This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. This content is intended for readers who are 21 and over. #holidaybloodymarybar #collectivebias I love entertaining around the holidays and I always like to be prepared for unexpected guests. One of my hostess tips is to keep simple ingredients around to be able to present a last minute, Bloody Mary bar that’s sure to impress. When I need to stock up on supplies to have on hand in case I need to throw something together, I head to Walmart! Personally, I do not like those Bloody…
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Continue ReadingThis Red Wine Slushy is the perfect drink for porch sits. It is made with lots of fruit so that means its healthy right? It is also a simple, make ahead cocktail that you can prepare in advance for a party. Yesterday I had planned to make this drink and sit on my friend’s deck and enjoy the warm weather. In typical Chicago fashion, as soon as I got done blending up this Red Wine Slushy, the weather turned cold, windy and wet. I can tell you that while this Red Wine Slushy would have been absolutely perfect for that…
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Continue ReadingI have an O-B-S-E-S-S-I-O-N with Wisconsin Supper Club Style Brandy Old Fashioned’s. My parents have a home in the Western U.P. of Michigan which is right over the border from Wisconsin, the home of The Brandy Old Fashioned. Last year I even did an Old Fashioned Crawl through the Northwoods and wrote a blog post about it called “A Waitress Named Diane”. It was fantastic. Since I cannot permanently live in the Northwoods (although I wish I could) I decided I needed to perfect the Brandy Old Fashioned at home. The drink itself does require more than a few ingredients,…
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Continue ReadingNew Year, New Me? Not quite. Let’s face it, most of us set unattainable goals every New Year and the drive to accomplish them fizzles out soon after The New Year rolls around. I have never been the kind of person who does well being told I CAN’T have something, especially when it comes to food or cocktails. Because of this reason I stopped setting over-the-top health goals years ago (this is clearly obvious). I felt like there was so much pressure to succeed and I was just setting myself up for disappointment. Now that I’m getting older I do…
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Continue ReadingThe holidays are HARD! So many parties so little time. I’m the kind of person who has this elaborate vision for how things should look at my events. I used to end up feeling overwhelmed, stressed out and sometimes even angry when I would try to execute my vision for these perfectly staged get togethers. Several years ago I decided to let go of that perfect visual and find ways to actually have fun at my own parties while still making them special. One of the ways I achieved this new Zen Like Tipsy was by incorporating the Buffet into…
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Continue ReadingWe are all guilty of anticipating the holidays, planning all kinds of fun things and before we know it, they have passed us by and we’ve done nothing to celebrate but rush around trying to get things done. I decided that this year I was not going to let that happen. As it is with most holidays, it can also seem like there isn’t a lot of magic in the holidays if you don’t have children to celebrate with. Which is absolutely not true. I have found many ways to make the holidays magical for me, Mr. Tipsy and my…
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Continue ReadingI used to be an occasional wine drinker for no other reason than the fact that it was there. I was mostly a beer and mixed drink type of person. This was because I knew NOTHING about wine other than I thought I liked only white, cold, crisp wine. My old routine was, have a taste for wine, go to the store, look for the Sauvignon Blanc section and (GASP) buy the one with the best looking label that also met my varying price point requirements for that week’s budget. A terrible habit I know. Then I went to work…
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This year I was given the privilege of a Media Pass to attend Chicago Gourmet presented by Bon Appetit. This incredible festival has been taking place in Chicago’s iconic Millenium Park for ten years! If you aren’t familiar, it is a food fest like no other. Famous Chef’s, upscale food samples, cocktails, and the wine, oh my gosh, the wine. Besides the food and booze, there is live entertainment, photo booths, giveaways and plenty of comfortable places to sit, relax and enjoy the scene. Chef Demos from Celebrity Chefs like Chicago favorites, Stephanie Izard and Rick Bayless . Who are…