Leopard Love

"Mrs. Roper" zip robe my sister
gave me- I've been living in this lately.

Loving all things leopard lately!

Awesome Frederick's of Hollywood bikini
and long 'lounge dress' and matching
head scarf. 

The hat was an estate sale score,
and thepurse came from the
Chic Antique booth at
the Denver Modernism Show.

Leopard obi belt from Trashy Diva-
 I've been wearing this with everything.

Obviously definitely need these-
 tiki + leopard!

Definitely needs to be my
next set of luggage.

Totally want this outfit and all that material!

Fancy Jello Shots!

Ever since I had a Mai Tai in Jello form at Tiki Oasis, I've been wanting to make a fancy cocktail Jello shot. When my pal Claire posted a recipe in The Levo League that sounded delish- I decided that my 'side dish' for my sister's Labor Day BBQ would be Jello shots. 

Ingredients: Jalapeno infused Olmeca Altos Plata tequila, grapefruit and lime juice, honey, gelatin.

I mixed it up according to the directions. Claire recommended using silicone ice cube trays- and I happen to have a few in flower and Tiki head shapes. After putting the molds in a pan so they didn't wobble or spill, I filled them up and put them in the fridge.

Pretty fleshy flowers

The good: They firmed up in just a few hours. I popped them out with a little effort and most retained their shape. I thought they were pretty tasty, grapefruity, with a little spiciness. Everyone had seconds.

The bad: Some of them stuck to the sides of the molds, so they were kind of lumpy and weird looking. Because of the grapefruit juice they were kind of flesh colored. I liked them a lot, but some of the folks at the BBQ (mostly just my sister) thought they were a little too 'tequila-y' and tart.

If I make them again, I would experiment with a little food coloring to make them a bit prettier. I would stick with the flower forms and get some other similarly easily identifiable forms- the Tiki heads looked more like tongues (did have a bit of fun at the BBQ sticking them half way out of my mouth and wiggling them). I'd also add a bit more honey or another sugar- maybe agave syrup. I might also just make a pan of it and cut the shapes out. Seems a bit easier than the molds.

I swear that is a Tiki head! Not a tongue!

Best part is that I learned that Jello shots can be good! It is so easy to make tasty Jello shots instead os the nasty ones I've had in the past.

I'd really like to try them again with another liquor - Claire suggests vodka or gin, but I might try it with some Montanya platino rum

I've got big plans to make some interesting Jello cocktails for my Halloween party and October LUPEC meeting...maybe layered in candy corn colors with whipped cream in the mix...or something with a liquid center that 'bleeds' when you bite into it...

Hooray for Jello and booze!

Save the Boobies!

Apparently 2012 is my year for helping to save boobies (not just appreciate and promote them ;) ).

LUPEC Denver will be participating in the awesome breast cancer fundraiser/lady bartender speed competition "Speed Rack" February 12, 2012. Plus this week I'll be talking to Miss Jo "Boobs" Weldon about bringing her Pink Light Burlesque, providing free burlesque lessons to breast cancer patients and survivors.

I was immediately interested in Pink Light when Jo mentioned it to me earlier this year, but my feelings about the project have strengthened recently with the passing of my friend Jules Vogt who, after winning her first battle with cancer, produced a burlesque and variety show called Team Survivor Kabaret with fellow cancer survivors.

Check out picts from the first Pink Light Burlesque show earlier this month on the Pink Light Facebook page.

I'll have more updates on these events soon!

Non-Dairy Nog

Thehairpin.com writers tried out a few internet recipes for eggless eggnog, to mixed results.

 I think the only one I'll actually try (if I don't take their lazy way out and stick to Silk Nog, which I love) will be the avocado based one- mostly because I also like those weird avocado boba drinks they serve at my favorite local Vietnamese bowl place. And maybe the carrot one- mostly because they said it was good with rum.

Favorite moment in the blog (besides the end where they mix all the experiments together and drink it- and give it an A-) was this quote, "We like tofu. But tofu as eggnog? More like no tofucking way."


Yeah. No tofucking way.

Today's obsession- Thai Jewel-Scarabs

In general, I've got a thing for insects- the little aliens of our world. They're weird- they move like creatures from another planet even though they were some of the first creatures on this planet.

I've tortured them (so sorry to any grasshoppers I encountered as a child, when I did things to you to see how you worked...or didn't work), I ate them at a Denver Museum of Nature and Science lecture (tomato worms, when fried up, taste a lot like fried mushrooms) and thought this article on insect infused cocktails was fascinating (though you won't see me anywhere near that tarantula tea punch- spiders are not insects- they are monsters), I made a lot of art in art school referencing insects and I have a nice collection mounted above my fireplace, but I am especially enchanted by Thai Jewel-Scarabs.

I bought earrings and a pin made from their shells at Soho's Evolution,  then a friend sent me an article about Jan Fabre, an artist that covers dress forms, skulls, and a room in the palace in Brussels with the iridescent shells. 

Royal Palace in Brussels,
Jan Fabre's Heaven of Delight

Detail of Heaven of Delight

Then, today I read about this- a dress created in 1888 for Shakespearean actress Ellen Terry, captured on canvas by John Singer Sargent- still exists and was recently restored. 

Plus it turns out much of the world has been making beautiful objects out of the pretty beetle shells for a long, long time. Just tapping in to the history of mankind's love of shiny things. 

Polly of California

Sometimes I become completely obsessed with buying something expensive, but because I'm incredibly cheap, if I can't find it for what I think is a reasonable price, eventually I forget about it for a while until it seeps back into my brain and I become obsessed again. Current obsession? Polly of California steel tipped, wooden platform mules.

I think the most I've ever spent on shoes was $50 and that was on a pair that was originally $75 so even considering shoes that start at about $290 is fairly preposterous.

Even the knockoff Bordello/Pleaser is still $80 on Amazon and more from other sites.

The Atomic Bombshells, with
 Miss Indigo Blue, posing in Pollys.

Plus I've never even tried these shoes on. I've no idea if I can even walk in them. I think the first time I noticed them was when Miss Indigo Blue had them on at some convention or show we were both at and made them look 'kicky', fun, retro and sexy. I remember quizzing her about comfort, walk and danceability and she had nothing but good things to say- and so my obsession started. And I started noticing a lot of other performers wearing them:

Dirty Martini rocking her mules on the Cannes red carpet

Jo Boobs in her Sherry Britton tribute number:


And her gold shimmy fringe number



I want them, though I'll likely just continue to want unless I find a screaming deal in a color I like (gold, silver or any of the glitter ones) and in my size (I'm a size 9 ... and my birthday is in September...).

Boozy Cupcakes

Cutie at the
Denver Derby Party

Last year I met Tiffany Rose Goodyear, owner of Yours Truly Cupcake and talked about cross promoting her cupcakes with burlesque. She not only makes kickass cupcakes, she also has adorable Cupcake Cuties who dress up like retro cigarette girls and are a great fit for burlesque shows (or really any place that needs a cute girl handing out cupcakes- so, like, everywhere) .


We reconnected recently when she joined my secret cocktail society, and I invited her to join me for the 5280 Top of the Town Party and the Colorado Cocktail Project competition on Monday. Over a pre-party cocktail at Lola's, I discovered that she's now focusing on spirit, beer and cocktail cupcakes- and she used Montanya Rum for a couple of flavors for her summer launch party! Two of their new summer flavors use Montanya Oro: Montanya Strawberry Daiquiri & Montanya Mojito.


Plus they also made Dark & Stormy’s and Lavender Lemonade cupcakes with Montanya rum for the Denver Derby party! I was supposed to go to the Derby party, but couldn't- now I'm doubly sad I missed it, both for the Montanya cupcakes and the Mint Julep cupcakes with Buffalo Trace – Kentucky Straight Bourbon Buttercream frosting. And Chocolate Bourbon, chocolate cake topped with chocolate Buffalo Trace Bourbon ganache with a light chocolate buttercream. Mmmmmm...



Some of her other awesome boozy flavors (btw - I need a dozen of these- heavy on the St. Germain flavor -for my birthday September 27- get it on your calendar and send them my way?):

∙ Strawberry Champagne ∙
Champagne Cake &
Strawberry Frosting
Infused with Champagne

∙ Margarita ∙
Margarita Cake &
Lime-Orange Frosting with Lime Slice
Infused with Tequila and Grand Marnier

∙ Moscow Mule ∙

Lime Vodka Cake &
Ginger Buttercream Frosting
Infused with Vodka and Gingerbeer

∙ Pabst Blue Ribbon ∙
PBR Vanilla Cake & PBR Frosting
Infused with Pabst Blue Ribbon

∙ Cosmopolitan ∙
Cranberry and Lime Vodka Cake &
Cran-Orange Frosting with Lemon Twist
Infused with Vodka and Curacao Liqueur

∙ St. Germain ∙
Champagne Cake &  St. Germain Frosting
Infused with Champagne and St. Germain Liqueur

∙ Irish Car Bomb ∙
Guinness Cake, Whiskey Ganache &
Irish Cream Buttercream

Infused with Guinness, Whiskey, and  Irish Cream Liqueur