it's gotta be 5 o'clock somewhere

it had to happen. i've started hanging out in bars. well, not exactly hanging out--i like to call it research. so, last night i went to bluestem with a friend and tried some of the bartender's concoctions. amy did, too, so between the two of us we tasted four different drinks. i think the cocktail i liked the most is a classic new orleans drink called the sazerac. it was actually proclaimed new orleans' official cocktail by the louisiana house of representatives in 2008. the drink is made with rye whiskey, bitters and absinthe, with some other things thrown in for good measure. you can read about it here and get the recipe to boot.

is my first posted cocktail destined to be a classic, too? perhaps too much to ask, but let me know what you think. i wanted to develop a drink based on two flavors that always make me think of california--orange and rosemary. i'm still thinking of a name for it.

1.5 oz vodka (i like the 360 vodka made by earth friendly distilling co. in weston)

0.5 oz caravella orangecello

2.0 oz unsweetened pomegranate juice

2-3 dashes orange bitters

4-5 rosemary leaves

half fill shaker with ice. add vodka, orangecello, pomegranate juice and bitters. crush rosemary leaves and toss into shaker. shake vigorously until icy.

strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with sprig of rosemary and orange twist.

what does your favorite state taste like?

one of the reasons i love junking

ok, this morning when i got back from the gym, i went out to kansas city, kansas, to pick up more stuff from my new favorite junk store. as i was sorting through things, i may or may not have heard a message from above. what i know i did hear was a heavenly voice singing gospel music. a man sat down to play one of the pianos for sale there, opened his mouth and produced a most beautiful sound that somehow made me believe i had made a good decision.

cards for product (RED)

these are images of some of the cards i designed for product (RED). i love the idea of cause-related marketing and felt passionate about making a difference through greeting cards. as you may know, a certain percentage of the sale of these cards, and all product created for (RED) by its various partners, goes to buy and distribute antiretroviral medicine for those dying of aids in africa. this explains more.

all work copyright hallmark cards, inc.

my life at the card factory

i graduated from the university of california at davis some years ago with a bachelor of science degree in design. while my focus was textile design, i landed at that greeting card company with the intention of staying a couple of years to have something credible on my resume. wow. it ended up being 7 years the first time around and 16 years the second time around, with an interlude in between devoted to my three amazing daughters. i had myriad roles there, including art director and other-titles-that-do-not-describe-what-the-job-entailed. i ended my career as a designer for product (RED), mahogany (product specifically for the african-american consumer) and tree of life (product for the jewish consumer).

i loved the collaboration with illustrators, photographers, writers and other designers. i was particularly good at creating visuals that represented the words and tone of the cards.

where do i go from here?

after being let go in october from the world's largest greeting card company (read about it in my daughter's blog here), i faced a dilemma. while officially "retired," i am nothing of the sort. aside from the ongoing need for food, clothing, shelter and ingredients for mixing up strange and wonderful cocktails, i get bored easily. and, like others, i believe that for baby boomers anyway, the idea of truly retiring is not only unrealistic in our current economic conditions but it is anathema to our exploratory nature.

long story short, after much consideration, i am entering into what is generously known as a "portfolio career." a portfolio career is one well-described here but is basically a multi-pronged approach to a livelihood based on what you really love to do. to the unimaginative it could also be viewed as dabbling in things, but that sounds so negative. i prefer the first definition. so, what do i love to do?

i love design for one thing. i was a designer at that greeting card company and truly enjoyed being one. do you need help with your logo? do you need menus and napkins designed for your restaurant? do you need wedding invitations? do you need designs for business cards and stationery? let me help you.

i also love junking. i mean really--how much fun is it to stumble upon amazingly wonderful, quirky old things? maybe it's because i imagine so many stories in a set of dishes, savoring all the conversations that took place while eating from them. i can't very well just keep everything i find, right? that's sort of pack-rattish. and selfish. so, i am setting up an etsy shop to sell the wonderful things i find. my current focus is kitchenware, since serendipity led me to the most wonderful place in kansas city, kansas, with a most amazing treasure trove of vintage dishes. don't ask where it is because i won't tell you. and if i find something especially fabulous, i may just keep it for myself! we'll see.

finally, i love to eat and drink with interesting people. during those first few months of unemployment, one of the first ideas that popped into my head was tending bar, at least for a way to pay the mortgage. drinking is pretty much recession-proof, right? in kansas city, there happens to be one of the franchises for the international school of professional bartending. so, i signed up and am now a certified mixologist. and i take my mixology seriously! while the bartending school's focus is on high volume venues, i lean towards the "slow food" approach to cocktails. there's a huge trend toward prohibition-style cocktails, using quality ingredients, interesting combinations of flavors and loving mixing techniques. i'd love to create signature cocktails for you and serve them at your next event.

so, that's my portfolio.

this blog will be the platform on which to display those different vocations. and hopefully it will inspire you to contact me to design for you, sell you some funky dishes, or create and serve memorable drinks at your next event.