Friday Faves

This was the first cold weekend in Florida and it was nice to bring out the boots and scarves however I don't have many warm pants other than jeans. Recommendations? I'm looking forward to another fairly quiet weekend with lots of R&R which sounds like perfection. I'm finally back on track with the work/blogging/personal life balance after the crazy holidays which is definitely good for the soul. So how about some faves for this week...

Favorite Article:
Ashley from The Grits Blog talks about her Blogging Pet Peeves and I couldn't agree with her more, especially #1.

Favorite Purchase:
This dainty silver leaf bangle bracelet from Express goes so well with my watch and has gotten lots of compliments.

Favorite Recipe:

This Healthy Kung Pao Chicken with brown rice recipe looks so good. I'm a big fan of stir-fry recipes and love trying different combinations of meat and veggies.

Favorite Holiday Gifts:

I didn't post much around the Christmas long weekend but two of my favorite gifts were both from K and I'm in love!

#1: Marc Jacobs 'Decadence' Perfume
Smells amazing! Definitely my favorite new perfume on the shelves.

#2: Revlon One Step Hair Dryer and Styler 
This is seriously a life-changer for me. My hair is very thick so it takes a long time to wash and dry which has always been a dreaded "chore" of mine. This brush/hair dryer combo has cut that time down significantly and I absolutely love hoow it styles my hair. I give it a 9 out of 10 because it could have more heat settings but otherwise it works wonders.

Favorite Funny:

Me everyday.

Have a great weekend lovelies!

Joining Amanda for Friday Faves.

Wanderlust Wednesdays: Alaska Cruising

In 2005 my Grandmother organized a family cruise up to the Arctics. We all flew into Vancouver, Canada and then left for seven days on a Royal Caribbean cruise up to Alaska. Since this trip was over ten years ago, I couldn't find many photos on file but I was able to dig up some from Facebook.



Before we left for the cruise my entire family spent the day exploring Vancouver. We went to check out the Totem Poles in Stanley Park which are carved out of red cedar wood. There are nine poles in total and each one tells it's own story. We also checked out Lion's Gate Bridge and several other attractions/monuments.

The next day we left on the cruise and stopped at three Alaskan ports - Ketichikan, Skagway and Juneau. Although my ideal vacation typically includes sun, sea and sand, it was an amazing seven days spent with my cousins and family at sea. We saw whales through the window while eating dinner, enjoyed the icy scenery and got lots of quality time with each other. More importantly, it made my Granny extremely happy to have all of her family together since we all live in different countries/cities.

The time-stamp on some of the photos below are incorrect. This trip was in 2005 despite my cousin's camera saying 2004.

Alaska was beautiful but that will probably be my first and last vacation there. It was good to experience it but Europe, several US cities, and lots of tropical islands are on my radar for the upcoming years.

Link-up Rules:
1. Follow Kerri, Kate and myself on Bloglovin
2. Link up your favorite travel recaps or travel related posts
3. Grab our Wanderlust Wednesdays button and link back to our blogs
4. Be sure to visit other blogs and build your travel bucket list!

Homemade Moscow Mule Cocktails

This cocktail recipe is so simple and delicious. I made the mistake of presuming ginger beer was alcoholic so I couldn't find it in the grocery store only to find out it's not alcoholic and can be found in the same aisle as all the sodas such as Coke etc.

Serving size: 1 cocktail

Ingredients:
Ice cubes
2 oz. Vodka

6 oz. Ginger Beer
1/2 oz. lime juice
1 lime wedge (for garnish)

What To Do:
Fill cup with ice cubes and pour vodka and lime juice over ice. Then add ginger beer and stir well. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Most restaurants serve Moscow Mules in a copper mug. Either way they're delicious with a nice combination of sweet and spicy flavors. Here are some fun variations of this recipe that I found on Pinterest (titles are clickable):

The Angry Mule

The Apple Pie Moscow Mule

Strawberry Basil Moscow Mules

Moscow Mule Margarita

Blackberry Moscow Mule

Joining the gals over at The Sequin Notebook for their monthly cocktail linkup.

Rocksbox Holiday Jewels

A friend of mine gifted me a Rocksbox subscription for my birthday and I received my first box of goodies right before Christmas which included a beautiful pair of Kendra Scott earrings, a statement necklace and a dainty silver ring. I used to have a subscription over a year ago and was always quite happy with the pieces they sent me but I eventually decided to cancel it since it wasn't a necessity for my wardrobe. I posted about my previous boxes here, here, and here.

Kendra Scott Elle Earrings

Perry Street Noelle Necklace

Sophie Harper Pavé X Ring

 

I absolutely love the earrings and necklace and while I really like the ring as well, it came a bit tarnished so it looks quite worn.

From this box I decided to purchase the earrings and I'm still deciding whether I want to purchase the necklace or not. Overall I'm really happy with the pieces they sent despite being slightly disappointed with the ring.

What do you think about the necklace? I wish I had taken a photo from when I wore it on Christmas night. #badblogger

Hosting Brunch at Home

It's no secret I'm a big fan of brunch food and luckily Orlando has some amazing brunch spots to chose from when we have a free Sunday. It's also a great time to reconnect with friends and end the weekend with some good food. I've never hosted brunch at home but I think 2016 is the year to finally make it happen. Here's some great brunch menu food and drink recipes that would make a great Sunday Brunch spread for entertaining guests.

Baked Eggs in Prosciutto filled Portobello Mushrooms

French Toast Sticks

Breakfast Pizza

Poppy Seed Pancakes

Ham & Cheese Spinach Puffs

Brussel Sprout Hash with Soft Poached Eggs

Petite Crust-less Quiche

Cantaloupe and Raspberry Yogurt Parfait

And some delicious drink ideas for Sunday brunch.

Cranberry Brunch Punch

The Ultimate Blood Mary

Mimosa Bar

And some strawberry infused water for rehydration.

NYE Weekend in Ft Lauderdale

Happy new year everyone! I hope 2016 is off to a great start for you.

I had a very eventful weekend in Ft Lauderdale ringing in NYE with friends. On Thursday I had the day off of work so we took the 3 hour drive to south Florida to check in to our hotel by Ft Lauderdale beach. While driving there the hotel called to say they overbooked and wanted to give us an upgraded room at their sister hotel only a block away and also gave us a small discount for the inconvenience. Fine by me! It was a cute boutique hotel called Tranquilo which was a short walk to the beach.

After getting settled we went out for dinner at Casablanca Cafe along the beach with a girl friend and enjoyed some escargot, baked brie, beef carpaccio and a strawberry mojito. Everything was amazing and the outdoor patio overlooking the beach was a nice vibe.

After dinner we went out for some adult beverages and then watched the annual ball drop along Ft Lauderdale beach at midnight. It was a fun night out with friends exploring a new town.

On Friday we went to visit one of my best friend's from childhood and spend some quality time with her three kids at their house on the water. We brought Lola along so the kids could play with her.

After a few hours of bestie and kiddie time and whining children, we were starving so we went with K's friend from high school to G&B Oyster Bar for some amazing oysters and stone crab.

On Saturday morning we slept in and then checked out of hotel to make the trek back to Orlando. Before hitting the highway, we stopped at La Granja Peruvian restaurant for an amazing seafood ceviche for lunch.

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing and doing errands. Overall it was an amazing weekend with good friends, amazing food and a nice change of scenery for a couple days in sunny south Florida.

How did you ring in the new year?

Joining the lovely Biana for her Weekending linkup.

Happy 2016

I hope everyone had a great time ringing in the new year last night and maybe enjoyed some champagne or an adult beverage of some sort while watching the fireworks. I'm in Ft Lauderdale for the weekend visiting friends and enjoying the summer-like weather on the beach. You can follow my adventures on Instagram and sometimes SnapChat (emilyalisonb) when I remember to actually use it.

I posted part 1 and part 2 of my 2015 year recap recently which goes to show it was a fantastic year spent keeping very busy with traveling and celebrating all the little (and big) things in life. 

A new year is here so cheers to many more adventures and the making of fabulous memories in 2016!