Stylelist.com

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