Happy Birthday Cocktails and Glitter!

Celebrating One Year as Bloggers!

Wow!  Cocktails and Glitter has turned ONE!  Who would have thought that a crazy idea like starting a blog about crafting and Happy Hour would take off, be a success and be so much fun? Well, we did of course! 

This first year has been full of wonderful memories, adventures and experiences (some of those experiences the teaching kind).  We have learned a great deal about this process and are looking forward to learning more.  Over the next few months we will be working to make some fabulous changes to our blog while still bring you the awesome "hard hitting" information you have grown to expect and enjoy from us. 

Thank you to everyone that has supported us in this first year we so very grateful for you, and we hope you will continue to follow us in 2014!

Cheers!

K&H

We Came, We Saw, We Shopped!

Oh boy, did we shop!

Last Friday was the 4th annual shopping day for Kate & Heather (and 3rd year with their friend Ashley), and possibly the most successful to date! A while ago we decided to support our awesome local shops as much as possible. This really played into the success of the day as we weren't wasting time driving to all the suburban malls and centers and getting in and out of the car all day. In fact, we only parked the car twice: Once at Patterson and Libbie and then again in Carytown. Less than 3 miles between these local shopping locations.

Kate & Heather started the day at The Shops at 5807 on Patterson at 10:30am. Neither had been in this gem of a shopping destination and were excited about the variety they had to offer- it's like 21 shops in one! We were able to get ornaments, hostess gifts, and other great gifts. The Toy Center was next door, which we were able to find treats for some of the kiddos we know.

Around noon we headed to Carytown and met up with Ashley. After lunch at Xtras, we managed to get down to some serious shopping!  We hit tons of stores in the afternoon, but didn't make it to all! The ones we had the most luck at include: Penzeys Spices (okay, it's a chain, but we still love them!), Fabrik (also a chain, but carries some local artists), DeCOR, Mongrel, and World of Mirth. Shortly after 4pm, we were awfully thirsty, so we wandered into NY Deli for a Happy Hour beverage and an app. After a few more shops, it was around 7pm and most places were closing for the day.

After this intense shopping day, we're pretty close to crossing everyone off our list! It's great knowing that we could support many local shops, as well as give our family and friends gifts that are more unique than ones that could be found at big box stores. It somehow seems so much more personal. We hope to continue this local gift shopping not only for the holidays, but for celebrations throughout the year!


Please share with C&G your favorite local shops!  (not just for our Richmond friends- anywhere!)

Cheers,

K&H

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving!

Whether you set the Thanksgiving table for 2 or 200 or celebrate the holiday with Friendsgiving1, Fakesgiving2 or have one big fabulous feast on Thanksgiving3 proper--ENJOY! 

No matter how you celebrate Thanksgiving--appreciate the moment & surround yourself with good people and good food. Really, what more do you need in life? Laugh out loud, put on the comfy pants and belly up for seconds and thirds. Turn the leftovers into epic casseroles and colossal sandwiches and have a most wonderful, beautiful, awesome Thanksgiving.

Need some inspiration for a fun & easy Turkey-day decor? Check out a few ideas from our annual Friendsgiving Feast!

Painted burlap banner.. made in minutes an hour before dinner.

Linen napkins bought at an online craft store, stamped for personalization.

Family candlesticks bring together the old and the new.

Time to break out the nice china!

Dessert station is early in the day to avoid last minute scrambling.

Have a wonderful and awesome Thanksgiving!



Cheers!
K&H



1. Friendsgiving \ˈfrends\' -ˈgi-viŋ  
noun 1. the act of feasting with ones friends who are like family in the month of Thanksgving but not on actual Thanksgiving.
adjective  2. awesome
2. \ˈfāk\ giv' ing 
noun 1. the act of feasting with family and/or friends at any moment in the calendar year when said group is all together, not actually on Thanksgiving or necessarily in the month of November.
adjective 2. awesome
3. \thaŋ(k)s-ˈgi-viŋ    
noun 1.  A holiday that commemorates a harvest festival celebrated by the Pilgrims in 1621, and is held in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. 
exclamation 2. duh 
adjective 3. awesome

Shop RVA

Shop LOCAL and keep it close to home this holiday season!

Every year we (Kate & Heather) have a holiday shopping day. Kate takes the day off of work so we can avoid the weekend craziness. We start early and keep going until our lists are complete and/or it is time for Happy Hour!  These are marathon shopping events, they are a blast and have been hugely successful in the past. Most years we have hit the big chains and have gone from the city to the suburbs and back again. However, this year we are keeping it LOCAL. It is a fun challenge that we are ready and willing to embrace. 75% of the shopping we do daily is already on a LOCAL level but this holiday season the goal is 100% LOCAL. With the number of incredibly clever, innovative, practical, artistic and just down right fun shops in RVA we have this challenge in the bag...the locally purchased reuseable holiday shopping bag that is...BOOM!

This year the calendar is marked for us to shop on Friday, December 13, 2013!  We will also be shopping on Small Business Saturday, November 30, 2013 and Saturday, December 14, 2013 in support of Think. Shop. Buy. Local. 

Below is a sampling of some of the awesome LOCAL shops we will be visiting on our shopping days:

Carytown Bikes 

For the Love of Chocolate

Franklin Goose 

La Difference 

Lex's of Carytown 

Modern Artifacts 

Mongrel

Bygones!

Murphries

O Virginia

Orange

Original Gravity

Plan 9

Richmond Camera  

Ruth and Ollie 

RVA news

Schwarzchild

World of Mirth 

Many of these are in Carytown or nearby but we won't forget all the great small LOCAL businesses and shops all over the city. On the Northside-anything along Hermitage and of course those shops on MacArthur Avenue-the Bellevue Shopping District.  Southside and the Near West End we'll visit such as the shops at Libbie and Grove and The Shops at 5807. We know there are a couple of gems in the Short Pump area like Tweed but we will be staying away from that area this year avoiding the chains, traffic and malls. 

Other wonderful shops to explore this holiday season are those located in all the amazing museums in town. Can't find a gift in the museum shop? Give a membership to any of these cultural and very cool museums. 

Whether you favor the idea of a downtown baseball stadium or not (not) we are all in favor or supporting our local team so get some Squirrels gear this holiday season from the Squirrels Nest.  Heck it could be your last trip to the Diamond...pause for a tear.

The gift of an experience and an adventure is always a route worth exploring.  One of the best ways to do this is in the form of a gift card, it really does take time to shop for gift cards and any gift is something thoughtful and to be appreciated.  An evening at the theater is always lovely be it the Byrd, The Carpenter Center or The Landmark.  Give the gift of a meal by giving a gift card to any of the culinary hot spots in RVA or let someone get their own culinary genius on with a gift card to these local food shops Bombolini Pasta, Ellwood Thompsons, Little House Green Grocery. Cocktails and Glitter is always fond of the gift of a liquid beverage of local beers, ciders and wines!  Check out these links to find the perfect beverage for your friends and family.  Better yet give the gift of taking someone on a tour of breweries and wineries. A subscription to Richmond Magazine is always a winner and of course supports local publications and all things local for that matter...if you actually know someone that doesn't have a subscription to Richmond Mag!

Can you keep it LOCAL this holiday season? Join us in this challenge and see how well you do. We will post our progress on Facebook and Pinterest!

Happy Shopping!

Cheers!
K&H

P.S. Last week we had Happy Hour at Mellow Mushroom in Carytown. We had time to kill before going to a holiday shopping event at Orange.  If you are not familiar with Orange, you need to be- it is awesome!  Mellow Mushroom rated 4 out of 5 martinis. We know it is a chain but it is in Carytown. They took the former Plan 9 location and turned it into a hip fun joint paying homage to Plan 9 and RVA in the fantastic artwork murals. The staff was wonderful, the snack of house made beer cheese and soft pretzels hit the spot and the bathrooms are some of the nicest in Richmond! Plenty of room at the bar for large groups. Minor drawbacks are the early Happy Hour of 3-6pm and though they have drink discounts there are not any food deals. We say go for the bathrooms but stay for some beer cheese, a slice and a local brew.

Setting the mood for fall

You scream, I scream, We all scream for Halloween!

Kate here. I love fall, LOVE IT! The only problem I have with fall is that I know the cold of winter is just around the corner. As a warm weather kind of girl, I need something to help me ease into the chill of fall. Between Halloween and the multitude of fall festivals in Richmond, there's enough to keep my mind off of the cold, dark nights that are on the horizon.

I've always been a fan of Halloween. I loved (and still do!) dressing up in creative costumes and decorating the house in spooky decor. Blending items purchased from the store and getting a little crafty, I've created something I'm calling "Halloween Shreik." Since I'm a fan of owls and bats in general, they get to play lead in the spookfest (although ravens are really taking over- a cool bird AND a Poe reference? Awesome!!)

Last year was my first Halloween aided by Pinterest. I found some free printable labels such as these and ran with it. Some were "seasoned" with tea and coffee grounds to give them an aged look. Some bottles and tins were spray painted, others left alone. Store bought fabric, candle holder, tray and cocktail shaker help fill in the space. Note the photo in the 2nd photo- taken at the now empty Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia PA. Talk about a spooky place! The port bottle in the top photo had a skull and crossbones etched into it using the same technique as the vases I made for my mom's birthday.

Potions!  Mostly from recycled bottles and jars.

Our bar got a little more flavor this month!

The mantle is always a fun place to decorate for the holidays. Ravens perch on spooky fabric and keep the bat bouquet company. Book jackets were printed on cardstock and aged with a lighter and coffee grounds. Small paperbacks keep the new spell books in shape.
 

The front hall went a little batty this year. I taped bat shapes onto the lamp shade for creepy effect. The framed photo was a creepy hologram I scored on sale last year. Paper bats (some purchased, others cut with the Silhouette), fly from the front door and up the stairs. A blown up image of a cemetery in Savannah was transferred to a canvas using textile medium. The front door was easy. I bought a grapevine wreath from the craft store, spray painted it black, and added fake cobwebs and glittery spiders. For Halloween night, we plug in a fog machine to really set the mood in the yard.

 

Inside the lamp shade

Photo of Bonaventure Cemetery

A cobwebbed wrapped grapevine wreath with some spider friends greet guests.

Last year's foggy front steps. It's easy to make your own awesome skirt!

Lastly the dining room. I was so excited last year to get the skeleton servers from Target! I personalized the buffet with painted pumpkins, an owl painting given to me from our talented friend Ashley, and a photo of the first Halloween my husband and I were together (zombie Lucy and Charlie Brown. It was the best costume ever). On the table, more pumpkins accented by candles. I used candy corn and dried black beans in the jars for some added texture.

A few other fun surprises can be found around the house, I just didn't have the room here to show you all! Over all, my favorite Halloween shriek decor are the photos of Halloweens past. I plan on adding to that collection every year!

Now that my house is in order, it's time to focus on the other fun things of fall, starting with the Richmond Folk Festival! It's the main event in Richmond this weekend- even if folk music isn't your thing, it's a great place to people watch and you're sure to find some freshly popped kettle korn!

Cheers, 

K&H

October is now Boob-tober

Boob-tober is a celebration of the boob! 

We all know October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month but there is so much more to breast health than the scary "C" word. 


The boob should be celebrated not feared, or for some women, loathed. Much like your skin, if you take care of your boobs your boobs will take care of you.  However, we tend to forget about and neglect the care and health of our skin and boobs, until the lines start to show and the boobs start to fall. 

This month, we will all wear our pink to show our love and support of all women who have had their lives changed in so many ways by hearing the words "breast cancer" and then enduring the emotions and treatments of this cancer. We will celebrate your strength, spirit and womanliness. We will look to the future when this cancer is eradicated and no woman ever again must hear those two words. We will also celebrate the boob in all it's glory. 

So whether you call them breasts, boobs, ta tas, the girls, jugs, pride & joy, boobies, cans, melons, ninnies, The Dollys, hooters, in the way, ha has, assets, can cans, a gift from god, pancakes, second base, awesome... be good to them. Embrace their unique femininity, smile when they make heads turn, take pride in the knowledge they can produce life sustaining food and regardless of their shape or size, celebrate them and love them because they are yours and they are beautiful like you.

The bra has come a long way baby!

So this month we say Support your Girls give them the gift of a properly fitted bra for daily use as well as exercise.  Know your Girls: give yourself a self exam so you are aware of your normal.  Name your Girls seriously, why not?  Heather proudly calls her's "pride & joy."  Kate equally as proud referrers to hers as "rooby & looby boobie." Celebrate your Girls!

We won't spend the whole month blogging about boobs as we have to talk about apples and pumpkins and Halloween and Fall Festivals, but we may pepper in a tad bit or two more.


Cheers!

K&H

Sunday Funday!

Easy breezy Sunday!

Cocktails & Glitter rocked it out on Sunday and it was...wait for it...you guessed it...AWESOME!

We started the day off with a 5-mile walk around Robious Landing Park. This is a gorgeous park with great views of the river and beautifully maintained trails, pathways, parking lots, bathrooms and picnic shelters. Not only was the exercise enjoyed, the weather was perfect! 

After a quick stop to change we went to the Olive Oil Taproom newly opened at the Shoppes at Bellgrade. There is also a location in the West End. Essentially this is a tasting room for olive oils and vinegars, really an interesting concept! The staff was friendly and informative, and the atmosphere pleasant and welcoming. Each dispenser was well marked with information and pairing suggestions. If you choose, and have the stomach for it, you can taste over 50 olive oils and vinegars ranging in various levels of infused flavors and degrees of robustness. Straight shots of oil and vinegar were a bit much but when mixed together and paired with a small piece of bread those we tried were pretty good. We had a few misses but overall enjoyed the few we sampled. After you taste, if you wish to purchase anything you have 3 different size bottle options to choose. The smallest bottle is the perfect size for a unique hostess gift. The next time we have a recipe that calls for olive oil we are going there to get the good stuff!

Olive oil is a healthy fat but on its own is not a healthy or satisfying meal. So off we went to garb a bite for lunch. We went to the Urban Farmhouse and Market Place. Heather has now been several times and each time has been disappointed and under-whelmed by the food, this visit was no different. Kate was not impressed either.  The food sounds great and inventive on the menu but once on the plate it falls flat in inspiration and taste. The setting is ideal so future visits, if any, will be for sharing a bottle of wine on the patio or a cup of weekend coffee and newspaper reading.

With lunch over it was time to get crafty!  One of the greatest things to ever hit Richmond is the fabric store UFab and now that greatness has invaded the Southside! The fabric fabulousness is just too much to handle!  We both left with visions of fabric projects dancing in our heads, as well as, with a few remnant pieces for random little sewing projects that are sure to be future blogs. 

With all the fun stuff out of the way it was time to get down to business.  The whole point of the day was for Kate to teach Heather how to use her Silhouette, the fancy craft machine she purchased way back in February. Kate has used it several times with great success so to save Heather some technology frustration, it was time for a one-on-one tutorial. This machine is amazing and the person that invented it is a crafting genius! Thank you Silhouette inventor whoever you are wherever you are!! Highlight of playing with the Silhouette we made Cocktails & Glitter temporary tattoos! Now it is time to take on a crafty idea and put the Silhouette to work!

Coming up this weekend is the Color Run 5K at RIR where we will huff and puff our way to the finish line. Also be sure to check out the RVA Street Art Festival at the old GRTC buss depot on Cary Street.


Cheers!

K&H

September Anticipation

There is a giddy school girl anticipation to the month of September.  The bummer part about September is that it means summer is over, but it is also the month that leads us into everything fabulously fall such as back to school, fall festivals, apple picking, the leaves changing colors, football, Halloween, fall cocktails, fall hikes, lighting the fire pit, and less sweaty weather! 

With the crisp fall weather just around the corner, we are pondering very important questions such as...

• How many different ways can you make wings for the tailgate? (The endless possibilities and flavor combos are making our bellies rumble just thinking about it!)  

• How many apple influenced delectables can you create after you bring home that 237 pound bag of fresh picked apples from the orchard? Is there such a thing as eating too many apple donuts? (we think not!)

• What craft and decorating ideas will be inspired by the rich breathtaking colors of the changing leaves and the spooky celebration of Halloween? 

• How many fall festivals can we attend? (All of them...well maybe not all, but we'll have fun trying.)

• Will this year be the year we go for the raw oysters or will we just stick to the roasted? (Probably sticking to the roasted. Either way we get to say the word "shucked" a lot and giggle)

On top of all that, there is a lot to celebrate and remember in the fall. It is a time for remembrance for those our country has lost. Take the opportunity to say thank you to our armed forces. It is a time of celebration as we both celebrate our wedding anniversaries in September. It is a time for long weekends away and full blown out of the country vacation with great friends.  It is a time that the holidays still seem a bit off, but really we know they are right around the corner.  

September may be the 9th month of the year, but it has the air of everything being fresh and new as if the world is at your finger tips and anything and everything is possible. Much like the first of the year, September is a great time to reflect and make resolutions, as well as take stock of the resolutions made at the beginning of the year. Where do you stand with all you said would accomplish in the calendar year? No worries, there's still plenty of time to meet your 2013 goals whether you have stayed on track, need a reboot, or start from scratch!

Where does Cocktails & Glitter stand on goals we've made?

• Creating and sticking with a weekly blog--check

• Keeping up with all our tabs--needs some work

• Heather getting more comfortable with technology, the world wide web and social media--depending on the day. It is going smashingly well or there are tears lots and lots of tears...it is a long term project in progress with potential for great success!

• Time well spent with family and friends--check

• Loving and celebrating our RVA and all things festival--check, with lots more lovin' to come!

• Getting our Happy Hour on--check and our list of "places to try" continues to grow.

• Big "Nitty Gritty" projects-- partly check, with some still on the list (Heather has big plans in September).

• Crafting and sewing projects--check, with lots of fun ones still on the list. We still need to make the wreaths we wanted to way back in February!

• Meeting health and weight goals and exploring what really works for us--for the most part check but still working on it!

• Over using the word AWESOME!--not check enough! We have gotten away from this and need to get back on it!

For the most part we are right on track for reaching the goals we set for this year even though some goals have been added or changed as the year as progressed. We hope your goals are being met with awesome success as well. Please let us know on our Facebook Page what goals you have achieved this year and those you are still working toward.

Happy September everyone!

The leaves will be changing before you know it!

Cheers!
K&H









   

  

Friendship

You'll always be my friend...you know too much! 

 It seems there is a day or month to celebrate everything from the "Are you kidding me that deserves a day?" to the, "Duh that should happen every day!"  Which is the case when it comes to celebrating friendships. August 1 is National Girlfriends Day (as well as National Raspberry Cream Pie Day; check out the recipe), and the first Sunday in August is National Friendship Day! 

As two ladies who know and value the gift of friendship, we would like to take the time to celebrate our friends. We have a great many friends in common and over the years our separate friends have become each others friends. It's so great to see our circles overlap, it's just another way they grow.



We understand the depth and meaning and love of friendship. We know the laughter and tears of friendship. We know the triumphs and the missteps of friendship. We know the joys and frustrations of friendships. We know the honor and endless support of friendship. We know the challenges and magic of friendship. We know a great deal about friendship as we have been taught it by the many individuals who we have had the privilege of gracing our lives. 

 

Yep, this happens most of the time. Wardrobe ESP.

Our lives our are rich with the gifts of friendship and we are thankful and grateful for every single one of our friends every single day. Without you, we would not be the (awesome) people we are today. Our friendships have taught us about ourselves, life and love. Our friendships have given us support and encouragement and the occasional Come-to-Jesus meeting moments when needed. Our friendships have been the source of joy in moments of great happiness and the source of strength in moments of great sadness. Our friendships have endured highs and lows, the challenge of distance and the test of time. Our friendships have out the lived the 80s, the 90s and the first decade of the 2000s! Our friendships are rooted and based in something that is hard to explain but not hard to feel as it goes to the soul of our being.  

Friends are the family we choose and between us we have a pretty vast and awesome family of friends.  Thank you for being part of lives and for letting us be part of your lives.
 

 

Cheers!
K&H

    

Wine not?

Hurray!  By the skin of our chinny chin chins we will manage to get in at least one Happy Hour this July! Tomorrow we will be checking out the new hip spot Viceroy!  Viceroy is located on the corner of Devil's Triangle that was once home to Café Diem. Oh, Café Diem how we miss you... but not your bathrooms! We may get wild and crazy with a few live posts to our Facebook! Be sure to catch our review next week.

We had hoped Happy Hour would take place at the pop up tiki bar being held at Ipanema Café, but our tiki dreams of mai tai cocktails with fabulous garnishes and paper umbrellas were crushed when we realized it isn't happening during our traditional happy hour time, but from 10pm to 2am. Oh well. We do hope it is a success and the brilliant brains behind this brilliant idea will do it again...like between 4pm-7pm.  We had even started planning our outfits, so sad, they were going to be tropics in the city chic.

This Sunday we had a double whammy of awesome- Book Club and a winery visit! Our friend who was hosting lives conveniently down the street from New Kent Winery. This is a beautiful gem of a winery in picturesque country setting. The tasting is typically $8 for a lovely sampling of 8 wines and a tour of the building. Our tasting fee was only $6, perhaps because we arrived after the last tour had begun. The staff are exceptionally knowledgeable, helpful and friendly. Although we didn't make the tour, we've both taken it before and we recommend it. Much of the wood used on the building is reclaimed lumber- be sure to check out the old railroad trusses that originally were in Shockoe Bottom. Many of the bricks are reclaimed and date back before the Civil War!  The trip out there is worth it just for the building, but if you are there you should enjoy the wine as well. After the tasting, we shared a bottle of the wine to share and sat on the
beautiful wrap around porch and watched an afternoon summer rain shower. How southern can you get!?!

Cheers!

2 of the book club gals

 joined us Sunday

Cheers!
K&H

P.S.  Last week we blogged about the Purple Martin Festival which will be held at the 17th Street Farmers Market, please note the date has been changed to August 24, 2013.

Happy Hour, we love you!

What are the happiest hours of the day?  

Sure there are plenty of different thoughts on this but for Cocktails and Glitter, 4:00pm to 7pm have a special little place in our heart!  We built our friendship over Happy Hour and love the chance to Happy Hour with friends and family we don't see as often as we wish. 

Whatever the reason or location, we always seem to have a fantastic time. On occasion we are blown away by a HH location and want to rave all about it and then there are times it isn't worth mentioning. Way back in January, while Happy Hour-ing at Xtras Café, we had the clever idea to rate each location. Our rating system is brilliantly called...

"Cocktails and Glitter's Extremely Sophisticated HH Rating System" 

Each Happy Hour location has been given a rating of 0 out 5 martinis.  0-1-don't even bother, over 3-worth it and 5-LOVE IT we will be back and probably have already. Kate and Heather have each given a 0-5 rating which are then averaged together, for the final rating. Should there be a .75 we are rounding up and should there be a .25 we are rounding down. 

Check out our Happy Hour tab for the criteria we use to rate each location, "Cocktails and Glitter's Extremely Sophisticated HH Rating System."  Be sure to check out the Happy Hour tab every once in a while for future ratings and Happy Hour suggestions.

Here are the Happy Hour locations we've rated so far...


    

LOCATION	# of Martinis
Mint	3
Selba	4
Xtras	5
Brio Tuscan Grill	3
Mosic	2.5
The Hill Café	2
Sushi O	3.5
Blue Goat	2
Northside Grill	2
Savory Grain	3
Fat Dragon	4
Galley	2
Jorge’s Cantina	2
Nacho Mama’s	3
The Mill	4
Pearl Oyster Bar	4
Caliente	1
Deco Ristorante	4
?	?
?	?
?	?
?	?
?	?
?	?

Hit us up on Facebook for suggestions for our next Happy Hour location and any feedback you have on the above.

Cheers!

K&H

P.S. We are working on a graphic to actually have a martini or maybe a martini glass with 0 to 5 olives!  We are going to make this list a bit more sexy as soon as we learn graphics!!!!!!!